I didn't know what to do. My thoughts were rushing around in circles. Ashkan was missing.

  After staring incredulously at the spot where Ashkan's Inkblood-like imposter had disied for another minute, I pulled myself together and took off back towards the arena. Kadia would know what to do. She always did.

  I sprinted across the district, weaving through the narrow streets as fast as my shaky legs could carry me, ign the citizens that stopped to watch my panicked flight. My mi bing over what had happened, as if doing so would reveal an ao me. How long had that creature masqueraded as Ashkan? And who was responsible for it?

  I pushed through the wooderaes of the arena and ran straight to Kadia's offiearly crashing into a couple of soldiers who were on their way out. I threw a mumbled apology over my shoulder before pounding my fist against the metal door.

  "Kadia, open up! It's an emergency!" I excimed. I listened but heard nothing from the other side. Had she already left the office for the evening? "KADIA!" I yelled again, smming harder against the door.

  I nearly fell over when it suddenly opened.

  Kadia stood in front of me, her eyes widening in surprise. "What? What is it? Why have you returned?"

  "It's– It's Ashkan!" I gasped out.

  Her face darkened in an instant. "What happened? Is he okay?"

  I shook my head, unsure where to start. "I'm– I don't know."

  She ushered me inside. "Calm down. We 't do anything if you 't talk." She pced a steadying hand on my bad shut the door behind her.

  I took a deep breath, and after a few more moments, finally found the words I'd been trying to say. "He's...missing. I-I think he's been taken."

  She spun around so fast her arm flew out, catg my shoulder. "Missing?! How could this have happened? What about his guards? He should have been uheir care, and you should have also! Why were you left alone?"

  I could hear her frustration building. "Haven't you noticed how strange he'd been ag tely?"

  "Yes, but..." Kadia paused and then nodded. "Yes, I did. He has been behaving rather strangely." Her voice became somber. "What happened?"

  "So, I wao... I wao know what was going on with him. And... We went out for tea. Without uards – bad, I know, I'm sorry. But I didn't want them hearing anything personal," I expined as fast as I could.

  She pursed her lips, clearly displeased, but didn't say anything.

  I tinued. "We were at this teahouse and... My questions made him angry, I guess, aormed out... I followed him. And..." The memory of the makeout session made my skin crawl. I couldn't my head around the fact that I'd kissed a...whatever that was.

  "And?" Kadia prompted me to keep talking.

  I looked at her and decided to leave that part of the story out. "I-I don't know. One sed, we were just talking, and the sed, he'd yanked my neckce off. And... It was like a switch flipped. He started running away with it. Across all the rooftops in town."

  Her brows rose in surprise. "On foot? On the roofs?"

  I nodded. "It was... I 't even expin it. So I went after him. It was like chasing a blur, holy."

  She looked down at me and took in my dishevelled appearahen, what? Did you retrieve your neckce?"

  "Yes," I sighed, holding out the pendant slung around my neck. "I got it. But Ashkan, he's...gone."

  "What do you mean? He...left you?" Her frown deepened.

  "ly..." I shook my head, remembering how Ashkan's copy had dissolved.

  Kadia seemed to be trying her best not to yell at me for having broken the rules so carelessly, and she did an admirable job at keeping her posure. "Tell me everything," she finally said, and sat down in one of the armchairs.

  I joined her, settling in the seat opposite. "After I chased him for a while, we were nearing the edge of the buildings. I called out to him to stop, but he wouldn't, so I... I threw a bolt at his feet. I just wanted him to stop." I fiddled nervously with the hem of my coat as I spoke. "It exploded, and theripped. And fell dow of the roof. So I rushed over and pulled him up, of course. But when I tried to calm him down..."

  I hesitated and then showed Kadia the oval-shaped wound in my left hand. I'd covered it with my sleeve, but the fabric was soaked with my blood, which had begun to crust around the edges of the injury. I was doing my best to ighe pain.

  "He...stabbed you?!" She took my hand in hers and flipped it ods... pletely through..."

  I nodded and winced. "It's fine; I probably heal it. I've just been too scrambled to bother."

  "Still, that is no small injury," she remarked, then frow me. "He was carrying a on?"

  "Just a regur switchbde. I don't know where it was from."

  She grabbed a roll of bandages from a drawer in the desk, then began ing my wound, careful not to apply too much pressure. "Well? What happeo Ashkan, then?"

  I flinched when the baouched the open gash. "Before he stabbed my hand, he was just...attag me over and over. I barely had time to react; I didn't know what was wrong with him, he just– I had to stop him!" I shook my head. "I did the only thing I could think of. I defended myself." I felt horrible saying the words. "I... I pushed him off the roof. And I caught him! But then..."

  "But then what?" she asked as she tied the end of the bandage.

  I took a shaky breath a my gaze drop. "Theabbed my hand. And I let go."

  Kadia gasped and fell silent. "You– You let him go? I..." She leaned ba the seat and pced her fingers on her forehead, looking more frazzled than I'd ever seen her. "Where did he nd?"

  Tears suddenly welled in my eyes, and I stared at my feet. I was so angry at myself for what had happened, but more for how I'd let myself be fooled. I couldn't help but feel responsible. If only I'd realized sooner what that monster had been.

  "On a rocky outcropping at the border of the forest. Behind the line of buildings. But..." I wiped my eyes with the bay sleeve. "I thought he was dead. I did. I ran down to see. But there was this...bck sludge. It was like tar, and it just... I was too upset to realize it at first... The liquid everywhere wasn't red. It was bck."

  Kadia listened ily. "You... You're sure?"

  I blinked. "I wish I was lying. I didn't stab myself just to lie. I'd show you the corpse if it hadn't disied minutes after. It turned into dust."

  She put her fa her hands. "No, no... It ot be... How could this happen...?" She stood and began pag, muttering under her breath in disbelief.

  I leaned forward and watched her pace bad forth. "He was... I'm sure it wasn't him. It was something else, some kind of copy. Or a doppelg?nger or a... A e," I suggested, hoping I wasn't rambling too much. "That's the only expnatiht?"

  "He must have been taken..." she murmured. "It sounds to me like this creature was a shadow."

  "What?"

  She paused for a sed, looking like she'd rather not tell me. But the out a heavy sigh. "Shadows. They are... Extremely rare, aremely difficult to create. Typically, they are used for more of a mental warfare or subterfuge sort of tactic, rather than any kind of overt a such as infiltration or kidnapping. Creating them is a dark art, illegal, and quite frowned upon. Even worse, attempting to make a shadow that i with the physical world is especially difficult. Most hardly withstand strong winds, let alone even basic touch... And most ot cast any sort of magic."

  "So, you're saying that whoever created it must be pretty powerful."

  "Likely. They are entirely indepe beings – empty shells existing solely as imposters to maintain whatever they have repced. Perfect copies they are not, but ving ones, oftehey are instructed to folloecific course of a and are destroyed as soon as the task is plete. One ot exist without a directive. In this case, we may assume that its objective was simply to steal the travelling neckces..."

  My eyes widened. "How do you know all this?"

  "The Rime Guard is sworn to keep a close wat this kind of magid its darker users," she expined. "I dislike speaking of it, but it is necessary. The first step to defeating any battle is knowing your enemy."

  The thought of Ashkan's imposter resurreg suddenly popped into my head. Did shadows have any es to Inkbloods? "So... That thing 't e back, right?" I asked in a quiet voice, hardly daring to think that it could.

  "Thankfully not. If a shadow's form bees disrupted or imbanced by anything that would kill a person, they shatter. Simir to an energy or electrical field. Think of diamond, or certaials – highly strong and durable, yet quite brittle uhe precisely correct force."

  "I 't believe someone would do this..." I mumbled, my mind trying to itself around the idea of Ashkan having fallen into a trap. The shock of it was beginning to wear off, and I realized just how real and immediate the situation was. "Who would...? I mean, what...? Kadia, what do we do?"

  She shook her head. "Five me, this will require siderable time to think through. I will sider tions we have here." Her brow furrowed as if she was skimming through a thousand different outes.

  "Kadia, I'm sorry. I never wao..." My voice cracked at the admission.

  She only nodded gravely. "There are surely others who are responsible for this."

  I shifted forward to the edge of my seat. "This isn't something we should really keep under s, right? I think we should tell people. This is a kidnapping. We o find him!"

  "Agreed. However..." She hesitated. "It is a delicate matter. If wets out, it will reflect poorly upon the King. And, though I doubt anyone could have prepared so quickly for such a sinister effort to e to fruition, His Majesty will be bmed for not having had the necessary security in pce. Of course, he was expeg you to follow orders and ray from yuards."

  I looked down at my feet. "Right."

  "That being said... Time is of the essence. We ot hesitate iing the castle to his absence," she mumbled, pg a fio her lips in thought.

  I slumped in my seat. "Where the hell could he even be? And by this point, is there even a ce of finding him alive? Ugh, how could I have been so blind...?"

  "I do not know. This has arisen too suddenly. Those responsible likely anticipated that we would not catmediately... How to break this news? To his father, his family, and the public... A kidnapping... A possible assassination..." Kadia gnced down at me. "Don't worry yourself, Brielle. I will rectify the situation. You return home a. In the meantime, I will call a meeting with His Majesty and others, and iigate possible pces Ashkan could be held. The abnormalities began... What? About three days ago?"

  "Yes, exactly." I was reeling at how quickly everything had escated. "But I want to help. I'll teleport bad expin to my parents what happened, but then I should e back to–"

  "Brielle," she cut me off. "There is no need for you to get more involved than you already are. I ot knowingly put you in the line of fire. This is not your burden to bear. The dahese situations bring is a reality that I must face."

  I stood. I wasn't bag down. Not this time. "Ashkan is my friend. I'm not going to sit this out."

  She met my determined gaze with her own sterhe more you meddle, the less I keep you safe. Think of your family."

  I set my jaw. "You are my family. I'm not letting you do this alone."

  Kadia khat arguing was fruitless. Her expression softened. "...Very well. Go home and speak to your... Our parents. Meanwhile, I shall duct a meeting with the King and his advisors. Then, tonight, you will return, and I shall discuss what was settled on with you. Your participation will require approval from everyone involved, so do ehat your parents agree. Uood?"

  I gave her a nod, thankful for her willio promise. "I uand. I just 't do nothing about this. He's... He must be terrified right now. Trapped somewhere, entirely at the mercy of whoever phis whole thing..." I tried to push back the tears in my eyes.

  "Rest assured, Ashkan will not remain in their hands for long," she vowed. "If all goes well, our forces will begin the seard rescue. And as of this very moment, that task has bee our sole focus."

  My breath calmed at Kadia's reassuring words. Then, I squared my shoulders. "Okay. Let's save a saviour."

  A kidnapping has to be one of the most terrible things to happen to someone. I had no idea what kind of torture Ashkan was enduring. It was entirely possible that he'd been killed and his body disposed of. There were too many terrible options, but I was going to g to the hope that he was still alive, even if only barely. I couldn't stand the idea of losing him. He had to be okay. He had to.

  The situation had shakeo the core – and everyone else, too. The ey of Winithas snapped into a ihay-four hours, everyone w to help us find Ashkan. Kadia's first step had been to alert the castle. The King released the o the realm in the form of a formal annou. Uandably, the part about the shadow imposter was left out. He was begging the people of Alselian to e forward if they knew anything, and a reward for any information that would lead to Ashkan's rescue. The news spread like wildfire. Ashkan's name was on everyone's lips. It seemed that, although he wasn't loved by all, many were ied in the wellbeing of their champion.

  Naturally, this meant that Lodestar and other media outlets had pounced oory immediately. I tried not to be annoyed by this, but it seemed to me like they were more ied in the drama of it all than the seriousness of the situation. And they were having a field day with the fact that we couldn't provide any answers as to who might be behind this. It had all the trappings of an intense mystery. The Rime Guard was kept out of the media's crosshairs, thankfully, although Lodestar did hint that this could've beeed with the right precautions. They never explicitly pointed any fingers at the Guard, but the implications were obvious enough to be sidered an accusation.

  And to make things worse, some news stations seemed to think I'd dohis myself to try to take Ashkan's spotlight. Someone had seen me sprinting across all those rooftops while chasing the shadow. Photos of the se were pstered all over tabloids and magazines. None of the fight, fall, or aftermath, luckily, but it was still unnerving. It made me seem like some kind of madwoman who'd lost her mind over being overshadowed by someone. Like a vilin from some cheap romanovel. The worst part was that the best cover story the Rime Guard had been able to e up with to expin my appearan those roofs had been that we were practig for a training trial. It'd been made quite clear to me that, as much as I hated it, I couldn't tradict the statement. Besides, all I could focus on was saving Ashkan.

