It wasn’t everyday Zaiden’s father asked for his company. For which he was glad. However, today he wasn’t so fortunate.

“Did you do what I asked?” Zaiden’s father and the leader of Abrax was a stern man. The hairs on his beard were just starting to grow gray and his eyes had somehow gotten darker over the years. His wide shoulders and tall form made people want to cower away. Despite all that, it was clear the two were related. Adnan Amin was an older version of his son. They had the same jaw and skin tone. If Zaiden were to grow out a beard it would probably look the same as his father’s.

“Yes, everything is in order,” Zaiden answered, avoiding eye contact by staring directly at the wall behind his father.

“And how is…” Adnan went on, hand to his chin. His knuckles were still bruised. “How is the girl? Can you keep her stable?” This was a question Zaiden had been anticipating. Emryn was seen as a liability. If she were to lose control or turn on them, the destruction she could cause would be endless. He had seen it for himself. The wolf-spider attack and what remained of the laboratory told him just how powerful she was. Emryn was truly amazing. Who would have thought the woman who would get so infatuated with plants and sunrises, could also cause such pandemonium.

“Emryn will not hurt anyone. I’ll take responsibility for her. If she acts out you can take it out on me.”

Adnan stared his son down with an expression Zaiden was afraid to know the meaning of. “If something were to happen,” his father started, “I will make sure all parties involved are dealt with. Do I make myself clear?”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Zaiden spoke just as he had rehearsed. “Understood.” Void and emotionless, he kept his head high. Hands held firmly behind his back, gripping a strange blade, in spite of the pain resonating from his stomach.

“Dismissed.” Adnan waved him off and Zaiden didn’t hesitate, eager to leave his father’s office. Taking steps was hard but this was not the first time he was forced to leave here with an aching body.

“Oh and Zaiden,” his father spoke again. Stopped in his tracks, Zaiden dared to look back at the man. “Yes?” he asked, hopefully hiding his worry.

“Don’t leave the base for such a silly thing ever again,” Adnan ordered, pointing at the weapon in Zaiden’s hand. “I do not take kindly to people going behind my back. Especially my own son.” Zaiden instinctively rested a hand to his stomach. Clearing his throat, he bowed his head and left the room. It was never wise to make Adnan angry.

Emryn’s circular blade was in his hand, providing an odd comfort to him while in the office. He had gone back to retrieve the weapon on his own shortly after she had been taken to the infirmary. She was still resting there now. He hadn’t gotten a chance to visit her but he had sent Simone to go check in. Maybe give her a tour if she was awake.

While walking through the halls, hiding his pain was easy. No one was around, making it easier to avoid suspicion. Eventually, he arrived at a more lively part of the base. Normally being surrounded by his people made him feel more at ease because it wasn’t hard to smile around them. However, the halls started to get crowded as more and more people gathered around him. All he wanted was to get to his room. Hide the aching pain in his stomach.

“Commander Amin! Is it true?” One of his subordinates, Mary, was staring up at him with eager eyes. Her blonde hair was roughly tied back, giving the impression she had just woken up.

“Is what true?” The group huddled around him was made up of an odd assortment of people. Some were still teenagers while others were well in their fifties. They were loud with questions, all talking over each other. Zaiden held up a single hand to silence the crowd. “Is what true?” he asked again.

“There’s a new girl here who can make the earth tremble,” a boy to his right exclaimed. “With awave of her arms she can kill twenty wolf-spiders.” He held his arms up in the air for emphasis.

“There’s no way,” someone replied.

“No it’s true. I heard it from Peter and a few of the other captains,” the boy argued.

That caused a chorus of murmurs and people were starting to argue again. Their voices were starting to give him a headache. “Everyone please,” Zaiden called out, massaging his scalp. “Quiet down for a second.” A round of meak apologies followed, giving Zaiden just enough time to think. Emryn’s identity wasn’t a secret, but he doubted she wanted to go around showing off her ability, and yet, most of Abrax already knew about it. He’d have to scold Peter and whoever the other captains were later.

