Chapter Twenty-Six

Wind streamed around Tanitha, whipping her hair, and she curled tighter against his chest, her arms tight around his neck as they flew. A part of her wished the blindfold wasn't necessary, that she could see the sky and clouds and earth below, but another part thought she'd most likely be terrified, so perhaps this was better. At the same time, though, nestled in his arms, in the security of his strength while he occasionally murmured words of reassurance and comfort in her ear, she wasn't sure how she could ever be frightened.

The thought sent a stirring of guilt through her— if she truly felt she was safe with him, why wasn't she willing to be forthright with him right now?— but she dismissed the feeling. There was no harm in this, in wanting to speak with her sister, so there was no need for guilt. And she'd tell her lover everything soon after.

She wasn't certain how long they soared through the skies, but she felt the sudden dip of their descent almost too soon, a strange reluctance at the prospect of leaving his arms filling her. Moments later, there was a slight jolt as he landed.

Very gently, he lowered her to the ground. The scent of thyme rose around them as her feet reached the earth.

"The center of the Sanctuary," he said to her, steadying her with hands holding her firmly at the waist from behind. His hands tensed for just a moment before relaxing again. "Tanitha… I know this is important to you. But I need to know that you understand the danger. You'll stay out of sight?"

She caught his hands where they rested at her waist, drawing them forward so she could twine her fingers through his. "I understand," she said softly. "I'll be careful."

"And… you'll come back?" His voice was uncharacteristically subdued. There was a vulnerability in it she had never heard before that brought a rise of pained affection to her heart. "Before the time the moon rises, you'll be back here?"

She gripped his hands tighter. "I'll come back, my lord. I promise."

He let out a quiet grumble, but she felt the slight release of tension in his well-muscled arms at her words. "I've told you that you don't need to call me that," he murmured, his lips brushing the tips of her ear. A pleasant shiver darted through her, and she leaned back against him, enjoying the sensation of his solidness, his strength.

"I know," she replied softly.

He stepped back away from her, and a second later, she felt a quick flare of elemental magic as he shifted form. She pulled off her blindfold and glanced back in time to see a flash of a hawk's white-barred feathers as it swooped away.

The Sanctuary's reflection pool was in front of her, its surface still and looking almost impossibly dark but for the tiny pinpricks of reflected starlight. She flicked up the hood of the fine linen cloak she was wearing— moonless night or not, her hair was still light enough to be distinctive and needed to be hidden. She looked around carefully, but all was still. Despite how familiar the sight of this place was, standing here felt unnatural and strange. The Sanctuary had been almost the entirety of her world. And now…now the world looked so much bigger, and so much brighter.

She set off, keeping her stride purposeful but not too fast. Just another denizen of the Sanctuary returning home after the day's labors were done. No one who had any need to keep to the shadows or take a hurried pace. She found herself counting her steps, but the second she noticed she was doing it, the thing she'd been trying not to consider forcefully presented itself to the forefront of her mind.

She hadn't lied to him. She did desperately want to see Lithra, and that would have been true under any circumstances. But the omission still nagged at her. She'd wanted to tell him. She almost had. Why hadn't she been able to just ask him if carrying his child was dangerous to her?

The answer to that question came in the form of another question, the one that had been bothering her since the beginning. Why hadn't he been willing to tell her, even after all this time, why she was in danger in the first place?

Tanitha swallowed, trying to keep her stride unhurried and unbothered despite the tumult of her thoughts. She wasn't a fool. No matter how much she cared for him, no matter how much she wanted to be with him, there were things that he wasn't telling her. And when she spoke to him about the child, she needed to be able to be completely certain that he was answering honestly.

A part of her felt that she was being the worst kind of ungrateful to him. He'd saved her life, even if he hadn't told her the full story, and she was repaying him with distrust. But at the same time… his words about plans for them to be together were still just words. She loved him, and she believed that he loved her. But she couldn't yet fully trust him. No matter how much pain doubting him brought to her heart.

She took a stiff breath, bolstering her resolve. Everything would be clear soon enough. She'd talk to Lithra, then to him. She'd tell him everything. And then… and then the two of them would go away together. She didn't know where, or what the future might hold. But they would be together, and that would be enough.

She'd entered the Sanctuary's main residential sector, where those who lived in the Sanctuary but didn't work in its sacred places made their homes. It took her only a few minutes to make her way to the long line of row-houses, narrow and tightly packed, that had once been her home.

