Finding the Truth

She'd never have managed the climb to Silver Dragon Ridge in her current state, in this heat, so she portalled up and simply walked through the door. It seemed absolutely absurd to knock, when she could feel Y'Roden's presence all around her.

“Dagar,” it was one word, full of surprise and shaded with so much more. The half-elf was seated in a bay window, and he wasn’t alone. A healer was carefully pulling the last of several emerald shards out of the S’Hean’s back, but she had paused, looking up in surprise as Ghet entered the room.

“It’s alright,” he said to her, “You’re dismissed.” Standing he brushed the woman’s hand away from his back, verdant green eyes focused entirely on Ghet as the Healer made her exit.

“Rhagi is sleeping,” he said quietly, slight hesitation in his tone, “I’m glad to see you though.” There was a silent pause for all of a heartbeat, “come sit down before you fall down.”

Ghet's eyes darted nervously round the room, looking anywhere but at his face. It was hard to be alone with him, worse with someone else around. She tried a fake reassuring smile as she walked across to join him, then let it drop. "I'm stronger than I look," she said, her voice unusually hesitant. "I just... you know, not a lot of sun lately." A genuine smile quirked at her lips; the old patterns between them were strong even despite the horrible awkwardness. "What have you been doing to yourself? I'm quite sure you're not supposed to get glass in your back without me around."

Ro’s warm baritone laughter filled the room and he shrugged, “just a small accident in the Chamber of Life. Whispin can really pack a punch when she wants to.” The half-elf’s hand came up, his index finger tilting Ghet’s chin in a habitual gesture that didn’t even seem to dawn on him. “It was… difficult, you know, seeing you in stasis… you looked so pale, so fragile. I wanted to go rip you out of there myself, but that hasn’t been my place in a very long time.”

And then the question rolled out before he could stop it, “Why did you come for me Ghet? Better yet, what could you possibly have said to make me want to come back?”

"Don't," she said without thinking. "I can't have this conversation, I can't. Wait, you saw me? You went in there?" The fear in her eyes, the instinct to flee, was replaced by compassion. She knew what it would have cost him, and in the face of that... she slumped, leaning against the window. "It doesn't matter. I can't help you, I probably remember less than you do. When I woke up in Riker's, all I could think was, why? Why would you send me away after that? But I don't know what happened, I don't remember anything after talking to Callan and Thaya."

That was true, but it was also dishonest. "I woke up in the middle of the night just knowing I had to get you out. And I knew I had to be able to give you something, to bring you out. I..." Gods, why couldn't he just understand, how could she tell him? She turned, staring out through the window unseeing. Her hands wrung together, twisting her wedding band. "I left Rhagi here because I wasn't going back to Riker's. Look, it doesn't matter what I intended. I was Crazy Lady, and now, you're back, and I'm still married, and everything's just going to go on like it did before."

Confusion darkened Ro’s eyes and his jaw went slack, a nerve jumping slightly as her words sank in. “Sent you away? Ghettie, what else was I suppose to do? You are Galain’s wife, you were mentally gone… have you any idea what it did to me to let you go? Again. But you were not mine to keep…” His words faded into oblivion as something more clicked into place.

“What do you mean you weren’t going back…” Heavy hands touched Ghet’s shoulders, turning her around to face him, “Are you telling me… that I made a mistake?” A riot of emotion swirled in emerald depths as full realization struck him. “Ghet… just what did you offer me?” He knew then, just what had been offered, and what in his ignorance, he had turned away.

Everything he had ever wanted or needed… and he’d hurt her in the process.

Something inside broke, and he pulled Ghet to his chest, dipping his head, his mouth nearly on hers, but not quite. “Why?” he growled out, “To make me live and breathe again, no matter what it cost you? Or because you wanted it too?”

"Both." She could sense it in the roughness of his touch, the trigger that could break through her isolation and make her feel again, and by gods she wanted it. "You know I love you. But when I knew you needed me that much... it tipped the balance. What I want..." She stopped, unable to confront the turmoil those words brought. Instead, she closed the gap between them and kissed him fiercely.

An ember that had been banked for decades flared and swept through Y’Roden’s blood like wildfire, igniting passion that for years, he had swept beneath the proverbial rug. The half-elf returned her kiss, hard and biting, one hand sliding into thick hair and tightening in deep red locks. The other swept down her back, his arm catching Ghet’s waist and lifting the redhead from delicate feet as he backed her into the window, pressing her back hard up against the cool glass.

Pulling his head back a fraction, breathing ragged, Ro drew in a rumble of a breath that left him shaking against her. “What you want?” he asked hoarsely, pressing his temple against hers as he sought some sense of control, and failed horribly, “Gods… I love you Ghettie,” his thumb traced over her cheekbone, trailed over her mouth, “if this happens now there is no going back I won’t be able to let you go… you know that…”

Lost under a flood of sensation, Ghet could barely breathe. Focus and higher thought were right out. She'd resisted this before, but this time... it was so fast, there was no time to think and she'd had enough of thinking anyway. "Remember who I am," she said, her voice low and harsh, her nails scoring across the smooth skin of his back, digging in. "What I'm capable of, what I'm not..." The look in her indigo eyes was heated and reckless. She bit at his thumb. "Not this time, Rodi. No thinking, no more talking. Please."

