Kikaru did not lift her head.
For a few seconds Elias thought she might ignore him until he left. He almost gave her that. Tidwell's warning stayed in his head, annoying because it had weight.
Then Light looked at him from beside Kikaru's shoulder. The little Ikona's glow had thinned to a weak shell around her body.
Elias lowered himself onto the floor instead of standing over them.
"How long are you planning to sit here and let the loss decide what you are?"
Kikaru's answer came through her sleeves. "Leave me alone before you make this worse than you already decided to make it."
"I might, which is why I am sitting down first."
That got her to move. Only a little. One red eye showed between her arm and hair.
"If this is mercy, I would prefer cruelty."
"Colby lost his shard and is still somewhere fighting to stay alive. If he came back and found all of us acting like the story ended, he would be right to be disgusted."
Her fingers tightened against her sleeve.
