“What people don’t often understand is by itself, a corpse-tide isn’t actually all that dangerous, at least relatively that is. Any well-equipped and well-supplied group of soldiers with a decent position can hold against hundreds of ghouls without much difficulty. Add some magical support, like one of us or a battle mage, and it's possible for a veteran company to cut down five times their number of ghouls with negligible casualties. The real danger presented by corpse-tides is in the context surrounding them. If that many people are dying without proper last rites, then something very bad is happening. War, disaster, plague, whatever it is, adding a swarm of hungry corpses to the situation can turn a crisis into a calamity.” - Hierophant Morri of Vindabon speaking to a class of apprentice rest-bringers.

  Priestess Mina Vrock had never been one to swear; she’d been taught it was a sign of poor manners and poorer education, but being in a relationship with Alia Cat-eyes was having a definite impact. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

  Each curse came out with a labored breath as Mina clambered up a rickety ladder, her arms, and legs throbbing horribly despite the healing magic flowing through the worn muscles. Restorative spells could work literal miracles, but even they had limits, limits Mina was fast approaching after the last few days of near-constant effort. Instead of resting upon reaching Azyge she’d spent her time transubstantiating the cure until word of this new attack reached her. With the first batch of Gens Silva’s treatment ready, Mina accompanied it to the inner wall, where she’d intended to stay and help administer it to the throngs of refugees now being helped up a series of makeshift rope-ladders. But no sooner had she explained the proper dosages to the assembled healers when an eruption of red-tinged malice filled the Aether

  At first, Mina thought an elder vampire was joining the siege, its dark magics and fell intentions rippling out in waves of bloody resonance, but as the Priestess’s arcane senses picked out familiar elements to this new threat, she realized the truth might just be worse than her initial assumption. Natalie was the malice’s source. When Mina fixed the Vampire’s stigma she’d caught hints of the hungry darkness deep within her friend’s soul; now that darkness was unleashed, and more than that, it was mixing with Natalie’s being, creating something new and altogether more uncanny than even the primordial evil Mina sealed away.

  As the full implications of what she’d sensed struck her, Mina had climbed down from the inner wall and into outer Azyge, pushing through crowds of panicked people and towards the battle raging at the town’s edge. Just before Mina reached the timber and stone walls keeping the tide at bay, the darkness she’d sensed sputtered out like a bonfire bathed in snow. This didn’t lessen the Priestess’s panic any, as it simply raised more questions; and besides, even smothered as the Alukah’s malice was, bits of it were still leaking into the Aether, the proverbial smoke and embers to the metaphorical bonfire.

  So heart beating like a war hammer, Mina looked for a way to get up onto the walls to find out what in the world’s name was happening. Which led her to the horrible ladder she now clung to, its creaking length lashed to a section of poorly defended wall. As Mina clambered up the worn rungs, she felt the rampaging curse’s final remnants fade away. This made the Priestess pause, well, and the fact she feared slipping free of the ladder if she didn’t catch her breath. None of the other spellweavers upon the inner wall reacted as she did, their sixth sense blind to the monstrous power Mina sensed. Skilled as the Priestess was, she didn’t think for a moment her arcane sensitivity was the reason for this. No, she’d felt the Alukah’s presence because it was required of her, another gift from Master Time to aid in her duties.

  As Mina’s sweat-slick hands started to falter, she offered a silent prayer for strength and let more magic flow through her exhausted body. She’d been trying to be miserly with her power, but no point in keeping a healthy reserve if she was just going to break her back tumbling off this stupid ladder. So with renewed vigor, Mina made it to the top of the outer wall, clambering up onto the narrow battlements and finding a pair of soldiers awaiting her. Both were clad in stained mail and wielded long, two-pronged spears, the type favored by those battling ghouls; they’d also not noticed Mina at all. The soldiers were staring at something outside the walls with the type of rapt focus saved only for the most shocking spectacles.

  Disliking what this prognosticated, Mina reached the merlons, her heartbeat slowing enough for the sounds of groaning ghouls to come back into focus. Memories of her childhood and the attack that claimed everyone she’d loved flashed across Mina’s mind, and she forced them back with a mumbled prayer. “Oh, Master Time, whose hand turns the wheel of ages, look upon the living and-”

  Other noises reached the Priestess then, familiar notes that spoke to dark times: the tearing of flesh, the crack of bone, and screams that could only come from the mad. Opening her eyes, Mina looked out across the corpse-tide and realized great clumps of the amassed ghouls were turning from the walls and marching towards a monster far more vicious than they ever could be. In the center of the swarm stood a gore-soaked creature wielding an axe big as a man, tearing through ghouls by the bushel. Even from her perch atop the walls, Mina could hear the monster's ragged cries, how grief and rage mixed in a sound no throat should make.

