Shadowborn

Chapter Fifty-Two: A Lucky Meeting

The pull was gone almost as soon as I felt it, but I knew its direction. Naturally, my first instinct was to rush in alone, but I was trying to be better. I took off towards the camp, letting the others on watch know that I’d heard something, but nothing close enough to threaten the caravan. After that, I went straight to my tent.
Noelle was still awake when I slipped in, and she took one look at my face and started dressing. I woke Serena first, and she reached for me with a sleepy smile. I gave her a kiss, then said, “wake up, priestess, we’ve got work to do.”

She quickly blinked the sleep out of her eyes while her fingers trailed up to the gem at her throat. When I helped her to her feet, I saw that Tiana was already robed up and Rhallani wasn’t far behind. “What’s going on?” Tiana asked.

“I sensed fear further down the road. It was faint, but strong,” I said, handing Serena her spear and Noelle her axe. “Could be someone under attack.”

Serena nodded, then smiled wide. “And you came to get us.” She gave me a peck on the cheek, then we ducked out. Rhallani was hot on our heels, and when I met her eyes I could see the challenge in her gaze. She had an offensive skill now, though, so I wasn’t going to tell her to stay behind. Between the spiders and the etherwyrms, she knew what it was to have her life in danger. If she was willing to follow me back into the fire, then I’d welcome her presence.

She beamed when I gave her a quick nod. When I got to where I’d left Reese, Zoey was sitting in her place still rubbing sleep out of her eyes. “I’m coming with you,” the archer said, her tone leaving no room for argument.
If she was half as good as I expected, her skills would be more than welcome. “Sounds good.” She fell into step with the rest of us as we hurried down the road. “Do you prefer bow or blade?” I asked, nodding towards the blades at her hips.

“I’m better with the bow, but I can handle myself if need be.”

“Then I’d like you to hang back with Rhallani and Tiana. That way you can watch their backs if someone tries to ambush us.” My next words were addressed to Rhallani. “Send Festus to get the lay of the land, but once we’ve got some idea of what’s happening keep your wolf close. Same rules as the golem.”

Neither argued, and I appreciated Reese’s willingness to cede temporary leadership to me without a fuss. If anything, she seemed relieved to receive orders. We stayed close together while we moved towards the disturbance, Noelle and me in the front, followed by Serena, Rhallani, and Tiana, with Reese bringing up the rear.

We hadn’t gone far before I felt the fear return. It wasn’t the intense, biting fear of someone in a fight for their life, but it was intense enough to make me pick up speed. I only felt the one source, but at least that meant there was someone still alive to be afraid.

“Two wagons,” Rhallani said suddenly, “one blackened like it was on fire. They picked the wrong side of the road to camp on, they aren’t that far from the woods. Four bodies, no signs of gnolls. Whatever happened, looks like it happened a while ago since the wagon isn’t burning anymore.”

“I don’t understand why so many have been taken so close together,” Reese said. “Or why all of them seem to have been heading the same way. Towards the capital.”

“Storm came from that direction,” I guessed. “People heading that way got caught in it, had to hunker down for a few days. Gnolls aren’t as bothered by the rain. As for the direction everyone’s going…” I didn’t have an answer for that one. She was right. Every sign of people we’d seen so far had been going the same direction as us.

“Maybe nobody’s made it this far,” Tiana supplied grimly.

None of us were particularly thrilled by that guess. We crested the next hill and the wagons in question came into sight. “I’ll lead since I’ve got my senses.”

I banished the lantern at my waist and stepped into the edge of the light cast by Serena. The first scent I was bombarded with was the smoke from the charred wagon. It was far enough from the knocked over fire pit that I wasn’t sure exactly how it had been set alight. Perhaps a skill from one of the victims when they tried to defend themselves.

Like the others, the campsite was ransacked and pretty much everything of value was gone. I pushed past the smell of smoke and searched for the source of the fear I could still feel. I could smell blood—fresh, not old—as well as the salt of tears. There was someone on top of the wagon, though I couldn’t make them out in the darkness. I thought I heard a sniffle, but it was muffled.

I resummoned my lantern to get a closer look. At first I thought they were hiding under a length of leather, so black that it blended in with the charred wagon, then it shifted. Not leather, but a wing. It lifted just enough for me to get a glimpse of a pale face and a soft red-rimmed, rose colored eye. An Erinyes. The infernal counterpart to the Seraphim. If I wanted answers, I needed to be careful. If I spooked them and they flew off into the night, then there’d be no finding them.

