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He didn't say anything else for the rest of the meeting.

By the time Janus closed the file, I knew more about all four of them than they probably realized. Corian liked answers and couldn't leave a question alone if it might touch his squad. Nykos had problems with vague authorities, which made two of us, though he said his complaints out loud instead of keeping them in his head. Alex talked whenever a thought came to him and had decided that a conversation between us was already happening whether I agreed to it or not. Halver watched everything and seemed perfectly content letting the rest of them fill the silence for him.

None of that meant I trusted them, not yet. Trust took more than one meeting where nobody suggested I stay permanently collared.

"Your belongings were transferred to Nephrite housing while you were in here," Janus said.

Of course they were. Why give me the trouble of deciding when to move when someone else could do it while I sat in a chair being discussed?

Corian stood and picked up my file, pausing at the weight of it before glancing my way. I considered apologizing for about half a second, then decided the Council's obsession with documenting my entire existence wasn't my problem.

Alex and Halver headed for the corridor. Nykos followed more slowly. Janus came around the desk and opened the door for me, and I stopped before stepping through when he said my name.

"Jade."

I looked back. "Yes, sir?"

"If you need anything, come to me."

His expression softened just enough that I understood him without needing it spelled out. If this went badly, if Nephrite turned into another version of the people who spent years deciding what I was allowed to do; or if I needed someone willing to just listen, I could come back here.

Janus had offered me some version of that promise for years. I was more grateful for it than he would ever know.

"Thank you, sir."

I stepped into the corridor and heard the heavy door close behind me.

The four men waited several paces off. Corian had my file tucked under one arm while Alex said something to Halver, who gave no sign he was listening. Nykos stood a little apart, arms folded, his expression unpleasant enough that I knew exactly why I'd started thinking of him as Grumpy before I ever learned his name mattered.

When they noticed me, the conversation stopped. For a few seconds I stood beside Janus's closed door with no idea what I was supposed to do next.

My life had always run on expectations. Training started at fixed times. So did meals. Ability practice, physical conditioning, medical exams, Council reviews, even where I was allowed to walk inside the Citadel, all of it came with instructions. A Master always told me when to start. Someone always told me when to stop. A schedule somewhere always explained what happened next.

I knew how to follow orders. I knew how to complain about them silently while following them perfectly. I knew exactly how much sarcasm I could load into “yes sir” before a Master decided I'd crossed into disrespect.

Nobody had told me what came now.

Corian started down the corridor with the others before he noticed I hadn't moved. He got several steps away, glanced back, and stopped.

"Are you coming?"

The question caught me off guard.

He hadn't ordered me to follow. He hadn't called me Recruit Amal or told me to move. He'd asked if I was coming, like the answer belonged to me.

I stood there a second too long, turning the question over for a catch I couldn't find. I shifted my weight. "Yes?"

Corian waited.

It took me another second to realize that was all there was to it. No dismissal required. No permission needed to leave the doorway, no instruction telling me where to put my feet.

I could just walk with them.

Normal people probably knew that already.

I crossed the distance and fell into step beside four men I'd met less than an hour ago. One carried a file holding most of my life. Another had been angry about the collar around my throat before he knew enough about me to decide whether he even liked me. Strangers, chosen by the Council because somebody had decided I needed somewhere to belong. A group expected to work with me, live with me, and deal with whatever happened when the thing around my neck came off.

Maybe they'd be different.