Telis, Alyx’s butler, awaited them when they exited the coliseum. She stood at easy attention, her hands folded in front of her, her suit neat and pressed.

  Cass wasn’t even surprised. While she might have raced over at the commotion when Alyx's blessing was announced, Cass was all but certain Telis would have been waiting for them even had they snuck out of the arena in the dark of night without even the whisper of fanfare.

  “You’ve done well, my lady,” Telis said, holding a hand out. “Welcome back.”

  “Good to be back, Telis.” Alyx handed her the loot bag she’d taken from the treasure company. “Thank you.”

  “Shall we head back to the manor?” Telis asked.

  “Please.”

  Telis led them away from the coliseum. The road was crowded. Stands had popped up all along the road, with vendors selling fried foods, cold drinks, and trinkets to the eager civilians here to watch the coliseum fights and the returning delvers. Other stands were targeted at those delvers, selling last-minute supplies to any still thinking of entering or buying materials found within the catacombs from any leaving.

  And between the stands was the populace of Vaisom. They were packed on the broad street, clamoring for the goodies at the surrounding stalls or watching the street performers. Children ran through the throng with paper dragon puppets and toy swords, all of them yelling about being the next dragon knight.

  And yet, the crowd parted before Alyx, her blessing still displayed for all to see over her head. The clamor quieted to murmuring as they passed, every eye turning to see the winner of Major Blessing.

  The crowds thinned as they left the coliseum behind and wrapped around the front of the palatial hill and up to the Veldor family manors. Yet, the festival was thick in the air. The entire road was lined with streamers of silk and bells, fluttering in the wind and filling the air with their sweet sound, mixing with the ever-retreating sounds of excitement from the coliseum.

  The Delim Manor—the house of Alyx’s father—was exactly as they had left it. The house’s facade had been carved from the spire upon which it sat, the white stone polished into smooth walls.

  No one waited for them at the door.

  Telis threw them open. “Alyx Aretios Veldor has returned victorious from the Catacombs. Prepare a feast in her name!”

  A dozen servants appeared from thin air as their stealth skills failed them, staring in visible shock at their group and Alyx’s blessing still displayed over her head.

  Telis ignored them all, either trusting them to inform the correct people or planning on preparing the entire thing herself regardless, and led their party directly to the stairs. Alyx followed her, her head held high.

  Finally, they arrived in Alyx’s room.

  “Congratulations again,” Telis said as the door closed firmly behind Marco. “I can hardly believe you claimed the Major Blessing.”

  Alyx shook her head. “It’s thanks to Cass.”

  Cass smiled sheepishly. “Happy to help.”

  “What’s next?” Marco asked as he set his pile of antlers down by the door. Cass followed suit.

  “Next, we take the rest of today off.” Alyx dropped into her armchair, a satisfied sigh slipping out as she settled into it. “We get cleaned up. We enjoy the banquet the family feels obligated to throw me, and then tomorrow, the real work begins.”

  “What does that entail?” Cass asked.

  “For you? Not a lot. For me? This is where everything happens. I need to enter the tournament in the coliseum to keep showing off for the dragons. I need to see if I can get an audience with them and probably my grandmother. Maybe her dragon?”

  “I will make arrangements,” Telis said.

  “In the meantime, this is probably a good time to consider upgrading your equipment. That was why I wanted you to have the antlers.” Alyx pointed at the pile by the door. “Alke antlers have a high magic conductivity, from what I’ve heard. They will probably be useful in commissioning a new staff or whatever other equipment you want.

  “You both can use any of this for that.” Alyx tossed her collection of treasures on the table in her sitting room. Most were the materials they’d taken as prizes from the Treasure Company, but Marco and Alyx added other things from their bags that they’d collected in the catacombs.

  They had a pile of plates taken from the corpses of the gophers, snakes, crocs, and wolves, a small collection of obsidian from the bodies of the golems, and a number of pink crystals taken from the crystal caves.

  She’s rather generous with all this now, Cass noted. Not that she was complaining, but Alyx had been stingy in the past about loot.

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  You are a member of her retinue now, Salos said. It is her duty as your ‘lord’ to provide for your equipment. Also, she almost certainly thinks she owes you a life debt. What are a few baubles before her life?

  “We’ll find some time in the next couple of days to go to a smith to get this processed,” Alyx said. “But for now, we should get cleaned up for dinner.”

  Her words were a dismissal, but her tone implied there was more on her mind.

  Cass hesitated to leave.

  Alyx fidgeted with the pommel of her sword. Her eyes drifted over her retainers, Marco and Telis, her lips pursing in thought.

  She has something else she wants to talk to you about, Salos observed from his spot on Cass’s shoulder.

  What do you think it is? Cass asked.

