Kohen led Cass to the banquet hall. Music played loudly. At the head table, the duchess's dragon overlooked the room. On either side sat the dragonlings and their knights. Or Cass assumed it was the dragonlings and their knights.

On the matron's right was undoubtedly Ahryn and Emenes, Ahryn dressed in a suit of shimmering silver to match Emenes's silver scales. He wore a large circular broach—or maybe it was supposed to be a mask?—with a swirling design over its face, over his left breast. He leaned into his dragon, but otherwise looked healthy.

On the matron's left was Fioreya and a crimson dragonling, the same shade of crimson as Fioreya's soul. The dragonlings had been white before, and yet, from the shape of the dragonling's face and the curve of her horns, it was almost certainly Velkora. That made Fioreya the second new dragon knight this year.

On the other side of Ahryn sat Alyx and Kelstor. Alyx had changed into an amber tunic with a pair of red dragons embroidered up the front panels.

The other dragons filled in the outer ring of the banquet hall, each sitting beside their knight.

Countless other nobles filled the rest of the hall. Many clustered around one or another of the knights and their dragons, especially the older nobles. Others moved from table to table, exchanging drinks or food with the knights before moving on again.

"That's—" Kohen's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the dragon beside Alyx. "But, he's dead."

Oh, Kohen had been rabid when Kelstor showed up and not much better off when Kelstor recovered. He probably didn't remember. "He's not. The Copper Crescent kidnapped him."

Kohen's mouth shot open to argue, but a strange look flickered across his face before those words could form. Softly, imperceptibly, Kohen muttered, "That was Kelstor. Goddess, that was Kelstor. What did I—But I didn't. But, I remember…"

Cass patted his shoulder gently. How many of the cultists had he eaten? How many had tortured Kelstor? How many of those memories remained on his psyche?

Could she have done a better job of fixing him? Could she have filtered out that which was Kohen from that which wasn't? Had she known what she was doing, would it have been possible to have put him back to how he had been?

The alternative had been to kill him, she reminded herself. Her best was all she could do.

"Ko!" a familiar voice shouted before Kohen could answer. Tiador waved as he approached, a pair of narrow fluted glasses in his other hand.

"Tiador!" It wasn't quite a panicked squeak that escaped Kohen's voice at the sight of his friend. And it wasn't quite a begging look out the corner of his eye at Cass as he said it. But Cass could read the lines.

Cass grinned. She didn't plan on doing anything, but making him sweat was more than a little appealing.

"You finally made it!" Tiador said, handing one of the two glasses to Kohen. "And, is that Mage Yuan? What brings you here together?"

"How much have you heard about today's activities, Mr. Ophir?" Cass asked, partly because she thought it was a suitably teasing opening and partly because she legitimately didn't know how much the duchess wanted to cover up the kidnapping of the dragonlings and the cult's involvement.

"Something about the cult of Fortitude being thrown out of the city," Tiador said.

"Is that all they've made public?" Cass asked.

"Is there more?" he asked.

Cass shrugged. "Not my place to say."

He chuckled. "I doubt very much you care much about your 'place', Mage Yuan."

Cass laughed. "Was it that obvious?"

"An unaffiliated mage doesn't start rubbing shoulders with the nobility of Vaisom otherwise, my lady. But you were about to tell me all the details about today's events?"

Cass smiled slyly. "I don't remember saying that. But I will say that Kohen and I were both integral to the cult's expulsion, and our injuries kept us from the earlier ceremonies."

"Oh, come now, you can't leave it at that," he weaseled.

Cass shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do right now was tell people about her day. "I'm afraid I need to check in with Alyx, maybe after."

Tiador made a show of pouting. "And here I thought Ko had finally recruited you."

"Not a chance," Cass said. She should leave it at that. But mischief whispered to her. A grin slipped over her lips as she spoke. "In fact, it might just be the opposite."

Kohen's face blanched. Horror filled his eyes.

Tiador raised an eyebrow. "Oh, now I hadn't thought about that. This changes everything, doesn't it?"

There was an affected quality to his surprise, like this was a show he put on for someone else. Kohen, probably.

"I wouldn't know," Cass said with a neutral smile. This was about as far into Vaisom politics as she wanted to stick her nose. "But please, excuse me." She pushed past the nobleman toward Alyx.

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"We should offer Lady Alyx our congratulations as well," Tiador said. "Perhaps we can discuss this more with her?"

Cass shrugged as Kohen's nose wrinkled.

"Come on, Ko." Tiador prodded him.

Cass ignored them. She'd rather they didn't follow her, but it was a party. She had no authority to keep them from doing so if that was what they wanted.

Before she'd made it halfway across the banquet hall, a man approached Alyx's table.

Thaycer Delim Veldor.

Alyx's father.

He said something to her.

Alyx stood up, her hand clenched around her sword's hilt.

Kelstor bared his fangs.

Cass walked faster.

Ahryn was at Alyx's side.

The rest of the guests had scooted out of the way.

Cass pressed her way to the front of the crowd, Kohen at her heels.

"You promised to make me heir," Alyx said, her voice a barely controlled growl. "Do you have no shame?"

Thaycer snorted. "Don't misconstrue what was promised. I said if neither of my sons earned a dragon, and you did, I would name you heir." He shot a pointed look at Ahryn. "And one of my sons did not disappoint me. For once.

"Ergo, it is you who must fulfill her promises. What was it you wagered again? Right. Renounce the name Veldor and leave Velillia."

Alyx's hand clenched into a death grip around her sword.

"Father, don't do that," Ahryn interjected.

