The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

When Havi finished the final haunting measures, he finally returned his concentration to the room. His gold eyes no longer glowed with anger. The song had forced him to take deep breaths, and the momentum of the situation had stalled out. "You have four left," he said flatly to Ren, who looked ready to bolt for the door if he had to.

Luckily for him, Havi had noticed his Yurivis's expression and was no longer in the mood to fight. He pushed off from the buffet and crossed to her side of the table, kneeling in front of her. She had tears in her eyes. Dread overwhelmed him. Who was he to judge Laurius right now? How many days in a row had he made his own Yurivis cry?

"I did more than I should have without discussing it first," he bowed his head, lips brushing her knee in apology.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara brushed her hand over his head. “I’m not upset. It was beautiful. So beautiful and… sad.” She wiped her hands over her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“Let’s offer them some privacy,” Laurius said, looking to Artisuren. “Meet in the lab at our usual time.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren rushed to his feet. He was eager to have Laurius a bit further away from Thvoros until he was sure the man had calmed down. He cast the briefest of glances toward Tenara, as if confirming she would be okay, but dashed after Laurius to ensure the man didn't leave without him.

Havi set his forehead on Tenara's knee and listened to them leave. Her hand on his head settled his nerves, but he was still worried about her. "There is no fault with you. Even the most hardened criminals cry when they hear that song," he said gently.

Ren actually had to push his pace to keep up with Laurius. "Master," he tried, wondering if he should dare to reach for his arm and slow him. "Laurius, what is wrong?"

[Emora Deen]

Laurius handed Ren his coat and snatched his own from the hook, slipping it on as they headed out the door to the garden path leading to his conservatory turned laboratory. He reached into his pocket and handed Ren the note, though he doubted the man could read it any better than Havitharon could.

“It says, see you soon. The problem is, I don’t know when soon is. It could be tomorrow, or three days from now, or an hour, and we don’t have all the materials. We’re not prepared. We need more time.” He ran his hand over his face. “Fucking Arken and their Gods damned mind games.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren looked at the script on the note, studying it for several moments even though he couldn't understand it, while he listened to Laurius's words. From what he understood from their other conversations, Arken was expecting Havitharon's sword... or something equivalent. "If they do not receive what they want when they arrive, what will they do?"

[Emora Deen]

Laurius sighed as he opened the door to his lab. “Take the book. Probably kill me. Burn my house down. Slaughter my staff. It’s hard to tell. It often depends on who they send. Either way, I’m fucked.”

He slipped inside and stomped into the office, leaning heavily on his desk. “We could give them the book, the notes we’ve made on what we’ve learned about the sword and offer to equip them with the supplies. Maybe—maybe—if we show we’ve been working to remedy this, they will be pleased enough with that. If not…” Laurius looked Ren over. “Then… the sword. It’s theirs anyway. Tenara stole it off their dead high prince. I can’t stop them if they want to take that and Tenara will likely get us all killed trying to keep him out of their hands…”

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren followed his master into the office, too focused to bother removing his coat. Kill him? No. They couldn't.

"She is a princess. Would she really risk a war for one Ivis?"

[Emora Deen]

Laurius pursed his lips. “I don’t know. She’s smart enough not to, but…” He dragged the book to him. “She loves him. Sometimes people who are in love do stupid things.”

He settled his hands around the book. “We’ll try the experiment with the pendant as a final note. If it works, then we can at least offer Arken a complete list of modifications to the spell as we know it.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren frowned at the book. There was that concept of "love" again. For something his master didn't need, it sure seemed to be important. "What if..." He backed out of his sentence. It was a bad idea. They were all bad ideas. "Should I go retrieve them early? We ought to begin as soon as possible, right?"

[Emora Deen]

“Yes,” Laurius nodded. “Good thinking. Bring them here and we’ll get to work. Thank you, Artisuren.”

—-

Tenara had helped Havi up and guided him back to his chair, and they—or at least she—was eating breakfast quietly. “If the pendant works… we can go home. Back to Hajara. We can leave him behind…”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi realized, with relief, that her words were true. "Right... we came here to find a safer option for your magic. If you can summon me freely without falling ill, we will have achieved it. But... what of Laurius? Your engagement?" He cut off as the door opened again behind them.

"Excuse me," Artisuren said, hesitating in the doorway. "The situation before left things on a sour note. Could we set it right by performing the experiment now, rather than waiting until the afternoon?"

[Emora Deen]

Tenara looked from Artisuren to Havitharon. She appraised him, thumbing the pendant around her neck. “Let’s find out if it works.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I have a good feeling about today.”

---

Laurius was waiting for them in the lab. He was hurriedly writing in his journal, thumbing through the large spellbook next to it. Tenara draped her coat in the chair nearby.

"We're here," she said, as he didn't seem to notice them.

"Good, good," he said, nodding. Hesitantly, he put down his pen. "We will just do the one test, with magic, to make sure the pendant is functioning as a conduit to lure Havitharon easily out of the sword."

"If it works, we're leaving," she said. "We're going back to Hajara."

Laurius frowned, drumming his fingers over the book. "You'll have to wait for a ship to be readied. Its not so simple as taking a carriage into town. I'll make the arrangements, if that's what you wish."

"It is," she said, because it was true. She wanted to go home, and be done with the arrangement with Laurius Mar.

"Well, let's get on with it, then," he said.

Tenara looked to Havitharon, making sure he was ready. She slowly drew the sword from the sheath at her hip and held it with both hands. "Ready?" she asked, wanting to make sure he was before she pulled him back into the sword.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi was studying Laurius. Wasn't it odd for him to let them go so easily? Had he gotten everything he wanted out of their experiments? Maybe he'd discovered something with Artisuren and was keeping it to himself. Then again, perhaps he was just still worked up from earlier. Havi shifted his gaze to Ren, but the other Ivis's expression was a blank wall.

It had been a stressful morning. He might just be overthinking it. "I'm ready," he said to Tenara. He braced himself, and a few moments later, his senses dissolved as usual, settling him into the sword. He expanded his senses to the endless starlight that was her mind, and within a few minutes, he had his bearings. Sure enough, he had the vague sense of something resonating with him. *I think I can sense the shard... just barely. Can you maybe... I'm not sure... light it up, somehow?* he suggested.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara thought for a moment. Light it up somehow? She glanced down at the black shard of horn laying neatly over the blouse she wore, and reached for it. She curled her hand over it, stroking her thumb along the sharp edge. She wasn't certain how to light it up. She lifted it to her lips and pressed a kiss to it.

Laurius arched a brow at her, his gaze sliding to Artisuren.

Tenara released the shard and drug her thumb across the blade. Power lit like wildfire through her veins, burning blissfully bright, and with it that familiar rush of aching desire. Blood pooled on her thumb, and beneath it the wound sealed with an iridescent scar. She touched the shard again, pressing the new scar to the sliver of horn. She willed Havitharon out of the sword like she always did, welcoming the want and desire that tangled like a drug around her senses. Heat flushed her cheeks, her lips. "Come out," she whispered to him, clutching the horn.

[Soran Nightblade]

For a moment, something impossibly warm buzzed through his altered senses, blurring everything else around him into silence. He struggled to focus through the pleasure that suddenly consumed him. Yup. He could sense it now, alright. It was like a sea beacon seen from a few feet away, too intense to fully look at. The magic that would normally drag him back to that world was available; he could feel Tenara's power offering itself to him.

But here, instead, was a rope ladder unfurled to him, showing him a way back. Instead of letting her power drag him, he imagined securing it like a safety vest around himself, but tried not to lean into it. Steadying his mind, he began trying to pull himself up toward the beacon himself.