9. SYNERGY

nine

SYNERGY

O liver got the most important parts of himself clean before Tau became impatient enough to grab a terry cloth and throw it near the edge of the pond. Heat crept across his face, bloomed to his ears, and it had nothing to do with the water.

"You could get in here," Oliver said.

Tau immediately shook his head once. It was as good as his nod. Stiff, but a clear response, and it eased the sting of not being able to hear him speak. At least they weren't completely without communication.

Rivulets poured down his frame, splashing onto pliant moss as he hoisted himself out. A lily pad clung to his thigh that he peeled off and tossed back in. Unfortunately, he hadn't hit the golden fish that had deliberately smacked his shins more than once.

As Oliver swung his focus back on Tau, the heat in his face doubled. This was not the first time Tau had seen him completely naked. He'd come into the hot springs a few times over the years and caught him, much to Oliver's mortification at the time. And, of course, they had rubbed against each other. That felt like ages ago.

Tau had looked at him then much like he was now. An intense prickling darted over Oliver's skin, and he knew his boyfriend was actively staring , the burn of that hidden gaze hastening the beating of his heart.

Shyness had him curling his shoulders over his chest as he gathered the terry cloth to hide. Tau glided to stand right in front of him, that claw-like hand twitching forward like he struggled to restrain himself while Oliver clumsily dried off.

He moved faster, finishing with a few firm rubs over his hair. Metal fingers ripped the cloth out of his grasp, flung it aside, then clenched around his backside and raised him up.

Arousal pitched Oliver's breath, ridiculously soft robes sliding against his bare skin. He wound all limbs around Tau's neck and waist, bucked his stiffening cock against a hard stomach, and pressed a series of hungry kisses to the smooth face. His back slammed into the door, evoking a startled, ardent groan as Tau ground against him with fervour.

The wealth of fabric milling across his cock did nothing to hide Tau's erection. Hard, long, and coaxing a thrilled moan out of Oliver. Far too loud, and he latched onto Tau's neck inside the hood, mouthing the umbrageous fabric, tasting its faint bitterness and muffling his verbal arousal.

Something Tau seemed to like, his thrusts near crushing, nails digging into Oliver's arse cheeks so hard it hurt. Likely drew blood too, and he loved it, the blinding neediness behind it.

Oliver bucked his hips in rhythmic desperation. Grabbed the back of the pointed hood. Traced a line of gold on Tau's face with his tongue. Tilted away. Gasping for air heavy with flowers and springtime rain, he pulled harder at the hood.

"Sunshine," he panted, voice atremble. Prick aching between them, robes daubing at the leaking tip with each pulverising roll of hips. "Take it out." No reaction, so he pressed another kiss to Tau's face, scraped his teeth across it, and uttered, "Your cock. Take it out."

When Tau still didn't react beyond grinding him into the door, Oliver thought he knew what the problem might be—between dizzying need and the lust curtaining his more coherent thoughts.

"I won't look. I promised you already, right? But I need to feel you."

Finally, Tau lifted him away from the door and laid him down in the centre of the oversized restroom, bedewed moss cool against Oliver's fever-hot skin. He arched up, his entire body canopied by Tau.

Oliver dove a hand into the robes, past the waistband. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he grazed warm-cool skin with explorative fingers, before wrapping them around Tau's cock. So huge, and so hard, needing both hands to free. Tau clasped either side of his face and trapped him there. Oliver would have kept his gaze fixed on the black triangles even without the hold, smiling at the way Tau thrust into his hand, like he too was desperate for unbridled contact.

Whispering needily against the lower part of Tau's face, Oliver squeezed their cocks together. Didn't need to do much beyond that. The ridges and mingling temperatures of Tau's length sliding against his own worked to unravel him already.

For every gasped, "I love you," and, "I missed you so much," Tau met him with equal intensity. He couldn't say it out loud, but the feelings were mutual, Oliver knew they were. Tau's love, its encompassing warmth, swirled his heart, overwhelming to the point his eyes burned with emotion.

He squeezed them shut as Tau relinquished the hold on his face to drag sharp fingertips down his chest and ribs. He arched into the stinging drag that stopped to dig into his hips, sure to leave reddened tracks. A shiver drummed his spine at the very notion of his boyfriend leaving marks on him.

Not until Tau buried his face into the crook of Oliver's neck did he open his eyes again. He nuzzled the side of the hood and inhaled the scent of rain with greedy gulps. Another roll of hips, a firm slick slide against his cock, tightened the knot building in his stomach, the tension in his jaw.

