Caelan stood beside the table where Solara had just fallen, rubbing his eyes and sighing as Mynxi laughed herself breathless.

  Garron and Hector each took an arm and carefully carried Solara back toward the main group. Lyra hovered anxiously at her side, fanning Solara’s face with both hands.

  “Come on, ma’am, you’ve got this, you can pull through,” Lyra said—then paused halfway back, turned the fan–motion on herself, and sighed, “Oh. This is nice.”

  They settled Solara into a chair. She slumped, grinning, words spilling out in a tipsy ramble.

  “You know, it makes me really happy you all actually turned up,” she mumbled. “I honestly thought I’d be here alone doing all this. You guys are the best. And the idiot thinks I don’t see through him. Hey, Captain, you’re my little itty–bitty star, love that boy, woo…”

  Garron lowered her gently and glanced around the table. “Someone get her some water. Jesus, what did you put in it, Master Sergeant? She’s already at the ‘complimenting Caelan’ stage—”

  Before he could finish, Solara reached blindly for one of the beers on the table. Garron tried to intercept, but she’d already wrapped her fingers around the bottle.

  “In for a penny…” she said, lifting it.

  “One shot,” she declared proudly—and downed the entire thing in a single go.

  Garron dragged a hand down his face and sighed. “Perfect. Just perfect.”

  Bella slammed her boot onto the table between herself and Keira, leaning in with a glare. “Master Sergeant, I swear to the goddess, you’d better tell me what you’ve done—and take that hat off when I’m talking to you.”

  Keira drained the last of her beer, set the cup down, and smiled innocently. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Veyra arched a brow. “Mynxi, did your Auntie Keira give you that juice box?”

  Mynxi giggled. “–huh.”

  “And did your Auntie Keira tell you to give it to Auntie Solara?” Veyra asked.

  “uh–huh, uh–huh,” Mynxi said, nodding hard enough to make her tail sway. “She said it would make Auntie Solara funny. She was right.”

  Bella shifted closer until she was nose–to–nose with Keira, who tried to keep drinking without making eye contact.

  “Oh, just you wait, you little chaos gremlin,” Bella said sweetly. “What does the Lieutenant say? ‘Pick a window? ’

  She reached for Keira’s jacket.

  Lumi threw herself between them, arms spread wide like a human shield. “She doesn’t deserve this! She is innocent in all this! You can’t do that to someone so stunning and beautiful.”

  Keira’s lower lip wobbled. “Oh, bitch,” she whispered.

  Takeshi lazily traced a circle around the rim of his mug. “She’s talking about the hat, you idiot.”

  Bella smiled, plucked the wizard hat neatly off Keira’s head, and deposited it into Lumi’s hands.

  Keira went flying back out through the front entrance.

  “Worth it!” she yelled on the way out.

  Hector slid back into a seat beside Braen, watching the doorway. “Honestly, do you think they’re ever going to take anything seriously?”

  Braen took a slow drink and smiled. “Oh, my little human.” Her eyes sharpened for a moment as she looked at him. “Don’t sell those two short. If those smiles ever fade, the full weight of this war is on our doorstep, that I can promise you.” She relaxed again, nudging him with her elbow. “Now be a sweetheart and pass me a drink.”

  At the far side of the table, Aurex nursed his beer with both hands, looking close to tears.

  Elyria eyed him. “And what are you crying about? She’s a happy drunk.”

  Aurex slammed his mug down and stared at her, unblinking. “Yes, I know that. That’s the problem. Sober Lieutenant keeps you idiots contained. Don’t you remember the last time she was wasted?” He jabbed a finger at each of them in turn. “You, him—” he pointed at Caelan “—and that monster—” he stabbed his finger toward Keira, who was just swaggering back in as Lumi carefully set the hat back on her head. “Solara stood there humming and swearing while you two tied me to my bed and shaved my eyebrows. Keira stole all my booze. And let’s not even start on the third remodel of the plaza. It’s like a yearly event with you lot.”

  Elyria took another sip of her drink. “Don’t remember.”

  Garron sighed. “Right. I’ll handle this, then.”

