The only thing Faine wanted to do was sleep in. Her bed, though not her own, was warm and soft to give her that advantage. The duvet and silk sheets pressed a weight against her body that resembled enough of living contact that she wished to remain within it for hours on end with her head pressed against the soft pillows.

A knock came early. It wasn't Ilian or Ginevra or anyone else Faine cared to see. This time, it was Eliphas demanding she go to the great room for an entire group of members was being assigned a large mission. One they'd all have to take on together with many moving parts.

It took Faine five minutes to get off the edge of the bed and splash cold water onto her face. In the mirror, she watched the dragon necklace sway on her chest. Faine studied her red-blotched eyes and applied a light layer of cosmetics to remove the puffiness as well as brighten her lilac skin with a golden shine along the cheekbones.

She pulled a shirt over her head with bishop shirring sleeves and paired it with leather trousers—lace ties down the side from hip to ankle. There was no way to explain how she'd gathered a necklace in the matter of time it took Ilian to go to bed so she folded it away in the drawer of her bedside table and planned to reveal it later in a false claim she stole it from a market when no one was looking.

Knocking on Ilian's door heeded no results. No one answered and not a single soul ruffled on the other side. He had already left, then. The walk to the great room was lonely, but Faine shuffled in line with a group that ignored her as if she wasn't there. She imagined Carlton walking at her side—someone walking at her side—and came dreadfully close to accepting the fact that she was terribly alone.

This is what Zebulon hoped for when he assigned this life to her. That she'd realize how lonely being away from Rising Eternity was and she wouldn't want to leave when the time came. Any longer and she couldn't afford it. With every passing day, the more certain Faine was that she didn't want to be around Rising Eternity any longer. She didn't want to be in either crime guild or have any association.

Ilian waved Faine over when she walked into the great room, following the group large enough to block her out of sight. At least someone was expecting her.

Towards the middle of the room, Celestia was shuffling papers in her lap. Her mouth quirked to the side and a strand of purple hair fell in her eye line.

"There you are," a voice said from behind. Faine turned and came face to face with Ametrine, resting her shoulder against one of the many stone pillars.

Faine forced herself to smile and looked back at Ilian. For her sake, he'd already engaged himself in a conversation with Ginevra, one including hand motions and furrowed brows that meant they were discussing something that would become hushed if she stepped close. It didn't matter anyway, after spending all night dreaming of nothing but Carlton, Faine needed a break from the playful bickering she often partook in.

"What is this about?" Faine asked.

"We've received a base-wide order. Apparently, it's serious." Ametrine scooted back and pressed herself against the wall to get in line with Faine. "Everyone in this room will have an involvement."

There were some familiar faces, including Eliphas next to the windows. She hated the fact that he came close to her room and looked over her shoulder to the inside. She hated the fact that she stood there in front of him and he was the one delivering her orders, not Ilian or Celestia. Every time she looked at his face, Faine saw the innocent mortals that were still being trafficked.

"Do these happen often?"

"Normally, they're assigned by the high elf family, so we don't see these as a normal occurrence. There's no telling what this one might be for, though." Ametrine scratched at her green chin. "I must say, they're the most exciting of our missions."

Faine smirked at that. The same went for Rising Eternity. Going on a mission with a large group meant stricter competition and more ears to digest secrets throughout their investigation. Gathering all of that into one and creating theories was putting pieces together that didn't exist before they began listening.

Celestia raised her arm into the air. Clutched in her hand was a stack of papers. "This here is your next mission," she expressed to the room. For some reason, Faine held her breath. Something about her voice was authoritative enough for Faine to comply to everything she said. "There is a banquet being held in the Palace District of Isflean. That banquet is not for the rich or the good of this land, it is for the criminals that disguise themselves as businessmen, merchant guilds, and warriors. We are creating a disguise of our own."

The boss of Silver Willow bounced on her toes. "We will attend the banquet as a merchant guild. We specialize in herbs and spices, we deliver them across the land, and when given a hefty price, deal in explosives and poisons. That is our identity. Learn it—let it become you." Her red eyes scanned over everyone in the room. "The owner of the estate invited us to this banquet. He wishes for us to use our fake identities to listen in on the many deals that will take place during the banquet."

"He is paying us to gather information, my subjects. We are to overhear deals without being caught, we are to mold into the crowd itself without giving away our true identities, we are to give the man what he wishes." Celestia dragged her tongue over her bottom lip. Her voice was much quieter this time around. "We are to fit the mold of the guests there. If we cannot do that, we'll be caught. Everything is riding on us succeeding and the owner of the estate—if you're wondering—is cousin to the high elf line."

Someone in the room gasped under their breath and Faine's eyes immediately went to Ginevra. Of course, it was her. A delicate hand, claws retracted, pressed against her plump lips. Attention came few and far between in a place like this, but the fladline searched for it everywhere.

For Faine's sake, Celestia ignored the gasp and continued. "If we do this right and gather necessary information, not shitty gossip that doesn't extend farther than the criminals themselves, we will become the high elf family's official investigators. Silver Willow will become more than a crime guild." Faine had never seen her happier. "I must inform you that this will be one of the most dangerous missions of your life if you are not careful. Don't go into this believing you are a member of Silver Willow, go into it believing you are a simple merchant that is looking for buyers."

