I woke to the scent of clove and citrus, and the comfort of not being dead.
My body ached. Not the bruised kind of ache that followed a fight, but something deeper, slower, like my bones had been taken apart and put back together slightly wrong. My head was thick with fog, heavy with dreams that felt like they belonged to someone else. For a long moment, I didn't know where I was.
Then it came back. The forest. The tiger. The frog. The taste.
I sat up too fast. My spine cracked all the way up, and the room tilted sideways before leveling out again. My hands trembled as I pulled the blanket away, half-expecting blood or rot or something worse clinging to my skin.
But I couldn't see. I freaked out for a moment, before my hand reached the cloth around my head and I remembered. I activated my soul sight, somewhat glad that it dotted the world in flowing light, freeing me from my sight.
If not for the persistent weight under my ribs—like someone else's breath was stuck inside me—I could've convinced myself it was all a dream.
"Ah. You're awake," came Neema's voice.
I turned toward the sound and caught the soft shift of her movement. She was sipping something, calm as could be.
And she was in the same room. With me. Watching me sleep.
"Did we… sleep in the same space?" The words came out more panicked than intended.
Not because I was worried about sleeping alone with a woman, but because if someone saw, I might end up skewered on a cultural misunderstanding.
"Of course," she said. "I took you in personally. It's my duty to see you through recovery."
"Still… your honor?"
"My honor remains intact," she replied with a smirk in her voice. "Those grumpy men outside know I like a pretty face, but not enough to do anything improper."
"And you didn't think I might be a threat? Sleeping next to a stranger and all?"
"A half-dead stranger?" she said, amused. "Even now, you're barely standing. I may have a sense of humor, but I'm not reckless."
You'd be surprised, I thought. The Birthright could be a dangerous equalizer. Even if it worked better on some than others...
"Well… if you're fine with it, then all's well."
"All's well?"
"All's well that ends well," I clarified. "It means if everything turns out alright, it doesn't matter what happened in between. It's a saying where I'm from."
She made a thoughtful sound, like she was turning the phrase over in her head. It was yet another oddity that my auto-translation failed to get this meaning across.
A sharp whistle broke the quiet.
"Time to leave," Neema said.
She stood and walked toward me, hand outstretched. This time, I didn't take it immediately.
"You know I'm not completely blind," I said. "And you know your people don't like it when we hold hands. So what's the plan here? Get me stabbed on the way out?"
She laughed, loud and unbothered.
"Please. I wouldn't let them touch a hair on your head. I hold your hand because I enjoy the company of beautiful men."
I opened my mouth to argue, but she grabbed my hand before I could finish.
"We mustn't keep the others waiting," she said, voice bright.
There was no point in resisting.
She led me to a carriage—no, it was a wagon—and insisted I climb in first. When one of her guards moved to follow, she waved them off.
"I'll be fine," she said breezily. "I am a Bibi, after all."
I climbed in, still aching, and settled onto the padded bench inside. Neema joined me a moment later, crossing her legs with fluid ease. I could feel her watching me.
The wagon lurched forward, bumping over uneven terrain like it had a grudge against my spine. Definitely not the smooth ride I'd had on my way to the Adventurer's Guild.
"This thing's a wagon," I muttered, gripping the edge of the seat. "Not a carriage."
"I'm sorry?" Neema glanced sideways. "This is a carriage."
"Right, well, it has a cloth canopy and we climbed in through the back. That's a wagon where I come from. A carriage is more… polished. Less spine-shattering."
"Mhalifu wa roho!" she snapped. Didn't need auto-translate for that one. Definitely a swear. "Those Mwanamzoga—I will remember this insult."
"Anyone bold enough to scam your delegation probably vanished the second the coin changed hands."
"Bah! They won't vanish forever. We have long memories." The swirls across her body flared wildly. Angry flares. Probably the most intense emotional reaction I'd seen in person.
"That angry over getting scammed?" I asked, dodging another bump in the road. "Now I really need to know—where did you even buy these things? And how do you not know the difference between a wagon and a carriage?"
She kicked my shin. "Ow. Noted. Don't poke the merchant princess."
"We picked them up in a Steppe city," she said with a sniff. "We've partnered with the Adventurer's Guild to sell our spices. Sometimes they ask us to move their shipments too. And for the record, Pwaniwa trades by river and sea. Land caravans are... inefficient."
"Then what are you doing all the way out here?" I asked. "With our inefficient land trading."
"To spread our spices and give your people some taste," she replied, voice dripping with pride.
"Do they even grow here?"
"They don't," she said, still smug. "That's why we use magic your people can't replicate. We create the perfect growing environment. A spice garden, anywhere we want it."
"How?" I tilted my head. "Storage capacity of spatial magic is limited? And too much too close together, they rupture."
"That's not an issue for us," she said with a grin in her voice. "Our method lets us store seven times more than your bags allow."
That got my attention.
"You could make a fortune just selling those."
"Well… they only work with our spices. Put anything else in, and the bag collapses."
Of course. Trade-off magic. Efficient, but conditional. That idea stuck in my head. Could I bend other spells like that? Turn a spell into something that wouldn't blow me up?
"I see. That's still impressive," I said. "Any chance you'd teach me?"
"Can you afford such important knowledge?"
Well, technically I had the budget of a prince. Realistically, I'd blown most of it on this journey and couldn't even reveal my identity in the first place.
"Isn't traveling beside my handsome face payment enough?"