  Keira flopped back into her seat, stretching, then flashed Garron a too–wide smile. “Don’t worry, my big brother is a complete incompetent idiot. Too short, loud, never turns off, always leaves the toilet seat up in our shared bathroom, complete wreck of a human—”

  “Is this going anywhere?” Garron asked dryly.

  “Oh, right, yeah.” Keira flicked her hair back. “What I’m trying to say is: give him a second. He’ll be fine.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled over the din of the bar, “Hurry up and Captain, you idiot!”

  Caelan stared at the chair Solara had just fallen off, then at the circle of expectant faces.

  He smiled.

  He stepped up onto the chair, then onto the table.

  A soft shockwave rippled through the bar as he clicked his fingers—just enough to hush the room and make the lanterns sway.

  He stood there with both hands in his pockets, swords hanging at his hips, wearing the familiar grin he always got right before he jumped headfirst into a fight.

  He let the silence hang for a heartbeat, then bowed slightly to the crowd.

  "First," he said, voice calm and surprisingly gentle, "please allow me to thank you all for your time and consideration today. The fact you’re even willing to consider parting with your commander status to join us on our journey… no matter what happens here, every single one of you has my respect and my gratitude."

  He straightened again, eyes sweeping the room.

  At the table, Bella watched Elyria watching Caelan. Elyria was just sitting there, chin in her hand, smiling faintly up at him. Bella narrowed her eyes.

  "Go away quietly," Elyria muttered without looking at her.

  Bella’s brows went up. She turned away with a soft huff—then paused. "Wait. Where’s the Master Sergeant?"

  Garron leaned back in his chair, took a long drink, and answered without looking. "Follow the hat."

  Back on the table, Caelan went on, "Now, I’m going to be completely honest with each of you, so nobody walks away feeling cheated. What are we looking for, and how many are we looking for?" He shrugged. "Truth is, I haven’t got the first clue. I just know the war’s not going to end if a few more of us maniacs survive it together.

  "We’ve set up a series of elimination-style events over the next three days. We’ve taken every step we can to make sure none of you get eliminated during them—but as we all know, this place can throw anything at you at any time, so consider yourselves warned.

  "And a bigger warning: we don’t care how big your elimination sheet is. We don’t care how many monsters you’ve killed. I don’t even care if you can fight. Being yourself out there will take you further than—"

  "Captain!" a voice yelled from the crowd. "Virelith Press! Do you care to comment on the rumours you’re getting all the women here blackout drunk?"

  Caelan froze mid-sentence, staring dead into the mass of faces. His eye twitched.

  "Where is she?" he muttered under his breath.

  He cleared his throat. "Anyway. Each of these tests is planned to—"

  "Captain! Virelith Press!" came a second voice from another corner. Keira’s, this time, was pitched half an octave higher. "Is it true you got drunk and declared war on the city of Virelith, and if so, why won’t you cut that ponytail?"

  Caelan clenched his fist, his smile stretching a little too wide. "I can see the hat, sis," he said through his teeth. "Take a seat."

  "Just one more!" Keira’s voice rang out again, now from another angle. "We’ve received shocking reports of you using your infamous third sword of the white–haired—"

  A chair screeched back. Elyria vaulted the table with a yell.

  "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" she screamed, the crowd parting just in time for her to tackle Keira clean off her feet.

  They hit the floor in a heap. Keira immediately started licking Elyria’s hand the second it clamped over her mouth.

  "Ew," Elyria said flatly, yanking her hand back to look at it—then slapped it straight back over Keira’s face.

  "The people demand answers!" Keira mumbled into her palm. "The free press will never be silenced!"

  Elyria didn’t even look at her. She glanced up at Caelan instead. "Sorry, everyone! Go on, Cael, you’re nailing this." She gave him a thumbs up while pinning Keira with one knee.

  Caelan snorted a laugh and shook his head. "Right. Before anything else happens—back to the point." He pointed into the crowd. "The large man who looks like he’ll eat you if you breathe wrong—that’s our Master Chief. He’ll direct you to your accommodations, which we’ve already paid for. You’ll have a place to sleep tonight and any time you need to recover during the trials."

  He only made it three more words before another blur cut across his line of sight.

  Solara sprinted past the table with Mynxi held flat in front of her like a glider.

  "Airplane!" Solara yelled.

