The self-possessed young man standing in front of me had grown up fast over too short a period of time. No one had given him a choice, either. For the two of us, the past three months had been one deal-with-it-or-die moment right after another. Piaras had faced and fought things that would have sent most kids his age scrambling under their beds. To make it even worse, he was in nearly as much danger from Sarad Nukpana as I was. The bastard knew how much I loved Piaras; knew it and wouldn’t hesitate to use him to get to me.

Piaras’s dream had been to become a Guardian, and here he was in the uniform and armor of a cadet. In my opinion, he should have been on one of the ships trying to evacuate the other students from the island before the goblins invaded.

I stared up at him. “Come to see me off before you get your butt on an evac ship?”

“Yes and no.”

“‘Yes’ you’re getting on that ship, and ‘no’ you’re not here to see me off, right?”

“Reverse them.”

“Dammit, Piaras. I—”

“Paladin Eiliesor gave us all the choice. I chose to stay.”

“You should be on a ship.”

“I’m needed here.”

From most kids his age, those words would come off sounding stubborn. From Piaras, it was steadfast and decisive. I knew I wouldn’t be able to change his mind, but if he wasn’t going to be stubborn, I would.

I lowered my voice. “And I need you alive. While I’m in Regor I need to know you’re safe.”

“Raine, I’ve already reported for duty—”

“Then un-report.” The vehemence in my voice surprised even me.

“You’re not un-reporting.” There was no accusation in his voice; he was simply stating a fact.

“Regor is the last place I want to go, but I don’t have a choice. You do.”

“You have a choice,” Piaras said. “You’re going because you couldn’t live with yourself if you didn’t go. You know you can help, so that’s what you’re going to do. Same with me. What I’d really like is to hide under my bed in the barracks, close my eyes, and have every last bit of this crap go away. But that’s not going to happen, so here I am.”