Chapter Fourteen: Kestian

"Cotton? Cotton!"

Kestian's heart raced with sudden adrenalin. Cotton had collapsed in their arms and they could not rouse her.

"Cotton please," they patted her face.

She gave the smallest moan. Kestian held her to their chest.

"I'm going to get you help. Just stay with me," they whispered.

They knew they could get help for her at the temple, but it was clear on the other side of the city. The Gilded Vine was much closer. Bringing someone there to be healed was absolutely against the rules but it didn't matter. They needed to get help for her now. They would have to hope they didn't run into Fernando in the course of the evening and could help Cotton sneak out in the morning. They gathered Cotton up in their arms "please, just stay with me" they repeated as they stood.

Kestian thought of their father as they reached out to the remnant of his radiance in their own soul. They felt their glowing wings stretch out from their back. They took a running jump and flew up into the sky. They beat their wings against the night air and soared above the buildings. In a matter of moments, they could see the lamps illuminating the streets of the pleasure district. They flew down and alighted in the alleyway that ran behind the Gilded Vine. They dismissed their wings and pounded on the door. They could feel their heart racing and limbs shaking.

The door was opened by none other than the very owner and proprietor of the Gilded Vine, Fernando Nafasi Garci Casellano de Sandoval.

Kestian felt panic surg up in them. "Boss, I can explain," they began.

"Inside, quickly." He said moving aside and gesturing them through the door. "Egeria is in her room, go!" He said. Kestian was too shocked to do anything but comply. "Give way!" Fernando shouted as they hurried up the stairs.

Kestian ran up the three flights of stairs and pushed in the door to Egeria's room.

There were two other people already there. One sat on her table and the other stood beside. Egeria wiped around to them when they entered a curse ready on her tongue. But then she saw them.

"Move!" She commanded the others. "Put her here, quickly." She said.

The pair scurried to the far corner of the room and Kestian did as they were told.

“What happened?" Egeria asked as Kestian laid Cotton on the table.

“We were out dancing, and someone tried to charm her, but he must have slipped her something as well. I didn't see but she collapsed just as we were walking away. She's not responding, What’s happening?"

"What is happening is you are going to be a fuck of a lot calmer starting right now." Egeria said as she pried open each of Cotton's eyes in turn and shown a light on the tip of her finger. "Cotton?" she said "Cotton I need you to wake up, can you hear me?" She asked tapping on her shoulder.

"Try and get a response from her." She said and turned and began pulling down various jars and mixing something together in a mortar. She spoke a prayer and it glowed. Kestian looked back to Cotton. They couldn't tell if breath was moving in her chest. "Cotton, Cotton I need you to wake up now alright? Open your eyes for me." They tapped at her cheek and realized that her face had lost color and her lips were beginning to turn blue.

"Ria?" Kestian called

"I’m here its ready, just tip her head back a little."

"I don’t think she's breathing."

"This should help with that" Egeria said. She took the tiny vile she had filled and collapsed it into Cotton's nostril.

Cotton coughed once and reflexively turned her head away, but her color did not improve.

“Cotton can you hear me?” Egeria asked, again shaking her shoulder.

"Please, love." Kestian whispered, combing their fingers back through her hair. As they moved her hair aside, they saw a horn grown from her scalp. They looked up to Egeria. She had seen it as well. "She's hellborn." She said more statement than question as she whirled back around and began again preparing something else. Panicked and desperate thoughts ran through Kestian's head as they held Cotton's hand.

"This is not going to be pleasant." Egeria said as she turned back with a large needle on a syringe.

"What is that?" Kestian asked.

"Necessary," Egeria responded and plunged the needle into Cotton's arm. Her back arched as she took an anguished gasp of breath and collapsed back down taking shallow breaths, but definitely breathing. Kestian sighed with relief and kissed Cotton's hand. They looked up, Egeria's face was twisted in concern.

"She’s breathing, that's good right?" they asked.

"But she should be breathing better than this. Much better than this. What exactly happened tonight?"

"We went out dancing. There was a big circle dance she wanted to join so we did, we ended up on different sides of the tavern when the song ended. By the time I made my way back over to her there was a man and he had her by the arm and was trying to charm her to go away with him. I stopped him. I would have properly put a stop to him but Cotton was scared and wanted to go so I just reported him to the bouncers, they were cult of Boxal. And then we got out to the street and were maybe a block away when she just collapsed."

"You said he had her by the arm?" Egeria asked. She lifted and turned over cotton's arm, then the other.

"Yes?" Kestian said.

"Aha!" Egeria pointed to a pale square of material on the back of Cotton's arm just above her elbow.

"What is that" Kestian asked.

