Nobody thought she should go.
That was the first thing the way the room arranged itself against the idea when Lyra said it at breakfast, the specific collective resistance of adults who had assessed a situation and arrived at a unanimous conclusion that was about to be overridden by an eight-year-old.
Maren said: "Absolutely not."
Vaelor said nothing, which meant he was thinking about it, which meant he was already halfway to yes and knew it.
Aelara looked at her daughter across the table and said: "Tell me why."
Lyra set down her fork. She had been waiting for that question not the refusal, the reason-request. She knew who in the room would ask for the reason rather than just the answer and she had come to breakfast prepared for exactly that person.
