Page 21 of A Traitor Sister (Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom #2)

21

AZUR

H ow dare that foul council leader summon Lidiane? Why would he want to see her? One thing I know: he has no right to do that, but at least sending only one guard was imbecilic.

I pull the air from the guard’s lungs and throat, then the part of the air about to flow to his brain. As expected, he faints.

“Azur!” Lidiane sounds shocked, and I truly don’t understand why.

I drag the guard inside my room and close the door, then turn to her.

“You swore no oath to Renel, so there’s no need to attend his summons. Escape this castle and never return. Right now.”

Her stunning face has a mix of fear and worry. “It will be worse. Refusing an acting king’s summons is a crime.”

“So what? Do you think they need a reason to convict you? Aren’t you Marlak’s ally?” The thought still cools my skin and heats my head, but I suppose everything has a good side. “Hide like he hides. And I doubt Renel will hunt you.”

“It will be worse for you .”

For me. She’s worried about me, despite my outburst, despite my hate for her sordid ally . For the first time, I see a glimmer of something more in her brilliant eyes. One more reason she needs to escape while she can. “I’ll say you left and I don’t know where you are.”

“Not suspicious at all.”

Fury is a constant companion, stirring my mind, driving me mad. Why do I have to be bound like that? Why did I have to bring her with me? Little mistakes, big consequences. I consider begging her to leave, perhaps telling her everything, but I can’t risk any hesitation.

I keep my face hard and let all that repressed fury emerge to my eyes. “Either you go now or I’ll make you unconscious and lock you somewhere, but then, if they ask me your location, I’ll know the answer.” To my dismay, my voice comes out far less threatening than I intended. Her stare disconcerts me, just like everything about her.

She considers me for a moment, then says, “I’ll go, but I’ll take the human visitor with me.”

“Do it quickly.”

I want to touch her hand, her face, kiss her goodbye. I want so much. Too much. Everything out of reach. She stares at me, lips parted, and for a fraction of a second, I wonder if she’s thinking the same—a thought that needs to be buried.

“Go.” This time my voice is the cold steel I’ve become a master at wielding.

Perhaps one day, when I’m free, if I’m free, I’ll find her. This is not the time.

She leaves the room, and I sit on the bed, taking a big gulp of breath, then head to the council chamber.

I killed Zorwal. I know I did, and it was him. He’s the only fae who can tear memories and break bonds from people’s minds. Apparently, Marlak can access memories as well, but Renel says it’s different and doesn’t hurt.

Who’s in the council chamber? An impostor? A double?

Two guards stand at the entrance, but I pay them no mind and open the door. Zorwal sits in his high chair, as smug as always.

“Your Grace asked to see me?” My voice is casual, uninterested.

“Yes, yes.” Renel sounds calm as well. “I was explaining to His Grace that Tar wanted to fly over the Solemn River.”

Tar? Oh, the human girl. I smile. “A beautiful day for flying.”

Zorwal—or his impostor—stares at us in silence, as if waiting. He looks like Zorwal, but it could be an impressive glamour.

The silence and the waiting are unnerving me, so I say, “I suppose Your Grace wanted something from me.”

“In a moment.” Zorwal’s smirk is eerie. “Once everyone is here.”

Everyone. Hopefully Lidiane will never come close to this man, whoever he is.

Renel smiles at me, his tone jovial. “He’s interested in our trip to the festival.”

“Really?” I turn to Zorwal and grin. “Would Your Grace like to come next time?”

He descends from his chair with so much flair that convinces me he’s the real leader of the council—a chilling conclusion. With slow steps, he approaches me, sniffs, then glares at Renel.

“You need to teach your guardian to behave. Does he always ask more than he should?”

“Azur takes his duties seriously, Your Grace, and that often means asking questions so that he can better serve me.”

Zorwal snorts. “Teach him to respect authority, Renel, or else I’ll have to do that myself. He needs to know his place.”

I refrain from rolling my eyes. Fae like him have a sick pleasure in telling themselves they’re better than others. I’m so used to it that it doesn’t even make me angry anymore, it just strengthens my will. One day, they’ll all pay.

Renel lowers his head. “I appreciate your guidance.”

