Light and the Night Sky

The First Cut

Daphne sat in silence for far longer than she should have, it might have looked like she was sulking but truthfully, she was troubleshooting. There had to be someone that was a universal donor type.

While she sat there, the others spoke quietly around her though she did not hear a word they said. Staring down at ground, Daphne chewed on her lip and flicked her thumb until the answer came. It was unsettling but she had a knack for lucky guesses, sometimes when things were troubling her enough the world would click into place and she would just know what the answer was. Though she could never come up with a reasonable explanation for these moments, she was never wrong.

Now was one of those moments.

Her eyes snapped back behind her, meeting copper ones. Lirael was in the mist of a quiet conversation with his brother but the intensity of her gaze cut it short. Daphne stood up quickly and walked over to his new position, sometime since the male left Lirael had moved twenty feet across the shrine with the others and left her alone with the resting Iridessa.

“I have a thought; I do not have an explanation. Please indulge me.” Daphne could see that a small smile fought to stay off his face, but Lirael managed to keep a straight face. “Will you try to infuse her?”

“Mmm.” He hummed; curiosity crossed his face before he looked up at Riven who gave a brief nod. “I have the notion I will be indulging you often.” His teased, before standing and gently turned her around. “Very well.” He breathed in her ear.

She laughed, mostly out of nervous energy. His reaction was unexpected, but she was more nervous about having the High Lord do grunt work. “Funny, very funny.”

Lirael chuckled behind her but said nothing.

Daphne was back at Iridessa’s side; this time she was already awake and nodded permission. She looked over at Lirael and before she could ask, he was holding Iridessa’s hand. Daphne smiled then said, “May I?”

“Yes, Daphne.”

Slowly, Daphne put her hand on top of his. Lirael’s was surprisingly rough to the touch, noticeably larger than hers and covered with small scars. Lirael leaned closer to her, so close that she could feel the heat from his body next to hers. Closing her eyes she tried to change her train of thought but before she could, a growl ripped through the room.

Her eyes snapped open, and slowly everyone in the room turned to look at Riven. Even she understood that growl. It was territorial, defensive. What surprised her more was the look on Riven’s face. It was there for only a moment but it was anger and confusion. Then he managed get it back to a neutral appearance.

Looking back at Lirael, hoping to gain some insight, she found none. The only thing she could think of was that his former enemy was about to shoot magical energy into one of his close friends. Maybe he was scared?

Daphne stood up slowly and walked to the silent fae. “Riven, I don’t know how to make you comfortable with this. Guide me.”

His eyes were glued to hers, his gaze cold.

Sighing in defeat, she pointed to one of the many knifes on his person. “While we do this, hold a knife to my throat. If you feel that Lirael is going to harm your friend, kill me.” Daphne said softly but firmly.

Again, he said nothing, just watched her.

Lirael however stood. “No, not acceptable.”

“No, this is fine. I am supposed to be a peace maker, right? Well, I know that you won’t hurt her, and as rude as you are Riven. I don’t think you will hurt me.” Daphne paused for a moment before continuing. “So, I am going to trust the two of you to not get me killed.”

After a moment of silence, Riven finally spoke. “Very well.”

Daphne turned around and resumed her spot besides Lirael, after the fae sat besides her again she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She turned to look at Lirael and before she could speak, she felt a sharp twang on her neck, and the soft smell of blood fill her nose. After a moment she felt the light trickle down the right side of her neck.

Knowing by the pain of it, it was superficial at worse but she was immediately annoyed. Daphne slowly looked up and saw Riven looking down at her, his eyes slightly open in surprise. His jaw clenched tightly. “Do not move.” Like it was her fault!

One deep breath later she said. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t accidently kill me.”

After a pregnant pause, he slowly crouched down behind her all while she looked up at him. Riven rested a knee on the ground behind her, and tilted her head forward before grabbing her gently by the neck with his left hand. His thumb was at the base of her skull, palm resting against her neck and long fingers resting lightly under her jaw.

In her right ear he spoke with a level tone. “I said, do not move.”

Daphne could feel heat radiating off of his body onto her back, despite that she had chills going down her spine. It took a moment to get her emotions in check before she took a deep breath and looked down at the awaiting hands. “Ok.” She said hesitantly, taking a steading breath, she continued.

Closing her eyes gently touched Lirael’s hand and closed her eyes. “Build your energy into your hands slowly, then I will do the rest.” Looking at the unseen world, she watched as energy built around their hands. Gently, she reached out a guided a branch of it to one of Iridessa’s energy lines. Slowly she pushed the energy in and watched, to her pleasure she saw most of it defused into Iridessa’s energy. “So far so good. May I attempt more?”

“Yes.” Lirael spoke; his tone curious.

So, she did, it was just enough that it circulated Iridessa’s body. The colors were different but they swirled around each other, but his energy was not being expelled. Opening her eyes, Daphne looked over Iridessa’s body and was please to see no outward signs of rejection. She turned to look at Lirael but Riven’s hand tightened around her throat in warning. Slowly, Daphne held up her hands and motioned for Lirael to do the same. After a moment, Riven’s hand moved from her neck and the warmth he radiated disappeared.

Her heart still pounded in her chest regardless.