~15~ The Gods Love their Pranks, Don't They?

Unedited.

Ruy tried to become one with the chair with how far he was slinking down in it. Elves trying to get matched or registered gasped and giggled at him, his dark tan skin darkening around his cheeks. He is pretty sure one winked at him. The elven shirt was too tight around his neck, the pants bunched around his hips, and he nearly slipped twice with the piss poor elven boots. His hair was gelled and combed to the side like Alvar often wears it. He was taller than most of the people there, his voice was deep and had a light Inalian accent, more muscled- it was clear as day he wasn't from around here.

He glared at Hathem and Dom, who casually waited off to the side. Hathem gave Ruy an awkward thumbs up while Dom took a picture on her imparter, kicking herself to stop snort laughing.

He should've just killed them.

The girl next to Ruy had be around 17, but she shuffled closer to him.

"Hey, why are you here?" Ruy looked at her, then up to Dom and Hathem. Hathem mouthed the answer.

"I-I'm here to get registered?" Ruy awkwardly coughed, staring at Hathem's awkward mouthing.

"Oh really? You look older than normal, you didn't get registered during your 5th year at Foxfire?" She asked, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

"Uh, no. I was, uh, pretty busy during my fifth year at Foxfire. I wasn't interested." Ruy punctuated the last sentence a bit, hoping she would go away, but she only scooted closer.

"Oh really? Yeah, I waited a little bit too. So, are you getting matched with someone in mind-"

"Clary Quine?" The Matchmaker called out. The girl next to him perked up, flattening out her fluffy yellow dress before shuffling into the office, giving him a wave as she went in. Dom and Hathem took their cues when the matchmakers were distracted, heading further into the building.

Ruy groaned, bumping his head on the top of his chair. How much longer did he have to wait? Hathem and Dom didn't tell him much. They were gonna call his fake elven name; he would go in and distract them for a little bit and then escape when they were done. He had no idea what their plan was, just that it was something simple but effective. And they wouldn't know what happened right away.

Another person sat down next to Ruy, but he glared at the office where the Matchmakers resided.

"You look like this is the last place you want to be." An older man laughed beside him. Ruy snickered, turning to look at him, "Yeah, no, I'm not exactly thrilled to be here-"

Ruy's sentence turned into a coughing fit when he looked at the man, terror settling in his bones when he realized Grady Ruewen was sitting next to him.

"Woah, you okay?" Grady asked, patting Ruy on the back.

"Yes, of course, sorry." Ruy fought the last of his coughing out of his system.

Grady smiled, "I remember being nervous too. You'll get over it."

Ruy awkwardly nodded, pursing his lips and refusing to make eye contact with him. This was not how he imagined meeting his girlfriend's dad.

"What's your name?"

Oh shit. What was his name? He had a fake one that Hathem made, but every thought had eddied out of his head. Hathem told him everything to say and do with the Matchmakers, but anyone else, Ruy was on his own.

"Uh, Halloway? Kyer Halloway?" Ruy said more to himself than to Grady.

"Oh, you are a part of the Halloway family? I didn't know they had a son!" Grady held out his hand, "I'm Grady Ruewen. I'm here on Council business."

"Nice to meet you sir." Ruy shook his hand, trying to keep his accent out of his voice completely.

"Oh, you don't need to call me sir. Grady is fine, it's not like you're getting matched to my children or anything."

Oh, gods above. This was his punishment. Karma was coming back to Ruy all in this very moment; the gods were screwing with him.

Ruy awkwardly laughed. This felt wrong. Normally, Sophie would introduce him to her parents, they would sit down for an awkward dinner, and then he would mope to Sophie about how he fucked it up, and her parents hate him, and nothing ever goes smoothly. The good old-fashioned way.

"Yeah, that would be crazy." Ruy stated, a bit too low for his taste. Vatarians had lower voices and accents naturally; it had to be a conscious decision to talk differently.

"You look mighty familiar. Have we met?" Grady asked. The only time Ruy has been seen without an addler on is after the battle of Foxfire, and he had massive wings, pointed ears, and canines then.

"No, I don't think so."

