95
Keyda managed to wake Theo up, but it took far more effort than it should have. By the time he was blinking awake feverishly, the Ruler was in tears.
"Theo, why in Ancient's name didn't you tell us you were so sick?" she demanded, stroking his face. His breathing was labored as he tried to focus on her.
"Mom?" he croaked, and her heart broke at his tone.
"I'm here. We're going to get you help. Haiven's gone to get Iona, or maybe we should just take you straight to Ninjago."
His expression clouded. "Iona?"
"You don't have to worry about anything," Keyda assured when she saw him becoming concerned. "We're here and we'll take care of everything." She wished she had the energy to transport him straight to a hospital in Ninjago, but as it was, she was still exhausted from her last transport. Not to mention, she knew deep down that they probably shouldn't. Cole had pointed out years ago that fever was one thing they probably shouldn't go to Ninjago to fix, considering how susceptible Ninjagoan people were to getting much worse cases of it. But seeing her son like this made Keyda more than a little tempted to do it anyway.
Theo struggled to look around the room. "Where's Rook?"
Keyda froze, her hand still on his face. His eyes met hers again, and she knew he would want an answer. "She's around," she offered at last. There was plenty more that she wanted to say, but now wasn't the time or place. "Just try to stay awake until Iona gets here, all right?"
"All right." He looked and sounded exhausted. Keyda was torn between staying right by his side and going to find someone to check and see if Iona had arrived yet, but ultimately decided to stay put. She murmured to Theo or squeezed his hands to keep him awake as she waited for Cole or Iona to arrive. Eventually someone did come into the room, but it wasn't anybody the Ruler had seen before.
"Geez, I can smell it now. Clever, how they did that. Blends right in with the general stink of unwashed, feverish body," the woman commented as she barged in. Keyda stared at the frizzy-haired woman, trying to figure out who on earth it was. The woman caught the Ruler staring and smirked. "Name's Ylba. I'm the fortress healer. I've brought something that should get his leaderness back on his feet."
Keyda furrowed her brow as the woman came over with a kettle, and the Ruler watched her suspiciously as she poured a cup of tea. "I was told fever tea wasn't working," she pointed out.
"This tea isn't for fever. In fact, it's best to make sure no one else takes a swig of it," the healer chuckled.
"Ylba, where's Rook?" Theo spoke up, and the healer turned to glance at him. Ylba pursed her lips, and after a moment, she shrugged.
"Good to see you awake. I was worried about how we would get you to drink this, if you were unconscious," she offered, ignoring his question completely. She brought his tea closer, and Keyda moved into the healer's path.
"What is it that you're giving him?" she demanded.
"Hopefully, a cure."
"Hopefully isn't good enough," Keyda pointed out, glancing down at the tea. "We'll wait for Iona to get here—"
"Look, you're the Ruler of the realm, so if you tell me to dump it out, I'll dump it out. But if you want that kid in bed to improve, we gotta get this in his system now. Otherwise we might as well send him to the departed realm now and put him out of his misery."
Keyda bristled, and she was about to order the woman from the room when she heard another voice behind her.
"It's okay, Keyds. Let her give him the tea."
She turned to see Cole coming into the room, looking tired. The Ruler sagged in relief as he came over. "What took you so long?" she asked. He rubbed her shoulder.
"Let's help him sit up," he offered. She nearly insisted that he tell her about what happened with Rook, and if he was able to find her, but she caught herself just in time. She turned her attention to her son, who looked like he was struggling to stay awake. Together, Keyda and Cole helped Theo get into a sitting position, and Ylba brought over the cup of tea.
Theo had only gotten a taste of it when he gagged hard, tea sloshing out of the cup and down his front. "No," he managed, recoiling. Keyda's heart pounded with concern, but Ylba didn't seem fazed in the slightest.
"What, did you expect it to taste good? If you throw up, I'm leaving you to your fate," she snapped. "Drink it now or give up on life already."
Keyda turned to the woman in anger. This was who Theo hired to be his healer? "How dare you talk to him like that," she snapped, and Ylba glanced over at the Ruler with an unamused expression.
"What? You want me to back off? Make it taste better? You add anything to this, and it could compromise the whole thing…"
"This is getting us nowhere," Cole pointed out, taking the cup with the remaining tea from Ylba's hand as he gently brought it back to Theo's mouth. "You've got to drink this, Theo."
Theo gave the cup of tea a disgusted look and shuddered, but with Cole's help, he managed to drink it down. Keyda watched him struggling to swallow, gripping his hand tightly with hers as she tried to calm her own pounding heart.
Ylba poured him more after he finished—no doubt because he had spilled so much of the first cup. Theo protested weakly, but the healer didn't give him much of a choice. Eventually, Theo had finished the second cup of tea and laid back down in defeat. The healer nodded to herself and set the cup of tea off to one side before turning to the Rulership.
"Well, let him rest. If he's going to get better, it will be in the next few hours."
Keyda stiffened. "If he's going to get better?" she demanded. The healer shrugged and headed for the door, and Cole called out after her.
"Shouldn't you stay here to make sure everything—"
"There's a chance he's going to vomit that all back up, and I don't want to be around for it," the healer cut in. "If that happens…just know he's probably a goner." The door closed behind her, and Keyda's heart felt like someone was squeezing it.
"Cole—" she started, looking back at him.
"It'll be all right," he tried, though his own expression was tight with worry as he studied their son. Theo had fallen back to sleep, looking no better than he had before drinking the tea. Cole reached out to claim Keyda's hand, giving it a squeeze as he glanced back at her. "Iona will probably be here soon anyway, and she can tell us more. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on him."
"I don't understand how he could have gotten to this point without anyone telling us," Keyda pointed out miserably. "What else haven't they told us that's happened down here since he took over?"
Cole sighed, his expression becoming hard to read. "I don't know."
Rook had been determined to stay awake until someone brought her news about Theodynn. It should have been easy to do, sitting in a freezing dungeon with both of their fates hanging in the balance. However, as she blinked awake lying on the cell's ratty bedmat, she realized she hadn't lasted long in her resolve.
She groaned softly as she sat up, rubbing her neck as she peered into the darkness of the cell. There was an unsettled feeling hanging over her, and she lit one hand with aura in an attempt to get a better sense of her surroundings. Even if she hadn't meant to fall asleep, it was the feeling of being watched that had woken her up.
"You've had a long few days," a voice pointed out, and Rook's heart stopped as her aura uncovered the figure lurking in the corner of the cell. She got to her feet in seconds, glowering as she took a defensive stance. Her expression was hard, but inside her heart was galloping. The idiot guards who had detained her had taken her weapons, which meant she had no real way to defend herself against the man smirking at her.