  Emiarhia was a mess of hope, despair, anger, fusion and more. I went fr with my family, to having them support me with kind words, to me reassuring them that everything would be all right, and then g with them all ain. There was no telling if we'd find him alive or dead. We only hoped it was the former. My parents had tried to forbid me from getting more involved, but they khere was no stopping me. I couldn't just sit at home while the rest searched, feeling useless. Not after everything that had happehey khere was a dao my involvement, but they also knew how much Ash meant to me and how badly I wao find him.

  Ashkan's own family had beeated to learn of what had happened. As expected, his sister took it the hardest, bming herself for his disappearand cursing herself for not being more persistent about cheg on him. His little brother hadn't been able to hold back his tears when Kadia went to deliver the news. His father was more ed with making sure that no stone was left unturned in the iigation. As it turned out, the shadow had stolen his switchbde before attag me with it. Lev hadn't noticed. Rather, he was quie the Guard and the King for failing to protect him. There was a lot of anger, a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of heartache and worry. The media was in a frenzy trying to cover all the updates oory and how it unfolded. Everyone had some sort of opinion on it and had begun to offer their own theories about who was behind it all. By the m, promising clues started surfag.

  Ashkan was abducted almost certainly after we'd parted ways outside The R Witch several days ago. But I could remember clearly that I'd walked him straight home and made sure he'd gotten inside safely before returning to Earth. Only he khe exact details of what had happened between then and the day. Someone must've found him sometime after I'd left him and mao subdue him long enough to trap him elsewhere. This had to be the case because a search of his house yielded nothing. Nothing out of pce or broken in, no sign of a struggle, nothing that even hi where he could've been taken. The homes and businesses nearby, however, were a different story.

  Bloody fingerprints were discovered on a wooden beam on a neighbour's house, slightly splintered as if someone had grabbed it. They matched Ashkan's blood type and prints perfectly – the oime where I wasn't somewhat bothered by the fact that the King possessed extensive and plete data about us saviours' medical information. But there wasn't anything that ected these fingerprints to another location. The neighbours themselves didn't seem suspicious, and they couldn't think of anyone who might wish to do him harm, although the bloodied prints on their wooden beam made them quite worried for him. The only thing they could recall from around that night was hearing muffled sounds of struggle that they hadn't given a sed thought. They'd thought it was an animal, or that someone was drunk and fighting with someone else (not a rare occurrence, apparently). So it seemed likely that Ashkan was kidnapped just outside of his house. The King's stables were iigating other areas in the neighbourhood and cheg any possible routes to see if anything else turned up. They even looked around The R Witch for clues, which proved more useful.

  Four eyewitnesses, including Elliott, had seen a bcked-out carriage lingering around the back of The R Wit the night Ashkan was kidnapped. One woman even described it as being 'barely a shadow in the night'. She'd been too tipsy to recall it clearly, but now that we were iigating, it was ing back to her. A few more tips came in. Elliott told us the coach was unmarked and had left around twelve-fifteen at night. That corroborated with my memory of us leaving the tavern just after midnight. I didn't remember seeing a carriage at that time, though. If it had been driven by the abductor, they must've followed us from a distance. But how was Ashkan kidnapped after being dropped off at home? That was still a mystery.

  Sunday afternoon, the unthinkable happehe League of Sacred Daw a letter to Kadia, stating they wished to help us locate Ashkan. I couldn't have been happier. They werely on good terms with the Guard and King, but one of their valued hunters – one of their own – had been targeted. The letter wasn't signed by anyone, but I reized Perl's handwriting instantly.

  Esteemed Captain,

  Our si sympathies go to Lord Wroet'by and his family. To think that one of Nelorismel's very own could've falleo such a vicious plot is a horror we would not wish upon even reatest rivals. In light of the situation, we would like to respectfully offer our aid to search for the missing Luminary. I am well aware that the se between us and you may be strained, but together, we could achieve great things. We will do whatever we to help restore Winithas to pead, of course, find arieve Lord Wroet'by. We trust that our is are aligo find him alive ahy.

  Strained indeed. I could picture Perl's sarcastic little grin as they wrote those words. I'd never read something so threateningly polite in my entire life.

  A meeting is not necessary. Know that we have the full fidehat we shall succeed in this time of crisis and are truly grieved by this tragedy. Thus, I shall put the safety of the realm first in a final note: Hunters are rather well-trained in trag and hunting, and we have utilized our expertise in such matters to study the development of simir crimes in the past. As such, we suggest you search the woodnds to the southeast of Nelorismel: just west of the town of Vindel, Mytheas, directly south of Uleando'an River. We do not deign to say we believe this will provide a lead, merely that it is most likely a pertihought. Our hunters have reported irregur activities in that area over the past few weeks. The occupation of Inkbloods ot be ruled out. Something as valuable as a saviour would be most stashed away in that enviro. As repulsive and elusive as they are, we have witnessed how Inkbloods cleverly ceal their dwellings. Remain vigint for any structures or hideouts that appear out of pce.

  Be quick, Captain. Those with no puns to morality take great pleasure i of torture, and are frequently crueler whearget resists.

  May the sun rise upon thee.

  There erfect, gold imprint of the League's insignia stamped onto the bottom of the page. Looking at it almost gave me a chill. I hadn't expected Perl to address Ashkan or I as hunters within a letter to Kadia of all people, but I was heless relieved that they didn't.

  "The mention of this location romising," Kadia said. "Yet far be it from me to blindly trust their instincts. And perhaps they want us looking in a dire far away from whatever they might be doing, or wherever the real answer lies..."

  "Maybe, but... I dunno. What if they really just want to help?" I tried.

  She shot me a look. "Hunters have their ow of priorities."

  I crossed my arms, not appreciating her ical response. "Are you saying that they'd really just want us to go looking somewhere else and fet about Ashkan?"

  She paused at my sharp tone and gave a frustrated sigh. "They do not operate within the same systems or code that we do."

  "Well, what makes them any worse than the Rime Guard?" I argued. "Isn't this the whole reason we have a military at all? Don't they protect civilians, just like you?"

  "Do not pare them to us. We have a strict code of ethics. Our job is to protect the i. Their job is to eradicate." She put her hand to her temple as she tried to collect her thoughts. "Hunters do not fight to protect people like we do. They fight to destroy threats, regardless of their circumstances. It is like night and day. Their main goal is not to help others; it is to elimiargets. They kill first and ask questions never."

  I took in a sharp breath as my chest tightened. I'd been in such a panicked, sleep-deprived state for the past twenty-one hours; my only was Ashkan and bringing him home safe. But Kadia's words made my gut . The rivalry between the hunters and the Guard ran deep, and it didn't seem like either side truly uood the other. The Guard was all about civility, ws, and diplomacy. The League was about initiative, stealth, and audacity. Their methods and values were opposite, but the truth was they wahe same thing: the best for Winithas. I'd just never sidered the idea before. It made me even more sure that I could ell my sister I was a hunter. It'd be a betrayal I didn't think she could handle.

  Kadia must've read the hurt and fusion in my expression. She paused for a moment to pose herself, aone became mentle. "I...uand your frustration, and your s. I simply ask that you try to think this through from our perspective. Their motivations may be aligned with our own in this sario, but it does not mean they be trusted to uphold a code they do not have. It is the duty of the Guard to ehat this situation is handled with utmost care and responsibility."

  "Okay. Okay, I... I get it. I'm just... I don't want us to make any more mistakes. And we 't let Ashkan suffer a minute more than he already has," I pleaded.

  "I am just as worried sick as you are," she replied softly, pg her hand on my shoulder.

  "And what other leads do we have?" I challenged.

  "Well..."

  "Exactly. So, 't we just look in that pce they suggested?"

  "You are in no state to be making any sort of judgement calls right now," she retorted sharply.

  "But I–"

  She cut me off, her voice hard. "I uand that you have the best of iions, and that you are distressed, but you must calm down. It is not wise to accept any suggestions blindly."

  I shut my mouth at her scolding. My teeth ground together in annoyance.

  Shaye, who'd said nothing up until now, interjected quietly from the er of the office. "Would it be such a hassle to simply check? There's no harm in taking a look, correct?"

  "I am not sending our troops off into the wild in pursuit of an idea from a group of murderous meraries," Kadia shot back.

  I rolled my eyes, uo hold it back. "How you not see this for what it is? The League wants to help us. It 't hurt to go. Even if it leads to nothing, we should cover all of our bases."

  Shaye's eyes flicked over to mine. glinted in them. I could say almost for certain we were thinking the same thing: If Kadia and the Rime Guard refused to take a look at this pce the League suggested, thewo of us would do it ourselves. We were running out of time. The clock was tig. Shaye had already been g basically nonstop sihe moment Kadia informed her of Ashkan's kidnapping. She looked exhausted, but didn't give up. And me, I had so much cortisol running through my veins that I was on autopilot. We were all terrified and worried beyond belief. Every minute was critical.

  "Look," I said firmly, standing up and pressing my hands to the edge of the table. "I'm going with or without your permission. It'll be faster if you help."

  Kadia stared back at me, a mix of fury and ay in her expression. Lips pursed, brows pulled down, eyes filled with apprehension. After what felt like a thousand years, she took in a deep breath, let it out through her mouth, and pihe bridge of her nose. "Very well."

  We were off. It took a little time to pn, but there was no way in hell any of us was going to prefer an option that meant losing valuable hours. Vindel was a good forty-five minute carriage ride away from where we were noere going to leave at noon. Our forces would be split. While the stables aives stayed a iigating around the neighbourhoods in Nelorismel, a small group went to Vindel with the iion of sc every inch of the adjat forest. And of course, I would be going there with Shaye and Kadia. The tter had some trouble deg hoeople would apany us. A rge group would be safer but would attract more attention. A small group was stealthier, but meant risking more. Ultimately, Kadia felt it would be easier to navigate the forest as a small group. Four of us would go – myself, Kadia, Shaye, and Thorne.

  The carriage rumbled along the bumpy gravel road towards Vindel as soon as we crossed the provincial border from Alselian into Mytheas. The deciduous forest was visible on the horizon, its deep shadows and dark opy looming. A cold, uing dread crept through my chest as I stared out the window. Ashkan. What if I'm too te? What if he's already suffered more than anyone could imagine? What if I could've prevehis somehow? Is this all my fault? I shook my head as these questions cycled through my mind, over and ain. There was nothing to gain from overthinking it. It was going to drive me mad. I had to put my head together and be smart, not just desperate.

  Kadia was fiddling with some kind of cubical gadget in her hands, adjusting it and fidgeting with the dials on it. Her hands moved quickly, her eyes sharp as she studied the readings on the device.

  "What is that?" I asked.

  "A medulet," she said without looking up from her task. "I applied for a lise to use oer the se i in Noslux. His Majesty granted me permission some days ago."

  I perked up. "Oh? It teleport someoo a hospital, right?"

  "Precisely." She tinued adjusting the medulet and I watched as a little light bli its tre, flickering like the fme of a dle. "I believe I have programmed the correct coordinates for Northview Infirmary. However, since I am the certified owner, only I operate this." She paused to look up at me, meeting my gaze. "You uand the implications of this, yes? Only I will be able to teleport Ashkan out. In the event that it is required."

  "Yeah. I do," I answered solemnly.

  Shaye sniffled as she fiddled with the sleeves of her coat. Her voice was quiet when she spoke. "Do you think we should've armed ourselves more?"

  Kadia sighed. "I do not anticipate a battle to break out. Our mission is simply to find Ashkan, not engage in bat. I did not feel that it was necessary to equip ourselves for a full-blown assault. If it does turn out to be a fight, then I do believe it would have already been far too te for Ashkan at that point."

  Shaye looked as though she'd just been stabbed through the heart with one of those words. Kadia gnced over at her and winced as she realized she might've gooo far.

  "By that, I mean we will have more luck if we take a calm, peaceful approach. There will be no reason for an altercation," she crified. "It will be all right. I will not let anything happen to any of us, do you uand?"

  Shaye nodded, her lip trembling. The fear of the unknown and the possible dangers we were about to face were hanging over us like a heavy fog, blog out any positive light and making everything feel bleaker than ever. I hated it. The uainty was a slow poison, chipping away at our fidend morale. We didn't know if we would succeed or fail. All we could do was hope and keep pushing.

  All of us only had one on. I had my trusty violet dagger, of course. Kadia had her own silver stiletto dagger. Shaye had her shear-dagger, which she kept nervously toying with. Thorne only had his caestus gauo protect him. I wished we'd all ore prepared. Hopefully my magic would be more than enough prote. I only prayed that we wouldn't have to fight anyone. If I could help it, there wouldn't be a fight at all. All we wanted was Ashkan. We had to do everything we could to make sure the people who kidnapped him didn't do anything that would cost a life.

  We reached the entrance of the forest and stepped out into the brisk winter evening. A shiver ran through me. My eyes were immediately drawn to the grees. A yer of fog covered the forest floor like a veil, and the tall trunks were bare, save for a few sprigs of needles still hanging on desperately. A deep darkness loomed within. It was a dense forest with an almost maze-like feel, full of tarees and vines and weeds and thorns and a million other things. If someo lost here, they might not find their way out ever again. I swallowed nervously as approached the forest's edge.

