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AVEN WOKE UP FEELING as if he was being watched. He blinked, and saw Owyn’s eyes were open.
“Hey,” Aven whispered. He looked over Owyn, seeing Aria was still asleep. “How do you feel?”
“I feel...” Owyn frowned. “Not dead. Why am I not dead? I’m supposed to be dead.”
Aven grinned. “Not if I have anything to say about it,” he answered. He reached out and cupped Owyn’s cheek, then leaned closer and kissed him. “You’re not dying if I can stop it.”
Owyn worked one hand free from the cocoon of blankets and grabbed Aven’s hand. “But I’m supposed to be dead,” he insisted. “He told me. He poured Rut down my throat and he told me—”
“And I forced it out of you,” Aven said. “Do you want the specifics? I can explain.”
Owyn blinked twice. “Yes. Please.”
“Technical, or plain speaking?” Aven asked.
“I probably wouldn’t understand the technical, so plain,” Owyn said. “What did you do?”
“Do you know how your body works?” Aven asked. “How your blood carries things through your body?”
“A bit, yeah. Carries food and stuff, right?”
“Right. Well, one of the other things it carries is waste.”
“Like a sewer?” Owyn asked. He nodded. “All right. Where does the waste go? I mean, before it goes out. I know what it turns into. But how?”
“Your body filters it. That’s what your kidneys do. When blood passes through the kidneys, the kidneys filter out the waste. With me so far?”
“And... that’s what you did?” Owyn’s eyes went wide. “You... you forced it out of me? Out through the kidneys and...” He paused, tugged on the blanket that was wrapped around him and looked inside. “I don’t smell all that good right now, do I?”
“You’re going to want to bathe,” Aven said, trying not to smile. “Trey said you smelled like a back alley in summer.”
Owyn nodded slowly. He frowned. “I... I think I remember. Bits and pieces and...” He coughed. “I didn’t... did I call you—”
“Fishie?” Aven asked. “Yes.”
Owyn turned red. “Oh. Oh, no. Oh, I didn’t... I wasn’t going to... it was just in my head... I wasn’t ever going to call you that to your face...”
“I don’t mind, Owyn,” Aven said. “If you want to call me Fishie, I really don’t mind. If I can call you Mouse?”
Owyn nodded. “I... I remember you calling me Mouse. I like it.” He frowned again. “What happened to you?” he asked. “They took both of us. What happened to you?”
“Apparently, they took me to Fandor’s house, and left me there for Mannon,” Aven answered. “But I got away. I got lost in the city, but Aria found me. And we found you.”
“And where are we?” Owyn asked. He looked around the dimly-lit room. “We’re safe?”
“We’re at Meris’ house, with Karse’s guards everywhere.” Aven shifted a little closer to Owyn. “If you’re feeling steady enough, we’re to go before the Council, and get out of the city before dawn. If you need more time, we’re hiding until tomorrow night.”
“No, I’m all right.” Owyn closed his eyes. “I... what happened to him?”
“Fandor was taken away,” Aria said. She propped herself up on her elbow and wrapped her arm around Owyn from behind. “Leesam said that they would hold him in chains until the Council meeting.”
Owyn twisted and smiled up at her. “Good. That’s good. I wish I could be here to see him get thrown in the volcano. But...” his face went blank. “Wait. Where are my clothes? The ones I was wearing. Where are they?”
“Trey went back to look for Trinket,” Aven said. “He’ll find her.”
Owyn looked back at him. “You think she’s all right? He didn’t hurt her?”
“He would have had to catch her first,” Aria said. “And she would never have allowed that.”
“And if he was going to hurt her, he’d have done it in front of you,” Aven added. Owyn’s jaw dropped. Then he nodded, slowly.
“He would have,” he agreed. “All right. We’ll see what Trey finds. I... maybe we can go back there, if he doesn’t? Before we leave?”
“We’ll do that,” Aria said. “We’ll find her.” She hugged Owyn tightly. “Do you want to eat?”
“No,” Owyn said. “Not... not yet. I want to be here. With you both. Like this. Except... Aven, you’re too far away.”
Aven looked down at the bare hand-span that separated them, and shifted closer, until there was nothing between them but the blankets. He put his arm over Owyn, then rubbed his nose against the tip of Owyn’s nose. “Better?”
