To his credit, Alcuin did not react to this. But the wheels in his head were spinning. He needed more information. A lot more. Which meant that he needed to figure out the right levers to pull to make Aaron think about it. And he also needed to keep talking to him. Because whatever this was, it had just started.

His expression became sympathetic. "That's unfortunate," he said. "I can't imagine how much pressure your job must be. Too much pressure, not to be... Human. But of course you are. And you deserve to be."