By the time we left the tunnels and were back on the streets of Galden, Tristan was shivering, and a soft wet cough left his lips every minute or so. I kept my arm wrapped around him as we walked and could feel him leaning on me more and more as we wove through the streets. By the time we'd made it halfway, I was half-carrying him. As we walked, I stole glances at him from time to time. It was hard to tell whether he was getting sick or if using magic for the first time took it out of him, but his face was pale, and his eyes were sunken. He looked terrible.

The other reason I kept looking at him was associated with the giant Vral-sized elephant that was following us through the town. I felt like I was seeing him for the first time. When we'd first met, he was awkward and gangly, with shaggy black hair and the thin body of what I assumed at the time was a young man who hadn't quite hit his growth spurt yet. I remembered being confused when he said he was actually twenty-one, but I always assumed I misunderstood him. He had an accent back then, and we only half-understood one another.

However, he'd changed significantly over the past year, but I realized I'd never noticed. Not really. He'd never gotten more masculine. The pimples had cleared, and his hair grew more manageable, but that was about it. I told him many times he was someone's type, being as pretty a guy as he was, and tonight, the soft curve of his jaw and his thick black lashes looked different in the light of the large glowstones lining the roads. I had a sneaking suspicion Vral was being honest in her assessment of my best friend in this world. I didn't know how I felt about it yet.

A soft cough left his lips. He covered his mouth and paused, then looked at me. He must have noticed me watching him

"Don't stare."

"I wasn't."

"You were." He rolled his eyes.

I didn't fight back. "How are you holding up?" I asked.

He frowned. "I'm fine." He pulled his cloak tight against the thick wet mist falling from the sky. His eyes wandered to the side. He did that when he was lying. That meant it was bad.

"Let's get you back and in a bath. The warm water'll help."

"Yeah... that sounds good right now." Tristan's eyes were unfocused, and he voice was ragged. "Do you know where we are?"

"Not too far now." I guided us through an alley I'd walked down earlier that day, then turned left. From there, I could see our inn on the mountainside. "There it is."

"You have a good sense of direction. I have no idea where we are." Tristan smiled at me, then coughed.

"Always did. Come on. Let's get you warmed up." We walked the rest of the way to the inn. The warm air washed over us as we entered the large front door. An older woman with golden curls and skin kissed by the sun tower orb thing greeted us. I nodded to her and walked toward the hallway that led to our room.

Once I'd made it down the hallway, I realized Tristan was three times as pale as he was when we'd left the Dregs. I wrapped my arm around his narrow shoulders and guided him to our room. He was shivering terribly.

"Sorry." He sniffed and let out a wet cough. "I don't know the spell to stop being sick. I don't mean to slow us down."

"Don't be stupid." I unlocked the room and led him inside.

"Come on, get those wet clothes off."

His face screwed up. "No. Not with you here."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, after a year of me being picked on for being a prudish earthman, you're gonna be the first person to act shy here?" I realized as I spoke that Tristan had always been nervous about these kinds of things. He always kept his baggy robes on, and even in baths he sat outside the water until everyone else was done. Could he really be...?

"No, it's just..." He looked down at himself, then at me. I raised my eyebrows, but he remained silent. Okay, it was time to call his bluff.

"You know what? Fine. Leave them on. Get sick."

His only response was a series of wet coughs, then he fell onto the rock bed. "Too late..."

Called my bluff real good.

I sighed. "Alright, I won't look."

"Yeah. Good." I turned around and listened to the sounds of clothing being shed. A moment later, his muffled voice sounded behind me, "I need help."

"I thought you said not to look."

"Can't... reach... boots..." As soon as he finished talking, he broke out into a series of violent coughs. I turned around and saw him doubled over, both hands covering his mouth. His brown robe was pulled up, revealing his thin waist and wide hips. His pants were down to his ankles, but they were caught on his boots.

"I'm coming." I darted over and began untying his boots. As I did, I realized I was inches from his legs. Which were hairless. Smooth. Curved. Feminine. Realization washed over me like cold water.

"Tristan."