"A crime," Egeria responded. "Don’t touch it" She snapped her fingers and her magic hand flickered to life and pealed the scrap off her arm. Egeria deposited it in a dish on her work bench. "Right," she sighed "that should feel better now, shouldn't it?' She rapped two fingers around Cotton's wrist to feel for a pulse and watched the steadying rise and fall of her chest. "Much better" she said.

"Thank you Ria" Kestian said, their voice was raw and cracked.

"Kest, of course. She'll be alright now I need to give her a once over. Could you take care of those two for me?"

Kestian looked down at Cotton and did not move for a moment.

"She's going to be alright," Egeria repeated.

Kestian nodded. They reached out to touch the tiny hole the needle had made in Cotton's skin and healed it.

"She going to be alright" Kestian echoed

"Yes." Egeria affirmed.

Kestian let go of Cotton's hand and walked over to the pair that they had displaced. It was Dominic and one of his regulars.

“And here I thought we were having a bad night.” He said.

Kestian let out an anxious and mirthless laugh.

“Oh Kest come here” he said and pulled them into a hug. "All is well now. She's in good hands." He squeezed them tight and then leaned back. "But speaking of hands" he gestured with his head to his companion.

Kestian looked at the man. Deep cuts of rope burn ringed his wrists.

"Goddess!" Kestian looked to Dominic “what happened?"

"I shouldn't have struggled" the man said with a guilty smile.

"And I should have been keeping better track of things." Dominic put a hand tenderly on the man's thigh.

"Is there anything else?" Kestian asked.

"Any other minor injuries were intentional and consensual." Dominic said placing his arm around the man's shoulders.

Kestian smiled and held out their hands. "Let me see" they said.

The man looked to Marco for approval first and then did as he was bid.

Kestian gently closed their hands around his wrists. They shut their eyes and breathed. When they opened them Kestian's eyes glowed softly, and an aura of light shown gently around them. They felt their healing magic flow into the man. They opened their hands, and the man was healed.

He looked down at his wrists and then back up at Kestian. "You glow" he said.

Kestian let out a small genuine laugh.

"Why doesn't she glow like that?" He asked. Gesturing to Egeria.

"Don’t you know?" Dominic said "our Kestian here is heavenborn. They have an angle daddy."

"I don’t think my father would approve of being called angle daddy" Kestian said with a smile.

"Well, he's far too serious then." Dominic said as he pulled his companion to standing. "Thank you Kest" he gave them a kiss on the cheek, "and all the best to your friend. Come you." He said and led the man out of Egeria's room.

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Kestian took a deep breath and walked back over to where Egeria was tending to Cotton.

"How is she?" they asked.

"Absolutely perfect" Egeria responded. "I just cast a little sleep on her, she needs to rest. She is going to feel like she has the worst glass flu of her life when she wakes up, but that’s easily sorted." She paused "How are you, Kest?"

"I’m fine." They said, "I’m not the one who was—”

"Thats not what I mean, and you know it." She walked around the table and took their hand. "Kestian, how are you?"

Kestian felt the last little thread they had been using to hold themself together snap. A sob shuddered out of them.

"I thought she was going to die. She just collapsed and I didn't know—She wasn't responding, and I couldn't even tell if she was breathing. And there was nothing I could do."

"You did do something. You brought her here. That is what was needed, that is what you did."

"But what if I hadn't? What if it wasn't enough? She could have died, and it would have been my fault."

"And instead she is alive, and because of you." Egeria said.

"I only brought her here." Kestian said.

"Which was essential, and so was your haste. You flew, didn't you?"

"Yes" Kest said. "It was faster, like you said haste was important."

"And you came here, rather than take her to your sister at the temple. Which I assume was also a judgment call." Egeria said.

"The temple would have been farther. It would have been too far." Kestian said.

"Kestian,” Egeria said "you made the right call. She is alive right now because of you."

"But she wouldn't even have been in danger if I hadn't brought her to that tavern."

"The same thing could have happened anywhere else to anyone. Whatever man tried to hurt her his sin and fault is his own. Not yours"

"But I didn't stop him." Kestian said.

"You had your take care of your lover." Egeria said.

"He would have raped her and left her for dead, and I let him live. I am meant to be wrath and justice and I let him live."

"Kest" Egeria sighed, she put a hand on their face. "She is alive because of you, you saved her. And that might not have been true if you had stayed to finish him off. Can you focus on that for me? You did right tonight Kestian."

Kestian slowed their breathing and tried to focus as Egeria had said and calm down. "Is it bad" they asked "that I almost wish someone had just stabbed her, I would have been able to heal that. She would not have actually been hurt for long at all. It just would have been much simpler."

Egeria laughed. "It’s not many people that wish for their lovers to get stabbed."

“No I don't want it to happen! You know what I meant Ria.”

“Yes I do” she said smiling. “Come on, let's get her in your room. She'll be more comfortable there.”

