Peter walked into the library of the Hale castle, and he looked at his sister as she worked on the map that was needed. There was not a lot of time to move, and despite knowing that everything was going to go to shit, he knew that they needed to protect themselves. Riorson had made two prongs to go forward, knowing that he was going to die and things were going to go to shit.

The people of Navarre were sheep, and Riorson had been right that the country's leadership was all cowards. No one was being trusted, and Peter knew that. They needed to get all of these things into an area where no one would be able to find them.

"What do you think will happen now?" Peter asked.

"I think that the King has made an enemy he will never be able to do much with. Xaden knows it all and has a path his father put him on. We have our own path that will be watched little. Melgren can't watch everyone all the time. It's impossible. We have no idea what the rebellion relics will end up doing to the kids. There is a lot to be said for what happened to make it, but I think it was insane to do it."

"Why?" Peter asked. He stopped at where his sister was making notes on the map. It was the one that they had used to keep track of the Venin as they sought power and destroyed life outside of the wards. It was going to get them killed if anyone found it. The good thing was that the protected room was close to where they were, so it would be easy to chuck everything in there if the King's men came to search for anything to make sure that they were not part of the Rebellion.

"I think there will be other issues that come from that, and it'll make everything worse down the road. I also dislike the fact that they killed the parents in front of the children. Some of those children are babies. I would never want any of my children, even as adults, to see me put to death. We cannot stop what is coming, but all we can do is make sure that it happens the way it's supposed to. Are you okay with getting your own riot?"

"I am. I have my eyes on a few people, and in the end, I know that Stiles and Cora are going to figure things out before the end of their final year at Basgiath. They will never believe the lies once we get into the things, and it's best to have them under my control."

"And who else?"

"It's been long enough that pulling Diaz and Buck into the group won't be an issue. No one will look at it wrong at all. I had my eyes on Buck until that point. Adair dying set me back on the plans, and I hate what it did for the Rebellion, but they all died without giving up the secret of us. We have to live by that as well. Then, when Stiles and Cora graduate, I'll get them into the group. The long and slow game is going to work the best, and we both know that."

Peter had nearly been found, and he knew that would have put everything at risk, but in the end, it had paid off because he had been able to make sure that a few people escaped when it was possible. He had made sure that a few other assets lived instead of being put to death. More bodies were not sure how this war would be won once they started to fight the correct war.

"Stiles is going to be the one who is the most pissed. Cora's smart enough and saw enough that I think she knows that Fen was here a lot," Talia said.

Peter started to gather the last of the books from the shelves and put them into the room before turning back to take the map from Talia's hands. There would just be a lot of talk for a while, no notes anywhere unless they were in the room. It was warded to hell and back, and no one could get inside unless they were Peter or Talia's blood. If Peter ever had a child, they could get in. Not even Gregory could get inside of the room. He couldn't even open it.

"We need to make sure that everything is safe," Talia said.

"Agreed. We can have Gregory go through the room when he's done with his shift in the hospital. We can make sure that no one will know."

It had only been two weeks since the death of the last of the Rebellion that Navarre knew about. There was a lot of time to work to make sure that things didn't blow up in their faces, but Peter wanted to have better than that.

---

Three Years Later

Orders were always iffy, and while Peter had a lot of clout, pulling in four new Riders into his group and the ones that were the tops of their classes was like moving parts on a battlefield. He had been shocked not to get a visit from Stiles in person since it was well known that he was at the college to pull his new people in as soon as they graduated. There was no time between them graduating and then moving to Hale Castle.

Talia was elsewhere, settling in where it was better use of her and her connections. The way that the Hales had been able to help with everything as much as possible without Xaden finding any of it out was working in their favor.

"Peter," Stiles said as he came through the door to Peter's room and shut the door. He looked at Peter with a wicked grin on his face.

There were a lot of interesting things about Stiles that Peter was pretty sure would get him in trouble for thinking. Cora was protective of her boyfriend.

"Marbh is not with the rest of the dragons."

"Excuse me?" Peter asked. He wasn't sure what kind of non-sequitur that was, but he had no idea what was up.

Seconds later, Stiles dropped a rune-marked stone onto the desk, and even Peter could feel the power of it. Runes were not something that many here at Basgiath knew. Peter knew that Stiles had been teaching himself a lot of things.

"I said Marbh is not with the rest of the dragons."

