* * *
"Gavril, we're just as guilty. We did this, just as much as Norian did. We pushed her. Belittled her when she wouldn't do what we thought she ought to." Tory didn't say it, but the unspoken matter of the implanted chip was between them. Tory had wakened to find his father sitting on the side of his bed. Tory had wept in his father's arms. His Thifilathi had known, even when Tory hadn't—just what the baby meant. Now, Garde listened while the brothers talked. Ry had also come, but he listened with Garde. Erland had asked him to bring information to Wylend, who worried about Reah and how the others might treat her as a result of the tragedy.
"What do we do now? She'll push both of us away." Gavril stood, rubbing his forehead. He had the worst headache.
"Young one, I gave you what you wanted. And now, all may be lost." Kifirin appeared in a brief flash of light.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way," Gavril cursed under his breath. "She was supposed to be mine—I was supposed to help her."
Kifirin turned his dark eyes upon Gavril. "Everything you requested was granted. However, there was something in the granting that I did not consider. I will ponder this." Kifirin disappeared swiftly.
"Speaking in riddles," Garde muttered.
"Have Farzi and the others had anything to eat? They won't leave Reah's suite. Thank the stars the Larentii put it together again before they left." Ry said.
"Let's get them something for dinner," Gavril stood. "Maybe it'll take my mind off the guilt."
* * *
"Little girl, as much as I'd like to keep you sleeping peacefully for a while longer, you must wake and talk with us." Karzac's words were the first I heard upon waking after. After the world had fallen upon me, that is. My daughter was dead—I'd known exactly when the cruel viper tapping into the core had drained her life away and then attempted to take mine as well. I had no recollection of how the link had been broken but it must have been—I was still here and my child wasn't. I felt empty, cold and abandoned as I opened my eyes, trying to bring Karzac's face into focus.
"You know already." Karzac's statement was flat.
"I know." I nodded, my voice and my throat as dry as dust.
"Here—only a little," Karzac held a cup to my lips. "We still have the IV in your hand and the feeding tube is still there," he added as I slurped ice water. It may have been the best water I'd ever had, mostly because it was the most welcome.
"There are several who wish to come and grovel," Karzac said gently, taking the cup away.
"I don't want to see them," I muttered, picking at the blanket that covered my narrow bed. I'd been transferred to one built for medical patients, I discovered.
"Who would you like to see?"
"Farzi and Nenzi. And their brothers. Wylend maybe. Aurelius, if he's in." I wanted to weep in Aurelius' arms, if I were honest. He would soothe me with foreign words I didn't understand and that was perfectly fine right then. I wiped a tear off my face. Karzac burst that bubble immediately.
"Aurelius is out, little girl. I will bring the brothers in and see if Wylend is available." He patted my hand and smiled gently. "Tomorrow, I will see about removing all these things." The lines and tubes hooked up to me were checked carefully. Mindspeech must have been sent—Farzi, Nenzi and the others crept into my room. I held my arms out and I was hugged quickly by all of them. Karzac stole away while I wept on Nenzi's shoulder.
* * *
"She said she didn't want to see any of you—the shapeshifters are consoling her," Karzac wasn't accepting arguments from Gavril, Tory or Lendill. "And I have sent for Wylend—she asked for him as well."
"If she worked for him, she wouldn't want to see him either," Lendill's voice held bitterness. "And what are we to do about Tulgalan? Power still drains from it." Lendill cursed in a language Karzac hadn't heard before. He had to Look to understand it.
"Reah may surprise you, Vice-Director." Karzac folded away.
* * *
I was napping later—just the brief waking had worn me out—when Wylend and Erland appeared. Two others were with them.
"Reah, darling, this is Corolan," Wylend introduced me to the tall man with wide shoulders, blond hair and an easy smile. Seating himself on the edge of my bed, Wylend motioned for Corolan to approach. "He is one of my trusted loves," Wylend went on as Corolan nodded to me.
"May I touch?" He held out a hand. Wylend nodded encouragingly, so I did as well. I thought he'd take my hand. Corolan leaned down and brushed his lips against my temple. "We will care for you," he whispered. "There is no need to fear."
"And this is Garek," Wylend introduced the darker haired man. Shorter and stockier than Corolan, Garek also leaned in to kiss my forehead. He stroked my cheek with a careful finger before stepping away. I blinked up at both of them, unsure what to do.
"You don't have to do anything, Reah. We know you are struggling now. I just wanted to reassure you," Wylend took my hand in his. "It is my hope that when you are well enough you will consent to come to Karathia and stay with me for a while. You will be cared for, I promise."
"I'll think about it," I sighed, closing my eyes. Already, I was weary again. I'd asked Karzac what they'd done with my daughter. He'd explained gently that there were only clots and a bloody discharge—Nidris' attack had destroyed her. There would be no body to bury or to mourn. The Larentii had cleaned out what remained inside my body afterward. It made me want to weep that my daughter hadn't been substantial enough—she'd been as ephemeral as a dream.
* * *
"She's sleeping," Wylend sighed as he was handed a cup of tea by one of the reptanoids. Gavril wanted to growl at the two warlocks who'd come with Wylend and Erland. He kept his feelings to himself with difficulty. These were Wylend's other lovers—Gavril was very aware of the Karathian cycles. He looked suspiciously at anyone who might serve to replace him in Reah's heart and life.
* * *
"Reah?" I had to work to come back to consciousness.
"Chash?" I was dreaming. Chash was gone. Someone had taken him. He wouldn't ever come back to me. I don't know what made me say his name, unless it was a longing that might never be satisfied.
"I'm here, baby. I'll always be here."
"No." I opened my eyes to find Teeg sitting on the edge of my bed, his hand stroking my forehead. "Chash died. Like my daughter. Go away, Teeg."