“I don’t like it. It’s too risky,” Elijah said, leaning back in his chair. It teetered on the edge of tipping over, but with his dexterity, he managed to keep it balanced. At least until Kurik reached over and pushed him. He kept himself from falling over, but only by grabbing the back of the next chair over.

“Stop doin’ that. It’s annoyin’.”

Elijah began a retort, but then cut himself off. He told himself he was being the bigger man, but in reality, it was more because he knew he’d come off as petty if he started an argument with Kurik in the middle of a planning session that included the army’s entire command structure.

In addition to Sadie and Kurik, there were people like Colt, Ivin, and Jari. The three seemed entirely comfortable with one another, probably because they were all so similar. At first glance, Colt seemed like he’d be the odd one out, but apparently, his devotion to the craft of swordsmanship had earned him quite a lot of respect from the other fighters.

Carmen and Miguel were there as well, though they’d remained silent. The former, because she was mostly concerned with logistics. The latter, likely because of his youth. It took a different kind of teenager to step into that sort of situation and assert his opinions. Miguel would speak up if necessary, but for the most part, he remained silent. Watching, listening, and learning.

Perhaps Elijah could take a page from his nephew’s book.

“As I was saying –”

“We’ve heard your objections, Elijah,” Sadie said.

“Over ‘n over,” Kurik pointed out.

“But you’re not going to take them into account,” Elijah guessed.

Sadie just shook her head. They’d argued for a couple of hours the night before, largely because Elijah didn’t agree with her plan. As far as he was concerned, it was a good way to get everyone killed. She disagreed, even when he pointed out that if they couldn’t even reach the Primal Realm on their own, they didn’t stand much chance of conquering it. Not without his help, which had been refused.

In short, they only wanted Elijah’s help in reaching the Primal Realm. After that, they intended to head inside on their own, leaving him outside. Sadie had claimed that decision was based on a smart allocation of resources, but he suspected it was more about her pride.

He didn’t say as much, though.

He might’ve been angry and annoyed, but he knew better than to poke that particular bear. Instead, he’d poked holes in the idea, over and over, until she’d cut him off by saying that his opinion had been noted, but that it wouldn’t change their plans.

Then, he’d gone to Carmen, who told him that she agreed with Sadie. Kurik had just shrugged and told him he wasn’t going to get into it, and Miguel hadn’t offered even a single comment on the subject.

The basic idea was that he’d been overruled. He could always force his way in, but he also knew that doing so would be a breach of trust from which his relationship with Sadie would never recover.

“Fine,” he muttered. “But when you get killed in there, don’t come running to me and whining that I didn’t tell you it would happen.”

“If we get killed, ain’t none of us –”

“I know, Kurik. Jesus. Just let me have the last word for one damn time.”

“Aight.”

Elijah ground his teeth together, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he asked if anyone else had anything to add, and when they didn’t, he left the command tent. In moments, he was out of the encampment and winging his way across the cavern. He didn’t land until he was more than a mile away.

The outcropping upon which he perched made for a nice promontory, and it gave him a nice view of the chamber. Even from miles away, he could make out the encampment, though the distance made it look more like a child’s toy set than anything real.

He transformed back into his human form, then sat with his legs swinging over the edge. His fingers dug into the rock as he processed his frustration.

That was how, fifteen minutes later, Sadie found him. She approached from below, then leaped atop the outcropping. She hadn’t donned her armor. If there was anything dangerous nearby, the scouts would have already found it. Besides, even without it, she wasn’t in that much danger.

Notably, her sword remained strapped to her back.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“I’ve said what I need to say,” he answered. “And I’ve been overruled. Summarily dismissed, even though all I want to do is save people’s lives.”

That was part of it, but Elijah was self-aware enough to recognize that pride came into the equation as well. He didn’t like being told what to do, and he liked even less the notion of being ignored. That wasn’t what had happened. They’d listened. They’d considered. And they’d chosen a different path. But in his frustration, that seemed strikingly similar to ignoring him.

Stolen from NovelBin, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Then do you want to talk about the fact that you chose an outcropping that looks almost identical to the one from the Lion King?” she asked.

“What?” he asked, surprised. Then, he glanced over to see her small smile, the one she reserved only for him. It was just a slight upturn of her mouth, but in that expression was so much meaning. Amusement was the most prevalent, but it went deeper than that. Familiarity was there as well. Comfortable closeness.

Love.

Because she did love him. He could see it in her every glance. He just wasn’t sure if she loved him more than she loved her mission. Her duty. Or her pride.

Not that that was fair. It wasn’t. When weighed against the fate of the world, what did one relationship truly matter? But Elijah wished he stood a little higher in her estimation. That would have assuaged his own wounded pride, at the very least.

“Come on. You love talking about Disney movies.”

“I’m not in the mood. Besides, The Lion King barely even makes it into the top five.”

“Blasphemy!” she exclaimed with mock outrage.