"And I care about this. Why?" Peter tried to remember who the Dragon named Marbh was.

"Brennan Sorrengail's Dragon did not come back after he was killed."

Peter sat back, and he looked at Stiles. There was too much in that mind that Peter wanted and needed in his group, but he also knew that things would be on a knife's edge once the truth was there for Stiles.

"And?"

"And that means that Marbh isn't seeking shelter with anyone. There is no one else for him to be but at Basgiath. So where is he?"

"Stiles."

"I already know about the Venin, okay? I know about a lot of secrets that I know you know as well. Your and Derek's little group can try to hide all you want from Cora and me, but I know. I know what's out there. I know what we are being lied to about. It's been a hell of a lot of dancing around things, but at least Cora and I haven't been dating anyone else or doing anything like that."

"You and Cora aren't dating?"

"That's my sister, sir," Stiles said before he laughed. "Sorry, that was a joke. No, really, I have no feelings for her beyond what I'm sure Derek feels for her. I love her like I love Derek. I can't say I love Laura. I love Spencer. Still, no, there is nothing sexual there at all. Why?"

"The family thinks you are dating. Laura especially. She's going to push Cora to ask you to marry her and start to work on the babies that Laura thinks are needed to keep the family going."

"Ew. No. Nope, nope. Fuck that shit. Now to something less fucked up. Brennan has to be alive."

"That's impossible. We all know what happened there. I was there, Stiles. I was at the battle. He died."

"Where is the body? Left there and burned with the others? Did you see the body long after he was dead?"

Peter looked at Stiles and tried to figure out when he had lost grasp of Stiles' intelligence. "And it was thought it would be better for you to go into the Scribes. You would have burned that place to the ground. I have heard nothing about Brennan still being alive, but we can work on trying to figure that out. How did you know that I knew?"

"The visit I had at the castle two months ago when we were doing the battle. I found the hidden room, not what was in it, but that there was one. Then I found a few things in the Archives that told me a few other things that I needed to know, especially the connection between Gregory and Fen."

Peter swallowed as he had never counted on someone finding that. He had made sure it was wiped from most books a long time ago, a little damage here and there on Archive books, and the connection between Gregory Riorson and Gregory Hale was long gone. Most assumed that Gregory Riorson was dead, but the cousin of the leader of the Tyrrish Rebellion would have been hunted down and killed. Then that would have put all of the Hales on the chopping block as well.

"I forgot how you can be without sleep."

Peter looked at the door, thinking about what he wanted to do. Stiles smiled as he stood up from the seat and headed around the desk. He moved like he had a plan in his head, and for a few seconds, Peter thought that maybe the little spark was on both sides, but when Stiles sat down on the edge of the desk, Peter squashed that thought in his head. There were not a lot of things to think about with the flight leathers that Stiles was wearing.

"I made a deal with Cora and Derek before I ever set foot on the Turret."

"What deal?"

"That I would try and figure out what I wanted before I decided on anything else in the world. Then, if what I wanted before becoming a Rider was what I still wanted after graduation, I would be allowed to do it."

"And that is?" Peter asked.

It was only seconds later that Stiles was moving again, sitting astride Peter's lap. Peter reached up and cupped Stiles' face before Stiles could second guess himself. Peter didn't leave Stiles a bit of quarter as he kissed him. It felt a little like heaven.

Peter had wanted Stiles since training him to become a Rider. There had been nothing else that Peter wanted, but he had long ago decided that he wouldn't have what he wanted in the world as long as Venin was still around. There was no one for him like there was for Talia. Gregory was more than willing to give up his life to make sure that they were able to do what they wanted.

"You wanted me?" Peter asked when he broke the kiss to gulp in a few breaths.

"Before that, actually, but then it was just lust. Then, when you were training me, your intellect and just how you are drew me in. I was in love, but there was no way anyone would think anything good of something between us if we started something back then."

"Agreed. Still, that doesn't mean you still feel that."

"Every single time I've seen you since I entered the quadrant has made my heart ache. Then today, when I saw you flying in and landing to watch it all, I knew. I knew without a doubt." Stiles laid his head on Peter's forehead and smiled as Peter pulled him in a little further. There were a lot of things that Peter wanted to do, but the room wasn't secure enough for that, and while it was Talia's office and now his, he wasn't going to risk that.

