“Wren?” I called. “What is this?”

  After nearly three weeks, the repairs to Wren’s office were finally done, along with a few upgrades. He’d been working out of his apartment upstairs in the meantime. Cael and I had come to help him move everything back into the office.

  I’d intended to move the stuff we didn’t need frequently into the smaller of Wren’s storerooms, only to find… this.

  Wren peered over my shoulder, shifting the box he was carrying higher in his arms. S’a workroom, innit?”

  “It looks like a brothel exploded in your workshop.” I sneezed. “…And what is that smell?!”

  “S’incense. Traditional an’ all.” He took a deep breath. And began to wheeze. “… Fine… S’shit, but I were workin’ onna budget.”

  “Wren…” I sighed. “We’re not opening a fortune teller’s shop.”

  “S’a good setup!” He gestured at the draped scarves, the crystal ball on a round table, and the giant stuffed raven sitting beside what looked an awful lot like an old cookbook. He’d artfully displayed them beside his old alchemy setup — complete with glass flasks full of ‘mysterious’ bubbling coloured liquids. “Took me all yesterday te set up.”

  “… No.”

  “Ere’s half-a-dozen of ‘em close ’nough te spit at! ‘Elp an’old man out, will ye,” he whined. “S’like Punk’s ‘nother apprentice, right? An’ yer watchdogs’re scarin’ me customers.”

  “You know I don’t have any say in that,” I reminded him, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Tempest had permanently assigned Sam and Cecil as my guards. There had been a fight about it. I had lost.

  “Ye could’ve brung yer elf. Least ‘e can make decent coffee.”

  “We’re trying to be discreet, remember? A six-and-a-half-foot tall elf with pink hair in a House uniform is not discreet!” There had been a fight about that too. Edrin was Not Happy.

  “Ye blew up me office!”

  “YOU blew up your office! I was there!”

  He harrumphed grumpily. “Fine! Break me ‘eart, why don’t ye.”

  I sighed. “Wren, thank you. I appreciate the effort, but… all this? It’s not necessary.”

  He stepped around me and dropped his box on the round table, chuckling. “I ge’ye, Brat. We’cn clear out th’crap and set y’up wi’ a proper workroom.”

  “… Don’t you want your storage room back?”

  “Ye mad?” He barked a laugh. “Ye’ll need it wi’ how busy ye’ll be.”

  I looked at him blankly. “… At what?”

  “We’re Watch Consultants now, all formal-like.”

  “… Wren, that was a pretense, remember? Our ‘clientele’ is two inspectors who didn’t really want us involved in the first place.”

  He blinked at me. “… Ye daft, Brat? Ye’ve any clue how much enchanted crap ‘ny investigation turns up? ‘Less it’s dangerous ‘nough, it’s not worth Disenchantin’. They stuff it in a damned closet an’ ferget ‘bout it. But ye c’n do it cheap — don’ need no reagents or tools te deal wi’ it.”

  “… Wren,” I warned. “What I can do is a secret. You promised me.”

  “Tha’s th’ brilliant bit. Yer my apprentice, right? So’s every’un jes’ thinks yer jest ‘nother Alchemist. We tell’em ye need practice an’ give’em a ‘discount.’ Say ‘s ‘at cost’ or ‘civic duty’ ‘r somethin’. C’n teach ye the basics, an’ no one looks twice.”

  … That was actually a really good idea.

  “C’mn, Brat. ‘S wins all ‘round,” he wheedled, taking my box from me and placing it on the slightly singed tablecloth beside his. “Ye get te practice Breakin’ an’ a cover, Watch gets te lose ‘eir junk fer cheaper, an’ we get a reputat’n fer bein’ good an’ discreet, which’ll get em’ te bring us other cases. Sides.” He grinned and flipped a corner of the moth-eaten rug over with his foot, revealing the edge of a heavily engraved iron ring inset into the floor. “I did th’ place up special fer ye. C’n ’ardly do yer stuff out front.”

  My jaw dropped. “…Wren. You … you shouldn’t have.”

  It was a high-powered warded barrier, permanently marked into the wide iron band and just waiting to be activated. Even with my limited skills as an Enchanter, I could recognize the money and skill that must have gone into it.

