By the time they were back to the cabin, the miners had already returned to the village. Only Myril remained, waiting anxiously, his eyes straying to the door, ready to bolt at first sign of danger.

  Daliya had frowned at him, curious, then she remembered Haitham’s words.

  An Earth Shaker.

  She didn’t think she would get to meet another Elementalist, and so soon.

  “Didn’t think I’d find you here,” Haitham said.

  The words startled Myril. He shifted on his feet, hesitating, before answering, “This is my home. I have nowhere else to go.”

  “I see.” Haitham nodded. “Comandable, though foolish.”

  “I never hurt anyone. I never even used them outside the mines. Please, all I ask of you is to turn a blind eye and let me remain here.”

  Haitham leaned on the wall, arms crossed. “It’s not me you should be asking,” he said, motioning to the open door.

  Myril glanced at Daliya, his face shattering at her sight. She smiled to ease his unease, but it only seemed to stress him further.

  She passed the door’s threshold, shooting a glare at Haitham’s amused expression.

  He was enjoying himself. A bit too much.

  Myril fell to his knees, head angled down, his shoulders sagging like they carried the whole universe's weight.

  “Your Highness,” he said, voice meek.

  “Raise your head, Myril.”

  He startled at the sound of his name. He glanced at her before snapping his head down.

  “Your friends had spoken of your attempt to protect them back at the mountains. They had said you had diverted the monsters’ attention so they could escape. Was this true?”

  “Ah, only inside the mines, was it?”

  Daliya glared at Haitham, silencing his mocking words.

  Myril nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”

  “I see.”

  His head snapped up. “But I’ve never used them to hurt anyone!” Daliya could see he was fighting the urge to look back down. “Please. Believe me. Sometimes, the mines’ supporting structure would falter. I used them to stabilize the earth to ensure everyone’s safety. That’s all I’ve ever used them for.” He seemed desperate for her to believe him. “This village is the only place I’ve known my whole life. It’s my home. Please, I beg of you!”

  “Does anyone else know of your… predicament? Your friends? Your family?”

  His face paled at her question. He fell to the ground, his head smacking the ground hard. But the pain went unacknowledged as he pleaded with her to spare their lives.

  Her concerned question seemed to shatter whatever hope he had for his life.

  Daliya sighed. Why couldn’t he understand? She wasn’t asking to punish whoever sheltered a Wielder without the knowledge of the empire—a serious crime she had heard—she merely wondered if he was in danger of being exposed. Even if she allowed him to remain here, someone might run his mouth off and expose him. She doubted she would be able to help him then.

  “Stand up, Myril.”

  He reluctantly got to his feet, eyes avoiding her gaze.

  “Do you trust whoever knows your secret?”

  “With my life.”

  Quite romantic. But if he insisted on staying here, then there was nothing she could do.

  “Alright.” She sighed. “You may remain here. But take heed that if you get found out, it would be the emperor you will have to deal with.”

  His momentary, reluctant happiness dissipated as soon as it appeared. He gulped, hesitating for a while before nodding. Then he kneeled, putting his hand over his heart.

  “I’m eternally indebted to you, your highness. I’ll never forget your kindness.”

  They kept two soul stones—the bait and the giant monster’s—and destroyed the others. Keeping them all gathered together would only attract more lost souls.

  After the soul stones were destroyed, the fog started clearing around the mountains, leaving only a faint mist at the top.

  The villagers were overjoyed. They offered to prepare a feast in the princess’ honor. She would have accepted their hospitality if not for Mazin’s reminder that the festivities’ preparations awaited her attention–something she wasn’t even aware of.

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  They decided to stay for a day and then return to the castle. She would have left instantly–still a bit restless after their encounter– if not for Haitham’s insistence on showing her some nature wonder, something that would ease the weariness from her freezing soul.

  She had shot him an unimpressed look.

  It was a long trek up the mountain. The air was freezing, but Daliya could barely feel the sting of ice against her skin. An after-effect of her powers, Haitham had said. She was glad for it, much so when she saw Haitham’s shaking form as he walked next to her. His arms were wrapped around himself, his hands running up and down his forearms.

  “Cold?” Daliya smirked. It wasn’t every day she saw the always-composed assassin fumble for a bit of warmth.

  He rolled his eyes. “Not all of us were made of ice. And cold is the natural enemy of fire. So…” He shrugged.

  “Why don’t you use your fire to warm yourself up?”

  He shot her an amused look. “What do you think I am? A human torch?” He closed his eyes as another shiver went up his body. “Nothing beats the warmth of a hot sunny day in the black mountains.” He said, a hint of longing in his voice. He glanced at Daliya. “I’ll take you there someday. You’ll love it there.” Then, he paused, his brows furrowing. “Or maybe not so much.”