  Bone-deep terror filled Mina as she frantically searched the morass of corpses beyond the wall. If Cole was in such a state, then that must mean… Relief filled the Priestess as she saw a familiar figure pushing through the swarm. Even caked in gore, Natalie was recognizable, thanks to her long hair and relative grace; something was obviously wrong with the vampire, judging by how she stumbled and groped through the ghouls, but she was still standing. Which led to a worrying question: why was Cole hacking his way through the swarm with insane fury if Natalie was alright? The most obvious answer was perhaps the most unsettling: something had happened when the Alukah’s power was unleashed, something bad.

  Finally, one of the two soldiers realized they weren’t alone and started to bark something at Mina. “Hey, what are you doing? get away-”

  He noticed Mina’s amulet then, and his words faded, replaced by a frantic holy gesture as relief spread across his face. “Priestess, thank the Pantheon you’re here.”

  Returning the gesture, Mina asked. “What’s happening?”

  The soldiers looked at each other, and the talkative one swallowed down a lump. “It seems we got three monsters on our side. They’re tearing through the swarm fast-like, and I’m just praying they’ll have had their fill by morning.”

  Mina frowned in confusion. “Three?”

  Bobbing his head, the soldier gestured with his spear. “The half-giant with the axe, we saw him take on the skeleton giant and other strangeness for a time. Then that necromancer, a vampire I think, showed up, turned some of the tide against itself before having some kind of fight with the half-giant. That ended a wee bit ago, and he’s been up and killing again, meaner than before, while she’s just chased after him, doing nothing more with the swarm.”

  The second soldier spoke up then. “She is now.” Following the track of his spear, Mina caught sight of Natalie rushing towards Cole, packs of ghouls shuffling out of her way, heading in random directions in search of new prey. As she watched, Mina felt a faint flicker of magic brush against her senses, magic that was kin to the malice she’d felt earlier but clearly diluted. A deep frown spread across the Priestess’s face as the second soldier added. “You think the leech is going back to finish the fight?”

  Leaning out over the parapet, squinting against the dark, morbidly thankful for the illumination provided by burning ghouls, Mina considered calling out to Natalie when movement from her right pulled all focus. At first, she thought part of the walls was collapsing, for what else that big could be moving, but then flickering torchlight revealed the truth: an utterly massive ghoul was waddling away from the walls, its elephentine hands groping at its lesser kin and bringing them up to a distended maw filled with broken teeth.

  Looking away as the ox-sized gorger lived up to its name, Mina caught the first soldier’s grim smile. “That would be number three, the lard-ass the vampire left by the breach. He’s been plugging the hole and eating any corpse within reach. Sergeant said to leave him alone unless he went back to eating fresher fare or someone like you showed up. Dunno how the leech tamed the jagger, but better him gorging on his fellow than us.”

  Last time Mina checked, Natalie’s necromantic influence extended to her ghostly wolves and nothing else. Obviously, that had changed, and the Priestess doubted the reasons were good. As Mina considered using the binding spell Master Time gifted her, the second soldier piped up, his voice thick with tension.

  “Looks like the half-giant is going for the kill.”

  Head whipping about, Mina saw Cole looming over Natalie, his hand clearly wrapped around her throat, piles of ruined bodies surrounding them. Before the Priestess could summon a spell with enough range to interfere, the Homunculus let go and half-collapsed onto the Vampire. As the two monsters embraced, the Priestess let her gaze sweep across the corpse-strewn field beyond Azgye’s walls. Cole had carved a path of destruction through the tide, his passage marked by piles of broken bodies that still wriggled and twitched. The carnage he’d unleashed wasn’t what Mina knew to expect from the Paladin, lacking precision and mercy; each blow a thing of mindless wrath instead of the grim certitude expected of Master Time’s servants. Yet there was no denying the efficacy of Cole’s madness, the corpse-tide was still close to a thousand strong, but the scarred warrior had winnowed a concerning tally from the swarm.

