[Maya's Room — 10:45 PM]
Alex knocked before entering.
Maya opened the door.
She had the Catacombs map in her hand. Which meant she hadn't been able to sleep either.
He went in without either of them saying it formally.
They sat—Maya in her usual chair, Alex on the edge of the bed. The map between them on the table.
They looked at it in silence.
Level one. Level two. Level three with the runes. Level four with the Heralds. Level five with no real information.
Akari, asleep in Maya's lap, woke up, assessed the situation, and with the clear decision of someone who had picked a side, climbed off Maya's lap and onto Alex's.
Maya looked at her.
"Traitor."
Alex tried not to smile.
He didn't quite manage it.
Maya looked at the map.
"Are you afraid?" she said.
"Yes."
"Good."
Silence.
"You?" Alex asked.
Maya didn't answer immediately.
"Yes. But the kind of fear that makes you think faster." Her eyes on level five of the map. "Not the kind that paralyzes."