An abrupt wave of a simmering-chill washed his stomach, eliciting a startled gasp, muffled against Tau's hood and chasing gooseflesh across his skin. Oliver clenched his grip around both their pricks, eyes fluttering at the come dripping down his sides.

Tau's hips jerked forward, his erection yet to wane, working to undo Oliver entirely. He grit his teeth and came with a moan that bounced off leaf-adorned walls.

As Oliver slumped down into moss, Tau fell atop him, heavier than the world and knocking free the breath that had snagged in his lungs. Not that Oliver cared, too satiated. If he were to suffocate beneath that glorious body, he'd do so a happy man.

All the same, once Tau finally eased off and rolled to lie beside him, Oliver inhaled with relief, closing his eyes. He ran his fingers through the pleasure on his stomach, skirting down to his navel where he toyed with the small puddle. Not until he thought Tau had righted himself did he bring his fingers up and open his eyes to look.

Oliver's mouth watered at the sight of Tau's climax. Clear like water, its sun-like shimmer divine. He wanted to taste it, but a quick sideways glance told him he was being watched again. He resisted bringing his fingers to his mouth if only because he didn't know how Tau would take it.

"That was nice." An understatement, but Oliver couldn't think what else to say, his head slogged from blessed relief. No trace left of the apprehension that had built over the months. "All tucked away?"

No matter how much he longed to see his boyfriend, he didn't want to break the trust Tau had put in him. Trust not easily earned, he suspected. His Sentinel would show himself once ready. No matter how long it would take, Oliver would wait. Impatiently, but he would wait.

Stiffly, Tau sat up, crossing those long legs of his. He ran sharp nails over Oliver's abdomen, toying with the fluid on his belly. It parted around his fingers as though pushed away by magic.

"So that's how you stay dry in the mine."

From the corners of his eyes, he caught the nod, although Oliver was more focused on the way those pointed fingertips moved lower to tease the thicket of hair by his spent cock. As far as Oliver had been able to discover, Tau had no hair anywhere near his pelvis.

He reached over to curl his fingers into charcoal robes, giving the pliant fabric a soft tug.

"I love you," he whispered, and Tau lowered to press the bottom part of his face against his forehead. Another kiss, maybe. "I could fall asleep right here." He craned up to chase after that beautiful face and kissed the cheek. "Do you sleep, Sunshine?"

Tau leaned back, stuck out both his legs, then settled to lie down beside him, firmly pressed against Oliver's side. He shook his head, and Oliver hummed.

"I guess you don't dream either?" He turned his head, nose flattening against Tau's face, which shifted with another slight shake. "You don't mind if I call you ‘Sunshine', do you?"

A large hand found his hip and gave it a firm squeeze. Oliver assumed that meant he didn't mind and smiled.

"When you're feeling better, maybe you can take me back to that dark place and we can talk? There are so many things I want to ask you."

Dropping another kiss to Tau's face, Oliver rolled over and glanced around for Lucetta's bag. He wasn't given a chance to search for Sigma's magic, a firm knock on the door and the announcement of food banishing every single thought he had.

"I'm starved."

Despite an unfortunate lack of meat, Oliver overindulged, inhaling anything within reach until ready to explode—then continued to eat. He struggled to move afterward, helplessly lying in bed, head in Tau's lap, while Maji and Lucetta danced with each other to a symphony of frogs outside and the radio's braying. They held hands and twirled, stumbling over their own feet until Maji's cheeks were like rosy apples and Lucetta's eyes drooped from an overabundance of food and wine. When they finally crashed into bed and the fluttering wall lights dimmed on their own, the two fell asleep before even fully settled.

It would have been easy to drift off, especially with the way Tau ran fingers through his hair, but a persistent niggle pushed Oliver upright. Fluctuating, bright green lights flowed into the room through the windows, allowing him to find Lucetta's bag in an otherwise darkened room. He located it near the end of the second bed and rummaged until his fingers closed around the strange star's dulled points.

When he turned and his gaze set on Tau, he paused, lips quirking up in a smile. Eerie like a shadow, sitting propped up against the elaborately carved wooden headboard, and looking entirely adorable between the cascade of pink fabric and white flowers while he waited for Oliver to come back to bed.

It was tempting to strip out of his long-johns just so he could slide up naked against those soft robes. That though, would lead to more than just cuddling. Far from a bad thing—when alone. Unfortunately, while Maji was a heavy sleeper and would never notice a thing, Lucetta was not.

