“E-excuse me?”

“Scyla Eorial, at your service.”

I stared at the girl, barely my senior, with confusion.

“What?” The girl faltered, her expression of bravado cracking.

“I don’t know what that is.”

“What?” The girl, Scyla, put her hands on her hips, looking me up and down as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How can you not know who the Eorial are?”

“I’m new here?” I shrugged as I offered up my flimsy excuse.

In fairness, it wasn’t like I was lying.

The girl continued frowning at me before shaking her head as if trying to shake off the disbelief at what I’d said. “Well, be that as it may, we’re still a big deal almost anywhere you go.”

“Right.” I nodded along with her as if what she said was obvious. “Well, excuse my lack of, er, foresight, I guess? Either way, what exactly does that have to do with me?”

Scyla exhaled, pinching her nose, taken aback by the direction of our conversation.

“Look, honestly, I don’t care much about you.”

“Well, that’s a bit rude,” I muttered, chafing at the attitude the girl was treating me with. As it was, I struggled to understand the strange girl, her angle, or even what to make of her.

“The man you are traveling with. I want to know more about him.”

Of course. This is about my master.

“And why do you need to, or rather, want to, know more about him?” I felt myself growing defensive for the sake of my master. While I didn’t know him well, and in truth, it was a stretch to say I even knew him, what I did know was that he wouldn’t appreciate others meddling in his business.

Which brought me to another point: why and how had this girl taken the time to investigate my master?

“If you must know, I want to know more because my family wants to know more. Rugged-looking guys are a dime a dozen, but apparently, your traveling partner went on to meet with some…connected individuals. So, of course, my family was all over it. My older brothers are currently hounding after your partner, but I figured I’d go for his overlooked acquaintance.”

“And what makes you think I’m with him?”

“Besides the fact that you’ve all but confirmed everything I’ve said by failing to deny or even look confused by what I was saying? Well, I had some contacts investigate, and apparently, a kid of your description was spotted with him.”

I thought back briefly to when we had been waiting on our Vilchma bread from the bickering duo running the stand. The thought that we had been watched by someone who had bothered to remember our faces made my stomach roll.

“So you’ve been tracking our whereabouts this entire time?” I questioned, asking what had been worrying me since the start of our conversation.

“What? No. Only after I got out of the bath did my informants reach me. So, would you imagine my surprise when the guy I bumped into just happened to match the exact description?”

I held back a sigh of relief as I heard her explanation, relaxing just a tiny bit.

It was only by chance that she ran into me then.

“What do you want with me then? Are you planning to kidnap me or something?”

“Kidnap? Hardly.” The girl scoffed. “One, I’m not sure you qualify for kidnapping anymore. Second, why would I want to get on your traveling friend’s bad side by harming the person he was with?”

“So, what are you after?” I peered at her between squinted eyes as if I could pierce through her veil of mystery simply by intensely squinting.

“I want to meet your traveling partner.”

“Excuse me?”

“I want to meet him. If even my parents are scrambling to track him down, this is my chance to finally get ahead of them.”

“You don’t have a normal family life, do you?” I sighed, tension easing from my shoulders at the same time.

“No, what gave that away?”

I was about to open my mouth for some witty remark about it being obvious, only to stop dead in my tracks. Her expression was sincere as if she was surprised I’d somehow noticed. For perhaps the first time in my life, I bit back the words that would come across as rude.

“Uh, just a hunch.” I settled upon the meek response, unsure what else to say that wouldn’t paint me in a bad light.

“So, what do I have to do?” The girl questioned, placing her hands on her hips in defiance.

“Do for what?”

“To meet your traveling partner, duh.” Scyla flipped her hair as she spoke, a scent like a gentle rain emanating from her as she did.

I wonder if they offer fragrances in the women’s bath or if that’s just how she usually smells.

Look, it might come across that I was getting easily distracted or something. I promise you, I totally had the situation on lock.

“Well, that’s the thing. Not sure I can help you there.” I opted to answer honestly, sighing as I did.

“Oh? Playing hard to get now, are we?” The girl asked me slyly, shooting me a wink as if she had caught on to whatever game she thought I was playing.

“What? No.” I waved my hands in flustered denial, but the girl had already decided I was being evasive on purpose.

“Fine. If that’s how you want to play it, give me a chance to convince you.” The girl waved her hand, and just like that, she was holding a handful of gold coins, which began to twirl and dance between her fingers.

