“Tori.” Darius steepled his fingers. “You’ve come far since you first wandered into this guild.”
Oh. Uh … okay. I bobbed my head. Did he really need to drag me away from my about-to-begin party to tell me that?
“Clara mentioned that you recently finished final exams for your college term. How did they go?”
“Not bad.” Especially considering how many classes I’d missed in January and February. “Pretty sure I passed everything. My Associate’s Degree is in the bag, and if I complete another two years, I can get the full degree.”
“Have you decided if you’ll pursue your full degree?”
“Um … not really. I haven’t decided anything.” I squinted at him. “Why do you ask?”
He smiled seriously. “While updating me on your exam progress, Clara also informed me that she’s utterly fed up with trying to run a guild and a business at the same time, and I need to hurry up and promote you to pub manager.”
“M-manager?” I stammered.
“If you accept, your responsibilities will include ordering, accounting, scheduling, staffing, licenses, maintenance, and so on. Clara will oversee all your training, and once you’re ready, she’ll withdraw entirely from the pub side of the guild to focus on her AGM duties.”
My mouth hung open.
“You’ll also have more schedule flexibility should you choose to pursue bounty work on the side,” he added. “Felix indicated in his last evaluation that you’re ready to apply for your bounty license.”
“He did?” I blurted.
“For your first year, you’ll need an officer’s approval for every case you take on—which won’t be difficult to obtain, I imagine.”
Yeah, because any bounty I wanted to take on that was too difficult, Aaron the Fourth Officer would just go with me. “I—I’m not sure … what I … I mean …”
Darius assessed my stunned expression with an understanding twinkle in his eyes. “Take your time and think about it.”
As I nodded, he circled the desk and held out his hand. After a moment of confusion, I placed my hand in his. He drew me to my feet, smiling warmly.
“Before your new career options distract you too much, we should return to the party. I have a bar to prep.”
Right. The party.
Darius and I returned to the main floor, and with a panicked look at the clock, I shouted for everyone to quiet down and get in position. They all scooted toward the pub entrance, leaving an empty half circle around the door. I squeezed through to stand at the front of the group, wringing my hands nervously.
Behind the bar, Darius waved casually, and the room went pitch black. In the eerie silence, the seconds ticked into minutes.
“How long do we have to wait?” Cameron whispered from near the back.
“Shh!”
Another minute ticked past, then I heard it: Aaron’s familiar voice, chatting exuberantly about something, drawing closer. Footsteps scuffled outside, then the door swung open.
Ezra stood in the threshold, lit by the streetlamp outside, his amusement at whatever Aaron had said flickering into confusion when he saw the pub’s dark interior.
The lights popped back on, and right on cue, a deafening shout blasted through the room:
“SURPRISE!”
My voice rang the loudest, and Ezra reeled back into Aaron, shock all over his face. Laughter and cheers broke out, and I ran forward, arms outstretched. The rest of the guild crowded in behind me.
As Aaron nudged Ezra across the threshold, I grabbed him in a hug. He gawked at me.
“What—is this—Tori!” he complained, half laughing.
I beamed. “Happy birthday!”
His astonishment softened, and he dipped his head for a swift kiss.
Half the guild wolf-whistled, and Ezra quickly straightened, rolling his eyes. Kai appeared from the group, snagged the aeromage’s arm, and pushed him into the crowd for birthday hugs and well wishes.
I nudged Aaron. “Perfect timing!”
“Of course.” He preened. “I’m a pro at this stuff.”
“Really?” Kai replied with a snort. “What about Ezra seeing my text about picking up his gift? I had to pretend it was a present for Izzah.”
“I was showing him a funny video! How was I supposed to know you’d text me right at that moment?”
Ignoring their banter, I watched Ezra receive a dozen birthday hugs before deciding the length of the room was too much distance between us. As I set out to join him, someone started music. Darius, behind the bar with his sleeves rolled up his forearms, was pouring drinks with a level of finesse I’d need another twenty years of practice to reach.
I wove through the gathered mythics, stopping to hug people, laughing, teasing. All familiar faces. All friends—no, family. Some closer than others, some nicer than others, but they were all my family now.
Justin tagged after Sin, grinning like a lovestruck idiot as she bounced from friend to friend, telling everyone about his new job. Cameron, Darren, Cearra, Alyssa, Riley, and Liam had started a drinking game. Lyndon, Bryce, and Drew had stationed themselves at the cupcake tray and were methodically eating their way through the sweet desserts.
Our witches Kaveri, Kier, Delta, Philip. Our officers Girard, Felix, Tabitha. Our healers Elisabetta, Miles, and Sanjana. And our newest member, who was in earnest discussion with Alistair: Blake, formerly of the Keys of Solomon.
The Keys of Solomon guild was no more. Too many members had betrayed them and too many had died, and the guild had quietly disbanded once the MPD’s investigation into their actions had closed. I was openly delighted to have Blake as part of our crew—and secretly happy that he’d finally let go of Enright to find a fresh start in a new city and at a new guild.
Not every face I longed to see was present, but that was okay. Almost everyone was here, and happiness swelled in my heart until it felt like it would burst.
Music pounding and voices raised in boisterous conversation, the party swirled around me. Finally, I made it over to Ezra at the end of the bar, and a moment later, I was tucked against his side, his arm around my waist as he laughed at the story Andrew was telling him—something involving
