I waited for the third tap.
Hana always complained when I began recording before she was ready. Two taps meant we were about to start. The third had never belonged to the routine. I had added it once to annoy her, and she had kept the bad take because June laughed in the background.
I waited anyway.
The Warden's mouth opened.
Liora hit my shoulder hard enough to turn me. Air struck the wall where my face had been. Stone chipped against my ear, and the little noise inside it became a high, steady ring.
"Move when I touch you," she said.
I was on one knee behind the doorway. I didn't remember putting it down.
"I know."
"Then do it."
She moved to watch the chamber again. No accusation, no time for one. I pressed my left hand against the stone and made myself identify what it touched. Rough surface. Dust. A narrow crack beneath my thumb.
