Lara heaved a long sigh when she opened her eyes. It didn’t look like she’d be following Becky’s advice. A short distance away, she watched Chion turn toward her. She sent him a tired smile and a half-hearted wave. All too soon, she was bombarded with the villagers’ emotions. Lara pressed her fingertips to her forehead, trying without success to keep the emotions from pressing inward. Although the intensity had lessened since the battle, their combined emotions were still too much to handle all at once. She was exhausted.

She whispered a soft, “hey,” to Chion once he was in hearing distance.

Chion nodded his head regally, looking pleased. My Lady, I was uncertain whether you were discovered by the Pyrannis until I overheard a few villagers discuss how you disappeared before their very eyes. At her smile, he chuckled softly before warning, The villagers believe you were sent by the Goddess. Until we leave for Malkese, you will be inundated with requests and questions by the same people you berated.

“I couldn’t just let the people die around me. I had to do something. I could feel their pain. And their deaths.” In sudden agitation, she stepped closer to Chion and stroked his head.

His purr rebounded around the small space between the two buildings. You were not gone long.

She agreed with a short, dejected nod. “I know. My friend harassed me about not knowing what day it was.” Lara looked around for a place to sit down, but everything was covered in soot and dirt. “Once I realized I didn’t have classes, I went back to bed. I should have known I wouldn’t get any sleep.”

Despite the village in ruins around them and the drain of the villagers’ negative emotions, Lara felt Chion’s interest. You have never spoken of your friends before.

She couldn’t help it. His interest in something as inconsequential as her friends was out of place with the devastation around them. What began as a short giggle turned into laughter, startling the villagers working half a street away. As one, they turned and stared at her in confusion. Then recognition set in and they all smiled in return.

They flocked toward her, and she retreated a few steps in surprise and wariness. What are they doing? Why are they happy to see me?

Remember what I told you, My Lady. In their eyes, you were sent by the Goddess to save them from themselves. Your words made them remember their friends, their family. As he spoke, the paka placed himself between the oncoming villagers and her.

Did the man they were beating survive? Was he able to get away?

If you are referring to Skye Silverhand, then yes. He will survive.

Taking her eyes off the others for a second, she stared at the paka in disbelief. Lara stuttered aloud, “Th…That was Skye? Why didn’t he leave with the Pyranni warriors? He could have escaped, and there would have been nothing any of you could have done.” She shook her head at the man’s temerity, but she was stopped from saying more when the villagers swarmed her and Chion.

An older lady reached out to gingerly touch her sleeve, whispering, “You came back to us.”

A second, younger woman brushed tears from her eyes as she gawked in awe. With everyone looking at her with such reverence, Lara was at a loss for words. The emotions pulsing against her skin felt like small starbursts and sunshine. It made her giddy, like the one time she drank too much champagne on New Year’s Eve.

A young man said, his hands trembling from the intensity of his emotions, “Thank you for stopping us. Thank you for saving us from ourselves. The Goddess has blessed us all with your coming.”

The statement jolted her out of the euphoria the villagers emitted. Lara had to get away from them. She wasn’t who they thought she was. Whoever that was. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t that person. She was just…her.

Shaking her head to keep from drowning in their emotions, she retreated a few more steps and bumped into a wall. Two arms came around her, keeping her from falling. The small mental wall she’d erected between the villagers’ emotions and her own crumbled. Suddenly she was flying high, drunk on euphoria. She laughed, and the villagers joined her. She could feel the buoyancy rising around her. As she laughed, helpless to stop, she wailed, Chion, save me.

She let the tension in her muscles go, becoming a limp but heavy weight. The man holding her was forced to let her slip through his fingers. She dropped to the ground still giggling, her eyes closed in seeming serenity. The jolt of pain in her left ankle wasn’t enough to break through the sunshine and starbursts encasing her entire body, leaving her smiling like a drunken fool.

A deep, fearsome growl reverberated through the group, and they realized something was wrong. The large man who had caught her asked, “What is wrong? What has happened to her?”

Chion didn’t answer except to flick his ears back against his head, his tail twitching in agitation. Heeding the unspoken warning, the small crowd stepped back several feet from Lara. He crouched next to her vulnerable body. Leave us, now.

When a few of the villagers hesitated a second too long, he lowered his head and stared at the remaining men and women. His golden eyes flickered with warning. They were food, prey to be hunted.

The villagers fled the small area and returned to the main street, leaving behind the dissipating scent and feeling of fear. With distance, Lara felt less and less like laughing and more like crying. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she refused to let them spill over. When Chion pushed himself into her leg, reminding her of his stoic presence, she uncurled herself enough to throw her arms around him.

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She whispered, Thank you. Thank you, Chion. Thank you.

My Lady, you are welcome.

She cried quietly, her head pressed into Chion’s muscled side. She realized the steady sound she heard was the paka’s purr. Sensing a change in her emotions, Chion said, We cannot stay in the open. I will take you to a shelter I found.

Leaning her head back to look up at Chion, she sniffled. “Where is it?”

The location of the shelter is farther away from the village than I would like. But as the situation stands, I do not believe staying near the villagers is conducive for either you or Skye.

Hearing Skye’s name, Lara pushed to her feet, exhaustion making her weave back and forth. “Skye,” she pressed, seeking an update.

He came to stand beside her so she could lean on him for support. Come, My Lady. I will tell you the story as we walk.

She frowned. “You are always saving me.

