It was my first Christmas with zero snow. I didn't realize that was something I would miss until the holiday season rolled around, and it was sunny and sixty degrees out. But it wasn't just me – I noticed my parents also seemed to be experieng some seasonal whipsh. The ck of winter weather made it hard to feel the appropriate amount of cheer.

  For better or for worse, though, none of us had much time to dwindle on it. We were all busy preparing for a dinner party we were hosting at our pce. Most of our extended family from various states decided to drive or fly to Sao see our new house. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, signifit others... Everyone was ing, and for part of the day, my house would be filled with people. Tensions were slightly high as my parents attempted to perfect the decorations, food, and ing befuests began to arrive.

  As a kid, I was never very excited for the holidays because I always found the events overwhelming. There were always too many people around. Too much hustle and bustle. Too much chaos and noise. I could never really get fortable or enjoy myself. I'd hide behind my parents and wait for the event to end.

  Nowadays, I was better at handling it. I could make small talk. I could ugh with retives about politid sports. I could tu the chaos and enjoy the energy. And if things got too intense, I could always focus on taking photos. It was easy for me to be the photographer—to be behind the camera and watch the world in front of me through the viewfinder.

  Downstairs, I found myself watg the iioween my parents. I couldn't help but notice the way they moved together, orbiting each other in their own little dance. My dad would walk by, and my mom would instinctively reach out and touch his arm as she leaned into his ear to mumble a thought. She would say something witty, and my dad would throw his head ba ughter. They'd always been affeate, but there was somethira that popped up every year around Christmas. Something more natural and easy. They were like a well-oiled mae when w uress.

  As a devoted businesswoman, Mom had always been anized and calcuted, which helped greatly in times like this. There was no yelling across the house about who was arriving when, what o be ed, or where the extra wine was. She would pull out this giant binder with pages, tabs, and bels. I was surprised when she first started doing it, but I learned quickly that this was how she mahings, and I knew I couldn't judge. Dad was a little less on the systematic side, but he had an incredible knack fing people together and keeping everyone engaged. He loved a good party, and it showed.

  The guests were due to arrive any minute, and everything erfect. I headed upstairs and got ged. I had opted for an oversized, burgundy pid cardigan, a cream-coloured shirt, and high-waisted, bck scks. After fixing my hair and makeup, I'd just grabbed my camera when my phone buzzed from my pocket. fused, I pulled it out and g the s. My stomach dropped.

  An ining call from Luke.

  My fingers flinched above the s. What if he'd called me actally? What if he'd meant to call someone else? I hadn't seen him since Friday at the formal, and we'd barely texted sihen. If I answered the phone, what would I even say? I'd finally e to terms that I had feelings for him. That came with the risk of having to face my fear of reje, or at least the sequence of being a blubbering mess.

  I took a deep breath and answered. "Hey, what's up?"

  "Chloe, hi! Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?"

  "Oh, no, not at all. I'm just getting ready for my family thing," I said, looking in the mirror. Even though he couldn't see me, I had a weird urge to fix my hair.

  Luke paused, and the sileween us hung heavy in the air. "Ah, right. Today is Christmas, isn't it?"

  I ughed quietly. "It only happens on the same day every year. Are you celebrating?"

  "Not really," he admitted. "My uncle left for a fancy ski resort in Aspeerday."

  "What about your parents?"

  "They're out of town as well." I heard him shuffle some papers in the background. "Mom's still in New Zeand, helping out in the al unit. I saw Dad earlier this week, but he had to leave again for work. He's probably in ada by now. He had Christmas off st year, so..."

  His tone was casual and light, and I khat he didn't wao feel sorry for him. But it broke my heart anyway. My parents also worked a lot; sometimes weren't home for days on end. But even with their hectic schedules, they always tried to make sure they were around for holidays and birthdays. Luke never seemed like the type to get upset over it. If anything, he appeared to take pride in their hard work. I still couldn't help but wonder if he felt lonely.

  I didn't have much time to think about it because he was already ging the subject. "Anyway, I just wao wish you a Merry Christmas."

  My stomach flipped. "Merry Christmas, Luke. Has your nose been healing okay?"

  "Yeah." I could hear he was smiling. "No more ice packs. Or painkillers. Still some bruising, though."

  I winced. "Oof. Sorry."

  "It's all good. Thanks for asking."

  I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. The sileween us grew. My mind raced to think of something, anything, to say. Why was it so hard to talk to him, all of a sudden? I'd gotteo our bao being able to joke around with him. I couldn't tell if it was the time of year or the ck of aowledgement of the (cheek) kiss after the formal, but talking to Luke had bee terrifying.

  "So..." I began. "Any pns for today?"

  He ughed. "Well, I wao take a drive down the coast. But, no car. So, probably just chill on the coud wate Christmas movies."

  "Sounds he versation was strained. I felt the tensioween us, and I had no idea what to do about it.

  "Well, I don't want to keep you. You've got a big night. Send your family my best, yeah?"

  "Yeah, for sure." I bit my lip and tried to summon the ce to ask what was on my mind. "Are you...going to be okay by yourself today?"

  The pause lingered, and I knew immediately that I'd said the wrong thing.

  "Sorry, I didn't mean it like–"

  "No, it's fine. Don't worry about me." His tone olite. "Thanks for...cheg in."

  My brain was satisfied with that answer. It told me that Luke was fine. He was a grown person, and he could take care of himself. My heart felt differently, though. I didn't want him to be alone on Christmas.

  "You're wele over if you want," I blurted out before I could stop myself. "To hang out, I mean. If you want to. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind."

  Another pause.

  He said slowly, "That's kind of you... But I don't want to intrude. You deserve some time with your family."

  My chest sank, and my voice dropped in volume. "It's not an intrusion if you're invited. You're more than wele to join us. Really. There's plenty of room."

  Silence.

  I ushing my luck. My eyes closed, and I braced myself for his polite refusal. I heard a sharp inhale oher line.

  "...Are you sure?"

  My eyes flew open. "Yes! Yes. Absolutely."

  "That's..." He cleared his throat. "That's really sweet of you, Chloe. Um, okay. Sure. Should I bring anything?"

  I had to suppress the urge to jump in the air. "Just yourself! Dinner will probably be ready around six. And don't worry about gifts or anything. Just e hungry."

  "Okay. If you're sure it's okay with your parents."

  "To be ho, my mht up the general idea the other day."

  "Really? Wow." He let out a short, quiet ugh. "Um, all right. Well, I'll see you ter then, I guess. Let me know if you need me to piything up."

  "Will do. See you soon!"

  "Bye."

  I set my phone on my desk and colpsed bato my bed, feeling giddy and nervous at the same time. The st thing I'd expected was for Luke to be spending Christmas with us, but the thought made me happy. Nobody deserves to be alone on the holidays. Especially not someone as great as him.

  And maybe, just maybe, it could be a ce to clear the air.

  I pushed myself off my bed and headed downstairs, where the house was starting to get busier and busier. My younger cousins were all gathered in the living room, arguing about what movie to watch, and the grandparents had begun pying a game of cards in the dining room. It was loud and chaotid exactly what the holidays were supposed to be.

  I spotted my parents standing i. My mom was holding her binder, while my dad was cheg ourkey in the oven.

  "Hey, Mom? Dad?" I said, approag them. They turned and gave me matg warm smiles.

  Dad closed the oven door. "Hey, sweetheart."

  "Did you finish getting ready?" Mom's seamstress skills took over, and she reached out and smoothed down my sleeves.

  "I did. Uh, also, about the dionight..." I paused, suddenly nervous. "I kind of...invited Luke over. Is that okay?"

  Mom's face lit up. "Of course! That's very nice of you."

  "Oh, wonderful," Dad agreed. "He's a nice boy. Tell him to e hungry. We could feed a small vilge with all this."

  I ughed. "Already did. Thanks. I'll let him know."

  My parents nodded auro their tasks. I took out my phone and walked over to the living room, greetiives along the way. Sitting down on the couch, I sent a quick text.

  My parents are cool with you ing. You're wele to arrive whenever, just be prepared for some chaos

  Soon, the house was filled with the aroma of spices and fresh food. The kids were still arguing over a movie, and my aunt had started setting the table. I was helping her, folding napkins and ying them out, when my phone buzzed again.

  On my way!

  I smiled aurned my phoo my pocket.

  About ten mier, Luke arrived. As soon as the doorbell rang, a rush of excitement ran through me. I jumped off the coud raced towards the front door.

  "I'll get it!" I yelled, earning a few fused gnces from my retives.

  When I opehe door, Luke was standing there with a bottle of wine. He looked dapper but not fancy, dressed in a navy crew neck sweater, khaki pants, and a bck leather jacket. A grey beanie ulled over his hair. The bruising around his eyes was almost gone, but I noticed that his nose had a faint brown-yellow tint. Still cute.

  "Hi," he greeted me with a smile. "Merry Christmas."

  "Merry Christmas." I couldn't help but match his energy. "e on in."

  He followed me inside and looked around at the decorations and otion. His expression was calm aral, but I k was a lot for him. The st thing I wanted was for him to feel unfortable.

  "Thanks again for inviting me." He handed me the bottle. "I didn't really want to show up empty-handed, so here's a nice merlot. Hopefully that's good."

  I took the bottle and examihe bel. It definitely didn't look cheap. Maybe he'd stolen it from his uncle's colle. "Yeah, my parents like red wihank you."

  Luke's eyes sed the crowd, and he gave me a sidelong look. "Hoeople are here?"

  I bit back a smile. "Not that many. Only twenty-five or so."

  He let out a low whistle. "Wow. All right."

  "Yeah, we don't usually do too much for the holidays, but it's the first Christmas in this house. So, Mom and Dad are really trying to make it special."

  "Got it. So, should I meet your parents first, or...?"

  I nodded. "I'll introduce you to everyone."

  After Luke hung up his jacket and hat, I brought him into the kit, where my parents were still w away. The entire isnd was covered with trays and pots of food.

  "Hey, guys, this is Lucas," I announced. "Luke, these are my parents, Geneva and Theodore."

  Luke extended his hand to my dad, and they shook. "o meet you, sir. Thanks so much for having me."

  "It's no problem at all," Dad said. "Wele, wele."

  "We're gd you could make it." Mom also reached out to shake his hand.

  "Thank you. You have a beautiful home."

  She grinned. "Oh, how sweet! Well, are you hungry, or would you prefer to mingle a bit before dinner? We're going to eat in about an hour."

  Luke looked at me, and I shrugged. "Whatever you want," I told him.

  "Um, maybe I should go introduce myself to everyohen."

  "Great. We'll go around and introduce you."

  Luke nodded, and I brought him into the dining room. My grandparents, aunts, and uncles were all sitting and chatting, gsses of wine in their hands. Everyone quieted when roached, and Luke waved, smiling warmly.

  "Everyohis is Lucas," I announced. "We're cssmates. Luke, these are my grandparents, aunts and uncles."

  He raised his hand. "Hello."

  I watched my retives' faces carefully as they studied Luke, their expressiing from intrigued to delighted. He didn't seem nervous, though. In fact, he kept his up and maintained eye tact. My aunts, however, were all practically swooning. They were the biggest gossips, and I was sure the news of his appearance would spread throughout the family before the hour.

  We tihe rounds. Luke was gracious and polite to everyone I introduced him to. He had a natural gift for versation and seemed genuinely ied in every word my cousins were saying. The younger kids were instantly engrossed with him, and I watched as he sat and listened, nodding thoughtfully, as my cousin Hazel told him all about her ballet performand the new dress she had gotten for Christmas. It was a little endearing.

  I'd noticed a while ago that Luke retty popur at school. I wasn't sure how he had mao charm every perso, but I had to admit it was impressive. Not even I could cim to have such a diverse circle of friends.

  When we were finished meeting everyone, I brought Luke into the living room, where he settled on the couch. I sat beside him, and my cousins quickly engaged him in another versation. I was watg him closely, trying to pick up on any signs of boredom or annoyance. But I found none. His face was warm and rexed, his tone genuine and his ugh easy. He was pletely at ease, and it was fasating.

  A short while ter, dinner was served. Luke was seated beside me, across from my two aunts, who were talking his ear off about his future pns and what colleges he lying to. I watched as he hahe attention effortlessly. His eyes kept drifting to mine, and we would exge amused looks.

  "So, Lucas," Aunt Tanya began. She was a wyer, and she wore the most intimidating suits. Even at family gatherings. "Chloe tells us you're quite the athlete."

  "Oh, yes," Aunt Lisa said. She was the you, and the most fun. "What are you pying these days?"

  "Soccer," he expined. "I started in freshman year."

  "And are you thinking about pying after high school?" Tanya asked, raising her wine gss.

  "Not professionally. I've thought about it, but it's not what I want. I love the game. But I think I want to focus on a career more than anything else."

  Tanya nodded approvingly. "And what are you going to do after graduation?"

  "I'm hoping to study biomedical engineering," he replied, leaning forward aing his arms oable.

  Aunt Lisa tilted her head. "Oh, like what? Robots?"

  He ughed quietly. "Maybe someday. It's more about human biology, really. How teology improve the lives of those with ic diseases."

