Chapter 195 – Promoted to “Useful”

Dainyir

He was moving up in the world shockingly fast. An hour before, he was reading a book in his room in the brothel, happy that Lord Yamaoka didn't have any errands for him, as the weather was absolutely shit. Now Dainyir was on an errand for the Viscount himself. The weather was still terrible, but it felt more bearable, now that he was doing something important and had the company of the woman he had a crush on.

He was a bit short on details, but apparently the Viscount thought it prudent to include the Inquisitor in the deliberations since he was part of the problem. So, since the fae and Miss Savri had to return to the clinic, Miss Ren, Lilyth, and he were dispatched as their escort, though his task was more to serve as extra eyes, and afterwards they would tell the Inquisitor that his presence had been requested. Immediately. On the pain of being thrown out of the city. Along with the rest of the Church officials.

Apparently, the Viscount was done playing.

The reason Dainyir was included was another gamble by the noble. When, to his surprise, he was called back into the council chamber, Dainyir was asked if he was party to meetings with other slavers and their “suppliers”, the answer to which was “yes”.

‘Great!’ the Viscount clapped his hands. ‘Congrats, boy. You are now officially “useful”. Your job will be to keep an eye on people you might recognise from your old life.’

‘The Viscount is really not the one to waste an asset, eh?’ the Dryad, Yuvir, said with mild disgust in her tone after they left the keep.

Still… Some things will never change.

‘Can you fucking stop giving him so much shit for what his fucking father did?’ Lilyth suddenly blew up. ‘What the fuck was Dainyir supposed to do? Stage a revolt?’

Yuvir had no answer to that.

‘I only spent a few days in his “care”,’ his ex-wife continued, but he never did wrong by Persephone or me. He also treated the other slaves well.’

‘That could have been just…’

‘Yuvir,’ Jillyead interrupted the dryad’s tirade. ‘Enough. Miss Lilyth is right. Master Dainyir didn't ask to be born to a slaver. I understand your outrage, but blaming children for the crimes of their parents is unbecoming of a Life Mage.’

Miss Savri shook her head.

‘As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with the furball too. Never heard ‘Phone complain about him either. That doesn't mean I like you, though, kid. You will have to earn that.’

‘I’ll take that,’ he gave her a forced smile.

The rest of the way, he spent chatting with Lilyth about books, though later Miss Ren joined in as she was also an avid reader. Dainyir really wanted to ask Lilyth about the book he had sent her, but the fact that she didn't even mention it was telling him that it was an “in private” subject, though it perhaps would be best to let her bring it up first.

Still, the conversation was nice, especially since Ren had read some of the more serious books he had enjoyed. Lilyth seemed to be mostly interested in novels, something he couldn't understand. She clearly was a learned woman. And yet, her knowledge of the world was… subpar.

He decided to ask.

‘Oh… that,’ she shrugged. ‘I'm what you fuckos call a Terran. Don’t ask about the Kitsune thing. That's complicated. I’ll explain someday.’

A Terran.

He had never expected to meet one, let alone sleep with one.

To be fair, he had never expected to sleep with anyone. Or even wanted to. Or understood why other people wanted that to begin with. Still… sex turned out to be a shockingly enjoyable experience, so there must have been something to it. He was glad he decided to go through with it when Lilyth offered.

‘If you want, I can give some non-fiction book recommendations,’ he said to her, trying to get his mind back on track. ‘So that you can learn more about Dwynveia.’

‘I’d like that actually,’ Lilyth smiled. ‘Particularly history. Philosophy, too, now that I think of it. I wonder how magic and the confirmed existence of gods affected the pretentious unemployed people.’

‘Will do! I can also explain some of them to you before you start reading.’

‘Maybe if you play your cards well, Lilyth will let you quote philosophers to her in bed,’ Ren laughed to the absolute horror of the Kitsune.

What?

‘An intelligent man can be a real panty-dropper for a woman of more… refined tastes,’ Savri added.

‘It’s… not… I mean…’ red-faced Lilyth began to stammer out.

‘You like him, admit it,’ Ren said. ‘I am starting to get an idea why, so stop bullshitting yourself. No woman would be so friendly with a man whose slave she was otherwise. And it is fine. You were thrust into a fucked-up mess of a situation AGAIN and need to make it make sense for yourself. We get it. We accept it. Figure it out with him on your own schedule and don’t worry about us.’

‘Are you su-’

‘YES.’

‘I would appreciate an explanation,’ Dainyir said, confused.

‘For better or worse, you are now a part of my life, Dain,’ Lilyth said with a sad smile. ‘I made sure of that when I rescued you from captivity on Varlia. You were good to me, and I didn't want you to die. I still don’t. That means I can’t pretend that “us” never happened. It did. We actually tried to make it work. Which means… we need to figure out what we are to each other.’

‘But aren’t you married?’

‘Doesn’t mean we can't be friends. Or more. The four of us aren’t exactly a traditional relationship, and our lives don’t exactly favour strict fidelity. Which is sometimes you are free not to be okay with. I am certainly okay with the two of us just starting a book club. Maybe Ren can join.’

