The boiler still radiated heat in uneven pulses, the metal ticking as it cooled. Beorn stood with the ledger in his hand and focused on Aestrith.
She had not moved since saying it. He reviewed what he knew about Tam. His last memory of the girl was the morning he had sent her home a while ago. She had been pale, with a dullness in her eyes that suggested more than fatigue.
The way she walked was odd back then. Specifically, the way she placed her feet on the stone had required too much attention, as if maintaining balance demanded conscious effort. At the time, he had noted the problem and set it aside as noncritical. He had not returned to it.
She had resumed work at some point. He also recalled, imprecisely, that she and her sister had relocated to the workers wing under the expanded housing arrangement during the district operations. He could not remember the timing.
