The innkeeper was surprisingly open to what Veleria told him. As her voice hadn’t changed, he recognized her as Valenne and accepted that she had been wearing a glamor of sorts. This was easier when the boy she had entertained—Eugene—and his sister, Vera, vouched for her. She thanked them profusely but sadly told them that it would be some time before she could show them any more tricks.
In a room that Marty had made up for them, Veleria held Adrian against her body. While not as hot as she normally ran thanks to the strange magics Corvus had cursed her with, she was still quite warm, and Adrian greedily buried his face in her breast.
One of the laborers in town had managed to cut the manacles off his wrists. He had been bandaged and medicated, too.
As she held the sleeping man against her breast, Veleria saw embers begin to shed from her skin and hair.
“I see that I am not needed,” said an effeminate voice. Veleria merely continued to hold Adrian, although she did crane her neck towards the corner in which the voice originated from. A thin, black haired woman stood with her arms folded over her chest. She had strange black tattoos covering much of her nearly white skin. “You have already begun to recover. No small feat given the originator of that curse.”
Then, she looked to Adrian and smiled.
“Thank you for caring for him, Veleria.”
“Who are you?” Veleria asked. She had never seen this woman before.
“I am the Marrow of Night, an acquaintance of Adrian Giarmund there.” Marrow replied. “In most cases I can move unseen, but you have worn the Mask of Many Faces. As such, you may perceive me.”
“Were you…”
“I ensured that Cromwell did not make good on his threats.” She sighed. “Not for lack of trying.”
In his sleep, Adrian pulled her closer. Veleria merely stroked his hair in response.
“Does that make you an ally?”
Marrow moved her head as if to shake it, but shrugged instead.
“My will is not entirely my own. Were it that I was still free, then yes, I would consider myself one. As things are, I’m afraid my alliance is only up to the Stranger’s whims.” She moved towards the door. Before she left, she offered Veleria one last smile. It was a warm one.
Once she was gone, Veleria glanced back down to Adrian in her arms. He certainly knew some extraordinary people.
The following morning she spent downstairs, letting Adrian rest alone. One of the townspeople, a younger man, had picked apart the house Corvus used and managed to procure her and Adrian’s things.
While she rummaged through everything, the aforementioned man caught one of the embers she shed, and looked to Veleria curiously.
“We don’t get many magic folk out this way,” he said.
“I know, and a lot of people died because of it.” Glancing between one of her daggers and the man, she decided to use the time to catch up on what had happened in Lindow since her rest. “What did you do with him? Vos’iin?”
“Buried him as far from town as we could,” he replied. “Garbage like that don’t deserve to be buried near his victims.”
Victims. Plural. He had killed eight people just in this town alone. Once, a year ago, he had even murdered her.
Adrian put a stop to that.
Veleria nearly jumped out of her skin when the door to the tavern swung wide open. Two familiar siblings came running in, immediately zeroing in on her. Vera tried to see over the table, and Eugene went to take Veleria’s arm but paused when he saw the embers.
“Woah! You didn’t do this before!” He tried to catch a few.
“It doesn’t always happen. Maybe somewhat involuntary right now because I’m getting better.”
The man who helped her shook his head. Seeing as they weren’t bothering her, he let the kids be rowdy.
“You waitin’ until you’ve recovered, or mister Adrian upstairs?” He asked.
“Just him,” said Veleria. “Once he’s able enough to ride a horse we’ll set off. While I don’t think anyone else will come here for me, I still don’t want to chance it. Adrian should get home too.”
She noticed Vera held one of the ribbons from Adrian’s pack in her small hands. The little girl was enamored by it. With a small smile, Veleria got up, gently took the ribbon from her hands, and used it to tie Vera’s curly locks into a ponytail.
“Just like you!” She exclaimed.
“Just like me,” Veleria patted her head. “Promise me you two won’t get in any trouble, okay?”
“Okay!” The siblings shouted in response.