Ro had never been able to deny Ghet anything, even if he’d wanted to. As it was, the look in her eyes was enough to rob him of any willpower left, and the light bite was his undoing. It had all started centuries ago with that same word… Please, spoken in just that tone, and it had the same power it had held then.

His body came up hard against hers, effectively pinning Ghet against the window as his hand went to her thigh, encouraging her leg up over his hip. His free hand grabbed at one of her arms, sliding down the wrist and bringing her palm to his mouth, teeth scraping across the sensitive skin there. Turning Ghet’s hand over he drew her ring finger into his mouth, emerald holding indigo as he hooked a canine onto the gold band and tugged it free.

His mouth moved back to her palm, and when his head lifted, the warm ring of metal was in the palm of Ghet’s hand. “Not with him between us,” he muttered roughly against her mouth, “Not this time.” The intensity of the kiss rocked Ghet’s head back against the windowpane and Ro’s fingers jerked the redhead’s shirt free of her trousers, brushing against heated skin.

Ghet flinched as if he'd struck her, a moment of real pain in her eyes. Ironically, it vanished when he smacked her head into the window and she moaned, flooded with need and frustration. There was guilt, there was, but gods, she'd already fought him with everything she was. To give in... Her body was soft and languid against his, her hands drifting to his waist. It had the inevitability of a tidal wave, she could just let go and drown. Her fingers went lax, a small, insignificant sound as her marriage dropped onto the floor beside them.

It was her fault anyway, she'd been the first to take her ring off. She struggled for breath, though her hands had a mind of their own... no, dammit, she just didn't want him to be able to stop. She wanted him to hurt as much as she did. Her small, delicate, empty hand slipped down his abs, smoothly beneath his waistband, gripping the length of him hard, taking a certain twisted pleasure in how much she was hurting both of them. Last chance, last throw. "I... Can't promise." She renewed the kiss between them, pushing back, biting his mouth. "I can't."

Ro’s hips jerked instinctively into Ghet’s grip, a low, dangerous growl vibrating through his chest. “I’ve never,” weapon worn fingers hooked into the neckline of her shirt and he tugged hard, splitting it open down the front, “asked for promises.” Pain and pleasure sparked in his gaze as it met hers, “Only a chance, that’s all I’ve ever wanted, and I’ve never even asked for that… but I’m asking now. If you were willing months ago, why not now?”

His head snapped back and he stared desperately at the ceiling for a moment, “Gods… Y’Roden… just shut up,” he muttered to himself, then shot forwards again, back into her kiss, his palm hitting the window so hard that spidery cracks laced over its surface. There was blood on his hand when it closed on Ghet’s waist, teasingly hard, bending a rib before slipping down to tug her trousers open.

"Balance," Ghet said, her voice shaking as badly as her body under his touch. "The balance is... oh gods..." Her eyes slid closed, her body arching towards him, yearning, unsteady hands fighting to free him from his clothes. She was lost, the scent of him, the smell of them both painfully aroused, and blood... sweet, familiar. The last time...

The last time.

"You know what I want," the answer slid easily from his tongue, crimson eyes burning as they raked over Ghet's form. "I've been locked away too long... and you, you are the perfect playmate." He grabbed her hard with hands that had so often touched her gently... lovingly. He kissed her viciously with a mouth that had placed feathery kisses on her flesh... that had worshipped her and spoken words of undying love.

Lifting the redhead from her feet he set her on the table, forcing her legs apart, moving to stand between them as he fisted his hand in Ghet's hair, yanking her head back. His mouth came down hard on hers, bruising... unmerciful. Hard fingers gripped her waist, squeezing hard, snapping a rib.

"NO!" The tenor of Ghet's struggles changed completely, from teasing resistance to outright panic, lost in a maze of sensation that blended past and present seamlessly. She fought to get free of his hands, screaming and crying even as her mind caught up and tried to tell her, it wasn't him.

Ro’s reaction was immediate, releasing his ex-lover and taking a step away, his blood suddenly running cold… he knew what she was remembering, why she was fighting, and a painfully sick feeling coiled in his gut. “Ghettie,” he said gently, remembering just in time not to touch her, “Ghettie it’s me… Y’Roden. Ghettie, please.”

“Y’Roden, step away.”

The tri-toned voice was all too familiar, and the half-elf’s expression was openly shocked as he turned to look at the Prince of Inligh.

“Step away,” Chez repeated, his tone soft, but insistent. “Between the two of you, you are going to drive her utterly mad. She needs to get away from both of you, just for awhile.”

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