Taboo Online

Lauren’s head turned sharply toward him. "You decided that quickly."

"The Bureau knows you. They’ll listen to you before they listen to me."

"That is not the same as saying I’m better suited for it."

"You are."

Lauren adjusted her hold on him, forcing him to meet her instead of looking at the system window.

"Or you’re choosing the side where the Heartroot might fail because you would rather put yourself in danger than wait somewhere you can’t protect me."

Luke opened his mouth, then stopped.

The accusation bothered him because it was close enough to the truth.

"I’m not trying to decide for you," he said after a pause. "I’m thinking about what happens when someone has to explain this to Red Hound. You can speak to the Bureau without making them think an army is about to come through."

"And you think I should be the one standing in front of armed heroes while carrying something they don’t understand."

"I think they trust you more."

"You think you can survive whatever happens here better than I can."

Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

Iris kept one hand near Kellan’s lifeline while she looked between them.

"You’re both afraid of what happens on the side you can’t see," she said. "That doesn’t help us choose. Earth needs someone who can establish the mark and deal with the Bureau. This side needs someone who can keep the source alive. Which of you can actually do those jobs?"

Luke looked toward the central tree. "Lauren’s visions could warn everyone if the transfer starts going wrong."

"I have almost no mana left," Lauren said. "And you just developed the only healing skill the Heartroot has recognized."

"I can’t use Lifeblade again."

"Not now. You can recover while we prepare the transfer, and you’re standing inside the strongest source of living mana left in Lethariel."

Aelira considered that before speaking.

"Lifeblade separated the decay from my mana channels and restored their natural flow. If the source connection begins failing in a similar way, Luke may be able to repair it."

"May?" Luke asked.

"I will not claim knowledge I do not possess. If the source begins failing, the Heartroot can form another living blade for you. I cannot promise Lifeblade will recognize the core as a valid target, but it is the only skill we possess that has already cleared corruption from living mana channels."

Rhea folded her arms, though exhaustion made the motion slower than usual. "Earth needs Lauren. The Bureau already knows her, and she can explain what the Heartroot is before someone decides to attack it."

She nodded toward herself.

"I can confirm the military threat, the number of survivors, and the condition of the Ruinborn. This side keeps the person whose class just learned how to repair living mana."

Lauren gave a small nod. "That is the practical choice."

Luke remained quiet.

He pictured Lauren waking on Earth with the living mark in her hands. Bureau personnel would surround her before she fully recovered. Red Hound might listen, but other officials would see an unknown magical object and want it contained, scanned, or taken away.

Luke would be trapped here, unable to step between them.

A few days earlier, that thought would have ended the conversation. He would have refused, even if everyone around him told him he was wrong.

Lauren lifted his hand and pressed it against her cheek.

"You spent this entire battle telling Aelira to stop carrying everything alone," she said. "You watched Dorian move his line because the people behind him mattered more than the ground beneath it. You cannot ask everyone else to trust their allies and then decide I’m only safe when you’re beside me."

Luke’s thumb moved across her skin.

"I trust you."

"I know."

"I don’t trust everyone waiting on Earth."

"Then trust me to handle them."

He looked toward Rhea.

The shield bearer held his gaze. "I stay with her until the destination is secure. No one takes the mark, moves it, or touches its roots without understanding what it does."

Luke breathed out slowly through his nose.

The tightness in his hand eased, though he did not release Lauren.

"All right. You take the mark."

Her shoulders lowered a little. "All right."

"I still hate it."

"I know you do."

Rhea turned toward Aelira. "Before either of them finds a new reason to start again, show us what we’re carrying."

Aelira placed one hand against the terrace. The silver bark opened beneath her palm, revealing a slender branch wrapped around a pale green core.

It was no longer than Lauren’s hand. Tiny roots shifted beneath its surface, curling around one another as they searched for soil.

"The destination mark," Aelira said.

She reached for it, but pain caught beneath her ribs. Her hand stopped halfway there, and the Thornmender steadied her before she could fall forward.

Lauren crouched and accepted the branch with both hands.

The small roots brushed across her skin and paused. Green light passed beneath the surface of the branch, answering the faint elven mana already woven through Lauren’s blood.

Once the Heartroot recognized her, the roots curled securely around her fingers without piercing them.

The bond between Lauren and Luke pulled tight enough to make both of them inhale.

[Destination mark accepted.]

[Destination bridge anchor confirmed: Lauren.]

[Source bridge anchor confirmed: Luke.]

Luke stared at the messages. "It made the choice before we finished."

Aelira’s tired gaze moved between them. "The Heartroot recognized Lauren’s connection to its living roots and the task your class may perform here. It chose according to what each of you can carry."

Lauren held the branch carefully against her chest. "What do I do once I’m back?"

"Find healthy soil and place the mark inside it. Allow the roots to take hold, then remain beside it until the Heartroot begins crossing."

"And Luke?"

"He stays here with one hand against the central core. Your bond will keep the path open between both worlds."

Luke looked at the fading pulse beneath the terrace. "How long do we have?"

Aelira closed her eyes.

The silence lasted long enough that several nearby elves leaned closer, waiting for her answer.

"Long enough to try once."

The return window opened beside Lauren and Rhea.

[Return to Earth available.]

[Additional awakened travelers may accompany the destination bridge anchor.]

[Only the bonded destination bridge anchor may establish the living mark.]

[Warning: The destination bridge anchor will be unable to re-enter Lethariel until the transplantation attempt ends.]

Lauren read the warning, then looked at Luke.

Neither spoke immediately. She still held his hand, but the bond between them had already begun to feel stretched around the living mark.

Lauren stepped closer and rested her forehead against his.

"When I plant it, answer me through the bond," she said quietly. "I don’t care whether it’s a word or only a pulse. I need to know you’re still here."

Luke’s fingers tightened around hers. "I’ll answer."

She remained against him.

"Luke."

He knew she wanted more than a quick reassurance.

"I’m staying beside the core," he said. "I won’t leave it, and I won’t waste what strength I have left trying to follow you. When the bridge opens, I’ll be waiting."

Lauren released the breath she had been holding.

Rhea stood beside the return light and gave them the privacy of looking elsewhere. Behind her, Iris checked Kellan’s bandage again, while Dorian watched the sealed approaches with both injured arms held close to his body.

Lauren kissed Luke gently.

She did not tease him afterward or try to hide her worry behind a smile. Her fingers remained against his cheek when she pulled away.

"Make them understand," Luke said.

"I will."

Lauren stepped toward the light, then stopped before entering it.

She looked back once.

Luke stood beside Aelira with one hand braced against the terrace. His legs were shaking again, and exhaustion had left his face pale, but he did not ask her to stay.

Lauren gave his hand one final squeeze before letting go.

Holding the destination mark against her chest, she entered the return light with Rhea beside her.

The column closed.

Luke felt their partner resonance stretch across the space between worlds. It thinned until only a faint thread remained, so weak that he had to close his eyes to find it.

He lowered himself beside the central core and pressed his palm against the living wood.

The thread trembled once beneath his touch.

"Make room for us," he whispered.