“I told ya you’d be impressed,” said Kaelis, leaning herself against the counter of a spacious, sun-drenched brokerage. The last few pieces of loot from the Dremasean job sat on the countertop in front of her, splayed out beside her now empty satchel. Excitedly sifting through the objects was Solovan, one of the store’s namesake proprietors: a shockingly handsome man for a broker, and only a few years Kaelis’s senior to boot. She watched him work, every so often taking a moment to slyly drink in his dapper appearance.

  It was Kaelis’s first time at Solovan & Son’s—a large brokerage grandly stationed in the northeast side of the city, out of the way from Kaelis’s usual stomping grounds. Despite its reputation as a city staple, she’d never really felt the need to visit—she’d always figured it was a bit touristy for her tastes. But now that she was there, she was kicking herself for not coming in sooner. Aside from its strapping shopkeep, Solovan & Son’s had more in common with a candy store than a brokerage. Densely packed shelves of artifacts soared up to the rafters, sitting in between immaculately assembled displays and bones of slain Unbound that had been bolted together in dramatic poses and hung from the ceiling with wire. A dozen other customers rummaged through the aisles, ogling the varied relics and curiosities the store had to offer.

  “I can’t believe how old this is!” the handsome Solovan exclaimed, peering through his eyepiece at a goblet scaled in silver. “Just look at this metalwork. The techniques used to shape this piece puts it at no later than a hundred years Post-Sundering.” Laying down his lens, he threw Kaelis a curious grin. “Where did you find all these?”

  “Ah, I can’t give up my best spot,” replied Kaelis with a wink.

  “Oh, come now, you must!”

  “Well, let’s just say I found ‘em in a belltower just south of the Pass.”

  Solovan raised his brows. “Richter’s Pass is tough terrain. I’m impressed!”

  “Ah, nothing I can’t handle,” boasted Kaelis.

  “And hidden in a tower, you say? You must be quite lucky.”

  Kaelis leaned in, throwing the broker a seductive glance. “Not as lucky as I’d like to be.”

  Solovan playfully smirked back—he was definitely into it. Keeping things moving, he pointed to the journal clutched in Kaelis’s hand. “Ahem—So, do you want me to appraise that as well?” he asked. “It looks like it could be worth something.”

  “Oh, no,” said Kaelis quickly. “This was my grandma-ma’s. I couldn’t bear to part with it.”

  “Well, if you ever change your mind…” Solovan trailed off as he moved to compile some figures in a large ledger. “These items will fetch a great price at auction. And you’re sure you just want to sell them off wholesale?”

  “Yeah, that’s my orders,” said Kaelis sadly. “Between you and me, my boss doesn’t appreciate a good find.”

  Solovan chuckled as he finished his calculations. “Oh, I know the type, believe me… Okay, we’re looking at about fifty-eight hundred saebles for the lot. We got a deal?”

  Kaelis nodded. If she pushed she was sure she could get a bit more, but now wasn’t the time to get bogged down in bartering. “Sounds good,” she said.

  “Great. I’ll run into the back room and get your payment.” Solovan shot Kaelis back a flirty smolder. “And maybe afterwards you can tell me more about your adventures.”

  “Well, I’m headin’ up north for a bit,” Kaelis sincerely apologized. “But maybe when I get back to town I’ll give ya a ring.” She flashed him a flirtatious smile. Just because she was going on a suicidal journey through the world’s most dangerous territory didn’t mean she couldn’t leave a few avenues open for when she got back.

  Solovan returned her look. “I’ll… be right back,” he cooed, retreating into the back room.

  Kaelis leaned her back against the counter, feeling relaxed for the first time all day. For once, everything had gone according to plan. The last of the loot was taken care of, no problems whatsoever. As she waited on her payment, she watched the people rummaging through the aisles, imagining their stories and cheerfully basking in the ambience of the shop.

  “Solovaaan!”

  The calm crumbled in an instant as the shop door flung open and a man’s voice called out across the sales floor.

  Kaelis shot upright. The color drained from her face. She knew that voice. It couldn’t be him… could it? She shot a terrified glance at the door, and the man stepping through the threshold.

  Oh ass…

  “Farren Rhane!” exclaimed Solovan, popping his head out from between the backroom curtains. “How the heck are ya?”

  “Ah, there he is!” shouted Rhane, flashing a pair of hearty finger guns in the broker's direction.

  Kaelis froze, suspended in time. There he was, in the flesh, taller and sharper and less monochromatic than the pictures on the radio that she’d tried so hard to ignore. This couldn’t be real—it had to be a nightmare.

