The general had summoned the usual crowd for an urgent and emergent meeting, and that didn’t bode well with Rapax. His mind jumped immediately to the worst case scenario: His Majesty’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. No! Some of those psychotic extremists had found a way back into the palace to finish the job. But that didn’t exactly make sense; surely he’d have heard something already if the king was dead. That was the kind of news that couldn’t be kept secret. No, it was probably relating to the zealots at the gate. Maybe General Yudha intended to confront them again? Chew them out for ignoring her orders to disperse? Threaten them with military force for harboring terrorists? That wouldn’t go over well.

“Rapax, what do you think is going on?” Commander Vir prodded, interrupting his train of thought.

“Not sure. Her message didn’t say anything.”

“Hey, guys.” Commander Moro appeared behind them. “Do either of you know what this meeting is about?”

“We were just talking about that,” Vir replied, and Rapax tuned them out, returning to his own internal discussion.

Tensions at the palace gates had only risen with the attempted assassination of the king. Commander Arum, whose assignment was to oversee palace security, had once again doubled the guard in response. Doubled the doubled guard… so quadrupled? But what difference did the numbers make if the people they were trying to keep out managed to slip unnoticed through the security checks? By the time they’d become an obvious threat, it would be too late to do anything to stop them.

That’s what had happened at the New Year’s ball as far as anyone could tell — the investigation remained inconclusive. Somehow, seventy-eight armed men had slipped through their security net. Or, more likely, they’d had help getting the weapons in separately. Perhaps a few of the noble guests were Primordialist sympathizers and had helped to smuggle the weapons in. And perhaps the would-be assassins had bought or threatened invitations off of the nobility. There were a number of unsubstantiated theories at this point. Regardless, nearly eighty people had cleared the security check at the palace gates and simply entered the ballroom as guests. There wasn’t much they could do to account for terrorists disguised as legitimate guests beyond ensuring that soldiers and bodyguards were in place to deal with any threats swiftly once they were revealed.

“... Rapax?”

“Hm?”

“I asked your opinion,” Commander Baca apparently repeated himself. When had he shown up?

“Sorry. My opinion about…? I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Ah, never mind,” Baca waved him off with a grin. “It’s no matter. We’re practically there already anyway.”

Moro sprightly took the two steps up to the office door and knocked. A moment later, the door swung inward, and General Yudha ushered them inside. Rapax frowned when her eyes lingered on his a fraction of a second longer than made sense for a simple greeting. And there was something almost apologetic in the way she was looking back at him.

“Have a seat, gentlemen. I think…” she scanned the room of eight chairs arranged in a circle one last time “... we’re just missing Gravis.” A firm knock at the door completed the group, and the General repeated her instructions before taking her own seat with an exhale released through pursed lips. The collection of seven men sat in expectant silence, and Rapax, for one, was beginning to feel anxious. “Thank you all for coming. I’ve been debating all day how to tell you this.” She paused to meet everyone’s eyes, saving Rapax for last and once again holding his gaze. Rapax couldn’t begin to fathom exactly why, and her mannerisms were too cryptic to decipher an adjunct meaning. “I called you here to inform you that I’m resigning as the Lion General.”

While the rest of the room began declaring their surprise, protests, and concerns, the General continued to hold eye contact with him. Now it made sense. She was resigning, and she intended to promote him in her place. She had to do little more than raise her hand to silence the room again.

“But why, Animo?!” Commander Arum broke the silence the moment her hand dropped.

“I think you know why.” The collective sobering seemed to confirm her assertion. Yes, while the New Year’s attack was anything but her fault, it was precipitated by her presence.

“Where do you intend to go?” Rapax asked.

She exhaled noisily at that. “Rogue and I are working to figure that out, but… we’re probably going to be starting a colony somewhere.”

“With the zealots?!”

She winced, set her jaw, and then nodded. “Rogue and I are not what they are determined to believe we are, but until they figure that out, they are going to… continue this. It’s only a matter of time before another extreme faction finds it fitting to attempt another assassination in my name. But I can draw them away from any potential targets.”

“So you can’t even move to another tribe, then,” he observed.

“No. That’s why starting a colony makes the most sense.”

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

“Primordials…. When do you leave?”

Her eyes snapped to his again. “As soon as I complete the handoff to my successor.”

He swallowed hard. “And… how long do you think that will take?”

“Four to six weeks, depending on how fast of a learner you are.”

“You intend to declare me your successor?”

“That’s the other reason I called you all here. Intego Rapax, will you accept the position of Lion General?”

“No!”

