The lure of a new city drew Patience out of her room the next morning. A full day’s break from the operation promised some amount of ease. She hid Anax in the grate once again. While she was almost certain Valon would not pursue the skull this far into their plan, that small chance still remained. It was also a decent excuse to punish the skull further, denying him the new sights. In the hallway, she caught Valon closing his door, ready to leave the hotel. Patience bade him good morning.

“I’m going out for a bit. Care to join?” asked the man flatly.

Patience was taken aback for a minute, her silence almost permitting the hunter to depart prematurely. “I—Where did you intend on going?” she squeaked.

“Just seeing the city. Might catch a show,” he replied with his back turned.

The girl sighed. It would be nice to have an escort through unfamiliar territory, and without Anax she felt doubly exposed. She shrugged. The more time spent with the hunter, the less time he had for any nefarious schemes.

“Very well. After you,” she said.

Out on the wild streets, Patience stuck to Valon’s hind as closely as a shadow, following his every step, letting him cut through the current of pedestrians. Eventually she caught wind of the tactics of bending and weaving around people’s projected paths. Focused on this new skill, Patience barely noticed Valon swerve into an eatery. It was only the flash of his silver-white hair in the light that called her attention to his whereabouts.

The pair ordered food and drinks before sitting at a small booth amid a lingering crowd of businessmen procrastinating the start of their workday. Patience stared at the tall ceilings of the establishment, wondering about the lives housed above it. All around her, compartments of retail, business, and residence were stacked one atop another, like the hatboxes in Mrs. Laurence’s shop. The girl smiled fondly at the sudden thought of the kind woman.

“I was joking about that on the train, you know,” said Valon, snapping Patience from her observations. He sipped a cup of steaming black coffee.

Patience paused before she realized his reference. Terror flashed in her eyes. As Anax had willed it, the man had heard them last night.

“It wasn’t—” Patience began.

“Satisfactory?” hemmed Valon.

She shifted her gaze to the placid surface of her cup of tea, furrowing her brow.

The man smirked. “Hm. Still mad at him.”

“You can keep your nose out of that business,” Patience muttered.

Either he did not hear her or he simply ignored her words. Valon nodded up at the waitress coming over with their breakfast. She set before the pair a plate of battered toast topped with cream and a dish of shrimp over grits, which Patience was surprised to see served this far north.

They commenced eating in silence. Every other bite, the girl would flit her gaze over to Valon. For a moment, Patience wondered how domestic life would be with this man. He seemed almost normal when not seeking a target of his hubris or lust. If only he were easier to talk with. She ruminated over her plate.

Suddenly his spoon clattered into his dish. Valon stamped his fist into his thigh and clenched his teeth. Almost by instinct, Patience’s hand whipped out to steady his arm as the onset of spasms racked him. A few patrons threw stares their way, but they remained as they were. The girl bit her lip, feeling the man’s arm shake beneath her touch. Seething between his teeth, Valon leaned back rigidly into the booth.

As the episode began to pass, Patience lifted a hand up to her burn. A sting pricked under the skin, agitated by the morning light beaming through the front window. She smiled pitifully at herself. They were a pair of broken people, together on a mission to try and fix the elder. The damage in her scalp was too old to mend, her faulty nerves too established to rewire, but there was some hope for the hunter’s body.

Valon cleared his throat, leaning forward to continue with breakfast. Patience had forgotten her hand still on his arm and withdrew it in a rush, knocking her knuckles against the table’s lip. She swore under her breath. To her surprise, Valon reached over and rubbed her smarting knuckles in a fleeting gesture. It was so quick Patience found it hard to believe it happened at all. His eyes never left his bowl of grits.

After breakfast Patience skipped behind Valon out on the street. A destination was certainly on his mind as he moved deliberately at a brisk pace. The girl’s throat hummed to beg the question of where he would ultimately lead them. Before she could form words, the man hinted at an answer when he noticed her lagging.

“Come along. There’s something I’ve been meaning to see.”

Valon walked with all the confidence of a local. Patience wondered if he had frequented this city before, or if he had religiously studied a map prior to the trip. He led them up a street with graceful buildings of stone, more delicate than the monoliths of museum row. Adornments of intrigue accented various planes of the edifices. Muses carved into pillars stood watch over pedestrians. Fish played along bulkheads. Shells and lion heads studded cornices. Even the streetlamps hosted slinking dragons twining around the pole. Patience could have easily lost Valon with all the ornamental distractions had she not snapped her gaze to him every minute.