  The wind rustled the dry, dead leaves. My stomach flipped with every d snap. This was eerie. It felt like I was stepping into a horror film. We slowly ehe woods. Everything was silent. Nothing moved except our small group. Not even a single bird chirped. It felt like the entire world had just goill and silent, waiting to see what would happe.

  "In hindsight, I should've known something was wrong when Ashkan's shadow kept calling me Shaylie," Shaye spoke up.

  I pced my hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. There was no way for us to prediething like this could ever happen."

  She let out a breath. "It's just so difficult to accept. How could we have been fooled like that?"

  I khat feeling very well. I was still struggling with it myself. But now wasn't the time for doubt rets. It was time to move forward, with all of my faith and strength in Ashkan's life. We pressed onwards through the woods, keeping our eyes peeled. Everywhere I looked, there were dead twigs and dried leaves, the ground chy with frost. We stepped over roots and under branches as we made our way deeper in. I strained my ears and focused on listening for any sounds that might indicate other people nearby.

  "Hey!" Thorne suddenly shouted from somewhere off to our left. We whirled to see him croug, pressing his fingers onto the frozen soil. He stood aured to his feet. "Someone was here retly."

  The others and I made our way over, our boots g the grass and frost beh. There were distinct tracks in the hardened mud. Definite hoofprints bordered by deep, parallel lines. I felt the air rush out of my lungs at the realization.

  "Cart tracks," Shaye muttered in a whisper, croug beside them and studying them carefully.

  I k beside her, reag out my fingers and pressing them into the frost, feeling the rough imprints in the dirt. "I suppose it's not impossible to get a small carriage through these trees."

  "Not impossible," Thorne firmed. "And it rained only a few days ago. The mud would've softened, making it easy to dig the cart tracks in."

  "How ret do you suppose these tracks are?" Kadia asked him.

  He was quiet for a few moments as he sed the surroundings and scrutihe tracks closely – how the leaves were crushed into the mud, the depth of the impressions in the ground, the edges of the iions, and many more indicators I could only guess at. "…They couldn't be more than three or four days old. If it hadn't been for that rainstorm, we wouldn't be seeing them right now at all."

  We took the trail, following the wheel tracks deeper and deeper into the woods. There were signs of life along the path. Snapped branches, fttened weeds, broken twigs and shrubbery. Whoever had left these tracks hadn't tried very hard to disguise them. Perhaps they didn't care if they were discovered, or perhaps they thought this area of Mytheas was deserted. They'd made a critical error either way.

  There were a few narrow spots ih that made the trail difficult to follow. But after a bit of effort aermination, we mao stay oracks and press onwards. Eventually we found ourselves at an opening irees. There was a rge, abandoned shack ahead of us. Ne in sight. The exterior was dark gray stone, covered in moss and vines and rot. A single cracked window sat above the double doors of the mairano one spoke as roached, taking it all in. We circled the perimeter of the structure and checked every angle, looking for clues, footprints, signs of life. Nothing. Just silend decay.

  "My," Shaye whispered, "what a bizarre pce to live."

  Kadia narrowed her eyes, disseg the building with her usual critical expression. "This pce has been abandoned for some time."

  "Looks like nobody's been here fes," Thorne said. "A..."

  We exged a quice with each other before walking towards the entrahe door was old and rusty, and it creaked open with a groan. Inside was dark and gloomy, filled with cobwebs and dust, broken furniture and old papers, everything covered in yers of dust and mold. Nothing too unusual. Just a derelict, decrepit, abandoned shack. I had a gut feeling that there'd been someohere retly, though. I didn't know where that feeling came from. I just had it.

  The floorboards were smudged with dirt, and some were broken and splintered, like somebody had been carelessly stomping around. We entered further and immediately started to look for anything suspicious. Shards of broken gss littered the ground, along with pieetal and wood and other random bits of garbage. Some of the walls were crumbling and cracked. A broken bed frame lied on its side. There were scraps of clothing hanging off some of the beams of the roof. An incredibly tarnished, floor-length mirror hung on a wall he far end of the room. It was all so depressing, so dreary. We split up to check different parts of the building. I searched the living area. Thorne made his the creaking steps to check the upstairs. Shaye went into the tiny kit. Kadia began sc the entryway for clues.

  I found a few pieces of old neer on the floor and crouched down to pick them up. The pages were stained and yellowed. They crumbled to pieces in my hands as I ied them. All the headlines were old, some going as far back as ten years. Some were loews, some were about fs, but none of it seemed important enough to keep around. I put the papers aside and moved to look for anything else that could be useful.

  I checked the shelves and cupboards, uables and chairs and rugs, looking for clues, anything at all. The whole buildi like a dead end. As I searched through the bookshelves and ets in the living area, a strange feeling washed over me. There was something wrong about this pce. I could se in every bone in my body. Something evil and sinister lurked in these walls. Something wicked was happening here, but what? The more I thought about it, the more frustrated and irritated I became.

  I moved towards the mirror. Only slivers of my refle could be seen in its cloudy, grimy surface. My mind fshed to Ashkan again. I pressed my gloved palms to the mirror and stared into it.

  "Please be alive," I whispered, even though there was no one in the room with me.

  "We should probably go." Thorne's voice cut through my tration. He'd returned from upstairs. "Nothing here."

  Shaye came out of the kit, her face looking paler than ever before. Her eyes were puffy and red. She wiped them a out a deep sigh.

  Kadia walked out of the entryway, lookied. "We must have gottehing we could have out of this pce."

  My hands fell to my sides, and I became shocked at how difficult it was to pull them off the gss. It was as if the mirror was coated in glue, or... Or I'd been slowly sinking into it. A cold feeling suddenly settled i of my stomach as my fingers brushed the mirror once more.

  I gnced back at the others. "Wait."

  Shaye and Kadia gave me a puzzled look while Thorched me closely, curious.

  I pulled the mirror away from the wall, just enough to check behind it. Nothing but rotting wood. I stepped back a bit and checked the ers of the mirror frame, hoping for some kind of clue. Nothing but grime. I huffed in annoyance. I should've expected as much. I put my hand bato the gss again. The feeling of being drawn to it was back. Goosebumps rose ay skin. Something wasn't right about this.

  "Kadia," I called, "how you tell when a mirror is a double-sided portal, again?"

  Her expression shifted into one of intrigue. She joined my side and studied the mirror with me. "Is there a visible gap between your hand and its refle?"

  "No. all," I muttered, narrowing my eyes and trying to trate hard on what I was looking at.

  "Hm. And the gss, is it more flexible than what gss should be?" She asked, reag her own hand out and pushing on the surface of the gss.

  "Sort of," I answered.

  "Hmm." She thought for a moment. "There could be magic at work. Step back."

  I did, and I watched as she focused on her own hands. They glowed e as she maniputed a spell into being. She put her hand up to the mirror and pressed into it, sinking her fingers into it, curling them around like she was digging in dirt. With a breath, she yanked her hand out. A swirling vortex of purple and bck opened up in the gss.

  The rest of us let out startled gasps. Kadia peered in cautiously.

  "Stay alert," she told the rest of us. "Let's go. No time to lose."

  I followed her lead ahrough the portal. Just like the first time, it felt like walking through getin. Once I came out, I found myself standing in the tre of a wide, stone corridor. Old ns lined both sides of the hallway. Torches hung from the walls, flickering dimly. I looked up at the high ceiling, then down to the dusty stone floor beh me. Kadia gnced back at us and gave us a simple nod. This had to be the right pce. We were in a dungeon or basement of some sort. The air was damp and cold. It smelled musty. The portal behind us closed, leaving behind only a pin mirror.

  From what I could see, there were three different paths avaible to us: forward, left, and right. Each was equally daunting. I wasn't sure which way would lead to Ashkan. All three seemed pletely unremarkable. Shaye drew her shears, and she huddled a little closer to me.

  "Stay behind me," Kadia whispered. "All of you."

  We stayed silent as we followed her closely down the middle pathway. The darkness around us was so heavy it seemed almost tangible. The stone walls were covered in moss, and patches of brown mold grew in many pces. Water trickled from cracks iones and collected in pools and puddles all along the ground. At the end of the hall was a staircase leading down. We cautiously desded into the murk. The temperature dropped several degrees.

  The stairwell led to an arched door made of iron bars. Beyond the doorway erpendicur hallway with flickering bulbs overhead. The gate was locked shut. Thankfully, it wasn't magic-proof. With a few quick gestures, Kadia dissipated the lotirely, and the gate swung open with a soft creak. Immediately to our left and right were two identical hallways. Straight ahead, another pair of hallways, curving around a er at opposite angles. It appeared to be a maze of interected paths. There were more stairs leading downwards on the same wall as the gate we'd just opened.

  "Even if Ash isn't here, this definitely feels illegal," Thortered under his breath.

  We stood still for a minute, ears straihere were sounds, but not all of them were stant, so it was hard to dis if they were made by a person or not. The distant hum of wind, the echo of water dripping onto the stone floor, the buzzing of lights above us. Was someoalking, or was it just our minds pying tricks on us?

  "Maybe we should–" I began, but as I did, a faint, metallic screech echoed through the maze, followed by a distant boom.

  It sounded like a very heavy door opening and smming closed. We all froze and waited for whatever might e . Nothing for a few seds. Then came the sound of voices, muffled and far-away. It was like hearing someoalk to you while wearing thirteen yers of foam on your ears. Nothing close or clear enough to make out sonants or vowels, let aloire words, but just distinough tnize ges in pitd intonation. There were two of them, maybe more, talking together somewhere off in the distance.

  Kadia and Thorne shared a look. He hooked a thumb ba the dire we'd e from, questioning if the voices were ing from there. She shook her head no, then turo listen again. They sounded like they were ing from below us. Seeing as the only way down was the staircase nearby, Kadia silently poi it, and we crept towards it. She reached the staircase and looked down carefully before proceeding. She sighat the coast was clear. I went dowairs behind her and Shaye, with Thorne following after. We were getting farther and farther away from the surface, going deeper and deeper into whatever this byrinth was. It reminded me of a castle dungeon.

  At the bottom of the stairwell was a long, square-shaped hallway stretg on into darkness. A few dim, flickering bulbs were spaced evenly along the stone walls. We stayed close together, moving slowly and listening as best we could to anything we might hear. The voices faded out and died. But there was less water down here, which made it easier to pick up on other noises. It wasn't long before we heard footsteps, alongside random king ing sounds.

  A few seds ter, a dooreared on our left. Rou the top and surrounded by brick, the arch was only wide enough for one person to walk through at a time. Inside was a tiny room, about eight-by-eight feet, with a small table and a somewhat old armchair. A mp hung from the ceiling. The room was a lot er than the rest of this maze, and it had the same sort of decor you would expect to find in yrandmother's home. Except for one griail. There was a long, regur window opposite to the doorway, outlined by ornate wooden paneling.

  Through the dirty gss, the window looked down on a big, hexagonal room, plete with stone walls, stone floor, and stone ceiling above. It was about twenty-five feet down. The chamber had no openings whatsoever, save for a single, reinforced iron door set into one of its six walls. There were some objects on the grouh the window, but I couldn't make out what.

  Thorne came to a stop, eyes widening as he saw the se through the gss. We gathered around him and took in the room as well. A shudder went through me, my heart suddenly pounding inside my chest. Was this where Ashkan was? It looked so empty.

  Kadia was the first to react. "Look across the way. The other five walls have windows and rooms just like this one. Perhaps we avigate around the perimeter to see the chamber below from all angles."

  She took the lead, and the three of us followed her as she crept farther down the main hallway. She poked her head around a er before signaling us to stay put. Then she disappeared, leaving us waiting and holding our breaths. I heard a sudden grunt and some scuffling here was a shunk, some crag, and a thump as something heavy fell to the ground. After a few seds of silence, Kadia motioned for us to follow, her bde coated in blood. There was a body of a woman slumped up against the wall behind her, bleeding profusely from the base of her skull. Shaye gasped.

  I took the time to look down at the woman on the ground. Her eyes had closed, but I could still barely see the dark veins on her skin uhe dim lightbulbs. She was an Inkblood, no doubt. But Kadia hadn't sshed her throat. Did she know about that teique? Regardless, I couldn't finish the job myself without looking highly suspicious. I just hoped the body wouldn't reanimate anytime soon.

  A sed windowed room, nearly identical to the first, sat in the er of the winding hallway. It provided a simir but different angle on the chamber down below. The cloudy gss made it hard for my brain to make out the se. Gathered near one wall was a basic wooden chair, a very old-looking mattress, and a tattered b. Against another wall, close to the door, was a metal sink and a matg toilet, both rusting around the edges. Directly below us, I thought I could spot some heavy s, but the angle of the window made it impossible to see anything eveely underh it.

