Austin was watching from his chair, hadn't moved, the cane still against the armrest and his tea within reach — he hadn't felt the need to set it further away.
"Your Arcane Matrix is well-constructed," he said, the same tone he'd used for everything — measured, warm, carrying the particular patience of someone who found the subject genuinely interesting. "The formation speed is exceptional for someone who learned under field conditions. And you layer approaches — the spoken incantation and the silent gravitation work simultaneously, using one as cover for the other." A pause. "That's not instinct. You planned that."
I said nothing and kept looking for the angle he hadn't covered.
