Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 122: Pieces

Toren Daen

I left the cafe feeling a warmth in my stomach and a chill in my heart. I'd worked out a time and date for my appearance in the newly built Crimson Pool Theater in central Aensgar with Renea, going over merchandising and plans for the event. After all, she still needed to make some kind of profit.

I looked up at the sky as I left. It was still cloudy, and the stones under my feet were still wet from the storm. A nearby canal was rushing at a faster pace than usual as the system naturally flushed the excess water down its length. Whenever storms hit, the canals became far more dangerous.

Sevren, who had been leaning on the doorway to the cafe, slowly walked beside me. I didn't say anything, still thinking about the way Renea had shifted me into place in Aensgar. How much did Lady Shorn know of Mardeth? And how planned was my little show in Vechor's central city?

We walked in silence. I didn't know where I was going, exactly. I strolled aimlessly along the canals, watching the waters churn and rush.

As I meandered toward the more business-oriented area of North Fiachra, I spotted a flat pane of pure mana projected in front of a storefront. A short, repeating few seconds of video played on it. As I neared it, I felt the artifact pushing words into my mind.

"A revolutionary display!" It said in an announcer's tone. "Music through magic: Is Toren Daen Fiachra's next rising star?"

The little pane of mana showed the aftermath of my concert not a few hours ago. I was holding my violin and bow to the side as water streamed off of me, my arms raised to the sky in offering. My burning pupils focused on the clouds instead of whoever had captured the video.

It seemed Renea Shorn worked even faster than I anticipated. I hadn't even registered that someone had been recording my performance, but it made sense.

I stared at it for a while, Sevren Denoir by my side. "She works fast," I said, crossing my arms.

Sevren turned to me, giving me a pointed frown. "You were a lot more... familiar with Renea Shorn than the last time we met. Of all the people you could have chosen, why her?"

He said it in good humor, but I caught the undercurrent of irritation that lurked beneath. Before I could respond, however, my bond spoke through her puppet. "He neglected to inform me of that aspect of their relationship as well," she said. And I could not parse her emotion over our bond. "Indeed, he could have focused on any other woman."

I sighed, rubbing my forehead with my hands. Something about Renea Shorn had deeply rattled my bond, yet I did not understand what.

I thought over my interactions with the dark-haired woman. Flashes of her floral perfume and deep, red lips were at the forefront of my memories. Her predatory smile as she sipped her tea.

It was true that I'd found many women attractive in Alacrya. Magic had a habit of accentuating the physical aspects of the body favorably, something that was easy to see here. Yet I'd never made an effort to pursue anything romantic–or anything more shallow than that, either–with any person in this world.

I was able to pinpoint when our interactions shifted with relative ease. After our confrontation in the depths of Trelza's clinic, something had changed between us. I'd found myself attracted to her care for even the lowest of people. I remembered how she'd marched up to me as I accused her of indifference, her passion leaking through her cloaking artifact. So that I could taste its surety.

How many other people truly recognize the value of even the smallest life? I thought, remembering how my hand interlocked with little Kori's. The blithe-tortured girl's soulful eyes branded themselves into my memory. How many others would be willing to try and save one small girl?