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“You’re kind of a psychopath, you know that right?

Like, I know that half the Fae in The Waning Lands claim to be a psychopath but they aren’t really, they’re just hardened by war.

You, however, are like a walking tick box for all the symptoms. You’re reckless, impulsive, manipulative, utterly lacking in remorse for all of the murdering you do as a hobby, just casually mentioning how easy it would be to torture me despite us sitting here having a perfectly civilised conversation.

And don’t even get me started on the size of your ego-”

“ My ego? You’re the one claiming to be a legend in the making,” I pointed out.

“Well yes, but that’s true so it’s not the same.”

“Is there a truth you do wish to share then?” I asked, deciding to leave that declaration where it was.

Everest hesitated then nodded. “I kept going with our investigations at the Keep after you died.”

“Not dead.”

“I grieved. You died. Now you’re just un-dead again.”

“You grieved?”

“No.”

I smirked at her and she huffed.

“Like the tiniest bit and only because I wanted to kill you myself on the battlefield one day,” she said.

“Ah, that makes much more sense.”

“I know it does.”

“So, the Reapers?” I reminded her and she nodded, pushing her wild curls away from her face distractedly.

“The Cardinal Reaper showed up at the Keep after the Vampire attack. He claimed to be trying to help figure out what was going on and my friend Harlon-”

“The one you were all moon-eyed over?” I asked and she scowled.

“Not moon-eyed. But yes, the one I was looking for that day and who you shoved me through the archway to find.”

“Yes, I remember the way I saved your life. It left quite the impression upon me. You can thank me for that whenever you’re ready by the way,” I offered and she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, thanks, whatever. Point is, when I found him, that thing was there. It was ‘testing’ the acolytes to see if they were worthy of being elevated into the position of a fully-fledged Reaper.”

“And did this test involve that heinous shadow thing eating some of them alive by any chance?” I asked, reading the truth of it from her expression.

“Are you going to let me tell you all of it or will you be constantly interrupting with random guesses?” she demanded irritably.

“I was right though, wasn’t I?” I pushed.

“Fine. Yes. But no more interrupting if you want to hear the rest.”

I mimed zipping my lips and forced myself to remain quiet while she recounted the rest of what had happened at Never Keep after I’d left it.

She told me about the Reapers and the thing beneath the Keep which had spoken to her of chaos and the unravelling of all, promising to make its way to our lands and claim dominion over everyone and everything.

Everest eyed me warily like she expected me to protest the truth of her words but they made all too much sense to me.

“Where I come from there are Sages – practitioners of blood magic who have given their life to the pursuit of ether,” I told her.

“I thought that was what you do?” Everest asked and I shook my head.

“I’m a novice at best. I learned all I know from my Sage, Moya, but without offering myself up in full devotion to the arts she practices I could never hope to hold more than a drop of her ability.”

“Well, that’s utterly horrifying,” Everest deadpanned. “Because the things you do with blood magic are all kinds of fucked-up. I don’t want to know what she gets up to in the dark if you’re nothing more than a novice.” She shuddered and I laughed.

“True. But ether isn’t bad or good. It’s simply power of a different kind, one not governed by the stars but made up of all the energy of the world itself.

It’s the lifeforce which sustains us, it’s ancient and endless, not interested in the fates of simple creatures like us.

The stars interfere with our destinies because they can only touch the world through us but ether is the world itself .

We are no more important to it than a flea or the droppings of a dormouse. ”

“Lovely. So what about this connects to that thing beneath the Keep?”

“There is a hole in Moya’s chambers with an endless drop beneath it. Something lingers down there too.”

“You think it’s the same thing?” she asked.

“I don’t know. But the ether has been whispering my name in the dark. It called me to a place below the ground where the ley lines run like rivers of pure energy through the heart of the stone itself. I found something there which shouldn’t have been.”

I explained everything to her about the keystone and the iron spike which had been diverting the natural course of the world’s magic. I told her how I’d ripped the spike free and returned the energy to its natural rhythm too.

“But if it really is too much power for anybody to harness then why would they do such a thing?” Everest asked.

“It’s too much for a Fae to harness,” I agreed. “But what of that thing beneath the Keep? What if the Reapers who worship it have been corrupting the ether for its design? Could that be what’s making it more powerful? Could that be how it plans to cross over to our world?”

Silence fell between us as we considered that, everything hinging on the answer to the questions we’d raised.

