Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Arianwen could taste blood. Her chest screamed at her to stop, her lungs burning as they desperately tried to take in enough oxygen. Tree branches reached out for her like skeletal fingers, ripping at her face, tearing out her hair.

Behind her, the constant thud of hands against the foliage, a hulking body crashing past trees. She didn’t dare look back. She didn’t need to.

One foot caught against a tree root, sending Arianwen tumbling to the ground and down into a ditch. Dirt joined the iron and salt on her tongue, mixing with blood and tears.

The crashing still continued, up above and behind.

Arianwen tried to stand, only for her leg to buckle. She had to clasp her hands over her mouth to stop herself screaming in pain. The monstrosity grew louder and louder. Desperately, Arianwen pushed herself into an alcove, screwing her eyes shut as she hugged herself close. She didn’t know how it was tracking her. It didn’t have eyes or ears. It didn’t matter.

Silent tears streamed down her face. Arianwen’s hands were still over her mouth, trying to stop any sound escaping.

The sound of crashing stopped somewhere just above her. A new smell, an unnatural smell of diesel that was so out of place in the nature of the forest. Arianwen tried to force herself to keep her eyes closed, as if it couldn’t see her if she couldn't see it.

Something creaked directly above her. Arianwen couldn’t stop herself. She opened her eyes. 

The tips of eight giant dirt covered fingers curled to grip the top of the alcove where Arianwen was hidden. The underside of the front of a van leaned over the edge.

A new wave of tears came. Arianwen desperately wished she could cast Silence on herself. She had bitten through her bottom lip in an effort to stay silent.

The creature shifted a little, sending a small shower of dirt down.

After a few agonising seconds, the vands pushed off, leaping into the ditch and continuing to crawl on. Arianwen stared after it, not allowing herself to breathe until she could no longer hear the monstrosity.

Arianwen woke from her trance slowly. It took her a few minutes to recognise that she was lying in a bed, covered in clean sheets and protected from the elements. She took a deep breath of warm air, assessing her body with her eyes closed. There was no pain, not even in her knees that had ached for so long.

She was safe.

Arianwen stretched over to reach for the person that made her safe. She found the other half of the bed empty. It was a disappointment, but not a surprise. As a consolation prize, Arianwen rolled over onto the other side of the bed, breathing in deeply.

Muffled voices drifted up from downstairs. That was also not a surprise. Arianwen focused on them. She couldn’t make out words, but the tone and pitch were familiar. Her eyes still closed, Arianwen could practically see the scene: a young blonde half-elf sitting patiently, listening to an older elf’s rambling story. A light laugh made Arianwen’s heart skip for a moment.

She should really go to rescue him.

The scene was almost exactly as Arianwen imagined.

Jace was wearing what Arianwen had once jokingly described as his preacher uniform: a chunky knit maroon cardigan and cut-off denim shorts that really didn’t match the woodland vibe their village had. He sat on the edge of an armchair, listening with a polite smile as he held an empty mug. Opposite was another familiar face, Irma Greenbrook, a woman old enough to be Arianwen’s grandmother. She’d helped herself to the cookies, Arianwen noticed.

Jace’s eyes lit up when he spotted Arianwen, the polite smile stretching into a grin. Arianwen couldn’t stop herself from reflecting it. She sat in the chair next to him. Jace almost immediately took hold of her hand.

“Good morning, Irma.”

“Oh, Arianwen, just the person I was hoping to speak to.”

Arianwen looked up at Jace, but he looked just as confused as she was. “Really?”

“Yes,” Irma said. “When are we going to get a wedding? It would be just what the community needed, and he isn’t getting any younger, dear. You’ve got to get a vow out of him soon or someone is going to come and snap him up.”

Arianwen could practically feel the heat radiating off Jace. For an instant, she thought he might have surged out of embarrassment.

“Mrs Greenbrook,” he squeaked.

“Now, I can help with the planning,” Irma said, still addressing Arianwen. “I know you both don’t have family but there are a lot of people here who would love to help you celebrate.”

“That’s… that’s great to hear,” Arianwen said. She glanced over again to make sure self-immolation wasn’t happening. “We have discussed it. I think Jace wants to get the church set up properly first. You know he’s very busy.”

“Hmmm, that’s what they all say,” Irma said. “But be careful. Deirdre keeps talking about setting up a date with her daughter.”

“Oh, I’ll be careful,” Arianwen assured her. Deirdre’s daughter had a wife and son. She didn’t think she had anything to worry about. “I’m afraid I have to steal him away from you now, Irma. We have errands to run.”

“Of course, of course,” Irma said, nodding to herself. She stood, taking one of Jace’s hands in both of hers. “Thank you so much, pastor. I’ll get out of your hair.” Irma patted Jace’s hand again before turning to Arianwen. She patted Arianwen on the shoulder and pecked her check. Arianwen sat perfectly still, trying not to let the grimace show. She was still getting used to the level of affection shown by people in their little village, and the status level she was at.

Jace let go of Arianwen’s hand to show Irma out. It was a full ten minutes before he returned, squeezing onto the same armchair. Arianwen shifted over until she was sitting on his lap. Jace buried his face in her neck and sighed while she ran her hand through his hair.

“How long was she here?” she asked. “And why this time?”

“Forever,” Jace mumbled, his face still hidden. “An hour. Maybe an hour and a half. And I don't’ actually know. She started talking about her niece’s friend’s brother. Or her brother’s friend’s niece. But then it ended up going off on a weird tangent and we ended up talking- well, she ended up talking about… Frostyfaire? I think? I think she was here for cookies. And apparently to harass you about marrying me.”

Arianwen sighed a laugh. 

Llanleigh was only a small village, located in the north of the forest of Sylvaire. Wood elves had slowly been moving back to the place their ancestors had called home, building around long abandoned settlements. There had been a few dozen families when Jace and Arianwen arrived. Most had come from Fallinel, but there were a few from Solace and even the Mountains of Chaos. The village had been welcoming enough, but when they found out about Jace’s connection to Cassandra, there had been a level of amazement and attention.

They had rebuilt an old Church of Cassandra a few months ago, and Jace had been diligently serving as a cleric to the community. Arianwen loved how happy he got, how confident he was, but the attention was beginning to grate on her.

“You need office hours,” Arianwen said. It wasn’t the first time.

“I know,” Jace mumbled. “But if they need me…”

“You can make exceptions for emergency ministry stuff, not for Irma’s extended relative’s life story,” Arianwen said. “Even diplomats would have times when they were unavailable for calls.”

Jace hummed, clearly unconvinced.

“I’m going to go collect components today,” Arianwen said, changing the subject. “Do you want to come with me?”

“I should…”

“You can’t be on call constantly,” Arianwen said. “You need to take some time for yourself. If there is a mystery emergency, they can pray and Cassandra can tell you.”

Jace was about to respond when Arianwen brought her hand down to his cheek, lifting his face so he was looking at her. She smiled softly, stealing a kiss before pressing her forehead against his.

“Come with me? Please?”

Arianwen watched as about fifteen different thoughts chased each other across Jace’s face as he looked at her. He eventually settled on a fond smile, pulling away to nod.

“I’ll come with you,” he said. “The world can last a few hours.”

Chapter Text

Arianwen still felt uneasy going into the first. Even during the day, there was a small fear that she might suddenly find the past six months had all been a dream. Each step under the shaded trees felt so familiar. It would be so easy for her to turn a corner and find out she was back where she had been before Jace returned. 

She hugged her cloak closer around herself, tiny stars and constellations lighting up on the fabric as they walked into the dim light under the canopy. Her other hand held onto Jace’s focusing on the circles he was rubbing with his thumb. He was here. She was safe.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, they came to the spot where Arianwen knew she could gather components. She took her hands away from Jace’s to cast a spell, watching as silvery starlight settled in a path on the grass.

