~Ghost/Camila POV~
The decision arrived without announcement.
I had been standing at the ward line for a long time, long enough that the light had shifted and the sounds from the mansion grounds had changed twice through different phases of activity and quiet. Camila had been present throughout, not speaking, simply occupying the shared space the way she had learned to occupy it, present without pressure.
"I am going in," I said.
"I know," Camila said.
"You are not going to argue against it," I said.
"No," she said. "I have been waiting for you to decide it yourself. Arguing would have produced the same outcome but would have made it feel like compliance rather than choice." A pause. "There is a difference."
"Yes," I said. "There is."
I stepped across the ward line.
