I had hoped things would settle down after the day of ceremonies, but Tannix seemed just as busy as before. It wouldn't be easy for Tandrin to travel, and so he wanted to spend as much time with his siblings and mother as possible before we headed back to West Draulin.

I didn't mind, really. Peace would give Tannix's mother a chance to properly train him and retire, which in turn meant that we wouldn't be making many trips to Zianna. I took advantage of the time, spending whole days down in the lower city with the thieves.

Baisan's home, or Thieves' Guild, or orphanage, really was impressive. The longer I hung around, watching, the more impressed I became. In addition to our family, he had about twenty-five other people who permanently lived in the building, ranging from mostly younger orphans to a handful of young adults. Another fifteen or so were known to come and go, and even though they didn't contribute much to the Guild, they were always offered a bit of food and a safe place to sleep.

Baisan had maps and lists, made up of symbols and simple letters, of places around the lower city that would pay for odd jobs. Every morning, he assigned some of his regulars to check if there was any work to be done that day. Others were sent out to patrol the busiest areas of the lower city, to see if any opportunities to earn a few siyas would pop up. All of the money went back to the Guild, to pay for food, goods, or repairs to the building. Some was saved in case of emergencies.

Two of the young men, about our age, had steady jobs in the port and earned salaries. They could have probably afforded to live on their own, Baisan told me, but each of them had a reason to stay with the Guild. One had two younger siblings he was caring for, and he couldn't have cared for them and worked all day by himself. The other had a baby son and no other family to watch him. Baisan collected half of the young men's salaries for the Guild and insisted they keep the other half.

While Baisan was unequivocally in charge, every member of my family had an important role. Stria had taken on caring for the youngest members of the Guild. Gale and the port worker's son were the youngest, but there were a few other children around five years old. One afternoon, I helped Stria by playing with Gale and the other baby while she taught the other children to count.

Ninavi had an understandable grudge against the brothels, and spent a lot of her time investigating them. Including the woman who was their cook, Alliya, and her assistant, Pana, Ninavi had pulled eleven girls out of the brothels. Most of them stayed in the Guild at all times, but Ninavi was trying to find ways they could earn money without having to sell themselves.

Orrun and Leker travelled around the lower city constantly, looking for opportunities, new people to bring to the Guild, or listening for interesting information to report back to Baisan. It was them who had run ahead to warn him that Castin and I had returned. They seemed to know everything that was going on in the lower city, and, even though they admitted to me that Baisan had forbidden it, quite a bit about what was going on in the upper city. I may have become mostly law-abiding, but I was still proud of them.

The Draulin Guardian was waiting to carry Tannix, Tairia and their mother back to West Draulin, which meant Kovin was around. He often came into the lower city to visit, frequently bringing along some fish for Alliya to prepare. There was always a bit of frantic energy in the Guild when he showed up. Ninavi's girls adored him, and it was easy to see why. Kovin was tall, good-looking, and different. His accent was charming, he smelled like salt-water, and the scars on his arm hinted at an exciting story. They also knew he had been awarded a Champion Ring, which he wore around his wrist on a braided cord.

I suspected Castin would have received just as much adoration if he made himself available. But he hid his Champion Ring on his necklace, hanging beside his chip of marriage stone and his Anniva pendant. When he wasn't with Stria and Gale, he was hovering around Baisan, the role he was most comfortable in. His quiet presence wasn't anything new, but somehow the knowledge that he had been to war and back changed the way his silence felt. More than once, I watched people come to talk to Baisan, and their demeanor change when they noticed Castin nearby. He seemed to give Baisan some legitimacy. It was like watching nobles talk to each other, all the while fully aware of the guards lingering nearby. Someone with a personal guard immediately appeared much more important than someone without one.

It was strange, that with all the truly historic moments I had seen and been part of, this was where I felt like I was really witnessing something. Yes, I had just been to the coronation of the first Tandran king. Yes, I had been publically acknowledged as the first Zian recipient of a Champion Ring. Yes, I was married to Lord Tandrix West Draulin. But Baisan, building this group of people in the lower city, sometimes felt more significant. Tandrin had already been a very powerful lord. Anyone could have been the first Zian to become a Kingdom's Champion. My marriage to Tannix was secret. But Baisan was a lower city orphan and petty thief. He wasn't the type of person meant to change anything.

And yet, day after day, I noticed new ways his Guild was altering things in the lower city. It almost made me regret that I would soon be leaving with Tannix, and I wouldn't be around to see Baisan's influence grow.

