We don’t even bother pag up camp. I guess Darian figures we always e back for the supplies ter if we o. Instead, everyone save Xamireb races to mount a star drake. Ear and Liz catch sight of me as we’re getting ready to depart, and they each fsh me a sympathetic, reassuring smile. I look away, feeling strangely guilty and embarrassed. I didn’t hurt either of them. But they still saw me in that state. I wish…

  I sigh. It doesn’t matter what I wish. It happened.

  Darian and Liz take the lead, and Quell and I follow on Poppy. This at least is familiar. The saddle, Poppy’s rhythm, Quell’s back. We race over the duhe moons lighting our way.

  Is this a glimpse of my future? Following Quell, wherever he goes. I feel all sorts of ways about that. But he doesn’t know, I realize. I still haven’t told him everything that happened in the Lifespring.

  I take a breath. “It didn’t work.”

  Quell turns his head part way back. “What?”

  “It didn’t work,” I repeat, raising my voice over the low whistling of the wind. “Using the Lifespring to try to break the pact.”

  “I sort of figured, what with the shield going rogue, and everything,” Quell says.

  “No, I mean, us,” I say. “Before I tried to break the pact between me and the shield, I tried to sever the tie between you and me. But Echo said it wouldn’t work.”

  “Oh.” Quell frowns, clearly processing this. “Perhaps back at the capital, we could speak to more knowledgeable mages there.”

  I shake my head. “We try, but I don’t think there’s any magic that ge my Role.” Echo had mentio ossible, teically, but trying to figure out how had caused her to reboot. Why? Is something, or someorying to keep that knowledge obscured? If so, court mages are uo have answers.

  “So anyway,” I say, “it looks like you’re stuck with me.”

  “More like you’re stuck with me.” He smiles at the joke, but it quickly fades away. “Nye, I… I’m sorry. I ’t imagihe frustration you must be feeling. And I’m not sure where this leaves us.”

  Frustration? Surprisingly, I don’t feel much of that at all. Resignation, maybe. And… relief? At least I know the Lifespring isn’t the answer. Somehow, knowing that helps. It’s better than uainty and trying not to let myself hope. Even if it’s not the oute I wanted, at least I’m no longer on a fool’s errand. I’ll find some other path forward.

  With Quell, for now.

  “What do you mean, where that leaves us?” I ask.

  Quell self-sciously hunches his shoulders. “I suppose, what our retionship will be like going forward. It’s not a very banced power dynamic. But I swear I won’t use it to my advahat first night—that was very stupid and selfish of me. I just want you to know that no matter what happens with this Role of yours, I won’t abuse it.”

  “Like how you just used it to pull me away from the fight when the Aegis was influeng me?” I ask, slightly amused.

  Quell looks stri. “That’s not—I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have—”

  “No!” I ugh. “No. I was teasing you. I’m gd you did that, actually. It was smart, and it helped. Thank you.”

  “Ah. I see.” Quell rubs the back of his neck. “Saying ‘you’re wele’ feels rather inappropriate when I was abusing the pulsive effects of a spell to force you to disengage.”

  I snort. “Well when you put it like that.”

  He meets my gaze with a nervous, self-scious smile of his own. What a dork.

  “Thank you,” he says suddenly.

  Now I’m the one caught off guard. “For what?”

  “I don’t know,” he admits. “All the times you’ve saved me, of course. But also, for seeing me. For listening. I’m not very good with people. I’m not very good at most things, really. But you’ve made me feel capable, now and then.”

  Several teasing responses e to mind, but I don’t say any of them. He’s being vulnerable, baring his heart, as don’t heal quickly once hurt. I smile fondly.

  “You are capable,” I tell him. “You just get in your own way. What you really need is a healthy dose of self-fidehen you might even surprise yourself.”

  “I don’t suppose there’s a spell for that?” he asks, grinning.

  “You’re the bookworm. You tell me.”

  He ughs, turning back around to look out over the sand dunes. After a moment, he says, “Well, in the field of mind magics, there might be a few spells—”

  “It was rhetorical, Quell.”

  “ht, of course,” he says. “That was my first instinct.”

  I chuckle, even so. I wonder if he meant to make me feel a little better about everything, or if he just does that naturally.

  Almost ten mier, we see them. staroops are marg straight for the Lifespring’s gates—right into Moonfall’s hands.

  We’re still a few dunes away, and they’re on the paved road to the city. They’re on foot, but still far too close for my liking. Quell also seems worried, as he spurs Poppy on.

  Light spills from the Lifespring’s walls as the front gates open welingly.

  “No, no, no,” Quell says under his breath. He sits forward. “Liz! you send them a warning?”

  “On it!” she calls back, breathing a light into cupped hands. She shapes like light like cy between her fingers, and few moments ter she’s created a bright, glowing ball. She braces one arm against Darian, thehe other to throw the light as high as she manage. Eve raises higher than I expected before exploding in the sky.

  Giant glowing words say “STANCE, RETREAT!” They sparkle overhead, tinuing to hover over Liz as she and Darian ride down the dune.

  The Duneshade procession halts.

  I let out a relieved breath, but Quell shakes his head. “It’s not over yet.”

  There’s people spilling from the city’s gate.

  Liz lets her illusion dissolve with a swear. “We’re too te!”

  I tense up as we tinue careening toward the two forces. They haven’t cshed yet, but it won’t be long. What will I do wheakes us into the battle? I don’t trust the Aegis so close to the city—actually I’m not sure I trust the Aegis at all. But I’m onless without it. What do I do? A rare bout of fear flutters through my gut.

