Connor woke up on a soft bed in the comfort of his own home. Everything that had happened seemed like just a bad dream.

He sat up without thinking, and a shock of pain pierced his stomach. Far less painful than before, but still there.

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. How could he be so weak? How could he let himself collapse in front of his friends and Korvac? Now someone had practically carried him back here… probably Adelia.

His mind was clearer now at least, and he felt so much more alive. He hadn’t noticed how badly his exhaustion had affected him until now. Maybe Adelia was right, and he should’ve been sleeping more before…

He’d only put additional strain on others because of his own foolishness.

He stood up and stretched. Somebody had changed him out of his clothes and armor. Again.

This was getting ridiculous.

He lifted up his shirt and inspected his scar. It was now just a thin line, and the pain was almost gone. What deal had Adelia made for the goddess to be so generous with her magic?

To go from near death to almost recovered already… he owed Adelia a lot.

Just moving felt easier than it had in what felt like months. Hunger gnawed at his insides, and his stomach growled. How long had he been out? He left his room and went down the stairs.

Papers rustled in the kitchen. Adelia and Vadik sat, hunched over a table piled high with documents. Connor checked his bottomless bag and found everything he’d taken from Bvorn’s office was missing.

He stood in the doorway and just stared at them. What should he say?

Should he apologize for falling apart on them? For not listening to Adelia and The Priestess? For ignoring them when they told him to get some rest?

“Are you going to help us sort through this crap, or are you just going to stand there all day?” Vadik asked without looking up.

“I’m glad to see you’re looking so much better,” Adelia said, “we weren’t sure when you would be up. We were just about to have a late lunch.”

“What? Again?” Vadik said.

Adelia punched his shoulder.

“Ah, yes. We were just about to have lunch for the first time today. Definitely. Yup. Can’t wait for the first lunch of the day. Raise your hand if you’re hungry for lunch and didn’t already eat,” Vadik said.

Adelia shot him a glare and turned her gaze back to Connor. Her intense violet eyes were filled with concern.

Connor smiled.

He didn’t need to say anything. He didn’t need to apologize, or even talk about what had happened. They were his friends, and that was that.

He was beyond lucky to have them both on his side. What would he ever do without them?

“I’ll cook you something, Connor,” Adelia said.

Vadik went pale. “Don’t you think he’s been through enough?” he said, “I can cook if he needs it…we just got him back, and I’d rather keep him alive.”

“Your cooking isn’t any better than mine,” Adelia said.

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“Hey, I’m not saying my cooking is great or anything, but the mortality rate is lower that’s for sure,” he said.

Adelia growled, and Connor laughed “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “I can cook for myself.”

“Are you sure you can handle that?” Vadik asked.

Adelia punched him again.

“Ow! What did I say? I was just asking if he felt up to it!” Vadik said.

“Oh,” Adelia said, “well that can be for next time then.”

“I’m fine,” Connor said.

They both looked at him.

“I know I’ve been saying that a lot lately, but I really am. I feel a lot better and well rested. Just really hungry,” he said.

He went into the pantry. The shelves were packed with more food than the three of them could eat in months. New preservation crystals lined the shelves, keeping the food fresh with their magic.

“Gods! How long was I out!” he shouted.

He heard loud laughter from the kitchen. “I told you! You went way overboard,” Vadik said.

Connor came out with bacon, eggs, and some spices.

“Seriously? How long was I out?” he asked.

“Only about fourteen hours or so,” Adelia said.

Vadik was still laughing.

“Where did all this food come from then?” Connor asked.

“I went shopping,” Adelia said.

“You even bought preservation crystals? There are rare delicacies in there too! It must have cost a fortune, and how did you even get all of it back here?” Connor asked.

“I can afford it,” Adelia said, “and I hired some discreet help.”

Vadik laughed so hard he struggled to breathe, and a tear rolled down his cheek. “She ordered Illyian to send his men on a supply mission. She had Victor’s agents all over the city buying enough ham and cheese to feed a small army!” Vadik said.

“It isn’t that much!” Adelia said.

“Then she had them do dead drops so nobody would know when I went to pick them up!” he said.

“It’s good to be cautious. Imagine what would happen if The Syndicate found our safe house?” Adelia said.

“I had to walk around the city for hours after I picked up the packages because you didn’t want me to be followed! My legs hurt!” Vadik complained.

“Just be glad you could use Connor’s bottomless bag to carry it all, and with the preservation crystals the food will keep nicely anyway,” she said.

“Well, thanks, Adelia,” Connor said as the bacon sizzled and filled the house with a mouth-watering aroma.

“Oh sure, don’t thank me,” Vadik said, “I was only the one walking around the city all day.”

“You complain too much,” Adelia said, “it only took you six hours or so. It shouldn’t even have taken you that long. You were dawdling.”

Vadik grumbled something under his breath.

“When you spoke with Illyian, did you get a chance to ask him if he’d found anything?” Connor asked.

“He said he spread the word like you asked, but that he hadn’t found anything on The Syndicate, or where Victor’s been taken.”

“I was afraid of that,” Connor said.

Soon, Connor was tucking into a delicious breakfast.

Vadik stared at the heaps of food on Connor’s plate with envy plain on his face. “Damn that looks good. I should’ve waited for you to do the cooking,” he said.

“Why?” Connor asked as he shoved another forkful of food into his mouth, “did she cook?”

“Humph, as if I would ever cook for him,” Adelia said.

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that,” Vadik said, “no, she made me cook my own food. She was willing to cook for you though. Did you do something to piss her off?”

The three of them joked around and talked some more as Connor ate. For the first time in what felt like an age, he was relaxed and comfortable.

“Any luck with this mess?” Connor asked, gesturing to the papers strewn everywhere.

“Are you kidding?” Vadik said, “its all encoded, and I mean all of it. Not to mention, you incinerated what was almost certainly all the most important stuff.”

“You could’ve kept him at the door a little longer,” Connor said, “I almost had it.”

“What was I supposed to do? Strip down and dance naked for him?” Vadik asked.

Connor chuckled. “That would have been very distracting,” he said.

“And repulsive,” Adelia added, “I’m sure that would have sent them all running away screaming.”

“See? If you’d just thought of this back when it would have been useful, we wouldn’t have this problem now,” Connor said.

“Ha-ha, you’re hilarious,” Vadik said flatly.

Connor finished off the last of his food and joined them in sorting through the documents.

Finding a needle in a haystack would’ve been easier.

They poured over the documents until their eyes hurt from staring at what looked like gibberish for too long.

They kept at it all day, and into the night until he struggled to keep his eyes open.

He still hadn’t caught up on all the sleep he’d lost, and the healing magic continued to take a heavy toll on him.

This time though, he went to bed.

Letting himself get utterly exhausted until he collapsed again wasn’t going to do Victor any good. He had to be at his best.

He dreamed of his parents being taken away from him, and Victor being torn apart in front of his eyes.

It wasn’t a restful sleep, but it was something, and he would take it.