I liked that, the way Magnus took me seriously even though I was still young. It made me feel like I could trust some of the grown ups here in Darrow, like it would be okay, as long as I could stay here forever. If I left, I wasn't sure where I would go anyway, except back to the pirates, and while that seemed less daunting than it once had, I preferred this life.

"Thank you," I said again. "I like it here. I like... I'm glad we're friends."

I had a lot of friends here. It made me feel so much less lonely than I had thought growing up would be.