5
When he saw me, Lyren looked away, pretending not to know me.
“Wine!” the man in red called out.
I brought over two flagons of the tavern’s strongest brew. Lyren looked incredibly uncomfortable as I approached, his eyes darting away. He made it seem as if there was some sordid secret between us, when all I had done was confess my feelings to him in the sacred springs. He had refused, and I had let it go.
My target today was the man in red sitting across from him.
I placed the wine on the table and filled a cup for him. My new skills were still untested, and as I poured, I unconsciously used the same subtle enchantment the pro- prietress had used on me. I saw his gaze grow hazy with fascination, and a sense of triumph swelled within me. The arts of the Crimson Cabal were indeed effecti-
ve
The next moment, a strong hand pulled me away, and I let out a small cry.
Lyren dragged me into the back courtyard before releasing me. “You are a disciple of the Order of Light. How can you practice these seductive, dark arts?”
I was baffled. You can sit and drink with a Warlock, but you condemn my magic as dark?
“I am no longer a disciple of the Order of Light,” I said coldly.
It had been three months since I left. My mentor had never once tried to contact me. Instead, he had announced to the world that he was taking Elara as his final apprentice. I no longer wanted to be his disciple. It was a position I had begged for, and now, I no longer wanted it
Lyren’s eyes widened. “Do you know that desertion is a grave crime?”
Lyren’s eyes widened. “Do you know that desertion is a grave crime?”
I shrugged. There was no one left in the Order for me to care about. If Kael ever came for me with his sword drawn, I would meet him with my own, and I would fight
with all my strength.
“Don’t tell the Order you saw me here. Otherwise, I’ll tell the world you saw me naked in the springs.”
Lyren’s face flushed again. “I am not a gossip. But your presence here will not remain a secret for long, with or without my help.”
Seeing that blush on his usually serene face sparked a wicked thought, but I suppressed it, mentally chanting a few prayers. A strange sense of morality surfaced. It was probably best not to mess with a holy man.
But the thought of pulling the serene Hierophant from his pedestal was so tempting.
I swallowed hard. Lyren seemed to notice and immediately adopted a posture of someone trying to avoid a venomous snake.
Just then, the man in red, Zephyr, came looking for him. His tone was lazy, teasing. “Master Lyren, you were gone for so long. Were you having a secret tryst with a
lover?”
A new target. I shifted my attention from Lyren.
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is a disciple of the Order of…” Lyren’s words trailed off as he remembered I had left.
Joh? The lady is of the Order of Light?”
I walked over to him, my smile sultry. “I am no ‘lady‘ of the Order.”
Zephyr caught the hand I had placed on his chest. I feigned a cry of pain. “You’re hurting me.”
“Your mannerisms,” he said with a faint smile, “are quite similar to those of my own kind.”
To my eyes, he only grew more alluring. I realized, with a start, that I had fallen into his trap. When he looked at me, he had been using the same enchantment I had used on him. His earlier look of fascination had been a performance to fool me.
Outplayed, I felt a surge of anger and stormed away.
