7 hours ago
She didn’t flinch, but her gaze flicked to Claude when he winced, shielding his face. Her instinct screamed to do something, but Eliot had already proven what she suspected, and Claude… Claude had just confirmed the rest. So. Her gut had been right.
She looked between them. First Eliot, then Claude, rubbing his temples, pale beneath the strain, his voice subdued under the weight of what he’d just said.
Her stomach knotted, but she didn’t let it show. So this was it. The other shoe. She leaned back slightly, absorbing Eliot’s words. Allies. Family line. A teacher. And… the Brotherhood. Her mind spun for a moment, reordering everything. Her fear was still there, but something else had slid in alongside it. Opportunity.
She wondered if there were others within the Atharim itself. She’d spent so long thinking of her divinity as something she had to hide or fight, never as something that might be useful to them.
It didn’t make Eliot less dangerous. But danger didn’t always mean enemy. She folded her arms, not out of defiance this time, but to ground herself.
“You’re right. Claude’s going to need help,” she said, voice quieter now. The fight was still in her, but it had shifted. “He didn’t ask for this any more than I did.”
She exhaled, slow and controlled, glancing down at her hand where the warmth from the tea cup had already begun to fade. “I know all about the sickness. We’re not waiting for that to happen. Not to him.”
Her gaze flicked once more to her brother. Then, back to Eliot. Her voice steadied further.
She unfolded her arms, fingers flexing once against her thigh as if loosening a symbolic grip. “You said you knew someone. Someone who can teach me. I … I do want to learn.” A pause. It felt so wrong to say it out loud. She half expected the guillotine to fall then and there. “Who are they?” She wasn’t agreeing blindly. But she was agreeing. Because Claude was in danger. Because she was in danger. And for once, someone was offering her a door instead of a wall. She intended to walk through it with eyes wide open.
“But the Brotherhood…” That frightened her. She was there once, and she had no desire to return to those nut jobs worshiping a man like he was the maker of the universe. She set her stance, ready to hush Claude in case he protested.
“What do you want me to do?”
She looked between them. First Eliot, then Claude, rubbing his temples, pale beneath the strain, his voice subdued under the weight of what he’d just said.
Her stomach knotted, but she didn’t let it show. So this was it. The other shoe. She leaned back slightly, absorbing Eliot’s words. Allies. Family line. A teacher. And… the Brotherhood. Her mind spun for a moment, reordering everything. Her fear was still there, but something else had slid in alongside it. Opportunity.
She wondered if there were others within the Atharim itself. She’d spent so long thinking of her divinity as something she had to hide or fight, never as something that might be useful to them.
It didn’t make Eliot less dangerous. But danger didn’t always mean enemy. She folded her arms, not out of defiance this time, but to ground herself.
“You’re right. Claude’s going to need help,” she said, voice quieter now. The fight was still in her, but it had shifted. “He didn’t ask for this any more than I did.”
She exhaled, slow and controlled, glancing down at her hand where the warmth from the tea cup had already begun to fade. “I know all about the sickness. We’re not waiting for that to happen. Not to him.”
Her gaze flicked once more to her brother. Then, back to Eliot. Her voice steadied further.
She unfolded her arms, fingers flexing once against her thigh as if loosening a symbolic grip. “You said you knew someone. Someone who can teach me. I … I do want to learn.” A pause. It felt so wrong to say it out loud. She half expected the guillotine to fall then and there. “Who are they?” She wasn’t agreeing blindly. But she was agreeing. Because Claude was in danger. Because she was in danger. And for once, someone was offering her a door instead of a wall. She intended to walk through it with eyes wide open.
“But the Brotherhood…” That frightened her. She was there once, and she had no desire to return to those nut jobs worshiping a man like he was the maker of the universe. She set her stance, ready to hush Claude in case he protested.
“What do you want me to do?”
![[Image: Shield-removebg-preview.png]](https://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Shield-removebg-preview.png)