Swords of Gilded Crimson

Chapter 53 | A Beerhouse Reunites |

Meira caught the jerk in my movement, and rushed to help him up. But his eyes rose to first meet mine. I broke the contact as easily as it had come, switching my gaze elsewhere.

Nikolai did the same, but I could tell he was yet in a daze from the bewildered manner he considered our location. When he spoke, it was with a slurred, rasping voice at Meira, 'A rooftop- you picked the same rooftop you found Neve, didn't you?'

Any restraint deserted me, and I asked abruptly, 'Who's Neve?'

It was Meira who responded, or rather lamented. 'Andraste's older sister. She-'

Nikolai was quick to interject her, however. 'She returned to Dusk decades ago.'

The interruption earned a narrowing of Meira's eyes, and she chose to state further, 'Her and Nikolai were once lovers. And I was right to always advice against it, because when they fell apart, they almost tore the group apart. Things only cooled down when some nobleman her and Andraste knew from childhood, began courting her shortly after the break-up.'

'He only pursued her knowing she was sister to the High Lady of Day. He wouldn't have wanted her for anything more than her money.' Nikolai scoffed.

'And you would?' I demanded to know. 'Want her for more than her money?'

He looked at me as if even more bewildered.

But the daze seemed to escape him, and his stare became almost callous when he deigned to give a befitting reply, 'Once. But never again.'

I didn't believe him. Not when it was only her mention that managed to reign in his sobriety from whatever was in Meira's therapeutic salves. I might've even overlooked it as a matter of coincidence, but it was also Neve who he'd thought of upon first waking.

*

We brought Meira up to speed with where the mission had reached thus far. At times she intervened in disbelief.

'I just don't get why you would go out into crowds of these mortals who'd just been given your appearances. And not to mention the police officials sent to drag you back to Torrine.' She made clear her disapproval for our dealings in Nightsummit.

Nikolai rolled his eyes vehemently. 'It was the only chance we had to find those generators. If we hadn't found the way to disable them then, the Opal would've slipped through our fingers as soon as we reached Endisvale.'

'And you didn't think of staying low until their policing force cleared Nightsummit?'

Truly, she stood in no position to question our motives this arrogantly. Not after her blunder with Freya Morene. But I answered this time, if only to find out more detail for myself. 'We had Eleodor's glamour to work with; staying low was out-prioritised.' The next, I spoke particularly to Nikolai. 'So I still don't understand how they were able to glean you're fae quick enough to bring out Strycanine. They knew we were the assailants of Mightmere, but nothing more.'

He blew out a long sigh before conceding. 'I'd only just finished with dismantling the transformer in Nightsummit. I'd kept the door to the chamber secured, but one of the workers came upon it soon enough and tried getting in.' He yielded a cautionary glance towards me. 'Obviously, I'd put him down before he could alert others, but-.'

'You should've killed him.' I stated outright, my tone placid yet firm. I could see where this was going.

Meira expressed her disfavour distinctively with an outraged gape at me. 'For what?' To Nikolai, however, she spoke with ardent support, 'You did the right thing. You can't just-'

So I cut in again. 'What did the worker do next?'

Nikolai huffed, eyes in a constant roam about the rooftop, knowing he couldn't favour Meira's support with what he had to say. 'I thought he was out cold, but he managed to pull a trigger, alerting the industrial unit of an intruder. They found out what I'd done to the transformer and the suspicions were probably raised then. I fought off the most of them, but I ran from them where I could, because they alerted the police force still in the city. So I aimed for the border- towards Thorngarde, but they'd already sent two or so squadrons after me. I would've had them too, but Nightsummit has the convenience of collective winnowing, remember. They used it to their advantage, and it was in the fight at the border that... my wings came out their glamour.'