Sorin hadn't meant to stay the night.
He told Ava half a dozen times that he'd leave after dinner. That he wasn't going to be some charity case. But then the stew had smelled like spices and real broth, and there'd been a fire in the hearth and a soft blanket draped over his shoulders before he could argue.
Now it was morning, and the sun streamed through a skylight carved with glass dragons. Sorin blinked from the edge of a velvet-cushioned couch, unsure whether he was dreaming or trespassing.
"Up," Ava said, nudging his foot. She was already dressed in a sky-blue tunic and brushed leggings, her wild curls half-tamed by a woven headband. "Mum says if you want breakfast, you need to wash first. You're not dripping gutter water all over the floor again."
"I didn't mean to," Sorin muttered, sitting up. "I—I should go."
But Ava had already tossed him a neatly folded tunic. It wasn't new, but it was clean and soft, and when he looked down at his own clothes—still damp and streaked with soot—he understood.
"Through there," she said, pointing toward a small tiled room off the main hall. "And don't skip the soap. Mum will smell it."
By the time he returned, the magistrate was gone, but Ava's mother remained in the dining room. She was tall and regal, with strict eyes and perfect posture—like a painting come to life. Her name was Lady Miren Lovelace, and Sorin didn't dare speak unless spoken to.
He was halfway through his second helping of honeycakes before she finally said, "So. Ava tells me you want to find your family."
Sorin froze, fork hovering. "I… I didn't mean to tell her that."
"No?" Lady Lovelace asked, arching one brow.
"I just… don't know who they were. Or where I'm from. I've been in the orphan tier since I could walk." He looked down. "It's probably a stupid idea. No one knows anything."
"It's not stupid," Ava said, mouth half-full. "If I didn't know my parents, I'd want to find them too."
Lady Lovelace sipped her tea. "Knowing is one thing. Having the tools to search is another."
Sorin didn't answer. Of course he didn't have the tools. He didn't even have proper shoes.
"We've been reviewing Ava's placement for the fall," Lady Lovelace continued. "She's being enrolled at Pluterra Academy."
Sorin looked up.
Ava grinned. "It's the best of the royal academies. Built right into the mountain. They take ten-year-olds from every major city tier."
"They also have the largest genealogical archives in the region," Lady Lovelace added pointedly. "And highly trained bondmasters."
"You mean dragon bonders?" Sorin asked, surprised.
"Every school offers dragons," Ava said quickly. "But the tuition-free ones are overcrowded, and their eggs are picked over by the time your group gets there."
Lady Lovelace folded her hands. "I could pull a few strings. You'd go in as Ava's academic companion. Your tuition and housing would be sponsored."
Sorin stared.
"You'd still have to qualify during the bonding trials," she warned. "There are no special passes for that."
"I… I'm not noble. I'm not even—" Sorin hesitated. "Why would they take me?"
Lady Lovelace's expression remained unreadable. "Because you're curious. And determined. Both rarer traits than lineage."
Ava beamed. "You'd come with me, then? We'd start together?"
"I—" Sorin hesitated, the walls suddenly feeling taller. "I don't even know what kind of dragon I'd bond with. Or if one would even pick me."
"You'll never know unless you go," Lady Lovelace said.
And somehow, that was that.