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“Anyway.” Archer turned back to Ryneth, still smiling. “You should try it yourself. Come for breakfast this weekend?”

Ryneth hesitated, unsure what to say. “That sounds great. Thank you.”

“Right. That’s settled. Want to grab a drink before the statement?”

“Before the statement?” Ryneth echoed. His stomach tightened as he replayed last night’s conversation. Whatever Daven had meant, everyone else seemed to understand it better than he did.

He stopped at Tavi.

Tavi was okay. Tavi’s healthcare was upgraded.

That was enough.

But even as he told himself that, his skin gave a low thrum. The static under it smoothed and stirred like it was listening for someone who wasn’t there.

Still, he managed a smile. “Sure.”

They moved together across the courtyard. All around them, students slowed or glanced their way.

“This is n-normal,” Mirel said, lingering to catch up. A Luminary guard followed a few steps behind him.

“People watching, or guards following us?”

Mirel blushed. “P-people. The guard—he’s just here for m-me. K-Kylix wants me safe.”

Cyprian turned over his shoulder and smiled at his brother. Then his gaze shifted to Ryneth. “Ignore the others. Don’t let it get to you.”

“They get bored fast,” Archer added.

Grass edged the stone walkways, where clusters of students were already gathering near the suspended holo-screen that hung above the commons.

Ryneth wasn’t sure that was true.

Energy buzzed beneath the surface.

“It’s starting soon,” someone nearby whispered.

They stopped at a small kiosk near the edge of the courtyard. Archer ordered without asking and handed Ryneth a cup.

“Let’s sit over there.” Cyprian gestured toward a tree where a group of students were already gathered.

Ryneth recognized the blond hair of Helianth, who waved as soon as he saw them.

“There he is. The lucky man,” Helianth said as they joined him, Yure, and a handful of students wearing the same Luminary brooch as Vandor.

Helianth nudged him in the side. “How did he ask for it?”

Ryneth’s hand trembled around the cup at the memory of last night. Heat rushed into his face. Of Daven on his knees. Of his weeping cock in that filthy, hot mouth as he’d looked up at him. Of Daven’s cock inside his ass. He hadn’t even fucked him; he’d just kept it there, because he could.

Then Mara’s chip flashed through his mind. The carved words. The jolt it had sent through him.

“He didn’t really ask,” he admitted. “He decided. For us.”

Whatever Helions called it, Daven had never made it sound like a choice.

Helianth blinked. “What? And you just let him?”

Heat climbed into Ryneth’s face. He looked down at his cup. “It wasn’t exactly something I could stop.”