“And this is all ours?” Tomis asked Pax and Rin as he gave an incredulous look around the bare-bones suite adjoining Pax’s. It had the identical layout but a lot fewer furnishings.
“For as long as you want,” Pax said with a grin. Tomis’ response made him flash back to what he would have thought of a place like this belonging to him when all he’d known were the discarded nooks and crannies of the streets.
Around them, workers moved in and out, carrying the essentials for Tomis and the rest of the littles. The smell of fresh-sawn wood trailed in the air behind two men carrying another bunk bed to one of the back bedrooms. The base’s crafters had really come through for the influx of kids, whipping up simple but sturdy furniture, so everyone had a place to sleep tonight.
Most of it was being set up in the Children’s Wing. It had taken some convincing during the intake process, but they’d swayed Edith into letting the Viper littles stay in their wing instead. Titus, Pax and Tomis had insisted they were essentially parents to the traumatized orphans. The Vipers had picked up on the subterfuge immediately and produced wailing and big tears at the idea of being separated from them.
The memory made Pax smile as he watched the eager kids running in and out of their new rooms, negotiating who would get which spot. Jules was processing them through the two necessaries, ensuring that they all got a wash down and donned a fresh set of underclothing, pants and shirts from a stack Edith had sent with them.
Pax couldn’t decide if it was cute or sad to see them ogling the running water in the necessaries and the simple cooking implements in the small kitchen. All the magic they’d seen since leaving Thanhil might impress them, but things like their own bed, clean clothes and unlimited food were the genuine miracles in their lives.
Their arrival made his goal to dig deeper into the Awakening process shoot back to the top of his list. It was one thing to help awaken Kai, the Salman street kid, but a completely different one to help his own littles gain a class so they’d have a better chance of surviving the war.
At least Tomis had his class. He and Tyrodon had already bonded over all the unique crafting opportunities available here in the ruins and specifically from working with Pax and his unique magic. Pax would be helping Tomis find the perfect beast companion to Tame as they got everyone fed and settled.
“Is everyone about finished up here? Ready to go for dinner? We’re meeting the rest of your team, right?” Titus walked in, with two of his friends behind him. Edith had assigned them to a third suite, across the hall, but one that was still completely unfurnished. Their crew didn’t object, claiming to be glad to be inside out of the elements. They insisted they were happy to just use their own sleeping gear until the crafters had time to build furnishings for their rooms.
The offer of food got an excited response that pulled the littles from their rampaging through the suite. It wasn’t long before they had a herd of them ready at the door with freshly washed faces wearing identical sets of clean clothes.
Pax just smiled, watching them all so happy and looking much better than they had out in the Wilds. A soft thump hit him from the side, and he felt arms wrap around his waist. He looked down to find Jules had wrapped herself around him and buried her face into his shirt.
Feeling awkward, he gave Tomis and Rin an unsure look. Tomis just shrugged helplessly while Rin made a patting motion to encourage him. Pax followed her silent instruction and carefully patted the younger girl’s back.
“Jules?” he asked when the moment felt like it had drawn on too long.
She flinched and pulled back all in one motion. Head down, she didn’t meet his eyes as she scrubbed at her eyes with an almost angry motion.
“Hey, it’s alright. I know you kids have gone through a lot since I left.”
Now she looked at him, a sudden rage flaring in her damp eyes. “You don’t know anything.”
“You’re right.” He held up both hands. “I don’t know anything except what you all tell me.”
She looked a bit mollified.
He met her eyes and softened his voice. “Just know that I would have never left you if they hadn’t made me. And they wouldn’t let me leave to get back to you either. The best I could do was to send coin to Tomis. I’m sorry.”
She ducked her head again, muttering something he couldn’t quite make out. When he didn’t respond, she looked up again, misery now visible through the anger. “I said, I’m sorry, too.”
He frowned, shooting Tomis a quick glance for help before turning back to Jules. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“You still don’t know anything, dunder.” She shook her head, the anger quick to return. “I’m sorry because if I hadn’t let those guards pressure me, they would have never captured you and Tomis. All the bad things after that wouldn’t have happened. So, that’s it. That’s why I’m sorry.”
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Pax’s heart ached as he finally understood. The days leading up to his Awakening had happened so long ago, he’d all but forgotten them. But now he remembered how Jules had been the one to signal it was safe for him and Tomis to return to the alley, only to find two guards waiting to ambush them. The guards had threatened her, and she’d caved into doing as they ordered.
Pax crouched down so that he had to look up into her eyes. “You listen to me, Jules.”
It took a moment for her to blink away her emotions and meet his gaze. He waited.
“You and I—” He hesitated and then made a motion to everyone else in the room, taken aback when he saw the other littles were watching their conversation with rapt attention. “—and all of us here. None of us are to blame for what people in power have done to us. Understand?”
She looked like she wanted to believe him, but didn’t dare.
