40. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Vesper calls to me more and more. My soul yearns for her touch. When this is done, I shall find her again in the void.

~Sidon the Strong, A History of Magic and Dragons

"That. Was. Incredible." The words come out as soon as we're standing outside the Luminous Spectacle. "I've never seen anything like it."

It's a dark night out, and tiny flames flicker in golden lampposts, lightly illuminating the city streets. Not enough to let us see clearly, but enough that we don't trip over our own feet. I'm surprised at how quiet the city has become now that the sun's gone down. I'd been overwhelmed every time that we walked the streets, but now that it's moonlight instead of sunlight, it's almost like we're back in the forest, and I can hear myself think.

Well, maybe it's not quite that quiet. But it's a far cry more enjoyable than the daytime sights and sounds.

"They do good work," Darian says. "I still don't know how they maintain such detail in such a large image. Granted, there are four people from the House of Light building those scenes, but they all constantly move. If you were paying attention, you'd have seen the branches move and leaves shake as the dragons brushed past trees."

"I'm sure you two could have done something similar," I say.

Darian and Lee glance at each other, their eyes sparkling. "No way," Lee responds. "Those four are some of the best in the world. There's a reason we came all the way out here to see a play."

"That and for the Firelight Café." Darian's got a grin on his face as wide as at the market. "They have the best caramel sweet breads in all of Draenyth. You dip them in a bit of coffee, and there's nothing better."

"Coffee sounds good," Lee says. "Are you two interested?"

Cole looks at me, and I'm surprised. For once, he's not making the decisions, not saying we need to get some sleep to train tomorrow. We're supposed to start dance instructions with Nevan in the morning, but Cole isn't saying that. He's letting me decide.

"That sounds wonderful. And if the caramel sweet bread is as good as the chocolate was, I'll take as much as they have."

Darian grins at me. "A woman after my own heart. If you're interested in exploring the world of sweets, I could give you a tour of the city's best bakeries."

"We have a few things to deal with other than filling our bellies," Cole says with a grin. "But maybe we could try to explore the city a little more."

Darian leads the way down the street, and Lee walks beside him. I'm still surprised at how quiet the world is in the city now that the sun's below the horizon. It really is enjoyable, and after that incredible show, there's a lightness to all of us that hasn't been there before. Even in Aerwyn, Cole and I were on edge. I was finding my way in this new world, and he was… well, he was Cole. Now he's different, and I'm not entirely sure what changed.

His arm brushes against mine, and he smiles down at me. His fingers wrap around mine, and I wonder if maybe it's because of this. Maybe it's the soft touches that have him acting differently.

"There it is," Darian says, turning to glance back at us. I notice his eyes dropping to our hands before meeting our gaze again, and there's a different kind of smile on his lips this time. "Right up here. They've got the fires going."

There's no confusing what he means by that. As soon as we take a few steps, the Firelight Café comes into view. From the corners of the building, hanging lanterns draw my gaze. In the center of each of the outdoor tables, a small fire burns. Several groups of Immortals sit around the tables laughing, drinking, and eating.

It looks… happy? Is that a thing in Draenyth? I've seen so little of the city that I barely know what to expect. In the Sickle District that first day, I saw Immortals smiling, but it was all a blur other than the memories of those humans.

As we get closer, I'm more and more sure that the patrons of the Firelight Café are actually enjoying themselves without anything negative. I almost expect to see people being tormented as the entertainment, or gruesome "delicacies", or slaves serving bread.

None of that's happening. It's just a simple place serving drinks and food around fires. A strangely human-looking Immortal woman is passing out cups as Darian opens a waist high gate that opens into the seating area. The woman looks at Darian, and a twinkle in her eyes says that they know each other.

"Mari, it has been far too long," he says, and Lee doesn't interject herself into the conversation like she normally does when she's around her brother.

"It has. I'd thought that you'd found a different place to spend your nights with more highbrow company. Wasn't sure if you finally came to your senses."

Lee leads the rest of us to a table, but none of us take our attention off Darian and Mari. "You're breaking my heart, Mari," he says with an exaggerated expression, his hands going to his breast. "To think that you actually believed I would cheat on you with another coffee house? It pains me you'd think I could ever do that to you."

She almost looks serious until she cracks a smile. "Oh, go take your seat, Your Highness. I'll bring a coffee service out. Flavored or plain?"

"Chocolate," he says, and my mouth waters. Chocolate coffee? Umm… yes, please.

She grins and nods. Darian finally comes to sit down with us, and I can't help but ask the question. "What kind of Immortal is she?" I whisper.

Darian grins. "She's just a Wyrdling. But she's a damn fine baker, so no one would ever dream of hurting her."