The crowd on the street thickened as the two fell into a long line in front of a theater. The facade blossomed with viny ironwork reaching around a scalloped glass awning fanning out over a ticket booth. Not expecting to see a show, Patience stood flummoxed. As the line inched closer to the booth, she could see the cavernous maw of the front entrance. Grand double doors carved in rich wood welcomed a feast of an audience, ingesting those who had already paid.

“What are we watching?” asked Patience.

Valon readied his money. “A film.”

Patience jolted. She had never seen a film before. There were stories of moving pictures that seemed to replicate real life, but the girl could not fathom anything beyond the lantern slideshows occasionally hosted at Keaton’s community hall. She straightened her back in anticipation.

Tickets now in hand, the pair entered the theater. Inside along wine-colored walls, posters imported from Eureba advertised a myriad of shows in a language she did not understand. Patience wondered which of these were stage productions and which were projected stories, most of all, which one she would be seeing soon.

They found their seats and waited. An almost square screen occupied the stage framed by lavish curtains. Patience swerved around in an attempt to spot the projector but was instead met with the sight of a large belly moving to his seat. A string of notes floated from the orchestra pit, musicians squeezing in their final minutes of preparation. A man dressed in a pressed suit came out, walking across the stage to a podium to assume his role as narrator. Patience sucked in a breath. It was nearly time.

The house lights dimmed over the full theater. The orchestra struck the first note, sending a tingle through Patience’s hands as the melody lilted. The screen lit up to a collective gasp from the audience. A title card appeared while the music fell into a diminuendo, allowing the man at the podium to begin his narration of the film. But his words fell on deaf ears as many in the audience exclaimed when the scene on the screen began to move. It was true. The pictures were moving just as in real life. Patience sat with her mouth agape.

The girl flashed Valon a quick glance. While his expression remained unchanged, his eyes glistened in the dim light. A fabulous tale of a group of astronomers and their trip to the moon unfolded before their very eyes. Patience nearly levitated away from her seat. The audience continued to exclaim as fantastical things unveiled on the screen, each one more impressive than the next. The narrator now nearly had to shout over them. It was pure magic. The high of witnessing something so new and fantastical still coursed through her body long after the film ended and the two found themselves on the street again.

Valon chuckled. “Never did I think I would live to see one of these.”

“It was—” Patience breathed heavily, “—words cannot describe it!” She then paused, realizing Valon had actually displayed some mirth. It was almost as unbelievable as the film.

Seeming to ignore her, Valon turned and broke into a measured pace down the sidewalk. Patience huffed. It was as if he did not care whether she followed or not, but they both knew that she would.

A mosaic carpet of crystal discs passed beneath their feet, vault lights intimating underground secrets. The city had just as many mysteries below as it did in the sun’s domain. The pair left these fleeting hints of subterrane for new discoveries and met the tall gates of the largest park in New Amstel.

An oasis nestled in the heart of the city, it drew locals and tourists alike to its sampling of country recreation. Rolling lawns sprawled out between hedgerows flanking well-worn paths. Winding waterways gave refuge to fowl of all kinds as people strolled over the bridges above them. A lake crowned this section of the park, a small island rising from its center.

Before Patience could determine which part she would like to explore first, Valon made the decision for her. He lifted his head toward the lake.

“A nice day to be out on the water,” he stated as he walked in the direction of a boathouse.

“We’re going out on the lake?”

“Sure. The boat rentals aren’t terribly expensive.”

Patience’s heartbeat quickened. She had never been in a rowboat before, but she guessed that Valon had. She could at least place her confidence in him.

With or without her protest, the hunter continued onward. Valon always seemed intensely focused on whatever he was doing. Even while relaxing, he had an objective that he intended to meet. After a quick exchange at the counter of the boathouse, they were instructed to take a red and white vessel moored nearest to the house. Gravel crunched under their boots as the two made their way along the shore of the lake.

Their boat rested next to a long line of her sisters. Valon nodded at the seat. Patience clambered in as the man braced his arms against the bow. Once she was settled, he shoved them off with nary a grunt. Displaying nimbleness unexpected for his age, he leapt into the boat before it drifted too far out.

“What do you intend? Bringing me here?”

