Corrin found that telling the story of the battle was just as fun as living it—all the good parts with none of the danger. As he finished regaling Kei with the dramatic tale of their victory, he took a long sip of the mysterious milk he and she enjoyed.

“You really did all that?” She asked from the seat beside him, her eyes wide.

“It’s true,” Ayden nodded, sitting across from her at the table. “Though our team killed the most creatures here.”

He gestured around The Stilled Steppe, which was filled almost exclusively with the adventures from the formation they’d been a part of. It hadn’t exactly been planned, but it seemed like some of them had figured out where Corrin, Wyn and The Sentinels were eating, and word had spread.

The only people missing were Ven, who had ‘important business’ to take care of, and Tor, who unsurprisingly was eating with his officers. Still, he’d foot the bills across town from what Corrin understood, so everyone was dining on his coin. With that in mind…

“Another order of roast beef!” Corrin called out to one of the workers as he passed by.

“Could you please get me some as well, Brier?” Kei asked.

The whole table—their small group and The Sentinels all ended up asking for more, and the young man seemed all too happy to oblige. “Of course, I’ll have it out soon , Miss Kei.”

She smiled, “Thank you. And tell Mrs. Helena the stew was delicious.”

“Will do.”

After he walked away, Kei turned back to Wyn. “So tell me, are they lying?”

“Hey!” Corrin and Ayden chimed in unison.

Wyn chuckled. “Well, they might have exaggerated some of it, but yeah it’s mostly true.”

One of the soldiers passing by threw his arms around Wyn and Corrin. “Oh don’t be modest!” He looked at Kei. “If it wasn’t for this lot, we’d all be buried under the grass! Especially Wyn here.”

Wyn smiled awkwardly. “It was a group effort—”

He got booed by half the table until he quieted down and they started laughing.

“So Miss Kei,” Emryn leaned in, her eyes shining. “You’re from Taravast right? What do you think of The Grass Sea?”

Kei set down her cup. “It’s beautiful. It really does remind me of the sea in a way, but I guess it’s a bit more flat. Still, the sea doesn’t have trees and islands so frequently.”

“Is it true that there’s sunken ships filled with treasure that you can swim down to?” Ayden asked.

“Wait really?” Corrin grew interested.

Ayden nodded excitedly. “Yeah that’s what I’ve heard.”

“Well—”

Emryn jumped back in. “The whole thing about not being able to see the other side isn’t true right? Like, there can’t be that much water.”

“No that’s—”

“Is it actually salty? That’s weird…” Wyn muttered, then realized he’d interrupted and blushed. “Sorry, go on.”

Kei took a deep breath, a smile on her face even through the exasperation. She held up a finger and counted along as she answered each question. “There are shipwrecks, yes. But treasure-filled ones are rare. It’s usually a big deal when someone finds a new one. No, you can’t see the other side, it just goes on and on, in every direction, a lot like The Grass Sea actually. And yes, it’s super salty… I don’t really get that one either.”

Most of the table muttered something or another in response to that.

“Please excuse them Miss Kei,” Reiss chuckled. “Veldia is insular by nature, and it seems none of them have made it to the western sea.”

Kei shook her head. “No, it’s fine really. I was quite sheltered in my youth, so I can relate. This trip was my first time leaving Edria.”

“Truly? Well, I hope you’ve come to think positively of the rest of the world.”

“I’ll admit it was a bit overwhelming at first,” Kei fiddled with her mug, “but at some point, I actually started to enjoy myself. I think… I think I like the people a lot more out here.”

“A point for Veldia!” Reiss cheered quietly, earning a mock celebration from the rest of the group.

The next round of food came and the conversation lulled for a moment as they dug in.

“Damn Corrin, isn’t that your third plate? And you had that stew,” Wyn noted.

“M’ h’ngry! ‘nd y'one t'talk” Corrin swallowed the mouthful of food. “You’ve had just as many!”

“Yeah but I usually eat more than you.”

“Maybe I’m just going through a growth spurt.” Corrin grinned, rubbing his hands together. “Your reign of height is coming to an end!”

Wyn snorted. “Yeah right.”

“Channeling does increase your appetite,” Reiss explained, setting down his fork. “I’ve already had four plates, and a slice of pie.”

Ayden smirked, gesturing to the stack of plates he hadn’t let Brier take. “Rookie numbers, the whole lot of you.”

Corrin noticed Emryn gave Kei a look he couldn’t decipher.

“You’re just a bunch of pigs,” Melanie spoke up, wiping the ale-foam from her lips.

“Now hang on, you've eaten three plates yourself!” Ayden turned on her immediately. “And I thought you were supposed to be on a diet!”

“It’s my cheat day,” the mage laughed.

