"FAVOURITES, Dominic?" He paces up and down as if he has too much emotion inside him to stand still. Dominic watches him move, up and down, arms beating at the air in a way he won't ever beat at his fellow angels. "*You* playing favourites? Sneaking around, not telling the council, making *exceptions* when there were meant to be none?!"

"There is no need to shout," Dominic says quietly. "I can hear you just fine."

Eli's voice lowers and his body goes still as he turns to face the cloaked serpent. "*Why*, Dominic?"

Dominic is silent a long moment, hood of his cloak dark, eyes closed. "Because I have faith."

Voice harsh, Eli reaches out and touches the curve of Dominic's scaled throat, fingers closing. "It's not good enough, Dominic. Is that justice? Is giving all but one a full sentence justice?"

Dominic remains calm, slides his cloak back enough to pull a wing free and touch Eli's cheek with it. "Yes, Creation. It was."

Eli folds slowly, pressing forward, face going down, down, to press against soft cloth, hard enough that he'd have the indentation of scales on his cheek after. His shoulders are tense, his wings pulled in close, his breath laboured.

"Not for me," Eli says, and there's a hatred in his voice which Dominic aches to hear. "They hurt my Word, almost broke it. And you do this? How is this fair to me? Give me Justice, Dominic, give me Justice."

Dominic's voice is soft when it finally emerges again. "That is why I told no one, Eli. So you would still have Justice."

Eli weeps.