"Yeah?" He coughed.

"Are you..." Was I really that much of an idiot?

"What?" Another wet cough.

"Are you a woman?" I looked up at her. She froze, the remaining color drained from her face, and she refused to meet my gaze. For a solid minute, she said nothing.

"...Yes."

All thoughts stopped. "You're joking."

"Why would I joke about it?" Her voice, which was quiet, and fragile, trembled.

"But... Wait..."

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She struggled to pull her wet robe off. I stood up and grabbed the rough cloth. She slowly wriggled out of her robe, leaving her in only a loose white shirt. I could see some sort of wrap around her chest through her wet shirt.

She was definitely a girl.

How had I missed all the signs? Her soft jawline, smooth neck, lack of facial hair, thin body, small wrists... Shit.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" I rubbed my face, unsure of what to say.

"I... You just..." Her cheeks were flushed red. "You assumed when we first met, so I just…” She fell into a coughing fit.

That's why she wanted to change alone and never bathed with anyone. “It’s okay. Come on. Let’s get you to the bath.”

I wrapped my arm around her waist, scooped under her knees, and picked her up. She didn’t resist. A moment later, we were down the hall and in the bath. The steam hit my face as I opened the door.

“Here's… fine…” She said with that lack of enthusiasm people feel when they’re sick and miserable. I didn’t let go. Neither did she. I carried her to the edge of the pool, kicked off my boots, and walked into the water, clothes and all, until we were both in the warm water.

I couldn't help but sigh as I hit the warm water. I sat down on the stone ledge under the water. Tristan didn't try to move. Instead, she breathed deeply and rested her head against my shoulder. A few coughs escaped her lips from time to time, but she looked more lively the longer we sat. We stayed like that for a long time. I didn't know what to say, and I had a feeling he—she felt the same way.

“Alex…” She coughed, then looked at me. Her blue eyes shimmered in the steam.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want things to be weird.” She frowned. “You’ve always treated me like a friend. I don’t want that to change.”

I met her eyes. “I won’t.”

She breathed. “Good.” Her arms, wrapped around my neck, loosened, and she leaned into me. “I want to keep being the ‘Awesome Duo,’ even if it’s a terrible name.”

Her head rested against my shoulder again. “I wouldn’t change a thing. Don’t worry, okay?”

She looked up at me and smiled. “When have you ever cared how I felt? Ass.”

I laughed. “Hey, there’s a first time for everything.”

“Ass.” She laughed, then coughed right in my face. I was definitely going to get sick.

I pushed her gently, and she let go. She floated to the far side of the pool and groaned as the warm water soaked into her. I took off my tunic and pants and did the same. For a while, we were quiet, except for the occasional cough from Tristan. Our eyes met once or twice, but clearly neither of us wanted to address the elephant. I broke the ice first.

"So... how many people at the temple know?"

She didn't look up. "Lady Varga, Na-Ya, and Arden."

Okay, so this was a thing. I tried to find the best words I could, but only one word came out: "Why?"

Her sigh echoed off the water. "It's complicated."

"Complicate it for me."

She looked up. Her blue eyes met mine. "You know about the war between Deneir and Nolei, right?"

"Yeah. I made the mistake of implying Na-Ya was from Nolei once. She got pretty upset."

"After centuries of war, things get weird." She looked back down into the water. "There's a reason Na-Ya never leaves the temple. The chance of her being mistaken as Noleian is too high. Contrary to what she says, she comes from there and has their features." She looked back up. Lifting her hand from the water, she gestured to her eyes. "And so do I."

"What do you mean?"

"Na-Ya is my cousin. My grandmother was an elf."

I felt like I should understand more, but I didn't. "I don't follow. What does that mean?"

"My grandmother had a child with her first husband—Na-Ya's mom, my aunt. Later, my grandmother was captured by a Deneiran lord and had another child with him. That was my mom."

"What happened then?"

"My dad came to this world, killed the lord, and saved my mom. They fell in love, did the thing, and had me."

"What happened to your grandma?"