“Bringing you? This is for my enjoyment alone. You wanted to accompany me,” Valon said, grabbing the oars.

Patience could not tell if he was joking or being serious and chose to let the matter slip away. Valon began rowing with the precision of a collegiate team. Patience had once watched an exhibition along the river not far from Haverston. The speed at which the young men made the long vessels glide through the water impressed her much. She smiled as she watched Valon’s chest heave with each stroke.

“You’ve done this before.”

“I’ve done a lot of things.”

With the shore now a good distance away, Valon slackened his arms in acceptance of a more leisurely pace. The boat lazily drifted across the lake, occasionally guided by a stroke of the oar. As they neared the island, Patience surveyed around her. Sheltered in the calmer waters, mallards meandered through a glaze of pebbled duckweed while surrounding reeds danced in the breeze. It was surreal to Patience. Here she was, a classic subject of some romantic painting. Only her date was none other than the man that caused her so much anguish in the past weeks.

“I’m sure your career led you to acquire many skills—it’s taken you around the world,” said Patience, “but what led you to become a hunter in the first place?”

To her surprise, Valon did not deflect her inquiry. “My father was the lead hunter of our village. I wanted to best him. Simple.”

This opened a box of more questions in her mind. But before she could ask any, Valon lurched forward. Patience gasped. Not now. The tremors rumbled their ugly advance, emanating from his core through to his limbs. He dropped the oars into the boat, his boots knocking against the wooden interior. Valon folded as his hands gripped his sides. The spasms rocked the vessel, threatening to upset its balance in the water.

A flash of panic swept through Patience. She took hold of the oars. She had just watched him; she could do this. With a few incoherent slaps through the water, Patience turned the rowboat around and clumsily steered it to a clear shore of the island. The hull ground against stone and silt as they made land. Patience scurried beside Valon, rubbing caring hands across his shoulders.

Blind to the man’s convulsions, the scenery persisted in its beauty. Patience stared out over the water, watching the reflection of the crisp blue sky broken into a mosaic on its surface. A rustle of willow branches whispered at her back. Valon’s breath labored while his body quieted from the paroxysms.

“Let’s take a rest under the willow,” Patience gently instructed. She helped the man out of the boat. With her arm wrapped around his waist, she guided him through the willow’s veil of leaves. He staggered to the trunk, sliding down to sit on the soft ground.

The golden light played beautifully over his skin, soft shadows shifting over his face with every breeze. He glared into the distance, not focusing on anything in particular. The glint in his eyes ensnared Patience.

It was at that moment she realized exactly how isolated he was. He had been dealing with these spasms for years without a soul to lean upon. Her doleful gaze fell over his grimly wrought features. Patience dropped to her knees.

Valon cocked his head at her, his breaths finally coming to a regular pace. “Patience,” he said.

She keeled forward, touching her head to his shoulder. “I really do hope our plan succeeds tomorrow, then you won’t have to go another day alone,” she said.

“I …” began Valon.

But before he could finish his thought, Patience jerked up to kiss him. Her hands cupped his grizzled cheeks, fingers smoothing over his coarse beard. The green willow curtain hid them from the world beyond. Here they were alone, together.

Patience’s mind flashed to the day she and Schuler rested under a similar willow. What she was too shy and restrained to do then, she now fully acted upon with Valon. To titillate her heart even more, the hunter reciprocated. He sucked her lips, nipping just a hair’s breadth of skin as she pulled away for air.

Enthralled, Patience began slinking down his body while running a hand across his torso. She locked eyes with him. Her other hand maneuvered its way to his belt and dexterously unbuckled it. Valon raised a brow, questions clearly on his mind. However, even if he voiced them, Patience would have no answers. She knew not what overcame her. As her fingers danced around the buttons of his fly, she only knew her need to be close to him. A smile played on her lips when she felt his awakening erection underneath the dense fabric. His nostrils flared. Patience freed the first button.

Suddenly Valon shot a hand down to grip her jaw. A sizzling sensation rolled through Patience’s chest. She was ready for him to guide her to his cock. Instead he held her in place. He searched her face, his icy glare penetrating her head. Her heartbeat counted the passing seconds. For nearly a minute, Valon held her. His grip never slackened and remained steady as he began to speak.

“I’m betting you’ve lived your whole life at home, sheltered.”

Patience dipped her head, feeling her burn hum. “Y-yes.”

