“‘…at last, he had it,’” Lusya read. “‘Lok knew how to conquer Lady Dolor’s icy heart.’”

Ariya groaned as Lusya closed the book with a thump. “A cliffhanger? Can’t we read one more chapter?”

They were nearing the end of the book about the jester. Fortunately, it had more or less returned to normal after the torture scene. It had become perhaps a tad more suggestive, as opposed to the chaste romance from before, but it was nothing that Ariya could not handle. Though Lusya was aware her judgment of that differed from most, she didn’t much care as long as Ariya was fine. And she was pretty sure most would agree. Azure would almost certainly have said something if she did not.

“No,” Lusya said. “You need to sleep.”

“I can’t sleep when I want to know what happens next so bad!”

Lusya blinked. “That is doubtful. You can barely keep your eyes open.”

She did not relish stopping at this point either. While she was confident she could predict the gist of what would follow, leaving a story in such an awkward spot was unpleasant. And there was always a chance it would surprise her again. Preferably in a very different fashion from before.

Ariya’s hands shot to her face and pried open her half-lidded eyes. Any effect that might have had was undermined by the great yawn that followed. She rubbed her eyes, and they remained closed for several seconds when she was done before she forced them open again.

“If you do not go to sleep, we will not read for the next three days,” Lusya said.

Ariya groaned and pounded on the bed with her fists. “That’s not fair!”

“And?”

Ariya glared at Lusya, pouting. Lusya stared back, expressionless. There was a brief silence, save for the incessant drumming of raindrops on the roof.

“Will you pat my head if I lie down?” Ariya said.

“If you promise to make an earnest effort to sleep, then yes,” Lusya replied.

Ariya huffed and threw herself onto her back. Still, pouting, she pulled the covers over herself and closed her eyes. True to her word, Lusya leaned forward and patted the top of her Ariya’s head.

“Good girl.”

Ariya exaggerated her expression for a moment, as if trying to remain angry, before it softened into a smile. Seconds later, her breathing shifted, signaling she had fallen asleep.

“She is a good girl,” Azure said from her seat near the window. “You’re good with her too.”

“I have had practice,” Lusya said.

Azure nodded and glanced out the window at the sheets of rain endlessly pounding against it. With the clouds blocking out any potential source of light, it was pitch black outside. Any visibility was provided more by the lantern burning on the table beside Azure than anything else.

“This is a lot of rain.”

“Indeed,” Lusya replied.

“It came right out of nowhere too.”

Indeed. The sky had been clear minutes before the downpour began. “Weather is strange at times.”

“Hmm. I notice you’re not mad at the weather for delaying us.”

That was not entirely true. She was a bit unhappy about it. No delay was desirable. A sudden downpour forcing them to stop at an inn unplanned was inconvenient. They were lucky they had been passing through town anyway, so they hadn’t gotten too wet. Wearing water-logged clothing was unpleasant, her companions would complain if she tried to rectify that problem, and she was sure neither of them would find it pleasant. Nor would they do anything to solve the problem themselves. Still, that had been late afternoon. They had lost close to half a day of travel. However, there wasn’t much point in getting angry at the weather.

“The weather has no intent,” Lusya said. “Nor did it make any commitments to me.”

Azure chuckled. “Right you are. Did you want to go to sleep? I can head back to my room if you want.”

“I am unsure why you are here to begin with,” Lusya said. She didn’t need Azure in the room for anything, and Azure hadn’t done much other than watch and listen until Ariya had gone to sleep. “But I do not need urgent rest. If you have some business with me, I will allow it.”

Azure smiled. “I just want to talk, Lusya.”

“About what?”

Azure shrugged. “Whatever comes to mind, really.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I see.”

Lusya had expected Azure to initiate a conversation, in that case. Several seconds later, though, she had given no signs of doing so. Lusya blinked. Azure smirked. Lusya cocked her head and blinked twice more. Azure replied with a broad grin. However, as the silence stretched on longer, her smile faded, and she sighed.

“I know you’re not exactly a conversationalist,” she said, yet it seemed she had expected or hoped Lusya would speak first. “Tell you what, why don’t we play a game? We can think about what we want to discuss in the meantime.”

Lusya blinked. “What kind of game?”

“I have some cards in my pack,” Azure said. “I’ll be right back.”

She jogged out the door, only to return a moment later with a deck of cards—presumably from her pack—which she placed on the table. She took one of the two chairs available on either side of the room’s small table, and gestured for Lusya to sit in the other. The deck was a Talsian one, with four suits, common throughout the continent these days.

“Let’s keep things simple, okay?” Azure said. “We’ll stick to an easy game, and no gambling.”

Lusya nodded. “That is fine with me.”

