Although her heart cried out to sink deep into the precious old book and lose herself for hours, Fern instead closed it delicately, handing it over to Bero carry. "Now, for the sed of my two prizes."

  The bodyguard shifted the book to his left hand. "Decided on it already?"

  "I have." Ravenna had only mentiohe subject briefly, as much as she o; Fern couldn't remember whether the tower held as on the subject or not, but even if it did, she doubted they would be suitable for introductory-level learning. "Time to learn my way around some leylines."

  "Hmm, I see, tapping into heaven ah both. You're a pretty ambitious one."

  She smiled faintly, following the colored arrows once more, this time to what looked like a much closer se. Bernie's steps sounded behind hers. "When I have a clear goal in mind, I tend to push toward it a little obsessively, I guess," the fallen hero began as she walked along. "It's a double-edged sword, though, if I'm being perfectly ho. Really easy to get focused to the point of missing out on obvious stuff I should be seeing."

  "It's not an unon problem," he offered. "Sometimes it's a be."

  Fern huffed a little. "Sometimes, yes..." Following up ohought didn't particurly appeal to her, so she just kept walking, and finally reached her goal once more: a shelf occupied by material with a terrestrial focus. There were plenty of distras here as well, but she needed something simple - and in time she found it, a somewhat slim green book calling itself 'Leylines and You: A Neophyte's Study Guide' which felt almost a little too simplistibsp; The little sticker that promised 'full aps included!' was hard to resist, though, and a quick leaf through the pages offered a view of solid writing (and some very pretty artwork). She nodded, and ha over, just as a familiar voice echoed through the halls.

  "Fern, darling, where have you gotten to? We're having lun the baly, if you'll e join us."

  Her stomach grumbled quietly at the mere mention of food. "Be right there!" she called back, and walked quickly to the staircase, the bodyguard close on her heels as always.

  When Fern arrived this time, the observation ptform was a little warmer with the touch of the sun. Geoffrey had pulled in a few colpsible tables and chairs for everyoo rex and enjoy the light meal of - as he put it with an effortless salesman's ce - 'fresh-caught fish sandwiches'. They were a little on the small side, but the tray he'd provided had a lot of them, and a rge variety too, so it worked out.

  "Is this the sort of thing you eat all the time out here?" she wondered, after polishing off two of them in quick succession. The sed one pleased her pate quite a bit more than the first; much more fvor to it, a rich saltihat had her reag for another drink.

  The librarian ughed. "Well, not all the time, no; there's many ways to prepare a fish, and I have to say they're all quite good. Not to mention the crabs and other shellfish, too."

  "Well, it certainly seems like a nice pce to be, all things sidered." She reached for another sandwich.

  Ravenna smiled lightly, resting on her hand. "And did you already find what you wanted off the shelves, darling? I didn't want to interrupt your search, but I also didn't want you going hungry."

  Fern nodded, swallowing before answering. "I did! One book on astrology, one on leylines. It's a start."

  The dark mage arched an eyebrow. "Astrology, you say? That's an angle I didn't expebsp; But leylines I definitely assist you with."

  Ember sat quietly, takiime with the sandwiches, her golden eyes closing from time to time as she savored each bite. "These are really good," she murmured quietly. "Haven't had fish this tasty before."

  "Not even in the ports?" Geoffrey wondered.

  The healer shook her head. "Water's different around there. Not like it is he battlegrounds, thankfully, but it's still not great. Makes anything in it taste a little wrong. But this, this is fresh. Like it's... ."

  He smiled broadly. "Gd you like it."

  She hesitated for just a moment. "Your little princess not going to be joining us for a meal?"

  Geoffrey's smile never faltered. "I didn't think you'd want a 'murderer' at the table with you."

  "Ah, we've already got at least one here," Ember returned flippantly, "I doubt it'd matter all that much."

  Ravenna's gre in response was equal parts fury and panic, but once again Fern missed it pletely as she looked over at the healer, fused. "What do you mean, 'at least one'?"

  "Isn't it obvious?" she tinued, still utterly dispassionate. "Who better to protect yuild assassins than one of their own men?"

  The fallen hero's eyes widened in shock, and she jerked her head to look at Bernie, ordlessly w through one of the sandwiches. "You- you hired a guild bodyguard? But- why? Whatever possessed you to do such a thing? Surely there were other options for an escort."

  "Oh, I didn't hire him." Ember leaned ba her chair. "Your partner dropped him in my p."

  "... Ravenna?" Fern's fusion and worry couldn't be disguised even if she'd tried. "What's going on...?"

  "I 't believe you're doing this right now," the dark mage hissed - not at her, but at Ember. "Why? Why do this?"

  The healer stared back at her as emotionlessly as she ever did, with those two half-rings of gold. "Because if I was in her shoes," she returned, with startlingly crisp enunciation, "I would want to knoas bag me up, so I could trust them when it really ted. And she deserves to know the truth, even though you seem so determio hide it from her." Without taking her eyes off Ravenna, she took a drink, the down. "And if you don't tell her, I will."

