It was late, or early, and the party was still raging in the Silver Mark’s side of things. Rhen managed to squeeze past the partying drunks without being noticed and get onto the main road to Desedra tower. His heart raced at the same speed as his thoughts, despite being immensely tired from the day’s events.

He used Swift Twitch and ran, helping to get out some of the nervous energy, and get him there a little faster. He wanted this over with. Half of him felt he knew exactly what answer he was going to get. Zeichen was committed to doing what she thought was right, and no one would stand in her way.

But Rhen was committed to doing the right thing, too, and he knew what happened when an immovable object met an unstoppable force. It wouldn’t be good for either of them. Perhaps, just this once, he could make her see reason. He picked up the pace once more, determined that even if his gut was right, he had a way forward. Or a way out… trusty ‘ol Piercing Detonator.

The flickering neons faded into the background as he made his way into the towering city center. Sparse lights lit up the windows of the buildings here, but the glow from the low-hanging clouds kept the ambient light high. He made his way up into the lobby.

There was no one at the front desk. Rhen moved around the back side and activated the communication node. A few options appeared: Dojo, Garden, Penthouse, and Security. Rhen selected Penthouse and the light flickered with static above the node. After a few seconds, Shevine appeared, a deep scowl pinching her brow.

“Rhen, what are you doing here?”

“I need to speak to Zeichen. Please, it’s critically important.”

Shevine looked over her shoulder, then nodded to someone, probably Zeichen, and turned back to him. “Take the elevator at the back of the hall and select the “P,” it’ll take you straight up to the Penthouse.”

Rhen deactivated the node and jogged to the back elevator. His stomach squeezed a little as the elevator picked up speed, lifting him higher and faster—or maybe that feeling was his nerves. He exhaled long and slow, getting his heartrate back down. This was going to be a conversation, and she was going to be reasonable, because she respected him.

The door opened to a barren hallway that had once been opulently decorated. Clean spots on the walls stood in stark contrast where portraits once hung, and discolored marks adorned the floors where some statue had been. All that remained was the red and black carpet leading to the Penthouse double doors.

Rhen rapped on the wooden door and Shevine welcomed him in. The entrance room opened wide in a round arc, with lowered cushioned seats near the big, undressed windows. The sky outside glowed with moonlight that danced on the whispering smog of Desedra city.

Zeichen emerged from behind the bar to his right, clothed in only a black silk robe, and clothed was pushing the term. She had a cocktail cradled in one hand, but signed with the other.

“Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride the night before the wedding?” She gave him a coy smile.

Rhen calmed himself, preparing for the worst. He and Zeichen both didn’t like to beat around the issue, so he took a deep breath and got right down to it. “Did you kill your father?”

“What a question.”

She passed him the drink, then returned to the bar for her own. Shevine wandered away toward the window, her back to them for privacy. Zeichen took a sip of the clear martini, and licked her lips.

“If I did kill him, what would that mean for our partnership?”

“I would want to know why first, then I’ll decide what it means.”

She nodded approvingly. “You know from experience that not every murder is not an act of malice, or violence. Not every life taken is something bad that needs punishing.”

“Zeichen, stop deflecting.” Rhen set his untouched drink down.

Her shoulders slumped and she put her drink down, too. “Yes, I did kill him.”

“Why?”

She took a deep breath. “He was sick. I don’t know if you’ve noticed Rhen, but lots of people are getting very sick and dying before their natural time. Do you know why?”

He thought on it for a moment. The illness that his mentor had, and Wyland with his memory. But those were only two data points among thousands of people he’d met. “I’ve seen two in my lifetime.”

“And you’ve walked past hundreds on the streets, huddled under awnings, begging for spare marks or a bite to eat.”

“To the point, Zeichen.”

“We are killing the Great Mother, and she is trying to save herself from us. I did kill my father. He was so irreparably ill that when I tried to save him, just the way you saved Wyland, he died instead. His spirit wasn’t able to withstand her cleansing power.”

Something nagged at the back of Rhen’s mind as she spoke. Rhen had so many of the records of the Desedra family. Nowhere was it mentioned that Zeichen III had an illness, especially not one that was so bad that healing him killed him instead.

Zeichen picked up her drink again. “I can see the distrust in your eyes. Be honest with me.”

“There were no records of your father’s illness.”

She chuckled darkly. “Why would he broadcast weakness? If any of the other families, my mother’s for example, caught wind of his defective blood, his entire line would be forfeit. He didn’t want to destroy his legacy, nor his children’s futures.”

This made sense, but something still didn’t feel right. Wyland was old and weak, his was sickness not just in the head, but his body too. It was like the end was coming for him. But Zeichen III, a well-cared-for king, couldn’t withstand the Great Mother’s power? Perhaps Rhen was being unfairly scrupulous, but her reasoning still didn’t add up, and his gut was telling him something was wrong. If he pressed it, would he make it out of here?

Rhen scowled and looked down as if he were thinking about it. Finally, he smoothed over his expression and looked back at her.

“I’m sorry I thought ill of you. Adelus told me and I… I guess he was so convincing, even under the influence of Goddess Fruit.”

Zeichen smiled kindly. “I understand. It’s a hard thing to come to terms with. I feel responsible for his death. I told him I could heal him, but I couldn’t.” She sighed. “Now I carry on for him, doing what he should’ve done with his life the best I can. It’s all I can do.”

Rhen nodded, keeping his face amicable as the facts slipped into place. Zeichen bested her father in a duel, earning her space back in as the head of the family, but her father’s promises to the other children kept the dungeons securely where they were. She didn’t respect him, as she’d mentioned many times at Protectorate meetings. She’d hated the way he’d done business.