  Using only his monstrous strength and a well-crafted weapon, Cole managed to do a company of soldiers’ work in a matter of minutes. While ghouls weren’t exactly the hardest of foes, the Paladin’s capacity for destruction when untrammeled couldn’t be underestimated. Especially since he’d not even used the most deadly aspects of his arsenal. Mina hadn’t sensed any miracle or even a flicker of holy power; Cole did all this through brute strength and could have kept going until death, which, even then, was only a minor delay for him. So the question had to be asked: how much damage could Cole do if he were to become a danger to others? If he used all his gifts, both hallowed and blasphemous, how many people could he butcher before he was stopped? Then, even if overwhelming strength or raw numbers wore Cole down, what would be enough to keep him sealed away? What jail or binding might keep a truly immortal monster gifted a sliver of divinity from ever breaking free?

  Cole was a paladin, and that title came with more power and fewer restraints than a priest might bear. Where a member of the clergy might be stripped of their magic at any moment by their god’s will, a paladin’s mantle was woven into their very soul, and not so easily revoked. Fallen paladins were fantastically rare and the subject of black legends that the Temples did much to keep vague, but Mina knew enough to worry that Cole might easily surpass even the darkest of those tales. For only in death did a paladin lose their power, and so far death had done little but make Cole stronger.

  A tightness started to fill Mina’s guts, and once again, she found herself doubting her god’s will. So many bindings and protections had been laid upon Natalie, ways to keep the Alukah contained and content, but what kept the Homunculus Knight from becoming a terror to surpass even Annoch the Binder? The answer came as Mina watched Cole and Natalie slowly approach the walls. Slumped of posture and stiff in movement, the Paladin let himself be led towards the breach like a blind elder, his hulking form showing no sign of the overwhelming strength of earlier. Cole’s leash was Natalie, just as he was hers. Master Time had placed two of the most potentially dangerous creatures on the continent together, balancing them against each other in the hopes they’d find some equilibrium and not just tumble into darkness. To the Tenth God’s credit, this bond between monsters had worked so far, but as Mina got a better look at her two comrades, she wondered if events might have just tipped things toward ruin.

  Striding along the wall, heading towards the breach, Mina pursed her lips in deep concern as Cole and Natalie entered better torchlight. Guilt and self-loathing lay heavy upon the Vampire’s features, her expression one of deep regret and deeper exhaustion. The Homunculus, for his part, seemed broken, his gaze hollow of focus but unblinkingly intensity; it was the look of a man, or creature, who’d faced a nightmare and survived in flesh if not spirit. Watching them approach, Mina felt her trepidation grow with every second, a feeling not helped by the faint tendrils of power that reached out from Natalie and steered away packs of ghouls. Such casual but effective necromancy couldn’t mean anything good.

  Passing by more soldiers and eventually reaching the split in the wall, Mina was about to catch her comrade's attention when the hulking gorger ghoul made its move. Waddling forward on elephentine feet, it approached the couple, stepping over the broken remnants of its past meals. Cole paused then, only seeming to now register the ghoul’s presence, and in the flickering torchlight, Mina swore she saw his scarred lips twist in a sad smile. Then, in an eyeblink, the Paladin stepped forward and swung his halberd, bringing it down in a brutal chop that split the gorger’s skull down to its bulging throat. As the ghoul toppled forward, Cole stepped deftly back and then set a hand on the fallen monster’s bloated shoulder, ice crystals started to form in its rotten blood, and Mina could feel the soul trapped within the corpse break free of its fetid prison.

  As Cole looked at his hand and the wisps of frost trailing from his digits, one of the nearby soldiers on the wall spoke up, voice high and shocked. “He’s a fucking priest?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Considering the slaughter Azyge’s defenders just witnessed, surprise was understandable, as was mistaken identity. Clearing her throat, Mina spoke up. “No, he’s a Paladin, one sent by Master Time.”

  Pausing to look up at her, Cole asked. “The cure? It’s being distributed?”

  That got another stir from the soldiers; they’d been busy fighting for their lives, and more than a few showed early signs of the plague. In answer to Cole’s question, Mina gestured back at the inner walls. “Yes, the dwarves are evacuating the sick and getting the first batch ready; Deborah should be working on more as we speak.”

  One of the soldiers spat off the wall. “Jagging moles helping now? Only once the hard part is done, typical.”

  A grumble of agreement went through the assembled militia, and Mina could almost taste the bitter anger filling these haggard folk. Even if the screaming plague was banished, another contagion had its claws deep in the humans of Azyge; one no magic potion might cure. But that was a problem for tomorrow; this battle wasn’t done, and there was no telling how long Natalie could keep the ghouls at bay. The breach needed to be closed; only with that done would the town know a semblance of safety; a fact that Cole seemed to understand perfectly well despite his worrying state.