Her lip curled back from her teeth. "I want everything, I want to know crime bosses and their secrets, I want to know when deals are happening and at what time and who will be there. I want to know who will be kidnapped next before it happens and I demand you to soak up everything. We are to go in our finery and attend our first banquet as merchants of herbs and spice, and poisons and explosives." Celestia huffed a deep breath. "I want everything and I accept nothing less."

A moment passed where the entire room was silent. Everyone stared at each other and memorized the faces of their allies in preparation to face their enemies. The stakes were high, and to become an official investigator for the high elf family was a bigger deal than any crime guild would think of achieving. Rising Eternity hadn't reached that level and they never would. Chances are, they'd never figure it out, how Silver Willow would always be above them.

Faine and Ametrine exchanged a knowing look. They'd both been on missions like this before, had come face to face with death, and weren't afraid to face it again. After what she discovered last night, Faine was more than ready to do anything other than mope. Anything that involved getting her hands dirty and putting on yet another disguise...that was perfect.

"We have specific roles to play," Celestia said while rubbing her dark hands together. "The men will be the listeners; you will pay attention to every word. My women, my beautiful and talented women, you will be the ones to get that information out of these notorious criminals. When I say to do whatever it takes, I mean for you to do whatever it takes."

Muttering broke out from the crowd, between men and women, and Celestia waited. Faine watched her the entire time, and it was then she realized that the crime boss wasn't just waiting for them to stop talking, she was viewing who would be her best listeners. Those that weren't speaking or weren't outraged by their tasks would be the ones that got her everything she needed. Celestia was more observant than half the world.

"I can assure you that all of you will receive a handsome payment for this. From here on out, if we become the official investigators for the high elf family, you'll become richer than you ever imagined. That I can promise." Celestia huffed an excited laugh. "Here I have everything you need to know—important targets, what they deal in, and where they're commonly seen. I want you to study everything and build a relationship with these criminals. They're notorious for a reason so tread carefully, but stick your foot in the lava for once."

She handed out the information to everyone in the room, including Faine who quickly scanned over the papers. A list of names and locations and debts owed and paid. People killed, the most dangerous, the untouchables, and the weakest. Everything was there and Faine didn't have to do a single thing to get it. She certainly wasn't used to that. Their spies were much better than Rising Eternity's.

Ametrine scoffed. "The last thing I want to do is seduce another oily, stinky man," she grumbled. "As if I didn't receive enough attention from the filthy Lord that purchased me."

"What do you mean?" Faine knew exactly what she meant, but she wanted to hear the words leave Ametrine's mouth. Needed to.

"He was more than handsy. If only these men knew that I have no desire for them."

A fellow feliram called Ametrine away and, just like that, Faine was alone once more. Alone with a crowd standing around her. At least that gave her the proper time to look through the papers and memorize every bit of truth to lives she'd never met. She doubted she'd have access to it during the banquet; carrying that around would get her killed.

Someone nudged her arm and Faine looked over to find Ilian smiling at her. "What do you think?" he questioned, waving the papers around. "Shall we pair up together?"

Faine couldn't bring herself to smile back. "I thought you'd pair up with Ginevra," she muttered without a care in her voice.

Ilian grunted. "She's still pissed at me. She chose a fladline she has been sleeping with for some time now. You are, technically, still my shadow so I think it's wise for us to pair up."

As everything else was doing, his words opened a pit in her stomach. It was just one of those days, Faine had done it to herself by looking through what remained of Carlton's belongings, but the same question banged around in her skull and demanded attention. What was the point of this?

She thought about running away and disappearing to a different land. It'd be easy, to forget what remained behind her. At least her mind would take it without a care, but her heart couldn't stand to leave Kaspar behind, or anyone else she considered family. Leaving Pinedon meant Zebulon would be a glance over her shoulder instead of standing in front to block the view of the future, and she'd have to start over somewhere new. A world that didn't include the familiarity of the land Faine called home.

While looking through the information, Faine considered that she could do it. Start over. Create a life for herself that didn't involve the terrors of a crime guild—two crime guilds—that knew her for her name, face, and skill. The past would become dust in the wind. Dreams rarely turned into anything more than that, not when a job that included this much risk was involved.

Being underneath someone's control for so long had taken a toll on Faine. Her thoughts became muddled, she couldn't see straight, and anything Ilian was saying...they weren't words. If he was saying anything at all, the sound transcended into her mind as a deep rumble that faded before she could comprehend it.

Ilian nudged her arm again. "You all right?"

That, Faine heard.

She looked into his deep blue eyes and considered whether screaming at him would solve her problems. Someone needed to face blame for what happened to Carlton, but it wasn't the mortal's fault. Ilian wasn't even born then, his parents weren't either. What happened to the love of Faine's life was Zebulon's fault—the truth was always right in front of her, and she accepted it without thinking twice, but over the years, her hate softened. It turned into a waiting game; that when the hundred years was up, she'd go back to hating every part of his existence.

"Faine?"

Ilian's voice made her flinch, the softness of it, and she threw herself out of the trance she put herself in. The world came back, voices returned as normal sounds, and Faine realized she was staring at him without saying a word. Studying his face the way a murderer would before the person strapped to the chair in the middle of the room became their next victim.

"Faine?" He took one step towards her, reaching for her elbow, but Faine stepped out of reach.

"When does this mission take place?" she asked. The papers held no answers.

"In one week, but—"

"Great, that gives us enough time." She rolled the papers up in her grasp and avoided ripping them altogether. "Have you ever ridden on a dragon?"

Ilian's look of bewilderment was answer enough. No, he hadn't.