Malon served the food, setting bowls of chicken and rice soup down in front of each of them, along with thick, fluffy slices of bread. There were only four chairs at the table, but she seemed more comfortable standing, able to set herself and the inescapable tension between her and Ria slightly aside from the group’s core.
“I wanted everyone to be here before getting into the details, in case any of you know anything of which Myr or I aren’t aware,” he said. “Some of this will no doubt be familiar to you, so feel free to correct me or contribute when appropriate.”
Malon nodded, as did the others at the table.
“Magic, as a force in the world, stems from what we call essence ,” said Damon. “There’s a certain amount of it within all life, and within every enchanted artifact. Within your crest, aesta, and within the heritage of spellbloods. Essence is what allows your power to manifest in the physical realm.”
“The physical plane, not realm,” whispered Myr. “What? You said anyone could correct you.”
A smile twitched at the edge of Damon’s mouth, but he continued, undaunted. “What’s less commonly known is that there’s a certain amount of unbound essence which only greater beings of power can draw form. The Forsaken are among them, for example, along with ice elementals like Myr, and along with monsters created from curses, like the revenants.
“This unbound essence behaves like water, in a certain manner. It can flow and pool. It evaporates over time. It comes from certain sources, specific places. Myr calls them essence wells, or klykia , in her elemental language. The reason why the Forsaken exist, the reason why they’re as powerful as they are, has to do with the way in which the True Divine tapped into one of the essence wells.”
“I’ve heard of the essence wells before, in old legends,” said Malon. “Of that much, at least, I can confirm the accuracy.”
“Just to be clear, you’re speaking of Rovahn and Leandra as though they’re people who actually existed?” asked Vel.
“They were, according to Myr, though she isn’t sure whether those were actually their names, or whether they were truly married, or if the legend behind the illegitimate birth of the Forsaken has any validity. What she knows for sure is that their power is owed to this one specific essence well, the Ocean Klykia , deep within the Endless Ocean.”
He turned his palms upward. The others stared at him, none of them eating, despite the food being set out. Damon felt Malon set her hands on his shoulders from where she stood behind his chair.
“So your plan is to travel to this Ocean Klykia and attempt to dampen it, somehow?” she asked.
“Exactly,” he said. “Myr thinks that she… that I… am capable of it. She’s a little wonky on the details, but if she thinks it’s possible, I trust her.”
He’d spent many late hours conversing with Myr in the time after Malon had left the tower with Lascivious, muttering to himself like a goon as he’d asked her to explain it over and over.
“How would we even get there?” asked Vel. “Do you have a boat that you failed to mention?”
“No, but the esteemed Lady Governor of Silke just might,” he said. “I know it’s a lot to ask. I plan on making the journey, regardless, but I could use your help.”
In truth, the people currently sitting at the table were the only people in the world of whom he could reasonably ask such a thing. He loved each of them, trusted each of them with his life, but knew the size of this request.
“I see one obvious risk factor which we must address,” said Ria. She spoke calmly, but Damon feared her words might not remain so from the way her eyes kept flicking toward Malon. “Would Lascivious simply stand back and allow us to tamper with the source of her power?”
“Lascivious need not know of this,” said Malon. “It’s not as though I speak all of my secrets to her.”
“Aesta…” Damon chewed his lip, thinking of her earlier words of her willingness of keeping his secrets. “Could she make you reveal our plan through your crest contract?”
Malon sagged a little, her hands still on his shoulders, thumbs pressing and massaging his neck. “She could, but only if she asked me directly. I see no reason why it wouldn’t be viable to preempt her curiosity.”
“Lie to her, in other words,” said Vel. “Would that truly work?”
“We have to consider that it’s necessary now, regardless of whether aesta comes with us or not,” said Damon. “It’s not as though Lascivious couldn’t force her to admit what she knows even if she stayed behind in Veridan’s Curve. We would gain more by having her magic and wisdom along for the journey.”
“Thank you, solas,” whispered Malon. “I would gladly accompany you, if you’d have me.”
There was a silence around the table. Nobody looked at Ria, but it was clear they were waiting for her to object, or more likely, decide that her and Malon’s presence on the voyage were mutually exclusive.
“There are still people within the havens who need my strength,” she said slowly. “However… if it is true that this Ocean Klykia could also affect the viability of the revenants, then I must also see this quest through.”
Damon grinned and gave a small punch against the table in victory. Having Ria along would be a huge boon, not just for her strength of presence, but for her tempesting. If they encountered a storm, she could redirect much of the force of the wind and lightning away from their yet to be acquired ship.
“I suppose I’ll go as well,” said Lilian. “It’s not as though I have much better to do, and something tells me you might need my help convincing Kastet.”
“I’m not about to stay and be the only one left behind,” said Vel. She shrugged and broke a piece off from her bread. “I guess that means we’re all committed to this.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.” Damon couldn’t have stopped smiling if he’d tried. He wolfed down a few bites of soup, savoring delicious chunks of chicken and carrot, and wiped his mouth. “We’ll set out first thing tomorrow. There’s no reason for us to linger.”
Vel cleared her throat. “That… might not be ideal for all of us, Damon.”
She glanced knowingly at Lilian, who shrugged.
“It’s just past sunset,” said Lilian. “I should set out now, in that case. It would be unreasonable for me to presume to make all of you travel along with me at night.”
“Ah. Right.” Damon drummed his fingers on the table, trying to think of a solution to her aversion to the sun. If they had a carriage, she could simply ride in the back, as she’d done in the past, but it didn’t seem as though one would be forthcoming.
“I’ll help you pack a traveling bag, Lilian,” said Malon. “We could delay one day if you wished to rest. That much time would make no difference.”
“No need.” She flashed a full-fanged smile and stretched her back as she rose from her chair. “I’m already well rested, and the prospect of this journey rather excites me. I’ll meet up with you all outside of Silke. Find an obvious place to make camp within a few miles of the city on the final night before your arrival.”
Malon began packing away everything Lilian might need, doting on her as though she were one of her setas and double checking each detail. Ria had already finished eating, and after giving Damon an intimate goodnight kiss, she excused herself to bed. He wondered if perhaps it was an act born from an urge to avoid their aesta, rather than out of genuine exhaustion.
“Are you sure you want to leave tonight?” Damon asked Lilian, for what must have been the fifth time.
“This plan was your idea, Damon.” She flashed him a wicked smile and pressed her finger against his chest, dragging it as though drawing a map. “I travel faster alone, and I’ll have a chance to rest in Silke when I reach it before you all, regardless.”
“At least take the time to feed on me so you’re topped up on blood?” he suggested.
She pursed her lips, glancing at Malon and Vel, neither of whom objected. She slowly nodded, taking his hand somewhat dramatically and leading Damon into his own room.
Compared to how intense and sexual Lilian’s feedings normally were, she was relatively straightforward about it. Damon was still curling with pleasure and fully aroused by the end. She gave him a kiss that tasted salty, and he was too dazed from the pleasure to realize it was from his own blood until after the fact.
Lilian set out immediately after, and the rest of the night was a blur of preparation, most of it undertaken by Malon, with Vel’s help. Lilian had taken a fair amount of blood from him, and he was exhausted enough to let his aesta shepherd him off to bed early.
“Sleep well, solas,” she whispered. “No funny business tonight. You need your rest most of all.”
She kissed him on the forehead. Damon pulled her back for a proper kiss on the mouth, but only found her cheek. He caught a hint of a smile in the dark of his room.
“What did I just say?” she said, with a sliver of amusement.
“I love you,” he said. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Trusting me.”
“I will always trust you,” she whispered. “Now get some sleep.”