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No.I let out a frustrated sigh.Kaiya was right. We would need to come back.

Throat tight, I bent to kiss Gram's forehead, ignoring the pain as my lips met her crepey skin. "I'll find Mirrim," I whispered. "Then I'll find a way to save you all. I promise."

My knees shook, though, as I forced myself to walk away.

"I don't see her!" Kaiya whisper-yelled as we checked the last few beds a second time.

"I know, I know," I whispered back. "Do your bond mage thing again."

"I told you I tried, but the Korra Realm is too congested with these strange bonds. I can't tell what's what."

I gritted my teeth and looked around the room again.

Where in the seven hells was Mirrim?

The flickering wall lamp wasn't nearly powerful enough to light the entire way, so with every step, it became harder and harder to make out the forms atop the cots.

Where we were now, it was all but impossible to see anything but vague shapes.

Some were very obviously too tall, too short, or entirely the wrong shape. But some had made my heart pound with hope until I'd felt their faces — hands shaking, needle-sharp pain sucking at me — and realized they weren't her.

"I'm sorry, Liam," Kaiya whispered as I checked a small form atop a bed in the back of the room once more.

My stomach was a mess of knots as I dropped my hand to my side. "It just doesn't make sense. They wouldn't just take her … would they?"

I turned to examine the rows once more, hoping I'd missed something.

But I'd already been over every single one. In fact,Kaiya and I had been through the entire room twice, and neither of us had found any sign of her.

We had to have missed something! I wouldn't accept anything else. I just … couldn't.

I squinted into the darkness at the end of the room. Something about that area kept drawing my attention, but what?

My gut said there was something there I should pay attention to, so I moved closer, trying to study it from a different angle.

Excitement bit at my chest.

It almost looked like that row was a bit shorter than the other one …

Could a bed be hiding back there? The rows had ended, so I hadn't even checked …

I moved deeper into the darkness, hands outstretched, expecting to hit a wall.

My foot caught on something with a loud CLANG, and I lurched forward, barely catching myself on something soft.The missing bed?

I fumbled in the darkness, feeling out the shape — a single bed — turned at a strange angle, and far from the nearest row.

"Mirrim!" I whispered as I moved along, feeling for my sister's hand, then her face.

Gods — let it be her! Please —

Hands gripped my arms, yanking me back and away before I could be sure.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I snapped, struggling against the firm grip.

"LOOK!" Kaiya hissed in my ear. "There's something back here!"

Everything inside me went still as her words registered, and a sudden clanking of massive chains made the hairs on my body stand up. Two enormous, dimly glowing red eyes blinked open right behind the bed — familiar attention resting on me.