Thea

I broke the kiss with Bryce while wearing a huge, stupid grin. “Wow, if this is the sort of treatment I get for fighting a god, then I should’ve done it a long time ago.”

Bryce managed a half laugh as she wiped at her eyes. “No, this is the sort of treatment you get when you nearly die, and scare all the people who care about you half to death.”

I cringed at her explanation. “Was it that bad? I felt something break, but the pain wasn’t too terrible, so I didn’t think it was important. Probably just my spleen or something, and who knows what that does, anyway?”

“Thea, you burnt out all of your meridians and shattered your core.” My heart stopped as I processed what she had just said. “You’ve been unconscious for the last two days while I slowly rebuilt your entire mana-network.”

“I hadn’t… How is that possible?” I didn’t know all that much about how mana-cores worked, but I knew enough to know they were important, and super complicated. They weren’t the sort of thing you just rebuilt, and even if I ignored the impossibility of that, it had taken Bryce nearly two weeks to repair her own meridians after she was poisoned. How had she rebuilt mine in less than two days?

Bryce was about to respond as the door slowly opened to reveal a hesitant Esme. I waved at her, which seemed to give the succubus all the permission she needed to rush in and wrap me in a crushing hug.

“Thea! I thought we had lost you!”

“Nope, I’m fine,” I wheezed out. “Or was fine. Esme, babe, I can’t breathe.”

She graciously let me go before glaring down at me. “You’re lucky I don’t strangle you after what you did. Seriously, what were you thinking?”

“I, uh, wasn’t?” Esme’s frown only intensified, so I continued in a panic. “Look, Orrid nearly killed Bryce and was acting all smug about it. Then he underestimated me, which just made me even more angry. I had to do something.”

“No, Thea, you didn’t.” I was about to protest, but Esme gave me a look to let me know that would be a bad idea. She continued after it became apparent that I wasn’t going to say anything. “Orrid was clearly in the wrong, and if you had just let Lilith handle things, then we would’ve been able to demand retribution. As it is, you nearly killed him, and it’s going to be everything we can do just to get the two of you out of this without some sort of concession.”

“Wait, what do you mean, the two of us? Bryce didn’t do anything!” I looked to Bryce for some sort of explanation, but she looked just as stunned as I felt.

“You used her mana in the attack; as far as Orrid is concerned, she’s just as at fault as you are and he’s demanding both of you pay for it.”

I fell back into the bed with a mumbled curse as Bryce spoke up. “What sort of concession is he asking for?”

“We don’t actually know, but because both of you are a part of Lilith’s household, it’ll likely be something to use as leverage on her.”

“Orrid is such an ass!” I shouted towards the ceiling. “We were trying to save his daughter, and now he’s taking advantage of his own mistake to punish us for it.”

“To be clear, it’s your mistake that he’s taking advantage of here.” Esme glared at me, and I did my best to melt into the covers. “Regardless, how this ends is likely going to depend on what happens when Lilith gets back from Tartarus. If Malvoch is behind the kidnapping like we suspect, then Lilith is going to have additional leverage to use against him.”

“Ugh, I hate politics.” I pulled the blanket up to cover my face, but then what Esme had said actually registered with me, so I pulled it back down again. “Wait, did Lilith go after him by herself? Does she know about Aris?”

“She left before I got here, so I’m not sure if she went alone.” Esme frowned as she tried to process my second question. “What does Aris have to do with anything?”

I was about to answer when the door opened again, and Chorus walked through with Nessy trailing behind him. “Lilith went alone, but I warned her that Aris might be involved before she left. Sorry, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop.”

“That’s okay, we are still in your temple, after all.” I waved at the succubus. “Hey Nessy, how much did you make off Taz this time?”

“Hey, Thea. Glad you’re safe.” She smiled at me, before her grin turned just a bit greedy. “And I got everything off him. You should treat him to a drink or a meal or something the next time you get a chance. Gods know he won’t be able to afford to pay for himself for a while.”

