The only thing that convinced me that she wasn't dead was the soft rise and fall of her chest.

"What did you do to Reese?" I exclaimed. My voice cracked with borderline-hysteria, and the muscles in my legs and arms tightened as if my body wasn't sure whether we should try to run, fight, or play dead. My brain had opted for the ‘play dead’ option.

"Is that her name? It seems fitting. I just made her sleep," he said, letting go of her wrist and rising back to full height.

"Don't worry," he added, noticing my alarm. "I will wake her later, and she will remember absolutely nothing of the little nap. I don't need the virago to have an earpiece to all of my planned activities."

"And what exactly are your planned activities?" I asked as I took a careful step backwards.

He must have read the expression of my face, because he stepped back disgust. "Golden skies, no! The Dare cast me to protect you, and, by the Great Inventors, I will. I just have a plan to do that which won't be looked highly upon by the Dare herself."

I kept my distance and watched his face wearily for tells. "What are you talking about?"

"I need to know how you have knowledge of Roanoke's customs without having stepped into the Upper Realm," he said, growing more serious.

Anxiety crept across my skin like a baby spiders crawling up my chest. If someone found out that I lived with Uncle Coy and Auntie then my chance of freedom really would be blown. I couldn't go back knowing they could be harmed because of me. "I don't know anything about Roanoke," I told him. And I didn't. At least, I wasn't sure I knew anything about Roanoke. Auntie's stories were children's tales, so I had no idea what was true and what was fiction.

"What about your idiom yesterday? You called me a pard. That is definitely not an animal of the Banal World." He accused with a small grin.

Of all the things, an idiom? I wanted to bite my tongue off and never speak again. Auntie used the term occasionally out of frustration. I had always assumed it was an exclamation of her own making.

"I've got two standing theories," he continued when I didn't speak, "you are either actually from somewhere in Roanoke, and have been hidden away in extreme isolation for these last fifteen years, or you have been living with Telvi in the Lower Realm." He narrowed his eyes, considering his theories as he spoke. He was far too perceptive for my liking. "The virago found you in the Lower Realm, so I suspect the latter."

"You are speaking very plainly," I found myself saying in an effort to distract him. "It's odd. You seem to like stringing people along like puppets with circuitous ramblings and ambiguity."

His dark amber eyes gleamed. There was something in them—a chagrin—that left me confused. I don't like being confused. "Please forgive me. How would you like me to approach this?"

"Leave me alone, and stop asking questions."

He reached above his head and yanked an orange from the tree above. He handed the fruit to me and asked me to peel it. It seemed normal, so I peeled the skin away. It took more effort than a normal orange, but less effort than unscrewing a kiddy-locked medicine bottle. With the skin gone, I found that the inside of the orange—the edible part—was a deep royal blue color.

"What is this?" I whispered in amazement.

"A citrile. It's a genetically modified orange tree that produces juice which effectively cures colic in infants. It also smells like lavender. Is that circuitous enough for you?"

I narrowed my eyes, trying to understand what he was actually saying with the fake orange, but it didn't make sense. Maybe he is just toying with me again.

He sat down on the edge of the raised bed, rolling a citrile between his hands. "So what have you learned of the Upper Realm so far?" He maintained eye contact, causing my skin to prickle with discomfort.

But I refused to let him win. I plastered a lazy smirk on my own face and chose my words carefully. "There's a great deal of arrogance here."

He smirked. "We prefer to call it a recognition of our greatness. You would do well to recognize your own inherent greatness."

I was not expecting the compliment, so I stumbled over my thoughts. I tried to string together my retort, but the appropriate window of response passed, and my response came out disjoint. "It must be hard. Walking through doors. With such a big head."

He chortled despite my less-than-stellar delivery. "It's a challenge I must overcome each day."

I rolled my eyes and looked across the expanse of the gardens, distracted by the grandiosity of this place. How could one castle possess so much?

"If you are looking for Rosamund, she will be in the far quadrant next to Yorrick, her husband."

I followed his gesture and saw Rosamund across the BLIG standing with a tall, willowy man who stood several inches taller than her. From that distance, I could only tell that they were talking very animatedly, but I felt some peace knowing that Rosamund was enjoying herself. Even if it meant I was stuck alone with Ace. I turned back to him, watching his smirk for a sign as to what he was thinking.

"Are you still mad?" He asked suddenly.

I snorted. "Of course. You really tied the—" I stopped midway through the idiom, realizing it was another one of Auntie's.

"Tied the griff's tail—is that what you were about to say?"

I caught my tongue between my teeth, biting down until it hurt. Maybe the pain would be enough to keep it from being careless again. Elise wouldn't have done that, I reminded myself. Neither would Colel. Lola definitely wouldn’t.

"So, who raised you?" Ace asked, stepping forward eagerly. "It has to be someone the Dare would trust without question, definitely a Roanokian, so... a retired Virago? Friend of hers from childhood?"