  "How iing," Tanya mused.

  "Where are you thinking to go?" Lisa asked.

  "I have options. Stanford, Berkeley, even Geia Tech. We'll see."

  My eyes widened a bit. I hadn't realized his academic goals were that ambitious. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He was an incredibly hard worker, and his dedication was evident ihing he did. I remembered him saying something once about being ied in medie. How had I never gotten around to asking him more about that?

  "That's exg," Lisa said. "Chloe's been talking about getting into forensics. Isn't that right?"

  I nodded, suddenly feeling embarrassed. It wasn't that I wasn't proud of my own goals. I was. But I hadn't really given much thought to what I would do after high school. I didn't even know if I'd still be around by then, with everything happening in Emiarhia.

  "Wow, really?" Luke g me, his brow arched.

  I shrugged. "Maybe."

  "Iing." He gave me a warm smile. "I bet you'd be good at that."

  My stomach flipped, and I looked away, fog on cutting up my turkey. I didn't know why his opinion mattered so much, but it did. And the fact that he supported me was strangely f.

  For the rest of the dihe versation shifted to the various aplishments and stories of the family members, and the focus was off Luke. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he must have been grateful for the break.

  As the night went on, the house began to get a little louder. My cousins had takehe living room, pying musid dang, and a few of the adults were still sitting at the dining table, finishing up their drinks. I had goo my room to grab a new SD card for my camera, and when I came back downstairs, Luke was standing alone, leaning against the wall and looking a little lost.

  I approached him. "Hey."

  He turo me and gave me a small, sheepish smile. "Is it always this chaotic around here?"

  "No," I ughed. "Well, sometimes. When we have birthday parties, it gets worse. The kids have no idea what time it is, and the adults are all too tipsy to care."

  "I bet."

  I crossed my arms. "So... What do you think so far?"

  "Of your family? They're great."

  "Good. And you're not just saying that to be nice, are you?"

  "What? No," he ughed. "This is what holidays should be like, right?"

  "I guess so."

  Luke leaned his head against the wall a out a deep breath. "My family doesn't really do this."

  My eyebrows knit together. "Oh. What do you mean?"

  "We don't really have huge celebrations or anything," he expined, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's mostly just my dad and me. My mom's always somewhere else on the p, and her side of the family's not really in the picture. I mean, they're all in America, but..."

  I nodded in uanding. "I get it. But at least you get to see your dad every now and then. That's something, right?"

  "Right." He fell silent. He looked like he wao say something else, but was holding back.

  I studied him for a moment. His jaw was tense, and his brows were furrowed. Something was b him.

  "Um, do you want a drink or anything? Wine? Punch? Eggnog? Hot cocoa?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

  His expressihtened a little. "Hot cocoa sounds good, actually."

  I smiled. "Cool. Have you ever made it with a dy e?"

  "I have not."

  "You're missing out. e on."

  I led him into the kit, where my mother utting away the st of the dishes into the dishwasher. She turned when she saw us.

  She wiped her hands on a dishtowel. "Oh, there you are! How is everything, Lucas?"

  "Everything's great," he replied, his smile warm. "The food was incredible, Mrs. Harlington. Thank you."

  "No thanks needed." She g me. "Have you been a good hostess, Chloe?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mom."

  "That's good. Keep it up"

  "Anyway..." I nudged Luke. "We're gonna go make some hot cocoa. Did you want some, Mom?"

  She shook her head. "No, honey, I'm good. You go ahead." With that, she gave us a friendly nod a into the dining room, leaving us alone i.

  I motioo the isnd, and Luke hopped up onto one of the stools. I grabbed two mugs, a sau, and some milk, along with a few redients. As I begaing the pan, I felt Luke's eyes on me.

  " I help with anything?" he asked.

  I g him. "Just watd learn."

  "Aye-aye, captain."

  I poured the whole milk into the pan, then added a bit of sugar and vanil. Before it began to simmer, I chopped up some milk chocote pieces aed them in the microwave.

  Luke watched, his resting in his hand. "You're really serious about this, huh?"

  "It's hot cocoa," I replied, waiting for the microwave to beep. "I'm from Mia. You're not supposed to be half-assed about it."

  "Duly noted."

  I poi him with a spoon. "Are you doubting my abilities, Ottinger?"

  He ughed. "Not at all! Please tinue."

  I griheurned my attention to the milk, stirring it until the chocote was melted. "Powdered mix is fine if you don't want to bother with all this. But anybody who mixes it with water instead of milk is a heathen."

  "I agree."

  "Good." I grabbed a dy e from a tainer in the cupboard, s in half, and put one end in each mug. Ohe milk and chocote had bined pletely, I began slowly p it into the mugs, allowing it to cover the peppermint sticks. "Voilà!"

  Luke smiled, his eyes wide. "Wow. That's actually a lot more effort than I would've put in."

  "It's worth it, trust me." I handed him his mug. "Here you go."

  "Thanks."

  I sat down beside him and took a sip. "Perfect," I said.

  He lifted his mug and inhaled deeply. "Smells amazing." Theook a sip.

  "Well?"

  He squihen looked at me, a small smile f on his lips. "I'm not really a hot cocoa person, but this is damn good."

  "Ha! See? I told you."

  "You were right," he ughed. "I bow before you."

  We drank in silence for a few moments. The noise iher room was a bit muffled. I could hear my cousins ughing and the beat of Christmas music. I had no idea what time it was, but I had a feeling the party would go on for a while. The cocoa was starting to make me a little too warm. I stood up, taking my mug, and walked to the sliding door that led out to the backyard.

  "Where are you going?" Luke asked, watg me.

  "Out here for a minute," I replied, stepping outside and onto the deck.

  It was only a bit chilly, and the cold felt he patio was empty and quiet, and the night was clear. The moon shone down, casting a pale light over everything. Luke followed me, a in a pair of chairs.

  " here," he remarked.

  "Yeah."

  We drank our cocoa in silence, admiring the view. From where we were sitting, I could see the streetlights of the neighborhood, as well as a few Christmas lights in adjat yards. It eaceful, and I closed my eyes, feeling the cool air brush my face.

  After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and g Luke. He was staring up at the sky, his brow furrowed. There was that look again. Like he was holding something in.

  "You okay?" I asked, leaning closer to him.

  He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and looked at me. "Yeah, sorry. Just...thinking."

  "What's up?"

  Luke ran his thumb over the rim of his mug, then sighed. "It's just... I'm having a great time, and I'm gd you invited me. But..."

  I felt a pang of worry in my chest. "But what?"

  "...It's nothing." He gave me a small smile and shook his head.

  "Are you sure?"

  He aking a sip from his mug. "Yep."

  I stared at him for a moment, w if he was being truthful. Something was clearly b him. But maybe it was too personal. If it was, I didn't want to push him. But this was...different. He didn't seem like his usual, easygoing self.

  "Luke," I said softly. "I know you probably don't want to tell me. And that's okay. But...if there's something going on, and you need someoo talk to... I'm here."

  His expression softened. "See, it's... It's not that I don't trust you. It's just... You..." He trailed off for a brief moment, searg for the right words. "Somehow, you're exactly the person I do and don't want to say this to."

  I wasn't sure how to respond to that. It seemed like a bit of a paradox. "I don't think I o tell you that that barely makes any sense," I replied with a slight chuckle.

  "I know. I'm not expining it very well," he admitted, looking a little self-scious. "But, it's just... What if I say something, and it ends up ging things between us? ging the way you see me."

  I frowrying to uand what he meant. The only thing that came to mind was the kiss. Had he been thinking about that? Did he regret it, and didn't know how to tell me? Or was it something else entirely?

  "Okay, um..." I shifted in my chair. "Is it about what happened? At the formal?"

  Luke stared at me, his lips parting. "I mean, kind of. Which part are you talking about?"

  "Which part are you talking about?" I tered.

  It was as if her of us wao dare utter the word K-I-S-S first. Had it been on my mind stantly sihat night? Of course. But had it been the only thing? No. It art of a bigger question: Why had he dohat, and where did we go from here? It wasn't like it assionate, moal kiss on the mouth, with musid fireworks. It was a simple, sweet pe the cheek.

  Luke blinked, his eyes narrowing slightly. "The part at the end. When I... Before I left you."

  "Oh. Okay." I took a sip of my cocoa, trying to keep a straight face. Inside, my stomach was flipping. My suspis were correct. It had been on his mind, too.

  "So..." Luke tinued, "I've been a tad worried that I might've wrecked something by doing that. Or made you unfortable. Irospect, I should've asked if it was okay. I'm sorry about that."

  I looked down, shaking my head. "No, don't be. You didn't wreything."

  "Oh." He exhaled slowly, and his shoulders rexed a little.

  "Why do you think you would have?"

  "Because...it was sudden. And it wasn't a hug, or a high-five, or anything like that. It was..." He gestured vaguely. "That."

  I couldn't help but smile a little. It was almost cute, the way he was so nervous. "A kiss?"

  Luke paused, his cheeks flushing. "Yeah. That."

  I shrugged, pretending not to care as much as I actually did. "Well, yeah. I guess it was a bit ued. But I'm not weirded out, if that's what you're worried about. I thought it was nice."

  He gave me a curious look. "Really?"

  "Yeah. It was..." I paused, thinking. How could I describe it? "Sweet."

  "Huh." He let out a small ugh. "Well, I'm gd to hear it."

  I tilted my head. My eyes remained fixed on the swirling pattern of my cocoa. " I ask you a question, though?"

  He hesitated for a sed. "Sure."

  "Was it..." I trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it. "I mean, why'd you do it?"

  Luke fell silent. He stared down into his mug, his expression unreadable. The silence dragged on for what felt like forever. Just as I was about to speak again, he beat me to it.

  "I-I'm not really sure, to be ho," he admitted. "It was just a... A spur-of-the-moment thing, I guess. Because, you knoere there. And I was happy. And you were... You. I don't know. I don't really have a good answer."

  I swallowed, taking in that response. He seemed so nervous and unsure of himself. It was a far cry from his usual demeanour. It was actually kind of refreshing.

  "Okay... But, am I wrong in believing that...friends don't really...do that?" My voice was small. I couldn't look at him.

  He scratched his . "I guess not typically, no..."

  Awkwardness flooded the air between us. her of us said anything for a few seds. This was a versation I had hoped we would have, but now that we were actually having it, I wasn't prepared.

  "But, um." He cleared his throat. "I guess, if I'm being ho... Maybe it wasn't pletely spur-of-the-moment. There was...maybe something more behind it. Something I didn't want to admit. To myself, or to you."

  "And what was that?" I asked quietly, daring a gn his direy heart raced.

  His mouth twisted into a half-smile. "That I..." He stopped, looking flicted. Then, he ughed nervously, and looked away. "You know what, nevermind."

  I sat up. "No, wait, if there's something you want to tell me, just say it."

  He looked at me with a muddled expression. His mouth was a straight line, but his eyes were soft. I'd never seen him look like this before. He was usually so calm, so sure of himself. But right now, he was hesitant. He was vulnerable. It was like he had shed a yer of skin.

  "I think... Well, we're friends. Good friends. But...there's something else to it. Something else–" He gestured bad forth between us. "Here. …Right? Am I the only oig it?"

  "No." The word flew from my lips before I could stop it. I bit the inside of my cheek. "I mean, um. Yeah. I think I get what you're saying."

  "Do you?"

  I nodded, uo speak. I felt as if my throat had suddenly closed up. My heart ounding so loudly that I was surprised he couldn't hear it.

  Luke's eyes searched mine. "So... What are we sayily?"

  "I don't know."

  He gave a shh. "her do I."

  I leaned ba my chair. This was crazy. We had alked about this, any of this. Apparently, we'd both known that something was happening, but had never discussed it. Now, the floodgates were bursting at the seams.

  "I've, um..." Luke spoke up, running his hands through his hair. "I've had a lot of fun with you. These past few months. You know, hanging out and stuff. Studying. Expl the city. Going to parties and the dance. All of it."

  I smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

  "So, maybe..." He faltered, then sighed. "I don't want to make things weird. Between us. Or ge anything for the worse. All I know is that you're one of my favourite people. And I don't want to lose that, but I also don't want to ighis. So, maybe let's just...put a pin in it for now. Until things bee clearer. If they ever do. Is that okay? Does that make sense?"

  The pliment warmed my ihis was him ying his cards out oable. I thought for a moment. Was that what I wanted? It sounded reasonable, but something was nagging at the bay mind. Something was tellio ask, to say it. To say I wanted more.

  "Or, do you not want to put a pin in it?" Luke added, his voice tinged with .

  "No, I do," I lied. "It's a good idea. Smart."

  "Right." He sounded relieved. "Cool."

  We looked at each other. A silence fell over us, and a wave of uainty washed over me. Maybe this was for the best. If we left things ambiguous, there would be no pressure. We could figure it out. Or not. But we'd have time. I still o figure out a few things, too. Like if this was just a phase, or if there was somethihere. And if I truly had the freedom and ability to explore that fairly amidst my responsibilities. I just hoped this wasn't going to turn into a repeat of Nathan.

  "Thanks for being ho," I said after a while.