"Not now, boy." Thaycer didn't even look at him as he spoke, his gloating eyes never leaving Alyx.

"Who will you name heir then?" Alyx demanded. "Ahryn? Kohen, despite his lack of dragon?"

"I fail to see how that's any of your business now," Thaycer said. "That is a conversation for my children about the future of my family.

"You have until the end of the Festival to leave before I use force to remove you." And like that, he turned and walked away. The crowd parted before him.

But Cass didn't move.

He actually sighed at the sight of her.

Cass, Salos hissed in her ear.

She knew she was in no state to fight him.

He was level 41. She was barely at the Gate.

He was at full Health with all his resources. Cass was scraping by with what was left.

He was a noble with all the power of his title and name to back that up. Cass was just Cass.

She lost a bet, Salos whispered. This isn't an injustice that needs to be righted.

But she only did it for me, Cass said. She only lost because I encouraged Emenes to bond with Ahryn.

Everyone made their choices. You didn't force anyone to do anything.

This is still cruel.

That's how it is sometimes.

Alyx shook her head, her eyes pleading Cass to step out of the way.

Cass grit her teeth and stepped aside.

Thaycer stalked through, not even glancing her way.

The crowds dispersed into hoards of gossips as he left, leaving Cass as one of the few still standing by Alyx's section of the table.

"Thank you," Alyx said. Her words were directed at Cass, but her eyes were still on the back of her father's head.

Cass nodded.

"He can't do that to you." Ahryn crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why not?" Kohen asked as he stepped up between the two of them. "Why should he make Alyx heir? She's not a Delim."

Alyx snorted. "What? You aren't thinking he'll still pick you, do you?"

Kohen bristled.

"Why shouldn't he pick Kohen?" Ahryn asked.

"Have a little pride," Alyx said. "If it's not me, it will be you."

Ahryn's mouth made a little 'oh'.

"Don't be ridiculous," Kohen said. "You know as well as I do why he won't name Ahryn heir."

"Get lost, Kohen," Alyx said.

"Happily," Kohen sneered. "Come on, Tiador."

Tiador raised a hand like he was going to say something, but clearly thought better of it and just gave Alyx, Ahryn, and their dragons a polite nod and wave before turning to follow Kohen away.

Alyx shook her head, a disgusted look on her lips. "We should have just killed him."

"You don't mean that," Cass said softly.

Alyx grumbled. "Would you think less of me if I did?"

"Do you care what I think?"

Alyx didn't answer. The silence grew between the two of them.

"I'm glad you saved him," Ahryn said. His voice was meek, barely audible over the murmur of the other partygoers and the melody of the party's music.

Before Cass or Alyx could comment on that, the music lulled into the background, and every eye turned toward the hall's doors.

The duchess stood in the entryway in black, silken robes embroidered in shimmering silver. She all but glowed, her presence filling the room.

Her dark eyes scanned the room, settling uncomfortably long on Cass before moving on again.

Cass shivered, her every fiber screaming to stand perfectly still and to bolt at the same time.

"Good, we are all here," the duchess said as she strode into the room. Her robe's train trailed behind her. A kind of silence filled the room, making her words crystal clear, though the music behind her had not lessened. It was as if the air itself believed her words should be privileged over all other sound. "I know many of you have questions about tonight's events. You should. I would expect nothing less.

"What we know now is that the Order of the Copper Crescent had been hiding in our city these last twelve years. We know our dragonlings were kidnapped."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Muted by whatever skill the duchess used to project her voice over the room, but potent all the same.

"Wasn't the cult expelled years ago?" whispered one person.

"How did they kidnap dragons?" muttered another.

"Wasn't Lady Sellen in charge of them?"

The duchess arrived at the raised dais and high table. She didn't need the extra height to dominate the room, but she stepped up beside her dragon, anyway. Her voice cut above the murmurs. "We also know the cult has since been annihilated."

The bodies lying over the cathedral floor flashed across Cass's eyes. Yes, 'annihilated' was the word. Or maybe 'slaughtered'.

"The details are still being investigated, but what is clear already is that if not for the efforts of several of our young warriors, we would have had a repeat of twelve years ago," the duchess continued. "I would like to publicly thank them now. Lady Alyx Aretios Veldor, Lord Ahryn Delim Veldor, Lord Kohen Delim Veldor, Lady Mage Cass Yuan, Lady Mage Pellen Ioptes, please step before me."

Pellen was here? Oh. Yeah, right there, in the doorway. Had she entered with the duchess? Besides the duchess's presence, Cass hadn't noticed.

The five of them lined up in front of the duchess. The Veldor children all bowed their heads before their grandmother. Pellen bowed much deeper, all her eyes fixed on the tile at her feet. Cass copied Alyx.

"If not for these five, we would not have discovered the dragonling's disappearance or location until it was too late. These five are the reason we could complete our celebration tonight and why we were able to welcome Velkora and Emenes to the System."

To the five of them, the duchess added, "I would like to reward each of you for your role. Name your desire and, within reason, I will see it fulfilled."

Gasps erupted from those nearby. Pellen covered her mouth in surprise.

A favor from the duchess? This was it, wasn't it? Surely she had the power and influence to find Cass a way home?

"Think over what you want. We will discuss it in more detail separately," the duchess continued. To the party at large, "A round of applause to our young heroes."

Murmurs turned to cheers.

"You all will be kept abreast of further details of tonight as we uncover more about how and why this happened. But for now, rejoice, for the dastardly plot of Copper was foiled and their ilk extinguished!"

The cheers roared with the duchess's proclamation, and the party's energy redoubled.

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