  Now my ay was turning te. I pictured Ashkan ed to the wall, beaten and battered and on the edge of death. I had to find him before something awful happened. I hoped more than anything that he wasn't already dead.

  Kadia led us around the perimeter, the twists and turns of the byrinth's yout occasionally throwing off our orientation. On our way to the third window, her and Thorne were forced to assassiwo more – presumably – Inkbloods, who were roaming casually through the maze of stone corridors. They went down without much of a fight, and we pressed oallic groans and bangs suddenly rang out. We soon heard a voice again, muffled by distand the cold walls. It was deep and gruff. The sound of its tone made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Something about it was vaguely familiar.

  The third window afforded an ao that question. We were now directly above the door to the chamber, staring down at the hulking man who'd just entered. Balgaur. Even with his back turned, I could reize his bald head, massive figure, scarred skin, and throwing knife colle lining his belt. His appearance was unsurprising sidering the Inkbloods, yet dread still stabbed at my stomach. It was hard not to be frightened of a t man who could probably split your skull open with a single punch. This would not be easy. I wondered if he was in charge of the operation. With a quick swish of my fingers, I extinguished the light radiating from the mp above us. As long as we kept a safe distance from the gss, nobody looking up could see us.

  Balgaur stood in the middle of the room. He looked straight ahead and spoke, "Need water?" His voice echoed across the chamber, slightly muffled. He gnced over at a tarnished metal pitcher that sat beside the wooden chair. "You want water?"

  Silenswered.

  Shaye whispered, "Who is he talking to...?"

  I looked closer, but I still couldn't see who was in there with him. The only light that spilled into the dingy chamber was from the six – now five – ceiling mps from each windowed room high above. Whoever this mysterious prisoner was, they must've been tucked away in the shadows against the wall. I ted four thick s snaking out from the pitch-bck er Balgaur was fag. They were attached to heavy irs bolted into the stone floor. From what I could tell, Balgaur had to be speaking to someone. But there was no response, verbal or otherwise. Still, he wouldn't offer water to a dead person. That was a good sign.

  ", d. Py nid I might see if I sneak you some grub," Balgaur coaxed. "You made the boss real mad yesterday, you did. Real mad. And now you're payin' the price. It's your choice. The boss doesn't wanna feed you anymore, so you either tell me where those precious little neckces are, or you starve to death. Simple as that."

  No response, not even a shuffle. Maybe Ashkan was unscious. I bristled. Or worse, oh's doorstep.

  "Suit yourself. I'll tell the boss you're still pyin' dumb. Expect a visit from him soon. And try to learn some manners before then, yeah?" Balgaur's deep voice, its d at so familiar, rang out through the cold chamber. Then he spat and walked out, letting the door sm shut behind him. The g, grinding sounds of bolts sliding into pce followed a few seds ter.

  "That giahead talks too much," Thortered, to which Kadia nodded firmly.

  "I 't believe he works for somebody else..." Shaye breathed. "Who could be crueller than Balgaur?"

  Kadia stood beside me, staring ily into the chamber. "We shall discover that ter. For now, that prisoner needs freeing. I have a strong feeling it's Ashkan."

  "How do we get him out?" Thorne asked, taking a gnce over his shoulder to make sure no other Inkbloods would emerge suddenly and surprise us.

  She mulled over our options. "First, we take out those two in that watg room over there."

  Everyone followed her gaze to the fifth window. Sure enough, through the gss, I could spot the silhouettes of two dark figures. Inkbloods were the room down below, watg and chatting amongst themselves.

  "Then... We might o shatter the window to ehe cell door is well below us, certainly immuo magid expeg traffic soon. I suspect it will be heavily guarded as well," Kadia reasoned. She let out a long breath a each of our eyes. "I will drop down and use my medulet to whisk the prisoo safety. Brielle, you will watch my back. Thorne and Shaye, stay on this level and ward off any Inkbloods that might spot us and alert others. Be sure to keep your eyes on all six windows."

  "That's all I do?" I asked. I wasn't fond of the idea of sending her down aloo potentially fa entire mob of Inkbloods and god-knows-what-else was lurking around this mansion-torture-dungeon.

  "Do not worry. I will not be defenseless," she assured me, then looked between us. "Okay? If we execute our parts, no one will get hurt."

  Kadia's strategy was sound and as cautious as possible, given the current circumstances. But Shaye's expression anicked and jumpy. My for her grew. How much worse could she handle? I didn't want to belittle her, but she seemed a little too close to passing out for fort. Surely Kadia could sehe same from her. But there wasn't any time to sit around and deliberate over what could or should happen. It was time to act.

  We walked carefully along the chilly corridors, stig to the walls. The fourth observation room was empty. Thorne moved very slowly as he approached the fifth window, and he peeked around the er at the two Inkbloods. Kadia was right behind him. Simultaneously, she drove her dagger into one Inkblood's neck while he bashed his armoured fist into the other's temple. The Inkblood closest to the window fell to his knees, clutg desperately at the wound on his neck. Blood spilled all over the window. Thorne drove a few more of his devastating strikes into the other one's head until he went limp and lifeless. Silenveloped us once more.

  The four of us gathered around the window, trying to see what y below us. Blood made the view somewhat obscured. Still, the person sitting in one of the ers of the hexagon was too swathed in shadows to identify.

  "I 't tell if that's him," Shaye murmured, pressing her forehead against the gss and squinting. "It looks like... I-I'm not sure."

  Thorne, now holding his hand outstretched in front of him, gnced over at Kadia. "I get rid of the gss without making any noise, if you'd like to go in for a closer look?"

  Kadia him. "Perfect, yes. We do not o attract more attention than we have to."

  Thorne held his hand over the gss and started making subtle gestures with his fingers. As he moved, the gss began to phase out, transf into a smoky haze before dissipatiirely. After a few moments, the whole panel was gone. Cold air rushed iared into the cell, trying to see what was inside. But it was just so damn dark, and I was getting sick of standing around and doing nothing while Ashkan was still likely down there, in pain and alone.

  Kadia retrieved her medulet from her pocket and e was still w. The intricate cube whirred to life. "All set. Is everyone clear on–?"

  Before she could finish, there was a loud g from somewhere down the hall, followed by four or five voices. Laughter. Muffled, but close. Kadia whipped around to face the dark corridor, her expression hardening with arm. The sound of boots grew louder. We were about to get ambushed.

  "Thorne, Shaye, you deal with them?" she whispered quickly.

  Shaye, who looked more than a little bit spooked by the noise, now had tears in her eyes. She seemed as if she was trying her absolute hardest to maintain a stoic expression. "What? We... I..."

  "Are you equipped to fight, or not?" Kadia pressed.

  She was visibly struggling not to lose her posure entirely. Her face icture of anguish. She shook her head frantically. "I don't... I-I'm..."

  Kadia gritted her teeth. "There's no time. I will take care of them with Thorne. Just stay bad try to stay calm. You do not have to be in the fray if you ot ha. Uand?"

  "But I–"

  "No more talking," Kadia said in a harsh whisper, looking to me. "Brielle, go help him. If he is ed, they must be removed. Teleportation of someone weariraints is extremely dangerous. Find a way. And watch your back."

  "On it," I said.

  I'd barely swung my legs over the now barren windowpane when the group of Inkbloods came around the er. Two men and three women. They all froze.

  "Intruders," one woman hissed, reag for her on.

  "Tear 'em limb from limb, then take 'em to the boss!" the tallest man ordered.

  Shaye, her breaths shalloanicked, shrunk into the er while Kadia and Thorepped in to intercept. I took my leave before anyone could do anything else.

  I dropped through the opening, casting an entment that slowed my fall to the pace of a feather's drift. I nded lightly. Kneeling on the hard, chilly floor, I blinked up at the room I'd just e from. From down here, all the windowed chambers that surrouhe stone cell seemed even farther away, the gss even more blurry, and the lights that dangled from the ceiling even dimmer. Being in here robably even colder and more miserable than it looked from the outside. Not to mention, terrifying and custrophobic. I'd nded directly in front of a that led up to one of the dark ers. The sounds of fighting were distant above me.

  I swallowed the rising uhat threateo y thoughts and looked towards the shadows. Standing up, I walked slowly into the dark, careful not to trip over the iron links or set my foot into an unruly cra the floor. With a y fist, a miniature orb sparked to life above the tre of my palm, radiating only as much illumination as a fshlight would. It cast flickering shadows everywhere. The first shape to greet me was the silhouette of a person sitting, slumped over, thick cuffs locked around their wrists and ankles. Slowly, I raised the sphere of light.

  Instantly, my fears and suspis were firmed. It was Ashkan. I suppressed the pulsion to tackle him in a hug.

  The orb's glow reflected off his body, his head bowed so low I couldn't see his expression. Judging by the way he was leaning against the wall behind him, I didn't think he was scious. He wore nothing but bck vas breeches and a white linen shirt – both of which were muddy, torn, and somewhat bloodstained. Livid bruises peeked out from underh the cuffs on his wrists and ankles. Smaller ones peppered his arms and legs, surrounded by smudges of dirt.

  I took a step closer. Then another. As the light drifted nearer, I could see him shivering. I thought I could also see his breathing. The clot, the faster the orb flickered, and it soon started trembling. Every part of me shook with nerves and urgency.

  "Ash?" I whispered, my voice faint. "Ashkan? Are you...? you hear me?"

  The only response was silence. I could still hear the distant noise of Kadia and Thortling the Inkbloods overhead.

  I kneeled dht beside him. Nausea blossomed in my stomach. Shaking harder now, I reached towards his and used both hands to guide his head up. Then I ahe sphere just right so the light flooded across his face.

  Ashkan's expression almost stopped my heart entirely. His lips were cracked, his skin pale. His hair was matted together in limp waves by a mixture of sweat and dried blood. Gently, I grazed my thumbs across his cheeks, trying to process the extent of his wounds. A mostly scabbed-over ceration stretched its way diagonally above his left eyebrow, leaving dried drips along his temple and down to his jaw. Blood was crusted around his nostrils. His right eye was slightly swollen, with purple and yellow-brown bruising around it.

  I couldn't stop staring. This was unbearable. Everything about this se was disturbing in the worst way. My heart ached beyond belief. It was a feeling of pain I'd never experienced. Every bit of sympathy and care I held for him pounded into an anguish so vivid, I could barely tain it. My blood burned. No one should have to ehis kind of torture. Especially not him.

  "Oh my god..." I breathed, fighting back tears. My hands shook from either side of his face. I gingerly brushed some of the loose curls out of his eyes, my heart feeling like it was being stepped on.

  The movement must've stirred him, because his eyes snapped open, and he recoiled back with a flinch. I inhaled a gasp of shock. Ashkan was staring straight ahead, yet didn't seem to know what he was looking at. He blinked repeatedly, his eyelids moving sluggishly and drowsily. I could feel my expression twist in horror. It must've looked terrifying to him. I tried to steady my breath.

  "It's just me," I whispered as soothingly as possible. "I-It's Brielle. I'm not gonna hurt you. Okay? It's okay. I'm so, so sorry."

  The reition didn't seem to sink in until much ter than it should've. It looked like it was taking all of his effort just to stay awake. Eventually, he mumbled a quiet, hoarse word. I could barely make it out.

  "Brie...?" he mumbled again, then groaned weakly, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the bright orb.

  I adjusted the sphere so that its light didn't fall on his face, but now only illuminated me. His eyes widened when he could dis my features. He blinked, as though making sure he was seeing properly, then gazed back up at my face, eyes filled with fusion, shock, and some sort of wild hopefulhat made my stomaersault.

  "What are you...? What's–?" Ashkan coughed dryly and winced in pain. "You...o leave...!"

  "Hold on, don't strain yourself," I whispered. "We're gon you out of here."

  "You came to rescue me..." he murmured. Then, his expression hardened with panic. "Brie, you... Don't uand. He's ing. You... You o get away from here, right now. Get as far away as you ."

  I didn't uand what he meant at first. "He...? Wait, what?"

  "Get away...! Run, and don't e back… Brielle, please–"

  In a hushed voice, I cut him off. "Hey. I know we o hurry. But I'm not leaving here without you. Uand?"

  His chest heaved as he took in my words, his breathing quiing. Then, his face crumpled. It was as if my words had torn through whatever wall was keeping him together. His face fell into a mixture of emotions, and he dropped his forehead onto my shoulder.

  "I-I'm gd I stayed alive...long enough...to see you," he mumbled into the crook of my neck, his voice rough and raw.

  A pang of sorrow shot through me. "Don't talk like that. Everything will be okay. I promise."

  I hugged him lightly and carefully, then pulled away to study his expression again. It was all too obvious that he'd been tortured. This wasn't something he'd recover from in a single night, or even in a week. Or a month. A whole new kind of anguish ed within me, ohat was harder to trol. Ohat was mugrier.

  "Okay... I'm gonna try something to get these s off. Ready?" I asked.

  Ashkan nodded weakly, still trembling from the cold.

  "Okay. Here we go. Don't move."

