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He nodded. Although his grip on hers was firm, his mind was far away, as it had been in the days since the confrontation with Danya. Verve had been so busy getting the Chosen settled, she and Alem had not had a chance to speak more than a few words.
Hadiya glanced between them, then over at the cluster of Chosen, milling about near the food, although no one had taken more than a few bites. “Ea’s tits and balls, do they need an invitation to eat? We didn’t cook all day for the stuff to be looked at. Come on, Owen. Let’s show them how a proper feast is done.”
With that, they slipped away, leaving Alem and Verve conveniently alone. Verve glanced over at Alem, who gave her a faint smile. “Sorry if I’ve been distant.” He made a vague gesture. “I’m just… overwhelmed.”
“Me, too.”
Hand in hand, they watched the pyre in silence.
At last, Alem said, “Verve… I know I gave you a lot of grief about your profession, even though I benefited from your abilities. It was unfair of me, and I’ll try not to do it again. I never meant to condemn you, personally, but I know I hurt you more than once. I’m sorry.”
She stared at him, and he allowed her to see his true heart: the turmoil of grief and guilt and bitterness. But overlaid upon these was love, sparkling, directed at her.
“You had your reasons,” Verve managed. “And I wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy to you — most of the time. The One god knows I gave that grief right back to you.”
“I deserved it,” he replied. “After you left to meet Danya, I thought about what you said, about protecting and killing, and fighting back.”
Heat flushed her cheeks. “I say a lot of stupid shit when I’m angry.”
“None of it was stupid,” he replied. “But more than that… From the day we met, you showed me what it meant to truly protect what you hold dear. You made Lotis stronger, and I saw how you cared about more than just killing. So that night, when you left to find Danya, I realized I couldn’t let you kill for me—or anyone—ever again.”
His shoulders slumped. “You were right. I started the Damaris rumor to keep Lotis safe, but all I did was risk everyone’s safety. If I’d left Lotis ages ago, Ivet would still be alive.”
Verve squeezed his hand. “Don’t travel that road, Alem. It won’t take you anywhere you need to go. And besides,” she offered him a soft smile, “if you’d left, we never would have met.”
Some of the bitterness tumbling in his spirit eased, and he returned her smile. “And what a tragedy that would have been.”
Something bubbled in her heart at his words; it took her several heartbeats to recognize joy. “Before I met you, no one had ever tried to see the best in me, or wanted anything for me but what I already had. You and Ivet both…”
She trailed off, throat suddenly too full of words to speak one. Alem hugged her close to his solid chest, enveloping her in his warmth, in the scents of jessamin and lavender. Verve embraced him too, as tightly as she could, for he was the strongest person she knew.
“Ivet loved you,” Alem whispered in her ear.
Like the vast river of light and energy in the Fae realm, love did not have a beginning or an end; it just flowed through each spirit it touched, leaving an indelible mark.
“I love her, too,” Verve said, then drew back and looked into his dark eyes. “But not how I love you.”
He stared at her, then a huge grin spread over his face. “Really?”
“Let me show you.” Verve drew upon her meridian abilities and allowed the full force of her love to pour over him, shining like the sun at its height. A brilliant light illuminated his smile as he cupped her cheeks and kissed her, hard.
When at last they parted to breathe, Verve’s eyes still glowed, showering light upon the darkness all around them, and within her own spirit, too.
* * *
Sohvi returned to the area several days later. Verve, who’d been scouting for danger, sensed the other meridian’s presence at Pilgrim Springs, and went to meet her. She found Sohvi swimming while Hasina watched from the shore.
“Not a swimmer?” Verve asked as she came over.
“Someone’s got to keep an eye out for snakes,” Hasina replied, pulling a face. “Besides, that water’s fucking freezing.”
Verve chuckled. “You get used to it.”
Even fairly early in the day, the air was already thick with the heat of late spring. Verve shucked her boots and waded into the chilly water, sighing in pleasure as it crept up to her calves.
Seeing her, Sohvi swam over and clambered back to shore, water sluicing off of her. “Do you know why it’s called Pilgrim Springs?” She continued without waiting for an answer. “It’s named for the first person who went to the Fae’s realm in the spirit world — and returned to ours. Do you know how he managed the feat?”
This time, Sohvi actually waited for a response. Verve searched Space-Between-Stars’s memories and found the recollection, strange though it was. “He had Fae blood?”
