Yara was waiting at the seal when they got there, because of course she was.
"You got the notification," Selah said.
"I am the notification." Yara's ears flicked. "Approximately."
"That's not comforting."
"It wasn't meant to be."
◆◆◆◆
Selah stopped at the edge of the pale patch and looked at it.
"I sealed this," she said.
"You did."
"I knelt here for eleven minutes with my hands in it and my lips going blue, and I have not stood on it since."
"I know," said Yara. "I watched you avoid it for months. You take the long way around the yard. You've added four minutes to your walk every day since the reception."
Selah's jaw moved. "That's an unpleasant thing to have noticed."
"I notice everything about the people he keeps."
"Do you notice it about me specifically or about all of us?"
"All of you." Yara tilted her head. "You most, lately. You're the only one who scares me."
Selah looked at her for a long moment.
"Good," she said.
◆◆◆◆
Soren walked out onto the ice.