  The utterance of Rhane’s name sent a shockwave through the store. At once, the entire clientele of the brokerage stopped dead in their tracks. Zoning in on the budding celebrity in their midst, they all swarmed over and began to shower him in an avalanche of starstruck praise and admiration.

  Rhane grinned brightly, surprised at the attention but clearly loving every second of it. He took a few moments to schmooze with each of his fans individually, which only served to heighten their raucous enthusiasm.

  Kaelis quickly whipped around, facing away from Rhane and the mob. She clutched the journal tightly against her chest, feeling her heart thumping wildly underneath it. Scooting closer to the edge of the counter, she stared into the corner, doing her very best to become part of the scenery.

  “Let me finish this up, I’ll be right with you,” Solovan called to Rhane before disappearing into the storeroom once more.

  Rhane took his sweet time crossing the store, happily answering his fans’ questions about his most recent adventure and signing anything and everything thrust in his face. “Thank you everyone, really,” he hummed, handing an autographed copy of the morning paper back to a quivering woman. “I wish I could buy each and every one of you a drink. But, well, I gotta tend to some official Verloren business. On the clock, you know how it is.”

  Rhane’s mass of admirers dolefully groaned. They politely dispersed, excitedly whispering to each other as they returned to their business, throwing the occasional giddy glance his way. Free of the mob, Rhane walked up to the counter and threw his weight against it, posturing himself next to Kaelis. She remained motionless, her body turned squarely away from him.

  “Afternoon, miss,” Rhane greeted. “I like your dress.”

  “Mhmm,” Kaelis flatly replied.

  Rhane drummed his hands on the countertop. “…So… you catch the paper this morning?”

  Kaelis ignored his question. What was he doing here? She slyly spied on Rhane through the reflection of a nearby window, studying his face. He hadn’t changed at all—not one bit. Sure, his clothes were more stylish and he seemed to have put on some muscle, and… how did he smell so nice? Was that lavender? No, that wasn’t important. He was still the same dumb jerk, and she would never forgive him for what he did. Not ever.

  As she studied him, Kaelis could see in the reflection a subtle crack of curiosity forming in Rhane’s friendly expression. She froze. Did he suspect something?

  Rhane gave the back of Kaelis’s head a once over, a pensive look growing on his face. “I’m sorry, Miss, but do I—”

  Solovan suddenly burst from the back room with a large stack of banknotes, drawing Rhane’s attention just in time. “Rhane!” Solovan greeted with a tremendous grin. The two men locked wrists in a warm embrace. “So great of you to stop by. How’s my favorite field agent?”

  “Tired,” Rhane admitted. “Been cruising all night, and the second I get to port I get put on a new assignment.”

  “Oof.” Solovan offered a sympathetic frown. “Sounds like a rough deal.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not complaining. Besides, if I pull this off, then this might just be my ticket to the big leagues.”

  “Oh, the executive agents, huh?” Solovan grinned. “See, I told ya it was just a matter of time. So—what’s the assignment? Research for the Ama-Lasria expedition?”

  Rhane playfully scoffed. “Come on, you think they’d saddle me with just some boring research? After the Tannimahr job? No, it’s something much more dramatic. Go on, guess.”

  “I’m not gonna guess.”

  Rhane shrugged. “Fine. You’re gonna like this.” He leaned in, glancing around dramatically. “There are thieves on the loose.”

  Solovan raised his brows. “Thieves, eh?”

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  “Yep. They pinched some big time artifact from the company, and I’m here to track them down and bring them in.”

  “Ooh, that’s exciting.”

  Kaelis pursed her lips, her eyes growing wide. He was here to find her. Double ass. Asses?—Doesn’t matter. She scootched deeper into the corner of the room.

  Her slight movement caught Solovan’s eye. He jumped, realizing he’d been keeping her waiting. “Just a sec,” he said to Rhane before rushing over to his customer. He apologetically presented Kaelis a stack of bank notes. “Here you are miss, so sorry for the delay. Is there anything else I can—”

  “Nope, I’m good.” Kaelis snatched the saebles from his hand and quickly made for the door. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

  Solovan stared at her as she left, taken aback by her sudden departure. His attention shifted to her empty sack still laying on the counter. “Oh hey, your bag!” he called out.

  “Keep it!” said Kaelis as she barged through the door, the trill of the bell signaling her exit. She sped down the city sidewalk, traveling just slow enough to not arouse suspicion.

  That was too close. As Kaelis stormed off, she felt them all again: the painful memories, her old team scattered, and all because of him—that ass. But there was no point dwelling on it. Her job was done; she’d sold the goods and got out scot-free. All she needed to do was focus on the task ahead, namely jailbreaking the Redland Runner and escaping the city alive. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, all the while reassuring herself that, with absolute certainty, that was the last time she would ever run into him.

