Lars smiled. “Then he will. What did Sor look like when you first met?”
Faust wished he could share Lars’s confidence. He didn’t even know what Sortiris would save him from. Maybe from Drokan, but that seemed unlikely. “You already know what he looks like.”
Lars still smiled. “What color was his hair? Black or white?”
Faust thought back to the first time he saw Sortiris versus the times in Qinn’s memories. “Black.”
Lars closed his eyes with a small sigh. “Sor has chosen you, so Vas will follow.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are a few reasons I asked. If Sor had appeared to you with white hair, it would have meant he didn’t trust you to become the next High King, and he would have allowed Qinn to rise despite Qinn’s wishes.”
Faust kept his expression neutral, but his stomach dropped.
“But he didn’t,” Lars said, his gaze softening. “Since he appeared to you, specifically, with black hair, he wanted to befriend you. He didn’t want to frighten you.”
Faust tilted his head. “He is not scary with white hair. He is beautiful.”
Lars grinned. “I am happy to hear that. Sor has a complex about his looks.” Lars leaned back on his hands, his expression lost in memories. “Sor is usually idle. Only using his true form to strike fear in another. Alimphis, for some odd reason, made Sor different from the other deities, but Qinn helped Sor accept his looks. I’d hate to see him suffer again.”
Faust observed the warmth, admiration, and love in Lars’s eyes. He felt as if he didn’t belong anymore, as if his body was a vessel for the former High King to possess. He had hoped talking to Lars would have made him feel better about this whole situation with Qinn, but it only stoked more fear.
Faust’s stomach grumbled, and he flushed, curling up, refusing to look at Lars in his embarrassment.
Lars chuckled. “Let’s eat. We can discuss what to do after.” Lars stood, wandered over to the table, and split their meal in two, giving Faust more than himself.
Faust shuffled from the bed, mindful of his leg, and joined Lars. They ate in silence. He appreciated Lars’s coddling. Food was a good way for him to stay alert. He knew how hunger affected his thoughts. Perhaps Qinn had done much the same in the past.
Lars set a small jar of red medicine on the table, gesturing for Faust to take it.
Faust resigned himself to the taste and washed it down with water. At least it would dull the pain. He nibbled on the last of his food, locking eyes with Lars, who waited for Faust to finish. He took a swig of water and then moved his hands under the table to fiddle with the gemstone on his bracelet, letting the stone hang off the chain in his palm.
“I do not see you as Qinn, Faust,” Lars finally said. “I know you aren’t him. You won’t be lost when you merge. You may gain some quirks of his, but you’ll remain who you are, and his memories become yours. Through those memories, you’ll learn how to use what you have, how to be the High King we all need, and you’ll gain his deep love for Lin.”
“What about Vas?” Faust didn’t want to throw Ignas aside. Alimphis didn’t want Vasil near him like that, and Faust feared craving the deity after he merged with Qinn.
“Qinn’s relationship with Vas was complicated. They loved each other, but Lin was the one who brought them together. Qinn may or may not pass those emotions to you.”
Faust rubbed the gemstone on his bracelet. That didn’t answer his question.
“You shouldn’t worry too much about Vas. He’ll respect whatever your choice may be.” Lars said, oblivious to Faust’s inner turmoil. “The most important memories are about your role as the High King. There is much you can do as the High King.”
“Things no one will tell me,” Faust grumbled.
Lars narrowed his eyes. “I see,” he said. “That I cannot agree with. It only hurts your growth. You may bear some differences from my High King, but you are still the High King.”
Faust supposed that was true, but he felt more like a deity. Linos was the sovereign deity. Faust didn’t know where that left him. Linos had said they’d share a burden of power, but that could mean just about anything.
“We can work through what you can do together,” Lars said. “There is one thing I need to teach you. You can activate your Volant armor in midair.”
Faust stared. “Everyone I’ve seen needed to knock it against a solid surface.”
“This was something Qinn and I perfected. I had thought you might already know how, but I was wrong. I apologize. I should have revealed who I was from the start.” Lars shot Faust a sheepish look. “We might have avoided some problems, namely the baths. I could have helped veil the Mark of Linos instead of you having to rely on Alimphis’s aid. Alimphis isn’t always reliable when the situation is not life-threatening.”
Faust’s ears burned hot. If it hadn’t been for Alimphis, he might have been outed. “You have to protect yourself, too.”
Lars’s expression slackened as if he expected Faust to reprimand him instead. “That may be true, but my duty to you should have come first just as it did for Vas and Sor.”
“But you were only Vasil’s consort, right?”
“Yes, but swearing allegiance to Vasil meant we also served Sor. They are a pair,” Lars said. “Few were kind to Sor in the past, and Vas swore to protect him.”
Faust sipped some water, wishing they had wine instead. Lars gave him more information than anyone thought to share with him.
“We must find Sor soon,” Lars said, “but for now, let’s focus on retrieving Qinn’s belongings. I have a feeling they will lead us to Sor eventually. Rhys seems to think holding Sor will give him some advantage. Knowing Sor, he’s probably right where he needs to be.”
“I hope you are right. I do not want anything to happen to him. He was taken during a battle,” Faust said.
“Where was Vas?”
“Taking back Arkney. I was tasked with rising Roltan with Aris,” Faust said. “Sortiris’s Blessed died during the battle.” Faust shuddered at the memory of how Alimphis cried at the loss.
Lars paled, his shoulders taut, and his eyes swam with regret. “We will find Sor.” Lars turned a map toward Faust for him to read.
Faust eyed the map he’d found in his clothing, the X mark still stood out against the worn parchment. “I am sorry the map was ruined.”
Lars arched an eyebrow. “It’s a travel map and isn’t meant to be displayed. It’s all right.” Lars smiled. “If Gawain had folded it, I would have murdered him.”
“I hate to have had a part in ruining something from the past, though,” Faust said. “I want it preserved and taught again. There is much we could learn from it, and I could never find enough. It was always destroyed.”
“I am glad there is someone else who enjoys this as much as myself.”
Faust caught Lars’s gaze, and a slow smiled worked over his lips. “Me too. Few liked gathering what I wanted because it put them in danger.”
“I am used to such dangers,” Lars said. “Anything you want, I will get for you. I have been itching to see what remains of the archives in Arkney and Roltan. The libraries were massive then.”