"I trust you not to lie to me," Jedao says, quietly, eyes downcast, like it's a confession of weakness.

He grits his teeth abruptly. No pity, he said, but Holden is even less capable of subtlety than usual, and Jedao isn't capable of the kind of pointed vulnerability it would take to yank him around, not now, not as raw as he is. Probably he should let Holden go, like he'd meant to. But he needs someone, and there's no one else he could bear to call, to see him this scared, this confused and barely controlled.

"Fine. Fine. How."