Jace found Vraska in her quarters, but even as he arrived, she was buckling on her cutlass and preparing to leave.
“You’re back,” she said.
“I’m back.”
“I’m glad. I’m in a hurry right now. But I shouldn’t be gone long. You can relax here for an hour. Then you can tell me about Theros.” She was already halfway out the door.
“Uh-huh…”
Vraska wasn’t telepathic, yet something in that “Uh-huh” tipped her off to the fact that Jace was troubled. And he guessed that she could guess what he was troubled about. She stopped and turned…and waited.
He spoke quietly, calmly. “I think I pretty much know everything you’ve been keeping from me. I understand why the guilds didn’t consult myself or Chandra or most of the Gatewatch, even, about their plans to kill Liliana, Tezzeret and Baan, but…”
“But you want to know why I kept you in the dark.”
He nodded. “Vraska, one of the things that I love about…well, us, is that we don’t play games. I’m not saying you can’t have your secrets—whether it’s Golgari business or just something…that you feel belongs to you. But you had to know—”
“I knew.” She walked up to him and took his hands. “And I was conflicted about what to tell you. Because I know you’re conflicted…about Liliana.”
He exhaled. “It’s complicated.”
“It’s all right.”
“Still…”
“Still, you deserve to know my thoughts. Here’s the hard truth: The guilds weren’t about to grant Liliana clemency, so by not telling you, I thought I was protecting you.” Her eyes suddenly went wide. “Krokt, I just heard myself saying that out loud, and I now completely realize how awful that sounds. Condescending and awful.”
He let go of her hands, but he forced himself not to turn away. He felt certain the old Jace would turn away to pout, passive-aggressively. So the new Jace faced her and stated, “We can’t be this way, Vraska.”
“No, no, you’re right.”
“We’ve got to be able to trust each other enough to be honest. Whether the news is good or bad.”
“I know, I know. It’s just…I also know you still have feelings for Liliana.”
“I told you it’s complicated.”
“I understand that, and I’m not jealous. I trust your feelings for me. I do, I promise. And I also promise that I never would have accepted the job to kill Liliana personally. I could never ask you to be with someone who would stoop to killing her ‘rival.’ ”
Jace protested: “Liliana is no rival to you!”
Vraska took his hands again as she made the correction: “I wouldn’t kill someone you once loved. No matter how complicated the whole thing is. I’d never want you to have to look at me and see her killer.”
He had an impulse to thank her, but that didn’t seem right.
She sighed. “Here’s the thing. Another hard truth, I suppose. Liliana was personally responsible for the deaths of one hundred and sixteen Golgari. Those are my people, Jace. And I’m their queen, sworn to protect them. So frankly, I agree with the other guilds that she needs to die.”
He swallowed hard. His head sank.
“Now, I’m sorry,” she said as she raised his chin with one gentle touch, “but I have Golgari business. I really have to go. But I will try to be back soon, and I very much hope you’ll be here when I return.”
She kissed him then, barely brushing his lips with hers. He found he ached for her. But before he could say anything else—do anything else—she was gone, leaving him with much to think about, again.