"She died giving birth. Mixed-race births are hard on elven mothers. She didn't survive it."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks." She sighed. "I wish I could have known her." She splashed the water and coughed.

I let the words hang for a moment. "How did you meet Na-Ya?"

"My aunt had been searching for her mother for years. When she saw my mom, she knew right away who she was. When she learned that their mother had passed, she took my mom in. The two of them became close and settled outside of Llyn. Auntie taught Mom everything she knew about our people. Together, they sang to life a new grove outside of town for stray elves to live and rest."

"So how did Na-Ya end up at the temple? And what about you?"

"When Dad was alive and healthy, he protected the grove and Llyn. But he got sick. Bandits started moving into the forests and snatched people up. Na-Ya was one of them." She played with the water more. "She doesn't talk about that time much. I know she was about to be sold when Rennar and Ro-Saleh came. Rennar had been Dad's companion at one point and answered a letter he sent. They took down the entire camp by themselves and rescued everyone. She always gushes when she talks about how Ro carried her in his arms that day. That's when she decided to return to the temple with them, and when my dad learned he couldn't protect me anymore, he sent me, too. I was ten or eleven at the time, and I've been there basically ever since."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She looked up and smiled. "But thanks."

"Sounds like a lot."

"Yeah. It was."

"So why pretend you're a guy?" I think I understand the thought behind it, but not entirely.

"Even though I'm only a quarter, and I'm lucky enough to only have the eyes, Dad thought it would be best. Elven women are preyed on the most. But since elves age slower and are androgynous as children, I got away with it for a long time. I didn't begin to change until the last few years, and it's mostly been the last year that I've become..."

"A woman."

"Yeah."

"That's why you wear the baggy robes all the time and don't bathe with others."

"Yup."

"But it's not like anyone at the temple would have cared, right? You were safe there."

"Yeah, I was."

"So why?"

"For a long time, it was a habit. I wanted to obey my dad, and what happened to Na-Ya scared me. Plus, elves don't really distinguish between genders until they go through the change, so it felt normal. But when I started to go through the change, I was planning to open up to everyone. It wasn't like I could keep the ruse up much longer anyway. But then you came. You guessed wrong when we first met, and I just kind of went with it. Not that I blame you or anything. You couldn't have known. You caught me at the absolute worst time. For a year, elves look... rough."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, you were pretty gangly."

She giggled. "Ass." With a big smile, she continued. "We became friends, and I really didn't want to make it weird. I was also dreading having that talk with everyone at the temple, so when you asked to go adventuring with me, I did everything I could to make it happen. I figured we'd deal with it later." She looked up at me shyly. "I wasn't wrong. This just isn't how I imagined it going."

"Yeah, me neither." I thought back to our time together. I really had been deluding myself. "Honestly, I'm not that surprised. There were a lot of times I noticed things about you that were off, but when I make my mind up about things—"

"You're a massive idiot who can't change direction until you slam into a wall?"

'I was going to say I become singleminded, but yeah. What you said."

"I am. You should listen to me more."

"I'll consider it. No promises, though."

She shook her head. "Sounds about right."

The sound of our laughter bounced off the stone walls. Then it got quiet. For a long time, we soaked in the water. It seemed to be doing wonders for her, and my aching muscles released the longer I sat. It's amazing how much almost dying affects the body. I thought it'd be awkward sitting like that all quiet after a deep conversation, but it was more comfortable than anything. I enjoyed the space to be quiet.

"Alex.'

"Yeah?"

"What class did you unlock?"

"Guardian."

"Oh..." A funny look spread across her face.

"That bad?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just... thanks."

I smiled. "I wouldn't change anything."

"I know."

Quiet again. "You cast spells during the fight. I assume you unlocked a class, too?"

She blushed. "Yeah, I did. Priestess."

"What did your system notification say when you did?"

She turned bright red, and her eyes wandered to the side. "That I finally understood the Goddess's Word and unlocked a class."

"Uh-huh. What did it really say?"

"Nothing!" She splashed me. "Let it go."

"Sure."

"It's gonna get weird, isn't it?"

"At first, yeah."