Chapter 159: Accelerated Learning

By the time we returned, the sun had dipped low enough that the nearby peaks cast the valley in shadow. Light snow fell from pale, pristine clouds. Sey danced in it through the sky—I tried the same, but all I succeeded in doing was making wisps of mist where my wings cut through the falling flakes.

The city was quieting down this time of day, but we flew low enough to be noticed. Nearly everyone who was out noticed us, and I waved at most everyone. Whether we liked it or not—I wasn’t decided yet myself—I was their leader. Or, well, their leader as far as Edath was concerned.

I had no intention of trampling over local authority. The little thinking I’d done on the matter the past day had pointed me in the direction of a strong town leader. My pick was that woman I spoke to the day Finley died; she would nominally report to me. I never did catch her name, but I saw her during the standoff with the Church.

Perhaps my sister or someone else knows her name? I should apologize to her for leaving so suddenly. Not two days into my role, and I’d already neglected it.

Oh well.

I needed the break, and it wasn’t like the town of Astrye would hurt for my missing presence. They’d gotten along just fine without it thus far.

Seyari dipped low toward the castle, and I followed. She headed straight for a balcony—and at a shocking speed. I shouted out to her, but she only slowed at the last second, flaring her crimson wings and alighting perfectly next to the door inside.

I didn’t dare try the same trick, and came in nice and slow. “You used your magic!” I protested. “You scared me!”

Seyari rolled her eyes. “Please. I could bounce off this wall and be fine—and you know it. Besides, my magic augments my flight—enables it almost. Your flight is purely magic, even. Why don’t you use your newfound wind magic?”

“Well…” I scratched at one of my horns.

“You should stop that.”

“Huh?”

Seyari pointed up at me. “That. It makes you look… unthreatening. Immature.” My wife paused, staring up at me. “You started doing it on purpose for just that reason, didn’t you?”

Did I? “I don’t remember,” I answered truthfully. “Maybe?”

“Just don’t do that when you’re talking to some duke or something.”

“I’ll try not to. But what I was gonna say—”

“Don’t shorten your words like that!”

“Sey!”

She stuck her tongue out at me.

“What I was going to say is that I’m not using my new wind magic because—”

The door to the balcony slammed open, interrupting me.

“There ya are!” shouted Taava. “We’re neck deep in bureaucratic garbage and you two leave us to go fuck your way through a mountain for two days!”

“It wasn’t two whole days!” I protested, making full use of my mastery over my anger not to blow up after yet another interruption.

The kazzel stared at us, fuming. Then her eyes left Seyari’s face to trail up and then down one folded wing. “Wow. You look… different.”

Seyari fluttered her wings, stopping just shy of literally preening.

Taava snapped her fingers. “I know! Your hair grew back! Guess sex really can heal everythin’!” Under Seyari’s death glare, the bard wilted. “Right, fine. Your wings look great, and you’re literally glowin’ so I’d bet you’re happy about it. Now, I don’t wanna be the bearer of bad news, but—”

“We have a lot of work do to. I know.” I interrupted her gleefully taking my revenge. I almost started to explain why I wasn’t flying with magic I didn’t fully grasp yet, but I paused just in case.

Sure enough, Nelys appeared in a flurry of rapid footfalls, leaping through the doorway and up onto me for a hug with a simply unfair number of limbs. “Renna!” they turned their head to Seyari, still latched onto me like a limpet. “And Sey! Wow! Your wings are beautiful!”

Seyari’s grimace vanished in an instant, replaced by a broad, toothy smile. “Thank you, Nelys.”

“Oh! And you have sharp teeth now, too! That just leaves out your sister and Salvador and Aretan. Oh, and Tren and Drin and Firalex and Officer Lorton and Inva and… okay maybe a lot of people. But Taava counts, so that’s four of us!”

“You’re in a good mood! Something happen?”

“A lot of work. I was a little worried—I think we all were. But the folk here are really nice, and the castle’s been fun to explore. Not that I’ve had much time with all the people to meet and things to do. Mostly, I guess I’m glad Sey’s got her wings and her hand back and that you two are married now! I wish I could’ve been there—Tania and Nadya say it was amazing!”

“Don’t forget about me!” Taava cut back in. “How am I supposed ta write a song off second-hand accounts? And ya’d better still have a party!” She ended her statement with a full-body shiver, tail frizzing out. “Can we go inside now? Coupla the fireplaces work still.”

“Let’s go inside then,” I offered. “Lead me to a fire and I’ll make sure the whole room’s nice and warm.”

“Sounds good boss!”

We filed in, and I closed the door with my tail. Inside wasn’t… clean per se, but the broken furniture was gone at least, and the stone walls weren’t… too bad. We’ll need servants. Servants!

“We will have a party. And soon.” Seyari said, frowning at how close she had to pull her wings. Were this a normal building, they’d be brushing the ceiling folded. “A proper wedding, with everyone invited—even if the wedding part isn’t official.”

