(From Ashes) Chapter 35

Pride: From Ashes
            Chapter 35
            Find Peace

Keith had settled on his bed with the Black Lion book. The books had gone a bit by the wayside recently… but he needed a distraction. His bruises were certainly sore, and he'd been told in no uncertain terms he needed to rest, but he no longer felt bad enough to justify taking up an infirmary bed. Of course, rest and distractions didn't come easily. He'd spent much more time dwelling on current circumstances than reading anything.

Then there was a knock, which he was almost grateful for at this stage. "Come in."

Pidge walked in, closing the door behind him and standing at attention. "Just an engineering update, sir."

Not a surprise. Keith set the book down beside him and nodded. "Go ahead, Pidge."

"The lions didn't lose very much armor, what they did is patched. But he hit some critical components. I was able to patch Green's ammo feed, but I don't really trust it… and Blue's eye is a problem." Frown. "It looks like the optical sensors themselves are intact, but the lens system needs a lot of repair work and we don't have the materials. There were a lot of spare focusing lenses for the Drule tanks back at the fortress, so I asked if the Arusians could bring some up. Hopefully they'll suffice, but we won't know until they get here."

Keith slowly nodded, a thoughtful frown on his face. "At least we might have something, then." It was something of a miracle they were only running into these problems now. "Is the lack of materials a part of the ammo feed problem, too?"

"Yeah. It's just metal but it's not at all the correct alloy." Pidge made a face. "Even if we have the raw materials to match it, figuring that out and producing any of it would take equipment and downtime that we don't have. So I just used what was available in the meantime."

It was the best they could ask for. "Anything else?"

The ninja shifted uncomfortably, taking a shallow breath. "…He was going for the ammunition stores. More than once. And I'm not even sure the lions have ammunition stores, except they have feed mechanisms so they must?" He gave Keith a frustrated look. "We don't know enough. We have to learn fast. I'm working on it."

…That was an excellent point. Keith was pretty sure Black's projectile weapons had nothing on their displays about ammunition. It hadn't seemed like an issue, what with them being magic robot lions and all, but… "I know you are, and I know you're doing your best. Just keep at it. Once those lenses are in, do what you can with them."

Pidge nodded. "Yessir."

Though he was obviously ready to be finished now, Keith studied him quietly for a moment. "Pidge, I appreciate the work you do and your general… proactiveness. But what were you hoping to accomplish?"

Oh. Pidge knew full well that wasn't about the maintenance; he narrowed his eyes. "I found where he was hiding. He'd still be threatening the tunnels."

"That isn't what he asked."

Oh, don't you start. He felt certain Keith was asking questions he already knew the answers to, even if he didn't really know he knew them. And the wound over his shoulder blade ached a bit at the reminder. That was just what he needed, an injury that got worse with guilt.

The commander's gaze remained calm. "I understand that, and I do appreciate that intel. But you saw what he did to all of us the first time—not to mention what he was able to do to you. That was…" He didn't quite dare say the words not smart, but he was thinking them. "What you did was dangerous. He could have killed you, and we can't afford to lose you or anyone on this team."

Anyone else.

Pidge glared at him, obviously irritated. "Sir, you're not telling me anything I don't know."

No, I'd imagine not. Keith nodded and asked the question again, more gently. "So, what were you hoping to accomplish?"

Sigh. "I don't know." The thought had been lurking. Had he really thought he could end it so easily? Had he been arrogant or stupid, or both?

Somehow, Keith hadn't expected that, but also wasn't all that surprised by it. Black purred. "Sometimes, Stormsoul… Loyalty finds it necessary to attempt the impossible."

The impossible. They could all relate to that, couldn't they? This team had pulled off the impossible for each other. More than once. "I see. Nothing can be done to change it now, in any case. You did what you felt you needed to try to do." He looked at the ceiling, then back at the ninja. "I would ask that you not go out looking for him alone again."

Snort. "Considering we've moved up to patrolling in the lions, I think that was implied."

Sure, but he'd have thought that the first time, too. "Implied, yes. But now I'm making it official. We can't afford to lose anyone. All right?"

Pidge supposed he didn't get to argue with that. "Understood. Think I'm going to be busy teaching Larmina how the lion works for a little bit, anyway." She'd had a few thoughts on how the last fight had gone, and he'd heard them all.

He'd learned a lot of Arusian profanity.

"Yeah, she'll need to get familiar with her role quickly." As if everyone weren't still trying to figure that out on the job. "Okay. Do you have anything else to report? Or ask?"

"No sir."

"You're free to go, then. Thank you for the report." Watching as Pidge nodded and left, he drummed his fingers on the cover of Black's book and exhaled slowly, feeling static in his fingertips as he did so.

There was so much still to understand.

*****

After the lions-versus-jaivur encounter—calling it a battle seemed a little generous, perhaps skirmish? Perhaps debacle?—the team had implemented constant patrols over the foothills. The Arusians had secured and shut down the compromised tunnel entrance, which was at least some measure of relief, but they still had to find and neutralize their unwelcome visitor.

Blue Lion's blind spot had been a point of contention. Keith had offered to let Sven off of patrol duty until they could fix it, but he'd declined. Hunk couldn't do any patrolling in his condition; Black and Red Lions still ran the risk of setting a full-on wildfire in the foothills if they tracked the jaivur down in the wrong spot. Removing Blue from the rotation for a relatively small inconvenience didn't seem prudent. It wasn't too difficult to compensate, he just had to keep swiveling her head more aggressively to make up for the large empty spot on her viewscreen. Blue felt a little irritated at the unusual movement, but she wasn't outright complaining, because she knew as well as he did that it was necessary.

Feeling a sentient lion's, well, feelings no longer seemed weird.

You might have even more to get used to soon. He cast a quick look to his back seat. Will anything feel different then? Bonds, or piloting, or… anything, really?

Blue chuckled, and he frowned slightly. If she was listening she could at least give him some insight. "Well? Will it be different?"

"Perhaps, but not in the way you think."

…Of course. "We're back to nonsense answers?"

"My way of responding has not changed."

"You could have just said yes." Glancing at the back seat again, he exhaled slowly. "On that note, do you think she'll say yes?"

"I am uncertain; she is quite unsettled on the matter. She could have come to me at any time, but her mind yet churns. Only once she achieves peace will we both know her decision."

Snort. "Peace?" That sounded absurd under the circumstances—both the team's, and Romelle's alone. For that matter, it didn't sound like something to just reach and be done with. "How does someone 'achieve' peace?"

