Chapter 25: Strong Wine and Honest Conversations (Patreon)

Darian and his friends enjoyed the refreshments Vera’s servant had brought. This one must have joined Vera’s household after he had left, since he had never seen her before.

Vera’s sitting room had two couches with a table between them. Darian sat on one, while Lucius and Vera sat on the other. The plate of refreshments sat atop the table. While the three of them ate, told Darian friends his story. He started from the day he had met Astra, and ended with his decision to return to Mt. Wind Dance. His friends listened in silence, only interrupting him to ask questions for clarification.

He kept his reason for returning a secret for now. If he told them that he planned to put himself through intense physical training, which most would call torture, they wouldn’t react well. It was better to wait until they were more receptive.

Other than that, as well as personal details and secrets that weren’t his to share, Darian kept nothing from them. He told them everything.

When Darian had gotten to the part with the dire monster, they opened the bottle of immortal wine. Its scent filled the room, and he stopped to take it in. The wine smelled like laying on the beach on a hot summer’s day, after swimming in the water, letting the sun’s heat soak into one’s skin. It smelled like sitting on the porch on a slow summer afternoon while enjoying a refreshing drink. It smelled like a lover’s kiss on a languid summer night, passionate and sensual.

Elliot had told him that this bottle was from the “Summer’s Kiss” batch, and Darian could see why. Vera, as the host, poured each of them a glass. The wine had been Darian’s apology to his friends, so maybe he shouldn’t have some, but he wasn’t going to complain. He took a small sip. The wine tasted like it smelled, only the sensation was even more intense.

Conversation ceased as all three of them enjoyed the wine. It took Darian effort to resume his story and regain his momentum. Somehow he managed. By the time he finished, he had drunk a quarter of his glass. A pleasant warmth had spread throughout his body, and his mind felt light and bubbly. Even so, he was still in full control of his faculties.

“A fantastical tale,” Lucius said, his face flushed. He had almost finished his glass. Since he was in the Energy Gathering stage, his tolerance for the wine was higher than Darian’s. “If I hadn’t seen the results myself, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“Well, I haven’t seen the results so I don’t believe it,” Vera said in a belligerent tone, her face red. She pointed an accusatory finger at Darian. “There’s no way you can be in the middle of the Foundation Establishment stage, not after only a few months.”

Darian blinked at her. Vera had never called him a liar before. Stupid and reckless, sure, but not a liar. Was she drunk? Her glass was empty. The immortal wine was potent, but that shouldn’t have been enough to get her drunk. Then again, Darian had little experience with immortal wine. He wasn’t sure what to expect.

Thankfully, Lucius seemed to have handled it just fine. He had resealed the bottle and put it into his holding bag, otherwise Vera might have refilled her glass and gotten really drunk.

“I’m telling the truth,” Darian said, keeping his voice as calm as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was set her off. Vera scared him whenever she became angry. He didn’t want to see how scary an angry and drunk Vera could be. “I broke through to my fourth small realm just before I came back.”

Vera stood up, swaying on her feet.

“Take it off,” she commanded him.

Darian gave her a blank look.

“What?”

“Prove it. Take off this Necklace of Plain Sight you mentioned. If you don’t, I will.”

She didn’t even wait for his answer before she headed in his direction, moving around the table. Darian stood up and moved away from her, keeping the table between them. He wanted her hands nowhere near him. His bones still ached a little from her hug earlier.

With a frustrated look on her face, Vera started to climb over the table, but Lucius wrapped his arms around her.

“My dear,” he said. “It isn’t appropriate for you to take off anything Darian is wearing. You are both young, unmarried, and unrelated.”

Vera pouted at this. It looked adorable, given how red her cheeks were.

“Exactly,” Darian said, sighing in relief. He was about to mention that there was no need to force the issue, he would take the necklace off himself, but Lucius spoke first.

“That is why I will take it off him.”

Lucius let go of Vera and climbed on the table. Thankfully he stuck to mortal speeds, otherwise things might have started breaking.

“Lucius, stop! I’m taking it off right now.”

Darian removed the Necklace of Plain Sight even as he spoke. In his mind, he heard Elliot’s laughter.

“Just how potent is this wine?” he asked, looking at his own glass. He hadn’t put it down.

‘Very,’ Elliot said to him telepathically. ‘The wine from the “Summer’s Kiss” batch is stronger than the wine from the “Spring’s Dawn” batch. Both of your friends are quite drunk now.’

