The rain had stopped, but the clouds remained, smearing the sky in bruised greys. Zee walked the manor road alone, the satchel over his shoulder cold against his back. Each step he took toward the marble threshold of House Vestule soured the taste in his mouth.
Inside, warmth. Gold inlaid walls and flickering sconces. Perfume and diplomacy masked the blood beneath the floors. Guards nodded him through without question-everyone knew who he was now. The Lady's ghost had returned.
She stood by the arched window, her back to him, arms crossed as if holding her own ribs still. The room overlooked the gardens, but she wasn't seeing them. Not really.
Zee dropped the satchel on the table, the artifact inside clinking against a loose buckle.
"You retrieved it," she said, not turning.
"Sevi and Torren were taken."
That made her glance over her shoulder. Brief, like he was a curiosity.
"Unfortunate."
"They need extraction."
She turned now, fully. "You've done your part. The deal was for the relic."
Zee said nothing. His jaw locked tight.
She walked closer, heels soft against the rug. "Zee, I've used Sevi before. She's good. But she knew the risks. They all did."
"Then you'll let them die?"
She raised a brow. "Do you think a war with the Cult is worth two lives?"
Silence. Heavy, coiled.
Zee opened the satchel. The relic-metallic, spiraled, almost pulsing-shimmered in the lamplight. He held it between gloved fingers.
"It's worth more than a war. But I'll give it to you if you help me get them out."
That got her attention. She frowned. "You're bargaining with it?"
He met her eyes. "I don't leave people behind."
She studied him for a long beat, her fingers brushing the satchel. "You truly value them that much?"
"I don't leave people behind," he repeated, quieter.
Another pause.
The Lady gave a small, amused breath. "You're talkative today."
Zee didn't smile. "I'm tired of silence costing lives."
She walked back to the window, gaze cast far, somewhere beyond the glass. When she spoke again, her voice was velvet over steel. "The Cult won't negotiate. You know that. If I interfere, this house will lose what it's built."
Zee didn't answer.
"If you go after them alone, you'll likely die."
Still, he said nothing.
She turned back to him one last time. "You already gave me the relic. I won't give you an army."
He nodded, slowly.
Then turned and walked out the way he came.
No words. Just controlled rage, and the ghost of something close to sorrow tightening behind his eyes.