Shadowborn

Chapter 105: Aftermath

The city guard we walked through seemed torn on what to do. Some looked like they wanted to try and arrest me anyways while others shot me silent looks of support. Many were a mixture of confused and shocked. I had a feeling it had been a while since anyone had stood up so brazenly to the council and simply walked away.

But what surprised me was the flashes of fear I felt in more than a few of them. Eyes flinched away when I followed them. I wondered just how many of the men here knew who I truly was. From how afraid some of them were it was as if they expected me to fly into a murderous rage at the slightest provocation. All things considered, I wasn’t sure that was a bad thing. Not if they were working for the enemy.

I hadn’t been lying to the guard I’d let escape with his life at the very start of our assault. I’d never had any illusions as to who or what I was. And while there were many things I regretted in my life, the actions I’d taken during the war that had secured my reputation weren’t on that list. While I wanted nothing more than to resolve this without bloodshed, but when a system became too broken sometimes that was the only option.

I’d do everything in my power to resolve things without letting soldiers and guards like this—men so far below the ones actually making the decisions—suffer, but with how much suffering I’d seen just in the months since I’d arrived in this time I was more than willing to let my reputation do some of the work. My enemies needed to understand that while I preferred to handle things as the Zaren I’d become, the Zaren I’d been still remained if they left me no other option.

If the threat of violence helped keep me from having to commit actual violence, I’d take it.

The trip home was tense. I think all of us expected some kind of attack to the point where I was pretty certain both Jack and Allie were a little disappointed. I, myself, felt more than a little relieved. Even though it felt like violence had been instilled into my blood from the day I’d been born, I’d never once reveled in it. Not even when I felt it was warranted.

Any and all thoughts of violence, however, vanished the moment we walked through the front door of the manor. The energy in the air was infectious. The servants laughed and joked, and the second we walked in the door the warmth that filled the halls ramped up even more.

Later I’d ask how Stella’s homecoming had gone. I’d be told how she clung to Serena’s side until the moment they’d walked in the door and she’d been practically tackled by Rhallani. There had been tearful laughs and desperate hugs all around. It wasn’t until then that Stella finally started to relax and believe she was actually safe.

I’d also learn later that her and Rhallani, via Festus, had been talking near-constantly. And they hadn’t just been talking about runes and inventions, either. They’d become thick as thieves before they’d even stepped foot in a room together, so the second they were?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

By the time I was—quite literally—dragged to the baths, they were still practically glued together. When they spotted me (and Rhallani gave her a bit of a shove) she bolted into my arms with all the energy I was used to see in her, flitting around her workshop like a hummingbird on stimulants.

She waited exactly the amount of time it took her to hug me as tight as she could before she started tugging at my clothes. I had little say in the matter as the others (because, of course, just about everyone who wasn’t already in them accompanied me to the baths) stripped me with an impressive efficiency.

Once the blood and sweat had been washed from all of my nooks and crannies by several sets of thorough hands belonging to some overly giggly girls, I got dragged into the largest of the baths. I had just enough time to feel my shadows being suppressed before a muscular body slid in behind me.

“Rhallani’s been stress installing since the moment we left,” Jack explained, her hands exploring my front as she settled in and pulled me into her. “This was her last set, but now that we’ve got all three geniuses under one roof…”

I leaned back into her with a chuckle as Stella took (was guided to) the spot of honor between my own legs. Everyone else filled in around me as we all relaxed into the baths. I gave her a slow massage while the others all talked with her about anything and everything. With how long she’d spent essentially on her own, the elation and the joy I felt bleeding through our Link started giving me a secondhand high.

But, of course, this was my harem we were talking about. Jack’s hands started going lower and lower until they were wrapped around my length. I couldn’t see Stella’s face, but it wasn’t long after that Rhallani pushed my hand down until it was between Stella’s legs.

It only went downhill from there. It wasn’t long before Stella’s hips were rising, being guided back until she was sinking down on my cock. She rode me, leaning back against my chest, while Jack’s hands explored both of us and her mouth trailed kisses along my shoulders and neck. Rhallani captured one of Stella’s nipples in her mouth while her hand vanished between the Elf’s legs.