“Almost,” Owyn said. “But it’ll do.” He sighed and relaxed slightly. “I’m sorry I smell bad,” he mumbled.
“Considering that I did it to you?” Aven said. “You’re forgiven.” He closed his eyes, feeling Aria’s fingers tracing the veins on his arm.
“You did it— you don’t like that sort of thing, do you?” Owyn asked.
Aven opened one eye. “What sort of thing?” he asked slowly. “Do I want to know?”
Owyn looked thoughtful. “You hadn’t had anyone, until me. So you wouldn’t know if that was your sort of thing, since we haven’t done it. So I’m not telling you. Because I don’t like it.”
“You’re talking in circles,” Aria said. “What sort of thing?”
Owyn scowled. “Well... are you familiar with dogs? And what I mean by marking territory?”
“Oh, no,” Aria breathed. “Really?”
“Really what?” Aven asked. “I know marking territory, but what do dogs do that seals don’t?”
Aria and Owyn both looked at him, and it was Aria who asked, “What do seals do?”
“They have glands in their faces that give off a scent. They mark rocks with it.” Aven frowned, trying to connect what they’d been talking about with the change in conversation. “Marking territory... with piss?”
Owyn nodded. “That’s it. That’s how dogs do it. Cats, too. And... some people.”
Aria made a strangled sound. “That’s awful!”
Owyn laughed. “Some people like that sort of thing. Not me. I told you, I don’t like it.”
“I don’t find anything at all arousing about it myself,” Aven agreed. “Besides, Aria’s already marked us both.” He rolled onto his back. “Meris said that my carry-bag was in the chest–”
“I didn’t say you could move, you know,” Owyn grumbled. He reached out and grabbed Aven’s wrist. “Come back here.”
Aven grinned and rolled back, moving closer than he had been before. “Better?”
Owyn smiled. “Much better. Except...” He paused, turned to look over his shoulder. “Aria, how much time before they come bang on the door?”
“If they come and bang on the door, I’m going to have words with them,” Aria answered, her voice cold. “We have as long as I say we have.” She smiled. “And I say you should take as much time as you want. If that’s what you’re asking?”
Owyn looked back at Aven, and his smile faded slightly. “I... Aven, this is me wanting this, right? And not the drug?”
“I thought I got it all,” Aven answered. He rested his hand on Owyn’s chest and closed his eyes, slowly checking Owyn’s blood for any traces of the poison that would have killed him. “I don’t see anything,” he said slowly. He opened his eyes, looking into Owyn’s. “If you’re not completely sure, though, the answer is no.”
“Will you at least kiss me?” Owyn asked.
“Absolutely,” Aven answered. He wasn’t expecting Owyn to surge out of his blanket cocoon and push him back onto the bed, turning them into a heated tangle of arms and legs and blankets. Owyn ended up stretched out over Aven, his fingers splayed over Aven’s collarbone, kissing him hungrily. Aven slid his hands up over Owyn’s ribs, fingertips tracing the edges of old scars. He heard Aria giggle, felt the bed shift. Then Owyn shuddered, his mouth falling away from Aven’s as he moaned.
“Oh,” Aria breathed. “Oh, I didn’t—”
“No, you keep right on doing that,” Owyn gasped. “Just... just touch. Let me know you’re there. Let me know you...”
Aven wrapped his arms around Owyn and held him tightly. “We’re here. We’re both here. And we both want you. But we have to be sure you’re really wanting it.”
Owyn sighed and rested his head on Aven’s shoulder. “And I’m not sure. I know you said it’s gone, but I’m not sure. So... so, no. Not yet. Just be with me.”
“Always,” Aria said. She curled up next to Aven, who shifted to put his arm around her. She rested her head on Aven’s other shoulder, and put her arm over Owyn’s back. “Can you breathe, Aven?”
“I’m fine,” Aven said. “He’s not heavy. This is nice.”
“It is, but we’ll need to get up and bathe soon,” Aria said. She sighed. “I don’t want to. I want to stay here with you both.”
“But we can’t, can we?” Owyn said. “If we stay, we’re at risk, and we put Meris at risk. We have to go.” He sniffed, then grumbled. “Let me up. I’ll go bathe. Do I have clothes?”
“Meris said there were clothes for all of us,” Aven said. “Are you sure you want to get up?”