  I reached for his wrists first, only to be met with an intense and familiar burniion. With a jolt, I jerked back, the shackle's metal searing into my palms like a hot iron rod. I quickly buried my mouth in my elbow to stifle a pained cry. Ashkan looked horrified.

  "I k... Just like with Davie..." he whispered, looking more disoriehan ever.

  He was right, except Davie wasn't ed to the floor. These reinforced shackles couldn't be broken with any spell or on. I could cover them in a barrier to prevent them from searing upon tact, but what good would that do? They o be off of him entirely. Tarkus' dark magic coils had shattered Davie's cuffs... But was I even capable of casting such a profane spell? Did I even want to try? What if I caused more harm? What if I succumbed to dark magic's corruption after just one spell?

  A deep chill of terror sank in as I realized the answer. I repared to do whatever it took to save Ashkan's life. Anything.

  "Brielle... He'll find you..." he murmured. He struggled to speak in cohereences, his breathing fast and shallow. "He wants you, too. If I... If I'm still alive..."

  My mind inning with worry and panic. "Shh. Save your strength."

  He didn't stop. "You 't get caught–"

  "Don't worry, Ash," I interrupted. "You're safe now. Yoing to be just fine. I need you to keep breathing, okay? We'll take care of the rest."

  A ctter from above distracted us. The sounds of fighting seemed to have stopped. Ashkan flihe terror on his face was agonizing to watch. He didn't know what to do with himself. I o help him as soon as possible, and that meaing him out of here and back to Lunellia where she could give him medical attention. But we had to deal with those damn cuffs first.

  A muffled thump sounded from the room above before Kadia dropped into the stone cell. Ashkan cowered. She quickly strode towards us, looking exhausted, then kneeled on Ashkan's opposite side and leaned in for a better look.

  "Are you all right?" Kadia asked him gently, sing him head to toe. "Are you able to stand?"

  "I don't know. I don't know." He shook his head frantically. His breathing quied again, and I noticed his gaze darting around the dark ers of the cell. "You o go. You o leave, please..."

  Kadia nodded sympathetically at him, then looked to me. "I assume the shackles are magic-proof?"

  "Unfortunately. They burn like hell if you touch them." I gestured at the iron bands and winced.

  She stared at them for a while before running through a series of spells and hexes. Nothing worked. The s were immuo freezing, melting, breaking, disiing, bending, phasing, and all sorts of other tricks. It didn't look like Kadia could get through, either. Ashkan watched, his expression filled with ay, fear, and anticipation.

  I watched, too, until I realized we didn't have time to spend on trial and error. "I don't suppose you know any dark magic, huh?" I asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

  Kadia's eyes turned incredulous. "Not in a thousand years. What would make you ask such a thing?"

  I wasn't sure what else to say. "Um... I don't know. It's destructive, right? The cuffs o be destroyed..."

  "No, I don't," she replied without hesitation, staring at me. "Destructive is right. Uable is more correct. It is outwed for a reason. Any minor cast of it could bring irreversible harm, not just to you, but to those around you, too."

  My heart was in my throat. I tried not to show it. "I know. But if it's our only option, shouldn't we at least sider it? What else we do?"

  She shook her head vehemently. "If there is a ce we avoid it, we must. I will think of something else. You will not attempt to use dark magic to save him, Brielle. You mustn't. While I do so, please heal his wounds if you ."

  My shoulders sank. "...Wait, what if someone es back? Won't they notice that Ash looks different?"

  She hesitated for a moment. "I...suppose we may want to leave him in this state to keep up the pretense."

  The thought of leaving him like this for another sed was repulsive. But I felt like my point was a valid one. If someourned and saw that his bruises aions were gohey'd know something .

  Ashkan seemed to kly what we were talking about, because he sat up a little straighter. "S'okay... I'll be fine."

  It didn't feel okay. It didn't feel okay at all. My thoughts were swimming, drowning in fear. I just wahis to be over already. The sound of a lock clig somewhere behind us made me almost jump out of my skin. Ashkan looked petrified, his gaze trained on a spot over my shoulder, staring at something I couldn't see.

  "What... What's that noise?" he whispered. "That's not just in my head, is it...?"

  Kadia grabbed my arm. "Go. Now."

  The urgen her voice made my stomach turn. Ash seemed to know what was happening, and he was scared out of his wits. I didn't have time to do anything. We just had to go. Kadia shoved me away, and I used aero to jump through the open window above us, nding oher side, my knees ag from the force of it. Kadia followed right behind me.

  "Stay down and out of sight. Keep quiet, no matter what happens," she whispered hurriedly, gng at the three of us.

  Shaye turo me. "Is... Is it him? Is he down there?"

  I nodded mutely. Her face went white with shock, and she cpped a hand over her mouth to stop fr out. Kadia pushed her aowards the wall where a cluster of shadows swallowed up the entire er. She theinguished the ceiling mp. She and Thorne pressed themselves against the opposite wall. As for me, I stayed at the edge of the darkness, and peered around the er of the window. I had a terrible feeling that something awful was going to happen to Ashkan.

  The cell door opened with another deafening ctter and thud. Two hooded Inkbloods eheir faces invisible within the depths of bck cloaks. They both grabbed Ash by the upper arms and forced him to stand in the middle of the room.

  "On your feet," one of them anded. Ashkan struggled to follow.

  The cell door was left open behind them. Balgaur appeared , having to dud squeeze himself through the opening. But he wasn't alone. A figure entered behind him. The sounds of their footsteps were quieter thahers'. Almost ghostlike. The way Balgaur was so quick to get out of the way made it clear who was leading the pack.

  Balgaur's master? So this must be the real leader… The one responsible for all the brainwashing tattoos...

  My blood chilled and my muscles tightened, all the hair on my body standing on end as a man walked into the dim mplight. He was lean and much slimmer than Balgaur, but even taller than him. It wasn't like he towered over everyone like a giant – it was like everyone around him shrunk. Curiously, he appeared to be youhan Balgaur; definitely no older than thirty-five. Without the dirty gss window between us, I could see the features on his face clearly.

  He ale as bone, with a slight greyish tio his skin, like all the blood had been drained from him. His features were sharp: hollow cheeks, a chiselled jaw and , a straight nose, a promi bre. Bck waves of hair curtained his face, reag almost to his armpits, yered and parted in the middle. The ends faded into a blue-grey. The Victorian and Baroque nature of his clothing stood out obviously pared to everyone else's utilitarian outfits. His overcoat was long, and draped all the way down to his ankles in bck, silver-adorned, cy yers of cloth. A pair of silver epaulets decorated each of his shoulders. His colr was high and frilly, like an old-fashioned vampire, with a violet cravat secured at his throat. There was an eerie and uhly stillo his expression, the kind of face that belonged in a portrait rather than real life. This effect lified by the ored e that he leaned on casually, long fingers resting on top.

  The two Inkbloods bowed lowly. Shaye's breath halted. A heavy silence desded on the room, thid foreboding. Balgaur stid, his expression stony. His master barely seemed to pay attention to the men that surrounded him. His gaze was fixed solely on the prisoner in the middle of the cell, on Ashkan, who was staring him down with the st bit of energy he had left.

  Balgaur piped up, "He's still not spillin', sire. S'what I told you. Should we make another shadow to repce the one we lost? Just say the word and–"

  His master's gaze slid sideways to fix on Balgaur's face.

  The giant shut his mouth and ged at his own words.

  "You have done quite enough for today," the leader spoke in a cool voice. It was quiet, deep, and silky. His at was distinctly rare, with an air of aristocracy to it; oh, it'd be somethiween an upper-css London at and a Middle English one. He looked back to Ashkan, who seemed to be staring back defiantly, his jaw set.

  "Doesn't seem like the bloke wants to talk," muttered one of the men who was holding him in pce.

  The leader stepped closer. "Your refusal to cooperate is vexing, but not unreasonable. In fact, I admire your spirit. Truly. heless, this farce must e to an end. I have not the patience left for this grand spectacle of a game. Have you lost your brains or are you truly this dense?"

  Ashkan didn't reply, just kept gring hatefully.

  "Perhaps you have somehow overlooked the plight you are in?" He tapped his e onto the stohere was a slow, deliberate pause. "…I could slice you up and bleed you dry right here. But, no, that's much too easy. The freedom of death shan't be misspent on wastrels."

  Kadia's shoulders were stiff, and I was on edge, my ears prig. It felt like is were crawling all over my skin. Beside me, Shaye's face was drawn and stri, her brows knitted with horror. I reached for her hand, iwining our fingers, trying to give her a little reassurance. As terrifying as what was happening here was, I didn't want to lose focus and screw something up.

  One of the men spoke up from Ashkan's other side. "Milord, we should make a new shadht now. An ugly version of him. Could be good target practice."

  The leader seemed to mull this over for a sed. "Uninspired, yet somehow less exhausting. I daresay you have your merit, if only very little of it. Such a shame that the girl prefers to break apart my strenuous creations."

  I tensed up, my heart rag. I shouldn't be surprised that the news reached them.

  "Been a naughty rat, all right," the other man ented, grabbing a fistful of Ashkan's hair and yanking his head backwards. "Know what we do with rats? Pop 'em full of holes!"

  Ashkahed slowly, not moving a muscle. His eyes were determined and strong. The leader studied him with a long, steady look, his expression giving nothing away. For a few moments, the room was dead silent. Balgaur and the other men watched for instrus, seeming eager to know where this was going.

  Then, their master gave a bored sort of wave with his hand. "I've offered my tract, yet you still refuse to ply. You're as bloody-minded as she was. So, I ask you once more. Where are the neckces kept?"

  My mouth went dry. She? Who is he talking about? And are our neckces really this coveted? Doesn't everyone perceive Earth as inferior?

  Ashkan jerked his at him defiantly. "Not pying...yame... How many times...do I have to tell you? You're not…getting them."

  The leader heaved a long, exaggerated sigh. "You say it like it's a challenge." For someone who spoke with such archaic pronunciation, his cuttis were oddly modern. The man paused for a moment, assessing his captive again. "How fasating that you seem to be in desperate need of a motivator. Is starvation not effective on your people? Perhaps it hasn't been long enough."

  He strolled around Ashkan casually, e thumping along, scrutinizing him up and down. The entire room watched expetly. No one dared to move. A horrible, uneasy sense of helplessness sat in my gut. I hated it. I hated this man, and I hadn't even spoken to him. Monsters like him gave sadists a bad name.

  The man stopped after a slow revolution. "Despite being a miserable coward, you've retained quite the gall to resist. Even when faced with certaih, honour holds you firmly. As, all men wish to martyr themselves at some point in their lifetime. How unsurprising that you are no exception." His fist ched around the handle of his e, every muscle in his body stiffening into fierce rigidity despite his calm tone. "You’re just about the spitting image of her, you know. Just as intrusive... Just as ignorant. If it was under my trol, you would be executed the out to rot, just how I wish your pestilent mother had been."

  His words had an immediate aating effect. Ashkan's silence broke in an instant. He lunged forward but was restrained by his cuffs. "Shut up! Don't you dare speak of her!"

  A quiet gasp escaped my lips. How did the leader know Ashkan's mother had died? And why the hell was that relevant?

  "My, my. tiing in that manner and you'll be able to t all your teeth on one hand," the man replied, sounding unmoved. "If you do not agree to cooperate, then you will leave me no choice. The blood of my enemies will spill only if they insist. It is your decision."

  Ashkan didn't reply. He stared at the stoh his feet, panting slightly, fuming.

  Shaye huddled herself closer to me, her arm brushing against mihey're... He's... Brielle, they'll kill him…!" she whispered, sounding utterly distraught.

  "I don't know." I tried to keep my able. "I don't think they will... They 't afford to."

  The leader sighed heavily at Ashkan's rea. "Such a heathen... Like mother like son, it seems."

  "Shut UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!" he suddenly roared, louder than I'd ever heard him before. This time, he fought fiercely against his s, thrashing wildly, looking almost rabid with sheer anger and hatred. The men who were holding onto him struggled to keep him ihey forced him back, pinning him in pce, grabbing him by the head.

  The leader turned and shifted his eyes away, ued by the outburst. "Pathetic. Are we fetting who is in trol? Allow me to crify..." His hand abruptly snapped out and seized Ashkan's throat with a grip like iron. "You. Are worth. Nothing."

  Shaye shrunk away in fear. I was stuoo, uo look away.

  Balgaur's master retracted his hand. Ashkan gasped for air, practically choking. "Release him," he told the men.

  The hooded me go, leaving Ashkan to fall hard to his knees. He took a shuddering breath but didn't seem able to speak. He coughed a few times and hung his head. His shoulders slumped in resignation.

  The leader smoothed the front of his waistcoat. He regained his dignified air as if the heated moment hadn't even happened, like nothing had slipped out of pce. "How valuable of an Inkblood you would make. If only my methods could fun upon you... In the most ued of circumstances, perhaps we will still be able to reach a form of, hmm, mutual uanding."

