Dawn breaks cold and gray, the kind of morning that makes you question life choices even before you've fully woken up. I'm already dressed in the traveling clothes they prepared for me—sturdy dark fabric that's more practical than my usual gothic aesthetic but still maintains some style because Celine insisted—when there's a sharp knock on my door.

  "We have a problem," Mara says the moment I open it.

  "Good morning to you too."

  "Celine's father found out about the dungeon."

  My stomach drops. "Uh. Found out how?"

  "Does it matter? He knows, and now there are complications." She's already walking back down the corridor, forcing me to follow. "Meeting in the entrance hall, Nyx. Now."

  When we arrive, the entrance hall is full of people, way more than should be necessary for what was supposed to be a small training expedition. Celine is standing near the base of the grand staircase looking pale and frustrated, Vivienne beside her with that tight expression that means she's calculating damage control. And surrounding them are six knights in full armor bearing House Montclair colors, plus an older man in traveling clothes who radiates authority.

  "This is Captain Aldridge," Celine says when she sees me, voice strained. "He's in command of Father's household guard."

  The captain is probably forty, with graying hair and the worn look that comes from actual battle experience rather than just training. He glances at me with a professional rather than antagonistic expression, taking in my horns and little body in one sweeping gaze before gently nodding.

  "Miss Shadowmere. I understand you'll be joining Lady Celine's expedition."

  "That was the plan, yes."

  "His Grace has concerns about four young ladies venturing into a dungeon without proper protection," he continues, tone carefully diplomatic. "He's requested we accompany you to ensure adequate safety measures."

  Mara steps forward, her shoulders tight with barely contained frustration. "We don't need an escort. This is a training exercise, not a military operation."

  "With all due respect, Lady Ashford, the Old Thornwood Crypt has documented dangers that—"

  "That we're prepared to handle. We've done our research, gathered our supplies, and planned for multiple scenarios."

  "I don't doubt your preparation. However, His Grace's orders were explicit.

  "Then we'll call off the expedition," Mara said flatly.

  Everyone turns to stare at her. Celine makes a strangled noise. "Mara, you can't be serious."

  "I'm completely serious. The entire point was to test ourselves, see what we're capable of without authority figures hovering over us. If we're just going to have knights babysit us, then there's no point."

  "There's still training value," Vivienne interjects, ever the pragmatist. "Combat experience, dungeon navigation, teamwork under pressure—"

  "While being watched and judged and knowing we can just call for help if things get difficult? That's not training and more like a theater."

  Captain Aldridge holds up a hand, his expression suggesting he's dealt with argumentative nobles before. "Perhaps a compromise: My men and I will accompany the expedition, but we'll maintain distance unless the situation becomes genuinely dangerous. You handle the threats yourselves. We will observe and intervene only if necessary."

  "Define necessary," Mara challenges.

  "Life-threatening situations that exceed your capability to handle."

  "And you'll be the judge of that?"

  "I have twenty years of combat experience. Yes, I believe I can assess danger levels appropriately."

  Mara looks ready to argue more but Celine touches her arm, a gentle restraining gesture. "It's this or nothing. Father won't budge, and if we refuse the escort entirely he'll forbid the whole thing."

  "So we accept being supervised like children."

  "We accept a safety net while proving we don't need it," Vivienne corrects. "Think strategically. If we complete the dungeon successfully with minimal intervention, we show that we are competent. That will help them be more independent in the future."

  "Future independence shouldn't require proving ourselves to people who already doubt us."

  "Welcome to being young nobility," Celine says, sounding tired. "Everything requires proof."

  I've been quiet during this exchange, watching the dynamics play out, and something occurs to me. "Captain, you said you'd intervene if situations exceed our capability. How will you assess our capability if you don't know what we can do?"

  He considers this. "Fair point. Perhaps you could provide a brief overview of your respective strengths?"

  "Mara knows how to use a sword and fight in a tactical way," Vivienne says before Mara can say no. "Celine specializes in support magic and healing. I focus on two things: casting and environmental manipulation. Miss Shadowmere is skilled in destructive magic... um, I guess?"

  "Destructive magic, huh," the captain repeats, looking at me with renewed interest. "You're combat-trained?"

  "Well, sort of."

  "May I ask where you received your training?"

  "Private tutoring in the eastern provinces. My family preferred specialized instruction over general Academy preparation."

  It's the cover story we prepared, delivered smoothly enough that I almost believe it myself. The captain accepts it with a nod, though I catch him exchanging a glance with one of his knights that suggests skepticism.

