“Oh, Mira, what a lovely surprise to see you here,” Finnick said with a mask of charm. 

“Indeed. Surprises seem to abound today, like how you’re drinking and gambling instead of caring for your family,” I answered, tightening my grip on his shoulder. 

“Oh yes, well, I can assure you there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that. I was just…” He paused for a moment. “You see, I was merely gambling to try to win money to feed my wife and child. Really, I was taking your advice and trying to make a more honest living,” he finished. 

“By gambling?”

“Well, it is more honest than stealing, right? Unless old Tuck here is playing, in which case it’s still basically stealing. Isn’t that right, Tuck?”

“… Please leave me out of this,” said another man at the table, presumably Tuck.

“Anyway, Mira, it has just been so lovely catching up, but we really should be going,“ Finnick said, trying to get up. My grip on his shoulder remained firm. I pressed him down into the booth as his companions rose. Finnick shot a pleading look to the other deadbeats, but they were already hustling towards the door. 

“So soon? But I only just got here. Surely, you can stay for one drink.” I took a seat in the booth across from him.

As if on cue, Liana placed two mugs of ale on the table. 

Finnick flashed a brilliant smile up at her. “On the house? How generous.” 

“I put them on your tab,” she answered curtly, before giving me a wink and walking away. 

“So, Finnick, why don’t you tell me about this family of yours.”

He met my eyes with that deep gaze of his. “Oh, well, I’d honestly love to, but I’m a private man, really.” 

I glared at him, trying to crack his slick veneer. “Tell me.”

“Well, I suppose I do owe you for sparing me, so I could tell you a little, but please keep this information in the strictest confidence. They’re precious to me,” he said softly. I could have sworn to Solaris, I saw a tear welling in his eye. Sunbeams, he was a good liar. If I hadn’t just heard him bragging, I’d have fallen for his charade all over again. 

“My wife is a kind woman who always stands by me in spite of my many faults. Her name is,” he paused, eyes darting around the room, “Thea,” he said, with a genuine warmth. 

Hold on, had he been looking at the three of hearts when he came up with that name? His eyes had lingered on that card when he scanned the table.  

“Oh? She sounds like a lovely woman.” I held up a card from the table, turning it to face him. “And what’s your son’s name, Jack?”

“You know, it’s funny you should say that . . .”

“EH-HEM.” Errol interrupted, as he reached our table. He had refastened his manacles. “There you are, Holy Knight,” he hissed. “It’s certainly fortunate you bested me so completely. Otherwise it would be highly suspicious to leave your PRISONER unattended for so long.” 

I flushed from embarrassment, as it dawned on me how long I had been in here. At least he didn’t see me tell Liana to follow us. “Ah, yes. Well, I knew you wouldn’t be so foolish as to try anything,” I said with false confidence. I took a nervous sip of the beer before me. Only as the frothy liquid met my lips did I remember that I had never drunk beer before. The holy order of purity and sunlight didn’t exactly condone inebriation. Not that they would condone many of my actions these last days. So I choked down the swill, suppressing an urge to cough. “Besides, I ran into an old friend.”

Errol finally noticed Finnick. “Ah, well if it isn’t our guest from last night.” 

“Yes, that’s me. I’m surprised to see you out of bed, old man. I thought you’d still be exhausted from letting Mira fight your battles for you.” 

I almost sprayed my beer across the table. 

Errol took a step closer and straightened, towering over the other man’s seated form. He traced a single finger around the rim of Finnick’s mug. “You should thank me for letting Mira deal with you. If you had fought me, you would have ended up like your glass here.” Suddenly the mug burst, spilling beer everywhere and soaking Finnick’s pants. 

The joviality returned to Errol’s voice. “Well, it looks like our friend here has had a little accident. I suppose we should be getting me off to jail.” he turned to go. 

Reluctantly I rose to follow him. “You should be ashamed of yourself,” I spat. 

Finnick only stared in amazement as we walked off. Before we even made it outside, Tarl had descended on Finnick, like a portly falcon, hungry to collect the cost of the mug. As the door swung closed, I caught a last glimpse of Liana smiling at me. I smiled back. 

***

The two of us walked in silence down the dusty road, the sun baking me in my armor. 

“You need to be more disciplined,” Errol finally said. 

I laughed. “No offense, Master, but you aren’t exactly the scion of discipline yourself. I’m not the one who broke a glass.”

“There’s a subtle perfection to everything I do, Mira. You’ll come to appreciate that in time.”

I rolled my eyes, which he blessedly didn’t notice. 

“My plan requires discretion, Mira. Truthfully, I don’t much care about your little crush on that man, but you can’t leave your so-called prisoner alone for so long.” 

“Excuse me?” I balked. “I do NOT have a crush on that knave! He merely insulted my mercy with his lies.”

Errol chuckled. “Oh, to be so young and naive again. You should really savor this innocence while you can.” 

