Chapter 168

I visited Ashlara next.

Mostly because I knew Clo would immediately run off to show Mirri her makeup the moment I left the library, and I wanted to give that situation time to unfold on its own.

Part of me desperately wanted to witness the conversation firsthand. Unfortunately, I also knew I wouldn’t survive it without laughing.

Ashlara was out hunting when I found her, which wasn’t unusual. Hunting was only one of the countless things she did around the keep. She helped teach the children, repaired damaged equipment, maintained weapons, inspected the walls, patrolled the surrounding wilderness, and regularly assisted in the villages whenever someone needed extra hands.

Technically, she didn’t need to hunt anymore. But she enjoyed it. And it helped keep food on the table without draining our coin.

I arrived a few feet behind her.

Carefully.

I’d learned long ago not to try sneaking up on Ashlara. Her instincts were to strike first and ask questions later. And while I was a god, she was still both stronger and faster than me.

I stayed silent. Even so, her senses picked me out immediately. Her ear twitched. Then she tilted her head just slightly toward me to let me know she knew I was there.

That was my invitation. I stepped forward, wrapped my arms around her waist, and kissed along her shoulder and neck. “Morning, Ashie.”

She shifted in my arms and I loosened my grip enough for her to turn around. Then she pulled me into a firm, loving hug. “Morning, my love.”

I kissed her properly this time. Her mouth opened eagerly against mine as my hands drifted lower. The toned muscle beneath her pants tightened instantly, hard as stone beneath my palms.

I smiled into the kiss.

When we finally parted, she was flushed and breathing harder than before. Her dark eyes stayed fixed on mine while she caught her breath. “What was that for?” she asked with a shy smile.

I grinned. “I need a reason to kiss my lover?”

Color rushed into her cheeks again.

Gods, she was cute when she got flustered.

“I need to head out this afternoon,” I told her. “Amberleigh wants to meet. Did you need anything before I go?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said. But she made absolutely no effort to let go of me.

“Good.” I kissed her again - shorter this time, softer. “Hey,” I said quietly. “Have you noticed anything strange about the ferals lately?”

Her brow furrowed immediately. “Other than the fact they’ve all been hanging around more?” she asked. “No. Why?”

“I don’t know yet.” I sighed softly. “Something’s going on with them. I’ll talk to them directly when I get back tonight.” I forced a faint smile. “It’s probably nothing.”

Ashlara finally loosened her grip on me.

I leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

She wrinkled it immediately and grinned.

“If you need me,” I told her, “you know how to find me.”

Then I stepped away.

* * *

“Why did you tell Clo she was pretty?” Mirri demanded.

“Because she is pretty,” I replied with a smile.

Mirri glared at me.

I raised an eyebrow. “Because she’s my daughter?”

Her eyes narrowed further.

I sighed dramatically. “Because she was so excited about the makeup that I couldn’t tell her the truth.”

Mirri broke instantly, dissolving into helpless giggles. “Matron mother, Seth, it was so bad.” She bent forward laughing, one hand over her mouth. “She was so excited and so proud and she looked horrible.” She punched my arm lightly. “I laughed so hard I started chokin’ and got the hiccups.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“It was dangerous!” she insisted between giggles. “I had to drink five glasses of water to get rid of them, and I nearly drowned doing it.”

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she laughed again.

“So what happened?” I asked.

“I told her she did a great job,” Mirri said, trying and failing to regain composure, “but that later I’d show her a few tricks to make her even prettier.”

I stared at her fondly. “You’re such a good mom.” Then I scooped her into my arms and assaulted her face with exaggerated kisses.

“Pleh! Ptooh! Blech!” she squealed, squeezing her eyes shut and twisting away from me as best she could.

I pulled back just enough to give her room to breathe.

The moment she cracked open one eye to check whether I was done, I attacked again.

She shrieked with laughter.

Eventually I relented and set her back on her feet. Well. Mostly. I kept my arms around her long enough to make sure she was steady. Then a little longer because I wanted to.

“I need to head out this afternoon,” I told her quietly once the laughter faded. “Amberleigh wants to meet in a town called Grimward. Blue barn on the north side of town.”

Mirri blinked. “That sounds sketchy as shit.”

“Right?” I said immediately.

She snorted.

“I don’t expect trouble,” I continued, “but I wanted you to know where I’d be. Just in case. You know how to find me.”

She wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly. “Be careful,” she murmured. “And don’t die, idiot.”

I smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be careful.”

A thought tugged at me. “Hey,” I asked quietly. “Have you noticed anything strange going on with the ferals lately?”

Mirri rolled her eyes immediately. “Oh, they’re absolutely up to something.” She sighed. “They’re underfoot constantly. Askin’ weird questions. Sneakin’ around more than usual.” Her expression softened slightly. “Honestly, it’s like they’ve turned back into children.”

Then her eyes met mine and the humor faded. “I think they’re worried about you,” she admitted quietly. “They’re tryin’ to protect the pack, but they don’t know how.”

She grabbed the front of my shirt and tugged me down closer to her. “I can’t really blame them,” she said softly. “I know somethin’s wrong too. I know you’re changin’. And I know there’s consequences to that.”

Her voice weakened slightly. “I just…” She sighed. “I don’t know how to tell them everything’s gonna be okay when I’m not sure it will be.”

I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. “It’ll be okay,” I told her gently. “Because I’m the god of belief in the absence of proof.” I smiled faintly. “But even if I’m not anymore… I still know I’ll be okay.”

I brushed my forehead against hers. “Because I have you.”

Then I kissed her and held her for a very long time.

