With feminine grace, learned from a lifetime of practice with his mother Dalila,  Lynn descended the stairs that led to the inn’s main room. Adan was following a few steps behind with an annoying smile on his lips, and as soon as the pair came into view, the soldiers waiting on the first floor practically jumped to their feet.

“Princess!” they greeted in unison, bowing respectfully.

Lynn barely glanced at the gathered soldiers in the room. Instead, he floated up to Colonel Dallas and gave the woman a frosty look.

“Well?” he asked, skipping all forms of greetings. “Will I be disappointed?”

“I . . . I believe not,” Dallas replied steadily after a shaken start. “The girl has agreed to speak up, but . . .”

“But?” Lynn interrupted. “I am not liking the sound of this, Colonel.”

Dallas didn’t let herself get too fazed by Lynn’s comment. “She has agreed to speak, but will only do so to the King’s fiancée – to you, Princess Lynn.”

“Oh? And you couldn’t convince her otherwise?” One of Lynn’s meticulously shaped eyebrows arched. “Impressive girl.”

“This soldier has let Your Highness down.”

“Yes,” Lynn agreed, hearing a muffled chuckle from behind him. He ignored Adan’s little outburst, though; “but I suppose it doesn’t matter as long as we get our answers.”

Lynn turned towards Adan, only to find his makeshift bodyguard surveying the other men in the inn.

“Is something the matter?”

“Hmm? Oh, not really, no.” Adan had seemed distracted at first, and Lynn was about to ask about it further when Adan countered by simply flashing him a crooked smile. It was perhaps more of a snicker than a smile, but the deep warmth in Adan’s eyes caused Lynn’s mouth to twitch and he quickly turned away.

He decided to drop the matter.

“Then let’s go; lead the way, Colonel.”

---

“You are refraining from mentioning this morning’s attack,” Adan’s A.I. stated as the former walked through the streets a few steps behind Lynn. The group was moving rather fast but for Adan it was a leisurely pace.

“What attack? Sai, I just went to the roof to practice; anything else would be against protocol. I wouldn’t dare to break protocol.”

“. . . It is requested of Sai to point out that you are lying. Sai is well aware that following protocol means nothing to you.”

“Not when it leads to more interesting situations, I don’t – remember the Listless Planet?”

Adan gave her A.I. a mental wink and could almost feel the latter shudder in response.

“That situation should serve as a learning experience.”

Adam shrugged, mischievous mirth in her eyes. “I followed protocol.”

The A.I. actually sighed at this point, causing Adan’s smile to spread to her lips; making her artificial companion show emotions was always a victory for her.

“As for the people who played a part in my target practice . . .” Adan glanced over her shoulder, smiling wistfully at the soldiers behind her. “Time will tell.”

---

The walk back to the convent didn’t take long, and once they arrived, a horde of blonde, petite girls greeted them outside the massive doors. As whispers fluttered about Adan like moths to flame, the rest clung to Lynne’s every movement with near-religious awe.

Adan snickered; their voices might be soft, but she had no problem hearing what they said as they giggled and commented on Adan’s appearance. The day before, Adan had been too exotic, too foreign. Now, with the initial surprise out of the way and her assistance yesterday, Adan’s “male” charms could no longer be ignored.

“Aren’t you popular. . . .” Lynn muttered to Adan, causing the latter’s smirk to widen further.

“You are quite popular yourself,” she teased back, gesturing to star-struck girls.

“That’s not the type of attention I want. . . .”

Lynn rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. However, inspiration suddenly seemed to hit him because in the next moment, Lynn deliberately stepped on the hem of his own dress, causing him to stumble forward. Adan acted on reflex more than anything and stretched out her arm, effortlessly catching the falling beauty.

With Adan’s arm around his waist, Lynn looked up at her with tender eyes. “Thank you, sir Adan,” he breathed, his voice soft like summer rain. He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear: “At least now, you also have some unwanted attention.”

Satisfied, Lynn slipped out of Adan’s embrace and stepped towards the convent doors, completely indifferent to the gathered crowd, which swiftly made way for him as he walked. Adan stared blankly at Lynn’s departing back for a moment before bursting out laughing.

“Well played!” she chuckled.

Adan, too, headed for the convent, ignoring the mixed glares she was getting, ranging from the disappointment of the swooning girls to the outright hatred from the male guards. Not surprisingly, only the few female guards followed to enter the convent; at least their gazes had yet to turn hateful.

Inside, the elaborate water fountain was now active. Standing in front of it was a middle-aged woman with light brown hair. Adan recognized her from the day before; she was one of the senior priestesses of the convent and Adan assumed that she was the one who was normally in charge around here – when the king’s own representative didn’t commandeer the ship, so to speak.

“The moons have blessed your journey, Lady Lynn,” the woman said, her arms forming a circle as she curtsied politely to Lynn.

“And our meeting,” Lynn replied, mimicking the gesture.

“This way, Honorable Lady. The Reverend Mother and the . . . Sun Tribe Duke are keeping vigil over the prisoner.”

As the woman moved away, Lynn leaned in to whisper in Adan’s ear. “She is a traditionalist, this one; very few priestesses still use the blessing of the moons as a greeting anymore.”

“Is that so.”

Lynn rolled his eyes and stopped trying to explain.

Down a narrow staircase lit by torchlight, the group entered a damp stone chamber deep beneath the convent. A swirling cyclone of flame coiled in the center like a living barrier, casting dancing shadows on the walls.