I had been impressed when I’d seen the bartender do the same trick with the pench my mentor had laid out the day prior. However, seeing the same coin trick with the significantly more valuable golden rost coins, I couldn’t outright deny the sudden temptations tugging at my heartstrings.

One or two dansh, equal to ten pench each, was enough to stay at most inns for several days.

One silver gilly could get you a week and a half.

An entire golden rost could reserve a whole inn for the same period or even a place at an upscale establishment. A single rost could have kept me fed back home for most of the year.

And here she was, flashing eight or nine of them, nearly an entire vaash worth. I couldn’t even tell you what a vaash could get you.

Not because it was too much to comprehend, oh no. Rather, I’d never actually seen one in person.

“Fine.” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “I guess I can tag along for… well, whatever.”

Perhaps my tune had changed after seeing the money she was flashing about. Still, in my defense, that was a lot of money, and I never actually said I would bring her to my mentor after everything was said and done.

“Excellent,” Scyla smirked at me like she had known I would fold. “I’m happy that you see to reason, Mr…?”

“Rook,” I answered without thinking, filling in the awkward void of silence. “Rook Baster.”

“Baster…” Scyla squinted momentarily as I realized I may have said too much. After a moment of contemplation, she shrugged, giving up on trying to make sense of it. “It sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. You said you’re not from around here, right?”

“No,” I answered instantly.

“Well, our family deals with lots of notables. Can’t be helped if names start to blend or sound familiar.”

I wanted to sigh in relief, but I had already nearly given myself away. The Baster name had some level of fame or infamy that much I knew, but I had no idea to what degree or even why. I knew that, at least, it would be in my best interest to watch what I said or risk bringing down trouble that I knew was best avoided.

“So, uh, what first?” I tried to crack a grin and look at ease even though the situation was far from anything I’d ever experienced.

And that said a lot considering my last two weeks.

“You’re hungry, right?”

I nodded, unable to trust my words from betraying just how hungry I was.

“Well, let me show you a bit of my generosity.” Scyla clapped her hands once as I stared in confusion at the gesture.

“What was that supposed to do?” I finally asked after several seconds of silent waiting.

Rather than respond, the girl flipped her left hand to me, showing me a golden ring with an inlaid sapphire. It wasn’t the ring that was especially important, though it looked valuable enough that you could have bought half of Junaper with the ring alone; instead, the runes carved into the ring directly upon the gem caught my attention.

“Is that an enchanted ring?” My curiosity was piqued as the girl flourished her hand for extra effect.

“Oh? Does this impress you?” She smiled widely, the expression anything but innocent. “They’re expensive, but I’m sure-”

“No.” I shook my head, already knowing where she was going with this. “You can’t just buy me over with a ring.”

“Moving a bit fast, aren’t you?” She winked at me, and I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“No, t-that’s not what I meant! I mean, like-”

“Relax.” She was still grinning at me, but she was pointing down the road now. “Our ride is here.”

“Our what?”

Clopping down the street and pulling a small carriage was perhaps the strangest creature I’d ever seen. It had the head of a donkey with the body of a bear and hooves like circular cups that seemed to grip the ground.

“What is that?” I felt my head spin as I stared at the creature.

“Our ride, of course. One clap while I have this ring on summons it.”

How wealthy does a person have to be to have an enchanted ring just for that?

“C’mon.” She motioned me forward as the beast pulled alongside us before opening the door to the two-person carriage.

“But where are we going?” I questioned as I approached the open carriage door that Scyla had stepped through.

“Food, pretty sure I said that already.”

I looked between the carriage and the open street, debating if it was worth trying to run away.

You’ve already gone this far, Rook.

At this point, wouldn’t it be rude to leave?

“Remember, Rook, manners are important.”

“Really, mom?”

“Yes, and even more important than manners is having proper manners when someone with lots of money is involved.”

I involuntarily groaned as I remembered the memory from years ago.

Thanks, mom. Upstanding moral compass there.

“You coming?”

Sighing, I entered the carriage after only a moment of hesitation.

“Yeah, I was just… distracted.”

“Oh?” The off-hand comment seemed to spark the girls’ curiosity. “And what exactly distracts the traveling partner of someone so important?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“You don’t actually know if he is important or not.” I pointed out, but the girl only stared at me blankly.

