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Hector didn’t know what that might mean, and he wasn’t liking the feeling that he was getting from it, either. “Why do you say that?” he decided to ask.

“Oh, because I will merely be keeping the Fellowship apprised of my actions. I do not need to seek permission.”

Hmm. That made sense. Something was still bothering him, but he couldn’t think of any justifiable way to say so. There were more pressing concerns, anyway. “Alright. Well, since it looks like we really might end up working together, I also want you to do what you mentioned earlier. Tell me about this new power of yours. How were you able to manipulate this ship the way you did?”

“Mm. Going straight for the trade secrets, huh? You ask much of me, right from the start.”

“You said you’d tell me if we became allies.”

“True. But have we? This all seems to be moving rather quickly, and despite having already offered some concessions of my own, I’ve yet to receive anything in kind. A partnership must go both ways, no? Are you willing to tell me about how your abilities function? I am certain you have some new ones of your own.”

Damn. Hard to argue with that. Hector still intended to try, though. “The reason you have to make more concessions than I do is because you have a lot of horrible things to make up for.”

“So I just have to assume that you are trustworthy? While you get to make me continually prove myself? That hardly seems fair.”

“Maybe not to you, but it absolutely is. You know what would really be unfair? A guilty person getting the same treatment as an innocent person.”

At that, Caster merely stared at him for a lingering moment. The smile on his face diminished somewhat, and Hector could sense a fluctuation in the man’s aura.

What was that? Conflict? Uncertainty?

Thus far, Caster’s aura had been a peculiar thing. From the first moment that Hector had sensed it, he could tell that it was heavily guarded. A fortress in its own right. Far more developed than maybe anyone else he’d met so far.

But he’d still been able to glean a few things. Some stuff was all but being advertised, after all. If the man’s aura was like a fortress, then those things were like banners and flags adorning it.

Such as the fact that this guy was reading his aura right back.