The rest of the night passed in a blur of preparations and nervous excitement. We went over our plan repeatedly, making sure everyone knew their role and what to do in case of an emergency. It was only once we were all onboard that Amara took the floor.

  She set down three vials of purple fluid in front of us. Whatever mixture she had concocted swirled around in an angry, agitated fashion, and little motes of white floated around, giving off faint light.

  "What is that?" Alistair asked warily, taking a step back from the table.

  Luca had the opposite reaction and actually leaned forward to get a better look at the frothing liquid. "Is it alive?"

  "Sort of," Amara said, answering Luca's question first. Turning next to Alistair she added, "This is what I've come up with to fight the Shades. I won't bore you with the alchemical details, but it was extremely difficult to synthesize. But it was worth it. It's an oil that we can use to coat our blades. Just a drop or two wiped down either side and it should put down a Shade. Permanently."

  We all exchanged glances. On one hand, if it was true, this was wonderful news. On the other, there were only three vials of this potentially crucial substance.

  "How does it work?" Thalia asked, crossing her arms dubiously.

  Amara winced. "I used the samples you brought back from the Dark Forest to make a recipe I know. Something that is lethal on contact with humans. Except I swapped out the lethal components for the flower. The result is–"

  "A poison?" I suggested.

  "I mean...yes. Essentially. We call it Last Mercy around here, but yeah. On its own it won't kill a Shade, but if we cut it down first and deliver this with the final blow it should sever the connection between its realm and ours. More of a banishing toxin than a poison, really. And I would prefer to think of it as a...a different kind of cure, if you will. One that eradicates the shadows that plague us all, rather than something that burns away a fever. But regardless of how it was made, the intention remains the same. To keep our people alive."

  "Works for me," Alistair said with an approving nod. "Let's get out there and test it!"

  He took the first vial. Thalia took the second. I pocketed the last. With that done, we all went our separate ways and tried to get some sleep.

  I can't speak for the others, but my efforts to achieve a dreamless sleep were mediocre at best. I tossed and turned all night, battling an unkillable Shade in my dreams. No matter how many times I struck it down it just rose again and again and kept hunting me. Pretty far from a good night's rest.

  ***

  As the sun began to rise, we gathered outside the castle gates, ready to face the Shades. Luca was with us, his eyes bright and his hands steady. He had proved himself to be more than capable during our practice sessions the night before, and I knew he would be a valuable asset in the upcoming fight.

  Thalia took charge, her voice ringing out over the group. "We know what we have to do," she said. "Stick to the plan and stay together. We've got this."

  With one last glance at each other, we pushed open the gates and stepped into the unknown. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a soft orange glow over the land. It was a beautiful sight, but it was also a reminder of the danger we faced.

  We made our way through the forest, our footsteps muffled by the fallen leaves. Isadora joined us just outside the castle gates.

  She greeted us with a nod and a small smile, her eyes scanning the group. "Are you ready?" she asked, her voice calm and collected.

  "We're ready," Thalia replied, her tone just as steady as Isadora's.

  It was weird. Like they were old friends or kindred spirits. Either way they seemed to be on the same page from the word go.

  Alistair attempted to greet her, but Isadora simply rolled her eyes.

  She had brought five others with her, each clad in a strange mashup of different armor and street clothes. Some of their armor wasn't even from this kingdom, but from faraway lands I'd only heard about in stories. They had mean, grizzled looks to them and haunted eyes. I could tell at a glance that they were killers one and all.

  With Isadora's crew, our number swelled from five up to eleven. It was more than I was expecting. Not knowing if I could trust them or not did put me on edge, but I was grateful for the reinforcements. We made our way towards old man Harlan's cave. As we headed out from the palace, our group of fighters grew. People we'd spoke to in previous days saw that we were serious and suddenly had a change of heart. Burly farmers picked up spears and rushed out to join us. Old men who had done all they could for their families and were tired of watching them starve. People who had lost everything and decided to join us and maybe make a difference. Eleven became twelve, then fifteen, then twenty three. When we left the palace gates we numbered thirty five in total. We were a motley crew, and only a dozen or so were trained warriors still in their prime, but our determination and bravery made up for any lack of training or experience.

  Thalia walked up front, next to me. She dropped her voice to a whisper before she spoke. "Do you think this will work?"

  I nodded, though I wasn't sure. "It has to, right?"

  Thalia gave a small smile. "Right," she said, determination etched on her features. "We have to try."

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  Perhaps four leagues out from the palace gates we heard the sound of galloping hooves approaching us along the roadway.

  It was a chestnut-haired mare that came galloping around a bend in the road. Atop her was man in light brown leather armor with a green cloak wrapped around his shoulder. A ranger.

  The ranger barely stopped his horse in front of us, glancing at us with disdain. I noticed that there was a woman tied up behind him, bound with rope, shaking her head furiously.

  I immediately drew my sword.

