“That’d be a first.”She snuggled back into the blankets; finally he could feel the relaxation, a pleasant bath of champagne bubbles over his skin.
Hislirai.Sealed or not, whether she knew it or not, the concept didn’t get much simpler.“When you’re ready, Liv.When you’resure, not before.And if you choose someone else, fine.But I’m not going to let them force you.Not this way.”Not if I have a choice, all right?Let me be as good as I can.
“Okay.”She inhaled as if she wanted to say more, but let the breath out with a sigh.
He waited; she said nothing else.If she moved, or made another sound…
Her breathing deepened.She fell back into sleep’s arms, that gentle solace denied Sons even if they achieved a simulacrum in frontier temples.With activeliraiand an open Flame-mouth around, they didn’t need a lot of rest.
It was a relief in some ways, not so much in others.
He folded down, rested his elbows on the bed, his knees on pale hardwood.His fingers creaked as hands clasped tightly; he rested his sweating forehead on that bulwark.Almost like prayer, except he counted her breaths, one after another, and forced himself into utter stillness.
The others would be disappointed.The otherliraimight be, too, and they’d be at Liv to do something, to choose.Yet for this night, he could give her a gift, like anoneirosset in the old way, wrenched jagged and bleeding from a terrible dry shore past the borders of the waking world, polished until it glowed.
Hisliraislept, and if she dreamed again, it did not wake her.
Never Gets Old
Like everything else,the armory here was a lot bigger.Liv looked longingly at the racks of guns, pretty much of every shape and size, and her palms were damp.“I still don’t see why we don’t go armed.”
“Earthly weapons are just distractions.”Daniel’s usual cheerfulness was muted, his floppy hair combed back and slicked down.He was all business, and instead of his usual superhero T-shirt and jeans, he was in unrelieved black.The effect was startling, making him look a lot older.“We don’t fight with physical force, that’s for Sons.It’s why this marriage works.”
Oh, it’s a marriage now?Outside, crimson sunset throbbed on the western horizon, a dark line of cloud in the north creeping closer by increments.Everyone said more snow was on the way, but so far the sky was clear and the nights deep-frozen.“I’d feel a lot better if I had a gun,” Liv muttered.“A knife.A spork.Something.”
“You don’t need it.”Daniel rolled his shoulders under a hip-length leather jacket very much like the Sons wore, and glanced around the armory’s beehive activity.Heavily muscled, quiet-stepping men signing out enough weaponry to start an insurrection, drawing ammunition, making short cryptic comments to each other and their counterparts behind the long, mirror-polished counter running the length of the room—everyone knew exactly what to do here except her.“Listen, Liv…”
“Hm?”Wear something that makes you feel pretty, Daniel had said, but Liv was damn sure a dress wasn’t going to cut it for monster-fighting in subzero temperatures.She’d decided on practicality instead—the boots Erik got her, jeans, black long-sleeve thermal shirt, black merino sweater, a black woolen peacoat with gloves, a knit hat stuffed deep in the pockets.
“You’re going to overheat in that.They’ll keep you warm.”
I’m sure they’d like to.She shrugged, trying not to think about Erik in the dark, warm and soothing as the nightmares vibrated inside her skull.“You can always take layers off, you know.”
“I guess.”He glanced at the far end of the armory as if expecting another arrival.“Anyway, we have to talk.”
Oh, for God’s sake.“Now?”
“Now’s a good time.”His hand made a small movement, like he wanted to brush her arm, then dropped back to his side.Liraididn’t like to be touched, they said, and Liv could understand; the hideous overwhelming noise of a city full of strangersthinkingat high volume was absent inside these walls, but she could well imagine physical contact with a normal person producing something like an internal feedback squeal.“You’re still unsealed.”
Liv contented herself with a neutral noise.Halfway down the room Erik conferred with Robert, their heads together as Dakshi made various weapons disappear into his harness, the Younger’s coat tossed over the counter—ready to be pressed into service as soon as its wearer was fully loaded.
“I’m told the Elder you came in with is resistant to the idea.You’ve got to let go of… well, of the thought that it’s something shameful.”Daniel took a step, leaning confidentially close.Everything in his expression shoutedserious business.“It’s self-defense, and?—”
“Do I get to weigh in on your love life if you get to talk about mine?Is that how it works?”Liv restrained the urge to fold her arms, sink her weight in one hip, and pin the guy with her mother’s patentedDo Not Push It, Young Manstare.She wished Mika was here to help her deal with this asshole, but then again… she didn’t.
Thinking about any of her friends running across some of these monsters—the fungal-scarred spiders, the pale skeletal four-armed houndmasters, the tentacled horrors—made her stomach turn over hard, sent sour heat crawling up her esophagus.
“It’s not love, Liv.It’s not even really sex, even if it replicates the mechanics.It’s just something that has to be handled, like going to the dentist or paying car insurance.”Daniel sighed.“Erik’s not doing you any favors by putting it off.”
So you say.Liv’s hands tingled.The urge to throw a punch was well-nigh irresistible; she’d never been a violent person, but dear God, she was beginning to see the attraction.Lou would have already been brawling at this point, Jada would have already verbally flayed someone, and what Mika would do didn’t bear thinking about.“If I fucked him, would you leave me alone?”
“Liv.”Now it was Daniel’s patented patient tone, the one he took while Sara only got quieter and more withdrawn.“I understand.I held out against it for a long time, but then I lost two Sons to the whispers.I never want to lose another, and I don’t want to see you lose one either.”
Her irritation snuffed out, leaving only cold ashes.“What does that mean,lost them to the whispers?”
“It’s not pretty.”Daniel looked past her shoulder, probably at ebon-skinned River with his cornrow braids and rare, beautiful smile.“Both of them chose to… well, they did it to themselves, rather than hurt me likehewanted.”
For a moment Daniel looked almost haunted, the color draining from coppery cheeks, hazel eyes widening.
