Keith removed the Black Lion's key from its special socket and slumped against his control panel in bone-deep exhaustion. The lion's cockpit was dark and shadowy and offered him the privacy he needed to gather his composure.
Keith shuddered as the memories of the battle he had just fought came to fore. He knew that he was a pretty good pilot, but he had needed all his skill — and a great deal of luck — to keep the Black in one piece.
Not that he was entirely successful, he mused with a weary sigh. The Black had suffered more damage than any other lion — which wasn't good, considering the extent of damage on the Red and on the Blue.
It had been damned close, he thought, cursing quietly under his breath. Too close. If the ro-beasts hadn't suddenly weakened when they did, it would have been the end of the Voltron Force.
He felt like he was falling apart inside.
As a career officer, he was on intimate terms with the what-ifs and should-haves that were the lonely price of command. They haunted his days and his nights, terrifying him in a way that no one could ever understand.
Except for one person.
Allura.
His delicate princess knew the loneliness, fear and regret that were the price of leadership. Her crown was heavy but she bore its weight with strength, intelligence and compassion.
He needed her smile to remind him of what he was fighting for. Love and laughter, sunshine and rainbows. Her slender shoulders hid a gentle strength that put his own to shame.
Keith gripped arms of his chair with sudden resolve. Life was too short to waste. He had to tell Allura how he felt. Now. And after he had done so, he would take her in his arms, hold her close and never let go.
Keith swung out of the transit system with effortless grace, his lithe movements belying the bone-deep exhaustion that he felt. "Good evening, Nanny," he greeted the governess with a charming grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. He turned to the Royal Advisor with a slight bow. "Coran. I'm glad to see you up and about."
"Thank you, Your Highness," the Prime Minister said, his voice a choked whisper. "I'm glad to be out of that bed."
"Where's Allura?" Keith asked. His dark eyes glanced around the room, with undisguised eagerness. "I have to report that we survived our scuffle with Zarkon's uglies. All the lions suffered a few scratches, but we're all okay, safe and sound."
A tendril of alarm slithered up Keith's spine as he saw Coran look away in an attempt to avoid his eyes. "Coran," he said quietly in a tone that demanded immediate obedience. "Where's Allura?"
"Gone. With Haggar."
It was Nanny who answered his question. Keith turned the full force of his gaze on the governess. "What the hell are you talking about, Nanny?! Why would Allura go with Haggar?"
"Because Haggar demanded it," Nanny said, fingering her prayer beads as she did so. "It was the price of your survival — that the Phoenix join her."
"The phoenix?" Keith echoed blankly, striving to understand Nanny's words though the blanket of the thick accent that emerged only when the governess was deeply disturbed.
"Allura's birthmark, Keith." Coran explained quietly. "She was the one marked by the phoenix, the one who would cause the downfall of Haggar and end the Evil One's reign of terror."
"She's not going to be able to do it alone," Keith said in a voice full of determination. Turning on his heel, he set off at a run for the lion portals, only to be halted by firm hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off with an impatient twist of his shoulder, impotent anger and fear turning his voice harsh. "Don't try to stop me, Coran," he warned.
"But I must, Your Highness," Coran apologized. "When you knelt at Allura's feet and pledged your sword, your hand and your life, you gave yourself to people of Arus. They need someone to look up to for leadership and guidance. And as Prime Minister, it is my duty to protect you to ensure that you live to fulfill that vow."
"The way that you protected Allura, Coran?" Keith demanded savagely, his dark eyes glaring daggers at the prime minister. "Why didn't you stop her from going off with Haggar?"
Coran had the grace to look ashamed, but he still stepped forward in his own defense. "Haggar cast a spell over us. We could not move, or even speak, even though we wanted to."
"I would that my princess be spared from this," Nanny declared in a voice that trembled and broke as she spoke, "but it was not meant to be. She will face her destiny in a manner befitting a Daughter of Cador."
"Does she even know about her destiny?" Keith shot back, his voice rising with every word. "Did you at least do her the courtesy of TELLING her about it?"
"I did not have to. She knew. She told me just as much," Coran said bleakly. "I don't know how, but she knew, even though we have never spoke of the prophesy of the phoenix to her."
"I am not surprised," Nanny declared. "My family has served the Daughters of Cador for countless generations, but there is still much about their powers that mystify us. Their dreams, for instance. They speak of the future, you know."
"And in her dreams, Allura saw darkness... and evil," Keith said with dawning understanding and horror. "There must be something we can do. She shouldn't have to face Haggar alone—"
"But she is not alone," Coran said, the sadness in his eyes tempered by the inner wisdom of his beliefs. "You must believe that God is with her, Keith, as he is with us all."
Coran's faith gave Keith pause, but he could not take comfort in religion as the prime minister did. "Still, there must be something we can do," Keith repeated, starting towards the transit system to the lions.
"Be reasonable, Keith," Coran said, blocking Keith's path in a surprisingly quick move. "More than anyone, you know the extent of damage on the Black Lion. In fact, I am surprised that you were able to fly it back to the castle."
"Then I'll take one of the other lions," Keith said firmly, setting his chin to a stubborn angle.
"And which lion will you take, Highness?" Coran asked mildly, bringing up the five schematics onto the wall of monitors. "None of the lions escaped unscathed."
Pointing at each lion in turn, Coran began to enumerate Keith's options. "The Red Lion's acceleration compensator needs replacement; Pidge has observed the Green Lion's gyro system oscillating wildly; Sven reported that the Blue Lion's electromagnetic field sensor unit was damaged in the avalanche; and the control linkage instrumentation in the Yellow Lion needs recalibration."
"Then I'll take the Altair," Keith called over his shoulder as he headed out of the room. He stopped in his tracks as the heavy blast door that separated the Control Room from the rest of the castle slammed shut.
He turned his head and glared at the prime minister. "Open the blast doors, Coran. That is a direct order," he snapped, each word imbued with the force of his fury.
To his credit, Coran met Keith's dark eyes without flinching — an action that gained him some respect from the young captain. "I will not, Your Highness. It is my duty to protect you, even from yourself."
Stepping forward, Nanny laid a hand on Keith's tightly clenched forearm. "There is nothing you can do, Keith. Haggar opened a dimensional portal. You will not be able to follow the princess with any of our ships."