RECRUITS

16

RECRUIT S

Aria sat at her desk when a light knock came on her door, followed by a quieter one on Taren's. Good , she was starving.

She opened the door expecting Evelyn to be waiting with a scowl to escort her but was greeted by Luka instead. He wore casual dark brown pants and a flowing, white tunic that was nearly sheer and cut down his chest in a deep vee with laces that crisscrossed. His waves were unbound, cascading to his shoulders. And was that… cologne?

"I know, I clean up nicely," he winked at her. Winked . That certainly sobered her up. Apparently, she hadn't done a good job of hiding her surprise at how… soft he looked. Dare she say relaxed, which was strange. At least he was in a good mood, it seemed, which was more than she could say for any of the other shifters she'd interacted with.

When Taren made their way into the hallway, the two fae followed Luka toward the dining hall and took a turn before entering the sprawling room. At the end of the side corridor, an open entryway revealed a group of shifters seated around a table.

The small talk lulled to make way for warm greetings as they entered. Luka took the head seat next to Evelyn, gesturing to the two remaining open seats beside him. On the other end of the table sat three shifters, none of which Aria recognized from that morning. They all looked at her and Taren inquisitively, but not threateningly, which was a relief.

"So, this is the rest of your squadron?" Aria asked, scooting her chair into the table.

"The Fulgara Squad," he replied with a prideful smile. "That's Finn, our other panther," he pointed to the pale, lean man with long blonde hair to Evelyn's right, a silver hoop dangling from the center of his nose. Finn nodded to them politely, his lips in a thin line. Luka continued around the table.

"Leah," he gestured to the woman at the other end of the table. Her short, black hair dropped into her face covering her olive skin and brown eyes lined with kohl. "Don't let her shyness fool you, she's a killer wolf," he added. Leah grinned at the compliment but kept her gaze on her hands in her lap.

"And our resident asshole, Kam," Luka joked, eliciting a knowing laugh from the table as the man signed something Aria couldn't quite see from her angle, but was clearly a vulgar insult. Whatever he was saying, he was doing so with a bright, earnest smile.

The table erupted into laughter, Taren's echoing the loudest.

Disdain spread across Luka's face as he turned to Aria to translate, an annoyed smile of his own creeping in. "He said ‘I may be an asshole, but at least I'm not the one who only has their hand for company.'"

Oh my , Aria's face reddened, which she tried to play off with a chuckle. Taren was still recovering as they turned to Kam on their left, speaking and signing at the same time. "You would fit right in at the Institute."

Kam's face lit up at the movement of Taren's hands. "You sign?"

"My mother is deaf," Taren replied, the side of their mouth twitching, hiding a grimace. Aria knew Taren was remembering the last conversation they'd had with their mother, which was not a positive one. Both of their parents had joined the Unifier movement, despite Taren's warnings. It plagued her friend every day.

Kam put his hand on Taren's shoulder warmly before signing, "I'm glad someone appreciates my humor." That radiant grin filled his face again. "What can I call you?"

"Taren Voltis. From Erdane," they said, looking to Aria to follow their introduction. "Aria's second."

The table looked on at her expectantly.

"Uh, I'm Aria… Zephyr," she said flatly, raising her palm in greeting. Was an introduction really necessary with these people? Surely they were all aware of who she was. Why she was here. She tugged nervously at the rings lining her ears, wishing she had an ounce of Taren's carefree charisma.

"Okay, now that we're all friends," Luka grabbed a bowl piled with beans and plopped a spoonful onto his plate. "Time to eat."

Thank the gods. Aria breathed a sigh , grateful for anything that would break through the awkward tension in the air. The room was quickly filled with scrapes of utensils and sounds of eating.

"How was patrol this morning?" Luka directed the question at the four shifters across the table. His body was noticeably more at ease around these people than Aria had ever seen him. Almost like a different person. Happier. Less… calculated. Not even close to the alpha male she'd come to expect.

"Fine, nothing to report," Finn replied through his mouthful of steaming potatoes. "Same as yesterday."

"Good, good," Luka confirmed. "I heard from the Council. They expect us to travel to them. Tomorrow. I arranged for another squad to cover patrol for us while we're away. "

Evelyn spewed her drink. "They want us to go to the Dragon Province? With them ?" She eyed the fae sitting across from her. "They'll never make it."

"Sorry, what won't we make?" Aria looked rapidly back and forth between them, almost choking on her food in the process. She stifled a cough while they continued the conversation as if she wasn't there.

"I know it's not ideal," Luka said firmly, "but we can't waste any more time. They're already gathered at the Fulgara estate. It's more secure for them there. We're to leave first thing in the morning. We'll fly to the mountains and set up camp at the base of the pass." Evelyn glanced nervously at Finn. "There's too many of you for me to carry over the peaks, so we'll have to go through the pass on foot the following morning. Our only other option is going all the way around the mountain range, and that would take far too long. The pass will be harder but much faster."

Evelyn leaned back in her chair. "There's no way they'll make it. It's nearly impossible for us to do it, let alone two fae."

"Hey—" Aria started.

"I heard Aria kicked Luka's ass this morning. I think they'll be fine to make it through the pass." Aria turned, amazed to find that Leah had been the one to speak up for her, an ornery smile peeking out from behind her hair.

