Aftermath - Ann Aguirre [122]
He complies, claws resting on his legs. There’s a somber air about him, as if this is a ceremony of great weight. But I already knew that. It’s not marriage, but for him, it’s every bit as profound. In all honesty, it is for me, too. I don’t undertake this commitment lightly. It’s more than I’ve promised another person since before my ill-fated marriage to Simon.
“This needs to dry before I can continue, and I have another client. Let me go check on her.” Colette leaves us alone in the studio, and I turn to admire the images of her work that line the otherwise pristine walls.
“How do you know her?” I ask, once the door swishes shut.
I already suspect, of course, but his life with Adele fascinates me. She loved him freely and openly, no boundaries, no judgment. From what I knew of her, that doesn’t surprise me at all, but it also makes me wonder at his secrets. What was Vel like with her, and did she know him better than I do? This feeling isn’t quite jealousy, but I wouldn’t know what to call it, either.
“Adele liked tattoos. She added a new pattern, a small one, each turn that I knew her.”
“And you came with her?” I’m guessing.
“Sometimes, if the shop was closed.”
I imagine them going about their lives beneath the titian sky, quiet lives, normal ones. He must have been content with that. He’s like a chameleon, then—able to stay or go, with no preference to hold him hostage. Unlike me. I’ll always be a junkie. Grimspace blazes in my veins, boils in my cells. I can’t give it up, nor do I want to. Asking me to stay dirtside? Well, it would be kinder to shoot me.
Colette returns shortly thereafter. She goes about the rest of her work in silence, inking the pattern in lines of color, and when she finishes, it’s both elegant and artful. The other Ithtorians will find it shocking—maybe even offensive. I hope I’m around for that. When they realize he’s chosen a human partner, they will be even more shocked. Or maybe not. They were speculating it was the case on Ithiss-Tor, and they’re calling him my longtime companion on the bounce. Soon, they’ll be making smut vids about how we make the physiological differences work. Since there are so many niche fetishes, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to discover it’s true.
“Do you want me to seal it?” Colette asks.
Vel glances at me, the light refracting on his side-set eyes, and answers, “Yes.”
So as a final step, she paints a clear lacquer over the symbol. The Ithtorians don’t do that; they leave the carapace unbonded because it shows ambition: the intention to gain more honor marks as they ascend the political ladder. This seal indicates Vel has no higher aspirations than the mark I’ve given him—and I could hardly be prouder than I am at this moment.
“Do you like it?” I ask, as we leave Colette’s shop, stepping into the warm orange twilight.
“You chose it.” For him, that is an answer.
Now our business on this world is ended. I am fast approaching a fork in my journey, and that choice—whether I bear left or right—will decide everything in the turns to come.
.UNCLASSIFIED-TRANSMISSION.
.RE: AFTER LONG SILENCE.
.FROM-EDUN_LEVITER.
.TO-SUNI_TARN.
My dear Suni,
You imagined nothing, and my regard remains unchanged. I understood your decision of expedience then, as I welcome your return now. Please journey posthaste to La’heng, where I am embroiled in my latest intrigue. Trust I will put your vast political experience, your impressive brain, and your treasured company to good use.
Do not keep me waiting. I’ve waited long enough.
Yours,
Edun
CHAPTER 40
Leaving Gehenna feels like a permanent good-bye. Before, I always knew Adele was waiting for me—and that the little garret I once occupied, I could claim again, should I have the need. But she didn’t own that building, and they’ve already rented her apartment. Yet however much I mourn her loss, for Vel it’s worse.
I remember the framed image, sitting beside her bed even these many turns later. She loved him, no matter their differences, and held him in her heart until the end.