“Be more careful. You’ve no idea how the real world is.”

“It’s cruel,” she murmured, touching fingers to her scalp.

“No. It’s not just people ridiculing you for your appearance. It’s worse.” Valon stared into the distance with dark eyes. He clenched his jaw. “As a hunter I could travel the world. I could always run from my worries … and the problems I caused.”

Patience flashed him a glance as she toyed with an imagined younger visage of him.

“I was a greedy idiot.” He turned his head toward Patience, frown held tightly. A firm hand pushed her away. He buttoned his trousers. “I don’t want to see you being stupid and naive.”

His words stung. A shock of hurt crackled through her body. Patience did not know why. “But I—I wanted to do this for you.”

“And if I weren’t who I am now?” he growled, “If I were some ratbag just out for some cunny-catching? If I were myself from thirty years ago? You’re not living in some story where things always come together for a happy ending. There are shit people out there. The world is shit.” Valon clutched a fistful of grass in his hard fingers. He gritted his teeth and ripped the blades out of the ground. The dull snapping of their tiny roots punctuated the air.

Stunned, Patience’s body froze. All she could do was look up, searching Valon’s face for that lost moment: when things were but trivial pleasures, and the reality of the world was oceans away.

Then realization seized her heart. Heat flashed through her face. Patience had thought herself so clever, distracting Valon with her body. Even if she was indulging in her own pleasures, she had been so vulnerable. She was fortunate to have people around her that meant no real harm. She could have been deceived. She could have been harmed, or worse.

Valon exhaled. “I don’t want you falling into some silver-tongued snake’s trap … considering you came to me this easily.”

He was the cause of so many of her recent anxieties. And yet, in a way, she cared for him. Their past time together flickered through her mind. She was certain he did not puppeteer her heart to beat for him. This was her decision alone. Patience brought a hand up to rub her temples. For a skull, he had used her. But he had not hurt her.

“I’m sorry I ever barged into your life.” He sighed through clenched teeth.

Once Valon had spotted them in the Salted Strop, he defenestrated all her plans, disrupting her life. But these events tested her connection with Anax. They forced sides of the skull to show that might have taken months or years to emerge. Valon strained their relationship for better or for worse and he expedited the clarity with which Patience saw.

Indeed she had been rash, and a little stupid. But one could not go through life without making a few mistakes. Forgiveness welled in the girl’s heart. Inch by inch, she crept up Valon’s chest until their eyes were level.

“Don’t be sorry.” Patience planted a gentle kiss on Valon’s cheek, right above the line of his cropped beard. The muscles in his jaw relaxed. He gazed down at her pouting mouth. Valon sniffed and shifted away from the girl.

A bittersweet smile fell across her lips. “You really care enough to see after me?”

“I’m just giving you advice, is all.” His knees cracked as he got up from the ground. He nodded toward the boat. “Shall we?”

Patience climbed in and seated herself as Valon shoved the bow. As an afterthought to the case in defense of herself, she muttered, “I’m not completely stupid.”

Valon grumbled in acknowledgment and hopped in as the rowboat glided onto the water.

The rest of the day was spent in sweet serenity. For lunch they ate at a pretzel stand in the park. Afterward Valon led Patience the long way back to their hotel, touring a few of the closest neighborhoods. Snippets of unfamiliar languages kissed her ears. A palette of smells painted the inside of her nose. She never fathomed a worldly adventure could wait beyond a few city blocks. When the sky darkened, they capped their outing with a meal at a Vitelian bistro not far from the hotel.

The meat sauce pasta sat heavily in Patience’s stomach as they walked back to their lodging. As she stared up at the regal hotel, her heart sank. The moon peeked over the roofline, a pale face signaling the day’s imminent conclusion.

On approach to their rooms, Patience took smaller steps. She did not want her time with Valon to end. It had been so pleasant. It was a relaxing escape. To go back to her room would be a return to the sullen reality of the whole operation at New Amstel, and to the bitterness lingering between her and Anax. Patience planted her feet to the floor.

Valon regarded her casually as he stepped past her to unlock his door.

She trained on his back, hoping she would not regret the words to come from her mouth. “May I … spend the night with you?”

The man flicked his head toward her, his face etched in seriousness. “Would that be wise?”

He gave her a choice. However, her answer was already set in stone. Foolish or not, she knew the truth of what she wanted. Patience sighed, “That has never stopped me before.”

