I came out of Memory Palace with a gasp.

After opening the bathroom door, I'd been sucked straight into the whole sequence of events, not a second to process during.

It felt… Well, now that I was out…

Strangely, I felt a lot better about my own actions, now that I was reflecting on them. Sure, I'd been a stupid kid and shoved Lindsey in a bathroom instead of driving away with her.

But… I'd been a stupid kid. It was a bit like getting upset at Perth for summoning me to Ro'an. The person I'd hurt most had been myself. Lindsey had… well, she wasn't exactly on moral high ground, having an affair with someone who would’ve still been in high school. Not even senior year at that. If my old man hadn't pulled me out, of course.

Not only that, she’d come onto someone who’d had even less freedom than she did.

Also… there was no way my old man hadn't known what was going on. He was a lot of things, but not an idiot. Him only cuffing me after she raced away in the dune buggy. That was practically a seal of approval.

The thought made my skin crawl.

Rain beat against the side of the tower, and I could see where it was leaking through my hasty patch job.

I laid a hand on the wall, running a finger through the dampness.

It was good that I'd replayed the memory somewhere I was on my own. Meant I could process it. Much as I could.

There'd always been a part of me that refused to believe it had turned out so well.

I'd had so many nightmares of waking up to find Lindsey bled out in the tub, I'd more than half convinced myself that was what had really happened. Or that those had been false, but instead my old man had found her and had beaten her to death with her own high heels.

Neither had happened. The least believable to my mind, at least at the time, had actually been the truth.

She'd done the impossible. She'd escaped.

I collapsed against the wall, letting out a laughing sob. I'd locked the memory away, done my best to never even think her name, all because my twisted mind had said she was dead.

And that it'd been my fault.

"How oil-soaking arrogant," I muttered in English, wiping the tears off my face as I pushed to my feet. At my movement, Neta came over, pushing her head against my hand, demanding scritches.

I gave the rope-cat her due, as I thought back. Thankfully, my whirlwind romance with Lindsey was nothing like what I had with Tamrie.

There was a lot less tumbling, as Tamrie would put it, for one. Tamrie and I also felt… more like a real relationship. Or at least how I imagined them. Not like the ones from Perth’s books.

We were feeling each other out, getting to know each other. Yes, I’d unconsciously been showing my interest, but we weren’t exactly rushing forward. Other than my whole giving her a gift in front of everyone. Yep. Super not rushing it…

Pulling Soaring Wolf out of the tower, I stared up into the raging storm. Was a relief to be able to look into the sky instead of being locked inside my head.

I felt a pang of guilt, then.

Not for Lindsey, but for Tamrie.

On some level, I'd known what I was doing. Some part of me… wanted what she wanted. A partnership. Togetherness.

That… couldn't happen though. Not the way things were. And not just cause of my past.

I held my fingers open, summoning magic to my hand. Not only was I her boss, I had so much literal power she'd never have. That… wasn't fair. Not fair enough, anyway.

Lindsey and I hadn't been fair either. It'd been fair enough for me at the time, but I'd been a dumb kid.

Tamrie was already smarter than me in a lot of ways. Still weak though. Which was fine as an assistant. Not as a partner.

I sighed.

Instead of wasting more time lamenting my subconscious actions, I climbed into Soaring Wolf, Neta wrapping tightly around me and we took off into the sky. Again, I let the fury of the storm drive away conscious thought.

When I broke through the clouds, my mind was at peace. I hadn't done or promised anything to Tamrie other than a fake relationship. Sure, a part of me wanted it to be real. Parts of it were real.

And maybe in time, I'd be ready for more than that.

Was a step closer than I'd been, at least.

Hadn't even been gone as long as I'd expected. Neither the trip or my visit had gone long. By the end of the day, with the sun lighting up the clouds all around me with a reddish hue, I spotted Mount Aeternia.

It stood there, amongst the clouds, like a lighthouse, guiding me home.

It was a pretty short time later that I was descending outside Inertia's workshop. The storm was feeling especially ornery, so I quickly dragged Soaring Wolf inside before slamming the doors shut again.

Only to find no one there. Figured it was late, so wasn't too surprising. After setting Soaring Wolf to the side, I made my way down the stairs to the hidden hallway. A murmur of conversation greeted me, and I ended up following it.

At the bottom I found they'd expanded the hallway down near where the hot springs were hidden away. It was just a small area with four tables and seats to match, as well as a large doorway I was pretty sure led into the hot springs. Esbee was behind a long counter which had several bottles behind it. It looked almost like a pub from back on Earth, though I noted that most of the bottles were the same shape, and I doubted most were liquor.