"What do you want?" Rook demanded, and Saesh chuckled.
"Nothing," he offered. "I just wondered if you'd like a bit of help."
Rook narrowed her eyes. "You sure have funny timing," she growled.
He just shrugged. "Despite what you may think, I have better things to do than lurk in this fortress spying all day. Imagine my surprise when I returned to the south to see Theodynn on death's door—you certainly let things get out of control, didn't you?"
"Don't even start with me," Rook snapped. "I have half a mind to call the guards in here."
"No need to be so harsh," Saesh offered. "I'm here with your best interests in mind."
"I'm sure," Rook muttered dryly. She wished she had some way of defending herself, but she supposed if Saesh really was here to hurt her, he probably would have already.
"I'm not fully apprised on the situation, but based on what I've seen and heard so far, you're in a bit of a sniffer den at the moment. Seems the Rulership doesn't like you much."
Rook felt a twist. "I don't care what they think about me," she replied angrily. "If you're going to sit here and mock me, at least tell me how Theodynn's doing."
"Your guess is as good as mine," Saesh replied unhelpfully.
Rook's eyes flashed. "Then get lost."
"Are you sure you don't require a little help?" Saesh asked with a smile.
"I could have gotten myself out of here hours ago, if I wanted to escape," Rook pointed out.
"So, you're just going to accept your fate," Saesh mused.
Rook's heart twisted. "Theodynn will clear everything up, once he's feeling better."
The assassin raised an eyebrow. "I suppose…as long as you gave him the right antidote."
Rook's blood ran cold, and she looked up to meet his eye. He met her gaze with his characteristic smug look, and in moments, Rook's fists were flaming with aura as she got to her feet.
"If you're the one who's poisoned him, I swear…"
"I had nothing to do with it," Seash countered smoothly. "And though it might have sounded like I was hinting at something, I really have no idea if you've given him the right treatment or not. First One's willing, hmmm?"
"He's going to be fine!" Rook shouted, her eyes filling with tears as she glowered at him.
"All right. I'll take your word for it." Saesh held up his hands in defeat. "But…if you are having any doubts and would like to wait for news in a less conspicuous place, let me know."
Rook narrowed her eyes. "Did you really just show up to offer to break me out of this cell?"
He shrugged, and she snorted derisively.
"For a price, I assume?" she accused.
"Well…naturally," he agreed with a grin.
"Go jump in a sniffer den," Rook hissed, glowering murderously at him. He raised an eyebrow.
"If you're sure. I can understand why you aren't eager to trust me…but I would like to point out that I'm probably less likely to run you through than the Ruler is, you know. Do you really think it wise to stay here and wait for the fate she decrees?"
"I didn't poison him," Rook pointed out, her tone deadly. "And once he wakes up, he'll make sure everybody knows that."
Saesh frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose. Unless…he harbors similar doubts about your potential involvement."
"He wouldn't doubt me for a moment," Rook insisted, her fists clenching.
The assassin just smiled in that infuriating way he had. "If you say so." Aura winds seemed to appear out of nowhere, and Rook cursed to herself as the light flashed and Saesh vanished. Rook studied the spot he had been standing and finally sank back down onto her cot. As horrible and unsettling as the wait had been before, now it was far, far worse.
There were chains around his neck, and they must have been made from vengestone because nothing Theo did would break them. He struggled to breathe, his entire body feeling bogged down. Laughter echoed all around him, and though it was familiar, Theo couldn't put his finger on who it was. He tried to call for help, but the chains around his throat made it impossible, and he couldn't open his eyes to see where he was or who was laughing at him. Was he at the Island again? The Departed Realm? Panic seized him, and with a newfound strength, he managed to pull the chains off of his throat enough to suck in a breath. He took heart and yanked even harder at the chains, and as breathing became easier, he finally started to wake up again.
The closer he got to consciousness, the worse he felt. His body was limp and sweaty, feeling like he had just wrestled an entire pack of sniffers. His throat felt hoarse and awful, and there was a horrible taste in his mouth.
"He's coming to," a voice offered.
"Seems I won't have to do the spell after all."
"He's waking up? You're sure?" a third voice added. They sounded muddled and far away, and then Theo felt a soft hand gently cradle his face.
"Rook?" he croaked groggily, trying to force his eyes open. Silence fell, and as Theo managed to lift his heavy eyelids, he frowned in confusion. The person staring back at him was Haiven, not Rook, her hand lingering on his face for a moment before she pulled away. As Theo's mind tried to catch up, he realized he should have known it wasn't Rook's hand—hers were covered with callouses from a life of swordplay.
"I told you he'd be fine, Keyds," another voice offered, and Theo turned his head and caught sight of his parents nearby. He realized his mother was crying, wiping at the tear running down her face, and Cole offered Theo a tight smile as he comforted his wife.
"He's hardly fine," a familiar, onery voice offered. "He was force-fed poison a few hours ago."
"But he woke up," Cole pointed out. "Which means the healer was telling the truth about using it as an antidote."
"Apparently," Iona reluctantly agreed, coming over to scowl down at Theo. "It was a far-fetched explanation, but it seems it was the truth."
"What's going on?" Theo asked, his head pounding as he tried to stay caught up with the conversation. He vaguely remembered his parents coming, but he hadn't been sure if that had been a dream or reality. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure if this was reality.
Haiven was trying to sign to him, but he couldn't focus well enough to pick up on the meaning of the signs. When she saw him merely staring at her with a blank stare, her own expression pinched with concern and she stopped signing. Theo glanced over at his parents, desperate for an explanation. Keyda finally met his eye, and she sighed heavily.
"You were poisoned, Theo…and that backwater healer you hired gave you tea laced with more poison and claimed it was an antidote. Iona recognized the ingredients when she arrived." The Ruler's expression twisted. "We thought you were dying for the past ten minutes."
It was enough to stir a sense of dread in the bedridden leader, and he struggled to swallow. "…Am I?" he mumbled.
"If you've woken up, then the poison you were given a few hours back worked as an antidote to the toxin already in your system," Iona offered. "You'll be fine, so long as you stay hydrated…which means I came all the way out here for nothing. I didn't even have to do a siphoning spell." She gestured to a pile of glossy black rocks sitting nearby. "So, once again, you've gone and wasted both my energy and my time."
"Do we know who poisoned me?" he finally asked. He couldn't help but feel ashamed as he looked around the room at the concerned expressions looking back at him. He had wanted to prove how capable he was, but he had obviously ingested poison at some point, nearly landing him in the departed realm. The fact that someone could poison him so easily made his blood run cold. Even if he recovered now…what was stopping someone from making another attempt?
