Kai wasn't frustrated by a single day of celebration, especially because he knew that none of the others would regenerate as fast as he did. Nirka was still recovering from her qi burn and a stomach wound that got infected, but when he checked on her the local healers were taking good care of her. After the feast that night, most got back to work, rebuilding defenses and reorganizing the city.

When the celebrations resumed, however, they began to grate on Kai. This was the first act of a revolution, not the final victory. Admittedly, there was something alluring about getting cheers when he went anywhere, but it got old. He tried to tell himself that many of these people were experiencing real freedom for the first time and they deserved to enjoy it.

Aside from some trouble and sabotage, merging with the city workers hadn't been a problem. The majority of the anger from the mines and pits seemed focused on those at the very top. He didn't know if that would continue in a different city, but he'd have to hope so, because they couldn't afford to fight the entire rest of the Krysali population.

He'd taken and secured one of the empty estates - not one of the palaces at the top of the city, since he didn't want to set up himself as the new ruler, but it was still comfortable. When he went back after another day, he found Zae Zin Nim packing the diamond star.

"I do not appreciate this atmosphere," she told him flatly. "I'm going to help some of the others restore the local crystal mine. At least you can cultivate in peace there. Come by to provide acid later so they can resume refining crystals."

"Do you think we should be worried about the army?" Kai asked. "We don't know how quickly the merchants will decide when to retaliate."

"Most of them are fine." Zae Zin Nim stopped packing to turn and look to him. "You instilled a sense of training in the workers, but they can't train all the time. Remember that they don't have your stamina."

"I guess that's true. Maybe I'm pushing too hard."

"I didn't say that. As I said, I do not appreciate this and I am leaving."

Not having her around would be a disappointment, but Kai wasn't going to argue with her. Unlike Omilaena, who was basking in the adulation, Zae Zin Nim clearly hated it. Everyone had seen her flying over the battle, so she received an enormous amount of attention from interested parties. Many of them, upon seeing the severity of her scars, had become uncomfortable. That was more than just an ego hit, he thought it really hurt her.

If she'd been a Goralian woman, he thought he could have encouraged her. But Zae Zin Nim kept her feelings held close and hated being condescended to. Maybe the best he could do was respect her distance and let her go cultivate in the mines.

Kai worked out his own frustrations in training, then that evening he headed out into the city. He broke up one fight, mostly just by arriving, and checked in on their defenses. There was a merchant strung up against the wall, exposed to the sun, and Kai had him taken down and secured in prison. He'd already seen enough mob justice - they had to prove they were building a new Krysal. Maybe they got it, maybe they didn't, but the workers responsible listened to him.

As the sun set, he headed back before he could get pulled into any celebrations. On his way, he ran across Maggle slouching down the street, with his arms around a woman on each side. One dressed like a local and one had crystal mine scars.

"Really?" Kai asked.

"Hey, like they say, when in Slaerta, do what the Slaertans do!" Maggle nuzzled into the left woman's neck and she giggled.

"Do they say that?"

"No, but they should." Maggle straightened up and grinned at him. "And look, I'm bringing the different classes of worker together! I'm basically a diplomat. We've got to ensure good cooperation between all sides, you know? Close, close collaboration."

"If you insist." Kai tried to laugh it off, but Maggle turned after him.

"You need to get laid again and loosen up. You're Kai motherfucking Clanless, you'd have plenty of volunteers. We all only have so much time... might as well enjoy it."

As he continued back, reaching the guard house, Kai was surprised to see Cragrila in one of the alcoves, kissing a man. She said something to him, too low to hear, and then slipped away to talk to Kai.

"You don't have to join in the celebration," she said, "but don't go around glowering at everyone."

"Am I? Sorry." Kai rubbed his eyes and tried to ease off. "I'm just thinking about what's going to happen next."

"Everyone else is doing the same thing, or they're trying desperately not to think about it." Cragrila put a hand on his shoulder - not inviting, a gesture between warriors. "Many of these people saw their friends die. They're starting to believe they might win their freedom, but they know that many of them will give their lives in the process. They're taking what joy they can from life."

"Maybe you're right."

"No one can mount an attack on us this quickly, but when they come, you'll want morale to be high. A little more training might make a difference for someone like you, and you'll see me in the training yard tomorrow, but doing nothing except work will make you brittle."

"Fine, fine." Kai accepted that everyone was going to press him on this and moved on.

As he saw Cragrila return to her lover, he didn't begrudge her a little happiness. Maybe he was just frustrated because Nirka was still injured. For now, he'd either just go to sleep or train until he was too tired to do anything else.

