Once Bellod had regained consciousness and finished his initial examination of the greater demon, the auction master explained that he would need a week’s worth of time to both finish appraising and organizing the different books, as well as to give the kingdom’s largest bidders a chance to actually either make it to the auction to bid in person, or time to send an intermediary. When Samantha had asked how many shards the greater demon’s corpse was worth, Bellod had emitted something that was halfway between a squeak and a deranged laugh, before shepherding them out of the room so he could get to work.

  Asher had a feeling their money problems might be solved for quite some time once their haul finally hit the auction house, but all they could do now was wait.

  “I like Bellod,” Brian said as they wandered the grounds between the Grand Auction and the palace. “He’s a funny guy.”

  “Funny is certainly one word for it,” Asher said, peering through the window into a restaurant that looked far too upscale for his liking. It was later into the evening at this point, and while they could simply return to the palace for dinner, he thought checking out some of the food around the capital might be a fun experience. “I think he’s just a guy who likes shards, who realized that we’re a treasure trove of goodies.”

  “It’s not just about the shards,” Samantha said, blanching as she looked into the same restaurant he was before quickly pulling them away. “He seemed rather earnest and pure when he was helping coach me through absorbing the Wing element. He definitely has the hunger of a merchant, but I think he’s a bit more genuine than just wanting to use us for shards.”

  “Either way, it’s nice that we finally have a well-renowned merchant friend we can drop all our crap on to sell for us,” Asher chuckled. “I’m more than happy to give up a few percentages of our profits to not have to deal with any of that hassle.”

  “Oh, what about this one?” Brian asked, pointing at a small, hole in the wall style restaurant that seemed to specialize in some sort of fancy noodle dish that reminded Asher of ramen. If not for the large chunk of solid meat sitting in the center of each bowl. “That smells good!”

  “At least the people eating in there don’t look like they are betting thousands of shards on a single hand of cards,” Samantha muttered, nodding her agreement. “Asher?”

  “Sure, I could do meat and noodles!” Breathing in the wonderful smell of cooked food, Asher led the way inside and grabbed a table for them. Sure enough, unlike many of the more hard, refined atmospheres most of the restaurants in this section of the city gave off, this one was far more cozy and warm. Most of the tables were filled with rowdy yet polite warrior-types, or tired-looking travelers.

  I suppose there have to be at least a few restaurants nearby that cater to the people who actually bring things in for the Grand Auction, instead of for those who are buying all the goods.

  He and Brian each ordered a bowl of noodles surrounding a large hunk of beef, while Samantha decided to try the one with pork as the base. As they delved into their respective dishes, all but moaning at the rich flavors as they slurped their noodles, Brian finally spoke up.

  “By the way, Donvath came to talk to me today while you guys were out.”

  The noodles Samantha were currently slurping flipped up and slapped her in the face as she began choking, and Asher had to lean over and slap her on the back as she coughed. Taking a long drag from her water, she gasped, glaring at Brian as she slammed her glass down.

  “The High Prince came to talk to you privately while we were out fighting demons, and you didn’t think to tell us until now?!”

  “You guys came back and we went straight to the auction house,” Brian argued, attacking another chunk of his noodles with a shrug. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

  “You didn’t think the High Prince-”

  Asher laid a gentle hand on Samantha’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he watched Brian slurp at his noodles with just a little too much indifference. Samantha was too hung up on the idea of the High Prince of their entire kingdom meeting privately with Brian to notice how he was acting, but Asher had finally realized. While he was only twelve-years-old, and often pretty carefree, even Brian knew that having a one-on-one with the High Prince was a big deal. No, based on the way Brian’s shoulders were slightly hunched and how he was avoiding eye contact with his sister, Asher had a good idea where this conversation was going.

  “The truthseeker program is finally ready for you, isn’t it?” he asked, getting a gasp out of Samantha.

  “…Yeah,” Brian admitted, poking at his noodles as he stared down into his bowl, still refusing to meet their eyes. “Donvath wanted to speak with me personally about how everything was going to work before he let you guys know. He said regardless of what the two of you wanted, unless this was something I actually wanted to do and devote myself to, he wouldn’t go through with the idea.”

  “Oh, Brian… You should have told us!” Samantha said, getting out of her seat and moving to sit beside her brother. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him in for a big hug. “We could have done something more special to celebrate before you started!”

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  “This is pretty cool,” Brian said, sniffling slightly as he turned and leaned into Samantha’s embrace. Asher didn’t think he was going to start crying, but it looked like it would be a close thing. “And I am excited to join the truthseeker program, for the record, even if it is only the auxiliary portion. I’m just going to miss you guys.”

  “How often did Donvath say we’d be able to visit you?” Asher asked, deciding he was going to have some harsh words with the High Prince for going to Brian first before they’d worked out the details with one another. Though he did appreciate Donvath checking in with Brian to ensure that this was something he actually wanted to do, rather than just relying on his and Samantha’s words.

  “Once a week,” Brian said, managing to give him a smile that only twitched slightly. “Though he said I’d get that entire day off, so we can go out and do whatever we want when you come visit!”

  “I was hoping to be able to check in more frequently than that… Though I suppose getting an entire day with you is a lot more than what I was expecting,” Samantha admitted.

