6.33 – The Heiress III


    Father stared at her.


    "I see," he said. "The goddess of sensuality. Fertility. Sex. Her conduit and champion. What makes you believe this?"


    Rosalie''s face reddened. "She has skills rted to … Ephythithys''s aspects."


    Father stared at her.


    Rosalie chickened out.


    She''d been braced to exin things in direct terms. At least, <em>more </em>direct. To at least hint at the truth. And possibly even exin her rtionship to Zoey.


    But, unfortunately, Rosalie was more of a coward than she''d thought.


    "As in, bonding," Rosalie said, clearing her throat and ncing away. "As you''ve already noticed, she''s very … loyal. One of Ephythithys''s aspects is bonds. So that''s the manifestation Zoey''s ss took."


    "<em>Intimate</em> bonds, I believe."


    Rosalie shrugged. "Friendship counts, I suppose. Trust and being an ally in general. And it''s whoever she chooses. Doesn''t have to be an established rtionship."


    "It?" Father repeated. "What do you mean, it?"


    "She can select allies to boost. Enormously. Not just in the manner of a typical support ss, but also in progression. She can elerate experience gain. That''s how I''ve reached fourth advancement in such a short amount of time." She felt mildly embarrassed to admit that. Because it meant her prodigious pace—or at least her <em>absurdly prodigious</em> pace, since she''d already been doing quite well before Zoey—was thanks more to a powerful ally than by her own merit.


    But Father had never been one to care about that. He valued results. Luck and circumstances were irrelevant. Confirming that, he didn''t seem bothered by the reveal. Though that might be more because of his greater interest in the current topic. Of gods and their champions.


    "How do you know she''s not misrepresenting her ss?" Father asked. "There''s plenty of absurdly powerful individuals—some even granted their strength as if from nowhere. Hm. Perhaps not plenty. But enough."


    Rosalie blinked. For some reason, she hadn''t even considered having to exin that to him. Fortunately, she could. "Besides being on the receiving end of it, I read her tab anima myself. She''s not misrepresenting anything."


    "You did?"


    At the surprise in his voice, Rosalie fought her cheeks from coloring. It <em>was </em>an intimate act, peering into another person''s soul. She wondered if she was giving away her rtionship to Zoey without meaning to. "When she first arrived, she didn''t know how to read her skills. So I had to."


    "When she first arrived," Father repeated. "To where? How did you two meet?"


    A brief image of being crammed inside a coffin, every inch of their skin touching, hot, sweaty, Zoey humping awkwardly, sliding that thing across Rosalie''s stomach, between their bodies, faster and faster until—


    Rosalie cleared her throat. "She spawned in the same shard as me. Hence why I was forced into reading her tab anima, else she remain dead weight. Neither of us had a choice in the matter."


    "I see," Father said. "How do you know Ephythithys specifically is involved?"


    "Beyond being a usible exnation for a mythic rune of bonding?"


    <em>"Mythic?" </em>Father asked incredulously.


    "Along with three other runes?"


    "She has <em>four </em>total?"


    "And that I trust her, when she confided that in me?" Rosalie asked. "Among all those things, Zoey also led us to a corrupted shard upon the instruction of her patron." Rosalie hadn''t doubted her before that, but it was the concrete piece of evidence she could point to. Delta had <em>seen </em>Ephythithys, but Rosalie hadn''t.


    "You went into one of those ces? Dangerous, Rosalie."


    "There, we found a shard eater," Rosalie continued, ignoring him. She winced. "And … I suppose I should mention it might be following us."


    <em>"Following you?"</em>


    "Though we''re not entirely certain what''s happening, there. We haven''t caught sight of it since then."


    For a while, Father stared at her.


    He pinched the bridge of his nose.


    "Elodie gives me enough headaches. You''re supposed to be the measured one."


    Rosalie cleared her throat. "It was dangerous, yes, entering that shard. But it was a task granted by a goddess. I don''t believe those are the sorts of things one should ignore."


    Father eyed her but didn''t disagree. "You sound entirely too unconcerned that something that <em>eats shards </em>is trailing you."


    Rosalie shrugged. "Lucinda couldn''t spot it if it indeed was following us to Mantle, so it''s out of our hands." She hesitated. "The creature is interested in Zoey, anyway." Specifically in divinely imbued cum, but that was something she would politely avoid mentioning to her father. "So if it resurfaces, its obsession is with her, not me."


    Father only seemed half assuaged by that exnation. "Where do the other two fit in?"


    "The other two?"


    "The fox and the Sovereign."


