The stay in Irisil was two days longer than Keke wanted. Cailu had searched high and low for a caravan that could leave immediately, but the carriages they needed had made an unexpected journey to Ronona. That left them at the mercy of the carriage’s return.

It was hard to wander through the obsidian alleys and corridors. Passing the robed catgirls was a constant reminder of Cannoli’s departure. Meals seemed less vibrant without her around. Their typical Party of five had shrunk to three, and the knot in Keke’s stomach urged her that she was next.

Cailu confirmed as much on their next dinner together.

“Keke, you will proceed to [Hunter] as your Second Class; is that correct?”

Keke could feel Matt and Ceres’s gazes both fall on her. She did her best not to squirm in her chair. “Yes.”

“Wonderful. Your prowess with a bow will lend well to [Hunter],” Cailu replied.

“Wow. A compliment,” Matt murmured Keke’s thoughts aloud, his tone flat.

Cailu ignored him. “Our final destination before Ronona is Khasstead. Many of Nyarlea’s finest [Sniper]s and [Whisper]s hail from their ranks. There, we will find you an adequate teacher.”

Matt raised a hand. “[Sniper] is pretty self-explanatory, but what’s a [Whisper]?”

Kirti answered before anyone else could. “More Encroacher than catgirl.” She curled her fingers as if scratching the air. “They’ll dine on your fingers and toes if you let them.”

Cailu sighed.

“Some of Nyarlea’s finest warriors are [Whisper]s, Kirti,” Zahra countered.

“Er, sorry. Gonna need a little bit more than that.” Matt scratched the back of his head.

Keke wrinkled her nose at Kirti’s unkind comment. “[Whisper]s adapt Skills and Spells from Encroachers and Defiled.”

“I have heard they can take on aspects of both! And commune with Encroachers!” Ceres said, clasping her hands to her chest. “In all of my years on Shi Island, I never met one in the flesh.”

“As to be expected. Third Classes are a rarity on the outlying islands. However, should you wish,” Cailu turned back to Keke, neatly ushering the conversation back to its point, “[Whisper] is a viable option once you master [Hunter].”

Keke nodded. She’d met a [Whisper] once when she was still a kitten. The [Whisper] had traveled to Ni Island to help kill a Defiled that wreaked more havoc in Junonia than Elona and Aurora could handle. It had been so long ago that Keke couldn’t recall her name. What she did remember was the woman speaking with roaches to help her hunt and then walking on water to reach her prey.

“I want to be a [Sniper]. Like my mom,” Keke announced, a little embarrassed to admit it at the table. “I…I still have some of her equipment back home. I didn’t want to use it until I was ready.”

“Well, doesn’t that just warm the heart?” Kirti laid a hand over her chest where her heart would be.

If she had one. “My mother was famous,” Keke snapped, feeling a little indignant. “Queen Melasia called on her Party for help all of the time.”

“Ah, mine was, too. But everyone tends to know your name if you’re a [Necromancer],” Kirti said as nonchalantly as if they were discussing the weather.

Matt snorted. “That would explain a lot.”

Kirti’s eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth.

Cailu’s hand shot into the air before any more words could escape the [Witch Doctor]. “Enough.”

An awkward silence fell over the table. For the first time in years, Keke wondered what her father had been like. Elona had stopped talking about him when Keke stopped asking questions as a kitten—he became more akin to a fable than a real person. She’d never met him, and she and Elona were fine by themselves. And yet…was he like Cailu? Eloquently spoken and driven by a dozen different motives? Or maybe like Matt. Kind-hearted and funny, if sometimes a bit headstrong.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

What kind of man had her mother cared for?

Ceres shifted in place, brushing her skirts over her lap, then spoke. “What is Khasstead like?”

Cailu pushed his plate aside and rested his hands on the table. “Truth be told, I would compare it most to Ni Island’s villages. It is surrounded by forests, and the inhabitants use the landscape to their advantage. The city does not require walls for protection like Irisil.”

“Maybe it’ll feel a little bit like home,” Keke said with a shrug. She was doing her best to take any small comforts she could; the distant look on Matt’s face was heartbreaking.

“Yeah, that’s a plus,” Matt added, though his tone sounded detached.

“How far out are we from Khasstead?” Zahra asked.

“Another three days once we leave Irisil. Then four days more to Ronona,” Cailu replied.

