The morning sun found us tangled together in her sheets, sticky with sweat and thoroughly exhausted. Natalia's head rested on my chest, her breathing slow and even. Her fingers traced lazy patterns across my stomach.
"Tell me about Seraphina's offer," she murmured. "The real details. Not the summary."
I ran my fingers through her hair, working out the tangles that had formed during our activities.
"She wants me to help her find a file my father hid. Something containing the details of how he acquired the consciousness that was transferred into me. She thinks it's the key to understanding whatever entity caused the Rupture."
"And in return?"
"Protection. Resources. Information. Legal cover for the inevitable complications that arise from being whatever I am."
Natalia was quiet for a long moment.
"It's a good deal," she said finally. "Better than we could have hoped for. But you know she's planning to betray you eventually."