“If I don’t get up, I’m going to do something I might regret later,” Owyn answered. He kissed Aven, turned and kissed Aria, then shifted off of Aven and got to his feet. The blankets wrapped around him made him look smaller than he was. “Let me go bathe, and I’ll eat while you two get ready. Then we can go save the world. Or conquer it. Which is it again? I forget.”
“I think that depends on who you ask,” Aria answered. “Go on.”
Owyn laughed and disappeared into the bath. Aven hugged Aria to his side and closed his eyes.
“We should get up, too,” she said. But she didn’t move. Instead, she started trailing her nails over Aven’s skin.
“You’re thinking deep,” he murmured.
“Just worried about meeting this Council,” Aria said. “And why. What do we need from them?”
“Supplies,” Aven answered. “That’s what Memfis said, isn’t it? When we were listening in the closet?”
“We can’t get supplies anywhere else?” Aria asked. “It bothers me that we have to speak to so many. Any of them could sell us to Mannon easily.”
Aven shook his head. “I don’t know. But I trust Memfis. There has to be a reason he’s doing it this way.”
“He should tell us that reason,” Aria grumbled, and pulled gently from Aven’s arms. She got off the bed and went to the chest, taking out Aven’s carry-bag. She brought it back to the bed and opened it, taking out the water and fire gems.
“You and Owyn will wear these,” she said. “As he said, I’ve marked you both as mine. I want this entire Council to see that.”
Aven smiled and sat up, folding his legs and watching as Aria laid out the clothes that Meris had left for them. “Don’t mix them up,” he warned as she shook out a shirt. “Owyn’s clothes won’t fit me.”
“His are that pile,” Aria said. “Yours are here. And this is mine — where did she find them?” She held up a long-sleeved wrapped coat, then turned it so that Aven could see the slits in the back for her wings, and the t- shaped panel that was meant to come up and between them. There were buttons, Aven saw, across the tops of the shoulders. “This was made in the mountains, by someone who knew what they were doing. How could she have known?”
“She’s a Smoke Dancer,” Aven offered. “She knew the same way that Memfis knew.”
“I’m growing tired of that answer,” Aria said. “If they know so much, if they can see so much, then why did they let you and Owyn get hurt? And if this gift of visions that they have — that we have — is only useful for inconsequentials, then what good is it?”
“You at least have something,” Aven said. “Most of my gifts are only good in salt water.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up, coming around to stand with Aria. “There’s an explanation. We’ll find it. We’ll get Memfis to tell us.”
“That simple?” Aria asked. She looked down at the coat in her hands. “I don’t think anything will ever be that simple ever again.”
“Nothing is ever that simple,” Owyn said, coming out of the bath. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and was scrubbing at his hair with another. “Anybody who thinks it is doesn’t know any better.”
“I used to think things were simple,” Aven said. Owyn’s words stung, and he wasn’t sure why.
“Sure,” Owyn agreed. “But that was before you knew anything about anything, right? You were out on the water, and you didn’t know the rest of this.” He made a sweeping gesture. “You said it yourself. You were swimming in muddy water. You didn’t know.” He shrugged. “Who’s next? There’s plenty of hot water.”
“You go, Aria,” Aven said. Aria nodded and disappeared into the bath. Aven returned to the bed and sat down, watching as Owyn took a seat at the table. “If you want it hot—”
“Nah, cold food is fine,” Owyn said, starting to uncover bowls. He picked one up and started eating, then frowned at Aven. “It’s bothering you. What I said, it’s bothering you.”
“A little.” Aven shrugged and leaned forward onto his elbows. “I don’t understand why I was kept ignorant. My parents said it was for my own safety But now I’m really not safe, and I’m still ignorant—”
“Which makes you even less safe,” Owyn finished. “Because you don’t know what’s coming. Aven, I don’t know what to tell you.” He took another mouthful, chewed slowly, then swallowed. “No. No, I do know what to tell you. It’s not you that’s the problem. You were kept in the dark — in the muddy water — and now you know the difference. Now you’re learning, right?” Aven nodded, and Owyn continued, “You’re not the problem. It’s the people who know the difference, who know that things aren’t simple, but insist that they are, because nothing that’s going wrong hurts them. They’re the problem. Because if they keep saying things are simple, then they’re not going to change anything. Because simple is good, and changing things might hurt them. So, since it’s easier on them, they insist that there’s nothing wrong. Simple, see?”