"Thanks a lot, Leah," Luka glared at both the wolf and Aria, preferring to roll right past the insult. "You three are welcome to stay here if you don't want to make the journey," he nodded to the shifters, "but I think we would benefit from having your support. I don't know what will follow, and I would rather us not be separated for long."

"And what if I want to sit this one out?" Evelyn raised a skeptical eyebrow .

"And miss watching fae navigate the Mere Mountain pass? I'm surprised at you," he clicked his teeth, placing a soft hand on her arm that rested on the table. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, please," Evelyn said with a huff. Aria's chest twinged unexpectedly at the intimacy between the two shifters. "Is there really no other option?" Evelyn asked. "Not that I'm not up for a challenge, but it seems like it would make more sense for the Council to just come here rather than all of us going there, right?"

Luka leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of wine. "We'll have more privacy and more protection at my family's estate. We also have access to more information in my home library than we have here."

Interesting , Aria thought, filing away that information. She had expected the Legion Academy library to be more robust, considering it was their central gathering place. But perhaps it did make more sense for their valuable tomes to be housed in the hardest place to get to. Aria blew out a sigh, resigning to another tenuous journey.

"Gods, we just got here," she muttered under her breath.

"Oh, what's one more day of travel?" Taren slapped Aria playfully on the back. "We can sleep when we're dead."

"Which may be soon, if I have to keep flying across the continent," Aria laughed through her nose. Her back ached where her wings met her spine. They weren't visible, but she could certainly feel them yelling at her to give them more than a single day's break. Especially considering the Legion Academy, nestled on the southern coast, was not particularly close to the Dragon Province. "Why is your Academy so far away from everything if it's the hub for your realm?"

"We kept it as far away from Allarian reach as possible," Luka answered. "It allows the young shifters to train in relative peace." Aria wanted to retort, but she didn't have the energy. She was too busy thinking about their journey tomorrow. She took another hefty bite of bread. "The view here isn't bad either," he added with a smile, finishing off his last piece of meat. The group had cleaned their plates of every morsel of food that had been set for them—which was a lot, even by her royal standards. The evening had gone by so quickly. It had been strange, the easy way conversation seemed to flow in that room full of shifters.

"So, meet at dawn tomorrow?" Finn asked, changing the subject back to their plan.

"Yes," Luka replied. "We'll need to rest before we make it to the estate, so pack your sleeping rolls and enough food for two days of travel in case we get held up along the way. I'll see you all in the morning. Get some rest."

The shifters rose from their chairs at the dismissal, chatting amongst themselves on their way out the door. Taren stood to follow them and turned to Aria. "I'm going to go for a walk. You want to join?"

"No, you go ahead. I'm good," she replied with a weak smile as Taren patted her shoulder and left the room, leaving Luka and Aria alone.

"Can I walk you back to your room?" Luka asked, his face twisted in concern. For what, she wasn't sure. It made her uneasy for a reason she couldn't put her finger on.

"That's not necessary. I know how to get back," she pushed her chair from the table. He mirrored her, following her out the door.

"I'm well aware you're capable of finding your room. This was more of a selfish request," he said from behind her.

"Why?" she asked without turning around .

He remained close behind her as they made their way down the hall. "I may or may not have gotten a lecture from Evelyn about breaking into your chambers. Perhaps I wanted to apologize."

Yeah, right , she thought. It was hard to believe Evelyn would have defended her. Was he trying to win her favor for something? She kept her focus forward, inching closer to the delicious privacy of her room. "Consider yourself forgiven, then. No need to dwell on the past. Isn't that what we agreed upon?"

"I suppose so," he said, pausing. "Maybe I just wanted to talk with you. Get to know the person who handed my ass to me in front of my cadets." She could feel the smirk oozing from his words and picked up her pace despite the fact he was easily matching her stride. "You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to outrun me, little sprite."

She turned on her heels at that name. "If you want to get to know me, then let's start with this, lizard. Stop calling me that. I know my size, you need not remind me. And while we're at it, don't apologize for breaking into my room and then turn around and insult me."

He almost ran into her at her abrupt stop and raised his hands in defense. "I—" and then cut himself off, releasing a tight breath. "You're right. I didn't realize it affected you that much." He ran a nervous hand through his loose hair. "I might have meant it once, but I only say it as a joke now. But if it means that much to you, I'll stop. I'm sorry."

She studied his face curiously, wondering what he was going to say before he changed his mind. She tracked his trimmed beard along his clenched jaw, almost convinced by the way his brow furrowed in concern, the way his full lips pursed. She inhaled deeply, calming herself, remembering who she spoke to. Where she stood. Allies. Not friends .

But at their close proximity, his scent overwhelmed her. Like the threat of rain on the horizon, fresh and woody. "Thank you" was all she said as she turned to finish the walk to her room. She was surprised he continued to follow her, even as she gave him a cold shoulder. She didn't bother to say goodnight to him as she opened her door.

He put his hand on the threshold before she could close it. "I may be the villain in whatever story you've spun," he said softly, "but I'm not a monster. I hope tonight has shown you that we're not all bad, not the monsters your people think us to be."

She turned slowly to face him, those creases still deep in his forehead. "I stopped thinking you were monsters days ago," she replied. And clicked the door shut.

"Sleep well, litt—Princess," he said against the wood. The corners of her lips tugged upward at the correction.

Small steps.