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"There's nothing you can do," Trenyth said softly. "We'll do everything we can, but there's only so much…" He reached out to rest a hand on my shoulder. Smoky reached out and pushed Trenyth's hand away. Trenyth hung his head. "You don't know how much I regret having to bear this news to you, Camille. I know what Trillian means to you."
"Yeah, right," I said softly. "Is there anything else?"
He shook his head.
"Then maybe you'd better go and talk to Queen Asteria about all of this." I turned away before he could speak again.
"Child, don't punish the messenger." Grandmother Coyote's voice echoed in the still night, and I whirled around, ready to argue, but she shook her head, and I fell silent. "He could have kept silent. He didn't have to come here."
I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. "You're right. Trenyth, thank you for telling me yourself. I guess we'd better get moving. If there's nothing more you have to say?"
They turned in silence and walked away. As I watched them go, my heart dropped like a lodestone, heavy and dragging me down. I walked toward Morio's SUV. Everyone followed me, and their unspoken questions weighed on me like a suffocating rock.
I glanced at them. "There's nothing you can do to make it better, so don't even try. Trillian's doomed, and our father's missing. This is the nature of war. Unless they allow us to return to Otherworld, to undertake the rescue ourselves, then what the fuck is there for anybody to say? And even if we could go, there would be a thousand places to search."
Morio unlocked the car. As the others clambered in, leaving the front seats empty, Smoky and Morio flanked my sides. I stared mutely at Morio. The molten topaz of his eyes melted my heart, and I felt a sob jog in my chest. Morio slid his arms around my waist. Smoky came up behind me and draped his arms around my shoulders. His hair rose up to stroke my arms, my forehead, along the length of my leg.
"Camille, you must do something," Smoky said. "Trillian… there is a chance to save him. This is not some dragon trick meant to bind your will."
"What can I do? How can I find him?" My voice was faint as I vied for control of my emotions. I wanted to cry, to weep, to fall apart and let them pick up the pieces. But as always, I forced myself to stand rock-solid.
When Mother had died, I'd been the glue to hold together the family. And never once had I let them down, even though I was screaming inside.
When the other children had taunted Delilah into transforming, I'd been the one to beat the crap out of them in order to rescue her, and got myself beaten up in return. But I hadn't cried. I didn't dare show my own vulnerability, because they might pick on her even worse.
And when Menolly had come home, blood-crazed and ripped to shreds, I'd held my wits together long enough to fetch help. And then I'd cushioned the pain for my father and Delilah, keeping my own fears and horrors at bay because that was what I was expected to do. I was the rock. I was the anchor.
And now. Trillian was as good as dead, and our father was missing in action. And we had a mission to accomplish. Once more, I was called on to push aside my feelings. To let go of my own needs in order to tend the greater good. Maybe that's why I never wanted children. I'd already given everything I had to give.
"I will tell you what you can do," Smoky said. "Perform a binding ritual with Morio and with me. Accept us as your husbands. Then can we protect you like we need to—and then can we unleash all our powers to help you find Trillian." His look was so intense that it frightened me.
I searched his face, searched Morio's expression, looking for something to verify that Smoky was telling the truth. Morio nodded, his lips pressed together.
"Are you serious? Marry the two of you? For one thing, this world has rules about that—or at least, this country—"
"Fuck the rules and regulations. We aren't talking about legal documents here," Morio said. "And we aren't talking a simple wedding ceremony or valiant words. No, I know what Smoky's talking about. He's talking about performing the Soul Symbiont ritual."
I shook my head. "What the hell is that? I've never heard of it. Is it an Earthside custom?"
Smoky let out a little huff. "Not exactly. It's a ritual that's kept secret within several of the Supe lineages." He shot a warning glance at Morio. "Don't even ask how I came to know of it; you won't get an answer."
Morio glanced at the car, waving as Delilah stuck her head out. "We'll be right there." He turned back to me. "The ritual binds souls in a magical union. That union brings with it certain powers. For one thing, soul-bound members can always track down the other members of the union. Now, while Trillian won't technically be bound to us, the fact that you and he are yoked so strongly via magical rites, well—that might be just what we need. You can draw on our power. With the three of us searching for him magically, we might be able to find him."
I stared at them. "You mean, if we do this, we can track him down?"
"There are no guarantees, but I'm willing to take the chance." Morio lifted my chin. "Camille, you know that the elves won't risk finding Trillian. In fact, they might think he's a liability now that he's been captured. They might even request that Tanaquar send in one of the triads of Jakaris, like they tried with your cousin Shamas. Trillian doesn't have the raw power Shamas does. He couldn't grab hold of the assassins' magic. They'd kill him."
Jakaris was a Svartan god of vice, but for the duration of the war, King Vodox had ordered the triads—each a group of three monks who were skilled magical assassins—to work with Tanaquar and Queen Asteria. If they took a bead on Trillian, he'd be stone cold dead.
"Holy hell. And both of you… you'd do this for me? You'd forge a soul bond with me to help me rescue Trillian?" I stared at them, unable to believe the gift they offered.
Morio nodded. So did Smoky.
"How long does the union last?" In my heart, I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from their lips.
Smoky cleared his throat. "For life… and beyond. And it means that we won't ever be able to part for too long. If you go home to Otherworld for more than a few months, Morio and I would have to follow. If one of us dies, our body will find its way home to the others for funeral rites. We don't offer this in friendship, but as lovers. You will be our wife."
I turned back to the car. Should I accept? It was the only way… and yet, it would change so much in my life. And then, I thought of Trillian and made up my mind. Whatever it took, I'd find him.
