“You don’t sound as though you’re happy to see us,” said Kastet.
“Funny how that is.” He folded his arms, eyeing them both seriously. “What do you want?”
“Damon, relax,” said Vel. “They’re my friends. I haven’t seen them in weeks. They’re more than welcome to be here.”
“But why are they here?” asked Damon. “I get the sense that this isn’t entirely a social visit.”
Kastet and Lilian exchanged a glance. Lilian was the one who eventually spoke.
“Can we sit down and settle in a bit, first?” she asked. “I know we didn’t exactly announce ourselves ahead of time, but I would like it if we could catch up with Vel.”
Damon waved a hand in concession and found that much of his grumpiness toward them faded as he began pulling down extra chairs around a table and setting the common room up. He was, in a sense, playing the part of an innkeeper again, if only for close friends.
He brought them both stew, a larger bowl for Kastet than Lilian, whose appetite for food was muted. He brought out the brandy, keen on getting Kastet at least near as drunk as he and Vel already were.
“We received word from Avaricia,” Kastet finally said. “The Godking has begun a search for Lascivious, and judging from the description of the person she’s looking for, it’s likely a teenage girl.”
Damon felt Vel looking at him. He set his spoon down and folded his hands in front of him on the table.
“Where is he searching for her?” he asked.
“Up and down Veridan’s Curve,” said Kastet. “Both within Avaricia, Silke, and the surrounding area.”
“I think it’s safe to assume that our aesta is with Lascivious,” he said, mostly to Vel. “I think this is what we’ve been waiting for. We need to travel back to Veridan’s Curve and find her before Avarice does.”
“Why now?” asked Vel. “This seems too significant to be coincidental.”
“Velanor, my brother, has finally ascended to the throne,” said Kastet. “He’s coming to Veridan’s Curve to meet with Avarice. I would assume this is the Godking attempting to shore up the walls of his power ahead of that meeting.”
“Gabriel… became the King?” Vel’s voice was a thin squeak. “That’s unbelievable. How?”
Kastet shook her head. “I intend on asking him for the details. But that will come later. Damon, you should also know that I sent word to Wrath. She’ll be here, at the inn, within a day or two.”
Damon knew she expected him to react to that, but he wasn’t sure of his own feelings. On top of that, there was no real way for him to approach the situation with Malon and Lascivious without planning around the existence and motivations of the other Forsaken.
“Does anyone want more brandy?” he asked.
Every glass at the table went up, and he found himself appreciating the fact that Arturius had given him two bottles.
***
Despite the serious news Kastet and Lilian had brought to the inn, the rest of the night was a rather lighthearted affair. Vel, Kastet, and Lilian fell back into their old rapport, giggling together more like childhood friends than a princess and her ladies-in-waiting.
There wasn’t much room for Damon in their grouping, despite their occasional attempts to draw him into the conversation. He was fine with that, however. Moreover, it delighted him to see Vel enjoying herself with her friends. It felt as though the chaos of their lives had left little room for that over the past year.
It was only when the four of them were preparing to turn into bed that Damon discovered a small, annoying facet of having company over. Vel was overly chaste with him as she said goodnight, just a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Damon eyed Lilian, wondering if perhaps she might be more open to staying up and getting into some late-night mischief, but she and Kastet split off upstairs together. He suspected that Lilian might be angling to feed off the other woman and decided he could do without interrupting.
He awoke the next morning to the dismayed shouts of Vel and Kastet. He came down into the common room, noticing how cold it was, though it didn’t affect him directly.
“We’re snowed in,” said Kastet.
She and Vel stood near the door, which they’d opened far enough to reveal a piling of snow high enough to cover the sides of the porch. It was still coming down in fat, lazy white flakes. Damon shook his head as he stared out at a pristine blanket of white. No travelers would be on the road today. Even a large carriage couldn’t push through that much snow.
“Alright,” he said. “We might have to adjust our plans a bit.”