Can’t Zorwal see through Renel’s words? He’s not saying which guidance or even that he’ll do it. Unless this is an impostor too worried about faking being the council leader, but I doubt it.

At least Lidiane’s gone. Wait. If Zorwal summoned everyone, he would summon the human girl—and Lidiane might have gone to her room.

Cold dread settles in my stomach, a horrifying cold spreading to my heart.

Why didn’t I make her leave the moment I found out she was an intruder? Why, Azur? The stupidity of it stuns me.

Please be gone, Lidiane, please. Please, be far away, be happy.

My plea sounds hollow, while fear crushes me with the weight of a thousand castles.

When the door opens behind me, at first I don’t want to look; I want to hope that they didn’t find the girls, or tell myself that it’s just the human impostor. And yet I need to be sure.

I turn—and see the human girl, followed by Lidiane, who gives me an apologetic look. Cold shivers prickle my skin, poke my mind, and stab my heart. I would transcend her away, if it wasn’t for the dreadful bond to Renel enslaving me like heavy, unbreakable chains. I’ve never hated this bond so much.

But it’s all my fault. I’m the idiot who brought her into this mess, and now I need to get her out of it.

She’s wearing no glamour, which is smart. If this is Zorwal, and if it was him in the Inquisition House, we wouldn’t want him to recognize her magic.

“Oh, look at that.” Zorwal’s voice is both mocking and threatening. “The guardian’s in love.”

Love.

The word echoes in my head, dancing with all the fury that resides in it. Love.

It hadn’t crossed my mind. I can sense a bond with her, and yet it’s just a constant tug, a calling. What I have is a deep yearning, but I yearn for so much I cannot have that I’m used to burying it all.

I don’t dare utter anything to soften or challenge his words, considering I’m not supposed to speak when it’s not my turn . I don’t dare look at her anymore, and turn to Zorwal, my expression neutral.

Renel chuckles. “Azur? Lady friends always surround him. He’s quite a loving fae.”

He’s trying to help, but the effect is feeble. I bet he agrees with Zorwal’s opinion, therefore can’t even contradict him.

Is she horrified, disgusted? Or could her feelings be anywhere opposite from revulsion?

No point thinking about her reaction. I need to focus.

To my horror, Zorwal approaches her. It takes all my self-control to keep my feet in place and my magic reigned in.

I hate the way his calculating eyes focus on her, hate it that he’s anywhere near her.

“What’s your magic?” he asks.

“Air.” She displays no hesitation or fear. It must be her elemental magic, likely weak, or else I’d sense it.

He doesn’t move and asks, “What about glamours?”

I want to push him away from her, distract him, but can’t figure out a way to do it without putting her in danger.

“I’m trying to get better at them.” Her tone is light, with no hint of fear, even if I can sense her discomfort.

“But you can do them?” Zorwal insists.

“When I focus, yes, but they’re not perfect.”

Her magic is more than incredible, but I’m glad her opinion is different, allowing her to give him this vague answer.

He then points to Tar. “What about her? Can she do any magic?”

“She’s human,” Renel says.

“Some humans have magic.” Zorwal approaches Tar and places his hands around her head, as if trying to sense her magic.

He probably suspects she’s Tiurian. I bet Renel’s panicking, even if he doesn’t show any hint of fear.

Zorwal steps away and chuckles. “An ordinary human. Is she good in bed, at least?”

“I’m right here,” Tar says. This won’t end up well. “And yes, I’m an incredible fuck.”

The council leader eyes her up and down. “I doubt it, but you’re welcome to try to prove your point to me, and I’ll decide if you can stay in the castle.”

“I’ll—” She’s about to say something, but I block the air flowing around her vocal cords and silence her. While I sympathize with her backbone, talking back to Zorwal won’t help anyone.

“She’s my guest, and it’s my castle,” Renel says. “I can inform you of her prowess in bed myself.”

Zorwal stares at Renel and narrows his eyes. “So protective, and yet you’re not in love. What’s your interest in her?”

Renel shrugs. “She’s pretty.”

The council leader looks at her, his eyes full of glee, having found one of Renel’s weaknesses. What does he want, though? What more can he want, when he has so much power already?

