13: "You mean the general?"

Daphne's pov

The site was louder than it had been the day before.

Engines rumbled across the property as trucks unloaded steel beams and crates of equipment. Soldiers moved between the tents, checking the new fencing. Near the main tent, a knot of engineers argued over a set of blueprints.

I climbed out of the car and hitched my handbag higher on my shoulder. I hadn't slept much. I'd spent half the night replaying the river district, and the other half deciding I was done being the one who got tested.

Captain Reynolds met me at the tent flap. "Good morning, Miss Alistair."

"Good morning, Captain. Is the general here?"

"Inside."

Adrik stood at the folding table with a site map under his hands, uniform immaculate, sleeves buttoned at the wrists. He looked like he'd been awake for hours. Knowing military men, he probably had.

He glanced up. "Miss Alistair."

"General."

There was no warmth in it. There rarely was.

I set my folder on the table. "I've reviewed the revised layout. I have questions about the eastern section."

"Go ahead."

I pointed. "You've put the secondary access road here, but the ground slopes. Wouldn't that be a problem for heavy vehicles in the rainy season?"

"We've accounted for the slope."

"And drainage?"

"Yes."

I looked at him. He looked back. That was the whole answer.

"You make these meetings wonderfully conversational," I said.

Captain Reynolds coughed into his fist.

Adrik didn't blink. "Would you prefer a longer answer?"

"I'd prefer a useful one."

Something crossed his face, too quick to name. Irritation or amusement. He turned the map toward me and walked me through the drainage, the reinforced surface, the alternate route for emergency vehicles. By the end I was satisfied, and mildly annoyed to be.

He knew what he was doing. That was something.

I kept my eyes on the paper. I'd decided in the car last night that if he wanted to test me, he could be tested.

"The mall on Harlan Street is always packed," I said, turning a page as though the thought had only just come to me. "If anything happened near there, emergency vehicles would never get through."

Adrik's finger stopped on the map.

One second. Maybe less.

Then it moved on, tracing the proposed road. "Harlan Street has several access points. Traffic shouldn't be a concern."

His voice was perfectly level.

"That's good," I said.

I waited. He didn't ask why I'd mentioned the mall. He didn't ask if I'd been there. He didn't look at me at all.

But he had gone still, and he had stayed still a beat too long.

I knew that mall. The dead corridors. The shopfronts stripped to their frames. Emmeline under her blanket, pretending to be too weak to stand, while Edward promised to find medicine and never went. It was two streets from the alley.

My fingers tightened on the folder. Had he remembered something too? Or did I want so badly not to be alone that I'd invented a pause?

"Miss Alistair."

He was watching me.

"You were saying something about the eastern boundary."

"The fencing." My voice came out steady, which surprised me. "Does it extend all the way to the access road?"

"It does."

"Good."

I lowered my eyes before he could read my face. The experiment hadn't given me an answer. It hadn't been a complete failure either.

"You're Miss Alistair, aren't you?"

I turned. A man stood a few feet away holding two paper cups. Tall, broad-shouldered, in fatigues he wore like he'd never worried about a wrinkle in his life. His dark hair was a little untidy. He had an easy smile.

"That depends," I said. "Who's asking?"

He laughed. "Fair. Darian." He shifted a cup to his left hand and offered his right. "Second-in-command, which mostly means I deliver the coffee. I work for the gentleman who thinks smiling is a military offense."

I glanced at Adrik, still bent over the map. "You mean the general?"

"Sadly, yes. I keep hoping he'll discover human interaction."

I shook his hand. "Daphne Alistair."

"I know. We've never been properly introduced." He held out a cup. "Coffee?"

"For me?"

"Unless you'd rather watch me drink both."

A laugh got out before I could stop it. "Thank you."

The warmth soaked into my palms. I hadn't realized how cold the tent was.

Darian leaned a hip against the table. "I hope the general hasn't frightened you off the project."

"Not yet."

"Excellent. We were worried about our reputation."

"Yours or his?"

"Mine's excellent. His is a work in progress."

I smiled into my cup.

"Darian."

Adrik hadn't looked up. His voice was flat.

"General?"

"Don't you have a perimeter inspection?"

"I do. I was on my way."

"Then go."

Darian dropped his voice, conspiratorial. "See what I mean?"

I pressed my lips together.

Adrik lifted his eyes. "Now."

"Leaving, sir." Darian straightened, then pointed at my cup. "Careful. The general likes his coffee bitter enough to strip paint, and the kitchen forgets not everyone shares his taste."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Enjoy your morning, Miss Alistair."

He gave me a cheerful nod and walked out.

I watched him go. He was easy. There was no tension in him, no sense that I had to weigh every word. It was a relief.

"Are you finished?"

I turned. "With what?"

"Your conversation."

I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize I needed your permission to speak to your staff."

"You don't."

"Then we're both satisfied."

I took a sip. He looked at the cup. "You shouldn't encourage him."

"Why?"

"He has a habit of distracting people."

"Is that a military offense too?"

"Depending on the circumstances."

He went back to the map, his jaw tighter than before.

Was he jealous?

It was ridiculous. I'd known his second-in-command for five minutes. But the way he'd sent Darian off had been needlessly sharp. Maybe he just disliked sharing the room. Either way, I wasn't going to let his mood spoil my morning.

"There's another problem with the medical station," I said. "In an emergency, the team has to cross the main vehicle route to reach the accommodation tents."

He bent over the map. "You're right."

I blinked. I hadn't expected him to agree so fast.

"We'll move it closer to the eastern entrance. Captain, have the engineers revise this section."

"Yes, sir."

For the next twenty minutes we went through the rest of the plan. He was still hard to read, but when I raised something, he listened. He didn't wave me off for being a civilian. I gave him that.

When we finished, I slipped my folder into my bag. "I'll send my father's approval once he's reviewed it."

"Do that."

"You really don't waste words, do you?"

"Not when they're unnecessary."

"It must be exhausting for everyone around you."

I was almost certain I saw the corner of his mouth move.

Almost.

"Good day, Miss Alistair."

"Good day, General."

Outside, the sun was breaking through the clouds. A soldier waved as I passed, and I waved back. I was halfway to my car before I realized I was still smiling.

I slowed.

For a few minutes I had forgotten the construction, the investigation, the end of the world. I had just enjoyed a conversation. When was the last time I'd smiled like that at a man?

Edward. The answer came too fast.

Before everything fell apart, he was the one who could make me laugh with a single remark. I'd trusted his jokes, his warmth, the sound of his voice. I'd mistaken all of it for love.

My smile faded. I wasn't ready to trust anyone again. But maybe not every friendly voice had to be a threat.

I got behind the wheel. In the rearview mirror, Adrik stood outside the tent talking to Captain Reynolds, stern and unapproachable even from a distance.

I started the engine.

I had tested him with Harlan Street, and he'd given me almost nothing.

Almost. His finger had stopped. For one second, it had stopped.

He knew more than he was saying.

I meant to find out how much.