"This feels deceptive," I complained.

"What is? That you look pretty?"

"No. I look like an overlord. What am I supposed to do if one of them thinks I'm an overlord and curtsies?"

"You curtsy back," she said.

"Amarilla, you are acting like I have done this before," I said. "What am I supposed to do with my feet?"

She rolled her eyes. "Take your right root, put it behind you left. Then kneel down and look down while keeping your back straight."

I stood up and placed my right foot behind my left.

"Not directly behind," she said. I glanced at her.

"That's what you said!" I exclaimed.

"No, like this," she said and moved her right foot behind and away from her left. She dipped low and looked at me. "Your turn."

I copied her motions as she did it slowly.

"No, you have to look down at the floor. No! Don't bend your back! You look like a camel!"

"You're looking up!"

"So I can see what you're doing!"

Someone cleared their throat at the door, and I jumped, standing straight.

Ember stood at the door, two healers in the distance and an unknown man at his side.

"Eli!" Amarilla exclaimed. She jumped in front of me and ran to the man, jumping into his arms. He blushed bright red and hugged her back.

I glanced at Ember, who was politely avoiding eye contact.

"You waited for me," Amarilla said slyly.

He shrugged. "You have a way of making yourself known. I know you would do it eventually."

Amarilla blushed. I glanced at Ember in shock, but he looked at me in confusion.

I walked over to him. "Amarilla just blushed," I said lowly. "I have never seen her blush."

"They are a good pair," he said, glancing over at them. Amarilla was talking his ear off, but he seemed more than content to listen. He, too, had red hair, but his curled like wool. "He waited for her," Ember noted. "Three years." He turned his attention to me. "Were we interrupting a lesson or an argument?"

"There is not much of a difference between the two with Amarilla," I said.

"The two of you together tends to make a powder keg," he mused. He glanced at my dress and gave me a small grin, glancing down at his own magestone. "We match."

I nodded, suddenly remembering that I was avoiding this man. I glanced at them again. "I assume that Eli is escorting his fiancée to dinner?"

Ember nodded and lifted his hand.

I was quick to redirect. "Why don't you take Romina?" I asked. "I would be happy to trade for Iric."

Ember shook his head. "Iric was not invited. And my father has insisted on that privilege in celebration of her return."

"What about your mom?" I asked.

"She will be joining my father with Romina. A slight break in protocol, but acceptable for occasions such as this."

"What about Ukina? She is joining us," I guessed, desperate for some reason to avoid Ember.

Ember clearly knew what I was doing. "Ukina will be escorted by her fiancé."

"Becker?" I asked.

Ember nodded. "Although you should address him as Lord Trapedz tonight. Although you are certainly dressed as an overlord, it would be best not to assume you two are on a first name basis."

"Of course," I blubbered. I ran through names in my head but had run out.

"Any other way to get rid of me?" he asked. "Please," he joked lightly, "don't make me walk in by myself."

I grimaced. "I didn't mean to...dismiss you," I said carefully. "I just know that I am relatively far down the list of people to escort. I don't want you to do it out of pity."

Ember shook his head. "When my family sees you tonight, no one will think it was an act of pity, except perhaps that you let me escort you," he said.

I blushed. "That's not true," I said. "I am only a human. A former dewlos at that."

He shrugged. "There's more to you than that. Romina saw it. Amarilla did, too. I am sure the others will."

"Are we on our way?" Amarilla asked, glancing at us with a full-blown grin plastered across her face. She not only had her hand on Eli's, but she had interlaced her fingers with his.

"Of course," Ember said. He lifted his hand once more and I gently set mine on his. My heart was racing and as we walked, Ember seemed to feel my tension. "Do not worry," he said. "Romina is the primary focus for tonight's activities. Relax," he said softly.

I nodded and took a deep breath.

