The two days it took to get home were uneventful. Things were warming up to a very humid spring. We passed by an entire field of wildflowers in full bloom. Keagan’s breathing improved noticeably each day. A cough would slip through every once in a while, but he wouldn’t fall into a full-on fit anymore.

  Keagan melted at the sight of our ranch house. The setting sun bathing it in orange made it a sight for sore eyes. I could feel him slip back and ease his hold on me. We barely even made it to the front porch before something metal crashed inside the house.

  I stepped back and whispered, “Kid, get off and hide.”

  He started to, and just as he got the saddlebags off me, the door blew open.

  I moved to lunge but froze.

  A familiar blue mist leaked out from the cracks in the armor of the individual running towards us. The armor was mostly silver with blue accents, and its shape would suggest it belonged to a woman.

  “Oh no,” I muttered.

  Keagan perked up. “Is that…”

  “There you are! There you are!” Nieve practically sang as she skidded to a stop in front of the boy. “You’re home, and, oh my goodness, I have so much to tell you! There was a draft coming from the window next to the pantry. Don’t worry, I fixed it. Then the laundry rack tipped over while I was mopping. It’s fine because I broke its fall. And—Keagan, are those bags under your eyes? Have you been sleeping? Oh no, you haven’t been sleeping!”

  She leaned forwards and scooped the kid up in a hug that I’m surprised didn’t crack his spine. “I can fix that! Come inside, let me…”

  “Nieve,” Keagan laughed. “We missed you too.”

  Mist puffed from her joints. “You did? Really? Oh, that makes me so happy. Wait. Hold on. We?”

  She set Keagan down. She turned her helmet toward me and froze.

  “Lucia…?” Her voice cracked, and her mist dimmed from a bright blue to a pale silver. “You’re alive?”

  I shrugged. “As unbelievable as it is, yes.”

  She stepped slowly closer, extended her hand, and tapped the bridge of my nose. “You feel real. But Luther said you were…” Her trembling gauntlet brushed my cheek. “He said you died. I cried about it in the kitchen. This… this is good?”

  Keagan gently pulled her hand down. “Nieve, we need to talk. Inside.”

  She just stared between the two of us. “What’s wrong?”

  “Inside,” I repeated.

  This time she obeyed.

  The moment the door shut behind us, the dullahan’s fingers intertwined and her stride shortened significantly. She turned to us but didn’t say anything. I could tell she was waiting for us to begin.

  I nodded to the chair across from the fireplace. “You should sit down for this one.”

  She shook her head. “Just tell me. You’re scaring me.”

  Well, if you insist. “Luther wants to kill me,” I said flatly. “He tried twice.”

  “That’s not—no.” Her voice and body shook. “He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t. You probably misunderstood…”

  Keagan stepped up and placed a hand on her elbow. “No, he does. There’s no misunderstanding. You might want to sit through all of this before you say anything else.”

  Nieve nodded and sat, or rather fell, into the seat I motioned to earlier.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “We were at Galepass for a tournament.” I sat next to Keagan as I began. “Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Afterwards, we ran into Luther. He said he was there for training Velleigh’s Resilience.”

  “That’s what he told me,” Nieve chirped. “It’s not the first time he’s done that. His book of training tips says that the mountain air is good for improving Resilience."

  “He said the same thing.” Keagan brushed a hand on my side. “And well, I thought, since Lucia needs help with that stat, we could give it a try.” He coughed. “It seemed to help, but I got sick.”

  “Oh no.” Nieve’s hands shot to the cheeks of her helmet. “I know just the recipe for soup that will help you recover days faster. Luther always loved it when he would work himself sick.” She shot up and headed for the kitchen. “It’ll only take…”

  Keagan stopped her. “We’re not done.”

  She deflated and sat back down.

  I flicked my tail and flattened my ears. “I carried the kid back down the mountain. Luther was waiting for us. Velleigh wasn’t there.” I clenched my jaw. “He asked me questions about Fenrir and where to find him. Something about titan blood. I tried to walk away from him, but he had a whistle that was debilitatingly high-pitched. Then Velleigh, being chased by four direwolves, took Keagan right off my back and left me to fight them—alone.”

