Mian took a deep inhalation. “You smell nice,” she said.

Al opened one eye and looked at her, smiling. “What do I smell like?”

“Pine and dirt and smoke.”

“Life on the road, I guess. Or off the road, at a campfire.”

She propped her head up with her hand. “Do you like all this traveling that you’re doing?”

“It’s part of the whirlwind, I suppose. I don’t mind it, but I’d rather be some place for longer than a week.” He sat up and looked at the clock. Nine in the morning. That would be four and a half, maybe five, hours of sleep. He yawned and looked around for his trousers, stopping when he felt a warm hand move up his back.

“Do you think you could, um, share your magic again like you did at the restaurant?”

It’s highly frowned upon by Amandorlam, he thought, and dismissed it as soon as he finished thinking it. He turned back towards her and planted a kiss on her shoulder, giving a sip of the Calm at the touch. It was something he’d always wanted to try and by her sigh, something Mian enjoyed. His curiosity at how much she was could savor it lead to him caressing the rest of her bare skin with magic until things progressed to movements the two of them were more familiar with.

By the time he looked at the clock again, an hour and a half had passed. He was supposed to meet with the rest of the quartet and Mian had to get to work. In fact, she was already quite late. She didn’t seem to care, though. Her eyes were closed and a small smile played on her face as she hugged the pillow she was resting on.

“I should probably take a bath while I have the chance,” he said, walking to the bathroom.

“But then you won’t smell like you.”

“Well, since one of the smells you picked for me was ‘dirt’, I think I can probably afford to lose a little odor.”

Mian began dressing in the bedroom, chatting with him about the near future of Kinuestra, on festivals and weddings of friends and new arrivals. He didn’t know if there was some other level to it, that she was trying to entice or repel him, or if she was just passing the time. Whatever her reasons, he liked it. It felt like what he should have had with Burdet.

She was dressed and acceptably coiffed when he left the bathtub. He helped brush out her clothes after putting his on and he stepped outside with one of the most lovely women he’d have the privilege of ever knowing. With a sigh that wrapped around his heart, he kissed her goodbye.

His three friends were comfortable on davenports in the Comfley’s when he walked in. “All right!” Raulin said, standing. “We were about to go get lunch while we were waiting.”

“I’m sorry for being so late,” Al said.

“Not at all, Wizard. We can pick up some sandwiches from the deli and be off.”

They were well out of town when the silence was finally broken by Al trying to stifle a yawn. “A bit tired?” Raulin asked.

“I think that’s fair to say.”

“Long night?”

“Mmm.”

Raulin backed off. If the wizard wanted to keep some things to himself, that was fine. Perhaps he was reeling with the pain of separation and needed some space. Raulin understood. Al probably was hurting badly.

“I’m glad the owners of the inn were deaf,” Al said.

The rest of them laughed. “Nice, Wizard.” Raulin put one hand on his shoulder and let Anla and Tel move ahead some distance. “You had fun.”

“I had fun.”

“And how are you out of the moment?”

Al took a few steps before answering. “I miss her. I’m going to miss her. But, there are plenty of things I miss that I’ve learned to either let go of or anticipate. I’ve let go of several wonderful books that were once on the bookshelf in my living room. I’m anticipating being on the ocean again. Once I got over my seasickness, I really loved it.”

“You’re okay with us leaving, then?”

“Was staying another day or two on the table? You’ve been very kind with this case, allowing me to take the lead. Don’t think I didn’t pick up on you shoving me out in front. I think you made a good decision on my behalf, to be honest, and it made me trust your instincts better. This was good for me.”

Raulin laughed incredulously. “Wizard, this is not what I was expecting from you.”

“What, did you think I’d beg you for another day with her? I’d take it, if you were offering, but this was…short and sweet. You were right, about speaking with her. Once we talked, it felt a lot better to frame things. We both knew that I was leaving and she was staying and we still decided to be together for a little while. It worked out well and I have only good feelings about it.”

“You’re not upset?”

“A little, yes. She’s a wonderful woman and I would’ve liked to have gotten more time to know her. But, this was fine as well.”

Raulin looked from Al to the ground a few times. “How…how do you feel that way?”

Al shrugged. “I just do. Do you think I should be pining for her? Ah, is this a set-up to a pun involving my name? Al pines, Alpine?”

“No. I…I want to know how you do it.”

“How I what?”

“Move on so freely. I’m going to be honest here, Wizard, if you’re being honest. I cannot do that. If I become involved with a woman, I am deeply pained when I have to leave them. I think about them constantly. I’m a sad waste of man for at least a week. You are the better man in this.”

“Not better, just different. You’re not like that with every woman. Besides that noblewoman in Mount Kalista, I haven’t heard you say anything about wanting to linger somewhere due to a woman.”

“Well, no, none have been the type of woman I’m talking about. None accept…” He thrust his chin out towards Anla.