Oliver crawled back into arms readily held out to him. Tau pulled him to sit on strong thighs, and squeezed like he was afraid to let go. Delivering a kiss to Tau's cheek, Oliver closed his eyes and focused on healing.

Oliver cracked his eyes open with a pained groan. So much light, restless and blinding even through his crusted lashes. He buried his face into the pillow.

"Up!" Lucetta's shout followed a firm shake of his shoulder. "We've got breakfast and a train to catch."

A louder groan, but Oliver forced himself to sit up, keeping his eyes closed. He hummed at the cool touch to the back of his head, too disoriented to do much other than rub the grogginess from his face. He couldn't even remember when he'd fallen asleep. Once he finally pried his eyes open, he caught sight of Sigma's magic within the folds of the silver sheets. He snatched it up before Lucetta spotted it, although she was busy turning herself into a whirlwind of gathering their things, ocean-tinged sunlight brightly illuminating her frame. She grabbed a pillow that had found its way to the floor and flung it hard at a lump within the sheets of the other bed. Said sheets whined.

"I'll leave you here for the staff to tidy up if I have to!"

It took several more prompts before they managed to get out of bed to dress. Longer still before they were on their way down, steps sluggish and mouths wide open around sleep-heavy yawns.

"I haven't slept like that in a while," Maji mumbled, tripping over laces she hadn't tied.

Having spent most of the night healing, Oliver didn't feel especially refreshed. Irritation spiked with the way Maji's feet scuffed the mossy floor, the way Lucetta clapped him on the back and told him where to sit once they reached the restaurant. The way wooden cutlery hit wooden plates. Tau was the only one who didn't bother him, sticking so close they kept bumping into each other.

Like all else in the hotel, the restaurant was beautifully furnished with upholstered furniture of dark wood and deep red fabric, and shimmering gold cloth covering the tables. Large fern-like greenery enclosing their table allowed for privacy.

Oliver released Tau's hand only once seated and a server provided them with a menu, sparing the Sentinel a brief, odd glance. Something that didn't seem to bother Tau, sitting so close, Oliver's elbow knocked his vambrace with every subtle movement.

With a lingering glower at the server's retreating back, Oliver turned his eyes to the menu, blinking against the burn of too little sleep as he pored over the text. Text he couldn't read . He pretended to anyway, casually setting it down and pointing at something he hoped was edible. Lucetta peered over.

"You sure? You might want to go for the omelette instead."

"Okay, that then," said Oliver hastily.

He cast a glance around to ensure no one could see them past the surrounding foliage, then closed his eyes and exhaled. A faint light formed within his hands, cupped under the table. Tau gave him a look when he held it up, hesitating. He'd tried to stop Oliver from casting magic most of the night, but something was still wrong with his boyfriend, he could feel it deep in his bones. No matter how much it drained him, he wanted Tau to feel better.

Besides, Tau couldn't resist it, the cluster of tiny stars morphing into a line of light that disappeared under his chin faster than a worm down a bird's gullet.

"Ollie!" Lucetta hissed.

His faint smile dropped at the reprimand, just as their breakfast arrived. There was a distinct lack of meat yet again—Lucetta had ordered a salad , of all things, and by the look of disappointment, she didn't seem entirely pleased about that. Maji, on the other hand, tucked into her dish of mystery food with far too much eagerness for someone who'd been sitting with her eyes closed moments ago.

"There you are!"

Oliver groaned, raising his glare to Hennessey rounding a particularly large fern, and resisted the urge to set his fist between their eyes as they boldly invited themselves to sit at their table. As disgruntled as Oliver felt, the Fae looked refreshed. Exuberant, even, their vivid green eyes fixated on Tau.

"What do you want?" groused Oliver.

"Is that how you greet all your guides, or am I special?" Hennessey drawled without looking at him.

"What are you on about?" Oliver spat.

While Maji asked, "A guide for what?" between mouthfuls of something purple.

"I couldn't stop thinking about Sentinel Tau all night long." Breezily, Hennessey crossed their long, slender legs, light grey slacks looking infuriatingly exquisite. "And that you're all headed for Malimoure."

"How do you know about that?" asked Lucetta.

"My dear Sentinel told me, of course."

Oliver's jaw collapsed open. "Wha—" He looked up at Tau, now leaning so far into him the side of the hood brushed his nose with every deep inhale. "You can talk to each other?"

"Of course we can," said Hennessey, like it meant nothing at all.