Oh, that explained everything. Darian sighed. When they had started drinking, he hadn’t expected to be the only sober one. Well, half-sober.

Darian’s friends studied him.

“You really are in the middle of the Foundation Establishment stage,” Vera said, inquisitiveness replacing the belligerence from earlier.

Darian felt her mind sense probe him. Her “touch” was gentle, which made the invasiveness of her actions more bearable. After a while, Darian put the Necklace of Plain Sight back on.

“Indeed,” Lucius said, still atop the table. “Being chosen as an Immortal’s disciple has agreed with you, Darian.”

“I wish I was an Immortal’s disciple,” Vera muttered, pouting once again. “I’m jealous of how fast you’ve cultivated.”

Darian shrugged.

“It’s a bit slow for my tastes,” he said. “Despite my progress, I’m still far behind everyone else. You two, especially. You’re an entire stage ahead of me.”

At his words, Darian’s friends shared a look. It was the same one that always spelled trouble for him. Despite the warmth he felt from the wine, a chill ran down Darian’s spine.

“Darian,” Lucius said, walking towards him. He had a smile on his face, a sweet and poisonous smile. Darian backed away, but Lucius was faster. He put a hand on Darian’s shoulder, his grip firm and inescapable. “You are my friend, my kin, Darian, and I love you like a brother. That is why I will warn you just this once.” The smile widened and his hand squeezed Darian’s shoulder. “If you call the speed of your cultivation progress slow in my presence again, I will discipline you. Do you understand?”

“Yeah,” Vera said, wearing a ghoulish smile on her face. “While I’m not as skilled as my sister, I’m still a trained healer. I know how to heal the human body, and how to take it apart.”

She lifted her hands for emphasis, curling them like claws.

“I understand,” Darian said. It’s not like he could have said anything else, not without suffering a lot of pain. That was his goal for the future, not right now.

“Good,” Lucius said in a bright voice, removing his hand from Darian’s shoulder. “Now that we have that settled, it’s time to discuss your marriage.”

Darian gave him a confused look.

“Marriage? What are you talking about? I’m not getting married, Lucius.”

“Oh, right. We still have to tell you.” He leapt off the table and sat back down. “A lot of things happened while you were gone.”

Vera joined Lucius. Darian eyed them both. His intuition told him that he wouldn’t like what they had to say next. Still, they were his friends. The least he could do was listen. He sat on the couch opposite theirs and listened as they told him about the conflict between Clan Stone Pillar and the Pit Viper Sect, the potential alliance between Clan Wind Dance and Clan Stone Pillar, and how marriage fit into it.

When they finished, Darian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment, he opened them again and gave his friends a hard look.

“Let me reiterate, for the sake of clarity,” he said. “In order to forge an alliance between our clan and Clan Stone Pillar, your father arranged a marriage between you, Lucius, and the granddaughter of Clan Stone Pillar’s Matriarch, a woman named Willow Stone Pillar.”

Lucius and Vera nodded.

“However, since the two of you are in love and are seeing each other in secret, you don’t want this to happen.” He pointed a finger at them both. “I’m annoyed at you two, by the way, for keeping your relationship a secret from me.”

“We would have told you sooner,” Lucius started.

“But we knew that you wouldn’t have reacted well,” Vera finished.

They…had a point. Darian hadn’t reacted well when he had found out. It worked out for him in the end, but it had still been painful.

“To return to the main point,” Darian said. “To avoid this arranged marriage, the two of you have been looking for another candidate to take Lucius’ place, a candidate my grandmother had told you about. You think I might be this other candidate, and want me to marry Willow Stone Pillar instead. Have I left anything out?”

Lucius and Vera eyed each other, before looking at him again.

“You missed a few things,” Vera said. “But that just about sums it up, yes.”

Darian closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Whatever gave you the idea that I would agree to something like this? You two are my best friends, and I love you, but you ask too much of me. This is marriage we’re talking about, not some minor favor.”

“We know, Darian,” Lucius said, his expression serious despite his drunken state. “This alliance with Clan Stone Pillar would benefit our clan greatly. I don’t know how much you know about the Broken Teeth Hills, but they are filled with elemental stones, spirit crystals, and other cultivation resources our clan could make great use of. This alliance would give us access to those resources.”

Darian snorted, before taking a sip of his wine. That’s when he discovered that it now had a new aroma and taste to it; a heated argument on a broiling summer’s day.

Did the smell and taste of immortal wine change depending on one’s mood? It was something worth looking into later on.

