“I’m sure the new position has been keeping you extra busy.”
“Busy doesn’t even scrape the surface.”
In the reflection of the windows, I could see Will walking into the living room with a glass of ice and a bottle in his hand. I stepped away from the window and took a seat on the couch in front of where he placed the glass and bottle of sparkling water. He headed back toward the kitchen while I unscrewed the lidand poured the water into my glass. This was the perfect segue to me asking about Stephen, the Omnia he inherited from John.
“Is Stephen helping you some?” I phrased the question as delicately as I could. Stephen had been John’s Omnia for over forty years, up until John passed away from an aneurism last month.
Will came back into the living room with a glass and bottle of water for himself. He sat across from me, and after he poured his glass of water, he leaned back in the oversized chair.
“Stephen has been relieved,” Will said simply.
My heart began to pound as I put the pieces together. Once selected by a King, an Omnia was never relieved. Omnia were bound to their King for life. It was quite literally a “to death do us part” scenario. All Omnia knew and understood that before they arrived at Omnia Academy. Never in my lifetime had I heard of an Omnia being relieved of duties. In the Reges Dei’s history, there had been a few Omnia who had been removed. But supposedly they were never seen or heard from again. Just as I began to think about Stephen’s whereabouts, Will put my mind at ease.
“Relax, Atlas. He’s safe.” Will took a long sip from his glass as he peered over the rim at me. “As you know, Stephen wasn’t selected by me. I agreed to take him in the hope of making the transition smoother after John passed away. But you have to understand that Stephen is fifteen years older than I am.”
This, I understood. It was customary and almost expected that shortly after becoming a King of Jupiter that the King would seek an Omnia student from Omnia Academy. Will had never selected one, though. But it was even less likely for the president of the society to not have an Omnia. Which, I thought out of obligation, Will had accepted Stephen.
“I’m sorry, Will.”
“Don’t be. It wasn’t an ideal situation. Stephen had been with John his entire adult life, and it was a lot for him to deal with and adjust to.”
“I understand.”
“He still held up all of his obligations as best as he could, but it wasn’t fair for him to live the rest of his life basically forced to be with me.”
“All Omnia students know what they’re agreeing to, Will. They all want to be there.”
“Yes, they do. But when they know they were selected by a particular King, that is totally different than being passed down to the next guy. I gave Stephen a special reprieve, and it was approved by the Omnia Academy Council for Stephen to return to the academy to work or mentor if he’d like. I’m not sure what he’ll be doing exactly, but I know he elected to work with students and their studies.”
“It was very kind of you to petition to get him permission to return to the academy. You know, your approach is very different than how most other Kings would have handled this situation.”
“There aren’t many Kings who have inherited an Omnia.”
“Exactly. Most would have rejected Stephen, or whoever it was.”
“I could have rejected him, yes. But he’s sixty-five, and he’d just lost the person he’d spent most of his life with. I couldn’t abandon him too.”
“Had you selected an Omnia of your own when you were eligible?—”
“Yes, yes… I know.”
I bit down on my tongue to prevent myself from continuing. After a moment of silence, I took a drink from my glass before setting it on the coaster while Will poured the rest of his water into his glass and took a sip.
“That topic was just one of the hushed discussions behind my back when I was announced as John’s successor.”
“Really? I wasn’t at all surprised when you were named the successor,” I admitted. I was taken aback by thoughts otherwise.
“Oh yes. There were some who questioned my loyalty to the Reges Dei based simply on the fact that I hadn’t selected an Omnia yet. Some of the other Kings told me that they’d heard rumblings about Kings saying I was too young to take the position of president. And Stephen had told me that while John was preparing his succession plan, he’d been visited by council members to influence his decision away from me. Perhaps because I don’t like lining Kings’ pockets when we could be doing better things for the world.”
And this was the major reason why Will was unlike the other Kings and presidents before him. He put people over power and money.
“John picked the best person for the position,” I said confidently.
“Thank you, Atlas.” Will took another sip from his glass and smiled at me. “So, are you looking forward to your new job with the Omnia Academy Council?” he asked, shifting the conversation topic a bit.
“I am, yes. I’ve mentored ever since I graduated the academy.”
“You’re very good at it.” He paused to take another sip from his glass but hadn’t taken his eyes off me. “Why quit?” he bluntly asked.
