“We have to go back to Empyrean,” Lorna spoke softly as we laid together in my bed.

“Why? Everything I want is right here,” I told her squeezing her arm and pulling her in closer.

It had been a few days, and while she would fly back and forth on her own, she never mentioned me going with her. I guess at some point; I’d have to be brave enough to tell Argos how much I cared for his daughter and what I wanted for her. She rolled over onto her side, nuzzling her head in the space between my neck and my chest, her voice vibrated against me as she spoke, “I need to show my Dad, so he'll know why I’m coming back and forth.”

“Show him what?” I sat up with a tingling sensation rippling down my spine. “I hope you’re not talking about the scars, Lorna. Do you know what he’ll do when he sees them? If you don’t, I can show you.”

“Relax. They’re not fresh so it won’t be that bad. Just come with me. You can explain your plans for Black Harbor, and he’ll see how serious you are about me and our relationship. Besides, I’m tired of sneaking around.”

“I thought you told your parents you were coming here.”

She looked up into my eyes, “I did, but I didn’t tell them about the combat lessons I’ve been taking up with the guards. I don’t want them to overreact to this thing I got with Mig. Bad enough my mother already despises him from when he showed up unannounced and practically demanded my hand in marriage. Any news on his whereabouts yet?”

“No,” I sighed, “And Skinner’s been on it. We’re thinking he went underground and is hiding with the Anthros. We already know how much he adores them as pets.”

Lorna. Noticeably disgusted by the comment, wrapped her arms around herself as she leaned back into me. I enjoyed these snippets of time together. I only hoped there would be more of it in our future. The future. It's something so far ahead but also happening right now. I didn’t want to think about it because of the fear I harbored for Argos. Our families have been close, but the older Lorna got, the more time Argos dedicated to keeping her safe. He made it very clear that he’s scared of losing her. I know that feeling all too well myself.

“When do you want to go home?” I asked her getting up from our comfortable position. I would much rather lay with her in bed all day, but neither of us had the freedom to do that, not yet.

“We can head back in a few actually,” she replied. Going to Empyrean even sooner than anticipated didn’t seem like the most pressing matter of the day. I’d rather go out with Bart and look for Mig, but I had to do this for us; for our future.

When we arrived at the tall, outer wall of the high mountain city, I cringed at the sight of the Golden Imperials guarding the perimeter. I hadn’t any idea there were so many of them. Right away, we were greeted by gladiator armor-clad guards who bowed to Lorna and glared at me stoically. She threaded her arm underneath mine before leading the way to the place she called home.

I couldn’t help but notice the three guards following us as we made our way to her father’s chambers. A soft gulp passed down my throat as I felt the temperature rising exponentially.

“Don’t be nervous,” she whispered as if she knew what I was thinking. However, that was indeed easier said than done. We stood in front of a large wooden door with golden accents. My chest tightened as she reached for the doorknob.

“Wait shouldn’t we knock? Or maybe announce ourselves, or something?” my eyes darted around nervously, “Or even better we can just skip this altogether, and keep hiding-”

Anxiety threatened to bend me over to my knees as I watched the door open up before we even had the chance to knock. Argos stood in front of me with his muscles bulging and hair greying with Lavender by his side. She was paler than I remember and those bold eyes of hers looked tired.

“My goodness, Preston,” Argos smiled, “You look more and more like your father every day.”

“Thank you, Sir,” I answered, still with a slight shiver in my voice.

“How is the old man these days?” he asked.

“We’re working hard to get Black Harbor into a place we can all live peacefully amongst each other. Honestly, that’s why I’ve come here.”

“It’s not to ask for our daughter’s hand in marriage?” he stared at me with a raised eyebrow.

I was stunned to silence.

Lorna didn’t let me linger there for long. She jumped right in, “Relax, Dad. He put together a great plan for the Clans to run Black Harbor and I want to be there with him while he does it.”

I found my voice again to help her out, “We care for each other a lot, but there are some things we need to take care of first before we move forward. One of the things we need to take care of is the Onyx Skull who hurt her. We would have come to you sooner, but-”

Lorna cut me off, “But I wanted to handle this on my own and not have you come down to Black Harbor again.”

“Yeah,” I sighed running my fingers through my hair, “There are still parts of the city buried in ash.”

