Velentham put his hands on Gilean's shoulders, sending waves of his Celestial energies into the priest. It was a ploy, it always was with Velentham. Waves of energy made his wards feel at ease. Made them feel less wary, made them much easier to persuade. He blocked his mind to his father before making his request. "I will find you a way home if you let me come with you." It didn't seem to be working as well as he had hoped.
"To what end?"
"You get to be with your lover and child. Marry. Live your mortal life until next you come back here and we send you away."
"And you try to pull Sanria from her family," Gilean replied, trying to remove himself from Velentham's grasp.
"I won't try," Velentham replied. And he meant it. He wouldn't try. He would do. "I will merely meet with her. That is all." He let Gilean back away.
"You realize she has a husband, a child, and another on the way," Gilean said, looking into Velentham's eyes. "She is no longer burdened by what used to trouble her either. Last I saw her, she was happy." To hear that she was with child, that she had moved on, sent a wave of jealousy careening through Velentham's mind. She should be bearing his child, not some mortal man's. That was a situation he could easily remedy.
"There is no need to worry about a friend visiting a friend, is there?" he managed, barely able to contain his emotions.
"A friend coming to visit... You are a poor liar. Your intentions are as plain as your distaste for me."
Velentham's face fell and he paced along the edge of the pond. "She wanted to be here, with me. That's what she wanted before you all dragged her away. I want her to have the chance to come back, to be with me if she chooses, but I want to see the choice from her face, not your words. Certainly you understand?"
"I understand the influence that this place, and our kind... in our full state, have upon mortal races. I understand that you have found something that you wish to possess. And you haven't exactly been fair or consider- ate in your approach to obtaining it," Gilean said.
In an instant, Velentham's facade broke and he stormed up to Gilean, snatching the priest's robes in his hands. He was losing control, he could feel his aura radiating, his wings unfurling. He barely held his sanity. "You listen to me. You weren't supposed to use that rose. She was. Not you! Now you're here and you tell me to be ashamed of what I am while forcing me to run the risk of being found out by the tribunal! I won't go down for you!"
"No, you'll go down for your own actions. I guess that would make two of us. I have a different deal for you. You send me back and nobody needs to know about the rose at all."
Velentham's aura grew even more intense and even his eyes began to glow - the light of purity washing out everything. In other circumstances, this glow forced evil beings in his vision to stand out, but in this case, Gilean was not evil - the glow was blinding. "You insignificant worm. You dare make deals with me!?! I'll tell you what, you and I will go on the run, my friend. And we'll see how years away from your lover and child make you feel. Do you think it's worth it? Will you trade your life for Sanria?"
As soon as Gilean's head bowed, Velentham knew he had the power. "Damn you Velentham. You are such a perfect example of what the blind arrogance of our people can do."
"Damn me all you want, I don't care what you do, so long as I get what I want."
"I need to think on this."
"I have eternity." Folding space, Velentham brought forth a plate of fruit and set it on the ground. "I bet you wish you hadn't turned against your kind. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be stuck."
"If it weren't for your actions, I wouldn't _be_ stuck." Chuckling quietly, Velentham folded space and returned to the cottage, leaving Gilean to his decision.
