She materialized in full form, tall enough that Cressida had to look up from her chair. Red hair fell past her shoulders, her posture as composed as if she'd been standing in a throne room instead of a cramped company office. Her gaze swept the room once, reading every face, and settled on mine.
She didn't ask. She waited.
'This is going to be worse than the tunnels.'
"Kassie," I said. "We found something in Waterwind."
Her eyes didn't leave mine.
I relayed the message to her with no soft tone or lead-up. She would have seen through either and it would have insulted her. So I gave it to her the same way I'd given it to the room: flat, factual, complete.
Kassie didn't move while I spoke. Her expression didn't change. Her posture didn't shift. The room might have mistaken it for calm.
I knew better.
