Maleshi swallowed and watched him try to hide his embarrassment behind the cup. After centuries, now he needs comfort from me. Something’s wrong. “Where is he right now?”
“In the square playing king of spells with the raugs.”
“Are you sure?”
Corian looked at her, his jaw clenching. “Maleshi, I wouldn’t have come to you like this if I didn’t know exactly where he was and what he was doing. I don’t want him to know I’m here.”
“Neither do I.” She set down her cup and sat up straighter on the mound of pillows. “But you obviously need to get something off your chest, and I think you should stay to do that.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She spread her arms and gestured to the pile of cushions around her. “I am very busy right now, so just know this bottle of Bloodshine is going to feel particularly abandoned until I can give it my full attention again.”
He snorted. “By all means, drink while you listen. We might both need it.”
“Corian.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re stalling.”
Corian took another drink and reached for the bottle to refill his cup. “All this about Ba’rael having a child and us going to find him. It doesn’t feel right.”
“I thought you agreed we should speak to him?”
“I do. Cazerel didn’t say a thing about where he is. About where we’re going.”
“You don’t trust the raugs?”
“No, I do. I don’t think they trust us. We only got into that meeting because of Ember, and that says enough on its own. I’m not worried about the raugs, but L’zar seems way too excited for a family reunion and a quick chat about the future.” Corian rubbed the back of his neck. “He won’t tell me what he plans to do with this newfound nephew of his, and I’m not sure I can predict his intentions anymore. Not as well as I used to, at any rate.”
“You think he’s lying to you?”
“Lying and avoiding the whole truth are one and the same for him. You know that.”
Maleshi frowned. “I do. I also don’t see a reason why he’d keep anything from you. Not now, when we’re so close to finishing all this.”
“Neither do I, but I can feel it.” He rubbed a hand over his mouth and stared at the ceiling. “Now I know how Cheyenne felt before she learned the rest of what she needed to know.”
“You’re comparing two very different things, vae shra’ni.” Maleshi dipped her chin and stared at him from beneath her darkened brows until he met her gaze. “Neither of them knows how to fulfill their role with the other. Is it strange to see L’zar Verdys loosening up around the halfling daughter he’s known for all of a month? Absolutely. Can we trust that he’s trying to do all this for her and for the world he despises as much as some O’gúleesh despise him? Maybe.”
“That’s the thing. I thought I did.” Corian bit his bottom lip, his nostrils flaring as he tried to put his thoughts into words. “I’m not sure I do anymore. I think he’s hiding things from me because we’re this close to the end, and he no longer thinks it’s necessary to keep me informed.”
“That’s not the way you two operate.”
“Yes, I’m well aware.”
Maleshi scooted closer to the edge of the pillows. “Do you think he’s noticed that you feel this way?”
“No. He knows I agree with Cheyenne that using Ba’rael’s son against her is not the route we want to take. He also knows I stand with him in heading out to wherever they’re keeping him to see him for ourselves and make our judgment call then.”
“Then leave it at that. Make the judgment call then, and don’t spend time worrying about it until we get there. That won’t do any of us any good.”
Corian closed his eyes. “I can’t lie to him, Maleshi.”
“You have to. If L’zar thinks you’re questioning him, you know how he’ll react. He hasn’t had nearly enough time to recover from the Weave he spent all that time cloaking around himself, and then he returned to the Sorren Gán. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s as unstable now as he was the first time he made that journey. Don’t set him off.”
“You think I want to?” Corian set his cup on the table, rubbed his lips, and stood. “It was a mistake to come here. I’m sorry.”
“Corian, you brought me into this by coming to talk to me now of all times. Don’t walk away from this conversation before it’s finished.”
“Why, because you’re the only one who gets to do that?”
Maleshi leaped from the cushions and hissed, “Don’t you dare compare that to this! I told you exactly what was happening. I laid everything at your feet. All her plans. All the orders I’d been given to carry out. Every single speck of information, yours and L’zar’s to do with however you saw fit. You had a choice.”
“I know.” Corian stared at her and raised both hands in submission. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“No, sorry isn’t good enough, especially not now. He told you to leave. He saw what you wanted, and he handed it to you on a fell-damn tray. You turned away from all of it.”
“Maleshi.”
“Don’t do that.” She pointed at him and shook her head. “Don’t try to talk your way out of this. You’ve been skirting around it for centuries, Corian, and you’re trying to do the same thing again, right here in front of me! L’zar knew he’d be going Earthside again. He knew he’d be spending as much time over there as he did, and he told you to come with me. You turned against both of us when you stayed here, and then what? You made the crossing centuries later, settled into a world full of humans, and didn’t once try to find me? I am here for you now, vae shra’ni, and you still owe me.”
“You’re right.”
“I know I’m right!”