A pair of hands clasped his, and Theo looked back to see Haiven staring at him with concern. He studied her a moment and finally sighed. "I'm sorry to have worried you all," he offered tiredly.
"I wasn't really that worried," Iona sniffed, and Theo didn't miss the deadly looks his parents shot her. The ancient either didn't notice or didn't care as she gathered up the black stones.
"Wait, why don't you do the spell anyway? To be sure?" Keyda demanded.
"Look, an ill-timed siphoning can do more harm than good—I already explained all of this to you. Where poison is involved, it really should only be done as a last resort. The boy's awake—not really last resort circumstances." She dropped them into her pouch with a flourish, and Haiven turned. She released Theo's hands so she could sign desperately, and Iona sighed. "Look, dear…you asked me to come, and I came. But I didn't agree to sit here and nurse him back to full health. Surely, he has plenty of other people who can do that."
Haiven continued signing, and Theo let his gaze move across his bedroom. His parents had come over, their eyes flicking over him in concern, as if looking for any signs that would prove he was slipping backward in his recovery.
"Where's Rook?" he finally asked tiredly, feeling a pinch of concern that she was still nowhere to be found. He knew that she had been searching for ways to help him the past few days, busying herself with all sorts of things. But surely…she would want to be here now, right? Had he really almost died, and she wasn't even here to be with him when it happened?
At his question, his parents looked at each other, seemingly having a silent exchange. Theo's heart twisted further.
"What?" he demanded. "Where is she?"
"I'll go get her," Cole offered at last, pushing himself to his feet as he shot Theo a quick smile.
"Cole—" Keyda started.
"It's okay, Keyds."
"What's okay?" Theo pressed, wanting answers but too exhausted to fight for them as much as he probably should. Cole left the room, and Theo's mother sighed heavily as she turned her attention back to him.
"I never want to be in this position again, Theo," she murmured, her eyes filling with tears again. "I've spent too many days in my life at your bedside, praying you'll pull through."
He felt guilty then. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I…didn't get poisoned on purpose. It wasn't so bad at first—I really just thought I had a cold."
Keyda's expression tightened. "The important thing is you pulled through," she finally said. "Theo…we're going to take you back to Central Fortress."
All at once, it was a struggle to breathe again. Theo stared at his mother in horror, and it felt like a hoofer was sitting on his chest. "No—" he started, but she cut him off.
"At least for a few days. Please, Theo…don't fight us on this." Her gaze was pleading as she took his hands in hers. "You're going to be extra vulnerable while you're recovering—all it would take is one more toxin, and Iona said—"
"Mom," Theo pressed, but she wasn't backing down.
"Once you're back on your feet, we can talk about the south. But I am not leaving you down here—not when we don't even know who poisoned you in the first place!"
The bedridden leader wanted to argue further, but he felt the fight leave him. He knew there was nothing on earth that would convince his mother now…and he was regrettably too weak physically to be able to resist much on that front. If his parents wanted to drag him back to the Central Fortress, there really wasn't anything he could do to stop them.
"Just a few days," he managed at last. "Just to get my feet. Promise me."
Keyda's expression flickered. "We'll talk once you're back to full strength," she offered, which hardly helped him feel better at all.
He's asking for you.
They were the only words that Cole said when he came to fetch Rook out of the dungeon. Those four words held plenty of meaning, however, and Rook felt her emotions being whiplashed from one place to another as she was escorted by guards to Theodynn's rooms. If he was asking for her…he was alive…and if Cole was letting her out of her cell to see him, it meant that Theo was improving. However, she knew she wasn't off the hook, and Cole's expression had been hard the entire time she was being released. Though he didn't say as much out loud, Rook knew that she was forbidden from mentioning the entire dungeon fiasco to Theo. Part of her wanted to anyway so that he would know what she had been put through and had to deal with, but she killed the desire. He was still sick, and he was still weak—now wasn't the time to point blame.
They reached Theo's chambers, and maybe it was just in her head, but Rook felt like all eyes were on her as she entered his bedchamber. She avoided looking at anyone except the man in the bed, and he offered her a weak smile.
"You keep disappearing," he accused. Rook could feel the Rulers watching her, and she had even seen Haiven in the room as well. She didn't say anything to anyone as she reached the bed, grabbed Theo's hand, and leaned in to kiss him. Mainly, she was just relieved to see him upright—she prayed to the First Ones that this meant he was on the road to recovery now. However, she'd be lying if she claimed that the kiss wasn't also a way to show the rest of the room that she wasn't waiting for their approval or permission to have a relationship with the southern leader.
Theo kissed her back, though he still seemed weak. When she pulled away, he offered a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. Something felt off, and Rook studied his expression desperately.
"What?" she demanded. All at once, all she could think about was Saesh. Theo doesn't think I poisoned him, she insisted, arguing with her doubts. He knows he can trust me.
"My parents are taking me to the central fortress," Theo offered at last. Rook felt the blood drain out of her face, though she really should have been expecting this outcome all along. He seemed to notice her concern and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Just until I get my strength back," he assured. "You can come with me…"
"No," Rook cut in hollowly. Theo's brow furrowed, and Rook tried to smile. "I've got to stay here."
"I want you to come with me," Theo tried, scanning her face.
"I know. I'll meet up with you in a few days…but first, I have to find the people who did this to you."
"My parents are going to send in a whole fleet—"
"Which will only scare them further underground. Let me do this my way, all right? I can't let them get away with this." She stared at him pointedly. "Theo…I need you to give me permission to finish out the investigation and arrest those involved."
He scanned her face, hesitating, which gave his mother time to interject.
"Absolutely not," Keyda snapped, and Rook and Theo turned to see the Ruler glowering. "Theodynn, it's more obvious than ever that she's using you for power."
"I don't care what you think I'm doing," Rook snapped. "All I care about is making sure the people who had the gall to do this pay for it, so that any other southerner who would think to make a similar attempt will think twice."
"All right," Theo offered tiredly, and everyone looked back at him as he studied Rook with an expression she couldn't read. "You have my permission to finish investigating here. Just…don't take too long, all right? And be careful."
"I will," Rook promised sagging in relief.
"Theo—" Keyda started angrily, and he turned to look at his mother.
"If you want me to come to the Central Fortress with you, then Rook will be in charge down here in the meantime."
"Absolutely not," the Ruler snapped, bristling. "That's exactly what she's been after this entire time! We're not leaving her in charge now, after everything that's happened."
"Then I'm not going with you," Theo offered quietly. Aura winds tugged at the curtains as the Ruler's eyes flashed purple, and Cole sighed heavily.
"Theo…"
"Listen to me," the bedridden leader insisted, shifting himself to sit even further upright. "It's going to be bad, once you take me out of the south. Word will spread fast. Whoever did this—whoever poisoned me—is going to have a plan of action in place for when that happens. I trust Rook to be able to handle whatever that is."
