Markus walked into the training center glad to find it empty. It was his first practice after the injuries he'd sustained on the Shixxaminti ship. Caretaker Thaddeus said the deep cut in his leg was fully healed as well as the other minor scrapes and bruises. Only the alien particles he's inhaled after his suit had been compromised still lingered.

Thaddeus claimed the foreign particles were being purged with each treatment, but it was going to be a slow process. And so, Markus attempted to push back his irritation at the lingering discomfort as he approached the training mats. The particles made his lungs feel heavy, like breathing through wet cloth, and every deep breath carried an odd mineral taste that reminded him of the living walls of the alien ship.

He rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms overhead, testing the range of motion in his body, glad to see that the wounds had healed well, and his leg seemed good as new. That was something at least. Markus wished the same could be said of his father.

It was clear that pavi had suffered greatly at the hands of his captors, not just physically, but in far deeper ways. While he put on a brave face for the few people that Thaddeus would allow to see the King while he recovered, Markus could see the strain in his father's eyes. The hollows beneath his cheekbones had deepened, and his once commanding presence seemed diminished, like a star losing its brilliance. When they spoke, his father's voice would occasionally falter, trailing off mid-sentence as if chasing distant memories that refused to surface.

The King of Avi-da had always been a man of few words, but now silence clung to him like a shroud. Markus just hoped this was a temporary setback and not permanent. It had only been four days since they had rescued his father, so Markus reminded himself to be patient. Recovery would take time.

Markus began the movements of the twelfth quat-lo form with precision and speed. It was one of the longest set of moves of the discipline at nearly eighteen minutes, and it required intense concentration until the very end. Even so, he caught the sound of steps moving toward him, and when he brought up his hands for the last forward trust of the form; he aimed them at the person who had interrupted his practice.

A swift battle ensued between Markus and his target with such lightening quick moves that even trained observers would have struggled to follow them. Kicks, blocks, and precise strikes flowed between the two combatants like a deadly choreography—a dance where each misstep could mean defeat.

The intruder matched Markus move for move, anticipating his strategy with uncanny precision. Only one person possessed such intimate knowledge of his fighting style. As they locked forearms in a classic defensive hold, Markus found himself staring into familiar dark eyes.

"Gayle," he rasped the name out of his straining lungs.

She smiled and delivered a swift kick to his unprotected groin that caused him to double over.

"Oops. Did that hurt?" She said sweetly as she backed up to admire her handiwork.

It was a long few minutes before he could speak. The foreign contaminants in his lungs made every gasp for air feel like inhaling broken glass. From the smirk on her face, he knew she was fully aware of what she'd done. "Are you quite done torturing me? I did say I was sorry."

"Yes, you did, which was rather big of you, but I couldn't quite help myself." She folded her arms as she leaned against the nearby wall and watched Markus slowly pick himself up off the floor.

"How's your father?" Her tone had changed to a more somber tone.

"Alive, which wasn't something I thought I'd be able to say when we first found him. Caretaker Thaddeus says he still doesn't really understand what the aliens did to pavi, but the Remaker seems to be able to reverse it, at least the physical stuff. But like getting these yavit contaminates out of me, it's going to take time for him to get back to full health."

"Well, maybe being back on Darat will help with his recovery. I passed Captain Pylor in the corridor on the way here. He says the Quortous should arrive in a little under three hours. Just in time for lunch at River Palace."

Markus snorted. "Not sure he's up for any big meals yet. Thaddeus has been keeping him on light fare since he woke up. But I think he will be glad to be back home."

"What about you? It's been a while since you've been back there, hasn't it?"

"Won't be at Darat long," Markus said, purposefully skipping the second question altogether. "Just dropping pavi off, and then taking Adar to the White Palace." He continued as he moved to retrieve two bottles of water from the training room's cooling unit. He offered one to Gayle, which she took.

Markus took a moment to chug down half the water. Gayle did not open hers. She just watched him like she was looking for another opening to attack. Markus quickly finished the bottle and eyed the woman. He realized too late that he probably shouldn't have mentioned Adar. Though he supposed they needed to get this settled once and for all.

Markus took a deep breath and plunged forward even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. "You want another apology? How many is it going to take?"

Gayle was silent for a long time before she finally spoke, and it wasn't to say what he'd been expecting. "You said something about a protection team for Adar. What makes you think I'd rather do that than have my own charge?"

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

Well, at least she wasn't hitting him anymore. That was something. "It was just an offer, Gayle," he said. "You don't have to take it. I know you've wanted your own charge, and you deserve it. More than that, you'd make an excellent Protector. I only asked because I trust you; you're almost as good as I am, and I'd be an idiot not to ask you."

"I'm almost as good as you are?" Gayle said with a raised eyebrow. "That's not really a good way to endear me to your offer, Markus. In fact, I might just turn you down for saying something like that, or kick your ass again."

Markus shrugged. "Go ahead. You won't hurt my feelings."

"For which?"

Markus gave a wicked grin. "Either. And just for the record, I let you have that cheap shot because I did you wrong. You won't get another one."

