I changed into the uniform.
Left without saying anything to Sage or the others.
Didn't want to be a burden, didn't want to overstay whatever strange welcome they'd extended, didn't want to face the awkwardness of morning-after conversations when the "night before" had been me passing out mid-sentence after nearly dying.
School was the only place I expected to go to.
The one constant in my life—the daily routine of classes and survival and pretending to be fine while everything fell apart around me. Even without a home, even without anywhere to sleep tonight, I knew I could at least show up for roll call.
Keep moving.
Keep surviving.
Figure out the rest later.
I didn't think past where I'd live or stay now that my townhome was ash and memory.
Didn't have the energy to plan, to strategize, to do anything other than put one foot in front of the other and hope the universe would stop kicking me long enough to catch my breath.
And then Ms. Chen summoned me the moment I checked into class.
And now I'm sitting here, holding paperwork that says I've beenclaimed, staring at a schedule that says I candance, and I don't know what to do with any of it.
"The pack," I say slowly, my voice still shaky. "They... they actually did this? Filed the paperwork? Made it official?"
"Overnight, apparently." Ms. Chen's eyebrow arches—impressed despite herself. "The administration doesn't usually move that fast, but someone made some calls. Pulled some strings. By the time I arrived this morning, your file had already been updated."
Overnight.
While I was sleeping.
While I was floating in darkness, dreaming of my parents, completely unaware that anyone was doing anything on my behalf.
They took care of it.
Without asking me.
Without waking me up to discuss.
Without making me fight for something that should have been mine by right.
Why?
The question burns in my chest.
Why would they do this?
We're enemies.
ItoldKai we're enemies.
I told him I'd help him destroy his father, and then we'd go back to trying to kill each other. That was the deal. That was theagreement.
But this—the paperwork, the schedule, the opportunity handed to me on a silver platter?—
This feels like more than an alliance.
This feels likecare.