Chion purred again. Before Skye was attacked by the villagers, I saw him with another paka.

“A paka,” she exclaimed in astonishment.

Her name is Eiren. He was trying to save her when the crowd attacked him. The Pyranni did not leave with his countrymen because the small paka was injured and left to die. I attempted to speak to her, but she did not answer. I left him alone with the intent of finding a healer. While I was gone, the crowd found him and turned on him in anger and grief. You came across the crowd of villagers and halted their attack.

“Is she going to live?”

If the choice is left to the Pyranni, she will live. But finding the Pyranni with the paka is not the only surprise. Chion didn’t speak for several seconds. When he did, his confusion was clear. Both Eiren and Skye have identical markings on their forehead. The same mark we now bear.

She stopped to look down at Chion. “Really? Are you sure no one has ever seen these marks before? Really, really sure?”

Chion’s body rippled as he shrugged. Yes, I am. I am of the belief it is no coincidence for the marks to appear on four individuals within a short period of time. It bears repeating, four individuals who have coincidentally met within this same time period.

Lara tapped his shoulder to get him moving again. They walked in silence to an outlying structure near one of the fields surrounding the village. Once they were within a few yards of the small storage building, she heard a slight scrape, then nothing. She glanced around, searching for the noise’s source. Before Chion could call out, she heard a soft swish and in the next instant she made out a yellowish glow. Someone had lit a torch inside the small, storage building.

Before she could think better of it, she said, “Skye,” and stepped up to the entryway. Lara shrieked when a sword pressed against her neck in warning. With one foot still held up, she shifted her eyes to the left of the doorway and found Skye towering above her, grimly holding the sword steady.

“What do you want, Abani?”

She glared at him. “What do I want? What I want is a decent night’s sleep sometime in the near future. No, make that tonight. That’s what I want.”

Her brain caught up with her flight or fight reflex, and Lara jumped back. Skye held the torch out in front of him to look both her and Chion over.

He asked, “Why are you here?”

She glared daggers at the man.

Chion cough and said, This place is the farthest structure from the villagers, and both Lara and Eiren need safety in order to heal. This place can be easily defended by the both of us.

Seeing Skye lean against the doorway, Lara looked more closely at the Pyranni. Although he tried to conceal his injuries, the mob had gotten in a few hits. The man’s clothes showed more rips and blood than the last time she’d seen him. He favored one side as if his ribs hurt, and dried blood was caked in his blond hair. When she saw his indecision, her agitation vanished. She thought she understood. He was protecting the injured paka, keeping her safe from harm.

Lara held up both hands and took a small step forward. “Look, I know there is a paka in there. I promise not to disturb her.”

When he continued blocking the doorway, she begged him, “Please. I need to hide from the villagers just as much as you do. Please.”

The man stepped back without a word, letting them both into the small room. Lara smelled the smoke from the torch when she entered the small shack. Old tools were pushed against all four of the walls, leaving a small, empty space in the middle. On the opposite side of the room, a small, black paka lay unmoving on a pile of blankets and cloths. In the silence, she could hear the paka’s erratic breathing. She was still alive, fighting to survive. Unable to take her eyes off Eiren, she felt Chion’s presence as he slid past her to check on the paka.

Not wanting to wake her, she whispered to Skye, “What is her name again?”

“Her name is Eiren. The healer said she needed to rest in order to heal her wounds. The Kurite did what she could. Now it is up to Eiren.”

Lara hid her astonishment. It was the most words she’d ever heard Skye say. He truly was worried about the small paka. Trailing after him to stand over the paka, she catalogued the wounds she could see. Her heart sank. There were so many. The sheer number and depth of the wounds had her asking before she could help herself, “What happened to her? Did this happen in the battle?”

She watched Skye sink down next to Eiren and drift his hands over her. “Some of the wounds, but not all, came from the battle. The other injuries came from a rakir attack.”

Lara couldn’t stop the shiver that traveled through her body. She took an unsteady step back when Skye leapt to his full height. He regarded her for a moment before commenting without inflection, “You have also been attacked by the rakir.”

Although she knew he wasn’t expecting an answer, she nodded as she shuddered again, drawing her arms protectively around her chest. She looked back down at the paka. “Yes. If she fought the rakir off alone, it is a miracle she’s alive.”

The Pyranni cocked his head to the side as if weighing her words. Making a decision, Skye nodded and pointed to the opposite wall. “You may sleep over there.”

Chion said to the Pyranni warrior, If you do not mind, I would stand vigil with you.

“Why do you care?” asked Skye.

It is true I have never before met this paka. But even so, she is Pack. What is more, she recently became one of the Tal’Ai. It is an honor to stand vigil for one so blessed.

At the sound of crunching gravel, they all froze, straining to hear what was happening on the other side of the wall. A trickle of emotion slithered into her consciousness. As she fought to remain aware of her surroundings, Lara watched as Skye and Chion shared a look. Almost as if it was planned, they both grew in stature. Chion commanded, My Lady, please move toward Eiren and stand guard. She is far more vulnerable than you.

As she crept back over to the motionless paka, she scanned the piles of broken tools for something she could use as a weapon. She hit the jackpot when her gaze landed on a broken handle. She leaned over and picked up the sharpened stake or club, depending on how she wielded it. It worked on the rakir, so it should work on whoever was out there.

Placing herself between the door and the paka, Lara sifted through the emotions hitting her. She breathed a sigh of relief. The villagers weren’t angry. All she felt was sunshine and starbursts.