Rhys shook his head, pushing himself up and extending his arms forward. "We're harmless!" he yelled with reasons he didn't quite think about.

"Rhys, get down!" Airese hissed through her teeth. The spears extended closer to them.

He obeyed, slowly sinking to his knees with his hands still in the air. They were surrounded by at least ten fairies clad in light-blue armor from head to toe with helmets covering most of their faces. The helmets had two slits for seeing but other than that, they're a smooth surface the color of the walls around them.

The walls...

Rhys edged his eyes from their captors, letting his gaze wander to the smooth, blue walls. They weren't painted or made of bricks. They were made entirely of ice. His saliva left a dried trail down his throat. Well, that explains the cold.

The spearheads edged closer, their points now almost touching Rhys's chest. He whipped around for Reeca and tucked her close when he found her being propped up by Marthiaq. Dread pricked at the base of Rhys's gut. If these people were so intent on killing them, why hadn't they done it yet? It's dragging too long. Why would they hesitate? It's clear that he and his companions were putting the entire Capital in danger.

Airese caught his eye and seemed to convey something through them. Rhys shook his head. It's not a good idea to use magic here. In a flash, a soldier pinned Airese to the ground. A metallic click reverberated in the hollow cavern. By the time the brownie straightened, a collar gleamed around her neck.

Eldan rose to his feet but was immediately tackled to the ground. Like Airese, a strange contraption was wrapped around his fingers. Marthiaq was in the process of turning himself invisible when a soldier slammed the butt of their spear to his neck. The male brownie tumbled like a flour sack, unconscious.

"And you?" a female voice underneath the helmet speared in Rhys's headspace. A rigid figure turned to him. "Any tricks you'd like to try?"

Rhys glanced at his companions. Two were effectively handled and one already useless. Reeca couldn't fight in her condition and Rhys wasn't going to risk fighting fairies who clearly had an idea on how to deal with any type of fairy and emerge victorious.

Take Eldan, for example. Nature fairies were powerful, especially Kaviste keijuis, but how the ice sprites rendered Eldan's hands useless the first chance they got implied that these people knew that kaviste listris depended largely on hand gestures. That device around Airese's neck...

The brownie struggled against it, cursing when no light came to her fingertips even when she tried. A device that blocks the Thyminka synnavaim—that's what it was. Who were these people?

"Your time is up," the female soldier said again. She charged at them.

"Anora! What's going on?" another female but deeper voice boomed from a dark doorway Rhys hadn't even noticed before.

The soldiers withdrew their spears and bowed at the approaching woman. "Trespassers caught from the eastern stocks. It seems like they know where our hunters enter and exit the Capital. This is punishable by death."

The new woman regarded Anora. Rhys knitted his eyebrows. How in Umazure did this new woman know of their names without seeing the faces underneath those masks? Rhys watched the woman stride towards them in a series of long, purposeful steps as metal boots clinked against the ice beneath their feet. Limp, blond hair hung to her waist and swayed with every step. The other soldiers cleared out of the way as the new woman stopped to survey the commotion.

Rhys narrowed his eyes. She's an important person then. If not royalty, then a step lower. A general or a commander of a faction in the army, judging from the way her hand edged towards the hilt of a sword strapped by her waist when she noticed Rhys's gaze. If she's a general, then perhaps Rhys could reason with her or lie his way through. Should be easy.

He opened his mouth to speak but the woman's eyes had finished their examination on him. Instead, it seemed like the woman had grown frozen as if her own synnavaim now gripped her limbs. She was staring somewhere to Rhys's right where Airese was. The general gasped. Airese gave a similar reaction.

"Airese?" the general whispered.

Eldan's head snapped from the restraints in his hands towards the commotion. Marthiaq remained sprawled like a rug, unconscious.

"Geradine?" Airese's voice was small, weak. Okay, they knew each other. How and why? "But you're dead," the brownie continued, wagging a finger in the air before swiping the back of her hand across her eyes. "This is so cruel. Why would they show us a vision of you?"

Ah, a dead friend that came back to life. Interesting. Rhys's head snapped back to the general. It would be interesting to see how this Geradine would react. The ice sprite in question snapped her fingers at the soldiers and they moved in unison, walking towards Rhys's companions. Rhys shut his eyes and prepared for pain. He heard a loud clunk then silence.

