by Zen DiPietro
“Actually,” the general said, “I wanted to take the opportunity to greet the citizens of Terath as the General of the Guard. I’m proud of how the Guard is shaping up. We’ve developed plans for emergency situations such as flooding, widespread illness, and building collapse. All of these, of course, are rarities, but when unfortunate things do happen, you can be assured that the Guard is prepared and ready to help. We have a rapid-response plan in place, and the newly installed monorail ensures that we can reach any problem quickly.” He paused to take a breath.
“If these mana bugs, or anything else, posed any threat, the Guard would be ready to follow any direction of the Council. We’re here to take care of the people of Terath. And by the way, we’re accepting qualified recruits. If you’re interested in joining, please contact our recruiting office.”
The tone of the audience’s rumblings lightened. Ina hoped that meant their message had managed to pierce the crowd’s fear. Certainly, the attention of many of the women, and more than a few men, was now on Will. Ina didn’t think she’d seen so many people making eyes at the same recipient before. She took advantage of the crowd’s improved mood to make a conciliatory appeal to the citizens of Terath.
She stood and took a step forward, to regain the crowd’s attention. “The Council and the Guard have our collective interests at heart. We all want the same things. Safety. Security. Comfort. You have my word that as we find out more about these mana bugs, we will share it with you. There are exciting discoveries on the horizon.
“If you have questions, you’re encouraged to contact the office of the Council. Every one of the magistrates has a comm address where you can write us or leave messages. We also take meetings with citizens. These have always been the avenues you should pursue when you have questions. We will not stop you from peacefully demonstrating, if it is your wish. But we can deal with issues much more effectively if we work together.” She smiled warmly.
Then she lifted her chin and her mouth tightened with resolution. “But I will tell you that I personally have no patience with people who enjoy frightening others with malicious rumors and outright lies.” Her eyes fastened onto a camera. “I will deal with people who try to harm our safety and well-being with all due prejudice.”
She let the room shiver with silence at her ominous tone for several long moments before asking in a lighter voice, “Are there any other questions?” Ina cast a long look around the room and when no one offered themselves, she stood. “Then this meeting is adjourned. Thank you to all who participated.”
The majority of the crowd disbanded immediately after the meeting. People streamed through the auditorium’s exits and filtered out into the city. Kassimeigh wondered how many of them were native to Capital and how many had managed to travel in for the meeting.
Her hand comm chirped and she looked at it. Arc. He said that only a few people stood outside the lab now. They might or might not be protesters from earlier. There was no telling if they’d abandoned their cause or simply decided to fade from view.
“What did you sense?” Ina asked, gazing at Izzy expectantly. The three women, along with Luc, stood backstage to confer.
“An overall shift. Most of them believed you. Most of them liked you. At first the mood was largely curious, but laced with some fear and suspicion. That gradually relaxed into acceptance and trust, along with continued curiosity. Only a small streak of spiteful anger remained. Narrowly confined, but intense.”
“Initial reactions on the comm system look positive. But there are always a few people who are indignant about something or other,” Ina reflected with a regretful shake of her head. “As though it’s their favorite pastime to be angry and righteous.”
“A classic psychological profile. Usually caused by an underlying inferiority complex or trauma. It can be helped with therapy but the person has to want help. Usually, they prefer to displace their emotional problems onto someone else,” Izzy concluded.
“Occupational hazard,” Ina agreed. “No one ever said this job would be fun.”
Kassimeigh and Izzy offered her small smiles of commiseration, while Luc gave Ina’s shoulder a small squeeze to show his support.
Ina glanced around as if she’d lost something. “Where’s Arc?”
“Still outside. Will’s joined him,” Kassimeigh answered. “They wanted to watch the crowd, see that it dispersed and no fights broke out in the aftermath. Violence seemed unlikely but it would be a bad way to end the meeting.”
“I see. I wanted to invite all of you to dinner. It’s rare that we’re all in the same place at the same time, and it would be nice to get a chance to visit.” Ina smiled hopefully.
“We’d be delighted,” agreed Kassimeigh, accepting for both herself and Arc. She was certain he’d want to have dinner with his aunt. “Will, too, no doubt.”
Izzy accepted with a nod, and of course Luc’s attendance was assumed.
“Lovely,” beamed Ina. “I’ll make arrangements at Vito’s. Two hours from now?”
“Can it be arranged on such short notice?” Izzy wondered.
“I have some influence with the owner,” chuckled Ina. “I’m sure it will be fine. Our choice of selections might be limited, but everything they make is good.”
“Two hours, then.” Kassimeigh pivoted on her heel and went to find Will and Arc. When she didn’t find them outside, she tapped a message into her hand comm and realized that they had returned to the building. She found them in a small office, observing a comm panel that displayed several views of the surrounding streets and alleys. The people left on the street resembled any random collection of pedestrians. Even the people standing near the lab seemed to be simply talking to one another. As far as anyone could tell, any immediate threat had been massaged away.
“I think the meeting went about as well as it could have.” Will sat on the edge of a table. “Just about everything we’d hoped for. And how often does that happen?”
