Mahogany and Teakwood

Chapter 38: Monkshood

you're the promise that degraded every hope and dream

you're the whisper at the end of every hopeless scream

Virgil rushed forward, only to have his arm seized.

"Wait." Patton frowned. "It could be a trick."

Virgil exhaled, gripping his dagger so hard his knuckles turned white. Looking closer, he saw that neither Logan nor his mother were restrained, though both were out cold, and Virgil doubted they'd be easy to wake.

Patton's caution made sense. Virgil knew Deceit would never let them simply walk out of here with them. Gods knew what tricks that damned faery had up his sleeve, if only he would get on with it...

"I know, I know," Virgil muttered. "This whole thing is a trap, but he's right there! What are we supposed to do?" His breathing sped up as he considered possibilities. "Is it not really them? Will moving them trigger some kind of curse? How—?"

Patton once again laid fingers over Virgil's mouth. "You need to calm down, friendo. Neither of them looks hurt or in distress, so let's just slow down a little bit, okay?"

Virgil choked down the hysterical laughter building in his throat.

"You do realize who you're talking to?" He paced. "And no offense Patton, but you've been acting weird since this mission started, so quit pretending you're not affected by this place. In fact, I'm surprised it wasn't you who ran up to Logan the moment we spotted him—"

"Are you accusing me of not wanting to save my boyfriend?" Patton interrupted.

Virgil stopped short, thrown by the uncharacteristic edge in Patton's voice. But the word boyfriend scraped harshly across his bramble-scarred heart. He just has to rub it in, doesn't he?

"No, of course not, I just—"

"I mean, when it comes down to it, what are you even doing here, Virgil?" Patton put his hands on his hips, dipping his head into a rare but effective Dad Glower. "You think you're gonna be the big hero and rescue everyone? You've had, what, barely a month with Smile, and you think you're some faery killer?"

He emphasized the words by dragging a finger across his throat. Virgil recoiled at the gesture.

"What are you even talking about?" he demanded. "Roman's the one who cares about that shit, not me." His gaze slid to where Logan lay; so close, yet so far...

"I just want him." His voice broke a little.

"Is that how it is."

The knowing tone made Virgil whirl to face Patton. The room cast Patton's freckled face in shadow, making his expression impossible to read.

"I meant I want to get him out of here!" Virgil raised his hands. "It wasn't...I didn't mean it like that."

"Like what, exactly?" Patton tilted his head.

"Like..." Virgil swallowed hard. This was playing out exactly as he'd always feared: Patton discovering how he felt, and angrily confronting him about it.

Do I deny it?

Would Patton even believe him if he did?

"Are we seriously having this conversation now?" Virgil spat instead, letting anger cover his fear.

"Did you seriously think I didn't know?" Patton stalked closer, the dim light flashing in his glasses. "Were you just going to hide it forever? From an empath?"