“I-I don’t even know how I got here,” I stammered.
“Titans save us,” the man growled. His eyes began glowing gold, his power washing over me in a flood. “Go!”
***
“Luke?”
I heard Elex calling my name and opened my eyes. I was back in Lottie’s office.
“Are you okay?” my brother asked me quietly, concern on his face.
“Y-yeah,” I said, stammering. I could still smell the sickness of old blood and death that had come with the vision, but it began to fade almost immediately. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.”
I rubbed my eyes and Lottie nodded in understanding.
“Some of your people may choose to work in our technology teams. Or they may choose to go into the public sector. This is the time for all of you to get to know our country and decide what occupation you want to take up. We hold a career fair every three months or so for everyone to learn about available careers andexpress interest if they haven’t already,” Lottie continued as if nothing had happened.
“What do you mean? Aren’t all Mageia in your military?” I asked as I took the card hesitantly.
“No. Though we would welcome any assistance, our Mageia are free to become whatever they want. We’ve had Mageians choose to become teachers, artisans, business owners and more. During your first six months we’ll have classes and orientation events for you to attend that will give you a better idea of what opportunities you have outside the military. We’ve even had some who are learning how to program electronics.” She tapped on the cell phone.
“Why do your people do all this?” I waved at all the items on the table in front of me, genuinely confused. “This can’t be cheap.”
She smiled gently at me.
“We do it because it’s the right thing to do. Alexandria needs to be stopped. Goddess willing, with your help, we may be able to do that.”
She efficiently packed the items back into the backpack. I was frankly surprised it all fit. She saw me look at the filled backpack in surprise.
“I’ve been doing this for a while. I assigned Luke the room next to yours, Elex. When I found out he was your brother I figured you would want to stay close. Your whole group is together in one wing of the Pavilion.”
My brother nodded, his face still closed and cautious.
“I’d like to take you myself, but—” she looked at the time in concern.
“I can show him where it is,” Hel interjected, and Lottie smiled in appreciation.
“That’s great! I’ve got a lot of paperwork to do, so I appreciate the help.”
The small woman surprised me by walking forward and throwing her arms around me in a hug.
“Welcome to Illyria! We’re so glad you’re here!”
Chapter 18
Elex
Seeing Luke lying in that hospital bed,again, had scared the hell out of me. We’d gotten him back to our rooms, but he’d fallen asleep on the couch in my quarters while Hel and I had been arguing about who would be sleeping where. I covered him with a blanket I’d found in one of the closets.
The anxiety of nearly losing him stretched taut my last nerve. The relative safety of arriving in Illyria had lulled me into a false sense of security. I should never have let him out of my sight.
“There was no way you could know we were going to be attacked,” my Bonded said as I closed the door to the living room. He moved up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “There hasn’t been an attack this close to the Tower in a hundred years.”
I looked up at him. Goddess, was every Soma in Illyria a freakin’ giant?
“I should have been there,” I insisted. “What good are these powers I’ve got if I can’t protect the people I love?”
He squeezed me, gently resting his chin on the top of my head.