  "Airplane!" Mynxi echoed, arms out, tail streaming behind her as they banked through a gap in the crowd.

  Caelan watched them for a second, then let out a breathy laugh and dragged his focus back.

  "Let me be clear," he said. "We are nothing like anything else out there. If this isn’t for you at any point, just say so. I’ll shake your hand, and that’s that. But if you do make it through what’s coming, I promise you one thing: you will have the most feral, outrageous, monstrous and downright insane people this war has to offer at your back—no matter what this place throws at you."

  A low murmur of energy rolled through the bar.

  "Now," Caelan said, grin sharpening, "in the spirit of all things Revolutionary Army, the first official event can now begin. Your task tonight is simple: survive a single night here with us at Whaa Whaa Dask’s. See for yourselves if we’re for you. If not? No hard feelings. If yes—" he spread his arms "—welcome to the madness. Thanks for your time, and have a great night."

  He started to step off the table, then stopped and hopped back up.

  "Sorry, got ahead of myself," he said. "One more thing. In partnership with that great, sexy and now one-hundred-percent-improved Eyebrows over there—" he jerked a thumb toward Aurex "—anyone who doesn’t make the cut, or just decides we’re not their kind of nightmare, is welcome to talk to him. We’ve been doing good things together since we cleaned up his mess, and Virelith still needs people who can run a city without being complete dickheads. Buy the beautiful man a drink and see what he’s offering."

  Caelan blinked, mid-sentence, eyes drifting past the crowd.

  "…wait," he said slowly, pointing toward a corner table. "Is she in a sleeping bag?"

  "Enough talking!" Solara shouted, stumbling back into view and almost tripping over the edge of the table. She threw an arm around Mynxi and pointed dramatically to the bar. "Let’s get this going. Free drinks on the Revolutionary tonight! Get your fill, let’s go!"

  The room erupted.

  Caelan hopped down from the table at last, rubbing his nose as the noise surged around them. "She definitely wouldn’t be doing this if she were sober," he muttered to himself. "I’m never hearing the end of this next week. Budget, budget, budget, never ending."

  The entire bar exploded toward the counter—everyone shoving, climbing, and half-sprinting to order every drink they could name before the Revolutionary Army’s tab ran dry.

  At that exact unfortunate moment, Lumi decided this was the perfect time to start a magic battle with Keira. She jammed her staff toward Keira like a wizard declaring war and announced:

  “I see a fellow mage with dangerously immaculate fashion sense. I challenge you to a duel.”

  Keira was still on the floor. Elyria sighed in the long-suffering way only Elyria could and helped her up. Keira immediately ran a finger along Elyria’s chin, grinning like a gremlin.

  “I like that there’s no safe word.”

  “Ew. Gross, Keira.” Elyria flicked her forehead.

  Keira spun toward Lumi, whipping out the wand Lumi gave her earlier.

  “You are no match… for the gun-wand.”

  Lumi gasped like she’d been slapped.

  Garron and Hector made their way back to Caelan just as he was trying to slip off to the quietest corner of the table. Garron offered him a drink; Caelan waved it off.

  “Nah. I’m on the water now.”

  Garron huffed. “You’re not winning any awards for speeches, kid, but… nice to see you can fill in when needed.”

  Hector elbowed him. “Don’t put it like that, Master Chief. The captain did a bang-up job. Honestly, looked like he caught someone’s eye during it.”

  He jerked his chin toward Elyria.

  Caelan groaned. “Please don’t start with Elyria. I’ve told every one of you idiots—she’s my friend. My follower. I don’t need rumours that I’m running a sex cult or whatever Keira keeps hinting at.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Hector snorted. “Yeah, nobody believes you.”

  Garron deadpanned, “There aren’t enough crazy women on this planet for a cult run by you.”

  Caelan deflated. “Wow. Thanks, lads. Anyway—do you know what the best thing about Scotland was?”

  Garron immediately turned around. “Nope. I’m going back to the adult table.”

  “You bet I wanna hear it,” Hector said. “Tell me again about this miracle water—”

  He didn’t get the chance.

  A chair slammed to the floor hard enough to crack a noise in the room. Everything went quiet.