  Luke nodded, and a shy smile crept onto his face. "Yeah, of course. Thanks for listening."

  We gazed at each other, and a familiar heat washed over my cheeks. My body was buzzing with a mixture of emotions. Relief, ay, excitement, fusion. It was a lot. I couldn't stay in this moment forever, even though part of me wao.

  "We should maybe head ba," I suggested. "My parents are probably w where we are."

  "Right. Yeah." He stood up. "After you."

  I rose from my seat and walked towards the door. Luke followed behind. As roached the sliding gss, the sounds from the party grew louder. A song I didn't reize ying, and the voiy family echoed ihe house.

  Wheered, everyone was in the living room, chatting and drinking and dang. Nobody seemed to notice us, which was good. I was relieved that the versation we'd just had had remained private.

  The younger family members were busy opening presents at the foot of the illuminated Christmas tree. Some were pying with oys, others were watg videos on their phones. Luke and I sat down on the floor hem. I'd already opened my gifts from my parents this m, but there were a handful of things left uhe tree that had my name on them. Unsurprisingly, they were all envelopes.

  I began opening the cards, reading the handwritten messages inside. Some were funny, some were sincere, and some were thoughtful. All had a cheque, gift card, or a bill inside, and the amounts varied. The st time I'd gotten a physical item as a present robably five or six years ago. heless, I was thankful.

  When I was done, I set the pile aside and turned my attention back to the others. Suddenly, a memory fshed in my mind. Right! I was supposed to take photos! How could I fet that?

  I quickly stood up arieved my camera from the kit table. Everyone was chatting, but no one aying attention. I had a clear view of the entire room. I lifted the camera to my eye, adjusted the focus, and pressed the button. The lens clicked as the camera captured the moment. The light from the tree created a soft glow around the group. Everyone was ughing and talking, and the sight brought a smile to my face. I took another picture. And ahen, I walked around, snapping shots of different angles. Most of my family had decided to start a game of charades. They were split into two teams, and I couldn't resist capturing a few silly pictures of them.

  Hazel stood in the tre of the circle, holding a piece of paper. She had a determined look on her face, her brows furrowed and her lips pursed. After a few seds, she raised her arms and made an exaggerated gesture. Everyoched, their eyes wide and attentive. I zoomed in, hoping to capture a good moment.

  She poio herself, then at her teammates, and made a waving motion. One of her cousins shouted out an answer. She shook her head, then tried again. And agaieammates guessed multiple times, but she kept shaking her head.

  Eventually, her mhed and called time. Hazel groaned and threw her hands up. I grinned and took the shot. The image captured her frustrated, but adorable expression. It riceless.

  "I was supposed to be a mermaid!" she cried.

  Everyone burst out ughing, and I lowered the camera. I looked at Luke, atg the se with a smile. He noticed me looking at him and gave me a wink.

  "Your turn, Luke!" Aunt Lisa excimed. "e o over here."

  He blinked. "Oh, uh, okay."

  He rose from his spot and moved towards the tre of the circle. Hazel handed him the stack of slips, aook one from the top. He unfolded the paper, his eyes darting bad forth across the words.

  "Ready?" Aunt Lisa prompted.

  He nodded, his face serious. "Yep. Hit me."

  One of the cousins began ting down. At the end of the tdown, Luke held up four fio his teammates.

  "Four words," Aunt Lisa said.

  He hen raised his hands up in front of his face, pretending to k an old-fashioned movie camera.

  "Movie..." my cousin Rachel chimed in.

  Luke nodded again.

  "The Wizard of Oz," my other cousin, Sam, suggested.

  "Nope." He lifted one kht angle, pretending to rest his foot on something, then mimicked shielding his eyes from the sun.

  "Sun," Aunt Lisa guessed.

  "Adventure!" Uncle Chris blurted.

  "The beach?" my mom guessed.

  Luke ughed, shaking his head. I watched him with a smile. It was cute. He was trying his best, and it was funny to watch. I snapped another picture or two.

  He tinued his charade, making more and mestures. Everyoched him with amused expressions. He made a show of uhing an invisible sword, holding the imaginary on aloft. He made a sound effect, then swiped the air and preteo fen oppo.

  "Swashbuckler," my uncle guessed.

  "Musketeer?"

  "Robin Hood?"

  Luke shook his head.

  "Captain Hook," I guessed, trying not to ugh.

  He poi me, making a face that clearly meant, 'Good guess, but not quite'.

  I arched an eyebrow. "Uh, Bckbeard?"

  He shook his head again, then held up four fingers.

  "Four words," Aunt Lisa repeated. "Night at the Museum?"

  "Indiana Jones and the...something?" Rachel asked.

  Luke hunched over and ughed before resuming his charade. He mimed drinking from a fsk, then stumbled around, his face sched up and his eyes closed.

  "Drunk!" Uncle Chris ughed.

  "Alcoholionymous," Aunt Lisa guessed.

  Sam shot up from his seat. "No, no, it's that pirate! What's his name? Captain Man?"

  "Captain Sparrow! Jack Sparrow! Pirates of the Caribbean!" his brother, Benji, yelled.

  "Yes! That's it!" Luke replied, leaning over to high-five him. "Good job, man."

  Everyone appuded. Luke bowed. I took the photo, ughing at his theatrics. He was silly, but in an oddly charming way.

  "All right, all right," Aunt Lisa said. "Who's ?"

  Everyoled down and began the game once again. I returo my spot, gng at Luke. He looked over and caught my eye.

  "Did you get the shot?" he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

  "Yeah. It erfect."

  He chuckled. "Good. Gd I could be of service."

  I shook my head. It was amazing how effortlessly he could make me smile. There was no doubt about it, I was pletely, utterly, and totally crushing on him. But, for now, I would let myself enjoy the moment. I'd think about the sequeer.

  As the night went on, we all gressively more tired. The grandparents were the first to leave. Then, the older retives. The younger family members pyed a few mames, but it was getting te, and many of them had long travel times ahead of them. We'd offered uest room, but none of them had accepted, expining that they had hotels or Airbnb's lined up.

  When everyone was gone, I helped Mom and Dad up the pce. Luke stayed behind to help as well. As we fiidying, the fatigue was setting in. I yawned, c my mouth.

  "Tired, kiddo?" Dad asked.

  "Yeah. It's been a long day."

  Mom put her arm around me. "And a wonderful one."

  "Merry Christmas," I told them.

  "Merry Christmas," they said in unison.

  I looked over at Luke, who was folding the couket. He was well out of earshot. I turned bay parents. "Hey, so, um... Did either of you sider...inviting Kadia? Or, Finley, rather?"

  My parents g each other.

  "Well, um, yes," Dad began. "We wao include her, but, uh, well, she deed."

  I blinked. "She did?"

  "Yes," Mom firmed. "We asked if she'd like to e over, but she said she had other pns. Which is fine, of course. We uand. It's just... Well, we did try."

  I felt a mix of disappoi and guilt. "Oh. Okay. That's fine."

  "But," she added, squeezing my shoulder, "maybe we do something else, the four of us. Sometime soon."

  I sighed. "It's weird. It feels more like I should than I want to. That sounds bad, but... I don't know. I'm still learning how to be a sister. Or, at least, how to talk to her. And it's a bit difficult to navigate, since, well, I feel like there are so many things to say. A, all."

  Dad nodded. "That makes sense. She's gohrough a lot, too. She's figuring herself out, just like you are."

  "It takes time," Mom agreed.

  I was starting to think that everything in my life required patience. Patieo wait for the right moment. To uand something. To figure out what was . Waiting, waiting, waiting. How could I not feel guilty about enjoying a fun holiday with my entire family, without her there? Maybe she didn't celebrate Christmas anymore. Or maybe she didn't care. Either way, it seemed like we were at different stages of our lives. We were sisters, but we weren't close. Not iraditional way, anyway. Maybe in time, we would be.

  I trudged over to Luke, my camera slung by a strap around my neck. "Ready to call it a night?"

  The er of his mouth curled upwards. "I think one of us definitely is."

  "Shut up," I ughed, nudging him with my elbow.

  We said goodbye to my parents and stepped out onto the front porch. The night air was cool, and a light breeze ruffled my hair.

  "So." Luke stuffed his hands into his pockets. "This was fun. Thank you again fing me over."

  I smiled. "No problem."

  There was a moment of silence.

  He pulled his beao his head. "Well, um, I'll get going."

  "Okay," I murmured.

  We stared at each other. The air was deween us. I was tempted to invite him to stay longer, but it was getting te, and he robably exhausted, just like me.

  Luke took a step towards me, then held out his arms. " I hug you?"

  I blinked owlishly. "Uh, sure. Of course."

  He ed his arms around me. I leaned into him, treasuring the closeness. It was such a simple thing, a friendly gesture, but it felt different this time. The energy was shifting. Or maybe it was my imagination.

  After a moment, he released me, and I stepped back.

  "Merry Christmas, Chloe," he said, smiling softly.

  I couldn't help but smile too. "Merry Christmas, Luke."

  With that, he walked off the pord headed down the driveway. I watched him leave, feeling an odd sense of mencholy. A part of me wished he could stay. I shook my head and turo walk inside.

  I made my stairs, the sound of my footsteps eg on the hardwood. I entered my bedroom and closed the door behind me. My mind was buzzing with all sorts of thoughts. I set my camera down on my desk and flopped onto my bed. I'd unpack the photos tomorrow. For now, I was ready to let my eyes close and sleep take over.

  The day, Monday, Oside High's winter break officially began. On the same day, the Academy's final exam week had also started. Four of my five csses would be testing this week. Field Endurance was the only exception, as the css had its own uhod of measuring the students' abilities. I spent all of my free time during the week before preparing. First up was Seniic Study I.

  Kadia walked me to school that afternoon. I hadn't asked her to, but I didn't protest. The air between us was still a bit awkward. There was an unspoken barrier between us. I wondered how long it would st.

  "Are you feeling fident about the exam?" she asked as we he Academy gates.

  "More or less," I replied, shrugging.

  "What are you most nervous about?"

  I g her. "Uh, failing, for starters. And fetting the specific effects of hand poses on casting. There's too many to t."

  "True, but every one falls into a category. Pointing affects accuracy. Tension affects power. Movement affects speed. Dire affects ra's important to remember the general categories, and the details will fall into pce."

  I did my best to absorb her advice. "Thanks."

  "It is intuitive, really. Try not to overthink your answers."

  "Yeah, that's the problem," I sighed. "I'm always thinking. My brain is like, always running, alrocessing, always w. And it's exhausting. Now that I'm not as impulsive anymore, it's like my brain 't shut up. The thoughts don't go away, just the as that apany them."

  She g me, her eyes sympathetic. "You're still growing. You will find your bance."

  I gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Kadia."

  We arrived at the entrance. Kadia left me to ehe main building alone. As I walked the halls, a familiar ay returned. I met up with Shaye, and the two of us reviewed our notes as we waited for the bell.

  "How are you feeling?" she asked, looking over her fshcards.

  "Okay. Nervous."

  She admitted, "Me too. But we've prepared. We'll be all right."

  I nodded. She was right, we'd prepared. We knew our stuff. But I was still nervous.

  The bell rang, and we made our way to Professor Jakklo's css. The desks were arranged in rows, fag the front of the . We pced s on the ground, theled into our seats. A mier, Mr. Jakklo ehe room.

  "Afternoon, everyone." He walked over to the podium at the front. "Let's begin. This exam will st two hours. Please try to plete every question. If you have any queries or need crification, please raise your hand. Otherwise, I expect you to work quietly and indepely."

  The room was silent. Our professor snapped his fingers, and a tall stack of papers floated up from his desk, h in mid-air. The pages fluttered as the stack flew down each aisle, depositing a packet of paper face-down on every desk.

  "Begin," he instructed.

  I flipped over the packet. There was a se for each of the five subjects. Magic was divided into four sub-ses: theory, history, spells, and teiques. Then, there was another se for Elemental Mastery, which was broken down into the six elements. My gaze drifted over the pages, taking it all in. Then, I looked at the cloo problem. I took a deep breath and began writing.

  Exactly like my Earth finals, Emiarhian exams usually took p the same days the csses were taught. This meant that I had Tuesday off, as well as Wednesday with everyone else. I didn't do mu Tuesday, other than regur training. On Wednesday, I studied for Advanced Potions I in the Academy's library with Shaye, Ashkan, and Viktor. Studying with friends always had its perks and downsides. It was easier to remember material, but the versations were frequent and distrag. We tried our best to stay focused, but we'd take study breaks when needed.

  "What's the point of freeze-drying roots?" Viktor asked, turning a page in his textbook. "Is it supposed to taste better or something?"

  "No," Ashkan replied with a ugh. "It's the same thing as drying herbs and spices. Freeze-drying increases shelf-life and potency."

  Viktor sched his nose. "What's the differeween freeze-drying and drying?"

  Shaye expined, "Freeze-drying sucks out the moisture using low-temperature sublimation. Drying uses high temperatures. So, the pnt material may have different molecur structures after."

  Viktroaned and pressed his palms to his temples. "Why do we o know all this super specifiit-picky rubbish? It's potions. Just follow the recipe!"

