Page 130 of The Concubine King
‘Then you need to not be together.’
‘We have to; if we do not join together it hurts us.’
‘When you join together, it hurts the humans.’
Vaire considers this.Kyarin watches silently.
‘Very well,’ Vaire finally says, and can feel Kyarin’s heart sink.But Cadoc’s bristling fades.‘I will ask the others to be cautious where they meet.’
‘You will?’Cadoc asks.
‘Humans do not deserve to live in terror,’ Vaire agrees.‘We need to try to live together.Since we are both here, it must be the universe’s wish.’He turns to Kyarin’s sour disappointment behind him.‘You said we must heed it.’
‘You are not,’ Kyarin whispers.‘You are ceding to humans, not the universe.’
‘Is there a difference?’Vaire asks.Kyarin does not reply.Vaire turns back to Cadoc, whose gaze shifts from daggers for Kyarin to soft resolve for Vaire.
‘Thank you,’ he says.Vaire dips his head.Cadoc remains for another long moment, watching Vaire.Then he morphs into a hawk and flies away.
After visiting all the others, Vaire seeks out Dihen.He does not need to soothe a gnawing void with death’s company, as they are opposites, but unlike darkness and light, Vaire does not hate his antithesis.
He finds Dihen in a small forest cove, their hunched silhouette painted green from sunlight filtering through the canopy.Curled before their knees is a gangly fawn, its brown fur mottled and dark with birth fluids that had never been cleaned.Its small head rests in Dihen’s lap, eyes closed and still as Dihen strokes its narrow forehead.
Vaire kneels beside them.
‘She struggled for hours to live,’ Dihen says, quiet and calm.‘Even after her mother abandoned her.’
‘Life always struggles,’ Vaire says.Dihen lifts their steady black gaze to him.He sweeps a lock of Dihen’s white hair behind their ear and kisses their brown forehead.‘Until they settle into your gentle arms.’
Dihen looks down at the fawn, brushes her snout one last time before laying her head to the grass.‘And back into yours.’
‘I am not gentle.I am patient.’Vaire smiles and stands.‘Will you walk with me?’
‘Of course.’
They walk across the forest into meadow.There is a steadiness to Dihen’s presence that Vaire, encompassing all the chaos and instability of growth, appreciates.So in that way, Dihen’s presence is a salve, only of a different kind.It is similar to the effect Kyarin has on his mood, though darkness is cold, sharper, an invigorating kind of tranquility.
They talk of many things and nothing at all.They do not realize they are entering human territory until Cadoc stops them.Whatever small form he was using to hide amongst the tall grass becomes a man in an instant, blocking their way.
‘Cadoc!’Vaire greets him.He had not seen him since their negotiations several years before.
‘Do you want to set disease across the population?’Cadoc demands.Vaire blinks.Dihen looks up at him with indifferent calm.‘The two of you together cannot pass through human lands.You agreed.’
‘We had no intention to pass through,’ Vaire tells him.‘We did not realize where we were.We apologize.’
Cadoc watches them, eyes dark.‘You need to be more observant of your surroundings.’
Vaire smiles.‘I roamed the whole of the world before.It is a bit difficult to become accustomed to sudden limitations.’
Cadoc is unsympathetic to this, dismissing it with a flip of his hand, a human gesture.‘It has been long enough.The civilized gods do not encroach on wild god lands.’
‘Civilized gods?’Vaire laughs.‘Is that what you call yourselves now?’
‘It is what mortals call us,’ Cadoc replies in all seriousness.
‘Well, it might seem long enough to you.You have not been around as long as we have.’Vaire smiles and Cadoc’s eyes drift to his mouth.‘Wait another century or two and a few years will be the blink of an eye.’
‘What is a century?’Dihen asks blandly.
