No one moved. Aaron stood at the center of the amphitheater, bathed in divine glow. A hundred eyes locked onto him—some in awe, some in fear. Even the sages stared. He clenched his fists. Do I leave? Wait for someone to speak? He exhaled through his nose. There’s got to be a spell for making yourself disappear.

  Theon clasped his hands behind his back, his posture rigid. "Aaron, if it pleases you, I’d accompany you to the baths." His voice was too steady. Aaron gave a tight smile. Thanks, mate.

  “You have my thanks, Theon Hellionis…” He trailed off. Shit. What was the rest? His lips pressed together. Doesn’t matter. I’m glowing like a divine lantern. They can deal with it. He began worrying about offending his friend—then stopped. I don’t care. I am glowing with divine light, and even sages are staring at me.

  His gaze flowed over the kneeling crowd. A lightness rose from his stomach into his chest. I’ve always liked being the center of attention. I could get used to this, whispered the part of his mind he preferred not to look at. Theon, Rhea, and Erai began walking. Theon took the lead, the girls apart from each other as they followed the blood trail into the underground.

  Aaron chuckled. “You know, these are pretty much the only circumstances under which following a blood trail into unknown catacombs isn’t damned ominous.”

  Rhea and Theon let out restrained laughs. Erai’s laughter was more polite. Artificial. And loud. Aaron clenched his jaw. The laugh scraped at his nerves like nails on bone. Too loud. Too practiced. Still playing the same game. He let out a breath, slow and controlled, and edged sideways—just enough to slide Rhea between them. A buffer. A shield.

  No time like the present. Using his golden glow to illuminate the corridor, the group moved onward. Aaron followed Theon’s lead, stepping into fading bloody footprints. They walked in uneasy silence, footsteps echoing over drying blood. Aaron drifted sideways. Better to do this now.

  He stepped beside Erai. Her blissful smile froze, then cracked. “Why did he call you Aaron?”

  “I changed my name.” The words left his mouth before he could think. Erai stopped in her tracks. Theon and Rhea turned, chuckling.

  “Why?” Then she spun around, her voice turning icy. “What are you giggling about?”

  Aaron gathered himself. His chest tightened as he opened his mouth—how do you tell someone they’ve been clinging to a ghost? His shoulders sagged. “I’m not who you think I am. I—”

  Rhea’s laughter rang out, shattering the moment like glass. He rolled his eyes, then gave Rhea a pained smile. Yes, that is the understatement of the year.

  Erai’s eyes had gone wide as saucers. “Who are you? Why…? What do you mean?” she shot at him in a panicked tone. She had taken three steps backward, pressing herself into the tunnel wall. This is going poorly. Aaron began to sweat. Damn it. I need to finish this.

  “Whatever there was between us…”

  Her mouth grew even wider. Shocked eyes turned into puppy-dog eyes in an instant. A sense that all the emotion was an act tingled at the back of Aaron’s mind. The skill guide.

  Aaron’s face set into a stoic mask. “It is over and will never happen again. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  They stared at each other. Aaron, uncaring yet angry. At himself. At having to deal with her. At the world. Erai, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Then she stepped toward him. He fell into a defensive posture. Suddenly, he was caught in a hug and stiffened. What the hell do I do now? Erai howled loudly and pitifully. Have I actually managed to upset her? What if this is real? Aaron’s gut clenched. Or is this just another layer of manipulation?

  Aaron’s arms hung stiff at his sides. Her weight pressed into his ribs. His skin crawled. His brain screamed at him to move—but something colder held him frozen. What the hell do I do now?

  Then, a voice cut through the hallway like a blade. “Allow me to take care of this, Anax,” Rhea said loudly. Aaron could only give her a slight nod as Erai squeezed him. Rhea called out, her tone dripping with contempt and malice. She took a step forward.

  Rhea leaned in, her voice a dagger wrapped in silk. "You know, Erai, when you were getting what you deserved in the wilderness, it was Aaron who aimed at your leg instead of your enemy.”

  Erai’s hug slackened. She looked hurt and confused. For a second, she shifted between expressions, as if unsure which to take.

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  “He sadly didn’t get you properly. That would have been hilarious,” Rhea taunted. Theon stood by with a superior smile on his face. Aaron’s temples throbbed. This is too much. And I’m not even actually breaking up with someone. Fucking hell.

  Between sobs, Erai got a few desperate words out. “Is… Is that… true?” She stared at Aaron in genuine confusion.

  Aaron pressed his lips together. Embarrassment mixed with anger. “Yes!” he spat out. “I—”

  She screeched and took a rapid step toward him, her fingers aiming for his eyes. Aaron hesitated for a split second. Too slow. Something blurred at his side. A crack split the air. Erai crumpled. Aaron barely registered the slap against his shoulder before he saw Rhea—Perfectly calm. Erai lay on the floor, screaming in pain. Her leg was bent at a sideways angle.

  Aaron’s breath caught. He staggered to the wall and leaned hard, his palms slick with sweat. The humming in his skull rose to a howl. His knees trembled. I thought I left this behind. I thought I was done with watching people break. Rhea took a menacing step toward Erai.