The answer escaped before he could even think it through, and everyone startled, none more so than himself. While the room sat frozen in place, Rapax’s brain kicked into high gear. No? Why would he turn down the promotion of a lifetime?! Lion General Rapax. When he’d been promoted as one of General Yudha’s commanders, the thought had crossed his mind that someday, he might hold that title, and ambitious as he was, the idea had been a pleasant one. But now, in this moment, the more he thought about it, the more it didn’t sit right with him and the more he realized that his interest in the position meant less to him than he’d thought.

They were leaving the Lion Tribe. The general, Rogue, his amico and the rest of Probus’s brothers — they were leaving, and unstable, dangerous people were going to be nipping at their heels for the rest of their lives. They were going to need help. Some things were more important than titles and honors and prestige. Things like actual honor and loyalty and friendship and… and family. “No. I’m sorry, General, but I will not be your successor.”

“You won’t?” She seemed almost dazed by his response.

“You didn’t think I’d decline, did you?” he chuckled.

“I… I could order you to accept the promotion.”

“With what authority, General? You resigned.”

She scoffed. “I’m still the Lion General… for now.”

“Then let me formally apologize in advance for disobeying orders.” Rapax stood up from his seat only to kneel down, bringing his arms together in a circle in front of him as he bowed to her. “Forgive me.”

“Rapax, cut that out,” she scolded irritably. “I don’t suppose you have a reason for declining the position.”

“I do actually,” he said, no longer bowing but still on his knees in front of her. “You’re going the Primordials only know where to do the Primordials only know what with the Primordials only know whom! You’re an idiot, General, but you’re an idiot who’s going to need help and protection. And did you honestly think I’d allow you to whisk my amico away to some desolate colony without a fight from me? You’re dreaming!”

She scoffed again, but this time it was to mask rising emotions. “You’re an officer of the Lion Tribe, Rapax. You swore loyalty to your tribe and to the crown to serve and protect them. I’m asking you to fulfill your duty to that loyalty.”

“There are other loyalties I’ve sworn that also demand my attention. Since I can no longer fulfill the demands of both, General, I’d like to take this opportunity to tend to my resignation as an officer in the Lion Tribe military. Consider this my four to six weeks notice.”

“Why?” she gasped.

“Family matters.”

“Family matters?”

“Probus is my amico, and he needs me right now.”

“You are under no obligation to uproot your own life to protect my son. That goes well beyond the scope of your commitment as his nobilis.”

“Then I’m resigning for personal reasons. Regardless of the reason, I am resigning. I will also be joining your colony as either a friend or a zealot — I couldn’t care less which.”

“Rapax, your life and your actual family are here in the Lion Tribe.”

“Which family are you talking about, General? My father? I haven’t spoken to him since I was sixteen and tricked his drunk ass into signing the papers that would give me permission to join the military that young. The closest thing I have to family are the people here in this room.”

“That’s us too.” Rapax turned as both Moro and Adjutus joined him on their knees, fittingly in unison.

“And me,” Gravis added himself. “I know I’m not one of the nobilises, but maybe I’ll get the next one. Can’t do that unless I’m there to stake a claim when it happens.”

“Ah, crap,” Baca slid off his chair too. “I can’t have Gravis showing me up.”

“Same,” Arum followed suit.

“Baca, Arum, you both have family here!”

“My parents moved to live near my sister during the Griffin Tribe campaign,” Arum shrugged. “I almost never see them anymore anyway.”

“And my family lives on the Phoenix Tribe border. I haven’t seen them since I joined the military. Maybe I’ll visit them before we leave.”

“You can’t all come with me!” The general cried with both subverted indignation and undeniable gratitude. “Vir! Don’t you even think about taking a knee. Ancora would kill you, and I’d kill you for dragging Callida and Val into this mess for no good reason.”

“You’re right, General. I’m sorry. I… I can’t come with you.”

“Primordials, none of you were supposed to come with me! This is good. I need a sane person whom I can trust to stay in the capital to be my successor, and it looks like that person is you. Commander Fidelis Vir, will you, please, for the love of the Primordials, stay here and accept the position of Lion General?!”

Vir rose from his seat and bowed. “It would be my honor and a privilege, General.”

The general sighed in apparent relief. “Thank you, Vir. Now, will the rest of you wonderful morons get back in your seats, please?”

Rapax grinned as he got up to follow instructions, taking a certain delight in the way she sat shaking her head disbelievingly at them. “You alright, General?”

“I–” She’d opened her mouth to talk, only to burst into tears on the first syllable.