Kestian nodded and scooped Cotton up in their arms. She was resting easily now. She breathed deeply with the slightest snore. Egeria opened the door for them. Kestian laid Cotton down on their bed. Egeria was already busy unlacing and taking off her shoes. She then moved on to her pants.

"Wait" Kestian said.

"What"

"I don't, I mean should we?" They faltered. "I don’t want her to feel scared if she wakes up without her clothes in a strange bed and only foggy memories of the night before."

“She’ll be more comfortable,” Egeria said. “And besides. You'll be here with her”

“I know but—”

“How many more times do you need to hear me say she's going to be alright?” Egeria asked as she began tugging down Cotton's pants. Her voice was genuine and unmocking.

Kestian heaved a sigh and ran a hand back through their hair. "At least few more times, I’m sure." They said.

Egeria smiled. "She's going to be alright." She said again.

Kestian smiled "thank you,” they said.

“Now would you please help me undress your girlfriend?”

Kestian nodded and did as they were told. They folded up Cotton's clothes and stacked them neatly on the side table.

"Wow" Egeria remarked at Cotton's combinations. "Those are rather exceptional."

"Stop," Kestian said tucking the blanket up around her.

"I’m just saying she has good taste. And that she made a pretty good guess at yours." She teased.

"Ria," Kestian gave her a playful little shove and then sat down beside the bed.

"Is there anything else you need Kest?" Egeria asked as she walked towards the door.

"No. Thank you Ria. For everything."

Egeria smiled "all in a day’s work really." She lingered by the door a moment. "Did you know, Kestian?"

"Know what?"

"That she's..."

"Hellborn? No, she hides it I guess." Kestian made gentle circles in Cotton's hair around her horn. "I can't blame her for it. People can be terrible. I wish I knew how to show her she could trust me with it."

"And does she know you’re heavenborn?"

"It hasn't come up yet. But I imagine it will soon." Kestian didn't look up as they replied.

"Well I’m close by if you need anything." Egeria said.

Kestian nodded and heard the open and close of the door. Their room was dark but they could still see the outline of things and the steady rise and fall of Cotton's chest as she breathed. Kestian closed their eyes, rested their head against their bed, and finally breathed deeply. She was safe, she was alive, they needed to remember that. It could have been so much worse, but it wasn't. Kestian banished the memory of Cotton's lips turning blue as it swum up in their mind.

She was going to be gone tomorrow. They could write to her of course and they would.

Kestian thought of their love. All their life they had been taught of love. They had learned how it was unselfish and giving while also being receptive and nurtured, they learned how it could be both passionate and playful. They learned the many shapes love could take from familial to romantic to physical. There were so many kinds of love and so many ways to show it. A love that was casual was not any less than a love was more formally defined. Kestian thought of various lovers with whom they had spent only an evening together. They thought of loves they had let go of before. For all they knew and believed about how any relationship and love could only be what it was they still felt a hollowness over the loss of some relationships. They thought about Loreli. But Cotton leaving was not like how that relationship had ended. All the same they did not want Cotton to leave. They did not want to be selfish they did not want to trap her here they knew that she had a job and a life that required her to go. It was in her very nature. Kestian could sense that Cotton would never be happy living in just one place and let alone a city. And yet they wanted her to stay. Or at least they did not want her to go. Every other memory of a passing relationship that had lasted only for a season did not matter. This was different somehow. What did it mean that this was different somehow?

"Kestian?" Cotton's voice was thin and quiet.

"Cotton." They replied, "you’re awake."

"Where, um, where are we?" She asked looking around the room.

"This is my room." Kestian answered.

"But why are you on the floor?" Cotton asked.

"You needed the bed, lover."

"But why aren't you in bed with me?" She asked, confused and sleepy.

Kestian sighed patiently "you've had an eventful evening. And might not remember all of it. I didn't want you to feel scared if you woke up in a strange bed with no memory of how you got there."

"But I'd feel safer with you." Cotton said sleepily. "And it’s your bed."

Kestian touched their head against Cotton's. "Would you like me to share the bed with you?"

"Yes" Cotton said.

"Alright," Kestian stroked her face "I just need a moment." They stood up and began to carefully undress as quietly as they could until they were in just their shift. Kestian walked the small space back to the bed, carefully pulled back the covers and slid in next to Cotton. Cotton nestled themself back into them and Kestian put their arm around her pulling her in safe and close. Cotton held Kestian's arm to her chest. She made a sleepy and contented sigh. Kestian waited for her breathing to slow and take on the sound of snores. They stayed awake holding her. She whimpered and twitched in her sleep. "Shh" Kestian soothed. "I'm here my love, you're safe." Cotton relaxed again and Kestian too, with their arm around her, fell into an easy sleep.