Greed sighed and put an arm around Saer’s shoulders, guiding his unsteady feet back to a nearby bench alongside an empty table.
Saer flopped on the seat with a heavy thud while Arek descended gracefully next to him.Together, the pair watched the sea of dancers.The woman Alus coaxed from Saer swayed in his arms, kissing him with abandonment.
Alus humored her.
As the minutes passed, Arek crossed his arms and leaned against the bench back.“We didn’t get to pair ourselves with Neyu as often as you, but when we did, she told us about her feelings.”
Saer blinked and craned his neck to concentrate on Greed’s profile.
“I think she was asking us for permission to act upon it and seek you out,” he went on, “yet she must have known what our answers would be, givenwhatwe are.”
“You knew,” Saer breathed.
“We did.”
Saer’s aforementioned stomach had a hard time holding much other than alcohol, yet he found himself digesting the news and implications thereof.“You didn’t tell our maker.You must have known for…” He trailed off, unable to quantify.
The same sad smile of before crossed Arek’s lips.“Correct.On both counts.”
So, Kalia knew from observation, though had no proof.The Twins knew because Neyu trusted them.Errshek knew…
How did Errshek know?
“Neyu always wanted more than what she was.BeingDaemoenicwasn’t enough, not in terms of power, butfeeling,”Arek said.His brow furrowed, his violet eyes losing focus.“She tried to explain to us once, asked Alus and I to imagine if the other didn’t exist, yet knowing they should.She urged us to envision that emptiness and what it would mean to have it fulfilled.”Greed turned his head to meet Saer’s gaze.“Neyu thought she sensed the same in you, but she didn’t know how to help you embrace and learn humanity as she did.She askedusfor advice.”The irony of the statement glittered in Arek’s gaze.
Saer untied his tongue.“What did you tell her?”
Greed’s lips pursed in amusement.“I didn’t say anything.”
Stone-faced, Saer reframed his inquiry.“What did Alus say?”
Again, the wry smirk.“Go for it.”
“Go—?”Saer asked, cutting himself off upon seeing the delight in Arek’s eyes.Pride burst into laughter, the image of Alus advising Neyu in such a cavalier manner striking him in an unexpected way.
It went so long that his abdomen started to ache, dying down only when he heard Alus join them.The jocose twin’s elbows draped around the backs of each of their necks as he leaned in from behind.“You two chuckleheads about ready to dive back in?I need to show this egomaniac how to do that feet thing he asked about.”
“Soon.”Arek patted Alus’s hand over his shoulder.“I was telling him about the very sage advice we gave Neyu in days gone by.”
“Ah, yes.”Alus caught on immediately.“Transcendent.”
“That’s a word for it.”
“There’s beauty in simplicity.”
Half-smiling, Arek leaned towards Saer.“My point, Eldest, is not only was she shaped by her experiences, but you shaped one another in your discovery together.”
Pride opened his mouth to argue, and Arek dared to hold up an open palm, silently asking to speak without interruption.If Saer weren’t deep into his cups, it might not have worked, but Arek was ever practiced in reading emotions and situations, arguably more than any of the Seven.
“We all miss her.”Arek’s tone had lowered, yet Saer fixated on every syllable.“But if we asked Father to recreate her, to bring what’s left of heroutof you, she wouldn’t be able to experienceanythingthe same.There’s no way she could be the Neyu we all miss, not only because she’s different, but becauseyouare.We all are.Because of her.”
The words sank in with tortuous finality, like a razored knife between ribs.
Neyu taught him the value of patience, even if he didn’t practice it at every turn.She’d shown him the value of laughter.Convinced him to love her.That, and so much more.
“What did she say when you ‘advised’ her on what to do?”Saer asked.
The Twins locked eyes, sharing the memory with two different but identical smiles.“That laugh you just had?”Arek asked.
