Edge of Tomorrow - Chapter Fifteen
Aug. 17th, 2010 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dracoqueen22a/n: Because the sequel is going so well, I thought I'd go ahead and bring another chapter of the original to my fans today.
Previous chapters, extended summary and warnings, can be found here.
Warnings this chapter for violence, character death, mild nudity, and random cuteness. Yep, all of that in one chapter. *laughs*
Edge of Tomorrow
Chapter Fifteen
Her heart dropped into her stomach, breath leaving her in one terrified whoosh. And then, the ice below them crumpled like fine tissue. Ione went down, scrambling for the edge, paying no attention to Faye or her startled sounds of surprise. Icy water enclosed her head in an instant, and the shock of it made Ione blank out. It stole the air from her lungs and soaked her clean through, the weight of her heavy cloak trying to drag her down.
Ione flailed. She was a passable swimmer at best, now hampered by her clothes and the temperature of the water that slowed her limbs. Adrenaline pumped fire through her veins, but it wasn't enough. She panicked and strained for the surface, only to feel arms wrap around her. To feel Faye grabbed onto her shoulders and dig nails into her neck.
Was she insane?
Ione jerked a hand down, beating at Faye's chest with her fist. She fought at the hands that clawed at her neck and face, biting a finger that strayed too close to her mouth. Anything to make her let go. Breath was becoming necessary; Ione heard her own heartbeat thundering in her ears, but that was a small thing to the roar of the water around them. Her movements were slowed by the cold, but Ione kicked out and managed to jab her boot into something fleshy. Bubbles shot from Faye's mouth, which was inches from Ione’s own. The girl suddenly backed off, giving Ione chance to kick upwards and head for the blessed surface.
But something grabbed her boot as she swam upwards, and Ione kicked it off, losing the other in the process. She allowed whatever – Faye perhaps – to have them both and clambered through the water. She gritted her teeth all the way up, jerking at the clamp to her cloak and letting it fall to the dark abyss to hasten her movements. There were a few points of dull light above her, if she could only reach them. But fire burned in her lungs; she needed to breathe. Need air now!
Her head collided with something solid then. A painful and harsh collision that cost her precious seconds. Ione looked up to see a ceiling of ice. Her fingers scrabbled at it, nails scratching on the underside. It refused to budge against her feeble attempts. She panicked. Fighting and scraping and kicking until reason knocked at her brain, reminding her of magic. Aether swirled around her as Ione used her own mana to whip the water into a frenzy. She gathered up all her energy and shoved it at the block of ice above her.
Ione dimly heard it creak, long and low. She pushed harder until it groaned and then gave way, exploding upwards in a spray of frost and water. She hurled herself to the surface, gasping for air and sputtering as her hands scrabbled at the edge of the ice, holding on for dear life. She clung there for a minute. Sucking in one breath and then the next until her heart didn’t threaten to pound out of her chest anymore.
Slowly, Ione calmed. Seconds stretching out between each exhale instead of one right after the other. She shivered as the wind blew across her soaked head, and Ione realized that her teeth were chattering like mad. She shook from head to toe, but Ione forced her frozen limbs to obey and dug her nails into the ice. And inch by agonizing inch, she pulled herself out of the water.
She lay shivering on the frozen surface afterwards, and it was through sheer force of will alone that she crawled away from the hole before it broke and pulled her in again. On hands and knees, Ione dragged herself across the lake. Freezing as she heard a few tiny cracks, but when it didn't crumble, she just kept going. She made it all the way to what she assumed was the shore before falling back on her ass and sticking her head between her knees.
Ione sat there and waited. Quiet surrounded her. Utter silence save for the wind in the trees and the ice shifting, moaning. She coughed then, lungs aching like she’d breathed in a mound of dust. But there was no secondary surge of water and no subsequent wheezing.
“Faye?”
Her voice was weak, but she tried to make it strong enough to be heard. From her position, she could barely see three feet in front of her and had no idea where the girl had gone.
“Faye?”
When she still didn’t answer, Ione carefully and slowly rose to her knees before dragging her tired body to her feet. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. To do nothing more than just close her eyes and never open them again. Even as she wrapped her arms around her shaking form.
“Faye?”
Still nothing.
Swallowing thickly, Ione gathered her weakened magic around her and controlled a burst of air. Her trembling fingers, stiff with chill, danced out to shove scythes of wind at the loose and packed snow covering the ice. It revealed the thick layers and the dark yawning of water beneath. But no Faye. Not single sign of her. Not even a bubble.
“Faye!”
And this time it was shriek. A scream torn from her throat and carried off by the wind.
“Ione!”
She jerked around hopefully, but it wasn't Faye's voice. It was Inari, a white blur against the white snow, scrambling towards her with the urgency of a frightened child. Ione had completely forgotten about her, about everyone else in the wake of the battle.
Everyone but Faye.
“Get away from there. The ice! It's dangerous!” Inari shouted as much as her tiny body could manage. “Get back!”
“A little... late... for that,” Ione said through still chattering teeth, dropping her eyes to the ice. She carefully lowered herself to her knees again, placing her hands flat against the surface and peering closer. “Help me look. Faye hasn't come up yet. She's still down there.”
The fox skittered up to her. “What?”
“Just help me look!” Ione snarled, something mad flashing across her face.
She crawled over the ice, brushing away new layers of snow as they landed, searching for a sign. A hint. A bubble. A deity-damned crack!
“You're soaked!” Inari declared, ever so helpful. She scampered to Ione's side. “Come on. We have to go. You can't take this. We need to find Gale and Fenris.”
Ione ignored her; Faye was still there, somewhere. She went to the left and then right, searching. Hearing the ice creak and groan but hold her weight. Why couldn't it have done that earlier?
Inari tugged on her pants. “Ione!”
“She grabbed me,” Ione said, palms sweeping across the ice. She couldn't really feel her fingers anymore and had to look to know they were still there. “I thought she was attacking me. What if she wasn't? What if...?”
She shook her head, scrambling forward again. Something cracked; Ione froze. The ice felt weak beneath her knees, a little less solid. Her heart thudded in her chest as she eased over it and tried to see through. She couldn't find Faye. Why couldn't she find her?
She leaned down to press her face to the ice to get a better look. But Inari scrambled over to her head and tried to push it back up.
“Gale! Help me!” the little vixen cried, tightening her hold on Ione's hair. “She won't listen!”
Ione finally looked up at that. Indeed, Gale was approaching, though it was with great care. Fenris was there too, though the both of them kept to what Ione assumed was solid ground. Of Holmes, Ryder, and Raine, she could see nothing. Ione assumed they’d been defeated and driven away. She hoped that they hadn't been killed. She wanted to believe that Ryder and Raine were still her friends. That if she could just talk to them they'd understand. But first, she had to find Faye. She was still digging at the ice and snow when Gale finally made it to her side.
“She's still here,” Ione said, gazing up at him helplessly. “She's still under there somewhere.” Guilt crawled through her like a sickness, and her eyes burned despite the glacial coldness to the air. “She grabbed me...”
Gale shook his head. “She’s not there. She's gone, Ione.” There was sympathy in his gaze as he crouched down next to her.
“No, she's not,” Ione denied and hunched away from him. “If we just looked--”
A warm hand landed against her frozen cheek, forcing her to meet his mournful eyes. “She's gone,” Gale repeated as he moved nearer until their knees touched and one arm was wrapped around her shoulders. “There’s nothing more we can do for her.”
