Voron stayed silent for a long time, leading her back the way they had come. She ignored the guard at the door once again, then stood blinking reverently in the sunshine.

Maevus inhaled a great breath of the fresh air, banishing the stifling must of the passageways from her lungs in a long exhale. For a moment, all she could do was stare hungrily at the azure sky, watching puffy, gleaming white clouds sail by.

Everything in her wanted to fly—craved the freedom that only came being high above the earth in the thin, silky air.

"This way," Voron murmured pulling her attention back to the ground, and Maevus scrambled to follow his quick steps as he led her around the castle. 

For some reason, Maevus had always pictured castles being surrounded by parks filled with elegant trees and soft green grass. Some place quiet to shelter those who lived in the castle from the noise and bustle of the city around them.

Instead, the grounds surrounding the castle were tiled with the same white stone the walls were made of. It distorted Maevus' vision if she wasn't careful, the bright sunlight bouncing off the white stones.

The walls surrounding the castle were every bit of forty feet high, but were probably no more than twenty feet away from the castle itself. This created a sort of false ravine, and Maevus kept glancing at the sky to hold that crippling claustrophobia at bay—to remind herself that she was outside.

"I know of a few guilds you could go to," Voron offered quietly as they clung to the edge of the castle wall, keeping well out of everyone else's way. "And I know you only have five days before you have to declare which one you'll join. I can help you find one. Do you have a place to stay until you decide?"

Maevus shook her head mutely. She didn't have enough coin on her to pay for a decent meal, much less rent a room for even a day. Savrin's note weighed heavily in her pocket. She wondered if it was coincidence or just irony that had him wanting to meet her at a square named for the goddess of death.

Voron looked around, eyeing the soldiers working to unload a wagon consideringly. Then, he whispered, "I can get you a place to stay."

She frowned, then shook her head. She reached forward to place a hand on his arm, then remembered the registrar and her quill, and decided against it. Her hand fell to her side. "Voron, you've already been too kind to me. To your own detriment."

Her gaze lingered on the side of his face, where the whip mark was still plenty visible.

"What? This?" He gestured to the cut. "This is nothing new."

She might have called him a liar if she hadn't remembered how little reaction he'd had to being struck. Something like that had to be practiced. Her stomach turned queasy at the thought, but she merely shook her head again.

Voron just shrugged. "Suit yourself, then."

It felt as though they had to walk for miles before they made it to the back of the castle. Maevus gawked at the miniature town she found there. Dozens of buildings sat in neat little rows, each a bustling hive of their respective activity.

Butchers and bakers and garden-tenders all worked side by side, toiling away to feed the nobility they served. Maevus heard the ring of metal being worked and the lowing of what she assumed were dairy cows.

The castle was a city unto itself, nearly self-sufficient.

Voron guided her past the hum of industriousness toward the stark, imposing building nearest the wall and a gate that let out onto a canal that had been cut from the river. The iron portcullis was down, turning the softly flowing green water into a checkerboard pattern.

They paused at the heavy door, and Voron turned to her, obviously debating something. Maevus frowned at him, trying to dissuade one half of that argument.

She was unsuccessful when Voron sighed and said, "Perhaps it would be best if you waited here."

Maevus narrowed her eyes and began to argue, but he said, "It will be faster if it's just me. I remember what your weapons look like. Plus, you won't have to put up with anymore unkindness if you stay here."

This effectively shut down her own argument, something she wasn't immensely pleased about. But she let out a huff and gave him a sharp nod, pulling her hood up over her bright hair.

Voron might have sighed in relief, but before she could decide, he had disappeared into the building, the door slamming shut behind him with a finality that made Maevus cringe. Before she could stop him, Lox appeared and wound around her ankles, cat-like body arching as he mewled questioningly.

Maevus held her arms open, and the little fire-dragon launched himself toward her chest. His deeply red scales glittered like blood-rubies, his ember eyes watching her.

He made a small huffing sound and she said, "I know, I know. But fire's the easiest when I'm mad."

His triangular ears flicked to and fro as castle life continued around them, but he placed a small, soft paw against her cheek, nuzzling his little nose against hers. Maevus smiled and stroked a finger down the ridge of thick quills along his spine, making him purr.

"We'll be okay, Lox." She sighed as he nestled into the curve of her arm. "We'll just have to figure out how." 

It wouldn't be the first time Maevus had needed to relearn how to survive in a strange new place.

Legs still shaky from the tortures of mundane travel, Maevus leaned against the wall as she waited, petting Lox. The little dragon let her cuddle him, sunning himself in her arms, but his eyes and ears stayed alert.

He growled softly, and the door beside her swung open. Maevus stood, grip tightening enough that Lox let out a small yowl and jumped from her arms. He shook himself, the quills on his back flaring threateningly as Voron returned, a sword and dagger in hand.

Voron started slightly at the sight of the dragon, but then Lox hissed at him and disappeared in a burst of red fire, and he turned to Maevus with a questioning eyebrow. 

She shrugged. "Lox is temperamental. He doesn't like many people. What else would you expect from a fire-dragon?"

Voron opened his mouth, then closed it, frowning. "You talk about them like they're human," he said finally.

"Better than most humans," she grumbled, then more loudly said, "They're just as intelligent as you or me. They're just more... elemental. They have a vast connection to the universe that even I only have a taste of, even with their magic running in my blood."

An intrigued expression crossed his face, but he seemed to remember where they were. Rattling her sword, he said, "Let me hold onto these until we get beyond the wall?"

The request surprised her—just by the fact that it was a request at all. The shock made her nod, and once again she followed him through the grounds to the main gate of the castle.

"Escorting the Encant to the nearest inn," he called to the gatekeeper, who shouted something back that made Maevus' ears burn red.

Voron just answered with a vulgar gesture, and she had to bite her lip to stifle her laugh. The gate was opened with a heavy groan of wood and clank of chains. Maevus darted through the heavy slabs of wood as soon as they parted enough to allow her, Voron right behind her. 

"Wait a second," Voron said, grabbing her arm when she turned toward the nearest alley.

She hissed at him like Lox had, but he nodded his head back toward the shadowed alley Maevus had been angling toward in her haste to get away from the castle. She looked again, and paled when she realized two guards lingered there, watching the both of them

Voron guided her down the main thoroughfare leading from the castle and muttered, "You need to be careful here, Maevus. This isn't like where you came from. It's dangerous here."

"It's dangerous everywhere," she snapped, and he gave her a sideways glance. "Can I just have my sword back?"

Voron looked startled to realize he was still holding her weapons, and silently offered them to her. The dagger was of little concern, just something she had picked up to skin game when she had to hunt for her food.

It was the sword that mattered.

She snatched it from his hands, freeing just an inch of the blade from its leather sheath and holding it to her nose. Aware of the odd look Voron was giving her as they walked, she inhaled deeply.

The only thing that met her nose was the tang of steel, and Maevus stopped dead, right in the middle of the sidewalk. Voron continued a step without her, then stopped as well. He pulled her gently from the stream of foot traffic, into the alcoved doorway of some shop.

"This isn't my sword," she rasped, her tongue a dry stick in her mouth.