Heirot

"You do sound an awful lot like you've been huffing those herbs Atul's trying to crack down on," Vlad admitted with a smirk. "But let's look for your imaginary friend." He eased her through the doorway and checked the other bedrooms, one by one. They all looked empty, and he was relieved that his daughter seemed to agree. Finally out of places to look upstairs, he carried her down to the entrance/dining room. "He and I swept this place personally last night," he said, noticing the narrow line of missed dust that split the middle of the room. He and Thvoros had worked in a silent truce on Beryl's request, and each had taken half the space.

Against the back wall, Thvoros was lying on his side on one of the long wood benches. His legs hung off the end from the knee down, not even close to fitting on the bench. He was still wearing his torn-up clothes from last night, and appeared to be completely asleep.

"You see anything?" Vlad asked, spinning her slowly.

Well, her father's words confirmed the worst. Thvoros was invisible again. She'd given so much to... whatever she'd done to mend the hole in him, but it mustn't have been enough to keep him corporeal. Maybe that took a different action.

"He's there," she said, pointing to the bench. "I think he's sleeping." She thought about waking him but that seemed wrong. He'd risked his life to find her father, and that deserved a rest. She still wasn't sure why, though. Why had he saved her from the man in the bar and why had he gone out intent on finding her father? He didn't owe her anything, and he didn't seem to care for her beyond needing her to carry the sword for him.

"We should let him sleep," she said. "He won't go far..." He can't.

Vlad followed the direction she was pointing. "So he's still here?". He didn't sound particularly happy about it. "Then how was I able to see him last night?"

Tenara appraised Thvoros’s long form. “I did something to him… but I’m not sure what. I mean, it was basically what I did last night. If anything, I think it was less blood than last night...” Her brow furrowed. What was different? “I can clean the sword and try again…”

Vlad's face was a thunderhead ready to strike. "No, you will not. I won't allow it. To to keep him whole, you harmed yourself? Even in that terrible state you were in last night? What good is it to you if he's real or not? You owe him nothing. None of this is your fault."

On the bench across the room, Havitharon listened in silence.

Tenara shrunk a little. Her father was eternally youthful and unwittingly intimidating, and sometimes it was hard for her to remember she was a grown woman capable of her own decisions.

“Neither is it his,” she said. “I didn’t ask to be a sacrifice and he didn’t ask to be dragged half-formed into this world.” She glanced at Thvoros, thinking of all they had been through but especially how protective he had been of her regarding her poorly conceived money-making scheme. Or in the bar before that, when the man had dragged her into his lap. “I owe him, daddy. He didn’t know me, and he led me to a boat—found me shelter. He didn’t know me, and he protected me from Shea’s youngest son, Elias. He didn’t know me and…” she pursed her lips. “You wouldn’t have a daughter if not for him.”

Vlad's temper shone in his eyes, but for his daughter, he kept it in check. "And if he hadn't led you to safety, he would have been stranded. That doesn't mean loyalty. I want you to be smart about this. Arken summoned him for a purpose, and it wasn't something good. He is not harmless."

Tenara frowned. He was right. She'd thought the same, wondered the same... Why had Edan summoned him into the world? What purpose would he have in his schemes? In Shea's? Her blue eyes flashed back to where Thvoros lay. "It doesn't change the fact that we're bound to the same sword. Where I go, he goes."

Vlad followed her gaze to the horned creature facing away from them on the bench. So it would seem. I think the top priority now is to figure what that connection is and why it exists. Tenele and Atul are desperate to see you, but perhaps the wisest thing would be to bring you straight to your grandmother's house for her to take a look at you."

Tenara nodded. If anyone could sort out a spell gone wrong, it was Grandmother Sinead. She rubbed her chest, feeling a physical ache at the thought of her mother and papa. Tears stung her eyes, because she wanted desperately to go home. To be safe and home in the warmth of her country's desert sun. She slumped a little, suddenly feeling the ache of exhaustion again. "I don't know if we can teleport without him being corporeal..." Unless he hitches a ride inside me, like he did on the boat, but I doubt Daddy will love that idea...

Vlad snorted. "If he got stuck behind, that would be fine by me." He noticed the look on her face and rolled his eyes. "But my teleportation skill is harsh on the body, especially when injured. It would be better if Queeny did it instead."