  "I think you're missing the point," I ented.

  Ashkan nodded. "The point of these exams is not to memorize."

  "Then what's the point?" Viktor threw up his hands.

  "To challehe student's prehension, application, and critical thinking skills," I replied, quoting my Potiobook.

  He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "That's it. I'm doomed."

  "Hey, self-fulfilling prophecy, Vik," Ashkan warned. "Don't jinx it."

  Shaye giggled, patting Victor's shoulder. "We've still got a day. Don't lose hope yet."

  Viktave her a look that carried some subtle affe. "Easy for you to say. You're a genius."

  "I'm not a genius," she corrected. "Geniuses are very rare. I just pay attention."

  "Same difference," he muttered.

  "You're smart, too," I told him. "I've seen it. Yreat at identifying potion ingredients. And you have good instincts. You just work a little too fast sometimes."

  "Yeah, yeah. ...Thanks."

  We tiudying, going over the material one more time. Brewing potions was much more plicated than throwing together a few ingredients and mixing them around. It involved preparation, pnning, timing, precision, and a healthy dose of patie wasn't a super difficult subject, but it was tedious, and the information was dense.

  After a few more hours, we packed up ahe library. Viktor was ready for a nap. The rest of us weren't far behind. We split up, heading for our respective houses. We didn't bother notifying uards that we were out, naturally.

  I waved goodbye to Shaye. "See you tomorrow!"

  She waved back, fshing a tired smile. "Bye."

  Ashkan gave a quick salute. "Later."

  The two of us watched Shaye enter her house. Once she was gone, Ashkan and I strolled together down the sidewalk. The sun was just beginning to set, and the sky was filled with streaks of violet and pink. The streets were mostly empty, with only the occasional carriage driving past. We made light versation about the exams and what we were doing for the rest of the day.

  When we reached his house closer to the forest, he turo me. " we talk about something quickly?"

  "Sure," I replied, my eyebrows raising. "What's up?"

  He gnced around and checked if anyone was within earshot. "Have you noticed anything, um, strah Shaye tely?"

  "Defirange."

  "Distracted. Quiet. Less eic than usual. Kind of out of it. It's not noticeable every day, but she's definitely not ag like herself."

  I thought for a moment. "Hm. Well, it's exam season. Maybe she's stressed."

  "Maybe," he agreed, looking unvinced.

  "Well, if there's something else going on, she'll tell us."

  Ashkan's shoulders sagged. "Yeah, I know. She always tells me. And I'm not worried. ly. Just a bit ed."

  I nodded. "I get that. Hopefully it won't persist after finals. I don't really want t it up now and make her self-scious about it. That's the st thing she needs."

  "Let's keep an eye on her. Just in case," he suggested.

  "Def–"

  Before I could finish my thought, my focus was dragged away by a strong pins-and-needles sensation radiating from my left pinky finger. On it was the sig ring Perl had sent me several days ago. The somewhat heavy, fwless band of goldeal was fttened into a circle in the tre. Tiny runes were etched along the inside, reading 'light', 'heal', 'see', and 'bond', among others. The outer face of the band dispyed an emblem carved into the disc: the League's insignia of an intricate sun. However, this sigil hadn't appeared until now. It was glowing a bright, traffic-light red.

  I stood still, panig internally. Ashkan and I had only joihe League four days ago. Perl was requesting our help. How was this happening already? What if I wasn't ready? What if I let everyone down?

  "Uh oh..." Ashkan stared at my ring. He pulled down the colr of his jacket and fished out his own sig ring, strung on a leather cord. The metal ulsing, a vibrant red.

  "What do we do?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

  "I guess we...go." He sounded as hesitant as I felt. "Unless you have something else important pnned."

  "Nope." My heart was rag. "Let's do it."

  "Let's get out of the open first."

  We walked around the er, heading down a narrow side street between two tall stone buildings. We stopped and faced each other.

  "You sure about this?" he asked.

  My throat was dry. "Not at all."

  He took a deep breath, then looked me in the eye. "Ready?"

  I nodded, my pulse quiing.

  "I'll go first." He held out his ring.

  The band glowed brighter, as if responding. Ashkan pressed his thumb and index finger around the rim. His body became fuzzy and blurred like he was covered in static. The edges of his form shimmered and shook, rippling like a disturbed pond. Then, in a fsh of silver-gold light, he was gone.

  "Here goes nothing," I muttered to myself, holding up my left hand. I took a deep breath, then squeezed the gold with my fingers, brag myself for whatever came .

  A sudden gust of wind hit my face. A bright white light fshed before my eyes, and then my vision was flooded with blinding whiteness. The ground shifted beh me. I stumbled, struggling to keep my bance. My head spun. It felt like someone had yanked a rug out from under me. My ears were ringing.

  The light quickly faded. My vision cleared, and I regained my bance. I found myself in a new enviro. My clothes had been switched out, and my hair was tied bato a long braid. I had on a fitted, bck duster coat that went down past my khe colr stood straight up, and the front was fastened with rge metal csps. An elbow-length capelet hung from the back. Underh the coat, I wrey breeches, bee-high boots with treaded soles, a white high-colred blouse, and a navy vest. Long, white gloves with miniscule, golden embroidery on the knuckles covered my hands. The pinky ring sat over the fabric.

  My usual ons were haro me with bck straps and silver hardware, hiddeh the duster. A dark grey scarf obscured the lower half of my face. And just like every other hunter, a wide-brimmed hat made of bck leather sat atop my head, tilted downwards. A small pin of the League's insignia was fasteo the side of the . I'd calibrated the outfit days prior, when I'd received my ring, but I'd never actually tried it out. The ring's magic didn't synthesize these articles or create copies of my ons, but rather summohem onto my person from where they resided normally, whether it be the Rime Guard training grounds or my closet at Kadia's house. They'd be returned when I'd e back.

  Ashkan was standing nearby, adjusting the ces on his boots. His appearance was simir to mine, with the only identical pieces being the hat, the pin, and the gloves. I didn't think I would've reized him if not for those. He wore a dark brown coat that was a bit shorter than mine and had a split in the back. His scarf was a deep burgundy. The rest of his gear was different, but all in the same kind of style as mine.

  "Where the bzes are we?" he asked, turning slowly as he took in our surroundings.

  We were in an alleyway, surrounded by brick walls on all sides. The street beyond was narrow and quiet. A siern hung over the entrahe sun was barely visible above the horizon.

  "Looks like a vilge," I said, squinting up at the sky. "Or a small city. Doesn't feel like Winithas, though."

  Before we could look to s for dire, a sharp female voiterrupted us. "Hey! Over here!" A tall woman in hunter's garb was waving from the mouth of the alley. I didn't reize her, but her horns that stuck through specialized holes in her hat looked familiar. "It's Ribbons," she crified, walking towards us.

  I nodded, remembering her ginger pigtails. "We were just getting our bearings. Do you know where we are?"

  She chuckled. "Shialumura; isn't it obvious? A town called Lyalon, on one of the southern isnds. Anyway, there's no time. Follow me. We o go. Now."

  "Is everything okay?" Ashkaioned. "Rather, I guess a better question would be: What's going on?"

  "I'll expin as we go," she said. "The others are waiting."

  We followed Ribbons out of the alley, then turned onto the main road. I had no idea how to navigate, so I let her take the lead. She moved swiftly, her steps light. Ashkan and I walked close behind, our boots eg against the cobblestohe streets were deserted. The air was cool but tepid, carrying the st of o water.

  Ribbons led us down a few blocks, then turned left into another side street, using her as a pass. "So, the situation is like this," she said, speaking quickly. "There's a bunch of Inkbloods holed up in a warehouse on the edge of town. They've been squatting there for months, and they've been causing some trouble. Mostly stealing, pickpocketing, stuff like that. Nothing crazy. But now, they've kidnapped a child. Holding him for ransom. They say that the parents have until tomorrow to deliver fifty thousand trooks."

  My eyes went wide. That was equivalent to about thirty thousand Ameri dolrs. "And the police haven't done anything about this?"

  Ribbons shrugged. "The parents went to them first, of course. But stables 't do anything without proof of criminal activity, or a target. The w knows about Inkbloods, but they often don't know who or where they are. These people are very good at c their tracks. Beyond sending out a missing perso, the police are powerless."

  "That's eous," Ashkan snapped.

  "We've been monit the situation for a few days now. We didn't want to make a move until we khe King's hands were tied. But this formal iigation is far too slow. And the boy is running out of time," Ribbons tinued, her voice grim. "His family doesn't have that kind of mohere's a deadline, and it's not a long one. But us, we don't need warrants, or permission, or paperwork. We act, and we will. Our primary objective is to recover the child. Sedary is to apprehend any and all perpetrators. There may be some casualties. They'll likely respond with violence. Are we clear?"

  I nodded nervously. "Yes."

  "Crystal," Ashkan affirmed. "How did you find where the boy is?"

  "We have spies and es everywhere. A witness cimed to see the Inkbloods entering and leaving this warehouse at night, around the same time the boy went missing. They've beeed to been bringing in food, which is suspicious. So, we checked the pce out. We think they're keeping the boy there."

  "Why is it suspicious that they have food?" I asked, puzzled.

  Ribbons g me over her shoulder as if to check that I was serious. "Inkbloods do. They , but they don't o. They don't o sleep, either."

  My heart skipped a beat. "Wait, what?!"

  Ashkan seemed equally as stupefied. "I thought they were just bad people. Cult members."

  Ribbons slowed down a bit so she could walk beside us. "I guess Perl never expined all that, huh? I fot that you're so new. Inkbloods aren't living creatures. Well, teically, they are, but not in the way you think. They're undead. Immortal. Ever noticed the matg tattoos ohroats? We believe those hold some kind of dark magic keeping them alive. Or reinating their corpses. Hard to say. Though the cult has existed for turies, most people aren't willing to mess with them in order to find out. The League has studied them for decades, but we don't have many answers."

  I blinked, processing her words. "Okay, wow. That's... That's a lot to take in."

  She sighed. "Wele to the League."

  Ashkan rubbed the back of his neck. "Then, how do they get these corrupting marks? From who? Or do they mark themselves?"

  "That is the billion-trook question, good hunter," Ribbons answered. "We think that whoever is in charge is responsible for the cursing, but said person always ges over the years. So, we 't be sure who's currently sitting in that throhe general sensus is that it's Balgaur. Inkbloods aren't the most chatty folk, though. Even whech them. They're immuo torture, starvation. They're not even afraid to die."

  "That's terrifying," I murmured. "But, I thought you said they 't die."

  "There are ways to destroy them. Well, one way that we know of," she expined. "Don't focus on that for now."

  We kept walking, following the street as it twisted and turned. I wondered what was in store for us. How long would this st? What if I messed up? Was I even ready? I g Ashkan, who was staring ahead. He had his usual cool, collected demeanour. He was the best person I ko have around during a crisis.

  The houses and buildings around us began to grow smaller and more rundown, and the road became less well-maintaihe sun was sinking faster, and the shadows grew longer. We passed by the occasional carriage or person. Some of the citizens watched us as we walked by, but no one approached.

  Eventually, we reached the outskirts of towhe woods. Ribbons guided us inside a rge, fenced-off lot, filled with crates and shipping tainers. At the far end, there was a huge brick building, with a few small windows high up on the walls. Three other hunters were waiting for us, each with their backs fag us. The group was posed of two men and one woman. They tur the sound of our footsteps.

  "Tonight," Ribbons began, "the usual members that circute this area were all unavaible. That's why it was left up to us. Myself, Nine, M, and on have already scouted the pd formuted a pn. We were just waiting for the rest of you. This is an urgent matter, so we o act fast. You two remember your ames?"

  "Deadbolt," Ashkan replied.

  "And I'm, uh, Grey," I stammered, still getting used to the idea. I had no clue why Perl decided on 'Grey', but I knew better than to question it.

  "Good," Ribbons said, nodding. "Now, here's the pn."

  We huddled around, listening closely. She expihat first, any Inkbloods occupying the exterior would o be taken care of. M and on would be responsible for that. At the same time, Ashkan and I would climb up to the rooftop aer through the ventition shafts, which were rge enough to crawl through. We would survey the se and try to find the hostage. Nine would enter from the ground floor and distray other Inkbloods in the room, with Ribbons assisting. If the kidnappers refused to cooperate, and the League members were uo resolve the flict, thehal force was authorized. We weren't sure where the boy was, or even if he was there, teically, but this was our best shot.

  I was terrified, but I knew I had to py my part. There was no room for failure.

  "Any questions?" Ribbons asked.

  Nine crossed his arms. "I still think I should clear the perimeter with M."

  "We already talked about this. on is a better choice," she tered. "Your stealth is better suited for infiltration."

  M nudged h her elbow, then signed something brief.

  "I know, I know," he grumbled.

  "Any more pints?" Ribbons said, sing the group. "Good. The's begin."