  Geoffrey just took a quiet sip of his drink, the versation aing it happen.

  "Fine," Ravenna half-sighed, finally, after a heavy pause. "If only so she hears it from me." She looked over at Fern, her jaw tensing as she steeled herself for the words she would have to say. "When you were attacked, in the woods outside the port. If you remember. Bernard was one of the two who tried to kill you, and- and the one who very nearly succeeded." She gritted her teeth. "And so I... broke his will and made him a Bloodservant, on the spot. Made him tell me what he did, how to fix it. And he's been... serving us sihen. I'm sorry, Fern, I didn't want you to find out this way."

  Fern just stared at her, trying to put everything together. "He's-" She slowly turned her head back to look at Bernie. "You... you were the one?"

  "Mmhmm," he returned, quietly, around a mouthful of sandwich, before swallowing it. "Guild business pays well, even if it's the dirty sort of business. Though if I'm ho, I wasn't expeg you to fall for a cheap tribsp; Still feel bad about that one, even if it was my job."

  The memory clicked into pbsp; "It was you," she breathed. "The hot pain in my side - that was all you."

  "I'm not proud of it or anything," he offered with a shrug, as if she'd ented on his choice of sandwich.

  "And you broke his will for this? Why?" she demanded suddenly, turning back to Ravenna, the frustration bubbling up and starting to spill out of her. Not just being treated like a helpless damsel, but having her own assassin guard her - it was simply too much to deal with. "Because he was doing his job and you were angry? He even said he was sorry while he nting the knife in me! He didn't hate me - who knows what kind of life he's had that led him to a decision like that? And you- you just-" Her hands ched atop the table, then fttened, and she pushed, sending her chair scraping across the stones as she stood up. "I 't deal with yht now."

  Ravenna just stared in shock, uo form a coherent response for the first time in a very long time as Fern stalked away, baside the library. Bernie slipped out of his chair and followed after a moment. Not too long after, the distant boom of the building's front door echoed from within.

  "What in the hells is your problem, Ember?" she snapped, finally, still reeling from her partner's departure. "Do you have to ruihing you touch?"

  "Oh, I have plenty of problems, but that's not what's going on here." The healer crossed her arms and stared babsp; "The longer you put off that sort of disclosure, the worse it's going to get. And besides - was she wrong? You did something unnecessary; never mind that it was useful to us. You khat she could react like this, and you did it anyway. Could've interrogated him yourself, then cut him loose at any time - or shoved him down a well, e to that - but you didn't, did you? You kept your little pet around." She reached for one of the remaining sandwiches. "Would you rather she find out in the middle of a battle? Or ter on, when you're both w if things will work out in the long run and you're not so starry-eyed about each other-"

  Ravenna's palms smacked the table roughly, cutting Ember off as she stood, sending her own chair back roughly. "And what would you suggest I should have done instead, if you're so damned smart?!"

  "Don't particurly care. Past isn't geable so I try to avoid thinking about it if I ." She bit in, chewed for a moment, and swallowed. "Mm. Since you're asking, though: you should sider what yoing to do now, before things get even worse betweewo of you."

  The dark mage stared daggers across the table for a long moment, then whipped around and stalked off, slightly faster than Fern had.

  Ember didn't even watch her go, polishing off the rest of the sandwich with a satisfied mm. After a moment she reached over to the two books oable that the bodyguard had left there - then thought better of it, and wiped her fingers on a napkin first, and then picked them up. "I believe something was said about making copies of these, as a treat?"

  Geoffrey reached across and accepted the tomes. "Yes, I'll take care of it. But don't you think you should go after them, too?"

  "I'd just get in the way. The lovebirds haheir own problems." She took o sandwid bit into it, her eyes closing. "... You must think I'm a real asshole, huh. Pig fights, causing trouble."

  "I won't say the thought hadn't occurred to me, Ms. Grace, but I'm sure you have your reasons," the librarian enerously.

  She grinned lopsidedly, but there wasn't much humor in it. "Yeah. If people have bad blood, they should get it sorted out as fast as possible. Get it out of the way. If it gets dirty and messy, well, at least it'll be over when it's over, and it won't fu' hang around on everyone's shoulder."

  He hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose that's one way to look at the world, yes. Copying these will take a little time - will you be here, or should I expect you somewhere else?"

  Ember smiled a little more peacefully, and she st sandwibsp; "Oh, I think I'll stay right where I am for a while, thank you. It's a fine day and I mean to enjoy it while I ."

  Geoffrey nodded, standing up and walking away much more quietly than everyone else had; and finally, she had the baly all to herself.

  Oh, well fug done, her inner critiiped. You've gone and pushed everyone away again, just like you wanted. No bonds, no worries, no feelings. Only transas. Is this the fresh start you wanted? Repeating the same mistakes you always make?

  She ighe voice, and bit through the sandwich, tasting it, letting it linger oongue.

  The sunshi perfe her skin. Everything was just fine.