The sound of hushed voices pulled me into consciousness. They seemed slightly tense, and I strained even with my fae senses to hear them. They must’ve been far enough away, or something was separating them from me.

  “What are we going to do?” The female hissed. “We can’t leave him like this! We barely got him in here without being seen! We have to wake him up!”

  “Tried that. Multiple times.” The male voice responded. “I told you already, he’s not going to wake up until he’s ready. Magic is weird like that. He saved your life back there, you should be happy to accommodate whatever needs he may have. We got here safely, yeah? We’re just going to have to wait until he’s able before we continue with the orders.”

  I realized at that point they were talking about me. Finn and Sahara, I thought with relief, Good to hear she’s functioning. Their conversation piqued my interest, though. Finn had mentioned no longer being in the forest. Where was ‘here’? I hadn’t even bothered opening my eyes yet, as the light through my eyelids was bright and obnoxious. I sat up with a grunt and shielded my eyes before opening them. Even after my eyes adjusted, everything was too damned bright. I dragged my hand down my face and squinted as I took in my surroundings.

  I was sitting on a bed, in a room that was similar in size to my previous bedroom at Shane’s. My shirt was completely unbuttoned and untucked, and my belt as well as the rest of my belongings were on the floor beside me. Light glared through the window directly across from me, which led me to assume it was probably late morning. How long was I out? I wondered. I swung my feet to the floor and pushed myself off the bed. There was only one way to get answers, and I was tired of lying around. So I staggered to the opened door and braced myself against the frame. My legs were weak, and it felt like I could eat a cow. Sahara’s breath caught mid-sentence as she noticed me standing there.

  Finn was sitting at a dining table with a mug of coffee and an empty plate in front of him, while Sahara was leaning with her back against the sink. He followed her gaze until he saw what she was staring at. When his eyes met mine, the corners of his mouth tilted up into a crooked smile. “See, he’s not dead after all. Guess there won’t be a need for the funeral pyre out back. Pity.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and made my way gingerly to the table he was sitting at. When I dropped my weight into the chair across from his, I had to stifle a groan. I’m getting really tired of feeling like shit. I grumbled. August chuckled a little and offered, So stop doing stupid things.

  Sahara placed a warm mug in front of me, and I accepted it with thanks. The coffee was not great, it was pretty bitter and old-tasting. It was coffee though, and I wasn’t about to complain. So, I swallowed two long sips before I asked; “I’m starving. How long was I out?”

  Finn laughed a little to himself. “Too long.” Sahara piped in, as she started making me something to eat. She had steak and eggs on the stove, and the smell made my gut cramp with hunger. Finn raised his eyebrow and finally answered my inquiry.

  “Three days.”

  I choked on my coffee, and had to smack my chest a couple times to clear my airway. August chuckled inside my head at this being the third time in the last week I’d choked on something. Maybe you should learn how to consume meals without dying, he offered. Not. Helping. I snapped in return. “THREE DAYS?!” I repeated Finn’s words back to him, “How did we get here?! WHEN did we get here?”

  My companion rested his chin in his hand and leaned onto the tabletop. “Well,” he began, “After you woke Sahara up, you started lookin’ real funny. Next thing I knew, you were on the ground. Hells, I couldn’t even tell if you were alive, you were barely breathing. We waited for hours, but you didn’t move. Ended up camping overnight, we’re lucky the dryads decided not to come back with the fire we made. After we went all night and still got nothing out of you, Sahara and I decided we needed to move. So, she got the horses, and I threw you into the saddle of mine. It wasn’t easy. You’re heavier than you look, you know.”

  I stared at Finn, my lips pressed into a thin line. “And then?” I pressed, ignoring the last comment. “How did we get into this place? Is this your house, Sahara?” I asked, directing my eyes to her as she set a heaping plate of steak and eggs in front of me. “Oh Goddess above, this looks stunning.” She handed me a fork and knife, and I used every bit of self restraint to take normal sized bites.

