Page 124 of Legacy Ascended

But for the first time, I wonder.

The corridor afterward is bright and too warm and full of people trying to leave.

I get about four steps out of the chamber before Torres picks me up off the floor entirely.

"Put me down—"

"In a minute." He sets me on my feet and holds my arms and looks at me with his whole face lit up. "You know what you did in there? You said I don't know to a room that wanted you to say something else. Nobody does that."

Sophia hugs me hard enough to hurt. Declan says "well done" and then runs out of words entirely and shakes my hand, formally, which is the funniest thing that has happened all day. Freya has her notebook out and is not writing in it.

Soren, Luke and Ander come over together.

"We've been sitting in rooms like that since we were children," Ander says. "They're still intimidating."

"And you were extremely hot in there," Luke says. "If we're being honest."

I look at all three of them.

Ander kisses me, which he would not have done in this corridor two months ago. Then Luke does, laughing into it.

Soren doesn't, because he's Soren, in that corridor, in that building. He puts his hand against the side of my face instead.

"Somebody took a blade to those words. It's in the record now." His thumb moves once at my cheekbone, and then he steps back. "So is the name."

Jon is last out, with the registry folder still under his arm and his glasses pushed up on his head, and he stops in front of me and doesn't touch me, because there are forty people in this corridor and two of them sat on the upper benches.

"Marla," he says.

"I know."

"She walked into a register office in a country where she had no standing and no money and put her name on a document for somebody else's child, and it survived, and it held." His voice isn't quite steady. "Two hundred and seventy-five years later, in front of a Council, it held."

"Jon."

"Sorry. It's been a long day for my professional composure." He clears his throat and then, in front of everyone, holds out his hand, and I take it, and he closes both of his around it for about three seconds and lets go. "Well done. Go and eat something."

Torres looks between me and the chamber doors.

"So. Fourth House heir."

"Don't start."

"I'm just wondering what your first edict is going to be."

"I'm not issuing edicts."

"Technically," Luke says, "nobody has restored anything."

"Thank you," I say.

Torres waves that away. "Fine. You're the heir. First hypothetical edict."

I think about it.

"Mandatory butter."

Torres points at me. "See? Natural leader."