A shudder ran through Ione. She swallowed, but her throat was impossibly dry. She stared at him, willing him to help her, but he just curled closer. Her head hung then, fingers clutching at the ice. Snow fell over them silently, blanketing everything in white.
And Ione knew that Gale was right.
* * *
She fought to keep her teeth from chattering as Gale built the fire in the small house. Ione huddled, naked save for her covers, but Gale had been gentlemanly enough to turn his back as she stripped out of her sopping clothes. Fenris was cuddled up to her side with Inari in her lap, and both of their aethers wrapped around her like another blanket. And even warmer than the physical ones. Ione just hoped that her fingers would regain feeling soon. She couldn't work her magic as well without them, especially since she used her hands as a focus. But even with all the layers and covers and furs pressing against her skin, Ione was still cold. Still freezing. Using every ounce of personal magic to warm herself. But the chill was the type that even aether couldn’t fix.
It was all on the inside now. A frosty realization that Faye was dead and that Ione had been the cause, if not the actual killer. A murderer in everything but name.
“The others?” she asked, finally breaking the long silence. Her voice was hoarse from a combination of cold and the choked tightness of her throat.
Gale was crouched by the fire as he tossed in log after log. It was magical, but the wood would make it burn hotter without him having to expend more energy. A smart thing since there was always the chance that the Brigade could return before Ione warmed up enough for them to leave.
“I didn't kill them, if that is what you’re asking.”
Gale rose to his feet, dragging a chair to the other side of the fire from Ione and draping her soaked clothing over it. Her boots were hopelessly lost to the mires of the lake, but Gale assured her a spare pair could be found somewhere in Mapleston. It wasn’t like the residents were around to mind since they’d fled and wouldn't be returning anytime soon. Nevertheless, they probably would’ve given them to her anyway. If not for her sake, then for Gale’s.
“Ryder was scratched up,” Fenris offered then, laying his head on her thigh and looking to be in bliss as Ione dragged her still trembling fingers over his head. “He didn't seem too happy.”
Ione stared into the flames, watching as they twisted and danced around each other. “I'd imagine not.”
“I don't think they know what's going on,” Fenris consoled. “Both Raine and Ryder. They were confused.”
It was a small comfort. Perhaps it meant that they wouldn’t kill her on sight the next time.
“And Holmes?”
She saw Gale’s hand tightened for an instant from where he now stood beside her.
“He fled,” the blond explained, shifting from one foot to the other. His movements were stiff though, almost angry. “I don't think they expected to encounter us. They seemed more like a scouting party.”
Ione dully nodded in agreement. “Battle parties are larger. Like the one that went after Roublesville. They were a team, likely on patrol.” She frowned, reconsidering. “Though they were missing the fifth.”
“The watcher,” Gale agreed. His tone was soft and distant. As though he were in deep contemplation.
She blinked. “What?”
Gale poked at the fire with his magic. “I thought I felt another pair of eyes on the battle. I never could pin them down. But someone else was there; I just know it.” His gaze flickered back to her.
Ione mused on this. Someone to simply watch? That was new to her. It hadn't been standard when she’d still been an active part of the Brigade. But then, she imagined a lot had changed in her absence, as short a time as may have passed. She knew that Grayshire had been preparing for something. And even heard rumors circulating around Paragon, which merely made the Theravada on edge.
She fell silent, turning the encounter over in her mind. Raine and Ryder had every right to be confused. They knew nothing of the truth. Only what information – lies – Grayshire fed them. And Dharva was in a coma? Ione hadn't known that either.
A sick feeling of guilt continued to worm its way around her belly, knotting her insides. She had done that to Dharva. And now Faye...
Quite the wreckage Hurricane Ione was leaving in her wake. And yet, she still claimed to have chosen no side! It didn't take a genius to figure the truth. No wonder everyone believed it of her. Grayshire had blocked Ione into a corner, and now, her defense of herself was only digging her deeper into a hole. She truly had nowhere but Paragon.
“It's not your fault, you know,” Gale said then.
Ione twitched. When she didn’t immediately respond, Gale knelt down next to her chair on the left. The side closest to the window. He very slowly reached out to put a hand on her arm, and Ione imagined that she could feel the heat of it through her blankets.
“It really isn’t your fault,” he repeated softly.
His head was just below her shoulder. But Ione did her level best not to glance down at him. She shifted uneasily.
“I know that,” she finally said. But it was weak. Stilted.
“Do you?”
And she could tell from his voice that he honestly wondered.
“Do you really know?” Gale asked again. “I don’t think you do. I think that you blame yourself.” His words were gentle but all too accurate. Striking deep and true.
“Well, forgive me if I'm feeling a twinge guilty,” Ione retorted.
Then, she winced. Gale didn't deserve that; he hadn't caused the hurt.
Ione forced calm into her tone. “She grabbed me, and I pushed her away.”
“Understandable,” Gale went on in that same soft voice. “You were both trapped. Trying to reach the surface. If you’d attempted to save her, you would’ve died yourself.”
He said it so reasonably, too. But Ione just couldn’t believe him.
“I thought she was trying to attack me.” The admission stabbed her in the chest, but she kept going. “I thought she was pulling me under. And… she might’ve actually been. She was… crazy almost. Like she didn’t care if she killed us both. Faye isn’t my friend, but she was still on my team. She knows me. She knew me,” Ione corrected, rolling her shoulders to ease the sudden prickle at her skin. “Why would she do that?”
Gale stewed a moment. “We're in a war, Ione. I hate to sound like a cold bastard for saying this, but that's the truth. It happens.” He moved even closer. “People are… People can become fanatical about their loyalties. When those are threatened, they’ll say and do things they’d never do under normal circumstances.”
“I know.” Ione swallowed thickly. “It’s just… difficult. It’s hard to accept.”
“It is. It should be.” His fingers stroked over the blanket on her shoulder. “I think that I’d be more worried if you said it was easy.”
Ione felt something warm inside of her at his words. Like the first drop of hot cider as it reached her belly. It curled around before spreading out to her extremities. Warm and wonderful. Comforting.
“Thank you.”
It was just a murmur, but he still heard. He didn’t need to ask what she meant. Gale just tilted his head up to give her a little grin then, but he froze halfway there.
Ione just watched with complete confusion as his face turned a fascinating shade of red. Gale almost looked ill, and she wondered if he actually was, if perhaps Holmes had done something to him. But that was only until she glanced down to see that her covers had shifted to expose the top curve of her breasts. His eyes focused there for a few seconds before darting away, and it wasn’t until she adjusted her blankets that Gale finally looked back. Ione thought for a moment to apologize, but she wasn’t entirely certain for what. She hadn’t done that on purpose, and it wasn’t her fault if that offended his noble sensibilities. Besides, he used the common bathing area the same as the rest of them; he probably got an eyeful all the time.
Ione certainly did. And even feeling horrible about what had just happened, she could admit that watching some of the men was a highlight of her day. That thinking about it made her feel just a bit better. Grayson, when he wasn’t avoiding her, was easy on the eyes after all. Even with the scars covering his back and along his hairline, reminders of the fatal fire that’d stolen his wife. And Sabriel was even more pleasant to look at, all that water sliding over his firm muscles. Too bad he was permanently attached to his significant other, Helene. They weren’t married, but they did have a daughter together, which was a silent warning for Ione to back off. Not that she would’ve tried anything in the first place. He wasn’t quite her type.