Arianwent’s magic had been different since Jace had restored it. She was still learning to be a wizard again. Things that had once been simple were so much harder now. Concentration was more difficult. The fact that she was slowly rebuilding her spell book from scraps and memory probably wasn’t helping.

But there was a new magic, something more natural, that had come almost instantly. As much as the forest terrified her, she had been living there for over a year when Jace found her. She had survived. Between that and whatever Cassandra-infused healing Jace had done, something had rubbed off on her.

“Can you get spruce needles?” Arianwen asked. “And if you find any features…”

“I know,” Jace said. He kissed Arianwen’s cheek before going off to collect the items.

Arianwen sighed, watching him for a moment. Jace had changed too, both in the years they’d been apart and in the months since they’d been reunited. He was still so clearly a Solesian, but he was at home here, in the woods. Arianwen couldn’t imagine the Jace of three years ago collecting spruce needles and birds feathers. But he seemed happier now.

She smiled and turned to the star path to collect the harder to find ingredients.

“We should have just told them we were already married,” Jace called over.

“Huh?”

“It would have been easier to tell everyone we already had our vows,” Jace said. “Although, that would probably only be even more gossip if anybody found out.”

Arianwen sighed. “Jace. My love. My darling paramour. I need to focus.”

“Oh, right, sorry.”

Arianwen turned her attention back to the spell.

It had been frustrating at first. She had spent decades studying magic, understanding the elements of spells, breaking them apart and piecing them back together. All that had been undone. It had occurred to her, early on, that this was just what the Nightmare King had warned her about. He had told Arianwen that Cassandra would take away her answers, and that was just what happened. She’d told the Nightmare King that was fine. But back then, she’d thought it would be easy to get her answers back.

It wasn’t.

At one point, she’d thought about giving up. Every other conversation she had with Jace seemed to end in a screaming match. He’d brought her back, sure, but he’d done it wrong.

Slowly, piece by piece, things had begun to fit back together.

Of all things, it was baking that had helped.

Baking wasn’t something Arianwen had ever tried before, in her old life. She didn’t enjoy cooking in general. She wasn’t good at it, so she didn’t do it. That was what Unseen Servants were for.

She had only started baking to help Jace when he tried to run a church bake sale. But everything had instantly clicked. The recipes were clear, exact, and not to be strayed from. Each ingredient had a necessary but discernible role. Each step in the process had a chemical or physical purpose that could be explained. It was something Arianwen could learn just by following instructions, analysing recipes and evaluating her mistakes. And it was something that apparently translated well to wizardry.

Arianwen returned to Jace with a collection of caterpillar cocoons, various plants and a jar of insects. Jace opened the bag to let her store the components, proudly displaying three feathers.

Arianwen grinned at how pleased he was.

“It’s a start,” she said. “I’m going to need more crystals and lead to keep doing the sanctum.”

“I can sort that out,” Jace promised. He held Arianwen’s hands, letting her swing them gently. Arianwen looked down at them, then pushed herself up onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips. She felt him smile against her mouth and reached up to pull him down as she fell back onto her heels.

“You’ll sort it, right?” she whispered. “You always do.”

“Always will.”

Arianwen kissed along Jace’s jaw, her heartbeat rising when Jace hummed.

“You know,” he said. “I don’t even think there’s anyone in Llanleigh who could perform the wedding.”

Arianwen sighed, taking a small step back. A blush rose from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

“Sorry, it’s just in my head,” he said.

“You’re probably right,” Arianwen said. “It’s… we don’t need to do it.”

“Do you want to?” Jace asked.

“Of course I want to,” Arianwen said, cupping a hand to his cheek. “I just don’t think we need to worry about it. You have your ministry. I have studies. It’s fine.”

“I know, I know,” Jace said, looking away from Arianwen.

“I’m not embarrassed we haven’t exchanged vows, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Arianwen said, not sure what the right thing to say was. “Don’t let Irma and everyone get to you. We don’t need to exchange vows. It would be good. We don’t need to.”

Jace nodded again. He looked off into the distance before a smile appeared on his face. It didn’t reach his eyes. Arianwen searched his face, trying to read his thoughts without actually casting a spell. 

“Jace, talk to me.”

“You’re right, it’s fine,” Jace said, too quickly. “We’d have to go to Arborly or something to find someone anyway.”

Arianwen winced at the mention of Arborly.

Jace had been to the other town regularly. Llanleigh wasn’t yet self-sufficient and there was a lot of support coming from the already established town. Jace had been to collect supplies and visited the Tinkerer’s Hall a few times. Arianwen had gone to Arborly twice. Both times, the locals had made it very clear they hadn’t forgiven her for what had happened before, even after Jace had tried to explain about the crown’s corruption.

Arianwen wasn’t too concerned. She was sure the cheerful town would only drive her insane. But it was limiting. Isolating.

“Or something,” she said quietly.

“I’ll figure it out,” Jace promised. “We should get back.”

Arianwen didn’t move, still examining Jace’s face for any insight into what was going on behind his eyes. She didn’t think this was about the wedding. This wasn’t the first time one of the old ladies from church had brought up a wedding. It had embarrassed Jace every time, but it had never gotten him this agitated. If anything, he was normally all too eager to move away from the conversation.

“Jace, darling, please.”

“It’s nothing,” Jace said. “I… it’s nothing.”

Arianwen was about to press further when a loud screeching noise broke the silence. It sounded like a squealing piglet, loudly announcing its presence as it bounded through the forest. Moments later, a small, twig-like creature scurried up Jace’s leg and ran round his torso until it was perched on his head. It continued to squeal as it waved two stumpy limbs at Arianwen.

“Woah, hello Pip,” Jace laughed. “What’s wrong?”

The twig just frantically screeched.

Arianwen rolled her eyes. “Perriwine, slow down, I can’t understand you when you’re excited.”

There was a pause. Arianwen imagined Pip would be taking a breath if it needed to breathe. It then continued to squeak, slower this time.

Person at house.

Arianwen huffed. All this excitement for a visitor, as if there wasn’t constantly someone hanging off their doorbell. “Irma again?”

More squeaks: No. New person. Young woman. Brown hair. It paused to think before adding: Jace eyes.

Arianwen narrowed her eyes, trying to put together the words. Jace laughed again.

“We need to teach him charades,” he said.

“There’s someone at the house,” Arianwen translated. “Perriwine doesn’t recognise her. What’s she doing, Periwinkle?”

Waiting .

“So no emergency,” Arianwen said.

Jace eyes, Pip squealed again before it started bouncing on Jace’s head.

“He sounds distressed, we should head back,” Jace said, apparently ignoring the fact that Pip always sounded distressed. “Whoever it is, I’ll get rid of them.”

“Sure you will,” Arianwen said, trying not to sound disappointed. At least she’d have time to study.

Chapter Text

Jace and Arianwen returned to the village hand in hand, Pip bouncing along beside them excitedly. It was times like this that Arianwen could imagine she was normal. She hadn’t had to deal with the pressures of her parents, hadn’t suffered through years with Angwyn, she hadn’t been corrupted into trying to bring back an eldritch horror. She had always been here, living a simple life with her boyfriend, reading the stars and practising magic.

The cottage where Jace and Arianwen had made their homes was easy to miss. To those who didn’t know it was their home, their eyes would skim over it to one of their neighbours. But if anybody were to focus on the cottage, they would notice the faint shimmer of twilight light hinting at the protective aura surrounding it from magical means.

Unfortunately, it didn’t protect them from regular unwanted visitors.

As they grew closer, Arianwen noticed a woman she didn’t recognise. She was a young elven woman, wearing simple travelling robes, her long brown hair in braids down to her waist. She very obviously wasn’t used to being in the forest, her robes expensive even if they were simple. The woman, barely more than a girl really, looked worried as she peered around, as if scared of being seen.

Jace fell to a stop before they could get too close.

“What is she doing here?”

“You know this person?” Arianwen asked.