Safina helped from where she sat on the wall of the bath behind us and Allie, Tiana, and Serena all helped Stella reach the first of what would be many screaming orgasms. All around the bath things weren’t much better. By the time I spilled myself deep inside her, she was a boneless slump in my arms. She slid to the side until she was at my side, sandwiched between me and Serena, while managing to pull Rhallani into her place on her way down.

And on and on it went until we were really testing the runes that kept the water clean. True to form, the others made sure Stella had as many turns with me as she wanted, which was many. She eagerly took a spin between each of the others, cumming on my cock until she went so boneless Safina had to carry her up to the pit while the rest of us finished.

Most of the group went with her since we’d all been woken halfway through the night to deal with Nairn’s move. I went with them once we’d all dried off and spend an hour with her curled up against my chest, but there was no rest for the wicked.

The first thing I did was track down Noelle. I wasn’t surprised to find her in the training hall with Zoey and Reese, relentlessly pushing to get the hang of fighting with the added encumbrance of her wings.

It already looked like she was making headway, but I could tell she didn’t have anywhere near the confidence she’d had before Ash’s magic had restored her. Her practice axe clashed with Zoey’s broadsword with enough force to rattle my teeth. I watched as her wings flared out. With a single beat she took to the air—albeit somewhat unsteadily—axe and all. Zoey managed to deflect her downward strike, but it was still an impressive move.

And Noelle wasn’t the only one who had grown. I still remembered when I’d first met Zoey back when she’d been masquerading as one of Lady Vivian’s bodyguards, back before I’d learned that the prim, airheaded noble was actually the foul mouthed hothead I now knew as Jack. She’d clung to form and practiced technique to the point where she was basically incapable of improvisation. I’d helped her break through that first barrier, and a talented swordswoman had emerged from the work she’d done since.

Reese watched with those hawk-like eyes of hers, stepping in and helping them both make adjustments where needed. She’d grown a lot as well, just in a different way than Zoey. Jack had found them both and taken them under her wing as students, but the two girls were near complete opposites.

Where Zoey had reached her level of mastery with endless practice, Reese was one of the most natural archers I’d ever met. Her awareness and ability to gage distance in the blink of an eye was unparalleled, and she’d weaponized that ability by training with a bow and arrow until there was no skin left on her fingers. But while she’d been beyond gifted, the ghosts of her past had left her practically unable to connect with anyone.

She’d grown past that in her time with us. It had started with Zoey, then Jack, then eventually she’d reached a point where she was participating in conversations. Making friends. Relying on others. I hadn’t helped her as directly as I had Zoey, but I was glad to see she her doing better. Jack was, too.

Reese saw me (or rather, knowing her, decided it was finally a decent time to acknowledge my arrival) and called for a break. Noelle’s lips tightened like she was displeased to take even a small rest from training, but that tension evaporated when she saw me.

She leaned her practice weapon on the rack and headed straight for me, throwing both her arms and her wings around me. “Sorry I didn’t come sooner,” I told her, stroking her hair. It was tied in a simple braid that went most of the way down her back, contrasting beautifully with the black of her wings and the dark, bluish gray of her skin.

“It is alright,” she said, nuzzling into my chest, “Stella needed you.”

“So did you.” I turned her face up towards me. “Are you angry with me?”

Her unwavering scarlet eyes locked onto mine. “I was, but… you were right. I knew as soon as I asked Zoey to help me. Our first bout proved I would have only gotten in the way. But…”

“But that doesn’t do anything to quiet that angry little voice in the back of your mind, does it?”

She shook her head and leaned her forehead against my chest again. “Emotions are complicated. And annoying.”

“But worth it, in the end. Even the shittier emotions are better than feeling nothing.” It was a lesson we’d both learned.

She grunted her agreement. “Will you help me?” she asked. “I want to be useful again as soon as possible.” Her hands tightened in my shirt. “Even if I know I don’t need to be.”

“Of course I will. And I’m sure the rest would be more than willing to help too, but I’ve got a condition.” Her wings ruffled and she looked up at me. “Your wings are new. Hurting yourself by pushing too hard is only going to set you back. Have you been training since we left?”

