I slept badly in a room I had not chosen.
The academy called it supervised accommodation. It had a bed, a washbasin and a guard who knocked before opening the door. I appreciated the knock. I would have appreciated my own room more.
Nihil remained with the duty officer until the morning review. My right arm ached from holding the same position through too many interviews. Nothing about an accusation made a damaged core easier to live with.
At breakfast, the guard told me Oren had survived the night.
I put my cup down before relief made me drop it.
"Did he wake?" I asked.
The guard had no further report. He had brought the news he'd been given, and I thanked him rather than ask him to turn it into more than that.
The food had gone cold while I waited for the review. I ate some anyway. Leaving the table hungry wouldn't make me more alert, and I had no wish to explain a shaking hand to people already examining everything else about me.
