He kept his tone casual, but his mind flashed on the "mistake" anyway, bright and ugly.

Kael remembered the ’mistake’ that almost cost him his life.

Seeing Veylan Asher kill that poor reporter, and him witnessing it.

He felt his jaw tighten at the memory, then loosened it deliberately. Mentioning that name was like dropping meat in shark water. He didn’t know her. He didn’t know who she knew.

He didn’t want to tell her anything, after all, Asher was a Guildmaster and had a lot of allies. Some might kill him just for mentioning that guy in a bad light.

"Everyone has a story, I see," she said.

The words sounded simple. But the way she said them made it clear she didn’t mean "story" like an anecdote. She meant "weight." Everyone dragged something.

"How about you? What brought you to this forsaken place?"

Kael asked it like a genuine question, but he didn’t lean forward. He didn’t chase it. He gave her room to dodge if she wanted.

"Fate, bad luck, and responsibility." She said.

That answer was practiced. Like she’d said it enough times that it came out smooth, like a shield.

"Family?"

"A sister." She said.

"Young?"

"Twelve, alone, outside..."

That one hit Kael in the chest in a way the mountain air didn’t. His eyes dropped for half a second before he caught himself.

Kael sighed and propped his head down.

He didn’t say he understood. He didn’t need to. The silence did it for him.

"Looks like we’re in similar boats," she said.

"Yeah, how’d you figure?" Kael asked, confused and surprised. He tried to keep it light, but his voice came out quieter.

"I had that same look once I found myself in this tower..." She replied as she looked up. Melancholy? Sadness, he couldn’t tell. But something was there, deep.

Kael stared at the river surface, watched sunlight fracture on it like broken glass. He hated that she was right. He hated that there was a look. And that it was obvious on his face. He was a bad actor and needed to keep his emotions in check; otherwise, others could take advantage of that.

"Only way out is the top," Kael said as he held his head again and propped it against the rock.

He said it like a mantra. Like something you repeated until it stopped feeling impossible.

"It’s a long climb, not even the Fist King made it past 89," she said.

Kael’s head snapped slightly toward her, not fully surprised, she knew the name, but was surprised she said it so casually.

"You know of that guy?" Kael asked, but he didn’t mention him by ’master.’ This time.

He didn’t want to connect the dots out loud. Even here, even with river noise and open air, the tower had ears through people.

"Yeah, very strong, you remind me of him."

Kael’s nostrils flared. Irritation rose fast, irrationally fast, like a reflex.

"How the hell do I look like that crazy bastard?" Kael asked, anger almost exposed him.

She snickered, like she’d expected that reaction and enjoyed poking it.

"You both share the same build, you’re both massive, though, he’s bigger."

Kael rolled his eyes hard enough he almost felt it.

"Hey, don’t start comparing men, that’s rude," Kael said.

"Hah," she laughed, "No, I meant your size."

"I know what you mean, just lightening the mood, you feel like you could use that." Kael smiled.

The smile was small, but real. He’d spent a year being hit for "training." If he couldn’t joke now and then, he’d go feral.

Her gaze softened, barely, then shifted again, cutting straight to something she’d been circling since the moment she saw him.

"So, who is she?" She asked.

Kael frowned.

It wasn’t suspicion this time. It was the sudden discomfort of being seen too clearly.

"She?"

"The one you left behind, you looked like you were missing her."

Kael’s throat moved. He hated how true it was. Hated that it showed.

"How’d you know it’s a she?" Kael asked.

"Call it a woman’s intuition." She smiled.

Kael snorted once, then let the truth out because it was safer than letting her guess.

"Yeah, Mom, Mana poisoning," Kael said.

"Ah, must be tough, you said you worked construction?" she asked.

"Yes, why?"

She studied him the way you studied someone you didn’t want to pity but couldn’t help understanding.

She sighed, "I think I understand a bit... Work, menial one, in this day and age, and having a parent sick with a sickness that’s too expensive to cure... it must have been tough. You’ve been through a lot."

Kael stared at the fire. The coals shifted, a soft collapse inward, like the world exhaling.

"Yeah, can’t say that I’m happy about that, but looking at life in gray scale serves nothing."

He didn’t say it like wisdom. He said it like a decision he’d had to make to keep moving.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

Kael rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly awkward. He was better at punching rocks than explaining feelings.

"Ah, sorry, master’s influence, he’s pretty ancient. What I mean is, one gotta keep looking forward, shit happens, and you gotta roll with the blows, can’t just start crying when bad stuff happens to you, you gotta grit your teeth, and find a way out, claw your way out if you need to... I remembered it from something I’ve read..." he looked at her and said, "Struggle well, struggler." He said and sighed.

The last line landed like a stamp. Like he’d marked the thought and handed it over.

"That’s very apt... and a very dangerous look at life."

"Yeah, better than hugging your knees and crying, I bet no one’s gonna help, and there are more than a few that’ll even kick you while you’re down," Kael said.

He didn’t say it with bitterness. He said it with the calm certainty of someone who’d seen it happen and had no illusions left.

She then stood up, "I’ll have to thank you for your meal," she said.

Kael looked up, caught off guard by how quickly she moved for someone who’d looked half-dead earlier. Still cautious, still wounded, but the food had put a little color back in her.

"Leaving already?" Kael asked.

"Yeah, can’t stay here too long, someone might realize I’m here." She said.

The way she said "someone" made it sound like a whole list.

Kael followed her gaze without seeing anything. The mountain looked empty. That didn’t mean it was.

"Well, if you think so, you need more food to take with you?" Kael asked.

He wasn’t trying to keep her. He was being practical. Hunger was a leash.

"No, I can get some of my own. I’m better now, I’ll need to head out."

Kael nodded once, then, too late, his curiosity snapped up, sharp.

"What floor are you in, right now?" Kael immediately held his hands up, "Wait, don’t tell me. It’s too risky."

He corrected himself fast. Fast enough that it almost sounded like he’d practiced doing that.

She smiled, "I was going to tell you, you seem like a decent person."

"Hah, that’s a first," Kael sighed, "But for real, don’t tell me. I think you’re being hunted, having someone else to worry about isn’t worth it. As for the meal, once we meet next time, you’re buying," he said as he stood up.

He stood, stretching his back, feeling the weight of his rings and the ghost of bruises. He offered her the easiest kind of kindness: the kind that didn’t bind either of them to anything.

"Thanks," she replied and grabbed her weapon and then walked away.

Kael could only stare as she slowly disappeared from sight.

Not because he was dazzled. Because she moved like someone who’d survived too long to be careless, and those people were rare.

"Couldn’t even get her contact info, foolish disciple." Kael heard as he felt the presence of the Fist King right next to him.

Kael’s spine went tight.

He gulped, because he was sure the green dot of the Fist King was pretty far away.

"Hey, master, why are you here?"

He didn’t even get the end of the question out clean.

He smacked Kael on the back, with enough force to make him fall to his knees, a red palm print painted on him.

The impact knocked the air out of Kael’s lungs in a sharp grunt. The ground rushed up, cold stone biting through his kneecaps, and his hands caught him before his face did, because his body had learned that lesson the hard way.

"Ouch! What was that for!"

The Fist King’s silhouette loomed in his peripheral vision like a wall that moved when it felt like it.

"You ate the thighs! Both of them! And you wasted too much time flirting, we’re doubling your training for today!"

Kael’s forehead pressed briefly against the rock as if he could will reality into mercy.

"Fuck..."