The ropes slipped from Fredric's wrists as Lucian tugged the last knot loose. The young man rubbed at the red marks, glancing nervously at the boy who had freed him.
"Thank you. My name is Fredric. I… I was born in Luma settlement. I never knew my parents. They said I was an orphan someone left on the steps of the quarterhouse."
Fredric murmured, his voice low, as if afraid to be overheard. After a hesitant pause, he bowed his head.
His throat worked as he swallowed.
"I… I do have an ability. Telekinesis. But… only a little."
He raised his hand, and a pebble from the ground trembled, lifted shakily into the air, and then dropped with a dull thunk. His cheeks colored with shame.
"That's all. Nothing strong. Nothing useful."
Lucian's sharp gaze didn't move from him.
Fredric's shoulders hunched under the weight of that silence.
