Page 72 of Hybrid Heroics

“It was the right thing to do,” Palmer told me. “But don’t do it again.”

“Anything else you guys don’t want me doing while I’m in the mood to let you boss me around?” I mused.

My mage narrowed his eyes as if I had issued him a direct challenge. I smirked, tempting him to start shit.

“Yeah,” Novak drawled. “Next time, put someone in charge, and not me.”

“No.”

“Just… No?” Briggs asked, perplexed by my single word response.

“I trusted you to figure things out,” I explained. “And you did. I went into that stasis without fear because I knew you could handle everything on this end.”

York nodded. “You’re right. We did handle it, but it took us a minute to find our bearings. Honestly, I’m a bit shocked that you gave up that much control so soon.”

“I needed you to have faith in me, too,” I whispered, knowing he understood.

“You’ve grown,” he confirmed.

I smiled softly. “We’ve all grown.”

“I don’t want to grow anymore for a while,” Briggs grumbled. “We got a first-hand glimpse at the weight you carry, and I can’t figure out how you never buckle under the pressure.”

“It’s fucking heavy,” Novak muttered in agreement. “Protecting yourself and us and everyone else…”

“I get it,” Vaughn assured me. “We get it now. We’re not glass; we’re players on the all-star team.”

“I’m happy that you’ve finally realized we’re equals on the field.”

My druid frowned. “We may be equals on the field, but you’ll always carry more because of who you are. You’re a mix of everyone and everything. You’re the devil and the angel, the wolf and the vampire… We carry individual pieces; you carry the whole pie.”

“She’s the fucking plate in that analogy,” Briggs commented.

“No,” Stone disagreed. “She’s the godsdamned table. We all bring something to her to hold.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about being compared to dishes and furniture,” I declared. “I understand the analogy, though.”

“I thought I understood,” Palmer claimed. “But I didn’t until you weren’t here. Until we had to protect you, and we didn’t know what we were up against. But you never really know what we’re up against either, do you?”

I smirked, caught between making a joke or being honest. “No.”

“Yet you handle it all,” Stone added. “And still manage to be good to other people and take care of them, even when you would rather not.”

“I am who I am,” I responded with a shrug, stroking the sleeping puppy in my lap. “I’ve never wanted to be anyone else, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exhausting. Even when I’m feeling catty or bitchy or crazy, it still has to be done.

“I had to sacrifice a lot, or a lot was sacrificed on my behalf, for me to be the way I am today. I love my parents, but I didn’t have a regular upbringing by any means. They knew this was going to happen, and they raised me with that in mind. There were no movie nights or sleepovers. I skipped the adolescent stage and went straight to doing adult things at a young age.

“The world was placed on my shoulders to carry, and while I can bear the weight alone, I haven’t been totally on my own. Once this war with Alric is over, I’ll still carry the weight. It won’t go away. But I’m okay with that as long as I can do it my way.”

Novak grinned, though eyes held an odd reverence. “Yeah. Well, here’s your sheriff’s badge back.”

He pretended to toss something my way, and I mockingly caught it, sticking it to my chest.

“That star is fucking heavy,” he told me. “I don’t mind helping you lift a corner, but for Devil’s sake, Trouble. I’m not that fucking strong.”

“I wouldn’t expect anyone to carry it on their own,” I whispered.

“Yet you do it?” Palmer challenged.