The sun lowers behind the horizon, night falls over Castle Lance. I pick up a flow candle from the bedside table and activate the fire construct prepared by the Inn’s staff, the small flickering flame is enough to chase the darkness out of the room.

“Don’t forget to keep your energy for Teva if you don’t need to use it.” I tell Ulf as he opens the room’s roof window.

He nods and pulls himself up to the roof to stand on the tiles. His movements are precise and graceful despite his large frame. I look out the window to follow Ulf as he hops down from this roof to the next.

His knees bend almost fully to absorb the landing, he barely makes a sound. Ulf advances step by step, silent and careful about where he lays his feet on the tiles.

I watch him make his way over the buildings. His movements seem slow but he is progressing along the roofs with deceptive speed. I note that he is making sure to stay low and on one side of the buildings to avoid being spotted by the soldiers on the walls.

I turn my gaze to the streets below as a patrol of town guards passes by the Inn. I could probably beat all six of them by myself with a surprise attack. Their shields aren’t tough enough to block my hammer and their spears won’t pierce my chain-mail unless they land a direct blow with their weight behind it.

“Elizabeth?” Teva calls out from the bathroom.

“What is it?” I ask over my shoulder.

“I can’t see anything.”

“One second.” I grab a second flow candle and open the bathroom door just enough to hand it over.

“Thanks.” She whispers.

I hear steps in the hallway and soon after, someone knocks at the door.

“What is it?” I ask in a grave voice.

“Dinner, my Lady. We can prepare a private room downstairs or bring the meal up here.” The clerk gives me the options politely and without pressing for an answer.

“Here will do, for three and enough servings to feed a small army if you will. Me and my companions are famished.” I tell him in a confident tone.

“As you wish, my Lady.” The clerk replies.

I hear his clothes ruffle as he bows behind the door, he departs soon after.

“You’re turning into a proper Lady.” Teva speaks up from very close by, startling me.

I flip around, finding her standing in front of me in her underwear. I keep my eyes trained on her face and raise an eyebrow with a smirk. Teva sighs and sits down on the bed, pouting. Ah, she’s disappointed by my reaction.

“You’re good looking.” I tell her sincerely. “You should try that outfit on.” I point at the servant’s clothes that she brought back. “I’ll wash our old clothes while you receive our meal.”

Teva raises her chin to stare at me flatly, crossing her legs. What’s the problem?

“Do you want me to dress up as the servant?” I ask, blinking my eyes uncertainly.

“No, it’s fine.” She sighs again. “I’ll do that.”

“Okay.” I say.

I make my way to the bathroom, roll up my sleeves and grab a brush from a shelf. It’s much quicker to clean clothes this way than by hand alone. As I lay my clothes on the side of the tub and get started on Teva’s, I hear her open the door of our room and welcome the clerk in.

Feeling my own hunger, I start working faster. Once I’m done, I look for a way to empty the tub, I look under the tub and find that there is a copper pipe coming out of the bottom. I plunge my hand into the water and unplug the cork blocking the pipe, watching with wonder as the water evacuates.

I make my way back into the bedroom, Teva is waiting for me at a small table. There are three plates laid over it with silver forks and knives to their side. The platter of food in the middle of the table is filled with meat and various vegetables.

I sit down and start eating without waiting, enthusiastically digging through the food. Teva watches me for a few seconds with an amused smile before joining the feast. I eat in silence, too busy stuffing myself.

“Are your reserves full?” She asks, I nod to confirm. “I’ll assemble the construct now if you don’t mind.”

Teva takes a small wooden ball out of a pouch at her back. She takes hold of it in both hands and twists to separate it into two halves that she deposits on the table near her plate.

“I start with a timer as the core, the main trigger.” Teva explains, gathering flow in her palm and shaping it into a tiny round segment. “And three other secondary timers that serve to delay other parts of the construct from activating.” She assembles slightly larger round timer segments and links them to the central one. “Next is the targeting portion, this one isn’t too complicated as it simply directs the construct against itself.” She shapes a large segment and links it to the secondary timers. “That’s all I can do on my own.”