He grunted with a half a smile. Lavender shoved him playfully as she stepped into the hall with us, “I know about the training, and I understand that Lorna is going to do whatever she wants to do.”

Argos grunted again, but this time with disappointment.

Lavender continued, “So you two are free to do as you wish with our blessing.”

“Fine, whatever my beloved says will be,” Argos stated. “Do I want to know what he did to you?”

Lorna shook her head with her eyes planted on the ground. Argos’s gaze shifted toward me. The guilt ripped through me, and I couldn’t help but speak up, “It’ll never happen again. I promised you long ago, and I’m continuing to uphold my oath to protect her.”

“I understand Preston,” he said gripping my shoulder, “I also know that protecting Lorna is by far one of the hardest tasks on this planet, especially when she doesn’t want or feel the need to be protected. Thank you for keeping her safe. I never doubt your ability to be there for her. So, Lorna, I guess we should run our drills then right?”

“I guess we should,” she smiled with her hands on her waist waiting for what’s next.

Lorna and I flew back and forth between the two cities wondering if her training would be enough. She had indeed gotten better at aerial combat, and her hand to hand abilities grew as well. With all of this work, I was sure that when the time came, she’d be able to handle Mig on her own and anyone else that challenged her.

That day came when we were in my place a few weeks after I spoke to Skinner. Grady and Celia had been back for all of one day before taking off into the world again. I think them traveling put a new perspective in his head because last we spoke, he didn’t mind how I wanted to run Black Harbor. It helped that my Dad changed his tune as well. The only thing left to do was to rally the Heads of Clans and let everyone else know how things were going to be moving forward. Part of that was finding Mig and Skinner came through just as he said he would.

We left the comfort of the Towers to see Skinner toward the center of the city. A crowd of Onyx Skulls and Scarlet Wings, along with a few Anthros, stood around him. After pushing people out of the way, Lorna stepped into the clearing first. Mig kneeled down on the floor with a collar around his neck and his wrists bound in chains to it. His long platinum blonde hair had been shaved short, and his once healthy stature looked like a shell of his former self.

“Unchain him,” Lorna commanded.

Skinner gleamed as he dangled the key in front of her, but then looked to me, “I believe we had a deal, Preston. Tit for tat, Sir. Tit for tat.”

“And I will hold up my end, just as soon as this business is finished,” I told him. Turning to Lorna, I motioned for her to move toward Mig. He remained on his knees with his head bowed toward his chest.

“What’s wrong with him?” Lorna asked. She lifted his chin to stare into his sunken eyes. He didn’t say anything. He snatched his face out of her grasp and returned his glare to the ground at her feet.

Skinner beamed that sinister smile, “Well what do you think happens to Scalers who are forced to go underground? They’re at the mercy of those vicious Anthros.”

A few boos emerged from the crowd.

“KEEP YOUR PETS QUIET!” Skinner yelled, “Or I’ll be tempted to stick things in their mouths to help them do so!”

I looked around and then back to Lorna. Disappointment rained down her face, and I understood why. All of the training seemed to be for nothing. I shrugged my shoulders, “Skinner did what he said he was going to do. I don’t want to even think about the lengths and depths of depravity he had to go through to find Mig. It’s on you, Lorna. Whatever you want to do with him.”

She looked down her nose to Mig, closed her eyes and moved behind him. Those gold talons of her pierced through her fingers just enough for her to wrap one arm around his forehead and sever his neck from the rest of his body.

“You deserve a thousand deaths for what you did to me,” she hissed at his decapitated corpse.

“NO!” a familiarly husky voice screamed through the crowd. Jax had found his way into the opening just in time to see Mig’s lifeless body hit the floor.

“Don’t let this PET masquerading as a Scaler manipulate you, Skinner!” Jax yelled. “If you’re willing to hand Mig over to them, what’s to stop you from delivering any one of your brothers up on a silver, well sapphire, platter?!”

“Oh, my dear boy,” Skinner chuckled, “I will always do what I want with who I want, and Mig only became a bargaining chip because he’s become a liability to us and all of Black Harbor. Can you imagine the toll taken out of this city if her dear father got wind of what happened to her?! Now apologize to me.”

“FUCK YOU!” Jax yelled. Pivoting his stance, he charged at Lorna like a bull, “And fuck you too!”