“It’s true that we have a new recruit, but please refrain from overwhelming her with questions when you meet her. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have some work to do.” Zaiden maneuvered through the crowd and to his room, the only place he could find any peace. Setting the chakram down on the nightstand, Zaiden could finally look at it.

The weapon was strange but oddly familiar. He remembered seeing something like it when he was still a teen, but he couldn’t place exactly where. The craftsmanship of the blade was captivating. The gold accents on top of, what looked to be, pure silver made the weapon stand out. It was definitely different from most weapons used today.

People prefer guns or even heated blades, like Simone's ax, because they were the easiest to use against people and wolf-spiders. It must have taken Emryn a long time to master a weapon like this.

A knock on the door startled him. Emptying his pockets, Zaiden prepared to answer it. He knew it wasn’t his father but it could have still been one of the man’s advisors. The floorboards creaked with each steady but anxious step Zaiden took towards the door.

“Commander Amin?” Zaiden sighed in relief. The person on the other side wasn’t under his father’s command, they were under his. Losing the tension in his shoulders, Zaiden opened the door to Peter Franz, one of the lower ranked officers that usually worked on patrol. It was a surprise to see him here. Peter wasn’t one to leave his post unless it was an emergency, but his face didn’t show urgency, just worry.

“What’s wrong?” Zaiden asked, holding the door wider to see if there was anyone else in the hall. It was empty. Not a soul in sight, which only served to make Peter’s visit more unusual.

Peter held his hands tightly in front of him and looked around nervously, never meeting the commander’s eyes. He was sweating like a pig and shaking like a dog. He didn’t exactly look like a soldier, that was for sure. Whatever was on his mind bothered him enough to make him go directly to his superior’s room.

“Officer Franz, if you do not answer my question I will shut this door and you can let whatever it is that is bothering you plague you all night.”

“Sorry,” he squeaked, then cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he repeated. “I don’t mean to bother you.” It was a little late for that.

“It’s just,” he paused. “Are you sure she shouldn’t be in a cage?” What in the devil’s name was he talking about? Zaiden’s first thoughts went to Simone. She had an act for tormenting recruits randomly. He brushed that thought off. No, if there was a ‘she’ Peter feared, it had to have been Emryn.

Peter was there when she massacred those wolf-spiders. Tearing apart the ground in the process. He was also one of the officers that was circulating rumors about her power. His brows furthered and the hold he had on the door tightened. “If you are referring to Emryn, I’m gonna have to stop you right there.” He stepped closer. “She will not be going into a cage simply because you are scared of her.” Zaiden was close enough to feel Peter’s breath fan his face. Taking hold of the officer’s jacket, his voice went lower. A warning. “You want her in a cage so bad, you put her there yourself. See how close you get. Honestly, it wouldn’t matter, I don’t think there’s a cage on earth she can’t rip apart.”

His hold got tighter, causing Peter’s eyes to widen. Zaiden smirked. “Still want her in a cage?” Peter shook his head rapidly. With a grin, Zaiden calmly let go, backing away to give the man some breathing room again. “Good.”

He patted the officer’s shoulder. The contact allowed Zaiden to feel his form shaking. It took a lot of willpower to suppress an eye roll. Walking back into his room, he was stopped midstep.

“You’re really not scared of her?”

Looking over his shoulder, Zaiden spoke as clearly as possible. “I am not scared of her. If anything, I’m amazed.”

The door slammed shut. In the safety of the other side of the door, Zaiden sighed, falling against it. The impact, though light, caused a wave of pain through his body. He still needed to ice his stomach.

The small cooler in his room had been an early addition after he moved out of his father’s quarters years ago. Bruises would swell fast if he didn’t tend to them quickly. Opening the top drawer of his nightstand, he pulled out his painkillers.

Time passed slowly as he laid in bed, trying to heal enough to convince everyone that everything was okay. He was fine. This was normal.