Right. People who aren’t important don’t usually meet with people who are.

I’d spent a week around my mentor, seeing him as nothing more than a man, magical beast, whatever, of somewhat… questionable humor and alarmingly high tolerance to alcohol. I wasn’t surprised that he had some sway; he was an elevated magical beast. I just hadn’t expected to witness it so firsthand.

“So, what was on your mind?”

I stared at the girl, wondering how much I could or should say, but I finally shrugged; the information seemed harmless enough.

“My mother used to talk about how to accept the generosity of others.”

“Well, don’t think of this as generosity, so much as my attempt at winning your favor, a trade if you will.”

After giving her my answer, it was my turn to ask questions.

“Why?”

“Why what?” She looked at me as the carriage began to pull away.

How exactly does it know where to take us in the first place?

I ignored my own wandering thoughts as I instead addressed Scyla. “Why put in so much effort? You said you wanted to beat your family to… whatever you’re after.”

The girl seemed genuinely amused as she watched me silently for several seconds, over which I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable with her unwavering gaze.

“Where are you from? You’ve never heard of the Eorial, which is impressive given we have a presence throughout every major regional hold.”

“I’m from a smaller village.” I finally admitted. It was the best I could say without telling her where exactly.

“Hmm.” Scyla seemed to consider the information before she waved it off. “Well, I guess that explains things. We, the Eorial, are a family-run ‘business’ empire. Within each regional capital, our interests are led by a family member selected by the family head.”

“So, is the head your father?”

Scyla laughed, the sound reminding me of chiming bells. It was a light, tinkling, pristine noise reflecting nobility and grace.

But more than anything, it sounded forced.

Like she’s practiced for just this sort of occasion.

“No,” Scyla answered, laughter finally petering out. “My father is what you could consider a ‘co-chair’ for the Theronhold branch. It’s my great-grandfather who is the current head of the family.”

“Great-grandfather? Just how old is he?” I was impressed that her great-grandfather was still alive, much less leading a country-spanning syndicate.

“One hundred and fifty-one. It was his birthday just last week.”

“One hundred and….” The words withered away as my brain slowly processed what she had just said. “How is he even still alive?”

Silent momentarily, it dawned on me that insinuating a person’s family member should be dead was perhaps a little rude.

“Err, I didn’t mean it like that.” I coughed awkwardly into my hand, raising my hands in what I hoped was a placating gesture.

“No, it’s fine.” Scyla laughed with the same chiming laughter that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “He has the money for the best doctors and elixirs around. Plus, he is a rather great mage.”

I felt my ears ring at the word ‘great,’ but I forced myself to relax.

A great ‘mage,’ not a great ‘Sage.’

“My great-grandfather is the head of the family, but as such, he doesn’t bother himself with the individual operations of the different branches, not at least since his mother gave him the title of the family head long ago. As I mentioned, our family’s Theronhold branch is managed and controlled by my father and my second aunt. Dunehold is controlled by my uncle, and the branch of our country’s capital of Songhold is headed by my great aunt.”

“That’s… a lot to take in at once,” I answered truthfully.

“Yes, and anyone who rises to prominence in our family receives training in these matters and tutoring in magic arts. It’s what lets the higher-ups of the family live so long.”

“Right.” I nodded. I could understand that, at least. “But you never explained what you’re trying to do.”

“That should be obvious.” Scyla lifted her chin before puffing out her chest as if daring me to contest what she was about to say. “I want to become the head of the family.”

“Excuse me?” I was sure I’d heard her correctly, but it still surprised me.

“You heard me.” She wrapped her arms around her chest with a tight smile. “I want to be the family head. Do you realize how many cousins, aunts, uncles, and extended family are vying to claim that title? My Great-grandfather is getting old. Most in the family figure he has another ten, maybe fifteen years at max. The different family factions are making moves already, positioning themselves as the front contender to become the next family head.”

“So what makes you think you can claim it yourself?”

The girl stared at me as if I had spoken nonsense.

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, like,” I was suddenly at a loss for words, my hands wordlessly moving about the air as I floundered. “You’re what, eighteen?”

“Nineteen.” The girl answered defensively.

“You’re barely older than me. If you have as much family as you do, who have as much experience as you’ve made it sound, what makes you think you can reach that point in only ten or fifteen years?”

Scyla stared at me, her eyes hard as if trying to bore through me with her expression alone, until she finally relented her gaze with a simple shrug.