“Was yesterday your cheat day too?”

Corrin tuned out the argument and moved on to another conversation. It was nice, they ate and laughed and talked some more.

Soon, a visitor arrived.

“Ah hello there,” a large voice called out. Corrin turned in his chair.

“Tor!” He smiled. “What are you doing here?”

The knight waved a dismissive hand. “Ah I just slipped away to stop by for a bit. Wanted to see how the party was going over here! Looks like you’re all having a good time!”

“Hell yeah! Have a seat, let’s get you something to drink!”

They scrounged up a chair and soon the spirit knight was drinking and laughing with the rest of them, telling them about what had happened during the battle with the Colossus.

“The breath weapon was a surprise,” Tor admitted. “It hadn’t come up in any of our scouting. We were able to adapt quickly, but those first two volleys were unfortunate.”

Wyn tapped his fingers on the table. “What were the final numbers? Casualty-wise.”

Tor looked around at the lively atmosphere. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “In all, somewhere in the forty percent casualty range, but less than half of those died. For a colossus, our losses weren’t bad at all.”

“Was it actually weak?” Corrin asked.

“Yeah, it was. Not the weakest I’ve heard of, but definitely the weakest of the three I’ve fought. That said, the grass made things difficult, and the quality of mage and soldier we had just about evened things out.”

He clapped his hands, “But that’s no talk for tonight! This is a celebration right? Let me get another drink!”

The party continued, and Wyn excused himself to use the outhouse.

As he walked out the door, Corrin realized they’d forgotten something.

“Oh, Tor I guess I should introduce you.” Corrin turned and smiled at Kei—but something seemed off about her, she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “This is Kei, Wyn and I met her back on the plateau, she’s been traveling with us. She’s from Taravast too, what a coincidence right?”

Tor nodded, his eyes falling on Kei for a moment. “Yes well, Taravast is a big city.” He cleared his throat. “So I imagine you intend to head east tomorrow then?”

Corrin blinked. “Um, well I think we’re taking one day to rest up. But then yeah, after that we’ll be heading for Titan’s Pass and stopping for the deep winter, right Kei?” He looked at her for confirmation.

Kei nodded, looking down at something.

“It’s for the best,” Tor said after a pause. “Traveling in the deep winter east of Titan’s Pass isn’t something I’d advise, even as strong as you’ve gotten. And you’ll have the time.”

“How about you?”

Tor took a long drink. “Nere and I will be heading south to deal with this necromancer that’s been mucking around. Then we’ll be recruiting in Elysia for a year or so.”

“A necromancer?”

“Don’t let the name fool you—the stories tend to oversell their danger.”

Corrin deflated. “Whaaat? But don’t they raise the dead and stuff? How is that not dangerous?”

“It can be,” Tor admitted. “But in the end they’re just using spells to manipulate the dead. Don’t get me wrong, Xe’zhul is still talked about for a reason, but there hasn’t been a necromancer even half as dangerous as him in hundreds of years. Most of the ones that crop up nowadays are amateurs, and they don’t last long enough to ever accumulate real power.”

“Huh. Really?”

“Sorry to burst your bubble,” Tor chuckled.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“You mentioned recruitment as well?” Reiss interjected.

Tor chuckled. “Yeah well, it’s part of the job I suppose.”

“I’m just surprised Eldia is still recruiting, what with the war being over and all.”

“A truce ain’t the same as it being over.” Tor’s eyes darkened. “Else we’d have given up our colonies in the north for theirs in the south. So yeah, we’re recruiting. Have to be ready for when those bastards attack again.”

The table grew a bit quieter.

Tor seemed to notice, and he broke the tension with a laugh. “Ah my apologies, it’s easy to forget how disconnected Veldia was from the war. But yes I’ll be heading down to Elysia. I suppose I’ll be able to find out if ‘The Green Death’ is as bad as they say!”

The atmosphere returned to normal as the conversation picked back up again.

The knight continued. “Seems we’ll both be in for some interesting travel, eh Corrin?”

“I just wish veldstrider’s had more room to move around,” Corrin chuckled. “I won’t be able to do much training at all.”

“Sure you can!”

“Well… I guess I could focus on my mantle. But still, the strider is just so boring compared to being on foot.”

“I couldn’t say,” Tor took another sip. “I traveled this way by skiff. Much faster I have to say.”

“Want to trade?”

The spirit knight just snorted in response.

Reiss put his hand on Corrin’s shoulder. “Oh don’t worry, you’ll get used to strider-travel, trust me I’d know.”

“Reiss, I'm only going to be out here another month, not forty years.”

The older channeler winced. “Winds! I’m not that old Corrin.”

“Could’ve fooled me!” A drunken voice called from a few seats over. It was Melanie. The usually reserved mage’s face was flushed—she was well and truly drunk.

