Lochton rose around them like the protective arms of a mother, but they didn't waste time taking in the beautiful sights of the city. Gee had never been outside of Erilea, and she was eager to explore the new colors and peoples all around her, but she wrestled down her excitement to help find the nearest possible inn. She hadn't expended any more energy than usual – she was actually finding today to have been the easiest day of them all – but Brady and Adam looked like they were ready to keel over at any moment. For them, and George who blinked away sleep, she ignored her fascination with the new city.

They bought three rooms at the first inn they found, which stuck out to Gee as a tourist trap immediately. The dining room was nice enough, but as they ascended the stairs to the bedrooms, she noticed the peeling paint and splintered wood floors. Adam had dropped the gold for their rooms without a second thought, which she understood now to be a bad budgeting move from the noble who seemed to be sponsoring their trip. Gee wasn't sure if he didn't know better, or if he just didn't care.

They split into three groups at the top of the stairs, passing keys between the six of them. Gee clung to Nathan's side, feeling the familiar curve of his side fitting into hers nicely and taking a deep breath in his presence. The other boys had been fun and all, but she was longing for his familiar aura. Meanwhile, Adam looked between the little sorcerer, who Gee was sure he was smitten with, and his best friend like a confused puppy, unsure who to choose. But George walked past him nonchalantly.

"You could use a little touching up, come with me," said George to the cadet, and Matt and Adam exchanged shrugs. That was the last thing Gee saw before she was pushing into her and Nathan's room.

It was small, all things considered. A small window was set against the far wall, open and letting in the cold night air and the scent of the forest. Gee took a big breath, so unuse to the smell. There'd never been enough trees around Erilea to smell anything like this before. On either side of the room were two beds, thin blankets and wooden frames reinforcing her suspicions about the price, but at the moment, she couldn't care. They had a room, and beds! They were out of Erilea!

She tackled Nathan into a hug as soon as the door was shut behind him.

"We made it!" she cheered into his shoulder, and his arms wrapped around her tightly.

"Somehow."

"Oh, act happy, will you?" Gee pulled back and saw his face was split with a smile. He looked tired too, but something was different. She cocked her head, trying to figure out what had changed, but Nathan slipped out of her grip before she got the chance.

He began unpacking, slipping out of his dark robe and shucking his boots by the side of one thin bed. Gee followed his lead, but when they began to crawl into their beds, Gee forced her way next to Nathan.

"No, I don't want to sleep with you!" Nathan complained, but as soon as Gee had snuggled in, he put his chest to her back. "You're such a bed hog."

"Well, you're the temperature of a corpse, so this is worse for me than it is for you."

"You can always go to your own bed." But his arms wrapped around her, and she felt his face on her shoulder. Gee wanted to feel happy, but something snagged at her mind. Besides for the times they'd slept in the wooden shack by her stage, and even then, they'd never gotten to sleep at the same time before. They preferred to take shifts. Nathan was settling in quickly, and while she hoped it was because he longed for her warmth and company, she wasn't convinced. He's relieved, she told herself, and she forced the worry from her mind. His hands rested on her stomach and distracted her. You're both safe, for tonight. Enjoy it.

Gee woke up before she even realized she'd been asleep. Her nose was cold and red, but Nathan felt like a warm fire behind her, and his arms still wrapped around her as he slept. They'd left the window open in their exhaustion, and through the breeze, the sweet notes of a song carried to her ears.

She got up without waking him, and Gee wrapped herself in Nathan's cloak as she went to the window. Below them, in the early morning light, throngs of people chatting, singing and eating in the street. She leaned on the windowsill and listened, amazed at the sight. She'd seen revelry before, she liked to create it in Erilea because drunkards were more loose with their coins and less likely to remember faces. They cheered harder when she sent them kisses over the crowd. They were bad at following her to her changing room; her style of revelry was all business.

But here, it felt different. Sweeter, lighter, like the people actually enjoyed each other. There weren't raucous crowds demanding to see a bit more skin, but women and children singing hymns, men grabbing handfuls of sweets and finding their lovers to share breakfast. She started grinning and her fascination with the city returned tenfold.

When she turned around to start getting dressed, she saw Nathan's eyes were open.

"Where do you think you're going?" he rasped, hardly awake. Gee couldn't stop smiling as she pulled on a shirt and started lacing up her shoes.

"To get breakfast, you wet rag. Come on!" Nathan laughed but he rose quickly. Sleepiness never really slowed him down, Gee knew, but she was out in the hallway before he'd put all his knives back on his belt. She pounded on the door next to theirs and heard grumbling. It was locked and Adam presumably had the key inside, so she stuffed her face into the crease between the door and the wall.

"There's a festival happening outside!" She said into the crack. "Hurry and get up!" She was about to knock on George's door when it was opened from inside, Matt staring down at her. He didn't have more than a thin shirt on his chest, and she couldn't stop her eyes from roving over his thick arms.

"Wow." Matt blushed and closed the door slightly. He promised that he and George would be ready soon.

