Kirigan watches him, watches his eyes move, his head turn. How he so deliberately avoids what he cannot himself sense.

"It's possible, yes. I've been considering it."

Ralston has never said anything to him that didn't stem from self-interest. He could tread delicately around this, try to ease his way toward the subject, but Ralston's social hyper-vigilance is so sensitive to condescension, if he senses he's being obliquely humoured he will almost certainly have a tantrum about it—

"Were I to apply myself to this particular thing, I could use a witness."

—luckily, the Darkling has centuries of practice at feigning insufficiently concealed self-consciousness.

"In case something unexpected happens."