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"What happened then?" Tulip says softly, stepping up beside Morrow. "If you soulbound him, shouldn't he be dead?"
"Turns out, drugging me and locking me in a slag-coated cell for fifteen days doesn't count as harming me." Mace grabs my hand, which I didn't notice had been tapping a furious pattern on my thighs. "I made every effort to ensure I would come back." I sigh, leaning my head onto Mace's shoulder. He stiffens and then pulls me closer to him after a moment. "Himureal told me a lot, things I needed to know. But you should all be aware he is getting dangerous, and Ytopie doesn't seem to mind."
"What do you mean?" Plume asks, eyes on Zeph. They're soft, the affection she's always had for him shining through.
Zeph stands and crosses to his friend, taking her hands in his own. "Plume," he says softly. "I need you to take a deep breath for me."
The Spring fae's eyes widen, and I can see her hands shake within his. She shakes her head, whispering softly, "No."
"He killed Loris in front of the entire city, Plume. And they still support him"
Plume's body immediately crumples, but Zeph catches her and holds her up. "No, no, please don't tell me that, Zeph."
I forgot when Zeph told me that Plume was right there with them throughout their lives. She was the third point in their triangle. Her body shakes with sobs, a keening wail leaving her throat. "I never got to say goodbye," she cries, burying herself in Zeph's shirt.
Zeph brushes the back of her hair as she cries, silent tears dragging down his face. I look at Mace and see his eyes are red-rimmed and glassy. He may not have been close to Loris, but he sees the pain it has caused Zeph and Plume.
"Tell me what happened, Zeph," Plume sniffs, looking up at him.
His voice is shaky as he replies. "It won't make a difference, Plume."
Her shrill voice echoes through the small space. "I deserve to know!"
So there, in the small home filled with flowers and plants, a dead man tied to a chair, Zeph shares his story. All of it, from when we left the garrison until he saw me in the cells. When he gets to the part about the tournament that led to Loris' death, Plume's sobs start up again.
"It was my fault," Zeph says quietly. "I planned thetournament, and people died. People with families and lives to live. And Loris. Fuck, I left Taegan without Loris."
Surprising me, Mace steps to Zeph and rests his hand on his shoulder. He dips his head to his brother. "I know a little something about the guilt that comes with orchestrating something that causes the deaths of others," he says quietly.
Zeph looks up at Mace, and I wonder now how anyone could think they were anything but brothers. Despite Mace being tall and lithe, with dark hair and creamy skin, and Zeph being shorter and bulkier, with his auburn hair, tattoos, and ruddy skin, their green eyes and sad smiles are exactly the same.
Mace looks from Zeph to me, his eyes soft. "Loris knew you were a God."
"He did," I say with a soft smile.
"He knew what he was doing."
"He did," Zeph says.
The grief of the moment stretches between us all, punctuated by Plume's soft sniffles as her tears begin to slow. "How is Taegan?" she asks when she's calmed down.
"Devastated," Zeph tells her. "But he's determined to finish what Loris started. I asked him to come with us, but he's staying behind to grow support for the Shadowweaver."
"We need to get out of here," Morrow says, reminding us that we've been standing in a house with a dead body. "What's our cleanup plan here."
"I'll take care of it," I say softly. "Get anything we could want or need out of here."
The mandidn't have much, but we did find a canteen and pack for Zeph, a dagger, and a journal filled with healing recipes. Plume flips through the pages. "These are botanical remedies that can be enhanced by magic! I've never heard of such a thing."
"Bring it with us," I say, closing the door behind me. The house is made of stone, but the interior is not, so I set fire to it and then combine Shadow and Light within myself to pass an illusion over the structure so no one in the city will see. After an hour or two of waiting, the wood door crumbles and falls, revealing a smoldering and charred interior. I fill it with flurries of snow, which melt on contact and cool the fire.
"Now, let's find a place to sleep and eat," I say, satisfied that our tracks have been covered.
"We have a place," Mace says, leading us back into the city. He looks back at me with a smile and I pick up the pace, walking beside him. "I missed you," he says quietly so the others won't hear.
"I missed you too."
"You were fucking stupid, numen."
