Chapter 30

Chapter

Thirty

MIRANDA

" E rgoth is begging for a word with you, Govek." Karthoc said from his chair at their kitchen table. He looked far too big for the spot. Just like Govek did in his own chair next to him. Miranda wondered if there was a way to make the furniture in their house a little bigger.

Their house. She relished how that felt. Her apartment on Earth had never felt like this. The glass on Earth had been clearer but the afternoon sunlight that streamed into her and Govek's treehouse was so much more beautiful than anything she'd ever had on Earth.

"He'd better not hold his breath."

Miranda warmed up the fish soup Savili and Viravia had left on their doorstep, though it seemed no one had much of an appetite. They'd brought her cloak back too. It was clean and dry and undamaged. She was so thankful to have it back .

"You really don't want to confront him? You could easily reissue a challenge. Pummel the male the way he deserves."

"No, let him rot."

"That I will do. I have him tied up and gagged."

"You can't use the silencing magic on him?" Miranda asked.

"We could..." Karthoc looked at Govek. "Do you want to?"

"No, not yet," he answered before meeting Miranda's gaze. "The silencing is permanent. Once cast, it can never be undone."

"Oh." Miranda's gut twisted. "Have... you put it on Maythra and the others yet?"

"No. Sythcol requested we hold off, and I agreed," Karthoc assured them, and Miranda sighed with relief. "Ergoth was furious when he found out Sythcol refused. Makes me wonder what it is those three are hiding that Ergoth would like to keep hidden."

Miranda wondered that too. "Has he tried to use magic?"

"No. We have his hands bound too tight," Karthoc said, "and Sythcol is reluctant to use that binding spell on him, made a vow to himself to never use it again. I don't want to force him to break it unless I absolutely have to. I need to keep him on my side."

Govek's brow screwed up in confusion and Miranda mirrored the sentiment. But before either could ask, Karthoc continued.

"Ergoth is going fucking mad, trying to convince us to give him a judgment. When we ungag him to eat, he babbles constantly. He shifts between begging and playing upon sympathies to outrage and fury. It's... unsettling. Not even Evythiken can say what his true emotions are."

Govek snorted, obviously amused. "Then we should let him continue in his anguish. Keep ignoring him for now."

Karthoc chuckled. "Fine, fine. But I still expect you to be the one to select his punishment. If you don't want to use magic, I think cutting out his tongue would be fitting."

Miranda tensed at the brutality of that offer but tried not to let her feelings on the matter show too much. If Govek wanted that, she would support it. Ergoth certainly deserved it and more.

"No. Do not. Let me think on it for a spell."

"Suit yourself."

A knock sounded at the door and before anyone could move, it swung open.

The seer stood in the doorway.

Miranda's gut clenched as he moved inside. Her mind flipped through a million thoughts. What was he planning now? What had he needed to tell her?

Was she... ready to dredge with him yet?

Despite everything, she still wanted to. The need burned in her chest as pure and crisp as that blinding white light she kept seeing in her mind.

"Greetings, do you mind if I join?" The seer closed the door behind him so the heat wouldn't escape.

Govek scowled, glancing between the seer and her. She knew he was struggling with this, knew he worried about her. She worried too, but not enough to drown out that bone-deep urge to take the seer's hand. It simmered in the back of her mind, and the closer the seer got, the closer she came to boiling over .

So, Miranda gulped and said, "Come on in. There's plenty of soup."

Evythiken's face went tense and Karthoc piped up. "You aren't planning on actually feeding us that soup, are you?"

Miranda would have been insulted if she'd been the one that made it. Or if it wasn't so obviously disgusting.

And yet . . .

"Savili and Viravia made this for us," Miranda said, torn now on what to do. "We should at least try it."

"The fish has gone off," Govek said.

"What? How do you know?"

"The scent. They must not have used the fish from today."

She dropped the ladle. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You seemed happy to have something to do," Govek said softly.

"Oh, for crying out..." Miranda trailed off as Karthoc tried to hide his snickering. "This is your fault, Karthoc. I would be doing Govek right now if you hadn't shown up two minutes after we got home."

Karthoc was roaring with laughter now. Govek too.

Miranda managed over the males' loud mirth. "Come on in, seer. Have a seat. I promise not to give you food poisoning."

He came and took his place next to Karthoc while Miranda moved the pot off the stove and put a lid on it to cover the smell.

"Miranda," the seer said, when she moved to wipe down the counters. "Come and sit. You know we need to talk."

She tensed. She did know that, and she was ready.

"Can't this wait? We've been through a trial, Evythiken. "

"That depends. Karthoc, do you still plan to leave day after tomorrow?" the seer asked.

Miranda tensed. Oh, god, for real? That fast?

"I see no reason to stay. The matter of the clan was settled today, and I have four traitors in my midst to deal with."

The matter of the clan was settled?

Did that mean that when the clan voted Ergoth out, they'd also voted Govek in?

Without Govek's say on the matter?

