“Berith is in the capital,” Mattias said.

Ingrid froze. Less at the mention of his location and more at the fact that Mattias knew it. He’d known Alviss, it was an obvious conclusion that he knew Berith as well. She didn’t want to believe it though. The psychopath that had nearly ripped out Alice’s throat in front of her had been with her brother. It wasn’t supposed to be new information. He’d told her himself that he knew where Mattias was, and that he could connect them. Hell, it was what had kept her sane this entire time.

Mattias, Berith, the Dark Zones, the hope that they were all connected had been her driving force for the past month of travel. The realization that all of it was true only made her feel as though she was being crushed under its weight. Even worse, they didn’t have the spare time to properly discuss it.

“Mattias, how do you know that?” she asked, failing to hide her anxiety.

He bit his lip. “He told me. A couple days ago, he and I had a talk. He mentioned he was being sent there to do something with his sister. I don’t know anything else. I just thought…” he didn’t finish the statement.

Natalia pinched the bridge of her nose. “For fucks sake–a sister? Gods, she better not be as irritating as he is.”

“He talked with you? What do you mean?” Ingrid pressed.

“Is that important right now? You guys keep saying he’s dangerous. You act like he’s some sort of monster, so I’m trying to help, and maybe I’ll find out why!” the boy said.

“He tried to kill us! He almost succeeded!”

“And I’m trying to think of that next to the fact that he got me extra blankets when I was cold! Coffee when I needed to stay up! He gave me magic recommendations and started teaching me self defense. I didn’t even know him for that long!” he shot back. He looked down at an old book, held tight in his hands. “I’m trying to picture the person Kallen said he was with the person I know, and it just isn’t working! So I need to see it. I need to see it, and then I can tell you about everything and actually understand what I’m saying.”

Ingrid felt numb. Was what he was saying true? She prayed that this wasn’t something he’d lie about, but the truth seemed even more terrifying. If it was true, it raised the question of why he did those things. What did he serve to gain from Mattias in a place like this?

She gulped, trying to ignore her heart pounding out of her chest. “I–Okay. Okay, I can wait.”

Mattias bit his lip, nodding. “Thank you, Ingrid.”

“...You owe me an apology,” she choked out.

He looked up at her. “Huh?”

“For leaving,” she said, “Mattias… do you even know how scared I was? Did you even think about how dangerous this could have been? I–”

Her own tears cut her off. She couldn’t get any words out. The first few came, and the floodgates opened. She dove forward, crumpling to the ground with Mattias in her arms. Her brother in her arms. Every step she’d taken, every fight, every moment of anxiety and fear and sadness were all washed away in an instant. It was worth it. He was here. She held onto him for dear life, as if he’d suddenly vanish again the second she let go. He could have easily teleported out of her grasp, but he didn’t. Instead, his arms wrapped around her. She looked up at him, barely able to make out details through the haze of tears.

“I’m sorry,” he rasped, “I’m sorry for leaving you there, I–I wanted to do something for you. I got so caught up in it I didn’t think about what I might be doing to you.”

Mattias was crying, holding her as tightly as she held him. “Gods, what an idiot,” he huffed through the tears. “I just–I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t do it differently, I’m sorry I didn’t think, I’m sorry I scared you, I’m sorry I was stupid and reckless and ignorant and–”

“It’s okay,” she said. Her voice was barely a whisper. In spite of everything she felt, she was smiling. “It’s okay, Mattias. It’s okay. You’re here. I’m here. I missed you so much I don’t know how to even explain it. Maybe I’ll be angry later, or demand that you never be this reckless again. For now though, I found you. I found my brother. I found you and for now that is enough,” she sobbed, smiling at him with all the joy in the world.

He bit his own quivering lip, trying to keep himself together. A sob quickly broke his composure as he placed his head next to hers. Ingrid knew they were both terrified and confused. Neither knew what they were really a part of, or what the hell was going to come next. A whole host of problems were at their door, and neither had the slightest clue what to do about them. No matter how much anxiety mounted in Ingrid’s mind, threatening to bring everything crashing down around her, she wasn’t bothered. She knew that she and Mattias were both thinking the same thing. They may not have known, but for now, they didn’t care.

For now, they had each other, and that was enough.

It wasn’t long after Ingrid and Mattias had gotten ahold of themselves that Alice began to stir. Neither Kallen nor Natalia had bothered either sibling as the waves of emotion took hold. Ingrid was endlessly grateful for that. They’d had their moment of catharsis, but people were in danger. She could put herself aside for just a little longer as they figured out how to resolve the situation.

