Lance led Rain Jubilee into the room. There were five tables and the head table was marked for Turnip Homestead, including their named seats. None of the Counselors were present yet. Buck and Lunar Harvest were with them, Buck was carrying Ice Tempest. Black and Golden Harvest sat down with them. That completed their table.

Cherry Tart and Early Blossom had come in with them, but took their designated seats at Cherry Homestead’s table. Shadow Heart was sleeping in Early Blossom's arms. Red and Yellow, Stump Crusher and Silver Sun, Big Red and Sweet Cherry, and Lex came in after another minute and took their seats. They were joined by Bronze Bell and Parsley with Lightning Storm.

The members of Lemon Burst homestead came in, following after Lemon Burst The Tenth. Their Homestead had been passed down though first sons since the start of the Farm, before the war. After the third, it became a pride to be named Lemon Burst. They had seven members at their table.

The Counselors entered, and sat down patiently. There was a lot to gather and prepare for. They had a long session coming up. All they knew was that they had been invited out. Invitation was putting kindly. There was no choice. Extended family and the community was taking care of their farms.

Rain Jubilee took a sharp breath in and straightened up. Holly Bell Homestead had arrived. It wasn’t common knowledge that their marriage had been arranged. Not even their children knew they were arranged. Everypony thought Rain Jubilee came from a nearby community that they were not plugged into. It just revolved around that and those circles never crossed enough to question it.

Lance Turnip and Rain Jubilee had been married early in their lives. Turnip Homestead needed fresh blood and Holly Bell Homestead needed some financial aid. Neither Lance Turnip or Rain Jubilee hated the arranged marriage. They quickly grew to love each other deeply. Neither had found anypony in their community or extended community fit for marriage.

Homesteads didn’t marry their successors lightly. Rain Jubilee was enthralled that she was staying at a Homestead. She left family, but she never lost that status. Arranged Homestead marriages were typically not spoken of, forgotten outside of the Homestead books.

King Homestead entered quietly. They had three Subsidiary Homestead and they all had come. They required extra chairs to be brought it. The Council was not aware they were bringing more. Lance had made sure they knew he was bringing Black and Golden Harvest. It was odd, but King Homestead was in the deep south and did things differently.

The last homestead came in. It was Pit Haven. Grandma Cherry Tart broke off to sit with Cherry Homestead.

Red jumped up. “YOU! THEY INVITED YOU!”

“WE ARE JUST AS PURE AS YOU ARE!” Cherry Virtue shot back. “WE TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH, BUT THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT WRONG!”

“YOU WOULD HAVE FAILED WITHOUT OUR HELP!”

Lance looked at Early Blossom and raised his eyebrow. Early Blossom mouthed “Let them get it out of their system.”

“ONE BLUNDER, ONE NEED, DOESN’T QUALIFY AS FAILING!”

“IT TOOK CHERRY JAM JOINING TO MAKE A SUCCESSOR!”

Swift Harvest wasn’t going to take that. “TAKE THAT BACK! YOU ARE INSULTING ME AND MY WIFE! RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!”

Red growled. “YOU LOST YOUR ROOTS! YOU CAN’T BUILD THAT BACK!”

“WE TOOK THE RIGHT PATH FOR OUR COMMUNITY! YOU ARE THE ONE THAT HAD TO FRAGMENT ITSELF SO IT DIDN’T HAVE TO CHOSE ONE SUCCESSOR! AND NOW YOU HAVE A FIFTH!”

“HEY!” Cherry Tart yelled jumping up. “I LEFT TO FOUND A SUBSIDIARY! IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH SUCCESSION! AND I MARRIED ANOTHER HOMESTEAD! THINK ON THAT!”

“YOU CAN’T EVEN GROW YOUR HOMESTEAD!”

“WE HAVE ONE! SHADOW HEART WILL GROW UP TO TAKE ON THE FARM! OUR LEGACY IS SECURED! AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! JUST LIKE YOU!”

“WITH WHAT, SOME RANDOM PEGASUS WHO’S BLOODLINE CAN’T EVEN BE TRACED?”

Cherry Tart let out a maniacal laugh of power. “YOU WANT TO TALK BLOOD, EARLY BLOSSOM AND I HAD SHADOW HEART. IT IS OUR FOAL. BLOOD IS AS PURE AS EVER! BECAUSE!”

