“So,” Cade said as he swirled the whiskey in its bottle. “Any ideas?”

  Nobody answered.

  While he waited for someone to pipe up, he leaned his head back on the tree behind him. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting sharp, golden beams across the forest floor. The air felt crisp, alive with the scent of damp bark and fallen leaves just beginning to curl. Each ray of light sliced through the shadows, igniting the tips of the tall grass in a soft, amber glow. The shifting light created a dance of shadow and brilliance, a reminder that the season was changing, even if the warmth still lingered.

  Cade took another swig from the whiskey bottle, wincing as the liquid burned down his throat. The pain from the Remnant fused to his body was finally settling into a dull, constant throb.

  Rayka, Cade’s sister, broke the silence first.

  “What we have to do… it’s insane, Cade,” Rayka said, her voice barely above a whisper. “We’re talking about stealing from the most powerful goddess in the world.”

  “No one said it would be easy,” Cade admitted.

  Elena leaned forward. “That’s an understatement, don’t you think?! It’s flat-out impossible! We’ll get ourselves killed. Or worse.”

  “What’s worse than dying?” Rayka asked.

  “Dying without finding love,” Jer said with a dramatic little flourish.

  Elena rubbed her tired eyes. “I guess we’ll at least die in style.”

  “Pass,” Orro said. “The world is a bonfire, but I still like being alive.”

  “Alright, alright,” Cade said, interjecting. “Let’s stay focused.”

  The skitter of claws on the forest floor caught his attention, and he peered over one shoulder as Bunny scampered toward him. The little dragonling hopped up on Cade’s shoulder, nuzzling him. Cade absently scratched behind Bunny’s ear, drawing comfort from the small creature's presence.

  “Listen,” Cade said, his tone turning serious. “I don’t know what Scorn is going to do to me if we don’t get that Remnant, but you all can get away from here. You don’t have to follow me into the hells. I don’t want you to—”

  “Cade, shut up,” Elena said flatly.

  Jer nodded. “We’re a team. You said it yourself.”

  Cade smiled in gratitude. “Thank you.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jer waved away Cade’s words with a lazy flick of his hand. “Eternal gratitude will suffice as payment.”

  “We could use a servant,” Elena added with a shrug.

  Cade laughed.

  “Focus,” Orro chided. “Did you all forget that the Tournament of Life is happening this autumn?”

  “Oh, is that this year?” Jer asked as he rubbed his jaw.

  “It only happens once a century, Jer,” Elena said flatly. “How could you possibly forget?”

  Jer shrugged. “True love matters more to me, and time is suspended while I wait.”

  Elena just groaned in annoyance.

  “You guys, this won’t work,” Orro said with a frustrated grunt. “The Tournament of Life always draws a crowd, but this year? It’s the fiftieth anniversary—it’s going to be massive. Biggest one ever. The streets will be packed. Inns are probably already booked solid. It’s basically a party that goes on for the whole season, right up until the first day of winter. Nonstop. Markets, feasts, fights, everything.”

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  Jer perked up. “Ooh, think we’ll find turkey legs? I love those.”

  “Getting in at all, much less undetected?” Orro continued, as if Jer hadn’t said anything. “Forget it. They’ll have security everywhere, triple what they usually do. Quadruple, maybe. I’ve heard that Life’s generals recruit new soldiers for five years leading up to the tournament, just to ensure they’re properly trained and ready to defend the city in case any other god gets some bright idea to invade. If we do this, we’ll be lucky to even get a glimpse of the arena, much less find a way to sneak under it.”

  “Hmm,” Cade said under his breath, his thoughts racing. “Then joining the tournament might be our best shot at slipping beneath the radar.”

  “Excuse me, what?” Rayka said flatly. “It almost sounded like you said something irrevocably stupid.”

  “You heard me,” he said with a sidelong glance at his sister.

