AARYN

"I've always said you have good instincts, Aaryn," Reth said. "I saw what you did today—the way you came to help her when everyone else was running away. Thank you."

Aaryn nodded, his jaw tight.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You know Elreth's going to have quite the fight on her hands. And her mother and I need to keep our heads down and stay out of people's way for a while so there's no confusion about who's in power. Which means we need people around El that we can trust."

"I'll be as close as she'll allow me, Sir," Aaryn said, then wanted to curse himself. It was a habit when alone with Reth to call him Sir—something he demanded when he trained them, though not at any other time. But Aaryn wasn't being trained now. And since the shock of the morning's events had passed, he was angry with the former King.

Very angry.

He folded his arms too, and Reth didn't miss the gesture.

The older man scanned down Aaryn's body—almost as tall as his own, though not as broad—then met Aaryn's gaze. "You have something you want to say, son?"

Aaryn huffed. He normally loved it when Reth called him son. "What would you have done if she hadn't shown up, or she hadn't challenged you? Or didn't beat you? Would you have gone through with banishing us?"

"No. I had… well, it doesn't matter what I had, because she did show up, and she did challenge me. So, there's nothing to worry about," he said, an edge in his deep tone.

"Nothing to worry about? Do you have any idea how much damage you did today?" Aaryn burst out.

Reth's eyebrows popped up, but he recovered quickly and tilted his head. "I may have some idea, but… why don't you tell me?"

"Everyone loves you, Reth. They all respect and trust you. And you just sat up on that stage in front of most of the population and told them you were willing to banish people like me from the Tree City."

"And I got my ass kicked for it."

"So?!"

"So, anyone who thought I had the right idea just got a very serious lesson in the consequences they will pay if they support that kind of action."

"Or they got a validation of their ideas from a source that is widely loved and won't soon be forgotten, no matter how much he 'keeps his head down.' And now she's the one who will have to deal with whatever those people decide to do. Because you get to walk away and stay out of it," Aaryn snarled.

Reth growled in his throat, but Aaryn was past caring.

"You want me to stick close, Reth? Protect her? How am I supposed to do that when a quarter of the population won't even share a meal with me?"

"And three quarters will," Reth countered. "You protect her by being what you've always been—someone who watches after her best interests, instead of your own."

Aaryn snorted. "How do I watch after her if I won't even be able to be near her half the time? You know what it's like when things are formal—even meals—"

"There are many kinds of support a Ruler needs, Aaryn. And you're capable of all of them."

"Am I?" he said and cursed the edge of hope that crept into his tone. "Because what I see is a good chunk of Anima who trust her less when I'm around. It seems like the best support I can be now is to stay away from her and—how did you put it? Keep my head down? Because if I don't, she's at greater risk—because you threw her in this fire with no warning, and now you're walking away!"

"You accuse me of harming my daughter?" Reth's voice was a low rumble, hard-edged and warning.

But Aaryn stepped up to the King's toes. "I accuse you of being so goat-headed that you didn't see that she wasn't ready for this and you forced her into what you chose, instead of—"

Reth's hand snapped up to the center of Aaryn's chest, but Aaryn was fast enough to catch it before the blow hit his sternum. He whipped up a block Reth had taught him and they ended up in a clinch—Reth fisting his shirt, him gripping Reth's wrist, both of them staring the challenge.

Reth's eyes glowed with the golden fire of his beast's. "Do not let yourself believe that my defeat today has made me soft, Aaryn."

"And do not think that your role in her life would make me any less likely to protect her from you," Aaryn growled back. "If you put her at risk—"

"I would never harm my family—and that includes you, Aaryn."

The words hit deep, but he scoffed, "Liar! You just told the entire population of Anima that I was worth discarding."

Reth's eyes widened and his grip on Aaryn's shirt loosened. "Is that what you think I did, son?" he asked softly.

Aaryn blinked at the sudden shift in his tone, but didn't lower his guard. "There's no thinking about it, Reth. I listened to you tell everyone—"

"You listened to me raise an issue to the people for it to be resolved. You listened to me challenge them to consider the direction their actions were taking us. You heard me make them think and you watched me lose the challenge to your m—uh, best friend, because only that would make them understand."

Aaryn tensed at the slip. He knew Elreth's parents had sensed his feelings for her. Everyone had, except Elreth herself. But it was the closest Reth had ever come to speaking of it directly. And had he been about to say—?

"Sometimes the role of a Dominant is to reflect people—or a person—back to them, Aaryn," Reth said carefully, as if he wanted to say more. "Sometimes the only way to show someone their error is to walk it out with them. Show them where they are heading. Anima understand action far better than words."

Reth stared at him—no longer challenging, now a strange light in his eyes, as if he pressed something in. Something he wanted Aaryn to understand.

Aaryn frowned. But Reth wasn't finished.

"You will never be discarded, son, not by me or my mate, and certainly not by Elreth," Reth said quietly. "Do not let the suspicion of a few make you believe darkness dwells in us all. You are part of my Pride. You have been since you were what? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Welcome in your home, is not a member of the Pride, Reth," Aaryn said starkly. "You and Elia are precious to me. And I'm very, very grateful that I have you. But… I am a wolf, not a lion, and everyone knows it."

Reth leaned in, his voice dropping near a whisper. "Aaryn?"

"Yes?"

"You just challenged the former King and father of your best friend—sorry, Queen—and didn't back down. Trust me, where it counts, you're a lion." Then, before Aaryn could figure out what to say to that, Reth chuckled. "Come! The females of my pride have need of a steadying presence. Let's go let them tell us all the things we should have done differently today so they can feel more at rest," he said, winking as he turned to leave, slapping Aaryn on the back so hard, he stumbled forward a step.

****

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