“Invisible?” I say, incredulous. “Must’ve been a hell of a trick, considering they saw you, caught you, and locked you up.”
Ronyn grins, unbothered. “Details, Isk,” he winces as he says my name, but pushes past it. “Don’t get caught up in the details.”
Ronyn and I have always squabbled like siblings. I met him in the slums of Virellin when I was twelve summers old and had just learned how to steal without getting caught. He, on the other hand, had not.
I was crouched in an alley, keeping low and waiting for the right moment to snag a loaf of bread from a baker’s stall. It was my first chance to eat in two days, and I wasn’t about to mess it up. But thenhecame barreling through, all gangly limbs and wild chocolate brown hair, with two very angry traders hot on his heels. He nearly tripped over me.
“Move!” he hissed, glancing back at the men chasing him. “Unless youwantto get stabbed.”
Even then, his tone was more cheeky than panicked, though I could see the fear in his eyes. I almost let him keep running—he was a walking disaster, and I didn’t need the extra attention—but something about him made me hesitate. Maybe it was the way he was clutching a stolen bag of dried apples like they were the only thing keeping him alive. Or maybe I just knew, somehow, that this fool was about to become my problem.
So I stayed. Waited until the traders rounded the corner, then shoved a broken barrel into their path. The bigger one tripped and crashed to the ground, swearing loud enough to make a merchant across the street jump. The other stopped to help, giving us just enough time to disappear down the twisting alleyways I knew better than anyone.
When we finally stopped, both of us breathless and filthy, he gave me a lopsided grin—the same one he still flashes now, like he’s the Stars’ gift to the world. “Thanks for saving my life,” he said. “Want an apple?”
I should’ve walked away right then. But instead, I took the apple and sat beside him in the shadows, eating in silence.
That night, we didn’t talk about why we were alone or how we’d ended up stealing. I didn’t tell him about my parents, and he didn’t tell me about whatever he’d lost either. But by the time the moon reached its peak, we were a team.
Ronyn was loud, reckless, and impossible not to care about. And as much as I hated to admit it, he made surviving a little less unbearable. He taught me how to laugh again, even when there was nothing funny about our lives. I taught him how to move quietly, how to listen, how to fight.
Now, more than a decade later, he’s still loud and reckless, and I’m still saving his ass. Some things never change.
Revryn interrupts my nostalgic thoughts, “So, are you gonna tell me how you got out of there?”
“It involves a magical device, a mysterious Shadowweave, andher,” he jabs a finger in my direction, “setting a voidroot wagon ablaze. Are you sure you want to know?”
Trust Ronyn to lead with the most outlandish parts of my plan.
“Holy fuckin’ Stars, you two. You don’t do things by halves, do you?” Revryn drags a hand down his face, exasperated by us and our...adventures. “Okay. Start from the beginning.”
“Well, I arrived at The Barrier District and couldn’t find Ronyn. I knew Gellesk would know—he has eyes everywhere throughout the district, and he owed me a favor?—”
“Not that counterfeit crook, Isk. You know better than to dally with street criminals,” Revryn sighed.
“Rev, Iama street criminal. Anyway, I went to The Underbelly—I needed to drop off Tess somewhere safe, but I also knew he’d know where?—”
“WHO!?” All of them interject at the same time.
Oh Stars.“Long story, everyone. Tess. Her father sold her to The Flesh Circuit, and I just... couldn’t leave her.” Rescuing women—girls—from The Flesh Circuit is our unspoken law. I met Seren being loaded into one of the Flesh Circuit wagons when she was just twelve summers old. I used the blade I commissioned from Revryn at The Black Stream markets to send the wagon master back to the Stars, and Seren and I haven’t been apart since.
Seren’s eyes widen, and her hand floats to her chest in understanding. “Anyway, I got a bit...stabby.”
Ronyn snorts. “When aren’t you?”
I smirk—he’s not wrong. “He told me Ronyn was being held at The Tannery with Bloodbond guards, but I needed to get across the zone of wagons, so I,” I bite my bottom lip, preparing myself, “Kind of blew one up and used it as cover to get across.” I grimace, knowing this will set Revryn’s paternal instincts into overdrive.
Revryn sucks in a breath, seemingly speechless, so I continue.
“I fully intended to rescue Ronyn with stealth as my method, but ahh... the plan changed. Anyway,” I draw out the word, “I... disabled a couple of guards?—”
“With a knife across the throat,” Ronyn interrupts with pride, as if slashing weapons across necks is commendable.
“But I couldn’t find a way into his cell. The lock wasenchanted, of sorts,” I say cautiously.
“Enchanted?” Seren’s curiosity piques at that.
Revryn doesn’t say anything—just closes his eyes in exasperation.
