As much as Damon would have loved to take Vel or Lilian up on their suggestions on how he might spend the day with them, he really did need to train. He was also wary of raising Malon’s ire. He wasn’t so naïve to think that at least part of her annoyance at his stunt under the table wasn’t due to her own complicated feelings toward him as both her lover and her solas.
He treated his exercise the same way he once had as a gladiator, creating a frozen edge to fill out his myrblade and running through various swordplay routines. It was exhilarating once he got into it, each slash and cut flowing together, each dodge and spin testing his old muscles.
The sky was even more overcast than usual, to the point where Lilian was able to come outside under a hooded cloak. She and Vel stuck together, watching for a time, and then walking around the clearing, immersed in their own friendship and conversation.
After an hour or so of heavy sword practice, Damon switched to working on his tumbling. It wasn’t nearly as useful of a skill to him with his performance days long in the past, but it was good for his balance and flexibility. He practiced handsprings, shoulder rolls, and side flips, feeling like a kid again as he flung his body around every which way.
It helped to have an interested audience. He caught Vel and Lilian watching more than once, more than a couple of times, even. There were a few appreciative whistles, a small applause, even.
It started raining at one point, though it was a quick, indecisive shower. Damon ignored it, working up a heavy sweat before finally calling it a day. He took a quick, ill-advised dip in the lake, admiring a small rainbow that had taken up residence in the mist on the other side of the shore.
The water had cooled dramatically over the course of the day, and he was shivering as he toweled off afterward. He was getting ready to head back inside to rifle through the pantry for a snack when he saw someone entering the clearing from the trees.
Ria was on foot, which surprised him, given how much he’d seen her on horseback during their last encounter. Her hair was done up in a tight, silver-green bun, with little sticks of crisscrossing blackwood holding it all in place. She wore a tight tunic of pale fabric with a tiny diamond showcasing her navel and abdomen, ending in a slitted skirt which hung loose over tan leggings.
The black matridai on her face, Damon’s own design, looked striking and elegant. He couldn’t take his eyes off them, the teasing curls of the two Ds across the sides of her cheeks, swooping downward like perfect, meaningful calligraphy.
He grinned at her, still in his underwear from his swim, but her attention was elsewhere. She was staring at the tower in a mixture of awe and horror, eyes wide, the fingers of one hand white-knuckle tight along the shaft of her spear.
He left his clothes on the bank and ran up to her. Vel and Lilian had gone inside at some point, leaving him to greet her alone. Her eyes never left the tower, though she took his hands on reflex as they drew near enough to touch.
“How… is this possible?” she whispered.
“Just wait until you see the interior,” he said. “Aside from our lost possessions, it’s nearly identical to—”
“Is she here?” hissed Ria. “Right now?”
It was only then that Damon saw the sudden shift in her expression, her tight lips and hard eyes. He felt his stomach lurch as he had a premonition of what was to come, what he should have expected all along, in truth.
“Slow down,” he said. “Give me a minute to explain everything.”
She was already pushing by him, her fingers pulling away from his as she took off toward the tower at a sprint. He ran after her, but she’d always been faster. She banged through the front door of the tower as though a battle was already underway.
“Ria!” snapped Damon. “Rovahn’s balls! Just… hold on!”
He followed her, terrified that Malon might have arrived back without him noticing and the situation might already be out of control. He stared through the doorway, taking far longer than he really should have to make sense of what he found.
Vel and Ria were hugging each other tightly, two sisters together again after perhaps years apart. He didn’t know for sure when they’d last met one another in person, and the sentiment he felt at watching their reunion was almost as palpable as his relief.
“Oh, Ria,” said Vel. “True Divine. It is so good to see you again.”
“As it is to see you, Velanor.” Ria smiled and held Vel at shoulder length, touching her hair and face. “You look well. If, perhaps, a bit scrawny. Have you been eating enough?”
“You’re one to talk.” Vel grinned and slapped the side of Ria’s hips. “And your hair! The black is shifting away so fast. It looks so beautiful like this… ethereal, almost.”
“You are too kind.” Ria smiled and looked Vel up and down again. Her eyes shifted past her to Lilian, at the table, who gave a wave.
“It’s been a while, Ria,” said Lilian.
“You as well, Lilian,” said Ria. “Have you been behaving yourself?”
She asked the question playfully, and to anyone else, it might have landed with good humor.
Lilian’s smile faltered, and she looked down at the table as she answered. “When I can help it. Not… to the degree I would have liked.”
“I did not mean to—”
“Forget it,” said Lilian, waving a hand. “I’ve been doing better recently.”
She looked at Damon, and Damon looked at Ria, and Vel smiled and started toward the kitchen to grab wine, or perhaps snacks. Damon felt reassurance within the palm of his hand, only to have it snatched away as Ria slammed the butt of her spear down into the floor.
“I did not come to simply reminisce and relax,” she said, baring her teeth. “The Red Sorceress was here, yes? If that is so, then she must be dealt with regardless, if—”
“Stop it.” Damon was surprised by the intensity of his own voice. He took a step forward, getting partially into Ria’s face, though he kept his expression as sympathetic as he could.
“I will not stop until I am certain that we are all safe,” said Ria.
“Aesta isn’t here,” said Vel. “She left this morning.”
“Where did she go?” shouted Ria, gripping her spear again.
“Calm down!” snapped Damon. “And lower your voice. True Divine, we’re indoors.”
“I have no time for your snark or your hesitation, young Damon. Tell me what you know, or…”
“Or what?” He took a step forward, almost blunting his chest off hers the way he might do to another man who stepped to him. “You might be the Vaista Aestairius among your people, but you have no more authority over us here than you did when we were kids.”
“Damon!” said Vel, wringing her hands together. “You don’t have to start a fight with her. We can talk this out, can’t we?”
“You should listen to Velanor, Damon,” said Ria. “You know how such a fight would end.”
“Do I?” He didn’t posture for violence, more to simply get under her skin, smirking in that way he knew would set her eyes to smoldering. She had no right to be stirring the pot like this, and if he had to be the one to set her straight, so be it.
“You should be grateful that my conflict is not with you, given how far you are pushing your luck,” said Ria. “I will do what needs to be done as soon as the Red Sorceress can be found.”
“She’s right here. Hello, seta.”
Malon’s voice, announcing her presence in the open doorway, was far from the relief it might once have been in the midst of their argument. She slowly strode into the already crowded common room as though she owned the place… which of course, she did.
Damon would have given anything to have Ria’s focus and anger still directed toward him, where it could be more easily harnessed. He tried to force himself between the two women as Ria brought her spear to her hands and attempted to rush toward Malon.
“Get back from her!” Ria shouted. “She is not what she seems! How can you not see it? She is one of the Venmalani ! She serves Lascivious and has no loyalty to any other!”
“Enough!” barked Damon. “We’ve been here before, and it led nowhere.”
“If it had led to where it needed to go, thousands of people might still be alive.” Ria’s voice was low, trembling with suppressed emotion. “I warned you so long ago, and yet you did not listen. Will you still plug your ears to the truth? It is painful, I know this… but it is also undeniable.”
“I am listening to you now, seta,” said Malon. “All that I ask is that you return the favor and listen to me in—”
Ria was apparently done talking. She flung herself forward, moving too fast for Damon to get in the way. She tackled Malon, tumbling through the door and onto the grass, the two women immediately grappling with one another for advantage. Thunder rumbled ominously overhead, as though even Rovahn and Leandra disapproved of what was about to take place.