They returned to the road by dusk.
Aerin walked unsteadily, exhaustion weighing down every step. His face was pale, his eyes unfocused—but he said nothing.
Lyren noticed everything.
The closer they got to the city, the more Lyren felt it—that faint pressure trailing behind them, like a ripple spreading through still water.
*The guild will notice,* he thought.
They always did.
At the city gates, the guards barely spared them a glance. Copper-ranks weren't worth attention.
That, at least, hadn't changed.
Inside the guild hall, the noise swallowed them whole. Laughter, clattering mugs, the scent of ale and sweat—it was the same chaos as always.
Too normal.
Lyren headed straight for the reception counter.
The clerk barely looked up. "Report?"
Lyren placed the parchment on the desk. "Lurden Forest investigation. Strange noises confirmed."
"And?" the clerk asked.
"Territorial monsters," Lyren replied smoothly. "Shadowfangs. A Direhorn further in. No signs of corruption or ritual activity."
That part was true.
"What about casualties?" she asked.
"None," Lyren said. "We withdrew before escalation."
The clerk nodded, already stamping the report. "Smart. That forest isn't worth dying over."
She slid the parchment aside and reached for the reward coins.
Aerin stood behind Lyren, silent.
Too silent.
The clerk glanced at him. "You look rough. Monster poison?"
"No," Aerin said quickly. "Just fatigue."
Lyren didn't look at him.
The clerk shrugged. "Copper-ranks shouldn't push themselves."
She handed over the payment.
Routine. Dismissive. Forgettable.
Exactly what Lyren wanted.
They stepped away from the counter.
Aerin finally spoke once they reached the edge of the hall. "You didn't tell them."
Lyren kept walking. "No."
"You didn't tell them anything," Aerin said.
Lyren stopped near a support pillar, far from listening ears.
"If I had," he said quietly, "they wouldn't have let us leave."
Aerin frowned. "They didn't even ask."
"They didn't need to," Lyren replied. "The array would have."
Aerin stiffened. "You think they noticed?"
Lyren didn't answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
"You lied," Aerin said.
"Yes," Lyren said simply.
Aerin clenched his fists. "Isn't that dangerous?"
Lyren turned to face him.
"What happened out there," he said carefully, "wasn't something the guild could 'handle.' Not with patrols. Not with ranks."
"Then what is it?" Aerin asked.
Lyren's expression tightened.
"I don't know," he admitted. "And that's exactly why they can't know yet."
Aerin looked away. "I don't like this."
"I know," Lyren said.
"But," Aerin continued, voice low, "I don't want strangers deciding what I am either."
Lyren studied him for a long moment.
Then nodded. "Good."
Aerin looked back, surprised. "Good?"
"It means you're still thinking like yourself," Lyren said. "Not like a problem someone else needs to solve."
Aerin swallowed.
They stood there, surrounded by noise and laughter, utterly alone in the truth they now shared.
Far beneath the guild hall, a crystal chimed softly.
Once.
Then went still.
Lyren didn't hear it.
But somewhere deep inside, he knew:
This lie would not last forever.