  Solara turned that same chair around, sat on it backwards like some unhinged schoolteacher, and rested Mynxi on her shoulder. She planted her elbow on the table with the force of a small earthquake.

  “Master Sergeant. When you’re done with the kid games—maybe I can interest you in something spicier.”

  The whole bar vibrated.

  Her eyes locked onto Keira.

  “So, what do you say?”

  Keira froze.

  Her wand disappeared into her pocket. Her smile twitched into existence like it had been waiting years for this exact invitation.

  “Today is the day.”

  Solara leaned forward, voice low and dangerous. “Don’t keep me waiting, Master Sergeant.”

  Keira screamed, “FUCK YES!” and vaulted onto her chair, foot planted like she was announcing a revolution entirely separate from the one they were already running.

  “I’ve been dreaming of the moment you’d stop being a tease!”

  Solara cracked her neck. “I just want to make sure our little hero’s keeping up her strength training.”

  Behind her, Veyra jumped up and down like she’d won the lottery.

  “Kick her ass, Lieutenant!”

  Bella joined in immediately.

  “Yeah, Master Sergeant! You brought your own wrecking ball today—make her cry!”

  Braen strolled up behind Keira, resting a big hand on her shoulder.

  "Oh, my little angel," she cooed—then her eyes went ice–cold for a heartbeat. "Crush the sparkle out of her eye."

  Lyra came barrelling over next, leaning so close into Keira’s face their noses almost touched. She squinted, drunk and intensely studying every line.

  Then she spun around, laughed, and announced to the room, "Pfft. You? No chance."

  Lumi immediately dived in behind Keira and wrapped her in a hug from the back. "Don’t you listen to that meanie. But, you know, I put a lot of work into that outfit, so I guess you can let her off this time, bestie."

  Keira, for her part, was so locked in she hadn’t reacted to any of it. She was in full predator focus, eyes only on Solara.

  From his seat, Takeshi called out without bothering to stand. "I’m not fixing whatever you break. It isn’t actually my job, idiots. So, Aurex…"

  Aurex almost fell over himself scrambling toward the centre of the bar. "I’m announcing this one! Caelan got the last one, my turn!"

  Caelan sighed and half–rose from his seat. "Guess I’d better stop it before they break the place. Solara’s really going to chew me out tomorrow for this…"

  Garron caught his arm and shook his head. "This is something I actually want to watch. This battle’s been brewing since the day we met. Let me enjoy the slaughter."

  Hector smirked. "Let her vent, Captain. You know it’s fake–shouting with you anyway."

  Caelan’s grin sharpened. "Well, if no one objects, I’m getting a front–row seat to this riot."

  He hopped up, heading closer—but before the arm–wrestle could even start, a different war broke out.

  Both Solara and Keira said, at the same time, "Come and support your auntie."

  Mynxi stopped laughing, eyes flicking between them as she’d just been asked to pick a favourite star.

  Solara leaned in close, their foreheads almost touching, and spoke out of the corner of her mouth. "We all know Mynxi loves her nice and organized auntie. Don’t you, Mynxi? You love your tea parties with Auntie Solara, hmm?"

  Keira mirrored her, pressing her forehead to Solara’s. "Yeah? Then how do you explain that sick–ass piledriver? She didn’t learn that from you. Right, kid? You’re with your Auntie Keira, ride or die?"

  They turned to where Mynxi had been standing.

  She was gone.

  Her giggle floated down from above. They both looked up to see her dangling upside–down by her tail from one of the ceiling beams.

  "I love you both, sillies!" she shouted. "I’ll watch from up here!"

  Both women paused, then smiled despite themselves.

  "So, Caelan’s kid," Solara said.

  They locked eyes again.

  "CAPTAIN!" they yelled in perfect unison.

  "Nope," Caelan’s voice answered immediately—from above them. "Don’t drag me into this. Not happening."

  He was hanging from the same beam as Mynxi, legs hooked over it, swinging lazily upside–down.

  Somewhere behind the crowd, Elyria’s voice rose over the noise. "Get those bets in, let’s go! Four–to–three on the Lieutenant! Three–to–one on the Master Sergeant!"