“But you fixed the keystone, right?” Everest asked. “You returned the ether to its natural state. So even if the monster at the Keep had been responsible for stealing it, you’ve already fixed it. We can just forget all about it and get back to the war instead of worrying about-”

“I’ve been hearing the ether calling to me again,” I said, shaking my head. “The voice is distant but urgent. I think there’s more to this than just one corrupted ley line.”

“Of course there is,” Everest groaned. “And here we are, the only two Fae to have even the faintest idea about it and we’re trapped in fucking Pyros like a pair of caged animals, unable to do a damn thing about it.”

“It’s rather inconvenient, isn’t it?” I agreed, dropping back to lay on the cot and Everest flopped down beside me.

It wasn’t really big enough for two so our sides pressed together but I didn’t protest. There was only one cot and though I could have insisted she take up residence on the floor, I didn’t find I wanted to.

“I need to get home,” she said wistfully.

“Okay then. So our problems start with getting out of this fucking cage,” I said. “Then you have that little Fearsire issue to deal with. From what I read, the only way to sever that bond is death.”

“I can’t kill him,” she said angrily. “Believe me, I’ve tried. I’m stopped by his – by the-”

She struggled to finish that sentence, clearly under the Fury’s spell and unable to tell me the whole truth.

“Alright. So I’ll be the one to kill the Fury,” I offered. “You can take the mutt if you want? He’s easy prey and he has a big mouth on him which could do with silencing.”

“Agreed. North can die too. We should probably take out The Matriarch while we’re at it,” Everest joked but I didn’t laugh.

“We should,” I said decisively. “Assuming we can get to her, we should take her head with us when we leave. Pyros will be thrown into disarray by her death and we will only have a better chance of escape in the chaos.”

“You’re serious?” Everest asked.

“I’m not much of a one for jokes,” I replied.

“Alright then. Fuck it, I’m in. We kill The Matriarch too – I’m going to claim the credit for that kill when I get home though, just so we’re clear.”

“Same.”

“Fine.”

“Then…” I turned my head to look at Everest and she turned to look at me too, just a pair of mortal enemies sharing a bed small enough for two lovers to embrace upon and little more.

“That monster needs dealing with,” she said hesitantly. “There won’t be a Waning Lands to war over if it makes it here.”

“We could follow the voices in my head?” I suggested, knowing it sounded as insane as it was.

“Or go hunting Reapers to put an end to whatever they’re concocting,” Everest countered but I shook my head.

“There are too many of them and they’re too powerful. Besides, from what your friend Harlon said, they aren’t all in on it so we wouldn’t even know who to hunt.”

Everest sighed and we fell silent for a long while.

“I have to get back to Cascada,” she said finally. “There’s something important I need to do there.”

“And I have a murderer to hunt down and butcher,” I replied, my hatred of Cayde far outweighing anything else.

Everest pursed her lips. “Maybe the monster can wait a while?”

“Maybe,” I agreed though it was clear we both knew that an entity set on devouring our entire world was a pretty pressing issue.

“I suppose none of that matters anyway. Not until we can find our way out of this cage.”

“How about another truce then between you and me?” I suggested. “Allied again. At least for now.”

“At least for now,” she agreed. “Are you going to make me swear it with blood magic this time?”

I considered that, my mind straying to the ether, reaching out for it, asking it to heed my call.

But in this cage I had nothing of value to offer for its assistance.

I had no herbs nor blood to sacrifice and though I still had the vial of Moraine and Dalia’s blood tied tightly around my neck, I refused to waste their sacrifice on something as insubstantial as freeing myself from a cage, or even saving myself from the hangman.

I could probably cut my skin open with my teeth and offer it just enough to bind Everest into this bargain with me, but I didn’t feel the need to.

“No blood magic this time,” I decided. “I guess we’re just going to have to trust each other.”

Everest nodded, seeming pleased by that choice.

“So it all comes back to us escaping. Any ideas from the big, bad Sky Witch?” she asked.

I eyed the little window in the top corner of the room. “Someone might be coming for me,” I admitted. “Though I’m beginning to lose hope in that. If he doesn’t arrive soon then we’ll have to find another way.”

“We will,” Everest said, sounding far more certain of that than I was and I smiled as I relaxed back into the cot. Everything might still have been going to shit but at least I wasn’t locked in the monotony of my own boredom anymore.