AARYN

When he and Elreth finally slumped, exhausted, into the furs, Elreth curled into his chest and began to snore immediately. She planned to only sleep for an hour before dinner, then the meeting that night, but Aaryn figured he'd better make sure she woke up. She seemed to have fallen very deeply asleep as soon as she was no longer distracted.

Feeling only slightly smug, Aaryn sighed. His eyes dragged closed. He wanted to sleep too after such a short night of sleep and such a stressful day—which wasn't over. But he knew once dinner was over they would be consumed with the meetings and decision making, and it would be another day before he could see his mother. He didn't want to wait. So, even though she would be disappointed not to see Elreth, he decided it was better for him to go alone, than not at all.

Slipping out of the furs slowly—Elreth didn't even stir—he dressed in clean leathers and a linen shirt and headed quietly out of the cave, smiling when he had to unlock the cave door.

Unfortunately, the churning he'd felt in his gut all morning came back as soon as he stepped out of the cave and into the bright sunlight. He was buffeted by images from the night before, that morning—Elreth's face when she realized what was happening, and that he knew more of it than she did. The faces of the disformed when she declared they wouldn't be using the traverse again anytime soon. Gar's face when he thought she was going to stop the training… just, everything.

As he stepped under the trees into the forest, heading towards the Tree City and his former home, he was sweating, he realized. And it wasn't from exertion. He walked slowly because he wanted time to think.

It had been one of the tenets of the disformed vow to service, that their loyalty remained to family first, then the Crown, the Anima as a whole. Every Anima that had taken the training knew that if the humans learned about anima and tried to come through, to invade, they could not trust the voices to stop all of them—and in fact, if their goals were aligned, the voices might only strengthen them.

The voices didn't care who they destroyed. They sought only to be unleashed in the world—Anima, or human world, they didn't seem to care. But it was a known fact that entering the traverse with ill-will towards others was the fastest way to be overcome by them.

Aaryn still wasn't clear on what the voices were. In the end, he'd chosen leadership over training—setting his attentions and learning towards the society, the people, and how to use their strengths to compensate for their weaknesses. So he'd never faced the voices personally, but he'd heard story after story. And all only convinced him more that the traverse was not the purpose for him.

He'd also been aware that if anything happened to him, his mother would be left almost entirely alone. It had seemed wise to put himself in a position to stay present…

Aaryn sighed. He hoped she was feeling better. He prayed she wasn't still beating herself up for not making it to the Flames. The truth was, he'd been so consumed by Elreth, he'd barely noticed anyone else anyway. She might have been hurt that he didn't spend more time with her if she had come. Perhaps it was all just part of the Creator's plan—better for everyone.

He would tell her that when he saw her. He prayed she wasn't asleep. But if she was, he would wake her. He needed her to know that he wasn't abandoning her now that he'd Mated.

He had just met the intersection of trails, where the Great Trees became more numerous, their massive trunks bearing the evidence of homes—doors and windows—and where the lanterns began to line the trails at the outskirts of the city—when he heard pounding feet approach from ahead. He stopped mid-step, bracing as a massive horse barreled around the corner, tossing its head and beginning to rear up when it caught sight of him. But it didn't scream and paw the air in aggression. Before his eyes, the beast sucked in and away, leaving his human counterpart, panting on the trail.

"The Queen, is she with you?!" The equine guard blurted, rushing the final steps to Aaryn.

"No, she's asleep. But I can get her—"

"You must! I have a message from the Security Council, and urgent meeting, a breach—she is needed immediately!"

Aaryn's stomach sank in the same moment he leaped to life, sprinting down the trail back towards the cave.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

They must have scented Hannah, or learned of her presence. But who would have betrayed the disformed? Or the Queen herself? She'd told them to keep it quiet. Told them she would come back with a decision.

Despite his urgency, the guard was kind and didn't shift, just kept pace with Aaryn along the trail, then through the meadow to the cave—where Aaryn realized he'd be interrupting Elreth's sleep. Naked sleep.

"You stay in the Great Room and let me get her!" he barked as they ran through the door.

"But—"

"Do it!" he growled with all the conviction of his Alpha status—and King Regent, he supposed.

The male, startled, then slid to a halt, and submitted. "Please bring her quickly."

Aaryn tore through the cave and into the bedchamber, hoping his pounding feet would wake her before he reached her. But when he threw the door open, she was only just stirring. She sat up, the furs falling to her waist as she squinted at him and put a hand up to push back her thick red hair that had fallen over her face.

"What's—"

"Emergency Security Council," he muttered, running straight to the closet and pulling out fresh leathers and shirt for her and tossing them to the sleeping platform. "Get up, Elreth. They're onto us already."