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I wasn’t ready to wear it—or to divulge all. Not yet.

He continued, “I’m hoping we’ll hear from Circe soon and that Lark will recover and begin scouting. Also, if Jack finds Kentarch, the Chariot could evacuate us instantly.” If Kentarch could recover from his mental break. “In the meantime, you can revive your thorn forest outside the castle and spread out some of your vines.”

My sentries. “I’ll try.” My abilities remained hit-or-miss. I glanced down at the Hanged Man’s icon on my hand. It’d been close.

Aric noticed. “I can never repay Jack for coming with you to fight tonight.”

“Yes. Yet then he left—even though he’d believed he would be a father soon.” Twist, tighten, constrict went the tourniquet. Now he was out in the Ash again. At least he had Gabe with him.

“I know how painful driving away from you was for him. I regret that. All I am is regret.” How much guilt could Aric shoulder? I thought of Calanthe’s Weight of Sins power, her ability to crush someone with guilt.

At this point in the game, she could have annihilated Aric.

“I don’t think his leaving has sunk in.” I didn’t want it to. I needed this numbness. I’d had him back in my life for such a short time.

I frowned as a thought occurred. “What were you talking to him about before I went outside to see him off? At one point, he seemed surprised by whatever you said.”

Aric leaned back in his chair. “You were watching us?”

I leaned forward. “Answer the question.”

“I wanted to make sure he understood the risk of using himself as bait for the Emperor.”

If Jack and Gabe located Kentarch and Joules in DC, the four of them would head toward Louisiana, right through Richter territory. “I can’t believe he would volunteer for that.”

In a gentle tone, Aric said, “Yes, you can.”

I sighed. “Yes, I can.” At least Jack could communicate with us at any time. He’d brought two satellite phones—one for him and one for the Sun Card, in case they ran into a communicative Bagman.

I didn’t plan on talking to Jack though—it would only make the pain of our separation worse. He wouldn’t have a lot of time to chat anyway, would need to focus on staying alive. And me? I needed to concentrate on saving the world.

We’d taken down one Arcana villain tonight. Two to go. The idea of more battles made me queasy.

Reading me so well, Aric said, “Whenever you’re ready to rest, please know that our room is yours. It’s just as you left it.”

“Paul didn’t take it over?”

“No. He preferred his own room, likely because he had a secret passage from there to all parts of the castle.”

So incredibly creepy. “You didn’t trash my art and belongings?” After all, he’d crushed to dust the ring I’d painstakingly crafted for him out of lignum vitae, the wood of life.

Honest as ever, he said, “No, because I wanted to enjoy the anticipation of doing just that. I regretted destroying the ring you made for me—but only because I could never do it again.”

I swallowed. “I see.”

He stabbed his fingers through his hair. “I waited two millennia for you to give me a token of our relationship, and you gave me a wedding ring.” He glanced at my own bare finger before meeting my gaze once more.

I allowed myself to look at him, really look at him. I’d been brainwashed a couple of times before; I knew what that violation felt like. “You didn’t destroy it. Paul did. Does he deserve no blame?”

“Yes, of course. But he acted through me. He damaged your trust in me. Is it possible for you to find your way back to what we had?”

“For what it’s worth, I want to.” I peered into his tired eyes. “Maybe it’s PTSD or something, but I have nightmares about escaping this place. It’s weird being back, trying to act like nothing has happened—when so much has.” I pinched my temples. “And how do you feel about me, knowing I was with Jack?”

“I am jealous of him.” The pain in Aric’s gaze screamed understatement. “But it does nothing to change my love for you. I will do anything to rebuild what we shared. Unless you and Jack made some kind of promises to each other down the line?”

“No. He expects you and me to get back together. He wants that for Tee.”

Aric swallowed, as if this news were too welcome to bear. “And what do you ultimately want?”

I gave a humorless laugh. “I’ll tell you as soon as I know.”

He nodded in understanding. “Shall we take our time and navigate our way as we go?”

“That sounds good.”

He exhaled a breath, then said, “Tell me about life in Jubilee.”

“What do you want to know?”

His lips curled, a hint of his old self. “As it pertains to you? Everything.”