They walked back to the rooming house through the quiet, bruised dark of the outer district.
"That went well," Kael said softly.
"It went exactly as it needed to," Bruce agreed.
"Wren has effectively said yes."
"Yes, conditional on the seeing with Grave. But the condition is perfectly reasonable. They couldn't walk into a decades-long cosmic project without knowing if they could physically tolerate being in the same room together. Wren just forced the issue."
Theron walked in silence for another block before speaking. "The question Wren asked you at the end. How you are holding it."
"Yeah."
"That was Wren being Wren. The counsel-giver checking on the patient. You've been so focused on the clinical architecture of the plan that you almost forgot you're the one carrying the heaviest load." Theron paused. "You didn't tell me what she said. Sophie. In the dream."