CHAPTER 14
“We don’t have much firewood left,” said Vel. “We’ll have to get more. Along with some more food, given that we now have four people to feed.”
“Oh, I don’t eat much.” Lilian flashed a smile that included her fangs.
“Her point still stands,” said Damon. “We don’t really have a choice about heading into town anymore, unless we want to be cold and hungry tonight.”
“How is this going to work, though?” asked Vel. “I’m the only one who can really show my face in Azurecliff. You’re still wanted, Damon. Lilian would cause a stir, and Kastet… well, you were still pretending you were a boy the last time you came to Azurecliff.”
“You do the purchasing, Vel, and bring everything into the trees behind town,” said Damon. “We’ll carry the firewood and anything else cumbersome from there. I can also summon us more help, if needed.”
Vel furrowed her brow at that. The four of them spent the next few minutes bundling up to go outside, and then another quarter hour clearing as much snow as they could away from the front of the inn. It was sticky enough to clump together, forming into dense piles that were sturdy enough to sit on.
They practically waded through the snow as they traveled along the road. Damon kept his new cloak’s hood up over his head, as did Lilian, whose need to conceal herself was just as pressing. They split off from Vel as they approached the edge of town, though the only people out and about were in the process of moving snow, much as they’d just done.
Half an hour later, Vel returned, carrying the first of several bundles of firewood in her arms. She was frowning and let out a grunt of exertion as she set her heavy burden down.
“This is going to be a pain,” she muttered.
“Here.” Damon unsheathed his myrblade and dropped its tip into the snow. An instant later, two ice elementals emerged either side of him. Vel gasped and hopped back a step, eyes wide, mouth agape.
“How…” She shook her head. “When did you learn to do this?”
“Back in Yvvestrosai,” he said. “Handy, right?”
“You haven’t made them do anything weird for you, have you?” she asked.
He hesitated for a telling instant.
“It’s Damon we’re talking about,” said Kastet. “Of course, he did.”
With the help of the ice elementals, getting the firewood across the last stretch to the inn was at least easier than carrying it all the way out of town. They finally arrived back several hours into the afternoon, boots and bodies wet from snow and sweat.
Damon fed the fire, stepping back to let Vel and Kastet crowd closer in and start warming up. They’d both changed into nightgowns to let the rest of their clothing dry out, and he watched them sit in chairs with their knees pulled up by the hearth, cute and cozy.
Vel had purchased sausage for them to cook for dinner, along with more potatoes and some late-season carrots. Damon opted to cook each separate, pan frying the sausages, baking the potatoes whole, and making a simple, sweet glaze to cook the carrots in.
The sun set early in the winter, and he’d just begun serving the food when a flash of azure light announced Wrath’s presence, along with the sound of the door opening and closing in quick succession. Her blue hair was covered in snow, which somehow humanized her in Damon’s eyes, and she wore white and gray winter outer clothes.
“You’re earlier
than I’d expected you’d be,” said Kastet.
She seemed to be the only one, other than Damon, to not feel intimidated in the presence of the Forsaken. Wrath strode forward, her eyes narrowed in what he suspected was feigned annoyance.
“I arrive in my own time,” said Wrath. “Though, it wasn’t my intention to interrupt your dinner.” She scanned the room, her eyes eventually settling on him meaningfully. “Hello, Damon.”
“Clara,” he said, voice bitter. “You lied to me.”
“About what?”
He stood up, letting his hand settle on the hilt of his myrblade, knowing the threat it implied. “You told me that Ria burned to death in the palace. She’s alive.”
Wrath shook her head dismissively. “I told you what I knew at the time. I never saw her leave the palace.”
“Was your objective really to give me the truth, or was it to say whatever it took to try to get me to take your crest?”
“If you’re going to attack me, do it with your sword instead of these foolish accusations.”