  The Paladin reached the walls and clambered up into the gap without a word. With the thrown tree removed, the breach was about two-and-a-half meters wide, and its lowest point sat a little more than a meter off the ground. Examining the space, Cole checked his footing and then nodded to himself. Sucking in a breath and rolling his shoulders, Cole reached down to help Natalie up into the breach, strangely the Vampire hesitated at the offered hand but still took it.

  Now, the couple were in full view of all the breach’s defenders, both those on the walls and in the town proper. Nervous militia stared at the two monsters, confusion mixing with fear as the tension grew. Before things could potentially escalate, one of the soldiers, a burly fellow with a thick mustache and the bearing of a sergeant, spoke up. “I’m assuming since we’re not dead you mean us no harm.”

  Cole took a moment to answer, “Yes.”

  He didn’t elaborate further, instead turning back towards the ghouls now clustering around the breach. From her vantage, Mina could see the flicker of concern pass over Natalie’s face before she addressed the officer. “I don’t know how long I can keep the tide back, can you help shut this hole?”

  As the sergeant started to answer, one of his soldiers piped up; wild-eyed and visibly bleeding, the ragged militiaman pointed his spear at Natalie. “Don’t trust her, she’s a-”

  The Sergeant barked. “I know what she jagging is. I also know she pulled our asses out of the fire earlier with those grinners and gorgers. So until the leech or her large companion gives us a reason not to be, we’re going to act all nice and cordial.”

  Turning his focus to Mina, the Officer asked. “Priestess, I’m assuming you’re with these two? Care to offer an explanation for where the three of you came from and what in the world’s name is going on.”

  The crack of breaking bone cut through the night then, Cole, having taken the head of another ghoul. It seemed that with Natalie’s focus split, more of the hungry dead were approaching the gap. Letting out a tired sigh, Mina looked for a way to get down off the wall, as she said. “It’s a long story, but the important parts are we’ve brought a cure for the Screaming Plague, and my colleagues here are willing to lend their… expertise in fighting dangerous undead to Azyge’s defense.”

  As Cole’s halberd began to hack away at more of the approaching ghouls, the Sergeant shrugged and cursed. “Jagged edges, well that’ll do for now.” Turning to his subordinates, the Officer said. “Oleg, go get that salt barrel we kept in reserve; we’ll need it to make emergency wards. Andrei, take five men and find anything sturdy we can stuff into that gap.”

  As the soldiers got to work, the Sergeant stared into the gap, his focus on Cole’s back as the Paladin fought the oncoming ghouls. Seemingly sensing the man’s attention, Cole grunted. “I’ll hold the breach.”

  Torn between trusting a dangerous stranger or risking more of his subordinates, the Sergeant hesitated, so Mina said. “I spoke true earlier, my colleague is a Paladin, he’s more than capable of buying time for your men.”

  Another soldier spat on the blood-stained cobblestones then. “I’m not a priest or scholar, but I’ve never heard of a paladin working with a leech. Besides, the stories never say nothing about paladins screaming like they’d been branded on the balls while they fight.” Looking to his officer, he added. “Help us or not, something about this lot smells wrong.”

  A gurgling groan and the clatter of something heavy hitting loose stones came through the breach then. Pushing past Natalie, ignoring her noise of surprise, Cole jumped into Azyge, standing before the assembled soldiery, a thrashing ghoul dragging behind him. Tossing the struggling corpse onto the ground, Cole knelt down, wrapping huge fingers around the ghoul’s throat, and began to work a spell. Hoarfrost spread across the creature’s body, its rotten tissue freezing instantly. As the magic flowed through the ghoul, it became just another empty husk, no longer imprisoning a unfortunate soul.

  Standing up, Cole turned from the soldiers, cold mist streaming from his ragged form as he jumped back into the breach and returned to his earlier work. Somehow, despite being covered in drying gore, Natalie managed to look sheepish at her partner’s behavior and said. “I’m sorry about that, he… he’s lost someone, and this is not only battle we’ve been in recently.”