Though she'd probably fix that given time.

Tresla and Selvi were there, each of them with a bowl of something warm and a drink beside them, both of them laughing.

"Hey there boss," Esbee said, the first to spot me. "Looks like you could use a warm meal and a stiff drink."

"Sure, I'll take the warm meal. Just water or juice, if you have it please," I said. Esbee nodded, disappearing through a curtain I'd thought was decorative, given the amount of fancy patterns woven into it.

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Tresla was waving me over, so I moved to join her and Selvi.

"Good trip?" Tresla asked, waving at the chair.

"It was… interesting," I said as I took the chair. "Nexxa was having a rough go of it." At her rolled hand, I continued, slowly explaining what'd happened, and the decision Nexxa had ultimately made, to move east.

"Oh, you should talk to Inertia. She and Calbern got talking about Fang again," Tresla said, waving in the direction of the hot springs. "Though… I don't suppose you went straight there and back. Skipped over the relays, maybe?"

"Uh… no, I stopped to repair them," I replied, thanking Esbee as she set a bowl of crispy tubers and meat down in front of me, with a sweet smelling brown sauce artfully drizzled on top. "Why?"

"Inertia had ten Waves on you repairing every array on the road. Said you wouldn't be able to stop yourself," Tresla said with a sigh. "I figured you'd be in too much of a rush to see your sister."

"I… kinda needed to stop to rest. Figured I might as well multi-task," I said, feeling oddly defensive.

Tresla just waved it off. "Glad you're back. Crazy to think you convinced your sister to move. Didn't think that was even possible for a Magus Dominus."

I didn't mention that it technically wasn't, though that was because the beacons didn't cooperate with a Dominus. As long as Nexxa was keeping her people safe, and bringing them with her, the beacon would move. She was going to have to build some sort of transport for it… but that was part of the reason I'd rushed back.

Was hoping Inertia might have an idea for getting them all here faster. I'd been thinking a cargo van or something, but the high road still had large sections that were damaged. Even with the relays active, it wouldn't be fully repaired for a while. Probably a few years before the worst of it was completely restored, all depending on how efficiently they converted the ambient mana and how much mana there was to convert.

After finishing my meal, I bid goodbye to Tresla and left to seek out Tamrie. Figured the most likely place to find her was the mountain home, so I made my way to the Waygate and stepped through. I nearly bumped into someone on the other side, and it was only as I turned that I realized who it was.

"Perry?" Tamrie asked, blinking up at me.

"Uh, hey? Miss me?" I asked, giving her an awkward wave. Now that I knew how I felt about her, and was sort of excited about being around her, I felt a sort of nervousness I hadn't before.

"Nah," Tamrie said, giving me a little shrug. "Barely noticed you were gone, truth be told."

"Oh," I said, feeling a bit like I'd been punched in the gut. Specifically one of those times when I hadn't been braced for it.

She snorted out a laugh, before slugging me in the shoulder. "Course I missed you, you lug. Best fake relationship ever.”

We shared a smile at that for a moment, slowly drifting closer to each other.

Then Tamrie, coughed, blushing as she said, “Sides, lot harder to get folk to listen when you're not around to scare 'em into it."

"Oh, good, I… wait, I scare people?" I asked, looking around the room as if I'd spot someone cowering.

Tamrie just laughed again, looping her arm in mine. "Come on then. Let's get you fed, and you can tell me all about your little trip among the clouds."

"Oh. Esbee already gave me something to eat," I said, waving in the direction of the Waygate.

"Oh, did she now," Tamrie said, with a grin that seemed just a little forced. "Well, I'll just have to get you some dessert."

"I… uh…" for some reason, I had a feeling it was best not to tell Tamrie I wasn't feeling like dessert. In fact, as I took in the set of her jaw, I decided that no matter how full I was, I would very definitely be making room for dessert. "That sounds great!"

The way her jaw eased after I said that, and the smile she gave me after, made me certain I’d made the right call.

Dessert was good. Luckily, I hadn't eaten too much. It also helped that Bevel was there too, so I was able to pawn half of it off on her without raising suspicion.

When Calbern emerged, I once more launched into an explanation of everything that had happened.

"Your sister's coming back?" Bevel asked, still munching on some of the chewy taffy-like dessert Tamrie had served. "Where's she going to sleep? She can't have my room!"

"I… think she'll have her own place," I said, fighting down a smile.

"Oh, okay," Bevel said, seeming to lose all interest as she snagged the last piece of taffy off my plate.

"And when abouts do you expect she'll get here?" Tamrie asked, letting out a small yawn. Only then did I realize she'd laid her head on my arm.

