They weren’t kicking her out, then, but kicking her to the curb, reminding her of her place. “Sa’han . . .” she said, drawing to a stop.

He was smiling when she looked up, his mix of anticipation and amusement unexpected. “Your excellent grades and background give you a unique ability to infiltrate by taking a job as a genetic researcher. The enclave will pay you a small security stipend,” he said, handing her a contract rolled up and tied with a purple ribbon. “And that is what your title will be on the rolls, but you will have your wage from Global Genetics to supplement your income to where you will not need a spouse to maintain yourself.”

Her reality shifted, and she stared at him, shocked. She’d be free, as few women were in the sixties.

“You will work in a lab,” he said, drawing her back into motion again. “It’s where I think you ought to be, and I usually get what I want. You will, of course, maintain a façade of job performance for your human employers, but your primary focus is to inform us of any unusual developments.” He chuckled, rubbing his bald head ruefully. “Sometimes the humans get lucky, and we want to know of it.”

“But you said I needed to learn where I belonged,” she said, stunned.

“I said you needed to learn who you are. You are a dark elf, Felicia Eloytrisk Cambri. And I’m giving you the chance to do that. Will you take it?”

Her heart pounded as she realized what he was offering her. On paper, being forced to work outside of an elven lab was a harsh punishment, but in reality, she’d be doing what she enjoyed, what she was good at, and working somewhere where she could make a difference.

“Well?” Ulbrine asked, hesitating at the door to the hall. She could see the contract had been time-stamped an hour ago, legal and binding even if she signed it now. Beyond the door lay the world, and now she could be what she had always wanted, had striven for. Quen was right. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought.

Her hand trembled as she reached for a pen, her pulse fast. “I’ll take it.”