Page 23 of Summer of Sacrifice
He turned away, busying his hands even more by organising his tools. “That’s a peculiar pull as well.”
“You never did strike me as a man given to much rashness.”
Gaius nodded one too many times, fiddling with a crucible, and Grimm watched his throat bob. Was he making Gaius nervous? That was absurd…
“I assure you I have only the most proper intentions with your sister.”
Grimm sputtered a laugh. “Is that what’s gotten into you? You’re worried I don’t approve?”
Gaius gave a pained smile. “Partly.” His fingers stilled their tinkering, and he looked at Grimm, then Asa, and then back. “There is one other thing…small thing, you should both know while we’re alone, the three of us. Or I won’t be able to sleep.”
Asa lifted his chin, eying him suspiciously.
“This should be good,” Grimm murmured, crossing his arms. If he wasn’t mistaken, Gaius was even more nervous of Asa than he was of him… Oh, fuck. “You slept with Sorscha.”
“Once!” Gaius jumped to respond, his attention darting between them. “One time.”
Grimm slid his attention to Asa, bemused. Having quite literally just met the giant general, he had no idea how he would react, but Grimm was rather curious. To his surprise, and apparently Gaius’ as well, Asa tipped his head back and laughed.
“Is this supposed to be shocking?” he boomed.
“I’m inclined to agree,” Grimm agreed lazily. “You were alone together for the better part of a year, and she’s…well, Sorscha.”
Asa nodded, tongue in cheek. “You’re consenting adults and clearly close confidants.” He shrugged. “It’s in our natures to explore those things.” Standing to his full, rather intimidating height—and bulk—he stepped forward, and Gaius paled. Grimm bit back a snicker. “Now, if you were to try that again, I’d gut you and feed your entrails to the crows. However, I see how you look at Arielle.” He jutted a thumb in Grimm’s direction. “So you’re his problem now, as far as your lordly honour and all that.”
Grimm came forward and elbowed Gaius in the ribs. “And I couldn’t have selected anyone better for her had I done it myself.” Mockingly, he waggled his eyebrows. “Which I did, of course. In a way.”
A conservative smile crept across Gaius’ face. “I just wanted to clear the air before we deal with more serious matters.”
Asa grumbled his acknowledgement, then something about finding Sorscha some food, and left.
Grimm watched him go, chuckling. “Damn. He really does care about Sorscha, doesn’t he?”
Turning back to his experiments, Gaius nodded. “And neither one of them realises how much. Idiots.”
“Idiots, indeed. Now, show me what you’re working on here.”
Gaius descended into an alchemical lecture that sounded vaguely like gibberish to Grimm. He reached out to touch one of the beakers, gurgling a liquid the colour of Agatha’s eyes, but Gaius’ hand shot out, grasping his wrist. “You can’t touch it!”
His words slithered off into the air as another memory struck Grimm. They were coming so quickly now that he couldn’t decipher what was present or past anymore. Different images assaulted him of Gaius, huddled over a different workbench, crucible in hand. Arielle reading a book with her hands, seated in the corner. But her hair was different. Her nose a bit smaller, skin a bit darker. It was just the way Agatha kept changing in all his visions. It was Arielle, though. It had to be. Gaius was showing him something, a tuning fork and stone in hand. Grimm, too, was the slightest bit different, though he could only see his hands. Sabrina, Gaius addressed the version of Arielle over his shoulder. Come feel this vibration.
“Grimm.” Gaius was shaking him when the vision dissipated. “What in Hades? Are you all right?”
Grimm blinked, forcing a lazy smile. “Fine. I’m fine. Just thinking of last night with Agatha,” he lied.
Gaius removed his hands from Grimm’s shoulders as if he’d been burned. “Come on, man. Do that on your own time.”
SELESTE
“This was all done by the quill I brought here to Araignée.” Arielle’s assessment instantly halted the bickering between Sisters. They turned in awe toward Arielle’s hand hovering over the journals.
“You can tell that by touch?” In her defence, there was no malice or judgement in Sorscha’s question—to which Areille nodded—only surprised curiosity.
“We suspected as much,” Agatha said. “Queen Fleurina claimed mine was penned by a goddess quill, but it’s nice to have it confirmed by another source—that they were all penned with the same one. The one Chresedia has had all this time. Can you decipher anything else?”
Arielle’s face scrunched as she moved her hand from journal to journal. “These were all done by the same hand, too…”
“Our mother,” Winnie said softly, and Arielle’s face brightened.
