The announcement didn't take long to circulate. By evening, every major outlet was carrying the news.
INDEPENDENT GUILDS MAY ASSUME MENTORSHIP RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNSTABLE AWAKENED.
The wording was clean, strategic, and cold. Mira read it aloud from the screen, her voice flat. "Guilds advocating structured mentorship may formally register to supervise high-risk unstable awakenings under provisional liability." She blinked, repeating the phrase under her breath. "...High-risk unstable awakenings."
Garrick crossed his arms, his expression darkening. "They're branding him."
"Yes," Kaida agreed.
Orion looked at the document with his usual calm. "Clause six. Financial and civil liability transfers fully to the supervising guild."
Seris's fingers tightened slightly around her tablet. Lucien looked around the room, his gaze resting on each of them in turn. "They're daring us."
Nox nodded. "Yes."
Mira looked between them, her skepticism surfacing. "So what? We just say yes and adopt a walking fire hazard?"
The room went quiet. Seris spoke for the first time in a long while. "He's not a hazard." Her tone wasn't sharp or loud, but it possessed a weight that stopped the room.
Mira blinked. "I didn't mean—"
"I know," Seris said gently. She stood and walked toward the screen, where the flare footage was replaying yet again. Fire surging, the crowd scattering in terror. She watched it differently than the others did—not as a political maneuver or a strategic hurdle, but as physiology.
"That's not aggression," she said quietly. "That's overload."
Lucien looked at her carefully. "You're sure."
"Yes."
Kaida tilted her head slightly. "Explain."
Seris didn't look away from the screen. "His output spikes after the crowd noise increases. His heat signature flares when people close in. That's panic feedback."
A heavy silence followed. Garrick frowned. "So."
"So," Seris said evenly, "he needed grounding." Her eyes flicked toward Nox briefly before returning to Lucien. "Instead, he got isolation."
Lucien watched her, his focus intense. "You've been thinking about this."
"Yes."
"You want to take him."
"Yes." There was no hesitation. It wasn't a political choice; it was personal.
Mira blinked. "...Since when?"
Seris finally looked at them fully. "Since that day."
Lucien studied her. "Why?"
She didn't answer immediately. Then, she spoke with a quiet power. "Because if stabilization is the solution, then we should prove it."
Nox's gaze sharpened slightly. Kaida watched Seris with a flicker of quiet interest, while Garrick shifted his weight. "Liability isn't light," he reminded her.
"I know," Seris replied.
Lucien walked slowly toward the center of the table. "You understand what this means. If he loses control here—"
"I'll handle it." It wasn't arrogance or bravado; it was absolute certainty. For the first time in a long time, Seris didn't look like the quiet support in the background. She looked resolved.
Lucien held her gaze, then glanced at Nox. Nox didn't speak, but his eyes said enough: This is the pivot. Lucien exhaled slowly. "...Then we don't wait."
Mira blinked. "Wait for what?"
"For them to assign him somewhere worse."
Orion checked his tablet. "The containment facility is temporary."
"Temporary turns permanent," Kaida said quietly.
Lucien nodded. "We file for mentorship transfer."
Garrick straightened his posture. "Today?"
"Yes."
Seris didn't hesitate. "I'll draft the stabilization plan."
Nox's gaze met hers briefly, and an understanding passed between them. Their motivations weren't identical, but they were perfectly aligned. Lucien looked around at all of them once more. "This is our line."
There were no speeches and no drama. Just a decision made.
__
Meanwhile, in a quiet containment room, the television flickered again. It was muted, but a news banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen:
AURORA COVENANT FILES FOR MENTORSHIP TRANSFER
The young man on the bench looked up for the first time. Heat shimmered faintly around his fingers—not violent or flaring, just a soft presence. And this time, Kairos Arvane didn't clench them in fear.