The fear spiked, so I put both hands up and my companions froze. “It’s alright,” I called softly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Who—who are you?” a soft, trembling voice asked. A girl.

“My name is Ren. My companions are Serena and Noelle,” I pointed to them both in turn without taking my eyes off the Erinyes. “Will you come down so we can talk? I can help you.”

She shifted, then whimpered. Her wing unfolded a little and I got a better look at her. Her skin would have been fair on a good day, but she was pale as parchment right now. She had soft, thin features and eyes that were a softer red than Noelle’s. Tousled, jet black hair spilled over her shoulders, windblown and unkempt. Her eyes flicked to Noelle, then down to her collar.

“You’re a Patron,” she said, fear lacing her voice. Then her eyes flicked towards the body of a middle aged, overweight man. “Are you going to claim me?”

“Not if you don’t want me to.” I took a careful step forward and she flinched back, eliciting another pain whimper. “You’re hurt. Serena here is a healer, she can take care of whatever it is.”

She tried to sit up, only to fall back forward with a cry. A sob slipped out of her throat, and her wings began to tremble. “I can’t,” she whispered, just loud enough for me to hear it.

“I’m going to come up there so I can help you down.” I approached slowly, holding her terrified gaze the entire time. The closer I got the more I figured she couldn’t fly off even if she wanted to, but I didn’t want to scare her anymore than whatever she’d already been through.

I waved a hand forward for Noelle to join me. Another demi-human might put the girl at ease. She followed close by, leaving her axe on her back. “What’s your name?” I asked the Erinyes.

“K-Kili.”

“Kili. That’s a nice name.” I climbed up the front of the wagon since the back didn’t look all that structurally sound. When I peeked over the wagon’s roof, she shifted her wings to let me look at her leg. I forced myself not to react when I saw the arrow sticking through the meat of her thigh. From the dried blood around the injury, it was an injury she’d carried for at least a few hours.

I held a hand out, and she hesitantly reached for me. She groaned through clenched teeth when I pulled her into my arms to lift her. She was a tiny thing, likely no taller than Noelle. Not uncommon for the winged races. Also like Noelle, she was lighter than the other races, so I lifted her easily and climbed back down.
Serena approached with a warm smile as I set Kili on the ground. “Hello, Kili. Don’t worry, I’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

She looked over Serena’s shoulder and gasped, curling into herself. I followed her gaze to see the other half of our part. “They’re friends, too. I’m going to call them a little closer in case the things that did this,” I gestured towards the camp, “come back, alright?”

She nodded, and I waved over Reese, Rhallani, and Tiana. They all came over, close enough to talk without shouting but not so close as to crowd the poor girl Serena was looking over. She pulled out some first aid supplies from the pouch on her waist and started cutting away Kili’s pants around the arrow, then looked up to me. “Getting the arrow out of her is going to hurt,” she said softly, drawing another whimper out of Kili.

“The dried blood isn’t going to help.”

I pulled out a canteen and summoned a cloth. “Noelle, hold her upper body?”

Noelle slid in behind Kili and wrapped her arms around the small girl. Kili responded by wrapping her trembling fingers around Noelle’s forearm and jamming her eyes shut. I poured some water around the arrow to wash some of the blood away.

“Let me try something. Be ready with the healing.” Serena nodded, placing her hands on either side of the injury. I touched the arrow, then willed my shadows to banish it to my storage. Blackness washed over the shaft, then it disappeared. Kili let out a wail, but golden light was already starting to flow from the injury.
I held her leg still while she clung tightly to Noelle until Serena’s magic stopped. The spot was still an angry red, but there was no more open wound. “Kili,” she asked, “how does that feel?”

“Better,” the girl said quietly, still holding on to Noelle while her eyes flicked from me to Serena.
Serena flashed her a glowing smile. “Can you answer some questions for me? Then we can get you back to our camp so we can get some food in you.”

She hesitated, her eyes flicking towards my canteen. I offered it and she drank greedily, some water spilling around the edges. When she finished, she clung almost as tightly to the canteen as she did Noelle. “O-okay.”
“Was it gnolls?” she asked first. Kili nodded, her wings folding in even tighter than they had been a moment ago. “How long ago did it happen?”

“Last night.” She started to shift, and Noelle helped her into more of a sitting position. She rubbed her leg where the arrow had been. “We were setting up camp and they came out of nowhere. My sister told me to fly, so I did. She tried to fight them, but they got a net over her. I think they hurt her wing.”

