They all had makeshift clothing as opposed to the same processed material the rest of us wore, composed of the leaves of their respective tree forms that kept them modest. They were just as beautiful as they were formidable, and I was instantly intimidated by the trio. Arze stood closer to me, a silent tell that he was there and wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to me at their hand. It wasn’t much, but it kept my heart from beating out of my chest.
“Arze of the Forest,” The woman spoke, her pine needle dress flowing with the light breeze. I loved the title she’d given him, and I needed to ask later if that was some sort of tythwig custom. “Your prior request for the Triad did not include guests.”
Arze’s mouth dropped open to speak, but the shorter man turned to his female counterpart and shook his head. “Forgetting your manners?” His voice was steel and weighted, and it sounded aged in my ears.
“My apologies,” She said, swiping a hand through her maroon hair. I could have sworn I heard Chase whimper next to me, but we both managed to keep our composure. “I am Celestonia, of the Phoebe Triad.”
“I am Pruse, of the Phoebe Triad.” This was from the one who had yet to speak, the oak that had first morphed in front of us. His voice was much different than the other man’s, silkier and more pleasing.
“And I am Galand, of the Phoebe Triad.” The shorter maple said. He smoothed out the maple leaves that comprised his outfit. “Though Celestonia’s etiquette was misguided, she is correct.” Galand barreled a sniper-like gaze at Arze. “Yourrequest did not mention that you would bringhumansto us.” The way he said humans made my skin crawl for all the wrong reasons. If this went south, I had no reservations that Galand would kill us all.
“I apologize, your xylem.” I had no clue whatxylemmeant, but I sure as fuck wasn’t going to interrupt, not after how horrifyingly Galand had delivered his sentence to Arze. “But I thought it fitting to have their audience, for both safety and for emphasis regarding our meeting today.”
I saw intrigue color each of the Triad’s faces. While Galand and Celestonia mused his words over, Pruse gave a curt nod as he itched at the oak leaves covering his chest. “And you think the Triad likes to be recorded by the human devices two of your companions are wielding?”
Chase and Colton remained like statues where they stood, but you could feel the tension that hung in the air at their mention. I didn’t envy either one of them, but I was trying my best not to say or do anything that would piss the Triad off.
“It’s no secret of the tythwig decree against pursuing a romantic relationship with humans, your xylem.” Arze said, careful with his words and his delivery, even and stoic. “I am simply being cautious.”
“Your caution might be your downfall.” Celestonia scoffed, looking away to flick something off of her very long green nails.
“I would have to agree,” Galand mustered. “You think your recordings bring you safety, yet what is stopping the Triad from killing every last one of you and disposing of the evidence?”
Okay, I didn’t like this. I didn’t like this one fucking bit. Arze did not prepare any of us enough for how fucking terrifying the Triad was going to be to interact with. And now they were openly toying with the idea of murdering us all? This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. This wasn’t about anything other than the love Arze and I felt for each other.
I paused inwardly. I’d thought the word love without even skipping a beat. Did I…love Arze? I hadn’t properly let the question into my brain, but I did, didn’t I? And if he didn’t love me in return, then why the fuck would he entertain talking with the Triad, knowing that this was how they might have reacted before we’d even started?
“I understand, your xylem. But my friend is sending this recording live to his followers.” Arze did his best to articulate his point, gesturing to Chase, but I could tell he was struggling to keep his voice from faltering. “There will be no destroying of evidence without consequences.”
Celestonia leaned forward, towering her height over all of us. If I wasn’t so focused on staying still, I would have been shaking. “You mean tothreatenthe Triad?”
“Not threaten, your xylem. As I mentioned, it is only precaution so I may speak freely without fear of falling to the same end of the tythwig that spurned the creation of the tythwig decree against meddling romantically with humans.”
Pruse guffawed, clapping his hands on his massive hips in amusement. “I like you, Arze of the Forest. You possess a wayward bravery that I have not witnessed in many, many centuries.” He gave his gaze to the other members of the Triad. “I say we let him speak. I am wildly interested to overhear his reasons for bringing himself to us today.”
