Chapter 802: Memory Sharing
Chapter 802: Memory Sharing
Eventually, Nyxie opened her eyes and looked toward Liam.Then she stuck her tongue out at him.
It was quick, childish, and unmistakably deliberate.
Mabel chuckled again. "Liam, you need to learn to show some affection to your shadows, or they may soon grow to hate you."
"My other shadows are not attention-seeking like Nyxie," Liam said. "She is acting like a spoiled child."
Nyxie lifted her head sharply, letting out a scandalized little bark.
Mabel glanced down at her with clear amusement. "What do you expect from someone who knows her worth?"
Nyxie’s reaction was immediate. She straightened in Mabel’s arms, chest puffing out, wings lifting slightly in agreement. A proud little trill rolled from her throat, and she gave a firm nod as if Mabel had spoken a sacred truth too long denied.
Mabel nodded back at her. "Exactly."
Liam looked at both of them.
His skeptical expression deepened. "If she knows her worth, then she should do the things asked of her."
Mabel’s hand paused against Nyxie’s scales.
Nyxie’s head turned toward him.
The room’s playful ease shifted slightly, not enough to become tense, but enough for the words to land. Liam leaned back in his chair, arms resting loosely near the desk, though his gaze remained fixed on Nyxie.
"You failed to report a single thing to me today," he said. "No sense link. No impressions. No warning. No useful habits. No route changes. No conversations. Nothing. For someone supposedly aware of her own value, that is a poor way to prove reliability."
Nyxie’s eyes narrowed.
Liam continued without softening. "If you were unable to observe, that should have been communicated. If nothing useful happened, that should have been communicated. If you simply decided not to do it because you were bored, then that means your intelligence is less reliable than I thought."
Nyxie’s pupils sharpened slightly.
Mabel looked between them, her amusement fading into interest. She did not interrupt. Liam’s tone was not cruel, but it was critical in the clean, direct way he used when something mattered. To another creature, especially one less bonded to him, the words might have sounded dismissive.
But Nyxie was not simply another creature. She understood enough of him to know that his irritation came from expectation, and expectation meant he believed she could do better.
Nyxie gave a small huff through her nose.
Then she pushed herself out of Mabel’s arms and climbed down to perch properly on Mabel’s thighs instead. Her claws settled against the fabric with careful precision, wings folding tightly against her sides. She lifted her head toward Liam, looking far less like a spoiled child now and far more like a small dark predator preparing to prove a point.
Liam watched her. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Before he could finish the question, Nyxie’s pupils constricted.
The bond snapped open.