She came to find him.
Not in the library — at the training ground, which was unusual enough that he noticed it immediately. The south ground, after the dawn session with Hector, when the space was empty and he was running through the weight-shift drill alone, the repetition that was slowly converting understanding into instinct.
He heard her footsteps and stopped.
She was standing at the gate.
Not composed in her usual way — or composed, but differently. The specific composure of someone who had been deciding something and had decided it.
He lowered the training sword.
She said: *"I need to tell you something."*
*"Come in."*
She came in and stood in the center of the training ground. She did not sit — she stood with her arms at her sides and looked at him with the dark eyes that didn't reflect light correctly and said:
*"I have been waiting to tell you this for three weeks. I was deciding whether it was the right time."*
*"What decided it."*
