Of all the things that Arwin had expected Madiv to do, recognizing Lillia hadn’t even been on the list. The merchant’s words took him by such surprise that he froze in place for a second, fighting to process if he’d heard the man correctly.
“I’m sorry?” Lillia asked, masking her expression far better than Arwin had. “I think you might have the wrong person. I—”
“Lillian Los, Mother of the Night, Razer of Mankind,” Madiv intoned, not rising from his spot on the floor. Fanaticism shimmered in his eyes like dancing torchlight. “Your form is exactly as I remember it when I departed your army years ago. I would recognize you anywhere, my Queen.”
There wasn’t so much as a speck of doubt in his voice.
“You’ll have to forgive me,” Lillia said with a sheepish smile. “This is all makeup and I have no clue what you’re talking about. The designs I’m using were given to me by a passing adventurer that described a scene he saw in a battle. If I resemble anyone you know—”
“Please save your words, my Queen. I served under you for five years.” Madiv rose to his feet, but kept his eyes firmly fixed on the ground before Lillia’s feet. “I would never fail to recognize you. I thought the darkness surrounding this tavern seemed familiar, but your features are burned forever into my mind. I know who you are. When I heard the news of your death, I was devastated. I could not believe you had fallen to a mere human, but I should have known. You faked your death in order to infiltrate them, yes?”
Lillia’s mouth worked as she tried to find an answer. It was abundantly clear that there would be absolutely no changing Madiv’s mind. Even if he had been completely wrong about everything, his confidence was like that of a zealot. When Lillia offered nothing up, Madiv nodded as if she had just confirmed every word he’d said.
“I will not spoil your cover,” Madiv swore, pressing a hand to his chest. “I am aware that you must take great care. We are behind enemy lines. Fear not. The utmost care will be taken to ensure that not a single word ever escapes my mouth of this.”
They stared at each other in silence for a second. Then Lillia let out a deep sigh and massaged the bridge of her nose.
“Why would you make such a scene of it?” Lillia asked. “How can I trust you when you would have just outed me to anyone listening?”
“This is your domain. You would not allow an enemy within it.” Madiv glanced back at Arwin. The merchant couldn’t have looked more dismissive if he’d tried to. “The only one present was your servant.”
“This is a tavern,” Lillia snapped, striding past Arwin. Her mouth curled down in a snarl and she stalked over to Madiv, her tail snaking out from a pant leg and swaying with her hips like a snake waiting to bite. In just an instant, her demeanor had shifted from the innkeeper that Arwin knew to the demon queen he remembered. “Anyone could be here. That is the point of a tavern. What do you think I would have had to do if the wrong person had overheard that? I would have had to flee. You would have ruined everything.”
“But—”
Lillia didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence. “And, to prove my point, the man behind you is not my servant.”
Madiv’s eyes went wide and he spun back toward Arwin. His hands flexed and he lowered his stance. “Then I will—”
“You will do nothing,” Lillia snapped. “Because that is neither my servant nor is it an enemy. That is my consort.”
It was Arwin’s turn for his eyes to go wide. He had nothing against with revealing their relationship, but he definitely hadn’t planned for it to come out to a former member of Lillia’s army. Consort was also a considerably farther stage what he was under the impression they were at, but now didn’t seem like a good time to point that out. The only saving grace that kept his shift in posture from being notice was that Madiv was even more shocked than he was.
“I don’t understand. That is a human,” Madiv stammered. He looked at Lillia, then back to Arwin’s armored form. “Is this a test?”
“You came to me. Why would I waste time with something as worthless as that?” Lillia sauntered up to Arwin and stood beside him. She crossed her arms and stared down the bridge of her nose at the merchant. “I owe you no answers.”
“I — yes. Of course. It is part of your plan,” Madiv said, his pupils coming back into focus. He shook his head and lowered himself into a bow. “Forgive me, my Queen. I was so taken with shock that I found myself rendered thoughtless. My questions were presumptuous.”
“They were,” Lillia agreed. Now that she was right beside Arwin, he could feel the stress radiating off her posture. He put a hand on her shoulder and she went still before relaxing slightly. Her tail brushed against the back of his leg. “Enough of this, Madiv. My plans are my own, but it seems that you did not intentionally seek me out. For that reason alone, I will not kill you.”
“You show me great grace. I will not forget it,” Madiv said. Fanaticism flared in his eyes. “But please allow me to aid you. I am yours to order, no matter the task. My life has been emptied ever since I was removed from your army. I shattered my class and worked tirelessly to acquire a new one, purely just to survive in this vile society. My life is without purpose.”
“You shattered your class?” Lillia asked in shock despite herself. “Why would you do such a thing?”
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“It may have not been entirely consensual,” Madiv admitted. “I was forced to do it when I was banished from our cities for a false crime.”
“What crime?” Lilia’s lips thinned.
“Merely refusing to follow orders of a petty officer. They made a foolish call that would have ended with my battalion being destroyed. I pointed it out, saving our lives, but I was still removed once we returned to camp,” Madiv spat. His hands tightened at his sides in anger before relaxing as a smile passed over his features. “But it was the will of the gods. Now I have run into you once more.”
Madiv is off his rocker. This level of fanaticism is not healthy. How the hell are we supposed to get rid of him? Maybe Lillia can tell him to go screw off and that it’s his sacred mission not to ever speak to her again.
