Her face went cold, her head spinning as she tried to take in the length of time. She had been dead for three years? How was that possible? It had felt like only a matter of hours.
She wrapped her arms tightly around Epharis as he clung to her, her mind blank as she tried to comprehend what might have changed in that time.
Three years they thought she was gone, and Versalis hadn't told a single person he might suspect otherwise.
Epharis clung to her for several long minutes, and she stroked his hair while he adjusted to the realisation that she was alive, drawing back from her finally with a face that was both drawn and relieved.
"How are you back?" he asked and then turned to Versalis when she only shook her head. "How is she back?"
"I don't really know. But I have been working on it for about a year now. I thought I felt her occasionally, when I was holding her Death gem and spoke her name."
The mental image of Versalis clinging to the gem and crying out her name in his grief broke her heart, and she reached out to cup his face, his eyes sliding shut at the touch.
"But I kept trying, and a few months ago the gem burnt me, and she began to regrow from the skin that stuck to it."
"Why can't she talk?"
"She couldn't move her feet before. I think it will come back once her body remembers how to talk."
To show Epharis the truth, she rolled her ankles and smiled up at him, his eyes filling with tears at her smile.
A thought occurred to her, and she frowned up at Epharis and then Versalis, lifting her hand with her index, middle finger and thumb together in a movement of writing. Versalis swore, neither of them had thought about that. Without a word, Epharis left to get her a piece of parchment and a quill, and she frowned at her clumsy fingers.
She wrote out two words on the parchment, her lettering sloppy and uneven, but it was still legible.
'Magical draw?'
Versalis shook his head, but Epharis nodded. She looked between the two, chewing on her lower lip before she looked down and scribbled down more.
'Give others choice?'
The two men exchanged a look before Versalis nodded. "I think we should give them the choice," he said slowly. "If they don't see you, there should be no addiction."
"And what exactly do we say to them? 'Oh, Etani's alive, but you should only come with us if you want to be magically enchanted by her again'? Because I'm sure that will dissuade them," the lich said sarcastically.
Etani grinned, his humour always enjoyable to her.
"I don't really know."
"What are you two doing out here?" a booming voice called.
Etani immediately leaned back, her eyes wide as she looked to Versalis, who moved to hide her.
"Your Majesty, I suggest you close your eyes," Versalis said immediately.
"What? Why?" Alaric demanded suspiciously.
"Do so, we will explain," Epharis said. The king came to a slow stop. "Etani is alive, and—"
Epharis and Versalis were suddenly gone, and Alaric was standing before her as massive as ever, his eyes on her and his face pale. Both the lich and vampire had returned to their feet after the king had shoved them away and they had moved to either side of her, as though expecting the king to hurt her in some way, but he only stared in horrified fascination.
After a solid few minutes, he reached for her and touched her face, his hand rough and warm compared to her own coolness.
"How is that possible?" he whispered, but Epharis only growled, anxious about his touching her.
"It's a long story, but rather than telling everyone one at a time I will tell everyone at once."
"Good idea," Alaric growled. She smiled slightly, his breath sucking in and eyes going hard. "I forgot how bad that smile is."
"You're not wrong," Epharis said softly.
Her smile dropped, frustrated by them both.
"Come on, let's get you somewhere safe while we figure out what to do," Versalis said.
She reached for him even as he reached for her, eagerly going into the safety of his arms while Alaric glanced at Epharis.
"Can't walk yet, or speak," Epharis explained. Alaric nodded, reaching out to tug the back of her dress down and wedge it between her legs and Versalis' hand.
Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, Etani watched the two men over his shoulder as they followed after her, their wide-eyed stares making them remarkably similar in appearance, though they shared very little in physical appearance.
She had never stopped to actually look at the two before, both tall, though Alaric was a good half-foot taller than Epharis and twice as wide. She had to wonder what colour Epharis' hair had been before his transformation, but she doubted it was the blond of Alaric's. They were both muscular, though Epharis less so; more scholarly with his sword training and built more for speed, while Alaric was built like a house, all physical strength and intimidation.
Her staring seemed to make them uncomfortable, but she continued to do so, comparing them as siblings as well as men. She had to think that she would have been more attracted to Epharis, as Alaric was too muscular for her liking, though she knew many women pined after him, and his muscles were a great source of desire.
When Versalis turned into a small room, she looked around and decided they must be in the small hidden chamber behind the throne room, the royal puppies following him in obediently and closing the door.
"We are going to give them the choice to see her or not. But I think the throne room will be better," Versalis said.
Alaric nodded his agreement, unable to take his eyes off Etani.
Setting her down in a small chair at a writing desk, she looked up mutely at the three men and arched a brow, when they didn't move, she made a shooing gesture and they jerked, all embarrassed to be simply staring at her like that. After a moment longer, they left.
Alaric headed into the throne room and shooed everyone out. The giant doors pulled shut that she knew were shut only in an emergency and he stepped back into the room, scooping her up without a second thought and taking her out. He set her down on his throne and with a slight smile, he tapped her nose and left.
She wasn't alone for long before voices started to filter in through the doors. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, her eyes sweeping the enormous, empty room from the position of power.
She couldn't tell who was there, but the crowd seemed to be growing at a rapid pace over the half hour she was waiting.
It was Versalis who cleared his throat, and the room went quiet almost immediately.
"Where's Jaia?" Versalis called out, but no one seemed to know, a sudden bang announcing a late arrival.
"They stopped crying! They—" Jaia's voice went silent as he found the crowd, evidently baffled by the sight of so many people.
"There he is," Versalis said dryly, and there was a low chuckle and a few gruff greetings.
"All right, everyone, we called you here for an announcement," Versalis called out.
"Is the war happening?" someone called out.
Etani cocked her head with interest, wondering who they could possibly be at war with.
"No; shut up and let him talk," Alaric growled.
There was again the light chuckle. She thought the chuckler was Loki, but she couldn't be sure.
"As everyone here knows, it has been three years and four months since the incident—" Versalis broke off as someone growled, but she didn't know who it was.
Epharis entered the room from behind her and settled himself at her side, his eyes on her with a burning intensity she had never seen before. "I missed you," he whispered.
She drew him down with a gentle tug on his robes, her lips a light brush on his cheek.
"But as of an hour ago, Etani is no longer dead," Versalis called out, and both she and Epharis looked at the massive doors.
The room erupted in what felt like a hundred voices all speaking and several cries as people moved, and she could only assume they were looking around.
"Quiet!" Alaric yelled, but there was no containing them.
Loki had started laughing gleefully, and she had to wonder if he knew.
"It was decided that you all would be given a choice on if you wanted to see her again, given the power of her magic and the addiction it can cause. Anyone who wishes to leave should do so now," Versalis yelled.
"Where is she?" a female voice cried out, and Etani looked around, thinking it might have been Nayishma.
"She is inside, waiting for everyone to leave who wishes to do so."
The doors pressed in, and her hand immediately went back to Epharis' robes in alarm. He shifted before her, blocking their view.
"Leave now, or know you did this willingly!" Alaric bellowed, but they weren't listening.
The lock lifted, and she clung to the soft robes as footsteps filled the room, Epharis standing tense before her.
They had slowed, both scared and desperate to see if it was true, but a gentle tug on his robes had him stepping away.