  Ashkan and I followed M and on towards the back of the property. We ducked behind a row of crates, then split into two groups. Ashkan and I stayed put, watg the pair creep across the yard. M held a bow, and on had heavy gaus reinforced with metal. They walked behind the building, disappearing out of view. Ashkan and I stood, our backs pressed against the cold wood of the crate. He peered around the er, cheg if the coast was clear. A few seds ter, we heard distant noises of a struggle, then silence.

  "Let's move," Ashkan whispered, and I nodded.

  We walked silently, stig to the shadows. We reached the base of the building and found a rusty dder leading up to the roof. It was missing rungs and had only one long pole. It seemed like a death trap. There was no way we could scale the brick, though.

  Ashkan grabbed the dder, testing its strength. The metal groaned, and we ged at the sound. He turned bae and shook his head. Then, he shrugged, bent his knees slightly, a up into the air. He cleared the entire height, nding gracefully oop of the building. I couldn't believe my eyes. He looked down and gave me a thumbs-up. Of course... Aerokinesis.

  I took a deep breath, then did the same, jumping off the ground and s upwards. Two pilrs of air rose underh my feet. I shot up to the roof faster than I'd inteo and nded oed shingles with a loud thud. I fell forward, nearly tumbling off. Ashkan caught my arm, pulling me back.

  "Careful," he hissed.

  "I got it, I got it," I mumbled, straightening myself up.

  We froze for a moment, waiting to see if anyone below had heard. Nothing happehe coast was clear. We moved quietly, croug as we walked. Our feet made soft g noises, and the metal on our harnesses and gear ked softly. We reached the ventition shaft, and Ashka down. I did the same. He pressed his palms onto the grille, and with a barely visible fsh of yellow light, it popped off. He set it gently to the side.

  "Looks like they fot to magic-proof this," he noted, raising an eyebrow.

  "Lucky us," I whispered, trying not to smile.

  Ashkan took the lead. I followed closely behind. I crawled slowly, not wanting to make a noise. We were moving in total darkness. The only sounds were our breathing and the rustling of our clothes. After a minute or two, I started to worry that we were lost. The shaft was twisting and turning in ways I hadn't expected. It was hard to tell if we were actually going anywhere.

  Suddenly, a dim light appeared ahead. Ashkan and I slowed our pace. A mier, the tunnel widened, and we were looking down inte room, about forty feet down, through a small grille.

  "Holy shit," I whispered.

  A crowd of Inkbloods, presumably, stood below. There were maybe fifteen, twenty of them, gathered together, speaking amongst themselves. Some were sitting on crates, others were pag around. They all wore simple, dark clothes, and their faces were uncovered. Everyone's necks were not, iingly enough. Whether it was a scarf, colr, or choker made of thick metal, they all had some kind of barrier.

  The room acked with random odds and ends. Broken pieces of furniture, old boxes and trunks, tools and ons. It was difficult to tell if the Inkbloods were actually living there, or simply using the pce as ste. No sign of a child.

  I felt a tap on my shoulder. Ashkan ointing further down the vent, indig that we should keep moving. I nodded.

  We crept onward, staying low. Ashkan stopped at anrille and looked down. I leaned forward, peering over his shoulder. The room was empty, save for a single Inkblood, lying on a cot. He was reading a book.

  I looked over at Ashkan, fused. Wasn't the kid supposed to be in here? We'd been searg for minutes, and nothing. How big was this pce? He motioned for us to keep going. We had a job to do. We moved carefully, and I could feel the ay growing.

  After crawling through a few more tunnels, we arrived at yet another opening. This one was a bit different. It was muarrower, and there were bars over the grille. Below us was a small space, with a single person occupying it. A boy. He sat, curled up in a ball, his face pressed against his knees. His wrists and ankles were bound, and a sack covered his head.

  We'd found him.

  My heart began to race. "What should we do?" I whispered.

  Ashkan shook his head. "Nothi. Not until they're here."

  He was right, unfortunately. We o wait until the other members were in position. We had no choice. The boy hadn't moved, but he was shivering. He robably scared out of his mind. I wao tell him that everything would be okay, but I had no way of doing that without giving away our position. All we could do was watch.

  A few mier, we heard noises ing from the ground floor. People were running. Someone shouted, "Hunters! Hunters!"

  The boy's head lifted, and he perked up. Footsteps echoed down the hall. Then, the door to his prison burst open, and the Inkblood who'd been reading stepped in, his book now gone.

  "Hey," he barked, gring at the boy.

  "Please, please, let me go," the boy begged, his voice high-pitched. "I'm sorry. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

  "Shut up, wretch," the man snapped, grabbing the boy by his arms and pulling him up. The boy cried out, his body going stiff. The Inkblood threw the sack off the boy's head. My breath hitched. He couldn't have been more than five years old.

  "Don't touch me!" the boy cried, kig at his captor.

  "Or what, huh?" the man sneered, grabbing the boy by his hair. He undid the rope around the boy's wrists, and the kid immediately tried to push him away, but the shackles were soon repced with magical ohe boy's hands glowed, and his wrists were pulled together. His ankles soon bore the same mahe Inkblood picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder, and the child kicked and struggled, shrieking.

  The man carried him out, closing the door behind him. The boy was screaming, and it hurt to listen to. But we had to let it happen. Ashkan and I hurried forward, following them through the vents, farther into the warehouse. Behind us, the sounds of the struggle tinued, but I forced myself to block it out. Gunshots, gs of metal, yells, shouts. There were so many people, so much chaos. I hoped the others were okay.

  We stopped when we reached a rge open space, about twice the size of the previous ohis was clearly where they stored all the equipment and supplies. Crates, barrels, sacks, chests, and shelves lihe walls. Rope, s, and s were hanging from the ceiling, swaying slightly. A handful of Inkbloods were standing by the door, arguing amongst themselves. The boy was g, begging his captor to let him go. The man ignored him, setting him down on a chair.

  "Now," the man said, turning to his fellow cultists, "whie of you snitched?"

  The other Inkbloods paused, staring at him. They exged nervous gheir heads tilting and shrugging.

  "Well?" he said, raising his voice. "Did you cretins even think to check for spies? Are you that inpetent?!"

  The woman closest to him raised her hands defensively. "We were careful."

  "Then who saw us?!" the first Inkblood demaaking a step forward. "You must have botched something somewhere!"

  She shook her head. "We did everything right, I swear. I don't know how–"

  "Shut your mouth, you tart!" he roared, spping her across the face. She staggered backwards, clutg her cheek. The rest of the group stared bnkly. I felt a rush of anger and had to fight back the urge to jump down.

  "Please," the boy sobbed, sniffling. "I wanna go home."

  The man turned his attention ba. "Your father won't pay up, so you're staying here until he does."

  "But my mummy's gonna be worried," the boy whimpered. "She doesn't know where I am."

  "She should've thought about that before she married a poor fool like him," the man growled. "And now she's paying for her mistakes."

  I gritted my teeth. This guy was such a fuckhead. I'd never entered a more despicable, violent person. His words, his tone, his behaviour. It made me want to hurl.

  Suddenly, we heard a loud crashing sound, followed by a shout. Then, there was guhe Inkbloods tensed, reag for their ons.

  "They're by the stairs!" one of them noted.

  The leader cursed loudly. "Take them out. Don't let anyone up here."

  The remaining five of them dashed towards the source of the otion, leaving the boy aloh the leader. I felt flicted. Should we try and free the kid right away, or wait for the League members to arrive? I was worried that the Inkblood would harm him, but I was also worried that the other four hunters needed backup. This room was at the end of the hallway. The vent didn't lead any further. There was only one door, and no windows. By jumping down, we could trap ourselves.

  I looked at Ashkan, silently asking him what we should do. He gestured for us to move back. I hesitated but did as he instructed. I didn't like it, but we had to stick with the pn.

  We crept away, returning to the first room. Ribbons and Nine were already inside, fighting off several Inkbloods. A few other of their bodies y on the floor. M and on were o be seen. Blood ttered everywhere. I'd never seen such violehe room was a plete wreck, furniture overturned, debris scattered about. I tried not to stare too long.

  "Grey, Deadbolt," Ribbons called out, fending off an attack with her shield. "Could use some help!"

  Ashkan didn't waste a sed. He bst open the vent grille, sending shrapnel flying, then jumped down. I followed suit, ndio him.

  "What are you waiting for, newbie?!" Nine yelled, dug a punch. "Get your head in the game!"

  I blinked. "Right, sorry!"

  We leapt into the fray, attag the Inkbloods. In a way, it was kind of f to know that they weren't human. ly, anyway. But they still bled like humans. A pain like them. And screamed like them. It was all the more horrifying, knowing that these things had once been normal people, like me.

  Ashkan and I worked together, trying to take them down as quickly as possible. The room was tight, which made it hard to fight effectively. One Inkblood was able to er me, and I panicked. He swung at me with his sword, but I blocked the attack with my staff. We struggled for a moment before he mao kick me iomach, knog the wind out of me.

  I stumbled back, gasping for air. Before he could follow up, however, Ribbons jumped in and stabbed him through the throat. The bde pierced his neck, and his blood spurted out, spraying all over her. She grimaced before yanking her on free. I immediately felt like throwing up.

  Another Inkblood came running, aiming a dagger at Ashkan. He sidestepped the attack, then grabbed the man's arm and twisted it behind his back. The Inkblood dropped the knife. Ashkan kicked the man's legs, f him to kneel. Large, mossy roots erupted from the ground, ing around the Inkblood's torso and pinning him to the floorboards. He filed helplessly, uo break free.

  Distracted, I was soon caught off guard by an ining attack. An Inkblood had mao sneak up behind me and grab me by the neck. He shoved me against the wall, knog the air out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe. His grip tightened, and I choked. I tried to pry his hands away, but his hold was to. Bck spots began to y vision. Everything was getting blurry.

  Is it killing if they aren't alive?

  I don't want to kill.

  I don't.

  I-I 't.

  The thought echoed in my mind. The voices were louder thahey were screaming. Demanding that I act. It was me or him. It was either me or him. There was no third option.

  The Inkblood brandished an axe, keeping e hand around my throat. I gasped for air, g at his fingers. He ughed. He was enjoying this. Enjoying seeing me suffer. I hated him. I hated him so much. The cold bde rested on my temple. Slowly, deliberately, he pushed on it. The metal dug into my skin, then dragged downwards. Down, down, down. My head felt like it litting in twain. I cried out through gritted teeth. My vision began to darken.

  The voices were unbearable.

  They were r.

  They were ting.

  Now.

  NOW!

  I reached towards my side. Towards the harness. Towards the revolver. I pulled the gun from its holster. Without thinking, I raised the barrel and fired. The bullet struck the Inkblood's head. Not a magic bullet, but a normal one. I just barely saw the hole appear in his forehead before shutting my eyes. The Inkblood's body slumped. His grip sed, and he fell backwards, colpsing on the ground. I was trembling. I was hyperventiting. Blood dripped from the brim of my hat. I refused to look at the body. My stomach ed.

  I sed the room, my breath normalizing. The st two Inkbloods were engaged with the other League members. Ribbons was locked in bat with a woman. She was fast, but Ribbons was faster. Nine was busy handling the other, a man wielding a rapier.

  My pulse ounding through my ears. It felt like someone had just ied adrenaliraight into my veins. Everything was happening so fast. My mind was moving at the speed of light. I couldn't keep up. I o stay calm. To focus. To keep moving. I couldn't afford to panic. I couldn't let them see me fall apart. Not now. Not here.

  It wasn't even five seds after the st cultist fell that on sprinted into the room. He looked around, breathing heavily. "We have a situation," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

  "What's going on?" Ribbons asked.

  "M," he replied, "she's been hurt. We o get her out."

  Nine wiped the blood off his glove and stepped forward, his expression furious. "Where is she?!"

  "Calm down," on ordered, holding out a hand. "We o hahis rationally."

  "Screw rational," Nine spat, gring daggers. "You left her to die? Again?"

  "It's not like that," on protested. "You know I'd never do that."

  "No, I don't. You did it before, remember?"

  "That was a long time ago."

  "Yeah, well, it doesn't seem like you've ged o."

  The two me each other, her bag down. Nine was shaking, his fists ched tightly. on stood firm, unwavering. The former shoved the tter – or attempted to, really – before st out of the room. on was too brawny to budge.

  He tailed Nine. "You 't just run off on your own."

  "Piss off!" Nine shouted, his voice eg.

  When they were gone, Ribbons sighed. "They take care of her just fine. Anyway, remember when I mentioned being able to destroy Inkbloods? This is how." She walked over to the body, pulled out a dagger, and kneeled. "First, remove anything c their neck." She cut through the scarf around the man's throat. "See the lihitoo? Sever that. Doesn't have to be a deep cut, just a slice."

  Relutly, I stepped closer to observe. The tattoo design was familiar. It was a hexagon with a small circle bisected horizontally by the hexagon's bottom line. Only the top half of the circle was bck. The lines were intricate, detailed. Ahey seemed crude and ugly. Like a cheap imitation of real art. Ribbons made a swift cut along that particur se, where the circle was divided.

  A drop of blood trickled down from the wound. At first, nothing happened. But then, the cut began to sizzle. The corpse's skied away without fme, but instead of revealing flesh and bo revealed...nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a skeleton. I stared in disbelief.