A hot, hideous jealousy churned to bile in his throat. Oliver was sure his expression wasn't any prettier, since Hennessey looked more pleased by the second and Tau set a hand on his shoulder to calm him. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

"In any case," Hennessey continued, "I happen to know my way around such places. Lucky you!"

"No thanks," said Maji and Oliver simultaneously. They exchanged an amused look.

The Fae dismissed them with a single wave of a long-fingered hand. "Too bad, you don't have a choice. Those lands are dangerous, you'll need all the help you can get to even reach the continent."

"What are you going to do?" asked Oliver hotly. "Trick monsters into servitude?"

At that, Hennessey looked insulted. Oliver relished in his victory, however piddly.

"Do you even know why we're going?" Lucetta idly poked at her rabbit fodder.

"Makes no difference to me," replied Hennessey.

"Right." Lucetta tossed her fork onto the plate, defeated by her breakfast. "You want more magic."

Or to get their hands on Tau.

Oliver grit his teeth, his touch straying to Tau's thigh and squeezing.

Thin lips revealed unnaturally white teeth as Hennessey smiled. "I'm not doing it out of the goodness of my heart."

"That's the most honest thing you've said so far," said Maji.

"Indeed. And you can relax, I have two Ursidae with me. No tricking monsters into anything. Unless opportunity presents itself, of course." Hennessey's shoulders hiked up to their neck in the most appalling display of gratified embarrassment Oliver had ever seen.

Maji, on the other hand, perked up. "Fred and Ed? Where are they?"

"At the station."

"We don't need you," said Oliver.

"Ollie," Lucetta began. She leaned in and, annoyingly, so did Hennessey. "If we're headed into a raging war, having two Ursidae with us might not be the worst thing."

"But—"

"So it's decided!" Hennessey straightened up, eyes flashing bright purple. "In exchange for guiding you to Malimoure, you will provide me with more magic."

Oliver's gaze slid from Lucetta's face to Maji's, panic slinging around his stomach. Both looked ready to agree. The last thing he wanted was to kill someone else, even if it would be for touching Tau.

Head awhirl, he blurted, "Under conditions!" Then paused, desperately grasping for ideas. "You—You don't touch Tau, ever . If I catch you trying, you won't live to regret it."

Hennessey quirked a pale brow. "So possessive! Very well."

"And," Oliver ploughed on, encouraged by Tau's fingers toying with the hair at the back of his neck, "you won't get magic stronger or different to what Luce gave you yesterday."

The other eyebrow rose. " Very well ."

" And you're going to tell me how you can hear Tau. Teach me so I can hear him too."

There, the Fae hesitated. Oliver wondered how much Sigma's tiny stars were worth.

"Fine."

A lot, apparently.

"Aside from the last, all are acceptable terms."

"What?" Oliver snapped, anger quick to unspool. "Why the hell not?"

"Calm down, bantam." Hennessey leaned back, looking bored. "I would have told you even without your demands. As a non-magical being, you can't communicate with him."

"That's not true! We have magic in us, we're miners." Oliver's grip tightened around Tau's thigh.

He ignored Lucetta's concerned look, his focus drawing to the sharp tug on his hair that pulled his head back. His anger was quickly replaced with arousal, and Oliver closed his eyes against the dizzying storm of emotions.

"My, you lot are knowledgeable, aren't you? I'm afraid that's not enough."

"There's got to be a way." Oliver's shoulders slumped. "Can Tau learn how to talk to me—us, then?"

"That would require a certain transformation."

Hennessey's smugness dropped the moment Oliver's boomed.

"Right then." Oliver smiled, taking on that same superior tone as the Fae. He sat up straight and tilted his chin up for better effect. "You'll tell us what you know about that, you won't touch Tau, and you'll help us get to Mallimoure—"

"In exchange for magic no stronger than what you've already given me. Yes, yes." Hennessey glared. "I agree."

Still as hungry as before he'd had breakfast, Oliver and his friends left through the hotel's large doors, grouped tightly together, following Hennessey to the train station.

"I'm starting to wonder why we don't just sell those little things ourselves," muttered Lucetta.

"Because selling is completely different to trading?" Maji offered.

"Shhhh!" someone hissed in passing.

That same anger jostled back to life.

"Shut your trill!" bellowed Oliver. Tau's hand tightened around his, subduing the flare-up. Shame took its place, and he lowered his gaze. Quietly, he said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Looking up at Tau's face, its dark lustre prominent in the wash of green-tinged morning light, the craving for a conversation less one-sided hollowed Oliver's chest. Its ache persistent, despite Tau curling an arm around his shoulders and drawing him against his side.

