“I need to stop. You’ve exhausted me.”

Hanna giggled as she looked at Marcus’s sweat soaked face. “Aw. I was hoping you could go all day.”

Marcus offered her a tired smile. “I’m not used to doing it so many times in a row. Not that I’m not enjoying myself. What we’ve done together is amazing. I just need a break.”

Hanna gave a mock sigh. “Very well. I suppose you’ve performed well enough. You may rest.” She gave him an airy wave.

“Oh, thank you.” Marcus collapsed against a tree, sliding to the forest floor. “You know, most people only use the general teleportation spells, things like moving forward twenty feet, or to a central node or memorized location.”

Taking a deep breath, he leaned his head back against the tree. “They also don’t try to chain them together. Very few can do line of sight teleports, let alone bring someone with them.”

Hanna smiled, stretching her arms overhead and reveling in the feeling of her muscles loosening. While she’d enjoyed clinging to Marcus, remaining in the same position for hours was its own form of exhausting.

“I knew you could do it.” She lowered her hands to caress her necklace. “You are amazing when it comes to teleportation magic.”

Marcus tilted his head down enough to return the smile. “I’d have never thought about chaining teleports together as a means of traveling. We really did cover a lot of distance today. We may even reach the border tomorrow.”

Hanna walked over to Marcus and knelt beside him, facing out towards the forest. She reached up to fiddle with the end of her brain, trying to organize her thoughts. Marcus seemed content to let her think.

“We’ll have to find a place to stop for the night.”

Beside her, Marcus nodded. “I’ll find somewhere with plenty of space.”

Hana shook her head. “We don’t need a lot of space. I want to sleep in your arms tonight.”

Before he could interrupt, Hanna placed a finger on Marcus’s lips. “You are going to be my husband one day. That makes you family. My only family right now.” She took a deep breath before continuing, “I’m not asking for anything else tonight. But I want your arms around me. TOnight and every night after. When we reach the Majestix, I want us staying together, wherever that ends up being.”

Marcus reached out and pulled Hanna onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. She rested her cheek on top of his head. “Tonight and every night after. Together.”

* * *

“It’s time to wake up, Dearheart.”

Brightheart felt a hand on his scarred cheek and slowly swam to consciousness. Opening his eyes, he found Dierdra gazing down at him, a mixture of emotions in her eyes. He tried to sit up but found himself restricted,

“Why am I bound? Suddenly, he remembered the last sight before waking here, of an arrow sticking from his chest. “How is it that I’m still alive?”

Dierdra shifted her hand to rest on his chest, where he was regaining sensation. THere was a strangely hollow feeling where her hand rested. Above his heart.

“The arrow was a finger’s width from directly piercing your heart. Had that happened, there would have been nothing I could have done to save you. However, it did slice into the side of your heart. The healers were able to keep you alive until they could get you to me.

“Then your heart died.”

Brightheart blinked up at Dierdra. “Then, again, how am I still alive?”

Dierdra slid her hand across his chest to his left arm. “Remember when I talked about reanimating flesh? That’s what I’ve done with your heart. I’ve forced your dead heart to work again.”

Brightheart’s eyes slid past Dierdra to stare at the ceiling. Were he not the subject of this particular experiment he would have been endlessly intrigued by the possibilities. That his very life was tied into it brought a different light to the subject. Yet even more mysteries continued.

“Why am I bound?”

Dierdra stepped out of sight. He could feel her hands on his chest binding, then slide down to his robes. Surprisingly, his robes seemed to part in the front and he felt cool air tingle across his chest.

“I needed to make sure you were still for the final explanation. The procedure to re-animate your heart was not without cost.”

Something seemed to press against his chest, almost as if a stone was being shoved into his skin.

“I had to embed a crystal into the flesh of your chest, above your heart, to control the re-animation. It will need periodic replacement, though at this point I’m not sure how often that will be. My best estimate is every few months.”

Dierdra drifted back into sight, holding a pink crystal so he could see it. It didn’t look like any material he was familiar with. “What is it?”

The familiar smile returned to her lips. “I’m calling it a life stone. They take three magical lives to empower.”

Brightheart blinked again. “Oh? How so?”

“Three people with magical affinity must give up their lives, rendered down and compressed into the stone.” Her smile brightened. “Fortunately, the subjects don’t need to be willing to be converted.”

Brightheart flashed her a bright smile of his own. “Oh, my dear Dierdra. The things you do for me.”

“Anything for you, Dearheart.” He felt the restraints loosen, then was being helped to sit up. His body still felt weak, but at least he could feel. Looking around the room, he spotted the mirror. After some combined effort, they were able to maneuver him into standing before it, his robes opened all the way to his waist.

A raw scar was a blazing star in the center of his chest. Just to the side of it, sunken into the flesh, was the pink crystal. It seemed to pulse faintly in time to his heartbeat.

Dierdra was standing behind him, hands on his hips, chin on his shoulder, gazing into the eyes of his reflection. “I think it's time to trade in your robes for a breastplate. Not only will it protect you more, but the Empire is going to war. A more martial appearance would be in keeping with your role advising the Emperor and being Prime Speaker.”