He opened his eyes to see the soldier dropping the device clasped at Airese's neck to the ground. It fell with a clatter. The same went for the device in Eldan's hands. As it came off, Rhys studied its metalwork, its mechanism, and its properties. Interesting. This was interesting. Perhaps he could design a similar device, but deadlier and more efficient...

"I'm sorry for the way my soldiers treated you," Geradine extended a gloved hand towards Airese and helped the brownie up. "We even have to be more careful now than before. The world above has gone crazy. We can't risk another all-out war."

Airese just stared at Geradine with wide, teary eyes. Her lips quivered. When her mouth opened, no words came out. Eldan stepped forward. The soldiers cursed and dropped into a stance. Geradine extended her hand, signaling them to stay back. Rhys breathed a sigh of relief when they followed. Eldan faced Geradine, his expression clouded and unreadable. "How?" His voice was honed to an edge.

Geradine glanced at the soldiers awaiting her command and sighed rather heavily. "Let's go somewhere private," she said. With her tone, it was more of an order, really. "Follow me and don't touch anything."

Geradine led them through a straight, dark tunnel with hundreds of dark doorways leading to more tunnels or quite possibly, more rooms. Rhys clenched his jaw and scanned everything as they walked, noting even the crunch of their boots against the icy floor.

It's odd that the ice making up the floor wasn't brittle, cold, nor slippery. It's just like normal stone floors apart from their deep blue sheen. The walls were in the same condition as well. Rhys tried edging towards one as they walked, just to feel it with his skin, but a hand closed around his wrist. Geradine's unamused face greeted Rhys when he turned. She clicked her tongue at him. "Children!" she hissed under her breath as she let go of his arm and continued walking. "Don't touch the walls with your bare skin else you'll end up burning yourself or be permanently stuck to them," she said without turning to Rhys.

Okay, that's too specific. That must be true, then. Rhys frowned at the walls with newfound apprehension. Ice that burns? How ironic. Why make walls that could be a danger to everyone? Where's the logic in that?

Geradine stopped in front of a dark doorway that looked like the countless ones they passed. Rhys rolled his eyes. Another design failure. How in the world do they know which was which? Without a word, Geradine pressed her hands against the dark doorway. Huh, so the darkness was solid around here.

Then, before Rhys's eyes, light shimmered and crackled. Fractals, both large and small, broke free from the wall and speared for Geradine's open palms. Soon, they vanished into her skin, leaving a bright doorway as tall as an average fairy. His jaw fell. Interesting. Really, really interesting.

They began piling inside a spacious room. Rhys didn't expect this from such a narrow opening. This disproportion was sure to make his head ache one day. Eldan dragged a semi-conscious Marthiaq inside before Rhys and Reeca made it last. Geradine swiped a hand over the doorway and ice sealed all chances of escape.

Okay, then.

His grip around Reeca's wrist tightened as he led her towards a rectangular, wooden table in the middle of the room and sat her in one of the seven stools present. A cupboard filled with marquine teacups and other jars edged past his periphery. As the others chose their seats, Geradine strolled straight for the cupboard and yanked the cabinet door open. "Would you care for a hot drink? The lower levels are much colder," she leaned away to regard Rhys's companions.

Airese raised a hand. "Xasmisper tea."

A small laugh rang from Geradine. "I know, darling," she jerked her chin at the nature fairy. "Eldan?"

"The usual," Eldan's eyes were narrowed. His lips were set in a hard, thin line.

Geradine nodded like she knew what Eldan's reply meant. "One glass of hot milk coming up, then," she raised an eyebrow to the brownie who was just coming to. "Marthiaq?"

"Who are you? Why do you look like Geradine?" Marthiaq blinked and rubbed his eyes several times.

"The same bitter cocoa for you, then," the ice sprite snorted before turning to Rhys. "How about you, children? Care for any?"

Rhys glanced at Reeca who rolled her shoulders. "The tea for both of us."

"Excellent," Geradine began bustling around the cupboard for the ingredients. A kettle was already whistling atop a strange-looking stove. Rhys watched her as she fed dusty coal at the fire by the stove's base. The entire thing was as tall as Geradine's knee, made from some type of metal imported from Avalora, and shaped like a cylinder with prongs on top to hold the kettle. A hole for putting the coal in was drilled to the side. From there, Rhys spied a fire already burning inside.

