After breakfast, Ravyn marched up to her mother’s meeting hall, her familiar perched on the crook of her arm. There was a discussion that needed to be had, and she didn’t feel the need to make a public display of it. Lara insisted that she join her, adamant that the Elements would provide words of wisdom—apparently Wind liked to stick around Lara more often than the others—and offer a helping ear, but Ravyn didn’t want to hear it.

So she went at it alone.

“You’ll be okay,” Bally murmured.

Ravyn’s heart pounded against her chest. “I know. I just know what expression she’ll wear. She’ll think she’s won.” She began her ascent up the stairs. “Everything’s a game to her. A test. I’m not sure she’s ever said an honest thing to me in her life.” She paused as she reached the top, her hand on the banister. “No, I retract that. She has.” She recollected the day she and her mother discussed her plan to become an adventurer and how she’d confided in Garney. “One whole time.”

Ravyn pushed one of the double doors open. The wood and joints squeaked with her touch, and she poked her head in. As she expected, Emberlynn was perched in the same spot as when Tristan was part of the conversation. Yanni stood beside her, wearing a concerned expression. Ravyn had expected Yanni to look up at her entrance.

She must be getting worse, Ravyn reasoned when Yanni’s stare remained on her mother.

Quietly, Ravyn shut the door behind her and entered the room. A half-finished plate of food sat on the table before Emberlynn. Yanni gently caressed her back as she coughed and hacked into a handkerchief. Emberlynn sighed when she pulled it away and discovered blood on the fabric. She set it beside her plate, then turned her gaze to Ravyn. Her eyes went wide.

“Ravyn. What are you doing here?” Emberlynn asked.

Ravyn paused. As heartless as it could appear to an outsider, this discussion needed to happen, especially with how ill Emberlynn was. Ravyn stepped forward, flicking her elbow upward. Bally fluttered onto the table, his talons clicking against the beautifully lacquered table. He marched toward Emberlynn, keeping pace with Ravyn.

Ravyn took a measured breath as she came to stand in front of her mother. “First of all, how are you feeling?”

Emberlynn groaned. “Like I have one foot in the grave.” She steadied her breathing, and it came out in a hoarse huff. “Do not chase my tail. Why are you here?”

Ravyn furrowed her brow. “I wanted to ask you some questions. Away from Tristan and the others.”

Emberlynn laughed, and the sound devolved into a ragged cough. “You claim I play games, but are you really any different? Going behind their backs, are you?”

Ravyn’s eye twitched, and she crossed her arms. “This is none of their business, Mother.”

“Can this not wait?” Yanni asked. She was dressed in her [Civilian Mode] outfit, and had her hair tied up into a messy bun. When Ravyn considered what a tight schedule Yanni ran, she assumed her company was needed immediately.

“No,” Emberlynn said, shaking her head. “Let Ravyn speak.”

“Mistress, I don’t—”

“Let her speak!” Emberlynn bellowed, then fell right back into another coughing fit. It hurt to see such a powerful woman brought low by illness. “I demand it.”

“Y-Yes, Mistress Emberlynn.”

Ravyn chewed on their words before answering. “First of all, I think you should know what I intend to do regarding Sophia and the estate.”

The slightest hint of a smile tugged at Emberlynn’s mouth. Or perhaps it was confusion. “And what is that?”

Ravyn swallowed. “I think I can make more happen by staying here while Tristan and the others return to Shulan.” She hated the words that fell out of her mouth. They were too polite, too perfect, too orderly. A part of her felt she was being fake; untrue to herself. She’d made a vow that she would never care what others believed. Turned out her mother still affected her. She restrained a sigh for fear of appearing weak. “Once Tristan completes his [Wizard] training, I’d like to spend some time looking through your business accounts.”

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Emberlynn narrowed her gaze. “You mean this? You will stay with your sister and me?”

“Temporarily. Yes.” It was important that she stressed that part. Sure, Emberlynn would still do everything in her power to convince her that staying permanently and taking over the family business would be in her best interest, but Ravyn could tackle that problem when it arose. “I plan to return to Ni Island’s man, Matt, once matters on San Island are handled.” An idea occurred to her—a method to combat Emberlynn’s persistence. “Matt will not take no for an answer. I must return to him once I am requested.”