"We'll send plenty of forces to deal with any kind of aftermath," Cole pointed out.
Theo scoffed. "Good. Rook can use all the support she can get." He looked up and met her eye again, and she could see something in his gaze. She wasn't sure if she would call it doubt, but it wasn't a good sign, whatever it was. He hesitated a moment, and finally squeezed her hand. "You'll come to the Central Fortress and meet up with me in a few days after all this is taken care of…right?"
Rook met his eye resolutely. "Of course."
96
Dani stared at the tiny kitchen before turning to take in the rest of the space. She could see Colby shifting awkwardly in her peripheral vision, and when she didn't say anything, he cleared his throat.
"I…know it's small," he offered at last. "But I think we could fit a bed over in that corner and I don't know if we really need a dining table if we had a good couch, you know? Cuz… a studio apartment's not really big enough to have guests over, anyway." He fiddled with the collar of his shirt before sighing. "If you hate it—"
"Hate it?" Dani turned at last, fixing him with a beaming smile. "Walker, it's perfect!"
He visibly relaxed, his shy smile appearing once more. "Are you sure? It's very…small."
"But it would be ours," Dani gushed, turning back to take in the space again. "Like…what if we put a narrow table right in front of the kitchen area? It could double as a table and a kitchen bar, since there isn't an island built in already. Add a few comfy stools, and that would be perfect place to eat and cook off of. And then…" she turned holding her hands up to frame the remaining space. "I agree that the corner there would be perfect for a bed, and there's closet space built into that wall so we just add a few shelves, and that should be plenty of room for clothes and things. We could probably get a partition for pretty cheap from like a thrift shop or something—I'm thinking one of those wooden dividers, you know? Or we could even build one out of cloth or something. We set that up on the one side of the bed to kind of frame it into that space, make it a little more private without closing it off completely…"
Colby laughed. "Okay, so your long, dramatic silence was because you were plotting the entire layout of the apartment."
"If you have any ideas, feel free to chime in," Dani offered sheepishly. "I mean, I can see it all in my head but obviously it would be your home too…"
"The only thing I know I want in here is you," Colby offered. He flushed a little, breaking eye contact as he rubbed his neck. "That sounded cheesier when I said it out loud."
Dani just grinned. "Cheesy is fine, Walker. We're fiancés…cheesy is expected."
He flushed deeper at the word fiancés, but then he came over to grab her hand. "Maybe a couch along that wall, and a bookshelf next to it. I mean, we could put a table in front of it with a little T.V…but I don't watch much."
"Eh, anything I want to watch I can do off of my laptop," Dani agreed. "And with all my classes, I don't know how much time I will have for watching stuff anyway."
"I guess that's true," Colby mused, scanning the rest of the room as if picturing how the rest would fall together. He sighed again, his smile fading. "If we had space, or the funds, we could put in a piano for you. Just so you have one—I know you're going to miss playing after a while, even if you aren't trying to become a concert pianist."
Dani's smile faded a little too, but she ignored the pang of sadness inside. "I can find places to play piano. Heck, if I get desperate, I'll volunteer at a senior living center. They always have pianos and willing audiences there."
Colby chuckled then. "I guess that's true."
"What we should do with any extra space is set up an area where you can paint," Dani insisted.
"I've gotten used to painting outside, actually," Colby admitted. "It feels a little claustrophobic to paint indoors now."
"In that case, we'll use the extra space as storage for all your supplies," Dani laughed.
"I don't want to take up all our limited storage space," Colby argued. "I'm sure you have a lot of stuff you'd like to move in, too."
"Eh, I can make do…especially if your Uncle Lloyd was serious about his offer to store some of our stuff at the temple until we can afford a bigger living situation."
"He said it would be fine—we can keep it all in the room I'm staying in now," Colby offered.
"Then I'll be set. I don't own that much stuff," Dani said. However, her mind immediately brought forward the mental picture of her bedroom at her parent's house, and the boxes of music and other stuff piled all over. She winced a little as she amended her statement. "Well…not that much that is worth keeping, at least. If nothing else, this move will help me actually go through all my stuff."
"I'm sorry that I didn't get a place sooner," Colby apologized, glancing around the unfurnished room one last time. "If we're buying thrift, it may take a while to collect all the furniture we need. With you moving in this week so you can start school, it's going to be pretty bare bones. Maybe I can ask around my extended family—see if anyone has any furniture they need to get rid of."
"Sounds perfect," Dani offered. "And don't apologize for anything. You only proposed a week ago…all things considering, you found a place super quickly."
Colby flushed. "I maybe had my eye on the market for a while," he admitted. "There were technically nicer places…but this is what was in my budget with my new job."
"I still can't believe that you got a job at the police station, of all places," Dani said with a smile. "Especially considering the only connection you have to them is when you were doing community time there."
"I was surprised Officer Curtis still remembered me," Colby agreed. "But it's not like I'm going to be doing anything that fancy. I'm really just the janitor."
"Yeah, but didn't he say you could probably work your way up?"
Colby shrugged. "I mean, I don't think I'll ever become a police officer, but maybe I could be the guy that takes people's fingerprints, or something. Officer Curtis even mentioned I could maybe try being a bodyguard, but I don't know." He looked down at himself and shrugged. "I have the build of a bodyguard, maybe, but I don't think I could really throw down if it came to that."
Dani just laughed. "Yeah, I don't know if you're really the thug type, Walker," she pointed out before taking his hands.
Colby flushed again as she kissed him, and then he was smiling mischievously. "You know…after we get married, I'll get to call you Walker."
Dani blinked, and she felt a blush rising up her neck. "It's so crazy to think about," she pointed out, looking around the room. "Like…we're going to get married. We're going to live together. Right here."
"Does it feel overwhelming?" Colby asked. "I know you're about to start school…if a wedding is too much to think about right now—"
"Are you kidding? I'm stoked about the wedding, Colby. I can't wait." Dani sighed. "It's just…explaining it to my parents that I'm worried about."
"Do you want me to come with you tomorrow?"
"No. I can do it—better to just rip off the bandage, and if they're going to come unglued, I'd rather it just be to me."
His expression clouded. "I don't want them to sit and yell at you, Dani…"
"Oh, don't worry. My parents don't yell. They speak calmly with this little edge on their tone and their eyebrows all puckered in the why did you have to go and disappoint us expression."
"I don't want them to do that to you, either," he insisted.
"I'll be fine. I'm going to go in, lay out the law, get my stuff, and leave. You've got your first shift at the station tomorrow anyway, don't you?"
