MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
"Nevan... I'm not afraid to die with you. But Leo... he deserved a garden. He deserved a school."
Nevan looked at our son, then at the jagged stump of his sword. He stood up, his legs shaking, and walked to the edge of the obsidian island. He looked out into the void, his eyes searching the dark for something that didn't exist.
"He's a Lane," Nevan said, his voice dropping into a low, determined growl. "And I'm a Shield. We don't die because the oxygen runs out. We die when the mission is over. And the mission isn't over until he's home."