Chapter 285: Determination
The next morning came too early, and it denied Arwin and Lillia the opportunity to relax for anywhere near as long as they would have liked.
Lillia unentangled herself from Arwin and rose to her feet. She found his wrist and pulled him up to stand behind her. As soon as he stood, Lillia turned around and pressed her face into his chest.
“This has to work, Arwin. We’ve been dancing around with assholes throwing their weight around for so long that it feels like I haven’t gotten a chance to breathe in weeks. Ridley finished modifications to the tavern and we’ve got a name building for ourselves, but we’ll never really be able to expand if we can’t actually grow the street. This has to end, and without bringing his damn guild down on top of our heads.”
“I know what you mean,” Arwin said, wrapping his arms around Lillia and pulling her into a hug. He rested his head on top of hers, and his eyes narrowed in the darkness. “And I’m with you. One way or another, this comes to an end tomorrow.”
“Right,” Lillia said. Arwin released her and she pulled away, keeping a hold on his wrist as she started through the darkness and through the kitchen. She paused before they could step out into the light. “Let’s just make sure it ends the right way, Arwin. I’m not losing anyone else.”
“We will,” Arwin promised.
Lillia nodded. She grabbed the kitchen door and pulled it open, and the two of them entered the common room.
Esmerelda and Madiv were already there, as were Rodrick and Anna. There wasn’t any sign of Olive and Reya quite yet. A glance through one of the windows told Arwin that it was still quite dark outside. They’d all gotten up earlier than normal.
“I’ll get breakfast,” Lillia said, taking one look at the weary faces before turning and striding into the kitchen.