"Yeah, but if you wait for my shift to be over, we could go together."
Dani smiled, and for a moment, she actually wanted to take him up on it. But then she shook her head. "You came all the way to Metallonia to pick me up, drove me all the way here, and had this apartment all ready and waiting for me when I arrived. You've done plenty, Walker."
"I wouldn't say ready and waiting," Colby pointed out sheepishly as he looked around. "You don't even have an air mattress yet."
"Don't worry about any of that. You got me this far, Colby. I can handle the rest."
Theo sat in an armchair in his old room and looked around, marveling at how tiny it felt. It had always been modestly sized, and it had never bothered him. He thought about how huge the leadership suite in the southern fortress had felt when he first moved into it. Now, strangely, it almost felt more like home than this.
He still felt horrible, both physically and mentally. Moments from the last week played over and over in his head—at least, the parts that he remembered from the last week. His fever had broken at last and he hoped that he was on the road to full strength. More than anything, he felt like an idiot who had gotten himself poisoned and thrown everything out of whack. Things had been going so well—the south had never seemed less hostile, his relationship with Rook had been smooth the last few months, and he had kept his parents in the loop and thought that he had been gaining their trust back. All it took was one bad week, and it felt like he had lost it all.
The door opened, and Theo glanced up to see who it was. Syn smiled gently as she entered and let the door swing closed. "Hey, Theo-boy. How are you feeling?"
He returned the smile. "I've been better," he mumbled.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He shrugged. "I've spent enough time in bed to last me a while."
Syn's expression softened. "I'll bet. I'm just coming to look you over, all right?"
"I was expecting it," Theo said as the healer came over. He didn't say much else as Syn checked him, besides giving one-word answers to the questions she asked. Eventually she nodded to herself and moved over to his fireplace.
"I didn't necessarily see you at your worst, but based on everyone's descriptions, you're definitely improved," she offered.
"I wasn't sick—I was poisoned. After getting the antidote, I would hope I've improved."
She glanced over at him, studying him carefully as she no doubt picked up on the bitterness in his tone. "What happened wasn't your fault, Theo."
"I know," he muttered. "But everyone still acts like it was."
Her expression pinched, but she didn't say anything as she finished up making the fire and boiling water for tea. Theo stayed quiet as well, feeling bad for brooding but also not feeling up to being optimistic. Eventually, Syn came back over and handed him a cup of tea, smiling gently.
"You'll be back before you know it," she offered. "There's no shame in taking it easy for a few days to get your strength back."
"I could have taken it easy back in the south," he muttered. There was no point in having this argument with Syn—Theo knew she had nothing to do with the decision to bring him here. He sipped at his tea remorsefully, but the healer didn't seem offended. She just sighed, giving him one last look over.
"I would hope you don't hate it here too much," she teased at last. "You'll have to live here again eventually when you become the Ruler." Theo glanced over, and she winked at him to let him know she was joking. He tried to figure out what the best answer would be, but Syn was already leaving. "I'll come back and check on you in a few hours, all right?" she offered.
"All right," he agreed, though he knew she would come back whether he wanted her to or not. As the door shut behind her, Theo scolded himself for being so distant and bitter. A few days at the Central Fortress was not the end of the world, and he knew ultimately he should just be grateful that he pulled through another assassination attempt. He sighed again, trying to finish off the tea he had been given. If Rook had come with him, he'd feel better mainly because he knew she would actually fill him in on everything that happened. His parents didn't seem to actually have many details about it, or they just didn't want him to know all the details. With them, he never knew. He had tried to ask Haiven more before she had left to return to the East, but she had seemed pretty out of it herself. She and Iona had left the south before he and his parents had, which didn't give Theo much of a chance to talk to her. Something had seemed off with her when she left, but he honestly wasn't sure if he had just imagined it in his recovering stupor.
Time passed, and Theo ended up dozing off in his chair. He blinked awake when he heard the door close, and he was surprised to see Tolan studying him. "If you're going to sleep, you'd probably have better luck in the bed," Tolan pointed out dryly. Theo smiled a little.
"What are you doing here?"
Tolan shrugged. "Taking a day off the forge. Figured I'd come see how you were doing."
"Syn sent you," Theo guessed as he sat up and rubbed his face. "Or one of my parents." Tolan didn't answer either way, and the Heir frowned. "What forge? Are you doing blacksmithing again?"
"When Jaqah can spare me."
"You do it here at the fortress?"
"Nah. There's a village nearby with a forge."
"Which village?" Theo asked, familiar with all the villages nearby. "I can't think of one anywhere close that would have a forge good enough to make more than nails and hoofershoes."
Here, Tolan offered a rare smile. "Well…that's why I built one."
Theo blinked in surprise. "So, you finally managed to build your own forge. You've been talking about doing it for years."
"Well, I finally had enough time on my hands," Tolan said with a shrug.
"How does it feel? Having your own forge at last?"
"It's not mine," Tolan corrected. Theo furrowed his brow in confusion, and Tolan continued to look as nonchalant as possible. "I gave it to Teag. Hopefully it will keep him out of trouble."
"That's right…he mentioned he was coming here," Theo remembered, and then he grimaced. "Ancients, that feels like so long ago, when he left the letter. He's the one who warned that there were undesirable people poking around the fortress…and then next thing you know, I'm poisoned."
Tolan studied him closely. "Teag mentioned undesirable people?"
"He overheard the blacksmith he was working for talking with one of Ottan's gang—apparently, they were trying to recruit an inside man. I got Teag's letter the night before I woke up ill. Based on the little I have been told, Ottan's crew poisoned me during one of my village trips at some point, but then somehow managed to continue administering enough poison to send me spiraling while making it seem like fever the whole time." The Heir rubbed his face. "What am I supposed to do, Tol? If I can't even tell when I'm being poisoned?"
"Eh, who hasn't been critically poisoned at some point in their life?" Tolan asked seriously. Theo glanced up to see his friend smirking, and Theo couldn't help but smile a little too.
"Very funny. I guess that's just another thing we can bond over—our near-death experiences."
"You say that like we have a whole lot of other stuff in common."
"How is everybody, Tol?" Theo asked, ignoring the sarcastic remark. "I don't really want to talk about myself and this whole fiasco anymore. How's Syn, and Teag? And everyone in the West? It feels like forever since I've seen Pippa."
"Based on what Hershel's told us, it sounds like Fluff's been becoming slightly more disciplined. The Western Fortress hasn't burned to the ground yet, at least. Everyone else is fine. Hot-Stuff is more insufferable than ever—give him a forge, and suddenly he thinks he knows more than anyone in the realm about blacksmithing."
"What kinds of stuff does he make?" Theo asked.