  The meal was seasoned to perfection, and I savored every bite. “Mm,” I commented, “Your food is much better than your coffee.” Sahara scoffed at this, and Finn threw his head back in a loud laugh.

  “Thank you, I think?” Sahara finally spoke when Finn was done laughing, “This is the home Valen gave to me to use here in Ravenwood while I’m working. So, I guess it is my house, yes.”

  “Anyway,” Finn cut in, redirecting back to his story, “We finished the rest of the ride here with you on the back of my horse, and Sahara pulled your horse alongside her. It took up most of that day, since we had to move slowly so you wouldn’t fall off. It was nightfall again by the time we got into town, so it was easy enough to get you in without being seen. You bein’ a blue-skin and unable to change forms might’ve caused a stir in the daytime.”

  Well that’s one way to put it. I chuckled a bit as he continued, “You spent all day yesterday still unconscious. We tried a couple more times to wake you up. Sahara wanted to call somebody, but there’s not exactly a welcoming committee here for an exiled species. We were discussing this morning whether we should adjust the plan, and now here you are! Right as rain, yeah?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’m not dead.” I answered with a shrug, shoving the last bite of steak in my mouth. I quickly swallowed it and shoved away from the table, then picked up my tableware to bring it to the sink. “I need to stretch my legs, is there any chance we can go out and get a feel for the area?”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Sahara dried the dishes I washed and put them in their respective spots before answering, “We have all day. I have a meeting with a colleague from Underneath tonight, during the evening rush.”

  “I see. And what are we supposed to do during this meeting?” I asked, as I had clearly not been filled in on the plan.

  “Whatever it is that you do best.” Sahara answered simply with a shrug. “You’re supposed to get into the scene, and I’m handing you a man on a silver platter. My job is to get you in there. The rest is on you.”

  I was slightly taken aback by this. I had done impersonations in the past, but I’d always taken days beforehand to watch them and get a sense of exactly who I was supposed to be. I blinked a couple times and asked, “Are you serious? I’ve been awake all of one hour, and you expect me to take out and impersonate a man that I’ll only be seeing for the first time? And you don’t think it’ll be a TAD suspicious when this guy suddenly starts acting different, since I have NO sense of his personality, mannerisms, or general attitude? You’re telling me I’m just supposed to waltz in there, wearing another man’s skin, and no-one’s going to bat an eye?”

  Sahara’s lip curled at my question. “Ew. Is that what you do? You like, actually take their skin and wear it like a suit?”

  I blinked again and winced, shaking my head. “What? No! That's ridiculous.” I brushed the statement off with a wave of my hand. “Can you at least give me a profile on the man you're meeting? Can I have SOMETHING to go off of, so I'm not running into enemy territory utterly blind?”

  Finn cleared his throat and shuffled through a stack of papers that was sitting in front of him. “I have this?” He pushed the other papers aside and shoved one in my direction. “This is the man you mentioned yesterday, right, Sahara?”

  She leaned over my shoulder and nodded. “That's the one. You were pretty quick with that. You have my profiles on everyone down there?”

  Finn smirked at her. “Of course, milady. What else would I have been doing when I went back to his study yesterday?”

  He must be talking about Valen’s. I shuddered at the thought of our last interaction with him, and the wounds he’d suffered as a result. “How's your back?” I asked in all seriousness.

  “Fine, of course, I told you Alice is a miracle worker.” He sat up straighter and grinned, as if to prove his point. He then tapped the parchment in front of me to bring us back on track. I narrowed my eyes at the profile he’d found. It was simple, not nearly enough to make an accurate dupe from scratch. There were, at the very least, notes on unique quirks in his personality. I huffed my annoyance and picked up the paper.

  “Well, it’s better than nothing.” I grumbled as I folded it up and tucked it into my pants pocket. I stood up and looked between Finn and Sahara. “Give me twenty minutes, and then we’ll go out?” They both nodded and Sahara pointed me in the direction of the washroom.