Come to think of it, the only one Ione couldn’t remember seeing in the baths was Gale. She’d even seen Azriel leaving from there before, so she knew he used them. But she couldn’t ever recall seeing Gale anywhere near the hall leading to them. So very strange. Maybe he went at off hours then. Perhaps he really was embarrassed by nudity. Ione knew that unlike most commoners, the nobles could be really uptight about it. They were always so stingy and controlling and apparently hated freedom. Even when it was just from clothes.
Ione shivered then. A full body quiver that ran from her toes all the way up to her neck. Gale stared at her with alarm when her teeth began to chatter again. This time in earnest.
“Here,” he said then and moved nearer.
Ione felt his magic wrap around her to join both her own and that of the two spirits. Fenris, for his part, cuddled closer to her side and added more of his aether. Meanwhile, Inari lifted up from her lap to rub a little foxy face against Ione’s throat. Her magic brushed the surface of Ione’s skin like sunlight peering from around a cloud. The combination of the three separate magics was enough to chase the chill away. At least for the moment.
Ione let out a sigh of relief at the fresh wave of heat. “Thanks.”
And she meant it.
“I probably should’ve thought of it earlier,” Gale admitted, now crouching so close by that his leg rested on her chair. “If you’re still cold, I can try to find more blankets. There should be a few around here somewhere.”
“There are also other ways to warm her up, you know,” Inari commented then, moving to glance from Gale to the bed in corner. “That’d be a wonderful place to start. It wouldn’t take long at all I should think.” She tilted her head quizzically at her human’s sudden attempt to shush her, which didn’t work at all. “What? You know it’s true. If Quetz was here, she’d agree with me.”
Gale made a strangled sound. “Well, it’s good she’s not then,” he deflected. “Quetz wouldn’t have liked the ice at all. It probably would have frozen her clean through. And then where would we be?”
“With two frozen people,” Fenris answered from Ione’s other side. “One human and one spirit. And that wouldn’t be fun. Not at all.”
Ione stiffened at his words and hunkered down in her seat. But Fenris rubbed her hand with his snout, letting her know that he hadn’t meant it in a mean way. Inari watched them for a minute before her eyes trailed to Gale. But he was too busy using his magic to poke at the fire, forcing it to burn even hotter. He didn’t even look at them for a long time. Just staring at the flames like they held all the answers.
Ione could understand that. She felt much the same.
And they sat in silence until Gale finally straightened up beside her.
“About the girl… Faye,” he began, only to falter. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
She was just glad that he didn't say “I told you so.” Even though it obviously danced on the tip of his tongue and in the hunch of his shoulders. Gale had told her it wasn't her fight. She’d been stubborn and refused to leave though. Ione could blame no one but herself.
She huddled deeper into the blankets, soaked up the warmth of aether, and watched the fire flicker on and on. She wondered if she might’ve been able to do something more with a weapon. Her magic obviously wasn't enough. She wasn't strong enough yet, even though she’d always considered herself the top of her class. Clearly, Ione had been wrong. Not just wrong. Arrogant. Just like them. Just like a noble.
“Gale?” she said, mouth opening without her permission.
He paused in once more prodding the fire and causing an ash-soaked log to collapse onto itself. Ione's gaze meeting his was solid, choice unwavering.
“Teach me how to use a sword.”
* * *
Arms wrapped around Ione before she could avoid them, and she was enveloped in the familiar scent of chemicals and sweet candy. All she could make out of her attacker was the color of his shirt – green – and the minute form of an owl perched on his shoulder just above her head.
“Uncle Kieran, I'm fine,” she said, voice muffled by his thick collar as he refused to relinquish his embrace.
“You were gone for two days!” her adoptive uncle declared with a touch of worry striking his usually cheerful tone. “Gone when no one knew you were leaving in the first place!”
“We just ran into some trouble,” Gale explained, shifting awkwardly beside them. Not that she could blame him for that part; Kieran was something else. “Ione fell into a lake.”
“A lake?” His hands clenched down on Ione's shoulders as Kieran drew back, pulling her left and right as he looked her over.
“Only a small one,” she admitted, even though it did little to ease the man’s worry. “But as you can see I'm perfectly healthy. Barely even a scratch on me. Alive and well.”
Wracked by guilt, too. But Kieran didn't need to know that. It was her burden to bear.
“Gale made sure of it.” She forced herself to look him in the eye.
“Did he now?” Kieran's brows were lifted to the ceiling.
To Ione's surprise, the bridge of Gale's nose pinked.
“I figured you’d kill me if I left her to die,” he hurriedly inserted.
But then, Gale was already pushing his way past the both of them with unusual haste. He muttered something about making a report to Azriel before vanishing. Leaving Ione alone in the front entryway of Paragon with her uncle. Oh, and their familiars as Inari had for some reason chosen to stay behind.
Ione blinked. “That was weird.”
Kieran abruptly laughed, turning to sling an arm over her shoulder and direct her deeper into Paragon. “Ione, my dearest niece, you’re indeed thick as a brick wall. Especially with some things. So very oblivious.” Her flicked her ear just because he could.
“I don't know what you mean,” Ione retorted, voice rife with annoyance. She hated it when he acted all mysterious.
He winked at her, unperturbed. “Gale, of course. Haven't you realized it yet?” His tone was almost sing-song. Like one of her brothers when they knew something embarrassing about her and weren’t afraid to say it aloud.
“Realized what?” she demanded. The stress of the day was making her more short-tempered than usual. Part of Ione simply wanted to crawl into bed and not move for the rest of the evening, possibly the rest of the week.
Kieran came to an abrupt halt, forcing Ione to stop, too. He skittered around in front of her and placed his hands on his shoulders as he looked her dead in the eye.
“He likes you,” Kieran said in all seriousness and the barest hint of teasing in the curl of his lip. But there was also honesty.
Ione just looked at him. “What?” Then, she shook her head. “Of course, he likes me. He likes me just fine. I can be a likeable person,” she defended.
Kieran put a hand to his forehead as though supremely pained. He sighed, lifting the other one to rub at his temple.
“He likes you,” he reiterated, slower this time. As though speaking to a particularly slow, deaf, and dumb dog. “He reeeeeeally likes you.”
What were they? Twelve?
She told him as much. “That’s so mature. Who’s the uncle here again?”
Kieran just rolled his eyes. He studied her afterwards as though weighing his options and finding her stupid.
“Do I really need to spell this out for you?” he questioned. “Gale likes you. And not in the way that he likes me. Or Azriel. Or Sabriel.” He ticked off his fingers, making sure to hit all the relevant people. “Or his familiars. Just so you know.”
It still took her a minute to get what he meant. Since really, that was just crazy. This was Gale. Quirky and cheerful Gale. He was friendly to everybody. Kieran was just misreading the situation.
She jabbed a finger his direction. “Now, you're the one who’s weird,” Ione said with a snort. Shaking off her uncle's restraining touch and sliding past him.
Honestly, what was he thinking? Gale liking her? It was preposterous. They were friends, Ione supposed. And they got along well. But to throw romance into the mix? Psh. Another example of Kieran grasping at straws. He really should have his glasses checked since he was seeing things. Yet again.
“Diana help me,” Kieran muttered with his gaze turned briefly to the ceiling again. He scrambled to catch up, snagging her arm and deftly guiding her away from the comfort of her bedroom and towards the confusing labyrinth of his lab. “You've too much of Souya in you.”
Her eyes widened. “I do not!” Ione shot back, appalled by the mere suggestion.
“Yes, you do.” He chuckled. “It took several months of flagrant wooing on Lilah’s part for Souya to even realize it for what it was. That man’s an idiot.” But he said it with such fondness.
Well, Ione wouldn’t argue that particular point.