Blue purred softly. "By restraining one's mind from conflict with itself. By seeing the past as it truly is, and not how one wishes it were or fears it to be."

Sometimes, Sven forgot that his lion wasn't just a mothering smartass; he grinned faintly. "I have no idea what I am supposed to do with that."

"You are not the one who needs to achieve that peace."

Maybe, maybe not. Either way, contemplating that much further seemed unlikely to lead to anything like peace, so he returned his focus to piloting. Swiveling Blue's head more, he noticed a patch of trees that refused to quite come into focus no matter how he moved. Strange. His other scans weren't showing anything unusual, but… he lowered Blue to the ground, pushing her jaws as close as he could. "I'm going to get a better look at those trees, just to be certain."

"Be careful, Icehunter."

Sven nodded in acknowledgment and headed for the hatch, his knife and gun on his hip. No reason to expect trouble, but he was nothing if not thorough. Leaning over the lion's jaw, he peered into the trees with interest; the shimmery bark had some kind of fractal structure to it. He wondered if it was partly Blue's damaged visual sensors that made it disruptive.

If not, that could be useful, actually. "Any idea what this is?"

"They appear to be trees."

…Well, she wasn't Green. "I'm going to get a sample." If he leaned far enough he could do it without leaving the safety of Blue's jaws, even.

As he cut a couple of sections of bark, Sven thought he might have heard something else—motion from somewhere that wasn't the trees. Probably just an animal. Or the wind. Or him being paranoid. Or…

This moment, this exact moment, is when you should just turn around and get back into your lion.

He almost had the last sample loose.

Flynn had mostly recovered from the burns. It was tiring. He'd been hiding by a rocky outcropping between the foothills and the lake, spending the recovery time considering tactics. Fighting the lions was stupid, the castle was a hard target but did have a lot of holes in it… he had come to no conclusions, and certainly hadn't been expecting the blue one to just pop up out of the lake as he debated.

He'd quickly ducked behind the rocks—nope, not getting in a fight with that—and while it was a good blind spot, the lion hadn't gone all that far. Several sweeps along the line of the hills, mostly. Not hard to keep track of, considering it was very large and very blue, and he'd decided it was in his best interests to at least monitor the situation.

When the lion set down in one of the valleys, he approached as close as he dared… and stared blankly as Sven appeared in the lion's mouth. He'd known there had to be hatches somewhere, but—Who the fuck made that design decision?

Yeah, that's the question here.

"Fuck off." He waited for the inevitable struggle, the surge of rage that would dampen his ability to think, wanting to get it over with before acting… but the voice retreated much more quickly than usual, and the spike of chaos was barely a flicker.

Watching as Sven started cutting bits of bark off a tree, Flynn gathered his energy and waited for the moment. He didn't have a very clear shot. But when he saw the navigator pause and tilt his head, he knew there wasn't time to wait any longer.

The blast hit Blue's jaws with concussive force, missing Sven himself but flinging him out of the lion's mouth. He raced forward to cut off any retreat before gathering another flare between his hands. "Lost, Holgersson?"

…Should have gotten back in the lion. "You're the unwanted visitor." Gritting his teeth, Sven pulled his gun—which, really? But it was the best he had. "If anyone were lost it'd be you."

"Rude." Flynn flung more bolts at him, scattering toxic energy over the dirt. "Jace would be proud of you, but he has other priorities."

"Get back to the cockpit, Icehunter!"

Great plan, except I have to get past the zombie to do it. He dove out of the way and opened fire. "Well, he's not here to be rude, so I guess it's my job now."

"Oh, he's here." Smirk. "We've discussed this."

No. Absolutely not. Sven would not be entertaining that idea. He wasn't going to think about his best friend in pain inside this creature. If he just kept telling himself it wasn't him, wasn't them, he could do this. "I don't remember any 'discussion'." He fired again, trying to avoid center of mass—there was armor there—though mostly that meant he missed outright.

Flynn stalked closer. "What are you aiming for? We both know you can't fight like that."

As if telling him things he already knew was going to stop him from… well, shooting more and missing more. But getting into close range where he could use his knife was suicidal. He faded back, though that wasn't where he needed to be. Maybe he could circle around?

A second later a blast of energy engulfed him and he cried out in pain, dropping to one knee. No, he needed to figure a way out of this now—

Suddenly, Blue reared back and let out a furious roar, whipping her tail back and forth with a series of sharp cracks. Flynn spun towards her and jumped back, eyes wide. "What the fuck?!"

Sven startled too; knowing the lions could move a bit on their own was one thing. Seeing it in action like that was something else. Blue, you're kind of terrifying. He regained his feet and sprinted towards her, dropping his gun—wasn't doing him any good anyway—and pulling his knife as he ran.

The next thing he knew, he was brought down from behind by a very Jace-like tackle.

Sven grunted as he hit the ground, twisting and breaking the fall just enough to avoid serious damage. He knew the move, and could have tried a counter if the person doing it wasn't a zombie. "Now who's being fucking rude?" With a surge of effort, he tried to flip him off anyway… not with his finger, though that was implied.

Flynn responded by grabbing his throat, squeezing hard. Suddenly the voices surged again.

DON'T YOU FUCKING—

The rage spiked, so powerfully that he was dazed for a moment before tightening his grip. "You can't save him!"

Sven tried to swallow and wanted to laugh, though neither were available to him right now. Of course I can't save him. He's already dead…

"He's not speaking to you."

What? Wait. What Allura had told them flickered back through his memory. They're fighting him. Blue's earlier words came back to him, and an instinct started to glimmer in the back of his mind, even as dark spots started swimming in front of his eyes. Flynn's eyes were blazing, and Sven could practically see him struggling against the others, blinded by the fury. This isn't the first time. They'd seen it in the other battles—moments where he'd paused only to redouble his efforts. What did it mean?

With no breath to hold, he centered himself and reached out with his mind. He couldn't have articulated why, exactly. Instinct. But very much like when he'd tried to speak to the lake, his eyes glowed blue, and…

The pressure on his throat vanished, and a different voice broke through the fog.

"What the fuck did you just do?"

Gasping for air, Sven stared wide-eyed as the world rippled around him. "I… I don't fucking know." It was like the depths of the lake, light and air rippling in wild but gentle patterns. And crouched over him, hands on his shoulders and casting two shadows that weren't exactly his own, was a wavering vision he'd never thought he'd see again. "Jace…"

The medic shook his head, seeming a little dazed himself. "Yeah." His eyes narrowed, that old familiar focus. "Listen to me. This isn't what he says it is, you know that."