“Then have someone else marry this Willow Stone Pillar if it’s so important to the clan,” he said. “I don’t see why it has to be me, or you for that matter.”

“As far as everyone else is concerned, Lucius is Clan Wind Dance’s most eligible bachelor,” Vera said. Like Lucius, her expression was serious despite how drunk she was. “He is a genius and a prodigy when it comes to cultivation, he has a distinguished pedigree, and he has a lot of personal wealth. To suggest anyone lesser would be an insult to Clan Stone Pillar, and everyone knows that.”

“Who cares? They’re the ones who wanted this alliance in the first place. Let them be insulted. I fail to see how any of this is my concern.”

Darian knew was being petty and spiteful at the moment, but he didn’t care. The wine played a part, yes, but he knew that he would feel the same even if he was sober.

“Why are you acting like this?” Vera asked, giving him a concerned look. “Don’t you care about the clan’s wellbeing? Don’t you care about us?”

“That’s a low blow,” Darian said, pointing a finger at her.

“I will do what I must, for the sake of the clan,” Lucius said. He grasped Vera’s hand and held it tight. “If necessary, I will marry Willow Stone Pillar. I would rather not, however. I love Vera, and I will not make her my second wife. She deserves better.”

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Darian said. “There are several members of our clan that have more than one spouse.”

Neither Lucius nor Vera said anything for several moments. Darian looked between the two of them. There was something else going on here. Having multiple spouses, while uncommon, wasn’t taboo among cultivators. Cultivators faced danger on a regular basis, and often ensured their lineage would live on should they perish. Sometimes this meant having multiple spouses to increase the chances of having children. This was even more important for cultivation clans, where techniques and treasures were passed down through bloodlines.

“My mother was my father’s second wife, and the only one to bear him children,” Vera said in a quiet voice. “My father’s first wife was a jealous, spiteful woman. She abused my mother and made her life hell. When Lynda and I came along, she did the same to us. After our mother died, it became worse. My father ignored all of this, because his first wife came from a more prestigious branch of Clan River Heart and he didn’t want to offend her family.” She grimaced, and Lucius squeezed her hand. She gave him a grateful smile. “Part of the reason why Lynda married Senior Brother Jayson, and brought me along when she did, was to escape our stepmother’s clutches.”

“Oh,” Darian said. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

He had known Vera for almost their entire lives, to the point that he often forgot that she hadn’t been born into Clan Wind Dance, despite her surname. She once had a life before her sister had married into the clan, but she had never spoken about it before now. It never occurred to Darian to ask either.

Vera shook her head.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she said. “You didn’t know.” She looked Darian in the eye. “I will never be anyone’s second wife, not after everything my mother endured.”

“Vera, you know that Lucius would never treat you that way, and you know he would never stand by while you suffered like that.”

“I know, but this is one of my lines. I refuse to compromise on this. I would…” She sucked in a shaky breath. “…I would rather give up Lucius.”

From the tone of her voice, Darian knew she wouldn’t budge on this. After hearing her story, he didn’t blame her. It made him angry at Vera’s father and her stepmother for the damage they had done to his friend.

Darian took another sip of his wine. This time it smelled and tasted like the bittersweet sorrow that comes with knowing that summer will eventually end.

“And you’re okay with this?” Darian asked Lucius.

“No, but I have come to terms with it. Vera wouldn’t be who she is if she compromised on something this important to her.”

Darian fell silent after that. He didn’t want to make his friends suffer, he loved them too much for that, but he also didn’t want to be forced into an arranged marriage. That was common among cultivator clans, yes, but that didn’t mean he had to put up with it himself.

He rebelled against the idea of marrying for political reasons, and he found the idea of marrying purely for pedigree and lineage distasteful. He was a cultivator, not some stud horse who mated for the sake of breeding.

When Darian married, he wanted to marry someone who would be his partner through the ages, someone to walk the path towards immortality with him. He wanted what Lucius and Vera had. He could imagine them centuries from now, supporting each other, protecting each other, and encouraging each other’s growth. Perhaps he was romanticizing their relationship, since they were his friends and he thought the best of them. Regardless, that was the sort of marriage he wanted for himself.

“Even if I agreed to this, that doesn’t mean I would be a good substitute for Lucius,” Darian said. “This is not me agreeing, let me be clear about that.” He looked down at his wine glass. “Our clan made it clear that they don’t value me as much as him, that I am not worth as much. To them, I was less talented, less handsome, just lesser overall. Why would that change now that I’m also a cultivator? Why Clan Stone Pillar be any different?”

