"I'm going to tell her everything." I turned away from the window. "She deserves to understand what she's walking into. The real version. Not the sanitized summary I gave her this morning."
Noel laughed. It wasn't a happy sound. "Your honesty policy is going to get us all killed."
"Maybe." I crossed the room and dropped onto the couch beside her. Close enough that our shoulders touched. "But I'd rather die with people who know exactly who I am than survive by keeping secrets from the people I'm asking to trust me."
Noel was quiet for a moment. Then her hand found mine on the cushion between us.
"That's either very noble or very stupid."
"Can't it be both?"
"In your case? Probably."
Mera circled the couch and settled on my other side. Her tail immediately wrapped around my wrist. The warmth of her skin seeped through my sleeve. A reminder that she was there. That she wasn't going anywhere.