"Wait," I say, "I could have been a good baker, and everything would have been fine? I could have lived out my life in Draenyth with no issues if I knew how to make good bread?"

Everyone grins at least a little. "If you showed the right people, maybe," Lee says. "But Mari is something special. You'll see. If your campfire cooking is any judge of your cooking skills, I don't think you'd make it in Draenyth purely based on your food. In fact, it could be considered a crime, so maybe don't try that."

Even Cole's on the verge of laughter at that comment. "My food isn't that bad!" That only makes them break out into full-on laughter.

"That's the last time I cook for any of you.", and I can't help but laugh along with them.

That's when Mari comes to the table with the coffee service and a basket of bread that's like nothing I've ever seen before. Longer than my arm from shoulder to wrist, but barely thicker than my middle finger, it's not anything that I'd have found in Blackgrove.

"Ah, the illustrious dipping sticks," Darian says. "You know, Mari, one day you're going to have to show someone else how to make these. What would we do if you retired from the business?"

She huffs and shakes her head. "If I gave out my recipe for those, I doubt I'd live to see the morning. They're my ticket to a long and prosperous life. Where you have magic and skills that keep you alive in this city, I just have a few recipes. I think I'll keep them to myself, thank you very much."

"Well, if you decide to retire and leave the city, please promise that you'll give someone the recipe so we don't have to live another day without them. Do you know how empty and terrible our lives were before them?"

It's hilarious seeing him banter with Mari. Especially with her being a Wyrdling. She's the first I've ever seen, and watching her interact with Darian is incredible. I haven't seen her talk to anyone else like that, though.

She glances at Cole and then at me. "Enjoy your evening, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to send your friend to come find me."

Darian grins at her, but Cole nods, a twinkle in his eye. They're happy here. Somehow, after what feels like a lifetime, tonight is the first time that I truly feel like everyone is happy at the same time. Like for this one night, everything is right.

Cole pours a cup of coffee for me and pushes the small cup and saucer to me before getting one of the dipping sticks out for himself. I follow suit, and surprisingly, notice that Darian is glancing at Mari instead of paying attention to the food. Lee elbows him in the ribs, and he glares at his sister.

"So they're dipping sticks?" I ask as I pick one of the long, thin pieces of bread up. A spiral winds its way down the length of it, one half a honeyed color and the other half a dull red. At first, I expect it to be just a design choice like so many things in Draenyth. Especially with how the Firelight Café is centralized between the Keep of Flames and the Keep of Earth.

I watch as Cole breaks an end off the long stick with a crack and then dips it into the black coffee. He stirs it slowly, his eyes catching my glance, and I move to do the same thing. The bread snaps in my hand with a satisfying crunch, and I move to swirl it around the coffee.

The table's quiet as we all focus on our food and drink, and then when Cole puts his stir-stick in his mouth, I do the same. I had thought that chocolate was magical. This is something else entirely.

The tart flavors of raspberry and almost sickly sweet, burned sugar mix with the bitterness of the coffee and turn into this perfect blend of a sweet treat. It's unlike anything I've had before, in Draenyth or Blackgrove. It seems decadent, yet normal. Unlike the chocolate that I still can barely describe, this is just a brilliant and very delicious variety of sweet bread.

I love it. "What do you think?" Darian asks.

"Delightful. I understand why she's still alive." And everyone laughs some more. I feel like I could get behind late nights like this.

I can't remember ever sitting around a fire at night with Aunt Prudence or Uncle Trevor. Even Hazel was never so blatantly happy as this while she was just eating.

Cole, Darian, and Lee are unapologetically joyful tonight. It's just one of those nights that you don't forget. It's a side of my friends and Draenyth I hadn't known about, and maybe one I'd like to spend more time getting to know. If this place is here, then how many other places with this energy are there?

And how do I convince Cole to smile like this more often?

We laugh and eat and drink until the coffee and dipping sticks are gone. The minutes turn into almost two hours. Finally, Cole sighs and stands up. "It's about time that we get to sleep." I'd normally blame him for ruining the fun by being grumpy, but he hasn't been, and I'm getting tired as well.

"Tomorrow, I have to learn to dance," I say. It makes Darian and Lee grin. I glance at Cole, who's grinning even wider than the twins. "Stay here for a few. I want to go thank Mari. I…" I pause, not knowing how to explain my feelings. It's so strange to have seen a Wyrdling in this world who seems to have a good life.

"Go," Cole says knowingly. Maybe I don't need to explain. "We'll wait. But don't take too long."

I nod to him and walk back toward the door to the actual bakery. I've seen several people walk through that doorway to get Mari, so I expect her to be inside. When I step inside the stone building, I'm hit by a wave of heat. For one woman, there's so much happening in here. Dipping sticks in various stages of assembly and cooking are resting nearly everywhere. Other baked goods, like tiny fried cakes and cream cheese stuffed pastries, sit on shelves waiting to be ordered.

