Harrow’s admission is surprising enough that Palamedes stops short and looks at her sharply, flushing with something like second-hand embarrassment. “I really did lose all sense of decorum in there, didn’t I?” he says wryly, only to go suddenly still again as his eyes widen.

“My focus shifted…” he repeats slowly, mind going back to the conversation that had brought him here. Half to himself, he murmurs, “Gideon didn’t became fully conscious until weeks later; though she wasn’t yet aware when your body was with Cam, I still assumed that she remained on the surface, as it were. But what if…” As he trails off, his grin widens.