She sniffled, then the words started tumbling out. “When I heard her cry out, I turned back. She screamed for me to run away, and there were still so many of them, and they’d already killed master Victor and his wife.” Tears started to fall from her eyes. “Anri was the fighter, and I didn’t know what to do. I flew for the trees, but they were already shooting at me with bows. One arrow hit me, and I nearly crashed. I managed to glide to a tree, then another, then another while they—while they took—”

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Serena said, brushing Kili’s hair out of her face. “You did good. Your sister would be happy you made it out, so don’t you worry about feeling guilty, alright?”

She nodded, though the tears showed no signs of slowing. “My sister is strong, so I thought she might have escaped. I wanted her to be able to find me, so I came back. But she never did.”

Serena pulled out her own cloth, then gently took the canteen from Kili’s hand and wet it. She started wiping the dirt from Kili’s face while she spoke. “That arrow was in your leg for a full day, so you’re going to be stiff and sore for a little bit. It doesn’t look like there’s any infection, so you should be good as new in a day or two, but for tonight you should stay off it, alright?”

Kili nodded again. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Rhallani’s shout of, “incoming!”

Kili made a terrified nose, turning and clinging to Noelle, while Serena and I shot to our feet. Sure enough, racing towards us out of the trees, were a half dozen gnolls.

I drew weapons to step forward, but I needn’t have bothered. There was a roar, and a white jaguar erupted from the space in front of Rhallani and hurled itself towards the gnolls at a breakneck pace. Reese’s arms turned into a blur, and one of the gnolls dropped a second later. Tiana fired a barrage of bolts, taking out one and tripping another. Rhallani’s jaguar pounced on the fallen gnoll, ripping its throat out before launching at the next nearest one.

The gnolls tried to run, but between Reese’s arrows and Tiana’s magic, they didn’t make it far. Rhallani’s summon finished off the rest before we could even make it to them, and I grinned at Serena. “Seems the gnolls aren’t so used to opposition. They were probably still trying to find Kili.”

I turned back to the Erinyes, kneeling down next to her. “They’re gone, Kili. You’re safe now.” I gently ran a hand down her back to coax her out of Noelle’s chest. She was trembling violently, and my Malachai had her in a death grip.

Finally, Kili looked up. “You killed them?”

“We did. I’ve fought much scarier things than gnolls, so I promise that as long as you’re a part of my caravan nobody is going to hurt you. Would you like to come with me? We can get you fed, then find you somewhere warm to sleep.”

Some of the terror was starting to fade from her face. “Really?”

“Really.” I felt Serena’s hand on my shoulder at the same time Noelle looked up at me with a question in her gaze. “And, once we’ve got you squared away, we can see about rescuing your sister.”

Kili’s eyes widened. “She’s alive?”

“I don’t know, but if she is we’ll find her.”

Kili looked up at Noelle, who smiled back at her and inclined her head. “Ren is a kind man and a good Patron. He will help.”

“Alright,” Kili said finally.

Noelle stood, taking Kili with her. The Erinyes stood unsteadily, keeping her weight on her good leg. She still clung to Noelle, so I had Noelle carry Kili on her back for the trip to camp. While Serena did one last once over to check for injuries, I headed towards the others. Reese was going through the Gnolls, retrieving her arrows, while Rhallani and Tiana watched the trees.

“Well done,” I told them. “Those gnolls had no clue what they were in for.”

“It was a small party,” Reese said, waving off the praise. “They weren’t ready for us is all.”

I knelt down next to one and rolled it over. Four arrows were sticking out of its chest, placed so closely together I couldn’t even get my fingers between them. I banished them to my storage and pulled them back out, handing them to Reese. “You’re a damn good shot,” I told her.

“I’m alright,” she said, her ears turning slightly pink. I’d met a lot of archers, and I knew she was a far cry from ‘alright.’ This was a level of skill that didn’t just come from class abilities.

“Either way, I’m glad you came along.”

She looked past me to where Noelle carried Kili. “I heard bits and pieces. You really think the sister’s alive? Even after a full day?”

Rhallani answered before I could. “She’s alive,” she said with certainty. When I glanced over my shoulder to look at her, she gave me a meaningful nod. Her skill had activated. These gnolls were connected on some level to the ones who’d been working with the Valax queen, which meant it was a reasonable assumption that they were also collecting powerful females.

“Are we going after them tonight?” Tiana asked.

