---
That left Lily with no answer she wanted to say aloud. It was good. He liked that far too much.
For one suspended moment, they simply stood there with the veil between them, the room still heavy with the aftertaste of confession, agreement, teasing, danger, and the impossible nearness of what they had just chosen.
Then Lily looked down at the Veil of Crimson Silence again.
Her embarrassment did not vanish entirely, but it found something practical to hold onto. That was one of the things Sekhmet liked most about her. She could be flustered and still curious. Still brave. Still unwilling to let a moment of heat push her away from what mattered.
"So," she said, clearing her throat lightly and pretending she had not just been trapped by his last line. "Are we testing it now?"
Sekhmet let the tension in the room loosen by a degree.
"Yes."
