---
Bat Bat said it with all the confidence of a person who believed the answer should obviously be yes and that any other answer would be a personal failing on Sekhmet's part.
Sekhmet stood near the sofa and looked at her.
She looked back with the full bright force of new adulthood and old Bat Bat stubbornness combined into one impossible expression.
Elena, still seated with the patience of a woman who had already survived enough disasters for one morning, lifted her cup and said nothing.
That silence alone told Sekhmet several things.
First, Elena was curious to see how he handled this.
Second, if he said no, Bat Bat would absolutely argue.
Third, if he said yes, the world would almost certainly regret it.
He considered both paths for one heartbeat.
Then said, "You will stay beside me, not wander, not shout, not start conversations with strangers, and not insult anyone unless they deserve it first."
