Page 23 of Rhuyin

“Almost isn’t good enough,” Bea spat.

“Enough!” A voice sounded from behind us, and I jumped automatically. Old habits die hard.

Allard had come down the walkway behind us, his slightly silvered hair glinting in the sunlight. He had been assigned to the Legion a short time after I had been sent to it. He was Elusian, but had always been kind to Elex and I. He had actually turned against this own people when he protected Betts from being attacked by Maalik. The fading bruises on his face a start reminder of the cost of that defense.

“Who the hells are you?” Beatrice demanded sharply.

“Allard Andinos, former Lochagos of the Alexandrian Legion,” he said.

I saw her hand automatically go to her sidearm. Her eyes narrowed at him.

“You’re an Elusian. Andinos. I’ve heard that name before,” she said, glaring at him. “You were in Greece. The Battle of Athens.”

He nodded as I watched in confusion. There had been rumors that Allard had been assigned to the Legion in Greece before he became my father’s Weapons master. When he had been essentially demoted and sent to the Legion as Lochagos no one seemed to know why. Only after Heraklion did we find out that the King had assigned Allard to try and rein in Maalik’s more destructive impulses.

She nodded at him sharply.

“Fine, you, your Bonded, and the Elusian, but the rest of you need to go to the Touchpoint. We have over a thousand trained Somas waiting to meet you.”

My heart began to hammer in my chest. AthousandSomas? When Hel had said it earlier it hadn’t really registered.

“So many? Really?” I asked, my voice sounding thin even to my own ears.

Elex came over and bumped my shoulder. He knew how I felt about large crowds of people.

“You don’t have to,adelfos,” he said.

“I-I want to,” I lied. He had enough things to worry about, he didn’t need to worry about me. I’ll be okay.”

Elex stared at me for a few minutes, his eyes gone the blue gray of the stormy ocean. Finally he relented. “Okay, but only because I want someone with them I know and trust.” He nodded toward the rest of the Mageia who were assembling a short way away.

Hel turned his back on Bea and came over to join us.

“I will bring Allard and Elex to the Pavilion once we are done with Polemos,” he said.

“You’ll take care of them?” I asked the Soma.

“I promise,” he said. “No one will hurt either himorAllard without going through me.” He and Allard had formed an odd friendship on the voyage to Illyria.

I held his gaze for a moment, but when he nodded again, I nodded back. He knew how serious I was when it came to the safety of my family. Somehow, I realized to my surprise that somehow along the way I had added both HelandAllard to that list.

Chapter 5

Elex

The conveyance looked like a more modern version of one of the rusted hulks I’d seen in Heraklion. I thought that fitting all of us in might be a bit of a tight fit, but within a few minutes I found myself seated in the back next to Hel. Allard had said something about a “shotgun” before settling in the front passenger seat. Bea stood outside the vehicle for a few minutes giving some final orders to one of her subordinates.

“Are all Illyrian’s so great at communicating?” I whispered to Helios. “I thought it was just you, but now I’m beginning to wonder.”

Hel snickered.

“Beatrice was one of my commanding officers before… well,before,” Hel said, the smile suddenly vanishing from his face. Before Ri died. Of course. “And she’s Ri’s and Betts’ aunt,” he finished.

That made her behavior make more sense.

“I don’t want to offend you, but what was that she called you?” I asked, anger still burning in my chest at the hurt it had caused Hel. “Spasmenos?”

“It means ‘broken’, as in, someone who broke their Bond with their Mageia,” he said, his voice quiet.