Merlin's gaze didn't move from Nathan. The others were still frozen, still processing, but his mind was already ten steps deeper.
'That wasn't a glitch. The system let it happen. It tracked it. Logged it. Which means it was allowed.'
But allowed didn't mean understood.
Mae stood first. Slowly. Not confidently. Just because her knees refused to keep her grounded any longer. She looked at Nathan the way people look at locked vaults they know they shouldn't open. Curiosity edged with warning.
Flint didn't move. He'd gone still again, but not from exhaustion this time. Just calculation. The kind of quiet that signaled danger, not calm.
Nathan lowered his hands. The glow was gone, but not the tension.
"Still me," he said. Not loud. Not for comfort. Just a fact. As if he were clarifying the weather.
Seraphina took one slow step closer. "That wasn't a fight."
Nathan met her eyes. "Didn't need to be."
"And it didn't hurt you?"
"No."
She didn't ask again. That silence said enough.
