Page 40 of Exquisite Monster

“Then someone else could. The command did not say I could not travel with those looking for you and the Heirs. Merely that I could not. And coming down this pit, I had no idea you would truly be here. I was simply investigating what might be.”

“Always the master of loopholes, weren’t you?” Gleym said. “Clever words are what you excel at, even now.”

Her tone spoke of history and pain. I looked between the two dragons, suddenly realizing they weren’t strangers. The way they stared at each other said they’d beenmuchmore than strangers.

Idroal simply looked at me. “Would you like to leave this place?”

Yes. Very much yes, but I still looked to Gleym. She was the onewho’d helped me this whole time, and I was grateful for it, even if we would never be close. When she met my eyes, she nodded once.

“Yes,” I said. “I need to dress.”

“I’ll wait here,” Idroal said. “Gleym and I will catch up.”

Varíand I glanced at each other. Clearly there was a lot more between them than we could know, and I didn’t want to be in the middle of it. So I retreated. Before I was out of earshot, I heard Gleym speak. “One got away from me. But I took care of the rest of the draygs.”

Idroal chuckled. “You want to talk about draygs? After all this time?”

My legs shook as I made my way through the stone rooms, and by the time I’d reached the room with the bath,allof me was shaking.

I dropped to my knees in front of it, tossing the bag to the side and stripping away the robes. I plunged my hands deep into the water, scrubbing the still-wet blood off my hands.

It wasn’t just there, but had splashed on my face and neck. Covered my feet where I had to walk through it. I needed it off me. Off me.Off me. Submerging myself, I used the clean parts of the robe to scrub my skin, singular in my focus until a chirp startled me out of my thoughts.

Varísat next to the bath, watching. He was still the same subdued color. I realized tears were running down my face. I hadn’t even felt them. There wasn’t much I felt at the moment. Even the relief and joy of finally leaving this place were muted and blank in the face of my new reality.

I’d crossed a line I couldn’t come back from.

It didn’t matter if you always knew you’d cross it. Knowing wasn’t preparation.

“I killed them,” I said quietly, trying to explain.

He climbed onto my chest, forcing me to hold him as he purred. It felt like comfort and a lack of judgment.

“Am I different to you now?”

A small, fierce growl echoed around us, and I smiled. Only for a moment, but it was enough. “Thank you.”

I dressed in the clothes Gleym gave me, marking one final scratch on the wall where I’d kept track of my time. Then I retrieved the leather bag where I’d let it fall to the floor. My grandmother’s locket had never once left my neck, but I touched it to make sure all the same.

Once my boots were laced, I checked the workshop one more time, havingVarístore a few more ingredients and some duplicate texts. Empty bottles and the final few cured potions.

After that… there wasn’t anything else I needed.

My heart sped up. I wanted to leave, but I was terrified. Once I left, no one had any idea what would happen. Gleym might be right, and it could lead to my death. All of our deaths.

Idroal and Gleym faced off across from each other when I returned, the air thick with tension. But not violence. She waved a hand, and darts flowed through the air into the bag. An abundance of them. Even more than before and more than I could need for a long time.Varíchirped with joy and dove into the bag, following them.

“Thank you.”

“I’ve done what I can for you. Do your best to stay alive. I’d hate to have wasted my time.”

“And you’d know if she stays alive?” Idroal asked. “Does that mean you plan on involving yourself in the world again?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No,” they said. “But then again, you rarely say anything anymore. Not even to those who could be considered your friends.”

She narrowed her eyes, and beyond the two of them I saw the clutter and detritus that floated in her net of power shudder. “I know more than enough of what happens above. Hard to speak when there’s no one to speak to, Idroal. Unless you’re volunteering to come visit?”