---
Mira did, almost word for word, clean and precise. Not because she was copying to impress him. Because she was proving she could carry instructions without leaking pieces.
When she finished, Sekhmet nodded once.
"Good."
Mira's gaze lifted slightly.
"And support," she said. "I assume you want more than one set of eyes."
Sekhmet's lips curved faintly. "You assume correctly."
He leaned back slightly. "Auri will be your helper."
Mira's face changed by only a fraction. Not disapproval. Calculation.
"Auri," she repeated. "The cloaked one."
"Yes."
Mira thought for a moment.
"She moves quietly," Mira said. "And she sees more than most people in a room. Useful."
Sekhmet's eyes sharpened. "You will not ask what she is."
Mira bowed her head slightly. "I was not going to," she said.
That answer was good. It was also probably half a lie.
Mira definitely wanted to ask. She simply valued survival more than curiosity.
Sekhmet accepted that.