“I am NOT Innocent!” I shot back. Granted I had spent my whole life cloistered in a monastery, hardly seeing a man, let alone knowing one’s touch. Nevermind that smug, confident grin of Finnick’s or the broad frame of his chest or the low rumble of his stupid voice. Sunbeams, get a hold of yourself. A pretty face was no excuse for being such an ass.  

“Well, I assure you a little time in my service will cure you of any such illusions,” the old wizard said. 

The hairs on my neck bristled at his words. Liana was gone, at least for now. Did that mean that without her Errol would finally use me to satisfy his twisted desires? Something formed in the pit of my stomach, though I couldn’t tell if it was anticipation or dread. A part of me longed to experience what his magics were capable of. After feeling Liana’s touch, I could scarcely imagine what magically enhanced pleasure felt like. 

Liana! Thinking of her delicate fingers had reminded me. I needed to keep Errol talking and distracted in case she was already following. “I suppose I let my temper get the best of me back there. I should have just stabbed him with Oathbreaker and told him to turn himself into the constables.” 

A wry smirk curled at the corner of his mouth. “Oathbreaker, huh? So you did name it.” 

My hand flew possessively to the weapon’s pommel. “Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, I think it’s a fine name. I’m not sure if you could use it to make someone walk all the way to town and turn themselves into the authorities though.”

“How can you not be sure? It’s your enchantment.” 

“Yes, I could certainly do such a thing with it, but I’m not sure about you.”

“Can you please just give me a straight answer for once?” I snapped.

“Polearm.”

“What?” 

“Polearms are straight.” 

I groaned and massaged my forehead.

“I’ve found that few things in this life are straightforward, Mira. Consider my razor wit another part of your training.”

I heaved a sigh. We walked quietly for a moment. Just as I was about to speak up to distract him, Errol broke the silence. 

“The engravings channel the wielder’s magical energy to cut through the target’s resistance. So the potency of the effect depends on the level of Aura the blade is channeling.”

I pulled the scratched steel a few inches from its sheath and studied it. “So, that’s why you said it depended on me.”

“Exactly. The level of commands your target will accept, as well as the duration of their suggestibility varies based on the wielder.”

“How do I know how much Aura I have?” 

“Well if I were still. . . “ he cleared his throat. “If we were in a proper arcanarium, they would use a globe for that purpose. But as you can see, our means are more limited, at least for the time being,” he said, gesturing to the dusty road. 

“So, there’s no way to know if I could control Finnick long enough for a command like that.” What would have happened if I had ordered him to pleasure me last night? Would that suggestion have been too much or would he have obeyed? I lost myself in the fantasy of Finnick’s hands undoing my armor, powerless to resist my will. Would he lie back and let me mount him, if I so commanded? Would he stop being a lying dunce if I told him to? That would probably take a mightier magic than Solaris herself could muster. 

 “Well there might be a way to know.” 

My head snapped up and turned towards him. “What is it?”

“Trial and error.” 

Another weary sigh. 

Then Errol shot out a hand to stop my progress. “We’re being followed,” he said in a cold whisper. 

My heart leapt to my throat. It had to be Liana. I couldn’t let Errol find out. “Are you sure? It’s probably just a wild animal or something.” 

“It probably is,” he said nonchalantly. Then he whirled around and raised his palm. In a flash of purple light, a stretch of the foliage had vanished. 

“NOOO!” I cried out, raising a hand far too late. I closed my eyes. When I finally worked up the courage to open them, I prepared to see Liana's charred form, but the smoldering debris held no corpse. 

A moment later, a figure emerged from the very air like a shimmering mirage, a figure I already knew all too well. His steely eyes, his muscular chest, that impractical scarf, Finnick. “Youuu,” I hissed. 

“Me!” He answered with a grin before returning his eyes to Errol. “I was right! I knew it.”

“Oh, is that so? What were you right about, being completely outmatched and suicidal?” he asked as clouds of purple energy began crackling around his hand. 

“No, I was right about you, well not at first. At first, I thought you were just a grouchy old man, apologies for my earlier comments. But I was EVENTUALLY right about you.”

Errol just looked amused. “Oh please go on. I do so love it when people talk about me.”

“You’re no ordinary dark mage, are you? The criers all said you  died in the revolution, but they were wrong. No, you’re him! You’re . . .”

“Quiet!” Errol cut him off. “I don’t like to hear that name.” The purple storm intensified. 

Name? What name? Was Errol some kind of renown mage? The Aurora had seemed far beyond even Matron Sienna’s enchantments, so it would stand to reason. 

Finnick threw up his hands. “Wait! Please, I come in peace. I just want to talk.” 

“Don’t believe him!” I interjected. 

“Mira, I have just a few more years of experience reading people than you,” Errol answered. 

Stupid old man. 

