Lu steps back, squaring me up. “Always on, huh?”

“Not always in control of it,” I correct.

She hums and runs a hand over her braids, twisting the ends around her fingers with a thoughtful sound. “Well, the ancestors wouldn’t let you in if you hadn’t had protective intent. And your aura looks good to me, but the colors…” She looks at William, then back to me. “You’re Legendborn, like he is. A Scion. Arthur’s, I’d wager.”

Selwyn curses.

“Were you gonna mention that?” Lu asks, not unkindly.

I swallow. “Not exactly safe to say at the Lounge. And Valec’s not a big fan.”

Lu crosses her arms. “I’m not a big fan myself, but I am curious how one of us got mixed up with one of them.”

The others turn to me, because that’s my story to tell. “I can fill you in. Later, if that’s okay.”

She nods, but her eyes narrow in thought. “Agreed.” She moves toward Mariah and points up at the house. “Hazel’s coming by later to help with the meal. Get the other three settled in to the guest house, Mariah. I’ll take Bree to her room. Y’all have had a long couple of days. Everybody rest, take a nap, we’ll see you at dinner.”

“We’ve all been traveling together. I can stay in the guest house too,” I say.

“You can’t stay in the guest house.” Lu shakes her head. “Not if you’re here to do ancestor work.” She beckons the others to follow Mariah as if there’s no further discussion to be had. “The rest of y’all are gonna work, too. Help keep up the grounds, or help keep an eye out on the border—one or the other. Make yourselves useful. You’ll still see plenty of each other, don’t worry.”

Sel shifts his weight, torn between protesting and biting his tongue. He looks beyond Lu to the house. “Can we visit Bree’s rooms? See where she’s staying?”

“Nah.” Lu shakes her head as she guides me toward the house. “The ancestors say who comes in the house, and they decided a long time ago it’s descendants of the enslaved.” She lifts a shoulder. “Can’t argue with the ghosts of the enslaved. Wouldn’t want to, wouldn’t recommend it.” Lu nods out over the grounds of Volition. “This is their final resting place. The ones who died on it, bled on it, suffered. They make the rules, not us.”

Sel follows her gaze, nodding once without comment. William’s face is solemn, thoughtful. “In the Legendborn tradition, we call ourselves Awakened when our knights call us. But we don’t really talk about them as if they’re still alive. Beginning to wonder if we should.”

“Well,” Lu says. “Awake ain’t the same thing as living.”