ADARA

Where am I? Endless in her wanton wandering, her wanderlust dwindled without Fenrer's presence. Jaws snapped shut and her ears rang out with her noiseless scream. Unsure of where her own foot took her, she succeeded in only getting lost within the woods, but no longer did the branches twist to hide their truth. Her magick stretched out, clinging onto what remained of Fenrer's, drawing closer to the runestone he hid within the cave behind the waterfall. It was a place to rest, to process, to scream if needed, but her lungs refused to allow her. I have to get back to Yuven. He'll know what to do — if he doesn't kill me first. Gods. Her palm pushed against her brow when she heard the sounds of water, barely a comfort with the situation ahead of her. Nonetheless, she stumbled to it and headed into the shelter, pressing herself against the wall and falling to her knees, with both a crescent blade and a melted oath in hand. Kemal's. How am I even going to get back? Neven got back because it seems something wanted him to end up back. The Obscura Text? I don't have one. And now Fenrer... Vomit crawled up to her throat, but she refused to believe him dead — for the power of his name which came out of the maw of the abyss, with him running right into its jaws.

Just how desperate was he to save Kemal? Adara clutched the melted necklace, the glass star cracked, but magick tickled at her fingertips. Grounded, but cold. Icy. It swung from side to side when she held it out in front of her. It gave her no answer. No truth. With a crescent blade not meant for her, she bumped her head against the rock. I know he's not dead... but he's still in the cult's hands, so that may not last long. Fenrer... what were you thinking? Adara pocketed the necklace with a time constraint. In a moment, she understood the rush Yuven had undergone when they first met, and once more, she resented herself for her own behaviour born of ignorance, of not asking questions or Yuven refusing to answer them out of distrust. When will this all end? Why am I here? Why was I doomed to get dragged into this or die? No books to read. No fairytales to enjoy. Just a nightmare she lived in. Where do I go now? Shoulders raised, she listened to the patter of the waterfall hit the pond and spread dampness over the ground. Weary. Drained. Everything hurt, and her heart ached the most.

What would Yuven do in this situation? Oh... who am I asking? Adara allowed tears to fall. He wouldn't have even let Fenrer get that far. Her fingertips dragged against the stone, and she forced herself to her feet when she felt time drag on too long. I need to find my way back to that village. We know Neven went through there on his way back, maybe I need to get back to that pond we found ourselves in. Is that how he got back? It's the only explanation unless he swam around the cove. It was better than wallowing. Better than — at the risk of being Yuven — time wasting when Fenrer needed them. As close as they had ever been to whatever Neven and the mysterious Kemal had been up to. I can still make this right.

On she walked. One step in front of the other. One step in front of the other. A familiar, repetitive mantra. Breathe ten times. Step one after the other. It proved harder than it sounded when her breath caught her lungs and her feet stuck in roots. Clothes spattered with dirt and mud, she forced her way forward. Uncertain of where she wandered. Uncertain of how long it had been when she stumbled into the ruins, though she raised her gaze skyward at a melodic trill. Evenfall spread colours throughout the sky which had once been filled with light with speckled darkness. A wave which turned night into day before her eyes. It prickled underneath her skin, and a pulse of energy burned and almost caused her to scream when it drove into her temples, but she bit on her tongue to equalize the pain. I'm fine. Calm down. We're going to figure this out. You're past freezing in distress. We're going to make a difference. You wanted to be a Storm Warden. Be one. Adara clutched the borrowed crescent blade and skipped the night's sleep.

Twilight sea under her feet, and the days stretched on long. It cracked the mirror, pressing deeper with its sharp beak, but she pressed on until the sight of the pond filled her exhausted, sore muscles with a glimmer of hope. One inch closer to Yuven, the one who would know what to do. I'm going to go back for you Fen... I just have to answer to your Oathbound. Her boot pressed against the surface of the pound, but her eyes became heavy lidded with her continuous, endless walking without cease. Days passed her by. Is this how Neven felt? Is this why he seemed so confused? Did he just... never rest? He refused to rest until he found his Oathbound? Her knees hit the surface and sank. Though she fought to keep her eyes open, she failed a simple task. It tore through her mind as the silver fire bloomed in the dreamless sleep. It sprinkled over the water, but when she raised her head to follow the light it spread out as a horizon of darkness. Wingbeats pounded in her ears, but she found herself without the strength to rise from the water; from the ashes even as it started to slip off her skin.

Her hands found the bottom of the twilight sea, or the first layer, or it was bottomless. Her own reflection stared up at her, eyes ablaze with fire and tears of ashes. Water rippled with the movement of chains until those too fell quiet. Stars fell into a constant stream, and her terror surged when a white visage overtook her reflection. Feathers of painted white, its maw lowering with bared teeth and a hiss full of mist which fell on the top of her head and sent unwelcome shivers down her spine. It opened its maw, and she went to scream when it blasted white flame over her.

Except it was a hand grabbing her shirt instead to tug her deeper to avoid the fire which had been meant to consume her. Her arms flailed against her captor, to flee when Fenrer had given it up. Someone gave a harsh rap to her skull, which caused her exhaustion to reign again, and she found her hands on someone's much leaner shoulders, and she dared to tear open her eyes to the nightmare.

"Do you mind explaining to me why I just found you sleeping your day away in water? Good way to drown," Yuven muttered, his violet eyes forever unimpressed, but she was safe in the hands of an uncertain friend. He scowled at her, a reveal of the same fangs the wyvern bared at her. His feathers raised, then folded once more. "Adara, where is Fenrer?"