The two Ursidae stood out like massive, bear-shaped stalagmites. Nowhere near as cuddly-looking, on account they were hairless from head to waist, sporting halberds and midnight blue armour. Sharpened metal glinted with enough menace that people gave them a wide berth as the bears greeted Hennessey with loud snorts audible over the train's huffing.

"Hi Fred, hi Ed!" Maji bounced up to them, a pebble in comparison.

"Alright, tiny human?" said the one, wearing purple and yellow cloth beneath the armour, moulded to look like gaping bear maws.

"Fancy seeing you here," said the other in white and red.

Oliver couldn't remember which one was which, and wasn't bothered enough to ask. He scanned for a mostly empty carriage, intending to heal Tau further. The sooner Tau felt better, the sooner they could talk to each other.

An elbow prompted Oliver to glance at Lucetta. She held up a hand and he instantly understood what she wanted. He looked at her, pleading.

"Come on," she said. "It's making you cranky."

He moaned in complaint, but plucked the star from his overall's front pocket and pressed it into her open palm. Oliver ducked back under Tau's arm, weaving past a throng of Fae and humans. There was even a tree-person nearby.

Oliver had seen depictions of them before, of course, and they came in a variety of shapes and sizes. This one though, made him realise why the ticket clerk hadn't been inclined to believe his claim that Tau was one of them.

White skin with black, uneven stripes crackled, its shape more deer-like than human. A set of four willowy arms protruded from the base of its neck. It had four legs, graceful in their gait, holding up a thin arched body, twig-like spines running down its back. A vibrant cascade of bright-green swayed along its elongated neck, covering a long face, the leaves still young and fresh with the early spring days.

Plumes of steam surged up from the tracks onto the platform, the whistle shrieked, sending a shooting pain straight through the centre of Oliver's skull. He grimaced, pushing past a crowd to get to a carriage.

"Oh, I think not," said Hennessey over the clamour of people. "Nothing other than first class, for me. Sentinel Tau, come and join me."

"Then we're coming too." Oliver wrapped his arm around Tau's hips. "He's not going anywhere without us."

Hennessey shrugged, seamlessly weaving past last-minute passengers. "Suit yourselves."

Oliver didn't know who would pay for the upgrade, didn't especially care either, following the Fae to a carriage closer to the train's front.

First-class was something else entirely, with upholstered chairs rather than hard benches, even a settee, all covered in luxurious orange fabrics. Polished wood adorned the sides, several cabinets lined the top, entirely out of reach for Maji, who jumped to throw her rucksack up with all her might. It pelted back and dropped with a hard thud down onto a dull pink carpet.

With Tau mostly bent over behind him, Oliver shuffled over, grabbed the rucksack, and slammed it into the cabinet for her. She smiled at him, a hint of worry slinking through its radiance. He tried to meet the smile, wanting to reassure, though it felt more like a grimace.

He tossed his own rucksack to the floor by the settee, dropping into it and pulled Tau along to sit with him. Lucetta claimed the chair nearest Maji and Oliver, drawing in her legs to make room for the Ursidae, shimmying sideways. Their furry feet left claw tracks in the carpet as they made themselves comfortable adjacent to Lucetta, chairs creaking under their weight.

Much to Oliver's annoyance, Hennessey sat in the chair by the window, facing him and Tau with a self-satisfied smile.

The train whistled again, the bell rang several times over, and soon they jerked into motion. A large number of seats remained empty—they were the only occupants, thankfully.

Oliver rubbed his forehead and leaned forward, elbows digging into his thighs."What do you know about the transformation Tau would have to go through to talk to us?"

Hennessey's expression soured. They crossed their legs and leaned back. "I suspect you already know something about it."

"Not really. I know someone who can do it, but not how."

"You do, hm? That wouldn't be Alpha, would it?"

"If by Alpha you mean Emergence, then yeah."

Saying the name caught everyone's attention, including Tau's, who went from looking out the window back to staring at Oliver.

"So Emergence is Alpha?" Maji slung her legs over the chair's armrest. "I thought Alpha expired over a hundred years ago?"

"You overestimate how much I know," Hennessey said.

"Emergence called themselves the original," said Oliver.

"That's because They are."

"So you do know plenty. Look," Oliver continued, "I'm done pretending I'm smarter than you. I'm not—"

"I know."