Wooden tables and cabinets are everywhere, and nearly every surface is in use. Some are for holding finished goods; others are for unfinished goods, and still others for holding ingredients. Nothing is labeled.

Mari isn't anywhere to be seen. I do my best not to touch any of the surfaces since I'm sure it's all covered in flour. On the opposite wall, there's another door to the back garden that's slightly open.

I hear a scuffling and a shriek. I don't know why, but I know something's wrong. I've felt so overwhelmed by the sounds and feelings of the city since I got here, but on a quiet night with so few people around, all my hunter's senses come back.

There isn't a doubt in my mind that Mari is in danger. I don't hesitate, picking up a bread knife on the way to the door. I throw the door open so hard that it bangs against the wall.

I see something from a nightmare. Three harpies that are different from my memories. Rather than sand-colored wings, they're covered in black feathers and look like they're related to ravens. The hooked talons on their hands look just as deadly as the ones in Blackgrove did. The smell is just as revolting, and even if I hadn't seen them when I stepped into the garden, I'd have known simply by the scent.

Three harpies. A rematch. Mari's bleeding on the ground, and I know I was the intended target. How many times had Cole said that someone would try to assassinate me? How many times did I worry about someone trying to hurt me tonight?

Why would anyone hurt Mari? To get her to spill her secret bread recipe? Doubtful. No, they were looking for a Wyrdling with brown hair and found Mari while I was on the other side of the building.

When the door crashes against the building, all three harpies turn to me, and I know I have two options. One, to keep their attention long enough that they don't have time to finish the job of killing Mari or two, get Cole and possibly leave them enough time to kill her.

My heartbeat slows, my body getting calmer, and it feels so similar to when I'd hunted. I'm prepared to fight, but I'm not afraid. It's a drastic difference compared to the first time I saw harpies.

They look at me, and I know they're recognizing that there's a second Wyrdling with brown hair. I don't give them time to decide. I rush them, trying to remember anything I can about wielding a single dagger from my training with Cole.

One raises her arm, a movement I know precedes magic, and I position the steel blade between us. The wind that erupts from her fingers speeds toward me. It dissipates harmlessly as it touches my blade. Just like always, the magic is drawn into the steel, and I smile as I take the last few steps toward them. The harpies rise on black wings, swarming me as they did that night in Blackgrove.

This time, I'm used to things that move faster than me. I watch as they shift and move, and I remember how poorly they reacted when I'd charged them in the Tilted Mug. Wielding only a bread knife, I sprint toward them. The center one I'm racing towards flies upward. The one on the left swoops toward my feet, and the one on the right tries to fly around me.

They all move so slowly, though. I'm used to Cole's speed. I'm used to lightning, and these are like fighting humans. I jump, clearing the one trying to sweep at my feet. She tries to swing her talons at my legs, but her arms don't bend that way. The bread knife slices into the leg of the one flying upward in a wild slice, and the creature flies high, screeching as it does.

As soon as my feet touch the ground, I spin and leap backward, putting myself between the harpies and Mari.

The one that was trying to get behind me is almost on me. As she lashes out with her talons, I roll toward her, my bread knife coming up when I'm inches away from her. The knife's dull tip doesn't stab into her belly like I'd wanted it to, but the serrated edge does a good job of leaving a deep slice from her belly to her collarbone.

Her shriek is even louder, and her talons dig into my back. I hiss in pain, but it comes out of a smile. I've been stabbed and sliced by talons just like these, and they don't compare to the wounds Cole's given me during training. No broken bones. Just a few cuts and stabs. Now it can't fly with its talons stuck in my back.

The tip of the bread knife is dull, but when I use all of my strength to ram it into the harpy's jaw, it does the trick. I feel the steel blade slide through the soft tissue until it hits bone. Immediately, I yank it out, and the harpy goes limp, its talons slipping out of me.

Black blood sprays everywhere, coating me in the foul-smelling liquid, but I turn to face the one I'd leaped over. Its claws are already in motion, swiping the air where I should be, but I'm already charging it. The harpy is built like a bird, and lighter than it should be. Instead of the hundred and fifty or two hundred pound creature I expect, it's barely more than a hundred.

When I hit it in the legs, it tumbles to the ground, all of its balance lost. One of its talons cuts me across the shoulder, but it's nowhere near bad enough to matter. I want to leap at it, to drive the steel bread knife into its spine, but the other living harpy is back from its retreat.

All of this has happened in seconds. It's nearly as fast as when harpies attacked me in Blackgrove and Cole saved me.