This was the closest Darian had ever come to admitting just how much living in Lucius’ shadow had affected him while growing up. It left him feeling raw and vulnerable, a feeling that he hated.

“Darian-…” Lucius started to say, but Darian stood up, interrupting him.

“It’s getting late,” he said. “I should go.”

He downed the rest of his drink. The wine burned as it coursed through him. It tasted like the desperation a couple felt on their last night together. The next time Darian asked for immortal wine, he would ask for a bottle that didn’t make him feel worse the more he drank of it.

“Darian, wait,” Vera said, reaching for him.

Lucius grabbed her hand, stopping her.

“Let him go, dear,” he said. “He needs to be alone right now.”

Darian was grateful to Lucius for that. He nodded to his friends, before heading towards the door. Just before he opened it, however, he stopped.

“Meet me at my father’s house tomorrow morning, before you cultivate,” he said. “I have access to a place you’ll like.”

Before his friends could respond, he opened the door and left the sitting room. Bella, who stood on the other side, jumped in surprise. It was clear that she had been eavesdropping on them. She looked like a rabbit caught out in the open, eyes wide and full of fear. Darian just shook his head and brushed past her. Vera could deal with her servants’ indiscretions. Right now, he just needed to leave.

***

Jaime couldn’t resist the urge to grin as she followed Darian Wind Dance as he made his way out of Young Mistress Vera’s home. She moved through the shadows, hidden from all but the most discerning eyes. The heavens must have been smiling on her. His arrival had been the stroke of good fortune that she needed. She thought that listening in on his conversation with Young Mistress Vera and Young Master Lucius would bear fruit, but she hadn’t realized just how much of a windfall it would be.

Of utmost importance to her mission were the details of the alliance between Clan Wind Dance and Clan Stone Pillar. A trade agreement and a marriage. That made sense. It would take the right incentive to get Clan Wind Dance interested in interfering with affairs outside of Silverwood Vale, such as cultivation resources at a bargain. It would also take something like a marriage to seal an alliance like that.

Jaime needed to send this information to her Master right away. Thankfully, the Pit Viper Sect had developed ways to send secret messages to each other across the region. It was one of the reasons they had survived all these years. One of these ways was relaying the message through a chain of transmission crystals.

Transmission crystals allowed cultivators to communicate over long distances, which was useful in many ways. However, they had several downsides. They only worked in pairs. Each half of the pair could only communicate with the other half. They had a relatively short range, which also limited their utility. Finally, they could only work for a brief amount of time before they needed to be recharge again.

Despite these limitations, the Pit Viper Sect made extensive use of these crystals. Jaime’s Master had set up a series of relay stations, each connected to at least one other station via transmission crystals, allowing messages to sent from one end of the Myriad Rivers region to the other. It took time, since each message needed to be relayed through a number of stations before reaching the Pit Viper Sect, but it was worth it.

Before they had entered Silverwood Vale, Jaime and Darrell had each picked up a transmission crystal from the nearest relay station, which would allow them to send messages back to their Master.

Jaime doubted Darrell had come across information regarding the alliance, and even if he had, that just meant she hadn’t fallen behind him. Sometimes keeping even was enough.

While learning about the alliance was good, what mattered to Jaime most, on a personal level, was Darian Wind Dance himself. The disciple and heir to an Immortal. This was an opportunity she could not afford to pass up. More importantly, she couldn’t let anyone else from her sect find out about this. If they did, they would try to steal this opportunity for themselves.

Immortals were mysterious and inscrutable beings, with power that lesser cultivators could only dream of possessing. They also had access to rare cultivation resources and miraculous natural treasures.

Of all the major powers in the Myriad Rivers Region, Clan Wind Dance was the only one known to have produced Immortals; three of them in fact. This alone was the reason why they were a major power, despite being smaller than even the Pit Viper Sect. No one dared to attack them, for fear of earning an Immortal’s wrath.

A cultivator chosen to be an Immortal’s disciple was blessed in ways other cultivators could only envy. Access to secret knowledge and powerful techniques, a bounty in resources that clans and sects would kill to have, locations and realms brimming with spirit energy. Jaime salivated at the mere thought of getting her hands on all this. Best of all, Darian wasn’t just an Immortal’s disciple, he was that Immortal’s heir. While Jaime wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, she knew it meant something important.

While there was the chance that Darian had been lying, Jaime doubted he had. She had watched him from her vantage point while he had explained things to his friends, and he had been an open book to her eyes. The boy practically bled with sincerity and earnestness. Fool. Still, Jaime found it endearing in a way. It stirred what little remained of her protective instincts. Purely for selfish reasons, of course.