“No,” Reese and I both said at the same time. I gestured for her to go ahead, and she said, “these gnolls probably didn’t come straight from camp. If they’re still hanging around here, they’ve either been patrolling or searching. Following their tracks back would be a nightmare, and I don’t see any signs of the ones that kidnapped the sister. They’re probably covering their tracks.”

“We’ll get back to camp and talk with the others. Maybe tonight we’ll go out on a search,” I told her. I saw the look on Serena’s face and said, “I don’t like the idea of leaving anyone to the gnolls any longer than absolutely necessary either, but we can’t just stumble around in the dark and hope to stumble on their camp. We’ll figure it out.”

I was worried about Kili’s reaction to my words, but it turned out she was already asleep on Noelle’s back. A long, thin, black tail that I’d missed previously had wrapped around Noelle’s waist and she snored softly with her cheek resting on Noelle’s shoulder.

“Let’s get Kili back and fill the others in.”

The trek back took a little longer since we wanted Kili to get some rest, but we made it back without incident. Whether we’d killed the only gnolls in the area or they decide we weren’t worth the effort, there was no way to tell.

Zoey was still there, but her relief had joined her. Lana and Pierce both stood as soon as they saw our light, heading our way. There was more than one double take as it was the first time they’d seen Tiana without a cloak to hide my armor, and my mage’s cheeks turned pink.

“Find anything?” Pierce asked me once he managed to tear his eyes from Tiana.

“Another group got hit,” I told him. “Gnolls took the demis, killed the rest. We found this one, though.” I gestured towards Kili, who had woken at the sound of Pierce’s voice. She shrank, hiding most of her face in Noelle’s hair and peeking out at them with a single eye while her wings pulled in tight, wrapping around them both.

“She’s just a kid,” Zoey observed.

“I’m not!” Kili said. “I’m eighteen now.”

Tiana suppressed a chuckle. “She sounds just like some of my sisters,” she whispered to me.
Zoey grinned. “Either way, I’ll go rustle up some food for you. Come on.”

Serena, Rhallani, and Noelle still carrying Kili all filed off towards the fire. Pierce turned his gaze on me once again. “I’m guessing you’re going to take it upon yourself to deal with the gnolls?”

I clapped his shoulder. “You have to ask?” He snorted, and I sobered. “They’ve got prisoners, Pierce. I’m not just going to leave them behind. Besides, something tells me I’m not going to have much choice in the matter. Like you so astutely observed, shit kinda seems to just follow me.”

He grunted. “You aren’t kidding. Go on, we’ve got watch now. See any gnolls?”

“Yeah. Taken care of, but with how many ambush sites we’ve found I’m guessing we haven’t so much as made a dent in the gnoll population yet.”

He nodded. “Well, when it comes time, you’ll have what help we can give.”

“I appreciate it.” I was certain we were going to need it.

# # #

Thanks to our little escapade, I didn’t get much sleep that night. We erected a tent for a very exhausted Kili, and Noelle and the twins all elected to bunk with her to keep her company. Serena, Rhallani, and Tiana took the chance to try and get me some extra Soul Essence as well, which left me with a healthy seventy-one when I woke in the morning.

Rhallani was oddly quiet. She slipped out to get Noelle with barely a word while we all got dressed, and when she got back I sat down to prepare to forge another Link. I gestured for Rhallani to sit next to me, but she bit her lip and shook her head.

“I don’t think I should go next,” she said without meeting my eye.

Everyone paused. “Rhallani,” I said, “If you don’t want to—”

“No!” she cut me off. “No, it isn’t that. I want this more than I can put into words, I promise. I just…” She chewed her lip, crossing her arms over her stomach. “When you and Serena were sparring, you were completely in sync. Even the last couple of days, you’ve been more…connected. It’s like you two know what the other is going to do before they do it.”

Serena and I exchanged frowns. “That’s true, I suppose,” Serena said. “I have been feeling…different the last two days. Like I’m…” her cheeks turned pink, “drawn to you, I suppose. And when you woke me up, I knew you needed something before I was even fully awake.”

Rhallani nodded. “Exactly. I’ve still only barely got a combat class, and since we’re probably going to be fighting again soon, I just think it might be more beneficial to the group for Noelle or Tiana to go next. That way you have that same connection during a fight.” She shrugged. “I love Zaren, and he loves me. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes, but I’d just feel better if we focused on survival before anything else right now.”

“And that’s the only reason?” I prompted.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Zaren. It might not seem like much, I know, but wanting you to not die is a pretty strong motivator in a lot of my decisions these days.”