  "They're empty," Ribbons expined, standing back up. She began cirg the room, repeating the process on every other fallen Inkblood. "Once you cut their e, they melt. Like ice."

  I stared at her, then back down at the first corpse. She was right. Where there had been a body, now there was nothing but a shrinking puddle of viscous, bck goo. It was...weird. Very weird. I didn't uand. It didn't make sense. Nothing about it did.

  Ribbons shrugged, putting her dagger away. "Don't think too hard about it. Just slit their necks, if you . Or let us do it. Whatever you're fortable with. Now, let's go–"

  She was cut off by the sound of a loud crash. It came from the floor below. The ceiling shuddered, and a cloud of dust fell. Something had colpsed. Or exploded. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.

  on's booming voice rang out. "Ribbons! We've got pany!"

  She g me and Ashkan. "Keep searg for the boy. We'll hahis." Without another word, she ran off.

  I stood there, frozen in pce. Everything was happening so quickly. My mind was rag. My body wouldn't respond. My heart was beating frantically. It was deafening. I couldn't think straight. Everything was a blur.

  Ashkan grabbed me by the shoulder. "Two against one. We take him."

  I looked at him. His eyes were filled with determination. I could feel the energy emanating from him. He was fident. He was ready. He knew what o be done.

  "Are you sure?" I asked, hesitant.

  He nodded. "Positive."

  The two of us made our way out of the room, heading down the corridor. We crept along, stig close to the walls. There was barely any light in here. We could hear sounds ing from the floor beh us. Sounds of fighting. Shouting. We arrived at the st chamber. I just hoped the kid was still inside.

  Ashkan and I peeked around the doorway. The Inkblood who'd taken the child was standing there with his back to us. The boy was curled up in a ball on the floor, g, but otherwise unharmed. The leader couldn't have cared less. He reoccupied with the book he was reading.

  "What are you waiting for?" the Inkblood demanded, not b to turn. "e on in."

  I froze. Was he talking to us? Or someone else? I g Ashkan, fused. He shrugged.

  "Don't be shy," the man tinued, setting the book down. "I won't bite. Probably."

  Slowly, carefully, I stepped into the room, followed closely by Ashkan. The boy looked up. Tears streamed down his face. His eyes widened. He scrambled away as best he could with bound ankles and wrists, terrified.

  The leader turned, his grin widening. "Ah, finally. The vent-crawlers. e to join the party, have we?"

  Now that we were closer, I could get a good look at this monster. He was tall and muscur, easily t over me. Identical to every other Inkblood I'd seen thus far, his irises were a distinct, dark, purplish-onyx colour. Also synonymous with his brethren were winding patterns of scarcely perceptible, dark, vein-like marks on his skin. His hair was slicked back, his teeth crooked. His face was scarred, and his nose had obviously been broken multiple times. He was heavy armour, with a cloak around his shoulders. He was intimidating, to say the least.

  A jolt of ay shot through me. How did he know we'd been up in the vents?

  "Well?" he pressed, crossing his arms. "Speak up."

  "Give the kid back," Ashkan demanded. "He's not involved in any of this."

  "Oh, but he is. His father is."

  "Let him go."

  The man chuckled. "You think you make demands, boy? You have no power here."

  Ashkan took a step forward, his axe held firmly. "I won't ask again."

  "Such ce!" the Inkblood ented, raising an eyebrow. "But foolishness, too."

  Before we could react, he lunged, striking at Ashkan. A rge scythe appeared in his hand, its bde shimmering faintly. Ashkan dodged, narrowly avoiding a ssh. He swung his axe. The Inkblood ducked uhe blow, and Ashkaehe cultist seized the opportunity, jabbing his on forward. Ashkan barely mao avoid it. He recovered quickly, however, and blocked the strike with his shield. The Inkblood pushed harder, f him back. The scythe was longer, which allowed the leader to keep a distance.

  Meanwhile, I rao the young boy. His skin ale, his lips trembling. I k beside him. "Don't worry, we're here to help." He didn't respond. He just kept staring at me. I could see the fear in his eyes. "What's your name, bud?"

  "D-Davie," he stammered.

  I smiled, but remembered he couldn't see it. "o meet you, Davie. My name's Grey. We're gon you outta here, okay?"

  "Promise?" he whispered.

  "Promise," I assured him. "I know you're scared, but I need you to be brave, all right? you be brave with me?"

  "'Kay..." he whimpered.

  I reached down towards his ankles, still bound tightly in magical rope. Every unbinding spell I knew didn't work. Trying to cut through it would be like trying to slice diamond. The only way I could free him was with brute for the knots. But as soon as my fiouched the rope, a sharp, intense pain shot through my hand. I jerked back with a yelp. The rope burned. It was burning me. How was that possible? Even if I could've just picked him up and made a run for it, there was no way the cords wouldn't sihrough my clothing.

  Davie flinched. "I-I'm sorry!"

  "No, it's okay," I told him, rubbing my palm. It was like toug fme mixed with stig a fork in an outlet. "Ow... I'm okay."

  I turned my attention back to the fight. Ashkan was struggling to keep the Inkblood at bay. The cultist was skilled, using his on to keep Ashkan on the defehe two of them moved around the room, their blows colliding with resounding force. Ashkan's shield was holding up well.

  Suddenly, the Inkblood leapt forward, striking at Ashkan's head. He blocked the attack but was uo ter the swing. The scythe tore into his arm. He stumbled backwards, clutg his elbow. Blood seeped through his sleeve.

  Anger fred within me. My hand flew outwards, and from it, a torrent of light erupted. The cable of glowing energy shot through the air, ing itself around the cultist's arm. "Leave him alone!"

  The man was yanked backwards, thrown off bance. He tumbled, nding hard on his side, then sat up. He g his arm. The cord was still coiled around it. He tried to shake it off, but it wouldn't budge. I ched my fist, squeezing tighter. He winced.

  "How's it feel, huh?" I snapped, marg towards him.

  The Inkblood chuckled despite his obvious disfort. "That's the best you do? A little golden thread?"

  I said nothing. Instead, I twisted my fist. From the cord burst hundreds of tiny crystals. They embedded themselves into the Inkblood's arm, drawing blood instantly.

  "Enough!" the man shouted.

  He swung his scythe, and a gust of wind exploded from it. I was bsted backwards, smming against the wall. The impaocked the air from my lungs. The rope vanished. As I gasped for breath, the Inkblood stood, dusting himself off.

  "I grow weary of this. Time to end this little game." He lifted his on, aiming at me.

  Before he could make a move, Ashkan lunged. He tackled the cultist, sending them both tumbling. They crashed onto the ground. The leader snarled, pushing Ashkan off him. His scythe had skidded to the far end of the room, well out of his reach. He scrambled to his feet. Ashkan did the same.

  Finally managing to stand, I grabbed my revolver and aimed it at the Inkblood. He was moving too fast, though. There was no way I could nd a shot. I didn't want to risk hitting Ash. Scrapping that idea, I holstered the gun and aimed my fiowards the leader's scythe. A beam of magic shot out, bsting the on. It exploded in a fsh of fire and smoke, pieetal scattering across the floor. I was incredibly lucky that it didn't possess an anti-breakage charm.

  The Inkblood spun around, fag me. His eyes narrowed, his jaw ched. "You!"

  A bolt of bergy uowards me. I rolled aside, narrowly dodging the projectile. Whatever that was, that kind of magic was wholly unfamiliar to me. Not the type of spell I'd ever learned. It hit the wall, bsting a hole through it. I stared, wide-eyed. If it had struck me, it would've killed me.

  Without his scythe, the Inkblood had no choice but to rely on his hands. He thrust them outwards, and tendrils of murk shot forwards. I threw up a barrier at the st sed. The darkness collided with it but didn't break through. He kept going, and the force became too much. My shield shattered. I had to duder the oning attacks.

  As the Inkblood advanced, his hands began to glow a bright purple. They were pulsating with energy. Whatever he was doing, it owerful. I got the feeling that, if those hands came in tact with me, I'd be dead.

  Ashkan saw this, too, and charged. He was about to sm into the Inkblood's side when, suddenly, a rge figure dropped down from above. on nded in a crouch, his fists ched. He spun, and a mighty punch ected with the Inkblood's gut. The cultist was sent flying, his body crashing into the wall.

  on stood, crag his knuckles. "Good work, kid."

  "I had him…" Ashkan replied, his tone slightly annoyed.

  I stared, stunned. "Where the hell were you?!"

  "Dealing with some cult backup downstairs," on answered. "Took a bit, but they're done for."

  The leader coughed and spat up a mouthful of blood. He pushed himself upright, his body trembling. The impact had cracked his armour.

  "Stay down," on warned, raising his metal-covered fists. "I ain't afraid to hit ya again."

  "Do your worst, mortal," the Inkblood hissed. He extended a hand towards us. An orb of bck magied. It expanded rapidly, and then exploded, a shockwave rippling through the air. All three of us were knocked back. The room shook, and rubble rained down from above. I mao roll with the fall.

  Ribbons appeared in the doorway. "We've got a problem!"

  "What is it now?!" on groaned, pig himself up.

  "More Inkbloods! Lots more! We o get out of here. They've sent out some kind of signal to the surrounding areas!"

  He pounded his fist into his palm. "Bloody perfect."

  As if on cue, more cultists ehe room. A dozen, at least. More than enough to overwhelm us. Ribbons and on were strong, but this was getting ridiculous.

  The leader stood, grinning wickedly. "Looks like it's time for the grand finale."

  I looked around frantically, trying to e up with a pn. There was o hide, and no way to escape. The only thing I could think of was to make a break for it. Get the kid and run.

  While Ribbons and on did their best to distract the horde, Ashkan and I rao Davie. He was g untrolbly, shaking violently.

  "It's gonna be okay," I told him, trying to keep my voice steady.

  "Just hang tight," Ashkan added.

  I looked at him. "The ropes are super ented. I 't undo them, and they burn if you touch them. They'll sear right through our clothes."

  " you cut through them with yic?"

  "If I try, it'll take forever. These aren't normal."

  He squinted. We were running out of time. "I have an idea."

  I watched as he reached towards the magic shackles, stopping mere inches away. The space around them began to distort. It looked like a heat haze. Then, a small, spherical barrier appeared around Davie's ankles, c the ropes.

  Ashkan cast another around the boy's wrists. "These might not hold for long."

  "Oh, good thinking!" I excimed.

  With the protective barriers in pce, Ashkan picked up the kid. He was still bound, but the shields would prevent any more damage. We turo face the se. The cultists were advang, their ons drawn. Ribbons and on were holding their own, but it was only a matter of time. There was no way we could reach the door. We'd never get past all of them.

  Before either of us thought of a solution, the Inkblood leader lu us, his hand outstretched. Dark energy crackled between his fingers. I reacted instinctively, throwing a barrier around the three of us. The spell collided with the transparent wall, blowing a massive hole in it.

  "You ot run," the cultist growled. "You will not leave this pce alive!"

  "Watch me," I replied, firing a lightning bolt from my fingers. It struck him square in the chest and knocked him back. He stumbled but didn't fall.

  "Enough of this!" the man yelled. He spun around, his cape fluttering dramatically. His eyes began to glow, as did his hands. A sinister aura surrounded him. Bck fog poured from his palms. A shadowy, oppressive energy was radiating from him. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

  on was busy keeping the other cultists away. He couldn't help us. And Ribbons had her own problems to deal with. I squared my shoulders, preparing myself. But the leader didn't go for me. Or Ashkan. He went for the child.

  "There is a debt to be repaid! The boy's father is a coward. And so are you!" he yelled.

  "Stop!" I shouted, firing another spell. The Inkblood deflected it with ease.

  Ashkan put a magical shield between them, proteg Davie. The leader ughed, and his dark power shed out, tearing through the air. The magical assault tinued, relentlessly bashing against his protective shell. Ashkan grimaced, struggling to keep his footing. It was like trying to stop a train. The Inkblood was relentless. Ashkan was strong, but the pressure was immense. His feet began sliding backwards. It wouldn't be long until his strength gave out.

  I had to help. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

  Summoning every ounce of power within me, I gathered my strength and unched an attack. A bst of silver-gold magic shot forward, striking the cultist's shoulder. He ushed about a doze back. His assault ceased. Ashkan dropped to one knee, gasping for air. Davie tio cry.

  A wave of dizziness swept over me. I had to fight it. I couldn't lose focus. The Inkblood stared at his shoulder. There was a rge burn mark; a singed patch of flesh. The fabric was torn. Blood trickled down his arm. He slowly looked up. His expression was murderous. I readied my twin bdes. If he wanted a fight, I'd give him one. He marched forward, his teeth ched. My legs felt like jelly. But I didn't back down. I couldn't. This monster would not y a hand on that kid.

  As soon as he was within range, I shed out. But he jumped away. To my horror, he didn't aim for me. Log his eyes with mine, he went for Ashkan, who was still on one knee.

  I couldn't reach them in time. I tried. I tried to block the strike. I tried to stop it. But my magic reserves were running low. Everything happened so quickly. The cultist swung his arm down. Vines of shadow coiled around Ashkan and Davie. They grabbed the former's ankles first, causing the both of them to topple over. The dark tendrils suspehem upside-down as they were yanked into the air.

