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He was enjoying the power play. He knew that I knew there was no escaping this encounter without causing a scene, since he had sent out several official requests while I was traveling or fulfilling requests.

For some reason, Nebold was under the impression I had to drop everything and come running back to Gilamorst whenever he beckoned.

Fucking wily bastard. "Of course you did."

Nebold waited until I came alongside him. His nod of approval made me feel like he was training a hunting dog instead of interacting with a human. With the stiff shuffle of a man not used to much walking, we slowly made our way back down the hall into the depths of the guild.

"Tell me of your recent work, Haron." Again with the commanding, never a casual question with him. "With how you ignored all my previous summons, I assumed you were involved with some secretive or dangerous jobs."

I kept my hands clasped at the small of my back and my gait slow and even. "There were a few cases with some prominent figures, but nothing outside of what I could handle. Mostly settling family disputes or finding dead bodies in Ber's Forest. You know, the usual."

There was no fucking way I was telling him about Trisne Pid.

For all I knew, Nebold was the one who buried her himself and tried to make it look like a novice's attempt at hiding a dead body. He was shrouded in so many corrupt and shady dealings with the Highlans it would not shock me in the least if he’d rid them of unwanted children before.

Everyone knew Jinon had no love for his daughter, even less so when she publicly announced her withdrawal as a bridal candidate for the almighty Prince Irin Gailish.

I doubted Nebold was the one who wrote the letters, but I would not be at all surprised if he helped Jinon hide Trisne's death.

Finally, Nebold huffed a sigh. "I see. Well, we can discuss more about my expectations in my study."

He was referring, of course, to the looming double doors we had stopped at.

They were quite gaudy and just as falsely foreboding as Nebold, carved with intricate designs of skeletons clad in armor and bearing weapons, as if rallying for war.

There were rows upon rows of them, all standing at attention in a militaristic formation, with the Wiran eclipse of the double moons, Desper and Gilana, rising high above them in the sky.

When the larger red moon Desper moved in front of its blue counterpart, it was believed to give immeasurable strength from the Dark Goddess herself for necromantic castings.

However, one has not been seen since the fall of the Julran empire.

Some thought it was the goddess Wira punishing humans for letting her beloved kingdom of followers fall to war.

So of course, Nebold thought it proper to carve her sacred eclipse into his fucking door. From how the skeletal army stood, it was like they guarded the room beyond the doors from whoever deemed themselves worthy enough to visit Nebold in his private study.

“Please, come in.” Nebold gestured to the door. One of his assistants stationed beside them scurried forward to grip the knobs and push them open with a small huff of effort. “Can I offer you a drink?”

So you can poison me with it?

“I’m fine, thank you.” I followed him inside the study, trying not to roll my eyes at how overdone the decorations were.

Skulls mounted on the wall, a complete skeleton in the corner hanging limply from fine wires attached to the ceiling as if it were floating in the air.

“Happy to see not much has changed here since I last visited.”

The barbed compliment flew right over Nebold’s head as he shuffled around the monstrosity he called a desk. It was offensive to my minimalistic tendencies. “Thank you, Haron. I pride myself on consistency. Change is for the fickle-minded.”

“I beg to differ, but I don’t think you brought me in to debate philosophies.”

“No, I did not.” He settled into the wide wing-backed chair with the groan of a feeble old man. “At least I have no plans to debate my point. This is more of an intervention.”

The pause he added was obviously meant to intimidate. Leaning back in the chair, fingers laced together and the picture of authority, Nebold leveled a stern glare at me across the room. “Are you going to sit down?” It was a question, but not one he expected me to answer.

“Nope,” I popped the ‘p.’ “I’m not planning to stay long, so I’m fine by the door.”

One of his greyed eyebrows rose in question. “Oh? What makes you think you have the power to determine when you are allowed to leave?”

I rocked back onto my heels and slid my hands into the tight pockets of my leather pants.

This little back-and-forth was nothing if not amusing.

He didn’t seem to feel the same, his expressive brows now lowering slowly over his eyes.

“Firstly, trust me when I say I have more than enough power to leave if I want to. Secondly, I have not done anything outside the guild’s constitution to warrant detention. ”

“And you think ignoring your master isn’t a punishable offense?”

I couldn’t hold back the waves of laughter that exploded from my chest. It was almost enough to bend me in half from how ridiculous Nebold sounded.

By the time I recovered and wiped the tears to clear my eyes, he was hovering over his desk with his palms firmly planted on its polished black surface. Nebold looked an inch away from murder.

“Sorry, sorry,” I fanned myself, trying to compose myself.

“The fact you think you are my master is the best joke I’ve heard from you yet!

Tell me, in what way does a guildmaster elevate themselves to that kind of status?

Because the last time I checked, my profession has nothing to do with my personal life.

And what proof do you have that I was ignoring your missives?

Did you think maybe I was, oh I don’t know, working ?

A message a day for two moon phases is a bit much, don’t you think?

That's fourteen pieces of paper, wasted!

Think of all the diary entries you could have used that paper for!

I'm sure you'd need them to feed the ever-hungry appetite of your ego.”

“You come when you are summoned, no matter the assignment you are on.” It was impressive how many shades of burgundy Nebold’s face had managed to turn in the short time of our conversation.

If I didn’t hate every fiber of his measly existence, I’d be concerned about his health.

“You are a member of the Necromancy Guild, and as such are duty-bound to obey me–”

“I’m going to stop you there, Nebold.”

He sputtered at the lack of formality, using his given name.

“I chose to join this guild because I happen to do most of my business in this city, and was under the assumption I would get some mutual benefits from bringing my tithes in exchange for referrals. If we are being blunt with each other, I am more likely to get jobs by not mentioning any association with your twisted little union over here. So spare me the ‘bow down and obey’ shit you press on all your little followers and leave me be, or I will take my tithe elsewhere.”

The study felt like it had become a vacuum with how the air stilled at my open threat.

Even the sawing breaths from Nebold’s lips cut short.

Maybe he thought he was being wily, building his magic in silence for some kind of nasty spell, but he grossly underestimated how underwhelming his talent was.

For men like him, strength only came in the form of blind loyalty from the weak-minded.

“Keep your curse to yourself, Nebold. It will not end well for you to cast it my way.” I reached for the knob of the right door and yanked it open effortlessly.

One of his lackeys stumbled in as if he was eavesdropping.

“And stay out of my way in the future, if you don’t want to see just how well-studied I am. ”

My foot barely touched the hallway floor when a strong grip caught my wrist. A snarl, wholly inhuman even to my ears, ripped from my mouth as I twisted it around in an effort of self-defense. “Don’t touch me again, if you want to keep that hand.”

There was a commotion in the study—mostly Nebold barking orders to his followers to make sure I didn’t leave—that I left behind as I sprinted down the hall.

Other guild members loitered in the grand hall, exclaiming as they were pushed aside by the growing crowd trying to catch me.

My hand just barely rested on the main entrance door when I was yanked back again.

This time, I whirled around and snatched the man’s arm at the wrist. “I told you not to touch me.”