  “It’s… too much,” I said softly, unable to look away. That he would go through all that effort…

  Wren’s grin softened to a fond smile. “Was worth ev’ry copper te keep th’ pair o’ye safe, ye an’ Punk. Nothin’s makin’ it throug’tha’, whatever ye’en’ up dealin’ wi’.” He patted my shoulder affectionately. “Promised te take care’e ye. Meant it.”

  “Thank you, Wren. This is… thank you. It’s brilliant.”

  “‘Course it is! An’ best part is, we c’n undercut ev’ry other bastard in th’ city doin’ it too.” He rubbed his hands gleefully and did a happy little dance. “Goin’te make a killin’!”

  I groaned.

  He shot me a look of pure innocence. “Said I’d giv’em a discount. Nev’r said ‘ow much.”

  ————————

  To my annoyance, Wren was right.

  It took only three days for a constable to show up with a box of items for me to disenchant. Thea was thrilled when she found out, and set up a second set of detectors in our workroom.

  Ser Sara insisted on training Cael alongside me, adding bodyguard lessons to my already packed training programme. I spent a lot of time getting tossed around and earning a whole collection of new bruises while Cael tried and mostly failed to keep me ‘alive.’

  By midwinter, Lilian had formally become Tempest’s ward, and had already befriended all of the servants’ children on the estate. She and Cael moved into a small suite of rooms close to my own.

  Edrin, meanwhile, had completely taken over as my valet while Louise was promoted to the estate’s head housekeeper. After some internal debate, I finally decided to let Edrin in on my magical secrets.

  I hesitantly explained everything to him one morning. His only reaction was a brief pause and a nod of acknowledgement as he continued to brush my hair.

  “What were you expecting?” Cael asked later as our coach rumbled towards the knight’s chapterhouse.

  I fluttered my hands uncertainly. “I don’t know! Surprise? Mild horror? … Extreme horror? Definitely not—” I opened the bundle Edrin had handed me before we left. “—A nicely packed lunch for two. With dessert. And a note.”

  Cael grabbed the white square of paper tucked inside and examined Edrin’s elegant scrawl.

  “‘Have fun, Milord. Try not to get punched in the face. Again. Thief, if his Lordship returns with another black eye, I will hold you responsible.’” He snorted. “Yeah. He’s terrified.”

  “Please don’t,” I said with a rueful grin, packing our lunch up. “I keep expecting… something dramatic. But the reactions I’ve been getting are almost anticlimactic.”

  Being a Hexbreaker made me ‘useful.’ Locke and Asher were still partly convinced it was why I’d been kidnapped. But being a Shadow mage made me ‘evil.’

  Shouldn’t someone be freaking out a bit more?

  “D’you really want us to?”

  “I mean — no, not really. It’s just disconcerting, considering the consequences.”

  I’d been forced to reveal my secret to Autumn and Ser Sara too, after a little excitement flare-up. Autumn had acted like he’d known all along and didn’t see why it mattered. Ser Sara had been more interested in its impact on my combat abilities and was already designing a training regimen.

  I was beginning to feel like I was failing at this ‘Villainess’ gig a lot more than I should be.

  He shrugged and grinned as the coach slowed and rolled to a stop. “You’re overthinking, Princess. Just means people trust you.”

  Cael’s fingers had barely grazed the latch when the door flew open and Autumn climbed inside.

  “Finally! Was starting to think you were never going to show. Move over, would you?” He sat down beside me and scooted closer, squishing me against the far wall.

  ”Autumn? Wha—!?”

  The coach suddenly lurched on an angle. I grabbed frantically at the armrest to keep from sliding into my brother’s side.

  A massive, bearded man edged through the door. He dropped onto the seat beside a startled-looking Cael, making the coach bounce and nearly flattening my friend. He looked like a cross between a Viking and a grizzly bear.

  I recognized him instantly.

  Sir David Hallow, The Knight-Commander. I’d never spoken to him before — trainees didn’t merit his attention unless one royally screwed up — but I’d seen him stalking around the training field. The man was unmistakable.

  I swallowed nervously. “… Autumn?”

  “Hold on a sec.” My brother knocked on the side of the coach, and we began to move. He looked Cael and me over. “Little under prepared,” He commented critically, lifting the edge of my cloak. “What’s in the package?”

