Page 27 of Triadic

"Up," Marit ordered, all but flying out of the bath and drying off.

We got out, and I tried to keep the shivers away as I dried off, and Marit brought us new clothes. As I picked up my old robes—sodden from the snow—something fell out and clattered to the floor, startling all of us.

I gasped and knelt, picking up the beaded chain that Dunu had given me. "I thought it was a dream."

"Come," Marit urged. "Into bed with you. As you warm up, I want you to tell us what happened."

In our bedroom—surely it was also mine now, since I'd moved in here after leaving the medical room and had been sleeping with them pretty much since the beginning—I set the beaded chain on our table, with the little stuffed Schneechen to watch over it.

In bed, Corbi had me sit up next to him, and he slowly massaged each of my energy centers that they activated in their tradition, starting with the top of my head and working down. His pressure was relatively light, since he wasn't unknotting muscles but rather smoothing the soft tissues so the life force could flow unencumbered, which encouraged the body's health-sustaining mechanisms.

At his coaxing I leaned back against his chest and told him what had happened while Marit scribbled notes in the pamphlet he was keeping of all of my strange supernatural experiences. I told them about how I'd thought the little girl was from the costumed parade that had just gone through. I didn't want them to think I would foolishly charge into asituation that would take me away from them.

"Dunu," interrupted Marit, his brows furrowed. "Are you sure she didn't say Danu, or Donau?"

My mouth fell open. "Donau...?"

Corbi nodded, his hands moving from my elbows down my forearms to my wrists. "The river."

The Danube.

That made so much sense. "She was definitely a water sprite of some kind, or a...kelpie?"

Marit and Corbi nodded.

Surely that cute yet scary little girl had not been the mighty goddess of the Mother Danube. I could not reconcile that prospect with what I had seen. Was I in danger right now, and I didn't even know?

I finished telling them how I'd tried to step back into town and wound up in another vision, with the beaded chain unfolding to be able to hold seven candles. Those candles turned into seven lanterns, and then the bonfires on a winter solstice night from thousands of years ago.

When I started talking about the candles and subsequent progressions, Marit looked up from his notes and met Corbi's eyes. The two stared at each other, a message passing between them that I was not privy to.

"Is something wrong?" I finally asked. "Maybe there's some kind of symbolism here that I'm missing. Have you ever encountered something like this in your readings? Seven flames that seem to protect the whole country…"

They broke their gaze, andthe moment ended. Corbi returned to massaging my hands and Marit returned to taking notes. "Your story..."

"Needs to be kept secret," a voice said.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Marit yelped. "Ceridor!"

The bard's grin was that of a trickster fox. Indeed, he'd cracked the door without us noticing. He slid into the room with an apologetic smile.

"You must peddle in intelligence, bard," accused Marit. "Even with Peter? I can't believe you."

"An ignorant bard is a dead one," he said quietly, then his brown eyes found mine. "I'd say a trip away from the monastery should happen for the four of us sooner rather than later, even if it isn't to Peter's home village. Already there are stories that connect what Peter saw tonight with the calling of our friend."

Marit's expression turned cold as stone, and Corbi flinched, then froze. I took his hand and squeezed, failing to comfort him as Corbi glared daggers at Ceridor.

Then the missing piece fell into place. Surely if the men I loved were this alarmed, then Ceridor was referring to Wren, who must be in danger.

"We should go to him," I suggested softly. "We can talk on the road there."

I felt Corbi nod beside me.

Ceridor tilted his head at Marit and spoke just loud enough to be heard. "How did you bring Peter back? All of the instructors who saved Wren back in the day havepassed into the beyond. If you managed it on your own, then their legacy lives on in you."

"We didn't have any choice," defended Marit, glancing at his partner. Corbi nodded and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back.

Ceridor had Marit pinned with his eyes, not letting him out of it so easily.