I chuckled. “I had to ask.” I turned my gaze to Noelle and Tiana.

Tiana just smiled and gently pushed Noelle towards me. Noelle’s eyes went wide, and she looked around the tent somewhat frantically. “Me?”

Tiana nodded. “Yes, you. If anyone deserves it, you do. Plus, you’ll be in the thick of things with Zaren, so using Rhallani’s logic you make the most sense.”

Rhallani gave her a hug. “I agree wholeheartedly.” She pulled back. “You want this, right?”

Noelle nodded slowly, a look of awe on her face. “But…me?”

I chuckled, holding a hand out. She took it, and I pulled her onto my lap so she was straddling me. “Yes, you. You’re an important part of my family, remember?”

Tears started to build in her eyes. “Okay,” she said simply.

“Are you ready?”

A single tear slid down her face and she nodded once. I put my hand on her chest and reached out towards her soul. What I found didn’t surprise me, but it still felt like a kick to the gut. Her soul was riddled with scars. Many of them were shallow, and I knew those were from the repeated physical abuse she’d suffered. There was one that looked like it had been opened again and again and I knew it was from what they’d done to her wings. Deep inside I could sense the damage from the years she’d been forced to endure it all, alone and unable to so much as show emotion for fear of the repercussions.

Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, I promised myself that I’d find whoever had put her through so much pain and hunt them down. I slid my hand around to her back where I could still feel her soul and pulled her to my chest. She buried her nose in my neck and drew in a long, shuddering breath. Whatever she felt made her wrap her arms around me, her fingers digging into the material of my shirt.

I activated [Forge Soul Link]. I felt my soul reaching towards hers, and no sooner had the connection been made than Noelle accepted it eagerly. The pain ripped through me, but I was prepared for it. Not only that, but it felt lesser this time. Whether that was because I already had one link active or because I had more Essence in my pool when I cast the skill, I had no idea.

I didn’t black out this time either, which was both a blessing and a curse. I managed to keep my muscles from trying to rip themselves apart, but that meant this time I felt every second of the searing pain as my soul forged its Link with another.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain faded. I checked my status to see Noelle’s name underneath Serena’s on the list of Links. When I opened it, she had the same text as Serena’s. My pool had gone up by another ten and I’d spent thirty of it. I told the others as much, and Rhallani nodded.

“We won’t know for sure until we forge more, but it sounds like that’s going to be the standard. Maybe higher levels will have different effects, or maybe it’ll be the same across the board.” She scribbled away in her notebook all the same.

Noelle clung to me tighter, and I stroked her back. “Looks like you’re stuck with me, huh?”

“Good,” She said into my chest. “Because you are stuck with me, too.”

I kissed the top of her head. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As badly as I wanted to stay there all day, holding my newest Link, we had to get moving. Noelle reluctantly stood and I followed. We quickly packed our things, and I was surprised when I stepped out to see that Vivian’s tent was already secured.

What I wasn’t surprised by was where I found her. She was already with Kili, chatting away with the girl while they both ate their breakfast. Kili already looked leagues better than last night. Her face had some color to it, and she wasn’t trembling any longer. Someone had taken a brush to her hair and tied it back in a low tail. Her actual tail was wrapped tightly around her waist, though, which I knew to be a sign that she was anxious.

“Good morning, Kili,” I told her.

She jumped slightly at the sound of my voice, but she calmed when she saw it was me. Noelle strode over and sat next to her, and the Erinyes’s tail started to uncoil. “Good morning, Mr. Ren,” she said politely.

“Sleep well?”

She nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you for giving me a tent. And for letting Noelle, Ryoko, and Tsuki stay with me. They’re really nice.”

“Any time. Serena wants you off that leg, so I figured you could ride on my wagon today. Ryoko will be there as well.”

“And me!” Vivian supplied.

A small smile pulled at Kili’s lips. “Okay. Um, can Noelle come too?”

Noelle turned her big eyes on me. “Of course,” I told her. “As long as she’s somewhere she can keep an eye out. She’s one of our valued guards, after all,” I said with a wink at Noelle.

The Malachai smiled wide, showing off her canines. “Thank you.”

I nodded, then left them to their breakfast to help pack up camp. In no time, we were rolling again. Kili seemed to feel better on the move, sitting perched behind Cynthia and Noelle on the driver’s bench while Vivian, Ryoko, and Elisa sat in the back of the wagon keeping her engaged. I didn’t miss her constant, fearful glances towards the forest, though. Not that I could blame her.

