Rafael did not want to go.
Not in the dramatic, rebellious sense. Not in the "I will barricade myself in a tower and start a constitutional crisis" sense. Simply in the very specific, deeply irritated way of someone who felt perfectly fine and resented being medically supervised like a rare, breakable artifact.
His body felt normal. Tired, yes. A little warm, a little slow. But that was the sea, the sun, the food, the ice cream Gregoris had very pointedly not stopped him from eating. Nothing alarming. Nothing that required an audience with Marin.
Which was precisely why he knew he was going to lose this.
Because Gregoris did not request things he considered optional. And when he said, "Marin is waiting," what he meant was: the system is already moving, the physician has been notified, and there are Shadows quietly ensuring compliance.
Rafael was halfway down a side corridor when his comm vibrated.
Once.
Then again.