She stood on her own front doorstep, then raised a hand to knock. Strange as it felt to do that at her own home, she didn't want to startle Lithra by entering unannounced. Making sure that her hood was in place over her hair, she lightly tapped on the wood.

Footsteps sounded within, and Tanitha's breath caught. The door opened, and Lithra stepped out, her eyes wide as she looked at Tanitha. Tanitha almost spoke, but found that she couldn't, too overwhelmed at finally seeing Lithra.

For a moment, the sisters just stared at each other. "Tanitha?" Lithra whispered, her voice tremulous. Tanitha started to answer, but found her throat too choked. The next second, Lithra had flung herself at Tanitha, catching her in a wild embrace.

"You're back! I thought— Oh, Tanitha, I thought— I—" She broke off, tears streaming down her face. Tanitha, who was fighting back tears as well, hugged her tighter, then released her far enough to gently wipe some of the tears from beneath Lithra's eyes.

"I thought something awful had happened," Lithra whispered before burying her face in Tanitha's shoulder again. "I thought— they told me you'd gone to the palace, but I knew you'd never go without telling me, and even if you had to, you'd send word after you arrived, and— what happened? Did you go to the palace?"

"No," Tanitha said. Despite knowing there was little she could have done differently, guilt tore at her heart. "No, I've been… somewhere else. I wanted to send word, but I couldn't, and… This was the first time I could come back to see you." She glanced over her shoulder. "We need to go inside," she said, catching Lithra's hand and pulling her in behind her.

She closed the door the second they were both inside, setting the latch firmly in place. When she did, a small exhalation escaped her. She hadn't been afraid, precisely— she knew that he would be guarding her from a distance— but she nonetheless was relieved that she'd gotten this far without being seen.

The room was dimly lit with a single oil lamp, its flame wavering slightly in the gust of air that shutting the door had caused. It was a narrow room, with a tall bench for food preparation in the front beside where she and Lithra stood now, and a space with a pair of low-slung couches near the back, separated from the front by colorful bolts of cloth, each one embroidered with bright threads. Lithra had done them when they were much younger, frequently muttering oaths as she pricked herself with the needle, but she'd been proud to have brightened the space for them in the end. It was such a simple memory, but it still made Tanitha's heart ache as she turned to Lithra, lowering her hood.

Lithra pulled her into another tight embrace. "I've missed you," she said softly.

"I know," Tanitha said, pained. "I've missed you as well. I'm so sorry, Lithra." There was so much else to say, and not enough time for nearly all of it, but even so, she found herself floundering, with no idea where to begin.

Lithra moved back far enough that she could look up at Tanitha's face. Though the lamplight left half her face in shadow, the confusion there was still clear. She plucked at the fabric of Tanitha's sleeve, further confusion creasing her face.

"This is silk," she said, looking bewildered. "Tanitha, where have you been? "

"I… I don't know where, exactly," Tanitha said. "Up in the mountains." Lithra gave a startled shake of the head, clearly bewildered. "I know, it's confusing," Tanitha said apologetically. "I'll need to start at the beginning. But— have you been all right?" she asked, suddenly feeling the need to assure herself on that point more urgently than anything. "He told me you'd be looked after, and he's been good to me, but I needed to know…"

" He ? Who are you talking about?" Lithra asked, her eyes widening slightly. She gripped Tanitha's arms. "What's happened to you?"

"I'm all right. I promise I'm all right," Tanitha said, trying not to wince; she was certain Lithra was going to leave bruises on her arms. "I'll tell you everything. But I don't have long, and I need to know first that you're all right."

Slowly, Lithra loosened her grip on Tanitha's arms. "I've been receiving an additional stipend," she said slowly. "A large one." Tanitha let out a sigh of relief. There was a part of her that felt guilty for the twinges of doubt she'd felt on that point, but nonetheless, the confirmation was comforting. Lithra continued, "The messages always said it was from you, a portion of your own earnings, but… it just seemed so strange. I couldn't think why you'd be able to send wages but not a message." Her voice trembled, and she managed, "Ashes below, I've been frightened for you."

"I know. And I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you I was safe, but… here, let's sit," she said, guiding Lithra to the low-slung divan beside the wall. They both sat, Lithra never letting go of her for a second. The divan felt thin and understuffed, the material rough against Tanitha's skin, though perhaps that was just the contrast against the comforts she had grown accustomed to. Tanitha looked around, frowning. Everything looked exactly the same.

"You said it's a generous stipend?" she asked.