“I-I-I can’t do this,” Jace stuttered, panic rising in his voice. He cast invisibility himself before Arianwen could even respond, but she could feel him beside her.

“Jace,” she hissed. “What do you expect me-”

The woman appeared to have spotted Arianwen. She gave a wave and came to the gate of their little front garden, waiting for Arianwen to approach. Arianwen swallowed. She wasn’t as good at the talking thing as Jace, but she could try.

“Hello, can I help you?” Arianwen asked once she was close enough she didn’t have to shout.

The woman smiled, but was wringing her hands together and looked as if she was preparing to bolt at any moment. She gave a small bow and a formal high elven greeting. The motion stunned Arianwen for a moment, triggering a part of her brain that hadn’t been used in years. She started to stumble through the formal response before muscle memory took over.

“My name is Kir, Kir Elemmire,” the woman said. “I was looking for Jacin. Sorry, Jace. Jace Stardiamond.”

Arianwen pretended to think for a moment. “Sorry, I don’t know anyone by that name.”

Kir smiled. “I know he lives here. Your neighbour had good things to say about him.”

Arianwen rolled her eyes. Of course, nobody in Llanleigh had any reason to think Jace might want to keep himself private form the outside world. Neither of them had talked much about their past, and Arianwen assumed they just thought of them as ordinary Solesians. But it just seemed like common courtesy to her to not broadcast the identities of your neighbours to complete strangers.

“Ok, well, he’s not here now,” Arianwen said. “I can take a message?”

“Could I wait?” Kir asked. “I’m sorry. I just…” her eyes dropped to the floor. Pip was right, Arianwen noticed. Her eyes were the same honey gold as Jace’s. “It’s important,” she said, quietly. “I know you have no reason to trust me, Ms Abernant, but I think he might be in trouble.”

Arianwen blinked, the same part of her brain activated by the greeting whirring up again. “What did you call me?”

“Mr Abernant,” Kir said again. “I can explain inside. I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.”

Arianwen looked around, waiting for a message from Jace. Nothing came.

She sighed again and crossed the threshold into her garden. “I guess you should come in, then.”

Arianwen showed Kir into the house, leaving the door open a little longer than necessary. She rather stupidly didn’t have See Invisibility prepared. There hadn’t been a need for that kind of magic in Llanleigh. She’d been more focused on keeping this place safe than worrying about what would happen if someone broke through her protections. It was stupid. Jace invisible might not be a danger, but that didn’t mean nobody else invisible was here.

“Tea?” Arianwen asked as Kir sat in their cosy living room.

“Oh, please, Fallinel Breakfast if you have it,” Kir said quietly.

Arianwen tried to cast Unseen Servant to fetch the drinks. A small force of wind sprang up and ran directly into the wall before dissolving. She bit back a groan.

“I guess I’ll go make tea,” she said quietly before leaving Kir to head into the kitchen. She shut the door behind her. “Jace, if you’re in here, you need to message me,” she hissed. “What do you want me to do?”

Sorry, I panicked.

It’s ok, but what do you want me to do? Arianwen sent the message in the vague direction she thought Jace was. She’s not going to leave and you only have a minute.

Arianwen began to make the tea. It was a few moments before she got a response.

Tell her I’ll be here in five minutes. I just need to think.

The backdoor opened quietly and Jace apparently slipped out.Arianwen returned to the living room with a tea tray, setting it down on the coffee table. Kir was still standing, gazing at a small collection of mementoes above the fireplace: a small bundle of preserved flowers and herbs, an old wooden starmap Deardrie had given them, a drawing of stick figures gifted by their neighbour’s child. 

“Sorry there’s no biscuits,” Arianwen said, making Kir jump and turn around. “Irma… it’s been a busy day.”

“It’s fine,” Kir said. She accepted one of the cups of tea and settled on the sofa, curling in on herself a little. Arianwen tried to stop herself examining her, but she couldn’t. She could see elements of Jace in her face, her eyes. Jace had never talked much about his family, but this was clearly a relative.

“How do you know Jcae?” Arianwen asked.

“Oh, um, he’s my brother,” Kir said. “I know he doesn’t use the Elemmire name. We weren’t especially close until… well… it was complicated.”

“Elemmire,” Arianwen repeated. She knew the name. She carefully poured milk into her own tea, trying to figure out why she knew that name. Wait. “Are you related to Muse Linnoril Elemmire?”

Kir nodded. “My mother,” she said. “You know her?”

“Knew of her,” Arianwen said. Her mind was now racing. Jace was related to the Elemmire muse? How had she never noticed that? Oh, if her father knew she was discussing vows with the son of a muse… he would have killed Angwyn years ago if he’d known this was an option. No. No. She wasn’t going to be concerned about what her father thought.

“Yeah, I… most people know her, I guess,” Kir said quietly. “I’m sorry. Is Jace-”

The front door opened and Jace slipped inside. He pretended to be surprised when his eyes landed on Kir. Arianwen watched Kir react, her face going pale. Tea spilled over the edge of her cup and over her hand. She swallowed, putting the mug down and straightening her clothes.

“Jace, sorry to come without warning,” Kir said, quietly. “I… it’s good to see you.”

“Kir, hello.” Jace took a deep breath. “It’s good to see you too.”

There were tears in Kir’s eyes. Arianwen began to wonder if she should leave the two of them alone, but it seemed like Kir had already forgotten she was there.

“I know you probably don’t want to see me,” Kir said. “I… I never told anybody about the research or anything, and I’m not here to try to upset you. I…” She swallowed, blinking back tears. “They said you were dead.”

“Oh, right.” Jace awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. He took his usual seat on the arm of a chair, refusing to meet Kir’s eye. “I, er, I was. Who told you?”

“Arthur Aguefort came to the house,” Kir said with a shudder. “He said you’d fallen in the magma blood of a god and couldn’t be retrieved. Father…” Kir sniffed and hurriedly wiped her eyes. “I knew it was my fault but I couldn’t tell them. I’m so sorry. I should have stopped you.”

“Hey, hey it’s ok.” Jace moved to sit beside Kir, wrapping his arms around her. Kir froze, not sure what to do, before settling into the hug a little. “I’m fine. I died but I’m fine. I wouldn’t have listened to you if you tried to stop me. This wasn’t your fault.”

“I did something really stupid after… after I heard,” Kir whispered.

Jace just hummed, rubbing her back as Kir curled into the hold. Arianwen sipped her tea as quietly as possible, observing out of curiosity more than anything.

They sat like that for a few minutes. There was no magic happening, as far as Arianwen could see, but it seemed to be doing something. Kir’s tears gradually slowed and she looked up at Jace.

“I’m sorry,” Kir said, quietly, pulling away.

“It’s fine,” Jace said, handing her a tissue. “I probably should have told you I wasn’t dead. I didn’t think Aguefort would go to Awarthron. But I’m fine. It’s fine. I’m good here.”

“You’re in danger,” Kir said. She suddenly seemed to remember why she was here. Kir smoothed down her clothes again and took a deep breath. “A couple of months ago, agents from the Court of Stars came to visit. They were asking about you. I… I didn’t hear everything. But they said there was a mistake and you were causing trouble. They were trying to get more information but Father didn’t know anything.”

“Me?” Jace asked, confused. “Why? What did I do?”

“I don’t know,” Kir said. “I didn’t hear. Father… he doesn’t like to see me anymore, especially if officials come round. Mother suggested they scry if they wanted to know where you were. They already had a rough idea, though, that wasn’t what they wanted to know.”

“I…” Jace turned to Arianwen, looking for answers. “Why would the Court of Stars want me?”

Kir stared at Arianwen, apparently only just remembering that she was there.

“Well dear, I know I’m wanted,” Arianwen said, placing her tea down. “But I know the Court of Stars doesn’t like to go abroad for criminals. Unless it’s an ongoing threat, they tend to just let exile be punishment enough.”

