Sil finished regaling his entire story to his wife though he had already told her portions of it back in school. Tears were flowing down his face, and his insecurities rose to the surface. He was holding his wife, but did he deserve this? He had been tricked by a monster, and the result was him murdering his best friends, his brothers. They shared his body with him for the last ten years, helping him, guiding him and protecting him.
Now he found himself alone in his head wondering how he was to go on. Was there even a single person who could understand the enormity of the loneliness he was now experiencing? Who would he ask if he had a question about what action he should take next?
He felt he should protect his wife rather than weigh her down with more responsibility. Her life was filled with taking care of others. She wasn't complaining, she was in fact happy, but he also didn't want to be her burden. He was filled with fear as he contemplated his future. What if he ruined his family because Vorden wasn't there to advise him.
"Owen Graylash provided the coordinates to go get you. I was thinking if we ever have a boy, we name him after the Graylash leader for helping save you. What do you think?"
He turned her head to gaze into her beautiful eyes then kissed her lips tenderly, "Perfection."
She smiled and yawned. "I think I need some sleep soon. Can you stay until I sleep?"
"Of course."
"Midas, Sil needs to return to the ship soon. Something happened on the planet while Quinn was away, and he will need Sil to help him solve the issue. Quinn is recovering right now from the fight, but Sil needs to be there when he wakes up. The sooner Quinn addresses the problem the better. Once I'm asleep, could you give him a tour of our shelter then take him back? Once Quinn gets him in the system, we can give him access to the teleporter."
Midas nodded. He wasn't sure what to think at this moment.
Minx leaned into Sil, "I know Quinn's going to need you soon, but can we cuddle for a while?"
Sil smiled his brilliant smile that always melted her heart and her eyes welled up. "I don't know how long he'll be out for but cuddling with you first sounds great. You have no idea how much I've missed you."
Minx smiled as Sil put his arms around her, lifted her and stood up. In his mind, they were the only ones in the room. He saw the bedroom before he sat down because the door was open. He carried her off and closed the door after Caser ran in.
Sil lay Minx on the bed, his lips never leaving hers. They were married but had never consummated the marriage for a few reasons. Being this close to her he felt those strange feelings again. He remembered the pictures in the book she showed him that day in the library.
Sil's hands traced down his wife's body. His touch was still electrifying, and she wondered if her touch did the same to him. Soon, the mages I those pictures became reality to them both. It was like a tutorial playing in his head.
Minx was all tucked in by the love of her life. He climbed into the bed on the other side to cuddle. He smiled. Somehow, I will get stronger so I would deserve this and protect my family from the dangers ahead.
Midas and Shalt stayed in the living room. They were discussing additional safety measures for when Minx went off planet. They had just learned there was a monster out there that made the most powerful people tremble in fear. Shalt wondered if the Tenth Leader knew of such a threat.
"She was so happy to have him back in her arms. I wonder what her husband thinks if the protective measures," Shalt said.
"Do you think he's thinking any different?" Midas asked.
"I will tell you," Shalt said, "in every instance I ever interacted with him, her safety was always the first thing on his mind."
Midas nodded, "he has always taken good care of her, though I don't know who was who. It could have been one of the others."
Shalt nodded, "at the same time, that was a man who is deeply in love."
Midas nodded.
In the room, "Minx, I wish things could have been different. You deserve so much..."
Minx chuckled, "Sil Blade, I have everything I deserve right here." She smiled and touched his hand, looked him in the eyes, "we have many challenges ahead. Especially with you having to split your time between us and Quinn. I don't know how much you paid attention in that other place over summer,"
He shook his head, indicating not much.
"We have a mission to help him with. He needs to get a lot stronger. Being in between both worlds is going to be hard on him. I want you to come as often as you can but not so much it endangers us. I'll leave that to your discretion. I will tell you, we have a lot of king-tiers here. When Quinn can give you time, I'd like you to come back and go hunting. Daphne can make you a king tier outfit or two, so you have a strong outfit under your armor to make you that much stronger."
Sil smiled, "Will I get a robe like yours?"
She chuckled, "if you want one. I'll give you a hood. This way you can hide from the cameras."
Sil nodded a bit sadly.
"Hey, look at me."
He did.
She yawned, "we'll get through this. I promise." She smiled and closed her eyes. She was asleep soon after with the picture of her husband in her eyes. Even with his puffy, swollen eyes and hair disheveled from battle, he was still the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
Sil stepped from the room and took a deep breath. Midas was waiting for him and his insecurities hit him full force.
Midas took an hour showing Sil around the shelter explaining his sister's logic in the layout which he thought was flawed because it worked one direction but not the other. It wasn't easy for people to figure out but after a while of being there, people eventually understood.
Sil chuckled because he got it first shot. He hung his head then others came to meet him but couldn't help but marvel at her handy work. Everyone was excited to meet him and shake his hand. He soon knew all the abilities available in the shelter.
He still didn't understand how her ability worked but he asked the tree if he could leave and it parted on its own. He then told the tree he changed his mind to see what would happen and it closed back up.
Midas then demonstrated how to use the teleporter, explaining he could only come by himself until he was a B rank or higher. Quinn would need to put him in the system.
Sil nodded. It seemed pretty easy to use, and it made his wife and babies safe. Hilston couldn't get through. Even if his traveler tag was stolen, a thumbprint was required that verified the heart beat as well. He thanked Midas and promised to come as often as he could. Midas promised to keep them safe.
Sil and Midas stepped through then Midas turned it off. He turned it back on and went back through.
Sil tried to remember where everyone went, then did. They were all in a training room. He stepped in to check on the kids. Peter and Borden were taking care of them and had resumed their training. Sil was overcome with emotion and left before they could say anything. He found an empty training room and cried while rocking in his normal fashion.