There was something different about Rowan and Seres when they woke up the next morning. Seres could see it, and Rowan could feel it in her bones. They were sisters. The ritual had been a success.

Knowing that the Goddess had acknowledged their bond was a comfort to both of them. Together they would find the strength they'd most certainly need to tackle the road ahead.

It wouldn't be long until they took the next step. They had already packed everything they would need for the first leg of their impending journey. All that remained was for them to meet the two agents who would be joining them.

Once they were done with breakfast, Queen Elarin had the two girls join her in her private gardens. Shortly after, they were introduced to a rather statuesque woman with a stern expression and raven black hair that was highlighted with midnight blue. Beside her was a surprisingly average-looking gentleman with a mischievous grin and blonde hair that almost seemed to blush.

They were both very clearly human without even a hint of Ferran ancestry, nor did they have the incredibly rare hallmarks of a Kairosi or Miriel ancestor. Rowan also found the woman to be incredibly pretty with her dark and mysterious features, whereas the man was more on the cute side.

Out of the two of them, the man was the first to speak.

"Hold me, Liadra, I think I must be dying. There's no other explanation for the three rising beauties that I see before me." He then took to one knee and bowed dramatically before Seres. "Forgive me, Your Highness, for I have been brought low by your radiant visage, and I fear your most lovely companion will deliver the final blow.”

Rowan was having second thoughts about him being cute. If anything, he was a bit much. His partner seemed to agree as she slapped him curtly across the back of the head. He, of course, protested, but she just ignored him and spoke to Seres directly.

"Please forgive my partner, Your Highness. He's a fool who likes to think he's charming. I also ask that you forgive my own rudeness as well for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Liadra, Junior Lieutenant of Dusk, and this is Twilight Operator Lochlan."

Liadra then turned to greet Rowan. "You must be Flame Lady Rowan. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I look forward to working with you. Her Majesty has provided us…"

It looked like she wasn't going to be much fun based on the way she spoke.

"…so we have an idea of how we can best…"

Out of nowhere, Lochlan pointed dramatically in a seemingly random direction and practically shouted, "Liadra! Look, a mandra!"

Instead of taking it in her stride like Rowan expected, Liadra cried, "Where?" with girlish glee as her previous train of thought fizzled. When she realised that there wasn't an adorably fuzzy and incredibly dangerous bear-like animal in the room, Liadra turned crimson and tried to hide her embarrassment behind her hands.

"I'm so sorry," she practically cried. "Please forget that ever happened."

And just like that, Rowan's impression of Liadra did a complete two-seventy and a few random forty-fives. Lochlan, on the other hand, followed a less chaotic path in that the only thing he had subverted was his cute face.

It was at this point that Queen Elarin stepped in, having taken a backseat beforehand in order to watch the introductions play out organically. “As a Dusk Agent, Lieutenant Liadra specialises in covert protection details and threat resolution.”

“Meaning?” Rowan asked.

“I keep those I'm watching over safe, and I seek out threats in order to eliminate them before they are realised.”

“Like a bodyguard-assassin hybrid?” This time it was Seres asking the question.

“In a sense,” Liadra replied, “though we are typically less independent than you might expect of an assassin, and we prefer to deal with threats diplomatically if we can. In cases such as the raiders, we can be a lot more direct. One of my seniors, for example, was responsible for eliminating several members of their high command.”

“Impressive,” Rowan admitted, “but it doesn't really say much about your own abilities. Are you any good in combat? What weapons do you prefer? What can you do outside of combat?”

“You're right, sorry. Much of my experience is as a bodyguard. I was assigned to Princess Elia as she helped direct the crusade against the raiders, and I've spent the last two years working with Lochlan here to help investigate and eliminate the corrupt officials who obfuscated the severity of the raids.

“As for combat, I have standard military training as well as the more specialised training given to Dusk Agents. I prefer fighting solo or in small teams like this one, and I typically use short blades and razor shields up close or a bow at range. If need be, I'll also use paralytics and tranquillisers. As for outside of combat, I'm skilled at hunting and navigation. My Gift is that of the Predator."

"She's also great at finding great bars," Lochlan interrupted.

"Shut up, Lochlan!" Liadra cried in protest.

"I don't think I will. It's my time to talk. Before I tell you completely divine ladies about myself, there is one last thing that needs to be said about Liadra."

Liadra went from composed to visibly terrified when Lochlan said that, so Rowan just had to inquire. "Go on," she said.

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"Well, if she ever volunteers to cook, don't let her."

"Why not?"

"Because every meal that she's ever made with me around has been impossibly bland."

"My food is jam-packed with nutrients, I'll have you know," Liadra objected.

"And I've had field rations that taste better."

The more Lochlan spoke, the harder it was for Rowan to get a read on him. Even so, he had managed to highlight one skill flawlessly, and that was his ability to get a rise out of Liadra. Thanks to him, Rowan was getting a reasonable idea of what Liadra was like deep down, and she knew that Seres was doing her own quiet analysis as well.

The back and forth between the two officers continued until Rowan was forced to interject. "This is all well and good, but we're getting sidetracked.”

Liadra stopped talking immediately, but Lochlan just sighed dramatically before apologising with a touch of panache. “Right, you are. You have my deepest apologies.”

