O ur heavy mugs clinked together, and Clove yelled, “To the Tower Guild Academy!”
I raised my mug and drank deeply.
We were back at the Night Owl. We’d returned there immediately after our battle and began discussing our Tower strategy and reviewing what we could have improved in our battles. Soon after, the other students began to stream in.
Most looked happy, and I assumed that meant they’d passed. The silver-haired shieldmaiden waltzed in with a guarded glance around, before settling into a corner table on her own.
There were a few others I recognized as well. The petite woman with angel wings. The angry blond mage who’d stormed the Tower after us. And a few others here and there.
Clove and I used some of our coin to buy a more lavish meal for the evening. The food was good, but something was missing.
I pinched a bit of ash beneath the burning fire at the furnace, returned to my plate, and sprinkled it over my food. The next bite was wonderful.
Clove was shaking her head at me. “What are you doing, Luc?”
“I like the taste,” I said. “Don’t you?”
“Ash in my food ?”
“Typically sprinkled on the top.” Huh. She still looked confused. Was that not normal here, either?
She giggled into her hand and said, “You might as well be from the bottom of the ocean. So odd…”
“So I’ve heard,” I answered. “What about you, Clove? What kind of life do you lead?”
She took a sip of her ale and kept smoothing her long hair.
Like it felt good.
She said, “Well, I grew up in a town just down the street from Amarantha. It’s called Yarah and well… I’ve always been trying to come here.
“To work in the big city. My dad’s a merchant, so he’s always traveling. Mom was always coming and going, torn between taking care of us or leaving us with friends and relatives.”
“That must have been difficult,” I guessed.
She took another long drink and hummed. “At times, I suppose. But we had good people in our lives. It only started becoming difficult this last year, but then I took Mabel out of Yarah and brought us both here!
“We’ve been living at the Night Owl for six months, working for Keegan and Bree at the inn and staying here until I gain enough money to do something else.”
“Like what?”
“Take on quests. Have an adventure.” She had a dreamy smile.
“Will Mabel stay here?”
She nodded, her eyes shining with the first hint of the alcohol’s buzz. “My parents will be back in Yarah by the end of the year, but they’ll be moving to Amarantha too. I’m just so excited! What kind of quests do you think we’ll get?”
I thought about it. “Are there dragons here?”
She snorted some of her ale. It dripped from her nose while she choked and gasped.
That was oddly cute.
She was shaking her head when she said, breathing hard, “You are crazy! We’re not going to slay dragons!”
“Why not?”
“Because they’re so scary. They terrorize cities just as big as Amarantha!”
“Wonderful!”
Her brows shot up.
I tried again. “That means it’s a worthy pursuit, don’t you agree?”
“Only if we can manage to live! You do want to do that, right?”
More than anything.
“I want adventures too, Clove.”
She leaned forward across the table, curious. “What about you, Luc? What’s your life been like?”
We were walking into dangerous territory. But I could tell her most of the truth. “You’re correct when you guessed I’d grown up wealthy and in great privilege. But that came with its own battles.”
Like endless war in the Underworld. So endless I think my mind would have melted from the boredom.
A domineering father who thinks the Underworld is the only place I belong.
His promise to tie me to the throne for all eternity.
I continued, “I’d finally grown bored of the endless time I knew I’d spend doing the same meaningless actions over and over.
“My father can’t imagine wanting a life that is different from his. He does not believe in forging one’s own path, so I was never allowed the freedom to.”
Clove’s nose scrunched up in confusion, but she continued to down her ale and listened. She leaned forward, bringing herself closer to me yet again.
I said, “I must sound incredibly snobbish to you. But in truth, I longed for a larger purpose. My father wanted me at his side like a warrior wants his strongest steed with him. I wanted a life of my own. The ability to learn new ways and experience new things.”
… that had nothing to do with warring with the Underworld’s own unruly demons. Or endless slaughter.
I was worried that Clove would press me for more information, but it only took one good look at her to realize how little I need worry.
Her nose and cheeks were completely flushed with color. Her eyes were glazed, and a relaxed smile lifted the corner of her lips.
She still held onto her mug of ale, but a large lock of pink hair had fallen inside it, soaking up the drink.
I reached forward and plucked her locks out of her drink.
She gasped and quickly soaked up the mess with a towel.
I fought back a laugh. “Are you already drunk, Clove?”
Her eyes snapped open as wide as our dinner plates. She bit down on her lip and, to my utter surprise, slammed her mug down and ducked under the table.
I waited, confused.
She didn’t reappear.
I leaned onto the bench, laying sideways across the wood and propping my head up with a hand.
Clove was curled up, her head tucked to her knees. Her face was tilted just enough so she could peek out at me.
“Are you going to stay down there all evening?” I asked, grinning.
She turned her face away completely. “I’ve embarrassed myself about a hundred times in front of you today. More than I’ve ever done with anyone else. I can’t handle anymore!”
I insisted, “You haven’t embarrassed yourself at all. Not in my eyes, at least. Will you please come out?”
“Promise?”
“Yes. Promise.”
“Really?”
I sighed. “In some realms, asking someone to repeat themselves unnecessarily is like asking for a herd of demons to come sleep in your bed.”
“What?!” Her head shot up and knocked against the underside of the table. She moaned and tucked her head back down, rubbing the top of her skull.
Why in the world would I tell her that? She’s not from the Underworld, and it’s not a joke she’d get.
“By the void, just come back up, Clove. Please.” I held out a hand beneath the table.
After a few seconds of silence, she peered at me again. Her eyes fixed onto my proffered hand.
Her small fingers slid into my palm, hesitant.
There was a myriad of grunts below the table and the rustling of fabric.
But finally, I managed to help Clove climb out onto the bench next to me.
Once settled, I was about to ask her if she knew what the first Tower level looked like. My words stopped short when she nuzzled her cheek into my shoulder and looped her arm into mine.
“You smell nice,” she informed me happily with a sigh.
Another voice cut through our conversation. “Hey! You, with the black hair!”