"Then what is it?" It's so wonderful to see you… he couldn't say that, he knew he couldn't. But hell if he could keep the thought away.

"Hell if I know. I didn't train on the fucking undead. But we're starting to get the hang of it." Jace hesitated. "Listen. It's not really Flynn, but he is on the front line. When he fights it gets worse. When we try to fight, it gets way the fuck worse."

Nod. "Okay." He wasn't quite sure what to do with that information, but he would relay it to the team.

"We've been using it as much as we can. But don't count on it. Kinda diminishing returns on sending the undead psycho into a fucking temper tantrum, right?" Sven's eyes widened as the words brought things together. "You're probably gonna have to deal with that in a minute, by the way."

Probably. "That's highly inconvenient for me right now," he said with a weak grin.

Snort. "You and the rest of us." Jace looked around, and the ripples in his form seemed to get stronger. "Figure out what you did here. We're all gonna need it."

"I'll see what I can do." He paused, knowing there wasn't time to just talk, but knowing he couldn't leave this there either. "Jace… we're going to free you guys. I promise." How? No idea, but they would figure it out, they had to.

Jace hesitated, then nodded and matched his weak smile. "…I know." And with that the ripples washed out, returning him to reality.

"Shut the fuck up!"

As Flynn reared back, Sven shoved the jaivur off with all his strength and bolted for Blue. His guts were churning, hating that it was over, but priorities.

Fighting the anger, gathering a massive burst of energy to vaporize his target entirely, Flynn regained his senses much too late—Sven was already clambering over the lion's jaws. He flung the energy just as the navigator disappeared through the hatch, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on Blue's armor. "Faex."

Sven felt something like an impact as he jumped into his seat, but nothing serious. Though this was serious. Some kind of button that alerted the others that there was an emergency would be extremely convenient at times like this, but a once-over of his consoles didn't turn up anything. There wasn't time to worry about it any further.

Bringing Blue to her feet, he opened fire on Flynn with her tail, not quite daring to use her elemental cannon at this range. A whole new set of bruises and burns were making themselves known, and he doubted he could actually pin the jaivur down here but he had to try.

Any illusions Flynn might have had about taking on a lion one on one disappeared as a tree next to him turned into an oversized icicle. No. Absolutely not fucking with that. Flinging a blinding bolt at the lion's good eye, he turned and fled deeper into the foothills.

To Sven's surprise, only part of his remaining viewscreen was washed out by the sickly purple energy. Enough to lose track, to be sure, but Pidge would probably be interested in the observation. He winced as his injuries stung more. "Damn it…" With a little more time, he still didn't see an emergency button. Then again, the lions were telepathic. "Are you able to inform someone of my predicament?"

"I could inform my siblings, yes. Shall they summon their pilots? Are we chasing him?"

He paused. Tempting as that was, there was already no trace of the jaivur except a few energy signatures where they'd scuffled. "…No." It wouldn't do any good. "Maybe just report to Keith that we had contact." The rest of what had happened, he needed to relay himself.

"The Alpha has been told."

Nodding, he braced against the new aches he'd acquired and dove Blue back into the lake.

*****

Yellow Lion was purring. Loudly. Pointedly. At Vince. And he was not a fan of it, especially because he was… well, he was kind of becoming a fan of it. Darn it, the purrs are nice. He did not want to have to say or even think it, but it was true nonetheless.

He was in the infirmary, keeping an eye on Hunk, who'd returned from the last fight and immediately collapsed into unconsciousness. Vince had volunteered to watch over him, because what else was he going to do? Dr. Gorma had reassured him so much that he now recognized he's going to be fine in Arusian, but it didn't stop him from being worried.

The phrase was bihshyre aorye, which didn't actually sound all that reassuring from probably the most exasperated doctor on Arus.

Yellow purred some more.

Finally, a groggy voice came from beside him. "Dude, why's the engine runnin' in the bedroom?"

With a sigh of relief that wasn't as relieved as he wanted, Vince turned to the bed. "That's your creepy lion."

Hunk cracked an eye open, slowly blinking, then groaned as he remembered where he was and what he was doing there. "He shouldn't be in the bedroom, either."

Snort. "You alright?"

"I mean, except for the hole in my ribs where some freaky undead golem thing shot me because undead use guns now?" He didn't feel like he was doing any worse than the last time he'd woken up in the infirmary. Which, considering how hard he'd dunked his lion on his back out there, was probably lucky. "I'm good."

A reflexive stab of guilt raced through Vince, and he grimaced. "Did you guys get him?"

"I don't think so." Waking up a bit more, Hunk noted Vince's expression and gave him a look. "Hey, don't look like that."

Vince tried to fake looking totally fine; it didn't work. "Look like what?"

"Dude, the hole's in my side, not my brain."

"I know that." Vince rolled his eyes at himself, then sighed and lowered his voice. King Alfor's words were lurking in his mind, but so was something Hunk had said before they went to fight. And as much as he didn't really want to ask, he needed to. "So uh, you said Yellow is an expert on death-y things?"

"That's what he keeps tellin' me. The Earth claims the dead or something so it's his secondary element, whatever that means." Hunk had a suspicion about where this was going.

"Great." He knew that. He'd known that since the Drule ghosts in the desert, for crying out loud. But he hadn't asked the obvious question about it. "…That's why he wants me, right?"

"Uh." Hunk blinked. "Maybe? Dude, I still barely know why he wanted me."

"Cub, you could ask me that question yourself. I'm right here."

Yeah, but I'm not speaking to you.

Yellow gave a gravelly huff of protest, but didn't say any more.

Eyeing him carefully, Hunk considered the question further. No, Yellow hadn't really explained his selection criteria, but… "I kinda don't think so. I mean, not entirely? He's pretty sure he's never named anyone after death the way Green just named someone after life, so I'd think there's gotta be more to it." Grin. "Maybe he's just got high standards for his Sentinel, yeah?"

Vince did not grin. "That definitely wouldn't explain it." Sigh. "Especially now, pretty sure I've ended up being way more trouble than I'm worth."

The inability to sit up straight was a pain—literally. Hunk rolled to face him the best he could, frowning. "What's really on your mind, little dude?"