Keke absently picked at a stack of meozuna greens with her fork. Her appetite had evaporated. A slow idea formed at the back of her mind, and her ears flicked forward as if responding to an itch. “Do I really have to leave the Party when we get there?”

Cailu furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, could we not just go straight to Ronona and then to Khasstead on your way back to the docks?” Keke felt foolish asking. The idea had sounded much better before it reached her tongue.

“Why would you wish to do that?” Cailu asked.

Kirti sputtered a laugh into her drink. Zahra favored her with a frustrated glower.

“She could meet the queen that way,” Matt suggested. A tiny gleam of hope had returned to his dark eyes. “Seems unfair that just me and Ceres get to meet her.”

Cailu crossed his arms over his chest. “There will be ample time to meet Queen Nehalennia once you advance to your Second Classes. To keep you in our caravan would only delay your training, Keke.”

“The sooner you begin, the sooner we will reunite,” Ceres said slowly. “I understand this is difficult. For all of us. But it is only temporary.”

Temporary. There was that word again. When they were still on Ichi and discussing just how they’d go about finding teachers for their Second Class, ‘temporary’ sounded short and sweet. She clung to the idea of their reunion existing not so far away. But as Keke watched Ravyn leave their number, then Cannoli, it was beginning to feel final. Like their parting was forever.

“Right. Of course. That was silly of me,” Keke murmured.

Matt shook his head as his shoulders slumped just a hair. “I don’t think it was.”

Keke lifted her napkin from her lap and dabbed her mouth. “Well then, I guess it’s decided. Excuse me.” She pushed herself away from the table as she set her napkin on the plate.

Matt moved to follow when Ceres placed a hand on his shoulder and stood. “A moment, Keke?”

Keke blinked, looking between them. Matt shrugged. “Oh. Sure.”

The conversation resumed after Keke and Ceres walked away from the table. Cailu was asking Matt something about his Second Class choice. Keke couldn’t help but tune Cailu out—his voice was beginning to grate on her nerves. The more she considered it, the more she hoped her father wasn’t like him at all.

They padded up the stairs to their room, and Ceres closed the door before speaking.

“I understand this is quite difficult on you, Cannoli, and Sir Matt,” she began.

Keke took a seat on the edge of her bed and crossed her legs. She wanted to say that Ceres had it easiest of them all. She would be with Matt until he returned to Catania. But Elona had always reminded her that wearing jealousy with grace was an impossible task.

Keke remained silent and waited.

Ceres continued, “I did not realize Cannoli would leave our Party so quickly, and I hope to grant you enough time.”

“Enough time for what?”

Ceres reached into her [Cat Pack] and procured a glass vial filled with a clear liquid. It didn’t look like any potion Keke had ever seen. “I am certain my time with Lucia did not pass unnoticed.”

“Not really. But what does that have to do with this?”

A light pink hue touched Ceres’s cheeks. “Well, you see, Lucia gave me this.” She stepped forward and handed Keke the vial.

Keke uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. Light floral scents filled her nostrils and warmed her face. “Perfume?”

“Ah, no,” Ceres chuckled nervously. “Pour a drop on your fingers.”

Very carefully, Keke tipped the vial to its side and watched the liquid slowly trickle down the glass. Much slower than she’d expected. A small circle of it appeared on her hand, and she rubbed it between her pinched fingertips. It was silken and viscous, gliding against her skin with ease.

Then, her fingers began to warm as if she’d slipped them into a freshly prepared bathtub.

“What is this for?” Keke murmured, but provocative images were already starting to form as she slid her fingers back and forth.

“Anything you can imagine. It is,” Ceres cleared her throat, “safe for any use.”

Keke felt her breath quicken. It was a little strange to feel embarrassed around Ceres after their time in Abalone. But the pictures conjured by the scent and warming sensation of the liquid were vivid and personal. “I…I can use this with Matt?”

A knowing smile twitched at the corner of Ceres’s lips. “Precisely.”

Keke touched her throat, and the warming sensation followed. Goddess above… “Could you send him up?”

Ceres’s smile widened. “Of course, Keke.”

Ceres vanished behind the door, and Keke’s fingers trembled around the vial. Even if she wasn’t ready for a kitten of her own, Ceres had gifted her something that felt as if it went against Saoirse herself.

A way to unite with the man who had her heart.

[https://i.imgur.com/72YJTmf.png]