"Am I dreaming?" she rasped and gauged where she was. Waves lapped at the rising tide when Yuven pulled her onto the rock of the cove, flicking his gaze around the cave paintings when their shine of the morning dew dimmed. "Yuven, is this a dream?" Yuven pinched her, and she drew back at the sudden surge of pain.

"It is not a dream for either of us," he replied and shook his hand, going to let her go, but the terror slammed against weariness, and she gripped onto him tighter. "Where is Fenrer, Adara?"

"I'm so sorry," she rasped and held onto him, even as he tried to tear himself away, hands raised away from her when he stumbled. "There was some sort of Derelict which — I don't know, we found Kemal's necklace and his crescent blade then it rose out of a pond and it started talking and—"

"Slow. Down. My Common is good but not that good if you say it all in one breath."

Adara sobbed, "I think the cultists have him." Adara bit on her lip when Yuven's expression cracked, though never had he wavered from the first time she met him. "I know where it is. I remember. I can find it again but I'm sorry, Yuven." Her tears fell down her face like the waves on the beach. "But I know he's alive! He went into the jaws of the Derelict and both disappeared! I think it took him straight to the cult!" Adara shook him as Yuven slowly lowered his hands. "He knew something! When the Derelict showed the core, this—" Adara whipped out Kemal's melted, cracked necklace. "Fenrer ripped it out! It was in the core!"

Yuven stared at it, his expression hard to read. "That necklace... was in the Corruptor core... of a Derelict. Are you sure it wasn't—? That's not possible, Adara, Neven told me he got Kemal's necklace when the Storm Wardens first found him."

"It was a pure Derelict, Yuven. It wasn't a Corruptor. It wasn't Kemal." Adara shook him for her lack of failed stability. "He was confused, Yuven, and from what I experienced, I know why! Are you sure it was Kemal's necklace he retrieved?!" Adara dug her fingers into his shoulder blades. "Or was it just the cult giving him something to get him off the tracks?"

Yuven's pupils turned into beads in slow motion. "Get up," he hissed and dragged her to her feet. He swiped the necklace and crescent blade from her, almost causing her to fall to her knees again, but he used one hand to keep her upright. "You're not much help in that state. I'm taking you back to the treehouse where Maria can check you over." His vertical gaze swiped over Kemal's necklace, and he pulled her along. "I know Fenrer's alive," he whispered. "Which means now we can tear this cult from the roots."

"I'm sorry."

Yuven narrowed his eyes. "For once, Adara, this is not your fault," he hissed. "Fenrer decided to do something risky. I can only hope it paid off enough that I can go find him, Kemal, and all those missing wardens Neven faults himself for losing. I want my Miesero to have peace of mind for once. For too long has he not had it. For too long has he been in this state of confusion, self-flagellation, and despair. I refuse to let this continue. I'm going to end this, no matter the cost. And it seems Fenrer's on the same page." His fingers dug into her arm, and she flinched at the force and strength. "I'm done with this. I'm done with the cult toying with us. I'm not playing their game like Neven and Kemal were. I'm going to flip over their table and kill them with the pieces they advanced." Resolve filled his eyes, though she found herself wondering if it was a shield to fear. "I am not allowing them to toy with Neven." Into the city, Elvkin scrambled out of their way with Yuven stomping, his mere presence forcing others out of the way like waves.

Up the steps, she found herself stumbling when Yuven kicked open the door and pushed her inside.

At the couch, Maria whipped her head upwards. "Yuven, you're going to kick the door off its hinges," she scolded, but her amber eyes widened when Adara met them. "Adara?"

More footsteps sounded from the staircase, and her heart dropped when Neven stumbled down them with a hand on the wall, his own eyes vertical slits of stress and intent.

Yuven let her go into Maria's hands, and she found herself guided to the couch. "I'm done," he growled when Neven approached him. "I have them now. They've overplayed." He raised the necklace to Neven, who went ashen and froze in his steps. "Look at this. That necklace you found? It wasn't Kemal's. It was a diversion, a distraction." He dropped it into Neven's hands. "We are going to make preparations and rest up over the next couple days."

"Where's Fenrer?" Neven rasped.

Yuven's scowl deepened. "Keeping a path open, and maybe keeping Kemal alive."

Neven leaned on the wall, his blonde hair tangling with itself and stuck to his brow. "Yuven—"

"This is going to end, one way or another," Yuven said. "Miesero, you are unwell. Whatever happened to Kemal is clearly affecting you if such was not obvious to you." Though Neven's fangs slipped past his lips, Yuven released a hiss through his nose and approached him. "I have given up trying to stop you. He is your Oathbound and now mine is in their claws. You want to come? Find the strength to stand. Rest and then get ready. We're getting them back, but let me handle things. Let me deal with any cultists we come across."

Guided into a sitting position, Maria handed her a cup of water with a gentle, warm smile. "Yuven," she began.

Maria gripped her shoulder. "Adara, you need to rest. You look like you haven't slept in days."

"She probably hasn't," Yuven grumbled.

"I'm sorry," she pressed.

Yuven's gaze slid to her in one smooth motion. "If you want to make it up to me for losing my Oathbound and someone you love, stop apologizing, get rest, practice your magick, because you're getting thrown right to the cult. I hope you remember how to explode."

Adara gripped the cup, and nodded when Maria brought her a blanket.

In the surface, her reflection, eyes no longer ablaze with silver and crying ashes.