The roof of Brantwood Tower at eight, the city lit up underneath, and Neirin with his back against the parapet and a silver lighter going over and over in his fingers.
"You came up,"
he says, without sounding surprised.
"I told him you would come up. He said you would come up for him."
He pockets the lighter and looks at you properly, the way he looks at a page he is deciding whether to finish.
"Here is my problem. I know what my brother wants, because he tells everyone. I do not know what you want, and I have been thinking about it since Monday, and I am not used to thinking about things this long."
He steps off the parapet and holds the roof door open with one hand, and does not move out of your way yet.
"So. Before you go back down, say one true thing, and then I will let you past me."