Alice groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around the room, confused and dazed. “We win?” she huffed, a small grin on her face. “Fuckin’ hope I didn’t get that beat to shit for nothing.”

Ingrid quickly knelt by her side, helping her to a sitting position. “Go slow. I could only do so much,” she said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

Her lover grinned, wincing. “Like I just got stabbed a bunch. You?”

“Better now that you’re okay,” she murmured, touching her forehead to Alice’s. The dark elf leaned into the embrace, gently cupping Ingrid’s cheek. “There’s more to be done.”

“Damn. Can’t even take five after that? Brutal,” Alice chuckled, shaking her head. She glanced over at Mattias, still holding Ingrid’s face. “Good to see you again, Kiddo. Hope it wasn’t too bad up here. Weather fuckin’ sucks.”

Mattias gave her a bewildered look. It soon turned into a content smile. “Yeah, good to see you too. I’m glad you’re doing well,” he glanced at the bloodstains, “Well, doing ‘alright’ I guess.”

“I apologize in advance if I make out with your sister in front of you.”

“Took you long enough.”

Ingrid’s face went bright red as Alice doubled over laughing. “Okay, none of that!” she insisted, trying to block out her brother’s smug grin. “We need to figure out what we’re doing!”

Alice took a moment to calm down, holding her stomach in pain. It didn’t wipe away the smile on her face. “Alright, yeah, let’s talk about that. What’s the situation right now? I think I missed a few things.”

“You could say that,” Natalia grumbled, pushing herself up from the rock she was leaning on. “I’ll keep it brief. After Alviss left, Kallen and I beat Shiva. He did manage to escape though. Unimportant at the moment. What is important is that apparently, Berith is present in the capital. We’re not sure why he’s there, but Malori is likely in danger. She’s not my favorite, but I’m not exactly keen on letting that psychopath kill her or experiment or whatever the hell he wants with her.”

Mattias winced at the comment.

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but we aren’t exactly a hop, skip, and a jump away,” Alice deadpanned. “We gun it on the wyverns, we get back there in what, like two and a half weeks? Hate to say it, but if he’s already there, Shortie might be kinda fucked.”

“I can get us back there in about two or three hours.”

All heads turned to Mattias. He was staring at the ground, fiddling with the lock on the journal. Ingrid could see worry etched into his face as he mulled over the options. This wasn’t his fight. She opened her mouth to tell him that, but he cut her off.

“Acyrgos, right? I was there, for a little bit. I can daisy-chain us back. I need a bit to recover between every jump, but I can do it. I–” he took a deep breath. “I kickstarted this whole thing. I want to help. I need to help.”

“Mattias, you don’t–”

“Yes, I do, Ingrid. I don’t know who Malori is, this is the first I’m hearing of her, but if Berith does actually have it out for you guys, she’s in danger. I don’t know how much I believe what you’ve said about him, but if Alviss was trying to hurt you like that, I can at least believe that part. I don’t think you’re comfortable leaving her alone for weeks,” he said. His eyes flicked around to each of them, gauging their reactions. “I’m the only one who can do this. The only one here at least.”

Ingrid wanted to cry again. She didn’t want Mattias to have to face this. If they saw Berith, it was almost certainly coming to blows. Even worse, he’d already apparently been there for days. There was a chance Malori was already dead. She didn’t want to think about that.

“Ingrid,” Alice said softly, “I know I’m not really the expert here. You’re kinda mad at me too. But he wants to do this. I don’t think either of us are gonna stop him. Can sure as hell accept the help though. He’s got a point. No way in hell we’re gettin’ back there in time to keep Shortie in one piece.”

She grimaced. They were right. They were right and she hated it. She took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s find the totem, destroy it, and then let’s get going.”

The group nodded, getting up or stretching to sweep the area for their original objective. Natalia and Kallen headed off together, following the path they’d come from. Ingrid began approaching the entryway that the orc and Alviss had disappeared down when she saw Mattias sheepishly approach Alice.

“What’s up, Kiddo?” she asked.

He gave her a nervous look, glancing down at the book again. “This is probably going to end up in a fight, isn’t it?” it sounded more like he was talking to himself than her.

Alice put a hand on her hip, looking down at him sympathetically. “Probably.”

