Maevus ate slowly,  much less hungry than she'd been before Vraylor's outburst. Even after she'd cleaned her plate, her stomach felt hollow. It wasn't any mystery as to why. As soon as she'd said what she had about the guild, she'd known she didn't really feel that way.

She didn't know why she wanted to keep pushing Vraylor away, but she was starting to regret it every time she did.

As she stood and looked around, uncertain what to do with her plate, she met several pairs of eyes. Wondering if they were curious about Vraylor's outburst, Maevus quickly avoided meeting their gazes.

Chewing on her lip, she glanced at a few abandoned tables to find the plates and glasses had been cleared away. She couldn't tell if they'd been taken by someone working in the kitchens, or if they had been returned by the patrons. Finally, sick of second-guessing herself, she picked up the plate and headed toward the bar. She kept her head down, wishing she could turn invisible.

It was a relief when she reached the bar, skirting around the couples and groups laughing and drinking together. Gil was nowhere in sight, but a girl with short, bright blue hair was hustling drinks behind the counter. Maevus perched nervously on the edge of a stool, waiting for a moment when she could flag down the girl.

When she finally got the girl's attention, she held up her empty plate. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it."

"You can give it to me," the girl said with a smile. "While I'm here, want something to drink?"

Maevus was just about to shake her head when someone sat on the barstool next to her. "It's on me, Lally."

"Fine," Lally said, rolling her eyes. "But what do you want?"

Maevus turned to find Lorn sitting next to her, his amethyst eyes trained on her. She remembered their first meeting and made to stand, but he held up a hand, making her pause. Savrin's boyfriend hadn't seemed to like her all that much the first time they met. She didn't see why that would have changed.

"Well?" Lorn asked, raising a brow.

Maevus frowned.

He jerked a thumb toward Lally, who had rested her forearms on the bar. "What do you want?"

Maevus just shook her head. She wasn't much of a drinker. Lorn sighed and said, "Two of the usual, then." As Lally walked away, he shouted, "And something for Sav when he shows up!"

Lally waved over her shoulder before ducking below the bar. Maevus turned her stare to Lorn, not bothering to keep the confusion off her face. She was too tired for that. Lorn just twisted around in his seat, resting his back against the bar. They sat in silence until Maevus decided she didn't want to put up with this anymore.

"I think I'll just go back up," Maevus muttered, sliding off the stool.

"Wait!" Lorn lunged forward, grabbing her arm. Maevus let out a hiss and gestured at his hand, intending to singe him with a fireball. The only thing she could manage to produce was a tiny wisp of smoke. A flare of pain in her chest made her gasp and her knees wobble.

Lorn caught her against him and helped her up into the chair.

"Were you really going to burn me?" he asked, sounding more curious than offended.

"Don't grab me," she snapped. She clenched her hands into fists, struggling against the phantom sensation of hard hands pinning her arms and legs. "I don't like it."

Lorn held up his hands. "I beg your pardon, then."

At that moment, Lally came back, sliding the drinks toward them. Maevus stared at the glass of amber liquid suspiciously. "What is it?"

Lorn picked up her glass and offered it to her. "Try it." When she didn't automatically take the glass, he wiggled his hand, making the liquor slosh against the sides of the cup. "Come on. I promise you'll like it."

"What do you want?" Her hand crept toward her pendant, but it didn't flare in her palm. It would seem that Lorn didn't have any particularly strong feelings toward her at the moment. She frowned, curious now.

Lorn stared at her for a moment, then set her glass down before picking up his own and taking a measured sip. The glass clinked against the counter as he put it down and sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. He held up one long finger. "First, Savrin said that if I didn't apologize to you when you woke up, he wouldn't kiss me for a week. So, I apologize." 

Maevus raised an eyebrow. Lorn held up another finger. "Second, Kinai is a good friend of mine. He told me what happened in Loret. I suppose I should say thank you."

"I suppose I should say I didn't do it for you," Maevus replied, finally picking up her drink. She took a cautious sip. Her eyes widened at the flavor.

"I told you that you would like it," Lorn said, raising his own glass to his lips.

