A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 193: An Awfully Quiet Day

"You're awfully quiet," Keir frowned down at me on the couch, where Teria let me lay down the second we got to my heaven. "Still in pain?"

     "..."

     It was the same one I'd laid on when he healed all of my wounds probably not even a day ago. The teal one, where I turned my head to the side to let it get lost in the backrest.

     I knew what was in order. Even if I didn't know the significance of everything going on, just looking at Thanos' reaction and seeing another side to the gods that I never knew was there...made me realize just how important it was, and just how much work Keir had put in even if I wasn't watching, and just how important that day was for me.

     For all of us. Everyone on Tasega. Everyone with a soul.

     Even Tiyana.

     Lifetimes. I'd likely been waiting for something like that for lifetimes.

     Teria put a hand on my head to drag the hair curtain back, but I resisted, digging further into the couch. I couldn't be comforted, not then. I couldn't let myself be distracted.

     My hand went back up to my chest, feeling the hot metal of the Orix planted there, and the slight soreness of my heart with the stake right beside it and Keir's heart - somehow fitting in there, how was a good question - on the other side.

     Trusting him was hard. If what happened to me with Paivla replayed itself with him in the future, I wasn't sure if I could stand back up again. The fact that he refused to make one of those pacts with me was also concerning, since apparently that for sure would've kept him from betraying me.

     But he had his reasons. I could see them, even if I didn't really know they were there. He had to protect himself too.

     In a world where you weren't sure who you could trust, even amidst your supposed allies, only those who indulged everything were fools. Everyone else was just playing it safe.

     I don't want to be that fool.

     But I...would I be that fool, for believing in him? Hadn't he proven himself? Not even Paivla went so far for me, only giving me the dagger, constricting me, and sending me off to suffer and die while pretending to be my friend and just using words to make it seem like she was doing something. No, he actually stood out there in front of everyone with me, took care of me, found Magaris when no one else did, and took care of her. Treated her well, bickered with me but never really did anything offensive physically besides just annoy me. Was treating me so much better than he had to despite me having killed him once and insulted him every which way beyond that, but still going out of his way to do work that I...that meant a lot to me. That would save me so much more suffering.

     "Keir."

     "What?"

     "Thank you."

     He didn't say anything for a while. In fact, I thought he'd accepted it with grace and left.

     But I knew better. His aura was still there.

     "Anytime...is what I would say if I was not an opportunist. Being such a thing is what let me get all of this done with minimal effort from you, and it's what's going to get me a day with you at the festival of the Goddess of Winter's heaven two weeks from today, isn't it?"

     Goddess of Winter...

     "Aren't there any other gods hosting festivals?"

     "You don't want to meet her?"