  “Our lunch?”

  He grunted. “You at least brought your weapons, right?”

  “Of course we did.” My hand fell to the long knives at my waist. I never went anywhere without them.

  Cael nodded and pulled his tonfa from beneath his coat.

  Autumn poked me in the side, making me squirm. “Not sure your fancy vests count as armour, though.”

  I smacked his hand away. “They’re heavy silk — they’re not meant to be armour. What’s your point?” He’d better not have hijacked my coach for a damned joyride.

  “Yeah, you should be fine.” He dropped my cloak with a shrug. “You never trained in armour anyways. Just let Thomas take the lead.”

  … Who the hells was Thomas?!

  My utter confusion must have finally registered on Autumn, because he smacked his head, his expression contrite. “Sorry, Violet. I guess I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. Thomas is the trainee.”

  He leaned back, revealing a young guy in a knight-trainee uniform sitting on his other side. He looked about Cael’s age, maybe a year or so older than myself. Freckles specked his cheeks, and his brown hair stuck out haphazardly from beneath his knitted cap.

  Thomas smiled hesitantly and gave me a little wave, staring at me with worried-looking yellow-green eyes.

  When had he climbed aboard?

  Autumn gestured at me. “Thomas, this is my youngest brother, Violet, Earl of Southsea, and his… uh…”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Cael grinned. “Retainer.”

  “Retainer, Cael Mattis. They’re going to be your team. Don’t worry, they get it.” Autumn leaned in. “Violet’s a Shadow mage and Cael’s a Seer.”

  … Whatthefuck?!

  “… WHAT THE FUCK?!” Cael lurched out of his seat, looking like he was about to punch my brother. Then nearly fell over when the coach ran over a pothole.

  I’d have echoed the sentiment, except I was too busy trying to simultaneously keep an eye on this Thomas guy and the fucking Knight-Commander, who — thanks to my big-mouthed idiotic brother — both now knew one of my top three deepest secrets.

  Thomas flinched away from me, looked about as shocked as I felt and more than a bit freaked out. Sir Hallow looked more surprised and confused than anything else.

  “Saints, calm down.” Autumn flapped his hand, waving Cael back into his seat. “Why’re you two freaking out? Thomas is Beastkin. That’s the whole point.”

  “Autumn! What point!?”

  He stared at me in confusion. “We discussed this. … Didn’t we?”

  “No, Autumn,” I ground out. I could feel the tiny muscles beneath my eye twitching. “We did not.”

  He grimaced. “… Hells. I was sure we talked about it.”

  … I could strangle him. I could strangle him, and throw his corpse out the door. No one would convict me. Maybe he’d get eaten by a bear.

  With the rumble of boulders rolling down a hill, Sir Hallow cleared his throat and interrupted my plotting. “I apologize, Earl Dusk. I wasn’t aware your brother hadn’t told you… anything.” Autumn winced as Sir Hallow scowled at him. “First, I already knew about your magic. Autumn and your instructor reported it to me.”

  “Sir Dave’s in charge!” Autumn retorted when I shot him a betrayed glare. “I couldn’t NOT tell him.”

  “What I didn’t know was that he hadn’t mentioned that detail to you. I would have spoken to you myself in that case. I have no intention of telling anyone. You have my word.”

  “I was going to do it!”

  Sir Hallow ignored him. “I also asked him to speak with you both, discreetly—”

  Autumn winced.

  “— about young Thomas here. As Autumn mentioned, he’s Beastkin. I also think he’s got the makings of a great knight. Normally, I’d send him out with other trainees, but that won’t work in this case: I can’t assess what he can do if he’s busy hiding. Sir Autumn suggested we should talk with you.”

  I glanced past my brother at the young man in question. Thomas’s eyes were locked on the floor, his jaw tight and his hands clenched in his lap. I felt for him: most people thought of Beastkin as little more than thieves or animals.

  Autumn crossed his arms and puffed out his chest proudly. “You guys are good in practice, but Ser Sara wants to see how you do in a real fight. I figured we can’t send you two out with the others either, so I thought we could team the three of you up, with me and Sir Dave as backup.”

  … There was no way Autumn had come up with that coherent a plan by himself.

  Cael leaned forward and grinned. “Sounds fun. We’re in.”

