They gave him a room after training Not a cell Not the still water pit and not a dorm with the young trainees It was somewhere in between The room had stone walls smooth and pale A narrow bed A basin of water in the corner A small slit window that looked out over one of the inner courtyards He could see banners moving outside in the breeze He could hear training shouts and the steady hit of water on stone

He splashed his face and neck in the basin The water felt colder than it should He watched pink swirl out across the surface from where Mara had hit him in the ring His cheek was still sore He pressed his fingertips there and hissed

He thought about healing it himself He knew he could He could already feel that call sitting under his skin Quiet Waiting He could pull the water up Hold it there Let it knit the bruise away He wanted to look steady in front of Nerissa He did not want to walk in with a mark on his face and tell her Yes I can handle myself while looking like he had just lost a bar fight

But then he heard Lira’s voice If they see you heal you stop being a person You become a resource He pulled his hand back and let the bruise stay

After a while someone knocked The door opened before he answered Mara stepped in without waiting She tossed a folded piece of dark fabric at his chest Wear that

He caught it and let it fall open It was not armor Not training clothes It was some kind of formal robe deep blue almost black stitched with a faint wave pattern around the cuffs The fabric felt cool to the touch and heavier than it looked Not silk Something denser

He frowned I am not putting on a dress Mara rolled her eyes It is not a dress It is formal tide cloth You wear it out of respect for the throne You do not argue about it She crossed her arms Also you look like you have been dragged behind a truck This will help

He held it up I do not know how this goes She sighed like this was the greatest burden in the world Turn around Arms up He did what she said She helped him pull it on and tighten it across his chest The collar sat loose The sleeves fell to his wrists The bottom hit mid calf so he could still move He looked down at himself and made a face I look like I am about to give a speech on water safety Mara snorted You look less like ground trash and more like someone they will allow in the high hall so stop talking

Her eyes flicked to his cheek She reached up with two fingers He tensed She stopped just shy of touching Do not heal that She said Good You remember I am proud

He rolled his shoulders The fabric moved with him better than he expected It did not grab or rub That at least was good He asked You coming with me She shook her head No You go with Corren and only Corren I cannot stand in that room without getting yelled at and I do not feel like being yelled at tonight

He looked at her You do not like her Mara let out a small laugh That is a dangerous question I respect her full stop Mara said I respect what she has done I respect how she holds the line I respect that the fire clans have not burned us off the map because she stands in front of them and says No But I do not like thrones Thrones always think the ground belongs to them She tilted her head And I am ground

He nodded That he understood He felt better hearing it Better than pure loyalty Blind faith scared him as much as blind hate

Another knock came and Corren stepped in This time he did not wait for Mara to leave He just walked past her like she was not in the way Mara did not bow for him She leaned on the wall and crossed her arms Corren was in full formal blue layered and clean No weapon No armor He carried a calm that felt dangerous

You are ready he said to Evan Evan nodded Mara gave Corren a look that had challenge in it Do not drown him in politics old man Corren did not even glance at her That is the queen’s job not mine

He turned and walked out Evan started to follow Mara caught his sleeve Brooks He looked back She lowered her voice People in that hall want power the way fire wants air You do not feed them Do you understand

Yes he said I understand Good She let go She hit his chest once with her fist Not hard More like a promise Bring that chest back to me still breathing or I am going to be very annoyed

He grinned I will try Mara rolled her eyes Try is not good enough Brooks Do not die

Then she pushed off the wall and left him with Corren Corren did not comment He just started walking Evan followed