Miranda looked to Govek, only to find him just as flummoxed as Karthoc was.

Govek cut in. "Karthoc, I need to discuss the role of chief?—"

"Govek, beg pardon, but my conversation is more time sensitive," the seer said flatly.

"More time sensitive than the leadership of Rove Wood Clan?"

"My ability to have this conversation at all is dependent on the reprieve the Fades have given me from their vicious, eternal screaming," the seer said slowly, each word punctuated. "If they start to roar at me again, I will be unable to dredge with Miranda at all, let alone give her the details of what that dredging will entail."

Miranda walked over to stand next to Govek and put her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to go talk to Karthoc while I discuss things with the seer?"

"No." Govek's response was firm and instant. "We do this together. You can go first."

She grinned as he pulled her down into the chair next to him. By the time she was settled, her anticipation was high all over again. "All right then. I guess go ahead, seer. What's going to happen?"

"That depends on you , Miranda." The seer drummed his fingers slowly on the wooden table. "You have blanks in your memory. Things that do not make sense from your time on Earth. I can see the gaps, the places that need to be filled. You do want those filled, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Miranda gulped, her heart beating rapidly in her ears. "I want to know why I was the one to survive. And how I made it out alive to begin with. Everything was... well, you saw it."

"Yes. I saw it, indeed." The seer huffed out a long breath. "There are guards in your mind, Miranda. You are the one preventing yourself from remembering."

"How do I fix that?"

"At this point, you don't." The seer shifted. "You have done all you can in the time allotted. I will have to push through what remains by force."

"By... force?" Her hands began to tremble against the tabletop. Govek took one in his, covering it entirely with his warmth.

"Yes. There will be repercussions to breaking down those walls, Miranda," the seer said slowly, still drumming that steady beat. "It will be violent. Brutal. I can feel the fracturing inside me already. It will fracture your mind too."

"Fracture my mind?" Miranda's heart drummed faster than the seer's fingers could pound. "Like they'll break my brain or something?"

"I do not know that, but I do know that there is death here. Danger. The severity of this dredging will ripple consequences through the entirety of your being. Your very existence is balanced with it. "

A silence descended as Miranda forced herself to process that statement enough to formulate a response.

"No." Govek's voice was sharp and left no room for argument. His expression was tight and his body was taut.

She'd known this was coming. She'd seen it in him. The defiance. The fear. But he'd kept it at bay before. She'd hoped he would be able to until the end.

Because no matter what he said she couldn't stop this dredging.

"Govek," the seer said low.

"No!" Govek said. "I will not take the risk. She will not take this risk. Fades be fucked, I'm not risking the life of my mate for your whims."

"They are not whims , Govek," Evythiken said, his tone jarring. Miranda's head swam and her heart raced. Her fingers twitched as he continued. "And your mate feels it. Don't you, Miranda?"

Miranda nodded slowly, combing back through those horrible moments on Earth. She looked into Govek's eyes, saw the anguish there, but she could not stop. Not when she was so close . "I need to know. I've been saying that this whole time. Why didn't I die with them? I survived and everyone else died ."

"That's a lie." Evythiken's voice was a sensation. Tangible, alive.

"They didn't... die?" Miranda's stomach dropped and her skin broke out into a cold sweat.

Had her babies lived after all?

"No!"

Govek's roar was punctuated by his fist slamming into the table. The corner exploded, fracturing apart.

"You will not do this!" He barreled to his feet, bellowing so loud it licked up her spine and sparked fire in her mind. "I will not allow it."

"You don't get to decide that," Miranda said, her words clipped, her fists balled.

"Yes, I do! You are my mate!" Govek cried. "You are the woman I am bound to care for. The woman I am imprinted to. It is my responsibility to keep you from harm, and this will cause you harm. It has already! Too much!"

"This is what I am meant to do!" Miranda yelled back, getting to her feet as well. He still towered over her, but she skewered him with her glare. Slashed him with her words . "You don't have any say in this. The only reason you have me at all is because I was brought here to do this ."

"I don't care why the Fades brought you. You are mine now. My mate ! And I will not let you run headlong into danger while I am here to stop you!"

"I'm not a possession you can control, Govek! I choose who I want to be with! And if you don't want to support me in this, then maybe we shouldn't be mates!"

Her heart seized, but it was too late. The words had already left her lips.

Govek's face crumbled, his hands shook violently, and a strangled sound left his throat.

And then he turned on his heel and burst out of the door. He ripped it off its hinges all over again and disappeared into the woods.

Miranda stared after him, throat thick, guts twisting. She thought she might vomit. Her eyes burned and prickled and tears spilled from her eyes.

"Miranda."

The seer's voice wrenched her gaze from where Govek had disappeared. The seer's face was a mask of pity and Karthoc wouldn't even look at her.

Her lip trembled, and she turned away, grabbing her cloak. She left through the back door.

She was mostly up the hill to the falls before she began to openly sob.