With that, he turned toward the door. "Tomorrow, you'll be assigned training schedules. Rest well tonight. Your real work begins with the morning light."
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
For a long moment, none of us spoke. The smell of the hospital room suddenly seemed stronger, more dense.
"Well." Coco finally broke the silence. "That didn't sound optional."
"It wasn't." Rolen said, his expression thoughtful. "He just handed us lifelong duties."
"Is that really so different from before?" Finn asked, leaning against the wall. "We went from the orphanage to the warehouses to exile without ever having a say. At least now we get comfortable rooms and real food."
"And the chance to matter." Phinyx added quietly from his bed. "I want Argent's vibe to change for the better."
I watched their faces as they processed their new reality. We'd survived the unimaginable. And yet here we were, still being shaped by forces beyond our control, still being molded into tools.
