Chapter 159 – Facing the Music

Aki

After that, our conversation drifted off to non-committal stuff, though we did learn that we wouldn't be leaving for Ror-Bhyk for another week.

My wives and I may or may not have started cheering then.

I wonder if Ren and her mom would be mad at us if we skipped the whole ceremony.

We would never do that to them, of course, but it was tempting.

My idle musings were interrupted by Rennie and Bergia entering the inn. I heard my mom take in a sharp breath of air when she saw Arcarius, and she visibly paled. The dragoon, also visibly shaken, got up, approached her, and with a bow said:

‘Lady Bergia, you have my deepest apologies for what I have helped Vanek achieve. I know nothing I can do will bring back your husband, nor do I beg your forgiveness for my actions, but know that if there is any way, however minuscule, to atone for my actions, just say the word.’

He straightened up and waited for my mom’s response. Tears started rolling down her face.

‘Can the two of us talk alone somewhere?’ she stammered out.

We sat uneasily at our table as we waited for them to return from one of the inn rooms.

‘Poor woman,’ Anika muttered and shook her head.

‘That’s on me,’ Ren sighed. ‘When I started arranging things… this particular complexity eluded me until it was too late to back down.’

‘That is certainly a way to describe it, Rennie,’ Lilyth said quietly. ‘Though perhaps it is better if this happened the way it happened. That confrontation was inevitable, and perhaps Bergia can get at least some closure before too much resentment can set in.’

‘Yeah, I can’t help but think she could start hating Aki,’ Caei agreed.

Hate me?

The mere suggestion sent a stab of pain through my heart.

She couldn't… could she?

‘“My adoptive daughter is a traitor because she hangs out with the man who killed my husband,” Lilyth said mirthlessly. ‘Not the best mindset to stew in for months on end.’

Oh. Oh no.

‘Arc is a good man,’ Anika protested.

‘Just because you are bumping uglies with him doesn't change the fact that the man is accessory to murder,’ my foxy cutie countered.

‘We aren't… I mean, I can't… that's none of your business!’

That outburst completely killed the conversation, and we just sat there in awkward silence.

Finally, after ten more interminable minutes, Bergia and Arcarius were back. It was clear that my mom cried a lot, but otherwise, she looked a lot better than I had seen her since my return to Dan-Hem. I never asked what they talked about - it was between the two of them.

With that taken care of, we started to make our way towards the estate. It was time to face the music.

Savri

I should have known something was up when Nyxie was extra nice to me that night. I was still not fully attuned to her moods, and she was very affectionate by default, but I could still tell that she was being a little extra.

Having an actual girlfriend was something I was still coming to terms with, but I really appreciate her being there for me. We weren't fully official yet, but our relationship has clearly progressed past the “friends with benefits” stage. You don’t have picnics by the lake or moonlight walks with those.

Still… At the time, I thought nothing of it and went about my day normally: hanging out with my mom, playing with my brother, helping Ireela in the kitchen. Then, while we were drinking tea in the library when one of the new servants, a brown-haired young man named Tayce, informed us that Ren and the rest were back and waiting for us in the salon.

A new life entered Ireela, and she hurried to reunite with her daughter. That was understandable. While the newly minted baroness was happy to have us around, it was clear she missed her daughter dearly, so we just looked at each other with my mom and got up to follow her.

Zaiven tugged on my black dress, so I lifted him into my arms and with a cheerful ‘Let’s go meet Auntie Ren,’ we left the library, especially since I also missed those four goobers and was happy to have them back.

I initially couldn't quite understand what I saw inside the salon. First, my four friends weren't alone. Arcarius was understandable, but I couldn't quite place the squat silver-haired woman and the green-eyed red-haired girl. The biggest shock, however, was my friends.

Lilyth was back in her fox form, which was good, but why the fuck was some of her hair turned into grass? And were those fire contamination markings on Aki? Caeileera and Ren looked blessedly normal, but both had weird auras around them.

‘Hi, Savri,’ Aki croaked with an unfamiliar hoarseness in her voice and gave me a wave.

‘Be strong,’ I heard Nyxie say.

Oh, balls.

Aki

‘Soo… let me sum this up,’ Savri sighed with pain in her voice after we finished giving her the full version of the story. ‘Lilyth is now part plant because she ended up eating a Dryad in a weirdass dungeon that was inhabited by a weakened god.’

The six of us, the Tenebral Order and Deirdee, were sitting in the salon after Ireela, Malika, Bergia and Arcarius left to give us some privacy. We gave the former two the same story that we gave to the dragoon, and it was enough to seriously spook them, though Sav’s mom was seriously impressed by us cleansing a Murdergrove. The medic, though…

‘A god that Ren ended up merging with after he nearly destroyed her soul,’ she continued,’ Aki, who is actually a sister of the Viscount AND possibly descended from some ancient evil cunt, nearly died due to a crushed neck there, while Caeileera has only been gifted with access to one of the rarest skill trees on Dwynveia by fucking Lady Madness of all deities. Oh, right, you also cleansed a pocket of quiet and found a functioning set of walkie-talkies. There is also a possibility of a rogue demigod running around who was friends with your assassin friend here. Did I miss anything?’

‘I think that sums it up, yes,’ Lilyth said carefully.