Cherry Tart slammed her hoof into her chest for effect. “WE HAD THE HONOR OF HAVING SHADOW FLARE AS OUR DONOR FOR ME! IT DOESN’T GET ANY PURER THAN THAT. IT IS A GREAT HONOR THAT HE GLADLY ACCEPTED. HE DIDN’T QUESTION IT. WE ASKED THE BEST PEGASUS FOR THE JOB, AFTER A LOT OF THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION. FOR THE SAKE OF SEMANTICS, THE CHERRY HOMESTEAD AND THE TURNIP HOMESTEAD MARRIED THEIR BLOODLINES!”

“MY FAMILY WILL LIVE ON! WE ARE NOT A BURDEN! WE ARE A REAL, FULL HOMESTEAD! AND WE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! WE ARE WORKING OUR ASS OFF FOR THE COMMUNITY TO ACCEPT US. AND WE ARE GAINING GROUND. ITS NOT JUST BECAUSE WE ARE FILLY FOOLERS. THEY ARE UNSURE WHAT TO DO WITH A HOMESTEAD COMING INTO THEIR COMMUNITY.”

“IT ISN’T BECAUSE OF THAT! YOU ARE FILLY FOOLERS. A BAD FARM. YOU ARE THE SECOND HOMESTEAD IN THE AREA!”

Lance wasn’t going to sit by at that. “THAT IS MY DAUGHTER! AND THEY HAVE MADE A BIGGER IMPACT THAT YOUR HOMESTEAD EVER HAS! TURNIP HOMESTEAD IS EXACTLY AS WE SHOULD BE! IT’S KNOWN AS A FRIEND. A PILLAR. BUT OUR HOMESTEAD ISN’T REMEMBERED AS A HOMESTEAD WITH POWER. THEIRS IS. AND AN ALREADY SOLID COMMUNITY GOT ROCKED HARD, BUT IS COMING BACK SWINGING, PRODUCING MORE TO PROVE THAT WE ARE THE BEST!”

Cherry Virtue waved off Lance. “WE ALL CAN’T BE THE ILLUSTRIOUS TURNIP HOMESTEAD. NEVER NEEDING ANYTHING, NOT EVEN A MARRIAGE. THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AS A HOMESTEAD.”

The entire Holly Bell Homestead table laughed, ending the yelling.

Grape Wing smiled, speaking quietly. “Lance Turnip married our daughter, Rain Jubilee. We need money and they needed fresh blood. All five of us Homesteads here have had to marry other Homesteads. It is how we keep things running.”

“There are 48 Homesteads and we have stayed strong together. Supporting each other when we need to. Be it finances, blood, or sweat; we support each other. Despite our differences. We do what needs to be done in our community. Be it focusing on the community growing a variety of food that can support itself, or leading by example on how to farm one crop. The Enclave is the way it is because of it and we are forging ahead, shaping it by how we handling farming. More so than their distribution system.”

“Damn Pit Haven,” Lance spat sitting down.

“Fuck Blood!” Cherry Virtue declared. “Your daughter can’t use her brother to bare foals! Who will she get? We won’t give it! Holly Bell can’t!”

“HEY!” Early Blossom yelled. “We have that taken care of. It isn’t something you need to worry about.”

“Your kids could marry each other!”

“Tart, hold Shadow Heart.” Early Blossom said passing their foal to Cherry Tart and standing up. “My donor is a highly respected Enclave officer, respected by Shadow so much that he asked. We couldn't ask for a better donor, even if you were the last Homestead standing! I know you have heard the rumors about Shadow.”

Cherry Virtue rolled his eyes and sat down.

“Now that things are quiet,” Lance announced, taking charge. They were the head table for a reason.

Lanced turned to the Council and opened the satchel Buck was keeping safe. “I present the Turnip Homestead’s book. In it’s entirety.”

The book was larger than most books. They were only halfway through it after thirteen generations. It was well worn, but built to be durable. The edges of the pages had seen better days. It was in good shape otherwise.

Red stood up as Lance sat down. “I present Cherry Homestead’s book. Book one. The book that was passed down to Star Harvest and Divine Cherry, the first born in the Cherry Family when the farm was split into it’s quarters. They were the successors. And our family is from it.”

Their book wasn’t as big, but it was as thick. It had weathered the ages almost as well as Turnip Homestead’s book.