  It said a lot about Cole, Natalie, and the situation in general that a vampire who looked like she’d crawled through a mass grave was the one playing diplomat not the divinely ordained champion, who admittedly didn’t look much better. If everything wasn’t so completely jagged, Mina might have actually laughed at the absurdity. Instead, she found a ladder and joined the Sergeant, offering her hand. “I’m Priestess Mina Vrock, my colleagues and I have come from Vindabon to bring the newly created cure. We arrived just a few hours ago from beneath the mountains, and… well, we’re trying to help.”

  Returning her grip, the officer said. “Sergeant Simon Prolic, and we’re glad to have the aid. Speaking of, what was that you said about an evacuation?”

  The boy came forward, arms outstretched, jaw gaping, a whimpering groan on torn lips as he approached Cole. Staring into the empty sockets of the child, the Paladin wondered at the story behind this ghoul. In good condition aside from the missing eyes, it must be relatively fresh and died cleanly to boot, another young life snuffed out by a tragedy none in the Mundane might know. Letting the boy take another step so he could better compensate for the child’s height, Cole swung his halberd and struck his target’s neck, slicing the spine without severing the head, a tricky thing to do with the Paladin’s strength. As the broken corpse tumbled forward, Cole touched its shoulder and let a pulse of magic snap the link between body and soul. Pushing the husk onto the growing pile beyond the chokepoint he guarded, Cole selected his next target from among the advancing ghouls.

  The hungry dead came forward slowly, even by their standards, trammeled by necromantic bindings the ghouls came not as a flood but a steady trickle. Giving the Paladin the time and space to measure out his efforts, even standardizing them to the point the process had become near-automatic.

  Requiem struck the ghoul, the ghoul hit the ground, a flicker of magic cut the bond, and the body was moved aside. Cut, pray, push, cut pray push, cut pray push, over and over, Cole drowned in repetition as mutilation became meditation. The flow of movement and magic kept the Paladin’s mind free of thoughts, free of wound-fresh memories, free of scar-deep traumas, free of a butcher’s shame, and free of a lover’s fear. Existing solely in the moment, focused on the task before him, the Homunculus felt almost at peace.

  Perverse as this notion was, Cole found it fitting; for weren't his efforts here holding the breach even after all he suffered a perfect encapsulation of his existence? He was an unbreakable curse pretending to be a broken man, an immortal bulwark the world’s evils could crash against so other, more delicate souls might be spared. This was the path he’d walked in one way or another his entire life, so where else might he find a measure of peace?

  The answer to that question spoke quietly, voice coming from just behind Cole, words heavy with sadness. “Cole, I think you can be done now.”

  Moving more bodies, growing the twin mounds on either side of the breach, Cole didn’t answer. Both piles were nearly his height now, and he needed to be careful to ensure they didn’t collapse into the gap he occupied. As the newest empty husks settled on their forebearers, Cole wondered if Azyge had the firewood to cremate all of these bodies; hopefully, enough pyrewine remained to supplement the blaze. As grim as the prospect of burning so many corpses was, better that they become ash upon the winds instead of continuing to fester.

  “Cole, more soldiers have come; they can close the breach.”

  Pausing, the Paladin tried to speak, it took him two tries as thirst and silence had cracked his voice. “Already?”

  After a moments hesitation, Natalie said. “Look to the horizon.”

  Cole did and noticed the first hints of pale dawn approaching from the east. Blinking slowly, the Homunculus realized time must have slipped past him. “Ah.”

  Striking down one final ghoul, the Paladin turned from his work, and the world spun. Catching himself on the broken wall, he winced as exhaustion filled him. For one brief, mad moment, Cole considered taking out his dagger and refreshing himself again, but then he noticed the fearful gazes of those around him and thought better of it. Soldiers stood atop the walls, staring at Cole with the wary intensity common to any in the presence of an unpredictable predator. Back through the breach and in the town proper stood a group of assembled milita alongside a few ragged priests and a dozen or so civilians; these were probably the skilled laborers hale enough to help fix the wall. Cole didn’t bother to see their expressions as his gaze quickly locked onto the figure standing before him, hands outstretched in offered support.

  Natalie also looked afraid, but unlike everyone else, she wasn’t so much afraid of Cole as afraid for him; he could see that much in her bright red eyes. Regaining his balance, Cole stepped forward, ignoring the helping hand before him. “I’m fine.”

  Sucking in a breath between her teeth, Natalie muttered. “Goatshit.” But still let him pass by her, the pair leaving the gap as soldiers carrying bags of salt moved to ward away the ghouls while timber and stone were quickly put into position. Silently, the couple left the walls, observed by nervous militia members, as they trudged back through near-empty streets. Cole didn’t particularly have a destination in mind, but he figured somewhere with a bath and bed would be nice.