    "Oh." Rosalie shifted in ce. Funny enough, despite both of them being far morepetent than Zoey from a wayfaring standpoint, their positions on Rosalie''s squad were much more tenuous. "They aren''t sponsored by goddesses, if that''s what you mean. They''re simply our teammates."


    Father raised two unimpressed eyebrows.


    "And the bonding process is permanent," Rosalie half-lied. Because technically, bonds could be reshuffled, <em>until </em>they were made permanent. "And Zoey has chosen them. Alongside me. Which means—"


    "<em>You </em>chose <em>her</em>," Father corrected. "Not the other way around."


    Rosalie paused. She continued. "Which means we''re entwined, all four of us. But I find them adequate teammates, regardless of that fact. I would prefer if you stopped making allusions toward recing them."


    Father grunted. It sounded like assent, if unenthusiastic … and possibly temporary. Rosalie would take that.


    "Who is she?" Father asked.


    "Zoey?"


    "Yes. Where is she from?"


    Rosalie pursed her lips. "That''splicated. She''scking certain memories. A byproduct of being chosen by Ephythithys."


    "Yes, she mentioned something of the sort, if omitting her patron''s involvement. Hence why I asked." He made a noise of displeasure. "It was an entirely frustrating conversation, her and the fox. Dodging every question, refusing to speak for you. Or even <em>themselves</em>, to any adequate degree."


    Well, Rosalie greatly appreciated that they''d done that—especially under enormous pressure. She owed a huge thank-you to both of them. She couldn''t imagine trying to have this conversation with Father if he had the informational upper hand. Zoey clearly hadn''t even mentioned their rtionship, which was alsoing as a massive relief.


    Though Rosalie shouldn''t hide that from Father. Their rtionship. Maybe she could leave out all the … lewder details of Zoey''s ss, since it wasn''t strictly necessary to nning for the future and tackling the shard eaters, but the two of them <em>were</em> girlfriends.


    Just.


    She''d deal with that revealter.


    She was already delivering enough shocking news.


    "They''re together, right?" Father asked.


    Rosalie twitched. "What?"


    "Those two. Romantically."


    "Zoey and Delta? Um. Y-Yes. I believe so." Though she didn''t think they had actually made it official, yet. The ''girlfriend'' talk. Even if it was all but obvious, unofficially.


    She didn''t know why the question caught her so off guard, enough to stutter in front of Father. Probably because she was hiding her own entanglement with them.


    "I assumed." Father didn''t seem to care one way or another; it had just been ament. "And the Sovereign? You just happened to meet?"


    "She was simply someone we found," Rosalie confirmed. "In Treyhull. Apetent ally."


    "Why didn''t you return to Mantle immediately with that woman in tow? Why permanently ''bond'' these others? I could have selected better choices."


    Rosalie winced. That was a good point. "I think you''re underestimating them," she said. "Besides, the decision is more Zoey''s than mine. It''s her ss."


    Father, again, seemed unimpressed.


    Before he could open his mouth, though, Rosalie said: "She isn''t yours to use, Father."


    His eyebrows went up.


    Rosalie felt herself grow suddenly hot. "She <em>isn''t </em>yours to <em>use, </em>Father. I understand the asset she represents. That a Guildmaster has an obligation to his people to do what needs to be done. But I tell you all of this sensitive information so that you''re informed—not so you can dig your ws into her and use her as your weapon. It''s an extension of my trust. I prefer you don''t vite it." She''d been warning Zoey against sharing information on her ss because she knew a great many people would do exactly that—take advantage of her. Including her father, if not for Rosalie''s involvement.


    Then, having grown heated at even the <em>possibility</em> of Father using Zoey in that way, Rosalie finished her speech in a way she hadn''t entirely intended to.


    "It won''t happen. She''s <em>mine</em>, not <em>yours</em>, Father."


    Father paused.


    His lips tugged up.


    "As long as she''s one of ours, you''ll hear nothing from me."


    Flustered, Rosalie calmed herself.


    Father had definitely misinterpreted what that <em>''mine'' </em>had meant.


    "I think it''s time you start from the beginning," Father said. He blinked, then looked at his spear—as if he''d forgotten something. "Oh," he said, gripping it and lowering it toward her. "And I''d like to see what you learned in the meantime."


    Ah.


    She supposed she was lucky for catching his attention so thoroughly that he''d forgotten to spar with her during his interrogation. That might have been her saving grace.


    But keeping her story straight while dueling? Eluding all the sticky details of Ephy''s involvement, or the shards they''d ventured through?


    That was going to be a challenge.