Caed had mostly innocent intentions. He did want to hold her, to give Veleria companionship when she had gone it alone for so long. While she was all too accommodating and allowed him to hold her throughout the night, it was both Istvar and his own curiosity that led to him diving alongside his goddess into her experiences.
He had to know. Had she been safe? Did the sorcerer and their wretched partner do anything untoward? When he learned that she had been captured, Caed had found himself pacing for nearly the entirety of the day. He chewed his fingernails down to painful nubs. A good number of his cigarettes littered the floor of his room, up until Wren chided him over it.
What he did see was not too horrible, but seeing, and feeling the marks wrought upon her by Vos’iin pissed him off. That he dared to touch her, to kiss her—to even entertain the idea of violating her. Were he not dead by Adrian’s hand, then Caed was certain he would have tracked the elf down himself and buried him in bloody, unrecognizable pieces.
He didn’t need the Spiritcaller plant while he was in such close proximity to her, but Caed went outside and smoked it anyway. It was a comforting habit. Almor at night was a nice sight. There was something about it that made it differ from other places, although an itch at the back of his mind reminded him why.
Two deities had their sights on this city. One of them he was reminded of by Meredith, and the other was, naturally, the God of Many Faces. Both of them were neutral in the sense that they were entirely selfish.
It made him wonder. Truly, it was only due to the trickster god that Adrian had been in the right place at the right time. He had been there to retrieve Veleria because he needed to be. Perhaps it was the same for him. After all, Caed had initially wanted to just chat up what he presumed was a strangely familiar woman. Only, she had been entirely too attractive and far more compelling than any woman had the right to be. Then there was all that potential source business.
“Glad I was wrong about that,” Caed whispered to himself. Taking a long, drawn out hit, he scanned the cobblestones ahead of him until he laid eyes on an odd woman adorned with black tattoos. She was painful to look at—literally. He could only see her through the one eye, the one that belonged to Istvar. “The hell?”
Realizing that she was being perceived, the Marrow of Night turned to regard Caed with a frown.
“Oh, you can see me?” She asked outright.
“Yeah, kinda,” Caed rubbed his left eye. It didn’t help. “Only kinda, though.”
She stared at him with white-ringed pupils before suddenly smiling. It was good-natured, but Marrow chuckled.
“This has been a rather interesting turn of events. First Veleria, now you, Caed. It is nice to be perceived.” She approached him, then asked Caed for a cigarette.
He obliged and lit the end for her.
“Thank you. I don’t get to talk with people often, so allow me to introduce myself…I am Marrow.” She turned the paper roll between her fingers, studying it.
Caed pressed his back to the building behind him.
“You can’t be seen normally?”
“Only by children,” the smile on Marrow’s face was kind. “Veleria can see me, as can Istvar, for Siobhan touched me long ago.”
Caed wrinkled his nose.
“Siobhan…That was the poor sod before me.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “The eye was forcibly removed from her head, from what I understand.”
“Just as it was forced into yours.” Marrow winked. “I bumped into her by accident and well, Istvar went looking into places she shouldn’t have. Makes it hard to hide from her.”
“And me,” the sorcerer smirked. “So, what are you doing here, miss Marrow?”
Marrow sucked on the cigarette for a time, silent. She glanced around them, taking in the sights, before turning back to Caed with an odd look on her gaunt face.
“Doing a few things for my own goddess, I suppose. Keeping an eye on Veleria before she’s whisked away from us for good.”
“Another one of the Night Mother’s?”
“How astute of you.” She ashed the cigarette. “I imagine you came here to discuss your murdering Amerath with Lady Hargrave?”
Caed had left the room without his hat and glasses. Instinctively he reached for the top of his head, but merely patted his blond hair instead. To save face, he ran his fingers through the many strands. It was getting too long.
“You gonna give me a hard time about it? Considering what Meredith knew, I imagine you also learned that a sorcerer was compelled recently. Best not leave another.”
The gesture Marrow did idly seemed nervous at first. Between four fingers she scrunched up a small piece of her dress, rolling it between them before letting it go and doing it again. The more he watched her do it the more it appeared to just be a quirk of hers. This woman was far from bothered.
“No, I agree. Letting her live would have been a mistake. I merely feel sorry for her, is all, for she did seek out the Night Mother after defecting.”
“And?”
Marrow shrugged her shoulders, “the night did not accept her.”
“Shame,” said Caed. “I found what I figured she had, but I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you, I’m afraid.”
Letting go of her dress, Marrow offered him the same kind smile from before. She looked up towards the window of their room before turning from him.
“You need not tell me, for I already know. Sleep well, Caed, and keep Veleria out of trouble.”
Caed ran through another cigarette. He eventually crawled back into bed, pulled Veleria against his chest, and slept.