  Takeshi appeared at her side in an instant, slamming a pouch of bars onto the table. "Everything on the gremlin. Take it all. Free money."

  Elyria grinned up at Caelan. "Few more of these and we’ll be drinking free for a year."

  Caelan, still hanging upside–down, pointed at her. "That’s my little hero. Go on, beautiful. Hustle them."

  Attention drifted from the bar to the brewing showdown. People abandoned their orders to crowd around the table instead, arguments breaking out over who would obviously win.

  Aurex puffed himself up and started shouting introductions, though neither woman was listening.

  Keira leaned toward Solara and muttered, "No hard feelings. I’ll make it look close."

  Solara smiled pleasantly. "Oh, Keira, you might be amazing at everything…"

  "And?" Keira prompted.

  "That’s all," Solara said, still smiling.

  They clasped hands slowly across the table.

  "Are you ready?" Aurex roared.

  Solara’s voice dropped to a murmur only Keira could hear. "One more thing. Thanks for cutting back on the swear words when I’m around. I know it’s hard, but I appreciate it."

  Keira’s bravado faltered for a heartbeat. Almost sheepishly, she muttered, "I need to say thank you as well…"

  "What for, Keira?" Solara asked.

  Keira’s eyes sharpened. "For letting me show I’m number one."

  She threw her full weight into it, every muscle straining, trying to slam Solara’s hand down.

  Nothing moved.

  Solara’s gaze sharpened. "Caelan’s not the only one who can play people."

  She slammed Keira’s hand down so hard the table bounced—and kept going. The force flipped Keira clean over, arm still locked in Solara’s grip, sending her crashing head–first onto the floor. The whole building shook.

  For a long moment, the bar was utterly silent.

  Keira pushed herself up, dusted off her jacket, and said absolutely nothing. She took two slow steps, moved to Solara’s side, and—without a word—grabbed the Lieutenant’s wrist and thrust it into the air.

  "YEAH!" she roared.

  Mynxi immediately joined in from the rafters. "YEAH!" she echoed, tail whipping wildly.

  The bar detonated into cheers.

  Caelan stared, wide–eyed, from his perch on the beam.

  "Yeah," he muttered to himself. "That’s going to be a new nightmare."

  He watched Keira, all bright grin and zero ego, celebrating at Solara’s side.

  "You’ll be past us all soon enough, sis," he added softly.

  As the day rolled on, Elyria pulled Keira toward a chair and set about healing the bruised and battered arm. Her hands glowed faintly as she muttered under her breath.

  “So reckless,” Elyria scolded. “You know this. You train with her every morning. And you—” she flicked her eyes up at Caelan, who was trying and failing not to smirk, “—I can see you holding that laugh back. This isn’t funny. What if one of them actually gets hurt doing something like this? Honestly, I don’t know if your recklessness is what keeps us all going, or what’s going to finally ruin everything.”

  Keira sighed. “Thanks for fixing it, but can you two not start again, please?”

  Caelan spread his hands. “Oh, I didn’t see you stepping in to stop anything.”

  Elyria looked away, cheeks warm. “No. We have a balding, insecure, tiny man-child to do those things. Oh, wait—it’s you.”

  Keira stood up abruptly, still mid-healing. “It’ll be fine. You two can keep sniping. I’m not listening to this again.” She wandered off, flexing her half-healed arm.

  The moment she was gone, Caelan and Elyria locked eyes—tension thick enough to cut with one of Caelan’s swords.

  From across the bar: “Maybe do us all a favour and just fuck already!”

  Keira’s voice, of course.

  Caelan jabbed a finger at Elyria. “I’m not touching a granny with grey hair.”

  Elyria jabbed back at the same time. “What do you think? I’ve actually got standards. No—that’s not funny, Keira. Seriously!” She stormed off after her, still muttering.

  Caelan rubbed his face, muttering to himself, “Great. Perfect. Yeah, Caelan, that’s how you handle that. You know exactly what triggers her, but noooo, you just have to push it.”

  Aurex slid into the spot beside him, looking bewildered. “What is happening here? I thought you’d be out there causing another riot by now. And—wait—is that water? You feeling alright?”

  Caelan twirled the bottle. “Long nights. I’m good, buddy.”