  “Cael?!”

  He scoffed. “Like you were gonna say no, Princess.”

  He had me there.

  ———————

  After a short ride through a snowy wood, our coach stopped again.

  It amazed me just how big the palace grounds were: room for the castle and its gardens, the Academy, and more, within a private forest that shielded everything from outside eyes. I probably wouldn’t find a bear, although wolves were a safe bet.

  “…Is this it?” I asked, peering out my window through the falling snow.

  We’d stopped in front of a tiny, darkened cabin standing all alone at the end of the road. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting when Autumn had mentioned a real fight, but this wasn’t it.

  “Not yet,” Sir Dave rumbled. The entire coach rocked as he stepped out. “It’s a rest stop. We’ll leave your coach and anything you don’t want to carry here.”

  The forest was eerily quiet. The only sound was the snow crunching under our feet as we followed Sir Dave to the cabin’s front door.

  As he pushed it open, lanterns spaced out along the walls lit themselves, and the massive fireplace set into one wall sprang to life. Maybe this place was more interesting than I thought.

  “There’s a stable around back. Your driver and bodyguards—”

  Cecil didn’t wait for Sir Dave to finish. My bodyguard threw himself from the driver’s box where he and Sam had ridden and barged past the commander, his coat and extra blankets flapping in his wake. Without a word, he dropped into one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and tugged his blankets tighter around his shoulders.

  “… can wait for us inside.”

  Cecil balefully eyed those of us still standing at the open door and shuffled his chair closer to the fire, shivering.

  Somehow I didn’t think he was going to put up much of an argument about being left behind.

  Sam was another matter. The taciturn woman scowled at Sir Dave’s words, crossing her arms and angling closer to my side.

  Autumn dropped an arm around my shoulders. “He’ll be fine,” he promised her breezily. “The commander and I’ll watch out for him.”

  She didn’t look convinced.

  I looked up at her. “This is a part of my training. If Sir Dave wants you to wait here, then I need you to wait here.”

  She still didn’t look convinced, but she uncrossed her arms with a sigh. “Yes, milord.”

  “Thank you.”

  Nevertheless, she stuck close to me until we were all safely inside.

  “We’ll continue on foot from here.” Sir Dave pulled off his heavy coat and tossed it on a wooden bench, revealing armour underneath. “Leave everything you don’t want to carry here.”

  Autumn and Thomas followed suit. The two of them had come lightly armoured, geared for maneuverability over protection. We weren’t going into a pitched battle, at least.

  In contrast, Sir Dave had bothered with an actual chain shirt and gorget, and had brought fully armoured gauntlets. If things went to hell, he was ready to handle it.

  I reluctantly pulled off my warm cloak and added it to the growing pile. I had good cold tolerance, but the others? “Won’t we need our coats?”

  Autumn adjusted his small shield. “We’re not going far. And then they’ll just get in the way. Everybody ready? Good. let’s go.” He threw open the cabin’s door and strode out without waiting for a reply.

  Back outside, Autumn walked around the cabin and past the stables where my driver, Henry, was unharnessing our horses. The bare trees closed in behind the cabin, cut through by a snowy path that led deeper into the woods. Autumn led us unerringly down it, followed closely by Thomas. Cael and I walked together a little behind them, our boots squeaking on the packed snow, while Sir Dave took up the rear.

  The young man had been silent the entire ride here, and even now, kept his eyes firmly forward, his gaze fixed on my brother’s back, his shoulders tight.

  He hadn’t acknowledged me since he’d been introduced, only sending the occasional glance my way.

  The walk was short — the little cabin had just vanished behind the screen of trees when the path opened into a clearing. A lone, wooden door stood in the centre, set in a stone arch.

  It was… just a door.

  The wood was held together with iron bands, covered in fine scrollwork that was both indistinct and somehow unsettling. The arch’s outer edge was ragged, like the rest of the building had been torn away, leaving only this one door standing there all by itself.

  Magic poured off it, so thick and heavy I could barely breathe.

  It was beautiful and wondrous and terrible, like a category-five hurricane making landfall in a snow globe, or a DaVinci sketch of a nuclear reactor.

  “What is it?” I whispered, overcome by awe.

