Rosalyn stepped into the warm, clear water, a soft moan escaping her lips as the temperate liquid surrounded her body. She felt like she hadn’t showered in a month, not to mention just not being able to relax at all since she’d arrived.

When Klari had offered her a bath in what she’d called the aquifers, Rosalyn had accepted even though she expected it to be cold. This wasn’t a hot spring, more like a warm bath, but it felt glorious on her skin. The hanging vines and lush leaves everywhere gave her some privacy, even though it was quiet on this side of the camp. Klari had led her down a winding path, but assured her that the pools were well within the perimeter of their guards, so it was safe to be alone.

Rosalyn didn’t care much about who was nearby at this point—all she cared about was how blissful it was to be neck-deep in warm, clean, water. She’d forgotten to ask for soap, but thinking more about it, wasn’t sure if they’d even have soap. Rhizaid had cleaned her up somehow, but perhaps had used just water or another one of her witch salves.

I wonder if Klari has a witch, she thought as she lazily stroked around in the pool. It was a decent little lagoon, like a backyard pool size. There were a few of them separated by more dirt and trees and moss, an area that retreat spas tried to replicate in the real world.

She gritted her teeth, trying to wrestle her thoughts from distracting her. Guilt twisted her guts at how she’d knowingly told Hex that his mother was Drakach’s captive, when he’d thought she was dead. She didn’t know how else she could have done it, but after the fact, it felt so insensitive.

She felt a little better knowing that Jian was with him, at least. He’d run off so quickly under the guise of finding the corpse of her flying machine, but it was clear to her that he was processing this information. She found herself wanting to be more honest with him, now that she knew for sure who he was, but that was even more dangerous territory. What would he do if he found out about Zal’s hold on her? What would Jian do? He was so protective.

She sucked in her cheeks, biting down on them until it hurt, and then let them go with a squeaky pop. She needed to take advantage of the time alone to do something that was the opposite of relaxing.

She swam to a crop of stone on one side, away from the little pile of satin that was her outfit so that she didn’t get it wet or gross. Hauling herself out of the water made her hiss at the pressure on her palms, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been given the accelerated healing. She avoided looking down at herself, just in case the stream was still live—she wasn’t averse to being naked on camera per se, but she wanted it to be on her own terms, not accidentally while trapped in a video game world. And especially when she couldn’t watch the dollars roll in at the same time.

With the cool stone against her backside, Rosalyn leaned forward and rubbed her hands together as well as she could beneath the water. When she was satisfied that she’d gotten them as clean as possible, she shoved two fingers down her throat.

After an uncomfortable amount of gagging and heaving, something lodged in her throat. Her knee-jerk reaction was to swallow it back, but she fought that, her stomach hurling itself up once again after another gag. She was reasonably sure that it was the missive that was stuck, and panic coiled around her lungs when it wouldn’t dislodge.

She didn’t want it in her gut, but she also didn’t want to choke to death on it either. She flipped around onto her hands and knees, lowering her chest, hoping that gravity would be on her side. She wheezed and her body made a horrific lurching noise, like a cat hacking up a hairball.

Something hit her in the back, and she saw stars as her forehead connected with the stone. Her teeth clamped down on something hard, and she flopped onto her side as her lungs managed to haul in a deep breath. Something furry rubbed against her neck, and she realized that it must have been Hemlock that jumped on her back to help her along.

“Thanks, bud,” she croaked as she spit out a little stick. She wanted to pet him, but her hands were covered in puke, as well as the right side of her body when she’d stupidly let herself collapse into her own sick.

Rosalyn lamented the waste of all of that delicious food she’d eaten, and shakily slid her body towards the water. Her original thought for doing this on the rocks was so that she didn’t dirty up the pool—she hadn’t really thought about how she’d clean up afterwards. She wasn’t about to stay covered in vomit, so she slipped back into the warmth, allowing it to envelope and soothe her.

She dunked below, rubbing at her face and hair, sputtering when she broke the surface again. The thing that had been stuck inside of her sat on the rock, twinkling, as if it were making fun of her plight.

It was about the size of a golf pencil, and made out of some kind of metal that looked like brushed copper. She didn’t want to think about the havoc the thing could have wreaked on her body if she’d let it fester in there.

She scooped a bit of water and rubbed it on the outside, not wanting to submerge it in case it wasn’t waterproof. She hoped that it had some kind of protection for whatever was inside, considering it was made to be ingested—or at least she’d thought it had been…that servant might have just been thinking on the fly and shoved it down her throat on a whim.

Rosalyn turned it over a few times, unable to find a clasp or way to open it. Was there some kind of demon magic required to open it? She’d been hoping there would just be a note inside that she could read, and figure out how to relay it to Hex without getting herself into too much trouble. But this just looked like a stick of metal.

She tapped it gently against the stone, and it didn’t feel like it was hollow.

Fuck, she thought, I’m going to have to give this to him, aren’t I?

She rested her forehead on her arms, letting out a soft groan, willing her body to relax, not to panic. Maybe when he found out she knew who he was, he’d be grateful for her keeping the secret. Maybe he wouldn’t want her dead because she knew the secret. He was already way nicer than all of the demons she’d met before him. And he was actively fighting those demons.

Even though she knew that she’d just respawn, she didn’t want to get caught back in Zalrimith’s forest empty-handed. She still didn’t know what she was going to do about that. Even if she thought she could trust him, that he’d fulfil his end of the deal, she wasn’t sure that she could, in good conscience, give Hex up to Zal and the King. She reminded herself that they were just NPCs, but it was difficult to reconcile when she was here with living, breathing versions of them.