Tolan shrugged. "He wants to specialize in weaponry. Uses a lot of the techniques I taught him, but it seems he picked up a few things while he was in the south. He can't make a whole lot at the moment—he can only really make one thing at a time because he relies on the funds from selling a sword to afford the metal to make more. But I think he'll get there eventually." The man fished out a knife from his pocket, offering it to the Heir. Theo frowned as he accepted it.
"He made this?" he guessed. "I've never really seen a knife like this."
"That's because he used high-quality black iron to make a little paring knife of all things," Tolan scoffed. "And then he gave it that dinky little wooden handle."
"The handle's nice—I mean, it's a comfortable shape, and it feels like he sanded it down well." He studied the knife a little longer. "But I see what you mean. A light-colored wood does look a little out of place with a black blade." He ran a finger along the edge. "Feels like he got a good edge on it, though."
"It's a good knife, even if it looks stupid. He made it for Syn and keeps asking me to give it to her."
"Why haven't you?"
"Because I'm not an errand boy—he can give it to her himself."
Theo smiled. "So why do you have it?"
Tolan shrugged, not answering, and Theo let it go. He handed the knife back, though his gaze lingered on the black blade. Though far different in shape, size, and function, the small knife reminded him of the one that Rook used to carry. In his mind's eye, he pictured her, seeing her throwing her blade across the ravine that day he had found her in the Traders' old stomping grounds.
Tolan leaned forward, studying Theo as the Heir's expression clouded. "I know you're sick of people asking…but how are you feeling?"
Theo sighed, sinking lower in his armchair. "I'll recover," he offered. "Hopefully the only thing that was damaged beyond fixing is my pride."
"Syn mentioned that you seem stable. She thinks you'll make a full recovery, if you aren't noticing any other problems."
"It's not getting over the poison that worries me."
"Then what's worrying you?"
Theo glanced up to see Tolan studying him pensively, meeting his eye as he waited for an answer. Though part of him wanted to clam up and go back to brooding, he found that he missed confiding in his old bodyguard. "I thought I finally had things under control in the south…but now it feels like I'm back to square one. Maybe even before square one."
"Well, there are definitely people down there who still want to see you dead, apparently," Tolan mused. "But from what I've heard, the general populace doesn't."
"Maybe the average southerner wouldn't have tried to kill me, but that doesn't mean that they would mourn me if I died," Theo pointed out.
"Touché."
"We've been trying to sniff out Ottan's men for months, but we did get a little lax with it. I honestly thought there wouldn't be much of a resistance left after taking out the group that targeted Alan. They seemed like key players…but now I'm realizing there must be far more supporters than I thought."
"Killing a few rats rarely makes a dent on the nest," Tolan agreed. "So what are you going to do about it?"
Theo blinked. "I don't know. Rook's down there now, trying to figure it all out."
"You left Rook there on her own?"
"It wasn't my first choice," Theo insisted, looking up at the other man. "I told her I would rather her come with me here, but she refused."
"Why?"
"She says she wants to smoke out the people who did this to me before they can disappear back into hiding. I just hope that she's careful."
Tolan didn't reply right away, and when he did, Theo could hear something off in his tone. "People have a lot to say about Rook, right now."
"I think my parents think she poisoned me," Theo offered miserably.
"Do you?"
"Do I think Rook poisoned me in an effort to be put in charge of the south? No. I don't." Theo's tone gained an edge as he fixed Tolan with an angry look. "You worked with her too—does it sound like something she would do?"
Tolan was quiet as he pondered the question. "It seems like a foolish thing to try. Even if she did poison you, she had to know that she would be the prime suspect. Besides, if she really was after power this whole time, she could get farther keeping you alive than killing you."
"I don't know that I want to hear your reasoning behind that claim," Theo muttered.
"I'm not saying she is after power," Tolan offered with a shrug. "I'm just saying that becoming spouse to a Ruler would be a better long-term goal than going through all this work to get you to name her leader in your stead."
"I didn't name her leader, I just put her in charge until I got back. This seems like a whole lot of effort for a few days in power!" Theo snapped. "I refuse to believe that Rook is using me, even if that's what the rest of you think."
Tolan held up his hands. "Again, I'm not saying I believe she's the one behind all of this. And for the record, I don't think your father does, either."
Theo deflated a little, though he still scowled. "What…did you all have a 'should we trust Rook' meeting without me?" he muttered.
"I think your parents feel like what she has done is taken full advantage of the situation, whether or not she was the one who created the situation in the first place."
"She's trying to find the people who almost murdered me," Theo said defensively. "And, for the record, I don't blame her for not wanting to come here…not with the way my parents treat her." He huffed angrily. "They only see the person she was…and it makes it so that nothing she ever does is right. You know her too, Tolan—Ancient's, she's the backup you called when everything was going down with Saesh and I was blocking everyone out of my life. Don't try to make me feel stupid for trusting her when I know you trust her too."
Tolan frowned. "It wasn't my intention to make you feel stupid for trusting her."
"Then what was your intention?"
"You brought up Rook, Theo. That's the only reason we're even talking about her right now. I just thought you'd want to know where everyone's mind is at."
"I'm just sick of everything being so complicated all the time," Theo muttered, looking away. "And I'm sick of the way people treat her…Crown of Kahzym, I'm surprised my parents didn't just have her locked up the second they heard I was sick." He rubbed his face. "Someday, they're going to have to get used to the fact that we're together."
"Are you planning a binding?" Tolan asked bluntly, and Theo winced at the question.
"Could you imagine?" he murmured in return. "I've never been to a binding that couldn't go through because a Ruler refuses to speak for the couple …but that's what would happen."
"Would you get bound to her if that wasn't an issue?" Tolan asked softly. Theo's expression scrunched.
"Will you think I'm crazy if I say yes?" he finally asked, glancing up. "Because I feel like my parents would."
"They're just worried about you," Tolan offered.
"They're never not worried about me. When things are going well, they do better at backing off…but one bad circumstance and suddenly I'm back on house arrest and they're trying to pressure me into breaking up with my girlfriend. They act like she's brainwashed me, or something…like I'm not seeing who she 'really is.' But they're the ones who are refusing to see that." He slowly got to his feet, his anger simmering once again. "You know, they didn't like the idea of me getting bound to Haiven either…they just weren't as vocal about it. They'd just give all these hints and nudges— asking about how we plan on sharing the load of leadership if she couldn't even communicate with most people, or asking if we felt old enough to think about settling down. At the time, they liked Haiven herself just fine, but they never thought she had what it would take to be bound to a Ruler. She picked up on it…and she believed them. Now, they're doing the same thing to Rook, but far more aggressively…and already she's doubting herself too."
"Doubting herself?"