  Rhane couldn’t help but notice that Solovan suddenly seemed a bit down. His friend stooped his shoulders, looking confused and morose. Was this about the woman who just ran off? There was something distinctive about her, or at least there was about the back of her head. Either way, Solovan must have scared her away somehow. Classic Solovan.

  Solovan brought his hand up to his mouth and sniffed his breath. Detecting nothing out of the ordinary, he softly shrugged and scratched his goatee.

  “You alright there?” asked Rhane.

  Solovan shook off the feeling. “Yeah. It’s nothing I guess…”

  “So anyway—” Rhane said, picking up where he’d left off. “Thieves.”

  “Right,” said Solovan. “How can I be of service?”

  “I figured if anyone in this town had the scoop on any strange relics changing hands, it’d be you. Hear anything the past couple days?”

  Solovan thought about it for a moment. “Hmm… nothing comes to mind.”

  “Oh. Really? You sure?” asked Rhane, both surprised and somewhat disappointed. “Well, what about any new faces? You have any first-timers or shady characters come in recently? Maybe someone looking to part with any especially ancient goods?”

  “…Actually, yeah, now that you mention it,” Solovan said, perking up slightly. “That woman who was just here. She had some incredibly rare items on her. Nice eyes too.”

  “What kind of items?”

  “See for yourself,” said Solovan, gesturing to the pile of goods on the counter.

  “Aha, right,” said Rhane, not sure what he was looking at exactly. All he knew was that none of the items were a map of any kind. “And these are rare?”

  “Enough to get my attention,” said Solovan. “Now, it’s not the craziest stuff I’ve seen, so I don’t want to point any fingers just yet. But if you catch up with her she might just know something.”

  Rhane eagerly bristled. “Who did you say it was again?”

  Solovan gestured to the door. “The woman that just left. In the red dress. She went that way.”

  A solid lead! Without a moment to lose, Rhane sprang up and scrambled out the store. He popped his head back inside just before the door closed fully. “Thanks for the tip!” he shouted.

  “Tell her to visit again—!” Solovan called out as he disappeared from view.

  Rhane worked his way down the city sidewalk in the direction Solovan had pointed, on the hunt for a woman in red. He dodged his way through the foot traffic, lifting his head above the crowd. There was no sight of her on the street ahead—she must have turned the corner. He quickened his pace.

  Rhane burst around the corner and diligently scanned the mass of people. His eyes lit up at once.

  There she was!

  Halfway down the block, walking away at a brisk clip, was the woman in the red dress. A shot of excitement surged into Rhane’s veins. He sprang into a light jog. “Hey, miss! In the red! Wait up!” he called to her.

  The woman didn’t stop. Had she not heard him? If anything, she almost seemed to be walking faster.

  Rhane rushed towards her, maneuvering around the throngs of people traversing the busy afternoon streets, politely apologizing as he squeezed by. Curious looks greeted him as he snaked through the crowd, bystanders of all ages recognizing him from his recent exploits. He pursed his lips, trying to ignore the smiling faces of the children, feeling deep pain in his soul as he was forced to disappoint them.

  “Miss, hold on!” he called out to the woman in red once more, growing closer to her.

  The woman didn’t turn around. Instead, she picked up her pace again, Rhane was sure of it this time. And there was no way she couldn’t have heard him. No, he was being deliberately ignored. Why would she ignore him? Rhane entered into a trot, his suspicion growing.

  Suddenly the woman took a sharp turn and walked straight across the road, making her way towards Overlook Park—a small slice of greenery butted up against the bridge’s edge. She set her feet on the winding path through the multicolored gardens, clutching a small book in her arms and moving as fast as a walk could allow.

  Rhane transitioned into a run and followed the woman into the park. The crowds had thinned out—it was just him and her now. “Miss, I really need to talk to you,” he declared as he finally caught up with her, giving her one last benefit of the doubt. She did not stop. Growing annoyed, Rhane dashed ahead of the woman and planted his feet in the ground. He thrust out his palms towards her, firmly signaling for her to stop. “Okay, that’s enou—”

  At that very moment, the woman finally glanced back, looking over her shoulder just as Rhane moved to block her path. Unaware, she strode under his arms and knocked into his chest at full speed.

  “Ah—Wha—!” the woman cried out in shock, the wind knocked from her lungs. As she stumbled back, frazzled, her notebook slipped from her clutches and slapped open onto the pavement. The woman instantly froze. She looked down at the book with dread, and then back up at Rhane. Their eyes met.

