"I gave him thirty seconds." Something dangerous flickered in Mera's green eyes. "He took twenty-nine. If he'd gone over, I would have pulled him out whether the integration was complete or not."
"Even knowing it might have killed you both."
"Even knowing." Mera's tail unwound from my wrist. Coiled back against her chair. "He's mine. I don't share well but I share less badly than I lose. And I refuse to lose him to his own stupid heroic impulses."
Laurana nodded slowly. "Good. That's what I needed to hear."
"What?"
"I needed to know you'd protect him from himself. He certainly won't do it on his own." Laurana returned to her side of the desk. Sat down. Crossed her legs in a way that drew attention to their length. "Now. On to the reason I asked you both here."
She opened a drawer. Pulled out a folder thick with documents. Dropped it on the desk between us.