"She knows that my parents would never agree to a binding," Theo explained, keeping his gaze averted. "She…treats our relationship like it's only a matter of time before something will force us to break up. The whole time I was sick, she kept her distance…and it was worse once my parents arrived." Tolan didn't respond, and Theo shot him a deadly look. "Don't tell my parents about this. It will only give them more fodder."
"You think I talk more with your parents than I do," Tolan pointed out dryly. "We're not holding a bunch of secret meetings behind your back, trying to figure out how to control you."
"It sure feels like it sometimes," Theo muttered.
"Rook wasn't around while you were sick?"
Theo felt a flash of irritation. "She was trying to keep the south afloat—it's not like she could sit by my bedside and hold my hand for the entire week." Though he was glaring at Tolan, he had told himself the same thing over and over again the past day, trying to mitigate the lurking hurt that Rook's absence had caused. Someone had to keep things going. It's not that she didn't care…she's just a doer, not a waiter.
If Tolan picked up on the fact that Theo was trying to convince himself as much as his old bodyguard, he was at least kind enough not to mention it. He finally pushed himself to his feet, looking Theo over one last time. "I'm glad that you're doing okay," he offered at last.
Theo's defensiveness faded. "Thanks," he offered softly. "Will you apologize to Syn for me, if you're headed out? I was a little prickly while she was checking me over."
Tolan raised an eyebrow as he reached the door. "Not an errand boy," he reminded, and then Theo was left to his own thoughts once again.
97
Alan was relieved the day Haiven showed back up at her stall, but was careful not to show it. He waited until the end of the day before heading over, though it only gave his mind time to rack up a million questions that he knew he wasn't going to be able to pester her with.
She glanced up as he approached, but there was no sign of her usual smile that she gave him in greeting. Alan's stomach twisted with apprehension, but he kept his face deadpan. "I'll walk you home," he offered. She shrugged in a clear whatever sort of way, and he couldn't help but study her closely as the anxiety continued to mount. Had Theo gotten worse? Had she just hit her limit of seeing Rook and Theo together? Had something more happened? Maybe she was angry at Alan himself for some reason?
He didn't say anything out loud as he waited for her to pack up, and then they were headed back to the village. "Did Ranu come say hello today?" Alan finally asked. "He was pretty worried that you were missing for so long."
Haiven rolled her eyes but didn't answer one way or another. He waited to see if she would say anything herself, but she seemed to be adamant about not signing to him. Alan wondered if she just didn't have the patience to play the guessing game with him—maybe she would be more willing if he understood her better.
"Even Pescar brought it up," he tried. "I let him know you were helping out a friend. I didn't really mention Theo…I wasn't sure what he would do if he heard that he was sick. Especially since I didn't really have any answer to how sick he was or with what kind of sickness."
Haiven's expression just darkened. Surely, if something terrible had happened to Theo, she would tell him. Or seem sad, at least. If anything, she looked angry. With Haiven not offering up any information and Alan not sure he wanted to poke an angry sniffer, the rest of the walk was silent. They reached Haiven's tent, and she moved to enter without so much as a gesture his direction. Alan frowned, and before he could think better of it he reached out and grabbed her arm.
Haiven turned to fix him with a deadly look, and he released her as quickly as he had grabbed her. "If you need anything, you know where my tent is," he mumbled before turning and heading back down the path. He swore he could feel her still glaring at him as he went, but he didn't look back to see.
"Should I come?" Amber asked into the communicator, her heart pounding.
"He's okay now," her father assured. "We have him here at the Central Fortress and we're keeping an eye on him."
"I'm coming," Amber decided, her tone daring him to question her decision. "Why do you all wait so long to keep me in the loop?"
She could feel Lou and M watching her, and she felt a little bad for interrupting the dinner. Here they were, just trying to celebrate the end of the tour, and once again her family was going through some catastrophe in the Oni Realm.
"No one kept us in the loop either, Ams. I guess they just thought he was sick at first, so no one bothered to tell us until it got worse."
Amber chewed her lip. "Are we sure he's okay, though?"
"He's already improved a lot. We're hoping to see more improvement over the next few days."
"I'll come over tonight. Maybe in an hour or so."
"We know you've got your tour going on, Amber—"
"It's actually pretty much over," she admitted. "I'm coming to see him."
"All right. See you soon."
The call ended, and Amber rubbed her face as she slid the communicator back into her bag. The night had started so bittersweet, with her mind on the end of their tour and leaving Metallonia. Now, the all-too-familiar feeling of dread was sitting in her stomach like a rock.
"What's going on?" Lou asked gently, his expression betraying his own concern.
"Um…Theo got really sick. They think he may have been poisoned. He's at the Central Fortress now and they said he's doing better."
"Poisoned? Like accidentally ate a weird mushroom or something?" M asked.
"More like someone tried to assassinate him," Amber muttered. Silence fell, and she felt a twist of guilt for putting it so grimly. "They got him the antidote and he's doing better now. That's what's important."
"Geez, Amber," M muttered. "Sometimes I forget the kind of place you come from."
"I'm sorry to interrupt our dinner," she mumbled. "We can finish up here first."
"Eh, we've had loads of fancy dinners over the last nine months. A trip to the Oni realm sounds like just the thing to really kick off our transition back to our normal lives," M offered. Amber glanced up.
"I was just planning on going myself," she tried, but then her grandfather spoke up.
"If you think you could manage to bring me along…I would like to be with the family right now, too."
Amber thought about arguing further, but then she realized there wasn't really a reason they couldn't come along. M gave her a supportive smile, and his and Lou's feelings betrayed their eagerness for her to agree. "All right," the Xinta finally said. "I don't know what we'll do with all our luggage."
"Why don't we drive home tonight, and we'll leave for the Oni realm from Ninjago?" Lou offered.
"That's a long drive," Amber mused. "Plus, I can't transport in and out of Ninjago very easily with all the hoops I have to jump through to get permission. Doing it from Metallonia is much easier.
"We could just book the hotel for another night," M offered. "Or…several nights. How long do you think we'll be in the Oni realm?"
"Um…" Amber tried to calculate, and her boyfriend finally smiled as he pulled out his phone.
"I'll just book one room for the next three nights—just so we can have somewhere to put our stuff in the meantime."
"Thanks, M," Amber offered, and he flashed her another smile.
"No problem, Oni-girl. I think we're due for an adventure, anyway."
Rook stared at the ceiling, her body begging her to sleep. Her resolve was wearing thin—though people were finally listening to her now, she could feel the tension in the air. They didn't want her in charge, but they didn't really have a choice about it. She wondered if they would even try to stop an assassination attempt, if one occurred. If someone could slip past their defenses enough to poison Theo, then they could argue that someone was capable of getting past them to attack her.