“Gale isn’t trying to woo me. Or to do anything else to or for me.” She sniffed, letting him drag her wherever because it was pointless to put up a fight with the crazy man.
“Of course he isn't,” Kieran said cheerfully. “The poor boy wouldn't even know where to begin. So he just hovers in and hopes that you'll notice him. Slightly stalkerish,” he admitted, “but there you have it.”
“How can I not notice him? He's always there!” Ione pinched her nose in exasperation.
“Precisely my point!” her uncle all but shouted. “But really, he's smitten. And if you don't believe me, just ask Azriel. He sees it, too. Not that it’s hard to miss.”
Ione was caught somewhere between horror and disbelief. “Yeah, because it makes all kinds of sense to walk up to the leader of the rebels and ask him if his second--”
“--third!” Kieran interrupted with a chime.
“--third, whatever, has a crush on me.”
She tapped her foot with triumph, free hand on her hip. But that was only until a new person joined their game.
“Actually, it does.”
Ione felt a chill go up her spine as she slowly turned. Just as she had expected, Azriel was striding down the corridor with a look of perpetual amusement dancing in his eyes. His hands were folded behind his back as though wandering into a conversation between uncle and niece was the most normal thing in the world. He wasn’t even bothered by the subject matter.
“The prodigal son returns!” Kieran greeted, just this side of gleeful. A response that had Ione's eyebrows trying to crawl off her forehead and into her hairline. Normally, nothing short of her – his only niece – or a tearful reunion with Souya brought this response.
Gwydion took that moment to alight from Kieran, greeting Azriel with an excited circular flight around the man’s head. She landed on his shoulder then and rubbed against the side of his neck like a cat seeking affection.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Azriel nudged her indulgently, body practically wafting patience. “I'm half-afraid to ask, but... why are you dragging Miss Ione around by her arm?”
“To make her listen to reason,” Kieran explained even as Ione gave a token tug to her arm. He reluctantly released her, choosing instead to lock an elbow through Azriel's and dragging the leader bodily towards him. “She doesn't believe that poor Gale is deeply infatuated with her.”
“It's nonsense,” Ione put in as fatigue settled like a heavy, wet blanket over her shoulders. She really, really wanted to sleep.
Fenris snorted at her knees. “Oblivious,” he intoned, tail swiping through the air.
“Denial,” Inari added with a knowledgeable nod.
“Even I can see it,” Gwydion chirped, wings fluttering against Azriel’s hair.
“It’s true; I must agree,” Azriel said confidently. “I believe that I know Gale best, and even I must admit surprise at how quickly he’s taken to you.”
Her cheeks burned hot enough to heat up ice, and Ione wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps because these two grown men were all but throwing one of their precious companions at her, like a sacrifice on a gilded platter. Outing his so-called feelings to her as if they’d every right. Not that Ione believed them. Entirely. Completely. At all. Maybe just a little.
“The real question is,” Azriel continued, pinning her beneath his unwavering gaze, “whether you return the sentiment.”
Suddenly, he didn’t look nearly so pleasant at all. More like a man wanting to know if he needed to be affronted on his son’s behalf.
Ione squirmed under his brown eyes. That was something to ponder indeed. She hadn't really thought of Gale like that before, though she had to admit he was a very attractive at times. And it was hard for Ione not to notice that vitally important fact. But really?
Well, it was true that they appeared to be compatible, and he could keep up to her in a spar. And if Ione was being completely, grudgingly honest, one of the few who could also surpass her. He was funny, polite, occasionally spastic, and a generally interesting person all around.
But did she really see him as anything else?
A finger prodded her in the cheek.
“All signs point to yes,” Kieran stated gleefully, as though poking the faint heat that stained her skin was all the proof he needed.
Ione batted away his hand. “I still fail to see how any of this is your business,” she snapped, suddenly self-conscious.
“That's easy enough,” Kieran said with a shrug. “While it's amusing to watch you two dance around each other, it's no fun if there's no moving forward. Gale would never take the initiative on his own. So, my dear, it’s up to you!”
“Up to me?” Ione lacked the same enthusiasm that Kieran seemed to emanate.
Rolling his eyes, Azriel shrugged out of Kieran's grasp – the man always clung like a landborne octopus – and placed his hand on Ione's elbow. He guided her down the safety of the corridor. And away from the maniac.
“Kieran only has what he believes to be your best interests at heart,” Azriel assured her, a voice of reason in the face of all this madness. “Even if he has slightly… manic ways of showing it.”
“Hey!” Kieran denied, breaking into a full-on pout. He could clearly hear their conversation. Not that Ione cared.
Azriel tossed a firm look over his shoulder. Much like one would give a misbehaving puppy.
“Stay,” he commanded.
And to Ione's surprise, Kieran obeyed. One foot retracting from where he’d intended to follow after them.
“She was my niece first,” her uncle sulked.
“Sometimes, I wonder which of us really is the child here,” Ione muttered. “No wonder he and Souya are such close friends.”
“The resemblance is frightening and uncanny,” Azriel agreed, prompting Ione to chuckle for the first time since her return to Paragon. “But in all seriousness, he has a valid point.”
Thank goodness the scientist hadn't been near enough to hear that. He was luckily a veritable pouting statue left behind in the hallway as Ione found herself drawing nearer and nearer to the safety of her room and the comfort of a bed to collapse upon. It was no mystery that Azriel was the leader if he could not only keep the crazies in line but also give her exactly what she wanted.
“Gale, for all his former position, is actually rather timid,” the man continued after a beat.
Ione squirmed for the second time in as many minutes. It felt like she was learning a secret she hadn't earned the right to know.
“I know it doesn't seem that way to you considering how... cheerful and forward he is,” Azriel added with only a smidgen of hesitation. “But his upbringing was rather unique, even among the nobles. I'll leave him to give you that story, however. It isn’t mine to tell.”
They paused right in front of her door. Azriel's hands clasped her in a fatherly gesture on the shoulders.
“I don't want to push you into something you don't actually feel, Miss Ione. I'm just presenting you with options.”
Ione tilted her head, mind now whirling in a new direction. “He means a lot to you, doesn't he?” she realized.
And the look she received in response could be described as nothing other than a beam of fatherly joy. “Gale is like a son to me,” Azriel answered in all seriousness. “So yes, he does. I have no children of my own and likely never will. And he is very dear to me.” He dropped his hands, sweeping his eyes over her critically. “You should get some rest. Taking a dunk into Iapetus Lake is no small matter.”
Ione blinked. “You know about that. Already?”
“I ran into Gale earlier.” He laughed. “Though it’d be nice if I had the all-seeing eye. Gale seemed rather flustered.” Something faintly mischievous crossed his face.
“I don't doubt it.” Ione felt her mouth pull down in the corners. “Uncle tried to back him into a corner.”
“Yes, he has a knack for that.” Azriel chuckled again. “But consider it seriously, Miss Ione. And if you're not sure, just watch how your familiars. How his act around you. And how yours act around him. You'll see what we mean.”
Though confused, Ione nodded. She let the leader of the rebels go on his merry way. Opening the door, Fenris and the still lingering Inari scampered ahead of her.
“What did he mean?” she asked as they went inside.
Inari remained silent as Fenris pretended ignorance. He just yawned loudly and clambered up onto the comfort of the bed, ensuring that she’d have to bodily shove him over later.
“Look with your own eyes,” he said with a sniff and turned away.
Ione threw a pillow at him. “Fat lot of help you are.”
* * * * *
a/n: I'm soooo proud of this chapter. It's one of my absolute favorites. Everything just clicked as I wrote it.
