Lace fell to her knees, panting. A small line of drool extended from her lower lip to the ground.

Kiren put a foot on the back of her head. “That’s ten.”

She swatted at his leg, but it didn’t budge. He pushed her down on her stomach, giving her a mouthful of gravel. She spat off to the side.

“You didn’t even put a dent on me,” he said, taking the weight off her. “I didn’t get any practice.”

Lace lay there for a minute while she caught her breath. She rolled onto her back and slowly stood up from there.

“I guess… I just need to train more,” she panted.

Her first day of practicing the aero-shot had been an utter waste. She had gained nothing from hours of work aside from a whole new set of bruises and scrapes, courtesy of Kiren.

“You good for another go?” he asked. He got back into position a few meters away.

Lace could hardly stand, let alone fight. Simply breathing was a struggle that took most of her focus.

“I…”

“Kids! Have you been good to one another?”

Excelerate walked into the courtyard. He rubbed his eyes and blinked blearily at them. “Lace, what happened to you? You look like you’ve been rolling in the dirt.”

Kiren chuckled. “Something like that.”

“We’ve been training like you asked,” Lace said.

“No progress, though,” Kiren said. “This is starting to feel like a big waste of time.”

Excelerate chuckled. “You think you can master your Powers in a day? It takes years of hard work. Maybe decades for someone as dense as you, Kiren.” He poked Kiren’s forehead and he flinched with a sour scowl.

“What’s next?” Lace asked. “I’m sorry, master, but I’m not sure I can go on practicing my Power. I think I have a couple uses left before I fall over.”

“You haven’t eaten today,” Excelerate said. “Neither of you. Go get food. Take the rest of the day off after that. You have your induction ceremony to worry about tonight.”

“Yes, master.” Lace could hardly hide her relief. She let her shoulders slump.

They were about to go inside, but she turned to regard the black-clad Hero.

“Will you be there?” she asked. “At the induction?”

“No,” he said, without looking at her. “I have work to do.”

“Oh. I see.”

They entered the Guild Hall and were immediately hit with a wash of golden light and a murmur of voices. They were met by a large main hall with a high ceiling. Colorful banners hung from the heavy beams and paper notices had been nailed to the wooden pillars, as well as a board on the right-hand wall that spanned several meters, stacked like a bird’s wing with scribbled papers.

About two dozen rectangular tables were spread out across the room. Most of the benches were empty, but some apprentices and Heroes were having meals. There was a long bar at the far end of the room, stacked with kegs of liquor. Large pots sat on tables near the middle of the hall, filling the whole place with a pleasant scent of savory stew.

Lace’s mouth watered. She hadn’t eaten all day, and only one meal the day before.

Kiren’s stomach grumbled. It seemed he had the same idea.

They went and fetched some food from the long tables. They didn’t skimp on anything in the Lodge, it seemed. She got buttered bread, a bowl of thick beef stew– still steaming from the pot–a pair of fried corn cobs, a mug of fresh milk, and a piece of golden, dripping honeycomb.

When Lace had finished loading up food, Kiren was still standing there with an empty tray, staring at all the marvels of cooking before him as if in disbelief.

Lace giggled. “Too much to choose from?”

“No joke,” Kiren said. “All this could feed a king and his court. What would they say about me in the Slog if they could see me now?”

Lace took the tray from him. “Here. Let me help you pick out some stuff.”

She got him lamb shanks with a brown sauce, large potatoes from the farms around Goldbrand, split open and smeared with butter, thinly sliced ham between two bits of bread, and milk. He refused the honeycomb after a taste, complaining it was too sweet.

They went over to take their seats at one of the empty tables. Lace found herself out of breath, both from the strenuous training and sheer excitement at the meal awaiting her.

“Hey! Uh, Lace!”