  She purred, “You attacked a champion of the Weaver. Speak of this after your revival, and I shall kill you again.”

  Erai dragged herself along the blood-slick floor, inching toward Rhea. Rhea put her foot down in the small of Erai’s back and laughed. A cat playing with a mouse. Aaron tensed. The shivers grew in intensity. I have killed and seen people be killed. But that had been combat.

  His breath became quick and ragged.This is an execution. I need to do something. As Rhea shifted her weight onto Erai’s lower back, ready to stomp her skull into the ground, Theon spoke in an almost bored voice.

  “Rhea.” They exchanged a look. She shrugged. Both looked at him.

  “Aaron?” inquired Theon. Aaron stiffened. His breath hitched. No. Not that. He forced himself to move, shaking his head hard. His heart beat as hard as a jackhammer. With all of his strength, Aaron shook his head. Then, he gasped out a word. What if they misunderstand a headshake?

  “…No,” he whispered. It was barely audible over the sound of pain and defiance. “No, do not kill her,” he said, his voice growing in volume and sternness.

  Rhea looked behind Aaron. At Theon. Then she nodded and smiled. She stepped off Erai—then kicked her in the stomach with full force. A dull thud sounded like a drumbeat. Erai spasmed and started coughing between wails. Then she vomited, and Aaron’s new sharp senses told him exactly what she had eaten for breakfast.

  Bile rose up his throat. I am surrounded by psychopaths. Rhea gave her a few lighter kicks, pushing her onto her side. Then she spit on her. “Consider us even, Neonis.”

  Erai coughed. She mumbled weakly. “You think this changes anything? You’ll regret letting me live.”

  Rhea and Theon began walking again. Rhea took Aaron’s shoulder. She gave him a tight-lipped smile. Rhea wiped her boot on the stone floor, flicking a glance at Aaron. "With healers and revivals, why hold back?" She winked. None of the malice remained.

  “Let us find the baths.” She winked at him, and Theon laughed. Aaron’s head spun. Too much. I need to talk to Questzy.

  Aaron took one last look at the crying Erai before Rhea tugged him forward. Light’s gone. He glanced at his arms. The glow had faded. They left the blood behind, feet echoing into silence. In deep silence, they walked through the tunnels. Aaron stole glances at the others. If I had said yes, she’d be dead. He swallowed hard. Erai played her games, but this? This was something else. Aaron let out a tense breath. I have no clue if this is excessive or normal here. The way things are going, maybe I should have killed her. She had enough in her to threaten Rhea in the end.

  A slave ushered them into a dressing room. Their robes were taken away. Aaron just let it happen. Absently, he noticed that the smell of blood had reduced significantly. The soft stone of the floor was warm against the soles of his feet. It felt strangely distant. Funny how the smell works.

  They walked up a set of stairs carved smooth with age. A wave of steam and olive blossom hit Aaron’s face like another world breaking through. They stepped into a landscape of pools. Some steamed, others had pieces of ice floating in them. The scent of olives and flowers hit him, fighting a losing battle against their blood-slick skin.

  Open and closed gazebos held massage benches, jacuzzis, and probably a dozen other luxuries. Under olive trees and sun sails, the guests looked out over the academy lake, as the eight spires of the academy rose against the sandstone-filled curving sky.

  Aaron followed, his feet moving on their own. His mind lagged behind, still caught in the bloodstained tunnel. Steam couldn’t wash that away. Neither could time.

  Rhea led him toward a gazebo, speaking as if nothing had happened. "Did your world not have something like this?" Theon's voice pulled him back. Aaron shook himself back to the present. I am walking through a magical luxury bathing landscape. Then he noticed the slaves moving about, making the nearly one hundred guests comfortable. His jaw clenched.

  “I think we had these kinds of facilities. Without the slaves,” he whispered in a tense tone. Someone in the nearest pool turned toward him. Damn it. Superhuman senses.

  “For such discussions, we need to find a noise house,” Theon hissed back, his shoulders suddenly tense.

  They stepped into a gazebo with half a dozen slaves in it. Theon pointed at two girls and gestured toward Aaron. Rhea pursed her lips for a moment, then pointed at a young man. The naked slave girl, probably in her twenties, smiled and walked up to Aaron.

  Her skin was much darker than the pale complexion of the locals. Unlike their straight hair, hers was golden blonde. Her brown skin stood out against the green eyes of almost everyone else Aaron had seen. She looked at him with welcoming confidence. Just like a worker at any spa.

  “I will be your attendant, Anax. Shall we get you cleaned up?” she said with a suggestive smile. Aaron fought down his natural reaction. Holy shit, this is so wrong. This… does still exist in my world. But knowing about it and…

  Then she ushered him toward one of the side rooms of the gazebo. The splashing of water could be heard from Theon’s room—like a bucket being emptied. Aaron undressed. The attendant opened a side room’s door and grabbed his hand, pulling him through the doorway.

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