  "Silverblade!" the ranger said, flashing me an easy smile. "I've heard of you. Where are you going with your..." He cast a glance around our–fairly large–group. His eyes lingered on Isadora and those who stood with her. "Friends? Out for a little stroll?"

  I didn't lower my sword. "What's going on here?" I asked, my eyes never leaving the ranger's.

  "Just doing my job," he said with a shrug. Reaching back to pat the woman thrown across the back of his horse he added, "This is my prisoner. One of the raiders that's been assaulting our great kingdom. She's responsible for the deaths of many of our countrymen. I'm talking triple digits, assuming any of you can count."

  "Hey!" Luca protested.

  I looked at the woman, who was still shaking her head. "Is that true?"

  She met my gaze, desperation clear in her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was muffled with the piece of fabric the raider had placed over her mouth. "No!" I heard her say.

  "We can take her," I said, not sure why I was saying it. This didn't seem fair, and my hackles were up for some reason I couldn't explain, but I had no idea what I was going to do with a prisoner. We had enough problems to worry about.

  The raider laughed. "Right," he said, then dropped his voice. "The only reason she isn't dead is because she has information on an upcoming raid. I'm taking her to the king. Maybe then–" He trailed off as he looked at me. "Doesn't matter," he said. "You go on your...little adventure." He said it as derisively as he possibly could. "Let the grown-ups do their job," he said.

  This wasn't good news for us. The ranger would definitely tell the king that he'd seen us, and we would not be able to continue undisturbed.

  Thalia and I exchanged a worried glance. We couldn't let the ranger ruin our chances of succeeding in our mission, but we also couldn't risk killing him.

  "Let her go," Thalia said, her voice hard and unwavering. "She's not worth your time."

  The ranger smirked. "You're right," he said. "She's not worth my time, but she's definitely worth the king's. Maybe I'll even get a promotion out of it."

  He turned his horse around and began to ride away, his prisoner still tied up behind him. He pulled off the road a ways and walked into the woods, fiddling with the front of his trousers like he was getting ready to take a leak.

  The woman trussed up and tossed over his horse looked back at me with fear in her eyes.

  "We have to do something," I said, feeling helpless.

  "We can't let him get away," Thalia agreed. "He'll tell the king he saw us."

  Isadora scoffed. "He's not getting away," she said. "You heard him. He's doing his job."

  "She didn't seem like a raider to me," Amara said softly.

  "You healer types are all the same," Isadora replied. "The whole vulnerable thing is an act. She's just trying to stay alive until she can escape."

  I frowned, my mind racing with ideas. We couldn't just let the ranger go, but we couldn't risk getting caught either.

  And then I had an idea.

  "Luca," I said, turning to the young man. "Can you shoot an arrow accurately enough to cut the rope?"

  Luca nodded, a fierce light in his eyes. It turned out that he wasn't just a good fighter, he was an incredible archer. That was how he had manage to stave the Shade off for so long when his village had been attacked. Sadly, even the best archers eventually run out of arrows.

  "No doubt," he said comfortably, pulling his bow out of his pack and starting to string it.

  "Good," I said. "Thalia, you and I will distract the ranger."

  Thalia nodded, her expression determined. "We'll get his attention," she said. "You be ready to shoot."

  "The king will get angry," Amara said.

  "Eh, fuck the king," Isadora replied with a sneer.

  It made Luca laugh, but he turned to look at me, as if asking for my permission.

  I shrugged. Despite my status as a lord, politics weren't really my area. Not yet at least. I made a gesture

  Luca took position behind a tree, and Thalia and I made our way towards the ranger as he returned to his horse, his business in the woods completed. As soon as he noticed us, he reined his horse in and kept a hand close to his sword.

  "What do you want?" he demanded, his eyes darting between us.

  "We just wanted to talk," Thalia said, her voice honeyed. "We have a proposition for you."

  The ranger looked skeptical, but he visibly relaxed. "Go on," he said.

  "We know you're just doing your job," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "But we need your help. We're on a mission to stop the Shades, and we could use someone like you on our side."

  The ranger sneered. "You think I'm going to betray my duty? The king must know of the incoming raid."

  "You don't have to betray your duty," Thalia said. "Just look the other way. Forget you saw us. Please?"

  He looked between the two of us. "You're not here on the king's official orders, I take it? I'm sure he will be plenty interested to learn Tristan Silverblade and a pack of strays were headed off gods-know-where," he said.

  "The king gave us leave to search for answers and a way to battle the Shades. We're leaving him out of the loop for his own safety," I said honestly.

  The ranger scoffed and started to say something else, but that's when Luca let the arrow fly. It soared through the air and sliced right through the rope binding the prisoner. The woman let out a gasp of relief as she tumbled to the ground.

  The ranger whirled around, his hand already reaching for his own weapon. But it was too late. Thalia and I closed ranks, our swords flashing in the morning light.