He bit his lip. “Then… you’re probably going to be able to get some use out of this,” he said. He reached into his belt, removing an ornate dagger with a blade that looked to be made of obsidian. The handle was laced with curved golden lines that reminded Ingrid of a painting’s frame. The pommel looked less like a pommel and more like twisting, roiling shadows in the form of a sphere. Alice took the knife, hefting it. She made a few test swings, nodding in satisfaction.

“Why’dja have this piece on you, Kiddo?”

“It… It was supposed to be for Alviss,” he admitted. “They taught me how to use a knife, and I wanted to make them a present. I found this in the same workshop I found the journal in. I… modified it a bit. I wanted to make sure they’d be able to use it. Um, this is weird, but do you mind trusting me on something really quick?”

Alice gave him a curious look, but nodded.

He pointed in a seemingly random direction. “Throw it. When you do, focus hard on the pommel, like you’re about to grab it.”

She followed his hand, tossing the knife up to catch it by the blade. She hurled it away, then closed her eyes, furrowing her brow. Ingrid blinked. One moment, Alice had been there. The next, gone. Joyous laughter came from the other side of the room.

“Oh no fucking way!” the dark elf laughed. Suddenly, the blade came hurtling from the darkness. It stopped short of hitting a pillar, Alice appearing in place to catch it. She stared down at the dagger, grinning like a child with a new toy. “Okay, yeah. This is my favorite thing ever. This fucks.”

Despite the less than favorable circumstances, Ingrid managed to find herself smiling. Angry at each other or not, it was still the same Alice. Still the woman she loved with all her heart. Seeing her smile like that would never fail to set her heart aflutter. It grounded her. She gave a silent thanks for the emotional bolstering as she left to find the totem.

Ingrid groaned, holding her head. She’d greatly underestimated how sore a failed attempt would make her.

“Still nothing?” Kallen asked.

“We can hear as well as she can,” Alice grumbled, glancing out the window.

It felt far too calm. Malori might have been in danger, they were rushing headlong into what was probably going to be a life or death fight, and here they were. She didn’t know the name of the city they’d seen built into the lake, but they now found themselves on its outskirts. They were in a small, very cramped, and very cold wooden shed. The entire room was filled with shelves upon shelves of fishing supplies, boats, buoys, and other tools that she wasn’t familiar with. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, left untouched for the winter months until the lake melted again. No one would be bothering them here as Mattias recovered.

He sat in the corner with Natalia, leaning against her for warmth. Apparently, she always felt especially warm. The wing draped over him glowed softly to give him light for the journal he was reading, occasionally scribbling something down in a notebook next to him. Natalia herself was far too big to move around much in the small space. She looked miserable as she sat on the floor. Alice leaned against the wall, keeping an eye on the empty street outside, while Kallen sat on a crate nearby, rewrapping her wrists.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

This was their third ‘daisy-chain’ as Mattias called it. He’d gather them, then teleport to a place he’d been on his journey to Reach. Theoretically, he could have teleported them straight to the throne room. It would have been risky though, especially with four other people. The more people he had, the less precise he could be. To avoid any mishaps, he was keeping it to places he could either see, or places he’d been. Places he hadn’t been made it difficult. They’d chosen the throne room as their target due to how spacious it was, and how distinct it was. He’d never been to the castle, which left them with scant few options. Its notability made it an easier target for him to latch onto. Hopefully Gertrud would be forgiving if they managed to beat Berith.

Ingrid clicked her tongue. This was their last bit of respite before Mattias would take them the rest of the way. Everyone was showing their nerves, even Kallen. It was one of the few times her neutral expression wasn’t a smile. With the thought of facing down the one person Ingrid had seen manage to beat her, it made sense.

She’d been trying to get into contact with Colette and Malori, but nothing was working. Even after they’d destroyed the totem at the ruins, the link still wouldn’t connect. They’d hoped it would improve as they got closer to Acyrgos, but nothing had changed. Did Berith already make his move? Were the pair of espers already lying dead within the castle walls, Berith’s gauntlets stained with their blood? It took everything in her power to force the image from her mind. As much as she wanted to try to establish the link again, she knew all it would do was give her another headache. She nearly jumped as Alice sat down next to her.

“Hey,” the dark elf said.

“Hello.”

Silence. There wasn’t a way to have a private conversation in the confined space. Whatever they said was going to be heard by everyone. Natalia’s face was angled away, but Ingrid swore the illian was watching them.

“Nervous?”

Ingrid nodded.

“Same,” Alice sighed, leaning her head back. She looked up at the obsidian knife Mattias had given her. “Alviss nearly killed me. Pretty sure they would have if your brother didn’t step in. Berith… weirdly enough, seems a fair bit more threatening than Alviss. Part of me wonders why he’s even got a bodyguard.”

