NEVA POV
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Ziko found me before I found Ryke.
This was becoming a pattern. Ziko Bane appeared to operate on a frequency slightly ahead of other people — not faster exactly, more like he existed in a time zone where he'd already decided what was going to happen and was simply waiting for everyone else to arrive at the conclusion.
He materialized from the direction of the garage with a second jacket over his arm, held it out without preamble, and said: "You're cold."
I was, in fact, cold. I hadn't noticed. "I'm fine," I said.
"You're cold and you're doing the thing where you don't mention it because asking for things feels uncomfortable." He put the jacket around my shoulders. It was enormous on me — clearly his, clearly warm, carrying the particular scent of someone who spent a lot