Tenara's eyes widened. "You're going to have her come here? To Arken?" Tenara thought of the black castle looming over the city, and Shea sitting on her throne behind its obsidian walls. She knew her grandmother could handle herself well enough, but it seemed very risky to have the two queens within a few blocks of each other.

Vlad paused, crossing his arms to think. "I can get her attention easily enough. As far as how she'd get you out without tripping any mystical alarm bells on this end, I can't say I know. I don't have the first clue how her power works, but she can at least tell us your options."

Tenara's gaze fell on Thvoros's sleeping form. An unease had settled in her since her father reminded her that Thvoros was summoned by Edan for a reason. Elias had tried to gain control of him too—in order to kill his mother, yes, but what had Edan wanted with him? She rubbed the spot on her chest where the sword had pierced through her sternum and spine, running a finger over her clothes, over the iridescent scar beneath.

What if he wasn't who he said he was? What if he was evil? What if she couldn't escape what he was brought here for? That all seemed to go in opposition to the fact he had guided her and protected her and even risked his life to find her father for her. Though, as her father pointed out, it was for his own good as much as hers. He needed her to carry his sword. She needed his sword to live.

She worried what her grandmother would think of him—of all of this.

"I should get some more rest," she finally said, tearing her gaze from Thvoros. She was unsuccessful in covering her worry.

Vlad placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let yourself rest. And try not to worry too much. You're not alone anymore. The most powerful people in the world are in your corner, ok?"

Across the room, Havitharon grimaced. The most powerful people in the world... It made sense that she had powerful allies. Even to an outsider like him, her powers seemed remarkable. Last night, she'd healed him from the brink of death, at her own expense. He'd never met a female who acted the way she did, or who acted like he was a person. He'd been skeptical at first, but after last night, he was convinced she was different.

At the same time, these allies of hers that they'd worked so hard to find... he was little better than a parasite in their eyes. He couldn't care less what they thought, except that in his current state, he was completely at their mercy. It was a familiar feeling, and he hated it. Nothing pissed him off worse than being helpless. As soon as the girl and her father left the room, he rose from the bench and paced the room in slow, pensive steps, deliberating his options.

Upstairs, Vlad availed himself of one of the empty rooms and drew out the stone Sinead had given him when he left her court. It had been intended to contact her in case of an emergency, but this seemed a reasonable enough use for it. He squeezed his hand around it and pushed his thoughts through.

"Yo, Queeny."

There was no answer.

"Queeeny."

Silence.

"You wouldn't believe what Maiden Girl and Atul and I tried the other night-"

"What. Vladimir." Sinead's voice was urgent and terse. "I'm in a meeting at the moment. Have you found Tenara?"

"Yeah. Arken had her. We could use some help."

Her voice switched from annoyed to protective in an instant. "Where? Are either of you hurt?"

"I'm fine, of course. Tenara's not in good shape. It looks like she might have some of her mother's healing abilities."

"What did they do to her?"

"Used her for some kind of summoning ritual. It seems like it went wrong; the being they summoned has no physical form, and it seems to be feeding off her life force. It hasn't hurt her...yet. There's a sword that seems to hurt them both if they get too far away. Think you can check them out?"

"...Yes. I'd like to analyze her, and the sword. As for punishing her kidnappers... I trust you have that in hand."

"Tenara took care of that herself," he said, fatherly pride leaking into the edges of his voice. He was always proud of her, whether it was tying her shoes for the first time or offing her first malevolent foreign prince.

"I'll need to do the transport carefully so she isn't injured further. Can you find your own way here?"

"Yes. I need to go to Hajara first. My wife and husband deserve an update."

"I'll take good care of her. Meet us here when you're ready."

"Good. How do you want to do this?"

"Give the stone to her when she's ready. It will give me her location. I'd love to bring her personally, but Shea will feel my presence, and until we understand more, it would be unwise to provoke her. Have Tenara bring the sword and keep her new... attache close. I'll summon them."

"Good." Vlad paused, and added, "Thanks, Queeny."

"What are grandmas for?" He thought he could detect a smile in her voice.

He turned to make his way back to Tenara's room. He almost barged in as he normally did, but then he remembered what she'd told him about the Indigo Room. He sighed and knocked on the door.