“That’s what matters, right?” Finn’s voice has lost its teasing edge. “Not who she’s with or what she’s doing. Just that she’s okay.”
“She’s more than okay,” I say. “She’s sleeping. Actually sleeping. Not passing out from exhaustion or crashing after a crisis. Sleeping. Because she feels safe enough to let go.”
We all look at her.
Curled in the furs. Breathing steady. That small smile still on her lips.
Safe.
When was the last time she felt that? Before the academy, probably. Before her power awakened. Before everything started hunting her.
“So.” Finn stretches his legs out. “What now?”
Not a question about strategy. A life question.
“Wherever she wants,” Kieran says immediately. “I’ve waited centuries. I can wait a little longer for her to decide.”
“And if she decides to stay in Japti forever?” Darian asks.
“Then I stay in Japti forever.”
“The academy?”
“Then I go back.”
Finn leans forward, grinning. “A boat?”
Kieran blinks. “A boat?”
“I’m testing your commitment.”
“Finn, I would follow her into the void itself. A boat is not a challenge.”
“I’m just saying, you don’t seem like a boat person.”
“I have no strong feelings about boats.”
“That’s exactly what a non-boat person would say.”
Kieran opens his mouth, closes it, and visibly decides not to engage.
“The point,” Malrik cuts in, “is that we follow her lead. Wherever that takes us.”
“Agreed,” I say. “She’s been pushed and pulled and controlled since she was a child. By Thorne. By Alekir. By the academy. By—” I look at Kieran.
He meets my gaze steadily. Waiting for it.
“By people who were supposed to protect her.”
Kieran doesn’t flinch. But something tightens in his jaw.
“She makes the choices now,” I continue. “Where she goes. What she does. We’re not her handlers. We’re not her protectors deciding what’s best for her behind her back.”
“Even when she’s wrong?” Darian asks.
“She’s not ours to correct.” I hold his gaze. “She’s ours to stand beside.”
Malrik leans forward, elbows on his knees. “We’ve all done it though. Made choices for her. Kept things from her. Told ourselves it was protection when really it was just… control we didn’t want to name.”