“Rook.”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t have much for ambition, do you?”

“I-” I wanted to answer, to deny what she said, but as I considered what she said, I had to admit she was right.

My entire life, my entire ‘ambition’ if one could call it that, was simply to leave Junaper behind, a childhood spent listening to stories of the wider world, making me yearn for something different.

I’d found my dream, leaving behind the village I’d known all my life. It wasn’t exactly in the fashion I’d intended, but it had happened one way or another.

So what now?

I had no major short-term ambitions. My mentor himself had told me he had only brought me on as an apprentice for that reason and that the few ‘goals’ I did have would be things I’d be better putting aside for further into the future.

“I guess not.” I finally sighed in defeat.

“Well, I do.” She puffed her chest out defiantly, ready to challenge the heavens themselves to a fight. “I’m going to be the greatest mage to ever live.”

“Really?” I snorted, taken aback.

“Yep! And to do so, I need to raise my entire family with me. You know what they say, a high tide raises all boats.”

“I’ve never heard that before.” I shook my head.

“Well, it’s true. I’m going to rise in the family to the very top and drag my entire family up with me if I have to. We are content with our position within Haerasong. We’re like unofficial nobles. But that isn’t enough for me.”

“What do you guys do anyway?” I narrowed my eyes as I realized she had avoided mentioning it until now.

“Oh, you know.” She waved her hands vaguely.

“I don’t,” I said flatly.

“It’s in our name. Do I have to spell it out?”

“Oh. Ohhhh.” I nodded.

“Yeah.” She laughed, this one sounding a tad huskier, lower, and unrefined.

Basically, it sounded natural.

“We officially control the business of eighty-five percent of all bathhouses throughout the country.”

“Prostit- wait, what?” My head snapped back as if I had been struck. “Bathhouses?”

“Yeah, what did you think I meant?”

“I just thought- never mind.” I shook my head. “But excuse me when I say it doesn’t seem like it should be enough to be that important.”

“Oh, it’s not.” She said cheerily. “You know the great thing about bathhouses?”

“What?”

“They just happen to be great places to learn new things.”

Oh.

I finally put together the pieces.

Officially speaking, the Eorial were nothing more than a bathhouse enterprise, but the truth ran deeper than that.

If I understood things correctly, their real business venture was the world of information brokerage. I’d even warrant the bet that they involved themselves in many parallel-aligned fields.

“Well, that explains how you got information about me, about us.” I waved my hand vaguely, referencing my mentor, whose whereabouts I was clueless about.

“Mhmm. Oh, by the way, I should mention that it looks like we’ve arrived.”

“Arrived?” I stared at the girl, confused.

“Yes, ‘arrived’ as in, we’ve reached the restaurant. I did mention we were getting food, did I not?”

For the first time, I pulled aside the tiny current blocking the view outside the window of the small carriage, taking in the scenery before me.

No longer were we in the lower portion of the city where the buildings had been a mishmash of stone and wood with dirt roads and sprawling electrical wires. In the upper part of the city, it was as if every building was cut from ornate black and white marble inlaid with beautiful gems and gold leaves.

“Where are we?” I whispered as I took in the visa.

“Uptown. It’s where the wealthy live and do business.”

“Well, I could guess that,” I muttered, my eyes refusing to believe the sheer wealth disparity between the lower regions of Theronhold with the wealthy Uptown. Craning my neck, I could see why where the name came from, Uptown overlooked the rest of the sprawling metropolis from its position upon the peak of the gradually climbing hills the city had been founded upon.

“Anyway, c’mon. Even for my family, getting in without reservations can be a bit of a hassle.”

“Reservations?” I tested the word, unfamiliar with the context of how she had used it.

“Yes, reservations, you know, when you schedule a visit to a restaurant ahead of time?”

“Restaurant?” I questioned, doing my best to look the part of a clueless country bumpkin.

“Oh boy.” She placed two fingers over her brow as she shook her head. “Just come with me.”

“Whatever you say.” I watched as she pushed open the carriage door on her side, scooting out. I followed her, admittedly less gracefully. Stepping out from her side, I took in the building I hadn’t seen from my window. It was small, but it somehow gave the impression of a large hall, spiraling carvings of vines in the marble of the building, two words spelled out in gold leaf above the mahogany door.