I schooled my face in an effort to reveal as little as possible. He couldn't know how close to the truth he really was.

"I think," he continued, "the Dare found somewhere in Lower Realm that you could be raised in secret by someone she trusts. I think that place is probably significantly safer than Roanoke. I think that, if given the opportunity, the Dare would send you back to that place where you would be away from the danger if she felt she could do so without the Board and unsavory groups outside of the castle walls catching wind of her actions. I think—"

"I think you still owe me an apology," I interjected, trying to stop the train of disastrous knowledge that was spilling out of his lips.

He opened his mouth—indignation etched across his face—before closing his eyes and mouth. He reshaped the expression there into something sincere. "I am sorry. I never intended to directly affront you or put you in harm's way. It was an effort to win your favor that turned out poorly."

"You destroyed my best shot of getting home." I knew I should accept the apology and walk away from the foolish boy, but the hurt stung like a paper cut every time I thought about Georgia and all the people I loved back home.

"What if I create another 'shot' for you?" He asked, placing air quotes around the word shot. "I was acting on the Dare's orders to keep you safe, but I didn't know you had somewhere safe back in the Lower Realm. It wasn't until afterwards when the situation was illuminated for me that I realized that helping you escape didn't directly disobey her orders. Plus, keeping you alive became a very important endeavor after she threatened my life. Can you imagine how much worse off the world would be without me?"

"Did you hear about the attack?" I blurted, my thoughts still circling the way my grandfather had acted at that messenger’s news. His face had grown pale so quickly, and the messenger had stared at me the entire time. Was it really, maybe, possibly, about the attack that happened when I was a baby?

"I knew there was a reason the Dare ordered me to stay with you this afternoon, but I haven't gotten any solid details on an attack. Why? What did you hear?"

I was surprised he didn't know everything, and more than a little comforted by the fact that he didn't. "Not much. There was some sort of attack by some group that hasn't done anything in a long time. I think that it has something to do with me. I mean, I know that sounds insane and narcissistic and all that, but the timing seemed weird."

“I’m afraid it’s not out of the realm of possibility...” He furrowed his brow, considering the information further. "I will find out more of the matter and see what actually happened. In the meantime, what do you say to my proposition?"

"Why should I trust you?" I asked, still watching his expressions for tells. His serious appearance put me on edge even more than the smirk.

"I haven't lied to you yet," he reminded me.

That much I knew was true. I reflected on what he had said, scrutinizing the wording. I was hesitant to trust him, but he did seem honest. At least, in the technical sense of the word. "So, you agree to help me find a way out of Roanoke undetected and help enact the plan that is constructed in an effort to return me to my home in the Lower Realm?" I thought through the words carefully, crafting the phrases like Elise would—conscious of all loopholes.

"We are in agreement. Under one stipulation," he added, causing a tide of apprehension to wash through my body. "You owe me one favor."

I balked. Owing him a favor sounded as safe as playing with fire. "I could refuse to do it if it was something I wasn't comfortable with?"

"No, you would have to follow through with it. It's nothing egregious or completely heinous though," he promised. However, the smile on his face did little to assuage my concerns.

I knew there was a 70% chance I would regret this deal. However, I also knew that I only had about a 1% chance at making it back home without help. But was it worth the risk of dealing with Ace?

"I could draft up a written deal if that would make you feel better," he said, flourishing his left hand and a legal document appeared balanced in his palm with his name already scribbled on it in blood red ink.

"That's just an illusion, and yet your handwriting manages to be atrocious," I mused.

"Then what do you suggest?"

I wasn't sure. I wavered, teetering between owing him a favor and forging my own path. I knew what Elise and Colel would do. They wouldn't compromise themselves for this arrogant boy that had been manipulating me since the first hello. Colel ditch him and find other loyal subjects to do her bidding. Elise was smart enough she wouldn’t need anyone else, she’d just find a secret way out on her own. And Lola, my favorite hero growing up, would be able to fight her way out, sword in hand.

But I wasn't my best friends, and I definitely wasn't a fictional protagonist with superhuman abilities. I couldn't get home by myself, but maybe with his help, I could. Finally, I extended my hand the proper Southern way. "Fine."

He stared at my outstretched for a second, a smirk burgeoning on his lips before extending his right hand and shaking mine. His gloved hand was oddly warm, and when I drew it away, I felt a peculiar thrill of excitement radiating from my hand. It felt synthetic, and it made my arm itch like I'd had a run-in with poison ivy without the ivy or the red splotches. I pulled my hand away as quickly as possible.

"Why do I feel as though I am making a deal with the devil?" I asked, rubbing my arm. There was something abnormal about Ace.

He chuffed, his lips still curved in a broad smirk. "I highly doubt the devil has a face this dashing."

I love writing scenes with Aha Ciliz and Gwyn. This really marks the beginning of their relationship, and I’m excited for y’all to see how it unfolds. Stay tuned, cause this is where the going gets good in my opinion.

See y’all Friday!

-MM