“I did not!”I gave him the look that deserved.“Okay, I might have thought it, but I didn’t say—”
“Thanks.”
“You’re lucky you look like anything,” he said, low and furious.“You’re lucky to be here.”
“Things happen in combat—”
“Tell it to someone else!What happened wasn’t because we were in combat.It was because you had to make a split-second decision and you chose wrong!”
“Saving you wasn’t the wrong decision, Noah.”
“Like hell!”
I blinked at him slowly, because my body wanted more sleep, but my mind didn’t, and they were fighting it out.“I’d do it again.”
“What?”
“If I had a hundred years to think about it.”
He stared at me.“Then you’re stupid or crazy!”
“Nope.”
That single word seemed to enrage him.“Do you understand that you could havedied?Fornothing?”
“Nothing?”
He looked disgusted.“Don’t try it.We both know what I am.”
“Yeah, you’re a member of Fireborn, just like me—”
“I’m not like you!You’re Arnou!And before that, you were Lobizon!You walk into Sebastian’s rooms whenever you feel like it—”
“I mostly try to avoid it.I keep getting into trouble.”
“—and talk to him like—”
“Like he’s my brother-in-law?”
“Exactly!You’re the goddamned sister-in-law of thebardric,and I’m—”
“A member of Fireborn,” I repeated, because it didn’t get through the first time.“We’re the same—”
“We are not the same!”
“Yes, we are.That’s what being in a clan means.Whatever you were before doesn’t matter.What matters is what we are now, and there’s no difference between us except for where we rank in the clan.For example, I am Lupa, and you’re a rebellious cub who’s feeling pissy because you got your ass handed to you.”
He actually blinked at that, and paused whatever he’d been about to blurt out for a second, so I hit the gas while I could.
“That doesn’t mean you’re worthless; it means you need training, which you’ll get.Cyrus will help, and you can join some of the lessons I’m giving my students.Not everything will carry over, of course, but a lot will.And since we’re at war, you could very well end up fighting again.I want you prepared.”
“I know how to fight,” he said, but it was calmer for some reason.Probably because Noah was one of the smarter guys, and when you engaged his intellect, he forgot to freak out.
“No, you know how to use Relic strength to wreck things, which is sometimes enough.But not when fighting other Relics as strong or stronger than you are.”
“And what if…” he stopped and swallowed, but then came out with it.“What happens when I’m not a Relic anymore?”
“Not a Relic?”