“Ina handled it well,” Kassimeigh agreed, smiling at Will’s comment. He was right. It was nice for things to go according to plan. “Izzy’s report was favorable, though there’s still a small minority of malcontents.”
“Anything to worry about?” Arc leaned closer to Kassimeigh and let his shoulder brush against hers. It was a subtle connection, but it reverberated through her.
“No, not at present. Your aunt invited us all to dinner two hours from now.”
“Sounds good,” Will agreed. “The usual spot at Vito’s Fork and Fire?”
“Good guess.”
“I’ll have to tell Aunt Ina she’s getting predictable.” Arc chuckled. “She should broaden her horizons, restaurantwise.”
“But then we wouldn’t get to eat at Vito’s,” Kassimeigh pointed out. “And it really is delicious. Cozy, too, like being at a relative’s house.”
“True,” admitted Arc, rubbing his chin.
“Should we change?” Will asked, glancing at his uniform.
Kassimeigh ran her hands down the front of her own uniform. “I think what we’re wearing will be fine.” She studied Arc’s casual clothes for a moment. “You should probably spiff up just a tad.”
“Hmm. Maybe I need to get a Guard uniform. One that’s really mine, not just a borrowed deal. I kind of liked wearing one in Janis. Brought out my eyes.”
Will smacked him on the shoulder. “Say the word and I’ll make you an officer today.”
Arc’s gaze shifted to Kassimeigh. “You like a man in uniform, don’t you?”
She made a show of studying him. “Now that you mention it, that uniform did look very good on you. On the other hand, I’m not sure you could handle the discipline that comes with it.”
Arc and Will laughed. “I am used to keeping my own hours rather than following orders, so you have a point.” Arc raised his eyebrows at Will. “Could I be under her command?” He sent Kassimeigh a look of long-suffering pining.
She rolled her eyes.
Will snorted. “No. You�
�d have your own, heading up the archers. Looking after the new archery recruits and making sure they don’t poke themselves with their arrows. But you’d be fourth officer in the hierarchy.”
“Sounds a lot less fun. But all right. Count me in.”
Will and Kassimeigh both stared at Arc. “You sound serious. I thought you were kidding.” Will blinked.
“Nope. Actually, I’ve been thinking about it since you started building the Guard. I love teaching archery and survival skills, and I keep tossing away my regular schedule so I can do that up at the fortress. I like it up there. I’d like to do it full-time.”
Will still looked stunned. “Okay. Well, yeah!” He punched a fist in the air. “Welcome to the Guard. I’m thrilled to have you. And . . .” he grinned, “. . . with you on board, I might manage to finally sign Kass on, too.”
Their eyes shifted to her. She maintained a neutral posture, but Arc’s decision had surprised her. He hadn’t mentioned any serious thoughts of taking a commission in the Guard. “Still no promises from me,” she informed Will. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I just got an archery master. And the rest will fall in later.” He looked supremely pleased. His chin came up as though a thought occurred to him. “Do you want to come to dinner in uniform? We can surprise everyone with some shiny new pips on your collar.”
Arc grinned. “I’d enjoy seeing the looks on Aunt Ina’s and Luc’s faces when I walk in wearing a uniform. Yeah, let’s do that.”
Will snapped his fingers decisively. It was a surprisingly loud sound. “I’ll get on it. I’ll rustle up a fresh uniform and rank pips and deliver them to your room personally.”
“How will you manage that?” Arc asked.
“I’m the General of the Guard. I can make stuff happen.” Will grinned, but there was a truth behind his joking words. A moment passed as they collectively processed this state of affairs.
“All right then. We’ll see you shortly. By the way . . .” Arc raised an eyebrow. “What rank will I be?”
“Wait and see.” Will smiled wickedly. “Bwa ha, ha, ha.” His right hand twirled an invisible moustache. He did a hop-skip, then pivoted right out the door.
Kassimeigh stared after Will. His practically giddy behavior was yet another surprise in her day. Her eyes met Arc’s, which were also stunned. Her abs tightened with sudden, violent amusement and she leaned against the wall. A giggle quickly evolved into an all-out belly laugh.
Arc joined her in laughter. Afterward, he still wore a grin of delight. “I’ve never seen you laugh like that.”
“I don’t remember the last time I did,” she admitted. Probably before she’d joined the order. It had felt wonderful. “There was something about Will’s air of authority, his faux evil laugh, and then that dance move. And the moustache thing.” She snorted.
“You laughed your hair curly,” Arc pointed out, patting her naturally unruly hair.
That made her laugh again. “I did, didn’t I? I must have lost my hold on it while I was laughing.”
“Your ponytail is nice but I like it better this way.” He fluffed her hair. “It reminds me of when I first met you.”
“When you first met me, you thought I was a man.”
“Okay, well, shortly after I met you then, once I realized you were a woman. You know, before you made your big reveal, I’d started to wonder if I was gay.”
She laughed in surprise.
“No, really,” he continued. “I was intrigued with you before I even knew you. Since I thought you were a man and I never considered that I might have a soulbond with anyone, I had to question my own motives.”