"I haven't been able to make myself spend any of it," Lithra said. "I… I really thought it might be blood money, Tanitha. Compensation for a death, even if no one would admit it." She swallowed back a fresh rise of tears. "Where have you been?"

Tanitha drew her close again, her heart aching. There was no gentle way to say any of this. "It is blood money of a sort, Lithra," she began haltingly. "I'm not meant to be alive right now." Lithra tensed in her arms, and Tanitha hastened to add, "I'm safe, but I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone that you've seen me, or even that you've heard from me."

Lithra looked up at her, eyes wide and frightened. "What's happened?" she asked softly. "Were you taken to the palace? What do you mean, you're not meant to be alive ?"

Tanitha took a slow breath. She'd rehearsed this in her mind many times, but she was determined to tell Lithra the truth, and she truly didn't have much time. Even less than she should have had, given what she really wanted to talk to Lithra about.

"One of the demons gave an order to have me killed," she said. Lithra's hand flew to her mouth. "I don't know which one, or why. But another of them offered me shelter. He's… he's been very kind," she said, warmth creeping along her cheeks.

"Ordered for you to be killed?" Lithra asked, horrified. "You— you and I, we're nobody. Why would one of them care to harm you?" She gripped Tanitha's hands tightly. "And— and then why would another of them care to save you?"

Tanitha bit her lip, hating the reminder of his evasions on this topic. "He saved me because he didn't think it was right, what was being done to me," she said at last, deciding to ignore the other point for now. "I didn't think any of them would ever concern themselves with people like us, with someone like me, but… he's different."

Lithra pulled away several inches, the gentle hush of her clothes shifting over the divan's fabric the only sound. She was looking at Tanitha with her lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to speak but couldn't quite find the words.

After a few seconds, she managed, "Which of the demons is it? The one sheltering you. Is it one whose name I'd know?"

Tanitha hesitated, though not just because she couldn't answer. She understood the question beneath the question well enough. The name didn't matter, but reputation did. When humans heard of demons by name, it was usually in connection with some act of violence or display of vast power. Despite the reassurance that knowledge could bring, she didn't think Lithra wanted to hear a name that she knew. A demon name, a name connected with fear and awe, would bring no comfort.

"He's not anyone you'll have heard of by name," she told Lithra, her heart twinging at the evasion. She couldn't expect Lithra to be anything but alarmed if she brought up darkness and blindfolds, and there wasn't time to explain all of it in a way she'd understand.

Lithra didn't answer immediately, but she didn't look reassured. "You don't have to be afraid for me," Tanitha added. She moved to take Lithra's hand again, but Lithra drew back sharply. Tanitha looked up in surprise, feeling the beginning of hurt. "Lithra, what is it?"

Lithra started to speak, then apparently thought better of whatever she'd been about to say, because she paused. Then, carefully, she said, "Has he been treating you well?"

"Yes," Tanitha said immediately. "He's been very good to me."

Lithra swallowed. "But you said you don't have much time," she said. "You'll have to leave… to go back to him?"

Tanitha nodded. Lithra made as if to reach out, then paused, folding her hands together in her lap. "Do you have to return?" she asked, her voice strained. "What would happen if you didn't?"

"I promised," Tanitha said, frowning. "I promised I'd go back to him— with him."

"That isn't what I— Tanitha, do you have to go back ? Do you have a choice? Did you have a choice about giving your word?"

"He didn't force an oath, if that's what you're asking," Tanitha replied. "I told you, he has been treating me with kindness."

"I'm asking if you have a choice in staying with him, and you're not answering ," Lithra said, a faint hiss of frustration entering her voice.

"He is protecting me, Lithra! Yes, I can leave, but since someone apparently wants me dead, I don't think taking that choice would be particularly wise!"

"How do you know?" Lithra demanded. "Who told you that someone powerful wanted you dead? Was it him, the one allegedly keeping you safe from this unknown danger?"

"Yes," Tanitha said. She couldn't help it; her tone was going cold. "If you're implying that he's lying—"

"I'm not implying anything; I'm asking ," Lithra interrupted. "I know you're not a fool, so I am asking. How do you know he's telling the truth? How do you know you can trust what he says?"

"Because there isn't another explanation that makes sense," Tanitha said, forcing her voice to remain calm. She didn't know why she hadn't realized that this would happen. Of course Lithra would be frightened and confused. It wasn't her fault. Tanitha had had months to consider and come to terms with this situation; Lithra had had only moments.

