I didn’t sleep well.

  Even though The Silver Hearth was exactly as I had written it—a safe, neutral ground where travelers could rest without fear—the weight of my situation pressed against me like a lead blanket.

  Lying on the stiff mattress, I stared at the ceiling, my mind racing.

  Ryn was dangerous. Not in the sense that he’d slit my throat in the middle of the night, but because he was too sharp. I had written him to be a man who saw through lies, who could read people like an open book. And in this world, where my very existence was a lie, that made him a threat.

  Even worse, I didn’t know how much he had already figured out.

  When I finally drifted into sleep, it was restless—filled with fragmented dreams of places I had written, voices of characters I had created, and a lingering sense that I was walking a tightrope with no safety net below.

  Next morning

  When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the faint smell of bread and spiced meat drifting from downstairs.

  The second thing I noticed was the piece of paper slipped under my door.

  Frowning, I pushed myself out of bed and picked it up.

  A single line was scrawled in elegant but slightly messy handwriting:

  "Come find me. We have unfinished business."

  It wasn’t signed, but I didn’t need a name.

  Ryn.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  I sighed, rubbing my temples. Of course, he wasn’t going to let this go.

  I got dressed quickly—basic travel clothes, still slightly worn from yesterday’s journey—then made my way downstairs.

  The inn was a little livelier in the morning. A few merchants and travelers sat at the tables, eating breakfast, while Marla barked orders at a younger girl—probably her niece—who was helping serve drinks.

  I spotted Ryn immediately.

  He was lounging in the farthest corner, booted feet propped up on another chair, spinning a coin between his fingers again. When he saw me, he grinned.

  I didn’t sit down. “What do you want?”

  Ryn gestured to the chair across from him. “Sit. Eat. You look like you’ve been thinking too hard.”

  I hesitated, then reluctantly sat. “If this is about last night—”

  “Oh, it is.” His golden eyes gleamed. “You’re an interesting one, and I like interesting things.”

  I tensed slightly. “I don’t know what you think you’ve figured out, but—”

  “Relax.” He leaned back. “If I really thought you were a threat, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  That didn’t reassure me in the slightest.

  Ryn glanced toward the bar and waved a hand. “Oi, Marla! Get him something to eat. My treat.”

  Marla grumbled something about lazy rogues wasting money, but she disappeared into the kitchen.

  I exhaled slowly. “I don’t like owing people.”

  “Good. That means you’ll pay me back eventually.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “For what?”

  “For covering your stay. For breakfast. And,” he smirked, “for keeping quiet about whatever it is you’re hiding.”

  I froze.

  His smirk widened. “Oh, don’t look so alarmed. I don’t know what your secret is. Just that you have one. And that?” He leaned forward slightly. “That makes you valuable.”

  I didn’t like the way he said that.

  “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “True,” Ryn admitted. “But that’s exactly why I want to.”

  I swallowed back my frustration. I needed to turn this conversation around.

  “You work for the Guild, right?” I asked.

  His eyes flickered with amusement. “Sometimes.”

  The Mercenary Guild. Another piece of my own creation. A sprawling network of hired blades, bounty hunters, and specialists who took on contracts for the highest bidder. Ryn wasn’t officially part of them, but he had worked alongside them enough times that he was considered an “associate.”

  Which meant he wasn’t someone I wanted attention from.

  Ryn studied me for a long moment. “Tell you what,” he said. “I won’t pry. Not yet. But in return, you owe me a favor.”

  I frowned. “What kind of favor?”

  “A simple one. There’s a job I was considering taking, but it requires a second pair of hands.” He tilted his head. “You look like you can hold your own.”

  I almost laughed. Hold my own? I was just an engineering student. The closest I had come to fighting was watching action movies.

  But saying no didn’t feel like an option.

  “What’s the job?” I asked cautiously.

  “A retrieval mission. Some noble lost something important, and they’re willing to pay well to get it back.”

  “…And you need my help?”

  Ryn grinned. “Not really. But I’d rather not do all the work myself.”

  Something told me he was lying.

  But I had no money, no connections, and no idea where to go from here.

  If I was going to survive in this world, I needed something.

  And maybe—just maybe—sticking close to Ryn for now would be my best chance at understanding the rules of the game I had been thrown into.

  “…Fine,” I said. “I’ll help.”

  Ryn’s smirk deepened. “Good choice.”

  I had a sinking feeling I was going to regret it.