The walk was far too short. Amarilla and Eli entered, and a short burst of applause sounded around the room. I glanced in and saw that most of the family had already been seated. An older man, Ember's father, I supposed, sat at the head of the table. His wife sat at his side. Romina was across from her. Two empty chairs were next to Romina. Across from those two chairs were a young couple. One was looking down, muttering a blessing with his eyes firmly shut. His long fingers gave him away as a Trapedz. The girl next to him must have been Ukina. Eli sat Amarilla down next to the two empty chairs and sat across from her. Eli glanced at his half-brother and went silent.

Soon, we were moving in. Thankfully, the conversation was focused on Amarilla and Eli, which meant Ember silently pulled out my chair and sat himself.

I had Ember on one side and Amarilla on the other. I was facing the Trapedz boy, who was still muttering under his breath.

"Incredible," Lady Strapos said. "Three years and an incredible return. What ever became of your parents, may I ask?" she asked lightly. As much as I fought it, I could help but like her. Her voice was airy but carried a heaviness of wisdom. She seemed at peace with the world. Calm.

"They defected, as far as I know," Amarilla sighed. I tensed as eyes darted at Amarilla and passed me along the way. "To the south. That was why they sold me—I refused to go there with them. It was incredibly difficult, but I am so thankful..."

I tuned her out, something I had become increasingly capable of over our three years together. She was swearing far less, I noticed. Good for her.

I turned to look at Ukina. She was fair-skinned and had black hair like her brother. The paradigm of innocence. How she ended up with Becker Jr., I had no idea.

Becker suddenly stopped and glanced up at Amarilla. "How did you survive? I have seen firsthand how bloodthirsty and evil dewloi can be," he said, wiping his hands feverishly with a white napkin.

"Much of what you saw was true," Amarilla said. "The beatings were frequent and painful."

And inflicted by your own courageous idiocy.

Eli glanced at her with a new concerned look. He grabbed her hand. "Amarilla," he said lowly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and glanced at me. "Naomi here is a Slate, so she often tended to my wounds."

"A female Slate?" Lord Strapos exclaimed, turning his broad face to me. "How peculiar."

I nodded slowly, feeling my face heat up.

"Another overlord taken? From where?" Lady Strapos asked.

My heart was pounding out of my chest.

"She is a human," Ember answered for me. "Kidnapped just the same, but not from noble blood."

My face burned. Thankfully, the discussion turned to Ukina and Becker, now that he had finished wiping his hands. "I wasn't kidnapped," I said under my breath to Ember.

He looked at me oddly. "Oh," he said. "Apologies. I had assumed."

I nodded. Why had I wanted him to know that? I didn't matter.

"What do you think of the pair?" I asked Ember, redirecting our conversation, nodding at his sister and the Trapedz boy.

Ember smiled and leaned back. "He is in for a treat," he said. I gave him a curious look. He leaned in and explained. Suddenly, a healer came up behind him and whispered something in his ear, placing his hand at a patch of skin at his neck. "Ah, thank you," Ember said. He turned back to me. "Becker's family is littered with politicians. You would think that Ukina, looking like an angel, wouldn't stand a chance in that world. But I grew up with her. Looks are deceiving. After The Trapedz fortune is passed to them, she will be the one running the Trapedz family."

I looked at him in shock. "Her?"

He nodded. "She is a true politician."

As much as I tried to suppress it, I couldn't help with think of Anthony. What type of life was he living? Was he still in the army? Over the past few days, I had forgotten my plan. I needed to find a way to join the army as a healer so I could find Anthony.

"Romina," Lord Strapos said loudly. "We cannot express enough how glad we are to see you home safely." He glanced at Ember. "If it were not for your continued search and diligence, I fear she would still be in the hands of those corrupt dewloi."

The foremen were the corrupt ones, not the dewloi.

Becker raised his glass to Lord Strapos. I kept my mouth shut, suddenly fearing that the small scar in my nose was glaringly visible to all.

"Yes, I was incredibly grateful when I received a tip that she might be at that camp. Finding Amarilla was a surprise."

"And how did the human come to join your little party?" Becker asked sharply, eying me up and down as if trying to understand how I worked.

