Valens and Arbita were arguing. The betrothed couple were cross at one another because of him.

Their raised voices carried to Domi in the salutatio hall, where he sat alone after his aedificans banished him once again to practice his breathing. Only this time, a headache pounded in his skull, and a whining bubble hovered around him. The two adults sent the promenia to monitor his health and ensure, as Valens put it, he didn't "screw anything up."

Domi struggled enough to focus on his breathing exercises, now more critical than ever, with blood still drying on his collar and the need to learn control looming over him. Their argument made it a thousand times harder to concentrate. The two Promethidae weren't wed yet, and they already bickered like an old married couple.

The situation would be laughable if the argument centered around anything other than him and his future. Worse, neither of them bothered to ask Domi's opinion about anything.

"It's not unreasonable for me to just suggest it, Valens. If you let me re-suppress his prometus, that might buy us time to—"

"Out of the question."

For once in his life, Domi found himself agreeing with Valens. He became a Lightbearer only two weeks ago. He might be able to do so much with the magic later if he learned how to use it. All that would wash down the drain though if he let Arbita take away his prometus. She was a fool if she thought he would let that happen.

"He's a worldholder," Valens continued. "None of us may be impaired, even him. We're far too rare and the only sorcerers the world needs."

"Wow, you arrogant arse. How do you think Domi would be doing if I, a mere useless lifeholder, had not healed him? Twice now, in fact. The world would be short one of your precious worldholders, Valens. But if we don't suppress him until he learns control, a lot of other sorcerers might be in danger, including other worldholders."

Valens scoffed. "Please. Other worldholders can deal with him if he causes problems."

"Can they? Can they really? Have you looked at the Compendium yet? Because I did right after he kindled, and you wouldn't say something so stupid if you'd seen what I saw."

"Let me see."

Domi cringed as the ringing of promenia in the garden rose to a shrill whine. How did Valens and Arbita tolerate the incessant noise all the time? A trickle of blood dripped from his nose, and he grimaced, wiping it away. His headache peaked and then, with a purr of the promenia around him, eased.

In the garden, Valens snapped, "What the hell?"

"That's right," Arbita said, her voice flat. "Somehow, he's now ranked just below Serenitas. I realize you don't like her, but she's still an aedilis, Valens. She didn't become a master for no reason, whatever you may think of her. There is a good chance nine out of ten worldholders won't be able to clean up any messes Domi causes because his promenia will bypass their own if they're lower rank than him. And he will cause trouble, you know that."

"He doesn't understand enough yet to cause much trouble, no matter his rank."

Arbita scoffed. "Ignorance can be dangerous. Half-trained worldholders are dangerous enough, but a feral who is still learning to breathe? With the power of dissolution in his inexperienced hands? And unable to be checked by more experienced sorcerers because he ranks too high for their magic to affect him? I'm sorry, but I think suppression is the only way, at least until—"

"It isn't the only way." Domi didn't like the tense resolve in Valens's voice. "There is another option. Loath though I am to admit it." He paused, then went on after Arbita's expectant silence. "Constant supervision."

She sighed. "You can't follow him around with promenia all the time, Valens. Even if it detects an issue, if you're not there to—

"I'm talking about being there all the time."

"You better stop interrupting me right now, or we're going to have a problem," Arbita said, her voice low and dangerous.

A long pause descended, and even Domi squirmed.

Into the ringing silence, she said, "Now, what did you mean?"

"I mean he'll come live with me." Domi's eyes snapped open. "That will let me keep an eye on him and double down on his lessons to help him learn control. And clean up his messes, of course. Because yes, you are correct that he will make them. But if he's with me at all times, I can deal with him before he destroys anything too important. I thoroughly outrank him."

Eyes devour him, the Trueborn was serious. Domi heard enough. He jerked to his feet and strode out to the garden. "No way in hell is that going to happen," he said as he stomped up to the rain pool beside which they sat.

"Domi, mind your language," Arbita said, frowning up at him from her seat.

"I'm not going back to being suppressed," he informed her and then turned to Valens. "And I'm not living with you. No way."

"Do you know which kind of sorcerer is the most dangerous?" One might have been mistaken from Valens's tone of voice that he didn't care about the answer.

"What?" Domi scowled at the weird change of subject. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Is it a starholder, who can command a room full of people to turn on one another?" Valens asked as though he hadn't heard him. "Or a lifeholder, who can snuff out every life within a one-mile radius? Perhaps a mindholder, who can make a whole crowd believe they would be better off dead? Or a forgeholder arsonist, like the one who killed all those people years ago?"

"I know you want me to say it's a worldholder," Domi said as he crossed his arms. He was out of patience for the Trueborn's games. "And I'm sure you're about to tell me all about why."