Comments and critiques are always welcome. After Of Violence I can pretty much take anything that can be dished out. *laughs*
See you next time!
Previous chapters, extended summary and warnings, can be found here.
Warnings this chapter for violence, character death, mild nudity, and random cuteness. Yep, all of that in one chapter. *laughs*
Chapter Fifteen
Her heart dropped into her stomach, breath leaving her in one terrified whoosh. And then, the ice below them crumpled like fine tissue. Ione went down, scrambling for the edge, paying no attention to Faye or her startled sounds of surprise. Icy water enclosed her head in an instant, and the shock of it made Ione blank out. It stole the air from her lungs and soaked her clean through, the weight of her heavy cloak trying to drag her down.
Ione flailed. She was a passable swimmer at best, now hampered by her clothes and the temperature of the water that slowed her limbs. Adrenaline pumped fire through her veins, but it wasn't enough. She panicked and strained for the surface, only to feel arms wrap around her. To feel Faye grabbed onto her shoulders and dig nails into her neck.
Was she insane?
Ione jerked a hand down, beating at Faye's chest with her fist. She fought at the hands that clawed at her neck and face, biting a finger that strayed too close to her mouth. Anything to make her let go. Breath was becoming necessary; Ione heard her own heartbeat thundering in her ears, but that was a small thing to the roar of the water around them. Her movements were slowed by the cold, but Ione kicked out and managed to jab her boot into something fleshy. Bubbles shot from Faye's mouth, which was inches from Ione’s own. The girl suddenly backed off, giving Ione chance to kick upwards and head for the blessed surface.
But something grabbed her boot as she swam upwards, and Ione kicked it off, losing the other in the process. She allowed whatever – Faye perhaps – to have them both and clambered through the water. She gritted her teeth all the way up, jerking at the clamp to her cloak and letting it fall to the dark abyss to hasten her movements. There were a few points of dull light above her, if she could only reach them. But fire burned in her lungs; she needed to breathe. Need air now!
Her head collided with something solid then. A painful and harsh collision that cost her precious seconds. Ione looked up to see a ceiling of ice. Her fingers scrabbled at it, nails scratching on the underside. It refused to budge against her feeble attempts. She panicked. Fighting and scraping and kicking until reason knocked at her brain, reminding her of magic. Aether swirled around her as Ione used her own mana to whip the water into a frenzy. She gathered up all her energy and shoved it at the block of ice above her.
Ione dimly heard it creak, long and low. She pushed harder until it groaned and then gave way, exploding upwards in a spray of frost and water. She hurled herself to the surface, gasping for air and sputtering as her hands scrabbled at the edge of the ice, holding on for dear life. She clung there for a minute. Sucking in one breath and then the next until her heart didn’t threaten to pound out of her chest anymore.
Slowly, Ione calmed. Seconds stretching out between each exhale instead of one right after the other. She shivered as the wind blew across her soaked head, and Ione realized that her teeth were chattering like mad. She shook from head to toe, but Ione forced her frozen limbs to obey and dug her nails into the ice. And inch by agonizing inch, she pulled herself out of the water.
She lay shivering on the frozen surface afterwards, and it was through sheer force of will alone that she crawled away from the hole before it broke and pulled her in again. On hands and knees, Ione dragged herself across the lake. Freezing as she heard a few tiny cracks, but when it didn't crumble, she just kept going. She made it all the way to what she assumed was the shore before falling back on her ass and sticking her head between her knees.
Ione sat there and waited. Quiet surrounded her. Utter silence save for the wind in the trees and the ice shifting, moaning. She coughed then, lungs aching like she’d breathed in a mound of dust. But there was no secondary surge of water and no subsequent wheezing.
“Faye?”
Her voice was weak, but she tried to make it strong enough to be heard. From her position, she could barely see three feet in front of her and had no idea where the girl had gone.
“Faye?”
When she still didn’t answer, Ione carefully and slowly rose to her knees before dragging her tired body to her feet. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. To do nothing more than just close her eyes and never open them again. Even as she wrapped her arms around her shaking form.
“Faye?”
Still nothing.
Swallowing thickly, Ione gathered her weakened magic around her and controlled a burst of air. Her trembling fingers, stiff with chill, danced out to shove scythes of wind at the loose and packed snow covering the ice. It revealed the thick layers and the dark yawning of water beneath. But no Faye. Not single sign of her. Not even a bubble.
“Faye!”
And this time it was shriek. A scream torn from her throat and carried off by the wind.
“Ione!”
She jerked around hopefully, but it wasn't Faye's voice. It was Inari, a white blur against the white snow, scrambling towards her with the urgency of a frightened child. Ione had completely forgotten about her, about everyone else in the wake of the battle.
Everyone but Faye.
“Get away from there. The ice! It's dangerous!” Inari shouted as much as her tiny body could manage. “Get back!”
“A little... late... for that,” Ione said through still chattering teeth, dropping her eyes to the ice. She carefully lowered herself to her knees again, placing her hands flat against the surface and peering closer. “Help me look. Faye hasn't come up yet. She's still down there.”
The fox skittered up to her. “What?”
“Just help me look!” Ione snarled, something mad flashing across her face.
She crawled over the ice, brushing away new layers of snow as they landed, searching for a sign. A hint. A bubble. A deity-damned crack!
“You're soaked!” Inari declared, ever so helpful. She scampered to Ione's side. “Come on. We have to go. You can't take this. We need to find Gale and Fenris.”
Ione ignored her; Faye was still there, somewhere. She went to the left and then right, searching. Hearing the ice creak and groan but hold her weight. Why couldn't it have done that earlier?
Inari tugged on her pants. “Ione!”
“She grabbed me,” Ione said, palms sweeping across the ice. She couldn't really feel her fingers anymore and had to look to know they were still there. “I thought she was attacking me. What if she wasn't? What if...?”
She shook her head, scrambling forward again. Something cracked; Ione froze. The ice felt weak beneath her knees, a little less solid. Her heart thudded in her chest as she eased over it and tried to see through. She couldn't find Faye. Why couldn't she find her?
She leaned down to press her face to the ice to get a better look. But Inari scrambled over to her head and tried to push it back up.
“Gale! Help me!” the little vixen cried, tightening her hold on Ione's hair. “She won't listen!”
Ione finally looked up at that. Indeed, Gale was approaching, though it was with great care. Fenris was there too, though the both of them kept to what Ione assumed was solid ground. Of Holmes, Ryder, and Raine, she could see nothing. Ione assumed they’d been defeated and driven away. She hoped that they hadn't been killed. She wanted to believe that Ryder and Raine were still her friends. That if she could just talk to them they'd understand. But first, she had to find Faye. She was still digging at the ice and snow when Gale finally made it to her side.
“She's still here,” Ione said, gazing up at him helplessly. “She's still under there somewhere.” Guilt crawled through her like a sickness, and her eyes burned despite the glacial coldness to the air. “She grabbed me...”
Gale shook his head. “She’s not there. She's gone, Ione.” There was sympathy in his gaze as he crouched down next to her.
“No, she's not,” Ione denied and hunched away from him. “If we just looked--”
A warm hand landed against her frozen cheek, forcing her to meet his mournful eyes. “She's gone,” Gale repeated as he moved nearer until their knees touched and one arm was wrapped around her shoulders. “There’s nothing more we can do for her.”
A shudder ran through Ione. She swallowed, but her throat was impossibly dry. She stared at him, willing him to help her, but he just curled closer. Her head hung then, fingers clutching at the ice. Snow fell over them silently, blanketing everything in white.