“I think I would prefer not to think about you dying, Alice,” Ingrid all but whispered.

Alice gave her a soft look. “Right, sorry,” she muttered. “I suck with words at times like these. You know that at least.”

Ingrid pulled her knees to her chest, resting her mouth on them. She let her hand drift over to Alice’s, intertwining their fingers. Alice tensed, then relaxed again.

“I just wanna say that we’re gonna get through this. We’ve been through worse. I know everything sucks, and it kinda feels like the world is ending, but it isn’t. We’re gonna get through this. Just like we always do.”

Ingrid pulled her legs closer. She didn’t know if Alice was referring to their incoming confrontation with Berith, or their couples spat. She didn’t want to ask which. It would just make her worry about the other one. Odd that she considered her argument with Alice just as world-shattering as a meeting that had a very real chance of ending with one or both of them dead. She squeezed Alice’s hand. Alice squeezed back.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

“Don’t mention it.”

Another silence.

“Alice?”

“Hm?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Rather than answer, the dark elf scooted closer to her, placing a thumb and forefinger on her chin. Alice turned Ingrid’s head towards her, placing her lips on hers. Ingrid closed her eyes, melting into the kiss. It was the sweetest thing she’d ever tasted. She placed a hand on Alice’s cheek, separating briefly before kissing her again. She never wanted this to end. It was bound to at some point.

Alice pulled away, far too early by nature of the fact that it happened at all. Ingrid didn’t say anything though. She kept her thoughts of how badly she wanted nothing more than to climb onto her lover's lap and kiss her until all of this had passed. How badly she wanted to just find solace in her arms. How badly she wanted them to be okay. Instead, she turned to Mattias, who had been watching with an excited smile.

“Mattias, how much longer do you think?”

“Probably like another twenty minutes. Taking a little extra time on this one to make sure it goes over well,” he explained, face becoming serious. “You guys are sure you’re okay with this? There might be mishaps. I’m not sure how badly you want to deal with that.”

“Put it out of your mind,” Natalia grumbled. “There isn’t anything we can change about this scenario, risks and all. Just focus on doing the best you can. You’ll do fine.”

Mattias looked back at her curiously. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. ‘All I can do is my best’ or something, right?”

The illian nodded. “A good saying. Where did you hear it?”

He looked down at the notebook. “My older brother.”

“He sounds wise. I wouldn’t mind crossing paths with him someday.”

“...I don’t think you will.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?”

“He’s dead.”

Ingrid winced. To hear it stated so bluntly always took her off guard.

“I see,” Natalia said quietly. “Then I hope that wherever his soul is, he can offer guidance to my own siblings. I think he’d get along with them.”

Mattias looked up at her. “Did you lose them too?”

“I did. A little over ten years ago now.”

He nodded. “That’s around the time we lost Ealadha. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“As am I. However, be grateful that such a caring and kind sister was left for you.”

“She was, wasn’t she?” he smiled, looking at Ingrid. She was certain Natalia was staring at her as well. She tried not to squirm awkwardly under their gaze. It would be a lie to say that such comments didn’t ease her worries a little bit though. Mattias was someone she loved with all her heart. The fact that he knew that and returned it filled her with pride and gratitude.

She breathed a deep sigh, resting her head on Alice’s shoulder. Twenty minutes until the end of the line. The least she deserved was to spend that with the two people she loved the most.

Just like the kiss, twenty minutes were never going to last forever. Far too soon, Mattias closed the notebook, crawling out from under Natalia’s wing to stand up. He placed the two books in a holster at his waist and looked around the room.

“I’m… ready to go,” he said quietly.

Kallen was the first to move. Try to at least. Being bigger than Natalia certainly didn’t make it easy. At the very least she didn’t need to maneuver wings around.

Alice stood up, offering Ingrid a hand that she gladly accepted. Ingrid’s heart sank as she met her lover’s eyes. There was fear there. Shoddy attempts were made to hide it, but it was there. She gave her lover’s hand another squeeze. The dark elf’s mouth formed into a thin smile as they approached Mattias.