“Why does he keep betting against Thea living?” Bryce seemed somewhat offended. Which was fair, since Taz had apparently bet a lot of money that I was going to die.

Nessy just laughed instead of saying anything, so Chorus stepped in to explain. “Tazris believed Kai was just looking to play a prank on me when we first started courting, and bet that it wouldn’t last for more than a few nights. She got word of it and cursed him to have terrible luck gambling.”

“It’s nowhere near a sure thing that he’ll lose every bet, but the curse seems to nudge outcomes against him,” Nessy continued the explanation with a smile. “But only when he bets big, and only if he’s actually risking what he bets. Which means I get to keep all of my winnings guilt free.”

“That is… Well, something.” Bryce frowned, apparently not knowing how to feel about Taz’s bad luck.

“It’s mostly harmless, and the curse isn’t strong enough to impact major events.” Chorus dismissed Bryce’s concerns before changing the subject entirely. “Thea, while I’m glad to see you well, I didn’t come up here just to check on you. Bryce, I was actually hoping we could have a quick word.”

“Um, sure, I don’t mind. What’s this about?” Bryce and I looked towards each other in confusion, but neither Esme nor Nessy seemed surprised.

“Well, first how are you feeling?” Chorus asked, and Bryce just frowned in response, so he expanded on his question. “You’ve been awake and working nonstop for the last thirty-six hours. Are you tired, or perhaps hungry? How has your mana held up? I have to imagine it took a lot to rebuild Thea’s meridians.”

Bryce didn’t seem tired, especially not stayed-awake-working-for-thirty-six-hour-straight tired, and I’d seen her do that in the past, so I knew the look. Instead, she just looked… well, it was exactly as I had said when I first woke up. She looked radiant. “Oh shit, she looks radiant!”

Chorus nodded at my outburst, but Bryce didn’t seem to get it. “I don’t understand. Why am I not tired or hungry? I was exhausted just ten minutes ago.”

“We believe that you’ve attracted the attention of a mantle.” Nessy stepped forward to explain. “Normally, this would be something to celebrate, but unfortunately, given the circumstances, that might not be the case.”

“Wait, like a divine mantle? Is she a god now?” I got out of the bed to stand near Bryce, because it just felt like the thing to do when your girlfriend becomes a god. “How did that happen, and why is it a bad thing?”

“Attracting the attention of a mantle happens when you complete a sufficiently impressive feat, or embody a concept so completely that it becomes an undeniable part of who you are.” Chorus was the one to answer my question, and continued the explanation from there. “And no, she’s not a god, but this is the first step to becoming one.”

Bryce closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “And it’s a bad thing because the feat I accomplished was reviving Thea by rebuilding her mana network without a core.”

Nessy and Chorus nodded, and it was my turn to be confused. “Which is bad because…?”

“When we discovered your core was shattered, my first impulse was to ask Chorus if a god could help fix it. Lilith shut down that idea, saying that if a god like that ever did manifest, they would have their mantle removed.”

“That’s bullshit! Who has the right to take a god’s mantle away?” I was starting to get annoyed, which probably wasn’t entirely fair to the people in the room, but it totally was bullshit.

“We’re not saying that it will happen, just that it’s a possibility.” Nessy tried to placate me, but Bryce’s hand on my shoulder is what actually calmed me down.

“If it happens, then it happens. Either way, what does this mean for us now?” She asked in a surprisingly calm voice. “You said this was just the first step? What’s the next one?”

Nessy looked to Chorus, and he answered. “Normally, when a mantle doesn’t immediately attach, we leave a candidate to their own devices to let the mantle determine if they’re worthy. If it decides they are, then it’ll attach to them and they’ll ascend. If not, then eventually it’ll leave them alone and nothing happens.”

“But this isn’t normal?” Bryce asked.

“It both is, and isn’t.” Chorus paused for a moment before explaining. “There’s nothing particularly abnormal about the situation. It’s actually rather common for a mantle to wait for a candidacy period before attaching. So, that you’ve been chosen, but not immediately ascended, isn’t unexpected. What makes this different is the potential that the mantle will have something to do with the soul, and that we might have a chance to avoid it.”