And Ione knew that Gale was right.
She fought to keep her teeth from chattering as Gale built the fire in the small house. Ione huddled, naked save for her covers, but Gale had been gentlemanly enough to turn his back as she stripped out of her sopping clothes. Fenris was cuddled up to her side with Inari in her lap, and both of their aethers wrapped around her like another blanket. And even warmer than the physical ones. Ione just hoped that her fingers would regain feeling soon. She couldn't work her magic as well without them, especially since she used her hands as a focus. But even with all the layers and covers and furs pressing against her skin, Ione was still cold. Still freezing. Using every ounce of personal magic to warm herself. But the chill was the type that even aether couldn’t fix.
It was all on the inside now. A frosty realization that Faye was dead and that Ione had been the cause, if not the actual killer. A murderer in everything but name.
“The others?” she asked, finally breaking the long silence. Her voice was hoarse from a combination of cold and the choked tightness of her throat.
Gale was crouched by the fire as he tossed in log after log. It was magical, but the wood would make it burn hotter without him having to expend more energy. A smart thing since there was always the chance that the Brigade could return before Ione warmed up enough for them to leave.
“I didn't kill them, if that is what you’re asking.”
Gale rose to his feet, dragging a chair to the other side of the fire from Ione and draping her soaked clothing over it. Her boots were hopelessly lost to the mires of the lake, but Gale assured her a spare pair could be found somewhere in Mapleston. It wasn’t like the residents were around to mind since they’d fled and wouldn't be returning anytime soon. Nevertheless, they probably would’ve given them to her anyway. If not for her sake, then for Gale’s.
“Ryder was scratched up,” Fenris offered then, laying his head on her thigh and looking to be in bliss as Ione dragged her still trembling fingers over his head. “He didn't seem too happy.”
Ione stared into the flames, watching as they twisted and danced around each other. “I'd imagine not.”
“I don't think they know what's going on,” Fenris consoled. “Both Raine and Ryder. They were confused.”
It was a small comfort. Perhaps it meant that they wouldn’t kill her on sight the next time.
“And Holmes?”
She saw Gale’s hand tightened for an instant from where he now stood beside her.
“He fled,” the blond explained, shifting from one foot to the other. His movements were stiff though, almost angry. “I don't think they expected to encounter us. They seemed more like a scouting party.”
Ione dully nodded in agreement. “Battle parties are larger. Like the one that went after Roublesville. They were a team, likely on patrol.” She frowned, reconsidering. “Though they were missing the fifth.”
“The watcher,” Gale agreed. His tone was soft and distant. As though he were in deep contemplation.
She blinked. “What?”
Gale poked at the fire with his magic. “I thought I felt another pair of eyes on the battle. I never could pin them down. But someone else was there; I just know it.” His gaze flickered back to her.
Ione mused on this. Someone to simply watch? That was new to her. It hadn't been standard when she’d still been an active part of the Brigade. But then, she imagined a lot had changed in her absence, as short a time as may have passed. She knew that Grayshire had been preparing for something. And even heard rumors circulating around Paragon, which merely made the Theravada on edge.
She fell silent, turning the encounter over in her mind. Raine and Ryder had every right to be confused. They knew nothing of the truth. Only what information – lies – Grayshire fed them. And Dharva was in a coma? Ione hadn't known that either.
A sick feeling of guilt continued to worm its way around her belly, knotting her insides. She had done that to Dharva. And now Faye...
Quite the wreckage Hurricane Ione was leaving in her wake. And yet, she still claimed to have chosen no side! It didn't take a genius to figure the truth. No wonder everyone believed it of her. Grayshire had blocked Ione into a corner, and now, her defense of herself was only digging her deeper into a hole. She truly had nowhere but Paragon.
“It's not your fault, you know,” Gale said then.
Ione twitched. When she didn’t immediately respond, Gale knelt down next to her chair on the left. The side closest to the window. He very slowly reached out to put a hand on her arm, and Ione imagined that she could feel the heat of it through her blankets.
“It really isn’t your fault,” he repeated softly.
His head was just below her shoulder. But Ione did her level best not to glance down at him. She shifted uneasily.
“I know that,” she finally said. But it was weak. Stilted.
“Do you?”
And she could tell from his voice that he honestly wondered.
“Do you really know?” Gale asked again. “I don’t think you do. I think that you blame yourself.” His words were gentle but all too accurate. Striking deep and true.
“Well, forgive me if I'm feeling a twinge guilty,” Ione retorted.
Then, she winced. Gale didn't deserve that; he hadn't caused the hurt.
Ione forced calm into her tone. “She grabbed me, and I pushed her away.”
“Understandable,” Gale went on in that same soft voice. “You were both trapped. Trying to reach the surface. If you’d attempted to save her, you would’ve died yourself.”
He said it so reasonably, too. But Ione just couldn’t believe him.
“I thought she was trying to attack me.” The admission stabbed her in the chest, but she kept going. “I thought she was pulling me under. And… she might’ve actually been. She was… crazy almost. Like she didn’t care if she killed us both. Faye isn’t my friend, but she was still on my team. She knows me. She knew me,” Ione corrected, rolling her shoulders to ease the sudden prickle at her skin. “Why would she do that?”
Gale stewed a moment. “We're in a war, Ione. I hate to sound like a cold bastard for saying this, but that's the truth. It happens.” He moved even closer. “People are… People can become fanatical about their loyalties. When those are threatened, they’ll say and do things they’d never do under normal circumstances.”
“I know.” Ione swallowed thickly. “It’s just… difficult. It’s hard to accept.”
“It is. It should be.” His fingers stroked over the blanket on her shoulder. “I think that I’d be more worried if you said it was easy.”
Ione felt something warm inside of her at his words. Like the first drop of hot cider as it reached her belly. It curled around before spreading out to her extremities. Warm and wonderful. Comforting.
“Thank you.”
It was just a murmur, but he still heard. He didn’t need to ask what she meant. Gale just tilted his head up to give her a little grin then, but he froze halfway there.
Ione just watched with complete confusion as his face turned a fascinating shade of red. Gale almost looked ill, and she wondered if he actually was, if perhaps Holmes had done something to him. But that was only until she glanced down to see that her covers had shifted to expose the top curve of her breasts. His eyes focused there for a few seconds before darting away, and it wasn’t until she adjusted her blankets that Gale finally looked back. Ione thought for a moment to apologize, but she wasn’t entirely certain for what. She hadn’t done that on purpose, and it wasn’t her fault if that offended his noble sensibilities. Besides, he used the common bathing area the same as the rest of them; he probably got an eyeful all the time.
Ione certainly did. And even feeling horrible about what had just happened, she could admit that watching some of the men was a highlight of her day. That thinking about it made her feel just a bit better. Grayson, when he wasn’t avoiding her, was easy on the eyes after all. Even with the scars covering his back and along his hairline, reminders of the fatal fire that’d stolen his wife. And Sabriel was even more pleasant to look at, all that water sliding over his firm muscles. Too bad he was permanently attached to his significant other, Helene. They weren’t married, but they did have a daughter together, which was a silent warning for Ione to back off. Not that she would’ve tried anything in the first place. He wasn’t quite her type.
Come to think of it, the only one Ione couldn’t remember seeing in the baths was Gale. She’d even seen Azriel leaving from there before, so she knew he used them. But she couldn’t ever recall seeing Gale anywhere near the hall leading to them. So very strange. Maybe he went at off hours then. Perhaps he really was embarrassed by nudity. Ione knew that unlike most commoners, the nobles could be really uptight about it. They were always so stingy and controlling and apparently hated freedom. Even when it was just from clothes.