I nodded in agreement. “Probably for the best. That tornado of magic was something else.”

“Gah! Don’t taunt me!” Taava hissed.

Nelys patted her shoulder. “Taava, now that they’re here, they can tell you all about it. Right, Renna?”

I met their smile and almost shivered. “Right. Yeah. I guess I don’t mind recounting it.”

Even chipper, I could tell there wa at least a little frustration in Nelys’s voice. Aside from that, they seemed mostly relaxed, just channeling that investigator persona they’d gained working under Officer Lorton back in Lockmoth.

“Great!” Nelys clapped their hands. “Your sister and Joisse are taking a well-deserved nap right now, but they’ll want to see you when they wake up.”

“I’m sorry about being derelict on my first days as marchioness.”

“Don’t be!” Nelys smiled. “Make it right! Now, I’m gonna go explore the castle after I show you what needs attention. Nadya’s gone home for the day already, but you’ll need to talk to her in the morning—and visit the town and talk to the people there. Maybe an open forum? Why don’t you two recount to Taava while we walk?”

I nodded and Seyari groaned. Today was going to be a long day—and tomorrow was going to be worse. “Nadya?” I asked. “Is she important?”

“Do you not remember talking to her?” Nelys asked. “She said she spoke to you the day you saved the town.”

Saved the town. “Is she an older lupael woman?”

Nelys nodded. “Yeah.”

I pounded a fist onto an open palm. “That’s her name! I wanted to talk to her anyway; I think putting her in charge of the town as an intermediary would make my position here less… overbearing. And speaking of: what’s the attitude toward me been?”

“Good!” Nelys chirped. “You saved the city!”

“And I killed a High Priest right in front of everyone, and my title was bestowed onto me under unusual circumstances.”

“Your title is marchioness, Renna,” Sey said. I caught her running a hand down her feathers as we walked. “It’s usually a non-hereditary title given for military accomplishment. Traditionally, in Ordia at least, it would govern border territories—marches—that didn’t have the stability or influence of full provinces.”

“So like Astrye.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, but what about me being a demon. From what Nadya said, I know the stigma against me is… different here, but there’s still a culture of fear.”

“Let’s just say it’s cautious optimism, boss,” Taava said. She didn’t twirl or bounce about as we walked, almost dragging her feet.

“Taava, are you tired? If you are, we’re here now, so you can go rest.”

“Oh trust me—I’m gonna. Just gotta drop you off first. Left here.” The kazzel turned abruptly into a nicer-looking hallway. “Now about that vow a yours…”

“Alright.”

“And don’t undersell it!”

“Trust me—I couldn’t.”

Taava tossed me a grin over her shoulder, and I began to tell her of a magical—literally—moment and a vortex of power. Obviously, I left out my true name. The walls here almost certainly had ears—just another thing to deal with later. Transparency was a goal, but closed doors needed to exist for a reason.

I tried to think and talk at the same time, only moderately succeeding. Is Firalex available to do a runic array like what the Gelles Company has in Lockmoth? And… speaking of the company, will I need to resign? Probably?

Just another thing to add to the pile. I needed to make a list. And write dates on a calendar.

Sooner than I’d expected, Taava stopped in front of a door. I paused, but she said nothing, simply smiling wider. Fine. I told her the rest of the story, and she nodded, turning to Seyari.

“No,” my wife said. “Later.”

“Fiiine. But! One little thing! How does flyin’ feel to ya—what does it mean?”

“Freedom,” Seyari said simply and without hesitation. “Now get some damned sleep—both of you. You might be able to hide from Zarenna, but I can tell you’re exhausted Nelys.”

I had a hunch, but Sey was right. Now that I looked, Nelys was slouching a little, the tendrils of their skirt that stuck out under their coat languid and uncertain.

“If you’re sure…” Nelys said.

I nodded sternly. “We are.”

“Well the bosses don’t have ta tell me twice. G’niiight!” Taava waved, half-skipping, half dragging her feet back down the way we came.

Nelys took a few steps after her, then stopped. “Kartania will want to help when she wakes up. If you two go anywhere, tell someone.”

“We will,” I promised.

With a nod, Nelys left.

“They’re a lot more serious now, aren’t they?” I asked into the now-empty hallway. “Lately as well, but especially today.”

“Mhm,” Seyari agreed. “Things are serious—not just for us, but for them, too.”

“Yeah, they really are. I just hope they’re okay.” I turned and opened the door. “Now let’s see what kind of…”

Inside the room were stacks of papers and ledgers and tomes of all sizes. Crates of miscellany sat in a half-jumbled stack along one wall, and a familiar chandelier hung from the ceiling, now held level by rope. I recognized the room immediately as where we’d stayed before High Priest Grants arrived.

But only just. The once-big space had shrunken under the weight of the mess, and the only clean space was a radius around the fireplace, where flickering wisps of flame danced across long-blackened logs.

“Well, Marchioness Zarenna, you’d best get to work,” Seyari teased, talking into the room and taking a stack of ledgers off a battered-looking chair. She sat down as I waded into the mess, jaw open.

