“Can I get you guys drinks or anything?” Morgan asked as she led them through another couple of smaller rooms into the kitchen where a spread of crackers, cheeses, and meats was laid out, along with all the requisite accoutrements.

“May I?” Lyle asked with a gesture towards the food.

“Of course! Please, be my guest. Well, you are my guests. Drinks?”

Each of them requested a cocktail. Lyle asked for a vodka tonic, Liv a gin and tonic, and Trent an Old Fashioned. Lyle’s head swam as he watched the leader of Moonlight Sonata make each drink with speed and precision. Surely she could have paid a bartender. It’s not like she’s wanting for money.

Then the mingling began, and Lyle was introduced to many of the consistent members of Moonlight Sonata’s delve team. His disappointment when Morgan left to tend to the next group was palpable, but alleviated by his interest in the careers of the Embers he spoke to, and the occasional crossing of Daniel’s path. Many of the powerful Embers, including Daniel, were very attractive—they approached the beauty of their leader, and Lyle wondered if it was a function of the power they’d gained. Perhaps they became more perfect as their bodies became more capable of healing anything and everything? Or, if the two things weren’t directly related, beauty was certainly made easier by the Embers’ obvious health and wealth. Liv and Trent accompanied him as he spoke with them and learned about their lives, though other partygoers occasionally absconded with Liv. She was apparently pretty popular.

“How many guild members are there?” Lyle asked Liv at one point. There were certainly more than twenty at the party, so there must have been at least a couple of different teams.

“Sixty-two,” she answered immediately, taking a sip from what must have been her third glass of wine. She looked none the worse for wear, despite the alcohol. “Twenty members of the main delve team. Eleven subs, who usually do lower floors if they’re not needed for the week. Six administrative staff, including me. The rest are moderately strong Embers who are either looking to prove themselves and make the main team or content with the relative comfort of our B team.”

“That’s a full other team and a half of them.”

“True. Most weeks they do the lower floors with our main team’s subs, and some of them also act as judges of the hopefuls.”

“So they’re not just sitting around bored.”

“Of course not! And they still have to prove themselves to get in and then keep working. There are no freeloaders in Moonlight Sonata!”

An hour passed, and Morgan clinked a glass and a spoon together to get everyone’s attention. While the room quieted, Liv whispered to Lyle and Trent, “These parties are something of an excuse to get an audience for her, but no one ever minds. Just wait.” She smiled conspiratorially as she stood back.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming!” Morgan called out when the crowd hushed from where she stood on a slightly elevated platform. Her beaming smile as she watched them all gather around her was nearly blinding, and Lyle felt his heart skip a beat.

I know I said I needed time, but… no, no, no. She’s incredibly beautiful, but I don’t know her at all, and I still need time. Just because she’s beautiful and likeable doesn’t mean I’ve gotten any better… and that would be assuming she’s even interested.

“As you might have noticed, I finally got a little stage!” she continued. “You know, performing like this really brings me back to the time before I was Kindled. Hard practice, recitals for my parents and fellow musicians. I worked pretty hard to get into the youth orchestra, too! I’ve always loved music and art, and while I’m still not much of a visual artist, being an Ember means that all the music I used to struggle with comes super easy now.”

A few chuckles and smiles filled Morgan’s pause, and Lyle wondered if they were laughing at the idea of her struggling with anything. He wasn’t sure he could imagine it, and he hadn’t even seen her perform yet.

“So, tonight, I’m going to share some of that with you.”

There was applause, and some whistles rang out. Morgan gracefully knelt and lifted a violin from a stand. Its carbon fiber body shone white, and reflected the colorful lights of the room with dazzling intensity.

Morgan’s face took on a solemn expression as she began to play. A low, slow note quieted the room, and Lyle could feel the buzz of unresolved tension as she played another, and another, climbing in pitch. Each perfect tone rang out clearly. The sound vibrated all around him, lending warmth and texture to the air through which it traveled, despite the minor key giving it an essence of mourning. He was being embraced by the music, and goosebumps prickled his skin. She played passionately, and the world narrowed to her on that stage.

Her first piece came to an end minutes later with a final, long note that put to rest all the grand gestures and heartfelt desires come to life, and the audience took a collective breath. Morgan let silence reign for ten seconds without dropping her violin from its position on her shoulder, and the entire focus of the room remained upon her. Lyle felt a pressure insisting he watch, telling him that if he looked away, he would miss something important.

She grinned ferally and began again, leaping straight into a fast and furious scale that obliterated the solemn mood of her performance thus far. She was so exacting, so perfect, that her playing sounded almost electronic, and the art with which her instrument sang out was breathtaking.

Her next piece was somewhere in between the slow beauty of the first and the excited speed of the second. Morgan began to move in time with her playing, swaying in time to the rhythm and closing her eyes in concentration. A smile lit up her face, and Lyle could hardly bear to blink for fear that he would miss even a moment. The music resonated with him, its intensity pouring over him as she slammed through spectacular chords and vibrant scales. He could hear every detail as the waves of sound and power washed over him. The magic within him thrummed in time with Morgan’s playing, his Emberflame shimmering, and he felt each swell as his power rose to meet it, leaving him confused but joyous.

