---
"It was honest," she said. "Honesty is a terrible habit. I blame you. Take the honey, Kai. I am not going to stand here and argue with your sense of thrift while your bones try to knit themselves with tree sap."
He hesitated one more heartbeat.
The system whispered at the edge of his hearing.
[Ding! System Advisory: refusal of offer will prolong host's compromised state, reduce response capacity to future threats, and significantly lower performance in any strenuous physical activity, including combat and other… pursuits.]
"Traitor," Kai muttered.
He reached out.
The honey was warmer than it looked. Not hot, just… alive. It clung to his skin in a thick, heavy way, like holding a piece of sun that had been taught how to be patient.
He lifted it toward his mouth.
"Last chance to change your mind," he said.
"If you do not eat it in the next three heartbeats," Ikea said, "I will pin you to that rock and feed it to you by mouth."
