Hold no one precious. If there was no one he cared about, there was nothing for her to be jealous of.

“You are right,” he said. “We are, after all, the company we keep.”

Much as he knew she liked him best without distractions … the verification still settled like a chill in the night. Expected – unavoidable, even.

“And what are you afraid I might do without your dutiful eye, dear sister?” he asked, like it was an inside joke and not him weighing his continued survival chances.