"I know what this looks like from the outside," Tanitha said, attempting a conciliatory tone. "You're thinking that he lied about the danger to make me cooperative, to make sure I didn't attempt to flee. Is that right?" Lithra gave one nod, her gaze fixed on Tanitha's. "I thought that too, at first. But it doesn't make sense. You know how strong they are, how powerful. They don't need to play games to get their way."

Lithra bit her lip. "That's true," she allowed after a moment. "But… what if he likes playing games?"

"He isn't like that. Please, Lithra, trust me. He's been…" She trailed off, aware that heat was rising in her cheeks. "He's been wonderful to me."

Lithra went very still, her gaze fixed on Tanitha's face as if intently searching for something. "Tanitha," she said slowly. "Do you… do you have feelings for him?"

Tanitha faltered. The answer to that was obvious, so obvious that she felt ridiculous for not answering immediately. But there was a tenderness to those feelings that made it difficult to speak on them, as if putting them to words or giving them a name might bruise or shatter them. She started to speak, then found that she couldn't. She simply nodded her head once.

"Ashen Halls," Lithra whispered. " Why , Tanitha? You know how dangerous they are!"

"He would never hurt me." That, at least, wasn't difficult to say. Lithra's expression was shadowed with doubt. Despite her efforts to be patient, Tanitha had to stamp on some burgeoning irritation at that.

"You don't know him," she said quietly. "You don't know anything about him. But I do. And I know he wouldn't hurt me."

Perhaps it was the conviction in her voice, or the steadiness of her gaze, but finally, the hard set of Lithra's posture softened. Only slightly, true, but it was a start.

"You've really been all right?" she asked softly.

Tanitha pulled her in for an embrace, and finally, Lithra didn't shy away. She released her, though she kept her hands tightly curled around Lithra's.

"I'm all right," she said firmly. "I promise. I've been happy." A shadow crossed Lithra's face, and Tanitha continued softly, "I'm so, so sorry I couldn't get word to you. I wanted to, but it wasn't safe."

Lithra swallowed. "Because you're not meant to be alive right now," she said. Tanitha nodded. "And you truly don't know why that is? Why someone would want to hurt you?"

Tanitha looked at her, pained. Gods, how she wished she could answer differently.

"No," she said at last. "I don't know the answer to that." Lithra bit her lip, and Tanitha hurried on to say, "I'll know more soon. And I promise, Lithra, when everything's safe, I'll write to you. I'll tell you everything I learn. I won't leave you wondering like this again."

Lithra started to speak, stopped, then just shook her head once. "I just… I don't understand," she said at last. "I can't remember the last time you so much as looked twice at a man, and… and now you're telling me that you have feelings for… for…"

"For a demon," Tanitha said. She'd come to terms with it, but Lithra never would if they were shy about stating the facts of the matter outright. "Yes."

Lithra blinked. "All right," she said softly after several seconds. "For a demon." Her hands tightened on Tanitha's. "And… you promise me that you don't believe that he means to hurt you?"

"He's had no shortage of opportunities," Tanitha said. Though she was impatient to get to the matter that had brought her here, she still felt warmed by Lithra's need to reassure herself on this point. "Everything he's done has been to protect and strengthen me. He doesn't mean me harm."

"They're just… they're just so much stronger than us," Lithra said, a plea in her voice. "How can you feel safe with one of them? How can I know you're safe with one of them?"

Tanitha's heart twisted. "I can only tell you how I feel, Li," she said softly. "And… how I feel is that I love him." Lithra's eyes were wide. Tanitha's throat suddenly felt tight. "And I know that he feels the same." Whatever else she had doubts on, she was certain of that much. "There's something else I haven't told him, though, and I need to talk with you about it. Just— please. It's going to surprise you, and I don't want you to be upset."

Lithra gave a short whisper of a laugh. "Upset? Tanitha, you just came back from the dead and then told me that you've fallen in love with a demon. I don't think you can shock me further than you already have."

Tanitha was less certain on that point, but decided to take Lithra at her word. "All right," she said. She took a bracing breath. "I'm… I think I'm pregnant."

Lithra's jaw dropped. Besides that, she gave no reaction at all for several painful seconds. Then, she leapt to her feet.

" What ?"

"Keep quiet," Tanitha said urgently. "No one can know that I'm here, remember?"

" Pregnant ?" She was looking at Tanitha in outright horror now, though she had lowered her voice, at least. "You've— you've been with him— like that ?"