"That pretty face already paid for your care and your seat on this wagon."
"I didn't exactly choose to ride with you."
"Still counts." She let the silence stretch, then added, "I'll need another form of payment."
"I don't have much else to offer right now…"
"I'll take your story." Her voice softened. "You didn't sleep well."
"That..." There was too much. Too much I couldn't say. Too much I didn't want to.
"Do you know what happened to your party? Any way to contact them?"
"N-no. It was a temporary affair, I hired them and met them for the first time."
I took a deep breath. "They ran off in the other direction, chased by Mawich." They were injured too. "If they made it, they would've tried to make their way back to the guild base."
"I see…" Neema's reply was quiet, almost careful. "Then I hope we find them there."
That was what ate at me most. I wasn't even sure I wanted to see them again. I'd thought maybe I could fix things, smooth it over somehow. But we hadn't parted on anything close to peace. If they made it back and started talking, it wouldn't just be me in trouble. Mirelle would be right there beside me. Maybe she already was. The tiger wasn't meant to be a sightseeing trip. I was supposed to head straight back.
Maybe my face signaled I wasn't willing to talk anymore, because the rest of our carriage ride was in silence.
We arrived at the forward base with the sun high overhead. Unlike my first visit, the place was buzzing. I didn't even need my soul sight to sense it—the clatter of boots, the bark of orders, the general chaos of people preparing to move.
"Why the commotion?" I asked.
Neema paused, listening. "They're relocating the camp," she said. "Looks like our wagons will be part of the move."
We stopped. She didn't offer her hand this time, just stepped down and waited for me to follow. The air between us had gone still, and I couldn't decide if I was more relieved or disappointed by that.
Walking through the camp was harder than I'd expected. Soul sight didn't help much here. The ground was too trampled for plant life to guide me, and I bumped into crates and corners more than once before Neema finally sighed and took my arm.
She led me to the teleportation platform, where we were joined by two guards. The spell triggered with a shimmer, folding the world inward—then we were back in the bustle of the Adventurer's Guild.
Teleportation gates were keyed to us. While we needed someone to trigger the teleportation to our destination, we could simply return via teleportation circle.
No one spoke on the walk to the VIP booths. When we arrived, Neema stopped.
"This is where we part. Will you be alright from here?"
"I'll manage," I said. "But don't think I forgot what you owe me."
Her tone brightened. "I'll be staying at the Guild for the next three months, at least. If you earn my teaching, I'll consider payment fulfilled."
I sighed. "You're a born merchant."
She turned her palm forward and swept it outward. "Tutakutana tena chini ya jua. We'll meet again beneath the sun."
I returned the gesture, and then she was gone, guided toward the back offices. A clerk waved me in the opposite direction.
"This way, Sir Thalian."
We reached the private booth. I gave a brief account of the mission, just enough to explain the failure, the loss of the others, and how I made it back. I kept the details vague where I had to.
When I finished, I turned to the clerk. "Did any members of the Bramble Banner make it back?"
There was a beat. "Unfortunately, no. It's unlikely they survived."
I nodded, though I barely felt it.
The clerk cleared their throat. "As you're in good standing, you'll be free to go once the report is filed. Please wait here a moment."
They left. I was alone again, surrounded by the muffled hum of the guild hall.
Thankfully, no one had asked about my blindfold. I didn't feel like improvising another half-lie.
While I waited, I slipped into my soul sight. The room lit up with flowing outlines, each person a different hue. I'd started to notice it back on the road to the forward base, but it hadn't clicked until now. Everyone near Neema had such a similar shade that I assumed souls all looked the same, and I didn't have time to carefully observe those at the forward base. Waiting here, with so many different people around, the variation was obvious.
I decided to practice narrowing my focus. Tuning out the crowd, I centered on one individual.
Bah, these lines are taking forever. I'm gonna piss myself.
The thought wasn't mine. It echoed, faint but clear. I flinched and lost focus, and the world snapped back into full color.
That… wasn't expected.
I tried again, more deliberate this time. I honed in on a nearby clerk whose swirls were pulsing in agitation.
I swear, if this guy asks me out again, I'll throw myself into the sea. Demonspawn would be more tolerable.
I pulled back. Shock gave way to curiosity. It wasn't just sight anymore. I could hear surface thoughts.
But it wasn't without risk. When I locked onto another soul at random, their swirling lines spun violently. A second later, they turned. My gut twisted. I cut off the ability, heart pounding.
How had they noticed? I'd only focused…
I waited several tense minutes before slipping back in. The area was calm again, except for that one person. Their soul was still active, still turning, but they weren't reacting.
So it could only be felt while I was actively observing. Perhaps passive soul sight read emissions? But when I focused, I was pushing against something. Interfering.
Still, I didn't relax. Not until I saw him get called into the back offices and vanish from the edge of my perception.
I let out a slow breath, just as the clerk returned.
"You're free to go, Sir Thalian. Will you be needing an escort?"
"No. I'm fine."
"Then we look forward to your next visit."
I left the booth and headed for the carriage yard. It wasn't the smoothest exit, but I wasn't stopped, so I counted it a win.
I climbed into a waiting carriage, showed my guild token, and gave the destination: Honey & Hollow. A quiet little bakery tucked next to the palace walls. Right next to the exit I'd slipped through on my way out.
As we started moving, I pulled the blindfold free and blinked into the light.
Whatever came next, it wouldn't be as Thalian. It'd be as a prince.