  Ask her, not me.

  “You should rest,” Alyx said abruptly, her eyes lasering back to Cass. “Thank you again for your help. I wouldn’t have gotten the Major Blessing without you. I mean it.”

  Was that it?

  “I’m glad I could help,” Cass said instead of asking. She hesitated before adding, “Isn’t this what friends do for one another?”

  Alyx froze.

  Was that presumptuous? They were companions of chance, after all. Perhaps Alyx only considered Cass a debt that needed to be repaid. Perhaps it was entirely one-sided—

  “Of course,” Alyx said. “Thank you. I—I don’t deserve a friend like you. I’m sorry. I’ll let you go rest. I will get you into the Vault. Don’t you worry. Telis, would you show Cass to her rooms?”

  “See you in a bit,” Cass called as Telis escorted her away.

  Alyx waved back as the door shut behind them.

  That was weird, Cass whispered to Salos over their bond as Telis led them down the halls.

  She seemed to have something more on her mind, Salos agreed.

  Do you think I embarrassed her?

  Maybe.

  Telis stopped before Cass’s door, opening it and gesturing for Cass to enter.

  “Thank you,” Cass said as she entered. It was the same room she’d used before. The same one Kohen had tried to manipulate her into giving up. The sitting room looked unchanged in the couple days they’d been in the Catacombs.

  “Call if you need anything. Dinner will be at the next bell,” Telis said and disappeared back down the hall.

  Cass let the door fall shut and dropped onto the sitting room’s couch. Her body was heavy, and she was tired. Salos climbed down from her shoulder to her lap. Her hands slipped into his fur, running down his silky back.

  A sigh escaped Cass’s lips as she continued her conversation with Salos. “Do people not talk about friendship or something here?”

  “I doubt that was what she meant to tell you,” Salos said. “But also, no. The powerful have followers, not friends.”

  “We aren’t exactly ‘the powerful,’” Cass pointed out. “I’m not even at the Gate, and Alyx is only just past it.”

  “If one wants to be powerful, it’s best to act like one will be.”

  Cass rolled her eyes. “So, no friends?”

  “Allies, sure. Sworn brothers in arms? Maybe. But something as nebulous and inconsistent as a friend? I wouldn’t recommend it, no.”

  “Aren’t we friends?” Cass poked him between the eyes.

  His ears flicked back in annoyance. “Are we?”

  “I distinctly remember beating you and explaining the sacred rules of ‘beat ‘em to befriend them’ to you.”

  “You are the worst,” Salos muttered. “I don’t believe that’s a real thing. You must have made that up.”

  Cass chuckled. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

  He shook his head. “Whatever makes you happy, I guess.”

  “What about you?” Cass asked.

  “Me?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, I’ve told you what I think about you. What do you think about me? Do you consider me a friend?”

  He looked away. She could feel his emotions swirling across their bond. It was murky and mixed. Confused and chaotic. But warm.

  “You need to understand, trust is not something to give freely.” His tail flicked. “It is hoarded. Doled out in small pieces. Offered with the understanding it will be broken, eventually. Inevitably.

  “I—” The words caught in his throat. “I appreciate you. Your willingness to trust me is perplexing but appreciated. But I’ve been betrayed by people who held my unconditional loyalty. I can’t do that again.”

  “By Alacrity,” Cass said slowly.

  A spike of panic burst through Salos, his whole body tensing. Nothing happened, and a moment later, he nodded. “She wasn’t a goddess then. She was just my master.” He paused again, his eyes lingering on the fire in the hearth. “Though, at the time, I’m not sure I would have felt there was a difference.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know how much of this I can talk about, how much of this is a taboo of the gods.”

  “She made you a demon,” Cass said. His conversation with the goddess in her trial confirmed it. It wasn’t a question.

  He nodded anyway.

  “Why?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you if that’s a feature of my memory loss or if I was simply blindsided by her betrayal.”

  “Could she fix you?”

  He snorted. “If she could and she wanted to, she had plenty of time to do so. No. It sounds as if she did this to me more than once. Like this was intentional and desired. She will not reverse it even if it was within her power.”

  “We could still ask.”

  “I won’t give her the satisfaction.”

  Cass crossed her arms with a sigh. There was an element of that she understood even if it was more practical to ask.

  But then again, Alacrity wasn’t exactly their friendly neighborhood expert. She was a goddess. One that seemed entertained that her blessing hurt those who received it. Asking her a favor wasn’t something that Cass was eager to try.

  Maybe next time Perception showed up, she could ask them? A shudder ran down Cass’s spine at the thought. She didn’t really want to ask them anything, either.

  Her hands clenched in her lap. Someone besides the gods had to have answers. She just had to find them.