It looked as if both Galand and Celestonia wanted to inflict some type of violence on Pruse, but they gave each other a nod before turning their sights back on Arze. Galand cleared his throat. “You may proceed, Arze of the Forest, but be quick. The Triad grows tired of this farce.”
Stealing a look at me, Arze smiled. I smiled back, hoping it was enough of a confidence boost for him, but the truth was, I was fucking scared. Things weren’t exactly leaning toward our victory here. I didn’t even know what victory would look like.The way things were looking, us being told we could never see each other again and being able to keep our lives might be the only victory on the table.
Arze stepped forward so that he was the obvious forefront of our group. I watched in my periphery as Chase sidestepped closer to me. I hadn’t even noticed that he had pulled his phone from his t-shirt pocket, but he turned it to me so that I could see the ongoing stream. A slew of comments were pouring in, and there was one name that kept commenting that piqued my interest. I saw with wide eyes as Wallace Watson left a comment saying, “We’re broadcasting this in the ORBIT boardroom, taking notes. You have our entire support behind you guys.”
Chase pulled the phone away, slipping it back in his t-shirt’s pocket. He gave me a grin that told me he felt a shit ton more better than I did. I tried to let the fact that Wallace Watson was watching this go down comfort me, but I wouldn’t feel true peace until I wasn’t trembling before the Triad anymore.
“Your xylem,” Arze began, shifting on his feet as he spoke. “I grew up knowing that no good could come of a tythwig expressing feelings for a human. Though my parents passed well before their time, I learned the customs from the community that raised me. I even believed that the decree was just and fair.” He paused to give me his attention, his orange eyes dilated with adrenaline, but the whispers of affection shining through them. “Until I met Krueger.”
The eyes of the Triad bore into me, making me feel like I was under the most powerful magnifying glass in the universe. Their stare gave me nothing to go off. I wasn’t sure if they were angry with Arze’s declaration or happy or indifferent. Nothing was tangible from their expressions, and I had to hope that whatever Arze said next would keep them from turning to rage.
“Krueger and I had this instant attraction toward one another, and I fought it. Hard. But the truth is, I don’t wantto fight it. I want to embrace it. We grew to know each other through work, and the chemistry was palpable from there. I’ve felt more alive by his side than I ever have when I’ve explored romance with other tythwig. He’s an extraordinary man that I am lucky to know. And my reason for standing before you today is to beg you to not sentence us to death and allow us to pursue the love brewing between us.”
Love. Arze saidlove. I wished I had the time to feel like a giddy schoolboy that had just heard back from his crush, but the presence of the Triad waned the excitement in me. Again, the faces of the Triad gave me nothing to go off of. It wasn’t until Celestonia spoke and stared daggers at me that I even knew that they had heard Arze.
“And you, this, Krueger of the Flesh.” She tossed the title at me like an annoyed parent would throw a towel toward a petulant child. “You return these feelings?”
I stepped forward, surprised but thankful that my legs didn’t shake with obvious nerves. “I do, your xylem.” I didn’t know if the moniker Arze kept addressing them was reserved for only tythwig, but I took a chance that they would see it as a sign of respect. It pained me to think of giving them anything but reverence to go off of when I spoke. “Arze kept telling me it was forbidden for anything between us to happen, but I believe we have something worth fighting for.”
“How wonderful,” Pruse mused, gauging the reactions of his fellow Triad. “To think humans capable of returning feelings for our kind is marvelous knowledge, indeed. I had considered tythwig too…abrasive for humans to ever love fully.”
“I love everything about Arze.” I said, stepping forward again so that I was by Arze’s side. He regarded me with a smile, not flinching when I wove my palm against his in a showy display of affection. I had to ignore the fact that I’d just basically said I’d loved Arze to the Triad before having the opportunity to sayit fully to him. If we survived this, there would be all the time in the world to confess my feelings for him. “I embrace that he’s tythwig just as much as he embraces that I’m human.”