  Nieve’s blue mist turned stark white and thicker as it seeped from her and washed down the chair she sat on. “Four? Velleigh isn’t strong enough to take on four wild direwolves alone. He should have run.”

  I stood up and stepped closer to her. “You’re missing the point of him leading them to me. He took Keagan away and left. That was his plan! To use four monsters to kill me. He didn’t tell me to run. He put up a wall of electricity to prevent me from following until the direwolves were dead. It was deliberate!”

  My face was inches from hers. I bared my fangs at her. “When that failed, he wrote a letter saying he was sorry that I died and was going to replace me with you. He knew that would send me into a rage where an S-ranked enforcer was there to eliminate me for being a danger to society. He knows about my Wrath Demon Blood Ancestry.”

  Keagan pulled the letter from his bag and held it up for her to look at.

  She trembled before me. “I know about the letter. He… he had me there when he wrote it and then delivered it to the Association's headquarters so you could get it.”

  “No. No, no, no…” Her gauntlets clasped over her helmet as her head shook. “He said I was helping you. He said you needed it. He said he saw something special in you. He said… he said the world needed…”

  Keagan reached out and covered her hands with his. “Nieve, please look at me.”

  She didn’t fight him.

  “He used you,” Keagan whispered. “The Luther you knew is gone. He’s too lost in his vendetta against the gods that he took it out on Lucia.”

  She pushed us both away. “He wouldn’t.” She stood up and started pacing. “Not me. I’m his dullahan, his maid. I’m supposed to be useful.”

  “Did he tell you how he knew that I was dead?” I asked bluntly.

  She froze. “He said it was an unfortunate training accident.”

  I huffed. “He didn’t. He lied because you’re useful and obedient. And because you wouldn’t ask questions. Your trust in him allowed him to do this. You can’t lie. So when the Association comes to ask questions, you will be the perfect shield.”

  She crumpled and started to weep. “You’re lying.”

  I growled at her. How can she still defend him?

  “Easy,” Keagan said as he placed a hand on my chest. I snorted and turned away. “Nieve, what’s more likely, Lucia or Luther lying? Have you seen Lucia lie? How much has Luther not told you? Withholding information is just another way of being dishonest. If he is dishonest that way, how hard of a leap is it for him to start lying to you if he believes he needs to?”

  “I… he… I wasn’t enough to be trusted.” Her voice cracked. “He didn’t trust me with the truth. Why did he give me to you? Does he not want me around? Do I go back to him now?”

  “That’s not it,” I sighed as I turned my head to look at the distraught monster. “As much as I hate him, he’s a man of his word. If he said he was giving you to Keagan, he will honor it. Whether I’m dead or alive.”

  Keagan squeezed her hand. “It’s not your fault.”

  Nieve pulled away from him. “He doesn’t need me. You don’t need me. What am I?”

  “Nieve, you’re more than Luther’s dullahan.” He hugged the suit of armor. “You are my friend. Even though you were sent here for a different reason, I think you should stay. No. I want you to stay.”

  She didn’t respond right away. “You don’t think I’m worthless?” she asked.

  The boy hugged her tighter. “I think Luther took advantage of how kind you are. And when did I ever say I didn’t want you or say you were worthless?”

  Her helm dipped.

  He added, “You deserve better than Luther. That is my promise to you as well: I will be better for you. I will be a trainer worth your companionship.”

  My throat tightened as I turned away. Kid, you are more than enough for her. A single tear budded in the corner of my eye. This kid’s open heart will give yours a run for its money, Mom.

  “Thank you,” Nieve whispered as she wrapped around the boy in a noisy hug.

  “You deserve a family who loves you,” Keagan said simply. "Lucia, come here and… what’s wrong?”

  I wiped the tear with a paw and cleared my throat. “Nothing.”

  The kid was grinning from ear to ear. “You weren’t crying, were you?”

  “Never.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll never tell,” Nieve sang.

  Looks like you’re building your own little family. But am I enough for you, Keagan? Can I ever be? Is my promise to protect and care for you enough?

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