"Am ashen," Ban murmured. He led Moon through a series of steps and was proud of himself for not treading on her hooves.
"He is ashen? Why this?" She eagerly indicated with her chin to Ban's left, and Ban obliged by raising her hand to give her a spin. She seemed to enjoy the spins more than anything else. He just needed to keep his arm raised high enough that it cleared her antlers.
"Left white one with Ascania. Should not be clouds between us and rybka."
Moon nodded sagely. "I sight this, too. But, would be ashen to not be with kith. Ashen on both paths, but white one is in white place. Jin is in dark forest. I sight she needs us more."
"Aye," Ban sighed. He felt he understood what Moon was saying, but he still didn't feel good about it. Then again, he supposed he shouldn't. He glanced around the room at the others on the impromptu dance floor. "She speaks kith for these?"
Moon smiled and gave him a look. He didn't need her to say it for him to know he should feel like a rocker.
Come to think of it, I've never met a rocker. Rather, a mountain goblin. Seems a little prattish to use them as an insult, doesn't it?
He blinked to bring himself back to the moment. "She sights these as kith. Kith not just tribe. Not just fey. They are slayers no more. They are kith. Are kin."
"Is thing that is," Moon said. "Not all what is. For more than just this."
Ban furrowed his brow and looked down at his feet. He slowly raised his eyes back to hers. "She sights them as this, because... I sight them as this?"
She smiled dreamily. "Aye."
Ban chewed his lip, barely managing to take their course away from where they'd collide with Kolbat and her Corsair's dance. "I am clouded. I... I not have words to speak this."
"Then say it however you'd wish."
"Nay. I must sight how to speak this to you as this."
Moon pulled closer and nuzzled into Ban's chest, wrapping her arms around him. "I think I've an idea what you mean to say." She sighed with contentment. "It's not something the fey say with words. We never made words for it. Instead, you show it, and you've shown it to me every time I see you. Is good thing to be loved by this red."
Ban had to dance two dances. The one he'd been doing and another to avoid getting an antler rammed into his jugular. Not for the first time, he wished he had a pair of his own to block that from happening. That seemed to be how the goblins kept from stabbing each other all the time.
The occasional poke to the soft tissue was a small price to pay for moments like this.
"I love you, lisichka."
"And I love you, heart-blessed."
Ban noticed their dance took them to where Moon's back was to nothing but empty room. With no one to see what he did, he reached a little lower and gave her backside a squeeze. It elicited a startled yelp and earned him a swat, but he had no regrets and would've done it again.
"Ashen red," Moon scolded, but it had no bite behind it. "Ashen until end of days. Not when kith can sight this."
"They wouldn't. I made sure. Besides, you really think anyone here would think less of us for a little bum-touching?"
"Is not this," Moon insisted. "Is that it brings warm blood. He can only be cleansed if he cools it."
Ban raised his brow. Every now and then, he came across phrases he hadn't yet encountered, but he had a strong sense of what Moon referred to. "Nay," he said firmly. "Enfri speaks this. Not for two weeks. She even said it twice to get the point across."
Moon pouted. "I know, but I took more healing over the last couple days than in the last three months. I'm good to go anytime." She pushed her chest against him and dropped her tone to a husky octave. "Any. Time."
Ban gave her a look of disapproval. "Sky woman's orders. Those are more important even than Dragon Empress orders."
Moon growled in vexation. "Rocker," she muttered. "Rocker red with... desirable features."
Ban partially succeeded at not laughing.
The bard's lyre slowed as the song came to its end. Skillfully blending the end of one song into the onset of another, a somewhat livelier tune began. Ban took notice of how he'd brought Moon side by side with Enfri and Jin.
"Swap songs, swap girls," he called out in a hurry before spinning Moon towards them. In the same motion, he snatched Jin's hand from Enfri and pulled her to him.
Enfri squawked as she caught Moon. She transitioned to leading and Jin to being led almost without thinking before their paths diverged again. Enfri stared past Moon's antlers at Ban with surprise and annoyance, but also a small measure of respect. Ban winked at her before looking to his new partner.
"You are a lout, Bannlyth Karst," Jin said, "and... much better at this than I recall."
"Aww, come off it. I'm a terrible dancer."
Jin got herself better situated. She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder and raised her chin. "I've danced with my share of terrible dancers. You are not one of them."
Ban shrugged. "Gotten better since last time, have I?"
