“What will you do now, Baylin? If you don’t mind my asking.”
Baylin shrugged, the gesture carrying the weight of years of uncertainty. “Keep wandering, I suppose. There’s work to be found if you’re willing to take what’s offered. Security contracts. Enforcement jobs.” His lip curled slightly. “Nothing particularly honorable. But everyone has to eat.”
He glanced at Ember, saw the question in her eyes, and made his decision.
“I need someone I can trust.”
Baylin’s expression flickered. “What?”
“Ember is the heir to Duvain Enterprises. She has enemies—some she’s dealt with, others still hidden.” He held his former second’s gaze. “I’ve taken over her security, but I can’t do it alone. I need warriors at my back. Warriors I trust.”
Understanding dawned in Baylin’s amber eyes. “You’re offering me a position.”
“I’m offering you a purpose.” He paused. “My second. Like before.”
Baylin stood motionless, his face unreadable, and Rykan could see the conflict playing out behind his eyes. The longing for something stable, something meaningful. The fear of committing to something that might be taken away again.
“She’s human,” Baylin said finally. “Your mate. Your employer. The pack won’t?—”
“There is no pack. Not here.” His voice was firm. “Here, there is Ember. Her company. Her people. And anyone who chooses to stand with us.”
Baylin looked at Ember, really looked, and he watched his former second see what he himself had seen in those first days in the mountains. The quiet strength beneath the delicate surface. The intelligence that assessed everything around it. The determination that burned like banked coals, ready to flare into flame at the slightest provocation.
“You chose well,” Baylin said softly. “Better than I would have expected.”
“Will you stay?”
Another long pause. Then Baylin’s scarred features shifted into something that might have been a smile.
“I’ll try,” he said, his voice rough. “I should warn you—I’ve been restless. Unable to settle anywhere for long. This might be temporary.”
“Temporary is better than nothing.”
“Perhaps.” Baylin straightened, his posture shifting into something more formal—the stance of a warrior accepting a charge. “I offer you my service, then. For as long as I can give it.”
The old words, spoken in the old way. Something loosened in his chest, a tension he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying.
“And I accept it. Welcome back, my friend.”
Baylin’s smile widened slightly. “It’s good to have a pack again. Even a small one.”
They clasped forearms in the warrior’s grip, and for a moment he was transported back to another time. A time when he was younger and less scarred, when he still believed the world was something that could be conquered through strength and loyalty alone.
The world had proven him wrong. But perhaps, in this unexpected place with these unexpected people, he could build something new from the wreckage of what had been lost.
Ember rose from the bench, smoothing her simple clothes with hands that trembled only slightly. “We should head back. If I’m gone too long, Tomas will worry.”
“Tomas?” Baylin asked.
“The head of my household. He’s been with my family since before I was born.”
“Good. Loyalty is rare.” Baylin fell into step behind them as they moved towards the courtyard exit, automatically taking the position of rear guard. “This tower of yours—how many entry points?”
“Seven primary, twelve secondary, and at least four that aren’t supposed to exist.” He glanced back at his friend. “I’ve already begun addressing the vulnerabilities.”
“Have you now?” Baylin’s laugh was low and genuine. “Some things never change. You always were obsessed with perimeter security.”
“It kept us alive.”