Early Blossom stood, holding up their new book. “I present the Cherry Homestead’s fifth book, West Cherry Homestead: Filly Fooler Farm’s Homestead book.”

Their book was designed like the others, but fresh. The face had their farm’s symbol embossed in it. It was clear that a lot of money went into making their book.

“I present Holly Bell’s Homestead humble book,” Grape Wing announced as he stood up. Their book was hurting, obviously patched a few times.

Lawful Measure stood up. “I present the Council with the seven Homestead books for King Homestead. Book One, Two, Four and Six are the Pure Succession Line. Book Three is the Book for Subsidiary One, King Homestead: Wool. Book Five is Subsidiary Two, King Homestead: South. Book Seven is our newest Subsidiary Homestead founded a year ago, King Homestead: Cotton.”

Cherry Virtue stood up. His Homestead book was only slightly worn. “Pit Haven’s Recovery Homestead book. The original is in storage, falling apart. This Recovery Homestead book is a direct copy of the original and now contains the several generations after.”

“Another reason not to trust them,” Red jabbed.

“I will let that slide,” Cherry Virtue said through a clenched jaw. “They have no idea what is happening.”

“Yes,” Lance said, addressing the Council. “This is natural. We each have our heritages and ideologies about farming and the community. How we conduct our job varies. Turnip Homestead and King Homestead have no feuds or competitors, but many of the others started with the same crops or soon began to farm crops other Homesteads specialized in, and it gets complicated from there.”

“But!” Grandma Cherry Tart interjected. “We do not always let them get in the way of our duty. My sister sits behind me, with Pit Heaven. They needed a skilled cherry farmer, so it fell to my sister. She was the oldest. And it was at an age that would scare you. But she saved the farm. Duty first.”

Cherry Jam was grinning. “And it is a very good marriage. Very necessary for the Homestead. I love my husband. It was a joy raising the foals together. Even if one of them ran off to join the Enclave and captain a damn Cloudship.”

The Chief Counselor spoke up. “Our records on your marriages and interactions are spotty. We are not trying to fix that. We called you together because you five are the top when it comes to being a Homestead and remembering what your Duty is. We wish Wingspan Homestead, New Beginnings, and Raspberry Homestead could join us, but they are leading the reclouding of the Northern Farming District.”

“The truth is, we are having trouble in District Two, South Cloudsdale. Worse than Turnip Homestead’s assistance in Apple District. Thank you for that.”

“You almost had us branded and banished,” Black spat.

“And we are aggressively rectifying that,” Third Counselor stated. “However, reteaching them irrigation is simple compared to this issue.”

“Why are we needed?” Lance asked. “South Cloudsdale District has Savory Homestead, the first Homestead founded. It also has Pumpkin Homestead, Rainbow Homestead and New Life Homestead. Nearby is another twelve Homesteads that are leagues closer than even Holly Bell or King is!”

“You still remember what a Homestead’s Duty is,” Third Counselor stated.

“Why are we talking to you, wasting time?” Lawful Measure asked. “Lets go.”

The Chief Counselor was disturbed. “Its a complicated matter. We need to discuss it.”

“What is there to discuss?” Lex piped up. “We have our duty to aid them and the community however they need it. I am ready to do my duty, even if any of them need an experienced farmer.”

“What do you mean?” Seventh Counselor asked Lex.

“I’m fifth in the family. Diamond Dawn is finally married. I have always known I could be married to another Homestead. I won’t be staying at home, that is clear. There is more than enough at my home. You see my older siblings at this table. I will always be welcomed, but I will be leaving. And probably pretty soon”

“I question what you teach your foals,” Sixth Counselor stated, very concerned about what is proper and politically correct.

“It’s life,” Lex huffed. “Its duty. Honor. My job, even as young as I am.”

“It isn’t bad,” Rain Jubilee added. She still hadn’t acknowledged her family. “Many of us live good, happy lives. Full of joy and happiness, loved by our spouse and loving our spouse. I couldn’t of asked for a better partner than Lance. It was the best thing to happen to me.”

“That is pretty easy when you gained financial security,” Fifth Counselor stated. “I have those records. In your bank account, you have.”

Lance slammed his hooves on the metal table, silencing him. “Our finances are none of your business. Or anypony else!”

“That is a horrible thing to think,” Rain Jubilee chided the Counselor. “Holly Bell Homestead had financial problems. But it was unforeseen and unavoidable. Up until that year, we were financially stable and there was no gained security or anything. The marriage was being looked at beforehand.”