"I saw… another ghost I've been talking to." Explaining that it was the High King felt likely to make Hunk yell, and yelling wasn't good with the hole in his side. "He tried to convince me this jaivur thing isn't my fault, and I can almost believe him but it can't really be a coincidence, can it? I summoned them, or they volunteered to come talk to me, or whatever, and Flynn flickered out weird and next he's a fuzzmuffining zombie! If it's not my fault whose is it?"

"…Well the hell it's yours," Hunk snorted, frowning slightly. "Didn't Romelle say there was a witch or somethin'?" He thought that had been in Yellow's summary of the situation… not like he was an expert on the undead, himself. Though he did own a well-worn copy of Monster Manual 11.2; that probably wouldn't help with this either.

"…Yeah. Someone called Haggar. She's a witch of the Drule undeath god?" Sigh. "But something had to get her attention. They were all here, talking to me, trying to be helpful… and now you have a hole in your side."

Truthfully, Hunk wouldn't have bet against what Vince was saying… not if he wanted to win the bet, anyway. But even if it were true he was skipping a few steps, and it didn't have to be. "They know it's us in the lions, yeah? Doubt they wouldn't have thought about," he flinched, "our dead friends on their planet eventually. Our dead friends who were definitely not your fault, by the way."

Weren't they though? Vince's gaze went to his fingers. If I'd just figured it out sooner. But that took him back to other things he didn't want to think about. The sparks. The how and the why. What the ghosts had been trying to tell him…

And now they're in this mess, and you think it's your fault, and you still won't listen to them. He gritted his teeth, trying to force that thought back. But it wouldn't budge. They shouldn't have needed to be here at all. If you'd just…

It was almost like a tripwire snapping in his brain by now. And the more he tried to dodge it, the worse it seemed to get.

Nope, nope, NOPE.

Watching his expression shift, Hunk felt pretty confident whatever was running through Vince's brain right now wasn't helpful. But trying to barge in on it when he didn't know what was going on wouldn't be helpful either. Which meant… Yellow, this is your cue.

"He does not want to hear from me."

When has that ever stopped you?

"More than you think." Yellow gave a sighing purr to both of them. "Cub, you will drive yourself to madness this way. You know it was not your fault." The next words were for Vince only. "It is easier to bury yourself in these doubts than to unearth the truth. You know what you are hiding from…"

Vince's frown deepened. Easier? What's easy about being the reason they're trapped like this?

"Another answer you already know."

Nope. "Know what, fine. You're the one that helped bring them here, it's your creepy fault, too!" Blaming the lion instead of trying to dig at his own denial felt a lot better, in the moment. But it didn't feel completely convincing either…

Yellow growled, chagrined. "Yes."

Blink. He hadn't really expected the lion to admit that. "Um."

Hunk was just as bewildered. He looked at Vince and took a shot at mentally looking at Yellow, though no mental glares ever really felt like they got through. "Okay, uh, look I'm happy to see you two agree on somethin', but I'm not sure that's a good thing to agree on?" Not least because he did remember the jaivur's reaction to Yellow. Flynn, or at least angry evil zombie Flynn, blamed the lion for this too. And angry evil zombie Flynn was blaming a lot of people for things that weren't their fault, so he was pretty sure this Haggar person was still the main problem. But he also knew you couldn't just reason people out of feeling what they felt.

"…We must see things clearly," Yellow growled softly. "The cub most of all." Vince tried one of those not-very-effective mental glares at that. "Beneath the guilt and fear lies the truth."

Sigh. Vince looked back at his hands and he could feel it, the weight of denial and nope. "They just… they were dead but they seemed so much like themselves when they talked to me," he murmured finally. "They seemed alright, and now they're not alright at all. If I had anything to do with that…"

"I get that," Hunk agreed gently. "It sucks. But we're gonna get 'em back to alright." Somehow.

Vince nodded hopefully. Maybe he was right. The lions could do all kinds of crazy things, what was the good of all that weird if it couldn't counter the evil Drule weird? Maybe once this was over, once the jaivur was gone and the spirits were freed, he'd be able to stop kicking himself.

…And then there would just be the other issue to deal with.

Yellow gave a low, chuckling purr at that, and Vince grumbled softly. Despite it all, he still thought the purring was nice.

*****

Everything in the castle felt so tenuous since the last fight. The threat lurked quietly in the unknown shadows beyond, and that was somehow worse… Romelle's thoughts were churning, and she felt chilled.

A walk might help.

Leaving her room, she soon found herself aimlessly wandering the halls of the damaged castle. Remembering with every turn what the enemy had done to this place. Soon enough she'd reached the shuttle chamber, once again staring down the tunnel to Blue Lion's den. It felt… ominous, an endless path into the darkness, but also strangely inviting. She could feel the sensation of water rippling around her.

Maybe…

Frowning slightly, she stepped into the tunnel, beginning the walk to the lion's distant den. She wasn't sure how far she'd gone when the solid tunnel walls changed, long windows revealing the lake outside. It was beautiful, but her churning thoughts refused to settle enough to let her fully appreciate what she was seeing. So she simply kept walking, her feet propelling her forward until she was standing in what had to be Blue Lion's den.

It was empty, right now. A huge cavern, dimly lit from a source she couldn't identify. Some light might have been filtering in from the lake water, the enormous pool where presumably the Great Lion herself would enter and exit. As she studied the water, a splash caught her attention. Then another, and she moved closer.

Playing in the shallowest part of the pool were more of Blue's pets, the gorcas. Romelle smiled and sat down on a large rock near the water's edge, watching them shift and splash about.

Soon enough, her thoughts turned inward again.

—She stood quietly on the tarmac beside the ship that was to take her to Korrinoth, her eyes focused on the landscape. The shadows of wispy clouds on the grass and the pavement. Beyond that, the castle gleaming on its hilltop, overlooking the lake and city below. I'm going to miss this. She closed her eyes, trying to commit the image to her memory, something she could take with her into the unknown.

"Romelle."

She winced, opened her eyes, and slowly turned to face her approaching father. Her training for perfect posture returned immediately; she raised her chin and squared her shoulders, but her eyes flickered quickly elsewhere. Several yards behind him, her brothers were approaching as well, and she took comfort in that before returning her gaze to her father. "Yes, Father?"

King Kova stopped before her, putting both of his hands on her shoulders. It wasn't a comforting gesture. "Remember your duty to Pollux, Romelle. You cannot fail. You must make this alliance work, no matter what it costs."

