When Dawn saw Eli in the elevator three days later, she took a wary step back and looked him up and down. “That kinda day, huh?”

Eli stared at her, shoulders slumped. “That kinda week.”

The past three days had made Eli want to melt into the floor. Solid yelling sessions from Pearce, interrogations about the failed mission, briefings on Beake’s potions—yes, his veins were glowing, no, Eli didn’t know why they were glowing—followed by more lengthy yelling sessions from Pearce.

Today, Eli was finally released back to his desk, ostensibly to slam his head against it and come up with a way to not get fired.

“Going up?” He held the door open for Dawn while she continued to stare at him.

“Guess so.” She slid in next to him, then held out her coffee. “Want any?”

“Nah.” Eli rubbed the purple shadows under his eyes, and they ascended the next few floors in silence. He glanced over at Dawn, who was pointedly not looking at him. “Come on, have at. Make the joke.”

Dawn frowned. “What joke?”

“Oh, everyone’s got ‘em today,” Eli grumbled, then pitched his voice high. “Hey, Valenz, surprised they let you out of the icebox. Hey, Valenz, guess Icefall was too cold for you, huh? Hey, Valenz, Pearce seems pretty frigid today—“

“All right, I get it.”

“So many stupid ice puns.”

“That’s what you get for hunting Icefall.”

Eli scoffed. “His name is Ambrose Beake.” He rolled up his crumpled sleeve, as if that would adequately hide the coffee stain on it. “Giving them names just lends them credence they don’t deserve.”

“Sure, sure.” Dawn set a hand on his arm. “If it makes you feel better, I wasn’t going to say anything about the museum.”

But as the elevator door dinged and slid open, the corner of her mouth twitched. Eli sighed. “Let it out.”

“No!”

“You’re gonna giggle the whole morning if you don’t.”

“Okay, okay.” Dawn bit back a smile. “Hey, Valenz.”

“Good start.”

“Did it hurt when,” she snorted, then stopped herself and grinned, “did it hurt when you slipped on the Icefall?”

Eli stared at her. She beamed back at him.

“Gimme your coffee.” He held out his hand.

“No!”

“As payment for that terrible joke, give it, hand it over—“

She laughed and ducked around him into the hall, coffee held just out of reach. “Too slow!”

“You’re off my next mission, Kerighin!”

“Oh, please, like you could do anything without me.” She rolled her eyes and gestured for him to step out of the elevator. “Come on, I got you those files you requested. Keep standing there, and Pearce is gonna yell at you for loitering.”