I lay down my fork and extend my hand out, waiting for her to take it instead of directly giving her my reserves. Teva smiles brightly and uses her free hand to grab mine.

I notice how eager she is to hold hands with me and feel a bit guilty because I’m only doing this to hide the color of my energy from her eyes.

Constructs don’t change color once assembled, regardless of who it is transferred to. But flow changes color to fit the person who absorbs it. I noticed that when Fenyz filled my reserves.

I gather almost all of my flow and then direct it to pass from my palm to hers, cutting my connection to it as soon as Teva receives it.

“Wow, that’s a lot, three times my maximum. How can you have so much flow?” Teva asks.

“Fenyz gave me a lot more before we departed but since it was above my capacity, most of it dissipated.” I mix the lie with some truth.

“That Rykz must have a huge reserve of her own if she gave you enough that this much remained.” She shudders while assembling six identical undulating shapes that she ties to the core. “Those small wave looking segments are used to gather and compress air inside the ball.” Teva points at the two wooden halves on the table. “They’ll be activated by the main trigger, at the same time as the delaying timers.” She then uses the rest of the energy to create dozens of small fire segments that she links to the targeting segment that is itself tied to the delaying timers.

“You activate the core timer, air gathers inside, then the fire segments are targeted towards the construct itself to put the whole thing ablaze.” I explain what I’ve understood in the form of a question.

“Roughly, yes.” Teva smiles brightly. “The air burns first and provides enough heat to quickly consume the construct itself which makes it all explode.”

“Why do you have three delaying timers when a single one could do the same thing.” I ask.

“Redundancy. I can find out whether the primary timer and targeting segment work or not at a glance but the rest of the construct is very delicate. The three secondary timers ensure that everything goes off at the same time. I’m going to spend the next few hours balancing and verifying the segment values.” Teva tells me while anchoring the complex construct inside one of the halves of the wooden ball.

I finish my plate and refill it once again. Watching Teva as she eats and meddles with the explosive construct by making changes directly with her fingers.

“Will it be ready tomorrow afternoon?” I ask.

“Yes, I’ll spend the morning making sure that it does what we need it to do.” She replies absent-mindedly.

“What else could it do?” I frown.

“Blow up sideways, fizzle out in a slow burn, trigger too early because I mess up one of the dozen redundant links that I still need to add tonight.” Teva replies with a mean smile.

“Ah, I’m going to leave you to it then.” I mutter, looking suspiciously at the construct.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” She winks playfully. “I might need some more flow to have enough energy to dig into the wall if you want to act tomorrow night.” Teva adds.

“Ask Ulf when he comes back.” I stop myself from taking another bite, remembering that Ulf has his own room. “Are you going to sleep with Ulf?” I ask.

“No, it’s only a single bed.” She shakes her head.

“Did you ask for a room to yourself?” I continue, dancing around the question I want to ask. I know where this is going but…

“We can’t spend too much on frivolities like that, Elizabeth.” Teva admonishes me with a teasing expression.

“Teva…” I start but she interrupts me almost immediately.

“I’m glad that you agree! We can sleep in the same bed without making it awkward.” She nods thoughtfully.

I open my mouth but her face loses its cheerful expression and she starts glaring at me. I decide that it’s probably best to let it go and finish eating.

“That woman.” Teva utters the word with spite. “She abandoned you, right?” She asks, breaking the silence and surprising me. I swallow a mouthful sideways, throwing me into a coughing fit. “You don’t belong to her.”

“Yes, I do.” I manage to speak between two coughs.

“You really do not.” Teva counters firmly. “She left you a virgin, did you even have sex?”

I blush furiously despite starting to feel angry about her meddling.

“Well? Did you?” She presses me.