Romelle's mind was reeling, but her facial expression did not change. That's all you can think about? No words of comfort or love for your only daughter, going off to an alien planet to marry into an alien race? A marriage to a complete stranger, under the threat of conquest? She could feel her heart breaking, and took a moment longer than she'd hoped to swallow back the disappointment. "Yes, Father."

"I mean it, Romelle. Do not fail me."

Confusion, and a bit of indignation flickered in her eyes, and she took half a step back from him. "Fail you?" Hadn't he just called this her duty to Pollux? "Don't you mean our people?"

He snarled at her and raised his hand, tapping her cheek where he'd struck her just a few short days ago. "I mean both! Without the Crown, our people die. Without the Lachesis, there is no Pollux! Do you understand that?"

Recoiling, she nodded shakily. The sting of him slapping her in his office still burned. "I… I will do my best, Father."

"It must be good enough." He released her with a curt nod and walked away to talk with the ship's captain, and Romelle stared daggers into his retreating back with tears welling in her eyes. She'd hoped for at least some sliver of comfort, and all she'd gotten was more hurt and anger. And betrayal. Dearest Optari, why is he doing this to me? Even if my task is the only way, why should it be handled like this?

Sadly, no one answered… or at least no one from a higher plane.

"Romelle? What was that about?"

The concern in her brother's voice was like a lifeline. She spun and hugged him, quickly hiding her face before he could see the tears threatening to fall. "Avok…"

Avok was startled, but hugged his sister back and smiled softly. "I'll miss you, too." He felt her shivering in his arms and pushed her back gently, getting a good look at her face. And the tears, which were well and truly falling now. Immediately his smile vanished. "What did he say?"

Romelle shook her head. She knew her brother's temper—it was almost as bad as their father's, if not worse. Usually he only directed it at those who were being truly unreasonable, but if needed he wouldn't hesitate to turn it on even the King… and that was not how she wanted this send-off to go. "Nothing. Don't make this any harder, Avok. Please?"

He frowned, but nodded and pulled her back in for another hug. "I don't like this, Romelle. Everything about this feels wrong."

To say the least. But she would make it work, somehow. "Just watch out for Bandor, please?"

Though he'd grinned, even that looked pained. "You know I will. Be careful, and we'll see you in a few days."

"Sister?"

Romelle pulled herself from Avok's embrace and turned to her younger brother, crouching down in front of him. "Yes, Bandor?"

"I wish you weren't leaving," he murmured.

Biting her lip, she nodded slowly. "I know. I wish the same, but…" She sighed and shook her head. "Be good, Bandor. Don't anger Father. Be good to Mother. And listen to Avok."

Bandor nodded and hugged her, holding on tight. "I will. Be safe, Romelle."

"I will try," she promised, exhaling slowly. As much as it's up to me.

"Romelle! Now!" her father barked as he finished with the captain, and she jumped slightly. Releasing Bandor, she stood, glancing over at Avok and nodding. His reassuring smile wasn't convincing, but she did appreciate the attempt… casting one last longing look around at her home, she turned and boarded the ship.

For Pollux. It must be good enough… no matter what it costs.—

Romelle looked down to her hands in her lap, frowning, and her mind went back to what Blue had told her not so long ago. She'd had no choice in any of this since that moment in her father's office. Maybe even before that, really. And after? Her thoughts moved on to everything that had happened on Korrinoth. Pressured. Abused. Disrespected. Dishonored. It had been nothing but a maelstrom, completely out of her control. Even the little bit of agency she'd had, the lessons she'd asked for, had been a false choice. What did it matter if she got to decide which lessons came first? She'd had to learn the ways of the Ninth Kingdom, or else. Everything had carried a threat.

The threat to her safety. The safety of her people. Her family. They'd all be fine, as long as she quietly did as she was told.

Hells, not even her so-called wedding plans or the plans of her first child had been discussed with her! Her hand went to her stomach. Gods, what if I'd had a child there? No, don't even think that. But avoiding it brought her mind to the one choice that had truly been hers, the whole time on Korrinoth… her calls in the arena.

And those didn't all speak so well of her choice-making, did they?

No, stop. You made the call that felt right to you at the time. You took out your suffering on the people you convinced yourself were responsible, and you will have to own that, but it doesn't mean you deserved the rest. She closed her eyes, listening to the water rippling. The image of the knights haunted her, but she'd passed other judgments as well. You weren't only some bloodthirsty monster, you spared others. You protected the team.

The team… they hadn't yet been her team. But she'd seen their pain, hells, she'd damn near felt it on occasion. She couldn't help but empathize with them, because they were like her.

Without a choice.

Opening her eyes again, she watched the gorcas peacefully swimming in the pool, their tentacles splashing and weaving hypnotizing patterns in the water. Slowly it was all coming together in her mind, a realization assembling in fits and starts. The team. So much had been out of their control, too. It wasn't their fault they had been captured, imprisoned, forced to fight in the arena. She'd spared them from committing executions, but they'd certainly killed in the battles. And worse… tears rushed to her eyes again as she remembered that final battle. The terror she'd felt as they faced that beast. The losses they'd taken, and for what? She'd seen what the loss of their friends had done to them, hell, was still doing to them.

She'd seen it…

Because when pushed too far, she had made choices. She'd insisted on dueling Lotor, unwise as it may have been. She'd chosen to break free of the gilded prison of Korrinoth, to help the team escape. And choices always carry consequences. She'd been running from those even as she blamed herself for them. What had happened to Pollux because of her? It had been so easy to think herself into paralysis, to freeze herself in recriminations and fear. If she'd just obeyed, she and her people could have been spared this, couldn't they? Why couldn't she have suffered more for them?

But then… then that monster, the jaivur, had arrived.

What had they done? They'd died! They'd been captured and enslaved and fallen in the arena, supposedly honored as the greatest of gladiators. They hadn't escaped from Korrinoth—even in the Ninth Kingdom's twisted view, what could they possibly have done to deserve punishment? Yet they were risen as some tormented abomination to fight against their friends.

It was wrong. A thousand harder, stronger words, but in the end it was simply wrong. To inflict such a fate on those who'd already been the ultimate victims, just to punish the team for the sin of escaping. Resisting. Refusing to quietly sit in a cell with their agency stripped from them.

And it was working. She'd seen firsthand how it was affecting the team. The looks on their faces, the pain in their voices. The shock and fear at what they were facing. All because they'd had the nerve to fight back.

They hadn't done a single thing wrong.

