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AARYN

Within minutes of her parents leaving, Aaryn could see that Elreth had hit her limit. She kept falling into deep thought, missing the conversation that was happening around her, and getting lost even when she did try to speak.

He waited for her tell Gar and Tarkyn to leave, but as soon as she\'d answer a question or find her way through one thing, she would disappear into deep thought again. He knew nothing the males were saying was getting in for her, and that just meant they were wasting time.

"Stop," he interrupted Tarkyn and Gar debating the merits of revealing the entire plan to all of the disformed to speed the process of building more Protectors. "She\'s not following you and this is a discussion that she needs to be a part of."

Tarkyn and Gar both turned to look at Elreth who was frowning at the tabletop, her lips moving like she was speaking to herself, but no sound coming out.

"What do you know, she\'s finally cracked," Gar quipped. Aaryn shot him a glare as Elreth became aware—again—that the males were staring at her, lifted her eyes to scan each of them.

"What?" she asked. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Aaryn stepped in when Gar opened his mouth again. "I\'m saying I think you need some time to process what you\'ve learned so far, that\'s all. That we should come back tomorrow and discuss this further."

Elreth\'s frown deepened. "I have to go meet the Elders in a few minutes—"

"No, you don\'t. You aren\'t in a position to answer their questions yet," Aaryn said firmly. "Put them off until morning when you\'ve had time to think it all through. Then the five of us can meet again after lunch."

There was some back and forth, but in the end Elreth agreed and Tarkyn offered to take the message to the elders to change their meeting time. They thanked the Captain and he left the cave moments later.

Gar sighed and pushed out of his chair. "Well, I guess I\'ll go too, then—"

"Wait," Elreth said quickly. "Please, Gar, there\'s something I need to talk to you and Aaryn about. And I think it\'s better if we do it alone."

Gar frowned, but sat, leaning on the tabletop. "What is it?"

Then Elreth lifted her eyes to her brother and said the words that put an arrow of fear through Aaryn\'s heart.

"How long would it take you to prepare Aaryn and I to cross?"

Gar shook his head. "Not this again—"

"This isn\'t up for discussion. I know you\'re the best person to train both of us, and I don\'t want to take any unnecessary risks. But there is no doubt in my mind that I need to go, and if I\'m going, that means Aaryn\'s going."

"But having both of you over there at a time like this—"

"I said, no discussion, Gar. Am I your Dominant, or not? Am I Alpha to you?" she said. Aaryn swelled with pride because, for the first time, she didn\'t ask in anger. She didn\'t press her brother or provoke him. She simply asked the question as if it were a problem to solve.

Gar\'s jaw tightened. "Of course."

"Then I\'m telling you, this isn\'t a moment to question authority. I have to get over there. I have to talk to Gahrye and Kalle. I have to learn everything that they know. I have to be a part of bringing the disformed who have defected back to Anima—it\'s me they\'ll answer to, and me who will answer to them about calling them back. There\'s no way around it. This has to be done. So I want to do it as safely and quickly as possible. So tell me, how long it will take?"

Gar\'s jaw rolled and his lips twisted. His fingers curled to fists on the table, but he didn\'t raise his voice.

"We\'ve never put a timeline on it," he growled finally. "We have stages of training and when you\'ve completed one, you move to the next, no matter how long that takes. You\'re both… I mean, you\'ve effectively skipped our testing phase. We know your hearts are good. Chances are, El, that since Dad and I could cross without giving in, and without a Protector, you probably could too. But that doesn\'t make it safe. And Aaryn," Gar turned to him, "I don\'t know all that\'s going on for you, but if you\'re going to do this… my biggest concern would be if your mind is in the right place. I know you\'re strong enough, and you have the character—we already tested you before you went the Alpha route instead. But do you feel… solid enough to put yourself between your mate and this kind of evil? Because that\'s what you\'d be doing. Her life would be in your hands."

"Yes," he said without hesitation. And he was certain. There were many things in his life that were dark and full of doubt. But protecting Elreth wasn\'t one of them. "I\'ll do anything to keep her safe."

Gar sighed and opened his hands on the table. "Then… really it\'s just about making sure you understand what you face. Having Aaryn take me across once to make sure he\'s up to it. Then you could go."

Aaryn looked at Elreth and saw that light of adventure and excitement in her eyes. He wanted to growl. This wasn\'t something to be done for the fun of it! But he knew, deep down, that that wasn\'t what she was doing.

He just prayed she was seeing clearly and not blinded by her fear of missing something.

Was it really that crucial for her to be the one to go across?

"Oh, and one more thing," Gar added reluctantly. "You\'ll need to talk to Mom about training for the human world. We don\'t let anyone cross who hasn\'t had some education, because we never know what\'s happening with the Guardians. If there\'s some problem and you get there and Kalle\'s gone, or Gahrye\'s not there… you need to be able to deal with the staff or any other human you might meet before they can train you. Their world is so much bigger, so much more complicated, El. You can\'t walk into that blind. You have to understand how things work over there, and how to make sure you don\'t reveal it to the wrong person."

"Okay, then. Let\'s get started."

Gar stared at her a second. "What… now?"

"Is there a better time?"

"How about tomorrow," Aaryn broke in with a growl. "This isn\'t a little thing, El. You need to rest and have your mind clear… and so do I."

She turned to look at him then, her eyes finally sharp rather than distant. And she frowned, searching his gaze with concern.

"We don\'t have any time," she said quietly.

"If we don\'t have a few hours to sleep, we\'re too late for the rest," Aaryn said firmly.

Elreth thought about that, and Gar waited.

"Okay," she said. "But if I\'m not talking to the Elders tonight, I\'m going to talk to Mom. I can\'t just… sit here and wait."

"I\'m coming with you," Aaryn and Gar both said at the same time.