Kir nodded. “I think… the Court of Stars shouldn’t be able to touch you here,” she said. “There’s a treaty with Solace and High Court. Nobody’s allowed to get involved in Sylvan affairs unless all three governments agree. But I just… I needed to let you know. I can’t lose you again.”

“So I just can’t go to Fallinel?” Jace asked. “That’s fine. I don’t want to go there anyway.”

“I think they might try to do something,” Kir said, quietly. “I don’t… I didn’t work for tem long, but I know they wouldn’t have been asking about you if they weren’t going to try to come up with something. Try to lure you somewhere or something.”

“Or send a loved one to trick you?” Arianwen suggested.

Kir’s eyes widened. She looked between Arianwen and Jace, her hands physically shaking. “I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.”

“It’s ok, I know you wouldn't,” Jace said, his arm over Kir’s shoulder. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. And if they come here or something, we’ll deal with it. Cassandra protects this place. They’ll have trouble if they send someone here.”

“Cassandra?” Kir asked.

“She’s my god,” Jace said, a smile spreading on his face. “Not the one from before. Another one. Better.”

Arianwen could see a light dancing behind his eyes and she couldn’t stop herself smiling. If Kir let him, he was going to start an impromptu sermon.

“Well, it certainly sounds like you’ve had a time. I should…” Kir stood, letting Jace’s arm slip from her shoulder. “Thank you for the tea.”

“Wait! You’re going already?” Jace jumped up. “Not back to them , right?”

“I’m staying in Arborly tonight,” Kir said. “But I should go back tomorrow.”

“You can’t go back to them,” Jace insisted. “Please. For me. Let me do the older brother thing?”

Arianwen chewed the inside of her cheek as she watched Kir seem to consider the offer. There was a desperation to Jace’s voice Arianwen hadn’t heard before. As Kir focused on her brother, Arianwen cast Detect Thoughts as subtly as possible.

He can’t really want me to stay, can he? He’s just saying that because he thinks he has to. But what if he does want me to stay? I’ll only make him feel worse by going. Fuck I’m so stupid. Father was right. They should have just left me in that tree.

Arianwen ended the spell. “Kir?”

Kir jumped again, turning to Arianwen.

“Stay.”

He really does want you to stay , she messaged.

The smallest smile appeared on Kir’s face. She nodded. “O-ok, I’ll stay.”

Chapter Text

“You never told me you had a sister.”

Kir had left a few minutes ago, promising to only return to Arborly. Arianwen hadn’t decided what to make of her. She didn’t seem to want to hurt Jace, unless she had some kind of resistance to Detect Thoughts. But that didn’t mean she could be trusted.

She never had explained why she knew Arianwen’s surname.

“A half-sister,” Jace corrected her. “Actually, I had two, and a half-brother. My father and I… we don’t exactly get along.”

“Oh.” Of course it was the father. The idea of a muse having a secret illegitimate child with a human was absurd. But then, there were stranger things that could happen…

Jace could be the son of a muse. He was the chosen of a recovered god. It suited him. He was special enough for the title.

“Last summer, Kir and I kind of reconnected,” Jace said, carrying the tray of tea back into the kitchen. “She ended up, um, dismissed from the service of the Court of Stars and Awarthron and Linny were so cruel to her. So we kind of bonded over that.”

Jace hadn’t talked much about what he’d done in the year that Arianwen had been in the forest. She knew he’d tried to go ahead with Cliffbreaker’s god plan, but it hadn’t worked. He hadn’t said why, and Arianwen had been content not knowing. They were starting again. What had happened in the past didn’t matter. But now it looked like their past was catching up with them. Or at least Jace’s was.

Arianwen placed a hand on his wrist as Jace began to start washing dishes.

“My love, I need to know what happened,” she said quietly. “I need to protect you.”

She’d had this dream so many times too. More often than waking up and finding the past few months had all been a dream. She’d dreamt of the Court of Stars, of Angwyn, or someone coming here and tearing apart their lives, torturing Jace while she was helpless to stop it. With Angwyn, it was worse. Just thinking about the way he’d talked about Jace in the synod was enough to make her blood boil, but her mind was apparently determined to make it worse when she tranced, showing her images worse than anything she’d seen in the forest.

Angwyn was dead. Arianwen knew that. She had seen the body. But that didn’t mean much. The Court of Stars could bring him back if they wanted to. They could ruin her life if they wanted to.

“You don’t need to protect me from Kir,” Jace said. “I promise.”

“She worked for the Court of Stars, and now they’re after you,” Arianwen said. “I need to know why.”

“I don’t know why they’re after me,” Jace said. “I can tell you about kir, if you want, but I don’t know if that will help.”

Arianwen sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Jace to continue. Jace fiddled with the idol tied to his belt, looking for something to do with his hands. After a few moments, he sighed and sat opposite her.

“Kir got a job with the Court,” Jace said. “It was straight out of university. Her mother is a muse. It was nepotism. She had no idea what she was doing. Well, the Court wanted Adaine, since she’s the Oracle, and a few weeks before everything happened with… you know… the King , they tracked her down to Leviathan. Kir and some others brought her back to Fallinel and tried to convince her to stay. That didn’t go well. Then Kir antagonised Arthur Aguefort, Arthur did an Arthur thing, Adaine and Aelwyn escaped and Kir got the blame.”

He kept his eyes on the table as he spoke, as if he could see the things he was describing etched into the wood.

Arianwen narrowed her eyes. She had heard about the Calethriel Tower incident from Angwyn, though not in quite as much detail. This wasn’t helping to alleviate her concerns.

“Awarthron and Linny are awful,” Jcae muttered. “I don’t… I don’t like what Kir did, obviously. And pressing Aguefort’s button was stupid. But they don’t care about what she actually did. They care about what other people think.” Jace scratched at the table, his eyes glazing over a little. “They have their perfect lives, never done anything wrong ever. They’re the ones everyone looks up to, and they look down their noses at anything else. If you crack that image… it would be better for them to pretend you were dead. Just write you out of all the songs. Like you never existed.” Jace swallowed. “I don’t care what Kir did. You don’t cut someone out of reality because they’re embarrassing.”

Arianwen didn’t say anything. Jace’s eyes had gone dark, and Arianwen half expected some spell to be cast. She reached across the table slowly and took his hand. Jace flinched away before looking up. The dark look in his eye disappeared and he gave a weak smile. He accepted Arianwen’s hand. 

“Sorry, I just hate them so much,” he said, quietly.

“I understand,” Arianwen said, smiling gently. 

Jace nodded. He was still twisting the idol with his free hand. “I went to Fallinel last summer to look for the name,” he continued. “Kir was a mess. Worse than she is now. But she apologised for the stuff our parents did. Helped me research, and research ways to get your magic back.”

Arianwen blinked, almost pulling her hand away in surprise. “You were trying to research that?”

“Of course,” Jace said. “I was trying to do anything I could. I had to tell her about you, to explain what I was doing. She was sweet about it though.”

He smiled again. This time it reached his eyes. Arianwen just stared back at him. It seemed so… she didn’t know how to explain it. Jace had to have been under so much pressure. She’d been so cruel to him the last time they had spoken, but he was still trying to help her. He’d still taken the time to focus on her, even when there was so much going on. He’d wanted to help her, talk about her…

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” Jace said so fast it almost seemed like an instinct.

Arianwen felt her face burn as she looked down at their hands. Even after all this time, hearing Jace say that made her feel like a teenager. She took a deep breath, trying to put the emotions out of her mind so she could focus. She needed to figure out how this had ended up attracting the attention of the Court of Stars.

She coughed awkwardly, pushing her glasses up her nose. “So… what does the Court want?”