“Quite the lively crowd you’ve got here Corrin,” Tor chuckled. His eyes flicked past Corrin’s face for a second. “It’s always good to make friends.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d call Ayden a friend,” Corrin glanced over at the spearman who was arguing with the mage. He smiled. “But yeah, I guess that’s been the best part of the whole trip so far. There was Trell, Finn, Ven, and of course Kei. Wyn told you about the thief in Precipice right? Well technically it was the two of them, and he said she helped out a ton.”

“Is that so?” Tor smiled, but something seemed off about it.

“Um… yeah. Plus, she’s from Taravast so we’ll have somebody to show us around when we get there!”

The smile morphed into a frown. “Corrin if you need someone to—well, I wouldn’t have someone like her introduce you to Taravast.”

“Someone like—why not?” Corrin glanced back at Kei. Her hands were clenching her trousers tightly, and she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Something wasn’t right.

“How do I say this,” the spirit knight sighed. “Corrin, your friend here is Nladian.”

Corrin blinked. “I knew that, what’s the problem?”

“The problem? We fought a war against them for thirty years. They’re our enemies. You’d do well to remember that.”

“But… she’s from Taravast right?”

Tor let out a bark of laughter. “Ha! She might have been born there, but it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change her blood, she’s Nladian. The spawn of that false god.”

“...half,” Kei said weakly.

“Did you think I was talking to you girl?” Tor spat. “Do you think I care if it was your whore mother or bastard father that slept with a devil? A drop of poison taints the whole cup.”

Kei flinched. Her eyes were tearing up. Her voice came out hardly a whisper. “I’m sorry sir, I’ll go…”

She stood up and took a step towards the stairs.

Corrin grabbed her arm.

“Wait.”

***

No no no, Kei screamed in her mind. Things were supposed to be better here! It was supposed to be safe. Where’s Oliver? Where’s—

She looked over at Ayden—he’d helped her before! But he was still arguing with Melanie, he hadn’t even noticed. Even if he did, Tor wasn’t some random soldier in the streets, he couldn’t be bullied away. How many men had she met like him? They could laugh and be pleasant just like everyone else, but when they saw her, something changed.

Why? She’d cried into her mother’s lap when she was seven. Why me? What did I do?

She’d never gotten a good answer. But she’d learned how to deal with it—it was the same way she avoided her father’s mood swings.

Just be quiet, sit still, and let them ignore you. And when the spirit knights come, stay in your room. That always worked… mostly.

Good children sit still, smile, and let the grown-ups do the talking. You want to be a good girl don’t you Kei? Her father loved to say that, and sometimes she’d even earn his rare praise for being so quiet at dinners. So quiet. Quiet enough that everyone eventually forgot she was there. It was better to be forgotten than the alternative.

But why did the rules only ever apply to her? Oliver talked and laughed with the adults—was it because he was a boy? Was it because he was a genius? Or was it because he wasn’t… like her.

Kei somehow managed to control her breathing, she wasn’t as panicked as she had been on the street—ironically, the situation was more familiar. She had to leave the room. If she did, Tor wouldn’t follow. He’d go back to laughing—the dinner would continue, and everyone would be happy, as long as she was gone. That was the easiest way. She took a step towards the stairs, she just needed to—

“Wait.” A strong hand grabbed her wrist—firm, but not painful. She turned slowly, looking at Corrin through blurry eyes. She felt something prickle at her skin, like the air was growing hot.

“Tor.” Corrin’s voice was calm, quiet. But it seemed dangerous too, like a blade. “Apologize.”

Kei’s heart stopped. “No! Corrin I couldn’t! It’s my fault! I shouldn’t—”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he interrupted. He turned to Kei and smiled—but his eyes weren’t smiling. “So don’t worry? Okay?”

Kei glanced at the spirit knight. Tor’s face had hardened, and he stared back at her until she looked away.

“Apologize?” Tor said the words strangely, like they were a new food he was tasting for the first time.

“That’s right,” Corrin said. “You insulted my friend. I can’t just let that go.”

“Your friend?” Tor laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not.”

The air grew heavy, and not just metaphorically—Kei felt weight pressing down on her shoulders and she staggered. It was like someone was trying to bury her alive. The spirit knight stopped laughing. The inn fell quiet, and around the room she saw several others struggle against the same weight.

“Don’t piss into the wind boy,” Tor growled. “I’ve been good to you, so show me some damn gratitude.”

Corrin nodded. “You have been. And I am grateful. That’s why I haven’t hit you already. I’m giving you a chance.”

