Voices thinned out on the front path, then further down the street, then Esen shouting something over his shoulder from a distance that made Kori close the door harder than necessary. Water running in the kitchen. Kori's boots. Kori's door.
Raizen made it up the attic stairs, and he had just realized the wave of exhaustion that hit him. He hadn't understood how far gone he was until he tried to stand. The day had been four districts on foot, a records hall, a woman in a lamppost's light three nights ago that he still hadn't finished thinking about, and another full healing he still wasn't sure how to do voluntarily — the second one done in front of eight witnesses with his sternum feeling like someone gripped it with all their force.
His hands still weren't right. Not shaking, exactly. Just slow to obey and react. He sat down on the edge of the mattress, hand in hand, brushing his own palm.