  Aurex stared hard at him. “Look, I mean this sincerely—I’ve never heard of a recruitment drive where you click your fingers, and two hundred people show up from every corner of the region. The day I met you, I thought you were nothing more than a drunk madman. Took me a while, but… you’re not building cities like me. You’re building something else entirely.”

  Caelan raised a brow. “You’ve had too many—”

  He was cut off by Garron, who suddenly stood up and pointed at a table of recruits.

  “Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. Hahaha! I will crush every single one of you. Come again—at least put some effort in this time!”

  Braen slammed her tower shield on the floor. “Master Chief, play nice. These people came here to join us—not lose all their bars in a drunken card game.”

  Before Garron could respond, a swaggering newcomer stepped toward Braen.

  “Ma’am, I appreciate the concern,” he began, puffed up like he was posing for a statue. “But allow me to stop you right there. You might not know me yet. I’m Jett Rainer— soon to be co-captain of the Revolutionary Army, at the very least. So you worry about yourself. I’ve got him on the ropes.”

  Braen stared. Blinked once. Then smiled—dangerously.

  “Master Chief,” she said sweetly. “Break him. Please.”

  “With pleasure, Staff Sergeant,” Garron said, already lifting Jett by the head.

  He plonked him back at the table and began dealing cards.

  A massive man—tall, broad, and very evidently tired—hovered behind Jett.

  “Jett, please don’t ruin this,” he begged. “We worked hard for those bars—”

  “Corwin,” Jett said, raising a hand theatrically. “Have I ever let us down?”

  Corwin stared at him. “More times than I can count. Please. Don’t mess this up.”

  Garron finished dealing. Without looking at his cards, Jett slapped his entire bag of bars onto the table.

  “You might be large like my friend here,” he said smugly, “but fate has my back.”

  “

  Garron chuckled darkly. “Little boy, you really don’t know when the fish is too big for you.”

  Corwin tugged Jett’s sleeve in despair. “That’s all we have!”

  Jett ignored him, swinging back in his chair. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hold it against any of you when I become the co-captain. Now—show them, Master Chief.”

  With a flourish he shouldn’t have been proud of, Jett tossed a small extra pouch of scrap bars onto the table, declaring, “All in!”

  Garron revealed his hand. The crowd murmured their approval.

  Jett smirked and reached for his cards—

  —and Mynxi dropped out of the rafters, landing on the table like a meteor.

  Cards flew everywhere.

  Keira and Lumi skidded onto the table a second later. Mynxi, now wearing Keira’s wizard hat and waving the wand, pointed it at them.

  “Eat my magic bullet wand, you sillies!”

  Lumi and Keira dramatically threw themselves backward, pretending to be shot.

  “It’s not real, you silly billies!” Mynxi cackled.

  Jett tore at his hair. “NO! NO, I WON! IT WAS MY GAME! YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME!”

  Garron reclined in his chair, sighing contentedly. “Guess we’re starting again.”

  Corwin deflated like a punctured balloon. “Every time. Why did I follow you as commander?”

  Jett snapped, “Not my fault! And you, Mr. ‘I don’t hurt anything, even monsters’—you don’t get to judge!”

  Corwin muttered, “We found those bars. You haven’t eliminated anything.”

  Aurex clapped Caelan on the shoulder. “Back in a bit. Garron has deep pockets when he’s drunk.”

  He jogged over to the table. “Master Chief! Deal me in!”

  Caelan watched him go, shaking his head fondly. He turned back to the counter.

  “Water, please,” he told the barkeep.

  A man beside him said at the same time, “Same again for me—water as well.”

  And Caelan turned, surprised to see who it was… the stranger already offering a hand as if he’d been waiting for Caelan to notice him.

  Caelan didn’t even turn his head.

  “Huh. Someone from the Immortal Emperor War passing on free booze? Not sure if you’re trying to impress me or taking this seriously. Loosen up, pal. Like I said—you don’t need to show off.”

  The man beside him let out a small laugh.

  “Oh, the patched jacket. You’re the Captain, aren’t you?”

  Caelan glanced down at his coat.

  “It’s not that bad.” He stuck out a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Caelan. So what brings you to our little event?”