"Huh, I could've sworn I've seen you before. So, you here to get matched?"

"Just here to register. What about you?"

"Council stuff. They want to get an offical list of unmatchable couples and bad matches."

And that explains why Hathem and Dom are here. Ruy had only heard through the grapevine that the Matchmakers were the reason they left the Lost Cities.

"I see." Ruy muttered. He wasn't faking the distaste in his voice. He hated this place with a passion.

"I know, this whole match making thing is cruel. I've never been a fan of it." Grady sighed. He looked over the seas of nervous teens looking to register.

"I remember bringing my daughter here. I wasn't happy about it, it was a reminder that she was growing up. And I never got the chance to bring my second one here."

Ruy looked at Grady, clenching his jaw a bit, "I'm sorry."

Grady looked at him and smiled, shaking his head, "My second is okay, she is just off doing hero work somewhere else. She left the Lost Cities in order to help people. I'm really proud of her. And even if she did stay, I don't think she would exactly be happy about getting registered and matched. Just wasn't her style."

Ruy smiled a bit. He wasn't wrong. Sophie would probably take one step in here and start clawing at the walls to leave.

Ruy knew the answer, but he asked anyway, "What are they like?"

Grady sighed, leaning back in his chair, "Well, my oldest was very... how do I describe her? Graceful and happy. Every step Jolie took seemed to brighten the room. She looked a lot like her mom. My second daughter, we adopted her. She is much more reserved then Jolie was. Quiet and intelligent, but had so much running through her mind. She left when she was only 16, can you believe that?"

Grady scoffed a bit, smiling nonetheless, "Granted, we didn't exactly allow her to leave, but it is not like she listened. Rebellious and proud." Grady laughed, "They were kinda opposite, now that I'm looking back. But they look a lot alike. Though I know she is busy, maybe I can get in contact with my youngest. Have a family dinner like when she was younger. Maybe she can invite her family as well." He was muttering more to himself near the end of it, forgetting that Ruy was there.

"They sound like wonderful people." Ruy answered.

"Yeah, I just hope my second hasn't gotten herself into more trouble. She always gets herself in the stickiest of situations."

"Kyer Halloway?" The matchmakers asked among the crowd. Ruy stood up, remembering the reason he was here.

"I'm sure she is fine. Sounds like she can handle herself." Ruy pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"Have a good day, Grady." Ruy smiled.

"You too, Kyer." Grady responded.

Sophie loved a good fight, but she was really tired of getting thrown onto tables. It has happened a least six times in her life, and that is six times too many.

The massive guard growled at her, and she snarled in kind, shaking the table debris out of her hair. She sprinted at him, snatching the pistol off his belt. He tried to snatch her, but she ducked under his hands again and popped up behind him, smacking the hilt of the pistol on the back of his head. He dropped like a stone, leaving Sophie panting. She placed the pistol in the waistband of her pants, triple-checking to make sure the safety was on.

Sophie dragged him by the back of his jacket, shoving him into the hallway closet along with most of the table debris. Maha was already gone, and Sophie sighed, weakly high fiving herself in the form of celebration. She then meandered into the office, where Maha had mesmerized three guards to stand facing the wall, all of them silent and useless until Maha let go of their minds. Sophie huffed, "You couldn't have done that to the guards outside?"

"You had it handled. I can't strain myself either." Maha plainly answered, shifting through the merchant's documents. They arrived in Membe only a few hours after leaving Okoye's island. The ship and their crew lie in wait for them in a nearby cove, staying out of sight. It was quite easy to break into noble man's house; there was no sign of the Nilfa that originally scared Okoye's men away from the land. But there was no sign of the nobleman either, and he was their only real lead.

"Anything?" Sophie asked.

"This guy is super shady, we should've seen him earlier. But no, his ledgers seem too clean. Nothing about the Mirthless or Neverseen at all, not even a foot note. But he has multiple estates, investments, and mroe that require a lot of money that wouldn't generate the proper amount of money needed for any of it." Maha sighed. Sophie took a look at the ledger, Maha stepping away to get another look at the desk. She ran her fingers over the light wood of the desk and hummed in curiosity. Her sapphire eyes snagged on the drawers of the noble's desk.

