Liv was able to get in contact with Lyle via email. In fact, he had been sleeping still when she sent him the details for the plan that night. She would meet him and Trent at the Moonlight Sonata headquarters, which disappointed his hope for a ride. Fortunately the headquarters were only a short bus ride into downtown and a minute’s walk away.

The email described the dress as business-casual, which meant he wasn’t sure what to expect. He ended up dressed in a navy blue button down with tiny little stars dotting it and a pair of his nicest gray jeans. With his slightly increased muscle mass, they actually fit remarkably well, and he admired his outline in the mirror for a moment before laughing at himself and pulling on a pair of brown Oxfords that matched his belt. They technically belonged to his father, but Stephen didn’t currently have any use for them.

He finger-brushed his hair into shape then put a spritz of cologne on his wrists and touched them to his neck. He’d bought the bottle on a whim more than a year ago, but he’d rarely had occasion to use it. Now was as good a time as any, dressed to impress as he was. Besides, he liked the smell.

He’d also Googled Morgan, and he couldn’t help but want to present his best self to the woman who ran the most successful guild in Minneapolis at twenty-two.

After a quick dinner of heated leftovers, he was out the door, only to trip over a package on the stoop. He leaned down to pick it up and saw that his name was on it. He brought it back into the kitchen and put it on the table.

“What’s that?” his mom asked, walking into the kitchen with a canvas bag filled with a few notebooks. She looked curiously at the package, and Lyle shrugged.

“Not sure.”

“You didn’t order anything?”

“Nope.”

“Maybe someone sent you a gift.”

Lyle laughed. “I think most of my friends would at least tell me they were sending something.”

Delylah shrugged. “You never know. Maybe a secret admirer.”

“I don’t have any of those.”

“Obviously you wouldn’t know. They’re called secret admirers for a reason. Open it up! I’ll give you some privacy.”

“That’s—” Lyle started to say, but she was already walking out of the room. He smirked. She probably had something else to do anyway, and was just giving him a hard time. Maybe it was another gift from Tiamat, in which case it was good she had left, though not for the reason she thought. A part of him hoped it wasn’t, though. He didn’t know how many more of her gifts he could handle.

Lyle walked over to a drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors, then sliced open the tape and peeled apart the package. Styrofoam and more tape blocked his view, so he started cutting them away, too. Finally, Lyle lifted the object within out of its protective wrappings.

Lyle’s jaw dropped at the sword that was revealed.

The blade was incredibly sleek and razor-sharp, and a thin groove ran along the middle. It was colored matte black and textured like stone, but when he tilted it in the light, shining dragons appeared along its two foot length. The guard and pommel were blue, while the grip was black like the blade. Lyle’s father’s sword was incredibly utilitarian in comparison—it was functional, but this new blade was a masterpiece.

Lyle set it carefully on the counter, and pulled a note from within the package.

Your reward, it read. The lagoon is your next challenge. There was a stylized dragon’s head at the bottom of the note, but that was all. His reward for… completing the labyrinth? That must have been it. If so, perhaps he’d be trying the next one sooner than he thought.

He reached out towards it with his magic, but nothing happened. It wasn’t a Token, more was the pity. Still, it was an incredible weapon, and would serve him well. He wouldn’t be needing it tonight, though, so he hid it in his room and left the house once more. A short ride from the nearby bus stop brought him to the Moonlight Sonata headquarters within a half hour of leaving.

Like the DOER office where Lyle had worked, Moonlight Sonata was located in a steel and glass office building, though it took up the top eight or so floors instead of the bottom three and basement. Part of the space occupied was a penthouse where Morgan Trelis apparently lived, and much of the other top floors also provided housing for their most important and powerful members.

Liv and Trent were nowhere to be seen as of yet, so he took a seat in the lobby and waited.

As he waited, Lyle entertained himself by watching the people rushing about. He imagined that during the day this building got much more traffic, but even at nearly eight in the evening it was lively. Perhaps it had to do with the party in the penthouse, but there were sixty or seventy stories even besides those of Moonlight Sonata, so it made sense to him that at least a few people would be around at all times.

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One person caught his eye in particular. It was a tall, sharply dressed man with sharp, discerning eyes and short, dark hair. He was staring at Lyle with confusion painted across his face, like he was trying to place Lyle in a half-forgotten memory. He looked familiar to Lyle, too, but he wasn’t sure why.

Why are you staring at me? he wondered, meeting the man’s gaze. The man looked away immediately, embarrassed to have been caught, then stood up from his seat across the lobby. He looked to the elevator, then stopped as he seemed to realize something mid-stride.

“Hey, Lyle!”

Lyle jerked his head away from the Ember, catching sight of Liv and Trent by the door. He jumped upright and hurried over to the two of them.

“Hey, guys,” he greeted them.

“You ready to—”

“Excuse me?” a voice interrupted Liv.

Lyle turned and saw the man who’d been staring at him. “Yes?”

“Aren’t you the guy who caught Daisy for me?”

Lyle suddenly remembered who the man was. “Oh! I knew you looked familiar, but so much has happened in the last few days that I couldn’t quite place you. How’s it going? Daniel, right?”