Tanitha bristled. "You know, I haven't always approved of your choices in bed partners, but I've never—"

"My choices in—" Lithra sputtered. "My— my partners are human , Tanitha! My partners do not transform into vicious beasts and tear people apart!"

"Well, neither does mine," Tanitha snapped, folding her arms.

"That you know of!" Lithra retorted, aghast. "I don't imagine it's a topic that comes up in casual conversation!"

Tanitha stood. Lithra went quiet suddenly, and she was looking at Tanitha as if she had never seen her before.

"I told you this because I need your help," Tanitha said quietly.

Lithra looked at her warily. "You know what herbs to take just as well as I do."

"Not like that !" Tanitha said in exasperation. Lithra rubbed the back of her neck in a quick, strained motion, clearly unable to believe what was happening. "I just— I want to know if it's safe," Tanitha said softly. "I need to know if you've ever encountered something like this before. A temple girl who's had a dalliance…?"

Lithra gave a short, disbelieving laugh. "Tanitha, those girls vanish !"

Tanitha's heart stuttered. "Vanish?" she asked, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper. Lithra had gone still, as if she hadn't meant to say that at all. "What do you mean, they vanish ?" Tanitha demanded.

Lithra was holding herself tight. "I'm… I'm not supposed to talk about this," she said. "It's forbidden. This isn't supposed to happen at all."

"Lithra, please," Tanitha said, her heart beating in her throat. "Not supposed to happen? You have seen cases like this?"

Lithra bit her lip, glancing toward the door as if to reassure herself that it was firmly latched shut. Still, she motioned Tanitha closer.

"Twice," she said, her voice very low. "The first… I wasn't involved in her care, but I overheard things. She was a senator's daughter, from a wealthy family, but she'd come to us because she didn't want her family's physician to know. And then she admitted who the father was. That the child wasn't fully human." She was still holding herself tight. "I don't know what happened next, exactly. I've always thought one of the priestesses reported it back to the demon she'd been with. But the girl never came back. People said her family had sent her away, and there were several different rumors of where or why. The other case… she never told us who the father was, but a few days after she'd spoken with us, two demons came to interrogate everyone who'd been involved in her care. They didn't say what it was about but… well, we're midwives. I thought it was clear enough."

Lithra took an unsteady breath before she continued. "We all denied knowing, or even suspecting anything. But none of us ever saw that girl again, either." She was staring at the ground, seemingly unable to make herself look at Tanitha. Tanitha, for her part, found herself unable to speak. "Some of us thought that… well, you know how highly the demons prize children with their blood. Some of us thought that they'd simply taken the women into their custody until the birth. There would be no reason that the women would come back to us after that, really, so perhaps it didn't mean anything terribly sinister that we never saw them again. But others… others thought it was more likely that the women didn't survive the pregnancies." She sent Tanitha a quick, frightened glance. "And that the demons didn't want that to be widely known. It would have caused outrage."

Tanitha swallowed, forcing herself to stay calm. "And what do you think?" she managed, only a faint tremble coloring her voice. "Do you think this pregnancy is dangerous to me?"

Lithra put her hand to her forehead, still not really looking at Tanitha. A look of slow realization was growing on her face, and abruptly, she lowered her hand.

"What does he look like?" she asked, before Tanitha could ask what she was thinking. "What forms has he used in front of you?" Lithra clarified, when Tanitha hesitated.

"He's almost always in human form when he's near me," Tanitha said. "Human, but winged." Lithra didn't look remotely reassured, which confused Tanitha. "That's common among them," she said, frowning. "Half the demons in the city present themselves that way."

"I know, it's just…" Lithra took a slow breath. "Has he said anything about his true form?"

"Those are sacred to his people," Tanitha replied, even more perplexed. This was common knowledge, and Lithra knew it as well as she did. "They don't show them to anyone else."

"But has he said what it is ?" Lithra pressed. "Even if he won't take that form, even if he won't let you see it, could he tell you what it is? Have you ever asked?"

"He…" She trailed off, thinking of the time she'd asked him why he hadn't stayed the full night with her. Of the faint hint of evasion in his tone when he answered. She gave her head a little shake, then looked back at Lithra.

"What does it matter?" she asked.

Lithra swallowed. "Tanitha…I didn't want to ask about this, but… do you remember Spaudia?"

A shiver darted down Tanitha's spine. She forced her mind from the surge of memories, the smell of blood and ash, the putrid air, the screams.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain free of the remembered fear.

"Please, Tanitha, just… do you remember?"

