"Very well." She tilted her head slightly. "Keep your secrets, human. I will not press. One day, your true realm will reveal itself, whether you intend it to or not."
She turned to go. At the doorway she paused, one hand on the frame, and glanced back over her shoulder. Her red eyes glittered with the small private satisfaction of a woman who had, in her own private assessment, finally caught him.
"I knew it," she said, quietly, almost to herself.
Then she stepped out into the hallway.
Stan watched her go. He waited until the small sound of her footsteps had receded down the hall.
'...She's completely convinced.' He let out a slow breath. 'Perfect.'
He tipped his head back against the bed, closed his eyes, and let the small warm quiet of his own apartment settle over him for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
Outside the glass, the sea had gone from gold to a deep soft blue.
The city lights, along the coast below, were beginning to come on.