Oliver scowled. "Emergence destroyed Tau's homeworld, and we want to pay the bastard back for it."

Hennessey hummed. "Yes, I had heard something of the sort."

"They can also talk in this world. I want to know how," said Oliver.

"Alpha has always been able to talk in this world though, haven't They?" said Maji.

"Yes. They have also undergone many transformations. My kind knew Them well before our gateway was discovered by humankind."

"That's an unconfirmed theory." Lucetta crossed her arms. "Are you saying it's true?"

Hennessey shrugged. "They introduced Themselves as Emergence to us. Wanted to make us their pet project first, until Fae Mother's Scions pointed Them to your endearingly faulty kind. Why They should introduce Themselves as Alpha to humans is beyond me. But, they are ancient, and possess knowledge and have methods I have no hope of understanding."

"Do you know where Emergence is now?" asked Oliver.

"I do not. My kind no longer associates with that one's particular brand of antics." Hennessey sighed then. "Although, I confess, with so many Sentinels gone, it's bad for business."

"I imagine Sentinel magic is hard enough to come by as is," said Lucetta, which earned her a smirk. "Does that mean you know why Emergence attacked Tau's homeworld?"

"We have theories."

It was under Alpha's guidance that humans had discovered the Fae world, many years ago. To now hear the Fae had been privy to so much more knowledge stirred irritation in not just Oliver, but Lucetta and Maji too, if their faces were anything to go by.

"Did you know Sentinels answered to some kind of Elders?" asked Oliver.

"Theories, like I said."

Oliver's look turned acidic. "Why the hell have none of you ever said anything? Knowing Sentinels answered to others might have been useful information to have!"

Hennessey huffed, green eyes turning away. "The sanctity of Sentinels stretches far, and they indulge Fae about as much as they indulge humans. That is to say, not a whole lot. Never mind that we are forbidden from speaking to them. I'm one of very few who sought a career in mining and have, therefore, been actively around a Sentinel. My luck that Sentinel Tau is…ah, less than careful."

Oliver, Lucetta, and Maji gave Tau a look, not that his boyfriend could say anything in his defence. He could only sit there with an arm around Oliver's shoulders, gazing out the window as if done with the conversation.

How much more did Hennessey know, Oliver wondered. Did they know the door to Tau's homeworld was right outside the Tesera Mine? He opened his mouth to ask—

"Is everyone in Tau's homeworld gone?" asked Maji.

"Who knows?" replied Hennessey. "I certainly don't. I highly doubt these Elders are so easily crushed."

There was hope for Tau then, slight though it might be. They would just need to gain access, somehow. Would Tau leave him to be in his homeworld? Oliver wondered if he could come along, if they could live together there. But would that mean leaving his friends behind?

Oliver gnawed his lower lip, reaching up with his free hand to fiddle with the straps of the mantle, digging into his ribcage. He'd fastened it too tightly.

"Will you do me a favour?" Oliver asked, and Hennessey visibly livened up.

"Ollie, no ," hissed Maji, pinning him down with a stern look.

"Tell me what you want." The Fae uncrossed their limbs, leaning forward to give Oliver their undivided attention.

"Bad idea, mate," said one of the Ursidae without looking up from the card game he and the other had started, on a table that looked toy-sized compared to them.

"Yeah. Everyone knows you're not supposed to ask 'em for favours," said the other, round naked ears twitching. "How do you think we ended up here?"

"Wasn't by choice, you know. We don't want to go to Malimoure."

"But at least we're being fed, Ed.".

"Right you are, Fred. Does make things easier." Ed raised a naked claw and tapped his snout with a large nail. "Maybe you should ask for a favour, if you like fish?"

"Don't forget the berries," said Fred.

"Hush, you two." Hennessey cast them a furtive glance. "Come on, Bantam, spit it out. What do you want?"

" Ollie ," Lucetta warned.

Tau's hold on Oliver's hand tightened, but he ignored it. "I want to hear Tau in this world. Give me the ability to hear him."

Hennessey's purple eyes flicked to Tau, then back to Oliver. After a pause, "No."

"What?" Oliver cried. "Why not?"

"Your condition, for a start. I can't meddle with that sort of magic."

Oliver turned to Tau, certain he'd said something to the Fae. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get to know until Tau was well enough to take him to the dark place. All Oliver could do now was sigh, frustrated, and sulk for the rest of the way, while Lucetta and Maji joined the bears in their game of cards.