  I froze. The sight was horrific. Ashkan was writhing, trying desperately to free himself. They were around his arms, around his legs, around his waist. They stricted and squeezed tightly. Ashkan tried to burn away the coils, but it was useless. There were too many, and they kept ing back. They were like she more he struggled, the worse it got.

  "Let go of him!" I yelled as I sshed my ented bdes at the base of the vines. Light magiveloped them, cutting through the murky tendrils. It helped, but only a little. More sprouted each sed.

  "Grey, take him!" Ashkan shouted, still struggling. Before I could protest leaving him behind, he dropped Davie, right before the inky cords could strict around him.

  I dove forward, barely catg the child before he hit the ground. Time began unfurling in slow motion. I scrambled to my feet and began sprinting away. Davie was light. He g tightly to my coat, his arms ed around my neck, legs around my torso. I used both arms to hold him as securely as possible. Something about the tendrils' destructive powers had broken his shackles.

  "No!" the Inkblood leader roared, smming his foot into the floor. More of the dark roots emerged, now chasing after me.

  I dodged left and right, narrowly avoiding being snatched. The others were still battling the other cultists, their own fights raging across the room. I was headed straight for the back wall. If I couldn't dodge the attack, the both of us would be skewered. I had no choice. I had to take the ce. As the roots surged towards me, I leapt upwards. With a mighty push, I jumped into the air, as high as I could, flipping backwards. The roots swiped beh my feet, barely missing.

  I nded and braced myself. "Hang on!" I said to Davie, squeezing him close. He didn't respond. Just as I'd hoped, the dark vines smmed into the wall. They were embedded deep. That was my ce. I fired a beam from my fiips, bsting a giant hole through the brick. We flew through the opening. The momentum carried us forward.

  Right as the floor disappeared from below me, I focused all my energy on breaking the fall. I couldn't afford to stick my hands out like I'd been taught to. I just had to hope my aero training paid off. I cast a powerful air spell. A cushion of wind burst beh us, softening our nding. I skidded, but we were okay.

  I took off running. The outside air was cool. The sound of battle echoed from ihe warehouse. Shouts, bdes, spells. We were far away now, but not out of the woods yet. Davie's face was buried in the crook of my neck. There was a smudge of blood on his ear. I just hoped it wasn't his own.

  "Stay with me, Davie," I mumbled, adjusting him in my arms. I o put more distaween us and the warehouse. We were too close.

  I didn't know where I was running to. My legs were heavy, and my lungs burned. My vision was starting to blur. But I had to press on. The Inkblood reinforts were possibly still on their way. I o get somewhere safe. Somewhere far, far away from this hellish pce.

  After a bit, we were deep in the slums. I stopped running. It was quiet. No sign of cultists or any other sort of threat. I didn't see anyone around. Just some shoddy-looking houses. To be safe, I used the st bit of magic I had left to vault myself up onto the roof. We nded softly.

  My breathing was boured. My muscles were on fire. I let go of Davie and propped him up against a ey before cheg him over to make sure he wasn't hurt. He ale, but didn't have a scrat him. The blood robably Ashkan's.

  "Are you okay?"

  Davie nodded, sniffling.

  "We're safe," I assured him. "It's all over. You did really good. Thanks for being brave."

  His little face twisted in despair. "Where's Mummy and Daddy?"

  "You'll see them soon, don't worry. I promise. Just sit tight for a minute, okay?"

  "Okay..."

  I turned and looked ba the dire of the warehouse. The roof was a nice vantage point. I could see the whole neighbourhood from up here. Nothing but rundown buildings ay streets. A moment ter, a loud boom sounded in the distance. I tensed. A pilr of fire shot up into the air. It was ing from the warehouse. There was a fsh, and a shockwave.

  I covered my eyes. When the dust settled, I saw a cloud of smoke was rising from the area. A few mier, three figures emerged from the building. Other dark shapes appeared hem, fleei and right. I exhaled, relieved. The trio made their way towards me. I watched them walk for a while, then sat down, taking a moment to rest. The adrenaline was wearing off. The reality of what happened was setting in. I felt dazed, exhausted. I'd pushed myself to the limit.

  Not a moment too soon, on, Ribbons, and Ashkan arrived he base of the building. I whistled loudly, getting their attention. They looked up, and I waved.

  "Up here!" I called. "The kid's with me. He's okay."

  "Thank the gods," Ribbons said, putting her hands to her forehead.

  I scooped Davie up and floated my way down. My head inning.

  "That's a relief," on sighed. "Knew ya had it in ya."

  "How is he?" Ribbons asked, approag us.

  I replied, "He's fine. A bit shaken up, but otherwise unhurt. We should get him home, though."

  "Yeah, good idea. He's had enough excitement for one night," Ashkan noted, patting Davie's shoulder.

  I jerked my head towards the warehouse. "I saw the explosion. What happened?"

  "Not sure, but 't say I'm surprised," on expined. "Must've hit a gas line or somethin'. The fire department'll ha."

  Ribbons and on took turns carrying Davie. We headed straight for his house, being careful to stay in the shadows. Some Inkbloods were still looking for us, or at least milling about. We'd passed a few of them along the way a our distance.

  We made it back to the outskirts without i. A short while ter, we were standing outside the door to Davie's home. ohe boy down, ruffled his hair, then knocked on the door. The four of us retreated far bato the darkness. A few seds ter, it opened. A woman's head poked out. Her eyes went wide when she saw Davie. She ran forward, dropped to her knees, and pulled him into a big hug.

  "My... MY BABY!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

  "Mummy!" He grinned.

  She rocked him bad forth while stroking his hair. "B-But, how? How did you...? Who...?"

  Davie looked up. "The people saved me! The hat people!"

  His mother sed the area, but we were well out of sight. "Who, now? Who saved you, darling?"

  "e on," on said, nudging me. "Let's give 'em their privacy. Kid's gonna be fine."

  We nodded and walked away, heading bato town. It was pletely dark out. I could hardly keep my eyes open. I was ready to sleep for a week.

  Ribbons broke the silence first. "Nice work tonight. M and Nine are already back at the refuge. We've got some supplies stored there. Enough for all of us. Let's get out of these disguises and up."

  led in a secluded spot between twe buildings was a tiny shack. It was made of wood, and the roof was covered in moss and weeds. Ribbons rapped her knuckles on the door in a certain pattern.

  A familiar voice called out, "Password?"

  "Open the bloody door, Nine," on replied.

  There ause. "...Fine."

  The door creaked open. The shack was small, but fortable. There was a firepce, a table, some chairs, and a bed. A small kitette was built into the back wall. On the ter were a few boxes of supplies. M was resting in the bed, holding a steaming mug between her hands. She gave a slight nod of aowledgement.

  "Took you long enough," Nine grumbled, sitting on a stool beside the bed. "Did the boy make it?"

  on grinned. "Thanks to the newbie. Turns out, this one's a natural." He gestured towards me, and everyourheir attention.

  M set down her mug on the nightstand, smiled at me, then signed over to Nine.

  He scoffed lightly. "It has nothing to do with the alig of the stars, M."

  She gave him a pointed look before tinuing.

  Nine huffed. "Fine, I'll tell 'em... She says she's happy to have you two oeam."

  "Thanks," I said, returning the smile. "Are you doing okay? I heard you got pretty hurt."

  Ribbons walked over and helped her sit up. "She's had worse. She'll be fine in a few days."

  M shook her head and made an expression as if to say, 'It's no big deal'. She ughed to herself, then signed again.

  Nine chuckled. "'You should've seeher guy'," he transted.

  on searched a cupboard, taking out a box and rummaging through it. "We should get healing, too. You know how hard it is to get blood out of wooden floors." He retrieved four small bottles and tossed them at each of us.

  "Thanks," Ashkan said, catg his and unc it.

  I peered at the liquid inside. "What's this?"

  "Called eriterg. S'not great, but it'll replenish some of yic." on raised his own bottle in a mock toast, then gulped the whole thing down.

  I hesitated before following suit. The potion tasted like chalk mixed with soap. But the feeling was instantaneous. Energy washed over me. It wasn't a huge amount, but it was really quite notable.

  "So, how's about a debrief?" Nine said, leaning ba his chair.

  Ribbons sat on the floor and crossed her legs. She removed her boots, pced them ly beside her, then rolled up one pahere was a thin, angry gash running from her ankle all the her shin. She pced her hands above it and began weaving a healing spell. "There were more of them than we'd expected. And the ohat showed up were strooo. They've got a lot more power than before. Not to mention, they were anized. Something's ged."

  Ashkan and I sat down at the table and pced our hats down. He looked pretty rough. Blood was caked on his clothes, some of it inating from his one arm. He didn't eveo notice. He just drank his potion, then closed his eyes. "Yeah, those cultists were tough. Especially their leader. He was a real piece of work."

  "I'm gd you were able to hold your own," on praised. He reached into a cupboard and pulled out a box full of medical supplies. Bandages, ois, and such. "Great work, both of ya."

  I looked over at Ashkan. "Yeah, I would've never gotten Davie out without your help."

  He opened his eyes and looked at me. "Well, you saved my skin in there. Many times, actually. So, thanks."

  "Sure. Of course. That's what teammates are for."

  "Teammates, huh?" He smirked.

  "That's what we are, isn't it?"

  He ughed, but it quickly faded. "No, you're right. ...Thanks."

  I moved my chair closer to him. "Here, let me help with that." I picked up a , gauzy cloth and a bottle of aic.

  "I'm fine," he said, shying away.

  "Really? Right, because this is the only time this will ever happen," I retorted with an eye-roll. ". I practice my healing."

  He sighed. "If you're sure."

  "I am." I poured a little of the aic solution on the cloth.

  That was one of the very few downsides of healing magic – it couldn't sanitize. If you were closing a wound shut, you needed a chemical solution to make sure there was no ce of sealing bacteria i wasn't always necessary, depending on the severity, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  "Um... Well, it would kind of be easier...if..." I trailed off.

  "If what?"

  I gestured awkwardly towards his shirt. "Without the clothes."

  "ht..." Ashkan shrugged out of his coat and unbuttoned his vest. , he pulled his scarf over his head and tossed it aside. He then undid the buttons on his shirt, leaving one sleeve on. There was a jagged gash running down his right shoulder. It looked painful.

  I winced. "Damn. That awful scythe."

  "Tell me about it."

  I gingerly dabbed at the cut, wiping away the dried blood. Ashkan winced but didn't protest. The surrounding skin was warm. Healing spells were difficult. It was all about visualization and precision. You had to use your energy to restruct the tissue, encing the cells to heal at a faster rate. I pced one hand on the back of his shoulder and the other on his bicep. The magic glowed brightly, a golden aura surrounding his injury. I closed my eyes and trated, willing his body to mend itself.

  "How's that feel?" I asked.

  "Weird. Kind of itchy. But fine."

  I opened my eyes. The wound had shrunk but hadn't fully closed. I tried again, fog harder. This time, I imagined a needle and thread, sewing the two halves together. I envisiohe cells regeing. The skin knitting back together. The magic surged.

  "You're pretty good at that, Grey," Ribbons ented.

  "Thanks," I said, keeping my focus. The group tio verse around me.

  "Did you end up sending anybody to the smmer?" Nine questioned.

  "Nah," on answered. "They're too slippery. And their boss was outta there as soon as the kid was taken."

  "Do you normally arrest them?" Ashkan spoke up.

  "Normally, yeah. That leader you saw was Tarkus. We've been chasing him for a while. He's a high-ranking member. Whenever we do mao tie one up, we drop 'em off at the jail's doorstep."

  Nine chuckled. "With a nice, big bow on top." There was a long pause. "'Did you slice many?'" ransted. I assumed M had asked.

  "Not a ton," on replied. "We didn't have much time to stop and make the rounds."

  "So... They'll reinate soon?" Ashkan asked, tensing slightly under my palms.

  "In a day or two. Give or take. And then we'll have to catch them again. For the rest of our lives."

  "That's the life of a hunter," Ribbons added. "We 't always get to all of them. Some are too powerful or just too fast. But we try our best."

  As I finished my st stitch, the glow dissipated. I sat ba my chair and wiped my brow. Ashkan's wound had closed, leaving behind a faint, pinkish scar. "All done."

  He twisted around and looked at his shoulder. "...Gods. That's impressive."

  He flexed his arm a few times, then pulled his shirt ba. The thick leather of his coat had protected him from most damage, but he still had a couple other scrapes on his head, face, and neck. I woo myself if it would be appropriate to offer. I'd have to get closer. And it would require toug his face.

  He gnced up and noticed me staring. "What?"

  I blinked. "Uh, anything else?"

  He raised an eyebrow, then seemed to uand. "Oh. Well, I don't know. You've done a lot today."

  "Ash." I tilted my head to the side. "Yes or no."

  "How about we alternate?" he offered, looking at me with . "That gash on your forehead looks unpleasant."

  I reached up and touched my temple. I'd pletely fotten about it. Right. The gunsh out in my memory. I vinced myself that I had no reason to feel guilty about shooting it. It wasn't human.

