I didn't answer right away.
For a second—maybe two—I just breathed. Let the weight of the words settle into the air, coil tight around my ribs. "Give us the order, captain." A phrase simple enough to forge or fake. But there was no strain in the voice. No practiced manipulation. Just precision. Execution waiting for direction.
That made it worse.
Because now I had to choose what kind of leader I was going to be.
I glanced sideways. Camille hadn't moved, but I could feel her eyes—waiting. Alexis was still crouched, stone gripped in her hand, not as a weapon now but as something to ground her. Evelyn remained at my side, still as ever, though the slight angle of her stance told me she'd noticed the shift in air pressure too. Sienna's gaze was pinned to the trees—tracking not threat, but potential. And 3830?
She finally spoke. Quiet. Pointed.
"Titles mean nothing unless followed."
I met her eyes. "Then watch me."