  Everyone in the room looked expetly to their leader, hanging onto his every word. To me, it almost looked like they weren't sciously aware they were doing it. That kind of loyalty was terrifying.

  Ashkan spoke low in his throat. "I'll...never...be one of you..."

  A hint of annoyance fshed across their master's impassive face for a split sed, as though deeply offended by the very idea. "Yes, well. Yods must've granted you a fair amount of prote, truly, which makes this all the more vexing. However, Ashkan... You heathen, bastard, wretched mist..." He raised his e towards Ash's face, lifting his . "...I break you all the same."

  The leader then swiped his hand sharply through the air, and a dark fsh fred up momentarily in his palm. One sed passed before Ashka out a pierg cry and doubled over onto the floor, clutg at his left forearm. His scream reverberated in my skull, making my head spin, and a violent wave of nausea hit me. I instinctively moved to help him, but Kadia reached for me. Her fingers cmped down on my wrist.

  She shook her head firmly. "Don't."

  My heart pounded furiously against my ribcage. Ashka out aerrible scream as he writhed on the ground. It sounded like he was being burned alive. He looked to be in utter agony, twisting and kig out. What the hell is happening?! I looked to Shaye and saw her close her eyes with one hand over her mouth. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she hyperventited.

  Crimson blood bloomed beh the torn sleeve of Ash's shirt and began to drip steadily onto the stohere were gashes in his forearm. Like long, jagged cws had gouged at his skin, c it with seemingly random sshes. His fist pounded against the ground, knuckles white. The sight of him, so raw and agonized, was nothing short of heart-wreng.

  "Do you suppose this is what your mother wished?" Balgaur's master questioned coolly. He rested both hands on his e, regarding Ashkan as though he were some sort of mildly iing zoo exhibit. "For her disdainful heretic of a son to be digging his own grave through mutiny? To be branded like an animal as a result of trifling insubordination?"

  Ashkan gritted his teeth together and choked baother cry. It was the most painful and excruciating sound I'd ever heard. This kind of curse was something I'd only read about ibooks, uhe heading of 'Illegal and Forbidden' – a sort of invisible bde spell that was impossible to move away from. It could only be triggered remotely by the caster, who would simply have to give a and, or visualize the motion of the bde and the shape they'd want it to take, then release it from their hand. It was the perfect curse for torture. And now I had to watch helplessly.

  "Perhaps the woman did not possess the strength of will t you bato liheir leader tinued. "Her expiry is mentable. Did she suffer greatly? Did she succumb easily, like the frail creature that she was?"

  The pain seemed to subside, because Ashkan rolled over. He stared at the wall, eyes vat and clouded. His body was drenched i. There was ay look on his faow. Whatever anger had fuelled him seemed to be pletely spent.

  "There is nothing to be gained by lying to me." The leader leaned over Ash's limp form. "Do you think me so merciful and foolish, that I will allow you to waste my time? This is merely a taste of what awaits you if you tio resist. So, unless you are willing to forfeit the remainder of your worthless life... Tell me. Where is the neckces' vault?"

  The seds crawled by, dragging out into an excruciating wait for his reply. His face torted in pain, and I saw the effort it took him to formute his reply.

  The word came out raspy. "...No."

  His tormentor stared at him bnkly. "No?" He looked at Balgaur. "Is my hearing in need of repair? It must be so. The fool appears to be speaking nonsense."

  Balgaur looked to him and shrugged his huge shoulders. "It's his favourite word."

  "Is that so? What a pity... The me show him one of my favourites." He flicked his fingers in a shesture, as if swiping a fly off his shoulder, and Ashkan screamed again.

  The gashes in his forearm started at his wrist and were now tinuing their way towards his elbow. You could visibly trace the bde's invisible path, where his skin was sshed in jagged streaks. His cries echoed across the dungeon as he curled into himself. His hand clutched his wounded arm, smearing the blood.

  Shaye's hands flew over her fad she wept into her palms, uo bear any more. I pulled her into my chest and held her against me – partially to fort her, and partially to quiet her sobs. She g to my jacket with shaking hands. I held her and watched Ashkan with horrified eyes, not knowing what else to do. Those men would kill us if they realized we were there, and we all khat. We were utterly helpless.

  After the bde curse stopped slig, the leader spoke up. "Let this serve as aing reminder; a self-inflicted maion of your heresy."

  Ashkaill on the floor. His breaths came out in rough rasps, like he'd just run a marathon. "Just kill me... If this is…all you do... Go ahead."

  "Mm, that would be much too simple, I'm afraid," the man said. He leaned over to study Ash's wound, seeming satisfied. "You really are quite intriguing. I haven't had a ma as long as you have in years." He straightened his back. "In any case, I shan't be requiring you any further today. If you wish to keep your tongue, do try to remember to speak with a sembnce of respect. My patience is thin as it is. Farewell."

  Without another word, he turned sharply and walked back the way he came in, Balgaur and the other men following behind him. The door smmed shut. Ashkan was left in a bloody, shuddering mess on the floor. The chamber was silent once again.

  My mind spun. Ash only tio stare emptily at the wall, looking lifeless. A small puddle of blood had collected underh his left arm. Shaye let out a muffled sob and I felt her trembling against me. The feeling was tagious; tears burned behind my eyelids, but I willed myself not to cry. Now was not the time. We couldn't waste it.

  I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as it coursed through my bloodstream, pushing out all thoughts but one: SAVE HIM.

  I looked over at Kadia. "We o move."

  Her jaw ched. Her eyes were trained on the blood seeping out around Ash, as though transfixed by it. "I know. We're almost out of this. Follow my lead."

  She dropped down into the cell, with Thor far behind her. Shaye and I exged a look before I jumped down to join them. When Shaye nded beside me, she was immediately at Ashkan's side, pulling his head up onto her p. He groaned quietly. She began whispering soft prayers and blessings. I hurried over to them, dropping down on one knee. Kadia and Thorne busied themselves in figuring out how to break his shackles.

  "Hey," I said gently, feeling useless. There wasn't much I could do, except...

  I rolled up his bloodied sleeve to assess the damage. My heart plummeted. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Bck wasn't even the right word. Amongst all the red blood, the cuts were every ive colour all at once, every eye-burning tohere was. A vacuum of the spectrum, a hole where all light disappeared. It was horrible. But the most frightening thing was that it wasn't just random sshes... It was writing. A hexagon symbol was carved into his flesh, as clear as the day, beside one word:

  M I S C R E A N T

  Shaye's eyes watered when she saw it, but she held her ground. Teardrops rolled down her face. "Ashkan, you hear me? I-It'll be all right, I swear it..."

  His eyeshes fluttered a few times, then his gaze met hers. He stared at her like she wasn't quite real. His response came out slightly slurred, but not unintelligible. "...Shaye?"

  She let out a choked sob of relief and nodded. "Yes... Yes, it's me. It's Shaye... Y-You'll be okay, you'll be okay. I swear it."

  "Hurts..." he rasped out, squeezing his eyes shut. Sweat beaded across his forehead. "I don't– I don't think– M'sorry... I-I 't... I…" His voice was barely a hoarse whisper.

  " you help him? Please tell me you ," Shaye said frantically, looking up to me with a desperate expression.

  "I don't know, I don't... I 't sanitize. It might get ied. Especially in a pce like this..." My hands shook. I felt sick with dread, with guilt, with ay, with fear. It was so much at once I could hardly think straight. So I did the only thing I safely could; I tore a long, strip off my undershirt and ed it firmly around the wound. He flinched but made no further pint.

  Shaye o me gratefully, smoothing a hand over Ash's grimy hair. "H-Hold on. You'll be fi'll all be fine..." She kept up her reassurances and prayed tods in hushed tones, keeping him close. After a moment, she spat, "Those damn cuffs...!" Her hao grab onto the one.

  "No!" Kadia and I excimed at the same time.

  It was too te. Shaye's shriek ripped through the air as the ented shackle burned her skin. She released it and scrambled back, gasping in pain. Her palm was red like she'd touched a hot stove. Her breathing came ed as she looked down at it.

  "GO! Get out!" Kadia's eyes bzed. Her words cut like a knife, urgent and direct.

  Shaye shook her head fiercely, stubborn as a bull. "No! We're not leaving without Ashkan. If he's staying here, then I'm staying here! He'll die without us!"

  "We will all die if we stay!" Kadia said sternly.

  "She's right," Thorne added, sounding uneasy. "There's no ce they didn't just hear that."

  Kadia reached out to grab Shaye, but she dodged. "Stop it! Stop! We 't! We 't just leave him; I won't–"

  A loud bang echoed off the chamber walls. Shaye stopped mid-sentence. All our heads swivelled towards the door. My stomach dropped. I gowards Kadia and saw her looking at the same pce. My blood ran cold. They were ing for us.

  "You seriously 't just teleport him out of here?" I hissed in a whisper.

  "With those shackles on, it'll rip his damn hands a off!" she retorted back.

  "Then we face them," I decided. I k was a terrible, reckless idea. I also knew we didn't have time for another.

  Kadia shook her head. "They'll kill you. I'll deal with this. Thorne, get them out of here, now!"

  Thorne reached out and grabbed my wrist. He seized Shaye's too. We began to protest, but our words were swallowed up as the cell door opened.

  Balgaur's figure appeared in the doorway. He stopped when he saw us. His face hardened. He gowards me, as if he couldn't prehend how I'd gotten in, but didn't bother asking. Instead, he yelled over his shoulder, "Sire!"

  "Let's go!" Thorne insisted, pushiowards the open window.

  I fought him. "No! I'm sick of running! We have to stop them!"

  Thorne's hands cmped down on my arms. "I get that, but this isn't a matter of–"

  A pair of light footsteps approached us, apanied by the thunk, thunk, thunk of a e hitting the stone. Balgaur's master appeared in the doorway. He froze. I met his cold eyes for an instant before looking down. The way his gaze burhrough me was a silent warning that I couldn't ignore.

  His voice was even colder. "Well... I didn't think this night could beore iing, a..."

  Kadia's hands glowed an icy blue as she moved into position, poised for an attack. Shaye cast a strong forcefield around Ashkan.

  Thor me go. "Get behind me," he muttered.

  I obeyed this time, slipping behind him. His body shielded me from their view. He faced the doorway, ready for an attack.

  "As it turns out, there were intruders on our premises after all. How unlucky for you, and how utterly eaining," the master said. "And the prophesized saviours, of all people... An intriguing occurrendeed." His fingers closed around his e. "I'll be gracious and reward your boldness with a quick death. Better than you deserve."

  "Lucky us," Thortered, and raised his fists to a defensive position.

  The leader regarded him with mild i. "You wish to defend them?"

  "Until death."

  "Right, right. It matters not. I shall settle your paltry defiaer. My hosting duties remain at present."

  He flourished his arm out towards us, and Thor flying sideways like a ragdoll. He crashed into the stone wall and slid down. My breath caught in my throat. Fear fred, and I quickly stepped towards Kadia.

  Ign the others, the man fixed his sights on me. "Ah, Lady De Mavset... At st. A most wele guest. I do believe an introdu is necessary, yes? The pleasure is all mine. Your presence here is utterly ued, and I do apologize for the unceremonious manner with which I must honour it." His eyes never left mine as he walked closer, each step resounding like a chime eg through the room. "I am Vhinrud. Five my forwardness, but this occasion is long overdue."

  Vhinrud gave a bow with such ease it was like he'd do a thousand times. He gazed at me intensely. My own stare was dumbfouhis man was really making a py at courtesy, as if he hadn't just cut up one of the most important people in my life. I couldn't help but be put off by the bizarreness of it all. Everyone else watched the se unfold in equal puzzlement.

  When I didn't say anything, he spoke again. His voiever rose above a calm tone. "Oh, I'm afraid this little spectacle is invite-only. ...Your friends will have to leave. Now."

  I brandished my dagger from the sheath on my thigh and raised it in his dire. "We're not leaving without Ashkan."

  He regarded my on like someone might a pebble on the ground. "You'd dare draw your bde on me?"

  "I'd dare," I said, a up the act of being brave as best I could. If he suspected for a sed that I didn't mean to use it, then I'd be dead.

  Vhinrud straightened up, raising his imperiously. "As you wish." His e came apart, and he uhed a serrated, onyx bde from the middle.

  I grit my teeth. Damn it. I did not want to do this. But there was no other choice.

  The first blow was easy to block; a strike of his bde towards my side. The sound of metal hittial rang out around us. At that, everyone except Ashkan jumped into motion, swarming Vhinrud and Balgaur with swings and strikes. I rushed the leader with everything I had. He met every move with grad poise. No matter where I came from or how I attacked, he was ready. My strikes were too easy to block, and too weak to break through his defense. I felt the ti flicker of worry at my inadequacy. My skills weren't nearly good enough for this.

  "Is this your best? e now," Vhinrud chastised me. "I expected better."

