She took the sandwich and devoured it whole before we left the stairwell. I raised my eyebrows at the sight.

  "I know full well how much mana I just poured into you. You shouldn't be that hungry."

  Sereza wiped her mouth clean and blushed before motioning for another. I tossed her mine and chuckled at the sight. At least on the second pass, she ate her food far slower.

  "It's" she swallowed and sighed. "I was already hungry earlier."

  My eyes narrowed. "When I had a crate of food ready for pillaging?"

  "I didn't want to be rude."

  "You have some weird hold-ups from your upbringing, you know that? If you want food, just grab it unless I very specifically claim it as mine. And even if you do, I'll stab you with a fork, that's all there is to it."

  She paused to stare but there was another person entering the stairwell so we moved on. She stuck behind me, making herself a shadow as I guided us through the crowd. Eventually, as we neared the booth she breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

  Arturous was the first to greet us, his massive snout scouring the crumbs from Sereza's face with one gigantic lick. She fended the bear off and managed to sit down before the barrage of questions came.

  I sat back and waited until the initial salvo to settle in before clearing my throat.

  "So knowing you the most out of everyone here, and having seen you fight creatures much faster than that man, I have to ask," I started. Sereza sat up and I playfully flicked my tail against her leg. It took a lot of control but I managed to gently smack her kneecap rather than cut her. "Why did you let him grab you like that?"

  The others nodded, Isaac especially eager for an answer.

  She sighed and absently rubbed at her wrist. "Because I needed him unaware."

  "Unaware?" Isaac prodded.

  Sereza reached into her jacket and pulled free a small stone. It looked nondescript made of dull gray material. When she flipped it over, it exposed a shiny red gemstone sitting in the middle of a swirling rune that I didn't recognize.

  Strangely enough, I half expected Celenae to recognize whatever the object was but it was Isaac who leaned forward, almost angrily.

  "Where did you get that?" he asked, his voice sounding almost angry.

  Sereza winced and thumbed the jewel. "From a specialized merchant. My father introduced me to him long ago and I reached out."

  Isaac looked ready to erupt but Teddy placed his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. In response, the rogue slipped into the floor.

  "Does this have to do with house Meldras?" Celenae asked.

  Sereza's gaze grew hard and she nodded.

  "Who's or what's a Meldras?" I butt in.

  Celenae glanced at Sereza but she kept quiet so she pulled out a book and slid it over. On the page with gold lettering, was a house crest. It was a maroon octagon with a single hand in the center flanked by a serrated knife and a monster's skull. Behind it, hidden with a lighter shade of red was a crescent moon looming behind it.

  I scanned the next page but found nothing noteworthy other than describing some of the known territories of the house. Then I flipped the book over and read the title on the cover.

  "Minor houses of Luneterra? Isn't that the rival kingdom you just ended a war with?"

  Just ended being the operative word considering it had been well over eighty years since the last conflict between the two kingdoms. It was in the history books that Celenae made me study, but beyond some propaganda and obvious slander, I knew that the kingdom was one of the least friendly places on the continent. And probably one of the only ones big enough to rival Solunaria in size and manpower if not surpass it.

  And that's only because...

  "Yes. The kingdom of chains and moonlight," Teddy spat.

  It was surprising to hear such vitriol in his words but if even half of what the book I read said was true, I understood the anger.

  "Ignoring the cliché of the dark kingdom being the bad guys, why was Isaac pissed off?" I said while pointing at the device in Sereza's hand.

  She reached forward and I accepted it, letting my senses wash over the object.

  Hide the blood! Seek the prey!

  I pulled back and returned it, while summoning a drink to my hand. It took several sips to wash the imaginary taste of copper off my tongue.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "I think I understand."

  "Understand what?" Celenae asked.

  "I'm guessing that's a tracking device somehow? And it involves blood mana. Is this why you allowed yourself to be grabbed?"

  "It requires extended contact to establish the rune inside his body. And it only worked because I weakened him with my poison. Now that it's active and hidden, there'll be less chance of a healer discovering the rune and purging it."

  "And because anything negative on the first pass they'll attribute to poison. You used your skills to hide the branding," Teddy mumbled. He turned to Sereza and fixed her with a disappointed stare. "If it involves any house from Luneterra, I share zero sympathy. But using blood mana to bind someone... You know the consequences if the guild finds out."

  Sereza met his gaze with hard eyes. I saw the agitation in her tail as it hovered just above her shoulder and waved with jerky movements. Her fingers wrapped around the tracking stone and she pocketed it.

  "I commissioned it to help me track Lezka. But house Meldras is the kind of noble house that would see me tortured on a whim. Even if the guild discovers that I own this, they can hardly hold it against me," she countered.

  Teddy held up his hands in surrender and relaxed against Arturous' back. "You'd be right, but there would be a punishment. Either way, you have my word that nobody in this room would rat you out."

  Igas nudged his chin toward Khrem who looked around the room with his beady eyes. His expression was much harder to read but he sat up straight and placed his hands onto his lap.

  "I know little of the other empire, but what I do know tells me that nothing good is ever born from those lands. As long as Cyrus and Broken Tower agree to hold their word, you have mine," Khrem explained.