Jin smirked. "Marginally. It has been how long? Six years since our last dance?"
"Five, wasn't it?"
"No, it was in Ecclesia. The summer solstice ball of five ninety-five. It was the year before our arranged betrothal."
Ban eyed her. "I should've known you'd have every event you attend memorized."
"Of course," Jin said. "I could tell you what you wore, if you wish. Pacifica's gown was especially lovely, chosen by your mother if memory serves. She disagrees, but I believe green to be Pacifica's most flattering color."
"I bet we could arrange a drinking game for this," Ban laughed. "A few rounds of 'what who wore when' would liven things up."
"Summon your champion, my lord," Jin said evenly. "I will crush them into dust."
"Waves, there's something to be said about forfeiting a battle you know you can't win without losing everything you're fighting for. You have my unconditional surrender."
"And what were you fighting for, exactly?"
"Pride," Ban declared. "It doesn't seem so important now as it did a minute ago."
"I've no doubt you can live without it."
Ban shrugged.
"I mean, you have been since before you came of age, so it must be true."
"Bah, don't be like that."
"As you say. So, tell me, Ban, aside from becoming a father, what has occupied your time these last months?"
He grimaced. "Maps and requisition forms. I prefer administrating a legion on the march. Less paperwork."
"More bloodshed," Jin pointed out.
"Unless you do it right," Ban replied, "but I take your meaning. Won't be much longer before I'll be dreaming of being trapped in a study all day again."
"Little word reached me in the Miracle," Jin said, "but enough to hear things are not improving."
"They surely aren't," Ban agreed. "You probably didn't hear about the upswing in proteurim sightings. There's even been attacks on our people. Now the Jade Empire's on the move, and the Teulite Horde is routing the last pockets of resistance in Gaulatia."
Jin nodded grimly. "You are preparing Shan Alee for an all-out war."
"Trying to."
Jin breathed in through her nose. "Do you ever regret throwing in with the Dragon Empress?"
"Not once," Ban said. "Though, if I'm being completely honest, I've heard something I don't like from a number of sources."
Jin tilted her head to the side in question.
"A few have pointed out to me that the reason I'm where I am is because I got nowhere else to go."
Jin furrowed her brow. "Do you believe it?"
Ban scoffed. "Maybe there's something to it, but anyone who says it's the only reason can go straight to the depths. In any case, I'm a pa now. Where I am has to be where I am. I don't really have the luxury of taking the house elsewhere anymore. Moon and I both come from cultures where home is important. A family like ours has to have roots, and I aim to make ours deep."
"So long as it's right for you," Jin said. "For what it's worth, I've been taking comfort from knowing you were here with Enfri."
"I'll wear that like a badge of honor." Ban checked to see if there was an open space behind her. "Watch out, Highness. I'm gonna dip you."
He caught the briefest glimpse of surprise in Jin's eyes before he leaned forward and tipped her backwards. He swung her to the left as Jin threw her head back with the momentum, her hair trailing a bare inch over the floor. She went with Ban's lead and took it further than he originally intended. Jin lifted a foot off the ground through the dance move, entrusting herself completely to Ban's upper body strength. Coming back up, Jin transitioned gracefully into a spin. Her skirt flared about her knees, both arms raised above her head. She came out of it in step with Ban's feet, her hand back on his shoulder.
Ban had to suppress the urge to whistle. "Waves, you're good."
She tossed her hair to get loose strands of it out of her face. "Do not forget it."
"Now and then, I get the notion I'd have liked being married to you. Separate bed chambers, but we'd have owned the social events."
Jin smiled. "There are worse fates."
"Fortunate for us both, we're with the ones we're with for love over politics and fifth-tier dancing."
Jin's smile lessened slightly. Her eyes grew a little more distant.
Ban didn't enjoy pushing this on her. "So, what I'm asking, are you still betrothed?"
She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Her expression was more wan than before. "We had not gotten that far in the discussion."
"Interrupted you too soon, did I?"
"More that..." Jin let out an anxious sound. "More that this subject is a bit further down the road. For now, we've talked." She looked down and laughed softly. "Talked more than we have in a very long time. It's... good."
Ban led their dance towards a slightly less crowded corner of the floor. "I assume you do still want to marry her."
Jin bit her lip as she looked away. "Of course I do," she whispered. "That's what I've wanted since the beginning."
"And she still wants to marry you."
Jin swallowed.