  The two of us battled bad forth, him slowly pushing me away from the rest of the group. Kadia was doing her best to help me out, but she reoccupied with the huge guard who seemed hellbent on chopping her in half. Shaye had goo protective mode, keeping the two men as far away from Ashkan as she could. Thorne was currently locked in an all-out brawl with Balgaur, eae fighting like their life depended on it.

  Vhinrud parried a swing from my bde with ease. Before I had a ce to react, he smmed my body onto the cold stone floor, pinning me beh him. His bde pressed to my throat.

  He shook his head in disappoi. "That was eoo short."

  My heart hammered in my chest. His sword was so sharp that even a slight movement from me could be deadly. I stared up at him. At this proximity, I could see that his eyes weren't bck like I'd previously thought. They were an eerie, dark shade of blue-toned red, like the colour of blood mixed with the darkness of night. His pupils were grey instead of bck. Dark circles framed the areas underh, like he hadn't slept in years, outmatched in vividness only by the redness lining the borders of his eyes. The way they gazed down at me with a sort of fasation was chilling. It made my blood run cold.

  I couldn't move. I had no choice but to resort to magic. If he wanted a fight, then he was going to get one. I jured a glimmering rope and ed it around Vhinrud's torso, yanking him off of me. He quickly regained footing after being tossed aside, flippily back up without a single gasp runt. With one quick motion, he sliced through my rope like it aper.

  Vhinrud didn't miss a beat. "It would appear my hospitality is wasted on you. And your friend as well." His eyes flicked over to where Ashkan lied unmoving on the ground.

  The same rage from earlier burst out from inside me and I shot my magic at him agaited away every one of my attacks, swatting my power as if they were gnats in his path. Crystal shards, blinding beams, lightning, orbs, spears, sparks, arrows. No matter what I tried, he blocked it like I was no threat to him. Like it was nothing. I had no doubt he was toying with me. He kept that infuriatingly calm posure about him that told me he didn't find this challenging.

  But just before I cast the hing I could think of to throw at him, Vhinrud decided to switch tactics. Bck smoke curled around his outstretched hand. His expression grew darker. I'd seen this kind of magiough times to know what to expect. I dove out of the way as a bck orb was uowards me, narrowly avoiding the collision. Vhinrud wielded this darkness with an unnatural fluidity.

  In that moment, I remembered my lessons with Miss Lucera. A magic was taxing, but she'd told me it was the most powerful type. All I had to do was vince myself of a possibility. I only hoped it would work.

  Fog on my strength, my pathered around me in a dazzling silver aura, aension of my own energy. I threw myself wholeheartedly into it. The more I did, the brighter and stro got. I could feel myself eg to the essehis extra force. It coursed through me, being oh my every emotion and i. A familiar hollowness started to grow i of my stomach. My thoughts were overtaken by everything that had happened, everything that had led to this frontation. Ashkan's injuries, his pain, my own fear and anger and dread. There was a storm inside me, and it needed out.

  "No, stop!" Shaye's excim cut through the air.

  I opened my eyes just in time to see Ashkan's barrier disie. And Vhinrud was closing in on him. Shaye attempted to cast another barrier. Vhinrud flung her backwards with a flick of his wrist, then shot a dark violet bst at Ashkan. I was about to try to deflect it when he instinctively rose his arm to shield himself. The spell hit the metal cuff on his wrist, crumbling it into bed pieces.

  My eyes widehat was the answer. Desperately, I flung the greatest amount of energy I could towards Vhinrud. Air rushed all arouo make way for the torrent of magic. Our powers collided halfway between us. The explosion upon impact set off sparks across the ey of the chamber. A against dark. It felt like all at o was taking everything out of me and giving it back at the same time. Daring the oppoo overpower the other until one won out.

  Vhinrud gave a sort of vague smile. "An admirable effort, Lady De Mavset. As, an o ot be drowned. And a fme ot be singed." Swirling darkness poured out of him, a deathly purple miasma. The dark spell's shadowy trail raced forward like a violent whip.

  In a panic, I braced myself, sending up a shield of my own. It filled the room in blinding bursts, light rivalling even that of the sun, and wove itself around me like a golden b. Still, it didn't hold for long. One by one, each strand of my defenses snapped apart like a spider's silk under a finger.

  I rolled out of the way at the st sed. The impact of the dark magit a small, crater-shaped i into the ground where I'd just been standing. Dust burst out in all dires. It left behind a dark scorch mark on the already worn stohe magic retracted back to Vhinrud.

  I had to get Ashkan free, and fast. Maybe a magic was strong enough to break through those shackles. At this rate, I didn't see another option. I would risk it.

  As if reading my mind, Thorne's devastating knuckles collided with Vhinrud's unguarded ribs. It was enough of a distra to cease his foe. The air in Vhinrud's lungs burst out in an audible gust, and I took the opportunity to dash over to Ashkan. Thankfully, Shaye's dexterity and Kadia's speed were enough to keep Balgaur occupied. While the two girls dodged and parried attacks, I k dowo Ashkan, who was still cradling his bruised wrist like it had broken off with the .

  "Ash! Are you okay?" My words were rushed as I fell to my knees.

  His face was deathly pale. "I... S-Stop w about me." The skin around his wrist was red and infmed. I could see the welt patterns from the cuff. "Vhinrud's magic... Dark... It broke the metal, did you...see?"

  I nodded. "I'm so relieved you threw your hand up at just the right angle. I think there's a way I finish the job, then we get out of here."

  I gnced over my shoulder, throwing up a bubble of prote around us as Vhinrud retaliated against Thorne. My head swivelled from him to Balgaur, hoping Kadia and Shaye were holding their own. The former of the two was leaping bad forth between each assaint, trying to terattad distract the men at the same time. I knew she wouldn't be able to keep that up for long.

  My eyes darted towards Ashkan again. "Stay still. I'm going to break those off."

  He moved to sit up. His breath hitched. "W-With what? You 't–"

  I shut out his protests. "I think I . My a magic lessons are finally ing in handy, and we've got to try something."

  "A magic? What–?"

  "Just hang tight," I assured him.

  I summoned all of my energy, calling it up from inside aing it well out of me. Every instine what I o do. Taking a steady breath, I elled it straight towards the manacle on his other wrist. My fingers were enveloped in slightly painful pins-and-needles. The metal slowly began to deform. I could see what I o do, but I couldn't expin it. This magic was almost automatic. Dark and cold and angry.

  Hairline fractures erupted across the surface, tiny splinters splitting off from the . The power I was using turned everything brittle and fragile. I shoved the force outward, then balled my fist tightly. With a loud k, it all broke apart. The shards of bed, rusted iron looked oddly identical to the ones from earlier.

  "Fuck, it actually worked!" I couldn't help but excim.

  Ashkan's first ankle cuff came apart in the same manner, a little quicker. Unfortunately, before I could do the st ohe shield I'd put around us broke with a crash. A whip of bck magic cracked hard against my arm, and a sharp sting apahe spsh of blood running down my elbow. I let out a cry of pain.

  "That will be quite enough of that, sweeting," said Vhinrud, looking mildly irritated.

  I gripped the injury, my whole arm throbbing as a reminder of his pent for suffering. Blood seeped through my fingers. Gasping, I forced myself to put on a brave face.

  Kadia appeared in front of me within mere seds. In the blink of an eye, a freezing field of ice crystals shot up from underh her feet before bursting upwards in an icy explosion. Vhinrud and Balgaur had absolutely zero means to avoid the surge. Sharp, crystalline spikes raced up across the floor, cutting straight towards them. Both men were flung aside by the impact. Shrapnel flew through the air, a deadly sleet shattering in all dires. It stopped just short of where I crouched on the ground.

  I looked up at her in shock. My jaw dropped open.

  "I think it's about time we left." Kadia grasped my hand and hoisted me onto my feet. "Finish the rest of it. We'll... We'll have a talk ter." She looked away, suddenly standoffish, then turo stand side-by-side with Shaye and Thorogether, the three of them fnked Vhinrud and Balgaur viciously.

  There was no time for me to ask for crification about her st statement. I quickly directed my magic at Ashkan's final cuff. In about twenty seds, it also crumbled to pieces like wet sand. My hands stung intensely, but I didn't care. He was free. As if part of Ashkan's own self had finally returned, I watched in awe as he was able tle to his feet with some help from the wall behind him.

  Oher side of the room, Vhinrud's twisted frown deepened. He made a tsk sound, eyes narrowing at the st wreckage of the shackles.

  I thought for a split sed that Vhinrud might stop fighting. But as if this wasn't already personal enough, he appeared to only bee furious at the fact that I, specifically, had foiled his pn. He swirled towards me, and I frantically pulled up a shield between us.

  Frustration, hatred, and rage bubbled in my veins. I straightened, gathering myself, then focused everything I had on my anger, bringing it to the forefront of my mind. "GOD, would you LEAVE ME ALONE?!" I yelled, thrusting my palms towards him.

  Like a sudden and powerful earthquake, the inteion inside me exploded. A massive wave of crimson and bck crashed outwards. A forceful gale of all these jagged, spliendrils hurtled straight into Vhinrud. The wild, votile swarm smmed both him and Balgaur to the floor. Underh the onsught of darkness, they became ensnared in a flurry of razor-sharp edges. One swipe of my hand and a twist of my wrist, and I'd trapped them in a deadly spiral.

  An enormous surge of magic, the most I'd ever jured before, bound them in dark, shimmering bonds that were almost certainly coated in a power. Where before I had the mental feeling that I was reag into my lifeforce, toug a source of power unlike anything I'd ever felt, this time I couldn't sense anything at all. Like my magic ulling from a secret recess inside of me, somewhere even I couldn't reach. As though it were in hibernation, or simply knocked unscious.

  There was an unspeakable exhaustion that grew quickly, leaving me slumped and sweaty and almost crippled. The sey hands fell, a sort of shock rippled through my every limb. The swarm ceased to exist, leaving Vhinrud and Balgaur kneeling. There was a moment of pause as everybody looked at me in stunned silence.

  Vhinrud stood first, a little unsteady without his e. His lips parted in vague surprise, and his eyes roved over me, looking almost... Was he impressed?

  Balgaur lifted himself off the ground with a pained grunt. He stared at me with his jaw ched, eyes narrowed into dark slits and nostrils fred in fury. "I'll tear you apart for attag my King, wench!"

  Kadia was already dragging me back before I could recover from my daze. Thorne and Shaye were huddled around Ashkan. My chest heaved, my vision a little blurry at the edges. There was a hollowness in my gut and a lethargic weakness. I had no idea what had possessed me or what I'd done. Was that truly me?

  Balgaur's words cut into the air. "OI! GET BACK HERE!" He reached for his belt, and before I k, three knives were hurtling in our dire.

  Time slowed to a crawl. Kadia fished out her medulet from her jacket. Shaye scrambled backwards with Ashkan. Thrabbed my shoulder and forcibly hauled me out of the way. I whipped around. Everyone had one hand on the glowing, whirring cube. I reached forward. And right as the knives were about to sink into their targets, we dissolved into the air, a sort of dist static washing over us.

  The st thing I saw before my vision bcked out pletely was Vhinrud staring as we disappeared, almost like he'd expected this result all along.

  The five of us nded in a heap in Northview Infirmary's waiting roht in front of the reception desk. The nurses all jumped when they saw us sprawled on the floor.

  "L-Lord Wroet'by!" one of them excimed. She gestured hurriedly to the others. "Quickly, fetch Dr. Greengrove!"

  Numb and unfeeling, my whole body tingled as though my nerves had been deadened. A heavy tiredness pulled at my eyelids. I felt some sort of pressure on my forehead and realized it was Thorne's hand, which had fallen over me as we'd teleported. Shaye and Kadia were sitting upright o Ashkan's slumped form. Both of them looked a bit shaken but mostly unharmed. Kadia gnced up at me with a ed look on her face, as though she wao say something. But when our eyes met, she averted her gaze back down to the floor.

  The medulet had alerted the emergency staff as soon as we'd ehe viity. After a short time, Lunellia hurried to our sides.

  "Oh! It's you, all of you. My word! e this way at once!" Her voice was the equivalent of a whisper-shout. "This way!"

  With the help of some nurses, she led us into one of the private recovery rooms. Ashkan was carried onto one of the empty beds, where they immediately started cheg his vitals. I could tell he was scious, but his eyes were barely open. Shaye stood o him, monit his dition. Thorne leaned against the wall, looking uncharacteristically out of breath. Kadia took a seat in the chair o him. And I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. I didn't know what else to do. My limbs still felt like jelly.

