It was a quiet ride to Alard Hospital.

  Gesai had laid down in one of the sleeping pods by the time we’d gotten out to the RV. She hadn’t closed the sliding door, but had made it clear that she didn’t want to talk.

  Once we reached the hospital, Aelin stopped out front of the large, white building and turned around. “Where am I supposed to park?”

  “Do we go in the same way we did when Trent brought us to see Farsch?” I turned around in the booth to look at Gesai, who slowly slid out of the beds.

  She wiped her eyes with the back of her lace gloves and straightened her clothes. “You’ll want to pull around back where the workers park. We’ll go in the employee entrance.”

  “You okay?” I reached out to touch her hand as she walked by. She paused, just for a moment, then continued to the front of the vehicle without a word.

  “What do I do?” I looked between Ether and Justia.

  “Let her get drained by a spell like Kara?” Justia shrugged.

  “Great, so as soon as we find some of those chin-finger things, I’ll ask them if they can drain my fiancé so I can be with her.” I sighed.

  “You asked for options.” Justia glared at me. “You didn’t say they had to be good.”

  “I know, I just…” I shook my head. “I want to do something so she doesn’t feel bad.”

  “Feeling bad is part of being alive.” Fray spoke up. “We all feel bad. Some of us get over it and some of us make other people feel our pain.” She tilted her head. “If leaving makes her happy, I say let her do it.”

  “FRAY!” Ether closed her mouth, then lowered her voice before she spoke again. “That wasn’t very nice.”

  “She’s not the only one who had a hard life.” Fray crossed her arms. “If she doesn’t appreciate being here, then let her leave so Mister Vowler can bring in someone who is going to stay.” She looked at me. “She’s not even our teacher and you can’t do anything with her, so why do you care?”

  “Because she’s a person and she proved just how far she was willing to go for me.” I glanced at the front of the vehicle. “I should at least do the same for her.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “And you’ll still feel that way if she leaves?” Fray leaned forward on the table. “Because then she wouldn’t be very loyal would she?”

  “What’s your problem?” I looked the green woman over. “I thought the two of you worked out your thing.”

  “My ‘thing’.” Fray closed her eyes. “Is that she should have said no the moment the other teacher tried to poach her. My problem is that the moment she realized that she was going to have to wait a few years to get what she wanted, she hid because she thought about jumping ship.” The green woman shook her head. “My dad was like that. Always walking out whenever something didn’t go his way.” She stood up the moment the RV came to a stop. “Let her leave if a little time is all it’s going to take to make her doubt us.”

  I watched her storm out of the RV and shook my head. “Do either of you know how to talk to her?”

  Aelin slid out of the driver’s seat. “I can—”

  “NO!” Justia sighed as she got up. “She’s just scared that things are going to change. I’ll go talk to her.”

  I nodded, then looked over at Gesai as Justia and Aelin exited the RV. “You okay?”

  “I don’t want to leave, but…” Gesai took a deep breath and shook her head. “We’re about to be separated again and if I’m not even going to be around you, then…”

  I took her hands. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll go get Rix and Pixie and bring them back. It won’t take that long.”

  “I…”

  I kissed her to stop the hesitation I saw in her eyes. She was scared of being abandoned again and this was a way that she could walk away without having to risk it. I pulled back and looked into her green eyes.

  “I’m not leaving you.” I smiled. “And trust me, we’re safer with you close than we are if you go somewhere else.” I looked at Ether, then back at Gesai. “Besides, who else am I going to trust to watch over the rest of my harem while I’m in a different Ward?”

  A smile cracked Gesai’s lips. “It doesn’t sound too bad when you put it that way.”

  “Exactly!” I smiled and gave her a hug. I felt her arms twitch to return the gesture, but she kept her arms at her sides.

  “Um…” Ether coughed into her hand, then pointed at the building. “They’re waiting for us.”

  “Right.” I stepped out of the way and motioned for Gesai to take the lead. Her stance was more confident as she stepped out of the vehicle.

  Justia gave me a thumbs up as we walked up to them. Fray looked away, but the earlier defiance had vanished. I knew she had issues with abandonment, as did Ether and Gesai; I just didn’t know how to reassure her that we weren’t going to leave her.

  “Everything okay?” I tried to look at Fray’s eyes, but she turned away.

  “We’ll be good.” Justia patted Fray on the shoulder, then turned to Gesai. “It’s been a long day. Can we get whatever they have planned in there over with quickly so we can go home?”

  “Sure.” Gesai took a deep breath as she placed her hand on the push bar to open the door. “I never thought I’d be back here. Not so soon. anyway.”

  “We got your back.” I rubbed the space between her shoulders.

  “Thanks.” The silver woman pushed open the door. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

  Rating, Review, Follow, Favorite, or Comment does wonders to boost my morale. If you want to help support my writing or check out advanced chapters, head over to my .

  RR Writer's Guild