“I don’t know,” Jace said again. “I just… I tried to make an idiot a god last year, and apparently it wasn’t that. I don’t know what I could have done worse…”

Arianwen nodded, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at Jace. The faintest dark purple haze swam behind his head like a halo, making his hair and almost glowing red ears stand out in the bright and cheerful kitchen. Sometimes, it felt like a lifetime - multiple lifetimes - since they’d first met. He’d changed a lot since then, grown a lot, but there was still so much there that had always been there.

She was not going to let the Court of Stars touch a hair on his head.

It was late when Arianwen felt the bed dip with the weight of another person. She rolled onto her side to watch as Jace sat on the edge of the bed. A sliver of moonlight reached through the gap in the curtains, and Arianwen could just make out him fidgeting with the idol. Again.

Jace had gone to the Grove to talk with Cassandra. Sometimes Arianwen would go with him, but it always felt like intruding on a private moment. A glance over at the clock told her he’d been there longer than usual.

“Come sleep,” she mumbled.

“I… just need a minute,” Jace said quietly, his words just grazing over the top of shaking breaths.

Arianwen pushed herself up and shuffled over to sit behind him. She rested a cheek against his shoulder and pulled him back into an embrace. With one hand, Jace held where Arianwen’s were clasped together.

“You’re tired,” she said.

“I know.”

Jace didn’t move, didn’t react when Arianwen placed a kiss to his neck. Arianwen closed her eyes, trying not to let out a disappointed sigh. She could feel his heartbeat against her hands, the pulse lying just beneath where her nose brushed his neck. It should have been enough.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about?”

Jace sighed, his eyes cast down at the idol. “I think… Cassandra is keeping something from me.”

“Hmmm? Why would She do that?”

Jace gave a small shrug. He took his hand away from Arianwen’s and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not the only person who talks to Her,” he said. “If another cleric asks Her to keep something from me… I don’t know.”

“She can’t pick favourites,” Arianwen said. 

“Sure She can,” Jace said. “I don’t mind if She doesn’t want to tell me everything. That’s ok. She knows better than I do. But I don’t know if She does want it? I’m worried-” A yawn stopped his sentence.

“You can worry in the morning,” Arianwen said, successfully managing to pull him back until he was lying down. She curled around him as Jace rearranged himself until he was actually in the bed.

Arianwen already had her eyes closed when Jace pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She was already half in a trance when he started to whisper things she couldn’t quite make out.

Chapter Text

Adaine knew coming to Fallinel was going to make avoiding the Court of Stars harder. She had spent the summer ignoring Messages and having Aelwyn burn up letters. She was pretty sure Aelwyn had been intercepting some messages she hadn’t even seen. It wasn’t that Adaine was against doing a mission for the elven government, but it could wait until after summer, when there was a chance it would count for her grade.

She hadn’t wanted to come to Fallinel at all, but she’d promised Tracker she’d come and see what they’d done with Wolf Song.

“Yeah, we had a bump when the money ran out, but I think we’re in a good place now,” Tracker said as they walked through the grotto. Wolf Wong more closely resembled what Adaine imagined a summer camp looked like. Cabins surrounded the shore of one of Kei Lumennura’s lakes, a little separate from the main sanctuary. There were still horney teens mingling about, but most of the people sat along the lake shore or hanging out around the fires were people Adaine remembered from her first visit to Wolf Song.

“No, it looks like you’re doing a good job,” Adaine said, awkwardly. She didn’t really understand most cleric stuff, but Tracker seemed to be happy. Plus, it was going better than Kristen’s work in Solace.

Speaking of…

Kristen poked her head out from one of the cabins. A grin spread over her face when she spotted Adaine and she rushed over, almost tripping but catching herself with her staff. She reached for a hug, then stopped until Adaine nodded.

“Adaine! You look great!” Kristen said, hugging her tightly. “Is Boggy here?”

Boggy manifested onto Adaine’s shoulder and made a chirping sound which Kristen cooed at.

Kristen had spent most of the summer going back and forth between Solace and Wolf Song. She had insisted she was learning from Tracker, which would probably have been a good idea if it hadn’t meant leaving the day to day running of the church with Craig. Adaine had tried to help as much as she could. She didn’t get it, but she also didn’t want to deal with an angry Cassandra again. Doing that once had been enough for her.

Kristen had been “leaving Wolf Song for Galicaea”. She was filling in a supportive girlfriend role, which Adaine guessed was probably a good thing for Kristen’s character, but she didn’t know how well that had gone down with Kristen’s gods.

“Did you speak to Nara already?” Kristen asked.

“Nara?”

“Babe,” Tracker hissed. “I was going to let her settle in first.”

“Oh, oops, my bad.”

Adaine frowned, looking between Kristen and Tracker. The last she had heard, Nara was out of the picture. That’s why there was no money ,and why Kristen and Tracker had gotten back together in the first place.

“Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now,” Tracker said with a sigh. “Nara has been asking about you, if you’ll come to visit or whatever. She won’t say why.”

“We think she has a crush on you,” Kristen laughed. She’d slipped her hand into the pocket of Tracker’s shorts and Tracker was leaning into her. Somehow, they made it seem natural, as if it would be weirder if they weren’t physically attached to one another.

“Sure,” Adaine said.

Tracker gave an apologetic smile and Adaine knew she knew the truth. Well, if the Court of Stars wanted to speak to her so badly, they could send Nara to come find her themselves.

It was the evening of Adaine’s first day in Fallinel when Nara arrived. 

Adaine had actually been enjoying herself more than she’d expected. She’d never gotten the chance to come to camp before, and she was enjoying the experience. There were people playing on arcane-powered boats in the lake, and a group of younger followers had started a game of water balloon dodgeball. It wasn’t all fun and games, and Adaine could see how Tracker was linking things back to Galicaea. It was easy to see where the appeal came from, especially with the number of young elves in the group.

She had almost completely forgotten about the earlier conversation as she sat around one of the fires in the evening, listening to a camp song, when she felt a light hand rest on her shoulder.

Nara stood just at the edge of the fire light, her face partially shrouded in strange shadows. She smiled hopefully at Adaine, but everything about her body language suggested she wasn’t supposed to be here. When Adaine glanced over at tracker, it was obvious she had seen her ex, but apparently this was fine. Nobody else seemed to find Nara out of place.

“Adaine, it’s so good to see you again,” Nara said. “Would it be ok if we talked?”

Adaine resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wondered how much Nara actually knew about her father’s work, and how they had treated her before. It seemed impossible that she could really be as stupid as she appeared, but everything she had found out about the elven princess said that was the case.

Adaine slipped out of the circle and away from the noise. Kristen caught her eye and raised an eyebrow.

I’m ok, but be ready if something goes down , Adaine Messaged.

Kristen nodded and cracked her knuckles. Adaine shook her head and followed Nara to a quieter part of the camp, still within eyesight of the group.

“It’s good to see you again,” Nara said again. “I heard you saved the world again with your friends. That’s amazing. You’re so incredible. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Adaine said. She wished Nara would just get on with it. 

It was close enough to the start of the term that she could probably get away with taking the quest now and not getting started until classes began. 

Nara took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to get into it right away,” she said, her hands playing with a small bundle of plastic chainlinks. “I don’t want you to think I’ve just come to say this because I’ve not. I really did want to see you again. But my daddy and his work friends wanted to talk to you.”

Adaine huffed. “Of course they do.”

“I know you don’t really like the Court of Stars much, but I do think you’re a good influence on them,” Nara said. “I don’t know, maybe you could be for Fallinel what Tracker is for Galicaea.”

“No, yeah, I get that? But also, I’m seventeen?” Adaine said. “This isn’t some YA novel. This should be something that an adult does?” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “It’s fine. We should go. Can we do this now? Get it over with?”

Nara’s face brightened and she clapped her hands. “Yeah, we can do it now. I can teleport us to the court.”

“Yeah, sure,” Adaine said. “Is it ok if Kristen comes? I mean, I don’t know what things are like for you two, but I just want to make sure the court doesn’t kidnap me again.”