  Autumn grinned. “Welcome to the Labyrinth, little brother.” He pushed the door open and strode through, vanishing into the darkness beyond. Thomas followed, close on my brother’s heels.

  Cael sauntered through behind them, leaving me standing in the clearing alone, gaping.

  I slowly peeked around the far side of the arch, wide-eyed. From the front, the door appeared to open inwards into darkness. From the back, the door was closed, the snow around it completely undisturbed. A small snowdrift had formed in the shelter of the stone arch, half covering the door.

  “Is something the matter, Earl Dusk?”

  I jumped. The commander was standing beside me, watching me.

  “No. I’m sorry,” I replied, my voice shakier than I would have liked. “It’s nothing.”

  “It’s strange, isn’t it.” He turned his attention from me to the door itself, running a gauntleted finger along the fractured stonework. “This place is ancient, older than the kingdom, some say. Older than the one before it, even. Some say the elves built it, before humans came. Others think it was built by the gods when the world was still young. I can’t imagine what it looks like through a Hexbreaker’s eyes.”

  A cold sweat beaded the back of my neck.

  Did he know? Had I given myself away somehow?

  “It must look incredible,” I agreed, trying to keep my tone light.

  “Do you know what my Talent is, Earl Dusk?”

  The question took me by surprise. “No?”

  “I can read auras.”

  Oh hells.

  “Yours is … memorable.” He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I’m not a Seer, not the way your friend is — I can only feel the shape of a person. It does make a very good judge of character, though. Good enough that no one questions me when I want to take three trainees out personally.”

  “I’m a Hexbreaker and a Shadow mage.” I admitted quietly, keeping my eyes fixed on the crumbling arch in front of me. “And the damned thing is indescribable.”

  “Sir Autumn doesn’t know?”

  I shook my head. “The fewer who know of either of my abilities, the better, and it seems Autumn has a big mouth. I can count the people who know of both on one hand. I told my valet this morning, although I’m beginning to suspect he already knew.”

  “He probably did. Elves are far more in tune with the magic that surrounds them than any human could ever hope to be.”

  The commander turned towards the door but paused, his hand still resting on the arch. “Can I give you a piece of advice, Lord Dusk?

  “Please.”

  “Your brother’s… not a deep thinker, but he’s one of the most loyal people I’ve met. I’d consider telling him. He’s got a knack for seeing potential where you’d never expect – especially when it comes to combat.”

  Without another word, he stepped through and was swallowed by the darkness within.

  I took a deep breath and followed him. The door’s magic slid over my skin like spiderwebs, making me shudder.

  Cael was waiting for me on the other side, leaning against the crumbling wall bracketing the door. He grinned as I stopped and gaped.

  “Whoa,” I breathed.

  I stood in a crumbling city square under a dark grey sky. Guttering torches lit the ruins of abandoned, crumbling buildings and fallen statues. A mournful breeze howled through the empty windows and black doorways, warm and dry with a hint of ozone, as if a sandstorm were just beyond the horizon. Alleys and streets led off from the square in all directions. Looking down one, the ruined city seemed to go on forever.

  Behind me, the same door stood in solitary splendour in the middle of the square, a couple meters of shattered wall clinging to either side. Through it, I could see the snowy clearing. Drifts of snow blew in through the opening, melting quickly and forming a large puddle on the shattered cobblestones.

  “Creepy,” I murmured.

  Cael laughed wryly. “Yeah.”

  Across the square, Autumn and Thomas stood in front of a massive building whose front wall has been torn away. The upper floors had collapsed into themselves, but the lowest floor was intact. A disintegrating altar stood inside, surrounded by dozens of lit candles of all shapes and sizes. Hundreds of splintered wood chips spilled from the offering bowls strewn across the altar’s top and across the floor in front of it. A small chest stood in the centre, the lid closed.

  They were speaking quietly. Thomas kept glancing occasionally over his shoulder at us, looking nervous.

  As the commander joined them, Autumn gave Thomas a gentle push in our direction.

  Thomas approached us hesitantly and stopped a few feet away. “I, uhm.” He glanced uncertainly back at Autumn, who smiled and made a ‘go for it’ gesture. “Th-thank you, Earl Dusk, Master Mattis! For agreeing to come with us. I-I really appreciate it!” He bowed.