Oh, boy.

‘That’s… a lot to consider.’

‘Take your time,’ she smiled. ‘I was planning on having that conversation in private, but the birdbrain over there couldn't help herself.’

‘Wanting us to be your chaperones isn't keeping it private.’

‘I also want you to… I guess accept him more.’

‘And we will. We just want you to figure it out for yourself first.’

‘If you want my advice, boy,’ Yuvir suddenly said loud enough for all to hear. ‘Run. Run while you still can.’

‘Why?’ Dainyir asked.

‘Because you will never be number one for Lilyth. You will always be a sideshow. Friendship is also ill-advised due to your shared past. This will inevitably end up messily. Especially, once Lilyth’s … issues come into play.’

‘YUVIR!’ Jillyead. ‘That’s quite enough.’

‘Oh… are you telling me you are okay with just letting her spring her heats onto the poor boy?’

Heats?

They all stopped. Jillyead was now glaring at the Dryad. Dainyir looked towards Lilyth, expecting the same reaction, but instead… She looked ashamed.

‘I wasn’t going to do that,’ she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. ‘I initially thought about it… but realised it would be wrong. So very wrong. I genuinely want to be friends with Dainyir.’

‘Some things are not meant to be, Lilyth of Terra,’ Yuvir shook her head. ‘And if you want what’s best for the boy, you will accept that. Keep it professional. Dainyir - Lilyth is about to go into heat. Do not let her use you.’

Lilyth then did something Dainyir didn’t expect, and neither did Yuvir. The Kitsune leapt towards the Dryad and punched her in the face.

What… what is happening…

‘YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!’ she shouted and pushed Yuvir onto the ground.

Ren restrained Lilyth, who was about to pounce on the Dryad, by wrapping her arms around her torso.

‘Easy, my love,’ she said.

This is too much.

‘ENOUGH!’ Jillyead shouted. ‘Yuvir, what you did was shameful. You broke the bond of confidentiality and shamed your patient. You interfered in her life. It is up to Lilyth of Terra and Dainyir of Varlia to figure those things out.’

‘Someone had to warn the boy,’ the Dryad spat. ‘Especially if this time the bitch doesn't choose to…’

Why is everyone fighting? Things were starting to go right just moments before…

He began to hyperventilate, so he didn't catch the end of what Yuvir was saying. It must have been bad, as Lilyth managed to free herself from Ren’s grasp and flew at the Dryad, her fur all white and cloudy.

Dainyir couldn't understand what was happening, so he did the first thing he could think of.

He ran.

Lilyth

‘Leave me alone,’ I heard Dainyir shout when I knocked on his door with my bandaged right hand.

The fucking salad’s face was surprisingly hard. I didn't really need the bandage, but it was a nice trophy.

‘Can I come in?’ I asked loud enough for him to hear.

There was a long-enough pause that we were about to walk away when I heard him get up and walk to the door.

He cracked it open a bit, and seeing it was just me, he silently opened it the rest of the way.

I wasn't alone; our entire group was there in the brothel, but for now, I wanted some privacy.

His room was surprisingly familiar-looking. A bookcase, a table with two chairs, a wardrobe, and a bed. All arranged like our room in his father’s hacienda.

‘How did you find me?’ Dainyir asked after closing the door behind me.

‘You work for Ren’s grandfather, so it wasn't exactly hard for me to get that information,’ I gave him a crooked smile.

He indicated I should sit down on one of the chairs.

‘So… what happened?’

‘Not sure how much you managed to catch.’

‘I… I left after you pushed her down to the ground. She started saying something, and you turned… all white, but I was panicking and wasn’t listening at that point.’

He clearly wasn't proud to admit it.

‘I’ll leave the revelation for later then,’ I shook my head. ‘Savri and Jillyead managed to restrain me before I beat the bitch to death. It might have involved magic. Afterwards, Jillyead led the equally restrained Yuvir back to the compound, while Savri and Ren took me back to the keep, where we all just cried a lot, I guess. Savri and Persephone ended up quitting the clinic in protest, the latter with Viscount’s permission. I believe the phrase used was “irreconcilable differences”. Don’t worry. Apparently, a bunch of Dryads volunteered to take up Yuvir’s place. As for the salad herself… She’s fucked. The Children kicked her out, the Viscount banished her from the province, and she has been barred from entry to every single Elemental Realm. Will be anyway. She is currently in the realm of Life, awaiting judgment. Apparently, wronging someone on good terms with ALL the gods is a terrible idea.’

‘I… see,’ Dainyir nodded. ‘What about the Inquisitor?’

‘Delayed until tomorrow. The situation needs to stabilise. The Viscount tripled the guard in front of the clinic in the meantime. Hopefully, it will be enough. Apparently, relationship drama and zombie apocalypses don’t mix. Wilhum doesn’t blame us, though, as even Jillyead confirmed that the situation was mostly normal banter until Yuvir decided to escalate shit.’

Now for the hard part.

‘He wouldn’t dare to say anything, anyway, not after what Yuvir revealed. You see… while we were waiting for Persephone to teleport us out, I discovered that our marriage night had… umm… consequences.’