  “Figure you’ll probably want to freshen up.” She mumbled sheepishly. I grunted my thanks and headed into the room she’d pointed to. It was a simple washroom, but it had plumbing, which was a luxury in a house this size.

  I splashed water from the basin into my face and hair, savouring the cold drops running down my neck. The glaringly obvious tattoo on my neck stuck out like a sore thumb in the mirror, and I scowled as I stared at it. Am I really ready to give up ten years of my life, like Finn has? August pondered this in my mind and answered, This is your path. All will be revealed when the time is right. Have faith.

  After drying my face, I walked across the house to the room I’d woke up in. After changing my clothes, I sat on the edge of the bed. I rolled my neck and shoulders to release tension. “I trust you.” I spoke out loud, as if the Goddess herself was standing in front of me. The magic hummed to life in my veins as I concentrated on bringing my Persona to life once again. I was finally back in the skin of Wren Huntsman, and it was more of a weight off my chest than I originally realized. I could blend in again, just be a normal person. When I opened my eyes, Finn was watching me from the doorway. His eyebrows were raised, however he was clearly trying to seem disinterested. I was suddenly self-conscious of him watching me shift.

  “You really have no sense of privacy, do you?” I snipped, though there was no venom in my words. “What do you want?” Even though I was wary, I did trust him. He was comfortable enough with me, clearly my species wasn’t an issue to him. He smirked and fussed with his hair, fluffing the curls around.

  “We’re going to be bonded brothers in Venom for the next three years, if we both live that long. You might as well get used to it. I just came to check if you were ready to go.”

  Bonded brothers. I repeated to myself, thinking. Then the question on my mind spilled off my tongue before I could stop it. “You’d really want to be brothers with someone like me?”

  “Someone like you?” Finn stepped into the room now and crossed his arms. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

  I hesitated, suddenly extremely sheepish. What DID I mean by that? I could’ve swore I felt August shrug in response. He stared at me with an unfaltering gaze, and I averted my own.

  “I mean, Hells, my species is outlawed, Finn. Even hearsay about your knowledge of me could be enough to get you killed for treason. Not to mention the things I’ve done in the name of work. Of staying hidden. You’re really saying you’d want to associate yourself with Rune of the Mist, Blessed Child of the Moon? Or does the open invite only extend to Wren Huntsman?” I motioned to myself, in the aforementioned Persona.

  I was bitter now, though I had no idea where this was coming from. It felt like all the pent up emotions I’d been shoving aside since leaving Haven suddenly spilled over. My thoughts raced too much for me to put into words until his voice cut through them like a shard of glass.

  “Rune.” He said plainly, still staring at me with questions burning behind his eyes. There was a sudden seriousness in his tone as he finally spoke again after what felt like an eternity. “You stood up to Valen in my defense. You saw my family, and my home. You saved my life, and Sahara’s, in the dryads’ forest. All as yourself, mind you. I’ve seen your work as Huntsman. I meant it when I told you before that I was impressed with you. You and I really only barely know each other, and this is our first mission together. But when you shook that man’s hand, just as I did, you signed years of your life away in order to protect those you love. That in and of itself is enough to hold my respect. There’s a bond of recognition there that no one but those in Venom will ever understand. That, my friend, is the brotherhood I speak of.”

  He stepped forward until he stood in front of me, where I still sat on the edge of the bed. Towering above me, he cleared his throat and offered his hand to me. “Right, now that’s enough of that. Let’s go find a tavern! I’ve been itching to play some cards.”

  I scoffed as I grabbed his hand and he hoisted me to my feet. “Finnegan, it's not even midday. I wanted to shop for supplies and scope out the town, not drink and gamble.”

  He waved me off and grinned. “There’ll be time for both, I suppose. We’ve got the whole day. Besides, how do you think I make all the extra money we use on our missions?” With that being said, he turned on his heel and marched out the door. I chuckled and shook my head before following him, his words staying at the forefront of my mind.