Viktor stepped out into the midday light, the inn’s door swinging closed behind him. He had squeezed every last bit of information out of this place. The Arstenian gold, the ink droplet behind the picture frame, the hidden letter under the wardrobe, and an enigmatic waitress named Yvonne. There was no need to linger here any longer.

  What he needed now was a quiet place, somewhere he could talk with Celeste and go over everything he had found, and catch up on what had happened in the dungeon while he was busy playing spy.

  But before any of that, there was one small, mundane, but completely necessary thing he had to take care of.

  Lunch.

  Lunchtime was almost here, and he hadn’t made anything yet. The original plan was to watch Sebekton’s fight against Khenemhotep’s tomb guards, then head home and cook something for Claire. But then Brynhildr and Dagnar showed up, and the opportunity to dig into their secrets was too tempting to pass up. And it had paid off, no doubt. However, it also meant that he now had nothing to bring to the Guild.

  Sure, he could just fork over a few coins to buy something, but that would only invite questions from dear sister. So, he was going to make someone else pay for the lunch. With his mind made up, he set off toward his next stop.

  The streets of Daelin were getting more crowded by the day, and not just busier, but also more diverse. Two men brushed past him. One was tall and lean, his complexion deep as obsidian, which meant he was from the far south, possibly the very place Lahmia hailed from, while the other bore the hard, weathered face of an Easterner, one carved by the steppe sun and biting winds. Clearly, people from all corners of the world were flocking to Daelin, heeding the call of his dungeon.

  Viktor halted before a building. A shop, or soon to be one. After all, Alycia hadn’t officially opened for business.

  Pushing open the door, he stepped inside. The last time he had been here, the room was no different from a warehouse, stacked high with crates and boxes scattered everywhere. Now the place looked like it might actually be a shop, with a counter in place and shelves lining the walls, neat and half-stocked. But what those odd-looking trinkets were for, he had no idea.

  He had been avoiding this place like the plague, but since it hadn’t exploded in the last few weeks, chances were it wouldn’t decide to do so now. And he wasn’t planning to stick around for long, anyway. Just a few minutes, in and out. So he would be safe. Probably.

  The blonde was nowhere to be found, though. The door wasn’t locked, so she must still be here. Upstairs, perhaps?

  “Alycia!” he called.

  A muffled rustle overhead, then her voice, “Quinn?” It was followed by a brief silence, and finally, “Wait a minute, I’ll come down right away.”

  Was it just him, or did her voice sound strange today? Kind of nasal and rough, as if she was having a sore throat.

  Moments later, quick footsteps came down the stairs, and Alycia emerged from the back door behind the counter. She looked... stiff. The woman just stood there, like someone unsure whether they wanted to be seen. Then, he noticed the swelling around her reddened eyes and the faint gleam that remained on her lashes.

  “You crying?”

  “No, of course not,” she replied, a little too quickly. She even forced a smile.

  As always, Alycia was a terrible liar. But if she didn’t want to tell him, he was not going to press any further. Whatever it was, it was her problem, not his.

  But now, things were awkward. He had come here to make her pay for his lunch, because he knew she wouldn’t say no, and because he had no qualms about extorting her money. Still, it was kind of hard to throw a “Buy a meal for me and my sister!” at that face.

  “If this is a bad time, I can come back later,” he said, already half-turning to leave.

  “No,” Alycia blurted. “It’s a very good time, actually. In fact...” She drew a breath. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  What? Viktor frowned. He had a feeling that she was going to make her problem his problem. No, absolutely not. He needed to get out of here. Fast.

  But then, she looked at him. Big, wet, pleading eyes. Since when did she learn that trick?

  Ugh.

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  “Fine,” Viktor muttered, “but make it quick.” He could hear her out, at least, and shut her down if it got too annoying. “And in return, I want you to buy lunch for Claire and me. Just for listening, of course. I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

  “No problem.” Alycia nodded instantly. She looked around and realized that there was only one chair here. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  “No. Here’s fine,” Viktor said, hopping up to sit on the counter. He knew it wouldn’t help much in case the place did blow up, but he still wanted to stay as close as possible to the front door.

  Alycia gave him a puzzled look, but she didn’t say anything, simply settling into the chair.

  “So, what’s it about?” Viktor said, already regretting his decision.

  “Well...”

  Alycia hesitated, her fingers tightening slightly in her lap. He watched her in silence. Let her squirm. If she was going to drop some kind of emotional deadweight on him, she should damn well work for it.

  “You once said that you were impressed by my gadgets, and you wanted to know how they worked, so you asked me to teach you, didn’t you?”

  “Yes?”

  “I... I need to know if you really meant it, or if you only said it at the time to make me feel better,” Alycia continued, her eyes fixed on Viktor. “I mean... It has been weeks since you last came here. So I think... maybe you’ve lost interest.”

