Chapter 92: You...Dropped Your Pinecones

“She just bowed to them and then left?” Miss Vissage crinkled her eyes and lowered her cup of coffee before looking towards where Tori and Piers were seated further away. A small table was between them, along with a piece of paper torn from Axton’s story guide.

Axton looked at his two friends as he sat at the head of the main table with the others. He had brought with him a map he was working on along with a small book where he’d written a storyline. It was still incomplete, but he doubted they’d finish the game in one sitting.

“The entire ballroom was silent,” Albert said as he rolled the dice. “Before that, once a name was announced, everyone clapped and talked about the young lady named.”

“No one clapped for Tori?” Miss Vissage frowned. “That’s rude.”

“Do you want people to clap for her considering the circumstances?” Mr. Vissage asked across from her. He was sipping on his own cup of coffee. “Half the people there were probably from Lycée. And everyone knows they don’t get along. Not to mention that Tori and His Highness Prince Piers are close. How could they clap knowing that?”

“What if they clapped and it bothered the first prince?” Henrik added. “Wouldn’t that be an affront to him?”

“At least she wasn’t in trouble for leaving suddenly,” Miss Vissage said.

“The important ceremonial parts were over,” Axton told them. “Albert, you opened the hidden panel. Henrik, you are with him.”

“I’m reading the glyphs on the wall for clues as to what’s inside,” Henrik replied as he rolled the dice. “And if everyone knows that they don’t get along, why would they put Tori on that list in the first place?”

“Lady Guevera has also been escorting His Highness Prince Piers for some time, has she not?” Mr. Zisos said as he eyed the map. “Isn’t it strange to put her on a list for the second prince?”

“Apparently, it has something to do with her accomplishments at the delta.” Albert shook his head.

“The better job one does, the more work they are given,” Mr. Zisos said with a sympathetic nod.

Axton and the others mirrored his sympathy. Axton looked back at Tori and Piers, who was still mulling over his game. “It could also be that someone doesn’t approve of a partnership between those two and wanted to cause trouble.”

“Oh...intrigue,” Miss Vissage said as her brother looked interested. “It doesn’t look like it had much effect, though.”

“Regardless of the reason, I believe Lady Tori deserves to be listed amongst some of the most accomplished young women in the empire,” Madam Martin said. She was moving between the tables, also clutching a small cup of coffee. Eventually, she took her seat and moved closer to Piers and Tori, who was leading Piers through a different storyline.

From what Axton could gather, it was a murder that Piers had to solve. Madam Martin seemed much more interested in it than in their fantasy game.

“Is everyone going to the delta next weekend?” Mr. Vissage asked. He and his sister didn’t play, but continued to observe the game.

“We should be!” Tori replied from her table. “We’ve started planting and I’m going on a tour around the farmland with Lady Idunn. Instructor Ignatius and I are also testing some aquamarine irrigation plans.”

“When’s the next time you are going to celebrate something?” Madam Martin asked. “Is it the last weekend of the Spring Festival?”

“We’ll be going there for the event, Madam Martin,” Henrik said as he looked over his shoulder. “However, we will mainly be hosting the visiting guests and have our Spring and Summer collection for Lions Gate presented there.”

“Will it be another overnight event?” Madam Martin asked, with a flash of excitement across her face.

“No, it will only be for one day, from dawn until evening, when we will have another fireworks presentation to finish off the event,” Henrik told her. “Although, we will invite a few to stay overnight in the resort tents on the beach, to further experience Viclya’s retreat hospitality.”

“We’ll also be staying the night,” Miss Agafonova said. “Except for Sonia and JP.”

“There are numerous lunches, dinners, and gatherings after the competition.” Mr. Vissage sighed. “We won’t have time to go to the delta with everyone.”

“Oh, that’s disappointing,” Madam Martin said.

