The damp, fetid air of Silfheim clung to Cade’s senses like a wet blanket, each breath heavy with the scents of mud, piss, and despair.

  Cade wrinkled his nose while he took in the mining town that sprawled out before them. It was a labyrinth of ramshackle buildings and narrow alleys that led up to a few clean streets only the elites could traverse. The place reminded Cade of a lady holding up her skirts in a sewage tunnel, letting the filth cling to her legs while she preserved the few linens to her name.

  “Futility, thy name is Silfheim,” Cade muttered grimly.

  “What was that?” Jer asked to his right.

  “Oh, Cade’s just brooding,” Rayka explained in a motherly tone that grated on Cade’s nerves. “He thinks that just because he went and read books with a bunch of other people who read and talked about books, that he’s suddenly a poet.”

  “It’s called education, little sister.” Cade straightened his spine while he continued to scan Silfheim’s dirty exterior. “And you read just as much as me, though romance novels are rather limited in what they can educate you on.”

  Elena threw an arm over Rayka’s shoulders. “Oh, I think she’s a learned woman in all the ways that matter.”

  Cade and Rayka groaned in disgust in perfect unison, then gave each other equally annoyed glances.

  “Come on, let’s find some drinks and see if we can’t force Joy into a bargain,” Cade stated resolutely.

  “Right,” Jer drawled. “Because the last time we forced him into a corner went so well for us.”

  “It was one finger,” Rayka chided as they all began to move toward the grimy walls of Silfheim. “And they reattached it, didn’t they?”

  “It still tingles. I swear it on all the stars, it still tingles,” Jer moaned, trailing behind them.

  Cade shook his head, absently memorizing the restless figures of Scorn’s troops patrolling the streets. Their torches flickered wildly in the eastern wind as they navigated the labyrinth of streets and alleys that spiderwebbed through this city. He moved toward the rough road of matted grass and snapped twigs that bled away to deeply troughed mud.

  Gods, he hated this place.

  Sighing, Cade took a position in the slowly meandering line that headed into the front gate of the town. The power humming in his chest distracted him, and his mind raced as he tried to figure out what he could do to control this much power. His body was a constant trill of pain and the occasional rumble of raw destruction. The convulsions had lessened, but the threat of another bout was ever-present.

  This power was already becoming normal. He could feel it in his veins, in his body, and even in his very soul.

  But magic always came with a price.

  As much as he wanted an activated core of his own, he had to be practical. At any moment, he could lose control and hurt someone—namely, his crew.

  It was a risk he couldn’t take.

  He glanced at his dirty team, their faces etched with weariness and tension. The muddy path to Silfheim stretched before them, the town’s silhouette a jagged outline against the darkening sky. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and the faint, metallic tang of distant forges. Every step squelched through the muck, adding to their collective sense of misery. The slums that led up to the town didn’t help the mood either.

  “This place still smells like a troll’s armpit,” Elena muttered, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

  “Cheer up, Elena,” Jer snorted. “Maybe they won’t notice how your delightful aroma would make even a draugr blush.”

  As if he knew what would happen next, Jer ducked suddenly and narrowly missed the open palm Elena aimed at the back of his head.

  Cade grinned despite the pain that pulsed through him with every breath.

  “If draugr wore cologne…” he commented dryly. “I don’t know if they would prefer the scent of this dung heap or El’s morning breath.”

  “Look,” Elena replied with ice in her eyes. “Just because your core is probably going to explode at any time doesn’t mean I won’t smack you. Cripples are fair game in my book.”

  “There’s no way I’m unpacking any of that right now. I’d need a ten-foot pole and at least six ales just to get close,” Cade answered with a shit-eating grin.

  Elena huffed and walked over to stand next to Rayka. The two women whispered in hushed tones that he knew was supposed to get on his nerves, but he let it go. Instead, Cade shifted his attention to the front gates.

  The imposing wooden barriers loomed over them, reinforced with iron and guarded by an entire platoon of Scorn’s soldiers, the self-proclaimed ’Ravens.’ The flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows on the faces of the guards, who scrutinized each person entering the town with suspicion.

  Well, now… that wasn’t a good sign.

  Clearly, Scorn wanted to keep a close watch on them. They’d managed to sneak past her watchful eye thus far, but he couldn’t risk her realizing he was doing his best to break their bargain.

  This complicated things—and he couldn’t risk any of her soldiers catching them.

  Cade looked for familiar bribe targets amongst the guards, but had to duck back into the line when a woman on horseback rode past their group. He tucked his shoulder to angle himself away from her, but through the corner of his eye, he managed to glimpse her rigid posture and her sharp eyes.