“You’re—giving me…” Tor’s eyes widened as a grin broke out on his face. “You’re giving me a chance? I think that last battle went to your head boy. You can’t make me do anything, least of all apologize to some little half-breed b—”

Corrin’s free palm slammed against the table as he shot to his feet and the air grew hotter. “Tor I swear to the spirits I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” The knight was on his feet too. His face was red with anger, but he was still smiling. “Don’t make threats you can’t back up.”

At that exact moment, the door to the inn swung open and Wyn walked back inside. “Hey I—”

He paused, sensing the mood immediately. “What’s going on?”

Tor spoke first. “Corrin here is a little too-hot tempered for his own good. You want to get him under control?”

Wyn’s eyes swept the room and landed on Kei’s own. They lingered for a few seconds before swinging back to Tor and Corrin. His hand touched his sword for a moment, but he seemed to decide against it. “I’m not sure I do…”

“It’s fine Wyn,” Corrin said calmly. “Tor just said some things he shouldn’t have. I’m making him apologize.”

Wyn’s eyes flicked back to Kei’s face, igniting purple. Understanding dawned in them. “I see. Then Tor, I think Corrin’s right. I’ll have to ask you to apologize.”

But I never told him… Her heart soared and fell all at once. How long had he known?

“Do you know how many friends I lost to her kind?” The knight growled.

“And how many to her?” Wyn replied calmly.

“I wouldn’t let a bear into my home just because it hadn’t gotten hungry yet.”

Kei’s heart pounded as she tried to pull away. She had to leave. She had learned to leave. That was always the safest option.

But Corrin wouldn’t let go of her wrist.

“Tor,” he repeated, his voice steady but sharp.

The pressure increased even further. Kei felt her knees start to buckle as Tor’s look of amusement curdled into something darker. The table began to shake, and across the room a plate shattered against the ground. A bead of sweat rolled down Corrin’s face.

Tor took a step forward, and a speartip appeared at his chest.

“Back off.” Ayden’s voice was tight.

“I haven’t sent your commendation yet,” Tor said calmly. “I’d rather not change my mind.”

Please… stop. Kei couldn’t speak.

“You’d hold it over my head?” Ayden’s spear twitched, but stayed level with Tor’s chest. “You’re not the man I thought you were.”

The rest of the sentinels were on their feet.

Reiss stepped up to the spirit knight, looking up to meet his eyes. “If you refuse to apologize, I think it’s time you leave.”

Around the room, adventurers began to stand. Some were shaking, some looked towards the knight with fear, but each of the men that had been in the formation—that had fought together in the battle—stood.

Tor looked around, not even flinching at the dozens of adventurers. Slowly, deliberately, he reached for his mug. He finished the drink and set it against the table, wiping his lips dry.

“What should I have expected? None of you even know any better. Too damn ignorant.” He locked eyes with Corrin and scoffed. “That’s youth for ya. I had such high hopes for you.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

Tor’s arm blurred in a flash of gold. By the time Kei instinctively turned, protecting her head, the blow had already landed.

Sparks of black crackled against gold. Corrin’s arm shook from the impact, but he'd blocked the punch that was aimed towards her—or rather, above her head. At the very least it seemed like Tor hadn't truly planned on killing her. Still, Corrin's face was a mask of fury.

Tor grunted. “At least you're strong. That's good, you'll need to be.”

Without another word, the knight turned and walked away. No one stopped him, no one moved—who could? Tor didn’t look back as he brushed past Wyn like he wasn’t even there. The door swung closed behind him.

After a moment, Corrin started after him, but Reiss grabbed his shoulder. “Leave it.”

Corrin’s eyes flashed with rage. “You want me to—” He caught himself as he saw Wyn blocking the door.

“It's over, we can't do anything to him.” Wyn’s fist was clenched. “Corrin, your hand.”

Corrin looked back at Kei, then his eyes flicked down to her wrist. His eyes widened and he released it. “Shit I'm sorry!”

Kei slowly looked down at her wrist. It was red where his grip had tightened around it.

Oh. It hurts.

She looked back up at Corrin. His eyes were clearing as he desperately tried to apologize, but she couldn't hear a word he was saying. She looked at Wyn, who was rushing over to make sure she was okay. She looked at Ayden, who was glaring at the door, still clutching his spear.

Why? Why would they do this for me? She wanted to ask, but a part of her brain offered up the answer she already knew. The voice in her head was playful and familiar, she'd already heard the answer, more than once in fact. But she hadn't understood. Now she did.

We’re friends aren’t we?

Her vision grew blurry, and for some reason Corrin seemed to get even more worried. But Kei felt like she could see the world more clearly than she ever had before. She wanted to ask anyways—wanted to hear the words from his lips, so that they might be more real, but the question tangled on her tongue.

Then, finally, she forced out the only thing she could manage.

“...Thank you.”