Elara didn't move from the desk. Her eyes lingered on the bloodstains, then flicked back to him.
"You know you're not as good at hiding as you think," she said.
Merlin leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Didn't realize I was hiding."
"You are. Every time you dodge a question, every time you force that blank look on your face, every time you pretend like nothing's gnawing at you." Her hand brushed the dent in his breastplate, almost absentminded. "You may fool Nathan, but you don't fool me."
'That's exactly what I was afraid of.'
Merlin didn't answer. He watched her fingers trace along the gouge in the steel before she pulled back like the touch burned.
She finally turned to face him, eyes sharper now. "Come on. You need food. Don't argue."
He almost did anyway. Almost told her to leave him alone, that he didn't need her watching over him like a nurse. But the stubborn set of her jaw told him it wasn't worth it. He didn't have the energy to fight her today.
