"The ninth," Amelia said through the crystal.
Kael looked at her.
"I didn't say anything."
"You didn't need to."
Umbra appeared beside him.
"Your face did."
Kael closed his eyes.
"I urgently need to develop a less informative face."
"That would be your hardest skill," Sylphie said.
The nameless man looked from one to the other, still holding the small metal cup against his chest, as though trying to understand exactly when a serious conversation had stopped being serious.
Kael pointed at the page.
"One project wants to shut down. Another has started challenging something internally. The third receives a restriction capable of changing the other two and does absolutely nothing."
"That does not necessarily mean it is a threat," Amelia said.
"I know."
"But you're going to treat it like one."
"I'm going to treat it like something we still don't understand."
Amelia fell silent.
Umbra tilted her head.
"That was a polite version of the same thing."
Kael ignored her.
