Phoenix clenched Paul’s arm in a death grip of anxiety as she nervously stood beside her mentor and now… father? It was both easy and difficult to think of him as such. He definitely acted like one towards her, especially after they had gotten to know each other more, but she wasn’t a child who required a parent. Despite that fact, she was gd he stood beside her now.

  Never having grown up with one, she hadn’t necessarily missed her biological father while growing up, but Paul’s presence as a reassuring guide who cared about her well-being made her understand what she had been missing. Her mother had done her best to provide for them and spend time with her when she could, but their retionship felt very different from what she had with Paul.

  While both felt loving and protective towards her, her mother’s presence had been like a warm bnket carefully wrapped around her—suffocating at times, but reassuring nonetheless. On the other hand, Paul’s presence was like the very walls and foundation of their home, strong and vigint against the dangers beyond them—sheltering her, but also letting her glimpse the world beyond through a careful window.

  Her mind refocused as Paul reassuringly patted her clenched hand, “Everything will be fine, Phoenix,” he said as he gnced down at her. His eyes lingered for a moment on her Soul Mark, and he said with all sincerity, “I want you to know I’m proud of you for having the courage to do this… but if your only reason for doing so is out of fear of disappointing me, or my sister, then I want you to know that I won’t think less of you for admitting so. If you truly cannot endure this, just say the word and we’ll cover up your Mark and I can whisk you away as soon as they see your face.”

  Even though she didn’t have much knowledge about how fathers should behave, she thought he did a pretty good job. He was continually a solid pilr of support, understanding, and acceptance. He always tried to help advise and guide her, but never tried to force her to be someone she wasn’t. She knew he didn’t always tell her everything, especially with everything that happened regarding the Ruwenas, but she knew that most parents, her mom included, tried to not burden their kids with things they pnned to handle.

  She gave him a weak smile and shook her head, “My reason isn’t out of fear. I want to make you and her happy. I might not be comfortable with the attention, but I think I can be courageous enough to st a few hours if it helps support my new family.”

  His smile turned slightly sad as he said, “We often find ourselves doing things we normally wouldn’t in order to support and protect our family.”

  Before she could ask what he meant exactly, she heard Patricia’s voice come from the other side of the door they were waiting behind. The nobility here seemed to have a love for theatrics, but at least they wouldn’t try making her walk down a flight of stairs in heels. That was just begging to have her trip and break something, Crystal Caste reflexes or not.

  “Now, without further ado, my brother, Lord Paul Waynd, will present to you his chosen heir and newest member of our family, his daughter, Noble Phoenix Waynd!” Pati said as the door opened, and Paul led her out into the magical spotlight.

  Phoenix heard the crowd before she managed to look up to see them. The light polite cpping had started as soon as Patricia had stopped speaking before any of their eyes ever settled upon her. The only reason she could even see the people through the bright light shining upon her was due to her Perception ability.

  The crowd seemed mildly interested at first, a few people even looked bored by the event. However, as she was carefully led across the room by Paul’s steady and assured pace, the cpping tapered off to be repced by hushed whispers and sharpening gazes. She felt the brush of dozens of auras suddenly poke and prod against hers which caused a few gasps across the room as the four yers of her own aura rebuffed all but the strongest few.

  Paul had been spending the weeks of training time with her, and more recently the rest of her party, in Aura Etiquette as he had called it. When they had first met he had focused on teaching her to reign in the power of the boosted aura. Then as she got better at retracting it, she began practicing controlling the direct manipution of it, mostly in combat.

  Only recently had she begun attempting to use it to push back against other auras, but Paul’s initial focus had been centered around the concept of performing what she equated to an “aura handshake.” Like the sense you would get from someone you just met by how firm, cmmy, or long a handshake was; it was the first impression a person would get of your character.

  What the crowd sensed when they prodded her aura was a smooth yered sphere that felt like a desire for growing her family, the excitement of wanderlust, the courage of standing against any enemy, the curiosity of learning more about everything, the tenacity to not be chained down, the willingness to sacrifice all of herself for others, and in each of those feelings they sensed the touch of divinity that strengthened them all. They could also confirm the rumors that she wasn’t just an outsider, but a Wayfarer, and the chatter intensified with every step she took.

  Paul led her to a slightly raised dais that held a table for the two of them with an extra seat to either side of their own centered ones. She had been informed that during the dinner party, people could come and sit to introduce themselves and talk for a bit before trading pces with someone else.

  This was the part she was most nervous about, but she focused on Paul’s teachings to subdue her emotions and keep her aura steady. By the time she finally sat in her pce, the room was a dull roar of chatter as people stared at her Soul Mark, prodded her aura, or debated with the people beside them. She could already sense the gossip and specutions floating around the room.

