"Jenn," she said, stepping forward.
The seated Guardian looked down his scroll, gaze lingering on a name. He reached under the table for one of the scrolls.
"Mind manipulator. You tested high. Your quarters are in the third building. Training starts tomorrow morning at dawn."
Almost shrieking in excitement, Jenn snatched the scroll and ran. She'd passed the first two buildings before she remembered to look around her. She entered the third and walked down a hallway. The barracks was loud with chatter from other new Guardians. She walked room by room, seeking an empty one, and finally found a room that didn't seem taken.
Jenn entered and set her few belongings down on one of the beds. She instinctively reached for the necklace no longer around her neck. Her hand fell away, and she sat on her bed, startled to see someone else was in the room. The boy looked to be around ten with blond hair and cold, steady blue eyes.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Jenn."
"Hi," he replied.
"Do you have a roommate already?"
"No."
"You're young to be here, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "I didn't know they let girls in."
"They do," she said with a smile. "Special ones, anyway."
"I'm not special."
"You must be, if you're here."
"I should be dead, like the rest of my family."
"But you're not. I've heard the stories about the mortal world. You'll see. You'll be glad you're alive."
"I'm here because my master told me to be here," the boy said stubbornly.
"Who is your master?"
"Damian. He bought me off the auction block."
"I don't know that name. You're fortunate to be here."
"I wouldn't have been on the auction block if my family wasn't slaughtered!"
Jenn cleared her throat, not sure what to say. The boy's eyes flashed. The ground beneath them moved suddenly, a low rumble that made the beds shake. The walls stayed.
"It's been doing this all morning," the boy said. "Maybe what happened in the country is happening in the city."
"What happened in the country?"
"War," he whispered.
"There's no war right now," she replied.
"I saw it." The look on his face made her want to hug him and ease his fear.
"The earth rumbles sometimes," she said. "You want to sit with me? I'll protect you."