Valens's amber eyes narrowed up at him. "Among other things, as a worldholder, you can dissolve promenia itself and nullify the magic of any other sorcerer. If you nullify the wrong promenia in the wrong place, the world will come apart at its seams. That is why you can't be allowed to endanger others."

"I won't endanger them. I'll work hard on your breathing exercises and whatever other lessons you got for me. But I'm not letting anyone suppress me, and I'm not living here with you."

With that, he stormed out of the garden, ignoring their shouts of his name, and went home. He was somewhat curious what Valens would do to punish him for his disrespect and disobedience, but he also didn't care much. The man couldn't hurt him, not again anyway, and just about any punishment Domi spun up in his mind beat living with the Trueborn. He would rather get struck by lightning again than put up with that. Well, almost.

When he returned to the dormitory, he found it empty but for two littles, minded by an older boy, who played with one of the books Valens gave Domi to teach him to read. The rest of the kids were breaking here in the Collegium or wandering the forum for their daily work snatching, begging, running errands, and the like.

All three froze when they spotted him, eyes locking on his neckline.

The laurel. Great.

Domi's newborn tracings burned, and not just in his collarbones but through his whole body. The strange sensation lingered at the edge of discomfort, like his body knew the prometus smoldered and wanted to complain but somehow couldn't do so. He wondered if Arbita did something to prevent it from hurting, or if magic always felt this way, like a fever wanting to form but held at bay by herbs.

He tried smiling at the kids but suspected the expression looked strained. Perhaps Valens could teach him how to hide the laurel so people wouldn't stare or treat him like a vicious beast they worried might attack any moment.

He understood their fear, though. If one of them showed up out of the blue with a shimmering laurel around their neckline, he would be uncertain in their presence, too. Still, their distress saddened him.

"It's all right. Don't be afraid. Do you remember what Radix told you? That I'm a Trueborn now but still a Pullatus? We're doing a lift together, like always, yeah? I bet the first day is going great."

The smallest child's lip wobbled, and then he burst into tears. The older boy looking after the kids gathered him up to hush him, his eyes still darting toward Domi over his shoulder as he rocked the toddler.

Domi sighed and retreated into his bedchamber, glad no one could see or hear the cloud of ringing promenia trailing in his wake like an invisible cloak. He glared at it, wishing Arbita and Valens would leave him be.

He found Radix seated cross-legged on his bed, their brows knit as they puzzled over another of the books Valens gave Domi for his reading lessons. This one was a primer on the Nova Latina glyphs, each representing a sound in the language. Every day after supper, Domi had been sharing all he recalled from Valens's lessons with Radix and anyone else who wanted to learn.

He smiled. "Did you decide to sleep in here?" The two Pullati had discussed having Radix and the rest of the older kids share Domi's room during Germinating season. Domi hoped they'd agree, but Radix had been strangely reluctant and blushed and stammered over the mere idea. He hoped that meant they just felt weird about sharing a room with him, and not that he creeped them out.

Radix traced a careful glyph on the bedcover with one finger, their golden brown eyes intent on the book in their other hand as they practiced.

Domi held his breath, and the promenia around him rippled. His head throbbed.

"I think so," the redhead said. "The littles need to be in bed earlier than the rest of us. You and I and the older kids can sleep in here and in the salutatio room and the younger ones in my room. And—" They glanced up and broke off, mouth falling open as their eyes landed on the laurel.

Domi offered a shaky grin. "Guess what happened today," he said, his voice sounding weak with nerves to his own ears. Around him, the promenia distortion quivered and sang a new tune. Domi eyed the particles in uneasy discomfort, aware Radix was staring at him in the same way he was staring at the haze in the air. He wished it would go away.

A breath later, the promenia burst into sparks of visible light that fizzled out with a hiss.

Radix jumped, eyes widening. "Did you do that?"

Did he? Domi gulped, troubled. "I don't know. I'm not sure how this stuff works or what I can and can't do with it. Things just keep happening."

Valens said worldholders possessed a dangerous power. Dissolution or something like that? Domi had been so fed up with the annoying man that he had not paid attention to a word the older worldholder said.

Radix rose from the bed and approached him with careful steps. Their eyes flicked to the shimmering black laurel and up to his face. They offered him a small smile. "Well, congratulations." And to Domi's shock, they enfolded him in a hug, murmuring against his shoulder, "I know how much you wanted this."

Thank the Eternal Radiance no more promenia remained in the room. The particles would ripple and ring so much even Radix would be able to see and hear them.

As he relaxed into their embrace, his heart pounded for a different reason than the thrill of being held by them. What had he done? Had he really done it? Was it dangerous? There was so much he didn't understand about his fledgling magic, and his lack of control frightened him. He didn't want to endanger anyone. What if he hurt Radix?

"I came to tell you," he murmured against their shoulder, "that I'm going to be staying at Valens's for a little while."