Elizabeth stared at Rex, her expression unreadable to most, but to him, it was a clear signal. It was the look of a woman receiving a characterization of herself that she found terrifyingly accurate, yet entirely unexpected in its timing and its source.
She had expected him to treat her as a tool, a consultant, or perhaps a subordinate. She had not expected him to see the very core of her being, the unyielding, singular nature of her identity and name it so casually.
'He isn't just using me,' a small, quiet part of her mind whispered, a thought she immediately tried to suppress with academic rigor. 'He is observing me as if he already knows how I will break.'
Lilith, sensing the silent, heavy exchange, decided the moment for social friction had passed. Her preliminary assessment of Elizabeth had reached its conclusion: the woman was a high-functioning variable, stable enough to be integrated, if difficult to manage.