Ban had promised himself he wouldn't trust his hydromancy implicitly anymore, but he still saw it as a valuable tool. He let some of his ether flow into the elder magic. "Even if you both picked up where you left off, you're afraid there'd always be cracks. There'll always be signs of where your mutual trust was once broken."
Jin let out a breath. "She will never trust me as she once did again."
"But, isn't that a good thing?"
She looked up at him, quizzical.
"When something breaks, it's never the same even if you get it mended by the best craftsman in the kingdom. It'll always have flaws, ones that run deep. It'll never be as strong as it used to be."
Jin nodded, her eyes on their feet.
"Except, people aren't made of glass," Ban said. "Not wood, or stone, or steel. We're made of flesh, blood, and bone. Tell me, Jin, because this is your area of expertise. What happens to a bone that's been broken?"
She met his gaze, and her eyes were starting to glisten. She maintained a bare control over her voice. "They heal stronger."
"You're floundering right, they do. Take it from me, who's had plenty of broken bones and broken plenty more, you got a weak, little trust bone between you two. This is the first time out the gates for you both, so it hasn't had the chance to build up the needed durability."
Jin giggled, a new thing Ban was privileged to witness. "That metaphor started out really good, but it fell apart on you by the end, didn't it?"
"Yeah, a little, but I stand by it. Give it the care it needs, and let the trust bone heal. It'll always come back stronger." He narrowed his eyes. "Unless you do something really stupid. You didn't go hopping into any beds you shouldn't have, did you?"
"Winds," Jin protested. "You blustering oaf. Who do you think I am?"
Ban nodded in satisfaction. "Just needed to be sure."
She got a guilty look. "Not to say..."
"Jin Algara, you didn't!"
"There was a very forward Thatcher girl in the Miracle," Jin explained hurriedly. "I nearly had to cast an interdiction to end her advances."
"No rendezvouses? None of the hanky panky?"
"Neither hanky nor panky, thank you very much. Winds, but she certainly weaponized her assets. The unbuttoned blouse, the 'I keep my door unlocked', and any number of other underhanded doings."
Ban pursed his lips. "Well, I can't say as I blame her. You're a once in a lifetime catch. No doubt about it. But, if you say nothing happened, I'll take it as fact."
"It's fact," Jin said firmly to put the matter to rest. Her face grew anxious again. "On that subject..."
"As if I'd let some tart or joyboy inside ten leagues of Enfri," Ban said. He gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "I had it handled, because I never doubted you'd be back sooner or later."
Jin blew out her lips in relief. "It's comforting to hear you say that. Thank you, Ban."
Their dance continued until the song came to its closing bars. Before it was gone entirely, Jin's expression grew pensive, and a slight bit of color came into her cheeks.
"Ban?"
"Aye?"
"I've..." She stopped herself to gather her wits before starting over. "I've never known what it's like to have a brother." She looked up until his eyes. "Until recently. I like to think had Roan been given the chance, he would've grown into a man like you."
Ban smiled for her then bumped his forehead against hers. "Don't make me weepy now, Sister."
Jin hugged him close throughout the final steps of their dance and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"Just... please," Ban mumbled, "don't stab me again. You're really good at it."
She laughed quietly and wiped at her eyes. "I promise."
oOo
Jin didn't want to know what time it was. Few remained, most returning to their quarters, barracks, or estates to sleep off the revelry. She assumed it was an unholy hour, seeing as people stopped coming into the wine house long ago, and most everyone that remained had started yawning every few minutes.
Over the course of the party, at least four individuals needed assistance back to wherever they slept; one of them had even been a dragon. Enough wine and spirits had been drunk to severely deplete Master Vintner's storerooms, Ban settled the bill with enough gold marks to make a Nadian blush, and Jin could only assume that the parlor floor would need a new layer of varnish after all the dancing.
Jin sat in the nearly empty parlor, watching Saveen tipsily dance a slow waltz with Deebee. No one was forthcoming about when or under what circumstances a dragonet got her hands on a glass of Hondoan whisky, and Moon wasn't in a state to help her. Ban had already slung his wife over a shoulder to ride back to their estate on Kimpo.
"Weird, how they're dancing when there isn't any music anymore," Enfri said. She leaned against Jin, holding tight to her arm as if worried she'd vanish if she let go.
Jin glanced towards the bar where the orcish bard nursed a small glass of wine and wrapping her blistered fingertips with bandages. Bleary-eyed, the orc stood, offered Jin and Enfri a graceful curtsy, then withdrew.