  The man shook his hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Caelan. Name’s Renn Halveth. Honestly? Been at a loose end for a while. When I heard about the recruitment event, I stuck around to see if I could measure up. Anyone who challenges Ravon and Karvek must be something to behold.”

  Caelan raised his water for a sip.

  “And when did you say you got here again?”

  “A few weeks ago,” Renn said. “After years out there alone, finding a place like this… it blows my mind. And how are the Lieutenant’s eyes sparkling like that?”

  “First—because Solara deserves to sparkle,” Caelan said. “Second—it’s a lot to defend. Can’t lie, things are getting tight around here.”

  “Oh really?” Renn asked. “How many are you hoping make it through?”

  “Damn… if everyone made it through, that’d be brilliant.” Caelan leaned in. “Honestly, I’m still concerned about some of the groups forming out there. You heard about that bunch calling themselves ‘The Immortal Alliance of True Commanders’? Seven commanders working together. Ravon’s one of them. Stories coming in about them are freaking me out a little.”

  Renn tilted his head.

  “Haven’t heard of them. I guess it gets hard when you bite off more than you can handle. So—are the events taking place inside the city or—”

  “What the hell is this now?”

  Across the room, Solara raised both arms dramatically.

  “MAKE WAY! CLEAR A PATH!” she shouted.

  Then, hands cupping around her mouth—

  “LYRA! IT’S TIME!”

  Half-drunk Lyra stumbled to her feet, saluted something that wasn’t there, and declared,

  “Yes ma’am—whenever you’re ready!”

  Renn blinked. “Is this part of the trial?”

  Caelan dragged a hand down his face.

  “Worse.”

  From the far end of the bar, Bella whooped,

  “WOOO! Go on, girls!”

  Hector applauded.

  “Show them culture is free, Lieutenant!”

  Solara wrapped an arm around Lyra’s waist. Lyra put both hands on Solara’s hips. They began formally dancing—with no music, absolutely hammered, both loudly humming off-key like two drunken spirits trying to summon chaos.

  Behind them, Veyra dragged Takeshi by the sleeve into the dance circle.

  “Stop your crying!” she barked. “If you didn’t want to be lumped in with us, you shouldn’t wear the jacket every day!”

  Takeshi cried out, “I GET A COLD NECK!”

  “Cry about your cold neck while we dance!” Veyra snapped.

  Hector turned to Bella. “My lady?”

  Bella’s eyes lit up like a chandelier.

  “You had me at ‘my.’”

  And she swept him into the worst ballroom dancing ever performed in recorded history.

  Keira scooped Mynxi up into her arms, spinning her in a wobbly circle with Lumi while Mynxi cackled like a gremlin.

  By now, a hundred recruits watched in stunned silence as every Revolutionary Army member descended into catastrophic, tuneless chaos.

  Renn exhaled slowly.

  “…some team you’ve got here. Honestly—for everyone’s sake—I hope you can keep them safe in this place.”

  Caelan shrugged.

  “Don’t worry. My entire plan revolves around that.”

  He straightened.

  “Right, need to jump, pal. Grab a few drinks, don’t be shy. See you tomorrow.”

  He started toward the swirling mass of dancing idiots, leaning on a wooden beam to watch Solara spin Lyra in a full, drunken circle.

  Elyria approached him slowly, eyes downcast, looking irritated and embarrassed at the same time.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  Caelan smiled without looking away from his crew of idiots.

  “It’s fine, buddy. You never need to say sorry to me.”

  Before he could blink, she had already taken his hand.

  Her voice dropped. “Can we… you know…?”

  “If you wanted to join in, Elyria,” Caelan laughed, “all you ever have to do is—”

  He didn’t finish.

  Solara’s voice tore across the bar:

  “WHY ARE YOUR FEET IN THE WAY?! Oh, you want to see what DISCIPLINE IS? It was PERFECT this time—AHHH—”

  A chair lifted above her head as if she were about to bludgeon some poor soul with it.

  Caelan flashed across the room and practically hugged Solara around the torso, catching her wrist mid-swing.

  “Captain, don’t—” she mumbled drunkenly.

  “Hey,” he whispered softly. “I’m starving. Want to grab food and set the pit up at the inn?”

  Solara melted against him instantly.

