Kael
The new key was under my breakfast.
Ren found it when he lifted the plate.
"You should give it a place."
"It had a place."
"Under a plate?"
"Before the plate."
He put it beside the lamp and moved the lamp farther from the edge. I had been using the extra space on the desk badly. Three books lay open, though I could only read one at a time, and the empty box beneath them contained the things I hadn't decided where to put.
Ren had already decided where I should put the box.
He pointed at the cupboard.
"Later," I said.
"Then don't ask me where it is tomorrow."
He opened the window. Cool air came in above the courtyard, carrying the scrape of a practice target being dragged over stone. The first morning of the eighth month had started before I was ready for it.
My right arm rested in its support. I used my left hand to pull the plate closer, checking the distance to the cup without meaning to.
Ren noticed. He said nothing and set the bread where I could reach it.