She turned around. The green-haired apprentice, Tommyn, waved at her from one of the tables. A songbird peeked out of his collar, chirping merrily. He sat with his partner, Haden, along with Counter, as well as Titaness—who was missing her own newly recruited apprentices. The two blonde-haired, muscled figures took up one whole bench which would normally have seated four or five, and the sturdy wood creaked whenever they moved.

“You made it, did you?” Tommyn said. “You’re apprentices now?”

“We are,” Lace said. She couldn’t keep the smile off her lips. “Not without some elbow grease, but we did it.”

“I heard what happened at Winewater,” Haden said between large mouthfuls of stew. “Staved off a pack of Beasts on your own, or some such?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘staved off’. There was a lot of running away involved.”

“Still, you survived. That’s more than most can brag of.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then offered it for a handshake. “Nice to finally meet properly. Lace, is it?”

She took it. His grip was firm and warm. “Yes, that’s right. And you’re…”

“Haden Trodvis!” Titaness thundered. She grasped Haden’s long, blond hair with a large hand and tugged until he squealed. “Show some manners!”

“Ow! I’m, ow, sorry!”

“Wipe your hands before speaking with a lady! And keep the food in your mouth while you’re chewing it!” The Hero let go of him and he bounced back down into his seat.

“I apologize for him,” Titaness said, holding the young man’s head down while looking at Lace. “I have the unfortunate fate of being his aunt. More stubborn than a donkey, this one.” She offered her hand. “Mara Trodvis, at your service.”

Lace hesitantly accepted the handshake. The woman’s hand was absolutely massive, wrapping around hers with ease. Her grip was surprisingly delicate, however, despite the simultaneous act of violence.

“If what’s being said about you is true, there might be more to you both than what you showed at the admittance duels.”

“You went and got yourself an apprenticeship, huh?” Counter grumbled. He rubbed a hand across his pock-marked forehead. “I suppose there’s nothing I can do to stop you anymore, then.”

Lace’s smile slipped. “I apologize if my presence offends you, Master Counter.”

He grunted incomprehensibly into his food.

She looked back and found that Kiren wasn’t there. She looked around and saw him sitting at an empty table in the very corner of the dining hall.

“It’s been good catching up, but I’ve got to go,” Lace said.

“Oh, o-okay,” Tommyn said.

“Hope we see you at the induction,” Haden said, who had finally been let up to breathe.

Lace said her goodbyes and left. She went over to Kiren’s table and sat down opposite him, finally able to dig into her meal. Kiren had barely touched his food.

“What’s wrong?” Lace asked, stuffing a piece of bread into her mouth and following up with a spoonful of stew. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“Something fouled my mood,” he said, staring out a window.

Lace chewed and swallowed. “There’s always something fouling your mood.” She packed in another mouthful. “This seems different.”

“Titaness.”

Lace frowned. She swallowed her food and looked over to the table where the giant Hero was sitting. “What about her?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“I feel like it does. I mean, you saved her life all those years ago. Why do you dislike her so much now?”

Kiren sighed. He kept staring out the window.

“You remember how I told you I got away from Ripper on The Day the World Died?”

“Yeah. I remember.”

“I lied. I didn’t get away.”

“Oh. So…”

“I was caught.” He took his eyes off the window and pointed at Titaness. “By her.”

“Surely, that’s good, though?” Lace asked. “They took you away from the Villains.”

“They sure did. Threw me in Wailing Hill. I spent two years in that prison. Some luck, too, that it stayed at two. One of the guards took pity on me and let me out. I don’t even know how long they would have kept me in there otherwise.”

Lace gasped. “But… you were only a child.”

Kiren shrugged. “To them, I was a Villain. In Aribel, Heroes can do whatever they want with Villains and no one bats an eye. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to have stuck in anyone’s memories. They let me into their Guild, after all, so they can’t have remembered me.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Lace said.

Kiren ate in silence. Lace tried to make conversation, but it was futile.

He finished his food and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m done for today,” he said.

“You’ll be back for the induction ceremony, won’t you?”

“We’ll see.”

He got up and left.

Lace had the rest of her meal alone.