“I just don’t know what to do. I am just so happy that you all are back with us.” Miza said. “This has been the most stressful year and a half ever.”


    “But not too terrible.” Alex glanced at Valon and then looked back over to the boy.


    “No, Alle. We’ve been doing pretty well. I will brief you and Akierda. This is Tyler, our missing nest-mate. We discovered him here. He goes to school with Justin and Miza. We’ve been slowly teaching him what he needs to know, but this is a complex situation, so we have not revealed everything. I think that right now, it is crucial to figure out our next steps.” He turned to Tyler. “This is one of those things that we can’t share with you just yet. We have a lot to hash out and I don’t know what is sensitive information or not. You don’t need to leave, of course, but we are going to hunker down in the study to chat.”


    Tyler took a deep breath to ease his tightening throat and the knot in his chest. He knew he still had to earn his place in the nest when it came to sensitive information. It had already been explained that new trainees in the faction or her primary protection crew didn’t get every piece of information when it came to protecting Miza, just the need to know.


    “Yeah, brother, no problem. I’ll hunker upstairs until it''s time for me to get home. I still have homework since some little miss likes to distract me.” He said while giving Miza a big squeeze that startled a giggle out of her.


    “Wait, he doesn’t live here. How -” Alex was interrupted.


    “That is just one of the many complications of this world. That is also why we kept him out of the loop as much as appropriate. It''s currently the safest route until we can start connecting to the safety cells. Let’s move this to the study.” Valon urged.


    Miz stood, giving Tyler a quick peck on his lips before grabbing onto Alex’s arm, chattering as they walked towards the study.


    He turned to take the few dirty cups to the dishwasher and put away the fruits when he realized Akierda had not followed the rest of them.


    “D-Did you need something? I don’t know where a lot is, but I can probably help.” He falter under the other boys scrutiny watching as the boy looked him up and down as if unimpressed.


    “No, I’m all good.” He said and walked off.


    “Um, Okay.”


    ~


    “ You really managed to pull off the story that you are her parents. Justin has been pretending to be her brother. What?” Alex asked.


    “It works,” Donte said, clearing his throat.


    “And you expect me to pretend to be your adopted kid.” Akierda clarified, scowling.


    “Yeah. We have to explain some of the educational discrepancies. So, being newly adopted from another country would explain 1) any hardship you have in social adjustments since you were just getting specialized training before we left, 2) explain why you may not quite be at their minimum standards, and 3) cover why we suddenly have a third child.” Valon replied, causing Akierda to roll his eyes.


    “I don’t have a problem with the fact that I am stupider than Miza or Jus. We all know the standard of education where I am from was not the same, but you want me to pretend my girlfriend is my sister.” He commented, annoyance clear as he stood slumped against the wall with his arm crossed.


    “Just publicly. And just for now. I think coming out needs to be strategic. We are planning a career in entertainment for Miza. It’ll keep her in the public eye, make Mark Anthony have to think about immediately killing her and give us easier access to connections. This world does non-monogamy, but it''s still kind of iffy. I think we need more time to make relationships and network before any of the other relationships come out because everything will be scrutinized. Especially because laws here are different. Integration is a bit more complicated.” He attempted to reason with Akierda. “All we need is for one of us older ones to slip up, and people read it correctly but assume we are a pedophile abusing her. Battling social services will not be a good entry into The Unveiling.” Valon counseled.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    “I did some research on the similarities and differences between concepts they have that are similar to what we practice. I really understand why Queen Kathreen was adamant about having that law passed. Comparably the fact that only nobles in our culture have marriage alliances across ages is different, but we all know most of them are not our choices, but some of the stories I read were really horrifying. You know, in the US, it still happens despite the laws because they hide the marriages and don’t legally document them until they are the age of consent. I’d rather explain our culture in a forum we choose than pick that battle of being caught up in that mess or reinforcing some of the stigmas queer men face in this society. It won''t be the end of the world, just inconvenient.” He stated, attempting to reassure the boy. Akierda sucked his teeth, frustration evident from his lack of reply.


    “ Kierda, J and I have been making it work. I promise it will be fine.” Valon told him.


    “But this Tyler guy gets to be her boyfriend in public.” Akierda clarifie. Valon looked to Donte and Miza with concern before responding.


    “He is known. His parents have a decent reputation as middle-class individuals in this city in their prospective fields. He is decently popular at school for a boy who focuses on his education primarily. His academic track is helpful. Until she is 18, he’s pretty perfect. She’s not even 15 yet. People will question their relationship if they figure out her age, but they are classmates. Their relationship is the safest one we have right now. Also, Justin is going to blow our cover because he is constantly jealous. Miza is pretty popular at school. We need a public person. Ok, I think we dragged this out enough. Unless there is an actual flaw in this plan rather than just discomfort, this is the best plan we have to carry out the mission. Okay?” Valon said sternly.


    “Yeah, fine,” Akierda replied emotionlessly.


    “We just need to figure out something for you and Lihte, Alle. Do you want to go to school, Lihte?” Valon asked the younger man.


    “I am not particularly fond of the idea,” Lihte replied.


    “ Since you are already 18, I can hire you on at my security company then.” Lihte nodded in acceptance.


    “I actually have an idea, Valon, for me if you would consider it. If you remember, one of the things I did before we left was lecture at various universities. We can attempt a little risk. The school they are attending has an empty literature spot that is a Fellowship position with the university. They haven’t found a professor who can accommodate the school schedule without compromising their general admission course load. If our man here can help with some paperwork, I can attempt to apply and explain the special circumstances. I have a few connections that might be risky to reach out to for a reference, considering Mark Anthony is probably watching them. But again, if we are future planning, applying my job back home here, would help.”


    “Don?”


    “Unless we stay completely silent, then there will always be risk. We may need to talk to the Headmistress and the President of the university. It might be time to throw money at the situation. Which means we need to gather some of our other assets and that I need to get to work. Val set a meeting with the Headmistress. I’ll tap into some of my old business partners and set something up for next week.” Donte instructed him.


    “That covers the work we need to do now, but onto what I learned. I know everyone is aware we lost The Academy, but that is the one thing we need. The Academy was ours. That was Miza’s power that shaped it for almost a decade. All Lestanians are our people, but those are OUR people. If we take it back, we remove Mark Anthony’s easy access to this side of the veil. We prep everyone and initiate the unveiling from an educational perspective. It can be quiet. A cult following of history professors and nerds are already searching for the mythical Academy. Henri made it inside. If he is still alive, he can confirm who, if anyone, is meeting with the current Academy Master. That will tell us the timeline we have to work with.”


    “We don’t have all of our people. I don’t have an army.” Valon said.


    “Well, Val. It looks like this is about to become an official base, and recruitment is about to start.” Miza finally spoke up. “We’ve been focused on keeping me safe, but I’m not as defenseless as I used to be. My powers are working. With a little more focus, we can probably start tracking the safety cells. I know that when the Academy was compromised, we didn’t implement regular safety protocol, but maybe its time to work on seeing if some of our people are in the planned locations and then seeing if we can track the ones that moved.”


    “You are right. It''s time to use your power as the advantage we have. There are more of us, so your circle is better protected. Let’s work on breaking the seal we put on you and then make a plan to take back The Academy.”


    “Hopefully we can finish recon before school starts back. There is no point in starting right before the break, so be prepared to work.” Donte said.


    “Roger, brother.” They all responded in unison.


    ~