The sky, which had been cleared of foreign gray, finally let loose the wet it had held onto since autumn. Icy rain slammed into the ground below, forcing the dust to inch downward toward the ocean.
Dezmek had a long held belief that the transition between life and death takes time—much like how babies took nine months to grow ready for the world outside of their mothers, souls should not be torn from their bodies too quickly. Deaths by fire left relatives gutted not only by the loss of their loved ones but also by their loved ones' inability to make the change from dezmek to magic.
So the humans had to be buried. Perhaps their afterlife consisted of something else, but a preparation period couldn't hurt them.
No one asked Karthik what he wanted. He didn't voice any requests, instead watching the proceedings with empty eyes.
The rain cleansed the hills first. Gray sometimes pooled on the flatter land. If the sun suddenly returned, perhaps the dust would sink into the ground and ruin Ergakan.
For now, the hill that held up Tracou's manor had the least damage. The dezmek had to load the dead onto carts and wagons. The process of moving the corpses took hours, with the able bodied helping as best as they could. Night fell by the time every invader had been laid to rest.
Exhausted, the villagers returned to their homes. Less than one hundred and fifty of them remained. Hopefully, the ones who had fled would spread the word about the danger the Winleans posed.
Tracou now stood on his hill which harbored more dead than he could have ever thought possible.
Only Serpouhi, Garin, and Stepan lingered beside Tracou, the elves, and Karthik. Water soaked each of them to the bone. Perhaps they could have dried themselves, but the water kept falling, and burying the dead had taken its toll on them.
"What are we going to do?" Serpouhi asked, her voice small. "What if they come back with more people?"
Tracou bit his cheek.
They might sleep soundly tonight, but what about tomorrow? Some of those humans had fled—if they didn't return to their ships...
"I don't know," he said.
"You're going to leave me here. Right? To back with your elves?"
"That was the plan... Maybe I can ask the elves for help. Mirthal will help me..."
"I see." She paused. "I'll be the bailiff and I'll be in control. But... more people will leave. Maybe I'll be the last one here."
"Don't talk like that." Stepan shook his head, as though Serpouhi were worrying about a lone spider. "We have time to prepare, now. Maybe build some traps."
Tracou grimaced, stealing a glance at Pendaer. Good thing he couldn't understand.
"The angry elf thinks traps are a good idea, too."
"Really! He's a funny one. Always glaring at everyone, but he lured the humans for us. Is he shy? Ask him if he's shy."
This Tracou could support.
"Pendaer, Stepan wants to know if you're shy."
Pendaer pulled a face of pure disgust. "He what?"
Stepan cackled, Pendaer's tone of voice being more than enough to understand what he had said.
"Angry ones are the funniest. Now tell him we couldn't have saved Ergakan without him—that will throw him for a loop."
"This isn't funny, Stepan!" Serpouhi cut in. "Take this seriously! What are we going to do?"
"We can think about that later. No point in worrying now, not when people need to sleep. Right, Lord Vartanian?"
"I agree. I'm about to keel over."
Serpouhi pursed her lips, glaring at both of them. Then she let out a breath.
"Fine. We'll talk about this tomorrow."
With that, she left with Garin, who had not said a word most of the day. Stepan left shortly after, claiming he had to put Tsova to bed, whatever that meant.
Once back inside his manor, Tracou felt the strain of the day hit him all at once. He wavered and Mirthal put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.
Even after all this, they still had a pressing problem.
"What are we going to do about Karthik?" Tracou asked, looking over at the man in question.
Standing in the doorway, Karthik kept his eyes on the ground.
"We could leave him in a barn," Pendaer said.
Mirthal frowned. "With his hands tied? No, that's cruel. I think we should bring him inside."
"Inside? Where? You expect me or the dezmek to sleep soundly with this human in the same building?"
"I suppose not... But there's a free room, isn't there? The servant's room? We could lock him in there."
"I don't have a lock for that door and I can only seal him in there if I'm awake," Tracou said, stifling a yawn.