  "Very well. We'll maintain a rear position during dungeon exploration, observe your handling of encounters, and intervene only if we assess genuine mortal danger. Does this arrangement satisfy everyone?"

  "No," Mara says.

  "But we accept it," Celine adds quickly. "Thank you, Captain. We appreciate your... flexibility."

  "I serve at His Grace's pleasure. If escorting his daughter and her companions requires flexibility, then flexible I shall be." He gestures to his knights. "Mount up. We depart within the hour."

  The knights file out toward the stables and Captain Aldridge follows, leaving the four of us alone in the entrance hall. Mara immediately turns to Celine.

  "Your father couldn't have picked worse timing."

  "I didn't tell him! He must have heard from the servants or the steward or someone."

  "Doesn't matter now," Vivienne says, cutting off the argument before it escalates. "We adapt to circumstances. This doesn't fundamentally change the expedition, just adds observers."

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "Observers who'll report everything back to Celine's father," Mara mutters.

  "Well, it can't be helped. We just have make sure there's nothing to worry about. We do everything right, show that we can do everything, and use this as proof for more independence in the future."

  "You make it sound simple."

  "The idea is simple. Execution will be challenging, but it'll be manageable."

  I pick up my travel pack from where I'd left it and check the contents one last time. The kit includes rope, rations, a water flask, spare clothes, and medical supplies. These are basically medieval first aid kits. Everything we talked about during the planning process. "Question. What exactly are we expecting to fight in there?"

  "Undead mostly," Vivienne says, taking out a small notebook to look things up. "Skeletons, maybe even zombies if they had proper burial chambers. Hazards to the environment from buildings falling apart; like floors collapsing, walls that might fall down, and corridors that can't be escaped. Maybe some magical effects from the defensive wards that were there originally are still there."

  "Sounds straightforward."

  "Dungeons are rarely straightforward once you're inside them."

  "Encouraging."

  Celine links her arm through mine, and the excitement she felt earlier starts to fade. "It'll be fine. We're prepared, we're capable, and we have each other. Plus now we have heavily armed backup if anything goes catastrophically wrong."

  "You're focusing on the catastrophic part."

  "I'm focusing on the prepared part! This is going to be amazing."

  Her enthusiasm is infectious despite my reservations. Mara still looks annoyed about the knight situation but she's checking her sword with practiced efficiency, falling into professional mode now that the argument is settled. Vivienne is organizing her supplies with methodical precision, every item placed exactly where it needs to be for optimal access.

  We're really doing this. Actual dungeon crawling with real danger and genuine stakes!

  ***

  The journey is long and uncomfortable. Three days on horseback through increasingly rural terrain, sleeping in tents at night while the knights maintain watch rotations, eating travel rations that make me nostalgic for instant ramen. Captain Aldridge maintains professional distance but I catch him watching us during stops. He is assessing the situation and our capabilities.

  The girls handle it better than I do, clearly used to this kind of travel. Celine stays cheerful despite the discomfort, Mara is completely in her element with the tactical aspects, Vivienne treats it like a research expedition and documents everything in her journal. I just try not to fall off my horse. My high Vitality means my legs don't actually get tired, which is a small mercy, but it doesn't stop the ride from being boring and uncomfortable. It feels like sitting on a vibrating washing machine for eight hours straight.

  On the second night, sitting around the campfire while the knights keep watch at a respectful distance, Celine pulls out a deck of cards.

  "Game?" she offers.

  "What kind of game?" I ask suspiciously.

  "Towers and Thieves. Simple strategy game, good for passing time."

  "I don't know the rules."

  "I'll teach you. It's easy once you understand the card hierarchy."

  It's absolutely not easy. The rules are Byzantine, involving resource management and bluffing and mathematical probability that makes my head hurt. But playing gives us something to focus on besides mental fatigue, and watching the three of them interact over cards reveals dynamics I hadn't noticed before.

  Mara plays in a very bold way, taking risks that sometimes work out great and sometimes don't. Celine is thoughtful but also emotional. She makes decisions based on her feelings as well as on logic. Vivienne is very precise. She calculates everything, tracking cards and probabilities with the same precision she applies to magical theory.

  "You're counting cards, aren't you?" Mara accuses after Vivienne wins the third hand in a row.

  "I'm just remembering what's been played and adjusting my strategy based on that!"

  "That's still counting cards."

  "No! That's playing with my head."

  "Still, it's cheating."