“Madam Martin, after finals, we’ll be celebrating me and my brother, and Henrik’s, birthdays at the delta,” Miss Vissage said. “We’ll be staying in tents again, but we’ll get to stay longer. I’m bringing Ciel Noir.” She almost rubbed her hands together in glee. “All I could think about since we went for Ewan’s birthday is getting to ride around the shores.”

“Well, I’ll be doing training and review for the La Garda entrance exam,” Ewan told them.

“How long is it supposed to be?” Mr. Zisos asked.

“About two weeks.”

Miss Vissage let out a low hiss. “Two weeks of exams?”

“There are physical assessments and then time to rest before the written exams,” Ewan said, cringing. “If I pass them, there are the formal interviews I and my references need to have.”

“You’ll be fine,” Mr. Vissage assured him. “Especially with those written exams. Your scores have never been higher.”

“And then, we will have another celebration!” Miss Agafonova beamed. Ewan threw them thankful looks. “I just hope we don’t have to bring him again.”

“Him?” Madam Martin chuckled.

Axton sighed. “Prince Gideon. He intruded on our game night once.”

“He kept asking so many questions and making unnecessary comments,” Henrik exclaimed.

“Don’t get me started on not understanding what our classes did and then still trying to argue against us.” Miss Agafonova scowled.

“He will not come,” Piers said from the table. “There is no reason for him to.”

“I’d like to beat him and Hart in a boat race, though,” Miss Vissage said as she glanced to the side and took a sip.

“There won’t be sailors to help next time. Won’t it be difficult to have a boat race?” Mr. Vissage asked.

“Maybe the knights can help?” Miss Agafonova looked hopeful. “Can knights swim?” She looked towards Ewan who nodded.

“It’s a requirement.”

Miss Vissage let out a disappointed sigh. “I don’t think that’s really something we can ask of them.” She squinted and looked towards Axton. “Is it?”

Several pairs of eyes looked at Axton. “I’m sure Tori will figure something out if we have another boat race. I’m interested as well. Piers can always order knights to assist us if necessary.” He looked through his book. “Miss Agafonova, you’ve stumbled upon a pit of vipers.”

“Cast sleep.”

“Do vipers sleep?” Ewan asked.

“I’m sure they do,” Henrik said.

“I am kind of curious as to who would’ve been on Prince Piers’ engagement list,” Miss Vissage said. “There is an age range, isn’t there?”

“Four to five years older and younger,” Axton replied. “But it’s difficult for anyone young to get on that list, as they have to have some sort of significant accomplishment. It’s not all family background and wealth.”

“But Prince Piers didn’t have one, right?” Mr. Vissage asked.

Axton nodded. “Right.”

“He did.” Madam Martin spoke up and everyone at the main table seemed to freeze. They turned towards her, and Albert stared at her with disbelief.

“He did? But I thought....” He trailed off and looked towards Piers.

Axton also furrowed his brows together. “I was there, and he was never presented with a list.”

Madam Martin chuckled. “He was never presented with one, but the Chamber did prepare. They put together a list for Prince Piers, but circumstances as they were, it was simply never presented and discarded.”

Axton, as well as several others, turned towards the small table. Piers moved his hand over the paper. “Was his body face down?”

Tori nodded. “Yes.”

Piers narrowed his eyes. “I see....”

“Grandma,” Albert said as he leaned closer to Madam Martin. “Do you remember who’s on the list?”

Madam Martin shook her head. “Oh, goodness, no. That was quite some time ago. I can’t remember all ten.” She lowered her cup onto her lap. “I remember a cousin of Duchess Fekete, as she had strong business prospects and was revitalizing the economy of one of the near-by villages. Lady Guevera had been brought up in the initial discussions as a marquis’ daughter, but she is not local and was so young, so was not included.”

“Wait.” Miss Agafonova sat up straight and counted on her fingers. A panicked look appeared on her face. “Tori would’ve been twelve!”

“Eleven,” Mr. Zisos said with a disturbed look. “Lady Guevera’s birthday is in the sixth month. His Highness’ birthday is in the second month. Lady Guevera would’ve been eleven at the time.”

