Liz wasirely sure what to think of Natalie’s reveal. It was a lot to take in. Worse, they’d be at the dungeoran less thay minutes—probably fighting monsters within thirty.

  Almost more than Natalie sneaking out a monster core, the fact she’d dropped this on them right before the dungeon had Liz the slightest bit miffed. Because, really. A girl ime to think all … that … over. Maybe that had even been Natalie’s iion. Maybe she had presented her misdeeds, and the odd information, specifically timed so that they didn’t have the opportunity to stew over it.

  Liz didn’t think so. She knew a schemer when she saw one. Growing up, she’d known more schemers than not. Even some of her best friends were ones. Heck, even she was, on occasion. She really, really hated politics, but it wasn’t like she could get away from it all. Her st name was Beaumon. Fourteenth in line or not, monarchy more or less dissolved ihing but name or not, Liz to her eyeballs in iving politis and ingratiating sycophants.

  Which was how she knew Natalie wasn’t one. Or, y-nine pert sure. Natalie hadn’t phe timing. Rather, she’d just worked up the hen—or otherwise hadn’t had the ce to get everyoogether.

  Though, clearly she was capable of petently lying, since Liz hadn’t suspected a thing about her theft. But for sure, she wasn’t some grand maniputor, either.

  Even Sofia and Jordan were delightfully straightforward by Liz’s standards. Growing up surrounded by the biggest names of a nation had been a major headache, and, frankly, her eam’s ck of political goals was a big plus for why she’d wao join. It hadn’t just been wanting to split away from her family’s prepared squad, and all the expectations that came with that. A decision her parents would not be happy about, ime she saw them. But Liz had already made her mind up.

  But Natalie’s stuff.

  Her aspect. The item she’d gotten. The … vines. Which, even spared the details, paihe picture in only the broadest sense, had Liz’s cheeks fming. Vines? Really? Maybe being given so much creative liberty to struct the se in her mind was even worse than if Natalie had just spelled it out. What did ‘being taken care of’ mean?

  And her fluster was only partly because of the pervertedness and strangeness. The fact the imagery came bundled with Natalie was distinctly one of the reasons she couldn’t fend away the blushes. Their team’s tank really had a lot going on, and Liz would have to be blind to not have noticed. For that matter, the eeam was ridiculously attractive. Even Ana, for her anti-social tendencies and total disregard for her appearance. Liz was almost mad about that. Liz didn’t think she was bnd, but stacked up against all that? Her teammates were unfairly pretty, down to the woman.

  Though, the less polite part of her reciative. A part she pointedly ignored, but it crept in heless. The five of them were strictly teammates. Liz couldn’t think about stuff like that. Professionals. Delving partners, nothing more.

  Ergh.

  Except … maybe that sort of thing, she should be thinking about. Because from the sound of it, Natalie’s css involved … what? Lust-reted skills? Whatever that meant? And even more to the point, the dungeoed to her css? Produced enters like the vines—whatever ‘the vines’ meant. So maybe whether Liz foueammates attractive mattered. Because by circumstaher than deliberate i, she might be ending up in sarios she really wouldn’t have expected, starting a career in delving.

  That idea probably shouldn’t have her heart skippis.

  And she was making way too many assumptions. Natalie had seemed pretty sure that those weird enters would be focused on her. For all Liz knew, she herself would never brush up against anything like that. And that was a good thing. It wasn’t like she was curious what it would be like for a bunch of vio … do stuff.

  Whatever stuff meant.

  Such a weird css.

  And group enters. She might not get any solo auch less the eeam getting roped into something. So, calm down, Liz.

  Getting involved with her teammates was a terrible idea, too. Not only because of the possible plications on a personal level, but because a Beaumon shouldn’t be dallying with strangers. With anyone. Some of the smaller houses could afford to behave with such disregard for propriety, but certainly not the Beaumons. They had shiniations to maintain, and regardless that Liz wasn’t in the limelight like some of her retives, she o adhere to that requirement, too.

  So that Liz was eaining those fantasies was doubly ridiculous.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the idea, no matter how hard she tried. At a minimum, she kept the thoughts firmly restraihe back of her head, where she didn’t aowledge them.

  Almost before Liz k, they’d arrived to the dungeorance. She realized only then that she had beeing an expeditious pace, ahead of the group, scurrying forward out of embarrassment. She sheepishly rejoihem. At least her cheeks weren’t betraying her, anymore. She’d mostly gotten herself under trol. Mom’s lessons on poise had some use.

  Her teammates were bundled up with supplies. It didn’t take much to prepare for a single-night expedition—maybe two nights, depending on how it went—but certainly more equipment than the light-weight pag they had needed for their earlier delves of only a few hours. Meals, sleeping bags, fire-starting supplies, and so on. Depending on the biome they dropped into, they could get away with more or less, but unfortunately, the dungeon wasn’t kind enough to announce where it would throw them beforehand.

  And they could exit aer the duo try to get more favorable battlegrounds, but the dungeon really didn’t like when people tried to ‘game’ it. It would cause more trouble than it solved, having the dungeon upset with you. No, the widely agreed maxim was to eh the dungeon on its own terms. Still a great ce at getting turned into monsterfood or ad a spike trap, but not as much of one. Py fair, and the dungeon pyed fair back.

  Well, usually.

  The team looked at each other, cheg silently to see if they were ready to enter, but of course they were. Would hardly have made it all the way to the dungeorance if not. This delve was a long time ing.

  Some of the awkwardness lingered from Natalie’s reveal, but holy, Liz thought that would clear up fast, faced with the dungeon. fronted by snarling monsters, and having to together plex spells, the background noise had a tendency of fading away. One of the reasons Liz liked delving so much. Much simpler. Kill or be killed. No stupid politics—delightfully refreshing.

  Natalie leading, the team sank into the gssy bck obsidian of the dungeorance, and their first serious delve began.