A Clove of Fates

27. A Collection of Parts

"Ifera!"

She collapsed to the ground as if she were nothing but a discarded collection of parts. I went down right beside her. Patting her face in an attempt to revive her. "Ifera, Ifera, come on, wake up!"

Her eyes moved under her eyelids but did not reveal themselves to me. They roved rapidly without direction. Her breaths were deep and labored but her face remained expressionless. I reached out with my mind to see if I could see into her, but there was nothing there. "Ifera, please. I need you."

I looked up, wildly, desperate, searching for someone who could come to our rescue. My eyes landed on him. Fraed. "Fraed. Can you–"

But Fraed was already on his feet, his fingers twitching and his lips moving. I could already tell what he was planning, and it wasn't smart in the slightest. "Fraed, no!"

But the spell was already cast. Air elemental magic sent the room into a whirlwind. Plates and napkins and silverware and even chairs were up in the air, encircling violently and unchecked until they weren't. Everything froze midair before falling to the ground. Fraed included.

"Fraed!"

I rushed over to him. He groaned but didn't make any indications of life otherwise. I checked his pulse to see that he was still breathing. He was. Osvik came over and shoved his snout into his owner's side but there was no rousing him. He was just as gone as Ifera was.

I looked up and around. But there was no one here to save me. There were two gods and a familiar too occupied with one of two friends currently lying unconscious on the ground.

"What did you do to them?" I practically spit. The words themselves were a venom that it seemed the gods were immune to.

"Oh, they're alright. Just sleeping. Your friend, Fraed, wasn't much of a danger, but he sure was a nuisance." He looked down at the table to his right and picked up a piece of a broken plate. "You know, this was imported all the way from Einmana? A pity." He threw it to the ground. "Well, I suppose they are just things in the end."

"That was fun." Aeska said, playing with the hem of his suit. "But my jacket got dirty."

"Did it?" Heillar inspected his husband. "Mm. Well, go get yourself cleaned up. I'll take care of everything here."

"What are you going to do to us?"

He blinked at me. "Do to you?" He placed a hand in his pocket. "Why would I do anything to you?"

I'd never thought before that a god could hurt my feelings, but here it was. We were nothing to him, in the end. We were the broken plates. We were things that could be replaced.

"And Elke?"

His face was cold and unfeeling. He tilted his head at me. "She is mine." He said simply. "And you will never see her again."