She bit her lip, but behind her Reese met my eyes and nodded once. I knew from her look that she’d at least made sure Noelle wasn’t doing too much, so I inclined my head in thanks. “I will… be careful. Even if I want nothing more than to push until I am ready.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” I cupped her cheek and she leaned into my touch. “Just remember something for me. Just because you know you’ve survived worse, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to push yourself past your limits.”
She hummed low in her chest for a moment. “I understand. The others…”

“All piled up in the big bed. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you joining them.”

“After a bath, probably,” she said with a sigh. “Will you be there?”

“Not for a while. You don’t sack a councilman’s house without having to do some cleanup, unfortunately.”

“Later, then?”

“Knowing the others? I’m sure they’ll want to give Stella the full welcome tonight.”

She smirked. “Good.”

I chuckled and ruffled her hair. She batted my hand away, her smirk widening. She'd been very protective of her new hair since she'd woken. Then she grabbed my face in both hands and pulled me down so she could softly press her lips to mine. “Go do Zaren things. I will rest. I promise.”

With one final kiss to the crown of her head and a quick squeeze, I stepped aside to let her pass. Reese, looking relieved, pushed herself off the wall and said something to Zoey before following. Zoey smirked, and I was pretty sure I saw her cheeks darken, as she went after Reese. I watched them all go and shook my head, smiling to myself.

With all the enjoyable stuff out of the way, it was time to track down Cynthia. I had a list of shit to do a few miles long at this point. Dealing with the aftermath of the raid for one. Tracking down a missing goddess for another.

If Allura had told me what my life would look like now I’d have never believed her. Now that I had everyone under the same roof and we’d made our first moves against our enemy, finding her was my new priority.

Whether it was her plan or her execution that left a bit to be desired, I couldn’t deny that I wouldn’t be here if not for her. Neither would any of the others. As much as it pained me to admit, she’d at least earned the benefit of the doubt. I’d hear out her explanation at the very least.

Ugh, Serena was getting to me.

But I had to find the damn goddess first. Figure out whether she was in hiding or captured. I knew what my money was on. Unfortunately, before I could even worry about that I had to make sure everything in the interim was taken care of. That meant a lot of tasks that were considerably less pleasant than group sex in the baths.

# # #

As exhausting as my next few hours were, they were well worth it. I got messages from Rolar telling me that Councilman Miles was doing everything he could to try and find a way to put me behind bars, but with Nairn’s imprisonment and my maneuver combined with Rolar as my inside man, his hands were pretty much tied.

Just in case, though, I spent several hours with Cynthia preparing for anything. Making sure that, should Miles find something that slipped through the cracks, we had redundancies in place. After that we went over the last of the Household Adventurers plan.

Everything was in place and the doors would open tomorrow. Official notices would be posted in the guildhalls and we’d see just how far the Guild would be willing to go to preserve the status quo. And, now that I’d successfully planted seeds that were already being sown throughout the city, we started planning our next project. One that was arguably more important than anything we’d done so far.

An alternative to the Pens.

So far it was a sort of gated community that met all the requirements of the Accords when it came to housing indebted demi-humans, whether they’d indebted themselves or they’d been indebted. Already buildings full of single room apartments were being prepared. They’d be cramped, but they’d be leagues better than the hellhole that the Pens consisted of now. Actual criminals convicted of real crimes would likely still go to the Pens, since they were always meant to be more of a prison than anything else, but those born into servitude or who voluntarily indebted themselves to provide for their families would at least have another option. After that we moved on to dealing with the Silver Swallow.

As much as the existence of brothels rubbed me the wrong way, I knew simply closing it down would be a mistake. Not only were there a number of more promiscuous races that thrived doing sex work, but there were probably dozens of girls who worked at the Swallow now whose classes revolved around sex, maybe even with multiple partners. Getting rid of the Swallow would leave them out of work and very likely having no choice but to sell themselves on the streets.

Granted, I already had plans in place for any who wanted to try and change their classes through evolutions. I’d also already sent out feelers to the many businesses I was investing in so that any girls who wanted a different source of income had the option to seek one out. Between those jobs and the many jobs that would be opening up very soon with my plans for the Guild coming to fruition, I could make sure that anyone who wanted out of selling their bodies had an avenue to find one.