Gayle snorted. "You are such an asshole."

"An asshole you want to work with for the foreseeable future?" he asked.

Gayle twisted the cap off her water bottle and took a long drink, her eyes never leaving his face. When she lowered it, her expression had shifted from playful antagonism to something more serious.

"You're really worried, aren't you?"

Markus was silent for a long time before he allowed himself to speak. He didn't like that her words had hit exactly how he'd been feeling since he'd had the conversation with Director Shiperii about the double bond. He considered not even responding, but realized that maybe she was exactly the person he needed to talk to about this.

"I never once worried about myself, not when I was my father's son and had the usual risks of being a potential Heir to a Kingdom, not when I joined the Vanguard as a soldier, not when I worked my way through the intense Protectorate Program and thought of possibly taking on my own charge, and certainly not when I was fighting Fazha twice my size in the fighter's circle.

"Now, all I can think about is my mortality, especially after that little trip through the Shixx ship to get pavi. It is not something I am comfortable with. Adar doesn't think our bond was a mistake, but I think maybe it was. I think for the first time in my life, I am terrified."

Gayle took another swig from the bottle and then placed the cap back on. She walked to Markus until she was standing directly in front of him, and again Gayle said something he hadn't expected to hear.

"Good."

"Good?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, good. I always worried about you, Markus, because you were always so fearless. I thought you would get yourself killed just because you decided to go up against something too big for you. That you would be too cocky, and it would get you killed. Sometimes a little terror can be good for us. It can temper us and keep us from rushing headlong into something that would be bad for our continued existence.

"Now this bond with Adar has made you realize you aren't invincible. I see that as a good thing, not a bad one. At the rate you were going, you would have been dead sooner rather than later. And quite frankly, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. You must have had some exceptionally good luck going on, but it certainly wasn't going to last forever. And perhaps this bond is the universe's way of telling you to stop pushing that luck."

Markus stared at her, processing her words. "So you think the bond was a good thing?"

"I think it might have saved your life in ways you don't even realize yet." Gayle moved back to lean against the wall again. "But that doesn't answer my question about the protection team. What exactly are you asking me to do?"

Markus stared at her, processing her words. Part of him wanted to argue, to defend the reckless courage that had carried him through every challenge he'd faced. But another part—the part that had awakened the moment the golden blood sealed his bond with Adar—recognized the truth in what she said.

"I need someone I can trust absolutely to help watch over Adar, and me. To call me out when I'm doing something stupid or about to do something that will get him and I both killed."

Gayle snorted. "Well, that will be a full-time job just intercepting all your bad decisions. How am I supposed to have any time left to do any real work?"

Markus glared at Gayle. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I think I'm taking my offer back."

"Nope. You can't, because I accept."

Markus blinked at the woman for a moment, making sure he had heard right. He had been serious when making the original offer, but he hadn't actually thought she'd take him up on it. He knew how much she'd wanted her own charge.

Gayle placed a hand on his chest to make sure she had his attention. "You didn't think I would accept, did you?"

"No."

"Then why did you ask?"

Markus said nothing.

Gayle raised up on her toes and kissed him on his forehead. She stepped back and smiled. "I trust you too, Markus. That's why I accepted. And I kind of like this sensitive side of you. It's cute."

"I don't do cute," Markus protested.

Gayle laughed as she made for the exit.

"Are you really sure you won't miss having your own bond?" Markus called out.

Gayle stopped. She looked as if she were pondering the question a moment, and then she turned around and said, "I thought I would, then I had the tracer bond. It was quite an experience, I must say. But it's already fading. I think it will be gone soon, and I'm kind of relieved. It's hard enough being a Telepath and trying to keep everyone's thoughts at bay. I can only imagine how much worse that would be if I had a bonded charge.

"I guess I never really thought about that when I signed up for the Program. My instructors did warn me that the bond can be more invasive for those with the Telepath Dome-ni. At the time, I didn't really know what that meant, or cared. But having the tracer bond was a wake-up call. So yes, I'm sure, Markus. And thank you for being honest with me about your feelings about the bond with Adar. You didn't have to do that. It was nice seeing your true self for once. You should make more of a habit of it."

She whirled around and marched toward the exit.

The door opened and closed before Markus grunted. "Don't count on it."

But a wave of great relief swept through him. He hadn't realized how much the new responsibility of the double bond had been eating away at him. Markus breathed deeply, despite the strange mineral taste that lingered with each inhalation. For the first time since the bonding with Adar, Markus felt like he could see a path forward. He'd been so focused on what he might lose—that he hadn't seen what he might gain. With Gayle on board, he'd have someone to watch his back—someone who would call him on his bullshit when needed. And maybe that was something he'd needed for longer than he liked to admit.

Markus went back to the center of the training room to start the next set of forms for quat-lo, glad that he had someone reliable to help him navigate whatever challenges lay ahead and surprised that he felt so good about it. Protectorate Command certainly would be pleased that Markus had made his first recruit for Adar's new permanent protection team, but that seemed secondary to the weight that had been lifted off his shoulders.

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