Ione shivered then. A full body quiver that ran from her toes all the way up to her neck. Gale stared at her with alarm when her teeth began to chatter again. This time in earnest.
“Here,” he said then and moved nearer.
Ione felt his magic wrap around her to join both her own and that of the two spirits. Fenris, for his part, cuddled closer to her side and added more of his aether. Meanwhile, Inari lifted up from her lap to rub a little foxy face against Ione’s throat. Her magic brushed the surface of Ione’s skin like sunlight peering from around a cloud. The combination of the three separate magics was enough to chase the chill away. At least for the moment.
Ione let out a sigh of relief at the fresh wave of heat. “Thanks.”
And she meant it.
“I probably should’ve thought of it earlier,” Gale admitted, now crouching so close by that his leg rested on her chair. “If you’re still cold, I can try to find more blankets. There should be a few around here somewhere.”
“There are also other ways to warm her up, you know,” Inari commented then, moving to glance from Gale to the bed in corner. “That’d be a wonderful place to start. It wouldn’t take long at all I should think.” She tilted her head quizzically at her human’s sudden attempt to shush her, which didn’t work at all. “What? You know it’s true. If Quetz was here, she’d agree with me.”
Gale made a strangled sound. “Well, it’s good she’s not then,” he deflected. “Quetz wouldn’t have liked the ice at all. It probably would have frozen her clean through. And then where would we be?”
“With two frozen people,” Fenris answered from Ione’s other side. “One human and one spirit. And that wouldn’t be fun. Not at all.”
Ione stiffened at his words and hunkered down in her seat. But Fenris rubbed her hand with his snout, letting her know that he hadn’t meant it in a mean way. Inari watched them for a minute before her eyes trailed to Gale. But he was too busy using his magic to poke at the fire, forcing it to burn even hotter. He didn’t even look at them for a long time. Just staring at the flames like they held all the answers.
Ione could understand that. She felt much the same.
And they sat in silence until Gale finally straightened up beside her.
“About the girl… Faye,” he began, only to falter. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
She was just glad that he didn't say “I told you so.” Even though it obviously danced on the tip of his tongue and in the hunch of his shoulders. Gale had told her it wasn't her fight. She’d been stubborn and refused to leave though. Ione could blame no one but herself.
She huddled deeper into the blankets, soaked up the warmth of aether, and watched the fire flicker on and on. She wondered if she might’ve been able to do something more with a weapon. Her magic obviously wasn't enough. She wasn't strong enough yet, even though she’d always considered herself the top of her class. Clearly, Ione had been wrong. Not just wrong. Arrogant. Just like them. Just like a noble.
“Gale?” she said, mouth opening without her permission.
He paused in once more prodding the fire and causing an ash-soaked log to collapse onto itself. Ione's gaze meeting his was solid, choice unwavering.
“Teach me how to use a sword.”
Arms wrapped around Ione before she could avoid them, and she was enveloped in the familiar scent of chemicals and sweet candy. All she could make out of her attacker was the color of his shirt – green – and the minute form of an owl perched on his shoulder just above her head.
“Uncle Kieran, I'm fine,” she said, voice muffled by his thick collar as he refused to relinquish his embrace.
“You were gone for two days!” her adoptive uncle declared with a touch of worry striking his usually cheerful tone. “Gone when no one knew you were leaving in the first place!”
“We just ran into some trouble,” Gale explained, shifting awkwardly beside them. Not that she could blame him for that part; Kieran was something else. “Ione fell into a lake.”
“A lake?” His hands clenched down on Ione's shoulders as Kieran drew back, pulling her left and right as he looked her over.
“Only a small one,” she admitted, even though it did little to ease the man’s worry. “But as you can see I'm perfectly healthy. Barely even a scratch on me. Alive and well.”
Wracked by guilt, too. But Kieran didn't need to know that. It was her burden to bear.
“Gale made sure of it.” She forced herself to look him in the eye.
“Did he now?” Kieran's brows were lifted to the ceiling.
To Ione's surprise, the bridge of Gale's nose pinked.
“I figured you’d kill me if I left her to die,” he hurriedly inserted.
But then, Gale was already pushing his way past the both of them with unusual haste. He muttered something about making a report to Azriel before vanishing. Leaving Ione alone in the front entryway of Paragon with her uncle. Oh, and their familiars as Inari had for some reason chosen to stay behind.
Ione blinked. “That was weird.”
Kieran abruptly laughed, turning to sling an arm over her shoulder and direct her deeper into Paragon. “Ione, my dearest niece, you’re indeed thick as a brick wall. Especially with some things. So very oblivious.” Her flicked her ear just because he could.
“I don't know what you mean,” Ione retorted, voice rife with annoyance. She hated it when he acted all mysterious.
He winked at her, unperturbed. “Gale, of course. Haven't you realized it yet?” His tone was almost sing-song. Like one of her brothers when they knew something embarrassing about her and weren’t afraid to say it aloud.
“Realized what?” she demanded. The stress of the day was making her more short-tempered than usual. Part of Ione simply wanted to crawl into bed and not move for the rest of the evening, possibly the rest of the week.
Kieran came to an abrupt halt, forcing Ione to stop, too. He skittered around in front of her and placed his hands on his shoulders as he looked her dead in the eye.
“He likes you,” Kieran said in all seriousness and the barest hint of teasing in the curl of his lip. But there was also honesty.
Ione just looked at him. “What?” Then, she shook her head. “Of course, he likes me. He likes me just fine. I can be a likeable person,” she defended.
Kieran put a hand to his forehead as though supremely pained. He sighed, lifting the other one to rub at his temple.
“He likes you,” he reiterated, slower this time. As though speaking to a particularly slow, deaf, and dumb dog. “He reeeeeeally likes you.”
What were they? Twelve?
She told him as much. “That’s so mature. Who’s the uncle here again?”
Kieran just rolled his eyes. He studied her afterwards as though weighing his options and finding her stupid.
“Do I really need to spell this out for you?” he questioned. “Gale likes you. And not in the way that he likes me. Or Azriel. Or Sabriel.” He ticked off his fingers, making sure to hit all the relevant people. “Or his familiars. Just so you know.”
It still took her a minute to get what he meant. Since really, that was just crazy. This was Gale. Quirky and cheerful Gale. He was friendly to everybody. Kieran was just misreading the situation.
She jabbed a finger his direction. “Now, you're the one who’s weird,” Ione said with a snort. Shaking off her uncle's restraining touch and sliding past him.
Honestly, what was he thinking? Gale liking her? It was preposterous. They were friends, Ione supposed. And they got along well. But to throw romance into the mix? Psh. Another example of Kieran grasping at straws. He really should have his glasses checked since he was seeing things. Yet again.
“Diana help me,” Kieran muttered with his gaze turned briefly to the ceiling again. He scrambled to catch up, snagging her arm and deftly guiding her away from the comfort of her bedroom and towards the confusing labyrinth of his lab. “You've too much of Souya in you.”
Her eyes widened. “I do not!” Ione shot back, appalled by the mere suggestion.
“Yes, you do.” He chuckled. “It took several months of flagrant wooing on Lilah’s part for Souya to even realize it for what it was. That man’s an idiot.” But he said it with such fondness.
Well, Ione wouldn’t argue that particular point.
“Gale isn’t trying to woo me. Or to do anything else to or for me.” She sniffed, letting him drag her wherever because it was pointless to put up a fight with the crazy man.