A silent slice of eternity passed with the two of them staring at one another, the room pulsing with tension. Damon drew his myrblade and attacked in the same motion, knowing how foolish it was but finding himself unable to summon his restraint.
Wrath blurred, drawing her wrathblade and blocking with ease. She looked more surprised than angry, squaring her shoulders as Damon pushed his sword forward against hers.
He attacked again, and again, each strike blocked before it could come close to reaching her. Damon heard the others yelling. It was Vel who attempted to physically pull him back, hugging her arms around him and shouting into his ear.
“Don’t!” she said. “Damon, are you out of your mind? Please!”
“Why…?” he asked, his voice cold and rocky. “I spent weeks thinking I’d gotten Ria killed. Do you have any idea how much pain you caused me?”
“Do you think I lied to you intentionally, Damon?” spat Wrath. “Is your opinion of me really that low?”
“Damon,” said Vel. “Ria’s alive. Isn’t that what really matters here?”
He forced himself to take a breath, suppressing the urge to shake Vel off and attack again. Vel’s hands closed over his sword hilt, gently but insistently forcing it down.
“Well,” said Kastet. “Now that we’ve gotten the unpleasantries out of the way, why don’t we have dinner?”
Nobody objected, but the suggestion did little to change the room’s mood. Damon shook his head, still unable to dismiss the debt of emotion that had haunted him during his journey back from Yvvestrosai.
“I’m sorry, Damon,” said Wrath in a quiet voice. “I honestly am. I made a mistake.”
Hearing her apologize so openly seemed heretical, as though it flew in the face of the awesome power she wielded, the mythical, evil reputation. Damon sighed and sheathed his myrblade.
“Fine,” he said. “I accept your apology.”
Lilian had taken up the task of serving the food, and after guiding Damon over to his seat, she made a point of pouring him a full glass of brandy. Kastet fell into a brief, quiet discussion with Wrath before the two of them joined him.
It was strange to look around the table and take in the range of faces. Wrath, one of the Forsaken, with her cold blue eyes. Lilian, corrupted by zanyadai blood, claw hands primly folded in front of her. Kastet, the exiled princess. And, well, Vel.
He started laughing and waved a hand to assure the others that he hadn’t gone crazy.
CHAPTER 15
Kastet relayed the relevant information to Wrath as they all began eating sausage, baked potatoes with butter, and glazed carrots. The blue-haired Forsaken listened in silence and spent a good minute considering the information before diving into the discussion.
“All of this can’t be mere coincidence,” said Wrath. “From King Gabriel coming to Veridan’s Curve, to Lascivious finally stepping into the light. Even my own recent alliance with Famine seems like a small piece of a greater whole of events.”
“Foremost, we need to know more of my older brother’s intentions,” said Kastet. “His motivations, currently, are a cypher to me. The smart thing to do, were he interested in pursuing the path we last discussed, would be to stay in Hearthold and look for the right moment to cast off his alliance with Avarice.”
“Is there anything that suggests it’s not what he still intends to do?” asked Vel.
Damon shook his head. “He’s coming to Veridan’s Curve. Unless he’s bringing an army with him, which seems improbable, I doubt it’s to renounce the alliance with Avarice. True Divine, even if he did have an army, to come himself, in person… it’s just too foolhardy.”
“It’s possible he intends to take measure of Avarice himself before deciding what to do,” Lilian said. “We still don’t know how your brother came into power, milady. He could be a much different person than when you last knew him, given his time in Anise’s dungeon and whatever transpired after his escape.”
“It’s possible,” said Kastet with a slow nod. “Anything is possible. Leandra’s bush! That’s what I hate most about so much happening so fast.”
Damon topped off her cup of brandy along with his own. “I think what’s clear, above all else, is that we need to travel back into Veridan’s Curve.”
“It won’t be safe for us in Avaricia, even in the outskirts,” said Vel. “We’d be too conspicuous as a traveling party.”