  “No,” Quell says, his voice full of relief. “Look!”

  The ground cracks, and sand explodes into the sky. A giant creature bursts from the ground with a shriek, coiling out of its hole. It snaps at nearby Moonfall soldiers with a dragon-like maw, though like a s has no other limbs to speak of. Its scales glitter in the moonlight as it slithers over the ground, sending the Moonfall soldiers scattering away.

  Check, I think, trying to figure out what sort of creature it is.

  [Check,] Echo says. [A sand wyrm illusion.]

  stance’s, of course. But damn is that a ving illusion. Behind the shrieking, snapping wyrm, the Duneshade forces are retreating.

  It takes less than a minute for us to reach them.

  “Prince stance!” Darian cries as we speed into their ranks. Liz has helpfully cast a new illusion over our heads that reads, “PLEASE DON’T KILL US!”

  stance is dressed in armor, and he looks to us in surprise at the call, his gaze taking all of us—and Liz’s message—in in an instant. Granted, I haven’t known the guy for very long, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so stunned.

  “Quell,” he says. “Liz! I thought you were captured.”

  “I told you I would bring the Princess back,” Darian says.

  As our star drakes pull up beside him, Liz and Quell jump (and slide) off their lizard’s backs, rag up to stao crush him in a hug.

  “It’s a trap,” Liz says, looking back behind them. “Moonfall is already iy.”

  “Yes, I gathered,” stance says. He starts walking once more, keeping pace with his retreating soldiers. “The warning reciated. If not cutting it a bit close.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Liz says sardonically. “ime I’m abducted by the enemy and uncover a secret plot I’ll try to make it back to you more promptly.”

  stanorts. “You seem in good spirits, at least.”

  Her rueful smile softens into an affeate one. “It’s good to be back.”

  stance’s gaze turns on Quell , and sours into a frown. “You ran away.”

  “Oh.” Quell winces. “Yes, I did do that. But I came back with Liz, so it all turned out as pnned!”

  “That was extremely foolish,” stance says, and Quell withers beh his words. “But we will have time for lectures ter. For now we o retreat and reassess.” He looks to me and Daria, nodding to us. “Captain, well done. And it’s good to see you’ve made it back as well, Nye. I was worried I’d lost my brother and the Aegis.”

  I grimace. Great to hear he’s so worried about my wellbeing. Then again, he basically doesn’t even know me, so I ’t really bme him for g about the family heirloom more tharanger who got dumped into the middle of all this. He’s not going to like what I have to say about my tie to the Aegis. Hopefully that’s another versation that wait until after we’ve retreated and reassessed.

  Once we’re far enough away, stance pauses to direct his sand wyrm illusion once more. He recalls it from where it atrolling the walls, and has it slither bato its hole. I guess that’s better than dissolving the illusion before their eyes; if they tio think it’s real, or at least suspect it could be real, they’ll be less likely to follow us.

  Darian dismounts as well, passiar drake off to a different soldier as she falls in lih stand reys the events of the st few weeks to her ander. Liz and Quell hang back, so I give the siblings some space. I’m sure they’re all relieved to be together once more.

  We marother three hours before we make camp, in a valley that stance dubs suffitly hidden. The soldiers set about making camp, and for once I rex while others roll out the vas and pitch tents.

  Dinner is warm and fresh—and much better seasohaions we’ve been living off of. versation is light, and ughter rings through the camp. There’s an unspoken uanding that tomorrow is when the heavy discussions will be taking pce. But for now, in this moment, it’s about family and friends.

  Eventually the soldiers retreat te unal tents, while a solo tent is even offered to me, part way between the soldiers and the royals. That’s a signifit step up from the st time I was offered a tehe prisoner. I hesitate outside it.

  “You still share my tent,” Quell offers.

  I jump, unaware he was nearby. “The camp seems pretty clearly segmented between those who are and aren’t royalty. Wouldn’t that seem… inappropriate?”

  He shrugs. “Liz has already dragged Darian into hers. Etiquette is out the window at this point.”

  “They’re also a couple,” I say.

  Quell ughs unfortably. “Right. Well. There is that. You know, never mind. Fet I asked. I’m sure you’ll be grateful to have some privacy, finally.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Do you wao share your tent?”

  Quell fiddles with his gsses. “I figured it would be more fortable than standard soldier bed mats. And… I’ve grown quite used to having someone nearby while I sleep. It’s f.” He pauses, his gaze going distant. “When the Umbral Bdes abducted me, I was alone.”

  Aw, Hell. All this time, and that never once crossed my mind. “Sure, Quell. I’d be happy to.”

  He fshes me a smile, then leads us over to his tent. A signifitly upgraded tent, mind. We actually stand up in it, and it could easily fit six people sleeping across the ground. There are already two bed mats id out, I notice.

  Despite the extra room, Quell nudges his roll over until ours are a few feet apart; the same setup we’ve been using since being on the road with Darian.

  Even though I’d been sleeping not six ho, when I stretch out over the bed roll, I already feel weariness pulling me back down.

  “Nye?”

  I jerk back awake. “Yeah?”

  “Tomorrow… what do you think is going to happen?”

  It’s a good question. Will stary to take back the Oasis, or retreat and wait for backup? What will we do about the Aegis? What about my Role, and how that affects both of our paths going forward?

  I stifle a yawn. “I dunno. We’ll take it as it es, I guess. There’s enough to worry about today; no sense in w about tomorrow until tomorrow.”

  “Right,” Quell says quietly. “Thanks. Good night, Nye.”

  I snuggle into my bed. “Good night, Quill.”

  I hear him sigh, long and disappointed, and I grin.