AT BREAKFAST, VYSES seemed to be in a sour mood. He poked aimlessly at the assortment of fruits that sat on his plate, his eyebrows furrowed with annoyance. Ravenna watched him from the corners of her eyes. She didn't eat much either --only forcing a few bites whenever she noticed someone glancing her way. Part of her felt bad. She knew that his frustration stemmed from the spellbook. But she didn't want to share Caelan's real spellbook with him. Not yet.

"So what's next?" she asked Vyses, hoping to distract him.

His gaze turned toward her. Confusion flickered through his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, are we going to stay here?" she asked. "I'm not sure that it's very safe, especially now that the Blood Knights have arrived. We need to think about what we are going to do next."

Vyses nodded absently. "I don't think the Blood Knights will be much of an issue," he said. "From what we heard last night, none of them actually have a clue what their 'witch' looks like, aside from that crappy wanted poster. So I think that we will be safe for now. Though we definitely need to look into finding a more permanent place to hide out."

"I think it would be good to walk around the market," Ravenna told him. "We talk to some of the locals."

He sighed and pushed at a strawberry. "Yes, that would probably be a wise idea."

Ravenna glanced at Lyth. The kid was pretty much finished with his breakfast. His plate was almost completely cleared. She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of heavy footsteps made her pause.

Her gaze flickered toward the staircase. A small group of Blood Knights descended the stairs, wearing their heavy metal armor and cloaks colored crimson red. At their very center was Eion. His movements were sluggish and dark sleepy bruises cupped the base of his eyes. Ravenna stiffened when his gaze found hers and he seemed to perk up a bit.

"Let's go explore the market now," she told Vyses. When he didn't respond, she pinched his arm, hard, and started to stand. If Eion moved any closer, she'd simply leave without him at this point.

He scowled at her. "What was that for?"

"Let's go now," she hissed at him.

He climbed to his feet and Lyth followed suit. Both followed Ravenna toward the door. The latter expressed gratitude toward Gaius for a delicious breakfast as they passed. Once the door shut behind them, Ravenna exhaled in relief. Something made her feel weird about Eion. It wasn't hard to see that he was interested in her. The prolonged and awkward conversation she had with him yesterday hinted at it. Now, the way that he seemed excited to see her this morning just proved it. His obvious interest reminded her of the men she'd killed before she met Caelan. He was too excited about her, despite knowing nothing about her. It made her nervous.

The market swallowed them whole. Wooden stands surrounded them, filled with fresh fruits, sliced meats, and colorful fabrics. Several stands showcased display boxes filled with jewels that glittered in the sunlight above their heads. A group of little girls floated around the marketplace, baskets filled with an assortment of wildflowers hanging from their arms.

"Alright," Vyses said, pulling Ravenna and Lyth aside. "We are not spending a dime here, is that understood? All we need is to listen to the gossip that's going around."

"If we need to spend anything, I can easily get it back," Ravenna said lowly. She almost laughed at the shock that flickered across Vyses's face. "Don't you remember? I told you just before we got here. I'm pretty good at picking pockets."

He frowned at her. "I know. But I'm not sure that's wise with all of these guards roaming around. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the guards aren't as nice here. The last thing that we need is a fight."

Ravenna pursed her lips. Vyses was absolutely right. But he was vastly underestimating her abilities. "Alright," she said.

"Let's split up," he said. "We can cover more ground that way. We can meet back at the inn in an hour, alright?"

Both she and Lyth nodded.

Ravenna started with one of the jewelry stands. She ran a hand through her hair, fluffing the dark strands slightly as she approached. The vendor, a portly man with beady eyes, glanced up at her. His eyes widened.

"Hey there," she said with a warm smile. Her eyes flickered over the display case in front of her. It was filled with an assortment of rings and necklaces.

"You look like a woman in need of some nice jewelry," the vendor purred. He waved her closer and gestured toward another display case, filled with diamonds.

Ravenna peered closer at the glittering diamonds. "These are gorgeous," she said. "And they look expensive."

The vendor pulled a necklace from the display case. "They are. This piece is worth about three thousand coins. Would you like to try it on?"

She toyed with a strand of hair. "Can you help me put it on? I would hate to break it."

In all her life, she'd never seen a man move so fast. The vendor scurried around the stand until he stood right in front of her. He was about her height, which made his pockets easy pickings. She giggled and smiled as his arms moved around her neck, the diamond necklace kissing the skin of her chest. One swift moment was all it took. Her hand slipped into his front pocket, fingers curling around a small sack of coins. The man's clothes were so large, so baggy that he didn't even feel it.

