“All right, all right,” Rylan groused, slowing down to a more reasonable speed. “I wasn’t going to drive the whole way like that. Just having some fun. Has becoming a mage apprentice turned you into a stick in the mud, Naya? I don’t remember you being this uptight.”

I said nothing for a long moment as he made his way to the compound. Was Rylan right? Was I turning into an uptight bitch, worrying and criticizing at every turn, unwilling to enjoy life anymore?

“I think the fact that my friends are trapped inside that bunker and are in danger of being blown up is reason enough for me to be uptight,” I finally said. “You could cut me some slack on that end.”

“That’s true.” Rylan paused. “I guess things are a bit different for me, as a former Resistance soldier. We lost members all the time, charged into dangerous situations knowing that some of us might not come back. I learned pretty fast that if you didn’t keep your sense of humor about you, you could quickly fall into depression.”

“I see.” And the thing was, I did. Enforcers saw their fair share of death too, both amongst our own ranks and the citizens we protected. But it wasn’t the same thing as going into battle, and we certainly weren’t fighting all the time. Part of me wanted to ask Rylan more about his experiences in the Resistance, but this wasn’t the time. And besides, I feared that conversation would open up a can of worms I wasn’t ready to deal with.

Rylan came to a stop outside the gate. The sun had fully set now, only wisps of color lighting the sky, and darkness was settling over the compound. He turned toward the booth just as the guard within rolled down his window.

“Evening, Captain,” the guard said. He was a short, sallow-faced man wearing the same uniform as Rylan, but with less decorative embroidery.

“Good evening, Private,” Rylan said. “Anything to report?”

“No, sir. No suspicious activity up here at the front gate that I’ve been able to see. The day guard captain might know differently, but I haven’t heard anything on the radio, so I doubt it.”

“Thank you, soldier. Do you know where I can find the captain now?”

“I believe he’s down below, meeting with the director. Do you need me to radio him?”

“No, thanks. I’ll talk to him myself.”

Nodding, the guard turned away to pull on a lever. The gate began to slide open smoothly, and I let out a sigh of relief as Rylan passed through.