And what was that quote, anyway?
My brain kept snagging on the absolute nonsense Kairi had used: "He went and hanged himself and then there were none." It was utterly meaningless. I knew Kairi's memories, her histories. I knew the things she held sacred, the esoteric texts she devoured. Christie? That entire reference was outside the scope of Kairi's current life, her known existence. It was just another layer of infuriating, showy nonsense designed to panic the hag.
But then my mind snagged on the last word Kairi had spat out: Christie.
No. Wait.
The realization didn't rush; it settled, like sediment after a violent tremor. The incomprehensible quote, the name I didn't recognize, the utter panic on Valeria's face—it wasn't showy nonsense.
It was Bio-cipher. Kairi wasn't quoting some forgotten hobby; she was reading the deepest, most sealed layer of Valeria's existence.