“No, things happened. I… she… She chose not to, it was her right.” I mutter, justifying my Lady’s choice despite disagreeing with it completely, despite the bitterness in my heart.

“She broke up with you.” Teva throws the words in my face.

“She did not!” I shout, slamming my fork on the table and standing up.

“You cheated on her with me.” Teva concludes, looking hurt and a bit guilty.

Her words shatter my anger. I sit back down and take Teva’s hand. I owe her some truth at the very least.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I broke up with her when she refused to even kiss me.” I whisper shamefully. “I’m so sorry, Teva. I shouldn’t have done this to you.”

“That’s my call to make.” Her expression clears and she shakes her hand, dismissing my apology. “Can’t you see that you’re no good for each other? Let go of her, spend some time with me, and move on.” Teva argues earnestly. “I won’t cling to you, promise.” She adds.

“Whether I belong to her or not is for me to decide. I’ve made my choice.” I shut Teva down. “I’m hers.” I need to be clear about my position on the matter, it isn’t fair to leave her with hopes.

She nods shortly, lowering her chin to focus on her construct. Her eyebrows are close together, in concentration or in an effort to control her tight expression.

I pass my hand over my face to regain some composure and finish my meal. As soon as I’m done, I make my way to the bed and sit on the mattress to take my clothes off and slip under the cover in my underwear.

I close my eyes, turning my thoughts away from Teva and my regrets. Matfrid better have some answers about this Jenna. If this is a hurdle that stands between me and my Lady, I need to know exactly what I’m dealing with. Even if I’m scared.

— — —

I laze in bed, opening my eyes once in a while when I remember that I need to wake up and closing them back down immediately when the morning sun hits them.

I hear a knock at the window. Soon after, I feel a shift in weight on the mattress to my side as Teva gets up. I resignedly open my eyes and sit up on the bed.

It makes no sense to delay the inevitable. I dress up while Teva opens the window and Ulf drops into the room. I get up when she sits next to me, turning my head away to avoid looking at her bare chest.

“Did anything significant happen during the night?” I ask Ulf.

“No. I did spot Lilib scouting the warehouse district from a distance. She was wearing a town guard’s attire.”

“Fuck, I really hope they bought it off of someone.” I swear.

“No sign of Brie, Yan, or Gael.” He mutters in a tired voice. “I might have missed them, the streets aren’t well-lit during the night.”

“I doubt it but there’s not much we can do about this right now. You should eat and go to sleep, thanks for staying up.” I point towards the table and the platter of cold food left on it.

“I’ll take that to my room and eat in bed.” Ulf replies, picking it up and leaving the room in the same breath.

I stare at the door for a while, puzzled at how hurried he was to leave. I hear Teva approach from behind but before I can turn around, her hands slip under my shirt to pass around my waist.

The touch of her fingers on my bare skin is painful. The void in my heart roars, it demands retaliation. My hands clench into fists and I panic a little. I force myself to stop moving entirely instead of risking to hurt Teva with a violent reaction.

“Teva, please.” I stutter, shivering.

“You should stay here this morning.” She whispers in my ear. “Why would you do this to yourself? Who cares about your ex’s previous lovers?” Teva asks deviously, passing her hands over my stomach.

“It hurts.” I utter as the brush of her fingers against my skin makes me recoil backward, deeper into her embrace.

“I know it does.” She lays a small kiss on my cheek. “I’ll make you feel good.”

“You’re hurting me, your hands hurt.” I speak up tearfully, reaching my emotional limit.

“I thought you liked it when you felt pain?” She asks, pulling me towards the bed.

“I, she never really…” I struggle to explain my own words, too distracted by the question to resist.

“I’ll make it hurt good, don’t worry.” Teva releases me to try to push me down on the bed.

The pain from the contact of her hands on my bare skin dissipates and I regain some control over myself. I seize her wrists with my hands, taking care to control my strength to avoid hurting her.