"She was phenomenal," Enfri said once the bard left. "I've never heard playing like that."
"Quite skilled," Jin agreed. "I saw you pay her your compliments earlier."
"Winds, I did. It was a surprise."
"How so?"
"She has a Gaulatian accent. Thicker than Reyn's, even. Not a hint of the fey dialect I'm used to."
Jin made a thoughtful sound.
"Third-generation, she called herself. Her grandparents and other orcs left their clan and assimilated into mortal society. I didn't even know that happened."
"It is not unheard of," Jin said. "There is a sizable community of ogres and other fey in the Spired City. Drok Moran has many goblins. Melcia, also, has a large population of seely fey."
Enfri nodded. "Just goes to remind me once again how big and diverse the world is. I'd wager there's more kinds of people living and carrying on just under our noses than I'll ever be able to learn everything about."
Jin regarded her with an appraising eye. "Yet, you still try."
"Well, of course," Enfri blurted. "Who knows what I could learn from them?"
Jin caught sight of another straggler making her way through the parlor. "Some things of some people, I fear, are best left unlearned." She rose to stand, though she was reluctant to pull away from Enfri. "Sister, are you feeling well?"
"Blerg," Maya moaned. "Aren't hangovers supposed to wait until the morning?"
"It nearly is morning. Do you not have a dragon to help with that?"
"With the drunk, not the comeuppance. I could take healing, but I won't give her the satisfaction."
Jin looked around. "Where is Zanda?"
Maya came up to them and rolled her shoulders. "Carting Vayless and Ceruna back to the palace. They should've known better than to try matching wineglasses with Altieri."
By the look of her, Maya should've followed her own advice.
"If you'd like," Enfri offered timidly, "I know the best remedy for a sore head."
It looked like Maya nearly gave an automatic refusal. Something stopped her. "Yes, that's kind of you. My thanks... Enfri."
Enfri smiled, and Maya averted her eyes while blushing.
Jin watched the exchange through suspicious eyes. Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?
Ethersight revealed a lack of shifter activity and the presence of Maya's enormous ether stores, so it was definitely her. She was just... more grown... than the Maya who Jin grew up with. Jin could only be grateful, conclude that something had been a good influence on her, and leave it at that.
Jin sighed heavily. "I suppose I should be pleased you haven't been coaxed to stay the night at the Nolaas estate."
"Sod off, twerp. It was one dance."
Enfri kept herself from laughing with admirable restraint. "In any case, I think you're safe from Starra for a little while. Lord Seifer escorted her home after summoning a carriage for Pacifica and Reyn.
Jin thought Starra must've been disappointed not to end the night in someone else's bed, but even vivacious vampires couldn't conquer while their father was watching. "It would be best if we follow suit, my heart. Have you an escort back to the palace?"
Enfri looked up at her, seeming confused. "Well, yes. I have Deebee, and the Guardian's been haunting the area since I got here."
"Where's the other one?" Maya interjected. "The handsome Protectorite with the funny beard." She mimed tugging at a goatee for emphasis.
"You mean Narhta?"
"Inaz," Jin corrected. "In his homeland, family name is first, given name is second."
"Oh, I know," Enfri assured her. "I'm just keeping the arrangement formal. I had Ban send him off when it looked like this would last. He has a paramour or something, I believe, and I didn't want to make unreasonable demands."
Jin's brow knit together, but she didn't comment. It was odd, for Enfri especially, not to learn more of someone who was to work close to her. Jin couldn't imagine why Enfri would be keeping Inaz at arm's length, as she seemed to be doing.
Enfri, however, had other things on her mind. "But, Jin, you ask that like you're not my escort home."
"Right," Maya said suspiciously. "Spill it, twerp. Where you planning on bedding down tonight?"
Enfri turned her face away. "I was going to put it more delicately," she mumbled under her breath.
Jin knew she was showing a harried look on her face. The truth was, that was a question that had been screaming in her head from the moment Enfri took her hand and hadn't let go. She still hadn't come up with an answer she felt good about.
Eager as Enfri seemed to welcome Jin into her home, it felt wrong. It felt too soon. Jin didn't believe she was ready to take that next step yet.
When an answer didn't come right away, Enfri chewed the inside of her cheek. "If you'd like, there are guest suites ready for your father's delegation. You could take one of them."