"What is it?" she asked after another sip. It tasted almost like apple pie, with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.

"Moonshine," Lorn said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Gil's not the only one in his family with a talent for cooking. He orders the stuff from his cousins back east. You can't get it anywhere else." He ran his finger around the rim of his cup. "Good, right?"

Maevus nodded reluctantly, holding the glass up to the light. Lorn put down his drink again and held up three fingers. "Third, there's an imperial soldier outside asking for you."

That made her nearly choke on her drink as she spun toward the doors, images of an army storming through the main hall flashing in her mind. "What?" she croaked.

Lorn shrugged. "He was outside when I came in. He asked me if there was a Maevus Kildaren here." 

She swallowed against a suddenly dry throat, wondering if she was about to be arrested for what happened in Loret. "What did you tell him?"

"That I had no idea." He leaned back against the bar. "Kind of weird that he isn't just storming in." He took a drink. "Then again, he looked smarter than the kind that usually work for Her Majesty. He was definitely cuter, considering the—."

"Dark brown hair," Maevus guessed, something inside her relaxing. "Amber eyes?"

"That would be him." Lorn frowned. "Do you know him?"

Maevus hopped down from her stool, stumbling as her legs protested her weight. She managed about eight steps before Lorn caught up to her. He reached for her arm, then checked himself, instead lightly touching her shoulder.

"What?" she asked, exasperated. All she wanted to do was go and talk to Voron. Partly because she hoped he had managed to find her sword, but also because she had started to feel bad about how she had treated him.

He had been kind to her when none of the rest of the soldiers had been. And she had gotten him in trouble with the queen as a reward for his efforts.

Lorn gave her an incredulous look. "You're just gonna go meet him?"

"Yeah." Maevus started walking again, gritting her teeth against the ache in her legs. "You stay here."

Lorn kept pace with her, occasionally lifting an arm when he thought she might fall. "I'm not letting you go out there by yourself. Not to meet one of the Queen's lackeys."

"What?" Maevus looked over her shoulder, nearly tripping in the process. "Why on earth not? And he's not a lackey."

Lorn just clenched his teeth, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "I don't know if you've noticed or not, Maevus, but our kind and theirs don't get along so good. Especially here in Valmor."

"I'm aware," she said dryly. "But Voron's not like the rest. Besides, I'm hoping he has something of mine."

Lorn darted around her and skidded to a halt right in front of her, forcing Maevus to stop. His eyes snapped with anger and she noticed that the silver rings on his fingers had begun to melt. Since she couldn't feel a boiling heat rolling off him, she surmised he was a Metal-Charmed Encant.

"You're melting your rings."

"Maevus, seriously, stop. Don't go out there to him."

She opened her mouth to snap that it was none of his business when what Korie had said came back to her. That the entire guild had been worried about someone that most of them didn't even know. Then she remembered what Vraylor had told her—that there were friends here, if she would just remove that chip from her shoulder.

"Come with me then." Lorn's eyes widened in surprise and Maevus managed a small smile. She gestured toward the door. "If you're so worried, come with me."

"No, no, no." He shook his head. "I never said I was worried about you."

For some reason, his sudden reluctance amused her. Maevus let out a laugh and shrugged. "I really need to see him."

Lorn just crossed his arms. Maevus heaved a sigh and slipped past him. A smile stole across her lips when she heard him swear behind her. She could feel him dogging her steps as she made her way through the crowded hall. When they got to the door, Lorn reached past her and hauled it open, slipping outside before she could.

Maevus followed, breathing in the cool evening air. She looked around, confused when she saw no one at first.

"Okay, soldier boy. What is it you want with her?" 

At Lorn's surly tone, she turned to find Voron standing from where he had been sitting on the steps in front of the guild. When he stepped into the light from the open door, a small gasp escaped Maevus' lips as she moved out from behind Lorn. A dark bruise circled Voron's left eye, he had a split lip and several healing cuts scattered across his face. It was hard to tell, but it looked like his nose might have been broken as well.

At the sight of her, Voron slung a sword from his shoulder and held it out to them.