The Swallow—or whatever it would be renamed to—would make sure that any demi-humans in the district who wanted to make a living with their bodies had somewhere safe and protected to do so. If run correctly, it would also make it much more difficult for anyone else in the district to force others into the trade and still profit off it.

And if I was really lucky, the person Alianna—the lower quarter’s unofficial matron—pointed me towards to run the brothel would do a good enough job to offset the losses I was about to take in making sure all the women that Reade had forced into the life were taken care of.

It seemed I’d made progress in earning Alianna’s trust as well, because suddenly it felt like doors had been opened for me all across the quarter. People were more likely to do business with me. More than one property owner had sold me their property so they could become tenants, putting them and their servants under my umbrella of protection. She’d even given me another, longer list of demi-humans to get out of the Pens and working at one of my properties.

I now had far more servants under my employ than I could hope to keep track of. Just looking at the list Cynthia kept made my head spin. I’d assigned Liana and Elena both a half-dozen assistants at this point just to help keep their heads above water, but they never complained. The more work they had, the more demi-humans we were ensuring had safe, stable lives, after all.

It was annoying, tedious work, but it was well worth it all things considered. Still, it was also heavy work. A stark reminder of how far things had fallen while I’d been taking my divine nap. Of how far we still had to go. I tried to keep from blaming myself, but it was hard not to feel like I’d paved the way for things to fall this far. What might have been different if I hadn’t been so quick to walk away after Grimsbane had fallen? Could I have stopped what came after, or would I have merely been swept up in all the bullshit then, too?

Whatever the case, I felt like I needed a minute to think. That’s how I wound up sitting on the roof, watching over my corner of the city as the sun dipped towards the horizon. I’d draped the Jailer’s Blade across my lap and unlatched it, shuttering the connection so that I was only using a single Soul Essence every few minutes. With the night I knew I had ahead of me, I wasn’t worried about the cost.

The crimson shadows leaked from the scabbard and wrapped around my hand. There was a slight burn, but I was so accustomed to the blade’s effects by now that I hardly even noticed it. I wasn’t sure how much of the outside world she could see through me, but she seemed content in that moment.

“Thank you,” I said finally. “Noelle is so much happier than I ever could have hoped her to be when I first met her.”

Our Link hummed. I can’t take all the credit, she said. I felt a sense of bashfulness bleeding through that made me chuckle.

“Oh yeah? How d’you figure that?”

All I did was provide the power. Her soul provided the shape. I gave her the form her soul felt it should have. You’re the one who took her pain away. You’re the one who actually made her believe she even could be happy and whole. Even Katerina’s miracle laid the groundwork to convincing her soul that it might one day fly again.

If anything, I just sped things up. If she hadn’t sacrificed so much in the process of trying to save you, then I wouldn’t have had so much leeway in the first place. All these cosmic rules really are a headache.

“More cosmic rules,” I mused. “The cosmos seem a finicky thing.”

Psh, you have no idea.

“Either way, I owe you big time for helping her like that.” She fell back into silence and I frowned. “You okay, Ash? You seem… down.”

I… I am. I’m… upset. And I don’t really know why. Or how to explain it.

My brows furrowed. Ash was as smart as anyone I’d ever met. With the power she wielded and the way she thought, sometimes I forgot she’d only recently started developing a sense of self as a result of our Link. She was still fairly new to the whole emotions thing despite being apparently trapped in the blade for hundreds, potentially thousands of years.

I patted the scabbard. “If you’re willing to try, I’m willing to listen.”

Mmm. She took a moment to collect her thoughts. I… I don’t want you to die, Zaren.

“We go into dangerous situations all the time. It’s hardly out of the ordinary to be afraid to lose someone you’re close to.”

But it’s not like that! I felt a wave of frustration come from her. I mean, I’ve been scared before. That time with the Valax queen. When you fought the Rathum. When that Champion showed up. Every time I was scared for you, but I also had faith that you’d survive. That your strength and your skills would carry you through. This time is different.

“How so?”