  As they reached one of the major avenues of Azyge, a loud boom and crack cut through the early morning. Cole whirled about, halberd at the ready, wondering what fresh nightmare was now upon him. A plume of dust from the inner walls caught his attention, and the Paladin started to run towards them, Natalie at his heels and voicing their shared thought. “What jagging now?”

  As the dust cloud started to settle, a rhythmic clanking echoed off the surrounding buildings. Soon, the source of this noise came into view, and Cole watched as a company of heavily armored dwarven warriors marched forward, axes and shields held at attention. Reinforcements from inner Azyge had finally come, the only question was how? The dwarven constable said it would take close to a day to open up the gate. Eyeing the quickly fading dust, Cole understood then. “They blew the sealed gate apart.”

  While he couldn’t begin to guess at what mix of magic, alchemy, and engineering was required for such a feat, Cole understood the symbolic and practical implications of such an act. The two halves of Azyge were truly linked now, and if the human part fell, so would the dwarf section. This wouldn’t be enough to mend the wounds inflicted by the harsh quarantine, but it would be a step in the right direction.

  As the axe-dwarves came closer, one of the few human townsfolk out on the road let out a bitter chuckle. “Better late than jagging never.”

  Letting the reinforcements pass them by, Cole leaned against the boarded-up front windows of a bakery and found himself slumping to the ground, his legs finally giving out. As Requiem landed next to him with a dull clatter, the Paladin groped at the brickwork behind him, trying to stand, but a gentle hand found his shoulder, and he stilled as Natalie settled next to him.

  Covered in dried blood, rotten gore, and stinking mud, the couple just sat for a time until Natalie broke the silence. “I miss bread.”

  Frowning in confusion, Cole looked at her and Natalie just tapped the building they leaned against. “Whoever ran this place knew what they were doing; I can still smell the last batch of sourdough they made.”

  Once she pointed it out, Cole could catch the scent as well, a faint familiar aroma that made him realize how hungry he was. Stomach growling, the Homunculus muttered. “You think they left a loaf or two behind?”

  Taking a deep inhale, Natalie considered for a moment then shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  Sighing, Cole let his head rest on the wooden boards, lethargy sinking into his bones. “Shame.”

  Staring up at the lightening sky above, Cole found himself realizing the utter absurdity of this conversation, and somehow, despite everything an amused snort escaped him. As Natalie jolted in surprise, Cole tried to fight down the wheezing noise growing in his chest but to no avail, and soon, half-hysterical laughter bubbled out of him. Struggling to get enough air, Cole laughed harder and harder, managing to mutter a few words between chuckles. “I miss bread?”

  A slight pout appeared on Natalie’s face, and she hunched her shoulders. “I do!”

  But as soon as those words left her mouth, a treacherous giggle followed them. Covering her face, Natalie tried to smother this mad mirth and was just as successful as Cole. Soon, the couple started to laugh in earnest, wild, raucous noises that should have brought all manner of attention, but the people of Azyge were far too distracted to notice or care. For nearly five minutes, they just sat and laughed, but eventually, Cole’s chuckles turned to racking wheezes and then sobs. Clutching at himself, the Homunculus cried, tears flowing free, carving paths through the filth on his face.

  Weeping openly, Cole felt tentative arms wrap around him, and after a moment’s hesitation, he leaned into Natalie’s embrace. Soon, he wasn’t the only one crying, and the couple hugged each other, sobbing as the weight of all that had happened crashed down upon them. Between shaking breaths, Natalie managed to mutter. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

  Pressing his forehead against Natalie’s, Cole held onto his partner, feeling her shame and regret through a connection more potent than any psychic chain the Alukah might forge. Reaching up and brushing away a lock of matted hair, Cole kissed Natalie, their lips meeting for just a barest moment before he whispered. “I love you.”

  Voice trembling, Natalie rasped. “I love you too.”

  Staring into her eyes, fighting back the fear he felt at such an act of vulnerability, Cole said. “I think… I think I can forgive you.”

  Words catching in her throat, Natalie whispered. “Okay.”

  They kissed again, and this time, Cole pulled back with a grimace, his addled mind once again registering how filthy they both were. “Gods, we smell awful.”

  A beat passed, Natalie started laughing again, Cole soon joined her and they both knew it would be some time until they stopped.

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