Savri let out another deep sigh and walked to Ireela’s liquor cabinet. She took out a bottle of whiskey, opened it and downed it in a few quick gulps. She then sat down on one of the armchairs and covered her face with her hands.

‘Can you fucking explain why I can't let you out of my sight for five fucking minutes?’ Sav wailed.

We knew it was a rhetorical question, so we just stood there. She finally shook her head and said:

‘Leave me alone. I need to think.’

‘But…’ Caei began, but shushed when Sav shouted:

‘GO!’.

‘I think I would have preferred if she just shouted at us,’ Lilyth sighed after we left the salon.

As Ireela and Malika were with Bergia, with the five of us having nothing better left to do, we went to our rooms to unpack, though Ren had to find one for Deirdee first. Though as the three of us entered our room, exhaustion really set in, we took off our dirty clothes and just threw ourselves onto the bed, Veenaya joining us soon after. A few minutes later, we were all fast asleep.

We were woken up by rapping on our door.

‘Who’s there?’ I asked groggily.

‘It’s me,’ I heard Sav say. ‘Can I come in?’

Lilyth and Caei didn't seem to mind, so we changed into a fresh set of clothes and invited our friend in.

‘Sorry to bother you,’ the surprisingly sober Sav said, as she sat down next to us on the bed. ‘I know you guys must be tired, but I came to apologise for my behaviour and check up on you.’

‘No need to apologise,’ I smiled. ‘We thought you would take it… worse.’

‘You survived, and that's all it matters. You’ve done the best you could under the circumstances. It was just a lot to process for me at the time. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, and once I saw the scar on Ren’s side, I realised I should have been there with you.’

‘You couldn't have known,’ Lilyth shrugged. ‘I still have no idea how we ended up there.’

‘Given the Sanguikinesis thing, I am going to say “Lady Madness”.’

That did make a lot of sense.

‘I’m curious, though, Caei,’ Sav continued. ‘Why not fully heal Ren? I don’t think you could have avoided the scar, but it would be less noticeable.’

‘I was worried about mana. Lilyth was also badly wounded, and I got shot in the arm too. ‘

She rolled up the short sleeve of her black blouse and showed the scar running across her left arm.’

Savri’s expression grew cloudy seeing that.

‘The four of you got really lucky there.’

‘If it wasn't for the ones that Lilyth disabled,’ Caei shuddered.

‘She carried us through the corridors in general,’ I added.

To my great worry, Lilyth said nothing. She just stared at some point on the wall. Savri looked at her with concern, clear on her face.

‘It was that bad, eh?’ she whispered and shook her head slightly.

‘I wish… I wish you were there with us, Sav,’ my wife finally muttered. Maybe then… maybe…’

The medic put her hand on Lilyth's shoulder and softly said:

‘But I wasn't. And you did admirably. Getting everyone out alive from there… That was no mean feat. And I am so sorry for being somewhat dismissive of what you had to go through.’

‘To be fair, “I have grass hair because I ate a Dryad” must sound insane to someone who wasn’t there,’ Lilyth let out a mirthless chuckle. ‘Most of the time it feels like a bad trip or a dream even to me.’

‘I have to ask… did you have… any recurrences?’

‘Does wanting to turn an annoying demigod into a purse count?’

That one took us all by surprise. Lilyth never mentioned those “fantasies”.

‘No,’ Sav chuckled. ‘Though this I got to hear.

‘This was the morning of the day we headed to the Murdergrove. As Caei and Aki were staying at Bergia’s, Ren and I slept in one room for company. When she woke up and saw that I was up too, Rennie suggested we cuddle, and possibly, more. That's when Taros decided to come in with vaer concerns about the bloody forest.’

‘Yeah… that's a valid and healthy reaction then,’ Sav laughed, and Caei and I nodded along.

The medic then turned towards me.

‘Can I take a look at that neck of yours? It may be possible for me to help.’

I nodded, and she asked me to take off my shirt so she could get a better look at my back. She traced my spine with her fingers and then asked me to do some basic exercises. After that, Sav moved on to examine my neck.

‘Nothing I can do, I am afraid,’ the medic declared after she was done. ‘Best I can tell, the bones mended wrong, and they are pressuring something they shouldn't. Something I imagine you could guess on your own.’

‘Maybe if I… Caei began, but Sav shut her off.

‘No maybes. You did the best you could with what you had on hand. Anyway, Aki, I am d-’

Savri stopped and delicately touched my right shoulder.

‘Those scars… they are from the Kisamzo?’ she asked, and I nodded.

Sav only sighed and said I could dress up.

‘Okay… allow me to tell you another reason for my visit. I was asked by my mom and Ireela to assess whether the four of you are actually capable of going to the ceremony. And the answer is - no. The four of you need several weeks of doing sweet fuck all. No travel, fighting or whatever.’

‘But won’t Ireela and Ren mind?’ I protested.

‘Ren is staying too, and remember - this is on her mom’s insistence. My mom will explain us, don’t worry.’

‘Us?’ I noted. ‘You are staying too?’

‘Yes,’ the medic nodded. ‘You guys need adult supervision.’

‘But the Murdergrove…’ I began.

‘I would say it can wait… but it can’t really. Once the word spreads…’

Savri shook her head.

‘So… are you willing to go on one last mission with me?’

We looked at each other and nodded.

‘Together till the end,’ we said in unison.