Before I learned what it meant to love someone so deeply it broke me.
Dinner had been excellent.
We’d migrated to the sofa, drinks in hand, full and slightly unsteady. Frankly, we were all fairly drunk. Someone had brought out the dessert wine. A mistake, probably.
Then came the knock.
It echoed through the Veilstead like something out of place. We all paused and looked at each other. Every name on the list was here, slouched around my living room with half-finished drinks and flushed cheeks.
I stood, regretting it instantly as the room tilted on its axis. I braced myself on the armrest, straightened, and made my way to the door.
Veridus.
Immaculate as ever, not a hair out of place.
He looked completely untouched by the chaos of the last year.
Or perhaps that was the point.
“Hello, Auretheos,” he said, “I need to speak with you.”
Nothello, Theo. Not evenhappy birthday. So, this wasn’t a social call.
I stepped aside. “Come in.”
He entered the room, taking in the scene: the music, the laughter, the half-finished wine. His brow twitched. Barely.
No, he hadn’t come for the party. That much was clear.
He turned to me. “Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
A hush fell over the room. No one said anything, but the energy shifted. Something had changed. I felt it in my chest, subtle but certain.
“Yes,” I said. “Upstairs.”
As I turned to lead the way, I caught Malek’s eye, tight with concern. Lythandra started to rise as well, her instincts kicking in.
Veridus raised a hand. A single, courteous gesture.It’s fine.
I wasn’t so sure.
We walked up the stairs in silence. Once we reached my study, I shut the door behind us. The moment the latch clicked into place, Veridus exhaled sharply.
Not nervous. Just… bracing himself.
Whatever this was, it wasn’t good.
“I hadn’t realized there was a party going on, otherwise I would have announced my arrival,” he drawled.
I motioned for him to take a seat and gathered two glasses and a bottle of whiskey.
“It’s been hard to find moments of joy for the past months, so they arranged a little birthday party for me,” I said.
Veridus nodded solemnly. We had all lost someone special to us in the battle and the aftereffects were still prominent around us.
“We haven’t had a chance to speak about my involvement in Mae’s… in her plans” he said. I had thought about this a lot, why she had trusted Veridus with her plan and had even involved him, but it never occurred to me to speak to him about it.
I cleared my suddenly dry throat.