  The newest Raven’s voice carried through the air, clipped and commanding. “Papers. Proof of residency. Now!”

  A soldier nearby muttered to another, “Olivia’s in a mood tonight.”

  Cade tensed, and he surreptitiously looked through the wagons and other travelers to the wood elf on horseback.

  “Great,” the thief whispered to his crew. “Lady Grumpypants is on duty. This’ll be fun.”

  Rayka shot him a worried look. “First, that was a terrible insult and you should be ashamed of yourself. Second, we don’t have papers, Cade. What’s the plan?”

  Orro answered first while his eyes scanned the gate ahead. “We need to find another way in. There’s no way we’re getting past her otherwise.”

  Cade’s eyes darted around, taking in the scene. The Ravens were thorough, checking every wagon, every pack. With each minute that slipped past them, the heavy scents of fear and tension clung to those seeking entry into Silfheim.

  Two dwarves several caravans ahead of them were pulled from the line and thrown into the mud. The Ravens yelled something with spears raised, and the two miners began to remove their packs and garments in front of everyone.

  Cade’s attention shifted to how the shadows played across the walls and the narrow alleys that led off into the darkness just beyond the gate.

  “Next!” The Raven commander barked from on top of her horse.

  The line moved forward. A squad of four soldiers walked closer to Cade and his group. He inconspicuously lowered his head and shrunk into the cowl of his cloak. The Ravens slowed while they assessed each member in line.

  “Fine evening, ain’t it?” One of them asked in a light sneer that was too nasally to be classified as natural.

  Cade shifted his gaze to the warriors, all of whom wore the black raven armor and a variety of iron knuckles and naked blades. Cade hid his contempt well, but some of his disdain for these thugs must’ve bled through, as the smallest of the four stepped forward. His bent teeth and recessed eyes transformed him into something sinister in the shadows that covered the ground.

  “Looks like we’re not welcome here, Dunn. Looks to me like this little ant thinks he’s better than us.” The short human spat while he stepped through Cade’s crew to stand in front of him.

  He reached out with his short sword and poked the top of Cade’s hood, shoving it back with the chipped blade. Cade’s face was exposed, but he refused to flinch. Instead, he smiled.

  “Oh, I’m not better than any of you fine gentlefolk.” Cade looked each of them in the eyes. “I was merely taking in the quality of your care in our sweet old town. I love what you’ve done with the place!”

  His earnestness was so unyielding that none of the Ravens could hear even the faintest traces of sarcasm that swam in the young thief’s mind. His grin widened further.

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  “I’m just glad it was your lot, and not that idiot, Honor, or someone like him that took over. We needed a strong hand like Scorn’s to get us in order.” Cade smiled widely.

  No one moved while the short man’s blade lingered at Cade’s throat. He narrowed his gaze on Cade’s doe-eyed expression. Then, he grunted noncommittally and retracted his weapon. He spat on Cade’s boots then waved in a circular motion for his comrades to move on with him.

  Orro’s shoulders relaxed infinitesimally to his left, but he refused to move until the four brutes had moved on to harass someone else. When they were out of sight, Cade turned to his friends with a brittle smile.

  “There,” he said, pointing to a narrow gap between two buildings. “We can skirt around the gate and find another way in.”

  “You okay?” Rayka asked in a quiet voice.

  Cade took her hand in his and felt the unsteady tremors she tried to hide.

  “I’m sure Orro would’ve beheaded the lot if he thought they would mar my beautiful features,” Cade replied with a cheeky grin. He squeezed her hand, and she let out a heavy sigh.

  “’Beautiful’ is a stretch,” Orro grunted.

  Elena sighed in faux resignation. “Lead the way, Sulfur-Breath. Just make sure we don’t end up in a dungeon. Or, worse, one of Silfheim’s pleasure houses.”

  As discreetly as they could, the six of them slowly trickled away from the line and into the slums. They navigated through stacks of crates and mildewed barrels partially buried in the loose mud, careful to avoid the eyes of the roaming patrols. Cade led them into one of the darkest alleys, Bunny loping at his side.

  With a silent gesture, they took a turn into a crooked alley with discarded fish bones scattered across its surface. On either side of them, the sounds of Silfheim’s nightlife grew louder as they approached—a cacophony of drunken laughter, clinking mugs, and the occasional shout of anger or delight.

  Cade absorbed each sound and scent, all of them magnified by his heightened state. The air was colder here, the smell of stale ale and sweat mingling with the earthy scent of the streets.

