Esme

Rose was taking too long, and it was making me nervous. I was keeping myself busy by pacing outside of the mine while I waited for her to return with Lilith. She had made me wait outside because she didn’t trust me to be in the room if it came to an actual fight. Which, as much as I hated to admit it, was entirely fair.

I was weak. Extremely weak, when compared to how I had been before I died. Even with the connection my father set up for me back on the mortal plane, it would be months before I was back at that level again. It was frustrating, but far from the only thing gnawing at me.

My mind kept going back to the expression on Thea’s face when she told me to leave. She had been so viscerally angry, but it was more than that. Hells, if it were just anger then it wouldn’t have bothered me nearly as much. She would’ve yelled a lot, maybe threatened Rose. Hells, she may have even attacked one of us. But then she would’ve settled down and everything would have been fine.

But Thea’s expression wasn’t just anger. It was worry, and it was hurt, and it was betrayal, and it was… loss. We had taken in Thea nearly four centuries ago and gave her a home after she lost literally everything. We gave her a job she enjoyed and could find meaning in. Along with an actual family, where she wasn’t a burden and actually felt accepted for once. She had told me countless times how much it all meant to her, and she had been so damn excited to bring Bryce into it all.

Then for Rose to just attack her out of nowhere. I mean, I understood why she did it, at least mostly. And it technically wasn’t even an attack. But this was exactly the sort of situation where technicalities mattered the least. The only thing that mattered was how Thea felt about it, and that had been plainly written on her face when she told me to leave. She had taken somebody that she cares about into her home, and that home betrayed her trust.

Thea already knew what it felt like to lose a home, and that look on her face told me she was preparing herself to lose another. I wanted to scream. Hells, what I wanted to do was march into that mine and tell Rose off until she got it through that thick wooden skull of hers exactly what she did to that poor girl.

And as I turned to do just that, I was met with the last thing I ever wanted to see as Raith limped out of the mine alone. A million different things raced through my mind as the severe, dark-haired woman furrowed her brows and made her way towards me.

“You,” she demanded as she stopped a few meters away. “You’re not one of mine. Who are you?”

She didn’t recognize me, which honestly hurt a lot more than I had expected. I had been there when Raith was born. I helped raise her, and I cried when she chose this life over her son. My first instinct was to admonish her, the same way I had admonished Wrynn when he didn’t recognize me, but Raith and I didn’t have that sort of relationship. At least, not anymore.

“Raith, what have you done?” I asked, and saw the flash of recognition in her eyes.

“Esme? I thought you were dead, what are you…” The recognition faded to resignation as Raith appeared to deflate. “Of course, Lilith wouldn’t actually come alone, and I suppose you’re here to finish the job.”

“Answer the question,” I demanded.

“What did I do?” She scoffed. “I didn’t do anything. The moment I started to use Lilith’s true name, she punctured both of her eardrums with her damn daggers. The bitch didn’t even hesitate before just casually strolling out of a perfect binding circle. I barely made it out alive while she was busy murdering all of my people.”

If Lilith was able to just walk out of the binding circle, then it definitely wasn’t perfect. Which isn’t to say that a perfectly made binding circle would actually have held her for any real length of time, but it likely would’ve at least helped Raith’s gang escape.

As far as Lilith deafening herself with her daggers, that sounded about right. Even non-mortals didn’t live as long as she has without knowing how to compensate for your own weaknesses, and mutilating herself to do that was on brand for her. She would need to find somebody to heal her eventually, but she had Rose for that, and it wasn’t like she really needed to hear in order to fight.

“Lilith isn’t going to let you live now that you know her name,” I pointed out.

“You think I don’t know that?” She spat back. “I knew that this was over the moment she stepped outside that circle, and now you’re here to finish the job. How appropriate.”

I flinched at that and took a step back. There was no world in which I wanted to kill Raith. Hells, I wasn’t the only one. Lilith had been uncharacteristically patient with her from the start. She had grown up in our household, and no matter what she did, that wouldn’t change.

“I’m not going to kill you,” I sighed, as I saw movement in the cave behind her. “I honestly don’t even think I could if I tried right now.”

“So you’re letting me go?” She raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t make any move to escape.

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“I can’t do that either.” I shook my head. “You know Lilith’s true name, which means we can’t let you go, but there’s more at play here than we know, and it’s definitely worth it to keep you alive until we get answers.” My words were directed at Raith, but I was staring at Rose behind her as I spoke.

“And how do you suppose we do that without endangering Lilith? Or the rest of us, for that matter?” The dryad asked, causing the woman between us to spin around in surprise.

“We could bind and gag her, then interrogate her back at the manor,” I suggested. “After that though… Well, there’s Bryce.” I was reluctant to suggest the elf for a myriad of reasons.

I wasn’t even sure she’d be able to do anything, but she was surprisingly knowledgeable. It was possible that she might have some sort of spell or an idea that could help us. But that was assuming she was even willing to help after the stunt Rose pulled.