The table collectively looked disgusted. Madam Martin let out a laugh and wiped the corners of her eyes.

“My dears, she wouldn’t have married at eleven! And it’s only a list!” She looked at the group with amusement. “It has no actual meaning. It’s just for show.”

“Why was Tori considered?” Mr. Vissage asked. “Because of her family?”

“That is part of the criteria,” Madam Martin said with a smile. “There were few marquis’ daughters her age. I believe it was just her, actually. The General Marquis doesn’t have any children, the O’Tuagh daughters are all much older and married, and Marquess Nordursin only has sons her age.”

Axton narrowed his eyes as he looked towards Tori. Senior Kasen had mentioned his sister many times and there was one thing in particular she excelled in. “She’s also a dancer.”

“Tori?” Miss Vissage’s brows rose. “I know she could do formal dances, but aren’t most noble daughters proficient?”

Axton shook his head. “There is proficiency and then there is performance level.”

“Tori!” Henrik called over his shoulder. She looked over and gave him a questioning look. “How good a dancer are you?”

For a moment, she looked confused as to why they were asking all of a sudden. “I have a few awards.”

“Senior Kasen said that at the time, she was considered the best dancer of her age in Presidio,” Axton told them. “In formal regional and religious dances. She used to perform at their festivals, I think.”

Mr. Zisos looked surprised and turned towards her. “Lady Guevera, are you proficient in religious dances?”

Tori didn’t look up from the paper she and Piers were both staring at with intensity. “Ceremonial? Yes, specifically for Phirus, god of creativity. It’s a long and complicated dance. Kasey has one of his blessings for his trifecta, so I used to dance it for him on his birthday. The display is supposed to strengthen his blessing.” She paused and narrowed her eyes before looking up and across the table, at Piers. “Do you have a suspect?”

Piers took a deep breath. “Are you sure I am not the murderer?”

Tori gave him a deadpan expression. “You’re not the murderer, Piers.”

“What if I was possessed? I was possessed in the haunted forest,” Piers replied, meeting her gaze for a second.

Axton watched Tori purse her lips as she took a low breath. “This is not a crossover game. You are a constable investigating a murder. You are not possessed.”

Piers frowned and looked back at the table. “Is it the dog?”

Tori’s jaw dropped and she almost slammed her hand on the table, just stopping herself before she hit it. “How can it be the dog? How is he going to stab Mr. Holden?” Axton slowly nodded his head. He recognized that sound of frustration in her voice. He, too, often sounded that way when dealing with Piers.

“It is possible that the dog was biting the knife and Mr. Holden fell on it.”

Tori crinkled her eyes. “Are you even taking this seriously?”

Henrik let out a heavy sigh. “Perhaps it’s good that we don’t play with His Majesty.”

Axton let out a small snort and nodded as he looked back at the table. “He’s very critical of our game choices.”

“How often does he play single-player games?” Albert asked.

“Often. I’ll return to our flat and he’ll be pacing the main room, trying to figure out his next move. The only reason I know something isn’t really troubling him is because his comcry is glowing and I can hear Tori,” Axton told them. “Trust me, it’s for the best that we don’t play with him.”

“I will first rule out Mr. Young,” they heard Piers say. “While he is in love with Widow Avery and resentful that Mr. Holden, who already has a wife, was the object of Widow Avery’s interest, he was also not present at the time of death. He said he was coming home from work and was carrying his bag of tools, which was pointed out by Mr. Gorman, as having hid the weapon.

“Second, I will rule out Mr. Gorman. He was only accused because he had an argument with Mr. Holden the day before. Mr. Gorman works from his shop next door. While he could have entered the Holden house, it is unlikely that he, who has been a neighbor for years and generally had a good relationship with Mr. Holden, would kill him over his new dog digging up his flowers once. Most people would take their anger out on the dog, and typically, it would need to be reoccurring to bring Mr. Gorman to that level of anger. In addition, he also came when he heard a scream and had told Mrs. Holden earlier that as long as it didn’t happen again, there was no problem.

