As soon as the door to the training room closed behind them and they began climbing the stairs, Tomis let out a slow chuckle and shook his head. “I knew you were crazy, but I didn’t think you were insane.”

“Oh, you’ll come to expect stuff like this,” Rin said with a wry shrug. “Your other friend, Amil, told me to stick with Pax the first day we met, and I haven’t regretted it yet.”

Pax turned to her, relieved to hear her support.

She gave him a sly grin and added, “Well, except for that one time—”

Pax groaned at her teasing. But it defused enough tension from his mind that he could be more analytical about what he’d just set into motion.

“So, what are our next steps?” Rin asked, mirroring his thoughts. “Anything we need to do before the people in charge decide to come have a discussion with you?”

“They’ll have to get through Titus and his crew first.” Tomis sounded confident as one of his fists clenched. “Do you think they’re really dumb enough to ignore what Pax brings to the rebellion? I wasn’t even there, and I’ve already heard how all of your pets helped turn that battle around in a few minutes.”

“They’ll figure it out eventually,” Rin said.

Pax gave Tomis a smile, shaking his head as the wonder hit him again. He stopped and reached out to grab Tomis’ shoulder. “I probably won’t remember to say it often enough, but I’m so glad to have you here and safe.” He paused, his face turning serious as he thought of everything Tomis had accomplished and what could have happened without his effort. “And you’re an amazing First for the Vipers. You kept all the littles safe and fed, even during a nasty indenture.”

“No.” Tomis flushed, his head instantly shaking. “I didn’t do enough and—”

“No, yourself.” Pax used a tone that booked no argument.

Tomis stopped objecting.

“Tomis. Without you, there’s no telling how many of them we’d have lost. You kept them alive and got them here. That’s all that matters.”

“A lot of that was Titus.” Tomis ducked his head and mumbled the words.

“And without you, there wouldn’t have been any Vipers to rescue when he got there. That’s all you, Tomis.”

Tomis looked up at him and, in his eyes, Pax saw a lot of what he often felt himself, guilt that he hadn’t done better and done more for the ones depending on him. “Do you really mean that?”

Pax nodded, suddenly unable to get words out as his eyes stung.

Tomis saw something in his expression that finally touched him and seemed to silence the doubts and self-recriminations. “You really do mean that, Pax.”

Pax tipped his head with a quiet smile. “I really mean it, Tomis. Thanks for saving all of them and you. You don’t know how many times me and Amil worried that none of you would make it. We pinned all our hopes on you, Tomis. And you delivered. Big time.” Pax grinned and motioned around him. “You got everyone here to the rebel base. Maybe banged up a little, but alive.”

Tomis face flushed with a tentative pride.

“And now we’re all free to grow, strong and fast, so no one will ever mess with us again.”

“Thanks, Pax. Just thanks.” Tomis’ simple words were quiet but heartfelt.

In the quiet moment that followed, Pax reached out and pulled his friend into a quick hug, sharing a physical reassurance that spoke louder than words.

When they separated, Tomis shot him a grin. “Well, I’m very happy to be turning First duties back over to you.”

“What?” Pax let out a surprised scoff. “Nope. I’ve got a fighting crew to run. You’ll have to stay First for the remaining Vipers until we can get them trained up and Awakened.”

“But—” Tomis blinked, looking stunned, as if he’d never considered the idea.

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“I meant what I said, Tomis. You’ve been the best First the Vipers have ever had. You led them out of the nasty mess in Thanhil to freedom. Now you get to help them grab all the benefits here so they can get a start to a real life. You’re the best person for the job.”

Tomis met his gaze with a quizzical look as if he were trying to read Pax’s thoughts. “You really think I can do that?”

“No. I don’t think you can. I know you can.”

Tomis was still shaking his head with small movements as he looked past Pax toward Rin. “What do you think?”

She let out a short laugh. “I think that all of us have accomplished impossible things doing what Pax told us we could. You’re one of us now, so get used to it.”

He smiled at her words before looking back at Pax. “Fine. I’ll keep my job as First of the Vipers, but only until Jules can take over, or we get them all Awakened. And I don’t want to be left behind. I want to get as strong as the rest of you. Deal?”

“Deal.” Pax held out his hand, and Tomis shook it vigorously.

“Then let’s update the others on what happened with Lieutenant Lancaster and get some food. I’m starving.”

