Page 74 of Aïdes the Unseen
Across the table, the envelope pulsed once — faint, but undeniable.
I stepped forward and picked it up.
The wax was cool and dry beneath my fingers, but the weight of it wasn’t measured in grams. It felt like memory. Like obligation. Like warning. Hermes never left things behind lightly.
I slid the envelope into the inside pocket of my coat. But not all warnings were worth being listened to. Sometimes, the wind just blustered, and if you kept the door closed, it couldn’t bother you.
When I looked up, Heinritz met my gaze.
Her composure never cracked — not entirely — but the faint crease at the corners of her eyes told me everything I needed to know.
“She’s not ready,” I said, tone quiet but resolute.
“She’s stronger than you think,” Heinritz replied. “Stronger thananyof us thought.”
“That’s not the problem,” I said. “It’severyone elseI’m worried about.”
I let the words hang for a beat too long — then added, softly but with steel:
“Don’t let her be alone with West.”
Heinritz’s mouth tightened. A silent agreement.
I didn’t wait for more. I turned and followed.
The corridors were cooler than they should’ve been. The Annex had its own climate control, and yet the air felt like early winter. Charged. Irina had already left the admin wing by the time I reached the main hallway, but the trail was fresh. I could feel it, a shimmer in the air, faint electromagnetic signature from her presence — and from the creature at her heel.
The dog.
He wasn’t ordinary. Not even close. But then again,nothingnear her ever was.
I found her just past the internal atrium, in the open passage near the herbarium rotunda. She wasn’t walking quickly — morelike pacing on instinct. Trying to outstep a thought. The dog was pressed close to her left side, head up, ever watchful.
I didn’t rush her.
I simply matched her pace and spoke from just enough distance that she had to choose to hear me.
“Irina.”
She stopped, but didn’t turn.
“I’m not here to make you decide anything,” I said, voice steady. “But I am asking you to come with me.”
Now she turned. Her eyes glittered, sharp with a thousand unspoken thoughts. “Come with youwhere?”
“For a walk,” I said simply. “We can get coffee. Talk. Nothing else.”
She stared at me, her expression unreadable at first, then cracking, ever so slightly, with disbelief. “That’s it?” she asked. “Coffee? Awalk? After all that?”
I shrugged once. “Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to offer.”
“And why would I accept?” she demanded. The edge in her voice had softened, slightly, but it was there. “Why now? Why you?”
I didn’t hesitate.
“Why not?” It was far lighter-hearted a response than any I could truly experience, but I needed to carry this burden for her. “You don’t owe me trust. Or answers. But I won’t lie to you, Irina. I never have. And I won’t let anyone take advantage of where you are right now. Not gods. Not ghosts. Not even those beings who think they mean well.”
Her jaw clenched again, but her posture shifted. She wasn’t closing off, not entirely.