“The next person was the one who was there when Mrs. Holden woke up, Widow Avery. She did not murder Mr. Holden, either, because Mr. Holden was more valuable to her alive than dead. As she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, she likely didn’t want to be blamed for the murder, so she accused Mrs. Holden of killing her husband due to an alleged affair with Widow Avery.

“Which brings us to Mrs. Holden. She woke up covered in blood with a bump on her head and started screaming. This is because she found her husband dead. You mentioned that she had been outside, looking for their dog, who only seems to answer to her. Mr. Holden took her place in the kitchen to cut vegetables. You also said that the room where Mr. Holden was found was a mess with signs of a struggle and Mr. Holden’s sleeve was ripped. His body was face down in the doorway.

“I believe Mr. Holden was cutting vegetables in the kitchen, when he heard struggling in another room. Thinking it could’ve been an intruder, as he knew his wife was out, he took the knife with him. He opened the door, and the dog ran out between his legs, having been stuck inside and making a mess of it. Mr. Holden lost his balance and fell. He tried to keep the knife away from him, but his sleeve caught the door handle, keeping his arm with the knife up.

“As Mr. Holden fell, the knife slashed his throat, causing immense bleeding. The blood got on the floor. Mrs. Holden came home, slipped on the blood and fell, hitting her head. When she woke up, she was covered in blood and screaming. Therefore, there was no murder. It was an accident.”

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Piers looked at Tori with both a smug and satisfied expression.

Axton and everyone else also looked at her. Tori's eyes narrowed and she scowled. “Dammit.”

The group let out various groans of defeat and Axton looked at them with a knowing expression. “You see? For the best.”

A flash of light lit up the dark sky above them as a muffled explosion came through the glass. Upon arriving, Tori had traced the perimeter of the interior of the dining room with a crystal twice and wrote out Old Sulfae with it in order to keep the bone-shaking noise at bay.

The table where she and Piers sat further from the group had another two crystal circles and more Old Sulfae. Axton looked over to check on Piers and found him appearing a bit surprised, but not alarmed by the fireworks. Tori was holding on to Piers’ arm and talking. Axton let out a breath of relief.

It was really nice to have someone guard his friend with him.

To Ilyana, the period of time around the Spring Festival was the most hectic time of the year. More so than anytime there were exams. With exams, she knew what to expect and there was a rigid schedule. Exams were also spread out evenly. With the Spring Festival, multiple things were happening at once and to varying degrees of importance and effort.

The last two days, she had been helping prepare the Sword Association for their extremely popular pinecone challenge with Albert, which counted towards their participation in the event.

With them, Tori and Ewan were also caught up with preparing. In addition, Ewan was still practicing for the La Garda exam and Tori was working with Henrik on Lions Gate spring and summer releases that would be held in Viclya on the last weekend of the festival. Half their staff had been relocated there for over a week now to prepare what Tori called a ‘pop-up’ shop on the main plaza of the promenade, just next to Henrik’s restaurant.

With the chaos that was preparing for the event in the delta, Henrik and Mr. Zisos had ‘helped’ the Sword Association collect pinecones earlier. That counted towards their participation and conveniently left them free to go to the delta and prepare. Mr. Zisos was put in charge of hospitality logistics, as it fell within the scope of the group he was working with for his project.

Tori had been on a comcry call with them well into the night regarding the guest list, the guards, which included imperial knights assigned to assist with the crowd, and activities. There would be more people than there were at Ewan’s birthday party and, though they were staying for a shorter period of time, Tori and Henrik also had to arrange for business related meetings and tours with possible investors.

None of them had seen JP and Sonia in the last week. The two had been spending every waking free moment they could practicing for the Spring Three-Day Competition in two days. Even as Ilyana and the others were working with pinecones, the twins were in the equestrian practice grounds.