They all felt too real. Everything felt too real.

Hushed voices hissed in the distance, almost lost in the rustling of the leaves, and Rosalyn pushed off of the stones, propelling herself through the water to the other side. She couldn’t quite reach her pile of clothes, wanting to hide the copper stick inside. She whirled in the water, looking for some loose dirt—maybe she could bury it—but Hemlock chose that moment to scuttle past her.

She wasn’t sure if it was a mouth or what, because she hadn’t seen him eat or open any orifice other than his eyes, but as he ran over her hands, the missive disappeared. Rosalyn gaped at him as he skittered around the edge of the pool, finally coming to rest next to her clothes. Whether he held the thing or hid it in the pile of fabric, she didn’t know, but she was grateful.

Why couldn’t we have just done that instead of shoving it down my throat, she thought bitterly.

“—can’t, all this time—”

The voices grew louder and closer, and that one was Hex. Despite the low whispered tone Rosalyn still somehow knew it was him.

“—didn’t know, it’s—”

She was fairly certain the second was Jian, with his deeper register and the fact that they’d left together.

“—not okay!” Hex’s voice rose into a growl. “I left her with that fucking monster!”

“You didn’t know.” Clearly Jian, calm, collected, firm.

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

Rosalyn’s heart tightened painfully at the sound of Hex’s voice cracking. Realistically, she knew that she wasn’t responsible for what happened to his mother but she still felt at fault for breaking the news.

“I’ve got you,” Jian said. “Always.”

Rosalyn knew she should cover hear ears, that she shouldn’t be eavesdropping on such a personal conversation. She knew she should call out or hide under the water or do anything but listen.

She told herself that she didn’t want to ruin their moment. Selfishly, she didn’t want to stop listening.

“Don’t you ever get tired?” Hex asked.

Jian didn’t hesitate. “Never, my Lord.”

Hex groaned softly. “Ugh, don’t call me that.”

“Apologies. Old habits.”

If Rosalyn had needed any more proof, she had it. But she wasn’t sure what to do with it. There were so many ways shit could go sideways for her, and she didn’t know how to approach what she knew. She wanted to help the resistance, and hopefully in a way that didn’t incriminate her, but it would be difficult lying to Hex and pretending she didn’t know who she was. Plus, that servant had been adamant that the missive needed to get to him. It could make all the difference in this war.

How do I explain how I know who he is? One thing she was certain of was that she didn’t want him to know about her time with Zal. That would make her one big liability.

“Do you smell that?” Hex asked, and his voice was closer now.

Rosalyn took in a sharp breath. They were coming her way. She had to play dumb, had to pretend she hadn’t heard them talking.

“Someone’s been sick,” Jian said, closer still.

She closed her eyes and made a snap decision, laying on her back and floating in the water so that her ears were submerged. She was less concerned about them catching her naked than catching her having listened, so if she looked like she were relaxing and unable to hear, they shouldn’t be suspicious.

She floated, listening to the muffled water brushing her body, for about thirty seconds before the pool felt like a tidal wave.

Rosalyn shrieked as she flung sideways before a set of strong arms encircled her. She sputtered, blinking rapidly to dispel water droplets clinging to her eyelashes, her hands pressing in front of her by instinct. Her palms met a hard chest, and she looked up at Hex’s furrowed brow, concern etched across his eyes.

“Are you alright?” he breathed.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, her brain stuttering while her body was fully aware of being completely naked and flush against him.

“Rose.” He raised a hand, slicking her hair away from her forehead. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah,” she finally stammered. “I was just…relaxing.”

“You were sick.” He glanced over at the stone, where the evidence of her puking still sat, likely giving off tons of nasty smells to the super demon noses. “And then you had your eyes closed, just…”

As he trailed off, she put two and two together. He must have seen her floating limply there and assumed something horrible had happened after she threw up. Her chest warmed. She felt like a selfish bitch, feeling all warm and fuzzy that he’d been so damn worried, but there it was.

“Sorry to scare you.” She smiled hesitantly. “I think I ate too much. Came in here to clean up and I was just floating in the quiet.” She hoped she was convincing enough, but she had a feeling that his moment of fear overrode any suspicion that she’d been eavesdropping. Guilt took hold of her ribs, twisting painfully.

“Don’t be sorry, I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said, and as if he suddenly realized he was still holding her, he released her quickly.

Rosalyn barely managed to get her feet underneath her with the sudden movement, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t suppose there are like, towels?”

Hex glanced over at Jian, and without a word, he headed off back down the path that Klari had brought her from.

Rosalyn cleared her throat, nerves alight. “Did you find the…thing? That I came in?”

He nodded, slumping back in the water until he was leaning against the pool wall, up to his chin. “Fucking horrific.”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you right away.” The water felt colder somehow, and she rubbed her hands up and down her biceps.

“I understand.” He stared at her with a piercing intensity. It was the same expression his drawing wore on the CD. Big, dark, contemplative eyes, as if he were breaking the boundaries of time and space to see into her very soul. “This must be scary for you.”

“Seems scary for everyone,” she replied before thinking, and it was out before she could stop it.

He nodded, the water lapping his lips. “It is.” His gaze didn’t leave hers, animal magnetism. “That’s why we need to end this war. As soon as we can.”

There was that guilt again, prying her ribs apart, clawing for her heart. She closed her eyes, intent on centering herself before telling him vehemently that she wanted to help somehow, and froze.

There, behind her eyes:

KCxbone: Rose, can you see this??