The air grew cold, and it had nothing to do with the frigid catgirl sitting across from Ravyn. Yukari carefully placed the stone on the table. Ravyn bit the nail of her ring finger, her gaze glued to the garnet. A tornado of emotions threatened to overwhelm her as she tried to think of her next move. Bittersweet memories of time spent at Emberlynn’s soirees resurfaced.

She couldn’t.

Despite Ravyn’s conviction that her own mother was responsible for the deaths of these women, she hoped that if Saoirse really was up there watching, that she might show pity. Show mercy. Show her that her suspicions were wrong. They’d had their differences, but in the end, they still loved one another and would do anything to help each other… Right?

“—vyn? Ravyn?”

“What?” Ravyn gasped.

Yukari was leaning over the table, waving a hand in front of her face. “Did you hear what I said?”

Ravyn blinked. “No.”

Yukari paused, then sighed. “This warrants further investigation. You know that, right?”

Slowly, Ravyn nodded. “Yes.” The determination she’d felt earlier was quickly evaporating. Her fury burned out, and her sense of justice squashed. All she could picture now were those nights spent together with heart-to-heart discussions on their future. “I know.”

“[Civilian Mode].” As Yukari’s robes returned, she resumed her position and looked at the garnet. “Admittedly, this still does not prove anything.”

Ravyn shook her head. She was barely paying attention. “Understanding my mother’s webs would take a lifetime. I’m not sure that even she knows where the strands end.”

Yukari put her hands on the table and drummed her fingers. “Much of this is still circumstantial. We need something that puts these pieces together.”

This sucked. Ravyn was no longer in any shape to brainstorm ideas. Here Yukari was, being the helping hand she hoped she’d find, and she couldn’t get her own emotions under control. Fuck, I’m getting sick of this. Things were usually so much simpler than this. If she saw an injustice, she fought it. If a Defiled was destroying the town, she burned it to the fucking ground. So why the hell was this so hard?

“Ravyn. Are you listening to me?”

“Mou ii. Just let me think for a second.” Ravyn leaned on her elbow and perched her chin atop her palm. Bally nuzzled against her arm, and she used her free hand to scratch the back of his neck. Yukari’s sharp gaze returned, and Ravyn averted her eyes. If looks could kill. “Scrolls. We need scrolls for this.”

“Perhaps. But we need to choose our purchases carefully. Rumors may start if we purchase suspicious-seeming scrolls.” Yukari pressed the middle of her pointer finger between her lips and bowed at the neck in thought.

“Then we buy everything in the shop.”

Yukari frowned.

Ravyn huffed a sigh. “Does Emberlynn know you’re an [Arbiter]?”

Yukari’s eyes moved up to look at her. “She does not. The only one who knows is my mother. I have been very selective with whom I give this information to.”

“Why?”

“Things have changed for the worse as of recent. When Mistress Emberlynn fell ill, her demeanor changed. Many were convinced you would never return home. I am sure she harbored thoughts that you may be dead. I know I did.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Thank you. In any event, bit by bit, the village began to change. Emberlynn was more erratic and sharp-tongued. My mother used to visit all of the time. Then suddenly, she was no longer welcome for reasons she would not say.” She shook her head. “Perhaps it is paranoia which guides my thoughts, but I found it peculiar that my mother came down with a similar illness months after Mistress Emberlynn.”

I doubt that’s a coincidence.

Yukari drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled, balling her hands onto her lap. “I digress. She fired much of the staff soon after she became ill. There are few she trusts now, and almost no one is allowed inside anymore. Despite how Zhuli may appear, word travels, as you well know.”

Ravyn nodded, recollecting the few unfortunate incidents when she still lived in Zhuli. The populace was quick to blame Emberlynn for the smallest mishaps, and it was Ravyn who bore the brunt of her frustrations. It drove a wedge between them on the worst of days, but Emberlynn always had a way of bouncing back and arriving twice as strong.

“Does she always ignore the problems in Zhuli?” Ravyn asked.

“No,” Yukari said, shaking her head, “most times she does not. However, suspicions have been rising with her declining health, and I would be lying if I said there weren’t others who spoke behind her back, especially with regards to who will succeed her.”

Emberlynn had always expressed her desire for Ravyn to inherit the family business, so that aspect didn’t come as a surprise. “I’m worried about Sophia,” Ravyn admitted and clasped her hands on the table, shuffling her thumbs.

“Sophia?”

Ravyn frowned. “My sister. My mother’s new daughter.”

Yukari returned her frown. “Ah, yes. The one with red and blonde—”

“Yeah, that one,” Ravyn said, quick to cut her off at the mention of ‘blonde.’ She’d have to pay Cailu back for that someday. “Do you know if she was born before or after my mother became ill?”