  "I'm simply using available information. If you paid more attention, you could do the same thing."

  "I pay attention to important things, not on card games."

  "It's clear that it's not that important since you keep losing."

  Mara throws a card at her. Vivienne catches it without looking up from organizing her hand. Celine is laughing, that bright, genuine sound that makes her whole face light up.

  "You two are ridiculous," she says fondly.

  "She started it," Mara mutters.

  "I just used basic probability to improve my chances of success," Vivienne answer.

  "See? Ridiculous."

  I'm watching them with a warm feeling in my chest that I can't name. These three chaotic girls have somehow become important to me in less than two weeks. They fight a lot, but it's never mean. It's just their usual comfortable way of being friends. It's the kind of friendship that doesn't require careful navigation or professional distance.

  "Nyx, it's your turn," Celine says.

  "Right, sorry." I play a card at random because I still don't understand the strategy. It's apparently a terrible move based on Mara's groan.

  "You just gave Vivienne the opening she needed."

  "I don't even know what that means."

  "I win," Vivienne says, putting her hand down. "Again."

  "This game is rigged."

  "This game requires thinking more than two moves ahead."

  "I can think ahead!"

  "The evidence suggests otherwise."

  Mara throws another card. This time Vivienne doesn't catch it, and it hits her in the forehead, bouncing off with a soft thwap. She blinks, surprised, then picks it up and examines it.

  "This is the card you needed to complete your set. You just threw away your chance to win."

  "It was worth it to see your face."

  "My face looks the same as always."

  "No, you made a face. You definitely made a face."

  "I don't make faces."

  "You made a face," Celine confirms. "I can see it!"

  "I maintain perfect composure at all times."

  All three of us stare at her. She stares back, her expression neutral, before she smiles slightly.

  "Fine. Maybe minimal face."

  "I knew it!" Mara crows.

  We play until the fire burns low and exhaustion catches up with us, then retreat to our tents while the knights maintain their watch. I'm lying in my bedroll, listening to the sounds of the forest. I'm thinking about how strange it is that I'm here, that this is my life now, and that I'm genuinely looking forward to exploring ancient ruins with three girls I barely know but trust completely.

  On the third day, the scenery changes. The land goes from forests to rocky hills with ruins here and there. Old stone walls covered in plants, buildings that have fallen apart, and the feeling of being left alone for a very long time.

  "We're entering the old kingdom now," Vivienne explains, looking at her map. "Everything here is older than when we became one country. Most settlements were destroyed or abandoned during the consolidation wars."

  "Cheerful history lesson."

  "It's relevant context. The crypt we're exploring was built during that period, probably as a burial site for a noble family. When wars came to this region, most people fled or died. This meant that places like this one were left to decay."

  "So we're raiding someone's ancestral tomb."

  "We're exploring historical ruins to learn and train," she says politely.

  "It's like that with better PR."

  Captain Aldridge calls a halt at the base of a hill, and I can see our destination now. The stone structure was built into the hillside, and the entrance was carved with weathered symbols. This is the kind of architecture that was meant to impress centuries ago, but now it just looks ominous. Vegetation has taken over much of it. Vines are growing up walls, and roots are breaking through stonework. But the entrance is still clear. It is a dark opening like a mouth waiting to swallow us.

  "Right then," Mara says, easily getting off her horse. "This is the last equipment check before we go in. Weapons secured, supplies accessible, everyone knows their role?"

  We go through the checklist while the knights set up a base camp nearby. Captain Aldridge approaches as we're finishing our preparations.

  "My men will stay here at the entrance. We'll keep an eye on your progress and only enter if we hear about any serious problems. I'm giving you a signal whistle. Blow this if you need immediate assistance."

  He hands Celine a small metal whistle on a chain. She nods and puts it in her pouch.

  "How will you know if we need help if you're not with us?" I ask.

  "Sound carries in dungeons. If we hear ongoing fighting or someone needing help, we'll come quickly. Otherwise, we trust you to handle yourselves."

  I was pleasantly surprised by how independent it is. Mara looks slightly less annoyed.

  "Thank you, Captain. We'll try not to need rescuing."

  "Make sure you don't. His Grace would be displeased if I returned without his daughter."

  We gather at the entrance, four girls staring into darkness while six armored knights watch from a distance. The weight of it settles over me; this is real. We're actually doing this. There's genuine danger waiting in there that won't respawn or reset if we die.

  "Is everyone ready?" Vivienne asks.

  "No," I say honestly.