"No, I don't want to become a core member right now."
The words were sharp and surprising even to my own ears.
Elder Harun's brows raised the faintest fraction. "No?"
I straightened.
"I'll reach the Core on my own effort. Not because I was handed a seat for spitting out secrets. I won't owe anyone that kind of debt."
Silence stretched for a moment as he studied me; it was the way a scholar studies a rare text. Then, slowly, he eased back and nodded.
"Good," he said.
That caught me off guard. "Good?"
"Too many grasp at the easy road. Too few understand that getting anything without your own effort is pointless." His gaze held mine, unflinching.
"Still, you should not refuse forever. Think about what you could request in exchange for your knowledge. I will not ask you again soon, but the door will remain open for you at any time."
I clenched my teeth as I heard what he wasn't saying. I was moving too fast. "Why choose me? Why not another?"