“Rentus Aulus? That doesn’t sound right.” I frowned as I stared at the words. Common sense suggested the name was derived from the words of power representing earth and water, except the spelling was off, like it was named by someone who’d only heard the words once and had only partially remembered them.

“It’s supposed to be a linguistic take on the magic for earth and water, except in this case, Aulus is meant to reference the sky since there is no specific word for it.”

“Earth and sky.” I pondered it aloud before an inkling of an idea came to me. “As in Heaven and Earth?”

“Bingo.” Scyla winked at me before looking at the words emblazed upon the gold leaf. “As there is no formal language utilizing the words of power, they took creative liberties in bastardizing their original meaning and spelling.”

“You seem pretty well versed in the history of magic.” I nodded as we headed toward the front door, guarded by a large-looking man.

“Of course. I already told you I want to be the greatest mage one day.”

Well, have fun telling that to the Sage Above All.

I kept the thought to myself, opting to merely nod at the girl.

“What about you? For someone who says they are from a small village, it sounds like you know something about magic.”

Whoops.

I had so casually questioned her knowledge of magic that I inadvertently advertised my magical knowledge.

“Wait,” Scyla froze where she stood before slowly turning to face me. “Is that what your traveling partner is? A magic tutor of some sort? No, wait, I take that back. That alone doesn’t make sense. Any old magic tutor wouldn’t be enough to excite my father and family like he has.”

“Uhh, what about the big guy here?” As we neared the entrance, I gestured toward the large man, doing my best to shift the subject.

Scyla shot me a look that told me she knew what I was up to, but she didn’t press me further.

“Hale. How’s the day been?”

“Ms. Eorial.” The large man nodded to the girl before looking at me. “Pick up a stray?”

Scyla looked back at me before turning back to the large man, Hale, smiling mischievously. “You could say that.”

I wanted to speak up and defend myself, but I figured keeping my big mouth shut would probably be wiser.

“Soo, you going to let us in, Hale?”

“That depends, Ms. Eorial. Can you vouch for your… scamp?”

Well, that’s just plain rude.

“How is this for vouching?” Reaching within her overcoat, Scyla pulled out several gilly, placing them in his suit’s front pocket.

“He has been spoken for.” Hale nodded before pulling the door open for us. “I take it you want a private table?”

“You know your stuff, Hale.” Scyla smiled at the man as she proceeded to walk in as if she owned the place.

“Er, thanks.” I nodded at the large man as I quickly followed Scyla in.

“Hmph.” The man grunted as if speaking directly to me wasn’t worth his time.

Rude. Again.

As we entered the dining area, I could only marvel silently as I followed Scyla toward a table seated in a back nook of the establishment. I saw signs of opulence and wealth everywhere I looked, gold leaf adorning the tablecloths, crystal platters, and jade intricately laced within the marble floor to mimic the look of sprawling vines trapped within the ground beneath us.

Just don’t think about it.

Scyla seated herself at the secluded table before gesturing for me to follow as she rested her head atop her interwoven fingers.

“So, I’ve told you about the goings-on here. Maybe a little tit-for-tat?”

“Nothing about my master.” I instantly added.

“Your master? I see.” I could see her greedily drink in the information as I internally swore at myself for unknowingly handing her even more details of the dynamics of our relationship. “But no worries. I’m curious about you right now. A guy a few years younger than myself traveling with someone who is clearly important, someone they just finished referring to as their master. This guy also seems aware of magic when most people don’t even know the words for the simplest forms of wild magic, the primal elements. At first, I figured you wouldn’t be that interesting, that I would be better spent angling myself toward your master. Still, perhaps I can see the benefit to both avenues now.”

I swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva as she smiled at me, a smile that looked decidedly more charming, to put it nicely.

In hindsight, I wish I had spent more time interacting with girls besides Sarah.

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore her dazzling smile and charm as I attempted to clear my mind.

Breath. Just like before.

I inhaled a slow breath, letting it calm and compose me, stillness overtaking my mind, but it was short-lived, as across from me, I heard a sudden quiet gasp from where Scyla was seated.

“I knew it.” She hissed quietly between closed teeth. “You can use magic!”

“Huh?” I opened an eye I hadn’t even realized I’d closed in the first place to see the girl staring at me with feverous intrigue.

“Just now! The mana around you, it reacted.”

“Uhm, I don’t know what you mean.” I lied, which she clearly didn’t buy.