When he returned to his room, he was surprised to see Yurwa seated in a chair in a nearby hallway. She smiled shyly when he approached.

"Everything okay, Yurwa? Nothing wrong with Gundle?"

"Nanny Troggup is taking care of him." Yurwa sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I love him more than anything, of course, and I'm proud of him... but sometimes I feel like I'm nothing but his mother."

"You shouldn't." Kai wasn't sure what sort of encouragement he should offer, but he tried to give her an uplifting smile. "Zae Zin Nim is very impressed with your cultivation, and she doesn't impress easily. You just fought a battle to save an entire city, I saw you throwing acid with the best of them."

"Well, thank you." Yurwa's smile was very strange, but she gestured for him to sit.

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Kai chatted with her for a while, since she was a good conversationalist and could take his mind off all the frustrations. He actually managed to relax, right up until the moment her hand touched his wrist, then slid up his forearm.

"Everyone in the city is supposed to be an ally, but I'm still lonely. Kai, will-"

"I can't." He pulled away and was surprised to see her flinch.

"Is it the acid burns after all?" Yurwa curled in on herself, wrapping one hand around the broad scar on her neck as if she could hide it. "You would think it wouldn't matter, since life has been so cruel to all of us. But there are so many women who-"

"That isn't it." Kai was absolutely sure he wasn't an expert on women, but he knew better than to let her continue like that. He gently took her hand and planted a kiss on the scarred back. "Yurwa, you're absolutely beautiful. I'd never turn you down if it was like that. But I'm committed to Nirka."

Her eyes widened and she looked unusually surprised. Hadn't they already covered that issue, or was it some feminine issue he was too dense to understand? In any case, she patted his hand on hers, then pulled back. "You've always been too kind, Kai. I'll see you later."

Kai nodded and stood there like he was a responsible adult with unrivaled willpower, then once she was out of range cursed at himself. Yurwa had changed into a Krysali dress that was much more flattering than the smocks they wore in the acid pits and she had looked amazing. It had taken a supreme act of will to turn her down and he still regretted it, some parts of him more than others.

Fuck it, Nirka had been with the healers a long time, maybe she was restored enough. Better than trying to sleep like this. Kai reversed direction and loped across the city to the medical area.

The crystals had been dimmed for the night and he saw more than a few couples nearby even there. Every time he'd visited, Nirka had been in a room on the second floor. Even if the wound on her stomach hadn't healed, maybe she'd be willing to be more flexible, because he'd been teased too much to keep holding back.

Then he stepped into the room and saw Nirka on top of one of the young healers. Their clothes were still on, but she was kissing him on the bed and there was no question of misunderstanding. He was a thin man with pale hair who Kai remembered working as her primary healer. Anger coursed through Kai so white hot that he almost didn't even feel it until he realized that he'd taken a step forward and started to raise one hand.

"Shit!" The young man saw Kai and immediately tried to scramble away. This was made harder by the fact that Nirka was straddling him, and she pinned him down with one hand.

"Stay." She looked over at Kai and frowned. "Why are you angry? Didn't I tell you we weren't exclusive?"

"I guess you did." Kai stared at them, trying not to let Void Gaze loose. She was right, and that just pissed him off more. All the soft emotions he'd been carrying for so long were turned into kindling for a rage he couldn't even let burn. "If I didn't think about it that way, it's on me."

"Kai, wait." Nirka leapt up and went after him, catching his arm before he could get out the door. "It isn't about choosing him over you, I'd choose you every time. But you're always running off, and I know what you're doing out there. He was kind and-"

"I didn't. Not once."

Nirka stared at him as if she didn't quite believe it, then let go of his arm. "Is this a possessive thing to you, then?"

"It just isn't what I thought it was." Kai rubbed his eyes and turned away as his rage burned down to much more painful embers. "Have fun."

She didn't stop him the second time and he stormed out of the healing center. As furious as he was, he was still hard, like his own body was mocking him. Kai's mind was awash in mixed thoughts, wanting to hate her and feeling like he was wrong for feeling that way. All those were swept aside when Omilaena slipped out of the shadows and wrapped an arm around his neck.

"Want me to poison her?" she asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Omilaena? Are you stalking me?"

"I am," she said shamelessly. "So... poison?"

"No, that wouldn't be right. She said it was like this and I guess I just never imagined she actually would..." Kai shook his head and jabbed Omilaena away with his elbow, since her body against his was not helping with the situation. "Don't poison anyone."