“How… where do I start? Can you help?”

Seyari shrugged. “I’m just the marchioness… hmmm marchioness-consort? No, we’re married. I’m not the one with the primary title.”

“Yes, and?”

“And are you really going to make your loving wife do work?”

“Do you want to stay locked up under guard when the war ramps up?”

“Of course not. And I won’t.” Seyari smiled, again showing off her unusually-sharp canines. She leaned back in the chair, wriggling to try to position her wings more comfortably against the back. “But the war is for all of us. This is for you.” She flicked one wing out as if pointing at the largest pile.

“Sey, I haven’t been trained. If my sister’s asleep, you’re the only other person I can trust to do this work. Aretan too, if he were here, but he’s not.”

Seyari shrugged. “That’s a whole lot of ‘not my problem.’”

“You just want to see me suffer.”

“No, I want to see you learn.”

“This isn’t learning! It’s torture.”

“It’s accelerated is what it is. How much longer would it have taken you to learn Navvish if you were just reading from a book?”

I pouted. “There’s a difference, Sey! I had a teacher there.”

“What’s to say I won’t teach you here?”

“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t help?”

“Yes. Teaching isn’t giving you the answers and you know it.” She started listing things on her fingers. “By week’s end, we’re going to need to have this all sorted, Nadya or someone in place as the mayor of Astrye, and we’re going to need to fly out to Linthel to report to the King, inform the Gelles Company one of their members is a noble, and prepare for your formal debut into noble society. You need a crash course. You don’t need to sleep either, which is good.”

I opened my mouth to protest, only to close it again. “You… have a lot of good points. Fine—I concede. But this needs to get done and get done right, so if we start running low on time you will step in.”

Seyari’s smile didn’t falter. “We’ll see. Now, start with the ledgers over the tomes and loose documents, they’ll have finances, goods, and if you’re lucky, demographics and a register of businesses and farms.”

I looked at the stacks of ledges she was pointing her wing at. If they’d been put all together, the stack would’ve been as tall as I was—horns included. “Anywhere in particular I should start?”

“Take a guess. Do what feels right.”

“Throwing you out the window right now is starting to feel right…” I grumbled.

“Defenestrate me and I fly away and leave you actually alone. I need a new wardrobe anyway—normal-backed clothing isn’t going to cut it and I can’t just cut wing holes like you do arm holes.”

“Yeah, try having a tail as big around as your leg at the base.”

“I don’t need to; I have yours.” She pulled at the tip.

I jolted at the sudden sensation. “Sey! Are you trying to sabotage me.”

“You need to be unflappable, Zarenna Miller.” She rubbed tiny circles into the spade at the end, and I felt heat moving to certain places that really didn’t need it right now.

“Okay, fine, stop please!”

Seyari let my tail go.

I grabbed the tip, pulling it back to myself. “Where were we?”

My wife shrugged. “Wardrobes?”

All I could do was groan. “Fine. I’ll pick a ledger.”

“Good. And could you also stoke the fire?”

“Now that is a servant’s job.”

“Will you make a servant do everything for you? Could you stand it?”

I stared at the ledgers, the mess, and back to Seyari. For a very brief moment, the unentertained idea of just making the room into a nice warm fire crossed my mind. Instead, I pointed a claw at the fireplace and sent a wind-boosted jet of flames into the rearmost log.

With a bang of exploding sap, the charred wood split open, tossing embers that I snuffed out with my magic. Hot as my fire was, the log caught and the flames turned crimson, with just the slightest tinge of green at the edges.

“Happy?” I asked.

“Yess,” Seyari purred, sinking into the chair and closing her eyes.

For a moment, I stared at the almost inhuman symmetry of her features. Statuesque, with bold lines and a sharply feminine jaw. Was she still three-quarters angel, or was she something more? Her magic wasn’t demonic like our daughter’s. At first we’d assumed it was, as Sey’s holy magic hardly caused a reaction from me. Instead, we’d found out something that would doubtless prove very useful; holy magic no longer burned me any more than a mortal. I might still be the weakest Sovereign in terms of raw power, but I no longer had a weakness.

Still, Seyari had gained fire magic from me as I had gained wind, she had influences in her features I couldn’t think of as anything but other. And influenced a little by me. I wonder why the reverse didn’t happen.

An angel? Perhaps Seyari was something else entirely now. Her own being.

As I stared at her, she cracked one glowing gold eye open at me. “Less staring. More working. Admire my beauty effectively.”

I nearly grabbed the nearest ledger and threw it at her. Instead, I settled for my most “evil villainess” of glares. Seyari returned it in kind—and with one eye no less. I conceded defeat and finally picked up a ledger—the biggest one on the top of a stack—one that looked a little more newly-bound. I opened it, staring down at the crabbed handwriting so small I was glad for my supernatural vision.

Immediately, I realized I’d need to find something to take notes on—maybe an entire blank tome. This is going to be a long day indeed.