I don’t know!

“That’s alright,” I said gently. “If emotions always made sense, they wouldn’t be emotions. Give it your best shot, and we can go from there.”

Some of her frustration quieted and she went back to thinking. I definitely don’t want you to die. And not just because of our Link, either. I feel like… like this world is better for having you in it. That I like living…well, existing in this world when you’re here.

“Well I definitely don’t plan to die anytime soon.”

That’s the problem. It’s not the same feeling as when I’m scared of you getting hurt. Then it’s like… like it’s the possibility of losing you that I’m frightened of. This feels more like… like I’m sad. Like your death isn’t a possibility, but a certainty. I’m not scared of losing you, I’m sad that I’m going to. It’s like I know your death is a forgone conclusion I can’t do anything about, and that makes me…

She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. With the raw, jagged emotions leaking through our Link, she didn’t have to. “Okay, that’s awfully fatalistic. You don’t have some kind of foresight ability, do you?”

Mmmn, no, that’s not it. My domain lies in creation and destruction revolving around souls. I think. I’m still working on that bit, to be honest.

Well, that was something to file away for later. Ash dropped the most interesting tidbits when she was thinking about other things. “So why do you think I’m going to die, then?”

Well, ever since we Linked, I’ve been regaining things. The Jailer’s Blade stripped away everything that made me… me. Your Link gave me the anchor to start pulling myself back together. Literally. Sometimes I’ll put another part of myself back in place and things will start to occur to me. I won’t be surprised by things I should be surprised by.

Take the woman from before, she continued, the Champion. I wasn’t surprised by her appearance, even if it terrified me. A Champion of a god that does not belong to this plane should be a near-impossibility, but when I saw her it felt like a given. Or take you, for example!

Not for the first time, I noted her use of Champion rather than Chosen. The distinction felt significant somehow, but that was something to worry about later. “Me?”

Yes, you! You’re a Shadowborn. Not only are you a Shadowborn, but you’re a descendant of the last remnants of the plane I was born to. One who was born into circumstances that should have, by all accounts, made you into a monster. Yet you never sacrificed your humanity. You may have locked it away here and there when it was the only way you survive, but even now your first instinct is to do good. You are a force of darkness that fights for the light. A paradox. An impossibility. A convergence of cosmological impossibilities that should never have been possible, yet to me they were a given. Somehow, against all odds, you were forged. Someone with the ability to not only wield my power, but to resist the power of the Jailer’s Blade. Not only that, but someone who would wield that power—the power that has toppled kingdoms in the past—and use it to protect, not to destroy.

I mulled over her words. When she put it like that, it was hard not to see her point. Rhallani’s findings weren’t too dissimilar. I was part of a very, very narrow subset of people who could so effectively wield the blade. Quite possibly a subset of one. Either our plane was one of the luckiest in existence, or…

“You think my birth was planned.”

I… I didn’t. Not until just now.

“By who, though?”

She mentally shrugged. I dunno. If I had to guess, whoever put me in the Blade in the first place.

“And why would they do that?”

The shadows tightened around my hand and I felt a trickle of fear from her. You remember what I said about souls being related to whatever my domain is?

“I do.”

Well, I think that’s something that’s really, really rare.

“Rare enough that an outer god is willing to lay waste to entire planes to get to you?” I guessed.

Rare enough that he already has. He wants my power, and the Blade kept me hidden from him. I think I was squirreled away on Kasidiel thousands of years ago as a part of a plan to keep him from getting his hands on me.

“But when I used the Blade’s magic to kill Grimsbane, who was in the process of connecting to that very god’s power with the intent to siphon his power…”

Another ridiculous coincidence that doesn’t feel like a coincidence in the slightest.

Which, if she was right, meant that bringing that god here was a part of this plan. Someone had been kicking this problem down the road for thousands of years, and it looked like it was about to land on our doorstep.

“And you think that me dying is another part of this plan?”

She didn’t answer. Once again, she didn’t have to.

“Do you remember anything else about this plan?”

No. I can’t remember anything about what’s to come, I just know after the fact that things went the way they were supposed to. I’m… unsurprised by the outcome of things. Like someone’s reading me a book I already know the ending to, y’know? I just can’t remember the next plot point for the life of me.

