“Well, I’ve got some good news,” Miguel announced as he strode into the guild hall, “finally.”

“What’s up?” Ethan was relaxing on the couch, Alera sat next to him, her legs laying across his lap.

“I finally got the last gold that we need to hit the 10k,” Miguel grinned, dropping his bag on the kitchen counter as he walked over to the guild bank to deposit the gold he’d just collected.

“That’s awesome, Miguel!” Alera said excitedly next to Ethan.

As a guild, they’d decided to take a day as a break. The constant grinding had taken a hefty toll on all of them, so when Miguel announced at breakfast that he thought today was the day, David and Ethan had agreed to relax for the day.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. Their month time limit was almost up. After the disastrous meeting with Tanya and Kevin, he had barely spoken to Sam. He’d only told David just how bad it had gone. If anyone suspected that he had spent the last five days agonizing over his decision to wait until they paid off their fine, no one had said anything. Every ohh the bed messaged Tae-Won and apologized that they weren’t closer. With the gold finally in their hands, he could once again give three missing friend hope.

“Do we know anything about how we’re supposed to pay the asshats?” Miguel asked, flopping onto the couch across from them, a celebratory beer is in hand.

“No,” Ethan said, shaking his head grimly, “all Calder said was that we had one month to pay them back. I guess I’ll go over to the council building and see if we’re supposed to pay them there.”

The good news of having finally accumulated the needed gold, wasn’t really a cause for celebration. It was just another reminder of the horrible situation they were in.

“Has she come out yet today?” Miguel jerked his head towards Leah’s door as he sat down

“I checked on her this morning,” Alera said quietly, “took her some breakfast. She hadn’t eaten her dinner from last night.”

Her depression was getting worse. She rarely left her room, even to the extent of getting something to eat and retreating back to her bed. Alera had been the only person she talked to with any regularity. Ethan was glad that the new woman in his life was bonding so well with one of his closest friends, even if it was during the abduction of her husband. Leah had begun to shun both Sam and Ethan.

The last time he’d talked to her, the dark circles under her eyes were worse than he’d ever seen them. Her skin was pale and it hadn’t looked like she’d washed her hair in days. Anytime he walked by her door, he could hear quiet sobs through the wooden barrier.

“I’m worried about her,” Ethan looked at the door to Leah and Tae-Won’s room. “Nothing we say seems to be helping.”

“Have you heard anything from Arianna yet?” Miguel asked, taking a sip from his beer.

“Nothing yet,” Ethan shook his head again. “Wherever they’re hiding, they’re doing it really well.”

“You think they may be holed up in the Tower?” Miguel suggested, “it would make sense, they could take over a floor and stay there indefinitely.”

“It occurred to me,” Ethan said, absentmindedly rubbing Alera’s legs. “But they’d have to come out once a week for the floor reset. And they’re too close to Startesgarde to not have been seen.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Miguel shrugged.

“I thought you said we were going to lunch soon,” Alera asked, swinging her legs off Ethan. “I’m starving.”

“What? Oh,” Miguel’s suggestion of the Blood Dragon guild being hidden in the Tower had distracted him from his previous conversation with Alera. “Yeah, sorry Miguel, I guess we’re leaving.”

“Are you going to Greenbriar?” Miguel asked them, putting his beer back on the table, “want some company, or is it like a date?”

“You’re more than welcome to come, Miguel,” Alera offered, standing up.

Ethan mouthed “why?” at her behind Miguel’s back. The last month had been so hectic, what with farming as much of the Tower as they could to earn as much gold as possible quickly. He’d been enjoying having a quiet afternoon relaxing on the couch with just Alera.

“Because,” she leaned over and held onto his shoulders, her face only inches from his, “Tara is more likely to give us the meal on the house if he’s with us.” She kissed his forehead. “And I know you’re broke.”

She wasn’t wrong. Everyone had contributed to the payment fund, trying to reach the needed ten thousand gold. Ethan had put in more than anyone else, he still felt as though the entire situation was his fault and didn’t want to make his friends pay for his mistake.

“Fine,” Ethan scowled at her as he got to his feet, “but if she doesn’t, you’re paying."

Tara’s bar was packed when the three of them finally made their way there. A large and boisterous group of raiders were seated at their usual table, laughing loudly as they enjoyed their meal. Tara was shooting them angry looks as she refilled drinks behind the busy bar.

“I think there’s an empty table over there,” Miguel pointed to a small square table far in the back corner of the room. “I’ll go let Tara know we’re here and get us something to drink.”

