Lily's words did not leave the room. They stayed there, alive between them.
"I want to get infected. I want to be like you."
Sekhmet stood there motionless for a long moment, as if his body had gone still only so his mind could collapse in peace.
Lily did not look embarrassed.
That was the worst part.
If she had laughed after saying it, he could have dismissed it as reckless emotion. If she had looked away with warm cheeks and twisting hands, he could have blamed impulse and waited for her courage to cool into sense. If she had softened the words at all, he could have dragged them both back to safer ground.
She did none of that.
She stood there with her chin slightly raised, her eyes fixed on his. She was calm enough to make the sentence far more dangerous than if she had shouted it.
Sekhmet finally found breath.
"No."
The answer came hard. It was immediate. Too sharp to mistake for uncertainty.
Lily blinked once. "No?"
Sekhmet repeated, "No."