“No. If you really want me to, I’ll fuck you.” My crude use of the word throws Teva off, stunning her. “But my body belongs to her.”

“This isn’t about me!” She exclaims as her lustful expression vanishes, replaced by surprise and outrage.

“Is it not? Look at yourself.” I gaze down at her bare chest and hard nipples. Teva turns red and looks away, pulling to try to break my grip on her arms.

“I want to see you happy and content. Is that so bad?” She asks in a whisper.

“I’m sorry, Teva.” I pull her against my chest and wrap her in a hug. “It’s my fault.”

“It really isn’t.” Teva groans with exasperation, shaking my arms off. “. “Just go. Get your heart ripped apart again if you want to so badly. I have work to do.” She walks back to the table and sits down in front of her explosive construct. “Damn Ulf, waited all night for him to come back so I can do this and he shows up in the morning when I don’t have any time to grind you down.”

“I can hear you.” I tell her, approaching my equipment.

“Is it changing your mind to see how I restrained myself for so long?” Teva asks.

“No, and I don’t think it counts as restraint if you’re only putting it off.” I reply, fitting my hard leather armor on. “But my offer stands.”

“Mine too.” She counters.

“Ha! Is it me or are we proposing the same thing while refusing the exact offer that we’re making to the other?” I ask with humor while tightening the armor’s straps.

“We are.” Teva chuckles. “This might be your fault after all.” She adds, mischievously.

“I know.” I shake my head regretfully. “I’m sorry, Teva. If I’d realized earlier that I lo…”

“Stop apologizing.” She cuts me off before I can finish the word. That was stupid of me. Am I trying to turn the knife in her wound? “I’m a grown woman. If I wanted you to grovel, I would ask and make sure to enjoy it.” Teva says half-serious, half-joking.

I lift my chain-mail and put it on backward so that the small punctured hole lays at my back. I fit my helmet on, grab my hammer, and pick up the pouch of silver before stepping out of our room. I wave my hand at Teva over my shoulder and walk downstairs.

After leaving the Inn, I slowly make my way through the streets towards the keep, taking care to blend in with the shadows as I near the center of power. It might look a bit shady but the town guards won’t want to stop someone who looks like I do for no reason.

It isn’t likely but there might be some Nobles that were present during the attempt to kill the Princesses who would recognize my helmet and hammer. They shouldn’t have come back here but who knows if one of them didn’t gallop all the way here to deliver a message.

I make sure to take a quick look at the face of every person that I come across to get a feeling about the town’s atmosphere. Most seem to be stressed out or concerned.

A bell rings out in the distance, it is coming from the north. People around me flinch as they realize that the sound of the alarm means that the Rykz army is headed towards the castle for certain now.

Matfrid wasn’t exactly precise in his directions so I simply choose to walk along some side streets to make my way around the keep. I find the Crown tavern after a while, it’s almost empty.

There are only five richly dressed people inside. It takes me a while to distinguish between the waiters and the Nobles. The difference is that Nobility wears jewelry and house crests while the two waiters only have a small crown on their shirts.

Matfrid is sitting at a table outside, glaring at a blacksmith’s shop across the street. I glance there and find a muscular man struggling to keep a horse’s leg stuck between his knees as he tries to nail a horseshoe on it.

The animal seems annoyed and reluctant. I understand why the smith took his time to get around to that horse. I walk up to Matfrid’s table and sit down with a laugh.

“Lord Matfrid, you didn’t tell me your horse was picky about its shoes.” I take my helmet off and lay it on the table, taking care not to hesitate.

“Lady Elizabeth, surely you jest. My mount is well behaved and a reflection of my pristine character. This smith’s nails are just too sharp.” He answers with a good-natured smile.

“Ah, I can’t really blame the horse for complaining. It must not be a pleasant experience.” I reply with a smile of my own. The horse can’t feel a thing. I resist the pull to roll my eyes and raise my hand to call for a waiter.