“Oh, of course, that’s ok,” Nara said. “I don’t think they will though.”

Adaine made a non-committal hum and sent a Message to Kristen. A few moments later, Kristen appeared, preparing to cast a spell before she realised there was nothing wrong. Nara didn’t seem to notice the hostility, smiling at Kristen. She took a key from her pocket, inserting it into a lock that appeared in thin air and pushing open an invisible door.

Nara led them through halls made of red and gold glass. Arcane energy danced along wire-like strings, sending messages back and forth between different rooms. Adaine had to pull Kristen along as they passed the three immortal dancers in their dome. She did suppose it looked impressive from the outside, but it would be more impressive if the system actually worked.

“Daddy?” Nara called as they pushed past purple velvet curtains into the court’s inner core. “Adaine is here!”

Eight figures in long robes stood in a semi-circle facing the entrance. Each held their swords with hands clasped at the hilt. They stared at the newcomers stoically, but the small sway of their robes and the slightly rocking chair that had been knocked to the floor hinted that they’d jumped into position just moments ago.

“Ah, Elven Oracle, long has it been since you trod these sacred halls,” one of the elves said.

“It’s been- whatever,” Adaine said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she was. “What was it you wanted?”

“We have sent many messages to the far off land where you reside, which outline the predicament in great detail.”

“Ah, um, yes… they must have been lost in the post,” Adaine lied. “Why don’t you explain it to me again?”

The council looked between one another, the smallest movements of their hands hinting at the Messages being sent between them. The main elf gave an annoyed huff and nodded before sending another message to a younger elf at the end of hte group.

Adaine looked over at Nara, who didn’t seem at all put off.

The young elf turned to Adaine. “As we have previously communicated to the best of our ability, we received news that a powerful wizard is operating within the forest of Sylvaire. We bring this to your attention, not as the Elven Oracle, but as the adventurer Adaine Abernant, daughter of Arianwen Abernant.”

“Yes, yes, it’s my mother, but what do you want me to do about it?” Adaine asked.

“Hang on a second,” Kristen said, stepping forward. All the elves turned to look at her. Their expressions were still blank, but there was contempt practically radiating out from them. Kristen either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “I thought Arian lost her magic? Cassandra took it away.”

There was a definite bristle as Kristen spoke the name of her god. The court elves looked between one another before the young elf spoke again.

“We cannot say how this came to be,” she said. “We believe she may have sought help from a sorcerer in the forest.”

Kristen looked over at Adaine, confused, but Adaine just gave a shrug. It seemed like as good an explanation as any. She couldn’t imagine her mother working with a sorcerer, but she guessed beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“We cannot request your assistance resolving this issue in an official manner,” the young elf continued. “While we do believe this would shape the fate of all elves, it is beyond our control. However, you expressed interest in finding a resolution to this thread of your own story. If you wished to take this quest upon yourself personally, we would not stand in your way.”

Adaine narrowed her eyes. “It sounds like you want me to do some extra judicial killing?” she said. “I’m not saying no but what are you getting out of it.”

“Arianwen Abernant has committed numerous atrocities against the elven government,” the leader said. “She is wanted for treason. She has done great damage to this country. We believe that, once she has finished with her business in Sylvaire, she will seek her revenge here. We would prefer to act proactively, than face the threat upon our own shores.”

Adaine looked at the court elves, trying to gain any kind of insight, but their faces were all blank. 

She did want to be rid of her mother, but she couldn’t shake the feeling there was something that wasn’t being said.

“Well, I’ll have to talk to my party but, I guess I’ll look into it?”

“Yes, look into it indeed oracle. But remember, you of all people must know that the future will quickly become the present.”

Chapter Text

The Court of Stars had given Adaine a dossier which was clearly labelled as “top secret - do not copy”. As soon as they’d returned to Wolf Song, Kristen had scanned them onto her iPad and shared them with Riz.

A planning session immediately commenced. They could get time off school for a quest - Riz already had all the forms filled out - but Riz didn’t think it was a good idea for both the student president and vice president to be away on the first week of term. They were going to leave K3 behind, but that also didn’t seem like a great solution, so Riz was also staying to do whatever needed to be done.

Aelwyn had immediately text to say she was onboard. The message had come so fast it seemed as if she might have been scrying on them. That news had flustered Fabian a little, which made Adaine roll her eyes, but he’d agreed to come.

With Gorgug, that made five of them, which seemed like more than enough for a wizard.

It was the research element that Kristen was worried about. The Court of Stars had given them a lot of information, most of which seemed to be irrelevant to Kristen. If it were her alone, it would be weeks before she could sift through it all. Riz had opened up a FaceTime and already had a board ready in the background with a few pieces of information tacked on. They hadn’t gotten far though when Adaine came back over.

“Hey, so… you can say no if you want to,” she began, which didn’t fill Kristen with a lot of confidence. “But Nara asked if she could come with us.”

Kristen looked over to where Nara was sitting, out of earshot but watching them hopefully. Kristen still hadn’t figured out what her deal was. Nara’s parents’ money had left when Tracker had broken up with her, but she still hung around Wolf Song a lot. She still seemed to think they could all be friends. Kristen could tell she was trying to be the bigger person. She almost admired her for it. But she could just leave .

“Why?”

Adaine shrugged. “She said she wanted to go on an adventure,” she said. “And that a good cleric should see the world. I told her it would be dangerous, but she said it would be safer with two clerics. Which is true, I guess.”

“I mean, yeah,” Kristen said, awkwardly. “Babe?”

Tracker worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “I mean, it is weird, right? She’s lovely but it seems weird.”

“She might just be moving on?” Adaine said. “I don’t think she can lie, is the thing.”

“No, she’s really not very good at that,” Tracker said. “If you want to take her, she is a good cleric. I wouldn’t be more worried than I am about you going anyway.”

Tracker wasn’t coming. There was too much to do with Wolf Song and Tracker didn’t think it was a good idea to leave for a few weeks. Kristen wasn’t thrilled by the idea of being apart. They had just gotten back to a place where they were comfortable. But she knew how dedicated Tracker was to Wolf Song, and she wasn’t going to hold that against her. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t have to have been apart when Kristen went back to school anyway.

“It would be good to get a second cleric,” Riz said. “The main thing I would be worried about is them using her as an easy scrying target.”

“They could,” Adaine agreed. “But I don’t think she’s more at risk than any of us.”

Kristen felt Adaine and Tracker turn to her, even though her focus was on trying to sift through the file. This felt like a trick. It didn’t seem fair to leave the decision up to her. Why did she have to be the one to decide if everything was ok with Nara? If she could get past Tracker’s rebound girlfriend? It wasn’t even that she had a problem with Nara, or her coming. She was bothered they thought she might be bothered. Or that she had to take responsibility for how Nara felt. Or… she wasn’t exactly sure but it was frustrating.

“Sure, she should come,” Kristen said. “It’ll be fun.”

She wasn’t sure if she sounded convincing, but it didn’t seem to matter. Adaine was waving Nara over and it looked like they had a sixth member of the team.

“Thank you so much for letting me come,” Nara said, kneeling down beside Kristen. “I might not be as skilled a cleric as you, but I’m looking forward to getting the experience.”

“Yeah, sure. Adaine?” Kristen said, quickly. “Do you know anything about Llanleigh? That’s where the file says your mom is.”

“Oh, isn’t that where your friend lives?” Nara said.

Kristen slowly turned to Nara, trying to keep the soft smile on her face. She could tell Adaine and Tracker were just as confused as she was, but Nara didn’t seem to notice. 

“What friend?” Adaine asked.

“The other cleric,” Nara said. She smiled brightly, but it began to fall as she realised nobody knew what she was talking about. “Cassandra’s other cleric?”

The world suddenly went silent. Kristen couldn’t even hear the other Wolf Song followers outside the cabin they were huddled in. Kristen, Adaine, and Tracker all stared at Nara, who seemed to be geting more uncomfortable by the second.