He turns to Renel. “She’s human. While the Treaty prevents them from serving us, it doesn’t change her nature.”

I’m still keeping Tar silent, when Zorwal steps in front of Lidiane. “Now this one, here, there’s no treaty preventing anything.”

“There are laws,” Renel says. “Unless she commits a crime?—”

“We can find a crime.” Zorwal puts his hand over her head, to pull her thoughts, pull her memories, then break her mind.

A tremor shakes me—inside and outside. The castle’s moving again.

I shouldn’t have let this go so far. At least now her secrets are Renel’s secrets, so my servitude bond won’t get in my way.

This time, I hope I kill him right. I pull the air from Zorwal’s lungs and head at the same time as I send my sword flying to his neck.

Horror seizes me as I realize my air magic isn’t affecting him. Not only that, my body feels wrong. At least I see the sword beheading him, and yet there’s some kind of mysterious magic at work, weakening me. With the last of my remaining power, I make a transcending circle, from where I pull Renel, Tar, and Lidiane. It’s always harder without holding hands, and much harder when my magic’s drained.

Then, it’s as if my vision—and my senses—stop working. Still, I have to finish transcending or we’ll get lost or ripped apart.

Anywhere. And yet I’m so weak, and it’s not magic fatigue, but something far scarier. Even though I’m empty, I manage to pull from the last drip of power still coursing in my veins—and finish transcending.

My body hits the ground with a thud. Even through the haziness I’m feeling, I look around to see if Renel is safe, if Lidiane’s safe. The bonds tug at me. The human girl is also here, as I couldn’t leave her behind. We’re safe, far from that horrific magic. I don’t feel like myself, though. Something has gone horrifically wrong.

“Who silenced me?” Tar asks.

Lidiane frowns. “ That’s what you want to know?”

“Yes. I was going to tell him that I’d love to prove my point. I could get him alone and then kill him.”

Renel shakes his head. “That would be a futile and dangerous attempt. He’s too powerful.”

“Not anymore, I guess,” Tar says.

“I think he’s dead this time.” Renel’s voice is quiet, a hint of fear piercing through it.

I’m not sure I agree with him. “I… beheaded him, or at least it looked like it, but?—”

“I felt it,” Lidiane says. “Some strange magic, still active even after he was hit.”

I nod. “Exactly. He did something to me.”

Tar grimaces. “What do you mean, dead this time ? What kind of fae is he?”

It’s a valid—and important—question.

“Is he even fae?” I ask. “We don’t usually survive beheadings or having our skulls cracked.” I look at Renel, who’s been his protege for years. “Do you know?”

“He’s a healer—unusually talented. But still… Even the Witch King was killed when beheaded, so he has to be dead.” He sounds as if he’s trying to convince himself. Then he covers his face with his hands. “And the castle moved.”

I don’t share his worry about the castle’s trajectory, but I nod. “It did.”

“Where did it go?” Tar asks.

Renel’s visibly disturbed. “It should be south now, close to the Endless Mountains.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the one who controls the castle?”

“It’s far more complex than that, like I told you.”

I always want to laugh when Renel gives this pathetic explanation, but there isn’t anything funny about our situation.

Lidiane is the first to get up, then looks around. “Are we where I think we are?”

Tar gets up too. “While I can’t read your thoughts, the air here is obviously dry, and the vegetation rather… arid. The only place like that is…” She swallows. “The eastern part of the Shadow Lands—as far as I know. Perhaps you have this vegetation somewhere in the Crystal Court.”

Renel’s eyes dart around, then settle on me. “Is this where we are?” He knows well the answer as we came to the keep in this region just a few days ago, but I think he’s still holding on for some form of denial.

“Yes.” I exhale, but it’s defeat, not relief. “Shadow Lands. Be thankful I was able to finish transcending while affected by whatever magic Zorwal cast on me.”

Renel presses his lips together. “If he survived, we’ll have to return to the castle and face him. If he lets me return.”

He annoys me sometimes—all the time, in fact—but in times like this, the annoyance is unbearable. “ You are the freaking acting king, Renel. Expel him from the council or something.”

“Yes, I’ll kick out a fae who can survive a beheading. Can’t see where it will go wrong. And he knows… secrets about me.”