Valon shrugged, letting his door creak open. A hand reached beyond the jamb to turn on the lights. He stood at the threshold, waiting for the girl. Patience inhaled, letting her chest rise, feeling the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her eyes met those of Valon as the hairs on her arms rose. The breath held in her lungs seeped out between her teeth. Peeling her boots from the floor, the girl strode toward the hunter, brushing past him into his room.

As Valon closed the door behind them, Patience halted. She whirled around to face the man. She almost leaned up for a kiss, but restrained herself. Instead she patted her hand on his chest before moving away. His eyebrows tilted upward ever so slightly.

This time Patience was not seeking sex. Even though she was willing at the lake, Valon had shown to her that he could offer more. This time Patience simply wanted company, another being to lie with that was not Anax. Valon left her alone and sat at the table, minding himself. Not knowing what else to do, Patience stood by the bed.

“Would you like to wash up first?” Valon asked, unlacing his boots.

Patience nodded.

The pitcher on the nightstand had been filled with fresh water by housekeeping. It was cold but managed to strip away the city’s dirt and dust from her skin. Her ears tuned for any sounds the hunter made. Her heart was aflutter, beating in a way only Valon could conduct. He was still unpredictable and yet so very tempting. Timid, Patience could barely meet his eyes as she stepped back toward the bed.

Just as she was about to sit atop the covers, Valon barked, “Not in your clothes that have been outside all day.”

Her mind flashed to her nightgown inside the dresser in the room over, but something kept her from leaving to retrieve it.

“You are free to undress.”

Patience bristled. But she noticed his tone was softer. It held no indication that he wanted her body right there and then. She shyly stripped, leaving on her drawers and chemise. The dresser top received her neatly folded clothes. When Valon rose to use the washstand, Patience rushed under the bed covers. Even though he had already witnessed her bare body, she felt uncomfortably aware of herself at that moment.

Peering above the cover, Patience watched Valon wash. He removed his shirt, carefully hanging it over a chair. He cupped his hands and drenched his face. The water glistened on his tan skin in the lamplight. It trickled down veins and valleys of muscle. Beads of water dripped from his beard while he changed to his pajama pants. Patience flushed when she saw he wore no underwear today. She quickly turned to her other side to face away from him.

The mattress dipped when Valon sat upon the bed. He swung his legs under the covers and reclined into the pillows. Patience stared into the white linen of the pillowcase. Her skin prickled as Valon grazed against her. Perhaps this was what Patience really sought: to test what domestic life could be like with a human man. She rolled over and cast her gaze toward him.

As much as Valon intrigued her, lying by his side did not feel quite right. Despite his warmth, he felt cold. Patience traced the scars and spots on his skin with her eyes. A part of her missed the raw passion of their previous trysts. The air between them had changed ever since the afternoon. The curtain had been pulled back, and he kept his distance. Yet Patience insisted on closing that space.

“Have you ever been in love?” she asked.

Valon lifted his head and shifted onto his back, eyeing her dubiously. “Is that something you need to know of me?”

This man and his guarded words. Patience’s lips curved into a frown. “Rest assured, I’m not—with you,” she said. “I just want to know … how does one know if one is in love?”

Valon snorted. “If you don’t know, then how do you know you’re not—with me?”

Patience balked. “It’s … a feeling.”

Another snort erupted from the man. He stretched his neck. ”Don’t seek relationship advice from me.”

She pulled the sheet tightly around her. “You’re a man of a certain age. Therefore, I expect you to be able to impart certain wisdoms, as you did this afternoon.”

Valon pointed his chin toward the ceiling. “You already know I’ve never settled down. I’m alone.”

“Yes,” said the girl, planting a few fingers against her cheek. “So I thought you might have some insight on what not to do. And being alone doesn’t mean you’ve never loved anyone.”

“You want to know if you love the creature or that dark-haired man?”

It was obvious. Any person with half a wit could see right through her. Patience flitted her attention to the pillow.

Valon smirked before answering her. “It’s a feeling.”

With that he rolled onto his side, bringing a heavy hand to Patience’s face. He kissed her deeply and turned his back on her. Patience was still eager. She had not changed that afternoon. Valon had. He had seen her for her worth. The girl stared at the hunter’s broad shoulders once more before snuggling close, drifting off to sleep. It was the most content she had felt in a while.