The competition itself was also something Tori had to work on.

As agreed upon with the headmaster, they arranged for the school to buy out a section where Lycée students could sit together and hold up banners to cheer for the school and its participants. A sign-up sheet had been posted in the main courtyard for those who wanted to attend, and they had a good number of students.

The additional spots were offered to the family members of the participants. There were a few more signs that had been ordered, along with cloth the colors of the school that would be distributed on the day of. Tori said that the idea was to make a large wall of green and gold to show their ‘presence’ and possibly intimidate the other schools.

Tori had drawn it out to give them an idea. However, JP and Sonia were still the only ones with their own personal signs. At least from Lycée. Ilyana wasn’t sure if the other schools would copy them this year.

She walked to the entrance of the exhibition area and looked around. The gates should’ve just opened to guests, and they’d get their first set of competitors soon. She looked back over her shoulder. The pinecone challenge area was set up, but a few people were still sorting additional pinecones. The game went through them quickly.

“Auntie Lucia’s valet called; they brought over the last of the sacks of pinecones,” Tori said as she lowered her comcry and slipped it into her pocket. She was surrounded by three other large canvas sacks and separated the pinecones into smaller crates to be used. “I need to go get them-”

“I can get them!” Ilyana turned around from where she was standing by the entrance of the Sword Association’s exhibition area. “Are they at the front of the school?”

“By the gates,” Tori said. “Wait a moment and I’ll go with you.”

“I can get it! The sack of pinecones isn’t that heavy.” Ilyana began to walk off and through the rows of tents and open space set up for Lycée’s Spring Festival.

“It’s not that it’s heavy, but the bag itself is big!” Tori called out.

“I’ll be fine!” Ilyana had helped carry out some of the sacks out from the storage area in the practice grounds that morning. She would be able to carry one back.

She walked through the now crowded central courtyard, looking from left to right at the various booths set up by the different organizations on campus. For a school with less than a thousand students, there were many groups and most of them took up a sizable amount of room. Several of them put on performances or had displays up.

Ilyana could also smell the scent of food in the area. She planned to go around with Albert later to collect different food sold to bring back to Tori and Ewan.

At the front gates of Lycée, there was another sign welcoming guests and garlands of flowers spanning above. Several tables were placed just beyond the gates for guests to check in and get simple maps of the area available for them to walk through.

Beyond it, carriages were dropping people off while others handed over their horses to grooms to be cared for while the guests explored their festival. Upon walking outside, Ilyana found the Biancci carriage at once. One of the family’s valets was waiting beside it with a large canvas sack tied closed at his feet.

“Hello! I’m here for Tori to pick up the pinecones!” Ilyana said with a bright smile as she bounded over.

“Good day, Miss Agafonova. It’s not a heavy bag, but it’s quite cumbersome. May I carry it in for you?” the familiar valet asked as he bent down to pick up the sack.

“No, no! We’ve already bothered you enough!” Ilyana rushed forward and grabbed the sides of the sack. “I can carry it! I helped carry the others earlier today.”

“Miss Agafonova, are you certain?” The valet was not convinced and didn’t let go of the pinecones immediately.

“I’m certain.” Ilyana assured him with a smile. “Release it. I can carry it.”

“All right....” The valet still didn’t appear convinced, but gently released his hold on the canvas sack. Ilyana adjusted it in her arms. As expected, it was light, but also wider than she was. She stuck her head around the side of the sack and continued to smile.

“Don’t worry! I can carry it! Thank you for dropping it off!”

With her head looking to the left of the canvas sack, she turned around and walked back into the school. Since the main areas of the campus were starting to get crowded, she opted to walk around the courtyard in order to avoid people. Her line of sight was limited to one side of the sack, but at this point, she was already inside, and it was too late to ask for help.