Zorwal is aware that Renel has no right to be king, and unlike me, he isn’t bound to keep it quiet. The grim truth is that what Renel fears the most is losing his power.

I shrug. “Now you know some of his secrets, too. Maybe it will all balance out in the end.”

Maybe Zorwal will kick Renel out or even kill him. That would be quite sad, as I’d also die.

Renel points at Lidiane. “He wouldn’t have found anything in her mind. You didn’t have to?—”

“She was with me,” I say. “When we went to the Jewel City. I had no choice.” Not to mention that Zorwal could have hurt her, but I doubt Renel cares about that.

He runs his hands over his face, then asks, “Why?”

“She’s good with glamours, and her magic came in handy.”

“Everything, Azur,” Renel’s voice cracks with dread, fear, anger; I’m not even sure. “You almost made me lose everything. Let’s hope Zorwal is indeed dead.”

“Yes, let’s hope.” I’m out of words, out of excuses or explanations.

“Anyway,” Tar says. “Shouldn’t we leave this place as soon as possible?”

“Indeed we do.” I look at the dry soil under me, unsure how to even explain how deep in trouble we are, feeling the walls of my throat closing in.

When I meet Lidiane’s eyes, I find worry there. She knows.

“Why are you two sitting and talking?” Tar asks. “Isn’t this the land of monsters?”

Lidiane turns to her, her voice mild. “It’s fine, actually. It shouldn’t be too bad during the day.”

Tar rolls her eyes. “Are we going to have a picnic or something? I mean, picnic without food or drinks. Perhaps we’ll go sightseeing.”

“Azur needs to catch a breath,” Renel says, then turns to me. “How are you feeling?”

I cross my arms. “Awful, but thanks for asking.”

Renel chuckles. “Take your time. There are still many hours before nightfall.”

“Indeed,” I say between gritted teeth.

Part of me is gone, as if having another piece of me ripped away, and yet to admit that… I’m perhaps hoping it isn’t true.

Lidiane says in a quiet voice, “We should get moving. We might reach the Charmed River before sunset.”

“ Might reach the river means we might not,” Renel replies. “Then we’ll be trapped here, where foul creatures will attack us. It’s wiser to let Azur rest until he feels better and can transcend us away.” He turns his focus on me. “Do you agree?”

I don’t, and yet for some reason I lack the guts to explain why, as if voicing it would materialize my shame. I’m not sure who I am anymore.

Lidiane looks at me as if wondering if she can reveal what she knows. I give her a subtle nod, dreading the words about to come from her lips.

“His magic’s gone,” she says, her tone grave.

“That much is obvious.” Renel chuckles, then turns to me. “You can rest. Sit, relax. Still a long time until the sun?—”

“Gone, Renel,” I finally confess. “There’s nothing. No trace of it, as if I was a weakling.” His face shifts, visibly hurt, and I realize what I said. “Not weakling, but like… a human, not myself. No magic left. Imagine you lose an arm. There’s no waiting for it to become less tired, waiting for it to heal. It’s gone.”

I hate everything about this, hate everything.

Renel stares at me with wide eyes. “But it will come back, right?”

“I don’t know.” I make an effort not to yell, even if I want to scream until my voice is gone like my magic. “Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. I can’t even sense the air around me, as if it didn’t exist. It’s like losing a sense all of a sudden. Perhaps my magic will return before nightfall. What if it doesn’t?”

“It’s fine,” Lidiane says. “We can walk.”

“Can we?” Renel asks. “Are we close enough?”

Lidiane closes her eyes, thinking. Her expression is glum when she opens them. “Actually, I can hear the sea. In the north. It’s about an hour walking or so. We’re far from the Charmed River.”

“Can we go to the sea?” Tar suggests. “Escape from there?”

Her idea means that she doesn’t know about Lidiane’s issue with the Sea Court.

“There will be no boat,” Lidiane says. “Even if we were to improvise a raft, if there was enough wood for it, we’d be lost in the sea.”

“All right,” Tar says. “So let me know if I’m understanding this correctly. We’re in the Shadow Lands, too far from the Charmed River to reach it before sunset. We can’t escape by sea either. It means we’ll be in this dreadful land when night falls and monsters roam, right?”