The ice packs had successfully made the swelling go down. He was numb. The only thing he could feel was the phantom of a fist. The pain still existed but it was faint.

Now that he had recovered enough to move, he made his way through the halls with one destination in mind. The hospital was deathly quiet when Zaiden arrived. Nothing but the footsteps of a few wandering doctors and the beeping of machinery.

Malcolm was laying in bed, back facing the door and his head under a pillow. Curious, Zaiden wasted no time marching up and stealing the cushion away from the drowsy general. “Rise and shine sweetheart,” he announced.

A slap was his reward for waking the sleeping beast. Zaiden rubbed his now burning arm. “I’m paying you a visit Malcolm, the least you could do is be awake.”

Malcolm snatched the pillow back and hid under it again. “Die.”

“That’s not very nice.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be,” Malcolm sheathed, getting more annoyed with every word.

Sighing, Zaiden hopped onto the hospital bed with Malcolm, who groaned and tried to hit him again. This time Zaiden caught his wrist. “You know, I was serious. I came to check on you so talk to me,” he encouraged.

Malcolm removed the pillow, finally sitting up. His stiff and slow movements could have been from his injuries but Zaiden knew it was a result of Malcolm sleeping all day. The stare on the blonde’s face slowly morphed into a glare.

“Really? You’re here to check on me? Zaiden, don't pretend the reason you’re here isn’t to see Emryn.”

Zaiden rolled his eyes. “Obviously I wanted to see her but I came to check on both of you.”

“Well she’s not here. Simone came in earlier to give her a tour. In fact she paid me a visit too.” Malcolm turned his head away when he mumbled out the next words. “Stupid psycho.”

Zaiden shook his head, suppressing a smile. Malcolm struggled to get along with a lot of people but he could tell there was still a part of him that cared about Simone, even if he didn’t show it.

“How are your injuries?” Zaiden’s joking demeanor changed while waiting for an answer. Malcolm wasn’t one to make people worry but only because he didn't tell people when something was wrong.

“I’m fine. You should go back to doing your actual job and stop bothering me. I’m tired of seeing your face.” Zaiden grew very tempted to hit him.

Malcolm went back to laying on the bed, this time with his back facing Zaiden instead of the door. He was always so grumpy. Even more so since Emryn joined the group. If those two didn’t learn to get along soon, it would cause their group some problems. After speaking to Peter, Zaiden now understood that integrating Emryn into Abrax wouldn’t be so easy. If people saw that Malcolm, a high ranking officer, didn’t like her, they’d find even more reasons to fear and hate her.

“Did you speak to Emryn?” he decided to ask. Testing the waters. He needed to know where Malcolm really stood.

Running a hand down his face, he sighed. “Yes. I spoke to her.” He looked over his shoulder to see Zaiden urging him to continue. “And?” the Commander asked.

“And nothing. I still don’t trust her.”

“What’s it gonna take to change your mind?”

Malcolm folded his arms and turned away. He was rather moody today. “You can’t do anything to change my mind Zaiden. She’s a complete stranger from the outside. What’s gonna stop her from attacking us? She could lose her temper and we’d all be dead. Are you really willing to risk everyone’s safety just because you took a liking to her?”

Malcolm did have a point but Zaiden wouldn’t admit it. Emryn had to stay with them. She was a part of Abrax now. Things had to remain as they were. “Honestly, I don’t think there is much at risk here,” Zaiden stated calmly.

Malcolm furthered his brows. “What do you mean there’s not much to risk? We don’t know a thing about her!”

“Maybe,” Zaiden pondered. “But weren’t you in a similar boat when you first arrived here? No one knew who you were or where you came from and yet we didn’t hesitate to take you in. Shouldn’t you give Emryn the same courtesy?” Malcolm paused. When he didn’t respond, Zaiden knew he’d won this argument.

“All I’m asking is that you give her a chance. I promise to keep an eye on her. You don’t have to trust her Malcolm but I need you to trust me.”