Peter wanted to take his time, and that would wait until he was back at the castle with Stiles and Cora and their Dragons. The castle would fit the team and their things well enough. Peter wouldn't care too much about the Scribes, Healers, and Infantry men and women. They would get where they needed to go, but Peter would fly back with the new two and then send Derek out to escort the new people back to the castle. There were a lot of things that needed to be taken care of before Peter could leave.

"I heard a rumor that Talia is out somewhere else, and you have control of Hale Castle."

"I do. I'm the one in charge now, and the team will have a few people with it, but mostly, it'll be just all of us."

"Derek's with you, right? He got a shady posting, and then he was silent."

"Yes, you'll get a shady posting as well. I thought that it was better to get Diaz and Buckley before we pulled Derek and Cora in. This place isn't safe."

"No, I bet not. So, how are things?"

Peter glared at Stiles but didn't push him off his lap.

"I'm fine. Now, you need to-"

"Already done. There are packs ready for Bàs to carry to where we are going. Speur refused to bring anything of Cora's along, and we knew we would want things."

"I heard about your Dragon. He's a little spitfire, isn't he? I'm shocked that Tairn let him out to play."

"It was Codagh who let him out. I am not unhappy about it. It wasn't like there was a reason to keep back. I know that there are not a lot of Black Dragons out there, but in the end, they do what they want. I was intelligent enough for him. If he had been old enough before, I figure that he would have bonded with you, and I might have ended up with Clea."

"I'm quite happy with Clea. You will have to introduce me to him. I am not sure that I ever met him, even when I was going to talk to other Dragons over the years."

"Clea will love him. Bàs is still kind of getting used to it all. I'm his first Rider, as you know." Stiles shifted on Peter's lap and then he smiled before darting in for a simple kiss before he scooted back to sit on the desk again. "How do you feel about heading out to take a flight tonight? It'll get them used to each other. Speur might even join us. Cora doesn't like flying for the sake of it."

"No, she never did. Let's do it. We can head out when the sky starts to darken. I'll make sure that we are set to leave as soon as I can. I will be leaving with you. Derek will be happy not to be in charge."

"So, Diaz...Adair was Dàrna's Rider before, and things were a little strange on that death. Was Adair one of ours?"

"Yes. Diaz lucked into all of this, and it was made in heaven, as it were. He had been good at what we are doing, especially in the wake of the Rebellion being squashed."

"The kids...I threw up when I heard about that. Talia didn't agree with anything that happened with that, but the only good thing was that General Sorrengail also made it well known that she didn't like that."

"Oh, it's more than you can even think. You know about the whole; there can be no more than three marked ones together, right?"

"Yes."

"Melgren cannot see them when they are like that."

Stiles looked surprised. "Xaden Riroson is going to be heading to Basgiath soon."

"Yes, he will be, and I think it's going to change a lot of things, but we have always worked apart. I am not even sure that Xaden knows anything of this. He's never tried to get a hold of Gregory or tried to act like he knows us. Fen died with that knowledge, but we were always his ace up his sleeve, beyond what happened when the parents of the kids all died."

"That was...Fen was smart, but Navarre was too many, and not enough knew. We will have to make plans to reveal it all to get what we need and make everyone want the end that is fighting with the others to make the world safe."

Peter knew he would need to confide everything in Stiles because there was no way he was going to let this go. Talia had thought the same thing, that once he knew a little, Stiles would not stop until he knew it all. There was a lot that could be said for people like Stiles who needed to know it all, but Peter knew that Stiles was also strong.

"Let's go before I decide that we are going to fuck her and now."

"I like sex, and I'm not going to be a blushing bride who doesn't think that sex should be on the table until marriage. No, we will do the nasty as much as possible once we are at Hale Castle. Not here."

Peter stood up, and he stepped between Stiles' spread-open legs. He leaned in and kissed Stiles, letting him know every single ounce of what Peter was feeling at that moment. There were times when this was the best way for Peter to really make someone understand him.

"Agreed."

---

Peter heard the knock, and he hated it. He looked down at where Stiles was sprawled on his front, his head on the pillow beside Peter's. It was adorable and something that Peter really hadn't gotten used to yet. Stiles had already decided that he liked PEter's bed better. It was too fast and yet seemed so natural.

Grabbing his robe, Petr slipped it on since the castle had a chill despite the time of year. He opened his bedroom door to see that it was earlier in the morning than he thought it was. It was still dark.

"You traveled in the night?"

