He and Narcisse began to speak in the scholar tongue in careful but friendly tones. Delphi hadn't been fluent then, but she had caught enough words to learn that the man was a sorcerer. He had made a comment accompanied by a gesture at Delphi. Narcisse had laughed. The man said words like 'touched' and 'unique' and then started offering Narcisse money.
The laughter in her father's eyes had turned thoughtful. It was one of the only times Delphi had feared that he would sell her. She had a knife and knew how to pick pockets easily by then, so she had pretended to be interested in a bird in a cage at the next stall over and wandered just out of Narcisse's reach. If he went through with the sale, she would run like hell.
Narcisse finally shook his head and left the man. Delphi exhaled slowly and forced a smile.
"What was that about?" she'd asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing. He wanted to see if I was interested in some enchanted talismans from Kisharu," Narcisses had lied smoothly.
That night, he had gotten blind drunk and had mumbled, "Never do it. Never give you up," at her before passing out in apool of his own vomit. For the first time in her life, Delphi had left him in it.
Delphi rubbed at the sudden ache in her chest, hating the memory that surfaced.
If the sorcerer in the market had been summoning half the things in the book she was reading, then she had escaped a worse fate than she originally thought. Nearly every summoning of higher-ranking demons always wanted one thing: a beautiful human to take their lust out on.
Delphi looked back at the notes in her parents' journal about the first offering not working, and Narcisse's last entry about offering something that it couldn't resist.
"Oh, dear goddess," she whispered, bile rising in her throat.
"Delphi? Are you okay?" Tenebrys asked, coming up behind her.
Delphi got out of the chair and hugged him, resting her cheek on his chest, where short warm fur became bone. Tenebrys's big arms enfolded her.
"What is it, little flower? What's wrong?" he asked, so gentle it made her eyes burn.
"I don't want to talk about it just yet." Delphi pulled back from him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have grabbed you like that."
"Never apologize for coming to me when you are upset, Delphi. You are my mate," Tenebrys replied, his hand resting on the small of her back. He looked at the books and papers. "If you don't want to talk about it, how about a walk? I want to show you something."
Delphi nodded. "That would be nice. I have to talk to you about some things. I just need to work myself up to it."
"Then let's walk." Tenebrys offered her his arm, and Delphi took it.
"Tell me what you got up to this morning?" she asked, needing to distract her mind from the revelations screaming at her.
"Eiran and Felix captured a fae, and it babbled the same nonsense about wanting you," he replied as they walked. He told her about the stag shifter and how the fae exploded when he spoke the name of his lord.
"How is that possible? Did he curse his name somehow?" she asked, unable to wrap her head around that kind of power.
"The fae are very protective of their true names. We all knew him as the Lord of Plagues. Yes, that Lord of Plagues, who sent the sickness onto the shifters when he was retreating."
"Goddess. I'm so sorry, Ten. He never would have started sending raiders again if it wasn't for me."
Tenebrys placed his hand over hers. "This isn't your fault. The fae hold grudges forever. We beat him back once. He was humiliated in front of the Unseelie Queen, whom he answers to. He would have already been planning to get his revenge, but the presence of your magic only forced his hand. This could be a good thing."
Delphi gaped at him. "How? How can any of this be considered good?"
"If you forced him to act sooner than he was ready, it means he's not back to full strength. He will be scrambling and not ready. The way he keeps sending raiders is just proof that he is panicking. The fae are more into seducing their victims to come to them. He wouldn't be so direct with raiders like this if he were thinking clearly. It means we have time."
Delphi considered his words as they stepped out into the sunshine. It was warmer that day, and she tilted her face to the sky.
"At least the weather is nice," she murmured.
Tenebrys laughed softly. "I heard Grisvallon sits in a cloud-choked valley."
"Gods, Ten, it's the worst. I don't know why they bother farming there. It's miserable all year round."
They talked of lighter things, like how Dlephi had fought for two years to get her garden growing, and the way she had traded for food and clothes for medicines.