Geradine hummed as she rummaged through the cupboard, pulling the ingredients cased in sacks to her chest. "You know, I kept the ingredients to your favorite drinks because I didn't stop hoping that you'll find me, eventually. I'm questioning myself if this is all a dream. Look at me, I'm finally preparing my friends' drinks in the Ice Capital."

"How did you survive?" Airese slammed a hand on the table. Oh, she's not deterred by Geradine's reminiscing. "Jarvik was sure you were executed in that barren hole in hell."

Geradine dumped a spoonful of aromatic dried leaves into a cup before answering. "That's because I made everyone present there see it," she shook her head as she slotted the sack of dried leaves back in the cupboard. "I didn't die. I've never set foot in that courtyard at all."

Eldan's frown deepened. "How?"

"Anahel," Geradine replied as if it explained everything.

Blood drained from Airese's face. "Why did she help you?" Eldan ran a hand down his face like he's tired. "Why didn't you let us know? If you wanted to live so badly, we would've figured out another way."

Rhys drew his eyes down towards the patterns on the table. They sure looked interesting. The table was just one big block of ice with a smooth surface but he swore it had patterns on it. Truly, he felt like an intruder here, hearing about his companions' friendship struggles and banter. He didn't belong in this circle. The fact that they're ignoring his and Reeca's presence made the feeling worse.

Geradine dumped a spoonful of dark powder into the fourth cup. "She understood my reasons," she tapped the spoon's handle against the cup's rim in a series of shrill clicks, dislodging some powder that stuck against the spoon. "You all wouldn't have."

Eldan slammed his fist on the table, making Marthiaq jump. Well, at least it woke the brownie up even more. "You abandoned Jarvik and your children! Why?"

Airese reached for Eldan's hand and lit her fingers orange to calm him down. Rhys resisted the urge to turn to Geradine as they waited for her answer. He looked and felt like a cat watching a ball bounce from one paw to another.

Geradine laid three cups in front of them, grasping them by their saucers. "I need to go back here," she turned back to the cupboard area to retrieve the other two. "I have been putting my race in more trouble the longer I stay above ground."

"Are you really an Ice Sprite?" Airese ran a shaking hand down her bobbed hair. "You're a water sprite! You used to ace exams with your synnavaim! Why are you suddenly an Ice sprite? The Academy surely knew about that!"

Geradine laid the two cups in a manner that wasn't so gentle. "I had connections in the Academy to be able to pass through the initial tests for synnavaim," she edged towards an empty stool and sat down. "I was sent there to send a report on the state of the world above us."

Airese's mouth opened and closed. "You...were spying on us?"

"It was supposed to be until I had graduated," Geradine folded her hands atop the table. "I didn't expect for things to get...more complicated."

"You married Jarvik," Eldan said. Rhys resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows in his intrigue. Ah, more drama. Here they go.

"Yes," the corners of Geradine's mouth turned down. "We were gifted with Marin and Malin. It made my leaving harder than it's supposed to. There's also the matter of dealing with you lot. I didn't expect to gain so many friends."

"So it's our fault now?" Airese bared her teeth. Rhys had never seen the brownie angry. In fact, before this day, he thought brownies were just happy fairies frolicking in meadows and singing happy tunes. But then again, he had never really seen a brownie up close until he got out of the Palace.

Aries, meanwhile, wasn't finished. Now, she had clenched her fists. "Had we been out of your way, then things like this wouldn't have happened? Do you know how much we mourned for you? Or how devastated Jarvik was when he watched you die on that courtyard?"

"I know," Geradine traced circles on the icy surface that was the table. "I know how much you all cared for me. I don't regret the times we spent together. I don't regret starting a family. I just..."

"Wish you didn't bother going to that mission," Airese finished for her friend.

Geradine hung her head. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused," she raised her eyes to meet her friends'. "How is Jarvik? Malin and Marin?"

A shadow passed through Airese and Eldan's faces. "I'm...sorry," Airese averted her eyes. "Jarvik was killed by Erindriel Helgase."

Geradine's face fell. "No..." was all she was able to say.

"Due to your death, Jarvik returned to the Commons to help us gather more information on ah...certain things," Marthiaq cleared his throat, having finally caught up with the discussion. "He knew how dangerous it was if Erin got a hold of him. He knew he wouldn't be able to come out alive should that happen but he still chose to protect the children and save them when they were purged. For you and, perhaps, for the children's sake as well."