  She noticed quickly that the pokes and pressure from the other auras in the room were increasing and becoming more aggressive. From what Paul and the others had shown her, she knew that it was beyond polite curiosity now and had moved on to testing and challenging her.

  Phoenix frowned slightly as the sense of shoving her aura down in a vice grip from somewhere grew and she chanced a gnce at Paul. A breath ter, the pressure vanished as Paul’s aura spread out and pushed them back in return, making both his authority in the room and protection of her known by everyone as they reached the end of his patience. The clear message of retribution radiated throughout it, and the chatter dimmed considerably.

  On the other side of the room, Phoenix could have sworn she saw Patricia grinning triumphantly and wondered what political game her new aunt had just won. She firmly pushed the thought from her mind, though, not wanting to have anything to do with it. She’d let the politician py her games and remain content by staying on the periphery.

  Gentle music began to py as food was pced on tables and the chatter increased in volume again. Nobody had stood to move, and Phoenix suddenly had a new source of anxiety. What if nobody wanted to talk to her? Would that be worse than forcing herself to endure small chit-chat?

  She was saved by the appearance of the Dewsong sisters. Saiya and Rayna looked splendid in their own white dresses with light blue trimmings that varied slightly in style and contrasted against the dusky colors of their hair, tails, and chestnut skin.

  Paul greeted them with a slight bow of his own and slid himself over to allow the women to sit on either side of Phoenix. She beamed a bright smile of gratitude to them.

  There was a magical incorporeal barrier surrounding the stage area they were on, which slightly distorted the sound that traveled through it. The shield allowed them to speak without worry of being overheard, though their expressions and lips could still be observed.

  “I’m so gd you two are here,” she said with relief, “I thought the reaction would be awkward, but I wasn’t really expecting all this.”

  “Honestly, I’ve been to a couple of Noble Reveals in other cities but have never seen such a contentious dispy like this before,” Rayna said specutively as she surveyed the gathering, “I’ll bet the whole city will be talking about you within a week.”

  Phoenix fought back the impulse to bury her face in her arms at the thought of so much attention focused on her. The upside was that, with the whole city watching her, it would be much harder for anyone to make a move against her. At least, that’s what Patricia had told her. She wasn’t quite sure it was worth it.

  They chatted for a few minutes longer before the sisters took their leave, and Paul moved back over to her side in the center of the four chairs as the next pair of nobles approached.

  It was the head of another House that had loose ties to the Waynds. As the runeforged woman sat on Paul’s side, her son had obligingly taken the seat next to Phoenix. He was polite enough, introducing himself as Noble Byren Talvehtia. He didn’t look much older than she was, but he was Sapphire Caste, like his mother, and she couldn’t sense the taint of Monster Seeds that many of the other nobles in the room contained.

  After some polite chatting, they swapped out with another pair, then another, and the cycle continued for a solid two hours before the music grew a little louder as a subtle signal. Everyone stood to mingle more as the chairs were removed, and the tables pced to the edges of the room to be loaded with desserts. The rge windows, which turned out to be doors, on one side of the room were opened out onto a rge balcony that overlooked the city.

  Paul led Phoenix from the dais before giving her an encouraging smile then left her alone as he went to go speak with his sister. Pati was currently chatting with the glittering Noble Chriss Stratford, who hadn’t made her way up to the table earlier.

  Phoenix gnced around at the crowd. Nobody made eye contact with her, but she could feel their subversive gnces and the whispers with her name. She took a steadying breath, then made her way to one of the tables to busy herself with grabbing what appeared to be some kind of cookie she hadn’t seen before.

  Once her delicious treasure was in hand, she made her way outside, desperately in need of the fresh cool night air, where the sounds lessened and the lights no longer bzed down on her. She felt calmer as she leaned against the balcony railing and stared out into the dark night that was brightened only slightly by the lights below and the stars above.

  “Your glow looks stunning in the night,” a feminine voice spoke from near her. Phoenix turned to see a beautiful cinderen woman with burning eyes, dark hair that appeared like a cloud around her face, and a dark red dress that wrapped around the neck. It hugged the strong figure and almost seemed alight with veins of ruby lights that matched her markings and almost pyed with Phoenix’s visual perception.

  It took her a moment to pce the familiar face. Once she finally remembered, she stated, “You were the one that waved to me on the expedition into the Reality Rift.”

  The stranger smiled just as cheerfully now as she had back when Phoenix had returned the surprising greeting, “You remember? I know that day was pretty busy, for you especially.”

  Phoenix quirked an eyebrow as she leaned back against the railing and asked, “What makes you say that?”