  Sereza relaxed and melted into her chair. "I have only two left in my possession. It took most of my savings. But to root out where a hound of Meldras sniffs, I'll gladly sacrifice it. His defeat will see him punished, but I doubt it'll be enough to stop him from attacking me."

  "If anything, it'll only incentivize him. One failure is bad, but a slave is not allowed to fail twice," Teddy said.

  "Exactly," Sereza finished. "I'll be on my toes, but if you don't mind I have a favor to ask of the Lightcrests."

  Teddy waved her question away before she could start. He smiled warmly and placed a hand on his chest. "You're a friend, and a comrade in battle. If you need to find safe harbor in my family's manor, then come. You never needed to ask, Sereza."

  "Thank you."

  I tossed a piece of candy to both and shrugged. "Question. I know Myol allowed you to fight and all that. But if anything does happen, can't we report the bastard to the guards anyway? He wasn't exactly circumspect in his threats to you."

  The stares I received told me I made a mistake.

  "What?" I prompted. "What did I do wrong this time?"

  Celenae cocked her head then summoned a journal with my name on it. She flipped through a few pages before tracing a paragraph with her finger and sighing.

  "I forget, because there wasn't much testing done at the island. But it's Cyrus' special skills at play," she explained, while pointedly glancing at Khrem.

  "My special skills?" I asked.

  She pointed to Eodyne then me and then tapped her ear.

  Ooooooh. Duuuh, Cyrus. Of course the crazy slave wasn't threatening in the common tongue.

  I turned to Khrem who caught on to Celenae's careful approach to her words. I tapped his arm with my tail and waved.

  "Yes, Cyrus?" Khrem asked.

  "Take this in good faith since I don't think this is world-ending news, but I apparently can understand all languages. That's the special skill she's talking about. And if that's the case, what did you guys hear?"

  "It sounded like the elven tongue but ran through the mouth of an earth element and spat out in disjointed yips. Some lines were spoken for the benefit of the crowd, but not all," Celenae answered. She tapped her chin and stared at Sereza. "Most likely a local dialect used for members of house Meldras."

  "Oh it was. He's a brute, but he's not stupid enough to claim the things he wanted to do with me to the public. It'd be an open admission of guilt," Sereza scoffed.

  I pointed an accusatory tail. "How come you understood him?"

  "You're not the only one with secrets, Cyrus. To answer your question, it's because my father made me learn when I was a child. Even if he kept me away from his shady dealings, he wanted me to learn in case."

  It made sense. If Sereza wanted to keep some cards close to her chest, I would be a massive hypocrite if I got upset about it.

  Teddy tapped the armrest of his chair and stroked Arturous' fur. "You're father sounds like someone the crown should be wary of. No noble house would dare to deal with a Luneterran."

  "I'd prefer it if you didn't. My father is many things, but relatively harmless in the grand scheme of it all. As far as a noble's reputation, you'd be surprised how many petty nobles dip their toes into the blackmarket. Whether that be with the beast tribes, or Luneterra," Sereza said.

  "And this is why I'm an adventurer," Igas grunted. "Noble this, reputation that. Things are easier if I can cleave them with my sword."

  With all the questions out of the way, we settled in. Two matches had come and gone. The fights themselves weren't really noteworthy. I did catch the tail end of the last fight; the poor elven rogue had enough time to unleash a single skill before his opponent laid him low with a single punch.

  I recognized the mysterious individual, the same guy who kept staring at our booth. He did it a third time, but for far less longer.

  Just who are you, stranger? Will we get to meet in a duel? Is this some novel where our fates are crossed?

  I snorted before erupting into true laughter that drew plenty of stares.

  "Cyrus?" Teddy asked carefully.

  "Nothing, sorry. Was just thinking to myself." I said, brushing him off.

  "Are you okay?"

  "I-"

  I paused and channeled mana into Shroud of the Astral Archon. Galarion appeared in my hands and I slapped him into my brain.

  Almost immediately, his tendrils hungrily pulled at the tension in my brain. I could feel myself relax, and a strain in the corner of my eyes lessen.

  Huh.

  "All gone!" Galarion bubbled.

  "Thanks, Galarion. You can return now."

  "Master... Okay?"

  I tapped my temple and waited until he oozed out of my forehead and into my waiting palms. I gently patted his currently bulbous body and hugged him close to my chest.

  "I'm fine. I promise."

  Even with my careful control of the link I could tell Galarion didn't fully believe me. But the ever eccentric spirit happily lit up and bounced into my chest.

  "Cyrus," Teddy prompted.

  When I glanced over, I could see the concern in his eyes. It wasn't only him either, everyone else--except Khrem--shared similar looks. Luckily for me, I felt a buzz along my wrist and grinned at the glowing bracelet.

  "Would you look at that? Looks like it's time for my next match!" I said cheerfully.

  Teddy frowned. "Cyrus..."

  I stood up and headed for the door. "Don't worry! I'll try not to go crazy this time. It'll be fiiiine.

  The door to the booth closed behind me and I stopped forcing the mask's expression.

  Right. Let's see if I can vent some stress.