Too Close to the Fire

13th day of the 6th moon, 1162 HC

Mulsae stumbles into their room and falls to his knees. Another rough night with Zudaeshi. Damion closes the door and crouches to his side to rub his back. He just tries to breathe and recollect himself. He's still shaky and faint.

"Mulsae," a female voice calls from the bathing chamber. He looks up and sees Nori in the doorway. Fuck. Something bad must have happened. He stands on trembling legs and lumbers over to the bathing chamber. They each get into their usual positions in the chamber for when Nori gives her reports.

"Garrick just had sex with the human," Nori says emotionlessly.

"Fuck," Mulsae breathes out. He just lowers his head into his hand. He's too damn tired to express his anger any further.

"Zudaeshi's rage will know no bounds if she finds out," Damion sighs and shakes his head.

Is there anything I can do to fix this? He'd like to pace while he thinks, but he's too exhausted, so he just stays still with his head in his hand. She needs to get out of there before Zudaeshi or Riko discovers her.

He looks up at Nori, "Take me to Garrick's. He needs to get her out of there immediately."

Nori raises her eyebrows but says nothing. She nods and turns to the mirror. She places a hand on it and bows her head. The mirror ripples as she concentrates.

While he waits, Mulsae looks in the mirror above the counter to check his appearance. He fixes his shirt and smooths the jacket. Controlled. Charming. Dangerous. Garrick needs to remember why he fears me.

"I found a mirror in the hallway outside his bedroom," Nori says.

Mulsae turns to her and takes her extended hand. She steps into the mirror and Mulsae follows. Veilwalking is a cool sensation, like passing through a gentle waterfall without getting wet. They step out into a dark hallway lined with paintings and doors.

Guard the way back, Mulsae sends to Nori. She nods.

She points to a doorway, That's his room.

Mulsae approaches the door and pauses with his hand on the doorknob. Controlled. Charming. Dangerous. He turns the doorknob and steps inside.

He sees two mounds under blankets on the bed. Clothes are haphazardly strewn across the floor. He closes the door behind him and walks to the side of the bed. Garrick and a woman are sleeping in each other's arms. The woman is fair with dark violet hair. Strange. I've never seen that hair color before.

He raises a hand to whip up some water but pauses. He feels different. He's not so angry. He's not so stressed. He closes his eyes to enjoy the sensation a moment. Oh gods. I haven't felt this calm since before Zudaeshi. He can think more clearly. He opens his eyes. He needs to convince Garrick to send her far far away and hide any evidence that she was ever here.

He whips up that water and splashes it in Garrick's face. He immediately jumps up, wipes his face and looks around frantically. The woman bolts up and stares straight at him. He senses no fear from her. Instead, she's curious. Interesting.

"Mulsae?!" Garrick exclaims.

He puts his hands in his pockets. "Garrick." He narrows his eyes.

"What in the heavens above are you doing in my bedroom? In the middle of the night?! How'd you even escape the Mountain Palace?!"

Mulsae picks some lint off his shoulder. "Unimportant," he drawls, "What is important is that you are risking your freedom and Zudaeshi's wrath because of your... dalliance with this human."

The woman furrows her brow, and Garrick places a protective arm across her.

"Isn't it customary to inform your lovers of any jealous past entanglements?" He takes a step closer, "Especially when one such jealous entanglement would like nothing more than to see your lovers burn. Slowly. Over the course of days."

The woman's eyes widen. She turns to Garrick, "What is he talking about, Rick?"

"Yes, Rick," he says sweetly, "Why don't you tell her."

Garrick grinds his teeth. He turns to the woman, "I was engaged. It was arranged. We had an official engagement ceremony, but then our parents died so I called off the engagement."

"So simple," coos Mulsae, "Why don't you tell her who this former fiancé is?"

Garrick blushes. "She's... The Harmonarch."

The woman flies out of the bed stark naked, but she doesn't care. "The Harmonarch?! You put me in the line of fire of the Harmonarch?!"

"Hanna, please," Garrick pleads.

Thank the fucking gods I never told him my real name, Mulsae skims off the woman's thoughts.

He raises an eyebrow. Smart woman.

"Well, Hanna..." Mulsae starts to say.

Ellara, she thinks. He smirks.

"You need to get out of this place and far far away. Today."

She looks to Garrick who lowers his head and nods solemnly.

Mulsae shakes his head, "I knew you were a dumb brute, but I didn't think you were this dumb."

She feels like an addiction, Garrick thinks, It's like I'm addicted to her.

Mulsae raises his eyebrow and looks over at the woman. Addictive. Interesting.

The woman is grabbing her clothes off the floor. So brave for a human after a random Sky-Touched walks into her bedroom in the middle of the night.

"I'm going back now," she says as she pulls on her pants, "I need to get back to my father anyways,"

She stops and looks up at Mulsae. Bare-chested without a care in the world. "Do you know how to fix a condition where someone's limbs won't move after an accident? Or where I could find out how?"

Please please please, help me save my father, she thinks.

He gives it honest thought. "The hospitals at the Ground Sanctum or Heaven Sanctum could have helped you before. But since Zudaeshi has sacked all the Sanctums, their networks are in shambles."

Her shoulders sink, "I see. So it's been hopeless to try?"

"Since you didn't know, it wasn't hopeless," Mulsae says softly, "It was worth it to try to save your father. It's just that now you know its time to go back to him."

He can feel her heart sink and grief bloom. Go back and let him... go.

"Yes," he continues softly, "I'm... I'm sorry for your loss."

He walks over to the door, "You," he points to her, "Go home today." She nods. "You," he points to Garrick, "Hide she was ever here."

Garrick trips out of bed and grabs his pants, "Mulsae, wait!"

He takes that as his cue to get out. He slips out the door and shuts it behind him, then dashes to Nori and the mirror. They both jump through just as Garrick's door opens.

They dash into the bathing chamber back in the Mountain Palace and the mirror ripples and returns to its normal reflective self.

"Any success?" Damion says while standing up from the floor.

"The woman has promised to leave immediately," Mulsae informs, "I'm not sure we can trust Garrick to clean up and make it like she was never there, though. Hopefully he talks to Zeven about it. He's clever enough to properly clean up this mess."

He takes stock of himself and realizes his stress levels are right back to where they were. He misses that temporary relief he experienced while at Garrick's.

Addictive. Garrick was thinking he was addicted to her. He furrows his brow. Could she be a descendant of the Water Sanctum? Or Marsh Sanctum? But she had violet hair. I don't know of any Sky-Touched lines with violet hair.

"What's that look for?" Damion asks.

"The woman. She was... different. I can't put my finger on it." He thinks a moment then waves a hand flippantly, "Doesn't matter. Hopefully she's smart and disappears."

He turns to Nori, "Keep a close eye on Garrick to ensure she leaves and there isn't any lingering talk about her. And watch Riko and her spy reports to see if she gets any news about Garrick's dalliance."

Nori nods and places her hand on the mirror. It ripples and a dim room can be seen beyond it. "Anything else?" She asks. Mulsae just shakes his head. Nori nods once and vanishes into the glass.