Page 222 of Split or Swallow

“Not really,” she said. “I mean—I would, if I had time. Or books. But no, not really.”

He nodded at the chairs in front of the fireplace.

“Shall we sit?”

Leo waited until Tem sat before sitting himself. There was a moment of silence while they stared at the fire.

“Do you have a favorite?” Tem asked eventually.

Leo arched an eyebrow.

“A favorite book?”

Tem nodded.

“I’m not sure,” he paused. “It changes day to day.”

“So what’s your favorite today?”

Another pause. Then:

“The Raven and the Swan.”

Tem knew that one. Everyone did; it was an old fable about a raven that want⁠ed to become a swan. But no matter what the raven did—including swimming in the swan’s pond and eating the swan’s food—it remained a raven. It couldn’t change its true nature.

“Why?”

Leo shifted in his chair, crossing one long leg over the other.

“The raven wants more from its life.”

“And you relate to that?”

His mouth twitched.

“Somewhat.”

Tem rolled her eyes.

“Your life seems pretty good to me, Leo.”

“That’s because you’re looking at it from the outside, Tem.”

He said it softly, his eyes on the fire.

“You have everything,” she shrugged. “What else could you possibly want?”

He didn’t reply for a long time.

When he did, Tem barely heard the word:

“Agency.”

“You have agency.”

“It may seem that way to you. But my hands are tied in every way that matters. I can’t choose what I do, where I go, who I date. Everything is decided for me.”

“You have a roof over your head. You have food and books and a fireplace in your bedroom, for Kora’s sake. And by the way, you are choosing who you date. Right now, actually. Are you really telling me you’re unhappy?”