Page 13 of The Centaur
"Good morning, Keoni. Did you sleep well?" he asked with a smile, his plate already half-full.
"No chatting in the line. Move along, people," Jacinta said as they eyed us, and I gave them a sheepish smile before quickly piling my plate with food and adding some more to Zephyr's plate. Then I dragged us to my usual spot, and it was only once he was seated that I answered his question.
"I slept well, thanks. You?"
"Well enough," he said with a small smile, and I pursed my lips. That wouldn't do. Those bags under his eyes proved he needed sleep. Was there anything I could do to help with that?
Silas pulled Zephyr into a conversation about strawberries as I mulled over it, and I smiled as I watched them talk. I loved watching Zephyr interact with the others. I wondered if he saw how much they all looked up to him, how much they loved him.
While I'd never used the term myself, most of the Sanctuary residents—even the humans who'd joined recently—called him the headmaster. He didn't understand why, and he didn't know why they used that particular title.
The title had been settled on before I came to the Sanctuary, but I knew the story. Apparently, it'd been a serious discussion, with contenders ranging from Master to Professor to Godfather. They hadn't been joking, either. They'd felt like calling Zephyr by his name didn't quite express the way they felt about him, and neither did Mr. Morrigan.
After a lengthy discussion, they settled on 'Headmaster' because they saw Zephyr as a leader, as someone who watched out for them and had their best interests in his heart.
It was a thoughtful, love-filled title, but sometimes I got the feeling Zephyr didn't realize that. He didn't know just how muchthese people, our family, loved him. Maybe I should tell him the origin...
After we'd finished our breakfasts, something even stranger than Zephyr coming here of his own accord happened. He approached Nolan, and the two of them started talking in low voices.
All the conversations happening around me kept me from hearing them, but after a minute, Nolan said something to Zamir, his mate, before leaving with Zephyr, who shot me a smile as he disappeared out the door.
Zamir reached me before I reached him, his brown eyes wide. "Nolan said he was going to help the headmaster. Do you think it's finally happening?"
My eyes widened as well, and I turned to the door as if I had the ability to see through it. "Wow, that's... a big decision," I mumbled, suddenly remembering what I'd seen last night. Was this what the stars had been hinting at?
"What?" Zamir asked, puzzled, and I quickly told him about my reading.
"This could be it," he agreed, nodding like a bobble-head. "If it works out, would the Sanctuary be fixed?"
"I think so."
"Khush and Dustin could come back," he said with a smile, and I hummed.
"Don't tell them yet. Let's see what happens first."
If something went wrong, Zephyr would feel worse if Khush and Dustin's hopes had been raised. It was better to wait and see the results before telling those two.
"I agree. Anyway, I gotta go feed the fur children. You okay?"
"Go, I'll be fine," I assured him, and once he left, I decided to go wash some dishes to distract myself.
It wasn't our turn yet, but Jacinta seemed to realize I needed something to do. Instead of the dishes, they gave me a bunch ofveggies to chop for lunch, and I got to work, focusing on the task at hand and not on what Nolan and Zephyr were up to.
Two hours later, everything glowed red, then blue, then went back to normal. I couldn't be sure, but it felt like they'd done it.
They'd fixed the Sanctuary.
Seven
Zephyr
After how much I'dstruggled to make this decision, actually letting Nolan into my office so we could do this felt much easier.
I'd decided to wait until after breakfast because I knew Keoni wouldn't let me get away without eating, and while I'd barely tasted the food, eating first had been a good idea. I'd need all the energy I had for this.
I'd always known what was wrong with the Sanctuary, even if I hadn't been sure how to fix it until Nolan came around.
The Sanctuary—or rather, my pocket dimension, was powered by every single supe who lived here. It was the only way to keep a pocket dimension as big as this one functioning smoothly. Connecting it to multiple people also ensured that one person's weakness or strength wouldn't cause this place to fluctuate or stop working.