The blond sighed. He visibly thought over Zaiden’s words. Thinking about every possible aspect of his proposal. It was a habit he possessed ever since they were young. It had always been what Zaiden admired most about him. His ability to look at everything from different perspectives and then make the decisions based on those observations.

“If something goes wrong and she wants out. Give it to her. Don’t try to convince her to stay.”

The two stared at each other for a while. Malcolm wasn’t one for backing down. The determination was evident in his eyes.

“Is that your only condition?”

“Yes.” His repose was blatant and quick. This was not something he’d give up on. However, it was a strange condition. Zaiden had half expected the man to tell him to kill her, or not let her go. He didn’t like the idea of Emryn leaving but if making this deal would make Malcolm remain at his side, he’d do it.

“I promise to let her leave if something happens.”

Malcolm nodded, looking at his hands. He was bothered by something but Zaiden didn’t know what. It could have been the conversation they just had or maybe his injury was acting up, but somehow Zaiden knew it wasn’t about his back.

“Are you okay?” Before Malcolm could answer, a bird started scratching the reinforced window. He flinched in the hospital bed. Malcolm’s eyes locked onto the bird. The air in the room had become so thick.

“I’m fine,” he said, still staring at the bird.

Another beat of silence.

“Have you heard any more news about Mallax or O’Conner?” Malcolm finally said.

Zaiden sighed. This is what he cared about while he was recovering? He was too invested at times. Malcolm had asked that question almost every single day since he got promoted to general.

“Focus on healing,” Zaiden instructed and turned to leave.

He was at the door when Malcolm stopped him. “I’m cleared to be at training tomorrow. I’ve healed enough. Please, Zaiden. Just tell me.” His voice was quivering. Worry was a rare thing for Malcolm to let show. The amount of times he let paranoia leak through this week could have been a new record.

Reluctantly, Zaiden told his second about the information his father had told him earlier. Letting him know where their enemy was and their suspected plan of action. When he got done explaining, Malcolm grew quiet. The bird resumed its scratching. As Zaiden left the room, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. That was the strangest conversation he’d ever had with Malcolm, but he’d have to think about that later.

Zaiden went back to searching for Emryn, determined to help her be more comfortable at Abrax. When he found her, waiting with Simone and Alex in the watch room, he took her to all the places he knew she’d love. The smile on her face as she looked at the sunrise was mesmerizing. He couldn’t help but think her eyes looked like the morning sky. The mix of blue and gold was stunning. When the thought had crossed his mind, he scolded himself and brought her somewhere else. He didn’t need to be having thoughts like that.

While with Emryn, it was easy to see how little she trusted the people here. She didn’t seem to fully trust anyone they encountered for that matter. He’d have to help her with that. Zaiden knew it had to be him. For some reason, Emryn trusted him and he had to use it to guide her into her place here.

He showed her her room but had to leave to get Braun, who had fallen asleep by his door, to bed. That small boy had to learn where it was proper to sleep.

“Why didn’t you want to talk to Dede? She’s a nice woman,” he had asked after reuniting with her in her room. Emryn froze when he asked. She was so quiet he didn’t think she’d answer. But she had. She told him things he knew were hard to say. He had done his best to make her feel better. Maybe he had been grasping at straws when he told her to introduce herself with the blade. In retrospect, it wasn’t the best idea. But it got her to smile. To laugh even. So maybe it wasn’t the worst idea. Shortly after, Zaiden had left to give her some time to adapt.

Once alone, or as alone he could be with Braun sleeping on his bed, he could finally go back to thinking about Malcolm. Zaiden had known him for a long time. Malcolm was probably his closest friend. But something had been off ever since they encountered Emryn. Zaiden wasn’t entirely sure if he could trust Malcolm when it came down to making decisions about her. All the things that he had wanted to talk to Malcolm about had been stopped from leaving his mouth. Maybe he’d let his old friend in on his secrets another time but for now, he’d keep them to himself and his father.