  “You little mind-reader. How do you always do that? You’re the cutest. Can we?”

  “Yes. And we’ll stop at different restaurants for different things.”

  “Oh my itty-bitty little Captain…” she cooed.

  Solara threw a quick nod to Lyra.

  “You did amazing. We’ll work on it later.”

  Lyra saluted, missed, and fell straight forward onto her face.

  “Ready on your orders, ma’am,” she mumbled into the floor.

  Braen scooped her up by her collar.

  “You two go ahead. We’ve got this.”

  “Thanks, B-Dawg,” Caelan said. “Right—let’s head out before I make another mess.”

  Solara leaned into him heavily.

  “You never make messes. I know that. Wait—aren’t we in the middle of the recruitment drive?”

  “Don’t worry about that, Lieutenant. You’ve done everything perfectly.”

  She paused again.

  “What about our little angel?”

  “Little one?” Caelan called out.

  Mynxi—still dancing with Keira and Lumi—waved her tail happily.

  “Bye, Dad! Bye, Auntie Solara!”

  Caelan chuckled. “Guess that’s us told. Master Sergeant?”

  Keira waved them off.

  “No worries! She’ll be home before you wake up.”

  Mynxi gasped. “Are we playing all night, Auntie Keira?! Yessssss!”

  Caelan raised his voice.

  “Right, everyone! The Lieutenant and I are heading out. Have a good time! Master Chief is running a monster hunt tonight at the east gate—join him if you want! And please—give a round of applause for the amazing Lieutenant, without whom none of this would be possible!”

  A few scattered claps started.

  Caelan sighed loudly.

  “She PAID for all your drinks. Even though I’m pretty sure half of you aren’t recruits.”

  The bar erupted into cheers.

  Solara beamed up at him.

  “Aww… they all seem like such nice people.”

  Across the room, Elyria watched Caelan leave, leaning on the post he’d been at earlier, eyes distant.

  Bella approached her gently.

  “Oh, honey, are you alright? He’ll figure it out eventually.”

  Hector leaned in. “If you want, I could—”

  “Nope,” Elyria cut him off, sliding one hand into her jacket pocket. “Not doing this. Line them up. Barman—the Lieutenant said everything’s free, and I’m testing that tonight.”

  Back at the inn, Caelan struggled to push Solara’s door open while holding her up and balancing several bags of food.

  “I can’t hold you, the food, and open the door,” he muttered.

  Solara cackled, rolled herself into her room, and belly-flopped onto the bed.

  “Captain of the Revolutionary Army can handle the food and the girl,” she declared grandly, “but knows only defeat against a door. Ohhh, that’s becoming legend.”

  Caelan tugged off her boots and nudged her under the blankets. Her eyelids drooped.

  “Honestly,” she murmured, “I don’t get it. How am I the only one who just… gets you? Like—do you know…?”

  Caelan tucked the blanket around her.

  “You get some sleep, best buddy. You did amazing today. I left you water. Food’s on the desk. And I’ll make sure Elyria has her sparkly hands ready for the morning.”

  Solara squished herself deeper into the pillow.

  “Good night, you wonderful little idiot…”

  He smiled. “Good night.”

  He turned toward the door.

  A pillow hit him square in the back.

  “That’s not how you put Mynxi to bed!”

  “You’re not Mynxi.”

  Solara huffed.

  “Fine. I’ll settle for just the kiss.”

  Caelan exhaled, smirking, turned back, and kissed her gently on the forehead.

  Solara’s arms snapped around him instantly, dragging him onto the bed.

  “You’re staying here tonight.”

  Caelan gave the world’s smallest shrug.

  “Guess you’ve got me.”

  Solara laughed into his shoulder.

  “Bet you wish I was Elyria right now…”

  “Shut up.”

  Solara’s tone shifted—soft, deliberate.

  “Do you think they bought it?”

  Caelan smiled into the dimness.

  “Oh, trust me—they haven’t got a clue. Not based on that idiot anyway.”

  “A recruitment drive as a decoy…” Solara mumbled. “Making me work for—”

  She drifted off mid-sentence, arms tightening around him.

  Caelan let his eyes close, heartbeat steady, Solara warm against him.