“Do you love her?” Mom asked me.

My shadow, clearly the beautiful silhouette of Amaranthine, roiled and there was no doubt at all that the Sapphire Mist Lord listened in on this conversation. Arx Maxima’s small diamond form flitted around my shoulders, but Mom couldn’t see her. Chances were high that Corvusol listened in with Amaranthine. This was my life, where no words, no thoughts, were for me alone.

“Love is a complicated emotion. Amaranthine resonates with me in a way I didn’t know was even possible. I’m honestly obsessed with her and have been since I first met her. She crawled into my mind and since then she’s all I can think of, and it’s not her glamour or any kind of spell or influence that causes it. I automatically adapt and counter any ill-effects that afflict me. I’ve felt her glamour in full force, and the feelings I have for her don’t feel the same way I do her glamour is active.”

I grinned at Mom, but she looked away, unable to handle the toothy display, or maybe it was the crackles of electricity around my mouth. I still hadn’t gotten that fully under control and I refused to take the easy path out of taking the Choker of Ruin off.

“That’s not exactly a reassuring answer, Emery.” Mom said, finally looking into my eyes.

“Love would be an understatement. I need her.” My solemn declaration seemed to satisfy my mother. Which, honestly, was a relief. I didn’t want to have to try and explain the bond of our essences through chaos, the cry of destruction, and the glory of oblivion. Disclosing any of that would be too honest of an exposure of my soul, especially when no one else could understand it. If someone said any of that stuff out loud, I would think they were insane.

Maybe I was insane. Maybe Amaranthine fried my brain with her charm and there was no going back.

“Claire said you’re an Enkindler.” Mom said to break the awkward silence that lingered between us.

“I am,” I agreed. “So is Amaranthine.”

“I want you to enkindle my missing concepts. I want, no, I need to be part of bringing Mithras down.” Mom stared into my eyes this time, and didn’t look away. She met my eyes until I was the one to look away.

I couldn’t say no. I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to do that, but I couldn’t say her needs didn’t matter when she accepted my less than stellar explanation of my relationship with Amaranthine.

Why no, Mom, I’m marrying a woman I barely know, who has the power to influence others, and I’ve only been in her presence a handful of times. Totally normal. Let’s not dwell on the fact our strongest connection is through chaos.

No good discussion could be had down that avenue.

Mom stared at me with a concerned expression. My answer shouldn’t have been so delayed.

“Do you know what concepts you want to bind?” I asked.

“I’m working on it, Emery. How much of an ordeal is it to bind them?” Mom fiddled with a sheet of paper that she’d scribbled several different words on. I couldn’t help but notice one of the words was Corvusol. If she sought revenge against Mithras, Corvusol wasn’t the worst choice she could make. In fact, Corvusol would perfectly compliment her Unmaking concept. I couldn’t find it in myself to suggest it to her though. Corvusol was a dick.

“It’s easy to do. I find the concept, if its sapient I talk it into accepting, and then a little bit of thought and mental envisioning and its done. No concept has said no yet.” I laughed and shrugged. Honestly, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.

“Don’t get too overconfident. Sapient concepts can and do refuse enkindling.” Arx Maxima warned me.

Damnit, Arx Maxima. You jinxed me. Now I’m going to look like an idiot when the next concept I go to bind refuses me. Don’t jinx me! I thought emphatically at the crystal.

“The Church of Mithras made a big show out of granting Devotions. The ritual lasted an hour, and it leaves the officiating clerics exhausted. I always found that suspicious, since they never lacked for providing devotions to the Knights and the clerics, only us lay people.” Mom said darkly. It still felt strange to hear her speak badly of Mithras, a painful reminder of the deep contrast between where we stood compared to a few months ago.

“Make your list, and I’ll enkindle them for you if I can.” I promised but hedged my bets against Arx Maxima’s jinx. Mom didn’t notice.

“Thank you, Emery. I’ll get it sorted out.” Mom fiddled with her sheet of paper, and I turned to go.

I stopped before the door, to turn and look back at mom.

“Am I making the right decisions, Mom?” I asked.

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Coralie laughed. A slightly hysterical laugh that flirted with the edge of breaking down into tears. I shouldn’t have asked.

“I don’t know, Emery. My life was a lie built on the foundation of a god who tried to trap me in crystal to enforce his will on an area of land. I don’t think I’m qualified to give anyone advice. I’ve lost my husband, my youngest son, the shop, and the career I spent my whole life building, and even Havenstone itself. Do what you think will make you happy, and hope for the best, honey.”

Mom sniffed to clear her throat. We both avoided eye contact.

“Thank you,” I whispered and left through the whooshing door.

My mind churned with what if’s. Images of Amaranthine and I in love. Scenarios where she betrayed and killed me or used me to an end worse than death. Scenarios where I did that to her. Fear wanted to creep into my mind, doubt wanted to seep into my soul. The problem with fear and doubt was I just wasn’t there for it. If I was heading for a catastrophic marriage, then it would be an apocalypse to rival the creation of the Gossamyr. If Mithras thought the destruction we wrought in Havenstone was anything remarkable, it was nothing compared to the catastrophe we would unleash going forward.

