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I swallowed my shock and shook my head. "I mean, Rien was a handso — a man. And you are —" I gestured to the vines making up his small body.

He tilted his head to the side in consternation. "Hm. I thought I'd done a good job of recreating that form with these vines, but I can now see you are right. I apologize. Unfortunately, with my human form chained up, this is the best I can do. I hope you understand?"

I nodded shakily as the memoryof his capture flooded me — the way the forest had closed in, trying to protect him before turning to stone. The pain in those white eyes as Frexin …Fuck.

I bit my cheek to keep my emotions at bay.

This was good news! Rien was alive.

Serali nudged me gently, and I resumed scratching her before looking at the smaller vine-Rien.

"I — I'm sorry," I said, trying to keep my voice from breaking. "I should never have gotten you involved —"

"Your eyes — why are they leaking?" Rien interrupted, sending a slim vine up to brush at a tear.

I pushed away the soft vine. "I suppose you don't 'leak', being a Forest God, or whatever you are?"

He nodded and brought the wet vine back to his body, studying the tear as if it were some rare relic.

"Humans 'leak' from their eyes when they feel strong emotions," I said. "We call it crying."

He looked at me and cocked his head to the side. "Does remembering our last meeting cause you strong emotions?"

"You were captured because of me."

"That is true. But does the gremlyn curse the wind when caught by a wyvren? Does the fish curse the river when the shellshine traps it?" His voice was gentle, but matter of fact. "You are thinking like a human, but I am not a human. And I donotblame you." He strode towards me, vines trailing behind him. "Think of it this way. We are both mice, and the Reaper is the owl who has consumed us both. It is neither of our faults we were eaten. It is nature. And … at least we are not dead yet."

My throat tightened.How could he not blame me?

His words clashed with my experiences over the past two years and the guilt they'd accumulated in my gut.

If only it were as simple as he said …

Thin vines twisted around my arms, and I stiffened.

"It's okay," he said. "You can eye-leak on my shoulder. I vaguely remember that it is helpful for humans to do that when they are sad."

He formed vines into a soft, human sized shoulder to lean on, and lifted it towards me.

I leaned away, resisting the urge to laugh.

He tilted his head and loosened the vines. "It is not right?"

"It's thoughtful." My lips twitched. "But a disembodied green shoulder is a little disconcerting."

"Ah. I suppose that makes sense." He paused for a moment, seeming to think as the vines pulled back to him. "How about a — hmmm — what did they call it? A hug?"

My chest tightened as he opened his arms and gave my arm a strange yet gentle embrace.

"Humans give guilt more power than it deserves," he said, voice solemn as he leaned against me. "You should let those wounds heal before they make you sick."

My stomach tightened. "I don't know if I can."Or if I deserve to—

Serali cooed and snuggled me from the other side as if she understood what I meant, those bright green eyes staring up at me with what looked like concern.

Unsure what else to do, I gave in and let myself embrace the little duo.

We sat like that for a few moments before Rien let go and looked up at me. "Yes, you look much better. Now, you —"