"Oh." Mirthal tilted his head. "I can seal the room myself and take it off in the morning. Would that be all right with you, Karthik? We can give you some food, too."
Karthik, who had spent most of his day merely trailing Pendaer around while lost in his own head, slowly turned to look at Mirthal.
"Would I be untied?"
Mirthal looked at Tracou, who nodded. He could accept that.
Karthik let out a short breath. "Yes, that sounds good. Will we be going to Aodehn tomorrow?"
"In a day or two. Tomorrow is too soon. I want to rest," Tracou said.
This news might not have pleased Karthik, but he accepted it without comment.
After Mirthal sealed Karthik and some food in the room, he drifted over to Tracou and smiled down at him.
Tracou pouted at Mirthal. Something about that grin raised a tripping alarm in his mind.
"What?"
"You used my bow, didn't you? Earlier."
"Mm-hm... Why did you leave it out in the open? Are you stupid?"
Mirthal's smile turned sheepish. "Maybe. But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have seen you do that."
"I thought you might die," Tracou sighed. "You would have died because of Ergakan—because of me."
"I wanted to help you, Tracou."
"I know. I can't thank you enough."
Leaning down, Mirthal pulled Tracou in front of him. He cupped Tracou's cheeks with both of his hands and tilted his head up. Then he leaned down, pressing their lips together.
Finally. What if one of them had died and the last contact they had had was a kiss to the hand? Tracou looped his arms around Mirthal's shoulders, moving to deepen the kiss.
But, of course, they weren't alone.
"This is neither the time nor the place for this! Can't you be inappropriate by yourselves? I can't imagine doing something like that in front of someone else! The dezmek is a terrible influence on you, your highness. You'll adopt his animalistic tendencies!"
Tracou huffed. How did he have the energy to gripe after today? Maybe if he baffled Pendaer, he would shut up for a minute.
He marched over to Pendaer, who leaned away from him, aggressive confusion all over his face.
Despite Pendaer's position as the worst elf Tracou had ever met (out of two), he had helped Ergakan immensely today. That deserved some kind of thank you. Doubtless Pendaer would prefer it if Tracou got down on his hands and knees and licked his boots, but Tracou would rather die than do that. Even if Pendaer single-handedly swooped in from the heavens and brought paradise specifically to Ergakan and only Ergakan, Tracou would never bow to him.
Instead, Tracou advanced on him and wrapped his arms around Pendaer's middle, giving him a hug.
Pendaer tensed like he had just been turned into stone. He leaned away from Tracou at such a severe angle that the two of them wobbled, nearly tumbling over.
"Thank you for helping us dezmek today. I won't forget this."
Pendaer couldn't even speak. The most he managed was a sort of perplexed and accusing whimper, the kind an animal might give after someone accidentally stepped on their tail.
Coming from anyone else, Tracou might have called it cute.
That thought worried him, so he let go of Pendaer and stepped back. But this did not help Pendaer—he remained motionless.
"Are you okay?" Tracou asked.
That brought Pendaer back to reality. He jolted backward into a forced looking relaxed pose and began to babble.
"H-How dare you touch me like that, dezmek?! Disgusting! Have you no shame?! Rubbing your body up against mine! And in front of the prince, no less! You really are an animal! No, worse!"
Mirthal said something that sounded pointed in Elvish. It made Pendaer flinch.
"What did you say?" Tracou asked.
"I'm hungry," Mirthal said, likely not answering the question.
"Tell me!"
"I'll tell you if you can fire another arrow tomorrow."
"Ugh..." The mere thought exhausted him.
It might be weeks before the events of today stopped weighing down his bones.
Tracou moved closer to Mirthal and leaned against him so they were chest to chest (or as close to that as they could manage.) He rested his whole body weight against him and, as Mirthal looped his arms around him, closed his eyes.
The next thing he knew, he was in Mirthal's arms as he lowered him onto their bed. He woke up enough to confirm where he was and his and Mirthal's safety before letting go.