"Just last night a little. We were just an hour from here, and here it was better than camping there and risking too much. I was looking for Stiles as I picked up a stray on the way, and one of the staff said that you would know where he was."

"Who is the stray?"

"His father."

"Ah. That's...if you got in that late, what are you doing up?"

"Noah was directed to the bedroom where Stiles should have been just half an hour ago, and he was not there."

"Fuck off," Stiles said.

Derek's eyes widened, but then he laughed. "He told me he was going to woo you hard, but I guess that he went for seduction instead. Will he be able to walk?"

"We haven't gone that hard, and if he hadn't been walking, that would have been days ago. He's well acquainted with my bed. I'll get him up, and we will join you and Noah for breakfast. I cannot hide the marks on him, so prepare Noah for what is to come."

"I should be the one coming, Peter. My father is well aware of where my affections lie," Stiles said.

Derek laughed, and the look on his face told Peter that Peter wasn't ready for anything that came with Stiles.

"We will join you as soon as possible," Peter said.

Derek just laughed as he turned around and knocked on Cora's door when he got to the end of the hall. Derek's room was across from it, and Spencer was in the room even further down from it. It was the layout that made little sense, but in the end, it was what the kids wanted. Laura was in a different wing where their parents were. Peter never understood it, but in the end, he figured it had more to do with Laura. When they turned fifteen, the kids had all moved into the area with Peter. Peter hadn't been upset as he loved the kids like they were his own. He had been pissed off to the extreme when the assassins had come for them.

Once the door was shut, Peter turned to look at Stiles, who was still naked and still sprawled on the bed. He had turned his head to look at the door.

"That's a sight I do love, but I refuse to even think about sex right now," Peter said.

"It's okay. I'm okay with sex after we talk to my father. He knew this was coming. I've written about it and made sure that he wasn't pissed off more for it."

"This will have been the first time you've seen him since you started to cross the Parapet, isn't it?"

"Yes, he made sure I got a letter as soon as I was able to send them, and since he was stationed away from here over the last two years, I've not gotten to see him. I didn't know he was coming back or would be here."

"I had him sent here. We have never told him any of this, Stiles, but he will know about it after today. He will be the one who finds out, and I'm sure he will be pissed. They keep people like him away from it all because if there is one thing that Sorrengail knows, men like Noah will not hide their heads in the sand. he would be stuffing a pack full of daggers and other weapons to take to where the front lines are, and he will kill who he can get his hands on."

Stiles nodded, and he stretched, the blankets on him slipping off and showing off his skin with moles dotted across. Peter knew where each one on his torso was, and Peter loved it. There was nothing better than making sure that he could touch each one of them as needed. It would be even better when he found each one on the rest of Stiles' body.

"There should be water in the bathing chamber for us."

Stiles pushed himself up to where he was on his knees before slipping off the bed. Peter would have loved to have pushed him back down onto the bed and made a mess of them, but he was not going to do that when Noah could come that way. There were a lot of reasons why the man was going to be okay with the relationship but also pissed off if he wasn't catered to when it came to his sensibilities and it. Stiles would be enough to make Peter want to calm him down so that he didn't need to add to it.

"I heard before even getting here that Diaz and Buckley were a pair just like their dragons are."

"There is something there, but they are dancing around it. I have never asked because it's not my place. I am not sure that I want to know much about what they are doing. Even if they are in the middle of a fight, they work well together, and I have no worries about them doing something stupid. I have two of my family in the group, and we know full well that none of us always get along."

Stiles laughed, and he danced close to Peter and kissed him before dashing away again. It was hilarious to watch him do it, and Peter knew he was in trouble. He was never going to let Stiles go. It was why he had never let himself get close to someone, and Stiles had wiggled his way under Peter's shields just like the kids had, only it had been different.

Peter started to gather his clothes for the day, going for the leather armor that he would be able to wear under his clothes. He wasn't one to think that think that Noah would just accept this, even if Stiles thought the man was fine with it.

When Peter was out of the bathing chamber, he found Stiles was long gone. He hoped that the biggest issues of everything were over by the time he made it to the dining room. He took his time as he headed in that direction, wanting to make sure that everything was in order for him not to have to go back to his room.

The dining room had Spencer and Stiles with their heads together over the top of what looked like a book.

"What's that book?"

"It's something I was gifted with a few years back by someone I really trusted and liked. I didn't find what was so special about the book until three weeks ago, but the man wasn't that stupid, and he made sure that nothing would implicate anyone but me if it was found."