They reunited outside as Gee was returning with a few sweet rolls in hand. Nathan stuck close to the wall of their inn, and she wanted to yell at him to lighten up. He was acting like someone was about to trick him into getting all his things stollen, and she wanted to remind him that not everyone lived the same kind of life he did. Then she thought better of it, considering she was the main reason he lived like that. She forced a sweet roll into his hands, and then to the cadet and cleric as they groggily joined Nathan against the wall.

"How did you guys sleep?" Nathan asked, but Gee noticed he didn't look at Matt. George was looking better than he had yesterday, but it seemed like the early hour was getting to him. Gee guessed it couldn't have been later than eight in the morning, and she'd watched how much coffee he drank each morning. He nibbled the sweet roll.

"Good. Although, the bed was terrible," George complained, then he remembered who he was talking to. "I mean, it's better than a bag on the floor, but–"

"Don't worry, Georgie." It was Brady, appearing in the door to the inn and leaning on his cane. His face was split by a huge smile. Adam stood just behind him, and Gee was surprised to see his turn-around. His hair looked crazy and shot out at odd angles, but the color had returned to his skin. Well, as much color as he had before, which admittedly was not a lot. At least he looked alive. "The beds are bad."

"So what's the plan?" Nathan asked, but Gee let out a loud groan.

"Can't you relax for one second?" He frowned. "We just made it out of Erilea! Matt almost bled to death before we even left, we survived frankly too many hours of walking, and we tested our mettle against wild owlbears; let's celebrate!" Nathan looked like he wanted to argue but George interrupted him.

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"If we don't rest, we won't make it to the capital." They shared some sort of meaningful look and Gee tried to keep the devious smile off her face. "It's the crack of dawn anyway, we can regroup later."

"Exactly!" Gee heard the familiar sound of strings being plucked, and she watched people begin to pair up around them in the street. She wanted to dance so bad she thought she might explode. She held out her hand to anyone who would take it. "Let's be proud of ourselves."

She was surprised to find Brady in her hand a second later, dragging her out into the street. He flicked away his cane and they started to dance, turning in slow circles surrounded by the citizens of Lochton.

Gee had spent countless hours dancing in her life, and her style wasn't exactly as slow as this, and certainly not so easy. But Brady was slow, and he kept watching his feet to stop from tripping over hers. He shifted his weight off of his bad leg constantly, but if he was in any pain, he didn't let it stop him from smiling wide.

"I'm so glad there's someone else in the group who's as fun as me," he said, and Gee couldn't help but laugh. She raised their hands over his head and spun him slowly.

"Me too. If I had to listen to Nathan tell us we're supposed to be saving the world this early in the morning, I might collapse in boredom." She glanced around Brady to see the rest of their group watching them curiously but deciding not to join in with the festivities. From all the way over here, she caught Nathan glance away from George and back towards her, and she couldn't stop herself from giving him an incredulous look. She flicked her head back towards the cleric, trying to convince him with her mind to ask George to dance. He seemed to get the idea because his glower back said something like, Shut up!

"Brady," she said, still staring at Nathan across the cobblestones, "how would you like to be my accomplice?"

"Crime? Count me in."

"I want to make Nathan and George dance together." Brady looked up at her in surprise, instantly stepping on her toes.

"Wait, like you want them to dance dance? Like, holding hands, spinning slowly dance?"

"Yeah! Like this." Gee spun Brady again, slowly.

"Are you and Nathan not a thing? I thought you two were a thing." Gee threw back her head and laughed.

"No. Don't get me wrong, he's the love of my life," Gee glanced back towards the thief, who was pretending like he couldn't see her, "just not like that. And I'd like to embarrass him a little bit."

"Embarrassing Nathan? I can do that." Gee told him her plan and was delighted to see a familiar, devious look spreading over Brady's face. They stopped dancing and wove their way through the crowd back towards the inn.

"Are you two done now?" Nathan asked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. Gee could see he was trying hard not to look at anyone besides her and it took all her willpower not to give away the game.

"Oh, hardly. I just wanted someone a little faster." She started taking his hands, even though he was turning away and hiding them further in his cloak. She knew he was anxiously waiting to talk strategy, like having a task would keep his heart beating, but she also knew that somewhere far beneath his reluctant facade was a kid who used to dance as wildly as she did. In the end, that little boy convinced him to concede, and he begrudgingly followed her back into the road. He wasn't as enthusiastic as Brady was, but Gee knew he was much, much more proficient on his feet. They spun around together.

"I'm sorry for being a buzzkill," he said, smiling faintly but Gee wasn't sure it was genuine. "I'm glad we got out of Erilea, I just don't want to lose sight of the real reason we're here."

"No, me neither." Gee wasn't really listening, since she was glancing over his shoulder at Brady, who was pulling a very reluctant (and dare she say, disgusted) George further into the road. Nathan started to turn to see what she was watching, but she spun him away. She caught Brady's eye as she maneuvered him, and all of a sudden, she stopped. At the same time–

"Ah!" Nathan spun around at the cry and caught George, who had just tripped over Brady's feet right behind them. Gee allowed him no time to put the pieces together before she and Brady ran back to the inn, snickering and trying to hide their smiles behind their hands. They broke through the crowd and met Adam and Matt still standing together, their eyes flicking between the two of them giggling and the other two still out in the road.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked, turning to Brady who was reaching for his arms. He looked like he was about to reject him, but Brady couldn't stop laughing and it seemed to spread to Adam contagiously.