I glare at it as it hovers over its brethren, hate in those unseeing pupil-less eyes. The cuts on my back where the harpy had sunk those talons in are burning. It was a long day of training, and while a lot of my wounds have healed, my muscles are still far beyond exhausted.

I brandish the knife in front of me and wish that I had a good spear. That'd make this whole affair simple. And then I hear, "Of course," from behind me.

I turn to see Cole stepping out from the bakery door just as I had, except that he's not in any rush. He glances at me and grins, and then he looks at the harpy in front of me, and the grin turns into seriousness.

The look he gives me isn't one of concern he'd have given me when I first met him. Even when we were in Aerwyn, he wouldn't have trusted me to fight harpies. But now? Now he knows that I'm capable of defending myself.

"It's too bad you killed one," he says. For the first time, I see murder in his eyes. It's not the hate he has for his father. No, this is more than that. This is a desire to cause pain. To be like his father.

A sadist's smile spreads across his face. He leaps toward the one that's flying. His sword moves so fast that I can't keep up. A handful of blows, and the harpy falls to the ground. The one that had fallen before is trying to get up, and he's not fast this time. No, with agonizing slowness, he makes two deep cuts down her back where her wings connect, ripping the muscle apart.

She still gets up, her talons scratching the paving stones, and she shrieks as loud as she can at Cole. Her wings hang limp as if she can't raise them. He just reaches out a hand, and her feathers begin burning. Starting at the tips, the tiny individual fires feed on the feathers until they're singeing her skin. She shrieks again, and then the fires go out.

He steps toward the standing harpy, the other still laying on the ground in pain, and he holds up a hand. "You will never fly again. You will live the rest of your miserable existence like this. No feathers. No wings. A harpy that cannot take to the skies."

His skin turns shiny like stone, and he reaches out to her, wrapping his hand around her neck. I expect him to kill her, to turn her to ash as he did the one in Blackgrove. Instead… he heals her. All the scorch marks on her skin fade. Her skin heals where he'd cut her. Cole permanently heals the cauterized feathers and the sliced tendons and ligaments in her back. Immortals can heal incredible wounds so fast, but once those wounds have healed and scarred over, there's no fixing it, just like Cole's scars.

She scratches at him, screeching over and over, but it does nothing. His skin is far too hard to be wounded by her talons. He just stares into those pupil-less eyes and smiles at her as she finally gives up and her arms hang limp at her side, just like her wings. Then he shoves her and steps next to the harpy I'd knocked over and hadn't gotten up. Without hesitation, he brings his sword down on its neck, decapitating her.

"You'll be alone and unable to fly. No sisters and no access to the sky. This is what you get for attacking my betrothed. Now leave, or I'll give you eternally broken legs as well." She looks at us, glances down at the dead harpies that lay on the ground, and there are no shrieks of defiance. There's no fight left in her.

And then she walks away, her wings dragging along the ground behind her, catching on everything they touch, and I feel nothing but sadness for the creature.

Cole looks at the two harpies lying on the ground, and when he raises his hand, they burst into flame, burning white hot, and seconds later, the fire is extinguished, and nothing but ash is left. In the meantime, I go to Mari, who's laying on the ground bleeding from a hundred cuts. It's exactly what I'd have looked like if Cole hadn't broken down my door in the Tilted Mug.

"What do we do for her?" I ask.

"She's a Wyrdling. She'll heal," Lee says from behind us.

I turn to Cole. "You healed the harpy. Why couldn't you heal Mari?"

He grits his teeth and shakes his head. "Because no one can know about that. I wasn't thinking. I was just so angry… No, Mari will be fine with a couple of days of rest." All of us look down at her. Blood runs from her face and arms and hands where the harpies slashed her repeatedly.

He'll let her deal with pain for two days to keep a secret. One that I don't even understand. And, I don't argue at all. "Then let's clear everyone out and help clean her wounds up. She may heal, but she doesn't need to wake up covered in blood."

Cole goes back to the patio to send everyone home, and Darian and Lee go inside to get rags and basins. I stay by her side in case she wakes up.

Tonight had been so carefree. I'd felt like this could be home, but then all this happened. Death and destruction. The first Wyrdling I've met nearly died because I was here. She'd almost died because of my connection to Cole.

I think I finally understand what he meant when he said Darian and Lee were his weaknesses. How I was one of them now.

Now I know that anyone that matters to me is likely to be hurt, too. I've fallen into this conflict, and unless I do something soon, I'm going to have a target painted on my back just as much as Cole does. These aren't the last assassins I'll meet, and the next time, it won't just be harpies.

The smallest grin imaginable crosses my lips. They'll need to send more than harpies next time because harpies are no match for me, even if all I have is a bread knife. If I'd had my spear, they'd never have touched me.