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"I bring salvation to our people. If they reject it because they do not like the vessel it travels in, they can walk away—and die needlessly. I will not indulge their bigotry another moment." The door creaked behind her, but she refused to turn, to try to convince anyone. If one of the elders had left, she would let them. She would not drag bigots with her into this when the very people they were dismissing would be their salvation in the end.

  "The Creator has made a people among us—unappreciated, undervalued, and misunderstood—who are weapons against the greatest enemy we have ever faced. My mother\'s Advisor paved the way for those who walk our trails now, and he is banished. My mate is a shining example of the character and strength that comes when an Anima is tested by fire and their character is gold.

"The disformed are not mutations. They are not weak. They are not a drain on our resources. They are an asset!" she hissed, "Given to us for this day, to meet this danger! If you cannot see that… if you will not help me convince the people to see it, then you are part of the problem. You may leave. I will not chase you. I will not value your good opinion over the precious strength of my mate and his people. And when the day comes that you need them, that you finally understand why they are here, and how they benefit you, it will be too late. We will have moved forward without you. And you will see the stupidity of this moment when you abandoned us because you did not like the features of the sword we were given to run our enemy through!"

Still slowly turning, looking for that empty seat, it took her a second to realize that Aaryn stood just inside the door, gaping at her, wide-eyed. That the creak of the door had been him entering, not an elder leaving.

She smiled at the shock on his face, though her heart cracked that he looked so… afraid. As if he feared for her because of what she\'d said.

\'Take your seat with pride,\' she signed, praying that he saw the value in her fierce defense of him. That he didn\'t feel she was fighting battles for him, or weakening him in the eyes of others.

Aaryn closed his mouth and nodded slightly, walking slowly to his place in the circle as Elreth returned to addressing the elders.

"Tell me, now, if you truly believe that embracing the disformed and acknowledging them under these circumstances will somehow weaken our people. If you have argument or wisdom that is not based in fear of opinions, or conflict… if you see us weakened by this, I will listen. But know that my heart is sure: The people need to be informed. They need to understand what we face. And they need to know their salvation walks among them."

She waited a moment to make sure they\'d all heard her, then returned to her seat next to Aaryn, her skin prickling because he was staring at her. But she couldn\'t look away from the elders. She had to force them confront her. She could not waver.

So, as she sat there, waiting, they turned to each other, murmuring their arguments or thoughts, exchanging ideas, and even if they looked tense, she could see them catching themselves. Adjusting their thoughts. She could see them beginning to break through prejudice or convenience, and looking at the problem as she\'d asked them to.

They were not pleased. But neither were they arguing with her.

Elreth waited again, finally glancing at Aaryn. But he sat, staring at the floor, a thoughtful frown on his handsome face. She wished she could reach for him and smooth the lines from his forehead. He was in so much pain… she prayed this day would bring the beginning of some release for him.

"How will you bring this to the people?" Lhern asked finally. "I will stand with you in the truth of what you\'re saying. I will support your decision. But I cannot escape that the delivery of this kind of news will have an impact on its reception. I give you caution for simply declaring it to the people and leaving them to speculate. Without understanding the whole picture you will fracture your people instead of heal them."

Elreth nodded. "I will listen to advice on the best approach. But I believe that showing them what we understand the future brings and why this benefits them is the best way forward. I will try to win them to it. But I will not waver if they are not won."

Lhern sighed and rubbed his upper lip, but he nodded. Elreth caught eyes with Huncer and was surprised to see a small smile on the older female\'s face. She had to stifle her own smile of relief. Her second would understand, and would support.

Several voices raised calmly then, asking questions and offering advice on how Elreth could word her address to the people. Elreth received their advice and discussed the details, but inside her chest flared with both thrill and fear.

She knew what she had to do now. Finally. And she knew why.

Thank the Creator that she\'d brought the elders with her. Now it was time to make sure she could bring the people. But even if she didn\'t… she hadn\'t lied to them.

She glanced at Aaryn again. He was still in his own world, frowning at his own hands. She wished she could reach across and grip one of them, pull him to her. But she knew he needed time to process this as well.

So instead, she lifted a prayer for his heart—and that he would be honored in his people when all this was done. And she set to figuring out how to win her people to the course she was utterly certain was right.

*****

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