And Arus? The same damned thing. She'd grown up learning how Arus had courted the wrath of the Galra, how they would get their deserved punishment someday. And she had more and more reason to doubt even that, but the dire warnings of Arus reaping the whirlwind hadn't said a damned thing about Drules. They'd just decided to show up and destroy everything. If it weren't for the lions, the planet would be nothing but cinders now. Why?

Their only crime was fighting back.

…My only crime was saying no.

Romelle clenched her fists, fighting the urge to jump up and stamp her foot like a child. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right! None of them had asked for what had happened. None of them would have. To willingly ask for what they'd endured would have been insanity beyond all reasoning. But it had been forced on them by Drule greed, because the Ninth Kingdom couldn't be satisfied with what they had…

Her eyes widened. That's… she looked down at the gorcas and could've sworn they were looking back at her, beady eyes glinting far underneath their shells. "That's it, isn't it?" she whispered to them, letting the thoughts race through her mind again. Someone had had a choice in all of this. The ones who'd demanded they submit, or else.

The ones who'd committed all manner of atrocity when they finally chose 'or else'.

Whatever had happened to Pollux, it wasn't on her. Wasn't on her team. The blame laid fully at the feet of…

"Druletna poleske," she murmured in Polluxian. Damned Drules. They had chosen to cause all of this suffering. And to the extent she was complicit, to the extent her going along had caused more harm… then it was time to stop moping, to stop scolding herself. It was time to help stop them from doing any more damage.

A sense of deep serenity fell over her, and she nodded.

It was time.

*****

The heat of Red's den was usually comfort-times-infinity, but it wasn't really helping under the current circumstances. Lance didn't even feel the fire as he sat on the rough steps that led up to Red. All he felt was grief again. His brain was just a jumble of Flynn. Flynn. Zombie. Trapped. Flynn…

Why? Why could everyone else seem to compartmentalize this, and he was just stumbling around like a fucking idiot? He was furious at himself, but even that felt muted by the churning in his guts.

"Oh, there you are."

Lance looked up, entirely ready to tell Keith or even Daniel to back off, but then his mind belatedly processed the words. Or, more to the point, the fact that a woman's voice had spoken them. He stared in confusion. "Princess?"

Should he stand up? He didn't really feel like he had the energy, so he didn't.

Allura walked towards him, taking a long look around the den as she did so. It wasn't her first time seeing Red Lion's den, but it felt so much more impressive now that the lion within was awake. "I hadn't seen you about since we returned, and was worried," she explained.

Huh? Was this normal for her? Maybe it was… it was kind of strange. None of them really knew how to expect her to interact normally, because nothing since she'd bonded had been normal. Nothing since they'd landed on this planet had been normal. "Oh. Yeah, all this has been a lot. Thought being here might help."

She tilted her head, then sat down beside him. "Is it?"

"Fuck no." He looked at her bruises and wounds, guilt bubbling up. "Uh, sorry. I was useless that first fight." Didn't really pull your weight in the lion, either, but at least it didn't get anyone more hurt.

She gestured that gently aside; she knew what it was like to freeze up in the face of too great a loss. And it didn't take any great spiritual insights to see that Lance was taking this even harder than most. That was part of why she'd come looking for him; perhaps as a relative outsider, she would be able to help more. "I take it this Flynn was very close to you."

He closed his eyes. "They all were," he said quietly. He could admit that much at least. Cam's dutiful presence on the bridge, Jace's reliable jackassery, they'd been… important. Just not the same. "But Flynn was fucking brilliant, really."

"Sounds like I have missed someone impressive." She wished she could have met them, all of them. Wished the team could have met those she'd lost. What the Drules had taken from all of them… once t the battle with this jaivur was over, they would still all be limited to memories, stories. But then, those could be very powerful.

The Great Lions had only been memories and stories, too.

Lance managed a hint of a grin. "Yeah." Then the grin faded into a frown. He didn't want—no, wrong—he wasn't sure he could afford to talk about the team as they had once been. The problem was his inability to see Flynn as anyone but Flynn, to internalize what was necessary. Could she help with that? She'd seen them. "When you saw Cam… he said they were trapped?"

Nod. "I saw the energy binding them." The memory still sent a shiver through her, and she could feel the toxicity of the magic in her fingertips.

"And they were in pain?"

Another nod. "Yes."

"Fuck," he muttered softly. He didn't want to think about it, who would? But he had to. Had to convince himself. "I should—I should want to end it. Kill it. Stop it. And I do, I want to free them, but…" He hesitated, but no… hell, they'd barely even spoken to each other one on one, but she'd worried enough to seek him out in his lion's den. He could tell her. "It's just, I see that jaivur thing and I see him. I can't get the distance." He let out a long breath, slumping towards her a little as he watched the magma swirl. "Usually I get angry, you know? I get pissed and throw cups." He laughed. "This one just hurts different."

"That sounds… like such a horrible position to be in. I wish I knew what to say, that could help you feel the truth." She eyed him, then put a hand on his shoulder and offered an encouraging smirk. "Though, I might be able to find more cups."

Lance snorted. "You guys need your dinnerware." Allura grinned, and he felt a hint of tension releasing. "It is, though. It's awful. And I don't want to let the rest of you down… the rest of the team is feeling things too, but they still seem to be able to fight." Sigh. "I don't know what'll help. I know it isn't over." And it sucks that I'm dreading the next fight, just seeing him.

The princess considered that. "It may never really be over, in that sense. Loss doesn't just go away." Retaking the castle had been a measure of vengeance against the Drules. But walking the empty halls had been lonely all the same. "I understand. Even when peace comes back to Arus, I will still be missing my father and brother… I'm only grateful that my mother never saw this." It was strange how those things worked. Her mother had died far too early, to be sure. But at least she hadn't been murdered. A different level of mourning, one that made it easier to hold good memories…

Lance blinked, looking at her more closely. "You lost a brother? Fuck. I know how that is, too." He met her eyes. "I really love Arus, you know. It just… feels like home to me, don't know why, but it does." That sky. Beau Terre blue. But he wasn't sure how to put that into words, really. "We will bring peace back to this planet."

She smiled. "I know we will. Somehow."

"Just, you know." Snort. "Have to get through the psychological terror weapon first, or whatever the fuck." That was the point, wasn't it? The Drules had made a weapon and it was working on him as intended. Maybe it wasn't that strange; nobody called Hunk out for being vulnerable to bullets. Of course, Hunk still fought the best he could. But Lance had been on the battlefield too, giving it all he had… just wishing it were more. "No sweat, right?"

