Elara didn't move from the doorway.
"You weren't just there," she said. "You were in it."
Merlin let the door swing open and walked inside. His boots left faint dirt marks on the floorboards, and he didn't bother to take them off. "You've been spying on me now?"
"I don't have to." She followed him in. "You move different after a fight. Like your skin doesn't fit right anymore."
He tossed his coat over the back of the chair, not looking at her. "You're observant."
"That's not an answer."
'She's not going to let this drop.'
He went to the desk, poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher there, and drank most of it before setting it down. "Do you want me to lie and say I stayed home?"
Elara's jaw tightened. "I want you to tell me why you keep throwing yourself at things the rest of us can barely look at without losing sleep."
He rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling the sting of dried ichor under his nails. "Someone has to."
"That someone doesn't have to be you."