  “It’s not a problem. I hate to admit it, but Cael was right — I’m glad to help,” I said as he straightened awkwardly.

  “And seeing this place…” I exhaled, suppressing a shiver, caught somewhere between unease and eagerness. “Exploring it with you sounds exciting.”

  “Still… thank you, Earl Dusk.”

  “That’s what friends are for,” Cael added nonchalantly.

  Thomas froze like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide. “You… want to be my friends?”

  Cael glanced at me and shrugged.

  “Of course,” I replied uncertainly. I knew my reputation was bad, but I didn’t know it was this bad.

  He swallowed nervously. “Are… are you sure you want to be friends with… someone like me?”

  A Beastkin, he meant.

  I sighed. Only one way to deal with this kind of bullshit.

  I held out my hand and smiled. “Hello, my name is Violet Briar Dusk. I’m a Shadow mage. My friends call me Violet, and I would very much like it if you were one of them.”

  He stared at my hand in disbelief for a moment, but slowly reached out and took it. The nervous tension melted out of him, and he smiled.

  Holy hells.

  The guy was dazzling; that smile was like the sun coming out after a storm, all warm and full of rainbows. He reminded me of a giant puppy.

  “D’aww.” Cael cooed and pulled us into a hug. “You two’re too damned cute.”

  I laughed and pushed him off. “Asshole.”

  “Told you it’d be fine,” my brother announced, sauntering over as Cael released us. “Now, if we’re all good, let’s get going.”

  “We’re not ‘all good!’” I snarled and jabbed him in the breastplate hard enough to bruise my finger. “You’re still on my shit list for this. In fact, you are my shit list right now!”

  He took a half-step back in surprise. “What was that for?!”

  “‘What for?!’” I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Why do you think? Dumping this shitty surprise on me without warning! Did you think for a moment that MAYBE I’d have liked a chance to prepare? Brought a canteen? Hells! Do you think I’d have come dressed like this?!”

  I pirouetted, showing off one of my favourite outfits: a gold-embroidered emerald vest laced with gold trimmed cream ribbon on top of a cream silk shirt, It was just a little on the large side and left untucked, allowing its lace trim to show below the vest. A golden cravat graced my shirt’s high collar, pinned with an emerald brooch. Edrin had even braided a long chain of crystal ivy leaves into my hair which shone in the flickering firelight.

  Autumn looked me up and down. “But… you always dress like that. We’ve trained to fight with you dressed like that.”

  “You’re right. I can fight in this getup. But that doesn’t mean I want to! I was supposed to be throwing a few knives and practicing adjusting them!”

  I’d been looking forward to it, actually. Since arrows relied on airflow for stability and knives were basically big sails, I’d discovered it was possible to alter their trajectory mid-flight, at least enough to turn a close miss into a clean hit with surprisingly little effort. I was itching to find out if, with enough practice, I could steer them too.

  “If I’d known I was going on a… a dungeon crawl, I’d have worn something I didn’t mind getting torn and bloody! And I wouldn’t have worn jewelry worth more than most people’s annual income!”

  The emerald set in my gold brooch was a vibrant bluish-green and as big as my thumbnail, and my emerald and pearl earrings were airy works of art. Even my dumb ass knew I was wearing a small fortune.

  “… Well!?”

  Autumn turned red with embarrassment. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.” He scratched the back of his neck.“Uhm. you look… really nice today?”

  “I look…” What?

  “Yeah, it makes your eyes look, ah, big? And the leaf thing makes your hair sparkle.”

  …

  “… Violet?”

  I exploded into helpless laughter, right in my dear brother’s face.

  I couldn’t help it. Everything about this conversation… this day — this life even, was ridiculous. It hit me all at once, all because Autumn had said I looked … nice.

  All I could do was laugh.

  “Uhh… Princess?” Cael asked, patting me on the back as I choked for air between laughs. “Y’ok?”

  “I’m … fine,” I managed to wheeze. My cheeks ached from the force of my grin. “It’s fine, Autumn. It happens. Just, please keep it in mind next time. Or else.”

  Autumn narrowed his eyes. “… Or else what?”

  I smiled. Villainously. “Or else I’ll start sending you my clothing bills.”

  He blanched.

  Considering he lived off a knight’s stipend, I’d ruin him in under a week.