“Are you saying that what the mantle actually is hasn’t been decided yet? If that’s the case, how do we direct it to be something that won’t get me in trouble?”

“Unfortunately, that part is entirely up to you.” Chorus seemed genuinely regretful. “My best advice is to consider what garnered the mantle’s attention in the first place, and do something similar that isn’t related to the soul.”

“Thank you, Chorus. I’ll have to think on it then.” Bryce inclined her head to him before turning to me with a frown. “But in the meantime, what should we do?”

“Well, we still need to do something about Vurdex, and Lilith is probably still in Tartarus looking for Stephy. Plus, there was something else I wanted to do in Hades, so I was hoping we could do that before we left.”

Bryce paused to think for a moment before shaking her head. “I’ve mostly learned my lesson about rushing after Lilith. I’d rather give her a chance to deal with Malvoch and only step in if we’re asked to help. Maybe we could talk with Vurdex, then do your thing? I’m not sure if we need to be around to help with Orrid, but if not, then I wouldn’t mind getting back to the ship a little early.”

“Sure, works for me.” I shrugged before looking to the other three people in the room. “Did you guys need us to stick around, or are we good to go?”

“It’ll probably be best to let Lilith and I handle Orrid.” Chorus dismissed the idea before continuing. “As for Vurdex, I’d recommend you wait to approach him until tomorrow morning. His casino will be busy this late, and that’ll give me time to procure a gift for Esmer to present to him.”

“Oh right! Esme can come with us now.” I turned towards the succubus in question, who seemed hesitant. “Unless you needed to get back to dealing with Raith before that?”

“It shouldn’t be an issue to wait another day, and I was actually hoping to talk to Bryce about something in private before I left.”

“That seems like our cue to leave. If there’s anything else you need from me, then feel free to search me out.” Chorus smiled before bowing slightly, then left with Nessy in tow.

“What’s up?” I asked Esme, who rolled her eyes at me and addressed Bryce.

“I suppose Thea being here is private enough.”

“Hey! I almost died, remember? You have to be nice to me.” Bryce pulled me backwards into a hug, but otherwise ignored my protests.

“If it’s about Raith, then I assume it has to do with her soul stone? Did you have time to get it made while you were in Dis?”

“I did, and when I learned you had joined our household, I was planning on asking you to be the one to remove Lilith’s name from it. Assuming you managed to save Thea… But now I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

Bryce nodded. “From what Chorus described, it would be best if I avoided anything that has to do with the soul just to be safe. Is there somebody else you trust to do it?”

“Lilith isn’t exactly known for delicate work, otherwise I’d just ask her. My father is an option, but he has the same issue just by virtue of being a god.”

“I understand.” Bryce thought for the barest of moments before coming to a decision. “I’m not going to let the fear of losing something I don’t have stop me from saving a woman’s life, besides I doubt making a minor alteration would count as some grand feat for ascension. May I see the stone?”

Esme nodded before causing a palm sized emerald to appear in her hand and offering it to Bryce. She took it and spent some time focusing on the glowing gem. We stood there in silence for a few minutes before Bryce finally handed it back. “She shouldn’t remember anything from the last couple of years. I wish I could have been more precise, but I didn’t want to risk learning Lilith’s true name.”

“And you didn’t, right?” Esme asked hesitantly. “You didn’t learn her true name?”

“I did not learn Lilith’s true name while searching through Raith’s memories.” Bryce swore almost mechanically while looking down at me. Esme also looked towards me expectantly.

“I’m a person, not some sort of lie detecting robot.” I crossed my arms and glared at the two of them, but rolled my eyes when they just continued to stare. “Fine. Of course, Bryce wasn’t lying. She wouldn’t do that.”

“Thank you, Thea.” Bryce kissed the top of my head and Esme seemed to almost deflate as the tension visibly left her body. I was plotting all the ways I was going to get back at the two of them when I had a sudden realization.

“Hey, princess, at least now we know what Softie’s premonition was about, right?”