Aven frowned, thinking it over. “You mean, there are people in this city who know about Fandor, about what he’s done? And they don’t do anything?”
“Because doing something means they’d have to admit that there are things they don’t want to see.” Owyn finished the contents of the bowl, picked up another. “Those people, they see what they want to see, and ignore the rest. But you, you saw only what you were allowed to see. Now you’re seeing the rest, and you’re learning that it’s not simple. At all. And you’re doing something about it.” Owyn grimaced. “I learned that lesson really young. I don’t think I’d know what to do with simple. Real simple.”
“You could come back out to the deep with me,” Aven offered. “I could show you.”
Owyn laughed, sounding nervous. “Me? Out there? No, I can’t do that.” He shook his head. “I can’t swim.”
Aven joined Owyn at the table. “That’s not a problem. I can teach you. I taught Aria.”
Owyn shook his head again. “I... I don’t know. Besides, would you be happy? Going back to the deep, knowing what you know now? Could you turn your back on this?” He made another expansive gesture. “On her?” He paused, and there was an odd note in his voice when he asked, “On me?”
Aven reached across the table and took Owyn’s free hand. “I’m not turning my back on anyone, Mouse,” he said. “Not you, and not Aria.” He squeezed Owyn’s fingers. “But I miss the sea.”
Owyn nodded. “I understand that. I’m trying to get my brain around not being in the city anymore. I’ve never been more than a mile outside the walls, ever.” He looked around. “After tomorrow, who knows if I’ll ever be back?”
There was a knock on the door. Aven glanced at it, then at Owyn, who shook his head. He raised his voice. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me. It’s Trey,” Trey called.
“Gimme a minute, Trey!” Owyn called. He pointed at the bed. “Which pile is mine?”
“On the right,” Aven answered. Owyn got up and grabbed his clean trousers, tugging them on. Once he’d fastened the waist, he called. “Come in.”
The door opened, and Trey peered around the edge. He grinned when he saw Owyn. “You dressed for me? You don’t need to be fancy, Wyn. I’ve seen you before.”
“Fuck you, Trey,” Owyn grumbled. “Did you find her?”
Trey came the rest of the way, kicking the door closed behind him. He had his hands cupped in front of him, and he opened them to reveal a flame-bright ball of fur. Owyn crowed with laughter.
“Trinket!” He scooped the fire mouse out of Trey’s hands and sat down on the bed. Once he’d examined the mouse closely, he looked up, his expression gravely serious. “Thank you, Trey,” he said softly. “I... she’s important to me.”
“I know, Wyn,” Trey said. He sat down next to Owyn, and Aven felt for a moment as if he’d been forgotten. “I was there when you named her, remember?”
“Yeah,” Owyn answered with a smile. He stroked his fingers over Trinket’s fur. “Where was she?”
“Same place she used to hide. Under your bed,” Trey answered. “Left slipper.”
Owyn nodded. “If we had to go back, that would have been the first place I looked. Thank you, Trey.” He looked up at Aven. “Oh. I... Aven, umm... Trey and I... did he tell you?”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” Aven said. “And I wouldn’t have asked.”
Trey sat up and smiled at Aven. “It didn’t last long. Not even a season, really. We were both still figuring out how to be people and not things. And it was before we figured out that we could be friends without fucking each other.”
“Which was really all we knew before that,” Owyn added. “Trey, you could come with us, you know.”
Trey shook his head. “I thought about it. Standing with the Heir? That’s important. But then I thought about the people who need me here. Karse needs me. He needs someone at his back he can trust. Our squad needs me. And someone needs to stand up to the men like Fandor and say no. You go do your part to set things right. I’m staying here to do mine.” He got up, turning to face Owyn. “You take care of yourself, Wyn.”
Owyn looked up and smiled. “You, too.”
Trey turned to Aven, nodded, and held his hand out. “It was good meeting you, Aven. Thank you, for everything.”
“I should be thanking you,” Aven said, taking Trey’s hand. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Trey sniffed. “You would have. You’d have found a way.” He squeezed Aven’s hand. “Take care of him, all right?”
Aven smiled. He nodded. “Even if you hadn’t asked.”
Trey grinned. He let Aven’s hand fall, stepped back, and looked around. “If you’d tell the Heir I sent my regards? And that I wish you all the best of luck.”
“We’ll tell her,” Owyn said. “Be careful, Trey.”
“You, too.” Trey responded. He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.