What a relief it is to speak to someone face-to-face who knows him, and to have that person be cool, unflappable Natsuno Yuuki. The bond between the two of them has always been built on action more than emotion; they trust one another because of what they have seen of each other, not because of the secrets in their hearts. And frankly, given that there is a whole world of emotion that Pal would prefer not to think about, he’s relieved, too, by the characteristic way that Natsuno cuts to the point.

“Right.” Palamedes sits on the bed, still but vibrating with energy. “After everything went sideways at Canaan House,” Natsuno might not know all the details, but Pal thinks he knows enough that he can cleanly skip over those messy bits, “she and two other survivors were picked up by a group called Blood of Eden. Anti-Empire terrorists. They aren’t fans of necromancy, to put it mildly.” His eyes darken for a moment; whatever truce they have struck, he won’t forget what these people did to Camilla before he returned to her. “Eventually, I found my way to them. How is…complicated. But the important bit is that no one else knows about me.”

“Within the last couple of months, we have begun to enter negotiations with the cell in charge of this ship. BoE’s view of necromancers may be superstitious and sordid, but,” a careful pause, “that doesn’t mean they are wrong about everything.”