But if she does that, I just know he’s going to show up and stare at us from a distance. That’ll really end up screwing us over. We can’t have a liability like that strolling around unchecked.
Do we kill him?
That was a dark thought, but Arwin’s failures still rung true in his mind. He wasn’t strong enough for mercy. Not yet. Threats had to be dealt with one way or another, and nobody’s lives were more important than the ones he cared about.
If I can’t save everyone, then I’ll just save the important ones.
He flexed his hands. Arwin could almost feel Verdant Blaze’s weight in his palms. The weapon was always hungry for blood. If he moved fast enough—
“If you want to help my mission, then do as you were told,” Lillia said. “You are a merchant now, are you not?”
“Yes, my Queen. Whatever you desire, I will bring at no cost. Simply ask and it will be so.” A delighted smile crossed Madiv’s face as he realized that she wasn’t about to send him away.
“We will pay,” Lillia said flatly. “Because it will be suspicious if we do not. The last thing I want right now is attention, Madiv. Do you know what this tavern is?”
“It is your domain, my Queen.”
“And it is also meant to be a fake monster restaurant. It is the perfect disguise. The last thing I need is you ruining that by bringing a watchful gaze down onto us.”
“You will be charged, then. Tell me how I may serve,” Madiv begged.
Lillia put her hand on Arwin’s shoulder. “I need ingredients to cook with, but those are not the reason you were originally called here. You came to deliver supplies to Ifrit. If you want to aid me, then you will help my consort.”
Madiv’s smile fell away. He adjusted his clothes and matched Arwin’s stance. The disapproval rolled off him with such intensity that Arwin could practically taste it. “If the Queen wills it, then I will serve.”
“And stop calling me that,” Lillia added. “My name is Lillia now. I am not advertising my true form.”
“I would sooner rip my own tongue out than profane your name with my vile lips,” Madiv proclaimed. “It is not my place to refer to you as anything less than your proper names. Removing so much as a syllable would be an affront to your power.”
“Lillia is quite literally ordering you to do it,” Arwin pointed out, making sure to put extra stress on her name. “Do you care so little for her desires that you would refuse a direct command?”
Madiv’s eyes narrowed and he set his jaw. “I will avoid speaking her name directly. It is more appropriate and will still suit her request. Lessers must show the Queen respect, no matter their position.”
There was a clear implication that Arwin was among those lesser. He was struck with the very strong temptation to ruffle Lillia’s hair just to see how Madiv would respond, but he stopped himself. He wasn’t going to get anything out of antagonizing the high-strung… man? Monster? If he’d served in Lillia’s army, he probably wasn’t human.
“We are equals,” Lillia said before Arwin could speak. “Ifrit’s position is no lower than mine.”
Madiv didn’t look convinced. He simply inclined his head. “Your words are law. What would you have me do?”
“The same as I already asked you to.” Lillia shrugged, then nodded to Arwin. “You came here to help us secure a flow of materials for his forge. Can you do it?”
“I will rip the metal straight from the armor of our enemies if that is what it will take.”
“How about just sourcing it normally?” Arwin asked.
Madiv pursed his lips. “Yes. I can do that. I do not have any contacts that work in the field, but I can find them. It can occasionally be rather troublesome. Humans are befuddling. Their ways do not make sense to me and far too many of them are impossible to work with. But, if it is Her wish, then I will find a way to accomplish it.”
“It is, so long as you accomplish it legally. That’s the only way you’ll advance your class anyway,” Lillia said. “You are a merchant, are you not?”
“I am.” A flicker of displeasure passed over Madiv’s face. “And I have not enjoyed it. Humans are insufferable. Even when I bring them the goods they request, they flee. I have had to chase down more customers than enemies.”
You could start by not showing up with blood splattered across your shirt.
“Perhaps you are doing something wrong,” Lillia said. “I want you to walk out of this building and close the door behind you.”
Madiv blinked. “But—”
“Then knock on the door and pretend as if I am not here,” Lillia continued. “And pretend that Ifrit is a random customer. Show us exactly how you normally deal with humans.”
Understanding flashed in Madiv’s eyes and he inclined his head. “You will share your deep understanding of humans with me? I am honored. Allow me to do as you ask.”
He rose to his feet and swept out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as he was gone, Lillia leaned up and gave Arwin and tapped his helmet with a finger. “Get rid of this for a moment.”
Arwin banished it, confusion furrowing his brow. It was replaced with pleasant surprise as Lillia gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Okay. You can put the helmet back on,” Lillia said with a smug grin. “I just wanted to do that. He was pissing me off.”
“You know what? I like him a bit more now,” Arwin said, hiding a laugh as he resummoned his helm. “What kind of monster is he, by the way?”
“I don’t actually know. I don’t remember him from the army. There were so many people in it… but I can’t believe he recognized me. I wasn’t expecting anybody that was part of the monster horde to be here.” Lillia said, giving her hair a small tug of distress. They both turned back toward the door as a solemn knock rang out from it and Lillia let out a huff. “I suppose we’ll know more about him soon enough. This might actually be useful for us. As strange as he is, we did need a merchant.”
“So we did,” Arwin agreed as he headed over to the door and paused with his hand on the handle. “But we need one that’s actually competent. I suppose we’ll have to find out just how a monster of unknown variety does a sales pitch.”