Epilogue

Kaelen burst through the door at the Arcane Anomaly Authority. The administrator behind the counter didn’t look up from his document. He scribbled something onto it as Kaelen approached, his jaw tight.

The administrator looked up at Kaelen, his expression unreadable. “May I help you, Kaelen?”

“Yes,” Kaelen said through gritted teeth. “I think you can. Did the Arcane Anomaly Authority have anything to do with Eric’s kidnapping?”

The administrator looked around the lobby before pointing to a door to the right of Kaelen. “I don’t have record of anything of that nature. You may wish to speak with Sylapher—she will know more.”

Kaelen turned toward the door and began walking. He stopped. He sighed, then turned back to the administrator. “Could you please inform her that I am requesting a moment of her time?”

Sylapher’s door opened behind him. “Come to my office, Kaelen. There is much to sort out.”

Kaelen turned to meet Sylapher’s eye. Most of his rage about Eric’s kidnapping, still clear in his expression, softened slightly. Sylapher, as he knew her, was the most direct person here. He had been contracted to watch Eric, to kill him if he had to, by this very woman. Now mercenaries he recognized had taken Eric and tried to kill him.

As Kaelen stepped into Sylapher’s office, she was already taking a seat behind the desk. As he sat, she shuffled some paperwork and looked up at him. Before he had a chance to speak, she spoke. “The answer to your question is no.”

Kaelen’s jaw tightened and he leaned forward, speaking through gritted teeth. “You’re going to sit here and tell me that the mercenaries this organization typically hires weren’t involved in his kidnapping?”

“Yes, Lord Kaelen,” Sylapher said, leaning back. “That is precisely what I’m saying. We have no interest in killing Eric Elwyn. He has shown that he can be trusted.” She raised a document Kaelen himself had written and tapped it once. “You even reported here that he is powerful, but not a risk to innocent lives.” Her eyes stayed on him. “I particularly like the emphasis on innocent lives.”

Kaelen frowned, the heat leaving him. “I’ll take you at your word. However, I am no longer going to play Eric’s keeper. I’m joining his group permanently. As for the kidnapping—what do you know of the noble who confronted him in the market? Is he a suspect? You are opening an investigation into this matter since you had nothing to do with it, right?”

Sylapher leaned forward and poured water into a glass, her eyes never quite leaving his direction. “An investigation has already been started. As for the noble, he isn’t a suspect. We sent him to poke Eric. I know—we told you to poke him as well—but I thought Eric might be too close to you for that to work.”

Kaelen furrowed his brows, his jaw tensing. He exhaled through his nose, then spoke. “Gah. Why did Eric have to kill all of them? We could have at least questioned one of them.”

Sylapher put the glass to her lips and drank, smiling as she brought it down. “You may want to consider if you would have left a survivor in that situation. Eric was out of his depth, to the point I’m surprised he lived. You know as well as I do that he should have been dead before he ever had a chance to retaliate. No, something more was going on there. We just need to get to the bottom of it.”

Kaelen looked down and knocked on the chair’s armrest a couple of times before looking back up at Sylapher. “Thank you for your time, Lead Administrator. If you know anything, please give me the courtesy of at least telling me something.”

Kaelen stood to leave before Sylapher spoke again. “You will be paid for the contract. You did the job satisfactorily. And I will give you information, Lord Kaelen. I believe you have earned that much.”

Kaelen nodded and continued to the door before Sylapher spoke once more. “And to be clear, Eric Elwyn will no longer be observed by this office.”

Lyren was sitting in the Adventurers’ Guild, sipping a fruity drink and watching people. She had come to tell her old group that she wasn’t going to rejoin. She didn’t think they really needed her; they’d replaced her the same day the guild master had recruited her to appraise Eric.

Thinking about Eric and the kidnapping, Lyren knew the mercenaries involved were known for their raw brutality, which led her to believe they wanted more.

The Adventurers’ Guild was as lively as ever. Lyren let her gaze sweep the tables: contracts, arguments, boasts. Same theme, different day. She rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. Most of them spent more time talking than adventuring.

Lyren’s eyes lingered on her old group. The replacement healer laughed at one of Jyrel’s jokes. He was a competent tank and a good leader—but she no longer felt the connection she once had with her group after this mission.

When she had been their healer, they had accepted her well enough, and the group had taught her a great deal about working as a team. But Eric had taught her something new—something she hadn’t even expected. When she healed Eric, and Kaelen as well, they hadn’t resisted her magic.

When she touched Eric’s core and channels, his soul didn’t resist her at all. She had never felt that kind of trust from anyone, and it was sobering. This one human from another world had let her touch his core without even the slightest hesitation, as if he had accepted her as family. It felt both odd and invigorating.

How could she ever go back to a group that merely tolerated her, when she could stay with one that accepted her as family? Lyren had made this decision a while ago, but sitting here—watching the hall and watching her old group—only made it easier. She would call Kaelen, Eric, and Welyvyne her group.

Lyren quickly downed the rest of her glass and set it on the bar, then stood and made her way toward her old group. One last thing to do.

As she approached, Jyrel looked up and smiled. “Lyren, how are things going with the human?”

The healer’s tension eased as Jyrel straightened slightly, the question already forming before he seemed aware of it. His gaze flicked to the rest of the group, then returned to Lyren. “Oh—did we do something wrong?”

Jyrel was a big lowlander adventurer—much like most tanks. He was bronze, like Welyvyne, though his hair was bright copper.

Lyren smiled and shook her head. “No, you guys are great—always have been. You took in a new healer and, well, taught me how to be a team member. I’ll never forget that. But I want to stick with the human and this new group—my new group. It feels more like a family and less like a group of colleagues.”

Jyrel frowned and met Lyren’s eyes. “Do you remember what I told you about attachment? Losing someone you care about never ends cleanly—it only leaves pain behind. I just want you to be sure you understand what you’re choosing by staying with that new group of yours.”

Lyren met his gaze and shook her head. “I’ve thought about what you said. A lot. And I don’t think avoiding pain is the right goal. Losing someone you care about should hurt—because it means they mattered.”

She exhaled softly. “This group wouldn’t abandon me. They’d fight for me, the same way I’d fight for them. That’s what I’m choosing. Not safety. Commitment.”

Jyrel laughed. “Alright, Lyren, I get it. Good luck out there—and Lyren, keep in touch.”

Lyren’s expression softened. “You know I will. I’ll introduce you to the new group later. Who knows—we may end up working together again someday.”

She turned for the exit and stepped into the night air. Drawing a steady breath, Lyren headed back to Eric. He was going to need more healing, after all.