Ilryth has loved me, deeply enough to stand before an old god for me. He has come to the literal edge of the earth to plead for me. It is a love I had only ever dreamed of and long since written off. But here he is beside me, fighting with and for me. He is a man of flesh, and blood, and virtue, who wantsme, out of everyone in the world, and I want him in equal measure.
But if we were to steal time enough for a future together, could I give him what he needs? Even if Lord Krokan’s rage is quelled, he still needs a wife and an heir. He needs to lead his duchy and Ilryth deserves a duchess who will relish those duties alongside him.
None of that is me. Not anymore. Maybe not ever. So where does that leave us? Is our love perfect, yet doomed, no matter what happens with old gods?
I don’t have the answers…but perhaps part of what we’re fighting for is the ability to find out. The right to ask the questions for ourselves and find our own path. Whatever that might be.
We finally reach the boat on the molten river. The current now flows away from the Abyss, which I take as a good sign. I help Kevhan into the vessel and then motion for Ilryth.
“I’ll go in last,” Ilryth says.
“Captain’s orders,” I insist.
“But—”
“A word to the wise, good sir, I wouldn’t challenge Victoria when it comes to a vessel,” Kevhan interjects.
I grin up at Ilryth and tilt my head toward the boat. “He’s right, you know. Plus, I’m the only one among us that’s really equipped to navigate the Abyss.”
Ilryth chuckles and gets in by drifting over the side. He sits on the edge, his tail bent and curled along the hull. He still moves in a strange hovering-almost-swimming way. He flashes me a smile. “Very well, lead on, then.”
“With pleasure.” There’s an innate pull in me. One that I put into my back as I push the small rowboat off the shore and into the lava, chasing after it and leaping in.
“Are you both…speaking?” Kevhan seems equal parts unsure and genuinely excited by the notion.
“We are,” I affirm.
“How? I hear nothing.”
“We’re speaking with our minds…” I briefly explain telepathic communication to him, trying to offer a better primer than the one I was initially given.
He hums, brow furrowing with focus. “Like this?” he asks both with his mouth and his mind.
The words are practically shouting.Goodness, did I sound like that when I first arrived?No wonder Ilryth and his family were so tense speaking with me at first. My head is splitting from the sudden noise. He’d alert half the Eversea to our presence had we already ascended from the Abyss.
“More or less.” I try to turn my grimace at the sharp sound into an encouraging smile. “Keep working on it while we leave here. But, here, this will help.” I pull the necklace from my throat and place the shell around his neck instead.
“A good thought to shield him before we return,” Ilryth praises. I’m pleased he doesn’t seem upset with me passing his shell along.
“I thought so,” I reply, focusing only on him. Kevhan doesn’t react to the thought. I truly have learned how to keep my thoughts to myself and my communications focused—shell no longer required.
“Thank you,” Kevhan says, pursing his lips to keep them from moving. I fight a smile of my own. His eyes dart to Ilryth. “Can he hear me?” There’s no reaction from Ilryth. “Ha!” Kevhan seems rather pleased with his discovery. And his volume is already at a much more tolerable level.
I begin rowing, allowing him to test this newfound ability with Ilryth and me. We talk about the Eversea and the siren, about the Lifetree, quickly filling in the broad strokes of our circumstances. Kevhan picks up telepathy quickly. Though, I can only assume that a man who is somehow involved with the fae would adapt quickly to the world of Midscape.
When there’s a lull in the conversation, I ask Ilryth for an update on present circumstances, rather than the events that led us here. “What’s waiting for us when we return?”
“Nothing good,” he says grimly. “The seas are worse. The other duchies were beginning to turn against me, blaming me for subjecting the Eversea to this fate by choosing a human as the offering.”
I snort. Little do they know that somehow that human is still their best shot for lasting peace. Ilryth seems to pick up on my thoughts without my saying, because he gives me a small smirk. We share a look.
“That wasn’t telepathy just now, was it?” Kevhan has attentive eyes. Or a lucky guess. “I take it you two have known each other for some time?”
“Years, technically,” Ilryth answers. “Though I have only had the privilege of getting to know Victoria on a more personal level these past few months.”
I focus on rowing to fight a blush at the words “personal level.”
Kevhan considers this. Even having some preexisting familiarity with Midscape, I can’t imagine the burdens he’s having to deal with coming to terms with everything that has been presented to him. So I’m even more shocked when he stretches out a hand to Ilryth.