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Brightheart tried to picture himself in armor, softened with his usual flowing white in the form of a full cape. The golden sunburst emblazoned upon his breast. Along with his mask, that would make for an impressive visage.

Tilting his head slightly, he pressed his cheek to hers. One hand came to join hers at his hip, while the other rose to his chest, hovering over the crystal. “You are now a piece of my heart, my dear Dierdra. Even more that my arms, you have become an integral part of my life.”

He watched in the mirror as she turned to kiss his scarred cheek, her lips hot against his skin. Her free hand wandered inwards, caressing his waist before dipping into his robes. Her words burned in his ear as she said, “I’ve already got a spare life stone. Let’s find out how much your new heart can stand.”

The pulsing light in his chest was flashing quicker as he turned in her arms to capture her lips with a hunger he wasn’t aware he was capable of.

Perhaps his heart wasn’t the only thing she brought back to life.

***

“We expected a representative from your mage contingent.”

Palcon looked across the table at the two biggest Majestix he’d ever seen. A Tigra and a Lyonin, the two completely overshadowed their cloaked companion, though he was sure she was every bit as deadly as the others.

Seated next to him, the two Shadow Mages seemed to squirm in their chairs. Palcon kept his smile to himself. Those two regarded themselves as representing the mages while Marcus and Typhonus were absent, but it seemed the Majestix disagreed.

“I expected them to be here by now as well. Hopefully they’ll arrive soon. In the meantime, Ethaniel here has volunteered to sit in their place. I understand you’re all familiar with each other.”

Three sets of eyes shifted from Palcon to Ethaniel, seeming to weigh the man. The Panthra reached up and drew back her hood, then asked, “Could Typhonus not use the communication crystal he supplied us with?”

Ethaniel shook his head. “Not if he’s traveling. It requires a certain level of concentration to maintain the connection. He warned us about that before the raid on Feron’s compound.”

“Ah. I see.” Khan Shaka settled back in hair, then turned her head to the Tigra. Khan Xhere flicked an ear her direction, then spoke, his voice a deep rumble that Palcon could feel in his chest.

“The Majestix welcome you, by the laws of the Accord. We have set aside land to the east of the city for your use during these troubled times. Khan Kubla will provide for your security while within the walls of the city. We require that you keep any groups small while visiting the city.”

Those dark eyes seemed to bore into Palcon’s. “Understand that we are not going to fight your war. That you are in rebellion against your Empire is not our concern. That you have asked for refuge is. That means we will assist in protecting your people. We cannot be part of any aggression with the Empire of Man.”

Palcon nodded slowly, then frowned. “With all due respect, you’ve already committed aggression against the Empire, in the attempt against Feron.”

It was Khan Shaka’s turn to explain. “That was an attack on a single individual. We intent to explain as much to the Empire’s diplomats should they arrive.”

There was a twitch from the Lyonin, quickly stilled. Had Palcon not been watching closely, nor had his good eye, he would have missed it. Curious. Was there dissension in the Khan Council?

Storing the information for later, Palcon said, “What if the Empire disagrees? From everything I’ve seen and heard, they seem on course to attack you here.”

Khan Xhere’s deep voice rumbled out. “We will always defend ourselves from attack. The Majestix always protects our own.”

There were subtleties going on here that Palcon couldn’t quite read. Glancing at Leon from the corner of his eye, the former village elder having hung back during the meeting, he caught a brief nod. “Well, in that case, we thank you for the offer of a place for our people. I’ll turn things over to Leon here to work out the details of the organization.”

***

“What was that about? We’re not going to fight the Empire?”

Khan Xhere leaned back in his chair, claws steepled on the table. “We will not attack the Empire. There is a distinction between the two.”

Khan Kubla glared, those golden orbs shimmering with a barely restrained heat. That he’d held his peace during the meeting with the humans was admirable. A sign of growth for the warrior, no doubt the influence of his mate.

“It was important to let the humans know the situation before they began settling in. If they are fully understanding of their reliance upon the Majestix, they will be more inclined to work to curry favor with us. We will see their skills used for our own benefit sooner than might otherwise happen.”

Khan Kubla blinked, his mouth open to retort. Instead, he sat back in his chair. A rare smile crossed his lips. “Craft. Never would have expected it from you. Her, yes, but not you.” He dipped his head towards Khana Shaka, who returned the gesture.

Smile turning to a grin, Khan Kubla stood. “I’d best be seeing to those security arrangements then.” He seemed to saunter from the room, tail swinging happily behind him.

Khan Xhere waited until he could no longer hear the Lyonin’s treat in the hall. “A most direct Majestix. I do not think he suspects anything.”

Khan Shaka shook her head. “That one does not look beneath what is obvious. Still, there is cunning in his heart. He is not to be underestimated. Especially not with that Sasha at his side. She has tempered him into a sharper blade.”

“That may be. Which is why he is watched.” He shifted to look directly at Khana Shaka. “Do you think the humans were able to understand?”

There was amusement dancing in that emerald gaze. “I believe they will work things out in time. Especially once Typhonus joins them. That one is especially cunning for one not a Shadow Dancer.”

“Indeed.”