Adan paused. The fire was impressive—not hot, but dense, controlled.

“Impressive firebending,” Lynn said mildly, nodding to Kimba.

“Not nearly as impressive as what you might command,” the Duke replied, glancing pointedly at Adan.

Adan quirked an eyebrow. Ambitious expectations, Duke.

“Take down the barrier,” Lynn ordered.

Kimba flicked his hand, and the flames dissolved into smoke. Inside, bound by thick coils of water, a bruised, scrawny girl knelt motionless. Her clothes were torn; dark patches of bruising and blood marred her skin.

Lynn frowned. “Chains of water and a prison of flame? This seems excessive.”

Kimba spoke first. “The flames were to keep others from ending her life. The water keep her from doing it herself.”

“And the bruises?” Adan asked dryly.

Amaris sniffed. “Necessary. Or are you sympathizing with this traitorous little half–?”

“Human,” Lynn snapped, voice sharp as a blade. “Mind your words, Reverend Mother. Your ignorance is tiring.”

Amaris flinched but bowed. “Your Highness’s grace knows no bounds.”

Adan snorted under her breath.

Lynn stepped forward, his presence pressing like cold air.

“You asked to speak to your future Queen. So speak. Who sent you?”

The girl’s head snapped up, eyes blazing with hatred. “You’re no queen of mine, you spoiled wretch!”

Dallas moved in an instant and struck her across the jaw. A crack echoed in the room.

“Colonel,” Lynn scolded, voice cold. “Violence isn’t necessary. She’s entitled to her foolish opinion.”

“I don’t need your pity!” the girl spat.

“Then what do you want?” Lynn asked. “Who gave the order?”

The girl’s expression shifted—from rage to something eerily reverent.

“You’re just like the rest—blind, pompous, deaf to the truth!” the girl snarled. “I was sent by a being of the world itself!”

Lynn arched an eyebrow. “By whom, exactly?”

“The Spirit of the Sun,” she hissed, eyes gleaming. “She came to me in a dream. She will purge the false blood and raise our tribes again!”

“Ha!” Amaris scoffed, shooting a triumphant glare toward Adan and Kimba. “Just as I thought. Your kind can’t be trusted.”

Kimba stepped in calmly. “Don’t be absurd. This child is deluded.”

The girl laughed—a short, cracked sound. “Deluded? You turned your back on the Tribes. You’re just their dog now.”

Her voice rose with zealotry. “But the Spirit will return. She’ll burn away all false believers, and only fire benders will remain!”

“You’re a water bender,” Adan said dryly.

The girl flinched. “My faith will spare me.”

Adan and Lynn glanced at each other, both seemingly coming to the same conclusion.

Lynn looked tired. “So you’re a zealot, not an assassin. That’s disappointing.”

Colonel Dallas stepped forward. “With respect, Princess, she insisted on this story even under interrogation. We thought… she might offer more to you.”

“Has anyone even asked her name?” Adan muttered.

“She refused to give one,” Dallas admitted.

As they spoke, Adan scanned the girl, data flickering behind her eyes. “No deception markers. But perhaps the neural patterns . . . —Sai?”

“The subject might be suffering from mental illness. However, Sai calculates indoctrination is more probable. Possibly deep-seeded memetic conditioning.”

“Not unlikely indeed,” Adan agreed; “at least, she believes her own nonsense.”

“She did say something about a descending spirit,” Sai noted. “You are a female fire bender who fell from another dimension.”

Adan suppressed a chuckle. “Are you suggesting that I have visited her dreams too?”

“. . . Sai notes that there are several missing log-entries for the time period between the explosion that brought you here and Sai’s reboot; who knows what you were up to while you were alone?”

Adan blinked. “Sai. . . . Did, did you just tell a joke?”

“Sai will neither confirm nor refute such claims.”

Adan chuckled aloud.

Everyone turned toward her.

“Something funny?” Amaris hissed.

“Just realizing our prisoner here has been giving me quite the amorous looks,” Adan replied smoothly.

“I have not!” the girl snapped. But with her swollen face, it was hard to tell whether she was furious or flustered.

Adan knelt beside her, fingers lifting the girl’s chin. “Don’t be shy,” she said, voice honey-sweet. “You’re quite charming when you’re not threatening to commit regicide.” Adan leaned closer, her other hand slipping in behind the girl’s neck, softly supporting her head

“Don’t -. . .” Lynn started, but it was too late; Adan’s lips were already pressed against the girl’s, the pair locked in a gentle kiss.

The room froze.

The girl resisted for half a second, then melted. Her lips parted with a soft gasp. With a hidden sneer in her eyes, Adan deepened the kiss—slow, precise, almost clinical. Then, just as the girl let out a breathy moan, she pulled away.

“Feeling better, darling?” Adan asked softly, but the girl was too dazed to answer. The tension in her shoulders had melted. Her gaze, wild moments before, had turned glassy—open. Compliant.

“You will be a good girl and answer all our questions, right?”

A faint nod.

“No lies. Promise?”

Another nod.

Adan rose and dusted her knees. “She’s all yours.”

She turned and met four stunned faces.

“What?” Adan asked, still smiling innocently.

Dallas stared, lips parted as if about to object, then shut her mouth with a snap. Kimba coughed awkwardly into his hand. Lynn’s face a lovely mix of shock, anger and embracement.

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