Solveig’s jaw dropped open. “You what?”
“It’s been sitting in the tent since the first week,” she said sheepishly. “I buried it in the row of rocks that surround the tent so that no one would find it.” Gerrie shrugged.
“How in the world did you get your hands on a Sound Stone?”
Magical items were so rare they were practically non-existent. There was no way Gerrie could have procured something as powerful as a Sound Stone in less than a week.
Even when the land was brimming with magic, they’d been hard to come by and usually only used by monarchs and high-ranking war officials to silence meetings, create diversions, or conjure sound barriers on missions. Solveig’d had one once, but it had been destroyed in the war.
“When I say sourced one, I mean that kind of liberally.” Gerrie hesitated before continuing, that sheepish smile pulling into a wider grin. “I’ve sort of always had it.”
Solveig stared blankly at her. “Excuse me?”
“Your stone was lost, and I let you believe the same thing had happened to mine. You never really asked me outright where mine was.” She shrugged again.
“And just what have you been using a Sound Stone for all these years?” Solveig raised an eyebrow.
“You know—this and that.”
“Oh no, you don’t get away with this that easily.”
Gerrie laughed. “Alright, alright, don’t get your undergarments in a wad.”
She looked at the fierce warrior expectantly and Gerrie gave a dramatic sigh.
“Remember when we shared that house?”
“Yes . . .”
“The walls were thin, and whenever I brought a male or two home you could hear ...”
“Gerrie!” Solveig started laughing.
“Hey, I decided to do the neighbourly thing and get myself a Sound Stone so I wouldn’t keep you up! And since tent walls are a lot thinner than house walls, I was glad I had it.”
Solveig was doubled over in laughter now. “You mean to tell me that you’ve been using a Sound Stone so you could be loud during sex?” Solveig cried, trying to contain her laughter.
“Yup,” Gerrie said proudly, joining in. The mortals were prudes when it came to their bodies, but the Trifold had no such qualms. If it wasn’t raining, you could hear all sorts of lovely sounds coming from tents all around camp, no matter the time of day.
“Why would you care?” Solveig asked.
Gerrie shrugged again. “Keeps the mystery alive.”
Solveig laughed again. “Oh, Gerrie. I love you.”
“Love you too, Sol. Enough to gift you my sex Silencing Stone.” Gerrie grinned, but the humour quickly faded. Solveig took a big breath and let it out slowly. A long silence stretched out as they finished loading Gerrie’s things.
“Thank you,” Solveig whispered to break the silence.
“Be careful, Solveig.”
“You too.”
The females held each other tightly, and then Gerrie was off.
Feelingoddlyoff-balance,Solveigswayed on the spot, as if untethered. She hadn’t appreciated how much Gerrie’s presence had grounded her until she could no longer rely on it.
After seeing the convoy off, there was a moment of brief panic when realization hit that she had nowhere to go. She was no longer needed anywhere, and the absence of a purpose hovered at the edge of her mind, waiting to pull her under.