No sweat? That felt like a colloquialism she didn't actually know. "More likely a great many questions, and seeking information wherever it can be had," she said grimly. Then she glanced around the den again and tried for another grin. "And perhaps a lot of sweat. It is warm in here."

Lance couldn't help a laugh, and while he wasn't necessarily feeling better, he at least felt a little more grounded. "Wanna stay and stare at the lava a bit longer? Tell me a little about this brother of yours?" She'd lost too, and they couldn't let that slide. They were all in this together.

Allura studied him more closely, considering the offer. Aside from his being an Earthling, Lance did kind of look like Tanner had—like he might've, if he'd grown up… perhaps that was the thought that made her lean a bit closer to him, turning her attention to the molten rock before them. Why not? They were in this together.

"Sure."

*****

Daniel was exhausted. He was just outside the castle, far enough away to not cause any damage as he practiced, but not too far. Just in case. It felt like he'd unraveled a bit of the magical bullshit, but not enough to actually have any control. Frustration was bubbling up as he worked at it and, predictably, a fireball erupted.

Nowhere near where he was trying to aim, obviously.

Given the presence of an undead creature lurking in the foothills, the militia couldn't very well operate there right now, so Larmina had been heading for the forest—she'd had all the lion cockpit training she could take for a bit. She could've sworn she still had a few afterimages on the edges of her vision from the status lights…

The large fireball that flashed out of the corner of her eye was definitely not an afterimage, and she whipped around and drew her bow before realizing what was going on. Oh. "That what you were trying to do?"

Daniel's own fight or flight instinct kicked in, and he jumped with a startled yelp. He'd been much too focused to hear her coming, or really even process what she'd said. "Fuck. Female ninja. What?"

Blink. Does being bonded to Green make me a ninja now? She was still unclear on the whole ninja concept; she'd have to ask Pidge later. The lion chuckling in the back of her mind certainly wasn't helping anything. "Just wondering where that fireball was supposed to be going."

"Not there." He rubbed his face, grimacing. "I can't seem to get this."

From the look of him, she wouldn't really have bet on him getting anything any time soon. "You look like hell. Maybe rest?"

"I've tried resting. Gorma made me rest." And he'd totally obeyed that for like, an hour. "Rest isn't going to help me figure out…" He paused, eyeing her. She's part of the team now, right? Maybe she can help. Weren't Arusians supposed to be magically intuitive? "Okay, I've figured some of it out, but it's…" It's what? He didn't understand any of his minor breakthroughs enough to put them into words. "Have you tried using your powers yet?"

"Not really. I haven't had a lot of time." Pidge thought teaching her the weapons was most important, which she agreed with wholeheartedly, and Green had said the 'special skills of the Sentinel' might take a little time to assert themselves anyway. Whatever that meant. "I don't even know what mine are supposed to be. What am I going to do, cause a little wind? Anyone can do that." She fanned wildly with her hand.

Snort. "Yeah, well…" He turned toward the pile of sticks he'd been trying to burn, and managed a few small sparks that promptly fizzled out. "Anybody with two sticks and a rock could do that. Allura said focus and control were the key, but I don't think fire works like that. Or at least mine doesn't."

Larmina considered that; thinking about Allura's trick shots, it did track. "Auntie would talk about focus and control, it's kind of her thing. You might get better fire advice from your lizards."

"I've asked them, they're no help." Kermi had been too contemptuous to even bite him, and Crouton had burped embers onto his hoodie. Unnecessary. "Here, look." Really, just having someone to rant at who wouldn't start his shirt smoldering would be great right now. "So I'm getting that my fire's intensity is tied to my emotional state. Any uptick in emotion, and it doesn't matter what—excitement, fear, anger, seen 'em all—it makes the fire bigger and hotter. Which then, you'd think emotional control would be the key, right?" He rolled his eyes and a few sparks jetted out, apparently 'ranty' was also an emotion. "Wrong! I'll be the first to admit controlling my emotions is not my strong suit, but even when I'm super calm and focused all I can make is sparks. Or if I'm lucky, a tiny little flame."

Larmina tilted her head, putting his rant together as best she could. It did seem like it made sense… probably? Honestly, she didn't know much about magic. Her only apparent gift was seeing ghosts at the worst possible times. "I'd ask what your lion says, but I bet it's something like 'you'll figure it out'."

"Ha. Ha." Daniel rolled his eyes. "Pretty much verbatim what he said, but with more 'your path is your own' bullshit thrown in." Red growled in a way that was not at all apologetic.

Larmina snorted. "Sounds right."

"And I think I know what I need to do to control it." He shifted and glared at the pile of sticks, like it was their fault. "When I get emotional, there's this pressure. I don't know how else to describe it. It builds and builds and then BOOM! Fiery explosion." That or it nearly ripped him apart from the inside and caused fiery explosions, which seemed even less useful. "I think I need to figure out how to manipulate that pressure, but I have no idea how. Every time I try to control it, it just does the opposite of what I want it to do."

Frown. "Not my specialty, but I was learning some tech stuff before, you know…" Larmina gestured vaguely around them. Before everything. "When the workshop boilers overheated, we opened a vent and got out of the way."

"Open a vent?" Daniel echoed, trying to imagine what that would even look like in this metaphor.

Larmina nodded. There wasn't much to elaborate on with that, really. But curiosity was overwhelming her as the discussion went on, and she focused, trying to make herself… summon wind? She had no idea where to start, and nothing happened but he eyes glowing briefly. "…Which moved more air than I just did, too."

That made him laugh more genuinely than he had for a while. "I know this won't make you feel better, but it brings me an exceptional amount of relief that you're not just automatically great at this. You know, like some other people."

Snort. "Glad I could help, I think?"

Daniel snorted, too. "Thanks." Her insight was still running through his head, though. "Open a vent…" A release valve? Was that it? Like a faucet but instead of water pressure, it's fire pressure. Like a furnace? …Am I a furnace? That felt like it should be a more significant question than it was; he didn't know if he'd figured something out or if he was just more confused.

For her part, Larmina could see him getting lost in his own thoughts, and decided it was best to just let him wander. Maybe that was what he needed, who knew. "I should go. I promised to bring back some supplies and I'm clearly not doing that. Good luck finding a vent?"

"Have fun," he called after her with a little wave. She'd actually been helpful, probably. Maybe. Possibly.

