Anger flooded through me as I stared at Woldroff across the room. The man was dressed as finely as ever, his suit a perfect sheen of stillness without any sign of wrinkle that I could see. His facial hair was longer now, but still well manicured and his features were twisted in a smug smile as he looked out over the floor.

  Betrayal and frustration bubbled up within me, the mixture of feelings rumbling around like the molten rock of a volcano.

  I was surprised to realize, though, that these feelings were not directed at the man sitting beside Aurelion, but at myself. There was a part of me that had expected something like this. The deal we’d made had come together far too easily, but I’d allowed myself to believe that it was simply luck, or perhaps the gods watching over me.

  I should have known that was just a lie I was telling myself.

  I started to move toward the stairs that led down to the floor, pulling my dagger from my belt as I did. Below, the meeting continued, some of the thugs raising large mugs and taking long swigs from them.

  I caught myself at the top of the stairs, a sobering wave of realization slamming into me like a bucket of cold water thrown on a drunk man after a night too long in the taverns. What in the seven hells was I doing?

  I jumped back, ducking out of view just as a group of thugs at one table closer to the bottom of the stairs glanced up. I pressed my ear toward the din of noise, listening for any cries of alarm. Relief flooded through me when none reached my ears.

  Was I really such a blazing idiot? I couldn’t just run in and start attacking people in a place like this. As much as I wanted to watch the blood run from Woldroff’s body, going out in the open in this room would mean death, or worse. I wasn’t sure Aurelion could enslave me using the System the way he had Felix… but it wasn’t worth taking the chance, either.

  There was no way I could stand my own against this many enemies, not even with the draconic abilities I’d finally unlocked.

  I shuddered at the thought of being caged again and shook myself from my anger-fueled stupor. The weight of my anger—the way the flames seemed to burn so hot within me as if pushed forward by oil—was heavier in this form than it had ever been in my dragon form. Sometimes it was hard to not just give into it.

  “Thieving [Hero],” I muttered, cursing the man that had put me into this situation. Why couldn’t he have just left my world alone?

  Sneaking back up to the edge of the platform, I peered out over the room once more, taking everything in for the second time.

  As I focused on the tables of men and women situated around the floor, I noticed that almost all of them had massive tankards on the tables in front of them. Others held them in their hands, laughing as they took long drags from them. Kids—both young and older—ran around the room delivering food and drinks to the groups.

  I closed my eyes, taking in the scents that rose out of the room. There was a heavy musk that blanketed everything, almost masking even the savory smells of roasting meats and vegetables. The smell of full bowls mingling with the heat of too many bodies.

  Taking another deep breath, a smile crept across my lips. Something else laced the air beneath the other scents. Was that ale?

  I opened my eyes, standing and looking over the scene again.

  These men were drinking. They were meeting after the curfew, which suggested they either trusted each other enough to stick around, or Aurelion and Woldroff had members of the city guard under their thumbs, just as Yen had assumed.

  While both were valid options, I couldn’t help but lean more toward the second.

  Aurelion had proven time and again that he was resourceful and cunning. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he’d been working with the false empress this entire time. Especially if he felt she could deal with the [Hero]’s threat better than I could.

  I turned my attention from the men on the floor to the ceiling, where large girders ran along the rooftop. Long windows covered each side of the room, slanted in the ceiling and bathing the floor below in pale moonlight. But in between, where the shadows met, I could see the outline of the bracers that helped keep the warehouse’s roof standing.

  I could use those. It was the best chance I had at actually learning something. It wasn’t without its risks. But the only other realistic option was backtracking and getting out without learning anything. Sure, I’d be able to ensure the others got back to the inn safely, but I’d still be ten steps behind Aurelion and Woldroff.

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  I shook my head. No, I had to do something. I’d spent far too much time simply reacting to the things around me. With the [Hero] here already, I needed to start actively working toward my goals. And part of that meant learning as much as I could while I had the opportunity.

  I traced one of the crossbars to where it met the wall closest to the platform. It was roughly a meter and a half away. Not too far, then, but still far enough that I’d need to use [Swift Strike] to reach it.

  Since I was going to be scaling thin platforms across the ceiling, I removed my sword and tucked it into a dark corner. With any luck, if anyone came across it they’d just think one thug had dropped his sword somewhere in a drunken stupor.