"She saved me," Romina said.

"Ro," Ember warned before snapping his mouth shut and gritting his teeth. He had drawn more attention to her words.

"Saved?" Lord Strapos asked. His grip on his mini shovel tightened and I saw his knuckles whiten across the room. "They dare lay a hand on you?" he said lowly.

"Father, there is no one left to kill," Ember replied in kind.

"They didn't hit me," Romina said. I willed her to stop talking. But, like any six-year-old, she plowed ahead without considering the consequences. "They didn't give me any meals, so Naomi gave me her meals. When Ember found me, Naomi was really weak because she hadn't eaten since she started giving me her food. Then, one of the foremen was going to beat Amarilla for saying she was an overlord and Naomi stepped in front of her. I made Emmy promise—"

"Ro," Ember said softly. "Thank you, but that is enough. I don't think any of us want to relive that day."

Romina nodded and began picking at her food.

My heart was thudding out of my chest. Five pairs of eyes locked onto me. Suddenly, I was back where I did not want to be. The center of attention.

"A human gives up her meals for an overlord," Lord Strapos mused. "How long?"

My hands went cold. "I...don't recall exactly," I said.

"Enough that you were weak," Lord Strapos replied. "Tell me. Estimate."

"Three weeks," I said quickly. "Around," I covered, trying to play that I didn't know. Ember had reminded me harshly.

"I can barely go a few hours without a meal," Amarilla joked, trying to draw the attention away. It didn't work.

"Romina would have died otherwise," Lord Strapos said. I glanced at him and saw that he had stiffened. "We are in your debt."

I tensed, anxious for some catch or second guessing.

When I looked up, all I saw was gratitude. It shocked me.

Lady Strapos smiled gently. "We may be overlords. We may be among the Three. But we are still parents. You risked your life for Romina, knowing that there were great rewards, but also great risks."

"She didn't know," Amarilla cut in. "She didn't know we were overlords." She turned to me. "Sorry," she whispered.

Lord Strapos laughed, thinking it was a joke.

"She is telling the truth," Ember said softly.

Lord Strapos stopped and blinked a few times. He turned to me. "You almost died to protect a six-year-old, not knowing who she was?" he asked.

My jaw locked. The room was spinning. "I knew her name," I said. "We shared our names with each other. I knew she was Romina, but I didn't know she was an overlord. I know about the birthmark now, but I didn't know. I just knew...she was a little girl. And little girls deserve to live."

Lady Strapos's magestone glowed Sage and I tensed. She smiled and turned to her husband. "She speaks the truth."

Lord Strapos leaned back. "Well, then. It seems we owe a great debt. How can we repay you?" he asked.

I started to cough as something accidentally trickled down my throat. Ember turned to me and quickly handed me a cup of water. I gratefully accepted it and drank it all down, conscious of the stares.

How could they repay me? What type of question was that? Repayment? I didn't deserve any of that.

"We have connections to many fine young men if you were looking to marry. I know many women would love to have land—we have a couple hundred acres. Honestly," he said, looking at his wife, "if you want it, we could give you up to a third of our kingdom."

I chugged down more water. What was happening? My head was throbbing from stress.

"No," I said. "I can't accept anything," I finally managed.

Lady Strapos interjected. "Please. We owe you. Allow us to pay our debt. Anything you desire, if it is in our ability, let us know."

Suddenly, an idea latched onto my mind. Anthony. I needed to find Anthony.

"Could you let me serve as a healer in your army?" I asked.

Lord Strapos looked at me quizzically. "You want to...serve in the army as a reward for saving our daughter's life?"

"Please," I added.

"Well, if that is what you desire—"

"No," Ember cut in. He glanced at me harshly. "Naomi," he said, "war is not a good place. I can't keep you sa—that is not a wise idea."

"I asked for it," I said softly. "It's up to them to decide," I said, gesturing toward his parents.

Lord Strapos nodded. "Consider it done," he said. "We will have your bracers in the morning. You may begin whenever you desire."