“I won’t say the name. Consider it forgotten,” Finnick assured. “I just wanted to offer my sincerest apologies. I would never have tried to rob you if I had known your true identity.” 

“I guess I shouldn’t have shown off back at the tavern. I can’t have random sell swords recognizing me. Oh well, nothing for it now but to kill you. Do try to stand still, otherwise this could be painful.” A ball of light like a fallen star formed in the old mage’s hand.

“Please Er. .  I mean, your magic-ness. If I could propose an alternate solution,” the rogue stammered. 

Finnick had fooled me once, but not again. I was learning to pierce his veneer of charm. He was about to try something. I saw his knees move and reacted without hesitation. I flung myself between Errol and Finnick, drawing Oathbreaker in one fluid motion. But Finnick didn’t lunge, he knelt. “What?”

“Let me join you instead.”

“NO!” I shouted. 

“Interesting,” Errol said at the same moment, dismissing his magical Aura. 

“You can’t be seriously considering his proposition! This man has proven himself untrustworthy.” Irritatingly handsome, but still untrustworthy.  

“Relax, Mira. You can rely on my judgement.” The same judgement that sent Liana away, I thought to myself. “Now tell me, um what was your name . . Finley? Tell me Finley, what use do I have for someone like you?” 

“It’s Finnick, sir. I’m no ordinary thief. I’m the best thief this side of Elysia.”

“Big words. I’ve hardly met a rogue who didn’t think he was untouchable”. 

Finnick vanished again and I tensed. But he reappeared in the same position a moment later. “I’m more than talk and a pretty face. I can conceal myself as long as I can hold my breath. How many thieves have you met with magic? I can count on one hand.” He raised a single finger and pointed to himself, smiling with dimples I had somehow only then noticed. 

“Now that is something,” Errol answered, stroking his chin. 

“He’ll slit our throats in the night,” I cut in. 

“I would never dream of doing such a thing,” Finnick said, like he hadn’t tried just that yesterday. 

“You can’t believe him.”

“It’s not about believing, Mira. It’s about understanding. I understand him.” Errol turned towards the kneeling knave. “You see, Finnegan here is desperate and I can work with desperate.”

 “Not sure if I should be pleased or offended by that,” the rogue muttered. 

“You wouldn’t be doing this if you weren’t desperate. You know I could kill you in a heartbeat, yet here you still are. I don’t know what you’re expecting, but we’re going to infiltrate and take over the most sophisticated fighting force in the kingdom. Someone with skills like yours could be useful in that endeavor, but you’re about as likely to die in the effort as succeed. So are you desperate enough for that?”

Heat surged through my body. I had suspected as much, but this was the first time Errol had laid out his plans. We were on the way to take over The Knights of the Dawn Bringer. He would take my sisters, break them one at a time and he would use me to do it. Immediately I felt a pang of guilt thinking of Janelle, my one close friend at the Abbey. But then, my mind flashed to Sister Amara, always so stuck up and superior. I imagined her on her knees, serving my every beck and call. Midnight, that was hot. I knew I should be ashamed, but the image only fanned the flames. 

“I am. I’m tired of stealing pocket change. If you are who I think you are, then whatever you’re planning is big and I want in,” Finnick answered. 

“You’re at least going to cast a spell on him to compel his obedience, right?” I asked, my fantasies of the kneeling figure before me quickly turning from Amara’s to Finnick’s. More heat. 

“No, I don’t do men. It just doesn’t do much for me,” Errol said. 

I took one hand from my blade to slap my own forehead, the heat in my lower stomach dissipating. 

“But that doesn’t mean I won’t test him.” 

Finnick’s eyes flashed with determination. A small ember reignited just from that look. “I welcome any challenge you can conceive.” 

“We’re almost to Strathmore. There’s a certain magical artifact that would be very useful for my plan. If you can steal it from the shop there, then you’re a part of the crew with all the privileges conferred there-in. Otherwise, I’ll have to deal with you another way.” 

“Deal,” Finnick said with a naked hunger. 

“Wait.” I interrupted. “If I can steal it, then he doesn’t join.” The words shot from my mouth before I could think. Of course, a part of me wanted Finnick with us, sleeping beside us, sleeping beside me, or maybe not sleeping at all. But I knew that part of me was naive. 

Both men turned to me in shock. 

“What’s the problem, Master? You already have me and if I can steal it, then that proves you don’t need him.” 

A wry smile played across Errol’s lips. “No objections here.” 

Finnick hesitated. “I’m just not sure that’s such a good idea. I’ve honed my craft for years. No offense, Mira, but you’re . . . how to put this delicately . . . a little too honest to be a thief.” 

I snorted. “Sounds to me like you’re intimidated. Take the deal, unless you're scared.”

“Deal,” he answered instantly. Our gazes met in a defiant stare. 

Errol just laughed, looking between us. “Oh, this will be fun.”