“Was your family sniping me?” Lance asked her.

“A little,” Rain Jubilee smiled at Lance. “But it was better than I ever could of hoped for.”

They stole a kiss.

“This has been painful,” The Second Counselor groaned. “And we had to listen to the Pillars of the Community.”

Second Counselor regretted his words immediately and the others were glaring at him.

“He has a point,” Chief Counselor stated. “This isn’t getting us to the heart of the issue.”

Lawful Measure snorted. “They are failing as a farming community with no strong Homestead to rally them. I know they didn’t have a good harvest and I assume it looks worse for this year because they lost control of themselves. What do you expect from a central, city district?”

“Go in, restart the farms and what it means to farm. If the Homesteads fails, so be it.”

“You will let a Homestead die!” Third Counselor objected.

“It might be too late,” Red stated. “It has been over two hundred years for all of the Homesteads. It has been a miracle we all are still here. The five of us have had our close calls. You can find them in our books.”

“We got this,” Lemon Burst the Tenth stated. “We will head there immediately and get started.”

“You won’t be flying there,” Fourth Counselor stated. “We have a Sky-tank on standby. You will be housed in it And two others will be there for housing as well.”

“It’s that bad?” Grape Wing asked.

“If we could take a bit and go over it,” Chief Counselor said, frustrated.

“No need,” Grape Wing replied. “Just didn’t expect to not be able to stay at the farms. But we won’t cause undo stress.”

“Alongside housing and food, you will be paid handsomely,” The Chief Counselor informed them.

“We are not doing this for bits,” Grape Wing spat. “Yes, compensation will be needed, but we are talking about our duty. The only reason you need to pay us is so we can help compensate from being away from our farms where our primary duty is. It takes a lot to help out a farm that can’t be there.”

They all agreed except Lance. It was a shock to the others.

“One condition,” Lance said stoically. “I want to see Shadow Flare’s records. All of them. Everything. Included the scraps of paper.”

“That is asking a lot,” Fourth Counselor stated. “His files are classified because of his job.”

Lance raised his eyebrow. None of them said anything else.

“Afraid to inform me my son is officially missing in action?”

“It is much more than that,” Fourth Counselor stated.

“Somepony fucked up,” Lance followed up.

“The investigation was closed,” The Chief Counselor stated, trying to get control of the room. “Nothing was found. Their mission was not mismanaged.”

“I trust you,” Lance shrugged. “I want to see it all. Everything. No matter how classified it is. I want to know what my son was doing before he disappeared without a trace.”

“You wouldn't dare walk,” Seventh Counselor said. “What about your duty?”

Black laughed loudly. “Our duty is first to our farms. If they are not stable, we can not help another farm. We will walk.”

“So will we,” Cherry Tart stated. “Shadow Flare is going to retire at our Homestead. He is the reason why we went with Filly Fooler Farm. He has a room waiting for him and his wife. Whoever she will be.”

“He married...”

Lance’s hooves came down on the table again, silencing the Council.

“Shadow Flare will make that introduction when the time comes,” Lance stated firmly. “Do we have a deal?”

“We will all walk,” Grape Wing stated. “Is this worth it for some simple records?”

“It’s not that simple,” Fourth Counselor stated. “The Command Sergeant Major was on a high profile mission. Few outside this room know what was happening. Fewer need to know. We are taking the appropriate actions to protect the Grand Pegasus Race. That is what matters.”

“King Homestead is out,” Lawful Measure said, packing up their books.

“Fine!” The Chief Counselor barked. “Fine. But they have to be read here. We can not let them outside of special, secure terminals.”

Lance just gave a silent nod. He turned to Black. “If we do not want to delay things, we should get reading immediately.”

“Right,” Black said standing up.

The Council had not seen how big Black was. They would have approached the situation differently if that had seen him walk in and matched that with his confidence. They hadn’t believed him when he said they would walk. It was now evident he only spoke when needed.

“It shouldn't take long,” Lance said to everypony. “Black and I will tackle it and then we will be on our way.”

“Do what you need to do,” Cherry Virtue said, smiling at Lance.

A sergeant was immediately there as they exited the Council Chambers to lead Black and Lance to terminals they could use.

“Rain,” Lance said. “Black and I will not leave until we have read everything. For the time being, stay with your family. Let the soldiers take care of us.”