"That depends on a lot of things. Could be a couple weeks, could be a couple months," I said. She'd taken her hairpin out at some point, so I reached over and tucked the errant strand of hair back behind her ear.

"Okay, so we don't need to… hmmm… make sure she has a room ready too soon," Tamrie said, yawning in the middle.

"No, not too soon. Why don't we get you to bed," I said, moving to stand up.

"Don't wanna," Tamrie replied, burrowing her head even closer into my chest. Then she seemed to realize what she was doing, her head snapping upright. "I mean… you might have the right of it. Good evening, ser Calbern, Bevel, Magus Perth."

She took off while I raised my hand, uncertain if I should stop her.

"I'm tired too," Bevel said, flopping against my other side. "Carry me."

I chuckled. "Okay, but just this time, okay?"

She nodded, but didn't respond otherwise, her breathing already slipped into that heavier rhythm.

Sliding my arms under her, I hoisted her up, taking her to her room, which was just across from Keria's. Mr Kandle sat there, with a new shield and staff, watching the hall. I went inside, setting Bevel in her hammock before heading back out to the main hall where Calbern was waiting for me.

"Master Perth," Calbern said, an unusual tone in his voice. One I wasn't sure I'd heard before.

"Yeah?" I said, taking a seat across from him.

"Forgive the impudence of my question, but what are your intentions with miss Tamrie?" Calbern asked, his brows narrowed ever so slightly.

"I… I'm still figuring that out," I replied, almost wishing for a drink. Then kicking myself for having the thought.

"Ah," Calbern said, taking the seat across from me. "I had… since the incident with your brothers, I was uncertain if you still fostered interest in ladies. I had been rather glad of your focus. That is not to impugn miss Tamrie, I just…"

It was a little amusing to see Calbern struggling with words. Would've been more amusing if not for the subject matter.

"Told you that I'm as much Percival as Perth, remember. More even," I said, leaning back.

"Yes, I remember that quite well," Calbern said, nodding slowly.

"Well… Percival had some stuff happen that soured him on relationships. Carried that forward," I said, shrugging. "And… well, I've been working through it, and it's kinda important to me that I get it solved… but I don't know if I'll ever have a real relationship with anyone."

"So, you do not consider your relationship with miss Tamrie real?"

"Actually, if I'm being honest… it's probably the most real relationship I've ever had," I said, running a hand through my hair. "In either life."

At that, Calbern smiled. Then he reached over the table and patted my hand. "I'm sure miss Tamrie would be most delighted to hear you say that, master… Percival."

I looked up from his hand, meeting his warm smile with a weak one of my own. "Thanks, Calbern. I'll… I'll try to tell her."

"Very good. Now, it is quite apparent you've had a long day. A little rest is in order, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, but I stood up and let him lead me to my room. I stopped him there. I was fully capable of undressing myself at this point, even if I still couldn't get my robe to behave when I put it on.

Normally. I was normally capable of undressing myself.

Might've opened up my journal to look over a few notes as an idea struck me. One that had been partially formed ever since I first went to visit Nexxa. I didn’t actually finish my tangent, as I passed out at some point, surrounded by my notes. I woke to find Calbern had finished the job, having put my notes neatly on my desk. I chuckled at making a liar out of myself.

Tamrie was waiting just outside the door after I'd mostly dressed myself. She immediately adjusted my robe. Then she started adjusting my hair. After that, she started pulling at my sleeves.

"You okay?" I asked when I realized she was nervous.

"Yep. No. I… sorry," Tamrie said, unable to meet my eyes, her hand reaching up to touch her hairpin, though she quickly pulled it away.

"Sorry? For what?" I asked, looping my arm in hers.

"For forgetting what this really is, is all," Tamrie said with a huff.

"Ah. That's… I was wanting to talk to you about that," I said, patting her arm.

"Me too," Tamrie said, letting out a long sigh.

"Whoa," I said, holding a finger to her lips. "I have a feeling I know what direction you're thinking this conversation is going. And… Tamrie… I think I like you."

"I… say 'gain?" Tamrie said, squinting at me.

"Just… there's a lot I need to work out, and I'm not exactly comfortable with us having a relationship with such a huge power difference between us…"

"Thought you said it weren't going that direction," she mumbled without actually interrupting me.

"And… I've been studying everything Keeper gave me for the beacon, and everything about mana-bodies. Tamrie…"

She leaned forward, as I hesitated, licking my lips. I probably shouldn't say it out loud, but it'd been running through the back of my mind ever since I'd left. The possibilities. It was incredibly selfish, and only kinda fair.

But really, it was the only option I wanted to consider.

"Tamrie. How would you feel about me making you into an ensouled?"