Even that felt too much. Jin tried to force words out of her mouth, but she didn't have any ready to emerge. Winds, she could not think.
"Rise."
Jin put a hand to her brow. She felt dizzy. For a moment, she felt as if she were standing in the center of a mist-shrouded forest. There was something more. Something else and far, far worse.
It was behind her.
She took in a sharp breath, and the feeling faded. It left something in its place. Like hunger but worse. Stronger. A need. Jin's hands shook, even as Enfri held tightly to them.
"Jin?" Enfri asked. It hurt that she sounded frightened. "My light? Are you..."
"I cannot, my heart," Jin said. She turned to face Enfri directly. Through force of will, she forced her hands to remain steady, and Jin smiled. "As I said, I have something yet to do, and I would like to see it done. After, I would love to see more of your palace."
Enfri blinked, taken by momentary surprise at Jin's change in manner. Maya narrowed her eyes.
"You're leaving?" Enfri asked. "Already? You just got here."
"I know," Jin said regretfully, "but I must return to the Gladiator. I already owe him a large apology for making him wait as long as I have."
"I see," Enfri mumbled, disappointed and dejected.
It broke Jin's heart to see Enfri saddened by her actions again. She took Enfri's hands and held them up between them. "I will not be gone long."
"What?" Maya asked with a sourly judgmental tone. "You mean you're leaving right away? Tonight?"
"If you are worried for your gown, I plan on changing first."
"That rag? Keep it for kindling. I don't care. I'm more worried you'll put up wards as soon as you're out of my sight."
Jin took a calming breath before responding. "I give you both my word, I will return."
"Coming from you?" Maya asked with a sneer.
Jin frowned but didn't think she had any right to protest.
"Coming from you," Maya repeated, "I've no reason to doubt it." She pointed at Jin. "Don't be long. If I think you've skipped out on us, I'm coming after you."
Jin took it as a sincere threat and one she'd be wise not to ignore.
Krayson appeared out of a hallway, making a beeline for Saveen. As soon as she saw him coming, the Bastion laughed and spoke at a slightly louder volume than necessary. "Flames, master. Was that your fifth trip?"
The response was both curt and inaudible. Whatever it'd been left Saveen giggling like a maniac.
Once she could leave Saveen to one of her caretakers, Deebee excused herself from the dance floor. She came to Enfri's side, but her eyes were for Jin alone.
"Now that the little one has been seen to, I overheard you're leaving us already, Jin?"
Jin lowered her eyes. "Yes, Deebee. I'm sorry."
"No, it's quite alright. I'll admit I'm disappointed I couldn't beat these scoundrels to claiming what little time you had to give, but I trust there'll soon be more of you to go around."
"I hope so," Jin said quietly. She couldn't look at Deebee. It was almost like she felt more anxious facing her than when facing Enfri.
I confirmed every suspicion she ever held of me, Jin thought, but even as she thought it, she knew it wasn't the full reason. Those suspicions were left in the past a long time ago, and something else took their place. Deebee had grown expectations. I disappointed her, Jin thought miserably.
Deebee came a little closer, exhaling softly through her nose. "You mortal girls," she sighed. "You certainly all go at your own pace, and it's a breakneck pace by my standards. If I may, might I suggest you give slowing things down a whirl? Otherwise, an old crone like me won't be able to keep up with you."
Jin looked up with a dubious expression. "Crone, indeed. You remain as youthful as always, and I will not hear a word against it."
Deebee smiled, and it was a wicked sort. "I will be claiming some of your time. Also, be mindful of sendings. If the eggs start to crack while you're away, you'll hear about it, and I expect a prompt return whatever the circumstances. I want the hatchlings to meet all their family. That's important for dragons, I'll have you know."
There was something in Jin's eyes. She could barely see out of them at the moment. "Yes," she managed to say. "Of course."
Deebee smiled more fondly before looking to Maya. "Your Highness. Might I offer my services in returning you to the palace?"
Maya nodded her assent. "Yes. Thank you, Lady Storyteller. Enfri promised a kind of tea."
"Oh, I never said it was a tea," Enfri said in all seriousness.
Maya stepped back, on her guard.
"Bacon," Enfri said. "On toast, with a runny egg and lots of butter. It's the salt, lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. Nothing better for a hangover, but I can make some tea as well."
Maya stared at her as if in a trance. "That sounds amazing. I want it."
Enfri faced Jin and took her hands. "I wish you would reconsider." She sniffled. "But, I understand. You won't be long?"