“And what are we going to do about that guy?” Rin asked as they turned and continued down the hallway.

“Let me think a little on our way to the dining hall,” Pax said, the beginnings of a few ideas tugging at his mind. “I have some ideas.”

“Me too,” Rin said with a smug smile. “They won’t know what hit them. This entire place is our find, after all, right?”

“Exactly,” Pax agreed, her words making one of his ideas solidify.

***

“Pax!” Titus bellowed out from the far edge of the dining hall, where he and the others had pushed three long tables together to fit everyone.

Pax grinned as he, Rin and Tomis threaded their way through the mostly empty tables of the dining hall, glad they hadn’t missed the meal completely.

Titus had a wide smile as they made it to the chaotic gathering of their friends. Pax didn’t see any of Team Tribal and aimed a questioning glance at Titus.

“Oh. Your team friends were still pretty worn out and recovering. They said to tell you they’ll reconnect tomorrow when they’re feeling better. They didn’t say much about their trip across the Wilds, but it seems like a lot of them had a hard time of it.”

Pax nodded and resolved to check in with them as soon as he resolved his current power struggle with the base leaders. Looking around, he was happy to see Incedis and Mage Eldan had stayed, sitting with tired-looking littles along with the rest of his and his brother’s crews. The addition of their pets sprawled at their feet with full bellies added another reason for the other rebels in the dining hall to give them all a wide berth.

Or maybe that was Whisper up on the ceiling, not doing the best job of staying out of sight in the shadows. Eldan looked entirely too pleased with herself every time someone yelped or flinched when they noticed her companion.

Titus motioned for Pax, Rin and Tomis to head to the food line. “The rest of us are mostly done eating here, just catching up and relaxing. Go grab some food before they close up the kitchen and hurry back. We want to hear all about your chat with the empire flicks we captured.”

As his stomach rumbled painfully, Pax was more than happy to veer off to grab his food before being asked to recount everything that happened. There was only one other person in line, which was perfect. The aromas wafting out from the food line made his mouth water.

A kitchen worker with her head ducked down was consolidating a few of the dishes that were mostly empty. Something about her made him smile, grateful for the work and care that went into keeping them all fed.

Tomis leaned in close, interrupting his train of thought as he whispered, “So, we can take anything, right? At every meal?”

“All you want. As much as you want.” Pax grinned and nodded, Rin doing the same by his side. “Supplies might occasionally get short, but with everyone working to get the base functional, it shouldn’t be long before we’re producing our own food. And that’s not counting any of the edible beasts we manage to bring in for processing.”

It took another street rat who’d stretched scraps out over days under the drive of constant, twisting hunger to understand what an amazing treasure an unlimited food source was.

“Just avoid that kind of beast meat until you know what it does to you. I’m not sure what it does to crafters like you. Maybe ask Tyrodon for advice. He’ll be able to help.”

“Oh, I’m fine with anything low leveled.” Tomis gave a dismissive shrug. “We learned how to handle it during our time in the Wilds. We didn’t have much choice.”

Pax exchanged a surprised look with Rin before giving Tomis an impressed look. “Sounds like you’ve got some stories to tell us.”

Tomis gave Pax a look that was both smug and proud. “Well, considering we helped conquer Quarrybrook, I’d say so.”

“What?” Rin spluttered, turning back from where she piled food on her plate. “You were at Quarrybrook?”

“Yep. All of us were.” Tomis looked gratified by her reaction as he followed her example and filled his own plate. “And who do you think gathered all the new recruits we brought in? That was us, too.”

“Way to go, Tomis.” Pax clapped Tomis on his back. “I want to hear all the stories. I think we’re going to have a blast catching up on everything that’s happened since our Awakening.”

They returned to the table, and that was exactly what happened. Pax put off spoiling the mood with the news about Lieutenant Lancaster. Instead, he dove into the cheerful and chaotic reunion that followed.

They shared extravagant stories along with touching ones as they caught up on their adventures during their time apart. Pax found himself laughing and close to tears at various times, like being part of a huge rambunctious family who hadn’t seen each other for way too long.

By the time things wound down, the rest of the dining hall only had a handful of people quickly grabbing something to eat. The kitchen workers had cleaned up all the heated dishes of food, replacing them with an assortment of simple foods that were easy to grab and eat.

Full of good humor and happier than he’d been in a long time, Pax wished the evening would never end.