He didn’t say anything, only giving them a concerned look. Ingrid nodded. He held out his hands. The lovers’ hands separated, each taking one of his. Ingrid offered her free hand to Kallen, while Alice did the same for Natalia. Mattias looked them over once more, then nodded his head. His eyes closed, and shadows from around the room began to move towards them as though they were being sucked in. The inky blackness crawled up their legs, quickly consuming them in total darkness. Just like that, she was falling. Nothing about her was moving, she was stock still, yet every instinct in her body was screaming at her to find purchase, some sort of stability within the void. She gritted her teeth, trying to keep her legs rigid. The worst part about teleportation was convincing herself that she wasn’t actually moving. Supposedly, one became used to it, and could mix it in fluidly the way Mattias did. She was not at that point.

She nearly fell over as the ground appeared under her feet. Mattias didn’t even flinch. As her senses adjusted, she realized something; Kallen was missing. The human’s hand was no longer in hers. Looking around, she took in their surroundings. It was somehow both relieving and terrifying to realize that they were in Gertrud’s throne room. They had materialized off to the side, under one of the stone arches that supported the upper level balconies. Alice was dragging herself up from the ground almost thirty feet away behind a pillar. Natalia was nowhere to be seen. Ingrid gulped, releasing her brother’s hand. Their two main combatants weren’t present, and they had no idea where they were. Mattias gave her an apologetic look. He opened his mouth to speak, but a voice Ingrid didn’t recognize echoed through the room. It was deep and feminine, reminiscent of Natalia’s.

“It’s been longer than your estimation.”

“I told you to give or take twelve minutes.”

“The alarm was sounded early, brother. It’s a matter of time before this all goes up in flames like everything else you do–”

“They’ll come,” the lax, masculine voice turned stern. “This is just as risky for them as it is for us. Odds are slightly in our favor, maybe sixty-forty, but it's still a risk.”

The feminine voice scoffed. “This is the best you could come up with?”

“Would you have preferred I let your cover get blown and a century of planning go up in flames? This is a necessary risk to keep things on track. Like it or not, our sector had a wrench thrown in. We need to keep things moving.”

“A wrench caused by your failure. I’d be much more comfortable with risks if your shoddy work wasn’t their driving force.”

“Sister. You were recruited as muscle. I was recruited to be a planner. So let me plan, and stop complaining about my failure pertaining to a job I wasn’t even supposed to have,” every word from the masculine voice was dripping with venom. “We could go all day talking about it, I could complain about the shit tier protections you sent me. It doesn’t change where we are now. So put on your fucking big girl pants and do your job.”

Ingrid felt her heart race. Her breathing was becoming ragged. The voice was different. She didn’t know how, but it was different. There was no mistaking it though. Berith was here. Berith was in the room with them. She didn’t have a clue who his sister was, but she doubted she’d be any better.

Her heart leapt as Alice flung the obsidian knife in her general direction. The dark elf appeared in front of them, hand around its hilt. She crouched in front of Ingrid, taking her hands in hers.

“Hey, hey, look at me, Love,” she whispered softly. Ingrid looked at her. “It’s gonna be okay. Take a minute, match me.”

Alice took a deep breath in, nodding for Ingrid to do the same. Ingrid’s heart ached with a mix of love, anxiety, and pure fear. Nevertheless, she did. It was shaky, but it helped. Mattias looked on in concerned silence as Alice slowly helped Ingrid get ahold of herself.

Where were Kallen and Natalia? She hoped they were okay. With any luck they wouldn’t be too far from the throne room. With more luck, they’d be okay. She didn’t know how long they could hide before Berith noticed them either. She didn’t want to calm down, she needed to. Even as her mind raced with possibilities, she matched Alice’s breathing, forcing herself to calm down.

“You good?”

Ingrid nodded. “Yes, thank you,” she sighed, smiling at the woman. “I needed that. I’m sorry for–”

“Hey,” Alice cut her off, “No apologizing for this. I signed on to do this, Love. I want to do this. You’re working through it. I help while you are. Easy.”

“Um, what’s the plan?” Mattias whispered. Berith and his sister were still talking, but Ingrid had mostly tuned it out.

She clicked her tongue. “Okay, I need a moment to think. Kallen and Natalia are missing. Mattias, do you know if they’re close?”

He nodded. “They should be. At the very least, they’re definitely in the building. They didn’t have direct contact, so it makes sense that they’re a little off target, especially since I didn’t actually know the area,” he murmured nervously, “And… that took a lot out of me. Big jump, more people, unfamiliar location, I’m amazed we even got into the right room. I have maybe one more in me that can get the full group. We need to think about when we use it.”

Ingrid bit her lip. That wasn’t ideal. She wasn’t about to complain though. Mattias had done enough already. With the teleportation knife, having Alice be the one fighting might have been an option. She turned to her lover, but was cut off by the voice that wasn’t quite Berith’s.

