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Kesta glanced down. “A preference.”

“Keep it.” Sera handed her the bowl. “But eat with the spoon. The tile will damage your tongue.”

Kesta took the food and discovered porridge thick enough to support the spoon upright. It smelled faintly of roasted grain, mineral salt, and something bitter she could not identify.

“You’re not going to tell me I should feel safe because Dreven left the bar open?”

Sera’s mouth twitched. “No. You should feel safe when you decide you are safe. The open bar merely tells you he listened.”

Kesta looked toward the guard across the passage.

“And him?”

“He is there because three men spent last night discussing how profitable it would be to discover whether Red Basin recognizes Dreven’s claim.”

Kesta’s appetite diminished slightly.

Sera noticed. “Eat anyway.”

“Does everyone here give medical orders before breakfast?”

“I am the healer. Everyone else merely interferes.”

That sounded believable.

Kesta stepped back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Sera entered only after Kesta moved aside, then settled against the wall rather than taking the room’s only chair.

The porridge tasted better than it looked. Kesta ate too quickly and immediately slowed when her stomach protested.

“How is Lina?” she asked.

“Alive. Her circulation remains good, the swelling has not worsened, and she has asked for you three times.”

Kesta set down the spoon. “Why didn’t someone wake me?”

Sera’s brows rose. “Because you fell asleep sitting upright while Dreven was still explaining the door mechanism.”

“I did not.”

“You were awake enough to argue.”

“That is not the same thing.”

“In Ash Camp, it often is.”

Kesta stared at her.

Sera’s expression remained serenely innocent.

“You enjoy this.”

“I enjoy patients who are strong enough to irritate me.”

The answer warmed something inside Kesta before she could prevent it.

She finished the porridge.

Sera handed her the folded clothing. The trousers were patched at both knees, and the long shirt had clearly belonged to someone broader through the shoulders. Neither carried a prison mark.