“After, I believe. It’s hard to say, though. Emberlynn is so much more private than in years past. There are few who know, and even fewer who would be willing to divulge that information.”

Ravyn scratched her forehead, fearful that Sophia might be involved in whatever sinister threads their mother weaved—or at least could become involved if this escalated. The thought that her sister could get hurt didn’t sit well with her. “We need to get back in the estate.”

“Why not just return and investigate privately?”

“Because my mother and I…had a bad conversation before I left.”

Yukari clicked her tongue. “Does she know?”

Ravyn shook her head. “No. But I bet she suspects that I know. That’s why I’m afraid to go back in without a plan.”

“You should not have done that,” Yukari chastised. “You may have—”

“Could have, should have!” Ravyn snapped. “What’s done is done. Can we just focus on the present? I’m sick of being told that I could’ve done something better!” Then she hissed, “Saoirse’s tits.”

Yukari poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue. “Fine. Then, we will need to devise a method to sneak in. I do not suppose you know of any secret entrances to the estate?”

Ravyn thought, then shook her head. “No.”

“That will limit our options.” Yukari looked at the scroll hung on the wall to her left. It depicted a snowy-topped mountain. At its peak was a great dragon, with long whiskers, scales as white as the snow around it, and eyes as blue at the ocean’s depths. The creature bore several pairs of legs along its snakelike body, which wrapped around the mountain. The beast glared down as if it were examining its prey. “Hmm. I have an idea. Can your familiar use magic?”

“Bally? Of course he can. He’s a master of fire magic like me.”

“Bally the [Wizard], Bally the [Wizard], squawwwk!”

Yukari flinched and plugged each of her ears with a finger. “Wretched thing.” Bally narrowed his gaze on Yukari and the two glared at one another. “Well, good. We may need him for this plan.”

“What’s your plan?”

“You are a [Sorcerer], are you not?”

Ravyn crossed her arms. “That’s right. Spill it. What are you plotting?”

A rare smile tugged at the corner of Yukari’s mouth. “Then you have learned [Displace].” When Ravyn nodded, she continued. “Good. For this to work, I will need you to let me Enchant your familiar.”

Ravyn snatched Bally into her arms like an overprotective mother. The bird squawked, sending feathers into the air. “You’re not planning to do something funny with him, are you?”

Yukari snickered. “Well, you are awfully protective of a creature that can be dismissed and resummoned at will. Why is that?”

Ravyn’s expression darkened. “That's none of your business.”

Yukari shrugged. She held out her hand, palm up. “What I will do is Enchant him twofold. As I am sure you are aware by now, familiars and their summoners share a link between one another.”

“Yeah, yeah, very good, I know all that. Just get to the point that matters.”

Yukari sighed. “I will Enchant Bally with an invisibility Spell.” Ravyn didn’t like the idea of sending Bally in without protection, but she waited to see what else Yukari would say. “Additionally, I will Enchant him with an ability to boost the effect of your [Farsight] Skill.”

“Who says I’ve learned it?” Ravyn asked, becoming suspicious of Yukari’s assumptions.

“Because as rude and uncouth as you are, you are not stupid.” Yukari lowered her hand until the back touched the table. “Unless you wish to prove me otherwise.”

Ravyn growled. “Yes, I’ve learned both.”

“Excellent. This Enchantment will allow your familiar’s [Farsight] to see through walls. However, the effect will not last more than two seconds, so you will have to be quick.” Her smile returned. “I am sure you know what happens next.”

“[Displace],” Ravyn said, realization dawning on her. [Displace] could not be used on two targets unless there was a line of sight. With the ability to see through walls, however, such a limitation would be removed. At least, that’s how it sounded. “I’m not going to [Displace] through the wall and kill myself, am I?”

“No, no, no,” Yukari said quickly, waving her hand through the air, “I have had practice with other similar Spells, and no such thing happened.”

[Arbiter]s were terrifying. Of any Class Ravyn could think of, they were perhaps the most time-consuming yet highly rewarding Class out there. The fact that Yukari knew an Enchantment for invisibility was powerful enough on its own. But to see through walls?

“I’m liking this plan,” Ravyn said, snickering. Her urge to see the estate burned to the ground was swiftly returning. Her talk with Yukari had emboldened her. “Let’s do it.”

“Just to make sure we understand one another,” Yukari said just as Ravyn was standing up, “you are to [Displace] into the estate using your familiar to sneak in. We will need to wait for the doors to open.”

“I get that.” Ravyn stood up the rest of the way, cradling Bally like a newborn in her arm. “Let’s find us some real evidence.”