Even if she was willing, then there was still the matter of Thea. There were equal odds on whether or not she would even be there when we got back. If she was still at the house, then there was a good chance she’d storm off the second the wards were dropped and refuse to talk to us for the next dozen or so centuries.

And if Thea wasn’t talking to us, then I doubted Bryce would give us a second thought.

“Bryce? Thea’s new girlfriend?” Rose asked. “She seemed powerful, but we aren’t exactly lacking for power, and I wouldn’t call her bright. At least, not from what I’ve seen of her.”

“She’s an arcane caster, and apparently, she’s pretty damn good at it,” I explained. “What she lacks in common sense, she seems to make up for in study.”

“Are you sure?” Rose looked skeptical. “Thea likes to talk up all of her romantic partners. You do remember what she used to say about Pip, right?”

“This is different,” I said optimistically. “I’ve seen a decent variety of what Bryce can do firsthand, and don’t forget, she was right about Raith’s plan.” We both froze at that, realizing the implication.

“We need to get back to the manor,” Rose reached an arm out towards Raith and roots enveloped the woman before she could so much as curse. “Keep an eye on her, and I’ll go get Lilith. She’s still searching deeper inside the mine.”

“Wait, what am I supposed to do if…” I trailed off as the dryad sprinted back into the mine. I looked down at Raith, who was covered up to just below her nose in roots and vines, leaving just enough free for her to glare at me.

“I know, but what else could I have done?” The entangled woman couldn’t respond to me, but that was fine. I probably wouldn’t have liked what she had to say, anyway.

Just standing around waiting for Rose to return felt awkward. So, I sat on the ground near Raith and figured I might as well make one last attempt at reaching her.

“Wrynn really does miss you,” I said while staring into the cave entrance. “He doesn’t even know you, not really, and he pretends like he doesn’t care. But he’s hurt that you’d choose this over him.”

I let the silence hang in the air while I thought about what to say next, but I couldn’t think of anything particularly wise or philosophical. Eventually, I gave up on trying to appeal to her emotions and decided to try her sense of survival.

“Everything you’ve built here is gone, and by all rights you should be dead by morning. There’s a very slim chance that I can convince the others to try to save your life. But there’s no way I’ll be able to do that unless you cooperate. So please, for my sake, or for Wrynn’s sake, or for your own gods damned sake, help me out here.” I finally looked Raith in the eyes again and saw that she was crying. Not breaking down or bawling or anything, but tears were slowly falling to the ground and I could finally see a hint of regret in her eyes.

“Esme, you’re looking well,” Lilith called from the mine. “Especially for somebody who supposedly died months ago.”

I nodded at Raith before standing to address Lilith. “For what it’s worth, I did die. Hopefully, that didn’t cause you too much inconvenience.”

“Inconvenience?” She raised an eyebrow. “No inconvenience. Just some worry when you didn’t return, then a lot of worry when your father showed up at my doorstep asking for you. Followed by a mild heart attack when Kai appeared in my bedroom.”

“I can’t apologize enough for that last one.” I frowned. “Although, I suspect it’ll be some time before I’m able to properly make amends.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe.” Lilith placed a hand on my shoulder before turning to Raith with a heavy sigh. “As for you, I’ve killed your entire gang, except for four people. I’m going to have Rose unbind your mouth, but if you say anything that isn’t related to their location, then I’ll kill you without a second thought. Do you understand?”

Raith nodded, or at least it seemed like a nod, but she was bound so tight that it was difficult to tell. Lilith must’ve interpreted it the same way, because she gestured at Rose and the roots unfurled from Raith’s mouth.

“I sent them to hide inside the walls of your compound,” she explained. “They were to remain there until the wards were raised, subdue Rose, and then escape with the girl you imprisoned.”

“What do you mean, imprisoned?” Lilith asked. “I haven’t imprisoned anybody.”

“I don’t know the specifics,” Raith admitted. “The deal I made was to rescue the girl you keep in your room, and in exchange, I was told your true name. At first, I was skeptical, but they knew things that were impossible to know and they guaranteed the plan would work.”

“Who did you make the deal with?” Rose asked. “And where were you supposed to take this supposed prisoner?”

Raith paused for a moment before hesitantly answering. “I never met the person directly, and we didn’t have a drop-off point.”

“Because you were never supposed to succeed.” Lilith shook her head, and Rose caused the roots to wrap around Raith’s mouth again. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that you were fooled, and I’m sorry it cost you everything. Most importantly, I’m sorry your choices cost Wrynn his mother.”

“Wait!” I stepped in front of Raith before she could be executed. “Please, we can fix this without killing her.”

“What are you proposing?” Lilith asked.

“Keep her bound and take her back with us. So long as she can’t speak, her knowing your name isn’t an issue,” I argued. “Give me time to come up with a permanent solution. If I can’t find anything, then I’ll kill her myself, and if something happens while I’m looking for a solution, then I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Are you certain, Esme?” Lilith gave me a concerned look. “You’d be taking more than just her life into your hands. More than my own, even.”

I looked to Raith and saw the desperate fear in her eyes, before firming my resolve and nodding to Lilith. “I’m certain.”