Elijah shrugged. “I won’t apologize for my opinion. Especially because it’s right. Just because it goes for cheap heart tugs and catchy songs doesn’t mean it’s one of the greats. Even Elton John doesn’t change that.”

“So, what’s your top five, then?”

“I’m not doing this, Sadie.”

“What?”

“Letting you distract me,” he answered. “This isn’t just some weird tantrum. This is about you walking into a Primal Realm entirely unprepared for what you’re going to find. You feel it, don’t you? Its influence is far more widespread than any other we’ve seen. That means it’s stronger. A lot stronger than the Eternal War or the Chimeric Forge. You go in there half-cocked, and you’ll be massacred.”

“You think you can stop that?”

“I know I can,” Elijah stated evenly. “I can keep people alive, and at the very least, finish the job if they fall.”

“And you don’t believe I can do the same?”

Elijah shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I could do it alone. I’m banking on the idea of us all being together again. You, me, Ron, and Kurik. You know what we can do,” he said. They’d fought through the Trial of Primacy together. Their bond had been forged in battle, and they’d been forced to work so closely together that they all knew one another’s strengths and weaknesses like the backs of their hands. “There’s no reason to go our separate ways.”

“You know that’s not true.”

Elijah looked down, his eyes unfocused.

“How much longer do you think we have?” she asked.

“A few years. Five or six? Something like that. I’d have to go to a Branch to know for sure.”

“Do you think we can close them all if we don’t split up?” was her next question.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Then there’s your answer. This gives us the best chance. It’s risky. I can’t deny that. A lot of people are going to die. But the ones who make it out of this Primal Realm will be ready to tackle the next one,” she explained. She’d made the same point a hundred times the night before. “And if you’re out there conquering another one…”

“I don’t…I don’t want to go alone.”

The admission came out almost of its own accord. It wasn’t entirely accurate. He desperately wanted to claim the Broken Crown for himself. But he also dreaded it. He knew exactly what to expect from solo-running a Primal Realm. He’d done it before, and it had nearly killed him more than once. It was saying something that being melted by a room full of potent acid wasn’t even the worst thing that had happened to him in the Chimeric Forge.

“I was right there,” he said. “At the entrance. I still had a lot of supplies in my ring, too. By all rights, I should have just stepped into the Broken Crown. I teleported away. I’m still not a hundred percent sure why that was my first reaction. I could have fought a little. You know, gauged their strength. But I ran. And I hate that about myself.”

“Then you need to go take care of it,” Sadie said, reaching out to rest her hand on his thigh. The warmth of her touch felt good. “Prove to yourself that it doesn’t rule you. That was what my therapist used to tell me. Face your fears. Conquer them. Overcome that part of yourself and rob it of power.”

“Does that work?” Elijah asked.

She shrugged. “It didn’t for me.”

Elijah couldn’t help but laugh. “You give the absolute worst advice. You know that, right?”

She joined in. Eventually, she said, “It does sound like it should work though.”

“That’s how most therapists’ advice works. It sounds right. It makes perfect sense. But then you try to put it into practice, and the whole thing falls apart because people are messed up in the head,” Elijah said. Then, he hastily added, “Present company excluded. You’re the picture of mental health.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed. “But seriously…I don’t like this plan. It might work. I might change my opinion once I see it in action. But I just don’t think splitting up is the optimal path.”

“Definitely not,” she agreed. “We don’t have the option of taking optimal paths, though. We can’t just take our time and do things carefully. We’re on a timer, Elijah. That means we need to take risks. This is just one of many.”

Elijah didn’t have much to say to that. He couldn’t figure out a better way to go about things, but he still wasn’t happy with the circumstances that had forced them into such a reckless plan. At the end of the day, though, it wasn’t his army. He wasn’t the one in charge. And it was his duty to support Sadie, both from the standpoint of an ally and as her partner.

So, he swallowed his pride and said as much. He ended by adding, “But if I’m not satisfied with their performance leading up to the Primal Realm…well, I’m not letting you throw your life away. I just won’t, Sadie.”

“I know,” she said, leaning against him. “That’s why I love you. One of the reasons, at least.”

“Wait – you love me?” he asked with a knowing smirk.

“I wouldn’t have said it otherwise,” she stated evenly. “Don’t you have something you’d like to say? A response, perhaps?”

“I know.”

“What?”

“I know. It’s a whole thing. You know, you say, ‘I love you,’ and as I’m being lowered into a carbonite freezing chamber, I say, ‘I know.’ Like a badass. But a badass who loves you too. Just to be clear.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s a movie.”

“Not one I’ve ever seen,” she said with a frown.

“Okay, so that’s the saddest, and at the same time, most expected thing I’ve ever heard,” Elijah said with a shake of his head. “It’s also further evidence that I need to build my cinema back on the island. There are so many good movies that need to be preserved for future generations. We could even start a movie night. You know, once a week, we get all the members of the grove together and –”

Sadie didn’t let him finish. Instead, she just leaned in, and kissed him. Elijah stopped thinking about movies altogether. Or anything else but her soft lips.