“It seems you’re correct,” Renel says, then asks me, “Any suggestion?”

Right. I’m the one supposed to save Renel, bound by magic to prioritize his safety above all else—and yet, this time, I failed.

“Can you recite any prayers?” I don’t have any better idea.

TARLIA

A stra would pray if she were here. She’d trust the Almighty Mother with all her heart.

Unfortunately—or fortunately—I’m not her. Instead of praying, I need to come up with a rational solution. As if reason could get us out of the Shadow Lands. Still, I have to try.

“We need to plan,” I say. “We’ll think together, use our minds, and find a solution.” My words sound ridiculous, even though they sounded inspiring in my head.

Renel is still sitting on the ground. “Our minds are all we have, right? Let’s use them.” He glares at Azur. “Better late than never.”

Azur puffs. “I did the best I could with the orders I was given. And why was Zorwal even interested in our journey to the festival?”

Renel strokes his chin. “He must have noticed that something was wrong, or maybe even suspected that you were in the Jewel City. He can do that sometimes, skirt around an issue and pretend he doesn’t know it.”

“Why would he suspect me?” Azur asks. “He doesn’t even know—didn’t even know—I can transcend.”

“Now he does.” Renel’s face is somber.

“Right,” I say. “If we try to find the reason we’re here, we’ll go back to a fated moment when our father and mother did the deed, and it won’t bring us any closer to a solution.”

“We need to know what Zorwal wants,” Azur says.

“The decapitated guy?” I can’t believe he’s worried about that. “I think surviving is a tad bit more important. We need three things: water, shelter, and food. There’s little of those around us. I still think going to the shore might be a good idea. There will be fish. If we make a raft, we can paddle along the shore.”

“The currents are too strong,” Lidiane says. “We wouldn’t be able to paddle against them.”

“We can let the currents take us wherever they want. Even if it’s the Nowhere Lands, it’s better than here.”

Renel clicks his tongue. “I need to get back to the castle. If I disappear like that, the court could plunge into an internal war.”

“Right, but you need to survive first.” Why can’t they focus on the basics?

“A raft wouldn’t work,” Azur says. “There’s no wood around here, just thin branches, and we have no tools. Can you make a raft with these bushes?” He gestures around us.

“And I can’t go to the shore,” Lidiane says, then shows her webbed hands. “My father was from the Sea Court, and I have no idea what he did, but they want me dead there. Sorry.”

There goes the easiest idea, even if it’s true that we wouldn’t find any material to build a raft. “Fair, so we stay inland. I have some daggers. Does anyone have any weapons?”

Renel points to his hip. “A sword.”

Azur shrugs. “Nothing.”

“Me neither,” Lidiane says.

I pass a dagger to Lidiane and another to Azur, leaving only one for me. Great. I’m arming my enemies now.

“What about magic?” I ask.

“Still gone.” Azur looks down as he pockets the dagger.

“My magic is fine,” Lidiane says, “But all I can do are glamours.”

Azur looks at her. “You said you had air, back in the council room.”

“It’s very weak. I can’t use it to fight, for example, or even to float.”

“Few fae do,” Azur says. “Air is a flimsy, tricky type of magic.”

The way he looks at Lidiane makes me want to agree with Zorwal’s assessment. He’s in love . But I’m not sure about her. What kind of person falls in love in one day? Then, they’re fae. Maybe it’s different. I can’t imagine what her brother would say if he saw Renel’s guardian giving her these longing looks.

To be fair, I wish someone would look at me like that. Anyway, first I have to survive.

“So,” I say, trying to get their attention. “There must be some kind of plant here with water. We need to find it, or we’ll get dehydrated soon. For shelter, if we can’t find anything, we could dig a hole in the ground. It will keep animals out. Food… We can try to find an edible plant.”

“A hole in the ground won’t work,” Lidiane says. “The worst type of monsters are soulsuckers. They feed from fear, and physical barriers won’t contain them.”

I don’t know what to do anymore, so I laugh. “Well, isn’t that great?”

“We could try to find the giants,” Renel suggests.

Azur’s eyes are lost in the distance. “Yes, except that we don’t know if they’ll help us or eat us .”

