Not what he'd been expecting, and somehow the fact she didn't seem to be thinking of it as 'simpler to part ways' filled him with relief. He'd known that his position was trouble. Known it, just like he'd known it was stupidity to get close to humans again and again. He'd never been able to help it.

Just like he couldn't now.

Gabriel sipped at his tea and then stiffened. It took him a moment to answer. "Since yesterday," he said after a moment. "And I don't know." He looked up toward her voice, even though there was nothing to see, and his mouth twisted with sardonic bitterness. "I was making a reality-pocket. It backlashed. My reality changed."