Dainyir was initially confused, but then understanding dawned on his face, slowly replaced by panic.

‘You’re pregnant?!’

I shook my head, once again feeling tears welling in my eyes.

‘Not… not anymore. I… wasn’t ready for children. Particularly… well… yours. I wasn’t sure how I felt about you back then. Still don’t. But… I guess I want you in my life, so there is that.’

Dainyir was at a loss for words, so we just sat there in uncomfortable silence.

‘Sorry… this is heavy,’ he finally said. ‘A lot to drop on me at once.’

‘I wasn’t planning on ever mentioning it,’ I said. ‘Ultimately, it was my decision.’

He nodded, clearly unsure whether to be relieved or mad. Hopefully, the former.

We sat there in silence for a few more moments.

‘I guess I am a bit disappointed that you never planned on telling me, but… I understand, given the circumstances. I probably wouldn’t want my input either, since you were already married when my father forced you to be with me. So I guess, Yuvir was “worried” you were manipulating me? But why?’

I explained my impending heat and how my thoughts immediately went to him when I learned about it.

‘I think that was the part that Yuvir had a problem with. She was worried I would wrap you around my finger and turn you into… a tool. It did cross my mind, but… I decided against it once the initial shock cleared. What can I say? I am terrified. I never had to go through something like this, and I guess you were the “safe option”.’

‘I would never agree to… to… that, anyway. I mean… taking advantage of your… reduced decision-making capabilities wouldn’t be okay.’

That's why I like you.

‘It would be very wrong of me to ask you this. Ultimately, Yuvir was right. You will never be number one in my eyes. I have Aki, Caei and Ren.’

‘I am shocked they are okay with all this.’

‘They accepted I wouldn’t be myself when… the moment comes. As for you and me… be it friendship or something else… any remaining objections they may have still been harbouring vanished the moment the truth came out. I think Aki is even disappointed that she won’t get to be a co-mother. Don’t ask. So that is the whole truth. I wasn't planning to spring it on you all at once, but my hand was forced.’

Remembering the “Met Lilyth” curse, I quickly added:

‘Well… not the whole truth. There is also one bit. If you choose to get involved… I cannot guarantee your safety or sanity. The past few months of my life have been absolutely crazy.’

This time, Dainyir's silence was much longer, and I saw all sorts of emotions cross his face. One was dominant, though. Sorrow.

‘What did you mean about you being on good terms with “all the gods”?’ he changed the subject.

‘Well… at least all the old gods. I am sworn to Nyx and Ereshkigal and have personally met Irmen, well… her and three other gods.’

Dainyir’s jaw dropped.

‘You make it sound so casual. Like… “Oh, I just meet gods on a regular basis.” This is “hero of legend” stuff.’

‘Believe me, I wish my life were free of the divine. Alas, it is not to be. Still… I guess I owe you a marriage gift. Nyx.’

There was a crack of lightning, and Nyx appeared in the room.

‘Hiya,’ she said and gave Dainyir a friendly wave.

‘A-are you…’

‘Nyx, the goddess of Air and Storm, at your service, kiddo.’

Dainyir visibly blue-screened.

‘I guess I might be a bit too much for him today, Lilyth,’ Nyx sighed. ‘Tell you what, Dainyir. Once you finish processing everything that happened today, talk to my furball over here. I’ll take you to my palace and show you around. Let’s make it a proper marriage gift. This offer is open no matter how you choose to handle the situation. Likewise, none of us will think less of you for choosing to stay away from this mess. Anyway, I’ll leave you two to it.’

She booped Dainyir on the nose and disappeared.

‘I… I… I actually spoke to a goddess…’ he stammered out. ‘And… she…’

‘Yup,’ I laughed. ‘Welcome to the world of “heroes of legend”.

Letting him reboot, I went to examine his bookcase. It was a sorry sight compared to his old one, but I saw several familiar titles.

Old friends, I gather.

‘Why me?’ I heard him ask quietly. ‘You could have any man, and yet you chose me.’

I turned back towards him.

‘Under different circumstances, I probably would have been happy with you. You remind me of the kind of partner I always wanted. Bookish. Quiet. Someone with whom I can be separate together.’

‘I guess you aren't getting that with the others?’

‘No, and I don’t mind, I like spending time with them, but it just gets so tiresome sometimes. And I guess that is what I am looking for with you. Someone… with whom I can be my old self. Even if just for a few hours every now and then.’

That caused him to smile.

‘You know…. As horrible as it may sound to you, our “marriage” was one of the few times… I was actually happy back home. I knew it was fake, but… that was good enough for me given the circumstances. Everything inside of me is screaming to try to get back with you, but… the rational part of me realises it would not be a good idea. I mean… You will always be going somewhere. Some expedition, some great battle, and you will leave me at home for months. Years maybe. If I ever enter an actual relationship, I guess I want stability. Someone to be there. Just for me. I am fine with us being friends, I want you in my life too… but let’s keep it that way.’

I nodded.

‘Very well. Want to go meet the others?’