[ It is impossibly easy to slip away for Byerly. He's been seeking death for a long, long time, after all. High-risk ImpSec wasn't the start of the quest; it had come long before that, when he'd come to the capital seeking people who would kill him. Who would be the death of him. It's no coincidence that this ocean lolls wine-dark.

Harder to slip when you have someone to hold to, though. It hurts to know you'll hurt them. ]

You've seen some of the people I fuck. You think I need mystique? [ He closes his eyes. In the dream, in its strange logic, he can still see everything, every flutter of Prior's expression. ] If someone holds your heart, you shouldn't give them cause to crush it.