“What other cleric?” Riz asked from the crystal, breaking the silence.

Nara looked between the three girls, biting her lip a little before speaking. “I overheard Mummy talking about them. A few months ago, one of the Muses came to visit. My Mummy is a cleric of Galicaea too, but she knows a lot about the other faiths. The Muse said there was a cleric of Cassandra living in Llanleigh and asked if she knew anything about it. It’s weird. Muses are normally more concerned about the past, but I guess they’re making songs about Cassandra again. That’ll be good.”

Do you know who she’s talking about? Adaine Messaged.

Do I look like I know? Kristen replied.

There was someone pretending to be a cleric of Cassandra? That didn’t even make any sense. Kristen couldn’t see a point in doing that. Pretending to be a cleric of a dominant god, that made sense. But what was there to be gained from claiming Cassandra? It wasn’t as if that was going to get them any power.

“Did they mention a name?” Adaine asked, a hand on Nara’s shoulder as if trying to reassure her.

“Well, I wasn’t really supposed to be listening,” Nara said, slowly. “So I didn’t hear everything. There was the name Elemmire, but that was the Muse. I’m sorry.”

“Elemmire, that’s got to be an anagram,” Riz said.

“Well, it’s Elven,” Adaine said. “It’s just “star-gem”, right?”

“Babe, maybe you could ask Cassandra?” Tracker suggested.

“Yeah, sure,” Kristen said, standing as Riz started to go through possible anagrams of Elemmire.

The forest was cool when Kristen appeared. Goose bumps ran up her arms and she realised just ot hot it had been in Fallinel that summer. Cassandra smiled and looked up from where she was sitting in a clearing. A vole sat on her lap, but scurried away as Kristen approached. Kristen stopped at the movement, then came closer slower.

“New familiar?” she asked.

“What? Oh no, I’ve just been adding more animals,” Cassandra said. “The silence was… bad. What brings you here, Kristen? Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, sure, everything’s great,” Kristen said. She sat beside Cassandra, watching as daisies sprang around where her hands fell. “I’m going on another adventure.”

Cassandra’s face brightened. “How can I help?”

“Well, I’m glad you’re excited,” Kristen said. She thought back to the conversation she’d had with Cassandra before the Night Yorb quest. They’d been so excited at the idea of helping people. Kristen had sold the idea that this was the best way they could spread her name again. It probably would have been, if Kristen hadn’t discovered crossfit on the way.

She wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

“Of course I am,” Cassandra said. “Are we still going to be in Elmville? Maybe Bastion City?”

“Actually, we’re going to Sylvaire,” Kristen said. The tone of her voice was the same one she’d used when convincing Cork that going to church was better than the playground or whatever he wanted to do.

Cassandra wasn’t as easily convinced as a middle schooler.

“Sylvaire?” They curled in on themselves a little. “Are you sure? That place seems fine.”

“We’re going to deal with Adaine’s mom,” Kristen said. “Apparently she got her magic back? And she’s causing trouble.”

“Oh.” Cassandra sounded disappointed and Kristen winced. She picked the daisies closest to her hand and began to weave them together. “I don’t… I still have a connection to the forest,” Cassandra said. “I don’t think she’s causing trouble there?”

Kristen looked up at her goddess, trying to read Cassandra’s expression. She looked sad and worried, but there was something else in her eye. Kristen couldn’t quite tell what, but that alone was worrying.

“You know, there’s someone that is calling themself your cleric there,” Kristen said, carefully, watching Cassandra closely. “They might have something to do with it.”

Kristen was certain they had something to do with it. It was too much to be a coincidence that this fake cleric and Arianwen were in the same village.

Cassandra couldn’t hide the panicked look quick enough. It wasn’t surprise, though. It was someone who had been found out.

“Oh.”

Cassandra looked like she was trying to decide whether to lie, but Kristen jumped in first.

“You have another cleric?” she hissed.

It was a few moments before Cassandra responded. Kristen was sure, as she shifted, she grew a couple of inches taller, her hair growing slightly darker as a shadow passed over her face.

“Gods have clerics, Kristen,” they said. “It’s not that weird that I have another cleric.”

“You have another cleric and you didn’t tell me?” Kristen asked. She tried not to sound as hurt as she felt. Cassandra was right. The goal was always for Cassandra to get more followers and clerics. But she’d thought that Cassandra would at least tell her when she got her second cleric. Especially seeing as she seemed to have done it by herself.

“Did helio tlel you about all his clerics?” Cassandra asked.

“No, but I wasn’t his only cleric,” Kristen said. “So, who are they? What are they liked?”

She tried to sound friendly, like someone interested in who their friend was dating. For a moment, it looked as if it worked, and Cassandra shrank back down a little, but they turned away from Kristen.

“I think it’s best if you don’t know about each other,” Cassandra said. “It’s what he’s asked.”

 “What do you mean? He asked you not to. Why can’t you tell me?”

“He asked,” Cassandra said again. “I do not tell him anything of you, so I think it’s fair that I don’t tell you anything of him. I think it’s best if you work separately. He’s in Sylvaire. I can ask him to watch Arianwen Abernant but I do not think there is anything to worry about.”

Kristen narrowed her eyes. “Arianwen tried to bring back the Nightmare King, and you’re not worried?” A sinking feeling came over her. Cassandra was her god, the god that she wanted. But now, they were getting influenced by this other cleric. A cleric that apparently trusted Arianwen.

“Kristen, I know our whole thing is about doubt, but I need you to trust me on this,” Cassandra said, softly.

Kristen sighed. “Ok, sure,” she said, holding up her hands. “But I think Adaine is still going to go after her. And I’m going with her. Just to protect her, ok? If Arianwen isn’t doing anything bad, then I guess nobody will be hurt.”

“Ok, Kristen,” Cassandra said, quietly. “I really… don’t think that’s a good idea but I’m not going to stop you.” They reached a hand over, brushing it against Kristen’s wrist. The daisy chain Kristen had made clasped itself around her wrist, the petals glowing a soft violet. “You’re still my best cleric, Kristen. I know you’ll do great.”

Chapter Text

It was a lifetime ago that Jace had first brought Arianwen back to his hotel room. Approximately ten minutes passed between his terrible pick up line about “charisma” and getting to the hotel room door. But after that, everything had been slow , almost painfully slow. Everything was on the edge between perfect and unbearable. It was overwhelming and careful and exactly what she needed.

Even after a lifetime, being with Jace still felt exciting. It was fresh and familiar, a contradiction that made Arianwen’s head spin when she tried to think about it. His fingers explored the hills and ridges of her body as if he were exploring for the first time, but each gentle stroke and pinch hinted that he knew this landscape as if it was his favoured terrain. When he pressed against her, she could feel the thrum of arcane energy just beneath his skin. Even that was a contradiction, wild magic kept under so much control as Jace cast with one hand while the other remained on her.

There was so much stimulation, perhaps too much, but Arianwen wouldn’t, couldn’t complain. She gasped his name as if it was keeping her alive and pulled him closer, closer, closer. 

Gentle, soothing music filled the room, just loud enough to banish the silence. Arianwen had her eyes closed, focusing on the slow rise and fall of Jace’s chest and trying to mimic it. Her mind was still buzzing. It would take a while for her to come down, but she liked these moments almost as much as what came before. 

Jace said nothing, gently stroking her hair and waiting until she was ready to take the glass of water on the bedside table. Eventually, she sat up and reached for it, letting Jace’s Mage Hand bring it over to her.

“You did so good,” Jace murmured, watching from where he lay as she brought the glass to her lips. It should have sounded patronising, Arianwen thought, but it didn’t. She reached down and found his hand, squeezing it in way of answer as she drank. Jace just smiled, lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

“I’m going to run a bath,” he said, pulling away, only for Arianwen to hold his hand tighter.

Stay , Arianwen Messaged.

