Crackling with red electricity in my frustration, I plot my next move.
Ignoring Salyx and the attendants at the top of the Lighthouse, I drop off the edge into freefall. Not even the rush of wind and light and color is enough to drown out my thoughts or cool my burning heart. With a quick readjustment, I dart through the Archives by flight and jog out the last of my momentum as I land at the front desk.
"Penny. We're leaving."
"O–Oh!" The pinks of her body light up and glow a little as she hurries to get her things together, tossing a small backpack over her shoulders before joining me. "Um. Crim Crim? You're… sparking."
"That I am, sweetwing. That I am." I take her hand, heading for the door. "I'll explain things afterwards. Honestly, I want to know what you make of it. Ahh, but maybe I shouldn't…
Penelope stays quiet and keeps close.
"Damn it, where is she? Oh, over there. Zip! Hey! I need to make another stop before we head to my place!"
She and her friends are up ahead, loitering on the landing area and smoking rolled tobacco. When she hears me call, she meets eyes with me, hers wide with something like panic. Immediately, I know something is deeply wrong. Nothing ever shakes Zip up.
"I'm so sorry," she tells me with a wince. "I tried, drag, I really fucking tried but she followed m–"
"Crimson!" A rush of lighter blue hits the marble right next to us. Her huge and powerful wings fold at her back as Hilde storms toward me with a dark look of hardened scorn on her face. "Don't you fucking dare try to fly from me. We need to talk."
My heart sinks to the Hells and I freeze up.
This is the absolute last thing I expected.
Should… Should I fly? She looks pissed.
Zip drops her hand onto my shoulder and sighs. "She's going to snitch about the derby if I don't keep you here. Can't outfly me, Crim. Sorry."
"Hi, Hilde," Penny peeps with a little wave.
"Hello. Nice to see you, Penny." She glares down at me, blue eyes stabbing like knives. "Well?"
It's clear to me that I have no other options, so I nod. Passing Penny over to Zip for safekeeping, I give a quick greeting to my other racing friends and trudge off to the side with Hilde. Her tail is around my waist. I am once again a prisoner.
For a moment, she doesn't say anything, looking up at the moons. Then she lets out a sigh and faces me, softening just a touch. "I don't think you've been avoiding me. Have you?"
"N–No. Not really." Clicking my claws together and shrinking a touch, I swish my tail back and forth. "I was giving you space."
"Okay. It's appreciated. I was doing the same. So…" She takes another deep breath and releases another sigh, running her claws through her pretty blue hair. "Listen. Whatever the fuck happened that night, I want to let it go and move on. But I have to know. Were you just… overwhelmed? Exhausted? Anxious? Or…"
"I was scared." My hands are still shaking. "But… Not that you'd hurt me. Scared of something else. Either way, I shouldn't have said that to you. I really shouldn't have said that. I'm… I'm sorry, Hilz. I'm not in any way afraid that you'd ever hurt me."
"Oh, thank the Goddess," she heaves, relaxing by a dramatic amount. "Okay. Okay. Good. That's good. Thank you for apologizing. I forgive you. Let's just… leave it behind, yeah?"
"I don't think I can. I don't deserve your forgiveness."
"Well, it's a good thing you don't get to decide on it. It's done. I'm not going to hold it against you, whether you want me to or not. Besides, we have more important things to be concerned with. Something's going on with you, and I want to know what. So I can help you. Please."
I clench my jaw and wring my hands together. "Fuck. What gave me away?"
"Um. You're fucking sparking, dear."
"I mean before. That first night. How… How did you…"
She looks at me for an uncomfortably long few seconds. "Because I know you. I know your mannerisms. Your quirks. Your tells. I know when you're upset, agitated, angry, all of it. Even if you haven't told me. But two things stood out the most."
When she pauses, I reach out for her.
Hilde holds my hand, entwining our fingers. "First was the obvious. You're a seriously strong fighter. I know that. But there wasn't a scratch on you, red. Healing magic, sure, that's simple enough, but I know you don't tend to bother. Case and point, the cuts I gave you when we had sex."
I don't say anything, avoiding her eyes.
"Plus, the way you were acting. Sure, I could parse a few reasons out for why you were so sullen. Bitterness about the sudden good treatment only arriving because you triumphed, most of all. But again, I know you. You wouldn't let that stop you from enjoying the victory that you earned. You would've wanted more than anything to show off and live it up as a taunt to the Valorant."
I exhale a weak huff of amusement. It's true.
"But you didn't. You didn't do or say anything. You had the same sort of stunned look on your face that you did when the airway patrollers busted up those drag races of yours. Don't tell Zip, but obviously I'd never actually snitch on you scoundrels. It's just highly beneficial for me if she thinks I might."
"I knew that much…"
"Right." Hilde pauses, curling one of her wings around me to shield me from the cold dusk winds. "That's all why I suspected something was off. But now I know it."
My blood runs cold anyway. "Wh–What? Know what?"
"I went down to Avi. Flew over Settesia. There were definite signs of a struggle, but I couldn't find a single Wretched corpse. When I looked closer, I saw that yes, the damage to the landscape and Overgrowth was caused by lightning magic, but the traces of its chroma were green. Not red."
I'm caught. She knows. How much does she know?
"So, either some Fable or Legend did it and let you have the credit, or fucking… I don't even know what else it could be. That's the only thing I can think of, but I don't believe it to be the case. So, if not that, then what the fuck actually happened, Crimson? Why are you so clearly disturbed? Why are you lashing out to keep me away? And why won't you let me try to help you?"
"Because I'm trying to protect you, Hilde. And me." I scuff my heel on the smooth marble. "Damn it. Mostly me. But also you. And Zip. And Penny. This that I'm dealing with… It may… No, it does constitute treason. That first night, I was terrified to be exposed. I was afraid if I told you, it would be the end of me, and I would lose everything. But now? At this point? I'm afraid you'll get tangled up in it with me. And just like I told Zip, just like I'm going to tell Penny, I can't abide dragging anyone else down with me if I am sent falling. Anything but that, Hilde. You most of all. Out of any one of us, you have the most to lose. And…"
My words die in my throat. I almost said it.
Hilde has softened from her hard glare to a concerned frown. "And what? I'm listening."
"Um. And… And I don't want that to happen."
"Crimson. Come on. Please. Just be honest with me."
My stomach twists. "Don't make me say it. Please…"
"I don't even know what you're talking about, red."
The red sparks around me intensify. "Don't…"
She's going to press it. But then she frowns a little deeper and backs off. "Okay. That's your choice. I'll… leave it alone. But I have to ask. Is it… I mean, is it important? To whatever's going on with y–"
I interrupt her with a kiss.