"I wonder." Maha rounded the desk, sliding open the drawers. She pulled all of the files out of the drawers, feeling around the bottom of the drawer. Then a small click.

Sophie looked up from the ledger, her mouth dropping as Maha pulled out the false panel on the bottom of the drawer to grab documents.

"How did you know that?" Sophie gasped.

"When I was spending time in the temple in Avrima, one of my fathers noticed that the donations meant to go to me were going missing. Since I was "A child of a God," the donations were meant to make sure I had the best clothes and luxuries in life, worthy of the gods. So it was a big deal when they went missing." Maha hauled the hidden documents onto the desk, smiling at Sophie.

"The head priest had a desk made from this same wood, made only from one carpenter. It turns out the carpenter was making secret compartments and things for her customers. My father found the donations in the priest's desk in this exact same compartment." Maha shrugged, "I thought since it was the same wood, they might both have the secret compartment."

"Nice going! What is in there?" Sophie asked, rounding the table. Maha knowingly smiled, "The real ledger."

Shifty transactions and secret deals were scribbled on those pages. Gods, even that was an understatement. Sophie flipped through the pages, and she saw one name that stuck out.

"The warehouse on Pearl and 29th. He has constant things going in and out of it. Could he possibly be smuggling?" Sophie proposed.

"But what would smuggling have to do with the Neverseen? Or even the Mirthless."

"Cynna and Kartek were wrapped up with smuggling in Egypitnat, which was just a Neverseen cover up operation. A similar thing could be happening here." Sophie proposed.

Maha shrugged, "It's the best we got-" The air hadn't even gone cold before they heard it. The scrape of a claw against the hardwood lining the halls.

Wherever they were before doesn't matter because the Nilfa were here now. And they knew Maha and Sophie were in the house.

Sophie couldn't move. She looked to Maha, whose hands covered her mouth, her eyes blown wide. They didn't need to know what the Nilfa look like. Cynna was enough for Sophie. They barely took down Cynna, and that was with two other Assassins trained in heavy combat. Maha is trained in light combat at best; she works best as a spy or a scout. Sophie could barely make an ice cube and her hand can make sparkles at best, so no powers.

Fighting wasn't an option here.

Though her pride was begging her to bravely fight off the Nilfa, she instead grabbed one of the decoration swords off the wall. The Nilfa went quiet, and Sophie's breath hitched.

The sound it made was something not even the gods could fathom. Sophie grunted as she slammed the sword into the handles of the doors, barring them close as the Nilfa slammed into it.

Again and again, the door boomed and crashed as the monsters waited outside the door. The sword rattled in the handles, bending more and more before the monsters ripped the doors off the hinges.

But the girls were gone.

~

"Never do that again!" Maha sputtered as she sputtered saltwater, struggling to surface herself. Sophie struggled as well, looking back up at the window she threw the two of them out of. She luckily scouted the outside of the mansion, noticing the saline pool outside the man's office. Hitting the water hurt like a bitch, but they still had warm breath in their lungs. It doesn't matter if they escaped now; the Nilfa have a sense of smell like no other. Sophie didn't want to wait to see if they used the night to cover their hunt like Cynna did. They needed to cover their tracks and quick.

"Come one, we aren't done yet." Sophie dragged Maha out of the pool, scrambling through the bushes and over the fences. They needed to cover their scents.

Maha and Sophie skidded around a street corner, finding themselves on a rich street corner, fancy shops lining the sides of the cobbled road.

"There!" Maha pointed the Perfumery across the way. They both tried to act normal, but they were drenched to the bone with their tattered cloaks covering barely anything anymore. It was quite obvious they didn't fit in. Sophie picked up one of the perfumes, a battered brown bottle with a fluffy green squeeze. She sprayed it behind her ears, around her neck, her wrists, her elbows, and behind her knees. It smelled like brown sugar or molasses. The scent was so sweet Sophie got a bit sick by it. But she no longer smelled like herself, and that's what matters. Maha was covered with a thick scent of flowers and rain, but it was also fairly heavy.