“You think you’ll feel that way once you leave?”

“I’m positive I will.”

“What is she to you? I loved being with Mian, but I don’t think I’d say I loved her.”

“She’s…she’s someone I’d give up everything for. My future wife, perhaps.”

Al’s eyebrows couldn’t get any higher. “Wow. I didn’t think it was that deep. Unless, you usually think women are that to you.”

“No. She’s the first I’ve thought that about. I’ve seen her almost every day for the past nine months and even still I can’t get enough of her. I want to wake up every day and talk to her, ask her about her past, share my life with her.”

“Other than reciprocation, why don’t you?”

Raulin made an impatient gesture to his mask.

“You’ve said before you’d be willing to leave your order. Are you still interested?”

“For her, I’d do anything. Have you thought of a way?”

“I’ve honestly threw it into cellar. We should talk more about it, especially since your more desperate. But, what if Anla doesn’t feel the same way? Would you still be interested in leaving?”

Raulin paused before speaking very quietly in tone only a hard wizard could hear. “I’ve given Aviz some consideration. There are growing towns and cities that need young men. I could find a late apprenticeship there or work the docks.”

“Honest work? You’d make more as a cutpurse or in a gang…”

“I meant it when I said I didn’t want to do this anymore. Even the spying has grown stale. I’m tired of hurting people.”

“Okay. You should probably start clearing your account, then. I assume that it takes a good while before an agent can communicate with a base or each other about you making several withdrawals?” Raulin nodded. “Then get as much money as you can. The more you have, the easier it will be to establish yourself and for the resources needed to pull this off.”

“How are we going to do that?”

“Likely faking your death. That’s the backup plan, in case there’s no ‘legal’ way to pull you out. We can set something up in some small town in Sharka where we stage an incident between you and me. I’ll pretend to stab you and lower your body rates, though for the record I’m still very apprehensive about doing that. We’ll have corroboration, should Arvarikor decide to investigate. Then, once they’ve buried you, Tel will unbury you, get you out of the casket, and rebury your grave. I’ll jolt you back and set off to Hanala, to claim the reward.”

Raulin took a large breath and released it slowly. “It’ll need to be hammered out, and it’s kind of frightening, but…I never thought that a plan like that would feel so good. It’s…it’s a future. I’ve never really had one of those.” He turned to Al. “Thank you.”

“Thank me when we’re on the train to Aviz.”

“You’d go with me? What about Whitney? Or Baradan? Or being a vizier to a nobleman?”

“I will probably have to speak to Amandorlam about Whitney at some point, but I’m not returning. Baradan is a possibility, but I like the idea of making my own way, not having my mother find me a place. And I haven’t had a single offer from a nobleman, so why should I hold out hope for that? Who knows? Maybe it’s just a temporary thing. Maybe I’ll go out and see you established and like Aviz and decide to stay.”

“You are welcome to stay at my hovel, then.”

“I just have one question,” Al said. “Why haven’t you told her yet? You’re a man who takes risks. You’re a man who’s been in love many times. Why don’t you just tell her?”

Raulin’s eyes flicked over to Anla, sufficiently down the road with Tel, and engaged in a conversation with the grivven. “What do you think her reaction would be? Despite our relationship returning to a good place, I’m not quite sure if she loves me as well. I know she cares for me. I know she enjoys being with me. But she’s given me none of the signs I usually see. No longing looks, no embarrassed gestures, no dire need to see me. I don’t know what love looks like for her. I don’t know if I’ll ever see that.

“My concern by saying those words is for the group. I don’t want there to be any awkwardness. I don’t want her to feel like she has to spend time with me because of the spell or because we have to spend time together or anything like that. I don’t want her to pity me. I don’t want her to try because we’re friends.”

Al laughed. “You know that’s pig tripe in a shoe trencher?”

“I’m serious, Wizard. I would have to approach it very carefully.”

“Yes, approach it so carefully that you never have to say it at all. And you can leave Gheny and her having had a perfect partial relationship that only went so far.”

“Since when have you been the purveyor of romantic advice?”

“I’ve read this,” Al said, drawing a line between Raulin and Anla, “dozens of times. Sometimes it works out, other times not, a few even in an incredible fashion. ‘In reading, you live lives you’d never thought possible.’ That’s not Tichen, by the way; I doubt he’d ever appreciate sitting down with a good book and devouring it like cake. That’s written in the back of quite a few of the alley novels. By the way, Caudin does this hemming and hawing in at least half of the novels I’ve read.”

“Again with the Arvonnese novels.”

“Yes.” Al smirked as he put his hands behind his back and stepped stiff-legged. “You know what, Raulin? I think I’m going to invite you to my newly created book club. It’ll be an education in repetition! They say that’s the best way to learn, right?”

“I’m not reading your damned alley novels.”