Unsurprisingly, the day went by without incident. I found myself walking next to my wagon all day with Serena at my side. I didn’t participate much in the conversation, but I listened to it. Kili had a lot of questions about me, my servants, and how they liked me as a Patron. Vivian listened as raptly as Kili did, and I made a note to mention it to the others later.

The longer the day went on, the more comfortable the little Erinyes seemed to get. By the time we stopped to set up camp, her tail had uncoiled completely and was hanging behind her. She followed Noelle around, watching with wide eyes while Serena and I walked Noelle and Tsuki through some more practice. After, we decided we’d take a break from sparring since we both felt a fight was on the horizon.

Since it was Kili’s first full day with us, Garm and Ryoko made a big stew for everyone. My appetite was finally starting to return, so I managed to finish the bowl without having to force myself to eat. Something about a tangible threat in front of me calmed the angry butterflies in my gut. I ended up sitting on the ground with Serena on a stool behind me, her fingers running absently through my hair while we listened to Vivian tell a rather engaging story about Zoey and a bear she mistook for a dog.

I chuckled, closing my eyes as Vivian got to the part where Zoey tried to go pet the creature, much to the woman’s embarrassment. She was sitting with rosy cheeks, though she was laughing good naturedly along with the rest. Everyone laughed even harder when Rhallani offered to try summoning a bear so Zoey could pet it and follow her dreams.

I was starting to nod off from Serena’s fingers rubbing along my scalp. All the talking and laughter died away, and even the sounds of the forest faded completely. I figured I was asleep until I heard Serena’s fearful voice.

“Zaren?” she breathed.

My eyes snapped open, immediately on alert. The entire camp was frozen in time. The others were stopped completely. Their mouths, their clothes, their hair. Nothing moved. Even the fire was still, as was the forest around us. The only ones unaffected were Serena and I.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Don’t panic,” I told her, though my own heart rate had spiked. I stood, and Serena did the same, pressing her back to mine. “Are you going to show yourself?” I called out, “or is this just some kind of intimidation tactic?”

“So dramatic,” a voice said to my left. Serena and I both whirled towards it. A tall, curvaceous woman wearing a very form-fitting tunic and sporting one of the most intricate braids I’d ever seen in my life stood a few feet away, gently brushing a strand of hair from Vivian’s frozen face. “You know, Zaren, not every god is out to get you.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Serena, but my hand found hers. “You aren’t Allura,” I said, more for Serena’s sake than anything else.

The goddess shot me a droll look. “Your powers of observation are unparalleled. No, Zaren, I’m Fortuna. And I’ve got a deal for you.”

The goddess of luck. My past experiences suggested that me and her should be mortal enemies. She walked around the campfire in a circle, examining each person in turn. She stopped again in front of Noelle, trailing her fingers along her jawline.”

“Don’t touch her,” I snarled.

Fortuna just grinned at me. “So testy. And here I am trying to help you.” She looked back at Noelle. “You did good with this one. I had to pull some serious strings to lead Rhallani her way.”

So it hadn’t been Allura? She must have seen the look on my face, which made her laugh. “No, Allura didn’t bring this one to you. This one had no bonds remaining, so she lay outside of my sister’s domain. She has, however, endured far too much bad luck in her life. It took most of her Luck for me to bring the two of you together. Now she’s balanced once more.”

Serena took a step closer to me, her touch comforting. I took a breath. “As you surely know, I’ve already struck up a deal with Allura. Not sure how good an idea it is for me to go making more.”

She smiled at me, clasping her hands behind her back. “It’s a very good idea, trust me. After all, Zaren, I’m here to help.”

I crossed my arms. “Sorry, but gods and I don’t exactly have the best of track records. You’ll forgive me if I’m a little skeptical.”

Her smile widened. “You are such an interesting find. I’m jealous my sister was the first to get to you.” She sighed. “But alas, Allura was always the clever one. Are you sure you won’t at least hear what the deal is?” she asked, sticking out her bottom lip.

“Zaren…” Serena said in my ear.

“Come, Zaren, listen to your priestess. She’s got good intuition.” She smiled at Serena. “And, since you’ve gone and linked your souls together, we can have this little chat without destroying you. How’s that for lucky?”

“What’s the deal?” I asked begrudgingly.

Her smile turned triumphant. “Take a walk with me, and I can help you understand what Allura is up to.”