He did not take her messaging precisely, and that was the fault of the language, her middling grasp of it. Of course you did not share all your secrets, even with those who were closest to you. This seemed natural to Hild, who held her tongue to protect those she cared about most. But what they needed to know, what affected them, needed to be said, even if difficult.

But full clarity was not necessary, as Krem seemed to have found what he needed, in his own thoughts, to make asking these difficult questions a realer possibility. This was the better way of it, not Hild coaxing him into a decision.

Hild smiled faintly and again combed her fingers through his hair. She let her nails scrape against his scalp. "Not chance," she said. "Certainty."