***

Exactly a week after the wedding, Tannix stopped me from going to the lower city by grabbing my arm. I was used to heading out right after eating, so his hand caught me off guard. As did the look on his face.

"What?" I asked, a flutter of nerves in my stomach. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I—" He let go. His other hand fiddled with his fork. "Sorry. I was going to ask you to talk to Jindev today—"

"I don't like him."

A smile flickered across his lips. "I know. I was going to ask you to talk to him, and then I remembered that you owe me a Zian wedding."

That was a much more pleasant topic of conversation. I moved closer and slid onto his lap, forcing him to shuffle his chair away from the table. "I owe you?" I repeated as I looped my arms around his shoulders.

"Yes." His smile grew. "I gave you a Teltish wedding, now you need to give me a Zian wedding. That seems fair, doesn't it?" His hands found their way to my hips. "I have some free time today."

I cocked my head to the side. "Time you're supposed to spend with Jindev?"

He shrugged. "I have priorities."

I laughed. "Fine, I can give you a Zian ceremony. But it takes two days. We can do the first part today." I took a deep breath. "Then I'll talk to Jindev. I guess I have to make an effort to look like I actually work for you, now that everyone in the kingdom knows my name."

"Right. The stone," Tannix said, surprising me as he often did. "Where do we get it?"

Luckily, I had already given this some thought. "It needs to be something that represents us somehow. So... we need to go to the Order."

He gave that a moment of thoughtful silence before nodding. "Where we met. That's perfect." He gave me a kiss, then used his hands to carefully nudge me off of his lap. "I need to get dressed then."

He already was dressed, but I would never protest him wearing his full regalia. I leaned back against the table to watch.

***

The last time I had walked through the Order's gates was the night we arrested Meyat and stopped Kassia. The night that had belatedly earned me the Champion Ring. It was also the night Tannix had first kissed me, in pounding rain, before sentencing me to a year a prison. Walking through the gates brought those memories right back. I knew Tannix was probably thinking the same thing, as we walked across the courtyard. Tall buildings that I had never learned the purpose of flanked us, and in front of us stood the Order's main building, made up of black stone.

There were people scattered around, mostly young boys training with swords the way Tannix and I once had. I had been walking side by side with Tannix, but I fell back half-a-step to walk with Acen when I noticed how the sparring boys were turning to watch us cross the pavestones. Tannix's blue cloak swayed at his heels and his very real sword stood out surrounded by all the boys' practice wooden swords. Surely they all knew exactly who he was. Many of them had probably been at the coronation, but even if they hadn't, every noble boy must have known Lord West Draulin.

It wasn't until we reached the doors that I took a few hurried steps to catch up with him. "Do you remember where you first tackled me?"

Tannix stopped, one foot already on the next step, and turned. He surveyed the courtyard, and the boys who were still watching us, and pointed to the far end of the courtyard. "It was around there. You came around that corner, there, and I grabbed you. Then the whistle was blown and we started talking."

"I panicked, you know," I said. "I had no idea where I was or who you were, but you kept feeding me answers. You introduced yourself as Tandrix—just Tandrix—"

"Of course you did," Acen cut in, not in the least bit surprised that Tannix wouldn't have used his title.

"And," I added, with a smirk at Acen, "he immediately told me that goes by Tannix."

He looked at Tannix. "You didn't let me call you Tannix until I was knighted."

Tannix held up his hands. "That wasn't my fault. You worked for me. I thought Finn was a peer."

"Did you?" Acen asked.

"I've never claimed I was the most perceptive fourteen-year-old in the kingdom," Tannix said. "And it worked out well. I suppose when it became clear you didn't know who I was, that should have been a sign that you were lying. But I liked the way you talked to me. Even if I let Acen and the others call me Tannix, they still called me Sir or My Lord, more often than not."

I shrugged. "I had no reason to respect you like that."

"Exactly," Tannix said. "That's exactly what I liked."

"Did you know back then?" It was a vague question, but he knew exactly what I was asking.

"I didn't know until the night I arrested you. I wrestled with the idea for ages, though. I often thought about it during the four years between you leaving and showing up with the letter. I just couldn't quite wrap my head around what those feelings really meant. Not until I had you in the rain. And you?"

"Not until that night." I wanted to reach for his hand, but while the boys had taken up their practice fights again, it was clear they were all still keeping an eye on Tannix. "Everything just came together in that moment, and it all made sense, and then I was in jail. So..." I shrugged again, wanting to move on before either of us got too caught up with memories from that year. "We need to find our stone. I want to go up to your old room."

