---
Elena did not stop being angry. Her eyes narrowed. "Who attacked you," she asked.
Sekhmet did not answer quickly, which was answer enough.
Elena's gaze softened for half a breath, not because she was no longer angry, but because she understood. There were questions that could not be asked in a room full of servants and a bat child who treated secrets like candy.
Elena glanced around, and a servant near the entrance bowed and retreated quickly, sensing the invisible order in Elena's eyes.
Elena lowered her voice.
"Are you injured," she asked.
Sekhmet lifted his hands slightly, showing he could move. He did not show her the bruising under his shirt, the faint puncture marks, or the place where the poison still tugged inside him.
"I am fine," he said.
Elena's eyes remained skeptical.
"You are standing," she replied. "That is not the same as fine."
Bat Bat nodded vigorously.