“I’ve already made preparations for us to reside within an estate in Silke,” said Kastet. “An old friend of mine has lent us one of her towers. She’s doing it in secret, of course. It’s empty of guards and servants, so it won’t exactly be the most comfortable residence, but it should do.”
“It sounds as though we’ll be doing the same thing there as we’re doing here,” said Damon. “Waiting for something to happen.”
“Not necessarily,” said Kastet. “We’ll be much closer to the action in Silke. We’ll also be in a city where we can, potentially, expand our base of power. Between the funds I’ve raised in recent weeks and what Wrath and Famine can no doubt supply, we can start hiring mercenaries to expand our capabilities.”
“Famine still has her monsters.” Wrath made a small, upturned gesture with her hand. “Whether or not they’ll prove useful under these circumstances is anyone’s guess.”
There were still numerous questions left unspoken and unanswered, but it seemed as though everyone had spoken their piece. The brandy kept the meal pleasant, even with Damon and Wrath exchanging the occasional veiled jab over one thing or another.
“Is there somewhere I can wash up here?” asked Wrath as she pushed her plate forward.
“Um… You’re welcome to use the bath downstairs.” Vel pointed to the door leading to the basement.
“Thank you.” Wrath nodded to her and then disappeared in a flash of azure light, coupled with impossibly fast footsteps across the floor.
“Well, she’s clearly making herself comfortable,” muttered Damon.
“You know, there are better targets for your anger and frustration than the Forsaken on our side, Damon,” said Kastet. “You’re going to have to work with her.”
“I can work with her,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
They retired to bed, aware of how early they’d be setting off for Silke the next morning. Damon again found himself wishing he could share his quilt with someone else. It was a basic, shortsighted impulse, but it felt strangely justified. He’d bedded every woman currently under the inn’s roof, at one time or another.
He lay in bed, searching for sleep, when a gentle knock came at the door. It opened before he could get up.
“Damon,” whispered Vel. “Are you still awake?”
It was almost shameful how quickly his cock hardened at the sound of her soft, seeking voice.
“Come on in, Vel.”
Her silhouette was briefly illuminated from the generous moonlight falling across the hall’
s side window. She wore an oversized nightshirt, one of his old ones, and was otherwise bottomless. Damon pulled his quilt back and welcomed her into his bed with a line of kisses running up the side of her neck.
“Easy,” she whispered. “I didn’t come here for… that.”
“Oh,” he said, disappointed, but not defeated. “That’s alright. Talk to me.”
“I thought I might help us gain some clarity on our current situation by using my dreamspelling to reach out to Prince, er, King Gabriel.”
“Did it work?”
He saw her shake her head in the dark.
“It’s harder for me to enter the dreams of men, for whatever reason,” she whispered. “It only worked with Aldric because of how he’d become almost a surrogate father to Jilou. Gabriel wouldn’t let me in, and from what I could sense from his dreams on the outside, well… I wasn’t really interested in entering his… nocturnal activities.”
“Sounds complicated, but I think I get it,” he said.
“So, I thought instead that I’d reach out to Ria,” said Vel. “Which is why I thought of you. After what the two of you went through, I’m sure you’d like to see her again, right? Even if it’s only in a dream?”
Damon sucked in a breath, nodding before he’d even truly thought about it. “You’d do that for me, Vel?”
“It’s for both of us. We’re family.” She set her hand on his leg. “I know you love her, Damon. In some ways, it’s the same as how you love me. In other ways, it’s different. I think… I used to be threatened by how close the two of you are, but now I just want all of us to be happy.”
“Thank you,” he said.
Vel slid underneath the quilt next to him. Damon spooned with her from behind, hugging her small, soft body against his. She let out a contented sigh that stirred a powerful need in his loins. He was fully onboard with her plan to dreamspell with Ria, but that wasn’t enough to stop his cock from getting hard as he felt the soft cushion of her buttocks against his crotch.
Sin and Soil 10 Page 7
