Night had long and truly fallen before Cass stepped into the tiny closet of a bedroom. The smell of must and alcohol battled for dominion of the space. The only furniture was a single bed and a chest at the foot. The room was only wide enough for the bed and a person to shimmy alongside it.

  Cass sighed, dropped her few things on the chest, and then collapsed on the bed.

  This had not been the first establishment she had tried to get a room with. She’d started in the upper city, only to be refused again and again. No one had space. The city was overflowing with travelers visiting for the Festival, and all the good rooms were taken.

  This was the ninth place she’d tried, and this was one of two available rooms, according to the proprietress.

  The musty smell was stronger with her face in the sheets. Were these clean? She grimaced and tried not to think about it.

  But the only other thing on her mind was Alyx’s face.

  Her blood boiled again at the thought.

  She shouldn’t have stormed off. That hadn’t accomplished anything. She’d just burned whatever goodwill she’d had.

  Would Alyx turn her in to her family to save herself? That’s what Salos would vote for if their positions were reversed.

  Negotiation had failed. Cass wasn’t someone willing to listen to ‘reason.’ Didn’t that mean it was time for more drastic measures?

  Would Alyx have her killed quietly? That’s what nobles did, wasn’t it?

  That seemed like a stretch for Alyx.

  But turning her in to her grandmother for clout seemed plausible.

  Hell. Should she have left the city entirely? But then what?

  She rolled over to stare at the ceiling. The wood had some interesting discolored spots which looked suspiciously like black mold.

  Black Mold

  [A mold common to damp, ill-kept buildings. Allergies to its spores are common and unpleasant. Prolonged exposure is not advised.]

  Damn it all. Cass buried her face in her pillow and screamed.

  She needed to find somewhere else tomorrow if she planned on staying in the city.

  Hell.

  What was she supposed to do now?

  Salos would have told her to kill Alyx to keep their secret. Just the thought made Cass sick to her stomach. It was pointless to think about. She wasn’t going to, and it was too late to boot.

  Besides, there were a lot of logistical problems with murdering a noble.

  Nope. It might be what Salos would recommend, but it wasn’t something she would do, even with him urging her on.

  But that meant she should flee, right?

  How far would she need to run to get away from accusations of demons?

  She’d need to leave the duchy, at least. How quickly did news travel in this world? She had no idea how far she’d have to go.

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  She didn’t even know what other places were out there.

  She shook her head. What she needed was information. A lot more information.

  There had to be somewhere with answers.

  Concrete plans could wait until she had them.

  Her stomach turned. She just hoped there would be time before Alyx told her family. Or before they found her when they inevitably sent out a warrant for her arrest.

  Did they do arrest warrants here? Or did the local law enforcement just grab people off the street when they felt like it? If there was no judicial system, was there a difference?

  Cass pulled the blanket over her head and tried to push aside useless questions like that. She’d find her answers, they’d arrest her and execute her, or she’d run from the city and die in the wilderness.

  The sounds of the Festival outside filtered through the room’s thin walls. She could easily hear drinking songs and the murmur of partygoers and the shuffle of bodies along the street.

  Thumps and bumps echoed through the walls and ceiling of her room as her neighbors navigated their own small rooms, some assuredly with company, from the sound of it.

  She closed her eyes and let the sounds fill her. Let them drive out the thoughts. They were loud and discordant, but not more so than her worries and fears.

  If she didn’t think about it, it was easy enough to pretend she was back in the dorms in undergrad. Much louder, more rambunctious dorms, but dorms all the same.

  Perhaps she could pretend that she wasn’t lost in a fantasy universe. That there weren’t people trying to kill her. That she hadn’t just been abandoned by one of the few people she had called friend.

  ***

  Cass woke to a knocking on her door. Why or how she couldn’t explain because it wasn’t significantly louder than the sound of footsteps on the floor above or the festivities starting up again on the street outside.

  She pushed herself out of bed, feeling no more put together than she had the day before. Salos was still as silent as a stone.

  Health: 104/138

  Cass squinted at her Health. Was that supposed to go up that slowly? She was pretty sure that was only a three-point increase from the day before. Maybe wandering around the city distraught was not very good for her recovery.

  She shook her head and shuffled to the door.

  Telis waited on the other side.

  “Oh, what are you doing here?” Cass asked before the implications caught up with her sleepy surprise.

  Wait. If Telis was here, that meant they knew where she was. Which meant they could come arrest/execute her at any time. Maybe she should risk running back out into the wilds right away.

  “My lady wished me to invite you to watch her match in the arena today. She will take the field starting at the second bell after noon. She also wishes me to re-extend your invitation to stay in the Delim manor.” Her eyes made a disapproving pass over the space they stood in. “Unless this is more to your tastes.”

  “Alyx said all that, huh?” Cass asked. Surprising. That implied she hadn’t gone to tell her family about Salos yet.

  Or it was a trap.

  But if Telis could find her this easily, they didn’t need to trap her.

  Did that mean Alyx was still hoping to talk Cass into killing Salos? Cass’s hand clenched around the hem of her sleeve. She was going to say something she shouldn’t if Alyx tried that again.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Cass said, forcing her voice to come out calm and collected.

  Telis matched her icy tone. “May I tell the lady she can expect you?”

  Cass shrugged, wincing as her arm screamed in pain again. “You can tell her what you like.”

  “I see,” Telis said. “I will let her know not to expect you then.”

  “Probably for the best, yeah,” Cass nodded. “Is that all?”

  Telis didn’t quite roll her eyes, but she pulled a bag out of a pocket and held it out to Cass. “This is your share from selling the materials gathered from your Catacombs dive.”

  Cass hesitated. On one hand, she didn’t want anything Alyx was giving her. On the other hand, she had legitimately earned what was offered. For another, it was difficult to claim some purity of intentions while still wearing the clothing Alyx’s family was lending her.

  She took the bag. “Thanks.”

  “That is all,” Telis said. “Again, the arena, the second bell. If it interests you.”

  “Sure, sure,” Cass said, waving her off and closing the door.

  Once Telis was gone, Cass combined her money sacks. It tripled the coins she’d gotten from the assassin.

  She also changed out of the clothing she’d gotten from the manor and put her Ephemeral Robe back on. The blue fabric was soft against her skin, implausibly clean and tidy even after everything she’d been through while wearing it.

  Now, she just needed to decide what to do next.

  She needed information, and she was in an inn. A tavern? Cass wasn’t sure what the distinction was. Either way, there were plenty of people downstairs chatting. Someone had to know something if she just listened closely enough.

  At least, that was what her fantasy novels would imply.