Good She said Then listen to me again and hear me I am on your side But I cannot always stand next to you You must learn to carry yourself like a man they cannot break You must learn to hold water with no anger in front of people who fear you You must force them to see you as something they cannot place If you do that long enough they will stop trying to drown you and start trying to recruit you That is when you will be in danger from the queen That is also when I can get you close to the Tidespine

He breathed out a slow laugh So our plan is Stay alive Scare everyone Make the queen nervous Then ask her for help Lira smiled for real this time for half a second That is the plan yes He shook his head This is insane She nodded Yes It is

Mara’s voice came from the doorway Time Brooks Move He turned She stood there with two sets of gear in her hands Dark training clothes cut for movement and light armor plates that looked like liquid held in shape She tapped her foot against the stone floor with fake impatience I said move not flirt with the healer Lira rolled her eyes He is not flirting Mara snorted He will be after I finish with him

Evan stood and finished the last of the water from the cup Then he looked at Lira one more time He said Thank you She shook her head No Thank me when you walk out of here with your mind still yours He nodded Deal

He turned to Mara She tossed the bundle of gear at his chest He caught it It felt lighter than it looked and warm like the material remembered heat Come on Brooks she said Training ring three

As he followed Mara out of the mess hall he felt eyes on him from every corner of the room He heard whispers Tideborn Flameborn Corren’s new mark Trouble He ignored all of it He focused on his feet his breath and the slow steady pull in his chest The water in this place still hummed all around him He could feel it waiting He could feel it ready to move with him

He told himself again like a promise I am not theirs I am not a weapon I am not a monster I am not staying forever I am going home

Then a second thought rose and surprised him Even if I go home I will not leave them to burn

He did not know yet how both of those could be true But he knew both were true

He walked toward the training ring to learn how to fight in a world that already wanted to claim him and a queen he had not met yet who might never let him leave