Darian was like a puppy, sweet and friendly, but dim. That would just make it easier for her to latch on to him and take advantage of his good fortune for herself. She couldn’t do it in a way that only benefited her, however. Any Immortal that invested resources into their chosen disciple would take measures to protect said disciple. The last thing she wanted to do was end up angering Darian’s master by being greedy and short-sighted. She also had to keep an eye out for the cat spirit beast he mentioned.

Perhaps Jaime could make a bargain with him, or entice him somehow? She had plenty of skills and knowledge to offer, and she wasn’t above paying him with her body. While she wasn’t the most skilled seductress, she was no blushing maiden either. She guessed Darian was a virgin. Her skills should be enough for him. Young men his age were susceptible to being led astray by a certain part of their anatomy.

However it worked out, she needed to sink her hooks into him, one way or another. Jaime just needed to make sure he never found out that she was from the Pit Viper Sect. That was the surest way to turn him into an enemy.

Jaime watched as Darian headed down Mt. Wind Dance, his stumbling growing more and more pronounced. Considering that he had drunk an entire glass of immortal wine, at his cultivation level, she was surprised he could still walk. Jaime had been drunk a few times in her life, mostly when she just started cultivating, and she still remembered the loss of control and motor skills that came with it.

Perfect.

When Darian tripped and fell, Jaime made her move. She rushed over and caught him, ensuring he stayed on his feet.

“Careful, Young Master Darian,” Jaime said, keeping her voice meek and mild.

He stared at her for several long moments, no doubt trying to place her. She saw when he recognized her.

“I know you,” he said, his words slurred. “You’re Vera’s servant. The new one.” He paused. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

Cassandra, the servant Jaime had killed and now impersonated, would have been modest and said she was a simple servant, without giving her name. Jaime would know, since she had access to Cassandra’s memories. However, modesty would not get her what she wanted. It was time to break character a little.

“My name is Cassandra, Young Master Darian,” Jaime said. “I just joined Young Mistress Vera’s household.”

“Ah, good,” Darian said. “Vera is a good person. She’ll treat you right.”

“Yes, Young Master Darian. Young Mistress Vera has treated me with kindness and consideration. I am blessed to serve one such as her.”

“I do feel a little bad for you, though,” he said. “You have to work with Bella. I don’t like her. She’s kind of a bitch.”

His words caught Jaime off guard and she snorted with laughter. She stopped herself soon after, but it was already too late. This lapse in etiquette would have horrified Cassandra, and it certainly horrified Jaime. Loss of control like this almost never happened to her.

“I see you’ve encountered that side of her for yourself,” Darian said, grinning.

“Yes, I have,” Jaime said, feeling a little embarrassed. Her cheeks heated up.

What was going on? She was a cultivator in the Core Shaping stage. Why was she blushing? That sort of behavior was beneath her.

“Shall we continue on?” Jaime asked. “I will help you reach your destination.”

“I would say that I don’t need a mortal’s help,” Darian said. “But my legs feel boneless right now. Who knew that immortal wine was such potent stuff?” He nodded towards the mountain path heading down. “I live near the foot of the mountain. My house is the first you see when you reach Mt. Wind Dance.”

Jaime paused at that. Wasn’t that the house that had made her feel uneasy when she had first arrived? If that was the case, she would need to be extra careful. Given what she had overheard, it was likely Darian’s master had left something behind to protect him. Thankfully, she didn’t intend to hurt him, only steal from him. One’s intentions could activate certain defensive magical items or formations. Still, at least the cat spirit beast wasn’t around.

Together, they headed down the mountain. Darian led the way, while Jaime supported him with his arm over her shoulders. He was too drunk to notice that someone Cassandra’s size would never have been able to hold up someone as heavy as him. It was late at night. The stars shone in the sky, while the waxing moon looked down upon the world. The sweltering heat would have been uncomfortable, if the both of them hadn’t been cultivators. With the abundance of life all around them, Mt. Wind Dance was a beautiful place, and Clan Wind Dance had done everything they could to preserve that beauty.

It was a rather romantic setting, Jaime had to admit. She was above such things, however. Darian’s presence did feel nice, though. He was warm, even to her, though it was a comforting warmth. It reminded Jaime of a roaring fire on a cold winter’s day. Darian also smelled good, enticing even.

Wait a moment.