She supposed she could stop, put the bag down, and call Tori or one of the others for help, but she had wandered off insisting she could do it on her own. It’s not that far. And it’ll be clear once I pass this area.

It was rather loud, as more and more guests were coming in and students were calling out to them to lure them to their booths and exhibition areas. Ilyana was careful to watch her step, so as not to trip, and not move too quickly to surprise others.

“How dare you forget syrup on my cake! What kind of business are you running?” A shrill, high voice called out from her right, but Ilyana couldn’t see what was happening. “You’ll regret trying to cheat Girika-ah!”

Ilyana felt someone run into her right side and only then realized that the large sack of pinecones was knocked free. Her eyes widened as the top of the sack tilted to the side and opened. As if in slow motion, pinecones flew out from the force. Ilyana stretched her arms out to try to catch the bag, but it slipped through her arms. It landed in front of her, nearly causing her to trip, before falling over to the side and spilling even more pinecones on the ground.

Ilyana stared at the mess with her mouth open and slowly turned her head to look at who ran into her.

A first-year student, whom Ilyana recognized, stood frozen, pale, and gripping a small plate with a slice of cake so tightly, it was now crushed. The girl stared at the bag and then looked at Ilyana with a face of horror.

“You...you....” Her face reddened and she tore her eyes away. “I didn’t see you! Next time, watch where you’re going, Senior Ilyana!” She whirled around, flustered, and rushed off, awkwardly crying out that it was an accident this one time.

Ilyana lowered her head and let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. She knelt down and began to collect the pinecones that had fallen out of the bag.

“Well, the least she could’ve done was give you an apology.” A man’s calm, smooth voice spoke up behind her, and she could see someone reaching down to pick up pinecones.

Ilyana wore a wry smile. “No, when it comes to Girika, the fact that she acknowledged me by name is an apology in itself.”

The man let out a low chuckle. She saw the sack of pinecones being pulled upright. “A stubborn girl, I see. She reminds me of my sister when she was younger.”

Ilyana continued to collect a few that rolled away. “Is she still like that?” she asked without looking back.

“No, thankfully, she’s quite a responsible young lady now.”

Ilyana stood up with an armload of pinecones and turned around. She sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes dilated and the pinecones in her arms tumbled back to the ground. She thought she’d seen her fair share of gorgeous men since she came to Horizon, but there apparently was a bonus.

Her face heated up as her brown eyes met his surprised blue ones. Thick, curly dark hair fell over his eyes as he looked around and furrowed his thick brows. His pale skin was still quite youthful, and there was a faint shadow across his jaw, likely from not having shaved yet. Had an unshaven face always been appealing?

“You...dropped your pinecones,” he said. The tall man knelt down and began to pick them up.

“I’m sorry!” Ilyana flushed. Where were her friends when she needed someone to hide behind? “I was a bit surprised! I didn’t expect to see such a handsome - I mean a man so close!” Tori! Help me!

The man glanced up and a small smile tugged at his lips. “I was close?”

Ilyana tried not to whimper as she turned away and frantically picked up pinecones. “You sounded further away....” She avoided his direction until she’d gathered what she could and turned back to the canvas sack. A pair of large hands were holding it open for her. Somehow, it made the mortification worse. “Thank you.”

“It’s a big bag,” he said as she put the pinecones inside without looking up to meet his eyes. “May I carry it for you?”

A voice in Ilyana’s head was screaming as her face turned even redder. “Yes! I mean, no! No!” She had to focus. “I’m sure you have somewhere to go. I can’t distract you.” She cringed. “Not that I would!”

He laughed and smiled. “I can spare some time to carry a bag. Besides, it’s almost as large as you. If someone runs into you again, you could take quite a spill.”

Her internal screaming had not ceased. “Then, if you don’t mind.”

He gave her a pleasant nod and reached down. He grabbed the edges of the mouth of the bag and pulled them before tying it up securely. His sleeves were rolled up near his elbows and the lean muscles of his arms moved. Ilyana stepped back and watched as he heaved the canvas sack easily over his right shoulder and held it in place.