"Suit yourself. So, you wanna fuck?"

"Didn't you say something about a poison vagina?"

"Nonsense, I would never be so vulgar. Don't be disgusting, Kai." Omilaena leaned up to speak softly into his ear. "That offer wasn't a joke. I have needs too, but I'm not letting these people touch me. It doesn't need to be anything more than a little relief."

Her lips against his ear were slightly cool and left a tingling, as if her blue lipstick was a special compound. That unavoidably brought other thoughts to mind, which Kai had to beat back with a mental stick. And then, frustrated as he was, he really considered the offer.

There was no question that in his opinion Omilaena was one of the best-looking women in the entire city, by any standard. But the truth was that he didn't really trust her. To fight at his back in battle, yes, but not in bed. Even if she was sincere, there was a cruel edge to her that made him uncomfortable.

"You really are a soft old romantic, aren't you?" Omilaena must have seen his answer in his eyes, because she unpeeled herself from his side. Her teasing expression was replaced with a matter-of-fact stare. "Well, then you'd better go catch up to Yurwa. She wasn't moving fast, you can get her."

"Are you serious?" Kai glanced back toward the estate, then reconsidered. "She wouldn't... uh, feel like she was a second choice?"

"Kai. Kai, Kai, Kai... the poor woman got someone to take care of her son and come all this way. I promise you that she didn't do that because she wants someone to tell her she's the only girl in the world. She's as horny as you are."

Normally, taking romantic advice from Omilaena seemed like a terrible idea. For this one moment, however, he thought that she was being serious. Maybe she was actually right. If he stayed on his own, the confused emotions would just keep flaring up, so he needed to flood them with something healthier. When he started to move away, Omilaena slapped his ass.

"Alright, go get her!"

He ran back to the estate, trying not to get his hopes up. It seemed like everyone else had gone to bed, alone or all too often with someone else. But he found Yurwa sitting out in one of the courtyards, staring skyward. She gave him a sad smile when she saw him, then her expression shifted when she saw his gaze.

"Earlier I made a mistake. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"I thought she didn't understand the relationship the same way you did." Yurwa stared up at him, still a bit uncertain. "You don't have to, and I don't want to get in the way of-"

"Earlier, when I said you were beautiful, I meant it." Kai reached down and touched the side of her face. She shivered and leaned into his hand. "Do you want me to prove it?"

.

..

.

Deep in the night Kai lay in bed, awake but no longer restless. Yurwa curled up against his side, her affection now unrestrained. He gently rubbed her back and she murmured in her sleep before she nestled her face against his chest.

In the beginning he'd been filled with anger and frustration, but those had quickly been left behind. Yurwa was gentle and, despite her poor constitution, enthusiastic. By the end he felt like all of the negative feelings had drained away.

Had the others been right and he'd just needed to get laid? The celebrations of everyone else no longer seemed so frustrating and he no longer felt so angry at Nirka. Then again, his current mood was probably not the right state to make strategic or relationship decisions either.

He relaxed like that for some time, he had no idea how long... and then he heard a tapping. When he saw Omilaena lean her head in the window, he sat up and very nearly woke Yurwa. Glowering, Kai got out of bed without waking her, wrapped a fallen sheet around his waist, and stormed out to confront Omilaena. She had the window open somehow and stood on the balcony outside, but when he opened his mouth she sealed it with her finger.

"I'm a stalker, not a voyeur. Well, I'd happily be a voyeur, but I was respectful of your sweet lovey dovey nonsense." Omilaena snapped her wrist and revealed a small crystal, densely carved, different from what he'd seen before. "I just got this message crystal from Krainuun. These things are very expensive, so he wouldn't have sent it for no reason."

"How does - no, never mind." Kai pushed aside other concerns to focus on what mattered. He'd be a hypocrite if he couldn't focus on the war now. "It's a message? What does it say?"

"See for yourself." Omilaena slipped a little qi into the crystal and suddenly it seemed to blossom into an image.

When Kai looked down into the crystal, it was like staring into another room. Not like he was peering through a pinhole, but as if the crystal had unfolded in his mind. It was hard to understand, but he pushed that aside because he saw Krainuun on the other side, speaking grimly.

"I wish I could congratulate you on your victory, but there isn't time for that." Krainuun leaned forward, staring directly into the crystal. "The revolution was, shall we say, too successful. War just opened up on three new fronts. We can't afford to spread our armies thin, but if you're willing to take a risk... well, just listen..."