  I also checked my arm, where it had been hit with the club. In the moment, the pain had been so bad that I’d thought it might have been broken. But testing it now, I was relieved to learn it was simply bruised—a black splotch already starting to form where the club had connected with my skin. I pulled a health tonic from my satchel and downed it, letting the bittersweet liquid run down my throat as a warmth spread through my body.

  I stuffed the empty vial away and then eyed the girder once more.

  Don’t think about it. I thought. Just go.

  I took off at a quick sprint, using [Swift Strike] at the last moment as I kicked off the platform. My footsteps echoed through the night, but I could only hope that the roar of the laughter and talking below was enough to mask it.

  I hit the girder hard, my hands catching on the edge. I pulled myself up quickly and looked down to ensure nobody had noticed. Everyone continued to drink and talk amongst themselves.

  I let out a sigh of relief and began moving across the beams, closer to where Aurelion and Woldroff sat with three other men.

  The girder I’d chosen to jump to was still a few rows over from where Woldroff and the others sat. That meant I’d need to jump to the others to get closer. I reached a good midpoint on the one I was sneaking across and judged the distance. It wasn’t as far as the first jump had been, but now I had to do it without a running start.

  I took a breath and jumped.

  Below, a man let out a yell right as I hit the girder chest first, my hands scrambling to grab hold of something. My fingers caught on the edge and I pulled myself up, breathing heavily. I glanced down to see if the yell had been directed at me and let out another huff of relief when my gaze landed on two thugs pushing at each other.

  “I’m gonna run you through,” one man was saying, his words slurred.

  The other man pushed back against him as others rushed up, and the scene quickly devolved into screaming curses as the argument carried on.

  I glanced up toward Woldroff and Aurelion to see the latter shaking his head while Woldroff simply stared on with that calm, neutral face he always had. I had to push down the desire to drop down and punch him with my dagger blade several times.

  Instead, I turned my attention to the girder I’d reached and began working my way closer to the table where the King of Lion’s sat.

  Below, the argument continued until finally someone let out a scream. I glanced back once more to see the drunken man that had threatened to run the other through standing over a body.

  It didn’t matter what deals the leaders made, it seemed the men beneath them were always going to do what they wanted.

  Shaking my head I took in the distance to the next girder and then jumped, using [Swift Strike] at the last moment to give myself a boost. I hit the other side without issue this time, catching myself on a short pillar that connected the girder to the ceiling itself.

  I was almost over the table where Woldroff and Aurelion sat now.

  I leaned down, skirting across the top of the girder until I was laying directly above the two, roughly three meters above them. I watched as Aurelion leaned in and said something I couldn’t make out to Woldroff.

  The suited man nodded slowly, picked up a goblet in front of him and took a long swig, before responding.

  I cursed softly. The girder had been my best chance of learning something from their conversations, but it seemed I wouldn’t be able to hear anything they had to say up here. I glanced around, looking for some way to get closer, and my gaze landed on the stairs that led up to the room I’d first met Aurelion in.

  We’d spent many hours planning the infiltration of the palace and our attack on the Segrids within that room. Did Aurelion still use it?

  I pushed up to my feet, crouching along the girder, and began moving forward toward the stairs. It didn’t take long before I was crouching above them. I looked down, trying to judge the distance. It wasn’t nearly as far away as Aurelion had been at his table, but it wasn’t exactly a hop down, either.

  Chewing on my lip, I glanced around, trying to see if there was some other way I might be able to get in, and my eyes alighted on a small gap between the ceiling of the building and the wall that separated the room from the rest of the floor.

  It was a small window, I realized as I drew closer, using the nearby beams to close the distance. It would be a tight fit, but I could probably slip in.

  I reached the bar that ran up to the window and skirted across the thin platform until I reached it. It was even smaller up close, which meant I wouldn’t be able to slip into it after all.

  I let out another curse as I peered inside. Despite being too small to climb through, the window was close to the table where Aurelion and I had shared many meetings. Perhaps if I waited long enough, the group would make their way up here for more private conversations.

  I had just made the decision to settle in and wait when I noticed something at one of the windows on the far side of the room.

  Quirking an eyebrow, I watched as the window swung open, letting in a gust of wind as a small figure in a dark cloak, a hood pulled over their head, climbed into the room.