The Lamprydae-Aquatis-Ethereal turned at a call. “Derevko! Can we chat?” It was Hermes, Derevko’s new fellow delta . . . who was also the brother of Derevko’s soulmate, to whom she had been a total bitch. She stopped, waiting. When Hermes was closer to Derevko, he bit out, “I know the meeting just concluded, but I’d like to discuss our plans, strengths, weaknesses, and the like, given that Aeolus assigned us to be deltas together.” Derevko dipped her head, nodding. Fair enough. They were, after all, coworkers now. It was only sensical that they figure out a game plan. There were fresh young sigmas now. They would need lots of training. This was Derevko and Hermes’ job.
She cleared her throat, looking Hermes down then up. The glint in his eyes . . . she thought he suspected something. However, she chose not to call him on it, keeping her attention directed to their current pressing task. “We’ll need to hold frequent training sessions; I’m thinking at least once a week. We will also need to get to know each other better, I think.” She attempted to meet Hermes’ gaze grudgingly. “We’ll need to each know what the other is capable of.”

“Check my vital signs to know I’m still alive & I walk alone!”