  Orro signaled with his right hand that he saw trouble ahead, and Cade shifted to the left without a word. They slipped through another narrow alley right as the one and only Lady Grumpypants trotted past with a retinue of ten Ravens.

  “Spread out!” Olivia barked at her warriors. “Scour every house and alley if you have to. Scorn’s latest prize was seen by the gates. Retrieve them at all costs, and no need to be gentle about it.”

  The goons shoved through crowds and knocked over an elderly gnome on crutches in their rush. He fell straight into a horse trough, and the soldiers laughed and sneered as they left him unattended. Olivia pulled up her horse and allowed it to drink while the gnome fought to get out of the murky water.

  Cade seethed quietly, unable to step out lest he expose his whole team to the Raven’s ire. A muscle feathered in his jaw as he stood vigil in the shadows, coming up with all sorts of ways he would repay the Ravens for their treatment of that old man. He waited until someone helped the gnome out, and only then retreated further into the welcoming darkness.

  His vision flashed as red as his rage.

  Storm still brewing in his veins, he led his team to a neglected section of the wall where the slums ended and the city began. Cade squinted and his eyes caught a glimpse of an old sewer grate half-hidden by debris.

  “There’s our way in,” Cade said, a note of triumph in his voice. “Bunny, think you can create a little chaos up top to distract the guards?”

  Bunny chuffed reluctantly, and he tucked his wings in coyly.

  Cade sighed. “Fine. Do this, and I promise I’ll get you some pastries.”

  Bunny looked up, greed as plain as day in his verdant eyes. Still, he hesitated.

  “Fine, yes!” Cade inwardly beamed with pride at his companion’s expert negotiation skills. Outwardly, however, he kept up his stern reproach for the sake of the others. “I’ll make sure they’re cream-filled. But I can’t guarantee this fine city will have them. Next place we go that has a modicum of self-respect, and I’ll stuff your face with the best pastries they have to offer.”

  Jer gave the dragonling a reassuring pat. “You heard the man. Time to be a little troublemaker.”

  Bunny nodded sagely and then scampered up the wall with remarkable agility. His white scales glinted in the faint light as he sped over the curved edge of the large barrier. Moments later, a commotion erupted on the ramparts as the dragonling’s antics drew shouts of alarm from the guards.

  “Now!” Cade hissed.

  He took in a deep breath and then stoically led the team through the sewer entrance. They pried open the grate, the smell of rot and waste hitting them like a physical blow.

  Orro grimaced but kept his voice steady. “Stay close. We’ll get through this.”

  The tunnel was dark and narrow, the air damp and foul. The walls were slick with grime, the floor uneven and treacherous. Every sound echoed eerily, the distant rush of water a constant backdrop to their hushed footsteps. The stench was like a physical blow to his senses.

  “I can’t believe we’re sneaking through a sewer. Again.” Elena’s frustrated voice cut through the darkness. “If we get out of this, I’m taking the longest bath in history.”

  Rayka smirked, though her eyes were watchful. “Maybe we’ll find some draugr cologne down here after all.”

  “…Traitor,” Elena hissed into the darkness.

  “Just as long as we don’t find Elena’s would-be suitors down here first.” Cade noted with a chuckle, though it quickly devolved into a grimace as another wave of pain hit him.

  As they navigated the twisting tunnels, the sound of running water and distant echoes clambered throughout the underground tubes. The air was damp and cold, the walls begrimed.

  “Cade,” Elena cut in, interrupting the tense silence. “Do we really have to go through all this to talk to Joy? Surely, there are more available magic experts around.” Their resident vault expert gestured down at the green sludge and various clumps of hair and trash that slithered past their legs.

  “That we know for certain can be bribed into helping us without turning us in? Unlikely,” Cade answered simply.

  He stopped walking. His team shifted to look at him, and he met each pair of eyes as he continued.

  “I know this sucks,” he said frankly. “But Joy is my best bet in getting this hellish magic out of me before anyone gets hurt.”

  “Is that what this is about?” Elena pressed, wiping her hands across her muddied pants. “It’s power, Cade. You choose how it’s used.”

  “It’s not that simple,” he said flatly.

  “Isn’t it, though?” she pressed. “All you have to do is practice.”

  “Practice?” He scoffed. “You mean practice not killing you all with a surge of lava? Trust me, Elena, I want to understand this power more than anyone else. I want to channel it. I want to use it for good, but what happens if I lose control for even one second? What happens if I start sneezing—gods, I don’t know, venom? Poison? I could kill all of you in a heartbeat!”

  Everyone paused.

  Cade took a deep breath to calm himself and got control of himself. Outbursts like that wouldn’t do any good, after all.