Jin nodded. "I wish to return before my father arrives."
"That's in three days," Maya said. "Think you can go however many leagues to Marwin and back here in that time?"
Jin considered it. "I will find a way. I must."
"It'll be a hectic time," Enfri said, "but even so, could we find a few moments for just us? There's so much more to say."
Jin gave her hands a squeeze. "Yes, my heart. Until next time."
Enfri bit her lip to stop herself from sobbing. "Until next time, my light."
Reluctant, Jin gave Enfri over to Maya. The two linked arms to leave the wine house, Deebee striding gracefully on the empress' other side.
That left Jin alone in the parlor. The gaslights had gone out sometime during the last conversation, but it'd gone unnoticed as the first rays of dawn came in through the windows. Jin looked out into the new day with dissatisfaction. Drinking and dancing through the night... If Mother caught wind of this, she'd give both her daughters the tongue-lashing of the century.
Making her way outside, Jin was confronted by an unusual pair in the darkened entry hall, both short of stature. It seemed she'd forgotten about the last two partygoers, ones that seemed to have business with her.
"Brother Joshuan," Jin said in greeting.
"Your Highness," Krayson replied.
"Hello," Saveen said brightly. She then hiccuped and tittered gleefully to herself over it.
Jin gave the tipsy dragonet a blank look before returning her attention to Krayson. "I trust you've been well."
Krayson nodded. "Yes, Highness. Thank you." He took in a breath. "I meant to speak with you earlier. I apologize for keeping you."
As Jin recalled, there'd been several instances throughout the evening when it looked like Krayson was making his way towards her. Each time, he seemed to suddenly get red in the face before retreating back to the hallway outside the parlor. "I believe I noticed. You seemed to be in some manner of distress. Is something wrong?"
Krayson's face reddened once again. "Aftereffects of a spell. The cost may have been unequal to the benefit."
Jin raised an eyebrow but was willing to let the matter go unexplored.
Addressing Saveen, Krayson pointed her towards the exit. "Would you wait for me? I would like to speak to Her Highness in private."
Saveen pursed her lips and gave him a veiled look. "Alright, but don't be too long."
"I won't. This should only be a few moments."
Jin watched Saveen leave before holding Krayson in her gaze. "May I ask what this is about?"
"We're not close, Highness," Krayson said, putting it bluntly.
"I suppose not, though I would like to believe us to be cordial."
"As would I." Krayson hadn't looked her in the eye since Saveen left, and he had something of a furtive manner about him. "It is understandable, all considered."
Jin had a notion of what he was driving towards. "Brother Joshuan, if this is about any resentment I may harbor towards you, it is not an issue for me."
"The issue of my house, you mean," Krayson said. "I bear the name and lineage of House Krayson, the traitors complicit in your brother's murder."
Jin took a measured breath. "As you say."
"If I may ask, Highness, why?"
She frowned.
"Why is it not an issue?"
Jin tilted her chin. "Because you have divested yourself of your family's legacy. Nonetheless, you acknowledge the wrongs done to mine. I find that admirable, and I am not so foolish as to lay blame where it is not warranted."
He met her gaze. "And Lord Darian?"
Was that what this was about? Jin narrowed her eyes. "Darian has not divested himself, and he makes no apologies with either his words or his actions."
Krayson looked away again. "I understand, and I can't disagree with your assessment."
"You are not fond him either?"
"I haven't had sufficient contact to form an opinion, but a number I trust are not fond of him, either. I find that to be enough."
Jin regarded him with curiosity. If that had been everything Krayson wanted to talk about, she was mystified as to why he'd gone to such lengths to ask. It seemed inconsequential to her. "If there is nothing further..." she started to say.
"There is," Krayson stated. He looked at her direct again. "By your measure, should I not harbor resentment towards you?"
Jin blinked. The question took her off-guard.
"For my grandparents," Krayson said. "My aunts and uncles, my cousins, the many Kraysons executed by royal assassins for crimes committed by a few. Should I not resent what happened to them?"
Jin opened her mouth, but she didn't have an answer. Rather, she saw now that by what she said just a moment before, Krayson had every right to hate her. That is, if she still thought of herself as a part of House Algara.
Do I? she asked herself. She found her answer within a heartbeat of asking it. I do.
"I am a royal assassin in the service of King Cathis. I have never made apologies for the end of your house, by my words or my actions. To be completely forthright, I do not intend to. Yes, Krayson. You are justified in resenting me."