After all, the only thing I had to lose was Amaranthine.

An annoyed mental cough filled my head.

“And what, pray tell, am I?” Arx Maxima demanded.

“A crystal,” I replied. My lips couldn’t stop themselves from twitching up into a smug little smirk. It wasn’t often I got the better of Arx Maxima. In fact, this felt like the first time. A good omen for the wedding.

“Am I not also your partner?” Arx Maxima asked seriously, a touch of hurt to her synthetic voice.

Surprisingly, I felt guilty. Despite the miscommunications, the half-truths, the initially very one-sided power dynamic between us, I didn’t hold any ill will against Arx Maxima. She was my partner.

“You’re the best partner a dummy like me could have, Arx Maxima. I didn’t mean to diminish your presence in my life, or that of our friends, either. I’m just being dramatic, but you kind of deserve it for reading my thoughts.” I laughed at the gall she had to read my mind and blame me for it, and sparks of chaos showered the hall.

“A good answer, partner.” Arx Maxima chimed happily in my mind. It was difficult to tell which part of my answer she felt was the good part. “Lucifer had a strong sense of drama, too.”

A door slipped open a few feet ahead of me, and Chrys waved at me.

“You had a report, right?” I asked. It wasn’t much of a surprise that Arx Maxima had led me to Chrys without my noticing. These sorts of events happened when you let someone else take the lead on where you were going.

“The Stone King wants to meet you,” Chrys answered me. She didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

“The Stone King wants to meet me, your friend Emery, or he wants to meet the Emperor and Empress of Chaos?” I asked, and somehow managed to keep a straight face throughout calling myself Emperor of Chaos. In the back of my head, I was still a 5’9” slightly effeminate boy, not a 7 foot tall hulking dragon who could cut bite through EternaStone with my fangs, or slice it paper thin with a spear that could cut anything.

Chrys didn’t laugh.

“That’s the title you’re going with, then? I’ve heard far more outlandish titles for Lords with much tinier realms. Emperor of Chaos. Yes, he wants to build friendly relations with Monados, establish trade, and possibly open migration between realms. I can already tell you he wants to send Granix here.” Chrys said. At the very end, she seemed be putting business aside.

“Oh?” I asked.

“Granix also sent a letter, telling me how he wanted to visit and missed me. He’s a clinger.” Chrys effected a deep, weary sigh. It seemed so authentic, so genuine, that for a moment I didn’t even dwell on the fact that Gneisslings don’t have lungs. When it hit me, I laughed. A deep laugh that filled the air with a fine glittering shower of chaos.

“That was a good sigh. You really conveyed the exasperation and exhaustion of dealing with an overbearing relative.” I said with total sincerity.

“Yes, well, thank you.” Chrys said. I don’t think she expected me to compliment her on her mimicry of biological life sounds.

“Alright, that can wait until after tomorrow, and the Empress will go with me. Maybe. If she wants too, so let’s come back to planning that in a few days.” I realized I shouldn’t speak for Amaranthine yet. A dangerous territory, committing others.

“What’s tomorrow?” Chrys asked.

“My wedding to Amaranthine Sadow,” I answered. I wasn’t nervous at all.

“So soon? You aren’t going to hold a large ceremony and invite others?” Chrys seemed surprised by the small guest list more than by the quickness of it all.

“Everyone I know but Claire and Miyuki are already here, and I don’t think either of them will really care about missing the wedding.” I shrugged.

“And you’ve completed all the negotiations about what will be stipulated in your marriage to Marchioness Sadow?” Chrys asked even more surprised.

“Not even a single thing,” I answered.

Chrys frowned, I grinned.

“You’re being quite indifferent about the most important contract you’ll ever form,” Chrys said. Then she used an even deeper sigh about me than she had about Granix.

“I know the importance of it, Chrys. I do. Its number one on my to-do list after I see what Remy and Xian wanted. Arx Maxima controls time here, anyway. We can stop the clock until we’ve got everything sorted out.” I tried to reassure Chrys.

“Oh, I’m sure Arx Maxima will do what she must to save you from yourself.” Chrys didn’t sigh this time, and somehow not sighing at me felt even more of a statement. She stared. Patiently. Like a rock. It was much more devastating than any word could have been. We lingered, her completely unmoving and unalive, me breathing and waiting for her to say something else.

I broke the silence first.

“That’s so annoying,” I grumbled.

“You didn’t really think you could win a contest of patience with a Gneissling, did you?” Chrys scoffed at me.

“Delusions of grandeur are hard to get over,” I said. There was no point trying to defend myself, it had been pure hubris to think I could out silence a rock person.

“Don’t take for granite that you’ll be the best at things—hubris will leave you crumbling.” Chrys said, a playful twist of her lips showing her pride at the pun.

“Ugh, too far.” I groaned.

“Be careful of the bedrock you’re on now, hubris has a way of making slippery slopes.” Chrys tried again.

“That was worse. I’m leaving now.” I declared and walked away.

“Sometimes it is best to boulder up and walk away before things get too rocky!” Chrys called after me.

“Awful!” I cried back at her.