Sera turned to look at Elias finally, those alien eyes catching all the places where his gaze tried to slide off and couldn't. The creature behind her pupils didn't push at him. It measured, then let him be.
He cleared his throat because his body needed a reason to make sound. "Your contacts are gone."
"Yes."
"The… pigment too."
"Yes."
He swallowed. "Underwater respiratory change—voluntary?"
Her head tipped. A thought moved across her face, not quite visible. "Automatic," she answered after a beat. "But I can call it if I wanted to."
He nodded, more to himself. He wanted to write that down. He didn't reach for the notebook. He wasn't going to be that man, not right now. "Any after-effects?"
"No." The corner of her mouth moved a fraction, not toward a smile. "Only hungry."
Lachlan huffed a laugh. "Same."
Alexei's teeth flashed. "We find you fish next time."
