Page 3 of Reine's Salvation

Chapter Two

Reine pushed the door open. He blinked as he walked into the spacious room. The sharp contrast between one space and the other always made him stop in his tracks. The reception and the hallways of the Academy office building always reminded him of a stuffy old library or similar, but his boss’s office was radically different. A large window that looked out onto the Academy grounds infused the place with light. White shelves full of books lined both walls and a large desk made out of steel dominated the rest of the space. Behind it sat his boss, Aslan.

Having been a Guardian in his youth, Aslan inspired both fear and respect from those in the Academy. He was still fit, and though the steel in his blue eyes hadn’t lost any of its glimmer, his dark hair had begun to show gray strands. Students who enjoyed betting on the age of the staff members argued he was somewhere between forty and fifty. No one could say for sure, as he’d been at his post for as long as the most veteran teachers could recall.

“Close the door, and please, have a seat, Reine.”

Aslan motioned for him to sit in one of the uncomfortable-looking accent chairs in front of his desk.

“Is anything wrong?” Reine asked.

His boss didn’t reply. Instead, he crossed his hands over his desk and waited for him to sit. A feeling of dread rolled its way into Reine’s stomach. Fuck. This couldn’t be good. Reine sat down and waited for Aslan to begin.

“Reine, you’ve done a great job at the Academy this past year. We are proud to count you as a member of our staff.”

“But?”

“I’m not going to embellish it, soldier. You’re not well,” Aslan stated.

“I’m fine,” Reine said. He balled his hand into a fist at his side.

“You see a door and you become paralyzed.”

“That’s not true,” Reine argued.

Aslan visibly clenched his jaw.

“You stood at my door a full minute before you decided to knock, Reine.”

“I was collecting my thoughts,” Reine ground out the words. “Can’t a man think?”

“Yes, of course. Here at the Academy, as you well know, we encourage thought. However, yours have turned dark, Guardian.”

“What?” Reine asked, taken aback. How could they possibly know what he was thinking? Had they been watching him? Or had he perhaps failed to hide what he felt?

“Will you deny the flashbacks? The constant memories that don’t let you sleep? The emotions you can’t control?”

Reine squared his shoulders. He would not allow Aslan to intimidate him.

“I have been grieving, yes, but it has not stopped me from doing my job,” Reine said.

“Perhaps not now, but it will eventually. Your grief sees no end. You are angry and bitter, Reine.” Aslan raised his hand, quieting him with the gesture. “Or will you deny you have refused to be with others? That at the minimum provocation you snap? Even now as we speak, do you think I don’t notice your clenched fist? If you could, you would attack me.”

“But I haven’t.”

Aslan laughed. “That’s because you’re still in control of a part of you. It’s also why we want to send you on a mission.”

“What?” Reine asked. His brow furrowed in confusion and he leaned forward in his chair. “You’re telling me I can’t do my job because I am bitter and angry, and you’re sending me on a mission. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“What doesn’t make any sense is for you to be here, remembering, having nightmares, and constantly reliving the pain, unable to move forward. Our numbers dwindle every day. You’re a Guardian and we need you, Reine.”

“I can’t fight anymore.” Reine pointed out, lifting what remained of his right arm so Aslan could see.

“You could if you wanted to and we both know it.”

“Sure, if I wanted to go into a suicidal mission and be a burden for everyone else on the team.”

“You know how to fight with your left, and you just need extra practice.” Aslan closed his right hand into a fist and opened his left, palm up. “We’ve all been trained in using our weapons with both hands.”

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