The diner scene shifted from realistic to sketchy, its contents flattening into static drawings. Broad gray strokes from an unseen pencil scribbled everything out. Then came a long, tearing rip of paper that pulled at the edges of the world.
With a flash, then a plunge into darkness, we found ourselves back in Aziza’s old tearoom.
Oliver took a few steps back before fading out with a quick wave of his hand, deliberately leaving Nora and me alone.
She turned to me with a frown. There were dark circles under both eyes, and her cheekbones had a pallor I hadn't noticed before.
“I don’t know what I am…” she croaked hoarsely. “It was okay before, not knowing where I came from, but ever since my exchange with NAUGHT… Now I can’t even say what I am!”
We could have spent hours revisiting the diner. Was she remembering it right? Who did she take after? Who was that woman meeting? Did she have abilities before Euphridia granted her knowledge of them? But as to what Nora was.... Only she could come up with an answer that satisfied her sense of self, and that would take time.
“Exhausted. You’re exhausted,” I answered lightly, preparing to sneak in my best attempt at something she could adapt. “You’ve been so busy trying to hold everything together… I’m so grateful I have a friend like you.”
“And it’s answers like that that make me want to scream at you,” Nora said with a moan. “How am I supposed to let the one person who actually gets me go out there and probably get killed again?”
I hesitated, knowing the question was probably rhetorical. “It’s going to be hard on us both, that’s for sure.”
“Promise me you’ll win this time.”
“Nora…”
“Promise! Promise me nothing bad will happen!”
I remember having an eerily similar conversation back when we fought our first demons.
“I can’t guarantee we won’t lose,” I replied. “Or that this doesn’t end badly. But I now look forward to the journey ahead, and I’m glad you’re on it with me, so I’m gonna do my best for both of us, okay?”
“That’s not even remotely reassuring.”
“I know.”
There was a long pause, and then she swore as she pulled me down into another hug. This time, I knew better than to complain about body mechanics.
“We’ll need more help,” she eventually muttered as she pushed me away. “As much as we can get.”
I straightened, a spark of excitement shooting through me. “You mean you’re willing to—”
Trumpets.
Resonant and familiar, the sound swelled. I glanced at Faith, her surface rippling with a faint, visible golden light. At my hip, Will did his best to sparkle in solidarity.
I gasped as I tried to summon my aura. There was a faint shimmer for a moment, only to fade as a heavy lassitude settled in.
“Oh…” I said with a long sigh. “I suppose it’s been months since I’ve had a good night’s sleep…”
It was the best-case scenario to delude myself with.
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“Another thing we have in common,” Nora replied, gesturing at the cots in the corner. “Why don’t we rectify that right now?”
“Um, what about the others? Shouldn’t we—”
“Agreed. I’ll lock them out.”
She snapped her fingers, and the room shimmered.
“I was going to say talk to them.”
“Later,” she said with a wave as she hopped onto a cot. “They’re all adults, let them figure out how they’re going to get along on their own.”
My lips pursed, but I decided to keep my thoughts to myself. “Alright.”
To be honest, I had no idea what time it was when I fell asleep or how long I slept. Hunger was what woke me up, though. I tried to wait for Nora to open her eyes spontaneously, but since she was face down in her pillow, I couldn’t even monitor any such change.
“What I wouldn’t do even for just an apple,” I eventually whispered to myself.
Pop.
A red one appeared on a nearby table.
“Uh… Is that you, Olethros?”
Silence.
“Could… I get a Golden Delicious instead?”
Pop.
I stared at the second apple, deeply suspicious. This was Aziza’s sanctum. Poisoned apples felt thematically appropriate. But if I were going to be poisoned, it would be by something much tastier.
“Apple cheesecake with whipped cream and berry compote?”
My wish was granted.
“Don’t waste animus,” Nora muttered sleepily. “This place is hard enough for everyone to sustain without the complex food replication requests.”
I coughed my guilty agreement between bites, aborting the idea of asking for a full buffet brunch.
The boys were let into the room after we ate, and all the evidence pointed to them squabbling ever since we left them.
“You are here solely at Nora’s insistence,” Ambrose said stiffly as he strode through the mirror. “And given your penchant for backstabbing, you are forbidden to enter Delta II through Delta XII.”
Amos followed. “My Master has no need of your restrictions. You should consider yourselves fortunate he has not yet claimed this sanctum.”
Marquis Galenus arrived last, already wringing his hands. “I must remind you all that excessive thaumic disharmony risks destabilizing the main core—” He paused and turned around. “Your Majesty?”
“He is not My Majesty,” Ambrose snapped before saying louder. “Well? Where are you, demon?”
Olethros didn’t use the mirror. He reappeared beside me in a puff of black vapor, his hand already outstretched.
“I would trust once again you to keep my sanctum safe,” he said as if no one else existed. He opened his fingers, revealing his serpent mark.
“Oh, certainly,” I replied, taking it and clipping it back onto my sword. When I looked back up, he still appeared quite expectant.
“Is… there something else?”
“I’ve been quite polite this time,” he explained, gesturing vaguely to the others. “You might say I’ve behaved admirably.”
“I might?”
“You should,” he corrected, leaning in. “I require your praise.”
What sort of scheme is this?
“Uh… Good job?” I went to pat his shoulder. He turned his head at the last second, so I ended up patting the top of his head instead.
How is his hair so soft?
He slowly looked up at me, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. Galenus, Ambrose, and even Amos behind him had frozen, their silent, incredulous looks speaking volumes.
Well, whatever he wanted, I guess I played along.
His brows knit, and he straightened with a faint sigh. “It is a start.”
I had the distinct feeling I’d missed something important.
“Now,” he said, turning to face the others as all warmth left him. “To business. I have no intention of claiming this sanctum, so you may spare me the incessant recital of its rules. And know they would not have stopped me, had I decided otherwise.” He folded his arms. “Their regurgitation hints at a lack of safeguards to prevent someone else of a certain caliber from doing so.”
Ambrose bristled, but Galenus gave a guilty glance to the floor.
“I will require an honest answer,” Olethros continued, his voice lowering. “I carry something vital to your priorities. But if you cannot contain it here, then I will not relinquish it.”
Ambrose and Galenus exchanged a long glance.
“I do not believe he would risk his companions’ well-being,” Galenus murmured.
“He would certainly risk ours,” Ambrose replied with a sneer.
Amos scoffed. “You know nothing of His Majesty.”
Nora sighed, forced to be the voice of reason by default. “Just tell us what it is first, then we’ll decide.”
Olethros held out his hands, summoning a black ball of mist. “Better to show you.”
The vapors hissed around his fingers, dissipating to reveal the Crown of Thorns that he had originally bequeathed to Amos. This time, however, it appeared to be wrapped tight with dark sigils that hummed faintly.
“Aziza?!” Ambrose said with a sharp inhale.
Olethros gave a faint, humorless huff. “No, Your Mistress was not the last to wear this. The traitor who sold her to the Order of Black lies bound within this crown.” He tightened his grip, and a loud, familiar avian squawk filled the air.
“Now tell me, Marquis Galenus—do you command sufficient power here to keep your spawn-kin Anhinga contained? Or should I prepare to aid you during his forthcoming interrogation?”
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