Page 18 of Garlands and Gauntlets

“Just Theo!” Alessia says, then gives me a knowing look. “Vaelin is probably…well, working, hm?”

My eyes widen. “Wait–did you know?”

“Do I know about Vaelin’s job? Yes,” Alessia says. “Did he…oh no–did he try anything?”

I bury my face in my hands.

Alessia puts her needlework down.

“Oh, Theo…”

“He lied to me,” I say quietly, my voice cracking slightly. “When we met, he…he saw me as a mark. Someone he could rob.”

Alessia hums and nods along, trying to soothe me. I can hear Calliope coming in from the kitchen, I can smell the apple tart.

Oh gods. They’re all in here, watching me break down.

“Did he take anything from you?” Merrick asks. “We’ll try to help–”

“No,” I mutter. “He told me he changed his mind, but it feels like a lie. Like I was just…convenient for him.”

I know this must look truly absurd–a giant, over-sensitive half-orc having an emotional breakdown in a halfling family’s sitting room.

But they don’t seem judgmental at all.

When I look up, Merrick has taken a seat in a big armchair by the fire, while Calliope is sitting on the floor in front of it. An enormous apple tart sits on the coffee table, steam rolling off of it.

“I don’t think he saw you as convenient,” Calliope says quietly. “In fact…he probably saw you as pretty inconvenient.”

Merrick scoffs. “Well, sweetpea, that’s not going to make the poor guy feel better–”

“No, I mean–Vaelin doesn’t just bring people home,” Calliope says. “I think he really cares about you, Theo.”

“Then why did he lie?”

Alessia bites her lip, shaking her head. “Vaelin…we tried our best with him, but he’s always been stubborn.”

“Like his mother,” Merrick mumbles.

Alessia gives him a playful shove with her foot.

“Anyway…we did try, but he’s been very private and closed off since he was a kid. Even when he was little, he hated asking for help. And after the Arcane Academy…well, he came back with more walls than ever.”

I frown. “What happened, exactly? He mentioned it, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it.”

“Vaelin was a scholarship student for one semester,” Merrick says. “We weren’t rich enough to get him there ourselves—and I know that was hard for him, for all of us–but he made it happen. We were terrified he would go into debt, and this world isn’t exactly kind to debtors, but he did it without telling us. Then, when he got overwhelmed with his studies…well, he quit.”

“He just quit?” I ask. “But–he did magic for me. He obviously knows how.”

“It’s partially because he’s embarrassed, I think,” Alessia says quietly. “Vaelin is proud, and when he came back, he wouldn’t let us help. Instead, he threw himself into this whole…newpersona, like it was easier to pretend he didn’t care than to admit that he was hurting.”

I stare at them, my chest tightening. “But he let me in,” I murmur. “For a little while at least. Why would he do that?”

“Becausehe likes you,” Calliope says. “Because you’re cute and he wants to–”

“Honey, please do not finish that sentence,” Alessia cuts in. “But what I think she’s trying to get at is that–you’re the kind of person that makes it impossible not to care, Theo. And Vaelin knows that.”

I sit back, chewing on their words. He did come clean to me…and I can see all these things being true. His family knows he has problems, but they want to help him.

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