The door opens, and my poor, battered heart stalls out. Kier motherfucking Darro. He stops short for only a moment before casting a long-suffering sigh up to the heavens and moving toward them. I can’t breathe, mostly because I don’t know if he’s here because he’s on my side and justreallyfucking late, or if he’s been working with Saskia all along and Seth is, once again, possibly in danger because of me.
And I can’t hear what they’re fucking saying! Again. But then—Saskia is talking, and Seth’s blazing orbs snap to me, but he can’t see me, and his face crumples for a split second before pinching with rage.
Darro waves a hand, and a tingling sensation fills the air all around me, and then Seth is looking at me again—but this time, this time he can see me. His face transforms into a tableau of yearning, and he moves so fast that my groggy mind can’t quite keep up.
One minute, he was over near Saskia and Darro; and the next, his shadows are cutting through the straps holding me to the table, and then I’m falling, and the next thing I know, I’m in his arms. He’s shaking, and I can feel his heart slamming against his chest, but still he whispers so fucking gently in my ear—trying to calmmedown.
I climb him like a territorial koala and hold on as tight as I can, wrapping my legs around his waist and breathing in his familiar and comforting scent. I can feel his guilt through our bond, and I quickly cut off any thoughts of self-flagellation. The weight of our combinedemotions and our exhaustion makes it hard to keep from spiraling, for both of us, but Seth uses his shadows to help us find our centers, and I let myself melt into him.
Which lasts all of thirty seconds before all hell breaks loose.
I reluctantly pull back from Seth enough to glance over to where Saskia and Darro were, only to find that Darro is alone. My eyes drop to where he’s wiping a blade off on his pants, and then further still, to the crumpled body on the floor of my lab. My crumpled body, with a slit throat in a pool of blood.
Saskia is burbling, choking on blood as it spurts out onto the tile. I should feel something, but all I can manage is an aching sort of satisfaction. I mourned the parts of her I held affection for not long ago, when I realized the Saskia I knew was never coming back. Now, between her ‘steal your life’ scheme, and putting her hands on my fucking man, I can't find a kernel of sorrow.
Seth whines, and it pulls my eyes away from the disturbing image long enough to notice that he’s almost translucent in places, and his orbs are leaking slowly. I’ve never seen a psychopomp’s face drain of color—I didn’t think it was even possible, but I’d say this is probably the equivalent.
I frame his face with my hands and turn his head toward mine—it’s weird enough for me, but Seth has had a lot less time to wrap his head around the whole body swapping thing, and it’s clearly hitting him all at once.
I try to keep my voice calm and steady as I whisper,“It’s okay, baby. I’m fine. It’s not me.”
“I–It’s not, don’t think I’m upset for her. I’m not.” He winces, but continues haltingly, “It–it’s just, that’s…” His throat clogs up, and he takes a deep breath as I pepper his face with kisses.
“I know, Seth. I would freak out, too, if our roles were reversed. I know.” He nods and tightens his arms around me as he buries his head into my neck. I wait for the guilt that he’s more empathetic about this than I am, but it doesn’t come. For once, I’m too exhausted to care about my indifferent disposition or the implications it places on my character.
I look back over toward Saskia and Darro and blink. He’s put his blade away now and is standing with his arms crossed, eyebrow quirked while he waits. I’m not sure what he’s waiting for. My thanks? For me to fall apart at the sight of my dead clone? Or maybe it’s Saskia’s murder he thinks will break me. I return his stare, lifting my brow in challenge. I don’t really care what he wants; he can fucking wait.
A small smirk curls one corner of his lips for a moment before his eyes flick toward the doors. He tilts his head and wrinkles his nose and then strides toward us.
“I’d love to stay and compare notes, but actually, I’m quite famished, and I find this entire situation a bit pedestrian. Also, I just don’t want to. Let’s not ever do this again, yes? Lovely. I’ll be in touch.”
Seth huffs with exasperation, but before I can so much as blink, Darro’s gone.
The doors to the lab burst open, and a bunch of gnarly-looking psychopomps file in, armed to the teeth and ready to fuck shit up. I blink twice as I try to make sense of it, and then a big dude with an air of command stops in his tracks. His red orbs flare as his gaze assessesfirst Seth and I, then the shadow shield still over Sam and Eilidh, and then finally, Saskia.
His orbs narrow before he scowls and grits out, “Sephtis…don’t say a godsdamned thing.”
“Sir, I—”
“Not ONE word, son.” Hellas’s orbs flick between the me in Seth’s arms, and the 'me' that’s dead as fuck in a puddle of blood, and he rubs a weary hand down his face. “So much fucking paperwork.”
25
Serendipity & Community Service
Seth
“Alright, repeat it all back to me.” Hellas sits back in his chair and laces his hands together on his desk.
I take a breath, trying to dislodge the tight knot of worry that’s sitting on my chest like a lead weight from Ryn’s side of our bond.
“I came straight to the guild with concerns over my mate’s safety, completely unaware of any illegal substances or activities that may or may not have been going on before the incident in question.”
Hellas squints, but stays silent as I continue on, “When I got to the lab, I saw Ryn but immediately knew something was wrong, because of our rare and highly sacred soul bond. I signaled for help, but before backup could make it, Kier Darro showed up and unveiled some kind of Unseelie scheme that I have no knowledge of, or jurisdiction over,so I—er, followed protocol and stood down, as part of my parole is not involving myself in Unseelie Court business.”
Hellas’s right eye twitches, but he nods slightly, so I take another deep breath and continue on, “And as I was being a very good boy—”
“Seth—”