They laughed together and he backed her up until she was against a wall and couldn’t back up anymore. She tilted her head back and looked up into his warm, green, beautiful eyes. She let her gaze drop to his smile. She loved how easily and frequently he smiled. He always wrapped her in a haze of pleasant feelings. Even better than laughing.
“Do you ever wonder about our soulbond? I keep hoping we can find out more about it. The mechanics of how it works, why it manifests, and who else has experienced it. I’d like to document it all, do some research.” She’d thought of it often, but hadn’t mentioned her ideas to him before.
“Sounds like a job for Luc,” he mused.
“It does. Sometime when I have a spare minute, I’ll have to talk to him about it.” She tilted her head to one side. “What if I had been a guy? And we’d had this soulbond?”
Arc furrowed his brow in thought. “There are only two options. It would be a platonic soulbond, or I’d be gay. And so would you.”
“Hmm. I suppose those are the options.” She shrugged. “Makes me wonder if there have ever been platonic soulbonds.”
“It would only make sense. What are the odds that two people struck by an involuntary bond would fall in love?”
“I don’t know. It happened with us.”
“Lucky for me.”
The sensation of love and connection filled her with something even better than mana. She drew a deep breath and met his eyes, which had darkened with what she could only assume was some similar sensation.
“We should get to our room,” he murmured.
“Okay,” she agreed. “But you know, I just locked and sealed that door over there. The entire Guard wouldn’t be able to break into this room.”
Arc froze and stared at her. “Oh. You don’t mean . . . really?”
“You think we shouldn’t?” An unfamiliar weight of self-doubt emerged. It had seemed like a daring new experience, but perhaps she’d gone too far.
“Nooo, I definitely think we should.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely no doubt in my mind.” He grinned at her. “There are definite benefits to having a manahi with all kinds of gnarly powers as a bondmate.”
“Sure. And I’m still finding new ways of using my mana.”
Kassimeigh and Arc walked around the corner to their room just as Will palmed his hand comm. Catching sight of them, he returned it to his belt and waved Arc’s new uniform at them. If he noticed anything out of place about them, he didn’t mention it. He simply delivered the garment before departing.
“We could have invited him to stay and walk with us to the restaurant,” Kassimeigh suggested when they were in their room.
“No. No, we really couldn’t.” Arc couldn’t seem to peel the smile off of his face. Kassimeigh had infinitely more practice at maintaining a placid attitude, but she still seemed a bit more chipper than usual. He liked it. “We only have a few minutes before we’re due at the restaurant. I need to get dressed and straightened up fast. No time for chitchat with our dear general.”
Once they’d smoothed themselves out, they admired each other. Arc felt good in his uniform. He liked how Kassimeigh looked in hers.
“Ponytail again?”
“It looks better with the uniform. More orderly.”
“Okay. Ready?”
“Let’s go.”
At Vito’s, the reactions were all Arc had hoped. He enjoyed the surprise and the congratulations. He was remarkably pleased with the events of the day, and felt even more cheerful than usual. Everyone in their group seemed particularly content, actually, and they collectively reveled in the relief that the town hall meeting had seemed to work.
They discussed official business, personal business, and everything in between. In all, it was a lovely evening and everyone left happy. After bidding everyone goodnight, Arc and Kassimeigh finally retired to their room. Worn out, although still enjoying a glow of happiness, they tucked away their uniforms and dressed for bed.
They stretched out on their sides. Arc curved his body around hers, snuggling her back against him. Once they were alone, she’d released her hair to its natural state, and he had to push it up above her head on the pillow so it didn’t attack his face like a curly sea monster.
“Goodnight, Kass,” he murmured into the dark.
He heard a smile in her voi
ce as she said, “Goodnight, Arc. I love you.”
He hugged her closer, keeping his surprise at her uncharacteristic declaration to himself.
“I love you too. Always.”
7
Arc and Kassimeigh took breakfast in their room the following morning. After their recent series of brief reunions and quick departures, even a small measure of leisure seemed wonderfully luxurious. Dressed in their uniforms, they admired each other across the table as they sipped fruit juice and crunched on jam-laden toast.
“It’s funny, but I love that we’re both wearing the same uniform. Like we’re part of a club together. Silly, right?” Arc carefully smoothed sweet berry jam onto another piece of toast with the back of his spoon.
“Very. With a soulbond between us, we don’t exactly need to find things in common. I have to agree, though, there’s something appealing about it.” Hers remained temporary, but she liked his enjoyment of their matched uniforms. It was cute.
Arc smiled as he bit into his toast, and Kassimeigh narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. At least, it was mostly mock. “Are you just trying to get me to commit to the Guard, too?”
“Nah, just teasing. As long as you’re committed to me, the rest isn’t that important. But imagine, if we were both in the Guard, we could probably share a lot of breakfasts together like this, instead of always flying off in different directions. Literally . . .” he made a soaring gesture with his hand, “. . .you, taking off all the time.”
“Even if I accepted a permanent command, I might still be doing that. A second-in-command position is a big responsibility and who knows where it would take me.”
“Sure. But it’s something to consider.”