  The woman took a few steps closer as hips purposefully swayed with each step. She suddenly understood what Rayna had been talking about when the bard kept insisting Phoenix needed to learn to own her body. This woman knew exactly what she owned and how to use it in a way that Phoenix doubted she would ever be able to herself.

  “We all saw the explosion. I also heard the rumored reports. You assisted in taking down two Sapphire enemies as well as the Emerald Caster.”

  Phoenix scrunched her face and pointed out, “I had a lot of help with all of those. I’m not some overpowered superhero that can one-punch whatever formidable foe steps in front of me.”

  “Yet you still pced yourself in front of those formidable foes,” the woman in red replied and leaned against the rail beside her, “It makes perfect sense why Hero would choose you.”

  Phoenix shook her head, “I’m no hero. I’m just a mildly useful pawn,” she muttered. She looked the woman up and down as a thought crossed her mind, “You didn’t wave at me knowing who or what I was, though, did you?”

  “No,” the stranger said in confirmation.

  “Then why did you?”

  A pyful smile adorned the stranger’s face as those ember eyes seemed to bze in the dark night, “Because I thought you were beautiful and wanted to know if the inside matched what was outside.”

  Phoenix’s eyes went wide in surprise as she stared at the woman, her mind completely bnk on how to respond. Nobody had ever complimented her like that before. Aside from her mother, she couldn’t even recall someone telling her she was beautiful. As the woman’s smile turned into a Cheshire grin, she managed to stutter, “I, um… uh, th-thank you? I guess… I’m sorry, I’m not really sure what to say.”

  The cinderen ughed and shook her head of dark clouds, “You could tell me more about yourself. Here, let me start since you’ve already been introduced. I’m Polissa Teras, but you can call me Po like my friends do.”

  Phoenix gave a shy smile and tilted her head in a small bow, “Nice to meet you, Po,” she said, and was about to pce a hand over her heart in the local greeting when Po halted her movement by csping it in her own hand.

  “Please, you don’t need to be so formal,” Polissa said with a soft ugh. “I wasn’t sure if I would ever get the opportunity to see you again. Imagine my surprise to discover that not only would I be able to but that our families were allied. I must ask you to give my regards to the host for holding such a wonderful event.”

  “Patricia insisted on it. Though, I still can’t fully understand why. The middle of a blood moon doesn’t seem like the best time to hold a party,” Phoenix admitted as she gnced at the hand still being held and wondered if Po was simir to Saiya in the desire for physical contact. She wasn’t getting that same vibe though, for some reason, and wondered what exactly was different about the gesture.

  Polissa ughed again and Phoenix felt the heat in her cheeks rise as the woman said, “Noble Waynd was right to do so.” Po gave a mischievous grin, “Despite the threats we face, we must continue to py the game. Especially when some Wayfarer comes along and decides to flip the board.”

  She knew her face was completely red now and looked at the ground in an attempt to hide it before muttering, “I never wanted to.”

  Po’s expression softened and she stepped even closer, closing the little distance between them and lifting Phoenix’s chin gently to meet those fiery eyes, “What did you want? What was the motivation behind becoming a Waynd? What’s the reason beyond the rumors? What is it that you want now?”

  Phoenix stared at the golden eyes that burned with an emotion that she didn’t recognize at all, but it made her feel self-conscious for some reason that she had trouble putting into words. She cast her eyes down slightly, trying to escape the intense gaze only to see ruby lips that were so close to her own that she felt her heart skip a beat in panic.

  Polissa released her and took a step back as she said, “We can talk more ter if you want. You put on a good mask with your aura, but your body doesn’t seem to lie; I can tell you’re uncomfortable here. Maybe we could chat over drinks ter this week?”

  “Um, I’m not sure I’ll have much time for that,” she replied hesitantly. She was feeling a bit flustered by the conversation that seemed to hold undercurrents that threatened to drown her, the closeness that made her feel awkward, and the coy confidence this woman exuded.

  “There’s a lot of missions that we’ve been assigned to tely,” she tried to crify.

  Po’s smile dropped slightly, “Perhaps, once things settle down then. There will be plenty of time after the blood moon.”

  Phoenix thought about that, not sure how to decline politely without needing to expin that she might not be in the city for much longer after the blood moon if she managed to hit Sapphire and get that clue from the Schor to progress on her divine quest.

  Polissa seemed to take pity on her awkward uncertainty, though, and said, “I’ll send a message to your House afterward and you can decide at that point.” Then she gave a pyful wink and added, “I already know where your home is, after all.”

  The strange woman surprised Phoenix again by lifting the hand still being held and kissing the back of it with perfectly bowed lips. “Good night, Starlight.”