37. Cvareh

He watched Arianna go, magic still arcing between his veins like electricity. The desire to not let her out of his sight no longer stemmed only from his growing fondness for the woman, but now from his desire to fulfill her every wish—any wish. All she had to do was ask it of him. He feared the longer she went without demanding the boon of him, the further her very presence would drive him to insanity.

Still, he struggled for focus on the matter at hand instead of the Chimera who had just left the room. The woman was staring wide-eyed at the papers, slowly thumbing through them. He suspected from her expression alone that she already knew what they contained.

“They’re for the Philosopher’s Box,” he announced proudly. “I uncovered that the King had acquired them from a Rivet here on Loom during the last rebellion. I’m afraid I don’t know all the details of what or how, but I thought it could be of use.”

The woman placed them aside on the table, looking at him skeptically. It was not the reaction he’d been expecting, to say the least.

“I’ve traveled quite far to bring them to you. House Xin hopes the schematics can be finished and once they are, we will supply the necessary Dragon organs to see perfect Chimeras made,” he fumbled over his words. The more he talked, the less she seemed inclined to him. “I know they’re unfinished but—”

“You have no idea what you’ve brought me, do you?” The Vicar placed her hands on her hips.

“I know exactly what they are,” he insisted. This was not how it was supposed to go, not in the slightest. At the least he’d hoped for some gratitude for his assistance. All he was getting instead was skepticism and a small dose of amusement.

“How, exactly, did you find out they were there?” The Vicar folded her fingers before her.

“I overheard a conversation in the villa of the Dragon King.”

“And why were you there?”

“I’m the Ryu—the second in command of House Xin,” he clarified. “It’s not uncommon for noblemen and women to be invited as guests of the King.” It was a sort-of lie. Noblemen and women from across Nova were invited on various occasions to visit with the Dono or attend his Crimson Court. Members of House Xin, less so, certainly. But that hadn’t been why he’d been there that day. Cvareh kept his mouth shut over the true nature of his then-purpose. He didn’t want to add to her skepticism by confessing he’d been visiting his brother.

“You’re either a well-trained liar, intentionally kept in the dark, or are the most oblivious creature I have ever met.” She shook her head, fanning out the papers in the limited space on the table.

“Why?” Horror at the idea that the documents weren’t what he’d been led to believe crept over him as if Lord Xin himself had come from the afterworld for Cvareh’s immortal soul. “Are they not for the Philosopher’s Box?”

“They most certainly are,” she affirmed to his relief.

“Then they should be invaluable to the resistance,” he insisted. “And the fact that House Xin would risk both our station and the life of their Ryu to deliver them to you should speak volumes of our loyalty. The King’s Riders pursued me in a failed attempt at assassination for these. Just confirm with Ari or Florence.” He prayed Arianna wouldn’t fabricate something else to knowingly spite him.

“Ari? She lets you call her by that name?”

“Well…” He hesitated. He hadn’t ever been given express permission.

Vicar Sophie laughed, shaking her head again. “You are oblivious on all fronts, then.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued, finally ending their game of cat and mouse.

“You come to Loom seeking our trust for your House. But you don’t seem to grasp why we would distrust you in the first place.”

“I know what the Dragons have done to Loom. I know you wouldn’t have reason to trust me.” Being treated like a child was grating.

“You know why any Fenthri might harbor dislike for the Dragons. But you don’t grasp why we would,” she emphasized. “It may be as you say, that you risk your life in trying to bring these to us. But you don’t know what you’ve brought with you of far greater value.”

“Stop talking in riddles.”

“You thought I would find value in these schematics, when you have brought me the woman who created them?” Sophie smiled as the realization hit Cvareh.

“The-the woman who created them?” he repeated dumbly, at a loss for all other words.

“You call her Ari, like you’re close. But you have no idea who she really is, do you?”

No denial could parry the sword of truth the woman brandished. It cut a bleeding line into his heart atop the space where Arianna’s name had been etched, and left the wound to fester with the faint smell of betrayal.