Chester shoots him a frown. “What is it?”
Obie’s eyebrows are furrowed down at the folder in his hands. “Did you know that Nostrand gave you full marks on your final exam?”
Chester almost starts with surprise. He knew that he passed his final exam, of course—he wouldn’t be here otherwise—but he didn’t realize he got a high score. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Obie says, his gaze flitting over the rubric. “I thought he would’ve tried to fail you.”
Chester shakes his head. “That would’ve reflected badly on him as my instructor. And the entire interrogation was recorded, so if the Council realized he lied, he would’ve gotten in trouble.”
“Makes sense,” Obie says, flipping to the last page. “At least he was good for?—”
Abruptly, he stops dead, staring down at the file. His eyes moveacross the lines of text once, then again, like he’s trying to make sense of them.
Trepidation creeps down Chester’s spine. “Obie?”
Eventually, Obie looks up at Chester. His expression is concerningly blank. “Why is JJ’s name on here?”
All the blood rushes from Chester’s head at once, leaving him dizzy in its wake. “Oh,” he manages, a horrified roaring starting up in his ears. “He… didn’t tell you?”
“He didn’ttellme—?” Obie shakes his head sharply, holding up the folder. “Chester, am I reading this correctly? Was your final exam to interrogateJJ?”
Chester’s breathing feels shaky. He looks down at his hands. “Yes.”
For a long moment, there’s silence.
Or maybe it’s a split second. Maybe it’s ten minutes. Chester can’t tell.
However long it is, though, it’s more than enough time for Obie to reevaluate everything he thought he knew about Chester. Reevaluate all of the camaraderie and companionship andfondnessthey’ve found with each other.
And Chester doesn’t think he can survive losing that. “I thought you knew,” he blurts out, bile rising in his throat. “You—you said you’d been in JJ’s head. I thought you already knew, I thought?—”
Unexpectedly, the mattress shifts underneath Chester. Startled, he looks up to see that Obie crossed the room and eased himself down on the bed next to Chester, his concerned eyes focused on Chester’s face. “Chester,” he says softly. “Breathe.”
It’s like something snaps in Chester’s chest. He sucks in a sharp breath, burying his face in his hands. “I—I thought youknewalready, and if you were going to find out, I didn’t want it to be likethat,and?—”
“Hey.”Unbidden, Obie wraps his fingers around Chester’s wrist, his voice twining through Chester’s head.It’s okay, puppy. This doesn’t change anything.
All at once, the band of tension around Chester’s lungs eases. He swallows hard, chancing a glance at Obie. “Yeah?”
“You know I can’t lie through the bond,” Obie says, shifting backward so he’s leaning against the wall. His fingers stay wrapped loosely around Chester’s wrist, his thumb tracing a gentle pattern on Chester’s skin. “I’m confused, though. Why did you interrogateJJfor your final exam? He wasn’t a dissident yet. I mean—” He hesitates. “When I was in his head, I saw that you… interrogated him back in February, but I didn’t go back further than that. Didn’t see a need to.”
Taking a deep breath, Chester peels his head off of his knees, leaning against the wall to match Obie’s pose. “Interrogators aren’t like strike teams. With strike teams, their very first assignment in the field is their final exam, but probationary interrogators have usually had dozens of supervised interrogations by then. That means our final exam is either a high-profile demon, a high-profile dissident, or—or a hunter who pretends to be a dissident. Someone who volunteers to test their mettle under torture.”
Obie’s face is unbearably sad. “And JJ volunteered?”
“I…” Chester looks away. “I think so? But I’m pretty sure the Council asked him to. And JJ and I—” Bitterness snakes through him. “We weren’t in the business of denying requests from the Council. So that’s probably what happened.”
“That’s…probablywhat happened?” Obie repeats, and briefly, his fingers tighten around Chester’s wrist. “You’ve never talked about this with anyone, have you? Not even with JJ and Roma and Bryant?”
Chester’s stomach churns. “Not really. The four of us debriefed right after it happened, but…” He squeezes his eyes shut. “I don’t remember a lot from that day. I didn’t black out during the interrogation, not like I do nowadays, but—but my memories are blurry.” He barks out a short laugh. “I think my nightmares are probably accurate, but the memories themselves are blurry.”
Suddenly, Obie’s thumb pauses its soothing rhythm on Chester’s wrist. “Do you want to remember?”
Chester frowns at him. “What?”
“Do you want to remember?” Obie releases Chester’s wrist, holding out his hand with his palm facing up. An invitation. “I’m the Memory-Keeper, remember? I can walk through your memories.Wecan walk through your memories. Together.”
Chester’s heart stutters. “Obie?—”