"Go to sleep, Rook," she urged in annoyance, wishing her mind would shut off. She had sworn to find the others involved in this plot, but so far, she had hit a wall. Those in prison weren't talking—not even the bloke who had given up the information to begin with. In all honesty, Rook knew there was no way to dig up everyone who had ever been involved with Ottan, but she knew by name at least two who had been directly involved in this plot: Fazir and Ern. She was pretty sure Fazir was the man she had accosted in the market and left tied up in the wilderness nearby, but he was nowhere to be found now. If he was even still alive, he had no doubt fled to a different province completely…and honestly, she would be surprised if Ern hadn't done the same thing.
Rook groaned, turning over in her bed. She had insisted on staying behind so that she could track down the final rats, but deep down she knew they had already scattered and would be impossible to find in the next few days. So why had she really put her foot down to remain in the south?
She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to sleep. It didn't matter why she had chosen to stay—the important thing was she was here, and everyone would now expect her to accomplish something while she was.
A knock on her door woke her just as she was dozing off, and she cursed and flung her pillow across the room. It hit the door with a thump, and seconds later she reached the door herself. She had been expecting Mahlyn or Dynmar, and was surprised when it was actually one of her recruits. The young woman seemed to notice how irritated Rook was because her expression became abashed.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, I just thought you'd want to know sooner than later."
Rook sighed, too tired to even entertain the dread the comment tried to muster. "What now?"
"We located the servant girl who was in charge of lighting Theodynn's evening fires. We also found a stash of herbs that we believe were what she used to taint the fires. We have her in custody now, waiting for you to question her." The guard shifted. "Which you don't have to do right now, of course, but I just thought I'd let you know—"
"I appreciate you telling me," Rook assured. She was still dead tired, but she felt a spark of hope now that they at least had a lead. "I'll come now."
Though he wasn't transported often, M had hoped that by now he could handle it without feeling sick. He forced the feelings of nausea down as he looked around the drafty stone corridor. "Looks like we made it," he offered, turning to Amber and Lou. Lou returned his smile, but Amber's expression was pinched.
"Let's find my parents," she offered. "I…haven't had a chance to tell them that you two were tagging along yet."
M nodded his agreement and they set out. It wasn't too long before they found them, and M tried not to stare at the people they passed in the meantime. He had seen oni before, of course, but it was different to be here surrounded by people that looked like Amber rather than by people that looked like him. In fact, they didn't even look like Amber exactly, given how pale they were. It was something that always shocked him every time he had come to the oni realm.
"Dad?" Cole asked as they entered the room where Amber's parents were. Lou smiled as he carefully made his way forward, cane in tow.
"Hello, Cole. I hope it isn't a bother that I tagged along."
The once-ninja frowned as he moved to help his father. "No, of course not. I just wasn't expecting to see you."
"How is Theo?" Amber demanded.
"He's doing a lot better," Amber's mother offered.
The Xinta turned to frown. "Then why do you still feel so worried?" she accused. Cole and Keyda both blinked in surprise, and Amber immediately sagged. "I'm sorry. I just…"
She trailed off, and Cole sighed. "I know calling you worried you, but Syn's been keeping an eye on him and she says he'll recover, and the worst of it is behind us."
"Physically, at least," Amber's mother murmured, and M shifted awkwardly in the doorway. He wasn't sure whether to announce his presence or not; it didn't seem like Amber's parents realized he was there, and all at once he wondered if he shouldn't be imposing on what was clearly a family matter.
"If you'll let us know where we can put our things, we would like to go see Theo after getting settled," Lou said.
"Right—we'll have a room made up for you," Keyda offered. "Amber, we had your old room freshened up; we assumed you'd be okay staying there."
"That's fine," Amber assured before gesturing to where M was still lingering in the doorway. "Can you get a room ready for M, too?"
Amber's parents looked up in surprise, and M tried to smile confidently as he offered a little wave. "Um…I hope I'm not intruding," he said.
"You brought him along?" Keyda realized.
"Yes." Amber didn't offer more of an explanation, and after a few seconds, it seemed her mother decided she didn't really need one.
"We can put him next to your father, Cole…if that's okay with them."
"That would work great," M assured. "Is there anything I can do to help in the meantime?"
"No, we're all fine here. Are you guys hungry? It's getting close to lunch," Cole pointed out.
"We just had dinner in Ninjago an hour or two ago," Amber explained. "Can we go see Theo now? I assume he's awake, if it's lunchtime."
"You can go see if he's up for a visit," Cole said. "He's been a little…moody since we got here. Coming back to the Central Fortress was not his first choice, but we wanted to make sure he was improving."
"I'm glad you got him here," Amber offered. "I wish I could have come sooner—maybe I could have helped talk him into it."
"I don't know if it would have helped," Keyda pointed out, her expression darkening. "All he cares about these days is Rook."
"Keyds…" Amber's father started, but his wife cut him off.
"I'm not wrong," she snapped. "All of us gathered there, terrified that he wasn't even going to pull through…and the second he woke up, the only person he wanted to see was her."
M frowned as he listened, not sure he had any right to form any sort of opinion on what he was hearing. He glanced over at Amber to see her looking concerned.
"Sounds like they're pretty serious now," the xinta finally said.
"I don't know what they are. And he basically named her leader of the south in his stead!" Keyda continued. "This has got to have been her plan from the get go. She's just been using him—"
"We don't know that for sure, Keyda," Cole cut in softly. "And in the meantime, we have to respect Theo's decisions."
"So…Rook isn't here?" Lou asked, and everyone glanced over at him. He was frowning, tugging at his mustache. "I wouldn't mind talking with her."
"She's still in the south. Theo wanted her to come, but she refused and practically ordered him to put her in charge while he was gone," Keyda all but growled.
Lou's brow pinched, and in the tense pause in the conversation, M cleared his throat.
"Why don't we go see if he's up for a chat now, and then I wouldn't mind lying down. I'm a little tired," he tried, keeping his tone light. Amber glanced over at him and he couldn't really read her expression, and Cole nodded.
"He's in his old room, Ams. Just…don't be too surprised if he isn't up to seeing you."
"I'm not afraid of Cranky Theo," she assured, and Lou and M moved to follow her as she moved out of the meeting room into the hallway. M could feel Amber's parents watching them, and he made the mistake of glancing back. Keyda was fixing him with a hard look, and he wasn't really sure how to feel about it.
"Keep up, M. If you get lost in Metallonian supermarkets, you'll definitely get lost here," Amber called. He flushed as he turned to catch up.
"That was one time," he pointed out, and she just smiled as they headed for what M hoped wouldn't be another awkward conversation.