Guilt swallowed Gerdaine's features as silence reigned on the table. After a while, Geradine blew a heavy breath. "I made my choice. Jarvik made his," she said. "Everything that happened is because of those choices. Perhaps, I should strive to make better choices in the future."

Rhys almost choked on his tea. That was fast coping. It's as if Geradine didn't even need a moment to cry or to take it all in. Or, more likely, she already took things in, processed it, and came up with a proper response. Was that possible?

Eldan crossed his arms. "That still doesn't make me want to forgive you for what you've done," he said. "You lied to your friends, to Jarvik. You abandoned your family. You prioritized duty over us. What do you think it made us feel?"

"Bad, I guess?" Geradine inclined her head to one side. "You have every right to get angry. I am not expecting forgiveness right this instant. You can be angry at the way things turned out."

Airese snorted. Rhys got ready for a massive female emotional blow-up but what he got was a hearty laugh. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss your straightforwardness," she said to the ice sprite. "Yes, what you did was hardly forgivable but I think I can manage," Airese reached across the table and grasped Geradine's hand. "I'm really glad that you're alive and well. It's one wish of mine that was unwittingly granted."

With that, the women burst into tears and the men stared awkwardly at each other and at the walls. Rhys and Reeca blinked at the spectacle. Should they join the women in crying or join the men in staring?

Rhys chose the latter.

When the women were done, Geradine wiped at her eyes and Airese blew her nose into yet another torn piece from Eldan's cloak. "It seems like you're an important person here," Airese noted after drinking her tea in one gulp, making Rhys blink. "Those soldiers seem to be following you."

Geradine ran a hand across the table's rim. "I am the daughter of the Defense General, of course I'm expected to take his place," another cloud passed through her face. "The Ice Sprites needed warriors now more than ever."

"An Ice Sprite, huh?" Airese said. "How does it feel?"

"How does being born with a target on our backs feel? Bad," Geradine said. "How does having a rare power that is thought to be extinct feel? Great."

Airese blinked. "That's...alright?"

"I'm used to it," Geradine squared her shoulders. Then, she leaned forward and jabbed a finger against the table. "How do you know that the weak spot is in the eastern stocks? How did you figure out how and where to enter in the first place?"

Airese chewed on her lip. "Airene is babysitting the other half of my daughter's soul," she waved her hand in the air. "Ravalee happened to be close to the Crown Prince of Alkara. Connect the dots from there."

"You'll be killed for treason by both the Ice Capital and Alkara for that," Geradine drew back with a hint of a smile jerking at the corner of her lips. Rhys knitted his eyebrows. Was that supposed to be funny?

"I'll take my chances," Airese crossed her arms with enough nonchalance to rival an arachilla. It's as if she wasn't even bothered about the potential threat on her life. "Is it really alright for us to be here?"

Geradine raised an eyebrow. "Are you followed on your way here?"

"Not for a mile's radius, no," Airese glanced at where the doorway used to be. "I made sure of that."

"There are people who probably knew better than to stay within a mile away from you," Geradine said.

Aries jerked a thumb in Eldan's direction. "Eldan's trees would have told him."

"For the last time, Airese, stop calling them my trees," Eldan groaned into his palm and tousled his hair off his forehead. "I merely connect to their sensory network and—"

"Yes, yes. I know," Airese waved a hand in his face. "It's just fun to watch you try to be politically correct every time."

Eldan rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and muttered something about hard-heated dagrinis under his breath.

Geradine stood up from her seat and trudged towards the doorway. "Rest in here while you can," she said. "I'll go and deal with the higher-ups in what to do with you."

Rhys swallowed against the bitter taste brought about by either the tea or the growing dread in his gut. "Does that include convincing them to not kill us?" He raised a finger. The others whipped at him like they were somehow reminded that he was there.

Geradine rolled her shoulders and tucked her hands together. "I won't be able to do anything if the Council decides to kill you," she nodded lightly. "I can only buy you time so you can escape. But...I've got a lot of points to make them reconsider driving you out. You'll make wonderful training dummies. It's such a waste if we were to kill you."

Eldan had visibly gone pale. "Training dummy?"

"Oh, quit the brownie act, Eldan," Geradine chuckled and rolled her eyes. "You'll do fine. I'll make sure there's not going to be a knife sticking up your rear by the time we finish."

Before Eldan could reply, Geradine resealed the room with that dark ice something. Quiet filled the room once again.

"I missed Geradine dearly," Airese's frown was deep. "But I certainly didn't miss her damning predictions."