“They didn’t eat the guards,” Renel says.

Azur glares at him. “Maybe they weren’t hungry.”

Lidiane shakes her head. “The giants will find us if they want, or hide and never let us get anywhere near them. But they don’t eat people.”

“I could shout.” Renel waves both arms, as if trying to draw attention. “Giants! Awesome deal for you! You can’t miss this offer!”

Azur chuckles. “Giants don’t do deals. And they can lie.”

“But we can’t,” Renel says. “There must be something they want. I’m sure they didn’t free Marlak out of the goodness of their hearts.”

Azur points at him. “Great reminder. They freed Marlak, your enemy. If anything, they might want to help him. What better way to do that than killing you?”

Renel waves a hand. “Smart politicians always play both sides.”

Azur rolls his eyes. “You think there’s a chance giants are scheming and shrewd?”

This conversation isn’t going anywhere. I recall what Renel told me this morning. “Marlak was brought to a prison here, you said. Is it far?”

“Way south,” Renel says. “Close to the Charmed River. If we could make it there, we could cross the river.”

“Are there any other prisons or buildings further north?”

“That’s the only one I know.”

“How far?” I insist. “In hours walking?”

“Nobody measured that,” Renel says.

Azur narrows his eyes, thinking. “The keep is some two, three hours by foot to the river. The distance between the keep and the north shore would be about four, five times that distance. We’re somewhere between six and twelve hours from there.”

I try to think. “Will that place have water? Will it protect us against the creatures outside?”

“The walls had a magical barrier,” Renel says. “But I’m not sure how much damage the giants made.”

Azur is thoughtful. “They wouldn’t have broken every single wall. At least one room might still be standing. If we run, maybe…”

“I can’t run for six hours straight,” I say. “I’ll run a little, then walk a little.”

Lidiane takes a deep breath. “We can’t run that much either, but it might be the only solution.”

Renel grimaces. “That’s what the sum of our minds can come up with? Run and hope for the best? That’s a wild creature’s solution.”

Azur raises a finger. “Nature is wise, after all.”

I’m still considering our chances. “It will be tough to run without water.”

“We’ll have no time to look for it,” Lidiane says.

Renel strokes his chin, looking thoughtful. “I could still try to yell; giants, awesome deal!”

“What are you even going to offer them?” Azur asks.

“Whatever they want. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Azur sighs. “Right. Let’s hope they’re in a good mood and ask for something you can give them. If we even meet them.” He gets up. “I think running it is.”

The desert ahead of me looks infinite, with a far-away horizon and nothing beyond it, not even mountains. And then, perhaps I should be glad that we’re in the desert, and not in the jungle part of the Shadow Lands. We could have been devoured by now.

Renel gets up as well. “What if we don’t reach the keep by sunset?”

Azur snorts. “We’ll be tired, thirsty, and have to fight whatever attacks us.”

“My illusions could help,” Lidiane says.

Illusions. While I found them impressive when she got us into the castle, I don’t think they’ll really help us now, but I’m glad she’s optimistic. I’m not looking forward to running, but here we go. Again, I’ll have to be thankful to Otavio for all the rigorous, pointless training he made us go through. It might help me reach the keep—and survive.

And then it hits me. With Azur’s magic disabled, Renel’s defenseless. I can kill him tonight, escape in the morning, find the Owl Inn, and claim the prize.

Hope lies ahead of me—and gives me courage and resilience. My legs move with newfound determination.

Freedom, here I come.

RENEL

T he earth passes beneath me in a blur as I dash forward. And forward. Only horizon ahead of me, as I run among low bushes in this arid vegetation.

To my right, the sun makes its way to kiss the horizon, seeming to move faster than we do.

A few times, we slowed our pace to a walk and even took two small breaks to get rid of the wine we drank earlier.

I wish I had drank more water, juice, anything. My mouth and throat are so dry that they hurt. While I tried to call the giants and offer my incredible deal, none of them has shown up so far, and I decided it was better to save my voice—and my dignity.

Tar runs well, despite being human, and has kept up with our pace. Perhaps everything I heard about humans being weaker isn’t true after all, or else she’s stronger.

