Vela Heartwhisper's Arc

Chapter 18 of 25

The court had accepted Vela at last. That night she sat alone by her rocket and wanted to give Benbenek something back. He had given her his love, his stories, his rocket in the east yard. She owned nothing but spy gear. Wire, lenses, a collar-light, a jammer she'd smashed. None of it said what she felt. Her hands were full of tools and empty of a gift. Sun Wukong Azure crossed the ground toward her, blue hair bright in the dark. He said nothing, only sat. Vela showed him her open pack. "I have nothing of mine to give him," she said. "Only weapons and lies." Sun Wukong looked at the pack a long time. "Then don't give a thing," he said. "Give what only you know." He stood and walked off. He never explained more. He never did. Vela sat with the words. She thought about who could read a heart. There was one who lived where no one went, in a cave past the fungal forest. Heartwhisper. She had met him once, a demon with horns and heart-shaped eyes, who saw love before people felt it. She went to find him. His cave glowed faint at the mouth. Heartwhisper waited inside, a potion in one hand, a cipher in the other. "You came empty," he said. "Good. Full hands can't hold a gift." "I want to give the king my love," Vela said. "But everything I own belongs to the mission." Heartwhisper set down his potion. "A gift is not a thing," he said. "It is the one thing you never showed. You wear a face over your true skin. What do you keep under yours?" Vela was quiet. Then she understood. She had shown Benbenek her silver skin. But she had never told him her name meant nothing to her handlers, that she chose to keep it. She had never told him she was afraid every night that morning would erase her. That fear was hers alone. It belonged to no mission. "Take him to water," Heartwhisper said. "Love sees itself clearest there." He picked up his potion again and turned away. "Go. Before you think too long." Vela led Benbenek to the crystal fountain near the castle. Water ran over its heart of shining stone. She took his hand. "I have no gift I bought or built," she said. "So I'll give you the truth I've hidden. Every night I fear I'll wake as someone else and forget you. That fear is mine. I give it to you, so you'll know how much I want to stay." Benbenek pulled her close. "That is worth more than any charm," he said. Vela had found her token. But telling him her fear made it real. She had spoken the danger aloud. And speaking it, she felt the next threat draw closer, the one the blade had warned of, still coming for them both.