“Except my death.”

The shadows wrapped around my arm flinched. Except your death. And even that isn’t like I know when or how it happens. It’s like my subconscious is trying to brace itself for the pain it knows is coming, and that scares me, Zaren. It scares the shit out of me. I’m not ready to lose you.

I didn’t answer. What could I possibly say to that?

The silence stretched between us as the sun finally made contact with the horizon, drowning the lower quarter in the shadows of the taller buildings that loomed over them from the more affluent parts of the city.

What do we do, Zaren? Ash asked eventually.

I let out a breath. “Well, if you know you’re going to lose, there’s only one real option.”

And that is?

“Mitigate. Get as much out of the loss as you can. Prepare so that the loss doesn’t hit you as hard as it could. Look for the least shit option.”

The least shit option… What about trying not to lose in the first place?

“Of course I don’t plan on dying, but nobody ever really does. Not usually. But if there’s no way to avoid losing, then you prepare for what happens when you do.”

Prepare… prepare… hmmm…

The Link between us buzzed as her mind raced. I think… she said eventually, that I have an idea. A plan. Parts of one, at least.

My brows arched. “I’m listening.”

Uncertainty stretched between us. I can’t say.

“You can’t?”

No. At least, I don’t think so. If my plan is going to work, you can’t know about it. I think.

“That’s a lot of ‘I think’s’ you’ve got going on.”

I know, but it has to be this way. And I can’t do it alone.

“That presents a bit of an issue considering your current communication limitations,” I pointed out.

The pulse that went through the link felt like the mental equivalent of a raspberry. No kidding. That’s why I’ll need Noelle.

“And are you sure that’s a good idea? Didn’t she almost die the last time?”

I don’t need her to use my powers, she said hotly, I should be able to form a connection I can talk through so long as she’s holding my prison, sheathe and all.

With a nod, I pushed myself to my feet. Reluctance filtered through the Link that didn’t completely belong to either one of us as I slid the blade all the way into its scabbard and flipped closed the latch.

I sent it to my storage since it made pretty much everyone outside of my inner circle nervous to be around and climbed back into the manor. It didn’t take too long to find Noelle. Once again she was back to sparring with Zoey and Reese, getting the hang of her wings. Already she’d made impressive progress just since the last time I’d seen her in action.

The second she saw me she broke into a wide smile. Zoey followed her gaze and smirked, then held her hand out to take Noelle’s axe. Noelle handed it over then broke into a run. She leapt into the air and glided unsteadily at me with enough speed that even her light form nearly bowled me over.

“Whoa there!” I said with a chuckle as her arms and legs wrapped around me.

She buried her face in my neck as her wings jerked and flared out to try and balance us. “Everyone is here,” she said, her voice muffled. “Our family is finally whole.”

“About time, right?” I crushed her to my chest, which earned me a satisfied hum from deep in her throat. “I need your help, Noelle.”

She tensed in my arms, then pulled back enough to look at me with determination in her eyes. “Whatever you need.”

I set her on her feet, though I couldn’t help but notice the way she let her body drag against mine. Her already sensitive body had become even more so since she’d been healed, and she’d had much more energy. She hadn’t spent nearly as much time sleeping, and while she’d always loved to be cuddled tight, she’d been a bit more eager than usual when it came to intimacy. Whether Ash’s magic had done something to her libido or it was just a matter of confidence I had no idea, but Noelle was practically glowing these last few days.

Her crimson eyes went wide when I summoned the Jailer’s Blade. “Ash has something she needs you for.”

Noelle took it reverently, completely unbothered by its significant weight. Then her already wide eyes grew even wider and an awestruck smile spread across her face. She cradled the Blade to her chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Her eyes unfocused as if she were interacting with her System interface, then she nodded. “Ash needs the smart ones.”

“So not us, then?” I asked, grinning.

She grinned back. “No, not us.”

She carried the sword tightly to her chest with her arms while one of her wings wrapped around me and kept us pressed against one another. While I’d been dealing with the boring stuff, the others had gotten Stella all set up. Along with Elisa and Ryoko, she now had a workshop in a heavily reinforced building tucked against the side of the manor.

