AARYN

Aside from the day he walked the Flames with Elreth, the day the Protectors began to arrive from the human world was the proudest of his life.

They began to filter through before dawn, though none made it to the Tree City until mid-morning. They waited for family and gathered in groups, and walked into Anima, chins down and eyes wary.. to find a society that treated them with respect—if some apprehension.

There was an initial panic when it was realized they were all dressed like humans and some of the Anima were thrown into fear, believing them to be intruders. But it was quickly and easily fixed by a change of wardrobe, and before evening all the newcomers looked like they had always been a part of the Tree City.

Which was when they discovered that they'd been made a tribe. That they were embraced by the rest of the Anima.. or at least treated as citizens with a place.

Aaryn stood in the market before dinner, watching their new tribe members filter in, and his heart was full.

Some had family here, some gravitated to their original tribes at first, because they knew people. But despite the tense and frightening times, the Anima rose to greet their new—and returned members.

The Protectors from the human world were extremely fertile by Anima standards, almost every mating pair having more than one offspring.

It was a shock to everyone. When Gahrye had counted their head, he hadn't told them about the young.

The older Anima were in tears, greeting the families. And many times, grandparents, aunts, and uncles were seeing their young for the first time.

It was a high point of joy amid a dark day. Even Elreth took an hour to mingle with the newcomers, greet them, and explain about the Veneration.

It was stunning. Aaryn stood, breathless, celebrating his role in it all, and grieving that they couldn't simply enjoy this moment.

The younger Protectors, those who'd been born in the human world, or taken there when they were very young, were particularly surprised.

One young female was brought to Aaryn, her eyes glassy and rimmed in red.

When he greeted her, her tears spilled over again. "Is this.. is this real?"

He smiled and nodded. "It's new here, too. But it's real. Our Alpha—Gar—is a member of the royal line. He's with our brothers and sisters, working to protect us all from the invaders. But he'll return and.. you can rest, sister. You're safe here."

The words seemed to break something inside her. She fell, sobbing, into the arms of another young male—her mate, who held her closed and murmured in her ear. Aaryn was touched by her grief.

"I didn't know!" she murmured. "I didn't think it would be like this. I was so afraid!"

Aaryn's heart went out to her, but she had forgotten he was there, just buried herself in her mate's chest. Aaryn patted him on the back and encouraged him to just comfort her and when they were ready they'd be found a home.

He'd left the market that evening for a meeting with the Elders and Alphas at the cave, and despite the creeping dread in his gut, his worry for Elreth and her stress—which seemed to increase with every passing minute—he couldn't shake the thrill of joy.

For the first time since this debacle had begun, he found himself hoping that they might actually win this. The Creator wouldn't have brought the defectors home without a reason, right? The Tribes were united. The Protectors were established.

Now all they had to do was eradicate the humans.

So, the meeting with the elders was a shock of ice water after his earlier excitement.

*****

ELRETH

Elreth didn't even pretend to be confident. She wasn't falling apart. Hadn't panicked. But now, surrounded by those with experience and courage, she found herself pacing and trembling. And there was nothing she could do.

In twelve hours her parents and Gahrye and Kalle would enter the portals and either win this war, or fail. Regardless, her people had to take down an invasion of humans bristling with weapons and technology that they didn't understand. And their weapons in return were a single human and displaced Anima?

Elreth raked a shaking hand through her hair. "No news from the front yet. No definitive report on where the humans are, how far they got?"

The Equine Lieutenant that Tarkyn had left to make decisions in his wake shook his head solemnly. "We do anticipate hearing something this evening though, or early morning."

"But it will already be twelve hours old," Elreth muttered.

The male nodded.

Elreth took a deep breath and found Aaryn standing behind the elders, watching her, his eyes worried.

'How can I help?' he signed.historical

'I'm fine."

It was a lie, and they both knew it, but they also knew there was no choice. He couldn't slow this confrontation down. He couldn't provide information that hadn't reached them yet.

He couldn't make her see anything that she'd missed.

She was just grateful he was there. He'd been true to his word, sticking to her side unless she asked him to do something for her. Every time she got shaky, he was there. Without him she wouldn't have made it through the day without losing her mind, she didn't think.

He wanted her to rest, but she couldn't stop. The moment she found herself in the quiet, all the fear rushed in—her parents, Gar, Rika, the humans, and their technology that already be approaching, and she wouldn't know.

It was as if silence opened the gate and her nightmares poured in.

Elreth turned her head, shaking off the thought, breathing through the adrenaline rush, and turned back to the Elders and Alphas.

"Okay, we're going to sit here and go through every point of risk, every event, every action. You're going to question everything. And we aren't leaving this cave until we're certain that we haven't missed anything. I don't care how small—if you see a hole or a question, you raise it. Am I understood?"

The Elders murmured their approval, Lhern catching her eye and nodding with a half-smile. But it was Aaryn's eyes, bright with pride, that allowed her to take a deeper breath as she forced herself to sit and face them.

"Okay, so let's talk about the southern portal first, Gahrye and Kalle's traverse. The Guards have received the orders to close it now. The messengers were sent through and when they return, no one else will step foot inside until we're certain it's closed, or Gahrye and Kalle weren't successful. Now.. we reclothed the defectors to stop them from looking so much like humans. Can anyone see anything that might still trip us up..?"

As evening gave way to the last night before their entire world would change, Elreth's heart never slowed. Her blood never ceased to throb in her veins. But she found her focus. She could think. She could agree. She could argue, and she could make decisions.

And that's what was needed of her, she realized.

Her brother and sister by flame fought one war, while her parents fought another.

Their dear friends fought another.

Her battle was here—with the hearts and minds of her people, and with the decisions that could make or break them in this process.

Damned if she was going to be the weak spot in this wheel.