The meeting went on for a bit longer than it was supposed to; she could feel the way some of the members of the council were looking at her. She knew they were cautious, but she did not let them deter her.
"Girl, I suggest you do not get too comfortable," one of them added and she turned to look at him, then smirked.
"Even if I did, I doubt you will be able to do anything about it, after all, I am an innocent," She said and Selene bit back a smile.
The council went silent and the meeting did not end with ceremony or proclamation.
It ended with silence.
The kind of silence that followed a decision already set into motion, where nothing more needed to be said because everyone in the room understood the consequences. The council withdrew first, one by one, their attention lingering on her like fingertips tracing the outline of a blade before stepping away. The king and queen remained seated, watching her not as a subject, not as a threat, but as a variable they could not yet understand.
Selene inclined her head once to the throne, neither deferential nor defiant, then placed a guiding hand lightly at the girl's back and turned her toward the exit. The doors closed behind them with a low, resonant sound that seemed to seal more than stone.
Only when they were several corridors away did the pressure ease.
The girl exhaled slowly, her shoulders loosening as the oppressive weight of layered authority faded into the background hum of the city. Her core settled again, not dormant or restless, but alert, like a predator lying in tall grass with its eyes open.
"That went better than it could have," she said dryly.
Selene gave her a sideways glance. "That went exactly as badly as it was always going to, do not make the mistake of trusting easily."
They walked in silence for a time, their footsteps echoing softly along passages that now felt narrower than before, as though the headquarters itself had subtly shifted its opinion of her presence. The wards still recognized her, but the way they responded had changed, no longer curious but cautious.
Eventually, Selene spoke again.
"You should understand something," she said, her tone low and measured. "The council does not offer options unless they have already calculated the outcomes. What they gave you was not freedom. It was time."
The girl smiled faintly. "Time is enough."
Selene stopped walking and her eyes narrowed as she tugged the girl's tail.
Her cheeks went red and the girl turned back, surprised, and found Selene watching her with an intensity that had nothing to do with authority or duty. There was something else there now, something unsettled.
"This is not a joke and I can see that you are already planning," Selene said.
"I've been planning since the moment I realized my life here wasn't an accident," the girl replied evenly. "The difference is, now I know of the type that may be watching."
Selene studied her for a long moment, then nodded once, as if acknowledging a truth she could no longer avoid.
"Good," she said. "Then listen carefully."
She gestured subtly, and the surrounding corridor dimmed, the ambient wards bending inward, creating a narrow pocket of privacy that felt almost intimate in its closeness.
"They will assign you handlers," Selene continued. "Observers disguised as aides, instructors, and even servants. Some will be loyal to the crown. Some to the council. Some to interest you haven't met yet."
"And you?" the girl asked.
Selene's lips curved slightly. "I will be the one they assume you trust."
The girl's ears flicked. "Assume?"
Selene stepped closer, her voice dropping as her lips brushed her ear, making her tense in response. "Trust is not something I would ask of you. Not after tonight."
For a heartbeat, something unspoken hung between them, heavy and electric, before Selene straightened and dispelled the privacy field with a flick of her wrist.
"Come," she said. "I'll take you back to your room."
The walk back felt different.
Not safer, not calmer, but sharper. She felt eyes on her from places she could not see, threads of attention weaving and testing, but none dared reach too close. Whatever the council had decided, word had already begun to spread.
She was no longer just protected.
She was acknowledged.
When they reached her door, Selene paused, her hand hovering over the ward before activating it. "Rest," she said. "Tomorrow, the council will begin integrating you into their systems. Training. Evaluation. Observation."
"And now?" the girl asked.
Selene's gaze softened, just a fraction. "For now, you exist outside their reach. Do not underestimate, I have more power than you realize. Get ready and meet me out in half an hour, your first fight starts today."
The door sealed behind her, and the familiar quiet of the room settled in, heavier now with everything that had been said and everything that had not.
She crossed to the window and stared out at the distant sky, the city spread beneath her like a living thing, unaware of how close it stood to awakening something it had buried long ago.
She exhaled deeply and went to change off and get ready. Meanwhile, Selene was changing her clothes in her room, smoking a cigar, with a woman half-dressed, drinking wine by the window.
"You seem awfully interested in that... young girl Selene," the woman remarked, and Selene paused, glancing at her with a look sharp enough to scare a cat.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.
The woman chuckled as she turned around, looking at her with a smirk and a knowing gaze. "You only show interest in things you truly want; maybe I should see what is so special about her."
Hearing her words, Selene's eyes flashed red. She yanked her by the hair and slammed her against the wall, gripping her jaw tightly as she leaned in. "You're nothing but a toy to me. Don't interfere with my business, or I'll send you back to the brothel I took you from. Lay a hand on her, and you'll find out exactly what I do to mere playthings."
With that she released her and the girl slumped against the wall trembling, since she had never seen her like that before and Selen's eyes narrowed as she walked out of the room, fixing her clothes.