  The pool of water was at the top of the mountain. She sat at the edge of the rocks surrounding the small spring, her dress lifted to her knees, her legs submerged in the cold water.

  She let out a deep breath of relief. Haitham was right. The cool water felt like heaven against her skin. Because of her ice essence, he had called it.

  She glanced at Haitham, who was huddled around himself. He seemed seconds away from turning into an ice statue.

  She got up, sparing a fleeting mournful thought at leaving the comfort of the water, and sat beside him, her hand already rummaging through her bag. He sent her a curious look, his eyes widening with delight as she handed him a chocolate cake.

  Unable to sleep, she had asked the governor’s wife to give her access to her kitchen. The poor woman looked at her with wide eyes, her expression like she was going into a seizure. Daliya had even offered to pay for the ingredients she would use, but the woman insisted that the mere presence of the princess inside her home—and in her kitchen—was enough payment.

  No matter her time in this strange world, she could never get used to how they treated her like she was high above them all. But who was Daliya to complain? She had finally found something as precious as chocolate. She wouldn’t let any weird behavior stop her from the small comforts this world finally deigned to offer her.

  She glanced at Haitham. He was devouring his share like a man stranded in the desert without food or drink for a whole week.

  “I had prepared lava cakes yesterday, but sadly, they had disappeared as soon as I went to check on these little ones.” She took a bite of her cake, shaking her head in dismay at the thought of the lava delicacies she had spent hours preparing, only for them to vanish into thin air. Who could have stolen them? She didn’t want to make a big deal out of the offense for worry that Mazin would unsheath his sword and declare capital punishment for the perpetrators. Though she had her own suspicions about who would dare steal from a princess.

  “Quite unfortunate,” Haitham said mid-chewing, shaking his head.

  “Indeed. I had wanted to know how they tasted to see if I was successful in recreating the recipe.” She took another bite. “But I guess now I’ll just have to give up on ever making them again. I don’t know if their taste was right.”

  “Oh, they were delicious. The chocolate melted as soon as I took a bite. I would totally recommend you make them aga—” He stopped and glanced at her.

  There was a moment of silence. They both stared at each other. Then he smiled sheepishly at her.

  “I knew it was you,” she accused, shoving him lightly in the shoulder.

  A chortle burst through his lips– that he quickly smothered at the pointed look she sent him. “I saved them! They were melting! They practically begged me to save them from their miserable fate!”

  She huffed. “They were supposed to be melting.”

  He paused. “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

  “You would have had you asked the one who made them. I didn’t even get a single bite of that chocolaty heaven.” She sighed mournfully.

  “Weren’t you the one who baked them? You can just make them again. I’ll help this time.” He hurriedly added at her glare.

  He eyed the last cake in the bag. “They’re really good.” He gave her an impressed nod.

  She swatted his reaching hand away. “I know.”

  “How is it like?” He asked after a while.

  “Hmm?” She raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

  “Your world,” he elaborated.

  Daliya paused momentarily, thinking about the best way to describe how different their worlds were, how people went about their days without sparing a single thought about an existence outside their own, how fundamentally dissimilar yet alike they were.

  She settled on finally saying, “We reached the moon.”

  His brows furrowed in confusion. “You build a tower to it?”

  She laughed. “No. We walked on it.”

  He blinked, disbelief and wonder playing like a painting. “You did?”

  “Well…not me personally. An astronaut,” she said. “A person whose job is to explore space and look for life outside earth.”

  “Without magic?”

  “With technology.” She shrugged. “Well, I guess it would look like magic to anyone unfamiliar with it.”

  “Fascinating,” he said. “So this is where she went? Hopefully, she hadn’t started a reign of chaos over there.”

  The only thing she could have screwed up even more would be Daliya’s university life. She could afford to lose her part-time job, but what about her degree?

  Daliya groaned. “Oh my God. I bet she never attended a single class! No, even if she did, how would she be able to keep up with them?” She cursed her twisted luck. She had worked so hard and spent countless sleepless nights to attend that University. Now, all her hard work evaporated into thin air.

  She heard Haitham snicker. She shot him a betrayed look. How could he find her misfortune amusing?

  “At least she doesn’t have her powers. Else, the chaos would have reached apocalyptic proportions.”

  She leaned back on the tree, sighing. “True.”

  Thank God for small mercies. Otherwise, getting expelled would be the least of her worries.

  “So, do you plan on returning to your world?” A wan smile replaced the prior mirth. His hands were busy picking the frozen flora at his feet and melting the ice off their petals. The flowers bloomed briefly before they seemed to remember it wasn’t their time yet. Then, they drooped, their wilted petals resting on Haitham’s fingers.

  “Ideally.” She shrugged.

  He nodded.

  They stayed silent until the sky turned the color of a simmering fire, then made their way down the mountain.