Ethan and Alera pushed their way through the throng of people to make their way to the small table.

“Why don’t you ever take me anywhere else?” Alera teased Ethan as she sat down across from him. “It’s always Greenbriar.”

“You know anywhere else with food as good as this place?” He smiled, she had teased him regularly about their constant patronage to the same tavern.

“You’re only saying that because you created her menu,” she smiled back at him, rubbing her foot up his leg under the table. “You could just cook for me back home if you wanted to eat your own food.”

“Nah, that means I’d have to do dishes.” He laughed. As emotionally draining as the month had been, Alera had kept him going. Their relationship was moving wonderfully. He hadn’t said he loved her again since the night after the trial, but she hadn’t said it either. He decided to just let the topic rest while they dealt with the much more important issue of the simmering conflict with the Blood Dragons.

Alera’s witty retort was halted by a hooded figure in black and gold leather armor hastily sitting down in one of the vacant chairs.

“Hey, buddy,” Ethan said calmly, “seat’s taken.” He assumed the man was one of the boisterous raiders having had a little too much to drink and mistaking where he’d been sitting.

Their unwanted visitor pulled back his hood and looked at him, a manic grin splitting his face.

Ethan gasped.

His skin was pale and his head shaved, but Ethan hadn’t forgotten his dark brown eyes. The last time he’d seen then, they’d been full of terror. Now those hideous eyes full of contempt.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Caleb?” Ethan hissed, grabbing the Blood Dragon’s wrist and wishing he had his seaxes at hand.

“Ethan…” Alera warned him, looking around to see if anyone was watching. He released his grip on his enemies wrist.

“It’s a free bar, I can go where I want,” Caleb said casually, his malicious grin never leaving his face.

“It would almost be worth another ten thousand gold to kill you again,” Ethan threatened him, the fury of Reás burning in his veins.

“Hey, you wouldn’t kill the messenger would you, again?” Caleb taunted him, “Although, I guess you didn’t kill me the first time, did you? How is Leah by the way? Did she like my recording? Kalinda didn’t say.”

Alera put her arm around the back of Caleb’s chair and leaned over, her other hand hidden from Ethan under the table.”

“We don’t have to kill you to get you to leave, you know?” She whispered, just barely loud enough for Ethan to hear.

He couldn’t see what Alera was doing under the table, but knowing his girlfriend, combined with Caleb’s eyes flicking to his lap, he assumed she had a knife digging into the man’s crotch.

“If you have a message, deliver it now,” she jerked her head to Ethan, “before Ethan costs us another ten thousand.”

Caleb involuntarily gulped, and placed his hand on her arm. Ethan saw her forearm tense as she dug her dagger harder into his leg, or testicles, he wasn’t sure.

“Tomorrow. Three o’clock in the afternoon. Outside the tower.” He stuttered out, his earlier bravado gone. “That’s when we’ll collect our gold.”

“I’ll be there,” Ethan nodded harshly, “get out of here. Now.”

“Paul wants all of you to be there,” Caleb said, glancing between Alera’s face and the dagger under the tabletop.

“Why? So you can spring a trap on all of us at once?” Ethan glowered at him, crossing his arms across the chest.

“To take delivery, we got you something imported, if you get my meaning.”

“No riddles, Caleb,” Ethan leaned forward, his heart was racing. His enemies' subtle implication seemed to be that they would be returning Tae-Won when they’d been paid the gold.

“I can’t say what exactly, but it might be something Korean.”

Alera gasped, the sudden shock causing her to drop her dagger. It clattered for the ground under the table, the sound not audible to anyone past their table due to the noise of the bar.

“At least your girlfriend gets it,” Caleb said with a smirk. “Well,” he banged his hands on the table, and stood up “it’s been fun. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He pulled his hood back over his head and began winding back through the crowd.

Ethan glared at him as he left, grinding his teeth.

“Sorry that took so long,” Miguel said, gently setting a platter of drinks and food on the table. “Tara had short ribs, my recipe this time,” he stopped, the looks on his friends' faces telling him something had happened while he was gone. “What did I miss?”

Ethan, Alera and Miguel didn’t bother to eat their meal, the need to get back home and share information with the rest of their guild had eliminated their appetite.

“I’m going to go talk to Leah,” Alera announced as they entered. “Leah, hon, you okay?” Ethan heard her knock on Leah’s door, followed by the creak of the hinges as Alera entered the bedroom.

“What’s going on?” David asked, his brows furrowed as he stood up from the couch.