They knew their cloaks would also be recognized, so they shoved them in the trash near the back of the store.

"Can I help you ladies-"

"Nope- thanks!" Sophie and Maha blew past the employee and out the back door. They both wore chest pieces and pauldrons, that was it, but that was still enough to get them cornered and questioned by patrols.

"We need to get to that warehouse and fast." Sophie breathed.

"Do you know where Pearl and 29th is?" Maha asked.

Sophie slumped, "I thought you did."

Maha shrugged, "Well, the sign out there is 21st Perfumery. I say we take the back alleyways down the street until we hit 21st. Then we follow that street until we find the warehouse."

"Not much else we can do besides that. Lets move." Sophie and Maha follow the streets in silence, constantly checking over their shoulders and peeping around corners. Maha doesn't even know what the Nilfa look like, but after Cynna, Sophie wasn't desperate to show her.

They made it to 29th street. The first street's rich facade peeled away to show rats, grime, crime, and mysterious puddles lining the uneven roads. They luckily enough didn't need to search that far tor the warehouse. It was only a few streets down and was easily spotted. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was that they were accepting tours.

"This doesn't seem like a smuggling scheme." Sophie whispered as they approached the candy factory, children jumping up and down, waiting for a ticket. Maha blinked at it all, trying to process it as well.

"It has to be a front. That ledger made it clear that all the operations were going through here." Maha whispered in kind. They spied a back door that a special tour group was going through, those who paid extra, it seems. They slyly followed the group. They were both armored women with blades strapped to them with no children; they were clearly going to be spotted any second. They needed to find their way further into the factory.

"Blegh. At least that perfume you put on matches this place." Maha gagged, covering her nose at the sugary scent.

"At least it will do the job. Plus, I think some of the ladies in the shop are attending tours with their kids. It will help disguise us even more." Sophie stopped as she spotted the security office, the guard dozing off. Maha didn't even need to raise a finger to grab hold of his mind, "Stand up. Go to the break room. You deserve a break." She whispered. The guard's eyes went glassy, "I do deserve a break." He whimpered, grabbing his coat off the back of his chair. Sophie gently took it from him, "I'll hold on to that, it's okay, it will be waiting for you on the coat rack when you get back." She said sweetly as if she were coddling a child. The guard nodded, a dopy smile on his face, "My hat is in the locker if you wanna put that away too."

"Aw, thank you, I'll do that." Sophie shucked on the coat and snatched the hat out of the locker, pointing at Maha to find others. Sophie slid into the chair, clicking through the security cameras on the holo screen.

It looked like a normal candy factory- A vat of caramel here and a peppermint rolling station there, smattering of childish tour groups across all the cameras.

"I'm not seeing anything," Sophie complained. Maha leaned over her shoulder, scanning the screens as well.

"There," She pointed to one of the displays, where two employees walked past a large vat covering a large part of the camera, but they didn't show up on the other display showing the rest of the hallway.

"A blind spot." Sophie breathed.

"Let's go." Maha breathed, tying up her braids in a bun that sit on the nape of her neck, sliding the hat on. Sophie did the same with her hair, a few red strands sticking to her face as the two of them walked further into the hot factory.

Sophie held out a hand as they approached the vat. She let her eyes flash golden, her senses immediately being overwhelmed.

The scent of sugar, saps, and flavors was so strong her eyes watered. But tucked beneath it was another scent.

The smell of decay.

Her heightened sight made the scuffles of boots easier to see, and the path behind the vat was as clear as day.

"Follow my lead." Sophie whispered.

Carefully, they both descended behind the vat. A sharp decline made out of cement leads into darkness. Even with her eyes sharper and keener, Sophie struggled to see through the dark. Maha was completely sightless, holding onto Sophie's arm to not lose each other.

It felt like the tunnel was getting smaller and tighter, Sophie now able to run her hands along the wall.

"Amalia..." Maha whimpered, noting their bodies were now grazing along the walls.

The scent of rot was stronger now, though, leading her as the tunnel began to open back up again.

"It's just to psyche you out; the tunnel isn't closing in anymore. We're almost there.