"And if I don't?" he asked immediately. His manner had been growing more fervent as they spoke on this subject, but Jin didn't think he was getting upset. No, it was more like he was grappling with confusion. "How am I supposed to feel?" he asked. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. It was my hope you could tell me, as you're one of few I know with similar experience."
Oh...
Jin took two steps to close the distance between them. She reached out and placed her hand on the crown of his head. He was short enough that it was easy to do. Krayson hunched his shoulders a little and looked up at her wrist, seemingly at a loss for how to respond.
"If it is not something you feel, then I must thank you. I do not deserve the forgiveness you've given me without realizing, but I will gratefully accept if you allow it. I will acknowledge that absolution was given rather than being assumed."
His eyes flickered between Jin's face and her hand, both confused and a little peeved by getting patted on the head like he was a young boy. "I can do that, yes."
Jin removed her hand and stepped past him. "Thank you, Krayson. I imagine I will see you again."
He kept himself facing her and called out to her back. "One other thing, Highness. About the Five."
Jin stopped and looked over her shoulder. "The Five? Truthfully, I have never given any of that much consideration."
"I have," he said. "I try to keep this from being widely known, but I am the blessed saint of Kumo, the Great Spider."
Jin frowned. "You claim to speak with the voice of a god?"
"Speak for them, perhaps. They speak to me. I hear them. Kumo says often that you are one of the Five."
Jin felt her shoulders tense. "It has been speculated, but as I said, I give it no consideration."
"It's true," Krayson continued, undeterred. "I saw it with my own eyes in the web of Fate. Her Majesty is the First, the marshal the Second, myself the Third, and Minister Reyn the Fourth. You, Highness, are the Fifth, and the Great Spider told me that means you are the most vital of all of us."
Jin turned to face him. "And what does it mean, being one of the Five? No one who has spoken of this nonsense has been able to give a clear answer as to what it even means."
"I can tell you," Krayson said, "because I've seen what no one else you've spoken to has seen. The Five are the weapons Kumo forged to fight the demons. We bend the web of Fate around us. The threads others make in the web are drawn to us, bend around us. We push Fate towards a future where the old masters are defeated and humanity endures."
Jin kept her face impassive. "I do not need a divine mandate to work towards that end."
"No," Krayson said. "I expect that's how Kumo chose you, because you'd do it anyway."
Jin had long considered herself to be agnostic, so it bothered her that some blustering spirit could be making decisions on her behalf. She preferred to put her faith in people, not cosmic forces with boundary issues.
"What do I get for being... chosen? What cost is there?"
"Nothing and none," Krayson said. "It's not so much that you were chosen and granted power. Kumo saw your thread and said, 'This one could save us'."
He was wrong. I could not save myself. Jin faced forward. "What is it you expect me to do with this information?"
"Ideally, stay with us."
"I do intend to."
Krayson chuckled, drawing Jin's eye back to him.
"Good," he said, a smile of relief on his face. "I can only speak for myself, Highness, but I'm certain the others agree with me. I'm pleased to see you."
Jin looked off to the side and smiled. She bowed her head to Krayson and walked away.
Exiting the wine house, Jin noticed Saveen leaning with her back against the facade. Jin nodded to her. "I fear your master has had a little too much to drink."
"Oh, flames, I know," Saveen sighed. "I checked on him on one of those trips to the privy. The things I heard... He's lucky he didn't shoot his bones out."
Jin tried to keep a straight face. She truly did. Unfortunately, it was difficult to hear something like that and keep on as if it hadn't shook her to the core. "Goodnight, Lady Bastion," Jin said around an amused grin. "Please take care of your Sapphire for me."
Saveen saluted, "Again and forever, Highness."
Jin continued on, angling her path to take her outside of the city. She avoided the streets that were starting to come alive with the new day. It wasn't to avoid accusing eyes, not so much anymore. She just thought she'd be mortified to be seen walking around in the early morning in an evening gown. Ladies had the most ghastly rumors about them spread for far less.
Once she thought she was a fair distance from anyone her spellcraft might disturb, Jin took in a deep breath. Her shaking hands trembled in time with the gnawing need for oren. A few moments longer, and no more. The vials Maya gave her waited within her holding spell. Jin looked up, let the dawn warm her face, and thought of Scorpion.
A crack of thunder signaled her departure from Shan Alee.