Chapter 46

Only the musty scent of topsoil greeted me at the base of the stairs. I wound through the plants, letting myself into the parlor. I stumbled forward, so relieved to see Quill sitting on one of Ro's couches, I'd hardly noticed the woman herself, standing on the far side of the room, humming a tune as she adjusted the long sleeves of her gown to showcase her golden-brown skin.

Ro's chin fell to her chest as she looked at me through the top of her hazel eyes. "Took you long enough."

"Gods, Ro. Everyone's in a panic; the king's guards are hunting me. Orin's attached to my side, and everyone's grieving. I got here as soon as I could sneak away." I slumped onto the couch next to Quill. "How in the world did you get here, kid?"

"I rescued her, right under all of your noses."

Quill tangled her fingers through her wild curls, never taking her eyes off Ro. She looked like Paesha in that moment. Beautiful and fierce. A warrior.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said quietly.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Sitting on the couch, I pulled her little fingers from her hair and held tightly.

She took a steady breath. "Orin was dancing, and the lights went out. Someone pulled me off my swing and covered my mouth."

I shifted closer, wrapping an arm around her, though I cut an angry glare to Ro. "I'm so sorry, Quilly."

Ro raised her palms, taking a step backward. "Careful, Maiden. That part wasn't me."

"It was the guy dressed like the other guys that took me last time. You know, the one with that mark on his face?"

I had no idea who she was talking about. "One of the new king's men?"

"Yeah. I could see over his big, old, fat fingers, so when we got to the hallway, I bit his hand and kicked him between the legs like you showed me."

A flash of pride soared through me as I pictured the small child catching the man off guard.

"I don't think it really hurt him, but he let go for a second, and I ran away. But then this lady jumped right out of a mirror in the hallway and captured me again."

Ro pointed to her arm. "For the record, she bit me, too."

"Everything's a weapon," Quill said with as much sass as she could muster.

I hugged her tighter. "Everything can be. But Ro is friends with Orin and me. She would never hurt you. She helped take care of me when I needed her, too."

The child rolled her big blue eyes. "That's what she said, too, but you said we could never trust anyone but ourselves, so I tried to get away. Now, that lady says I'm stuck here forever and ever, and I'm never going to see my dog again."

"Ro!"

"She bit me!"

Quill jumped from her seat. "You stole me. And now my friend is going to kill you, huh, Dey? ‘Cause we're family."

I couldn't help my smile. So much fire in such a wild little thing. "No, kid. I'm not going to kill her. I'll yell at her really good, though, okay?"

She jerked her arms over her chest with a pout and sank back onto the couch, her pink lace dress billowing around her. Eventually, she was going to learn about Hollis, and I was sure her fire would be put out. So, I let her live in her anger a little longer because at least that meant she could still feel something.

"I jumped into a mirror to get here, and we can't leave the same way if you don't want your power exposed."

"You understand what happened here, don't you?" Ro asked, sitting across from us on a high-back chair that might've been a throne in a larger size.

"You saved her from being captured by Icharius Fern."

"Do you think Drexel would have just casually let someone take his prize?"

Quill's hands tightened in mine.

"There's something between them. I'm just not sure what it is. He said he would protect her."

"Yes. An easy lie for a notorious performer. Be careful, Deyanira. You've just given him all the reason in the world to come after you."

I stood, pulling Quill to my side. "I hope he comes. It'll save me the trouble."

She glanced at the child and back at me. "Just don't forget what you have to lose now."

"The next time Drexel Vanhoff is before me, he will be on his knees and weeping. If not for bartering away the kid, then for every other offense in his life. I'm not worried about what I have to lose, because this isn't a game. It's earned retaliation, and I will end it."

She stood, her movements as smooth as a viper rising, eyes vicious and glistening. "There's my girl."

We followed Ro through her house and back up the stairs, though I had to pull Quill through the mirror, leaving Ro behind. The girl's distrust for anything at this point was warranted, so I didn't fuss too much as we darted out of a little shack in the heart of Silbath and toward the apartment building hiding the Syndicate members.

If looks could kill when the door flew open and Orin found us standing there, they would have been digging my early grave. But Thea flew around him, grabbing Quill and swinging her, breaking the tension.

"How did you get out?" he asked as I stepped into the apartment.

"There are these fun things called windows. They're used for fresh air, sunlight, and prison escapes."

He reached around me to close the door, coming so close, his warm breath fell on my cheek as he whispered. "Sometimes I think you mouth off just to see if I'll punish you."

I grabbed his collar, lowering my voice as I countered, "You may want to reevaluate the difference between punishment and pleasure."

His snarl would have garnered a laugh, had reality not felt so heavy. But I knew these next moments would be hard. Especially as Thea sat Quill on the couch and the rest of the group moved around her. Sandwiched between Elowen and Paesha, Quill stilled as they both grabbed the child's tiny fingers.

Orin left me standing at the door to move a chair out of the way in order to squat right in front of Quill. Her curious features became somber as Thea set Boo on her lap. She looked carefully around the room, taking in each face until the pieces fell into place.

"Where's Hollis?" she asked, her tiny voice slicing every heart in the room to pieces.

Orin patted her knee. "Do you remember on your birthday last year when Hollis made you that beautiful green gown and told you it was because the color reminded him of his wife's favorite color?"