Rowan doubted he was being entirely genuine with his apology, but it gave her something to help give focus to the conversation again. She didn't feel right being the ‘responsible conversationalist’. “You can apologise by telling us more about yourself and what you can do.”

“I'll see what I can do,” Lochlan replied, his mock sincerity bleeding through again. “As a Twilight Operator, I specialise in information, be it acquisition or taking advantage of it, and people. The two go hand in hand, really. Traditional combat isn't exactly my forte, unfortunately, but I do have the same basic military training that Liadra has. I've also done some supplemental self-defence training with a focus on hand-to-hand. You never know when a tavern brawl might break out, after all.

“Speaking of which, I can smooth any issues like that should they arise without the need to pull rank. It helps avoid too much attention, though I doubt that will be possible when we have an Ardent, a princess, and my dear cousin here.”

Rowan would never have guessed it from their appearance, but it made sense considering their interactions. Even with Liadra clearly trying her best to seem professional, they were far more familiar with each other than one might expect from mere colleagues.

Regardless, he had still only answered about half of Rowan’s questions, so she pushed him for the rest. “How about outside of combat or espionage? And what about your Gift? I might not have asked if Liadra hadn't offered hers earlier, and I'm sure you've already been briefed on mine and Seres’ Gifts.”

Queen Elarin nodded from just off to the side of the two agents in confirmation of Rowan’s assessment.

At the same time, Lochlan gave his final answer. "Well, I'm an excellent cook, and I can haggle most merchants to within an inch of their abacus. As for my Gift, I think that'd reveal a bit much, don't you think?"

Seres interjected almost immediately with a sardonic grin as she said, "He's a Cryptic."

Lochlan gave absolutely no hint that Seres' theory was correct, but the poorly veiled laugh from Liadra, along with all the context clues, was confirmation enough.

Now that Rowan had all the information she needed to make her assessment, she gave the two agents a sly grin of her own. “Thank you for your cooperation,” she smiled.

The two of them saluted in response before requesting permission to finish getting ready. Queen Elarin granted it immediately as she remarked, “I'm sure the girls have much to discuss. They'll meet you at the Royal Stables when they're ready.”

They saluted again, first to Queen Elarin and then to Rowan and Seres, before taking their leave. Queen Elarin followed them a moment later to give Rowan and Seres a chance to talk in private.

When they were alone, Seres spoke first.

“They were an odd pair, weren't they?”

“Truly. If your mother hadn't vouched for them and we were meeting them under different circumstances, I might have drawn my sword on Lochlan.”

“I'm not sure. You had your guard, which is probably why he felt so slippery. If I didn't recognise the Resonance of his Gift, I'd have been suspicious of him as well.”

“About that,” Rowan interjected.

“Yes?”

“You can see people's Gifts?”

Seres gave Rowan a pondering side pout as she considered the question. After a brief moment, she gave her answer.

“I can see the flow of Resonance from a person's Gift. With enough training, I can recognise the patterns whenever a Gift is utilised in order to identify it. When it became clear I had a knack for my Gift from a young age, Mother decided it would be a good idea for me to learn the patterns of both Empaths and Cryptics.”

Rowan was amazed. She knew Seres was skilled with her Gift, but she hadn't really considered the possibilities. “Do you know any others?”

“Not really. I might have seen enough of your brother's Gift to identify it, but I'd need to see another Choir in action. Beyond that, by the time I considered expanding my horizon, the opportunity never really presented itself. Especially as it's not exactly something I want to advertise.”

“I can see that. How do you feel about travelling with Lochlan and Liadra?” It was a bit of a non-sequitur, but once again, ‘Lady Rowan of Conversational Focus’ was in the room, or in this case, the garden.

Seres answered quickly. “Better now that we've met them. I've been anxious about it ever since Mother mentioned it back on Tilwen.”

“I know you wanted it to be just the two of us, but it wasn't realistically going to happen.”

“It's not just that,” Seres responded solemnly.

“What do you mean?” Rowan asked cautiously.

“Last time I had an escort, they were slaughtered to the last. I thought maybe if we didn't have one this time, I wouldn’t need to worry about it happening again.”

“Oh, Seres,” Rowan said, taking her new sister into her arms. Tears started falling from Seres’ eyes as she cried into Rowan’s shoulder. They stayed like that for a short while until the tears finally stopped.

“I know they'll probably be fine if anything happens,” Seres sniffled once she was free of Rowan’s warm embrace.

“Nothing's going to happen. And even if something does happen, I'm sure they'll be ready for it. They're experienced, and your mother has faith in them.”

“I know,” Seres sniffled again.

“I know you know. So let's wipe away those tears and get moving. It's time for us to leave.”

Rowan was on her feet and she reached out to help Seres up. With Seres standing soon after, Rowan whipped out a handkerchief from one of Seres’ pockets in order to dab away her tears. Then they were off.

*****

Only an hour passed, and they were on the road to Næmyris by way of Feldran, the city beneath the Shattered Mountain. They were ready much earlier, but Queen Elarin had insisted on a lengthy goodbye with her daughter. If it had gone on any longer, they might never have left. Fortunately, Seres was able to pull away in spite of how hard it must have been at the time.

Now that they were on the road, however, it took a while for it to really sink in for Rowan. It was only as they passed through the Northwestern Gate of Midiris that reality caught up to her, and she was able to accept that it was finally happening.

She was going home.