“I’m not answering that. Can’t we just pretend this didn’t happen? I won’t tell anyone what I saw,” Damien said. “You’re alive, so that’s all that matters, right?”

Even Henry scoffed at that one. Sylph narrowed her eyes and pointed to the circle on her chest.

“Damien, don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware that I owe you my life. I should be dead. However, I won’t let myself become a slave. Unknown magic is incredibly dangerous, and I don’t know anything about your companion. I would prefer to die than to have my life stolen from me,” Sylph said, stepping forwards. “If you can’t prove to me without a doubt that this rune circle will not give you control over me, please remove it, even if it kills me. I will not be a tool.”

“Hey, she’s asked for it now,” Henry said. “Shall I kill her?”

No!

“You’re actually going to tell her who I am?” Henry asked. “Are you stupid?”

I’m not doing that either. Besides, I can’t just go around killing people! Can we remove the rune circle safely?

“That’s why I’d kill her for you,” Henry said. “And no. That circle is the only thing keeping her core intact right now. We could probably remove it in a year or two, but not before then.”

Sylph watched Damien’s eyes flickering back and forth in the dim light. It was obvious that he was speaking with his companion. Damien let out a harrumph and turned to Sylph.

“No,” he said. “You’re right. I did save your life, and it was against the advice of my companion. I understand that you’re probably scared, and I would be too. But you don’t get to make demands, Sylph. I’ve put myself at a lot of risk already. Why should I stretch my neck out further?”

Sylph blinked.

“I–”

“In fact,” Damien said, stepping forward so that they were nose to nose. “I’ve done nothing but help you. Why do you suddenly think that I’ll turn into some evil monster? What about my actions have made you think that I want to control you?”

Sylph opened her mouth to respond, but Damien didn’t let her.

“By the Planes, and then you ask me to kill you!” Damien snapped, his voice raising. “I just went through all the effort of saving you, and you thank me by calling me a monster and asking me to kill you. What is your problem?”

Sylph swallowed. She blinked heavily, her determined expression crumbling.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know I should be thanking you, and I have no right to ask anything. I just can’t lose control of my body. I won’t let it happen again.”

“Again?” Damien asked, his brow furrowed. “Actually, don’t answer that. We’ve established that we don’t like sharing secrets. So, just to summarize: I saved your life. I’m not taking the circle off. It would kill you, and I’m not killing you. We’ve got our secrets, and I found one of yours on accident. I promise not to tell anyone, even if I don’t understand why it matters. Are you going to extend me the same courtesy?”

Sylph bit her lip. Then she gave Damien a small nod.

“My emotions got the better of me. I’ve treated you very badly. I swear on my magic not to reveal anything I know about you or your companion, nor will I ever ask for further information on it. Thank you for saving my life.”

“It’s what any good person would have done,” Damien said. “And, for what it’s worth, I promise that the rune circle is only there to keep your core intact. I think I can remove it in a year or two once your core has healed.”

“You can?” Sylph asked, shocked.

“Yeah,” Damien said. “And yes, I’ll do it.”

Sylph lowered her head.

“I’m sorry for being so ungrateful,” she said, her hands tightening at her sides in shame.

“It’s fine,” Damien said, sighing. “I don’t know your situation, but it sounded like you’ve been somehow controlled before. I can relate to that, and I won’t hold your emotions against you so long as you don’t act on them.”

Can we trust Sylph to follow her word?

“Ha. Good to see you aren’t taking it at face value,” Henry said, sounding pleased. “I’m not an expert in human facial expressions. I was more interested in your magic, but I believe she was being honest. You should yell at people more. It’s a much better look than cowering and doing what they say. And, since she’s promised to stay silent, I’ll give her a little warning about what she’s dealing with.”

Henry cackled. Damien’s shadow peeled away from the wall, the eyes all snapping open. Sylph spun as he swept past her, only giving the girl an instant to see him before he rejoined Damien’s body.

Sylph drew in a sharp breath. Then, to Damien’s surprise, she inclined her head in a small bow.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said, clearly addressing where Henry had been. She gave Damien a small smile. “If I’m not mistaken, it was your companion that rescued me at your behest, so I believe I owe them a thank you as well.”

“Hm. She’s not wrong,” Henry muttered. “And I shouldn’t have done that. Why did I do that? And why was it so fun?”

Better watch those human emotions. You might have to think a bit more before you do things.

Henry grunted in annoyance and receded into the back of Damien’s mind. As he left, the energy rippling around the room faded as well.

“Spells down,” Damien warned Sylph. “No more talking about specifics.”

“Understood,” Sylph said, her expression slowly returning to normal. She gave Damien a small smile. “I’m going to take a shower. I need to wash this blood off. And I will find a way to repay you, both for what you did and for my actions.”

Damien nodded. He started out of the room, then paused by the curtain as Henry reminded him of something.

“Oh, one more thing,” Damien said. “You might want to check how much Ether you can channel again. Intense training sessions have a way of getting new results.”