  Ashkan moved his chair so we were fag each other directly. I tried not to fidget as he leaned in. His gaze was fixed on my face, but he was careful not to meet my eyes. I wondered if I looked as tired as he did. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his broinched in worry.

  "Could you hold your hair aside?" he requested.

  I brushed back the shorter pieces around my face, clearing them away from the cut. "How's it look?"

  "Pretty , actually. No, but really, it's not bad. Long, but shallow."

  "Good. Because it's starting to hurt now."

  Ashkan poured some ai a fresh cloth and pressed it to my temple. It stung immensely. I bit my to couldn't stop a small hiss from esg.

  "Sorry," he mumbled, his expression growing apologetic. "I know. I'll be quick."

  He was thh, ing the area around the wound as well. I watched his face as he worked. He was very close. It felt weird being so close to someone. Ashkan's expression was serious. trated. Every few seds, his eyes would flick over, cheg if he was hurti was awfully siderate.

  After a few minutes, he stopped, tossing the cloth aside. "Okay, here goes."

  "Are you sure you want to try?" I asked. "I probably just do it."

  "It's fine. Let me see." He held my face by my , between his thumb and index finger, angling it. I was surprised by the sudden tact. It was firm, but gentle. He closed his eyes and inhaled.

  I braced myself for pain, but it didn't happen. Instead, it felt like a light breeze, cooling and pleasant. Unfortunately, that didn't st long. A sharp, seariioed in my head.

  "Ow, ow!" I excimed, fling.

  Ashkan dropped his hand. "Sorry! …I'm not good at this."

  I ughed softly. "It's okay. It's not easy. I finish from here."

  I pced one hand on my forehead and one on my cheek. The healing was retively quid simple, as the wound wasn't deep. Ash had already gotten it started. A few seds ter, I lowered my hands and looked at him. "Well?"

  He ied me. "...It's gone. Not even a scar."

  I smiled, feeling pleased. "Yay! I'm gettier at this."

  Ashkan gave a soft smile iurn.

  "All right, your turn. What else do you need?"

  He g his body, thinking. "Just a good night's rest. The other cuts are small. I do those."

  I narrowed my eyes slightly. "I'll trust that you're not lying to me about something this serious."

  "Why would I lie?"

  "You tell me."

  He shook his head. "No, nothing else. Thank you, though."

  I yawned, and he did the same. I hadn't realized how exhausted I was. We both ughed.

  "Today was long," he ented.

  "Very," I replied. "But we're alive. And Davie's alive. I'd call that a success."

  He hen, his eyes fell to the table. "Brie, I..." He trailed off.

  I studied his expression, trying to deduce the emotions behind it. "...Hm?"

  He hesitated. "...I'm gd I'm alive. I'm gd you're alive. That's all."

  "Same. ...I'm gd you're with me."

  His eyes flicked up, meeting mine for a brief sed, then fell again. He abruptly stood up. "We should get home."

  "Agreed." I grabbed my hat and put it on. "Thanks, everyone. We're going to head baow."

  Ribbons, Nine, M, and on looked over at us, having been deep in versation.

  "Sure thing," on said. "Rest easy. And wele aboard."

  "Get home safely," Ribbons added.

  M signed a farewell, and Nine waved a dismissive hand. "Bye."

  We left the shad returo the streets. The sky was bck. There was no trace of sunlight left. Lyalon was alive. Lights twinkled. Music pyed. Voices sang and shouted. But, as we walked, it was quiet. Just the sound of our footsteps. I could feel the weight of the day pressing on me. I wanted nothing more than to colpse into my bed and sleep for hours.

  After a few minutes, we entered an alleyway. I held my ring closer to my face. The sigil had been glowing white sihe group had reached the refuge. I dismissed the notification, then pressed my thumb against it. The same bright light and wind from earlier engulfed me.

  When I opened my eyes, I was ba Nelorismel, right where we'd left. Ashkan appeared o me a sed ter. Our clothes had ged bato our normal outfits, ons now gone.

  "Home sweet home," he sighed.

  We walked out of the alley and turned dowreet, making our way towards Ashkan's house. My thoughts were a million miles away. It was a lot to process. Everything had ged. We were hunters now. We'd survived our first mission. I felt like the world had tilted. I felt like I was moving forward, but I wasn't sure if I'd like what id ahead.

  "...Ash?" I spoke up.

  He looked over. "I'm still not used to that. But yes?"

  "What do you think of all this?" I asked, the words ing out slowly.

  "Oh, it was mad," he answered. "But fun, in a strange way."

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Fun? That's how you would describe it?"

  "Well, not fuly. But iing. Exhirating. Scary, certainly. But exg."

  I couldn't help but smile. "I suppose."

  "I know we're probably in over our heads. And this will take some time to adjust to. But..." He paused. "I'm ready to accept the challenge. If this is how the world is, then so be it. It'll be an adventure. And I'll be damned if I sit idly by."

  I was silent while I thought. His response was not what I'd expected. "...That's a very look," I finally said.

  "You disagree?"

  "No, I agree. It's just that you're so...calm."

  He tilted his head, curious. "Is that unusual?"

  I shrugged. "I was freaking out. I am freaking out. This is scary stuff. How you be so nont?"

  Ashkan pohat for a while. "We've been thrown into the deep end, whether we like it or not. I prefer the term 'realistic'. Yes, the world is cruel. And, yes, we're in a lot of danger while w with the League. I 't ge the world. Not yet, anyway. That doesn't mean I 't help it. I protect people. I prevent malice from spreading. Isn't that worth it?"

  I couldn't find an argument against that. I just stared at him. "...I never knew you were so thoughtful."

  "Yeah, well, you usually don't ask," he riposted, giving me a sidelong gnce.

  I was uo stop a grin from crossing my face. "Fair."

  "Hey." He nudged my arm. "It'll be okay. We'll be okay. It's going to take time. But I have faith."

  "...In the gods?"

  "No. In us."

  "Us?"

  "You and me."

  My heart skipped a beat.

  "I mean, Shaye is part of our team too," he quickly crified. "But... I don't know if she could handle a mission like today's. I wouldn't wao try. I guess I meant..."

  "A team within a team," I finished, uanding.

  "Yes." He looked at me. "Gd you caught on."

  "Yeah. I think we'll be all right. If we stick together, that is."

  Ashkan's eyes softened as his face grew serious. "To be frank, I think I'm just as afraid as you. Maybe more. But I know it'll be worth it. The League is doing good work. If I be a part of that, then it'll all be worth it. I just...'t obsess and brood over things. It'll be the end of me. Why do you think it took me so long to process my mother's death? If I think too much, I start panig."

  "I 't imagine you ever panig," I remarked.

  "That's because I hide it well." He shrugged. "We all have our problems. We all have our ways of g. Mine are denial and repressing. Yours are avoidand overthinking."

  My face flushed. He'd somehow hit the nail on the head. I smacked his arm several times, although the hits were so light that they were more like taps. "Stop...psyalyzing!"

  He ughed, swatting my hands away. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But you 't deny that it's true. If you 't leave your problem in the dust, you question it until you feel suffitly prepared to face it. Then you tackle it. That's just who you are."

  I crossed my arms. "I hate that you're right."

  He grinned. "Thanks for firming."

  "Ugh, you're impossible..." I sighed. "How did we go from talking about teamwork to psychology in five minutes?"

  "That's just how my brain works," he replied, tapping his temple. "Oopic blends into the . It's a miracle I talk at all, really. Or that you uand me."

  I chuckled. "At least you're eloquent enough to speak in cohereences."

  We ambled in silence for a while, our minds drifting. It had been a long day, but I felt more awake now. The exhaustion was gohere were too many thoughts floating around in my head to sleep.

  Several minutes passed before Ashkan spoke again. "Y'know, I really don't fancy being stabbed. Or thrown against a wall. Or shot at. Or any of those other things. But... It's something about the idea of a purpose. Of having a reason. Something to fight for. Or someone. I think that's what made today bearable. Knowing there's a point. That it means something. It makes me feel...strong."

  I was a little taken aback by the siy of his words. They were spoken softly, almost in a whisper. It was so unlike him. I wasn't used to seeing him this vulnerable.

  "It's nice," he tinued. "Not the almost dying part, of course. But the...knowing. The purpose. The strength. My aatter. They have an impact. Even if it's a small one."

  I was at a loss for words. I'd never heard Ashkan speak like that. His thoughts were profound. His reasoning was plex. He was more astute tha on. He was intelligent, but not the type that was showy. He was the type that was reserved, the type that only showed itself when necessary. This was a rare glimpse into his mind.

  "I really didn't want Davie to get hurt because of me." His eyes gzed over a bit. "I hope he fets about all this soon."

  "He didn't get hurt," I said. "He was fine because of you, actually."

  Ashkan's gaze sharpened, ing back to the present. "I suppose. Still, when the leader grabbed us with those coils... hing I kneere hanging upside-down. I was so worried that he was going to hurt him."

  I nodded. "Yeah, me too. That's what kept me going."

  "I could tell. I don't think you've ever looked more terrifying than when you were slig through those roots. Your expression was so intense."

  I cracked a small smile. "Really? What did it look like?"

  He made a face, trying to imitate me. It was a cross between a grimad a scowl, and was the most visibly angry I'd ever seen him. "Like that."

  Not knowing how to respond, I just ughed, c my mouth. Ash joined in, the two of us giggling loudly.

  "I was serious, though," he said once hter had died down. "I tell you've been training hard."

  I leased by the pliment. "You think so?"

  He nodded. "You knew what you were doing. It was impressive."

  "Says you. You just refused to stay down."

  "I'm stubborn," he replied. "Really, though, it's two things. Only two things stu my head that whole time. One, I didn't want to die. Obviously. I 't yet. I've got so much left to do."

  "Like what?"

  Ashkan gave me a look as if the answer was obvious. "Who else would take Wendyll to his doctor's appois? My father? Spare me."

  I snickered, shaking my head. "Too real, Ash."

  He ughed and dropped the act. "Genuinely. I have so much left to do. So much I want to do. I haven't even travelled the world yet. I haven't tried all the food I've always wao. I-I haven't seen a meteor shower. Haven't worked in a proper bcksmith. I haven't...fallen in love. I haven't seen Niista get married, seen Wendyll grow into a man, seen Shaye bee a famous designer. And I 't do any of that if I'm dead. That was the first thing."

  I smiled as I listened. He had a lot of pns. A lot of aspirations. He had hope for the future. I liked that. "And... The sed?"

  He hesitated, and a hint of nervousness entered his expression. "Two, I... I refuse to let anyone be hurt right in front of me. Especially the people I care about. If anyone is going to be hurt, it should be me. I'd rather have it that way."

  "Ash," I breathed. "Don't say that. We'd be crushed if anything happeo you."

  He challenged, "And you don't think I'd be crushed if something happeo you? Or Wendyll, or Shaye, or even little Davie? I've told you more things than I've told my own father, in all my eighteen years of life bined. And I think I might've let slip some things that I've old a...doesn't get much more precious than that."

  The words hung heavily in the air. Ashkan's eyes had averted. He seemed almost...embarrassed. I hadn't realized just how much he cared about us. About...me. His statement was genuine. Afelt. The truth behind it was almost fierce, like a fme burning brightly, but not in an overbearing way. Not possessively; not wildly. Simply bright. A soft fire. A f fire. Like a hearth. Not always alight, but always there if you needed some extra warmth.

  Ashkan g me, his cheeks and ears pink. I could tell he regretted being so ho. It was out of character for him. "Uh, yeah. If you think about it logically, it makes sense. If I wasn't the one being struck, it would be someone else. I'm the oh the good shield. It's...practical."

  I ughed. He was flustered. "Well, thank you, then. I'm gd you have my back. And, for the record, I have yours. Always will."

  His lips curved upwards, a grateful look on his face. "Thanks."

  We'd reached his house by now. I turo face him, standing still. He did the same. We gazed at each other for a few seds.

  "Well... See you tomorrow?" he said.

  I nodded. "Tomorrow."

  His expression became resolute. He straightened his back, a look of tenacity fshing across his eyes. "Remember. Don't linger on the what-ifs. s."

  "s," I echoed, feeling a surge of ce.

  He pressed two fio his temple and saluted sharply. I mirrored the a. I had a feeling this was the beginning of a sort of ritual. A secret handshake of sorts. Our way of aowledging the itment we'd made. To each other. To the League. To ourselves.

  Ashkan turned on his heel and headed through the gates. I watched him go. When he reached the front door, he waved. I returhe gesture, then started walking towards the barracks. Once again, the streets were empty. Quiet. Just me and my thoughts. My boots echoed with each step. The wind whistled, blowing strands of hair ay face.

  I could've died. Today. We both could have. The realization hit me harder than a brick. I shuddered, ing my arms around myself. But we'd made it. Against the odds, we'd survived. And not only that, but we'd helped. We'd done good. We'd fought. We'd protected. And we'd won. That thought carried me home. I climbed the steps to the barracks, found my neck the locked chest, theuro Earth.

  Ohere, I fell asleep, and dreamed of adventure.