Sophie was right, just a little longer in the dark tunnel with nothing but a scent and instincts leading them, the two Assassins spotted a light. They both barreled toward it, both gasping for air as if there was none.

"Ugh, that was awful!" Maha breathed as they finally broke through the light. It was a small room, metal grating flooring with a rusted desk. Sophie leaned against the wall.

"It had to be a defensive technique," Sophie muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"We only got through because of my Pancras form. People who find it by accident and try to go through it will think the walls are closing in. And since it is completely dark, they wouldn't know that they open up again only a few steps ahead." Sophie shrugged, looking back at the hallway, "It's a pretty smart tactic, I'll admit."

Maha wasn't listening, however. She was peering out of the barred windows on the far side of the office.

"Gods above," Maha whimpered.

"Maha?" Sophie asked as Maha ran to the door on the other side of the office, throwing it open. It led to a bridge-style runway above the working factory, where Maha clutched onto the railing.

"Maha?" Sophie asked again as she stepped onto the runway. Maha's sapphire eyes were the only calm thing of color among the red fire and smoke they stood above. Horoas, Medirasas, Scyllas, and so many more.

Crying and screaming, roaring wind as Mirthless pounded against their cages. Is this what Cynna had to endure?

It was at least three times the size of what Sophie found in that cave.

"This is more than just a smuggling scheme," Maha muttered over the screams of the Nilfa below.

Alexios kept his hood up, glaring at the Esposita guards spattered across the Gardens. His eyes settled on the distant outline of Adonis's Isle, tucked away behind the birch trees. Adonis's isle was not an isle in the typical sense but a temple in the middle of the springs in the Gardens of Kassandra. Only the truly holy went to Adonis's Isle to see the Pythia. Alexios needed to find a way in without any of the Esposita guards, priests, or the Pythia herself seeing him.

Alexios's hair was long enough now to be tied up into a small knot at the back of his head, but pieces did drift into his face every once and a while. But it was better than letting it all get in his way. Kassandra's gardens were fairly overgrown and untouched as mandated by the priests. No one really knew who the gardens were named after, not even the priests or priestesses. Kassandra's tale has been lost to time.

You could tell how old the Gardens were since the temples were made out of wood, not marble or stone. They weren't adorned with the royal purple of the Senate but rather the gentle turquoise of the Pythia. The Pythia was supposed to have a neutral look over the world, but the hired Esposita guards make it clear that someone has been whispering in the fortune teller's ear.

Alexios kept to the brush of the gardens, focused on the largest temple. Esposita clearly weren't thrilled to be there. Some were leaning on their spears to take naps, others were playing Xeri, some were just chatting with each other with wine in their hands. Though the ones that were supposed to be patrolling the Gardens were quite relaxed, the guards surrounding Adonis's Isle were on high alert, their patrols strict and punctual. Alexios spied the lower entrance to the temple. It didn't look like a secret entrance; it looked like the separate housing for the Pythia.

Alexios approached, readying himself to get rid of the guards protecting his entrance.

But when he rolled out from the bushes, no guards covered the entrance.

"Took you long enough." Mansi scoffed from the darkness. Alexios tripped, his scream of terror coming out more like a garbled cry of an animal in pain.

Mansi and Alvar stared at him, Alvar hauling the last of the bodies over the edge of the hillside, "Uh, hey buddy." Alvar coughed.

Alexios scrambled back to his feet, praying that no one else saw that.

"What are you doing here?!" Alexios hissed.

Mansi picked at her nails, "I told Alvar about the note, and then I told him I wanna go help look."

Alvar wiped the blood on his hands off on his dark blue robes, shaking out his disgust.

"I told her no, and then I realized there is no way I would be able to stop her. So I'm here now too." Alvar whimpered, "This is so gross."

Mansi rolled her eyes, "Babe, you are an Assassin, yet you squirm with blood?"

"No, no, no, I'm a sniper. I don't get the blood on me! And if you think I'm bad, you should see the other elves. They faint at the thought of backhanding someone." Alvar protested. Alexios pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine! You both can come-"

"We weren't asking," Mansi interrupted.

"Just, keep all of this on the down-low, please? I don't want the other Assassins knowing about this until we know what it is."