“Look. We still make choices, like you did way back then. But that was because our empire forced you to choose between your friends and survival. That’s on them, not you. Understand?”
“Just like I promised Pax I’d come back for him, but they kept me from that for all those years.” Titus’s words were quiet, but full of as much emotion as Jules’ expression.
Pax glanced at him and felt his own eyes sting at the regret and emotion he saw filling Titus’ expression. He gave Titus a tremulous smile before turning back to Jules.
“The good news is that here and now, we’re fighting to take back our freedom and power.” He felt the truth fill his words. “All of us. We’re done letting people with power control our lives. And that includes all of you. Here, we’ll help you grow strong enough so no one can ever force you to do anything again. How does that sound?”
She looked so fierce, a new touch of hope shining in her eyes. She nodded. “I want to be strong enough to kill them all.”
Pax’s eyes widened a bit, but he understood where she was coming from. A lifetime of being oppressed and powerless could cultivate an unfathomable level of rage. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Help you grow strong enough to kill them all.”
Surprise filled her expression at his easy agreement.
“But—” he held up a finger, doing his best not to smile when he saw her expression suddenly turn suspicious. “—remember there are plenty of people on the empire side who don’t need killing.”
Her gaze narrowed further.
“But there’ll be plenty that do, so I think you’ll be fine.”
She looked at him for a long moment before she spoke. “I’m glad I didn’t get you killed.”
Now, he smiled. “Me, too, Jules. Me too.”
She hardly paused before asking, “So, when are you going to make me a warrior, then? And I want a big, strong companion, something with long claws and sharp teeth. Can warriors learn magic, too? How long does it take to get an attack spell and make it powerful—”
Pax laughed, standing up as he held up a hand to interrupt her flood of questions. “You’ll need some patience. First, the rebellion needs to steal an Awakening artifact so we can get classes for all of you. I’m also trying to figure out a way to do it with my magic, which is not the regular magic everyone else has.”
“I trust you.” She stepped back and gave him a curt nod. “You’ll figure out a way to make me a warrior soon.”
“I’ll do my best.” His smile faded a bit, feeling the pressure of not just her, but all the children in the base waiting for a way to join the cause. “And no, warriors can’t cast spells, though they have active abilities that can act a lot like spells. In any case, your class will be up to Vitur.”
“That’s not what Titus and Crissim say.” She tipped her head toward Titus and the mage standing next to him.
Pax’s eyes widened, and he almost asked Titus what she meant. Then he realized their conversation was holding up the entire group from their meal. “Well, the good news is that it’s safe here, and we have some time to figure things out.”
Jules nodded and turned to the other kids. “Line up in two lines. And no pushing or shoving. Just like lunchtime earlier”—a smile of true pleasure spread across her face—“there will be enough food for everyone.”
Pax matched her smile, remembering how long it took him to believe that he would always have food available. For a long time, he’d expected someone to steal the wonderful food treasures away again.
Titus and Crissim led the way through the door. The rest of their crew was just emerging from the door across the hallway. Rin strode to their own door, opened it and yelled inside. “We’re all heading to dinner. We’ll see you there.”
A turmoil erupted inside before she cut it off by shutting the door and walking back over to join Pax and Tomis. They fell in with the others, and Pax let the bubbling excitement of the littles on their way to a meal wash over him. Sometimes he needed to take pleasure in the small things.
They’d just reached the dining hall when a young warrior who’d been sitting in a stool by the double doors looked up and saw their group. His eyes lit up. “You’re hard to track down, Mage Vipersworn.”
Titus narrowed his gaze at the boy. “Who wants to know where he is?”
The boy didn’t flinch, and bent around Titus to hold out a note to Pax. “Here’s a note from the commander. He wants you to join the lieutenant in charge of the prisoners for the interrogation of the new ones they just brought in. Can you come with me, please, so I can get on with my evening?”
Now Pax recognized Kalter, the taciturn warrior who’d given them their first tour of the base when they’d arrived. Pax held out his hand for the note before looking at his brother. “I won’t be able to relax and eat until I face Captain Langley, anyway. Might as well get it over with.”
“Want one of us to go with you?” Titus asked. “I know those empire officers can be a pain to deal with.”
“I’ll go with him,” Rin said, stepping forward.
Pax gave her a grateful look.
“I’ll go, too,” Tomis said.
Pax gave him a surprised look, his memory of the diffident boy at odds with his new confidence. “Are you sure? You don’t need to.”
“I want to.” He nodded, something in his eyes that asked Pax to agree. “I miss you and want to help.”
Pax didn’t bother questioning him further, a smile emerging on his face. “Then come along. It’ll be like old times again. You’ll make sure to keep me out of trouble, right?”
A relieved smile emerged on Tomis’ face as he nodded and joined them.
As they followed Kalter, Pax wondered if it was too much to ask that just once, things would go smoothly.