“Oh for the love of–are you guys going to stop making out or whatever and come out? Or do I need to keep pretending I don’t know you’re there.”

“What the hell are you–”

“Quiet, Sister. So, what’s it going to be?”

Alice gave Ingrid a concerned look. “What now?” she mouthed.

Ingrid’s breath hitched. Steeling herself, she forced her own anxiety down again. They couldn’t afford that right now, whether she liked it or not. Glancing at the other two, she slowly rose to her feet. “I’ll try to stall. We may be able to either talk our way out or buy enough time for Kallen and Natalia to arrive.”

Alice looked like she wanted to say something, but didn’t. Taking another breath, Ingrid stepped out into the open. The throne room was empty aside from three figures at the opposite end. One sat casually on the steps leading to the throne, resting his weight on one arm. Most of his body was covered in tight fitting, light black armor, a mask covering his face. Berith. She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did. Her heart pounded.

Next to him was another dark elf. She didn’t recognize him past his hair that hung loosely in his face, but something about him seemed familiar. Contrast to the other two, his armor was beat up, trashy almost.

The other woman didn’t only remind her of Natalia in voice, but in demeanor as well. She stood almost as tall as the illian, arms crossed over heavy plate mail with carved purple runes. A cloak of black feathers cascaded down her back along with her long silver hair. She looked at Ingrid with pure disgust in her eyes.

“It’s been a while,” Ingrid said, shakier than she would have liked.

“Lilith, let me do the talking? This is an old friend,” Berith joked. The woman scowled, but didn’t argue. She continued glaring daggers at Ingrid. “Long time no see, Ingrid! Glad to see you’re doin’ well. I hear you even got together with the bitch who stabbed my Alviss. Real proud of you for taking the step.”

Ingrid winced at the jab. There was venom in the statement.

“You wanna bring her out here? Don’t think I don’t know you’re here, Alice,” he reached up, removing his mask. A smug grin was plastered on his face. “Although, since we’re here, I suppose I should call you Adelheidis?”

Ingrid looked back to see a frozen Alice. The woman was paralyzed, refusing to meet her lover’s eyes.

“Now, Adelheidis. Éla.”

Suddenly, Alice snapped to her feet. She looked at Ingrid in sheer terror as she approached, every step looking like a struggle. Ingrid felt her mouth go dry. What was happening? Why was her Love so scared?

Berith laughed as she stepped into view, clapping his hands. “Well, well, well! Looks like you didn’t manage to scrub all of it away! Daddy was thorough wasn’t he?”

“Fuck. You.” she growled through gritted teeth.

“Now now, no need to use that kinda language, dear little Adelheidis. Y’see, I wanna have a little chat. One monster to another,” he said in a serious tone. He reached up, grabbing the dark elf behind him and yanking him downard. The elf fell with no resistance, like a limp rag. Berith shoved him to his knees, then reached forward to grab the front of his hair.

The look of horror on Alice’s face grew more dire as Berith yanked the man’s hair back. Ingrid didn’t see him, but she knew where she’d seen others like him. That was a guard from Berith’s camp. His face was completely blank, eyes half lidded as though he was in a stupor.

“Old habits die hard, don’t they?” Berith mused. Even Lilith looked confused. “You know, I was wondering how you got into the camp. Props to the plan, honestly, it took us a fair bit to realize you’d gotten in. Special thanks to Alviss for being incredible at their job. Not the point. The point is, I had people literally good for one thing, and they didn’t manage to do it. Reyes here? One of the best lookouts I had, yet completely silent about any infiltration. I thought maybe it was incompetence, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Either way, I have a feeling you went looking for him during that big brawl, didn’t you? Tie loose ends?”

Alice gritted her teeth. The silence spoke volumes.

“That’s what I thought,” Berith’s smile widened, “We stashed him away in a safe place. Either examine him or punish him. I realized there was only one way you were getting past everything, only one way for you to escape like that. I have a feeling your little girlfriend wasn’t aware, given what Alviss found.”

Ingrid froze. “Alice, what’s he talking about?” she looked frantically at her lover.

Alice shook her head. “No, no Ingrid I didn’t mean for thi–”

“Ah! You had chances to come clean. You didn’t take ‘em,” Berith laughed. “Man, I wish I had a drink. Cheers to missed opportunities and the consequences of your own actions! Let’s hear it for the guest of honor! Welcome home, Adelheidis, the city of Ebrak’s own prodigal enchantress!”