I thought. Tried to remember. The selection trials had been a specific period — eight weeks ago, almost exactly. I'd been running on adrenaline and incomplete sleep through most of it.
"Lucien nominated you because you're the best fighter on the team after him," I said. "And because your military framework complements his Drakeveil instinct in ways that would make the team function better. I supported the nomination. The Headmaster's appointment of me wasn't about you. It was about service to the academy. The two events overlapped because the timing aligned."
"That's the operational answer. I want the personal one."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean — did you trust me?"
I looked at him. The frost-colored eyes were steady. He was asking a real question, the kind a soldier asks when he wants to know whether his commander actually saw him or was just deploying him as a piece on a board.
"Yes," I said.
"On what basis?"