"Don't ask me any questions! Just dance with me, you oaf." Brady dragged him away. Gee turned to Matt, who watched the others with a slight smile on his face. Then he noticed Gee was staring at him intently.

"Oh, no, I don't–" he stuttered, but Gee started reaching for his hand anyway. "I'm not much of a dancer!"

"That's alright, I am!" Gee pulled him away from the wall, but she knew Matt was more than capable of stopping her. He was like a giant anchor, so the fact that he let himself stumble onto the cobblestones encouraged her.

They got lost in the many dancing bodies around them, but Matt kept up. He moved methodically, like he was following instructions in his head on where to put his feet. And he was fast, partially because he got out of the way for Gee and would meet her again when she slowed down. He was like a perfectly oiled machine holding her hand when she spun and grabbing her waist to slow her momentum. Gee thought she could spy a smile pulling at his lips, something deeper and stronger than his typical, polite attitude.

Matt led her into a dip, and she leaned back over his knee, starting to giggle. She could forget everything – their crazy quest, the terrifying night in the forest, watching the animals flee whatever had happened to Adam yesterday – as she felt the blood rushing to her head.

She was pulled upright, and they stood chest-to-chest for an exhilarating moment. Gee was breathing hard, caught up in the adrenaline and Matt's embarrassed smile, when she noticed something over his shoulder. The cadet's smile faltered immediately as her brows started to knit together, and he turned to face what was behind him.

A banner was hung against the wall of a tower, at least ten feet long and with swirling embroidery on a pale blue fabric. It was the image of a golden crown, surrounded by embroidered naked women with wings. In curling calligraphy, the banner read "Wild Festival."

"That's not–" Gee started, but she was interrupted by a hand closing around her arm like a steel vice.

"They're here!" Nathan was on her arm, appearing out of the crowd like magic and looking around wildly.

"Who?" she tried to ask, but Nathan didn't seem to be listening. He started dragging her away, and at the last moment, she caught Matt's hand. His look of concern was second only to Nathan's. He stumbled after them, but after a few strides, he was able to keep pace as Nathan hauled her back towards the inn.

"Who?" Gee demanded again, since Nathan had a bad habit of making enemies. Back in Erilea, he'd been in two gangs, and she had to acknowledge that neither of them seemed to treat him kindly. But Erilea was a whole two day's journey behind them, anyone who would've noticed their disappearance surely couldn't have made it here so quickly. Had he really been picking pockets already?

Nathan stopped suddenly and Gee ran into his back, stumbling as shoulders bumped against hers. He was staring at someone, she couldn't tell who, but Matt suddenly took his hand back from her and stepped in front of them.

"I see them. Nathan, take Gee back to the inn, now. I'll get them off your back and collect the others." Nathan was too shocked to move, but Matt shoved him away as he pushed through the crowd ahead of them. That galvanized him, and they were suddenly running back to the inn. Gee checked behind her and watched Matt bump into someone who turned up to him angrily. His serious attitude was replaced by dopiness as he pretended to apologize and step around him, but he kept stepping into the kid's way. There was something vaguely familiar about the guy pointing up at Matt now, but they dipped into the inn before she could remember his name.

Nathan didn't slow down until the door to their room was locked behind them, and the window latched shut and covered with a pillow. He paced around and pretended to be too busy to hear Gee's endless list of questions, ranging from "Who did you upset?" to "What's happening?" to "Have you gone crazy?" His silence was not inspiring confidence.

A minute or so later, there was a forceful knock at the door and Gee recognized George's voice through the door. He was followed quickly by Brady, who looked shaken.

"What's happening?" George demanded, and to Gee's dismay, Nathan actually responded to him.

"Someone followed me from Erilea, these guys–"

"That's impossible!" Gee threw her hands in the air, anger stripping her of her reasoning. She shouldn't be yelling at Nathan, he was terrified, and he always kept things close to his chest. But she couldn't shake the jealousy of George getting an answer after so many of her questions had been ignored. "Who could've gotten here so quickly?" Nathan cringed.

"We were too slow."

"No one would have even noticed we were gone until a day or two later, if we're being generous! Unless someone was looking for us, who would care that the city had two less homeless orphans?" Nathan suddenly looked away, his eyes trained on the toes of his boots like a scolded child. Gee felt the anger descend from her head into her heart. "Unless someone was looking for us, Nathan."

"You didn't tell her?" George asked at her side, and if it weren't for the sudden knocking at the door, Gee might've exploded. What had her thief told George that he hadn't told her, his best friend, his life partner?

Adam and Matt finally joined them, and the commotion of all six of them crammed into one tiny room gave her enough time to fight for control of her anger.

"Nathan," Gee said, finding her words carefully as silence buzzed through the room. "Who followed us from Erilea?" His eyes rose to hers in shame.

"The Brotherband. They want to kill me."