Mouse shut the door and leaned against it. The officer made note of his blocked escape, scanning around their room. “What, do you actually sleep here? By choice?”

  “The room is free if we stay at the guildhall.” Taiga shrugged, though he wondered what about the room dissatisfied him so.

  He supposed it was the officer’s aristocratic upbringing. Taiga recognized him from the castle, slinking through the shadows and whispering to Queen Nolara. Captain of the Gale Order, Farren. The only person truly carrying the kingdom’s secrets upon their tongue other than the queen. He also flowed misinformation and gossip through the courts to manipulate them as needed.

  Farren’s charisma was considered astounding in social circles, and once recruited to form the Gale Order, he never lost his touch. Taiga noticed him immediately upon entering the guild master’s office even though they’d never directly crossed paths. He’d never thought Farren would recognize them so easily.

  “And we can’t have you talking about knighthood and the court in front of the mercenaries, since we’re playing the human farmer role.”

  Farren nodded, though an eyebrow raised. “Yes, about that. Why are you two not at the western border where you are stationed?”

  “Stationed?” Taiga repeated. Did Farren not know? Easily one of Queen Nolara’s most trusted aides, he even advised her at times. This was common knowledge. Surely, it was Farren who ordered and maintained the flow of information in regards to the demon problems and was one of the few with the knowledge that Taiga and Mouse were not human.

  Farren also kept the massacre of the Ganakri from the public’s ear and changed it to a tragedy committed by rogues. Taiga assumed Farren also came up with the idea of using mercenaries to keep the queen’s emblem and members of the knightage from being involved.

  So of course Farren knew... Right?

  “We’re following orders of Her Majesty, Queen Nolara.” Taiga waited for Farren’s reaction, measuring any movement to determine what to say next.

  He showed nothing, picking a piece of lint from his shoulder and inspecting it before flicking it away. “What orders?”

  “The queen gave us a mission.” Mouse barked, clicking his tongue.

  “One we cannot reveal, to anyone.”Taiga caught a small flash in Farren’s eyes as they resettled on him. “You’ll have to ask Her Majesty for the details yourself.”

  “And,” Farren cleared his throat, “you’re acting as mercenaries for this mission?”

  Taiga nodded. This much he could likely say.

  Why would Queen Nolara not tell Farren? Was he also unaware of the Guardian’s corruption? But why? If he took care of the increase in demons, which would explain his presence there today, he would already know something more serious was at play here.

  Or was the queen keeping secrets from the man in charge of information? The same man who protected her throne and followed every whim of the crown? Her loyal dog kept on a leash he no longer needed?

  Taiga saw nothing about their mission that would be above Farren’s knowledge. In fact, his help in this matter could only benefit Queen Nolara. So what else did she know, but not tell? To Farren, or to Taiga and Mouse?

  “Is something going on at the palace?” A fire in Farren’s eyes silenced Taiga. No more needed to be said on the matter.

  “Do be wary on your return to Pell.” Taiga bowed. Be wary of the queen, was what he meant.

  Farren hesitated, opening his mouth. Then he blinked and closed it, changing his mind. He returned the bow. “Watch your backs. You are alone out here.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Taiga and Mouse had no support anywhere. Not from the palace nor the queen. Farren likely meant this based on his own conclusions, but Taiga never expected help regardless. Mouse and he only ever had each other's backs. Now was no different.

  “Mouse,” Taiga called, nodding him away from the door. He obeyed, letting Farren go. Once Farren left and walked out of earshot, Taiga sighed, “what, were you planning on killing him?”

  Mouse shrugged, “I didn’t know who he was.”

  “So your first instinct was to… nevermind.” Taiga fixed his cloak, making sure the clasp held. “I’m starving. Let’s get some food in the great hall.”

  While he did need food, he also wanted to check the opinions and temperaments of the mercenaries. When they first walked into the guild master’s office and saw those four mercenaries, he immediately thought one of them had turned them in as non-humans. Luckily, that wasn’t the case, but it was worth checking their current mindset.

  He let Mouse grab their food while he looked for a place to eat. The mercenaries sat at a table outside, and Taiga sat beneath their usual tree. He wiped the rug before sitting. A cool breeze chilled him, and he dropped further within his cloak.

  Ku spotted him first, waving at him and inviting him to their table. Telania tensed, but said nothing against it. Smiling, Taiga graciously accepted and rose to join them. He told them Mouse would be along in a moment, and a few pairs of eyes lingered a little too long on him.

  “How’s the leg? I saw you had a crutch in the meeting.” Taiga directed the conversation to Ku.

  He slapped his leg with a laugh, before he froze, rubbing it a little more gingerly. “Ah well. It’ll uh… be okay in a few more days.”

  “So we’re stuck in Winolin anyways, whether the guild master ordered it or not.” Field added, taking several large gulps from his mug.

  “You planning another job so soon?” Taiga and Mouse planned at least a week before they took another themselves.

  “Yeah well,” Field grunted, “we didn’t get paid for that last job. No one left to make any payment. And there’s four of us to split the money between.”

  Taiga kept their finances decently tight. Using the free room and board here, and the free stable for Sweet Bun definitely kept their expenses low. But with winter approaching, they’d need to take a few more jobs before the freeze set in. The hearts they sold before would cushion them through the worst of it. Unfortunately, Vieu and his reinforcements had taken any hearts in Bearthatch for themselves.

  Mouse skipped over, slowly losing his smile when Mimi looked away from him in such an obvious way. He sat to Taiga’s right, away from the mercenaries. Telania’s glare, too, was obvious.

  “We,” Taiga dropped the pleasantries from his voice, “all good? Telania?”

  Their eyes met, and Taiga stared at her until she backed down. “No reason we wouldn’t be.”

  Taiga's smile returned. “Just checking.”

  Ku looked between them, cocking an eyebrow. “Checking what?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Field grumbled, his eyes in his mug. He took another large gulp of whatever remained.

  Mouse slid a bowl to Taiga, stealing a piece of fish off the top with his spoon. Taiga pretended not to notice, using his own spoon to separate the remaining fish into pieces. They ate in silence for a few moments. A few finches landed on the table, across from Taiga.

  Excitedly, Mouse reached into his pocket, producing a few grains in his hand. He held them out, palm up. The finches watched him, hopping away and closer to Taiga, though their eyes were lured by the grain.

  “Where did you even get that?” Taiga chuckled.

  Mouse shrugged, “from the stable?” So he stole it.

  The finches looked between them, settling as Taiga and Mouse spoke to each other. It calmed the birds enough to venture to Mouse. A brave one hopped onto his fingers, jerked its head to Taiga, as if asking if it was safe. Taiga smiled, and the finch took a chance, grabbing a few grains in its mouth before fleeing. The other finches followed suit, and they took off into the tree.

  Field eyed them for a long moment before breaking the silence. “I wonder what that investigation is all about. Can’t believe officials came all the way from the capital.”

  “Why else?” Telania let out a laugh, “probably to see if they can pin what happened in Bearthatch on the guild somehow.”

  “That… might not be the case,” Mimi put forward, “maybe they’ll do something about all the demons. They asked questions about the attack on the wall, too.”

  “Ehh, Mimi. Don’t get your hopes up.” Ku slid his empty plate towards the center of the table. “They haven’t made an uproar about anything up to now. I don’t see why this would be different.”

  “But it is true they’re investigating. Which, from what I’ve seen and heard, is a first.” Taiga scooped rice and fish into his mouth.

  “And is promising.” Field agreed.

  Telania stood, grabbing her plate and mug. “Like I said, don’t expect too much from those government fools.” She shot a cold gaze at Mouse, before turning and leaving.