The man smiled and held out his hand, which Lyle shook. “You do remember! Yeah, it’s going good. Daisy’s being a crazy little furball still. I did end up taking your advice and hiring someone to take her to the park a few times a week, though. That’s definitely helping.”

“Glad to hear it! Yeah, she’s super cute.”

“Lyle, you know Daniel?” Liv asked.

Daniel wrapped an arm around Lyle’s shoulder and grinned. “We go way back, like two days. He saved my dog!”

Liv’s eyes widened. “Oh! That’s awesome. That he was able to help, I mean, not that she needed saving. I didn’t know you had a dog.”

“Yeah, this is her,” Daniel said, pulling his phone from his pocket and showing them the lock screen. It had a picture of an unfamiliar brown-haired man holding Daisy as if she were a puppy, even though she was clearly full grown already. Her tongue was lolling out of her mouth and she looked very happy.

“You know Daniel, too?” Lyle asked Liv.

“Yeah, of course. He’s a guild rep for Shadow Vandal. You’re probably here for the party tonight, right, Daniel?”

Shadow Vandal was based in the Twin Cities like Moonlight Sonata, so it made sense that they maintained good relations. Unlike Moonlight Sonata, though, Shadow Vandal was based out of Saint Paul instead of Minneapolis. Both were among the top five local guilds in terms of power and licensure of the highest floors in the Rice Tower.

“Yeah,” Daniel said, putting his phone away. “Just came to drop in for a bit and say hi to everyone.”

“Cool, well… do you all want to head up together?”

All around there were nods of assent, and Liv and Daniel led Lyle and Trent to the elevator.

***

Morgan Trelis’ penthouse was gorgeous. Hardwood floors, colorful artwork from a variety of styles covering the walls, and a wide, curved staircase that led up to a balcony with a glass half-wall greeted the trio as they entered the large space that would be the center of the party. An enormous segmented window filled the entire curved wall, displaying a beautiful view of the skyline and beyond. With the night approaching and lights filling the darkness, Lyle imagined it would soon look like a galaxy filled with stars. He couldn’t help but stare, appreciating the view.

Several other groups of brightly colored people—all Embers—were congregating and conversing, but one person broke away and came to greet them, distracting him.

“Liv, glad you came!” she said. The woman bounced over to them, taking Liv excitedly by the arm. An ear-to-ear grin warmed Liv’s face.

Lyle had to clench his jaw to keep it from falling open. The pictures online didn’t do Morgan justice—she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She easily competed with Camille, although the two looked completely different. She was almost as tall as Lyle, and had a long mane of shockingly red hair. It flared out around her diamond-shaped face and draped down her back in waves, where it waved lightly when she walked. Her eyes were a vibrant green that leapt out of her face, made all the more obvious by a hint of dark eyeshadow. Lyle half wondered if she was wearing contacts to achieve such brilliance.

The dress she wore only accentuated her beauty. It was a thin black material trimmed with a red not unlike her hair that flowed from the corners of the fabric into spirals on her body, and it draped off of her loosely, not doing much to hide her perfect curves and obvious fitness. It had a plunging neckline and left her shoulders, arms, and back uncovered, revealing smooth stretches of colorfully tattooed skin that pulled at Lyle’s gaze like a magnet. Her body was like a canvas that she was happy to show off, stylized flowers on her leg and chest. The silhouettes of ravens covered one arm, and a geometric owl sat perched on her other. She wore simple black flats adorned with unobtrusive green ribbons.

In addition to being one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen, she was also one of the most colorful people Lyle had ever seen. He could have stared at her all night, and his heart skipped a beat when she gave them a dazzling smile.

“Morgan, hey,” Liv greeted her happily. “Good to see you.”

“Who are your friends?” Morgan asked after she pulled back from hugging Liv. Her voice was surprisingly deep and rich, and Lyle thought he could listen to it forever. “You didn’t want to bring your husband?”

“He’s out of town,” Liv explained. “This is Lyle Margrave, and the big guy is Trent James. I met them in the Tower yesterday—we did the second floor together over at Rice Lake.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Lyle and Trent!” Morgan said, shocking Lyle when she gave each of them an enthusiastic hug. He felt her warmth through his clothes, and he couldn’t help but relax a little bit. Her touch was casual, and comforting.

“Likewise, Miss Trelis,” Trent replied.

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Lyle said, giving her a friendly smile.

“Oh, please, call me Morgan,” Morgan said with a laugh. She took a deep breath in and leaned forward a bit, her eyes landing on Lyle. “Mmm. Something smells good. You trying to catch my attention?”

Lyle laughed, going for casual and probably managing to keep his nervousness out of it. “Maybe I like the smell!”

Morgan laughed, too, then turned and waved them along with her into the kitchen.

Lyle followed, unable to wipe the smile from his face. It struck him all of a sudden that he was very glad he’d come. Daniel split off from them with a friendly wave after Morgan said hello to him as well, and Lyle entered the kitchen with Morgan, Liv, and Trent, admiring the painted skin of Morgan’s muscular back while they walked. Not only was she beautiful, but the woman radiated power and charisma, and despite her infectious enthusiasm, it was obvious to Lyle that she was perfectly aware of every move she made. It was no wonder her guild was successful.