  Those eyes. Rhane knew those eyes. They were just as big and bright and jade-green as they’d been the last time he had seen them, standing in her doorway all those years ago. A flood of memories swelled inside his head—a cyclone of moments appearing and dissipating all at once, recollections long neglected and yet never forgotten. He took a step back, shocked and delighted and all together stupefied at the sight of his old adventuring partner.

  “…Kae?” he whispered.

  Kaelis stared back at Rhane in silence, looking just as shocked and stupefied as he did, minus the delight.

  “What… what are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Walking,” Kaelis flatly replied.

  “No, that’s not… I mean…” Rhane paused, taking a moment to reorganize his scattered thoughts. Glancing down, he noticed the notebook laying on the path. “Oh, let me get that for you,” he offered.

  “No!” cried Kaelis, lunging to intercept. Rhane gently picked up the book by the spine, narrowly beating her to it.

  “Oh wow, this is really something,” he declared, admiring the notebook’s rustic binding. “Did you get this at Solovan’s, or—Whoa, are these drawings?”

  “No! Give it back!!” Kaelis shouted, pawing her hand at the book.

  Stricken by curiosity, Rhane dodged, keeping slightly out of range as he flipped through a couple pages of finely inked landscapes. “Wow, these are really good!” he praised.

  “Stop!” Leaping in, Kaelis snatched the notebook out of Rhane’s hand and clutched it against her chest. “It’s personal, you ass!”

  Wising up to his folly, Rhane raised his palms in apology. “Whoa, okay, sorry!” he expressed. “I didn't mean to pry, I just… When did you start drawing?”

  “I didn’t. I mean—shut up! Mind your own business!”

  “Alright, I’m minding. It’s minded.”

  Grumbling to herself, Kaelis flipped through the book, checking for any signs of damage. As she did, Rhane took a moment to look her over. He couldn’t help but smile—she hadn’t changed at all. Sure, her hairstyle was shorter, and she’d somehow grown even more fetching, but she was the same old Kaelis, he was sure of it. And there was no way in hell the Kaelis he knew could ever be a thief.

  “So, how ya been?” asked Rhane after she finished examining her notebook. “I like your hair. The flower is a nice touch.”

  Kaelis instantly plucked the paper flower from her hair and threw it to the ground. Without another word she spun around and began to march away. Rhane took a second to process that rather extreme reaction before rushing to catch up with her.

  “Hey, hold on!” he called, joining her side. “What ship you running with these days?”

  “As if you care.”

  “I do care!” said Rhane. “You’re not still mad at me, are you?”

  Kaelis glowered. “Why don’t you go ask your Verloren buddies? I’m sure they can tell ya.”

  Rhane sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Come on, Kae, it’s been like three years.”

  “Four.”

  “Either way, I…” He bowed his head, waving his arms about vaguely. “Look, I tried to tell you back then, but this whole agent thing, I… I didn’t mean to—”

  “No, shut up!” Kaelis snapped, turning to face him. “You don’t get to… You… you never…” For the briefest second, her anger seemed to soften as she searched for the words. Suddenly unable, or unwilling, to find them, she scowled and stuck a firm finger in his face. “I don’t ever want to talk to you again,” she declared.

  Rhane splayed out his hands, offering her a joking smile. “That’s what you said last time, and yet, here we are—talking.”

  Kaelis shot him an intense glare. Seething, she turned on her heel and stormed off.

  Rhane vented a regretful breath—maybe he’d been a bit too flippant there. “Kae, wait,” he sheepishly called to her as she strode away. She didn’t react. In one last effort, he cupped a hand around his mouth and waved. “It was good seeing you again!” Still, she kept on walking. Rhane dropped his arms and stood in the middle of the park, watching her go until she faded from view altogether.

  Kaelis…

  His mind wandered back to his years with her aboard the New Tradition. It almost felt like a dream at that point: his old team, their old adventures, back before Verloren had singled him out. It was a part of his life he’d figured best to bury. But now, seeing her again, it had all come crashing back. He vividly recalled that horrible feeling—the shame of how he left things. Kaelis wasn’t just the perfect adventuring partner… she was so much more… and, like a fool, he hadn’t realized what was right in front of him until after it was gone.

  Rhane raked a rough hand through his hair—how could he have been so stupid? And now, by some miracle, he’d been given a second chance to set things right… and he’d completely blown it. He just had to go and touch her stuff, irritate her off the bat—and what the hell was that apology? For years he’d imagined what he’d say if he ever saw her again, and when the moment actually came all he could do was stammer like an idiot. It was pathetic!

  Unleashing a great sigh, Rhane angled himself towards the closest bench and sank into it, working to withstand the weight of his half-forgotten feelings. He sat for a long while in those lonely gardens, trying to clear his head with little success. For the first time in ages, fame and glory were the last things on his mind.