Alvar and Mansi both nodded.

"Alright, well, let's get going then." Alexios sighed.

The three Assassins meandered into the temple, the number of guards only growing further they went into the temple. The note just said underneath Adonis's Isle, but Adonis's Isle is a built-in island style temple on the hillside. How the hell were they going to get under it? The temple was elaborate and confusing, and there were Esposita everywhere.

"Did anything come up when you ran the note through my mom's software?" Alexios whispered to Mansi as they all searched through what had to be the fifth lounge room.

"Nothing. None of our spies or assassins, it had to be an outside informant only Allesandro had."

Alexios tensed at the sound of stomping boots, "Take cover." he whispered. Mansi ducked behind a shelf of papyruses while Alvar stood behind one of the wooden columns. They all waited as the Esposita patrol went by, not even aware of the three intruders.

"Shit. We may have to come back Alexios. There are too many guards." Alvar whispered. Alexios peeked into another new hallway, this one looking larger and more elaborate than the rest.

"We are close guys, I can feel it." Alexios started down the hall, straightening his hood, "We have done far riskier missions like this before. We can handle guards."

"Yeah, but we were better prepared during those times," Alvar noted, walking close to his fiance and constantly looking over his shoulder.

"As long as we stay away from the main chamber, we can avoid the bulk of the priests and the Pythia-"

The three of them didn't even notice they strolled past a large set of doors, which opened for them. The room was dark, crackling fires in pyres that lined the blue and white plaster walls. Soft white silks hung above them, laurel leaves adorning the sconces and divided columns. It all pointed to a modest raised floor where a massive marble statue of Ganalo, the genderless god of mystery and prophecy. Just like how Kynareth is the Morretti's patron goddess, Ganalo is the Pythia's.

As if on cue, a woman gracefully rose from her prayer in front of Ganalo's statue. She stepped through the light cloud of incense and proudly stood over the fresh flowers adorning the floor.

"Come forth dear mortals and allow me to gaze along the fabric of destiny to see what fate the gods have woven for you!"

The three Assassins just blinked, Mansi checking over her shoulder to see if she was really talking to them. The gods do love their pranks, don't they?

Alexios put his head in his hands, "Son of a-"

Juji laughed at Ruy's joke as Brisa plugged in info on her tablet.

"Kyer, I have to be honest, you must have gotten all the humor in your family." Juji chuckled, wiping at her eyes.

Ruy leaned back in the chair, "Yes, well, someone had to get it." Apparently, the Holloways were a bunch of prudes. At least, that is what Dom told him about the family he was faking his identity in. How much longer would those two take?

"You look quite different from your family, why so? If you don't mind my asking!" Brisa politely asked.

"No problem at all. My mother had me before she met my stepfather, I only now started taking the Halloway name."

Brisa tapped her manicured nail against the table in recognition, "Oh yes, I did hear Lady Halloway was married before she met the current Lord Halloway. You must be her son from the earlier marriage!" Brisa explained.

Juji stood up and gathered some documents from a cabinet, casually asking, "What was your childhood like?"

A living nightmare, "Quite peaceful. I bumped heads with mother every once and a while, but what kid doesn't?" Does joining the other side and falling in love with her mortal enemy count as bumping heads with his mother?

"Oh of course. Well, Mr. Halloway. Your siblings have always been so well mannered, except... tell me, how is your sister doing?"

Sister? Hathem didn't mention anything about a sister.

"I'm afraid I haven't gotten that close with my siblings yet. Which one are you referring to?" Ruy lied. Keep them talking for long, keep them distracted. Hathem said he will know the signal when he sees it.

"Oh, little Dominque Halloway. Gosh, I feel awful about it still." Ruy did a bit of a double-take, his facade breaking for just a moment. He was pretending to be Dom's brother?!

"I haven't gotten the chance to meet Dom- I mean Dominique. But my mother told me bits and pieces."

Juji sighed, "Dom struggles to show how much she cares, but she came in when she was fresh out of Foxfire to get matched to her childhood sweetheart, she had the biggest smile. She's also a Descryer! Her future was so bright." Juji leaned back in the chair, tapping the papers on the desk, "Everyone was quite surprised when she came in with Hathem Indo."