All my favorite brains were inside, hunched over something I didn’t even want to ask about. Their heads snapped up when I walked in like I’d caught them doing something wrong, but I promptly forgot about whatever it was Rhallani was hurriedly hiding from sight when Stella launched herself at me with a squeal of pure happiness.

“Zaren, this is amazing!” she cried, latching to my front not unlike Noelle had a few minutes ago. “The workshop, the materials! I mean, I get windows! I can really do whatever I want?”

“Within reason,” I said, tucking some stray hair behind one of her long, pointed ears. “We don’t have unlimited resources, but for the most part you’re more than welcome to let that crazy little mind of your run free.”

With another squeal, she jumped up so she could throw her arms around my neck and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I love you,” she whispered.

Warmth bloomed in my chest. “Love you, too.”

Rhallani and Ryoko both joined us, though I didn’t miss Rhallani stashing a roll of papers in a drawer on her way. After pulling me down for a kiss on the cheek, Rhallani hopped up on one of the workbenches and crossed her legs while Ryoko tucked herself into my other side.

“Done brooding up on the roof?” Rhallani asked

“For now, though I’ve got more brooding scheduled around midnight,” I said with a shrug.

Ryoko looked up at me with wide eyes. “You’re worried about something,” she noted.

“I’m worried about a lot of things,” I admitted.

She pursed her lips, her bushy tail flicking behind her in agitation. “More than usual.”

Yeah, well, learning about your impending death had that effect on people. “That’s why we’re here.”

Noelle stepped forward with the Blade. “Ash has an idea, but she needs help fleshing it out and Zaren can’t be a part of it.”

That made Rhallani lean forward. “Why not?”

Noelle’s head tilted to the side. “For the plan to work, he can’t know its details, apparently.”

Stella looked up at me, already worrying the ring in her lip. I captured her chin between my thumb and forefinger and tilted her head back far enough to capture her lower lip with my teeth and she groaned into my mouth. Then I placed a kiss on Ryoko’s head and she leaned into me, her tail wrapped around my leg.

“Ash needs some help, and I figured who better than the three greatest minds we’ve got.” Then I glanced at where Elisa was watching from afar. “Four, if you’d be willing.”

Her back straightened. “Me? O-okay. I’ll help however I can.”

I gave Ryoko and Stella a squeeze, pressed a kiss to Noelle’s temple, then tried to give a peck on the lips to Rhallani that turned into something much deeper when she threw her arms around my neck and pulled me flush with her. “Should we be worried?” she asked, her lips still close enough to be touching mine.

“Probably. Ash will explain, I’m sure.” I kissed her again. “But I trust you five to figure things out. She needs some friends to lean on right now, and I think it’ll do her good to talk with someone that isn’t me for a bit. Even if it is through Noelle.”

“We’ll take care of her,” Rhallani said, patting my chest.

I gave Ryoko a rub between the ears and she batted my hand away with a small smile, then I gave Noelle one last caress across the ridge of her wing and Stella a pop on the ass, earning me heated glares from them both.

“I’ll leave the rest to you all, then.”

I felt their eyes on my back as I left, but I kept up my unworried demeanor until the workshop door was closed behind me. I’d never really been afraid to die. Not since I was a kid, at least. Even when I was under Karn’s control, the thought of leaving the others unprotected scared me far more than my own mortality did.

For the first time, I had a life worth living. A reason for being that wasn’t just my above average ability to neutralize threats others thought un-neutralize-able. I had people who would miss me if I died. Mourn me. A family that I wanted a life with more than I’ve ever wanted anything. The idea of dying now… it scared me. And I wasn’t someone who was used to being scared.

But I knew better than anyone that letting that fear control me was a one way ticket to making stupid mistakes. Mistakes that wouldn’t just cost me. As badly as I wanted to freak out about Ash’s premonition, I had to keep a level head. I’d meant what I said to her on that rooftop. If our enemy was going to try to take me out of play, by killing me or otherwise, then I needed to prepare. To put things in motion.

And that meant having a conversation that was undoubtedly going to get me yelled at.