"I can arrange that," Tannix said, seeming just as happy to move on. He continued up the stairs, leaving me and Acen to follow as he walked through the Order's front doors. Once inside, we followed him up a staircase and through dark, quiet hallways until we reached a wooden door. Tannix knocked.

It wasn't his old bedroom, but in the moment it took me to realize where we were, a familiar voice had already invited us in. Tannix pushed open the door and stepped through. Acen waited for me to move before following and closing the door behind us.

Lord Malte stood behind a large wooden desk. His gold and black uniform looked fancier than it had so many years ago, and his presence in this particular office could only mean one thing.

"Director," Tannix said, with a respectful dip of his head.

"Lord West Draulin," Lord Malte said, returning the gesture. His hair had greyed since I had last seen him, but he still looked to be in prime physical condition. "A lot has changed since the last time we spoke. And you." His attention shifted to me and I winced. "You're so much more than you pretended to be, aren't you?" When I didn't reply, his gaze snapped back to Tannix, and he smiled. "I was right, when I suggested you hire him."

That shocked me, but Tannix simply nodded. "You were."

"The first Zian Kingdom's Champion," Lord Malte said. "And to think of what nearly happened to him. The city owes you an apology, Finagale. Although I will claim a small victory in the fact that you never managed to trick me."

The poke at my pride was enough to loosen my tongue. "Never? I was here for days."

"Hmm. Attached to the most powerful boy in my charge. A very good friend to make. So, Lord West Draulin, what can I do for you today?"

"I would like to visit my old room."

Lord Malte clasped his hands behind his back. "The students are all either training outside, or in the study halls. Your room should be empty. I can't deny you, Lord West Draulin, but I would appreciate knowing the purpose of your visit."

"Nostalgia," Tannix said. Then with a wave towards Acen, "And my knight would like to see my room."

Acen picked up the lie with impressive ease. "The five years he was in Zianna were the only five years he's ever been out of my reach," he said. "I'd like to know where he stayed."

Lord Malte's gaze landed on me again. "The ring you took from Lord Co. Do you still have it?"

My hand almost moved, almost reached to touch my three rings through my tunic. I thought I disguised the action well, but Lord Malte's eyes flickered to my hand.

"Ah," he said musingly. "That would make you the thirty-fourth bearer of an Order ring to also wear a Champion ring. Maybe I'll make a note of that in our records. Lord West Draulin, I would enjoy a longer discussion one day before you head back to West Draulin. But for now, please enjoy your visit."

"Thank you," Tannix said. He turned abruptly then, and Lord Malte sat back down. I hesitated, watching him, until he met my gaze and nodded. Then I turned to follow Tannix, with Acen trailing after.

Tannix led us back to the staircase, and up another few floors. Then we came to the hallway I recognized. When we reached the familiar door, Tannix walked in as if it was still his. This time, Acen crossed his arms and waited in the hallway as I stepped into the room. It looked almost exactly like it had years before. The same bed, desk and wardrobe sat in the same places.

Wordlessly, I crossed the room, towards the window I'd climbed in and out of many times. It was cracked open to let in a slight breeze. I pushed it open wider and hopped onto the sill. I sat with my back to the opening, so my legs dangled inside, and grabbed the sill with my right hand before leaning out to look at the wall. After a moment of inspection, I pulled a dagger out of my sleeve.

"What are you doing?" Tannix asked. "And isn't that Acen's?"

I stretched out with the dagger to poke at a piece of crumbly black rock. "He doesn't need it right now."

Tannix leaned out to see what I was doing. "Did you ask for it?"

I used the knife to scrape away some of the mortar. "I usually don't. Here." The piece of stone was loose enough, so I handed him the dagger and grabbed at it with my fingers. It took a bit of wiggling, but then it came loose in my hand. I pulled myself upright and held out the fist-sized piece of black stone.

Tannix picked it up. "How much damage did you do to the wall?"

"Not much." I pulled up my legs and crossed them, enjoying the brief look of alarm that flashed over Tannix's face. "Now we need to go down to the temple. Then tomorrow we can do the rest of the ceremony."

"That'll be hard to accomplish if you fall out of a window first."

"I never fall." But just to bother him, I sprung to my feet in the windowsill. He stepped forward as if he was going to catch me, but I had a good grip on the sill and was really in no danger. "I'll race you to the gate."

"Last time we did that, I won," Tannix said. "And then I arrested you."