Jaime sniffed. Darian smelled like desperate longing and passionate lovemaking. Damn it. It was the immortal wine that he had drunk. It must have been affecting her too. No wonder she kept having strange reactions and feelings. That was what was going on.

‘Liar,’ a quiet voice in the back of her mind said.

Jaime ignored the voice. She was supposed to seduce and entice Darian, not the other way around. That was how this was going to go. She was a cultivator at the Core Shaping stage, and a disciple of the Pit Viper Sect. There was no way she would let his presence affect her, immortal wine or not, no matter how tempted she was to taste his skin.

On second thought, perhaps it was best to get Darian to his house as soon as possible. As he said, immortal wine was potent and it was best not to underestimate it. If she went ahead with her plan now, she might end up being affected by it even more, something she didn’t want to happen. It was best to wait until he was sober, or drunk on something other than immortal wine.

At least tonight hadn’t been a total waste. If Darian remembered anything from tonight, he would remember how helpful and friendly “Cassandra” had been. That was a start at least.

The two of them soon reached the bottom of the mountain, where his house awaited. Unlike last time, when Jaime had passed by it, she didn’t feel any uneasiness. She let out a sigh of relief.

When they approached Darian’s house, a middle-aged woman opened the front door. She had dark curly hair and a skin tone that matched Darian’s. Her hazel eyes gazed at the two of them with disapproval. Was this Darian’s mother?

“What happened here?” she said, her voice sharp.

“Hi, Stella!” Darian said in a loud, cheerful voice. “I’m drunk right now.”

The woman’s lips quirked up in a brief smile.

“I can see that, Young Master,” the woman, Stella, said.

Not his mother then. A servant. Darian’s only servant by the looks of it. The woman’s eyes turned to Jaime.

“And you are?” she demanded in an imperious tone.

Jaime bristled at that, but let it go for now.

“I am Cassandra,” she answered. “I serve Young Mistress Vera. I was on an errand when I noticed that Young Master Darian here needed some help walking. I offered my services.”

“Hmm.” Stella glanced at Darian. “I can take him from here. You may go now.”

The woman supported Darian from the other side.

“If you don’t mind, I would see him inside first.”

“I do mind.”

Stella looked around Darian and glared at Jaime. The woman’s eyes, which had looked hazel before, now burned with a golden light. The uneasiness from before returned tenfold and Jaime stumbled away, her feet moving of their own accord. The feeling grew stronger and stronger, seeping into her bones.

Jaime turned tail and ran away. Only when Darian’s house was out of sight did the feeling abate. Even so, some of it lingered.

She took a moment to catch her breath. That Stella was no mere servant, she was something more. The only question was, did Darian’s Immortal master leave her behind? Or was she a guardian put in place by Clan Wind Dance? In the end, that didn’t matter. Jaime would steer clear of her all the same.

Hopefully, this Stella hadn’t seen through her disguise. Otherwise, Jaime would have to flee Mt. Wind Dance. She had escape routes planned out already, but she didn’t want to use them just yet.

Once she had calmed down enough, Jaime headed back to Young Mistress Vera’s home.

***

Stella watched as “Cassandra” ran away from her. The girl didn’t even bother keeping to mortal speeds, and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Stella didn’t know who the girl really was, but from a glance, she could tell that this “Cassandra” wasn’t who she pretended to be. A spy, she guessed.

Stella had noticed her before, but hadn’t given her much thought. Other than for Darian’s sake, Stella didn’t care much for Clan Wind Dance’s affairs, or the affairs of their enemies for that matter.

However, now that this “Cassandra” had shown an interest in Darian, Stella would have to keep an eye on her. It remained to be seen whether or not she was a threat, but Stella didn’t think she was. At least, she didn’t think “Cassandra” was a threat to Darian’s safety. She could still be a danger to him in…other ways.

“That was mean, Stella,” Darian said, his words slurred. “You didn’t have to scare Cassandra off like that.”

Stella debated on whether or not to tell him that “Cassandra” was just a disguise, but decided against it. She wanted to see what the girl would do, and she would learn more by keeping Darian in the dark.

Besides, it would do her boy some good to find out the truth the hard way. He needed to learn that not everyone could be taken at face value, including young women who pretended to be meek and shy. People could be serpents in disguise, waiting for the right opportunity to stab him in the back. A harsh lesson, yes, but an important one. The world was a dangerous place, and coddling Darian would only lead to his death.

“Come along, Young Master,” she said. “Let us get you to bed.”

At least her son was learning how to have fun.