Through his cracked bedroom door, I found Arden hunched over his desk in the corner of his cluttered room, squinting at a thick tome in the dim candlelight. A tall stack of books next to him looked like it'd tip over at any moment, and the smell of old parchment and ink hung heavy in the air, even in the hallway.

  I watched for a moment, considering whether I wanted to bother him, and I quickly realized I did. I'd unlocked the Goddess's System this week and wanted the praise from the guy I respected the most. I'd been so busy, I hadn't had time to see him, and I was going to be busy tomorrow, so now was the time.

  "Knock, knock," I said, rapping my knuckles against the doorframe.

  "One moment." His eyes kept scanning the page he was reading. When he was done, he placed a bookmark between the pages, closed it, scrawled a few notes on a scroll, and only then did he look up. As he did, his handsome George-Clooney face broke into a smile. "Alex! Come in, come in." Setting his quill aside, he gestured to the chair across from his desk. "I heard the good news. Congratulations, my friend."

  I settled into the chair across from him, trying, and nearly failing, not to knock over another stack of books with my elbow. "Thanks. Still feels surreal, honestly. That was hard." It'd taken a lot out of me. I slept for two straight days.

  "Unlocking the system for the first time always is, especially for us travelers." Arden leaned back, studying me with those sharp eyes of his. "And Renard accepting you as a recruit, too? The man's standards are higher than the Tower itself."

  "Yeah, that final testing was brutal." Despite several long baths, I was still sore.

  "You've had a big week. Neither of those are small feats. I'm proud of you."

  The praise hit me right in the chest, warming me from the inside out. Over the past year, Arden had become something more than just a mentor. He'd kind of become a bit of a father figure, as cringey as that sounded in my head. Not that I needed him to replace my actual shitty dad or anything—I wasn't some walking case of daddy issues or anything—but he filled a hole I hadn't realized was there. Having his approval meant more than I cared to admit. "Thanks. That means a lot."

  "So," he continued, steepling his fingers, "what are your plans now? Will you be joining the Temple officially as a Templar, or are you planning to moonlight as a tagalong until something else catches your fancy?"

  I shifted in my seat. What did I want to do? As I thought about it, I started remembering our conversation from months ago. "You remember what you told me when I first got here? About exploring, seeing the world?"

  "I do."

  "I still want to do that. I want to see what's out there, you know? There's a big world outside these walls." I gestured toward the window. "But I'm not ready to leave just yet. This place... everyone here... they matter to me. It feels like home. I'd like to stick around a while longer, if I'm not a burden." I hoped I wasn't.

  Arden's smile softened. "Of course you're not. You're as much a fixture here as any one of us. In fact, aside from Tristan, who we all know would be devastated if you left, I'm certain I know several of my junior scholars would be quite disappointed to see the temple's newest handsome young trainee leave too soon. June, in particular, would take it quite hard."

  I laughed. I'd noticed June, a sweet, mousy scribe, looking at me a few times, but I hadn't thought much of it. "Yeah, Bairan, too." Bairan was one of the Temple's real scholars. She'd tutored me whenever Arden wasn't available, and she'd made it quite clear that she had a lot to teach me, if I was willing. Considering she was only a couple of years older than me and very attractive, she'd been hard to turn down.

  Arden laughed. "I'm quite sure she wants to teach you more than a few extracurriculars."

  "Oh, she definitely does."

  We both chuckled.

  When his laughter faded, he looked at me with a kind look in his eyes. "It's quite alright for you to linger. And, just so you know, no matter where your path takes you or what you decide to do, you'll always have support here at the Temple. This will always be your home if you want it to be."

  "Thanks, Arden. I really appreciate it. It feels good having a place to belong."

  A sly look crept across his face, and his eyes twinkled. "When you do decide to leave, will you be bringing Tristan along on these future adventures of yours? Because, to be frank, I'm fairly certain Tristan would follow you anywhere at this point. You need only ask."

  I blinked. I hadn't really thought about it, but... yeah, probably. "Yeah. For sure. I'd ask them, anyway. It would be way more fun to adventure with a friend."

  He cocked his head. "Friend?"

  "Yeah!"

  His brows knitted. "Alex... do you still not know?"

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  "Know what?" What the hell was Arden hiding from me this time? He was always hiding things, making me figure them out on my own. Would it kill him to give me the answer for once?

  He shook his head. "Nope. That's a conversation to have with Tristan, not me."

  Before I could press him on whatever the hell that meant, he redirected. "Speaking of adventures, since you're now officially a recruit of the Temple, you'll certainly be asked to join in and help with the patrols."

  That sounded awesome. "I'd definitely like that. Sounds fun."

  He laughed. "I knew you'd say something like that. No thinking, all excitement."

  "What's the point of all this training if I don't use it? Plus, I feel a lot stronger now that I can see the system. I want to test myself and see what I can do now." Plus, monsters. I wanted to fight some.

  "It be an excellent opportunity for you to grow and gain experience," he continued. "But I caution you to be careful and not overdo it. You have a tendency to bite off more than you can chew. Remember when you first started training with Renard and tore your bad knee? You were in bed for two weeks. Tristan was furious with you for risking yourself, and she nearly killed Na-Ya for encouraging you."

