The next day..

  Alexander has been away for a while. Even with Obsidian on our doorstep, he was off on business. Leo said his mission was top secret, and that only a few knew. It would be nice to gather information on him, but my movements are restricted. In Grand Sasebella, my movements are known. The lanes are watched and rumors jump faster than cats. If I disappear, an uproar would begin. Maybe I can gather information by talking to the man himself.

  I pushed through the heavy doors of the entertainment complex. The place hit like a warm wave. Oil-lamp glow, the tang of roasted meat, and drums playing in a lazy rhythm. Tonight it was fuller than when I’d first been here. More voices, more laughter trying to swallow the long faces of merchants used to counting losses.

  This time, there was more people. Before we were in the middle of a war, so I understood. Now, there were hundreds. My presence was noted.

  Heads turned in the clustered booths as I scanned the crowd. The booth we claimed sat like an island among the sea of bodies. Jane smiling, Odina already loose with drink, Kaiguya’s jaw hard, Kaiguro quieter than usual beside his brother, and Caleb animated in a way that made the guards keep their distance. Finn was tucked away as always, eyes watching, training even more than me. And there, sitting in the shadowed back, was who I assumed to be Alexander. He had his arms crossed, and had risen ginger hair. He had so many scars. The scars mapped a geography of fights. Thin white lines crisscrossing his face, a deeper ridge over one eyebrow. He looked younger than the portrait Leo showed. It might be someone he knows. They were being guarded. A formality so nobody unimportant would mingle with us. I walked over, and slid in next to Jane.

  I kissed her. She smiled, and said, "Good morning."

  Her hand found mine beneath the table for half a breath. The band in the distance chimed and a dancer flicked by in a bright scarf. I replied, "Good morning."

  Alexander had his eyes closed, or at least he looked like a man letting the room pass over him.

  I put on a serious face, "Especially to you, Alexander."

  His eyelids lifted a fraction and he opened one eye, meeting mine with a look like a blade being tested on a whetstone. "And to you, Vellin. I've heard so much about you while I was away."

  The voice was dry and even, the kind that measured words for weight. There was no flattery in it—only acknowledgement.

  Odina swayed back and forth drunkenly, and nearly fell on Kaiguya's shoulder, "Y-y-yeah yeah... size each other up, maniacs."

  Her speech came out like loose beads. She wobbled, caught by the music and the wine, and for a moment the scorpion ornament in her hair bobbed like a pendulum. Laughter from a nearby table answered her, merciful and small.

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  Kaiguya, ever the steadier, grabbed her elbow and righted her, "You've been drinking a lot today."

  His tone was more brotherly than scolding, but there was steel under it. He kept an eye on her.

  Alexander stared at Odina for a moment, the corners of his mouth not moving, "Get her in check. I don't even know why she's here, if I'm being honest."

  He said it plainly, and the line sat between them like a fact.

  Caleb clapped Alexander on the shoulder with a grin that showed more faith, "Let her get revenge for her tribe. She's not so weak that she'll be useless." He then turned to me, "You sure you don't want me to come, too?"

  Caleb liked battles like men like wine, full-bodied and immediate. I looked across at the dancers, the lights glinting off sequins and the hems of skirts. I looked at the safe, measured faces of our company.

  I looked at some of the dancers, "You have to protect the people here. Leo let you loose in Hasfra, and even that was pushing it, considering it was so close to the Burnout Tournament."

  The reminder landed soft but firm. This isn’t a night for another fight. It’s a night to have allies standing where the most important people can see them. Caleb’s grin faltered into a nod of understanding and a half sigh.

  Kaiguro leaned forward, eyes sharp despite the quiet. "So what's your plan?"

  The question settled into the booth like a coiled thing. Odina had used drink to drown her sorrows. Kaiguro and Kaiguya are using hate to ignore it. Each of them wore their coping differently. Odina loose and loud, Kaiguro stiff as a prayer, Kaiguya tight and ready.

  I said, "Well, it depends. Chatna as a city has been properly mapped and we've all memorized it. What hasn't been memorized is where Ryuha's lab is."

  The city’s arteries were known to us. The missing piece was the heart.

  Kaiguya let Odina droop onto the table. He sighed, "Can't we just use Sun's connections? Someone's got to know."

  Using Sun's spies should have been the easy path.

  I explained, "We tried already. Sun's best spies were unable to figure out the location. If they did, they died before being able to tell us via carrier pigeon."

  Silence followed that for a few moments.

  Alexander took a drink of the wine, straight from the bottle, "I think I know where he is."

  His fingers toyed with the bottle’s neck before he lifted it. The movement was casual, but his tone carried the kind of certainty that made heads turn. He knows?

  I said, "Tell us."

  He cracked his index finger, a small, deliberate pop that punctuated the air. "There's this underground city below Chatna."

  I nodded, letting the image sit for a moment. "You're talking about Coryn?"

  He continued, "Yes. When I was away, there were rumors of an area at the far end plagued with gas that booted the people living there out. There isn't anything that should cause deadly gas down there. It's so strong it even killed an A Rank mercenary."

  His eyes were flat when he said it, solemn. Fear of gas wasn’t small—it chewed through non transcended.

  I agreed, "Makes sense, I guess. Ryuha has who knows what up his sleeve, and he doesn't want anyone getting close."

  Caleb let out a short laugh that was more defiance than amusement. "Then, when you get down there, how are you going to kill the bastard and his goons?"

  Alexander opened both eyes fully then, and for a beat the room felt the shift. The man no longer only measured, he was present. "Disrespectfully."

  It wasn't an explanation so much as a threat with a shrug.

  Kaiguya's face contorted, his mouth working as if to sculpt violence into words, "Brutally."

  The vow came out sharp, immediate. Odina, between sips, let out a hiccupping laugh and punctuated it with, "With beer!"

  For a moment the table broke into rough laughter.

  For me, it was justice. For Kaiguya, it was revenge. For Odina, it was also revenge.

  For Alexander, it was release.