“You know,” Huan did another pull on the oars, “you could help.”

Gold’s mask didn’t turn away from the riverbank.

Sighing under his own mask, Huan kept rowing.

I suppose I should be grateful.

The wind mage had plucked him out of the fog that that witch had conjured and saved him from the clutches of both his sister and the authorities, but it galled him that he’d been caught at all. There’d been no recognition in Dwayne’s eyes, not a hint of canniness in the boy’s stance and yet he’d set his witch hound on Huan’s heels.

You should have killed her.

Huan dismissed the beast’s “advice.” Setting aside the fire mage, killing Magdala would have marked Huan as the number one target of Magdala’s singularly terrifying parents. That was why. Not the fact that he still found himself scrubbing his hands after spilling that windsong’s blood. That was unrelated.

The beast didn’t care. You should have killed her.

No, I should have run.

As thankful as he was that Gold had saved him, her presence tonight meant Granite no longer trusted him, and this failure wouldn’t change that. That said, between thieving and murdering and half-hearted guarding, he’d already made enough coin to buy passage south. Before winter came, he could be in Vanuria before winter came, free as a bird.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Gold pointed. “There.”

Her finger indicated another, much larger boat making its way upriver. A few oar strokes soon had their boat alongside it, where hooks and ropes hauled up onto the deck. When Gold and Huan put boots to deck, they joined Kay, Granite, Clay, and a recent silvery-masked addition Zircon.

“Sky.” Granite’s hands were clasped behind their back. “You failed.”

Huan gritted his teeth. “I had it in my hands, but that witch took it.”

“Why you sent Sky to retrieve the License Key, I’ll never know.” Zircon’s sneer was obvious even beneath his mask. “He’s hardly demonstrated reliability of late.”

Huan snarled. “Let’s see you take on a mage and win!”

“Ha, my company could-”

“Enough.” Granite gestured to Kay. “Ash, your report.”

“Yes, sir.” Kay straightened up, wincing as he put weight on his injured foot. “Tonight, Mei Ma broke into Sen Jerome’s.”

Those words staggered Huan. “That’s impossible! She’d never do something like that.”

“Oh?” Zircon’s arms crossed. “How would you know?”

“Because…” Huan bit down on his next words. Only two people here knew his true identity and he did not want to add Zircon to that list. “Because she’s his Head Guard.”

“While there’s little hard proof Miss Ma invaded Sen Jerome’s,” Granite said, “there is substantial circumstantial evidence. There were two intruders, one short of stature and extremely skilled at close combat, and both found in one of my offices. Gold, did you see Miss Ma on the bridge?”

“No, master,” said Gold.

“Then the black mage is finally playing the real game.” Granite chuckled. “That means it is finally time.”

Her hand reached for her mask.