“Where’s Sam?” Ethan frantically looked for the missing guild member.

“Dunno, why?”

“Caleb came to see us at Greenbriar,” Ethan sighed as he headed for the kitchen, suddenly regretting skipping the short ribs.

“What the fuck for?” David swore, leaning against the wall of the kitchen.

“Arrange a meet up for us to pay them tomorrow,” Ethan answered. “And he implied they would be bringing Tae-Won.”

“Are you serious?” David’s jaw fell open.

“Completely,” Ethan assured him.

“Do you really believe him though?” Miguel asked, finally voicing the doubt he’d been thinking since Ethan had first told him shortly before in the tavern. “I mean, he could very easily be lying.”

“Of course I think he’s lying,” Ethan said, taking a bottle of beer from the refrigerator. “This is almost definitely a trap.”

“So what do you want to do?” David crossed his arms and chewed on his upper lip.

“Spring the trap,” Ethan said before taking a swig from his bottle. “Look, we’ve been behind them since longer than we’ve even known. We can’t keep making the same mistakes.”

“So I’ll ask again, what do you want to do?”

Ethan craned his head to look at the door to Leah’s room, making sure it was still shut and neither Leah nor Alera was about to exit.

“I’m going to offer myself as trade for Tae-Won,” Ethan by sighed, setting his bottle on the counter.

Both of his friends shared the same shocked look at his pronouncement.

“And how is that ‘springing the trap’?” Miguel asked, his face suddenly pale. “Sacrificing yourself for Tae-Won doesn’t solve anything. You’re going to end up tortured and alone.”

“I know,” Ethan nodded solemnly. “But here’s the thing, to them, Tae-Won is collateral damage. I’m the target that Paul wants to hurt.”

“And he will,” David interjected, stepping closer to Ethan, “hurt you. Are you going to be able to handle that? And what are you expecting us to do while you’re being held?”

“Yes, I’ll be able to handle the pain, Tae-Won has for nearly two months now.”

“But we don’t know that!” Miguel exclaimed. “We don’t know what his mental and physical state is currently. For all we know he’s gone completely insane and is Stockholmed into blaming you as well.”

“No,” Ethan shook his head. “Tae-Won is strong, stronger than I think you realize. And he’s got Leah. That man will be holding on if for no reason other than to make sure she’s safe.”

“And you're sure you can do that, too?” David rested his hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

Ethan thought of his friends. The people trapped in the prison with him. Of David and Miguel. Sam, Daniel, Arianna, Thomas, Leah and Tae-Won. And Alera. He knew he could hold on and hold out no matter what came his way, as long as he knew they were coming to rescue him.

“I know I can.” He said quietly.

“And what exactly do you expect us to do,” Miguel threw his hands into the air, “while you’re sitting in an actual dungeon I mean.”

“I know you won’t let me sit there for too long,” Ethan half smiled at him. “With Paul’s focus off the rest of you, you’ll all have more freedom to move around and find information.”

Over the last month, their intel gathering had been hampered by their need for discretion. They’d taken Arianna’s advice to heart and tried to stay quiet in their search for Tae-Won.

“Your sister won’t be happy,” David said solemnly, from acceptance beginning to show on his face.

“That’s the point,” Ethan answered. “With it being Tae-Won, or any other of you, she feels like her hands are tied. But if I’m gone, she will unleash the entire raid clan to rescue me.”

“So you’re not expecting us to be the ones to find you?” Miguel questioned him.

“No I am,” Ethan shook his head, “use her as your distraction. If an entire army is scouring the continent trying to find me, chances are they will. But I know my sister, she’ll count on you as the tip of the spear.”

“So you’re really set on this, aren’t you?” Miguel looked at his friend with concern, his brow furrowed and his jaw set.

“I am,” Ethan nodded at him. He’d been thinking about this for the last month. How, if it came to it, he would willingly sacrifice himself to save Tae-Won without hesitation. Caleb’s insinuation that they’d be bringing Tae-Won with them to the exchange had just solidified his plan.

“We need to tell everyone else,” Miguel glanced around Leah’s door.

“No,” Ethan said firmly. “Leah will try to stop me, so will Alera. You can’t let them.” He looked between the two men standing next to him. “Tell them this was the plan only once you’re home safely with Tae-Won.”

“I understand,” David nodded his head in acceptance.

“I do too,” Miguel sighed. “I don’t like it, but I get it.”

“Thank you guys,” Ethan smiled at them unenthusiastically. “Just don’t take too long, okay?”