  Orro took a step closer, his brows furrowed in concern. “Cade, I don’t think you realize how dangerous this tournament is. Half the time, no one even wins. Getting through to the end—I mean, those who survive it are changed for having competed. Whatever is in those labyrinths breaks survivors. There has to be another way.”

  “Wait, wait, wait.” Elena gestured for everyone to just slow down already. “Why would the Tournament of Life be deadly? That makes no sense.”

  Rayka sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Life designed it that way.”

  Everyone turned to look at their resident escape artist, and for a moment, no one spoke.

  The tournament had always fascinated Rayka, and Cade had caught her sneaking off on more than one occasion to pester drunks about it in the taverns. If anyone knew anything about it at all, she had always been ready to wring every ounce of information out of them.

  “Life insists it’s a reminder to enjoy and savor what we are given,” Rayka continued. “She uses the tournament to teach us her lessons, and only those who embody Life’s teachings survive. Those who die channel through her, and she ensures they find a peaceful and joyful afterlife.”

  “Oh, right!” Jer said. “Orgy heaven, isn’t it?”

  “Shut up, Jer,” Elena said flatly.

  “And that’s our entry point,” Cade said. “While everyone is focused on the tournament, we can scope out the Remnant. Figure out how to get it. Use the chaos to our advantage.”

  “Everyone will still be nervous and skeptical,” Elena interjected. “Besides, none of us have even been to Elysia. It’s supposed to be huge. How will we find a way under the city without Hugh’s contacts?”

  Cade frowned.

  Fair point.

  Jer scrunched up his face in thought. “And who’ll focus on the heist if we're dodging death at every corner?”

  “We’ll make it work,” Cade said firmly. “We scope it out, find a way. We have to.”

  Orro looked around the group, and his eyes settled on Cade. “There’s also the issue of what that Remnant’s doing to you. The lava, the pain, the unknown… magic.”

  Everyone fell silent, and they all stared at Cade.

  “I know.” Cade took a deep breath to steady his racing heart. “Scorn wanted it for a reason. We have no idea where it came from or what it even is, but it’s clearly powerful. Dangerous. I need to figure out how to control it before it, I don't know… makes me hiccup fire or something. The lava was bad enough.”

  Orro nodded. “Joy is our best bet.”

  Everyone groaned.

  “Look,” Orro continued flatly. “Sure, he and Hugh go way back, but he’s a black market magic expert, and we don’t have any other leads. Hugh spent a long time down there before this heist, and I suspect they were discussing the Remnant. That gnome knows more about magic than any other contact we have. If anyone can figure it out, it’s him.”

  “And if he can’t?” Rayka asked, worry clear in her eyes.

  The team exchanged uneasy glances. Silence hung heavy in the air as their gazes shifted, one by one, to Cade.

  “If he can’t…” Cade began, his voice barely steady. “No, let's not think about that. There’s no sense in dwelling on something that might not even happen.”

  Bunny chirped softly, as if sensing the tense atmosphere, and snuggled into the crook of Cade’s neck.

  “Right,” Orro said. “One step at a time.”

  “First, we go bug Joy,” Cade said as he wrapped up the plan. “He either helps me get control of this power, or he takes it out of me. After that, we make our way to Elysia. We sign up for the tournament, scope out the arena, and make the rest of the plan from there.”

  “Easy,” Rayka muttered sarcastically under her breath.

  The team nodded, a unified, albeit reluctant, resolve settling among them. Cade took another swig of whiskey, the liquid fire bolstering his determination.

  He set the bottle down and looked each of them in the eye. “We’ve faced impossible odds before. We can do this.”

  As the last light of the sun filtered through the trees, casting long shadows across the meadow, Cade couldn’t help but feel the weight of their task ahead. He clenched his fists, the pain from the Remnant a stark reminder of their urgency.

  Whatever happened next—black market magic, a tournament riddled with danger, or a heist from the most powerful goddess on the continent—Cade had his crew, and they would face it all.

  Together.

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