---
He almost answered. Then stopped. His mouth closed again.
Lily saw that and this time there was frustration in her face alongside concern.
"Sekhmet."
He looked at her.
She folded her arms, not defensively, but because she was bracing herself now.
"At the auction, the blood in the room did not just move because you pushed energy through it. It reacted to you. It wanted you. The twins moved like extensions of your intent. The men from Iron House looked terrified in a way trained fighters do not look terrified unless they are seeing something they recognize as wrong." Her breath caught slightly, but she kept going. "And now you are telling me their blood carries your authority."
She shook her head.
"No more half-answers…
WHAT ARE YOU?"
The words were not cruel. They were final.
Sekhmet felt his pulse in his throat now. Not from battle. From exposure. From the old animal fear of being seen too closely.