But Al had already put down his pack and was rummaging through it. He pulled out a green book and handed it to Raulin. “Read this or I will pester you with commentary on plot points and character development that will only confuse you in your ignorance. You have a day. Or, you could go talk to her now.”

Raulin snorted but took the book. “Look, I’ll…I’ll tell her when I’m done with this contract. That’ll give me enough time to plan things and…”

“And gather courage? That’s really what all this is about.”

“It’s her.”

“I should point out that it takes, on average, five chapters for an alley novel to really hit its stride. Stick with it.”

Raulin sighed. “Let’s stop for lunch,” he yelled. “No fire, just our sandwiches, then we’ll be on our way.”

“Look,” Al said, pointing, “there’s a boulder up there. Should be dry after the rain this morning.”

“I’m surprised you noticed it rained.”

“You forget I was still awake at two.”

Raulin gave a quick chuckle and followed him and the others.

They had been sitting for some time, eating, when Telbarisk broke the silence. “I have some news.”

“Really? You didn’t say anything when we were chatting,” Anla said.

“I wanted to wait until everyone was here.” He put his sandwich down (filled with pickles, since he had recently learned he loved those), and said, “It worked.”

“Oh? The ambassadors are gone from Nourabrikot?” Raulin asked.

“They are gone. Not only that, my brother hasn’t left the palace in four days. He can’t. There are men stationed who stop him from leaving. I’ve seen it happen several times. My parents have moved back in and have been speaking to a lot of people.”

“Wow. They took back the throne?”

“He sits at council like he did when he was younger, before he had the title. I believe they are ‘reeducating’ him.”

“How did it happen?”

“I don’t know all the details. There was much I couldn’t see or gather from what I can do with kil. All I know is I did some of the things we talked about and I saw changes begin to happen. I covered the floors in water, grew plants, sent swarms of insects that either bit the ambassadors or chewed their clothes, made ice so that my brother would trip, made birds fly into their rooms so that they kept them up at night, made things disappear…”

“How’d you do the last one?” Al asked.

“If things were light enough, I could move them. I did that sometimes with papers while the ambassadors were in. A few ran screaming from their rooms. I burned some things, too, or crushed them to dust when I had the time.”

“You involved your brother in that?” Raulin asked.

“Yes. The ice, I mentioned. We used to play that game when I was younger. I wondered if he would remember and know I was there. Um, what else? I tangled his hair in the bed frame a few times. I jammed the door shut so he couldn’t leave except through his window. I’d make it so bugs would land on his head or in his ear and whine. I made his shoes stick to the floor when he was standing still so that when he moved, he tripped, like the ice.”

“Did you do that one a lot?”

“Whenever he was around other people.”

There was silence for a moment, then Al laughed. Raulin asked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Wizard?”

“He made everyone think his brother was drunk. Or crazy. We should have thought of that! That would have been the most direct way to do it.”

“I don’t understand,” Tel said, looking between the two of them.

“If your brother was seen as incompetent at his job, it would be fair even to his allies that someone help him out, maybe take over,” Raulin said. “He may have even lost some colleagues for his erratic behavior.”

“I didn’t mean to destroy his life!”

“I know, Tel, but some day I hope you’ll realize that your brother is an ass. He might be able to get people to gravitate towards him, but he isn’t doing what’s best for your home. A king puts his kingdom’s needs before his wants, before his own needs. He likes luxuries enough to kill for. He’s not a king, he’s a tyrant.”

“Raulin, I know this. That’s why I finally did something about it. But, I also put my own wants before my king’s. Kelouyan is free as is my family. That’s what I wanted.”

“And in turn your wants strengthened your kingdom, not you.”

“I suppose,” he said, nibbling on his sandwich.

“Be happy about this, Tel. Nourabrikot is finally in the right direction. The ambassadors are gone, people are freed, and your brother has been reigned in.”

“Heh,” Al said, laughing at the pun.

“This was the best you could have hoped for. Now you have to keep an eye on him and make sure things stay this way.” He stood and stretched. “On to Cataya. My next contract is an assassination. I understand if people excuse themselves.”

“I guess it all depends,” Al said, hopping down from the boulder.

“Thank you for considering, Wizard.”

“What will this one involve?” Anla asked.

Raulin flipped his book open and read his notes. “Rich guy. I’ll probably need to dust off Marin Liasorn and try to invite myself to some soiree that he’ll be attending. I’m sure Marin would love to have someone accompany him.”

“Oh?” she said with a smirk. “And who would this charming, wonderful woman be?”

“I don’t know. I know so few of those.” He pretended to look around, then stopped as his eyes landed on her. “Wait, how about you? Would you be free?”

“Are you saying I’m charming and wonderful?”

“No, because those words don’t do you justice.”

“Well, I might be free then.”

“I’ll make arrangements.”

Al caught his eye and gave him a look before shaking his head.