"Peter, it's the book you've been looking for," Spencer said.

Peter walked over and looked at the book to see it was The Fables of the Barren. It was a text that Peter had seen just once a long time ago, and he had never been able to find another copy.

"Why did Sorrengail leave this for you?" Peter asked.

"I wasn't sure until I read over the tales again after finding his hidden letter. He left something like it for his daughter as well. I was going to talk to him about it, but in the aftermath of everything, I was shocked that he hadn't made sure that this was burned. I didn't expect him to be a part of the Rebellion in any form, but then I started to do a little digging. I found out a few people who had been left off the lists of family connected to the Riorsons. How did that happen?"

"A lot of money a long time ago. So you know." Peter sat down, and he left the book for Stiles and Spencer to look over.

"I do." Noah looked at Stiles, who hadn't looked up from the page he was reading in the book, and then he looked at Peter. "You've seen Venin with your own eyes?"

"Wyvern as well. I killed a group of Venin a while back. I was hurt horribly in the process, and it was only Clea that saved me. The war is coming closer, and it's one that Navarre and her King will never admit to having been happening beyond our wards until their hand is forced."

"I cannot believe all of this, but I have seen enough. I watched a group of four killed seven months ago for having a book in their possession, Peter. Just for picking it up. They hadn't even read it, but there was the worry that they had."

"So you want to join us?"

"I figured that something was up with the Hales. You guys were too involved in things not to know the truth, and I know that none of you would leave the people to die if you could save them. The long game is horrible."

Peter waved for Noah to sit down. The door opened with a group of three leaving the kitchen. The ones who worked in the kitchen were all in the know. Transplants saved by Talia over the years from Poromiel. No one knew that. The other staff didn't even know that. There was a knife's edge that the Hales were dancing on, and Peter wouldn't have it any other way.

"You wanted me brought here for this reason," Noah said.

"I wanted to show you the truth. We had a small expedition. Clea had said she would transport you to where we needed to go for you to see it. Now, I guess I don't have to ask that of her."

"I'm glad she was willing. I'm glad that she was not forced to do it as well. We can figure things out and make sure that you guys get what you need. Sorrengail has never shown me she's part of this, but it's impossible for her not to be. I've heard rumors that she's going to force her youngest into the Riders Quadrant."

"Violet?" Peter asked. He frowned at that. He looked at Stiles and saw that he was still engrossed in the book. "That's not going to be how she thinks."

"I agree, but the father will never allow it. He'll protect her. She's one of the greatest minds, from what I've been told. She would do well in the Scribes."

Peter wondered what Litith would do to protect the secret that she knew. It wasn't like Violet Sorrengail would be one just to trust what was going on in the Scribes. Once she was in there and enmeshed in the whole world, she would realize that history didn't go back as far as it should. There would be nothing that would stop her from getting to the truth from the little Peter knew of her. That was the plan then: push her into other Riders, which no Sorrengail had ever been anywhere else unless one counted Lilith's husband, who took his wife's name for many reasons.

"We will just have to plan around that," Peter said.

"He's happy?"

"I think so, at least in everything beyond me. I know he's happy with me."

"When he was sixteen, he told me what he wanted. He told me his plans. I wasn't happy but he had left out the becoming a Rider part. It was never that I didn't trust him with it; it was never that I didn't think he could do it. I was more afraid of everything else. He's good, but even he can't protect his ass from everyone in that damned Quadrant. I didn't know that Cora was going there as well. What about Spencer?"

"I am not sure. He's never said what he wants. He trains with all of us, and he reads like crazy. He has no care for the healing arts, and he cares little for jobs like yours. He's going to be a Scribe or a Rider, but I'm not sure which I want him to be. He would do well in both. It's too bad that one cannot be both." Peter walked over to Stiles and picked up the book, closing it.

"Hey!"

"Eat. This will be there later, and you two can curl up and read it together in a chair instead of standing at the side of the table."

Stiles stuck his tongue out at Peter, then walked over to sit beside Peter, where he had eaten breakfast the last few days. Noah took the one on the other side of him, and then Cora and Spencer took the seats on the other side of Peter. For now, this was his group, the ones he could trust the most. He was going to make use of that trust as well. The world was racing toward its end if Navarre didn't get its head out of its ass, and it was up to the Hales and their group to make sure that something survived beyond the Venin.

The End