Kira didn't reply. She kept walking.
Derek fell into step beside her. "Fine. We'll walk together then." He reached for her hand.
She yanked it back. "I don't want to walk with you. Go away."
"I can't do that." His voice was even. "You're my wife. I'm not leaving you out here at this hour."
She glanced at him sideways. "It's all fake, and no one's watching. You don't need to play nice. I know you're not."
Something sharp moved through Derek's chest at that. The guilt wasn't only about those words, though those were bad enough. It was larger and older than that, sitting somewhere beneath his ribs and refusing to be reasoned away.
"The coronation has been brought forward," he said. "We can't keep fighting until then."
"Well," Kira said pleasantly, "you should have thought about that before opening your mouth."
He went quiet for a moment. "Those words were cruel. I didn't mean them." He cleared his throat. "You win. Sweet Kira: 100. Me: 90. Happy now?"
