"You aren't going to --" Go punching the captain, is what Skulduggery is about to say, before the words are abruptly taken from him. For a brief moment, his usual stillness goes unusually rigid, and the dull ache returns to the back of his head. It's fine, of course. Just the remnants of some long-forgotten stress. He can deal with it. It's fine.

His voice is calm but strangely clipped after just a second or two long pause. "What are you talking about?"