“A letter to the queen, then,” Emberlynn replied. “Excusing you from his Party.”

Ravyn paled.

“You are a poor liar,” Emberlynn continued. And then she…smiled. “You always have been.” She exhaled through her nose. “I admire that. It means you’re true to yourself.”

Well, fuck.

Ravyn wanted to avert her gaze but held firm. “I don’t know what you mean, Mother.”

“Don’t take me for a fool. You would place the blame on another so that you can leave with a clear conscience. I invented that trick.”

“What do you care?” Ravyn snapped, her impatience getting the better of her. “I’ll be at the estate, just as you wanted.” She clicked her tongue. “Forget it. I had something else I wanted to talk to you about, anyway.”

“And what is that?”

Ravyn plucked the memory of the symbol in Melody’s book, then gestured to Yanni. “I need something to write with. And paper.”

“Yes, Mistress Ravyn,” Yanni bowed before exiting through a pair of doors to the next room.

Silence surrounded Ravyn and Emberlynn while Bally plucked a peanut from the bowl at the center. Using his talon to hold it still, he quickly dismembered the shell and began to nibble at the nut within.

“Why do you not dismiss your familiar?” Emberlynn asked.

Ravyn paused. “Because I don’t want to. Is he a problem?”

Emberlynn raised a brow. “No.”

The silence continued, and to Ravyn’s relief, Yanni returned with a quill and a few sheets of paper. Ravyn took the implement and dragged the paper closer as she attempted to recreate the symbol from memory. Two overlapping hills mirrored one another to form an eye with a black bead for the pupil. Ravyn tilted her head, nodded, then turned the paper around and pushed it toward her mother.

“Does this look familiar?” Ravyn asked.

Emberlynn leaned forward, then scoffed. “One of the symbols for alchemy.”

I got you.

“That’s interesting because Destiny and Lara are both Second Class [Chemist]s—[Alchemist] and [Conjurer] respectively—and neither of them recognized the symbol.”

Go on. Deny it. Play the game, Mother.

“Then they had a poor teacher,” Emberlynn said, her voice monotone. “From my understanding, they were failures at the School of Etiquette, were they not?”

The hairs on Ravyn’s skin stood on end, and her tone turned to a hiss. “Don’t talk about them like that, Mother. That is unbecoming of you.”

“I am merely stating the possibility of why their knowledge may be lacking.” Emberlynn rolled up the paper and handed it to Yanni, her gaze locked on Ravyn the entire time. “Your mistrust is poorly placed.”

“No, I think I know exactly where it belongs. Will I find this same symbol in your books?”

Emberlynn paused. “Yes. You will. As you may recall, I have hired many [Alchemist]s during your lifetime. This is not a mystery, nor is it something I am trying to hide. When Tristan and his Party leave, you may peruse the books to your liking. You will find nothing.”

Damn it. I’m losing my edge.

“Fine.” She turned on her heel and started toward the door. “This discussion is over.”

“Leaving already?” Emberlynn asked just as Ravyn’s hand gripped the handle. “The conversation starts and ends whenever you decide, doesn’t it? Everything works according to your desire, your whim. I detest saying it, but I fear you are still a kitten in a woman’s body.”

“Don’t think that just because you’re sick, you can use it to manipulate me,” Ravyn hissed.

“Shall I give up on my eldest daughter and let my estate fall to shambles?”

Ravyn imagined the place burning up a great blaze and fought the urge to say yes. “This conversation is over.”

Ravyn’s grip tightened around the handle, and as she turned around, Bally recited, “Give her a break, give her a break, squaaaawwk!”

Emberlynn and Yanni tucked fingers into their ears, flinching.

A snide smile tugged at the corner of Ravyn’s mouth as she opened the door. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk it over once Tristan leaves. Maybe you’ll even listen and get to know your daughter better instead of looking at her like a means to an end.” She slipped through the opening, and as she shut the door behind her, she said, “Enjoy your breakfast, Mother.”

image [https://i.imgur.com/ml0PMxD.png]