"I'm not familiar with Hathem, what's wrong with him?"

"It's nothing, he's just," Brisa leaned forward a bit, whispering, "He's talentless." Ruy's face dropped.

"I see."

Brisa leaned back, "As you know, your family is very important, so when Dom wanted to get matched to a talentless boy, it was quite the scandal."

Juji bit her lip, but she whispered as she shuffled forward, "Is it true your sister left the Lost Cities over this?"

"I-I'm afraid that's not my tale to tell." Ruy stuttered. Brisa and Juji looked at each other, taking it as a yes. Ruy felt awkward again. He lost any sort of traction he had. Dominque and Hathem- shit, it makes so much sense.

"I'm so sorry, this was quite unprofessional of us. Your registering should be ready by now." Brisa picked up her glass tablet, tapping it and bringing it to life.

But then red flashed.

Brisa blinked, nudging Juji. Juji tried on her own tablet, but again, it flashed red.

"Is everything alright?" Ruy asked, trying his best to sound worried. But he knew whatever was happening, it was because of Hathem and Dom.

They whispered to each other, and they jumped at a soft knock rapped at their door. Another matchmaker poked her head in, holding another red tablet. She leaned down to whisper in Brisa's ear. The two matchmakers thought for a moment, their faces dropping.

"I'm sorry Mr. Halloway, but we are having some difficulties. Could the be postponed for, possibly, tomorrow?" Brisa awkwardly asked. It was so easy to rattle elves. Whatever those two did, it was clearly working. "Of course. Same time tomorrow?" Ruy proposed, flashing a charming smile.

"Yes, that will work quite well. Thank you." Juji opened the door for Ruy as he walked out, cruising past the confused elves as matchmakers began running around in a flurry.

Alright, now, all he had to do was find the two of them. He was their pretty little distraction to get the matchmakers talking and distracted. He will be able to conduct his spy work in peace.

"Hold it, pretty boy." A familiar voice snapped as he began down the stairs. Dom leaned against the railing of the stairs, wearing a flowy elven hood that both kept her hidden and made her blend in. Dom sauntered down the stairs, "Let me guess, they ratted about me and Hathem."

Ruy shrugged, "So you're a Halloway, then? Shouldn't you be at some loser's Winnowing Gala? Or maybe kissing the Council's boots?"

Dom scowled, stomping down the stairs, "Close your mouth, or I'll close it for you."

Nah, this was too much fun, "What! Isn't that what all Elven nobles do? Honestly, your family sounds super fun. Maybe I should go say hi-"

Dom was in his face, but Ruy was still pretty pissed about being their distraction, and he now knew how to get under her skin, "What happened to your pretty dresses, Dominque? And I just know you were one of those kids with the fancy circlets and perfect manners."

"I'm this close to breaking you, Ignis."

"You mean to tell me that a little noble is gonna hurt me? How are you gonna do that? Rat on me to the Council? Descry my future-" A hand gripped his collar, yanking him down to face her. Oh how cute. She thinks she scares him.

"Dom! Let him go!" Hathem ran up to them, pulling them apart. Dom and Ruy were tearing each other apart with their eyes. Hathem would do little to be able to stop them. They were both taller and more muscular than him. But there were tucked aside from the main foyer of the matchmakers office, people would notice a fight.

Ruy clenched his jaw, throwing Hathem's hand off, "I was your little distraction." Ruy let the slight accent return to his voice, didn't hold back, "A deal is a deal. You stay off my back and let me do what I need to do." Ruy hissed. Dom's eyes were practically flames, but Hathem clenched her hand, reminding her what Ruy was capable of and what they agreed to. Ruy didn't exactly know what they just did, but he knew he would hear about it soon enough. But whatever they have done, he has done worse.

"Piss me off again and I will hurt you, Ignis. Take my work for it." Dom threatened.

Ruy scoffed as he began to stalk away, "I'd like to see you try."

We'll see the full effects of what Hathem and Dom did in the next chapter.

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_Sibylline_