Lance turned around and walked away. Black followed after him. There was no discussing the matter.

Rain Jubilee looked at her father for the first time in years. She wasn’t sure if she should smile or not. Or what to do. Grape Wing embraced her fully, even with his wings.

“It is good to see you,” Grape Wing said through watery eyes. “We are so proud of you. You are strong and have raised good, strong foals who have made a huge difference.”

The Council Chamber door’s closed.

Sixth Counselor spoke up. “Why do I feel like we got swindled? For the second time?”

“Because they twisted our wing,” Fifth Counselor growled.

“They didn’t mean to,” Third Counselor stated, defending them. “They shoot straight. They didn’t want to walk. They are ready to put everything into rebuilding the district.”

“It is a small thing they asked,” Fourth Counselor said. “We shouldn’t have hesitated to let a father read what his son was doing. Lance Turnip has already proven the caliber of a Pegasus he is, and that he won’t talk. I will be getting them a set of the Command Sergeant Major’s medals to take. A small pittance for their sacrifice.”

“They really believe he will come back,” Second Counselor said, amazed.

“I don’t get why they haven’t,” Fourth Counselor replied. “But the Lieutenant Commander believes he will. She has no doubt he will come back. I can’t believe she held off from killing Lieutenant Honey Bee. Twice.”

“Lieutenant Commander?” Sixth Counselor asked.

“Right,” Fourth Counselor nodded. “You don’t know. Its not a secret. But the Fleets are opening up some ranks and such. Same with the Aerial Combat Battalion. They go from Lieutenant to Captain. And for both, Captain is the head of the ship or Unit. So they are adding a few more ranks in between to reflect skill and better organize their soldiers. It makes their organization structure just like regular units, with some new rank names. Not a big deal.”

Lance and Black didn’t leave the terminals except to go to the bathroom for two days. They poured over every report. Every action made. They learned it all. The information would stay with them.

Lance saw a current photo of Cardinal Spitfire. He had seen her from when Shadow had visited and showed off the pictures. But Lance hadn’t committed them to memory. He knew she had married him from the letter, but He was unable to avoid the pictures because she was in too many of the early reports. He still looked forward to Shadow introducing her to the family.

When they were done reading, Lance had one more thing to do. He picked up the phone and called the Squad Barracks. He requested to speak to Marble Falls.

“Hello?” Marble Falls asked when she got to the phone.

“This is Lance, Shadow Flare’s father.”

“Sir, I wish I could get out and visit you.”

“It’s okay,” Lance replied calmly. “Do your duty. The letter was appreciated. Deeply appreciated. I have one question. When was Shadow and the other three declared MIA?”

“Uh,” Marble Falls groaned. “I am in the middle of training an Aerial Combat School, so my mind is slow outside of training stuff. We are in week...”

“Let me put it this way,” Lance said. “When did you find out the Inquisitors were MIA compared to the Pillars of the Community?”

“Uh,” Marble Falls stumbled. “Well, it was still fresh. Two days? No more than three.”

“I was afraid of that,” Lance replied.

“What do you mean?” Marble Falls asked. “And you said Inquisitors? I didn’t give you their team or operation name.”

“The Council needs us and four other Homesteads for a farming crisis,” Lance explained. “Part of the deal was to get to read all of their reports. Everything on Shadow.”

Marble Falls chuckled. “I guess you are this rumored Fifth Conclave. Although, that isn’t a conclave. I am surpassed they let you see it all.”

“One Homestead had declared they were walking out. Some of them may not of even heard his name, but they understood the importance. And we won’t be sharing this information outside of the immediate family that needs to know. The Council knows it. This is my burden to shoulder with my best friend Black, who was looking at everything with me. My family understands that. It is closure that I know, even if they do not.”

“Do you have any other questions?” Marble Falls asked.

“Wait,” Marble Falls said. “No, I read that list. Dream Catcher was one of the names. That was your daughter, Shadow's younger sister who looked up to him.”

“Yes,” Lance blankly stated. “It was.”

“I am so sorry. Losing both of them like that so close,” Marble Falls almost dropped the phone as the question lined up with everything and clicked in her mind. “Fuck. The case is closed. We can’t do anything. Nothing was found, but that explains why they never came back.”

Marble Falls was trying to not hyperventilate. “Shadow must be torn apart. He must be in so much pain. Finding her must have destroyed him. He won’t come back until he can figure out who is for him and who is against them.”