"That was unrelated." Keeping my grip on the sill, I crouched so we were face to face. He was close enough for me to lean forward and give him a quick kiss. "See you there," I laughed, before pulling myself out of the window and beginning to climb.

***

I beat them to the gate, and was leaning against the wall proudly when they arrived. Tannix just smiled and waved for me to join them. I fell into step beside him as we passed under the Order's tall walls and made our way toward the gate that led to the main pass. None of the guards, at either of the gates we had to go through to finally reach the lower city, stopped Tannix. Acen didn't get a single appraising glance either, those were all reserved for me. Walking with the two nobles really served as an unnecessary, stark reminder of the difference in our social status.

But once in the lower city, we were in my world. I went from following a step behind to leading. I kept my eyes on the crowd, reading the movement of people far better than either of them could. And reading Tannix and Acen. I could tell that Tannix wasn't particularly nervous about the crowd, despite the attention he was getting. Acen, on the other hand, looked alert and uncomfortable. It was harder to protect Tannix in a crowd, I understood that, but I also knew that he was safe. With both of us watching out for him, nobody dangerous could get close to Tannix.

Luckily, we weren't in the crowd for long. Soon, we had left the bustle of the gate and simple market behind and found ourselves on a quieter street. The building we called a temple was really an old warehouse. It housed three of the original statues that had been rescued long ago from our original temple, as well as miniature replicas of the rest. I was just reaching up to push open the door when Acen spoke.

"We're being followed."

I sighed. "It's just Orrun and Leker." I had been planning on letting them think I didn't see them, but to reassure Acen I turned and waved. On the roof across the street, Leker ducked quickly out of the way while Orrun awkwardly shrugged. "They're harmless." Acen didn't look convinced, so I added, "Does it help if I admit I noticed them the moment we stepped into the lower city?"

"It would help if you told me that at the time," Acen grumbled.

Tannix just laughed. "Relax, Acen. They're sort of my family at this point. Finn?"

"Right, come on." I pushed open the door and stepped into the cool, dark interior. Tannix had been here before, but Acen eyed the room critically before turning to face the door. Leaving him to his job, I caught Tannix's hand and led him into the bigger second room.

The three original statues, Zianesa and her siblings Kitsa and Roe, stood at the far end of the room, lit by the flickering light from a raised trough of burning wood and oil. I offered Zianesa a quick prayer when my gaze landed on her, but she wasn't the goddess we were here to see. Instead, I led Tannix to one of the small niches where there stood a small statuette of Lovi. She stood with her arms outstretched, and an even tinier figuring stood on each palm.

I reached into Tannix's pocket and pulled out the piece of black stone. Seeing it brought the reality of what we were about to do into focus and my stomach jumped with nerves. It was silly, really, as the Teltish Goddess had already blessed our marriage. Surely Lovi would agree. But then there was the other thing I had to admit, and for whatever reason, doing so felt very difficult.

I swallowed. "Do you remember what I said when I was unconscious in Deorun?"

Tannix laced his fingers with mine. "I pledge myself to you, my unwavering obedience and undying love are yours forevermore."

Startled, I blinked at him. I expected him to remember that I had spoken, maybe a word or two, but not the entire phrase. "That was..." I paused. Tannix's blue eyes were catching the firelight beautifully, and it really wasn't helpful. "But I said it in Old Ziannan. So..." Without really meaning to, I caught my lower lip with my teeth. "Um... So, it isn't just some old poem. It's what we'll say to each other tomorrow, as long as our stone is still sitting here." I put it in the niche in front of Lovi. "Right now, we ask Lovi to bless our union and if she agrees, our stone will be waiting for us. So—"

Tannix interrupted. "You said your wedding vow to me over a year ago? And I said it back! Have we been married this whole time?"

"Oh, no." I shook my head. "No, not without the stone. So just... repeat after me. I only know this part in Teltish." I hesitated until he nodded, then said, "Lovi, I ask you to bless my union with Lord Tandrix West Draulin, who I wish to remain with for the rest of my life."

"Lovi." He always sounded incredibly serious when he addressed my gods. "I ask you to bless my union with Finagale from Zianna, who I wish to remain with for the rest of my life."

The fluttery feeling in my stomach dissipated, and I exhaled the breath I didn't realize I had been holding. "All right. Now we come back tomorrow."

"What if the stone isn't here?" Tannix asked. "What if somebody moves it?"

"Who would want to risk angering Lovi? It'll be here," I said firmly.

Tannix looked at the stone, then nodded. "It'll be here," he agreed.