He’s just lifting a bag...why do I feel so hot all over? What’s wrong with me?

“Wonderful,” he said. He kept one arm around it to steady it and gave her a curious look. “Where are we taking these pinecones?”

Ilyana swallowed hard. “The...um...the Sword Association’s pinecone challenge.”

His eyes widened just a bit and he smiled once more. “What a coincidence. That’s just what I’m looking for. It seems it was fate to have run into you just when I entered.”

Ilyana bit her lower lip. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. Follow me.” She tore her eyes away from the man and began to walk forward. He followed just a half step behind her and as much as she didn’t know what to say, she couldn’t bear the silence. “Um...Are you here for the pinecone challenge?” Why did that sound so awkward?

“I’ve heard of it. It’s popular, right?”

“There’s a prize at the end of the week, if you’ll be here.” Please be here.

He smiled a bit more and Ilyana was dazzled. “What’s the prize?”

“From a store. Clothing. A jacket.” She cringed.

The man chuckled once more. “May I ask: what is the young lady’s name?”

“Me?” Ilyana stiffened and whirled around. “I’m sorry! I never introduced myself. That’s so rude. And you’re carrying a bag for me!” She couldn’t stop herself from rambling. “I’m Ilyana! Ilyana Agafonova.”

A flicker of recognition seemed to flash over his eyes. “So, you are Miss Agafonova. I heard the young lady call you Senior Ilyana, but wasn’t sure if I had the right one.”

Ilyana drew her head back as she blinked. “You’ve heard of me?” The most attractive man she’d ever seen knew who she was?

He let out a low laugh and looked ahead of them. Ilyana followed his gaze. They were close to the Sword Association and with many members walking around with swords, it was obvious.

“All the time. Consistently ranked first in the class. That’s quite a feat.”

Ilyana lowered her eyes and smiled as her cheeks remained red. “My friend said that her brother was ranked first all the way through Université. I’d like to do the same.”

“That’s an admirable goal, Miss Agafonova.”

Ilyana tried to suppress her giggle. He knows my name! I have to tell Tori. Tori appreciates a good-looking man. And this time, I found one!

They reached the entrance of the exhibition area and Ilyana had them stop. “We’re here. Let me ask where to put the bag.” She looked around and saw her friend still sorting pinecones. “Tori!”

Tori looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened. Her mouth dropped and suddenly, she was running forward. Ilyana knit her brows together. She’d just seen Tori a few minutes earlier; she couldn’t have missed her so much already.

Beside Ilyana, the man put the bag down and let out a laugh. He stepped forward and held out his arms.

“Kasey!”

Tori called out a name and Ilyana felt as if she were struck by lightning. She knew that name very well as Tori said it all the time. Ilyana watched as Tori jumped into her brother’s arms and hugged him tight.

The man laughed and wrapped his arms around Tori, nuzzling her head affectionately with his. “Surprised to see me?”

“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me?” Tori pulled away, still holding on to her brother as she looked up and gave him a confused look.

“Work,” the man said. He looked past Tori and eyed the set up for the challenge. “But I heard about this and wanted to try it for myself.”

Tori’s face lit up with a brilliant smile. “We’ll set you up as soon as we’re ready. Ilyana, you haven’t met him yet.” Tori turned to her with an energetic face as she stepped back and almost seemed to hold out her brother proudly. “He is Kasen de Guevera, my second older brother! Kasey, she is my friend and roommate I’m always talking about, Ilyana Agafonova.”

Ilyana's dumbfounded stare never left Kasen.

He looked back at her and then stepped back. He moved his arm over his stomach to give her a graceful bow. His eyes rose just a bit to meet hers as she caught sight of a gentle smile. Her heart slammed against her chest as she felt as if her entire body were on fire.

“I know,” Kasen said as his eyes crinkled up. “We’ve met.”

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