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/aimeelynn and join my discord chat. The event will be there at 1pm PST, Sunday, 6 February (Los Angeles date and time!) See you there! (This message added after publication so you aren't charged for the words.)

*****

AARYN

When Aaryn reached the cave he couldn't see anyone else in the meadow, though he could smell that Gar and Rika had passed through on their way before Elreth.

He wondered what would happen when his brother by flame and his mate were alone. If Rika would accept the bond now that she knew it was real.

Aaryn remembered how it had felt for him when he'd been sure, but Elreth hadn't sensed it… it was heartbreaking. He made a mental note to talk to Gar and make sure the male wasn't too on edge.

Turning his mind back to his mate, noting her fresh scent in the cave, he closed and barred the door to the cave behind him, then called,

"I'm here, El.

"

There was a muttered curse from around the corner in the kitchen and the rustling of papers—which meant she wasn't resting after all. Aaryn sighed.

When Gar and Rika had left, he and Elreth had stayed for a time. Elreth had ordered Tarkyn to send messengers to the team that was checking out the humans to learn if they'd been killed or lived through their fight with Gar. She didn't want to wait until they'd finished—especially if they ended up having to follow trails or fight. She wanted answers now about who was alive, and what they were planning.

When Tarkyn had asked her what clearance the team should be given to take action, Elreth's face had gone still.

"Kill them—but only if they attempt to leave, or harm an Anima,

" she said quietly.

Aaryn blinked in shock, but Tarkyn only nodded.

"The right choice.

"

Elreth snorted.

"There are no right choices in this, Tark, but I need to be able to ask them questions if that option can be left open without putting everyone at risk. If they're trying to leave, stop them. If they aren't… watch them. Carefully. We don't know what other technology they have.

"

Tarkyn leaped to do as she asked, and then Aaryn and Elreth had walked out of the building together.

But Elreth was so tense, her face a deep frown, and eyes distant. She'd started walking with him, but he'd squeezed her arm and encouraged her to shift.

She needed to run when she was stressed.

"Go, clear your mind. I'll meet you back at the cave,

" he'd said gently.

Elreth had looked at him, surprised.

"Are you sure?

"

He'd nodded and forced himself to smile. Usually she'd dismiss the idea if they were going to the same place and slow her own pace to be with him. The fact that she didn't even argue meant she really did need to run.

"Go,

" he'd said.

"I'll see you there.

"

She'd leaned in and given him a quick peck of a kiss, then turned and leaped into her beast, galloping along the trail and out of sight in seconds.

Aaryn had kept his pace slow to give her some time. He'd thought she might run for a while before returning to the cave for a rest. But she must have run straight here—her sent was heavy as if she'd been sitting in the room for a while, and spiky with frustration.

Her sent made his own chest tighten. She was carrying so much and there was nothing he could do to free her from it. He wanted to bite something, but he pushed the feelings back. He needed to be calm. To advise his Queen, his mate. To put his own feelings aside until they were all safe. That's the only thing Elreth would think about.

He strode through the Great Room and into the dining area and kitchen to find Elreth sitting at the dining table, head bent over several sheets of parchment, scribbling and biting her lip.

He didn't have time to ask before she started talking, raking one hand through her hair and gesturing as she spoke.

"It's happening. It's happening and I feel like there's still so many pieces of the puzzle missing. I can't decide if I'm grateful to find out that there's a second portal, or not. I mean, of course I am. We'd all die if we hadn't found out. But…

" she raked both hands into her hair, leaving a smear of ink on the front of her red hair.

"How could we not have known this for so long?

"

"The few who've gone beyond the desert haven't returned,

" Aaryn reminded her.

"And who knows how far away it is? Just relax, El. We'll figure it out. Even Rika thinks we've got a few days. Gar will get everyone ready. The disformed will form their tribe. And we'll get our answers from Gahrye and Kalle—in fact, why don't we send some over now. At least we can be mostly certain the humans don't know about this portal. Write a list of questions and we'll send the scribes notes and ask them—

"

Elreth's head snapped up, her brows pinched.

"What do you mean, send some over? We're going ourselves, Aaryn, It's even more important now than it was before!

"

"I… but, the time is so short. I thought—

"

"No, Aaryn. We have to go. We can't tell anyone else everything. We'll forget something or… the only ones who know the whole story are us and the elders, and I'm definitely not sending them! We're going. As soon as the rite is over, we're going. It's going to be a busy few days. So get ready.

"

Aaryn stood there, next to the table, and bristled. She hadn't even asked him. Hadn't even thought about the risks. He could see her point—she was right, no one else would know as much as the two of them. And there was far less likelihood of losing something as it was passed along by going herself but…

His entire body shivered with tension. Every day there was something more. Every time he turned around, it was one more problem, one more stress. Elreth clearly felt it even more than he did—she was still raking inky fingers through her hair and giving herself black streaks at the front of her hair. He wanted to take the pen away from her and pull her out of the chair and get her to turn away from all these problems for a moment.

It hit him then, that if this was real, if the humans were coming—and soon—they had only days before… before…

Holy **.

"El?

" he breathed, barely trusting his voice.

"I've been thinking about how to approach this,

" she said, distracted, flipping through a couple of the papers already spread out around her.

"I mean, if this was another tribe that we knew were planning an invasion, if I knew they were coming, how would I address it? I'd try to clear out their leaders. Assassinate or harm them so they couldn't travel. Just to slow them down and give me more time to plan.

"I'm thinking we talk to Rika this afternoon about specific locations and how to reach the humans on the other side of the portal. How to find them, and who to target. See if we can put this team on their ass for a time to slow them coming through.

"

"El,

" Aaryn said, a little harder this time.

Elreth looked up, frowning. Then she caught sight of his face and her mouth dropped open.

"What is it? What's wrong?

"

"I just realized,

" he croaked.

"If this happens as quickly as we think it's going to… we've only got days left together.. I mean, for certain.

"