Moreover, her father commanded Zeichen to remove the core of the Laval Flower, despite her telling him it would destroy the eco-chamber, and she had to comply. She was back in the family, and her child would inherit the crown, but her father still ruled over her, and the other siblings did too. Even if her father had been sick, Zeichen hadn’t wanted to cure him. It was likely a careful manipulation that got him alone with her, and vulnerable enough to be ended.

“Well,” Rhen said, smiling placidly, “I suppose I better go get a good night’s rest for the big day.”

Zeichen returned his grin and showed him toward the door. She gave a quick whistle, and before Rhen reached the door, his body went immobile. He turned around against his will, facing Zeichen and Shevine. The translator’s mechanical hands glowed with pink light, strings extending from each fingertip into Rhen’s body. She wiggled them and he stepped forward, face to face with Zeichen.

“You’re a rotten liar sometimes, and I am too. Another thing we have in common. Why can’t you see that my way is the only way to fix this? Why did you have to be so stubborn? We could’ve been happy, and now…” she trailed off, sighing.

“Why are you doing—”

Zeichen hand burst with purple light, capturing his voice. She pulled it back into her palm, and then swallowed it. “You’re not this stupid, Rhen,” she said in a voice that was feminine, but his.

He tried to speak, but nothing came from his mouth.

“Those dungeons need to be healed, and even if your impassioned speech can change a few minds tomorrow night, it will not be fast enough to save the Great Mother. And then we all die. I’ve killed a few to save the many, and if we work together, there doesn’t have to be anymore killing.”

Rhen gritted his teeth, his hands unable to sign and his voice taken from him. He raged in his own mind about her pig-headedness, that she was so faithless, so hopeless, and wrong. She didn’t believe in the people because she’d never lived among the good ones. They were out there, and they would listen.

Zeichen waved her servant forward. “Take him to his room for the evening.”

Rhen watched the tiny strings of light dance as Shevine moved her hands, and then Rhen walked.

Light.

He took a deep breath, activating Consume the Light. The pink strings snapped in the middle and Rhen pulled them into himself. The spell broke, and he raised his hand to his head, summoning all his anima for Piercing Detonator.

Zeichen kicked his arm away and he felt something pop in his shoulder socket. He used Swift Twitch and dashed for the door, but Shevine blocked the path, sword arms ready to dice him to bits.

Rhen threw himself at her blades, ready to meet his end in the most gruesome fashion, however he had to, to escape. Zeichen wrapped her arm around his neck, holding him back. She grabbed his good arm and twisted it up behind his back.

“Stop being a child,” she snarled in his ear, his own voice primal and guttural.

Rhen fired Tremor Blast at full strength at her gut, throwing Zeichen back, and Rhen forward. Pain ripped through him as the blade pierced his gut. Shevine pulled away, and the blade seared like a hot poker as it came free. Rhen rolled to his side and put his bad arm at the hole in his stomach. Before he could use Piercing Detonator to blast it wide open, Shevine cut his hand clean off.

Rhen silently howled and jerked the limb up to his chest. He curled in on himself wishing he’d die. The necklace under his shirt glowed with power, burning his chest.

Zeichen snapped the cord from around his neck and pocketed it. “Trying to summon her powers for something so trivial, you disgust me.”

Shevine dropped to her knees beside him and moved through a complex set of motions. A magical bubble appeared from her mouth that she pulled out and laid over him. Slowly, his hand regrew, and the skin at his stomach mended.

“It didn’t have to be this way, Rhen,” Zeichen said in his feminine voice. “You can still agree to walk down that aisle with me tomorrow, get married, claim the dungeons from my wretched family, and live your life happily with Jakira, far away from me… or I can destroy everyone you love until you submit, and as soon as the dungeons are under your command, I’ll put you down just like my greed infected father.”

Rhen tried to move, but Shevine was pinning him down. He could cephaloshift and break through the glass, plummeting to his death… but where would that get him? He’d be out for respawn for hours. Then he’d be four more hours away from Jakira, Arannet, Joseph, and everyone else who came to witness the wedding. Zeichen would waste no time snatching them up and doing her worst to control him back into place.

Why did he come alone…?

Because he knew if things went bad, he didn’t want Jakira anywhere near it. She’d be well within Zeichen’s grasp now, and Rhen would be even more coerced to comply. No, it was better this way. She had the upper hand now, but tomorrow, on that stage and with the eyes of millions, she wouldn’t.

Rhen moved slowly and Shevine let him up a little. He rolled up to his knees, looking at Zeichen. Without a voice, he was forced to sign—sloppily since it was with just one good hand, “I don’t believe you’re a bad person. I know you want to do what’s right, but this is not how you go about it.”

She shook her head. “It’s not about right or wrong anymore. It’s about survival. Go to your room and bathe off the blood. Shevine will put your shoulder back in place. Rest, and prepare for tomorrow. There will be no shenanigans at the wedding, or I will make good on my promise.”

Shevine grabbed him by the bad arm and jerked him towards the rooms to the right. He winced, unable to cry out from the pain in his socket. He followed her at a stagger, contemplating the hours to come, and how he could put an end to Zeichen’s terror before it could be realized.

His friends would be there, he reminded himself. Jakira would know he hadn’t come back; she would know something was wrong and tell everyone. This wasn’t over, not by a long shot. Zeichen would rue the day she tried to manipulate Rhen Zephitz.