As Nancy spoke about the aution, Ko changed. She wished she had been watching him, to see what it was that was different, but perhaps there wasn’t anything to see. It felt like he’d suddenly become more, as if she’d turned the volume up on him, but at the same time he’d become less, as if he’d pressed a pillow over a speaker to dull the roar.
Was this just what demons felt like? Maybe she’d forgotten. Nancy didn’t think she’d forgotten, though.
And then he turned his eyes to Lucine, and met eyes with her, and the volume – if that was the right metaphor to be using – was gently returned to normal.
Ko felt himself grow darker, felt his wings pressing against the world, ready to burst out and become a monster. At Izmaylov this was fine – a burst of wings was as common as a snap of tongue, but here it was not. He looked down at his hands and saw the shadows playing dark in the creases of his fingers, another unconscious gesture that he never had any need to repress at the convent. He looked to Lucine, drew on her calm and control, and flicked the shadows away with a sharp motion of his wrists.
"No," said Nancy, guiding her eyes gently away from Ko's hands and back to Lucine. "No, she reads people's auras. They," she paused, lump in her throat. "They have tried to sell her before. We stopped it. But they found her again, which may mean others are in danger too."