  “At any moment, I could lose control,” he continued. “I mean, if that gods-damned lava-sneeze had been near any of you, I would’ve killed you instantly, and all from a sneeze. It’s just getting worse. I can feel it shoving against my will, my skin, my mind.” Cade growled under his breath as the heat surged within him yet again. “I’m starting to wonder if it’s going to win. I’m seriously concerned that it can’t be controlled. I mean, think about it—that’s probably why Scorn never gave it to one of her servants. That’s why it was locked up. If even a goddess like Scorn is afraid to use it, then how deadly must this actually be?”

  No one answered. In fact, everyone but Orro stared at the fetid ground. The assassin merely watched him intensely, as though Cade were picking up on something Orro had already been debating internally.

  Cade didn’t, however, mention the goddess he’d seen in his vision. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her wreathed in flames. Yet again, a surge of dread shot through him as he thought of her raw power—and the simultaneously exhilarating thought that he might one day control it.

  Whomever she was, he was connected with her—and magic that dark, that heavy, had consequences. The same power that was clawing its way out of his core at this very moment.

  To be that powerful… plenty of people would kill to have a core like his.

  In all honesty, he wanted to keep it more than anything.

  He had two choices: master it, or get rid of it. As much as he wanted this magic for himself, he had to be realistic. He was clever, sure, and more resourceful than most, but there just wasn’t time for him to figure this out.

  His crew was more important than his selfish desires, and he had to do what was best for them all—not just for himself.

  Until he could control this magic—if that was even possible, of course—everyone he loved was in danger from just being near him.

  “Will that old bastard really be able to help?” Jer inquired softly, interrupting Cade’s foul thoughts. “I mean, have you even tried shoving your magic into a proper core? “

  “Establishing my path?” Cade clarified with a tired grin. He slowly nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve never had to do this before, but I’ve read about it tons. Whatever dominion my magic is connected to should have lots of routes forward, each one unique and suited for some mage or another. There’s just one problem.”

  Elena crossed her arms, leaned her weight on one hip, and raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And that is?”

  Cade gestured to his chest, where the magic surged yet again. “Mine doesn’t seem to want to offer up any paths forward. It’s like it resists any effort to control it. I—I’ve never heard or felt anything like it.”

  “You’re strong enough,” Orro said quietly. “You can control it.”

  “Maybe,” Cade admitted with a nod. “But what if I kill you all in the process?”

  No one answered.

  “Exactly,” he said softly. “Trust me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I get it. But you all are more important to me.”

  “Softie,” Rayka said with a small smile.

  He shrugged. “Maybe Joy has answers for me. Maybe he doesn’t. If he can’t help me figure out how to use this power effectively, then he’s going to help me get rid of it.”

  “Alright, alright, you’ve made your point.” Elena sniffed but grimaced as she seemed to instantly regret doing so. “I’m just saying, it might not be such a bad thing if you can sneeze up lava every once in a while. Makes for a great parlor trick, that’s for sure.”

  Cade shook his head and resumed walking. They continued on for several more minutes, the murky waters sloshing around their quiet march into Silfheim.

  Orro held up a hand and they all stopped. The echoes of footsteps cascaded down from a thick grate above their heads. The assassin unsheathed his sword and the orange blade lit up the darkness. With four quick cuts, the grate fell from its rusted hinges. Orro caught it just before it could clang against the stony tunnel. He put away his blade and then locked his fingers together in a foothold.

  “Go,” Orro whispered.

  Cade saluted his sacrifice, as his hands were about to be greeted by four pairs of truly abhorrent footwear. They all clambered out of the sewer and into a quiet alley between thick cobblestone buildings. It was a sharp contrast to the muddy slums, but the inside of Silfheim still left much to be desired.

  When Orro easily lifted himself out of the drain entrance, Cade smiled. There was a brief flutter of scales and claws against stone and Bunny dropped from above onto Cade’s shoulder. He growled, low and proud, from deep within his throat.

  “Who’s a good dragon? Who’s a good dragon?” Cade cooed into Bunny’s face as they nuzzled their noses together.

  Elena coughed loudly, and Cade straightened awkwardly.

  “Welcome to Silfheim,” he proclaimed with a dramatic flourish of his arms. “Home of the finest muck and the best ale you’ll ever regret drinking. Let’s head to the Broken Horn. Hopefully, Joy will be in a good mood.”

  As one, Cade and his crew headed toward the place where murderers and thieves traded tips on the best locations to hide dead bodies. One wrong move, and they would either be the ones throwing corpses into those ditches or the unlucky fools getting tossed.

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