  I did remember that, and it sucked terribly... but that was the old me.

  I was epic, now.

  "No promises."

  Arden shook his head, then chuckled. "Goddess help us all."

  I laughed. "So, what's going on out there?"

  "I don't know much, honestly. The villages have been experiencing some losses of livestock—cattle, mostly. Could be an aggressive bear, maybe a monster or two that's wandered too close to civilization." He shrugged. "Probably nothing too serious, but if you're offered the chance to join a patrol, I'd recommend taking it, even if I know you'll find some way to stir up trouble."

  "You know me so well." My pulse quickened. A real quest. Well, maybe not a quest exactly, but actual adventure stuff. "Hell yes, I'll take it."

  "I thought you might say that." Arden glanced toward the window, where the last traces of daylight were fading into deep purple. "Just promise to be careful, okay?"

  "I promise, Dad."

  "If you were my kid, I'd have beaten this out of you by now."

  "It's never too late." I flexed my biceps at him. "But, I won't go down without a fight."

  The scholar sighed. "Read the damn books I gave you. You're getting rusty."

  "Fine, fine." He wasn't wrong. I'd been focusing so much on my physical muscles, I hadn't really been training my brain muscles.

  He looked toward the window. "It's getting late. You should probably get some rest."

  I hadn't realized how late it'd gotten. "Yeah, you're probably right." Standing up, I reached across the desk to shake his hand. His grip was firm, calloused from years of turning pages and wielding a pen like a weapon. I figured that, in his hands, it probably was one. He was the smartest guy I knew. "Thanks for everything, Arden. Really."

  "Go on, get out of here before I start getting sentimental."

  I laughed and headed for the door, stepping carefully around the scattered books and scrolls that littered the floor.

  The second I stepped out of the room, Arden said, "Keep the door open. It flutters when there's a breeze."

  "You got it." Keeping the door cracked, I walked down the long hallway and into the scriptorium. At one of the small desks, June was scribbling away under the light of a glowstone. When I entered the room, she looked up and blushed. "Evening, June."

  "E-evening!" Her blush got deeper, and she looked away.

  "Night," I said to the girl as I made my way through the scriptorium. She was cute, but she was too shy for me. I needed someone who'd yell at me when I was being stupid or stubborn, which was often. Someone like Tristan, but a girl Tristan.

  That would be perfect.

  Exiting the scriptorium, I walked into the Great Hall and saw that it was bathed in pale moonlight streaming through the windows high above. The massive stone columns cast long shadows across the floor, and the Goddess's statue was nearby, looking as serene and eternal as always. As I walked around the room, heading toward the hallway that led to my room, I noticed a small figure kneeling in front of the Goddess. It was Tristan.

  "Hey!' I called out, my voice echoing in the hall, but they didn't look up. They didn't even move.

  They were perfectly still, hands clasped in front of them, head bowed in prayer or meditation. The moonlight caught their long black hair, which they normally kept in a ponytail, one that shone in the dim light.

  For some reason, they looked different tonight. More... delicate? The way the light hit their face, their long eyelashes, the curve of their jaw. They looked way more like a girl than ever.

  I wondered then what Arden had been talking about. What didn't I know about Tristan?

  We knew everything about one another.

  Well, mostly... I hadn't talked about my sister at all, and they never really talked about their family. But that was fine. We were friends now, not then. The past didn't matter.

  I walked over quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever spiritual moment they were having. However, as I got closer, I realized their breathing was deep and even. Their eyes were closed. A line of drool ran down their cheek...

  The fucker was sleeping!

  "Tristan," I whispered.

  No response.

  Shaking my head, I knelt next to them and whispered, "Hey, Tristan."

  With a soft mumble, my best friend slumped into me, their head falling onto my shoulder.

  "Loser." Slipping my arms under their legs and back, I lifted them up. As their body settled against mine, I felt that, under the thick brown robes they always wore, they were as solid as I thought they'd be, considering all the training we'd done... but I could feel curves.

  Obvious ones, hidden by their robes.

  And, they were small, much smaller than me... I mean, I was big, but... they hadn't exactly grown much over the past year. They still barely came up to my chest, and they were thin and lean... and curvy.

  What if...?

  Nope.

  It couldn't be.

  Right?

  "Mmm..." Their head lolled against my shoulder as I carried them away from the statue and into our hallway. Turning left, I walked to their door, juggled it open with my hip, and walked into Tristan's room. The entire space was illuminated in a deep silver glow.

  Damn! The moon was huge outside Tristan's window!

  They had a better view than I did, and tonight, the moon was perfectly visible in the distance. Stepping to their bed, I pulled their covers back, set them down, and covered them up.

  "Alex... need to talk..." They mumbled under their breath.

  I stood there for a moment, looking down at my friend.

  I had a feeling I knew what that talk was about, but I didn't want to deal with that at the moment. If I were right, things would end up changing, and I didn't want things to change right now.

  Shaking my head, I turned and made my way back down the hallway and to my room.

  Whatever mysteries and conversations were waiting for me could wait until tomorrow.

  Or the next day.

  Maybe the day after that.

  A week.

  A month?

  Sometime in the ambiguous future.