Look, I’ll admit, I wasn’t exactly gifted in the department of subterfuge.

“Don’t play dumb. Mana doesn’t just react by accident to ordinary people. You pulled on it.”

Well, I just wish I had noticed that I was doing so in the first place.

As I exhaled, trying to find an out, I was surprised that the stillness in my mind wasn’t just some sort of imagined state. Instead, it felt identical to when I drew upon mana to initiate the first stages of my Ruptured Body technique.

Oh. Whoops.

So overwhelmed by Scyla’s presence, I’d unconsciously begun drawing upon mana to still my mind. As my master had explained, the technique wasn’t really magic, but trying to explain as much to Scyla would likely be an effort in futility, nothing more than semantics to her.

Now that I think about it, when exactly did drawing on mana like that become second nature?

“Yeah, I can use some magic, I guess,” I admitted. My ‘somewhat’ lacking proficiency in lying would never work on a girl like Scyla, who was entrenched in the art of shadiness. “But it’s not all that impressive.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Scyla was beaming at me as if I was a treasured toy. “But I think I should be the judge of that.”

“Can, can we just eat something first?” I sighed. My head was hurting from constantly trying to guard what I said, which ironically was the root of my most recent slip.

“Sure.” She clapped, and for a moment, I expected another carriage to come busting in through the front door. Instead, a man dressed in a fine suit briskly approached us from a nearby service door.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“We’ll take a three-course if you will.”

The man nodded without another word before quickly disappearing through the same doors that I suspected led to the kitchen.

Scyla looked back at me, her smile telling me she was rather pleased with herself. “Alright. I’m not so conniving that I’ll try to take advantage of you that much. Even if you didn’t mean to, you gave me an answer, so feel free to ask a question.”

Ask a question? What question?

I sat stumped for a moment, unsure what to say. I wasn’t the one with a dying thirst for information. In fact, I was only supposed to be in Theronhold for a few days, just a rest stop while my master met with people for… well, reasons that I didn’t know.

Without any question I was dying to ask, my brain acted on default, blurting out the first thing on my mind.

“Do you do this with every guy who catches your interest?”

Scyla cocked an eyebrow at me, smiling with a hint of gentle patronizing. “I’ll admit-” She gave me a once over before continuing. “You’re cute but still a little young for me.”

“T-that isn’t what I meant!” I stammered as I felt my cheeks flush red once more. “Anyway, I’m not that young. I’m fif- sixteen.”

It was a lie, but only sort of. I was almost sixteen, my birthday was less than a month away.

“Mhmm. But to answer your question, no. Rarely does my family get stirred as they have with the appearance of your master. I was just wise enough to consider tackling things from a different angle.”

“Wise or a waste of time?” I drummed my fingers on the table, wondering how long until the food appeared.

“Well, perhaps only time will tell.” Scyla leaned back, leisurely stretching her arms overhead where her bracelets, a matching set with her choker, clinked about. “My turn.”

I nodded, already bracing myself.

“You said your last name was Baster, didn’t you?”

Oh no.

“For whatever reason, I couldn’t get that name out of my head. Then you show magical knowledge and capability. That’s when it clicked. Baster, as in the Baster family, right?”

I needed an out, but I couldn’t think of any. Telling her anything would be stupid, foolish even.

With that said, the moment she flashed me her brilliantly disarming smile, the answer slipped free as if of its own accord.

“Yeah. My mother is Asalyn Baster.”

Her smile deepened as if the gift she had been given was only an appetizer to the actual main course. “You don’t say. Asalyn Baster. The Witch of the Phantasmal Flames, Warlock of-”

“Yes, yes.” I hissed, trying to get her to quiet down. “Do we need to go on endlessly about that?”

“I’m just surprised. In fact-” Her words were cut off by a sudden clamor from the front of the building demanding our attention.

“What the-?” I turned around just in time to see the front door rocket open, and a man came marching in, his dark mane streaming behind him as he beelined toward our table.

Oh no.

“There you are, kid.” My mentor was glowering at me, looking between myself and Scyla. “I see you weren’t lying about finding something to do.”

“Master-” I raised my hand, but he never gave me a chance.

“We need to leave.”

“Leave?”

“Yes. Now.”

“Why?” I questioned, forgetting all about Scyla.

My master leaned in, his words intended only for me.

“Because they’ve sent a subjugation squad.”