* * *

Grimward was one of many towns scattered throughout Arvellia - larger than a village, but nowhere near the size of a true city.

Since I’d never been there before, reaching it turned into an ordeal. It took several hours of stepping, reorienting myself, and flying at high speeds across unfamiliar countryside. I had to stop and ask for directions twice.

The first time was in a village called Stonebrook. The innkeeper there had been a surprisingly pleasant man who pointed me in the right direction after only minimal confusion.

The second encounter had gone considerably worse.

I’d appeared inside a farmhouse bath. The farmer’s wife screamed loud enough to wake the dead while clutching a crying infant to her chest. Her husband came charging in moments later with an axe in hand and murder in his eyes.

It took several frantic apologies and a fair amount of dodging to convince him I wasn’t there to assault his wife or steal his child.

Eventually, though, he calmed down enough to point me toward Grimward.

The farm with the faded blue barn was still active when I finally arrived. A farmer worked the nearby fields harvesting squash and carrots beneath the dying afternoon light.

I kept my arrival quiet and slipped discreetly into the outbuilding instead. My boots squished wetly against the wooden floor as I stepped inside.

The barn stood empty save for a single bright red cardinal perched high among the rafters.

I climbed the ladder into the loft and settled onto a bale of hay. “I’m glad you took my advice and worked on your coloring,” I told the bird.

The cardinal hopped down from the rafters to land a few feet away.

Its wings swept upward, shielding its body as the crimson feathers darkened - bleeding first into violet, then into deep purple. Its form swelled and twisted. Bones lengthened. Feathers melted into cloth and flesh.

A heartbeat later, the bird was gone.

Archmagus Garrethyn Amberleigh stood before me instead, purple robes settling around his stooped frame while his white beard spilled across his chest like tangled winter wool.

“Thank you for meeting me,” he said as he lowered himself onto another bale of hay.

“It must be serious if you’re going through this much effort to stay hidden,” I replied.

Amberleigh nodded slowly and chewed thoughtfully at his gums before speaking. “The Covenant of Mercy has been operating along our southern border for some time now,” he said. “Relief caravans. Refugee escorts. Missionaries. Healers. Migrant workers.”

His expression darkened. “Recently, abandoned waystations were discovered near the Caldris border. Inside were restraints, old blood, and…” He paused. “Red sap.”

My stomach tightened.

“But no Weeping Gallows nearby,” he finished.

He reached into his robes and handed me a sealed envelope. “The locations are inside,” he said. “Along with names, supply routes, and suspected safehouses.”

His jaw tightened. “It appears several nobles have knowingly cooperated with the Covenant. In exchange for healing, labor, and aid stabilizing poorer regions, they’ve been emptying their prisons.” His voice hardened. “Undesirables, dissidents, debtors, criminals. People who will not be missed.”

I stared at the envelope in silence.

“The queen has already been informed,” Amberleigh continued carefully, “but we must tread cautiously. If word spreads that Arvellian nobles have been handing citizens over to a cult, it threatens the stability of the kingdom.”

He met my eyes. “If it becomes known they’ve been feeding those citizens to carnivorous trees that create nearly unstoppable monsters…” He shook his head slowly.

“We’ve already stopped two assassination attempts against the queen this week alone. Five more last month.” His voice grew tired. “Pressure is building from every direction - Morentis, Caldris, Arvellian nobles. Even Dumrath Kol-Varn.”

“The world has not recovered from Zelmyra’s death,” he said quietly. “Trust between nations is collapsing. Everyone suspects everyone else. War looms closer every month.”

His eyes drifted toward the barn wall. “And not merely war between kingdoms. Civil war becomes more likely by the day if enough nobles decide the queen is weak.”

He exhaled slowly. “She walks a razor’s edge. If she ignores their transgressions, they grow bolder. If she crushes them openly, she risks becoming exactly the tyrant they already whisper she is.”

Silence settled heavily between us.

Then Amberleigh looked directly at me again. “In giving you this information,” he said carefully, “I am trusting you to act with restraint. To avoid destabilizing the kingdom. To understand that sometimes allowing one evil to continue briefly prevents a greater catastrophe.”

I lowered my gaze to the sealed envelope resting in my hands.

He was asking a great deal of me. Asking me to let monsters continue hurting people because stopping them too quickly might destroy everything around them.

I understood the logic. That didn’t make it easier.

My heart told me protecting people mattered more than politics, more than stability, maybe even more than peace itself.

But he wasn’t entirely wrong either. Stop the suffering now, and countless more might suffer later. Do nothing, and innocent people continued disappearing into the Covenant’s hands. It was a choice between wounds.

I sighed quietly before lifting my eyes to his. “All I can promise,” I told him, “is that I’ll do the best I can.”

I shook my head slightly. “I can’t promise I’ll stand aside while people are being hurt. But I do understand the importance of stability. Of preventing war.” I offered him a weary smile. “I’m sorry, my friend. That’s the best I can give you.”

Amberleigh studied me silently for several long moments, chewing slowly at his gums. Then he gave a single curt nod. “That is all I can reasonably ask.”

He rose from the hay bale. “I must return to Crownreach before my absence is noticed.”

I stood as well and offered him my hand. “I understand. Good luck, Archmagus.”

He clasped my forearm firmly. Then he turned away from me and spoke several words in a language I didn’t recognize.

His body immediately began to shrink. Purple fabric melted into feathers. Arms folded into wings. His face pushed forward and sharpened into a beak. Within moments, the old wizard was gone once more. Only the cardinal remained.

The little bird launched itself into the air and vanished out through the loft door.