"Oh, it's lovely," she squealed as the vendor stepped back. Her hands lifted, fingers lightly brushing against the diamond. "How much is it worth again?"

"Three thousand coins," he said eagerly. "Though, for a pretty woman such as yourself, I'll sell it to you for two."

"Oh my," Ravenna allowed her lips to tilt downward, sadness flooding her features. "I'm afraid that I can't afford this."

Her fingers curled tighter around the diamond. In her head, she quickly performed the duplication spell. The false diamond appeared in her hands. "It's so pretty, too," she sighed.

As she went to unclasp the necklaces, she used her forearms to shield her chest. The real diamond slipped into her dress, caught between the fabric and her breasts. She gave the false diamond back to the vendor and bid him a sweet goodbye.

Ravenna moved from stand to stand, her pockets slowly filling with coins. Vyses and Lyth could gossip all that they wanted. She just wanted to prove a point.

After about an hour, she turned toward the inn. As she weaved through the crowds, she felt a small hand brush her own.

Immediately, her fingers curled around the tiny wrist. She turned toward its owner -a small boy covered in dirt. His tattered clothes hung loosely around his scrawny frame and his cheeks were sunken, bruised. The boy flinched back, trying to pull his hand free from her grasp.

"Were you about to pick my pockets?" she asked him. Her fingers curled tighter around his wrist, preventing his escape.

He didn't respond. Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and ducked his head, as if waiting for a blow to the head. She frowned at him. "Do you need food?" she asked him softly.

He shook his head at her, his lips pressed into a wrinkled line.

It was obvious that the boy was lying to her. She reached into her pockets with her free hand. Vyses said not to spend a coin at the market, but that was before she'd picked the market clean. She pulled out a few coins and pressed them into the boy's tiny hand.

His eyes shot open. She released his hand and smiled at him. "If you practice more, you'll get better at it," she told him. "The biggest thing is to make sure that they don't feel you."

The boys eyes widened. He grinned a toothy smile at the coins in his hands. "Thank you, miss," he said.

She shooed him away and watched, proudly, as the kid walked up to a fruit stand. He waved a coin at the vendor and took a small basket of bluebird berries. As he went to walk away, a guard approached him.

Ravenna's smile quickly dissolved when she saw the guard knock the kid to the ground. The bluebird berries scattered across the earth, rolling beneath the feet of those who walked around them. She moved forward and, just as the guard went to strike the boy, grabbed his hand.

"What is the meaning of this?" she shouted at him.

"Out of the way, woman," the guard growled. "This scum was caught stealing, and he'll be punished."

"He wasn't stealing," Ravenna snapped at him. She released the guard's arm and stepped in front of him, shielding the boy. "I gave him the coins to purchase those berries and watched him do so. He did nothing wrong."

The guard glared down at her.

Before anything else could be said, Vyses intervened. He grabbed Ravenna's arm and smiled kindly at the guard. "Excuse my wife," he said. "She has a soft spot for children. We'll be leaving now."

Ravenna turned her glare toward him. "What are you doing, lass?" he hissed at her and dragged her away from the guard. His grip tightened on her arm, his nails digging into her skin. "We can't afford to get too much attention. We need a low profile, remember?"

She glanced back over her shoulder. The boy was still on the ground, struggling to collect the undamaged bluebird berries. Anger surged through her when the guard gave the boy a sharp kick to the stomach.

"This isn't right," she growled at Vyses. "That kid doesn't deserve this."

"Get over it," he snarled right back. "Welcome to the real world, kid. This is what the guards are like --everywhere. It isn't pretty, but there isn't anything that we can do about it. And we need to keep a low profile, lest they find out who you really are."

Her jaw clenched tight.

Something needed to be done. Someone had to stop the guards.

so I've done the math. 

Essentially, the Tapas version of this book is roughly 15 chapters ahead of this version. This means that I have about 15 chapters of prewritten material that is currently sitting on my laptop, just waiting to be posted here. This information isn't completely new -- as this little tid-bit of information is the ONLY reason that this book has been consistently updated since August.

Now, why is this important? My senior project ends the week of November 15th. Which is exactly SEVEN weeks away. 

FIFTEEN DIVIDED BY TWO IS....

SEVEN (.5, technically)

This means that I have exactly enough chapters to update TWICE a week on Wattpad, avoiding any possible conflicts with my classes/the fact that I literally have no time to write right now. As long as I continue to update on Tapas as well, it will still remain behind. And once I graduate, I will bust my booty to make sure that the Tapas version gets updated more often. But until then, I think that this will be my new schedule and I'll do my best to keep with it. Hope you enjoy! ❤