With a final run of notes so fast it left Lyle breathless, Morgan swept her bow across the strings and allowed the final note to ring out to wild cheering. Her chest swelled as she breathed deeply, and a smile of pride graced her face. Lyle felt his magic quietly recede once more as her second piece came to an end, and her eyes paused on him for a moment. There was a question in the tilt of her eyebrows and head, and Lyle wondered if she could feel his power reacting to her. He’d almost thought it was his imagination, but perhaps he was wrong.

Two more pieces and twenty minutes later, Morgan flourished her bow once more and bowed to uproarious applause.

At the beginning of the night Lyle had had his doubts that the partygoers might just have been biased towards their leader, but there was no question in his mind now that she deserved the lauding they heaped upon her. He could hardly think straight after the whirlwind of music and power that had gripped him.

The lights rose and she stepped down off the platform, accepting handshakes and hugs as many congratulated her on an excellent performance. Her elated smile was permanently etched onto her face. Liv, Trent, and Lyle followed the lead of the others and walked up to her once the crowd had died down a bit.

“Morgan!” Liv nearly shouted to make herself heard over everyone else. She squeezed her friend in a hug.

“Thanks, Liv!” Morgan replied with a grin, returning the embrace enthusiastically. “That was a new one. Haven’t even named it yet, so I’m glad it went over well.”

“You composed that? It was incredible,” Lyle told her sincerely. Trent echoed the sentiment.

“Thank you, thank you,” she replied, basking in their effusive praise. “More of my time definitely goes to writing than practicing now, so I’m thrilled that it’s time well spent.”

“And you write classical?” Lyle asked.

“Well, not just classical,” Morgan said. “I don’t just play the violin, either. Tonight was a classical night, but I really, really like writing stuff that’s more… pop, too.”

“I’d love to hear that,” Lyle said earnestly.

“Are you a musician?” Morgan asked.

“Not for a long time. Just an appreciator of the fine arts.”

“As everyone should be!” Morgan said with a laugh. “Well, play your cards right and maybe Liv’ll invite you to another of our concert nights. She usually reserves her plus two for her husband and son so she must actually kind of like you guys.”

Liv laughed. “They’re alright. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“Are you kidding?” Trent asked with a smirk. “We fought together once, so we’re basically besties now.”

“Pretty much,” Lyle agreed.

Morgan snapped her fingers as she seemed to remember something, and looked at Lyle appraisingly. “I meant to ask you, were you doing that on purpose while I was playing?”

“The magic?”

She nodded.

“No, it just kind of happened. I honestly thought it was you.”

“Weird,” Morgan said, cocking her head to one side.

“You were just that inspiring,” Lyle replied. He saw Liv roll her eyes out of the corner of his eye.

“I am pretty incredible,” she said brightly. “Still, never seen that happen before. Gotta wonder why.”

“Well, maybe at your next concert we’ll figure out why.”

“Hey now, don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing!” she teased. “You’re just using me to get to my music!”

“That’s not exactly how I would put it, but…”

Morgan laughed and Liv continued to do her best impression of an annoyed teenage girl, but Lyle didn’t mind.

“Say,” Morgan said, putting a finger to her cheek as if she were thinking, “you look vaguely familiar. Have I seen you before?”

That surprised Lyle. He’d never met Morgan before, although he soon realized why he might look familiar.

“Probably my brother,” Lyle said with a sigh, his mood falling suddenly. “He was an Ember. A really powerful one, too, but… well, he died.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Morgan gasped. “What happened?”

“He died in New York, when it fell,” Lyle told her sadly. “Carson Margrave.”

“I’m so sorry,” Morgan repeated. “I remember now. I met him briefly. Seemed like a good guy.”

“Thanks. It’s been a while but I still miss him.”

“Of course,” Morgan said sympathetically. “It’s tough to lose loved ones. He died doing the right thing, though. A good death, if there ever was one.”

“Maybe. I don’t know that such a thing exists. It does make me feel a bit better that he gave his life willingly to save so many people, but… well, I think about him a lot. I understand, and I hope I would do the same in that situation, but he still left a lot of people behind.”

“I get it,” Morgan said, and Lyle believed that she did. “He’s an inspiration, but it’s hard to reconcile that with your grief at his being gone.”

Lyle nodded. “Basically. Now I’d like to be as strong as he was, and make a difference.”

“Hey, if you’ve got the conviction, I’m sure you’ll get there,” Morgan said. She gave his arm a comforting squeeze. It seemed like she was a tactile person, given how comfortable she was with all the hugs and friendly touches.

“Anyway, let’s change the subject,” Lyle said after a moment of surprisingly comforting silence. “Did I see you have a billiards table?”