[As Jesper shifts and fidgets, Nikolai can sense the anxiety crackling in him as if it's electricity and he's flipped the switch. He knows at once that there's more to it than an interest in the mechanics of how things work. Thanks to all his practice in schooling his features, his surprise doesn't show on the surface when Jesper stumbles into his confession — but he does arrange a contemplative look to show that he's listening.

He wonders how many people he's told. It feels like a new thing, tottering forth on unsteady legs. He wonders how long Jesper has known, or if he, like Alina, suppressed his power for fear of how it would irrevocably change his life.]

You're right about that. [Nodding graciously.] My workshop, humble though it may be, offers plenty of opportunities for you to experiment with your power.

And though I may be otkazat'sya, I've spent years working closely with a Durast. David Kostyk, one of the most brilliant minds I've ever had the good fortune of knowing. [And a name that should be familiar enough to anyone with even a dim awareness of foreign politics.] So I've some inkling the potential you've got in your hands.

[He gives Jesper an encouraging grin. His eyes are clever, twinkling with a thousand ambitious possibilities, but they're trustworthy.]