Alloys

Six months later.

The storm was rolling in over Blackroot Hollow. Thunder rumbled in the distance, shaking the windowpanes of the cottage.

Maren sat on the porch swing, a blanket draped over her legs.

"Tea," Julian said, stepping out of the house. He carried two mugs.

He walked with a cane. His left leg was stiff, the knee joint fused with gold. He moved slowly, but he moved.

He handed Maren her mug.

Maren took it with her right hand. Her arm, from the elbow down, was solid, gleaming gold. The fingers were articulated enough to hold a cup, but they didn't feel heat. She had to be careful not to crush the ceramic.

"The storm is going to be a bad one," Maren said, watching the clouds.

"My hip tells me so," Julian smiled wryly, sitting beside her.

He winced as he sat. A single tear escaped his eye. It rolled down his cheek and solidified into a small pearl. He caught it before it fell.

He tossed the pearl into the garden.

"Another one for the tomatoes," he said.

Maren leaned her head on his shoulder. Her golden hand rested on his knee.

They were not cured. The Gilded Rot was still there, living in both of them now. Some days, Maren woke up with diamond dust in her lungs. Some days, Julian couldn't move his neck.

They had drained the Vault. They had donated the billions to charities that specialized in curse-breaking and poverty relief, trying to starve the parasite of its hoard. The Manor was empty, slowly being reclaimed by the moss.

They lived in the cottage. They lived simply.

"Do you regret it?" Julian asked quietly. He asked it once a week.

Maren looked at her golden hand. It was heavy. It was cold. It was a permanent mark of the burden she had chosen.

Then she looked at Julian. He was warm. He was breathing. He was holding her human hand with his human hand.

"It's just metal, Julian," Maren said. "It's small."

Julian kissed her temple. "You are the biggest thing in the world, Maren."

They sat together on the swing, an alloy of flesh and gold, listening to the thunder and waiting for the rain to wash the dust away.