Running south is no guarantee we’ll find the keep, but Lidiane claims that if the prison has magic wards, she’ll be able to sense them. At least one person in our group has magic—not that I have any right to complain.

There were moments when I considered stopping and resting by some bushes, unable to do this anymore. I would sit down and wait gracefully for death—but then my brother wins, my late stepfather wins. They’ll get rid of me like they always wanted, and I can’t let them do that. It’s the pettiness in me that gives me strength when my legs are about to give up. I don’t know how the others can keep running and haven’t collapsed yet.

Then again, if Azur is in love, that will give him more than enough resistance to run all the way to the Icy Lands and back. Lidiane, I don’t know what pushes her, or if she feels the same. Tar is pretty focused.

It’s odd to think that even for mere survival, we need a destination, a focus, a reason to keep going.

For me, it’s staying alive and spiting them all. Take that, Mirella, I’m still here. Odd. The memory of my stepsister brings me more sadness than anger. Tainted memories that I push away, that I’d rather not face. I did what I could with the charge I was given. Never enough, no. Of course it wasn’t enough.

For now, I run, even if the distance feels interminable and my legs want to falter, even if the sun gets closer and closer to the horizon. Each minute that passes eats more of my hope that we’ll find shelter before nightfall.

We’ll be in the middle of the desert, exhausted and thirsty, surrounded by monsters. And yet I don’t dare suggest this possibility or try to see if anyone has a better idea. At this point, perhaps the only thing that will save us is speed—unless the giants decide to show up.

“Giants!” My voice is feeble. “I have an amazing offer!”

I was thinking that it doesn’t hurt to try, but the truth is that my throat is so dry that talking hurts.

Beside me, Azur sniggers. Right. I guess trying to prevent our impending death is ridiculous now. I glare at him.

“We’ll get there,” he says between sharp breaths.

“Still a little far,” Lidiane says. “Let’s keep going.”

Far. The question in my mind chills my bones. I can’t be the only one with that question, and I hope someone else will ask it. After a while, I decide I’ll have to be the one.

“Do you think we can make it? Before nightfall?”

Lidiane runs in silence for some seconds, then says, “Maybe.”

Her breathless and gloomy voice sounds like most definitely not, but I don’t know what else to do .

“Worst case, we fight through the last stretch,” Azur says.

I’m not sure how he intends to fight creatures that can invade our minds, but there’s no point in doubting his resolve. I mean, pointing out the impracticality and hopelessness of our very tiring plan could be worth it—if we had an alternative. As it is, all we can do is run forward.

The shadows of the bushes are getting long, illuminated by tilted rays from a descending sun, as the clouds take an orange hue. I’ve never wondered whether night creatures come out only when it’s completely dark, or if dusk is enough.

Despite the shadows, I see a form moving towards us.

“Watch out!” I yell and pull my sword, then cut through a wild rat coming in Tar’s direction. It’s a big one, almost as big as a wild pig, an odd type of rat that only exists in the Shadow Lands.

She pulls a dagger too, and so does Azur.

Two more of those critters advance towards us, and I manage to kill them both. Three more, and I need some swift sword moves.

When I look around, I realize we’re surrounded. Dozens and dozens of those gigantic Shadow Land rats. While they are small compared to us, in a group like that, they can overwhelm us quickly.

A roaring sound shakes the ground, and I stop breathing for a second. The creatures run away, and yet I’m terrified of whatever else is coming.

“It was me.” Lidiane raises a hand. “Sound glamour. Let’s go.”

Tar runs beside me and looks at the creatures disappearing in the distance. “I thought it was safe during the day.”

“Wild rats are just critters,” Azur says. “Wait until you see the monsters.”

“She won’t see any,” Lidiane says, then adds, “If we hurry.”

“You mean if we fly?” Tar asks. “Run at an impossible speed?”

I’m pretty sure I’m already running at an impossible speed, but I decide to keep quiet.

“Because if we’re going to die,” Tar continues. “I could at least rest.”

“We’re not too far.” Lidiane’s voice comes from behind me. “We’ll get there right after nightfall.”

After nightfall.

Am I the only one who sees the problem here?

I think I am the only one, or maybe nobody wants to state the obvious: only sheer luck will keep us alive.