Azure explained the rules of the game they were playing. It was rather straightforward. Each player started with five cards in their hand. They would then demand one card denomination which they already held from another player. The second player would relinquish any matching cards they had. If they had none, however, the first player would instead hand over all of theirs. If any player ran out of cards, they would draw five more. Certain cards had various special abilities, however, which could change the normal rules, such as preventing a player from needing to relinquish their cards, or allowing a player to return a card to the deck instead of handing it over to their opponent.

If a player gathered all four suits of a single denomination, they would set the cards in front of them as a group. Whoever had the most groups at the end of the game won. It was a rather simplistic game, and it was best played with at least four people, but it worked well-enough.

Lusya was already familiar with the game, but she allowed Azure to explain it in detail anyway. She seemed to be enjoying it for some reason, and Lusya did not particularly care to rush into the game itself. That said, Lusya had seldom played the game. Card games had never been a big interest for her, and she wouldn’t have had many opponents if they had been. Even if she had wanted to join a public game at a tavern or the like, it wouldn’t have been this game, as it was typically considered a game for children or beginners.

The game went by fast with just the two of them, and they had finished three times over before long. The score was two to one, favoring Lusya. Azure groaned as she leaned back in her chair after the third game.

“You’re too good at this,” she said. “You were always good at card games.”

“It is mostly luck,” Lusya replied. “This is not a very strategic game.”

Seeing as all players had to be honest about what cards they had and the only real move was guessing what the opponent had, there was not much room for tactics.

“My point stands.”

“I am not sure it does,” Lusya said. “But I do not care enough to argue.”

Azure giggled. “Smart girl. Don’t get into a fight you can’t win.”

Lusya could not contest that. If only because of how self-assured she was, arguing with Azure was rarely a fruitful endeavor. For a few moments, neither of them spoke. It seemed Azure had nothing more to say, but the grin she directed at Lusya suggested she expected Lusya did.

Indeed, Azure was not wrong. Lusya had had time to ponder and become curious over the course of three games. There was one thing in particular that she wanted to know.

“Will you not ask about her?” Lusya asked. She assumed it was obvious who she was talking about.

Azure glanced at Ariya and shook her head. “I trust you, Lusya.”

“You have quite a bit of confidence in someone you have not seen in over a decade.”

Azure hummed in thought. “Nope. I have confidence in someone I’ve spent the last few weeks with.”

“I suppose.”

Such faith was misplaced, but Lusya was not going to be the one to tell Azure that. She would find out in short order anyway, when Father returned. In the meantime, there was no harm in allowing her the comfort of trust.

Azure sighed. “You’ve grown a lot in twelve years, though.”

“Considering my age, that is to be expected,” Lusya said.

“You’re not wrong,” Azure said, giggling. “But some people grow less than others, in all sorts of ways.”

“I am aware.”

“You’ve still got a long way to go, of course, but I’d say you’re on a good track. You’re strong, smart, beautiful.” Azure smirked. “I’m sure being your mother’s daughter helped, but they’re still your accomplishments to be proud of.”

“Your assessment is appreciated,” Lusya said.

“Not to mention you can do something unheard of like wielding two Soul Blades. You’re a regular prodigy yourself.” Azure paused and pursed her lips. “You’re not kind, but I think you could be, some day.”

“I do not,” Lusya said. “I do not have sufficient regard for others unless they have already spent some time with me earning my favor.”

Azure gave a knowing smile and a small laugh. “I guess we’ll see about that. Still, not bad at all for twenty years old. I’m sure your mother would be very proud.”

Lusya tilted her head. “It seems unlikely the woman who abandoned me at the age of seven would think much of me at all.”

Azure cringed as if the words were a sword hanging over her head. “Lusya…Your mother loved and still loves you very much. It wasn’t an easy decision to give you up to your father.”

“Is that so?”

“It is!” Azure said, as desperate as if she were dying of thirst and convincing Lusya to give her water. “Your mother and your father both worried about you. You were a unique child, and even at a young age you were strong, but neither of those things was the issue. They were afraid that, as you got older, you would become angry and violent to go with your strength. That you would want to hurt people. That you would become more, in a word, demonic.

“That was why your father approached your mother and offered to take you in. He thought he would be better suited to raise you and help you manage any dangerous urges. Your mother tried to convince herself he was wrong. She wanted to keep you. But as she saw your strength and motomancy develop in ways a mortal child’s never could, combined with your abnormal behavior, she couldn’t help but fear that Romoro was right. She let you go with him because she believed from the bottom of her heart that it was what was best for you.”

“I see,” Lusya said.

If she had ever been aware of that, she had long since forgotten about it. Considering her age, it was a distinct possibility nobody had ever told her any of it. Not that it mattered much, in the end. The result was the same.

“So, I can’t tell you how to feel about any of that,” Azure said. “But just know that she loves you, and she only ever had your best interest in mind.”

Lusya blinked. “I am uncertain if I believe you.” Perhaps her knowledge of childrearing was insufficient, but it certainly seemed a questionable choice. Maybe that was just the benefit of not being in that position speaking, though. “But…I appreciate your explanation.”