Jace rolled his eyes. She knew he wouldn’t listen, but she had to ask. Jace leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple, then left the bedroom.

Arianwen slipped into a trance while in the bath, the warm water acting as close to a sensory deprivation chamber as she’d experienced in years. By the time she woke again, it was almost midday.

As she left the bathroom, Arianwen heard the now familiar murmur of voices coming from downstairs. For just a moment, all the tension that had been released came flooding back. There had been so many times during her miserable years with Angwyn that he’d conducted meetings in their home. He had an office at the embassy, a space to do this in a professional setting. When Arianwen had asked why he insisted on taking meetings in their home, he had just brushed her off, saying she wouldn’t understand the importance of an informal setting.

Jace wasn’t Angwyn. He didn’t have an office to go to, and Arianwen knew he would take these meetings in the church if she asked. She hadn’t asked, though.

A scratching noise caught Arianwen’s attention. Pip scrambled up the stairs, for once not shrieking as it did. It took a few attempts for the stick figure to get up the last step but, when it did, it rushed over to Arianwen. It nuzzled against her leg, waiting to be picked up. Arianwen rolled her eyes but crouched down, holding out her hand for the creature.

“Well, what is it?”

Cassy make Jace sad , Pip almost whimpered as it climbed onto Arianwen’s hand.

Arianwen frowned. “What’s she done?”

Speaks Jace. Makes sad.

Arianwen sighed. She really needed to teach Pop to speak properly if he was going to make a good spy.

“Well, it doesn’t sound like he’s been smited so it’s probably not an emergency,” Arianwen said, carrying Pip into the bedroom so she could get dressed. “Who’s down there with him?”

Woman Jace eyes.

“Kir?” Arianwen asked, pulling on a shirt. “Kir is far fewer syllables.”

Woman Jace eyes.

“Well, I guess that’s an accurate description,” Arianwen said.

She still didn’t know what to make of Kir. She hadn’t done anything to Jace, and Arianwen was pretty sure she was more of a danger to herself than Jace. but she couldn’t shake how much she knew. She could ruin Arianwen’s whole life if she wanted.

“What do we think about Kir then?” Arianwen asked. “You like her?”

Bad scritches.

“You don’t like scritches from anyone, Perriwine,” Arianwen said. “That’s not a helpful assessment criteria.”

Jace good scritches.

Arianwen sighed and mumbled an agreement. She doubted she was going to get a more accurate assessment from her familiar.

She let Pip scurry onto her shoulder before heading downstairs.

Jace sat on the sofa, hunched over with a mug of tea held close to his face, his eyes closed. His idol was sat on the coffee table, almost as if it had been tossed aside. Kir was sat beside him, a mug in one hand and her other on her brother’s shoulder.

“Everything alright?” Arianwen asked.

Jace’s eyes opened at the sound of her voice. He looked up and tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked exhausted. “Darling, you’re awake.”

“I wasn’t asleep,” Arianwen lied. It felt like a joke at this point, but she would still insist whenever Jace accused her of sleeping.

“Of course,” Jace said. This time the smile actually reached his eyes.

“What happened? Arianwen sat in Jace’s usual armchair, close enough so she could reach over to hold him if she wanted to. “Perriwine says you spoke with Cassandra?”

Jace took a deep breath and put his mug down. His hand hovered over the idol for a moment, but he quickly pulled it away.

“I did. She… we…” He had his hands clasped together on his lap, but he didn’t seem to be able to keep them still. “Adaine is coming. Here. She wants to… deal with you.”

Arianwen stared at him for a moment. It took longer than she knew it should have to realise who he was talking about.

Arianwen had had a lot of time to think about Aelwyn and Adaine in the forest, especially after she’d killed the vands. She had been angry at first. The girls had always had a roof over their heads, they’d had good, she gave them every opportunity she could. Adaine had said something about love, and maybe she hadn’t shown that enough, but she had…

It had taken a long time for her to realise she didn’t love her children. That feeling she had was an obligation to provide, a desire to have successful daughters. It wasn’t love . Really, it shouldn’t have taken that long for her to figure out, to recognise history repeating itself. But she he spent so long “choosing not to examine that” part of her life, even attempting to start was difficult.

“Well,” Arianwen’s mouth felt dry and she tried to swallow. “I cannot say I blame her.”

“You were corrupted by the crown,” Jace said. “We can make her see…”

“Things were not good between Adaine and myself long before I got the crown,” Arianwen said.

She watched Jace’s face fall a little and her heart sank. He had been a better father to Adaine than Angwyn ever was. She didn’t know how he could do it, how he could care so much about someone who hadn’t even realised he existed until it was too late. But that was Jace in a nutshell. Far more caring than anybody could ever ask of him.

“Well, she can still come and see that things are better now,” Jace said. He reached over to hold Arianwen’s hand, gently rubbing it in a way that felt like it was supposed to be comforting. Arianwen could tell this wasn’t for her benefit, though.

“Is that what Cassandra told you?” Arianwen asked.

Jace looked away, his eyes falling on the idol again. He didn’t reply for a minute. Arianwen looked over at Kir, trying to figure out from her, but she just looked down at the floor, deliberately trying to avoid Arianwen’s eye. 

Pip scurred ovre her arm and up to Jace’s shoulder. Jace smiled as it nuzzled against his cheek and chirped. 

“I could cast Detect Thought,” Arianwen offered.

Jace shook his head. “No, no it’s fine,” he said. “I… Cassandra… Kristen Applebees is coming with Adaine and she is now aware that there’s another cleric here. And the way Cassandra explained it, she doesn’t seem happy.”

He squeezed Arianwen’s hand again. 

“Cassandra didn’t seem happy? Or Applebees?” Arianwen tried not to cringe as she said the name.

Jace hadn’t spoken much about the Other Cleric. It was part of the lost years. But he didn’t need to say it. Applebees had stolen Cassandra, taken all their hard work, all Jace’s sacrifices. And then abandoned Her. Jace said Kristen had worked to bring her back, but Cassandra wouldn’t have survived without him . But none of that mattered to her. 

“Applebees,” Jace said, quietly. “Cassandra tried to convince her it was ok. She wouldn’t tell her any details, though. I don’t think Applebees knows it’s me but if she comes here, she’ll figure it out. I… she’s not going to be happy.”

“Well, who cares what she thinks,” Arianwen said, trying and failing not to get angry. “If she comes here, sees what you’re doing and is upset then she obviously doesn’t care about Cassandra.”

She didn’t know what Applebees had been up to since she’d claimed Cassandra, but she didn’t need to. The church was a community here, it was something that people leaned on, and committed themselves to making better. And Jace did that. He did that without any teaching, without the proper cleric training. As much as it frustrated Arianwen how often he had to give up his time for the flock, it was also a source of pride. He had done so much and if Applebees looked at this and thought it was bad then she wasn’t thinking clearly.

Jace winced. “She’s still our Chosen, Arianwen,” he said, quietly. “She’s… figuring it out. She’s not wrong for hating me. I spent a year planning to kill her.”

“You were corrupted,” Arianwen said.

Jace raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Arianwen blushed a little, hearing back the same thing Jace had said to her. That was different though, and he knew it.

“If Kristen decides to make Cassandra choose, She’s going to choose Kristen,” he said.

“Well if She does, She’s stupid,” Arianwen said without thinking. She cringed as the words tumbled out of her mouth. “And She’s not stupid, right?” she added, quickly.

“Arianwen’s right,” Kir cut in. She met Arianwen’s eye for a moment before looking away. “I bought components from Arborly. We can figure something out, make sure we control the situation. And then we put on our best face for them, right?”

Arianwen smiled and nodded, even though Kir wasn’t looking at her. She would rather use those components to completely hide themselves, but if she knew Adaine at all, that was a lost cause. They would have to hide the entire village and even then there was a good chance Adaine and her friends would find a way though. They were going to have to face them sooner or later.