Please?

Shaking his head, he sat down and started to try to figure out exactly how being a furnace helped him.

*****

As he adjusted to the pain—both physical and otherwise—and dove deeper into the calm of the lake, Sven found himself focusing more on the questions. Figure out what you just did… well, the obvious first step probably wouldn't get him anywhere, but he might as well try. "Blue, what was that?"

"Peace," she answered simply, and he snorted.

"We had this discussion about your responses already."

"We did." A few brightly-colored gorcas flashed across the viewscreen, and Sven tensed briefly out of reflex; one had been swirled with deep violet. But not quite the same unnatural color as the jaivur's energy… as he relaxed again, the lion purred. "We continue to regain aspects of what we once were. As the winds speak to life, and the earth speaks to death, the waters speak to peace."

That… almost made some sort of sense, he decided, remembering what Hunk had said back in the infirmary. "How much more is left to regain?" The thought of the lions' faster-than-light travel ran through his mind for a moment, though even he could acknowledge it wasn't precisely the time for that. But these lions had once been legends…

"It would be easier if we knew that, wouldn't it?"

He snorted. "Much."

"What matters most… is close, I believe." She purred. "And perhaps even closer than we think."

That sounded either encouraging or ominous. There was a lot of overlap where the lions were involved. Sighing, Sven guided Blue into the underwater passage to her den and decided he'd asked enough questions for now.

Romelle was still sitting in the den, watching the gorcas splashing about, when they suddenly vanished back into the depths. Her eyes narrowed in confusion as the water started rippling, getting rougher. Then she felt a familiar purr in the back of her mind.

"You may not wish to be there in a moment, cub."

Eyes widening, she stood and quickly moved back from the pool. She watched in fascination as the water got brighter, and the rougher it got, the more light seemed to spill through. For a moment, an almost-cohesive beam of golden light cut through the water… and then Blue Lion erupted into the den.

Romelle quickly retreated even further, but got splashed pretty thoroughly anyway. Probably shouldn't have been surprised by that. She watched as the lion moved into the depths of the den and turned around, settling before the pool; a few moments later Sven came running out of the hatch. Watching Blue land had been fascinating, and Romelle had been calmed by the sight, but she quickly noted Sven was anything but calm. "Sven? Are you alright?"

"No." No sense lying, she'd notice. "Zombie Flynn is not dead, or re-dead, I guess. I'm lucky he didn't kill me. And I have more burns." He shivered in the cool damp of the den as he spoke. "I have to tell the others what happened and then get those looked at. Or maybe the other way around." As he spoke, he pulled his sleeve back to check on a particularly painful spot, and grimaced.

She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as she saw the injury. It didn't look like any ordinary burn, but deeper and nastier somehow. And why not? It was evil magic. I should have been there. I could have helped him… she shook her head, almost violently. No. What could she have done if she'd been there, as she was now? I couldn't have prevented it. They said he was too strong, that's why they used the lions last time. This is not on me.

But she didn't have to continue just standing by, helpless. Lowering her hands, she felt the determination welling up again. It wasn't on her and she couldn't have stopped it, but it was all the more reason to do what had to be done.

"I think it's time," she murmured, looking up at Blue.

Sven tilted his head in confusion, then went still as he realized what she meant. "I… you…" He looked between her and the lion, hearing Blue's purr of approval. "Now? Right now?"

She nodded, looking back at him. "As long as you and Blue are still okay with it?"

"I'm fine with it." This was not how he'd envisioned this going. Actually he hadn't really envisioned it going any particular way, but even if he had, it wouldn't have been like this. Which… made it what he should've expected, probably. "I'm just bruised and crispy."

"Your flesh wounds can wait long enough, Icehunter."

…Flesh wounds? He looked between Romelle and Blue again, scowling. "Is this what my life is going to be like now?" We can't all regenerate our armor, you know!

"Can you not? What else is the healing process?"

…He rolled his eyes, but couldn't argue the point. "Never mind. My life has been like this."

Romelle looked at him curiously for a moment, then cracked a small grin. "I'll try not to take too long." It felt safe to say that; she knew it, somehow. This was a turning point more than a grand ceremony, and she'd been through enough grand ceremonies to appreciate that… taking a deep breath, she looked up at the lion again. "What do I need to do?"

"As Icehunter has already accepted, all you must do is answer. Do you wish to become one of my Bonded, and to join the Pride in defending this world and beyond?"

Romelle took another few moments to just breathe, to let herself feel what she was about to do. This planet wasn't her home; her ancestors had fled because of what she was about to bond to. But she didn't know what had come of her world. What she knew was that she could help to prevent such dark fates from befalling others. There is no turning back now.

She gave a determined nod. "Yes."

"Then it shall be done." Blue slid one paw forward, and Romelle reached out and set her hand on it.

—She felt water whipping around her, spiraling deep and dark, then the raging roar of the crashing surf, riptides pulling her into a deeper current and freezing on her skin, yet the serenity filling her never faded and the whirlpool released her with a flurry of crystalline snow—

She gasped, stumbling back from the lion, and caught a glimpse in Blue's claw of her eyes glowing blue. She still felt calm… there was something familiar about it, and suddenly she remembered. The first time she'd seen Voltron. That peace…

"Then you are mine. My Sentinel of Water, Paladin of Tenacity. You shall be called Tidefury."

"Tidefury?" The calm that had fallen over her hadn't faded. She didn't feel furious, did she?

"Fury is not always wild or unfocused," Blue purred. "To be at peace with what you must do does not require meekly accepting what was done to you. Only the will to fight through it. This is Tenacity."

Sven looked her over, and couldn't help a smile despite how much he hurt. "The Furies are also mythical beings on Earth. Embodiments of vengeance and enforcers of oaths. I like it."

…When he put it that way, Romelle liked it too.

Turning to face him, she shuddered a little. His injuries really did look bad. "Let's get you looked at," she murmured, moving closer. He might need some help getting into the shuttle…

"Yes. Let's." Sven studied her for a moment. Did it feel different? No, but yes… her eyes flashed blue and he nodded his understanding. She was bonded now, and that mattered but she'd already been part of the team. Which meant his initial instinct to welcome her to the team was kind of nonsense. Instead, he offered a wry grin. "Welcome to the full level of lion nonsense."

Giggling, Romelle took his hand, and they headed for the shuttle.

*****

*Someday, we will make a scheduling plan that doesn't IMMEDIATELY go sideways. Last week was not that day.