Despite how little she wanted to talk about it, the urgency in Lithra's gaze softened her. "I do," she said. "I remember, but… but you don't, do you?" she asked. Lithra glanced away, and a pit opened in Tanitha's stomach. In that instant before Lithra had averted her gaze, Tanitha had seen a hollowness in her eyes that she immediately recognized.

"I thought you were too young," Tanitha said softly.

Lithra didn't look at her. "I wasn't," she said, voice low. "I wasn't too young to remember. Not all of it. Not the worst of it."

"Oh, Lithra," Tanitha whispered. "I'm…" She trailed off. What could she say? "I didn't know," she said quietly. "I would have let you talk about it with me if I'd realized that you remembered it."

Lithra swallowed, looking up. "I didn't want to make you think on it," she said softly. "I know you remember more than I do. You must, with all you did to keep us safe." Her voice wavered, and she cleared her throat. "I remember how you used to hold me in the night after we were brought here, like you were afraid I'd be taken from you, so at first I was afraid of that, too. But then I realized that you weren't afraid of the people here. You were afraid of an illness that the demons would never let cross into this land. And so I thought they were like the heroes in the old stories. But they're not, are they? They're not heroes, or gods, or even monsters. They're people. People with all the same cruelty and violence that we saw in Spaudia, but much, much stronger."

Tanitha's throat felt tight. "I've told you that he isn't going to hurt me."

"Maybe," Lithra said. "But that isn't my point. I wanted to ask… do you remember the last time we went to the temple of Adathia for food?

Tanitha went still, a memory of a madwoman's cackle ringing in her mind. She didn't answer, but her face must have, because Lithra slowly stepped forward. She took her hand, her touch very gentle.

"You remember what that woman said?" she asked softly. " Bride of the serpent ." Tanitha flinched as if struck. Lithra squeezed her hand once before withdrawing again, but she didn't relent. "Those words used to haunt my dreams. For a while I thought maybe they'd come from my dreams, that it had never really happened. That none of what we saw in Spaudia really happened. Because… because you and I were safe. We were safe, so I didn't want to think that something so horrible could be real. That something that horrible could happen again." She swallowed. "But it was real. And horrible things do happen, no matter how tight you hold to the people you want to protect."

"Lithra…"

Lithra shook her head once, raising her free hand in a wordless plea to let her finish. Tanitha subsided; she wasn't certain what she meant to say anyway. Some comfort, perhaps, some words to remind Lithra that it was Tanitha's job to look after her, not the other way around.

"I don't know what happened to those girls I told you about," Lithra said. "I don't know how these pregnancies work. But… But I think the father's true form has to matter, has to have something to do with if it's safe." She looked up, forcing herself to meet Tanitha's eyes once more. "She said bride of the serpent, " Lithra repeated. "I never wanted to think there was any truth to it. But now… you don't know his true form. You don't know what he is ." Her gaze was intense with fear. "You don't know what you're carrying."

The words struck Tanitha with the force of a blow. The implications, the horror of it, made her heart feel constricted. She fought to take a breath, then another. "He…" She thought of the nights with her host, of the gentleness of his hands on her hips, his lips on hers. "If there was a danger to me, he never would have…"

"Men are careless about this," Lithra said softly. "Maybe because they never have to bear the cost themselves." She clutched Tanitha's hand tighter. "Tanitha, don't go back to him. Please. Stay."

"Lithra, I… I can't," Tanitha said. "It's dangerous for me to be here at all. And… and I don't want to leave him." Her voice broke slightly on the last word.

Lithra slowly loosened her grip on Tanitha's hand, blinking back tears. "Can you find out what he is?" she asked. "What he really is?"

Tanitha swallowed. "He won't allow it," she said softly. Perhaps she could ask him about his true form, but she was even less convinced that he'd answer that than her other questions. And even if he did, she had no way of knowing if he was telling her the full truth. "He controls light and darkness, Lithra. I won't be able to see him if he doesn't want me to."

"You have to find a way," Lithra said. Tanitha didn't speak, still feeling numb. Surely… surely he would have told her if there was some risk? He wouldn't have been so careless, would he?

Lithra grabbed her hand, blinking back tears. "I can't lose you. Please, please promise me you'll find a way to make sure this child isn't putting you in danger."

Tanitha swallowed, the deep dread in Lithra's eyes chilling her even more than her own fear had moments before. After all, what harm could it do, to see him for what he was? He'd be angry, but… but if there was danger, she had a right to know.

She closed her eyes for several seconds, then said softly, "I promise."