AARYN

As he stepped into the cave, Aaryn was caught by a couple Protectors looking for Gar.

"Isn't he here?"

They shook their heads, but the question was answered when a thick palm landed on his shoulder and Gar, pale and tense, appeared next to him, his other hand holding Rika's tightly.

"You okay?" Aaryn asked him quietly. Gar nodded. Aaryn would have double-checked, but then he finally caught sight of Elreth around the corner near the dining area, talking with Gahrye.

Aaryn's heart thrummed. He hadn't liked the way Gahrye spoke about the news he had to share with Elia and Reth. But he'd been trying not to think about it. Now he wondered if Elreth was being filled in.

He examined her closely as she said a few more words to Gahrye. She was pale, too. Even more so than usual. Her hands were clenched at her sides, and her forehead lined. He could see the tension written in every line of her beautiful body. As she stepped away from Gahrye, towards him, he waited for her. She needed more than this little moment to decompress, but he knew she likely wasn't going to get it. Not now. He was back to tell her the Alphas were here, and the Elders already setting up in the Market. Messengers would be dispatched to make sure the people were all aware within minutes.

It was happening.

When she reached him, he took her hand and realized it was shaking.

"El?"

"I'm glad you're back."

Aaryn looked over her should to see Tarkyn and one of his lieutenants walking towards them. So he gripped her hand tighter and pulled her deeper into the cave, around the corner into the tunnel that led to their bedchamber, where he hustled her in and closed the door.

When he turned back to her, her eyes were wide.

"What is it?" she asked hurriedly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing! I mean, everything you asked me to do. It's happening. It's all under control."

p "Did you see my parents when you were coming in? I need to find out—"

"No, El. Sorry. But if Gahrye's here, I'm sure they won't be far behind."

historical

Elreth frowned. "Then why are we in here? What did you need to tell me?"

"I need to tell you to breathe," he said, letting her see his concern. "You're wound tighter than a bowstring. You need to take a minute and just... relax."

But Elreth shook her head and reached past him for the door handle. Aaryn caught her wrist.

"El—"

"There's no time, Aaryn! There's too many things to do. I still have to talk to Gar and get the Protectors prepared—they need to start travelling tonight. I'll still send them, but do I split them? I'll have to," she answered herself before Aaryn had a chance. "But first priority is to catch up with Mom and find out what's going on there. Gahrye wouldn't tell me directly, he said Mom would. And he has to get back to Kalle tell the others exactly how—oh, shit! What about Rika?! Poor Gar, he's—"

"El—" he interrupted her patiently.

"Stop looking at me like that, Aaryn. It's too late. They're here. We have to move—now!"

"Yes, and we already are. You've already got things in motion. Now take a minute to breathe and.. just breathe. You can't make every decision at once. You're still waiting on information—and people. You have to give yourself time."

"There is no time!" she said, gesturing wildly "They're already here!"

"And we can't change that by freaking out. This is big, Elreth. As big as it gets. I'm here to help you. We all are. You can't do this by yourself. And you can't expect to do all of it in the first hour. You have to calm yourself and think. Otherwise you'll miss stuff."

Elreth bit her lip and clawed a hand through her hair, tugging a strand of hair loose from her braid. "You're right. I know you are. But I just feel like.. I feel like the cat is right on my tail and if I take one small step in the wrong direction, everyone dies."

"Well, as long as we're keeping it all in perspective," Aaryn forced himself to chuckle and smile at her. Elreth snorted, but then went back to chewing on her lip.

Aaryn sighed. She wasn't wrong—but thinking that way was only going to hurt her—and all of them—in the long run.

"You can do this, El. You're already doing it. And we're all here too—either we all win, or we all fail. You aren't in this alone."

Her eyes welled then, but she swallowed the tears back and just pulled him into a hug. He held her, stroking a hand slowly up and down her back.

"Will you please stay close to me?" she whispered, and he could hear how she hated admitting the weakness. "Then it's one less thing I have to worry about."

"Of course."

She sighed and squeezed him. Aaryn held her until her heart slowed a little and her breathing got deeper.

When they finally pulled apart, she wiped her eyes surreptitiously and turned away as she spoke. "I really do have to get back out there and get things moving. I have to figure out how to prioritize, and I'm still waiting for—"

"Breathe," he said softly, watching her carefully. "Think, El. You can't do it all at once, so just find what's central to it all. Where does it start? Start at the top. What has to happen for everything else to work? Make that decision first, then the rest will trickle out of that. And trust the Creator that you'll see all the steps along the way."

Elreth nodded, her eyes narrowed and distant with thought.

Aaryn just stood there with her until she blew out a breath and nodded.

"Okay," he said gently. "So where does it start?"

"It starts with getting the humans stopped, or delayed. Everything else depends on that. I need to find Rika and understand any way we can find around this technology." She swallowed hard. "Because if we don't, nothing else matters."