He watches Alecto, watches his face as he unwraps everything, as the sealskin spills out into his hands like liquid silver. He watches for elation, but he can still see the turn, the moment his betrayal registers. He can't even justify it to himself, knows that he'd let his own fears, his own selfishness override the trust they had built together.

This is the end, he knows now, the price he's paying for the silence he kept, all the liberties he took for the past two weeks. He can't say for sure whether it's worth it or not.

"The trip I took," he says by way of agreement, dully, almost listless as he sits up, curls in on himself, his gaze fixed on Alecto, but skittering, unable to look at him directly, looking uncharacteristically small and subdued. "They found it with - with Nathaniel's things. But -"

He stifles a sob, a choked sound in the back of his throat. "You're right. I did keep it from you."