Page 97 of Whisper Woods

My concern must be Brydon, the man sobbing quietly in his chair. Defeated and broken.

Lia is up out of her seat, but Seff beats her there. Ripping Brydon’s chair back to lift him into a giant hug till his feet dangle in the air. Lia waits patiently for Seff to be done, Seff’s face buried in Brydon's neck as he squeezes as much affection as he can into the hug. Once Seff finally lets him go, and Lia gives him a whisper filled embrace, it’s my turn. I stand on quivering legs, meeting him halfway.

“Can you forgive me?” Brydon asks, his tiny voice reminding me of all those years ago when I would find him loitering in my gardens, too scared to go home. He’s grown so far, but some scars are forever.

“There is nothing to forgive. At all.” I make sure I hold his eye as I say the words, attempting to bore them into the deepest recesses of his brain. When I wrap him in a tight hug, he softens, his breath collapsing into sobs. “But if you ever offer yourself as a sacrifice again, Brydon. I will kill you myself. Absolutely never again.” He laughs against me, choking on a snotty sob.

“Yeah, right. Never again. That was terrifying.”

“Can he come home with us?” I ask Lia over his shoulder. A growling sort of contentment sparks in my guts at the thought of having Seff and Brydon home.

“Not yet,” Lia states, shuffling papers on her table to cover her own emotions. She catches the glare on my face. “Oh, no, he can go home with you today. But we have other things to discuss first. With you and Seff, actually.”

Brydon steps back, wiping at his blotchy, tear-stained face with his hands.

“Well, let’s get this done.”

We reclaim our seats, Seff rubbing his hands eagerly. Lia clears her throat.

“There has been a lot of discussion amongst the High Council on how to proceed. I will obviously need to travel to the Mundane. I will need an escort, Tathys will need emissaries. No doubt they will wish to send ambassadors. Integration is going to be arduous.”

She finds the papers she was looking for and sits back, her spine straightening as she slips into the familiar role of leader of her people.

“Naturally, the role of emissaries is being offered to the Tavishers. After all, they are already integrated into Mundane society. It’s the first step in a long process.” My blood chills. I know I should want this role, to do what I can for Tathys to ease her way back into the world.

But Gods, I do not want to do it.

“But then there is the question ofyou,Rafe. Your territory straddled the lines of Mundane territories, and Anak already accepted a role for Ulydessia. And considering his recent transition to the Mundane and his position in society there, Joa is a natural selection for our emissary to Carconnois.”

“And then there is Seff. His arrival in Tathys causedquitethe stir. But people were favourable to him.” I try not to be angry that she’s talking about him like he is notright there. “They like him.”

Lia slides the sheets of paper across the table.

“The High Council wishes to offer you both a position here. To help pave the way for the Munish to enter our society. Brydon, with his extensive knowledge of the Mundane, can only be a valuable asset. But we will need help. It’s going to be an adjustment.”

I stare in amazement at the paper in front of us. In terribly unclear, overblown formal language, it lays out everything Lia has just said.

“I—I… I don’t know what to say.” Out of all the possible scenarios I envisioned for today, this was definitely not one I foresaw. Seff leans forward, plucking the papers off the table.

“We’ll do it.” He briefly scans the paper and, realising it's a bunch of nonsense, he throws it back on the table. “Can we go home now?”

“Yes, Seff, you may take them home. Thank you. All of you. For everything,” Lia says, rising from her chair with a far more genuine smile than when we began.

There are more bows and goodbyes. We thank Yorin and Lia, and the three of us flee the palace, none of us breathing properly until we are off the last step.

In the town centre, Tathys is already firing back to life. We watch the beings going about their day, each one stopping to say a prayer of thanks in front of the flowing fountain where the sacred fire once again burns bright.

Brydon jams his hands in his pockets and rests on the fountain edge. There is no sunlight, and little warmth to the day, but he still tips his face to the sky, revelling in the feel of the breeze.

“I guess I should call my parents. Tell them I’m really not coming home.”Seff’s conflict rings clear in his words, and I can feel the bubble of tension in our bond.

“Are they going to be pissed? Wolves don’t like being separated, do they?” Brydon asks, not opening his eyes. Seff kicks at the stones beneath his feet.

“Dunno. Probably. But they can visit, right? Eventually?” He looks at me, questioning.

“Of course. This is your home.” He perks up instantly, blinding me with a smile magnetically bright, and those vylushkiva dimples. Pumping his eyebrows, he comes towards me, almost dancing with happiness. He pounces on me at the last second, when I’m too busy trying to not laugh at his ridiculousness.

Entirely entrapped by him, and extremely willingly so, he runs his nose along my ear, rubbing his scent all over me.

---