  Well, he did find her gadgets interesting and potentially useful. In fact, her firebomb did help him fend off the invasion from that formidable Northern warrior. So when he said those words, while it wasn’t seriously serious, it was not really a lie either.

  “I’m a bit busy these days,” he replied. “And I did tell you that I come and go as I please, didn’t I?”

  “Well, yes... Alright, let me go straight to the point. It’s about you being my apprentice. We’ve always been treating it like it’s a joke, but now I want you to know that I truly want to teach you everything I know, so that you can take over one day, after I retire...”

  “Retire?” Viktor blinked. “You’re in your twenties. Why on earth are you even thinking about retirement?” Then he remembered she had been crying earlier. “Did you just find out that you have a rare, incurable, and deadly disease or something?”

  “No,” Alycia said with a frown. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not going to drop dead anytime soon.”

  Then what the hell was all this about?

  “I’m not forcing you, of course,” she continued. “And even if you agree, it doesn’t mean you’ll have to be here every day either. I just want you to know that I’m serious about this.”

  To be fair, learning more about her gadgets definitely had its appeal. After all, Kazyk’s inventions had proven their usefulness more than once, and hers might just do the same. But the fact remained that he wasn’t exactly thrilled about the possibility of being blown up at any given moment. Still, it was kind of hard to say that to her face—

  No, wait.

  He could tell that to her face. Yes, he totally could.

  “You want to know why I stopped coming?” Viktor said. “It’s because this place is unsafe. You’ve admitted to destroying some buildings in the past, and it’s not like that’s behind you. It’s still happening. You’ve just lost a firebomb, and you shrugged it off like it was no big deal. That kind of attitude worries me. It’s reckless, irresponsible, and it puts others in danger.”

  That was rich, coming from the very person who stole the bomb in the first place. Still, the point stood. Alycia stared at him, taken aback, and then she slowly nodded.

  “You’re... right. It’s not that I’m not aware of my problems. I just... don’t know how to fix them.”

  “Have someone who can keep you in check, who can hold you accountable. No, not me. Ask someone else.”

  “Who?”

  “How am I supposed to know? You’ve got plenty of coin, right? Then hire someone. Sure, finding the right person might take a while, so get Rhea to help for the time being.”

  “But she’s already busy with her job at the Guild. Besides...”

  “Besides what?”

  Alycia sighed. “It’s not like I’ve never asked her to help out. But she won’t take my money, and I can’t just let her work for free. It’s such a dilemma.”

  Ugh.

  This was why he had no patience for the do-gooders, the ones who always bent over backwards trying to do right by everyone but themselves. Honestly, would it kill them to be a bit selfish once in a while?

  “Fine. Here’s the plan. Rhea doesn’t have to lift a finger. You’re the one who has to handle everything. Make a full inventory of every item in your shop. Every single one, especially the ones that can explode, melt walls, or poison people. Store them properly. Monitor them. Check them regularly. Think about how to keep them from being lost or stolen, and come up with a contingency plan in case they are. All of that is on you. Rhea’s only job is to make sure you do it and to track your progress. You report to her and she reports to me. Only after I find the result satisfactory will I agree to be your apprentice.”

  “That’s... a lot.”

  “Those are my terms. Take it or leave it.”

  Alycia drew a breath. “Alright,” she said at last, “I’ll do it.”

  “Good.” Viktor hopped off the counter and headed for the door. “We’ll tell Rhea at lunch, and you’ll get started right after. Oh, don’t forget to buy me a meal, but don’t let Claire know that I asked. Come up with an excuse.”

  Alycia shrugged. “I don’t have to. You’ve helped a lot.”

  Did he? Viktor couldn’t remember doing a thing for her. Well, whatever. People were free to feel grateful for nothing if they wanted. Who was he to correct them?

  He was halfway through the door when a thought hit him. He paused. “Hey, you know anything about the current King of Lyndor?”

  “What?” Alycia raised an eyebrow at the sudden question that had absolutely nothing to do with what they had been talking about. “Why do you ask?”

  “No reason. Just wondered if you’d heard anything.”

  Alycia tilted her head. “Well, I could tell you a lot more about the King of Arstenia, but Lyndor? Not much, honestly. Their new king only ascended to the throne earlier this year, so there hasn’t been much time for him to do anything. I haven’t heard anything particularly good or bad about him.”

  “Earlier this year?” Viktor blinked. “What happened to the previous king?”

  “Dead, obviously. Natural causes, as far as I know. He was quite old, so it wasn’t exactly shocking.” She gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry, I can’t be more helpful.”

  “No,” Viktor said, grinning. “You helped a lot.”

  That was it—the final piece of the puzzle. Now everything had come together. The mystery had finally been solved.