“Of course he isn't,” Kieran said cheerfully. “The poor boy wouldn't even know where to begin. So he just hovers in and hopes that you'll notice him. Slightly stalkerish,” he admitted, “but there you have it.”
“How can I not notice him? He's always there!” Ione pinched her nose in exasperation.
“Precisely my point!” her uncle all but shouted. “But really, he's smitten. And if you don't believe me, just ask Azriel. He sees it, too. Not that it’s hard to miss.”
Ione was caught somewhere between horror and disbelief. “Yeah, because it makes all kinds of sense to walk up to the leader of the rebels and ask him if his second--”
“--third!” Kieran interrupted with a chime.
“--third, whatever, has a crush on me.”
She tapped her foot with triumph, free hand on her hip. But that was only until a new person joined their game.
“Actually, it does.”
Ione felt a chill go up her spine as she slowly turned. Just as she had expected, Azriel was striding down the corridor with a look of perpetual amusement dancing in his eyes. His hands were folded behind his back as though wandering into a conversation between uncle and niece was the most normal thing in the world. He wasn’t even bothered by the subject matter.
“The prodigal son returns!” Kieran greeted, just this side of gleeful. A response that had Ione's eyebrows trying to crawl off her forehead and into her hairline. Normally, nothing short of her – his only niece – or a tearful reunion with Souya brought this response.
Gwydion took that moment to alight from Kieran, greeting Azriel with an excited circular flight around the man’s head. She landed on his shoulder then and rubbed against the side of his neck like a cat seeking affection.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Azriel nudged her indulgently, body practically wafting patience. “I'm half-afraid to ask, but... why are you dragging Miss Ione around by her arm?”
“To make her listen to reason,” Kieran explained even as Ione gave a token tug to her arm. He reluctantly released her, choosing instead to lock an elbow through Azriel's and dragging the leader bodily towards him. “She doesn't believe that poor Gale is deeply infatuated with her.”
“It's nonsense,” Ione put in as fatigue settled like a heavy, wet blanket over her shoulders. She really, really wanted to sleep.
Fenris snorted at her knees. “Oblivious,” he intoned, tail swiping through the air.
“Denial,” Inari added with a knowledgeable nod.
“Even I can see it,” Gwydion chirped, wings fluttering against Azriel’s hair.
“It’s true; I must agree,” Azriel said confidently. “I believe that I know Gale best, and even I must admit surprise at how quickly he’s taken to you.”
Her cheeks burned hot enough to heat up ice, and Ione wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps because these two grown men were all but throwing one of their precious companions at her, like a sacrifice on a gilded platter. Outing his so-called feelings to her as if they’d every right. Not that Ione believed them. Entirely. Completely. At all. Maybe just a little.
“The real question is,” Azriel continued, pinning her beneath his unwavering gaze, “whether you return the sentiment.”
Suddenly, he didn’t look nearly so pleasant at all. More like a man wanting to know if he needed to be affronted on his son’s behalf.
Ione squirmed under his brown eyes. That was something to ponder indeed. She hadn't really thought of Gale like that before, though she had to admit he was a very attractive at times. And it was hard for Ione not to notice that vitally important fact. But really?
Well, it was true that they appeared to be compatible, and he could keep up to her in a spar. And if Ione was being completely, grudgingly honest, one of the few who could also surpass her. He was funny, polite, occasionally spastic, and a generally interesting person all around.
But did she really see him as anything else?
A finger prodded her in the cheek.
“All signs point to yes,” Kieran stated gleefully, as though poking the faint heat that stained her skin was all the proof he needed.
Ione batted away his hand. “I still fail to see how any of this is your business,” she snapped, suddenly self-conscious.
“That's easy enough,” Kieran said with a shrug. “While it's amusing to watch you two dance around each other, it's no fun if there's no moving forward. Gale would never take the initiative on his own. So, my dear, it’s up to you!”
“Up to me?” Ione lacked the same enthusiasm that Kieran seemed to emanate.
Rolling his eyes, Azriel shrugged out of Kieran's grasp – the man always clung like a landborne octopus – and placed his hand on Ione's elbow. He guided her down the safety of the corridor. And away from the maniac.
“Kieran only has what he believes to be your best interests at heart,” Azriel assured her, a voice of reason in the face of all this madness. “Even if he has slightly… manic ways of showing it.”
“Hey!” Kieran denied, breaking into a full-on pout. He could clearly hear their conversation. Not that Ione cared.
Azriel tossed a firm look over his shoulder. Much like one would give a misbehaving puppy.
“Stay,” he commanded.
And to Ione's surprise, Kieran obeyed. One foot retracting from where he’d intended to follow after them.
“She was my niece first,” her uncle sulked.
“Sometimes, I wonder which of us really is the child here,” Ione muttered. “No wonder he and Souya are such close friends.”
“The resemblance is frightening and uncanny,” Azriel agreed, prompting Ione to chuckle for the first time since her return to Paragon. “But in all seriousness, he has a valid point.”
Thank goodness the scientist hadn't been near enough to hear that. He was luckily a veritable pouting statue left behind in the hallway as Ione found herself drawing nearer and nearer to the safety of her room and the comfort of a bed to collapse upon. It was no mystery that Azriel was the leader if he could not only keep the crazies in line but also give her exactly what she wanted.
“Gale, for all his former position, is actually rather timid,” the man continued after a beat.
Ione squirmed for the second time in as many minutes. It felt like she was learning a secret she hadn't earned the right to know.
“I know it doesn't seem that way to you considering how... cheerful and forward he is,” Azriel added with only a smidgen of hesitation. “But his upbringing was rather unique, even among the nobles. I'll leave him to give you that story, however. It isn’t mine to tell.”
They paused right in front of her door. Azriel's hands clasped her in a fatherly gesture on the shoulders.
“I don't want to push you into something you don't actually feel, Miss Ione. I'm just presenting you with options.”
Ione tilted her head, mind now whirling in a new direction. “He means a lot to you, doesn't he?” she realized.
And the look she received in response could be described as nothing other than a beam of fatherly joy. “Gale is like a son to me,” Azriel answered in all seriousness. “So yes, he does. I have no children of my own and likely never will. And he is very dear to me.” He dropped his hands, sweeping his eyes over her critically. “You should get some rest. Taking a dunk into Iapetus Lake is no small matter.”
Ione blinked. “You know about that. Already?”
“I ran into Gale earlier.” He laughed. “Though it’d be nice if I had the all-seeing eye. Gale seemed rather flustered.” Something faintly mischievous crossed his face.
“I don't doubt it.” Ione felt her mouth pull down in the corners. “Uncle tried to back him into a corner.”
“Yes, he has a knack for that.” Azriel chuckled again. “But consider it seriously, Miss Ione. And if you're not sure, just watch how your familiars. How his act around you. And how yours act around him. You'll see what we mean.”
Though confused, Ione nodded. She let the leader of the rebels go on his merry way. Opening the door, Fenris and the still lingering Inari scampered ahead of her.
“What did he mean?” she asked as they went inside.
Inari remained silent as Fenris pretended ignorance. He just yawned loudly and clambered up onto the comfort of the bed, ensuring that she’d have to bodily shove him over later.
“Look with your own eyes,” he said with a sniff and turned away.
Ione threw a pillow at him. “Fat lot of help you are.”
a/n: I'm soooo proud of this chapter. It's one of my absolute favorites. Everything just clicked as I wrote it.
Comments and critiques are always welcome. After Of Violence I can pretty much take anything that can be dished out. *laughs*
See you next time!
