---
"What are you doing today," she asked, careful, like someone testing ice.
Sekhmet glanced down the corridor toward the room where Bat Bat was sleeping under Elena's authority. He could almost sense trouble waiting behind that door like a tiny storm with wings.
"I need materials," Sekhmet said.
Elena blinked once. "Materials," she repeated, as if weighing whether that word was safe.
"Yes," Sekhmet replied. "Wood. Clothes. Nails. Stone. Things that look normal if purchased."
Elena's eyes narrowed slightly. She did not ask why yet. She understood that when Sekhmet spoke in this tone, he was building something behind the curtains. He always was.
"Will you take the new girl," Elena asked, meaning Mira.