“I am certain they would be welcomed back, no questions asked. The Council would not charge them. They would bury it. The Council would never have given that order. That was a lower rank who didn’t see the scope of things.”

“No, the Council didn’t like the Pillars, but they conceded. They must have decided it was worth the risk. That perhaps they were wrong. Or it would at least get them more information below, not wiped out before they were even fully set up.”

“I can’t tell Cardinal Spitfire. She can never know. Not while Shadow is gone. When he comes back and confirms it, then okay.”

“You need to go back to training,” Lance stated calmly. “Make them better than Shadow so that we are safe. We need it. There are legitimate threats. I think I know you know that first hoofed.”

“Yes, there are real threats,” Marble Falls replied. “But you saw the full reports. You know the medals your son earned. It will be hard for me to forge any of these trainees or any others into the caliber of a soldier and Pegasus your son is. He didn’t set out to earn those.”

Lance cut her off with a chuckle. “When he was home, right before going below, I told him he could take a bullet and walk away, just like any of the strong farming pegasi in our community. He did it twice. At least!”

They laughed a bit.

Marble Falls sighed contently. “I really want to hear the full story on both of those. You can’t put that in the reports. It just isn’t needed. But I really want to know the raw details of what he did in Fillydelphia and Baltimare. And I doubt he walked away from Kifopiga without some injure that went unreported.”

“He will be back to tell those tales and more,” Lance assured her. “But they did give me his medals.”

“I am glad you got a set,” Marble Falls replied. “Cardinal Spitfire got the ones they were to present him with, but you having a full set is wonderful. Amazing. Special.”

“You have pegasi to train,” Lance stated. “And I have a bed on a Cloudship to find while we travel to our destination. We haven’t slept for three days. The past two have been combing through these records. Reading and rereading, committing it all to memory. We could only do it at two specific terminals, for understandable reasons.”

“You do not sound that sleep deprived,” Marble Falls stated. “I go downhill fast after 52 hours.”

“I have been forged into an expert on long days from many years of harvests, when there was no quitting. And you were not trying to understand what your son had been doing and why he disappeared. You will be able to go longer when you really need to.”

“Thanks,” Marble Falls replied. “I wish I could bear a foal. It’s not from lack of trying. When I took Shadow to Las Pegasus, I checked everything out. Thanks to your family, we will be heading there as soon as possible. It brought us hope. And then life pushed it further away.”

“I wish the best for you,” Lance yawned.

“Goodbye Lance. Thank you for all you do.”

“And thank you for all that you have done for Shadow, and Cardinal Spitfire.”

Lance hung up and nodded to Black. They were led out to a sky chariot which took them directly to the Cloudship. It was the one that had been circling over the city. They wasted no time in getting underway.

Rain Jubilee joined Lance in their room. She would lay down with him for a while. She had missed him. Catching up with family was amazing, but she missed Lance. He was her other half.

“I know that body language,” Rain Jubilee said as they laid down together. “There is something great weighing on your mind. More than just finding out about specifics in the records.”

“You don’t want to know,” Lance quietly said.

“Black isn’t going to be enough for this,” Rain Jubilee said cuddling up to Lance. “Its the plow situation all over again. Except this is worse. More pressing. We need to shoulder this together.”

Lance sighed. “I fear you are correct. I called Marble Falls, Shadow's trainer and friend, to confirm what I already guessed. She hadn’t guessed and she was so close to everything as it happened around her.”

“There is a good chance that the team Shadow was on was secretly sent, by their commanding officer and only him, to kill the Pillars of the Community.”

Rain Jubilee hugged closer to Lance.

“It,” Lance said slowly. “It explains why he hasn’t come back up. They don’t know who they can trust.”

Rain Jubilee lovingly wiped the tears from Lance’s eyes. “We know our son. If it happened, it was blind. He will figure things out. Just like your obstacle courses. Shadow will out think what that fucker did and come back. He is strong and tough. It is why they chose him. Dream Catcher would never blame him, neither will we. What matters is that we only lose one child, not two.”

Rain Jubilee shifted around and pulled Lance in tight, so he was in her full embrace, wings shielding him.

“You have done enough,” She whispered to him. “Protecting us. Rest in my wings. It’s time for me to care for you like you care for us all.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 82 - Deke Being Deke Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 22 Minutes