She nodded slowly, swallowing.

"And how he missed his wife so much sometimes it made him really sad?"

Another small nod.

Orin's breath was shaky; his eyes never left hers though, even when a tear slipped silently down Paesha's cheek. "Hollis is with his wife now, Quilly."

You could have heard a pin drop anywhere in the city as every person in the room stared into the face of that little girl. I held my breath, guilt crashing over me in waves when tear-filled eyes flashed to me.

"No." Her tiny word was so quiet at first, I'd questioned whether she'd spoken at all. Until she repeated herself. "No!" She pushed Boo from her lap, jumping from the couch to stand in front of me. She knew, of course. As far as she was concerned, only I had the power to do it.

"Say he's lying," she demanded.

"I wish I could."

Tiny hands struck me as she shoved and shoved. I hardly moved, but she screamed, the sadness so raw, I let myself fall to the floor, if only to be on her level.

"He was our family," she yelled. "He was mine, and you took him."

"I promise I didn't mean to."

She crashed into me, trying to push me away. I sat there on the floor, letting her. Willing myself to feel and take her pain, though I knew it would never be enough. An ache grew so heavy in my chest that when my nose stung and my tears came, I didn't bother trying to hide any of it, not even in a room full of people that hadn't moved.

"I'm so sorry, Quilly."

"I hate you. You're not my family, Deyanira."

"Quill," Orin whispered.

The little girl spun, took one look at him, and began to wail. My throat turned to sandpaper, refusing to let me swallow. I'd never forgive myself for taking him from her. No matter what pain it'd saved the world, it wrecked hers, and that was a permanent scar on my heart. This was an agony I couldn't save any of us from.

Elowen carried Quill to a room in the back of the apartment, Boo following close behind. I stood, aiming for the door, but Orin caught my hand.

I jerked away, broken and angry all over again. "Don't touch me."

"Deyanira," Paesha said, as if she had some kind of say over me.

I shook my head, unable to see any of them beyond the tears flooding my eyes. "What kind of a monster does that to a child?"

I walked out of the apartment completely destroyed.

I staredout over the city of Silbath, watching her come alive as the moon trekked across the sky, coaxing the seedy underbelly from its chambers, pulling the sprawling masses of sinners to their perches. Night workers took their corners, bathed in glowing streetlamps, stomping their high heels until the rats scattered and birds cawed in defiance.

Drinkers fell into step, headed toward the taverns and opium dens as if in a hypnotic state; some limped, and some were missing limbs. The signs of Requiem's deterioration shown on their bodies like sequins in a spotlight. This was my world. This was where I belonged.

"I know you're there," I said, balancing Chaos on my finger, flipping it back and forth and letting myself get lost in the muscle memory.

"Why do you always run to the rooftops?" Orin asked, stepping from the shadows to swipe Chaos from my grip.

"Solitude."

"You can't just escape this, Wife."

"I'm my own person. I can do as I please. Haven't you had enough? Aren't you tired of this yet?"

"No. Never. I want a thousand lifetimes. If you go, you're only pausing a clock on something inevitable. Because I will find you. And I will bring you back to me over and over again until you learn that I will never give up on this. You became mine the day you stood on that temple and bound yourself to me, and just because I'm free of my uncle, doesn't mean I wasn't willing to give away the rest of my freedom for you. That hasn't changed just because this world is cruel."

I forced a smile as I buried my fingers in his soft hair. "Did you just threaten to stalk me for the rest of our lives?"

He grabbed my hands, kissing my fingers. "Don't act so surprised, Wife. When have I ever let you get too far from me? I can't promise you're not going to want to bury that blade into my gut a time or two before this is all over. But I can promise I will still chase you. There will never be a part of me that doesn't crave you. Even in madness, you're my only desire. In rage and fury. In weakness and wonder. You may question whether I am sane, but I am wholly yours. For a thousand lifetimes. Eternity is not going to be long enough."

"And Quill?" I asked, skimming over his beautiful words.

"She's just a kid, Dey. She'll be okay. You'll be friends again tomorrow."

"If you think I left because of Quill, you're wrong." I stole the blade from him, sliding her into place on my thigh. "I just want to give you all space to grieve without the murderer sleeping under the same roof."

"Hollis's murderer sleeps in a four-poster bed made of iron and old money, under no roof of mine."

"Yes, and if he knows what's good for him, he's going to sleep with one eye open."

He shifted in front of me, curling a finger below my chin to force my eyes to his. "If we're going for revenge, Nightmare, we're going to need three shovels. One for my uncle and one for each of us because in the end, it will consume you, and then saving you will consume me. It's a never-ending cycle of pain and suffering, and it rarely leads to true satisfaction. He wants you to come back to him. He's likely already got a plan in place. Staying away from him is the worst thing you could do when he wants you so badly."

"The worst thing I could do to him is force him into eternal damnation with me so every moment of his afterlife is ruined by all the ways I can find to torture him."

I didn't miss the way his eyes narrowed. The way they shone, even with darkness seeping from me in waves. Leaning closer, he brushed his lips over mine, his shoulders full of tension easing as if he couldn't help himself. As if the mere contact brought him solace.

"Then I will find the shovels, and we will dig the graves."