  It took the better part of an hour to expihing that had happened. Lunellia was, uandably, rather bewildered as she heard the full at. I sat down on one of the nearby chairs, staring bnkly as the nurses worked. Lunellia herself examined each of our injuries. Most were only surface-level. Kadia and I had sustaihe worst damage. I didn't think I o be patched up, but Lunellia insisted upon it, stating that the damage might be hidden. And she was right; I did have that pretty bad gash on my arm, along with a number of cuts and scrapes. Kadia also had to be looked over, with a shallow stab wound and some scratches along her cheek and colrbone. I hadn't even noticed how injured she was; I'd been too busy trating on our battle. Thorne and Shaye didn't have mu terms of external injuries, but Lunellia had heless ordered a few healing spells for them from a nurse.

  After everyone's wounds were teo, we were told we could take as long as we needed in this recovery room to get our bearings. It was already te at night, anyway. Most of the medical staff went on with their business. I assumed we'd been pced in one of the more discreet wings. Lunellia herself stuck around for a little while to make sure Ashkan's recovery roceeding smoothly. The rest of us didn't speak much. The quiet was almost maddening. It wasn't like any of us didn't want to say anything, we were just...processing.

  I strolled over to Ashkan's bedside, where Lunellia was closely him. "Hey." My voice was weak and thin, so I cleared my throat. "How is he doing? Will he be okay?"

  She gave a gentle smile. "He will be perfectly fine. He is lucky to have such devoted friends looking out for him."

  "Oh. Well. Thank you. And, um... I'm sorry. We probably made a lot of work for you and your colleagues." I shifted from foot to foot. "Sorry about all the trouble. Really."

  She shook her head. "I've seen hostages in much worse ditions. But please, there is nothing to worry about. Rest assured."

  "Good to hear." I g the cage-like brace Ashkan's head had bee into. It had some kind of needle stig into the base of his skull, with a thin tube running out from it. "I don't think I've seen one of these before," I ilting my head curiously.

  "This?" Lunellia asked. "Ah. I've the neural nourisher. Officially, it's called a post-traumatic recolle autosynthesizer. But neural nourisher has a better ring to it."

  Shaye looked at her bnkly. "Post-traumatic...?"

  "It's a memory rexer, essentially. The specialized solution is ied just below his brain stem, allowing it to pass through his neural work to address any imbances. It was designed for trauma patients, whether it be from abuse, an act, or a that's mentally scarring. The idea is to allow for a smoother and more plete healing process. The hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex, the basoteral amygda; wherever the memories are stored, that is where the solution seeks out and targets. The solutioes a mental partition, repg the memories with blurred versions, almost like an image folder that's locked away. There is also a po in it that allows the patient to release aal blockades or mental tension. That is to say, this procedure ihe equivalent of many years of natural memory deterioration and associated psychotherapy."

  Thorne raised his eyebrows. "How do you know that's not going to affect his ability to remember everything? Is he going to get amnesia…? Is he gonna be brainwashed somehow?"

  Lunellia seemed almost offended by the question. "Certainly not." Her expression ged as she realized it might've been a valid question. "The solution only removes the pain and trauma. He'll remember that tonight happened, but not every detail about it, or exactly which eveo the . Like a dream you had st night and o longer remember clearly." She poi a small mae that was o the bed, ected to the nourisher's tube. "This is the regutor. It ehe nourisher remains stable so that ive effects will occur. The device will administer a low, trolled dosage of solution throughout the night. That is why a a-like state is required to run this device. A deep and rexed state of mind will allow the solution to funost effectively. I expect Mr. Wroet'by here will have a rather dreamless sleep. In the m, when we've made sure his neural pathways have had time to recover and rebahemselves, the mae will be shut off."

  Shaye gave a short exhale through her nose. "He'll be all right, then? Did you find anything else wrong with him?"

  "Let's see..." She picked up her clipboard, which was attached to the footboard of Ashkan's bed. "His right shoulder suffered from an anterior subluxation. Thankfully, it relocated nicely. Nothing is broken or fractured. No cussions or cerebral bleeds. Severe cerations to his left forearm...as I'm sure you saw... General minor strains, bruises aions trated around the extremities. Mild periorbital hematoma on one eye. He was slightly dehydrated; it was only for a day, but his electrolytes are a bit lower than I'd like. The IV will correct that. We will ensure he also eats when he awakens. And our healing entments have already done a great deal." She closed the chart and sighed lightly. "Overall, nothing I wouldn't expect to see with a captive that has been held against their will for over three days."

  We were all quiet for a moment, the air somber.

  "But now we be gd it is over," she said softly. "He will be able to make a full recovery."

  Kadia gave a single nod of her head. "Thank you, Elli. You have my utmost appreciation. We 't express ratitude enough. As always."

  "No, thank you," Lunellia corrected. "Yht Mr. Wroet'by to safety and to our care. Without that medulet, who knows what might've happened..." She shook her head and put a hand to her heart, eyes closing for a moment.

  I rubbed my hands over my arms, trying to stave off a sudden chill. It didn't work. " we...stay with him for a while? You know, just to keep an eye on things?" I looked back down at Ashkan's motionless form. The soft yellow light of the medical maes illuminated his face. In spite of everything, he almost looked peaceful.

  She thought for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Of course. But I must ask that you not disturb him or move the equipment. I provide you with extra cots, if you wish. Specially avaible just for our most esteemed guests, of course."

  "That won't be necessary," Kadia said quickly, rising from her chair. "I must retire to make a report to the King about all of this. And I expect he'll be sending out his ows to the crime se at ohere's quite a lot that o be done." She was already walking toward the door, pausing to address me on the way out. "Chloe, don't you have school tomorrow?"

  My face flushed at her use of my Earth name. "I mean... Yeah. I do. But I think this is more important right now." I folded my arms.

  "I see. Well, do as you please. I'll send each of yuards to escort you home."

  Thorretched with a slight groan. "I'll walk you baument," he said to Kadia when he saw the way she frow him. "You make your report tomorrow, after you've had a good night's sleep."

  She hesitated, then nodded. "Fine."

  "We'll stay for a bit," I said as she walked out with Thorne.

  The two of them paused to bow their heads.

  "Excellent work today." Kadia gave a faint, weary smile.

  Thorne shot me a small smirk before heading off. "Be good," he tossed over his shoulder.

  "Farewell," Lunellia said. She held the door open as they left. After the two of them were gone, she gave us a nod and walked out after them. "I'll give you three some privacy."

  With a soft click, the door shut.

  Shaye and I moved the chairs in the room over to Ashkan's bedside. I took a seat on his left, with Shaye on his right. Ashkan's sleeping face was strangely pcid. He looked like he was having the most rexing, peaceful sleep he'd had in ages. Which he probably was. I took a moment to reexamine his injuries. The small wounds had all been patched up with healing spells, and all that was left were some reddened, blotchy marks and bruises. His left forearm, though, was ed in bandages. If I trated, I could picture the frenzied scrawlings of a madman on his skin. The image sent a shiver down my spine.

  "To think this could've happened…" Shaye said after a few moments of silence. She reached for one of Ashkan's hands, which rested limply at his side. Her fingers gently closed around it.

  "We got there in time, didn't we?" I murmured, resting my head back against my chair. I closed my eyes and tried to settle my thoughts. I was too wired to even sider going home at this point. Besides, what good was school anyway if I didn't graduate?

  Shaye let out a heavy breath. "I don't even want to think about the alternative."

  "He's here, safe. We're all safe," I pointed out. "It's okay to rex a little bit." I knew I probably wasn't helping at all, though.

  Shaye fell quiet. The two of us stared at Ashkan as though waiting for something to happen. His face didn't budge an inch.

  I heard her shift in her seat. "I've never seen you fight like that before," she ented quietly. "It was...quite the sight."

  "Yeah, I guess I kinda went on a bit of a rampage. Got a little carried away, maybe." I ughed, trying to make light of it, but it wasly ving.

  "And that was...a magic, you said? That Miss Lucera has been teag you? I never knew something like that existed." She seemed thoughtful, a small furrow between her brows.

  I hesitated for a sed. "She said she's one of the few people who teach me that stuff. So yeah. It's pretty rare."

  She bit her lip, not seeming to be reassured in the least. "It seemed... I'm not sure. Strange, is all. Um... Odd. Too..." She was almost rambling. "You really don't feel...off at all?"

  I raised my eyebrows. "I'm exhausted, Shaye. Isn't it obvious?"

  She sighed quietly and ran her free hand through her hair. "Sorry. You're right. It's te; I'm not thinking clearly."

  I pursed my lips and looked at Ashkan, not saying anything. I wasn't really sure how to respond. My mind was still stu our enter with Vhinrud. His voice gave me chills just thinking about it. I figured I had good reason to believe I'd see him again. Hopefully I'd be a lot more powerful ime.

  It was either talk or fall asleep. I spoke up, "I wonder why they were hurting Ash so much... The whole thi really personal. I mean, we're public figures, so everyone knoe are, but... Y'know. Vhinrud was talking about his mother. That felt intense. And he addressed me like an old friend or something. Did he seem familiar to you?"

  Shaye looked faintly baffled. "Not in the slightest. Why?"

  I gave a tiny shrug, gng back over to Ashkan. "I don't know. Nevermind."

  "But you're right, it did seem very personal," she replied. "We o do more digging. Know thy enemy, and all. Vhinrud clearly wants our neckces, and is perfectly fih murdering and using psychological torment to get them. It's clear to me that him, Balgaur, and all those repulsive Inkbloods are all plotting our downfall. And besides the moderate power runes our neckces possess, or their interdimensional abilities, we only specute as to why. It seems pletely uo the quest the Elders gave us about retrieving the gemstones and repairing that sceptre."

  I rubbed my eyes. "Ugh. I wish everything could go back to normal. As normal as our lives be."

  Shaye cast a goward Ashkan. "I have a feeling he'd like that too."

  We talked for a while longer. It was a relief to have someone around to help diffuse the night's tension. With time, the stress began to leave me. I was finally able to feel somewhat at ease. Once I started rexing, my exhaustion increased tenfold. Shaye was looking equally drowsy. After a while, she dozed off in her chair, head lolling to one side. Her chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm.

  I had to resist the strong urge to do the same. I forced my eyes open, rubbing them stubbornly. To help stay awake, I decided to watch Ashkan. His face already looked miles better with all the blood and grime washed off. I'd be having a hard time getting that memory out of my head for a while. I was just relieved that he wouldn't. Even if those memories would e to him as some fading, tangled mess, it was better than enduring the full force of all that horror. He'd lived through enough.

  Being awake for so long after not sleeping well for days, a strange fog was clouding my thoughts. It made my impulsiveness harder to ignore. I shuffled my chair a bit closer to him, reag out and brushing my fingers against his cheek. His skin was lightly warmed from the infirmary's heating, and unnaturally smooth to the touch – a temporary side effect from intense healing magic. Still, the skin-to-skin tact sent tiny waves of energy through me. Maybe not the magid, but definitely something else.

  "Wish you could wake up, Ash." I kept my whispers soft, low. "Hopefully you're having a good dream. Kind of a rare thing nowadays, isn't it?"

  He looked oddly handsome in the dim, warm-toned light, face fully unguarded and more tranquil than I'd ever seen it. I couldn't help but gaze for a little while. Then I shook myself, my pulse jolting. I shouldn't be thinking things like that. I'm being creepy. Ash would lose his mind if he khis was happening.

  I let out a sleepy sigh. "Hey, uh... Shaye is asleep right now. I don't know if you are, or if the state you're in even be called sleep... But if you hear me... Wake up in the m, 'kay? And make some stupid joke about this hospital. So we know your brain is w fine. 'Cause... That's gonhe real victory here." I drew in a deeper breath, not quite knowing what to say. "Um... Just... We need you back. Dumb jokes or not."

  I pursed my lips, wanting to say a lot more, but uo put it into words. To put everything I felt into ae sentence. All the things I'd been thinking, I should've written them down ahem bayself. None of it could be voiced properly yet. Instead, I csped Ashkan's hand in both of mine and carefully leaned forward to press a feather-light kiss to his forehead. After lingering for just a sed longer, I squeezed his haly a go.

  As much as I would've preferred to stay, falling asleep was too big of a risk; my sed semester of school at Oside was starting tomorrow, after all, and I was expected to show up, hopefully without getting sucked into a magical quest, an iigation, or an evil scheme. I had a feeling that one of those would always be in the cards. It came with the job.

  There was a warmth creeping through my cheeks. God, why am I doing this? I'm not supposed to feel like this.

  "Get better, Ash. See you soon." I patted his hand ond headed for the door, but not before writing Shaye a note and leaving it o her.

  Sleep well. See you two tomorrow. Make sure Ashkahat wake-up call.

  – B

  I stood in the doorway, hesitating for another brief sed. Faint sparkles from healing spells still glittered over Ash's body. My heart begged me to stay.

  "I really like you, Ashkan... But I have no idea what to do about it..." My whisper was so quiet, barely audible. Not a plea for ge. Just a soft sort of acceptance. A tiny fsh of reality before the veil rose back up and life took over.

  Finally, I forced myself out the door and back to Earth, telling myself the world would look better tomorrow.

  That was an awful lot of faith to put in the m light.