"Or at least threaten them," I continued. "Make it clear I'm under your protection. Surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to mess with you after that, right?"
Virion glanced at me, his emerald eyes glinting strangely in the pale winter light, before turning back to his fishing hole.
"Sure," he said lightly. "But what about the consequences?"
I think I already knew the answer even before he continued.
"If I get rid of this one," Virion explained, his tail flicking idly, "or the next, or the one after that—the ones pulling the strings will notice. And then protecting you becomes... complicated." His voice dropped, taking on that dangerous edge I'd only heard a handful of times. "And there are people in this world who could kill you even with me standing guard right beside you. Unless..." He smirked. "You want to spend the rest of your life trapped in my playground?"
