Page 23

When I looked up, nobody mentioned my eyes.

A full glass of water sat within reach that hadn't been there a moment ago.

Alex met my gaze this time rather than avoiding it.

Halver's expression remained quiet and unreadable, although his shoulders seemed less tense.

Nykos still looked furious enough to start a war with several members of the Council before dinner.

Corian sat across from me.

No expectation. No request for an explanation. I touched the edge of the collar with one fingertip.

"Does Janus know you were going to do this?"

"No."

That almost made me smile.

"The Council?"

"Definitely not," Alex said.

Nykos leaned back. "I'm devastated by the thought of disappointing them."

I looked at him.

He sounded serious. That did make me smile.

Corian shook his head, though his mouth threatened to move too. "We'll deal with any objection if it happens. Until then, the crystal is yours."

I closed my fingers around it.

Mine.

The word felt unfamiliar.

Corian reached for the file and moved it off the spare chair. "Training starts tomorrow morning at six. We'll go through squad routines, how we work in the field and where you fit into that before anything operational gets added."

A schedule.

Beautiful.

Something in me relaxed.

"Where?"

"Our training ground. Halver will show you."

Halver nodded once.

"And today?"

Corian paused.

"You have the rest of the day to yourself."

My relief disappeared. Alex saw it happen and started laughing.