  “Not to mention with my Recall and your wings, we can pretty much hit up anywhere in the entire kingdom during those days off,” Asher said, returning Brian’s smile with one of his own. “One day in Poltar, the next in Whikoga… We’ll make the most of those days for sure!”

  “Thanks, Asher, that sounds fun,” Brian said, sniffling for the last time before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I am really excited to start working toward my origin element too, by the way!”

  “So when do you officially start?” Samantha asked, finally letting go of Brian so she could sit back and look at him. “Tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, first thing in the morning,” Brian nodded. “Donvath said he was going to talk to you guys tonight about everything. Mainly about things like not Recalling to my position anytime you feel me get hurt. He said a large part of the program is going to involve sparring, so you popping in anytime I got a bruise would be more than a little disruptive.”

  “That’s fair… Though I won’t be taking my Eternal Mark off you, no matter what he says about secrecy, or whatever,” Asher said. “Unless you finally want me to?”

  “No!” Brian said hurriedly, waving his hands in front of him. “No, I’d like it to stay, if that’s okay. I trust Donvath and am excited for the program, but I like knowing you guys can come find me whenever you want.”

  “Of course, Brian, we’ll always be here for you,” Samantha said, smiling at him. “And if at any point when we come visit you tell us you’ve changed your mind and don’t want to be in the truthseekers’ auxiliary program anymore, we can figure something else out. I don’t care who Donvath is, or the rules around his program. If you’re not happy, you’re not staying there.”

  Granted, this is the only option that actually protects Brian from the Head of the Assassin’s Guild while the two of us are hunting down The Council of Death, so let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Asher thought, deciding not to actually say the thought out loud. Despite knowing this was for the best, he was still in agreement with Samantha. He’d come to love Brian like his own little brother he’d never had over the past few months. If he truly wasn’t happy, they’d figure something else out.

  Maybe they’d just flee the country and find somewhere else entirely to hide out. The Eight Crests and the Lambit Republic were much larger than the Noala kingdom, surely at least one of them had somewhere they could hide him.

  “Sorry, I didn’t want to bring down the mood or anything,” Brian said, going back to his dinner with relish as he attacked the hunk of meat in the center. “Bellod said the big auction wasn’t going to be for a week, right? Can you ask him to make it during my first day off so I can come watch? I want to see how many shards you guys get!”

  “If that’s how you want to spend your first day off, I see nothing wrong with that,” Asher said, getting a nod from Samantha. “And it’s a little early to say for certain, but I have a strong feeling we’ll be able to eat out at pretty much any restaurant you want without worry afterwards.”

  That got a bit of a pained smile from Samantha, and Asher couldn’t help but chuckle. The hunter’s hang ups surrounding finances ran deep, and he had a feeling even if they ended up earning a billion shards from the auction, she’d still pale at the thought of dropping a few thousand on something as ‘unnecessary’ as a fancy dinner.

  “You mean it? Because we walked by one earlier that looked like it served sugar-gemstones hidden inside slices of cake, and I want to try a slice!” Brian said, looking more excited than he had all evening.

  “Brian, that’s not exactly what I would call ‘dinner,’” Samantha said, frowning at the idea of him stuffing his face full of cake. “Just because I’m not going to be watching over you while you’re in the program, doesn’t mean you can start eating junk with every meal!”

  “Donvath said they have special chefs and that I wouldn’t have to worry about food,” Brian argued. “Which means the days I’m training I’ll have to eat whatever they give me! I should be able to do something more fun when I’m with you guys!”

  “I’m sure we can strike a balance between cake for dinner and no cake at all,” Asher said, cutting off their argument before it could get started. It was hard to keep himself from laughing at the absurdity of the storm that was brewing between the two siblings’ hard faces, but he knew if he started he would just become the focus of their annoyance instead of each other. “Regardless, if this is our last evening together before you start the program, is there anything else you want to do? We’re not stupid-rich just yet, but we have more than enough shards to have some fun.”

  “Well, if cake’s not on the menu, there was one other thing,” Brian said, twirling some of his noodles as he gave them a sheepish grin. “Remember those explosive arrows we saw back in Whikoga’s market? Do you think you could grab some of them and bring them back here so we could try them out?”

  “You want me to use my Recall skill to travel a couple hundred miles, just to buy a few magic arrows from Whikoga’s market, so you can blow up some random targets?” Asher asked, managing to keep a straight face for a few seconds as Brian nodded eagerly before he finally cracked and returned his grin. “Alright, that sounds like a pretty fun way to spend an evening!”

  “I’ll fly the two of us out somewhere safe while you grab the arrows,” Samantha said, giving him a pointed look. “Make sure to scry me with Eternal Mark before you Recall back. I don’t want you to suddenly find yourself falling out of the sky in case we’re still flying.”

  “You know, that is an excellent point,” Asher said, laughing at her as she shook her head. “Alright, let’s finish up dinner, and then go blow the hell out of some random rocks or something. Sound good?”

  “Yeah!” Brian said, attacking his noodles with fresh fervor now that he had something to look forward to. Looking up with his cheeks stuffed full of food, he grinned. “I’m going to blow up a boulder!”

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