Casimir

I lie awake, staring at the roof of the cave, restless as the night ticks away. After speaking with Trina, I caught Killian and Sanaa up on the plan. Killian was adamant we should leave for Dadun straight away, but Sanaa managed to convince him waiting another night was the better option.

With the cloud, avoiding nights of travel was the safer option.

Eventually, I get up, going to the end of the tunnel. To my surprise, Killian is already outside, strapping a knife to his ankle. I raise a brow.

"Running away in the middle of the night?"

"I'll leave the deserting for you."

"What're you doing?"

"Sleep is particularly hard when there are three grown men staring down at you."

Trina had assigned each of us guards to watch us while sleeping. Mine were old friends, and mostly left me be. It seems Killian wasn't that lucky.

"Don't tell me you're going to Dadun by yourself."

"No," he says.

"Then where are you going?"

Killian leans back. "The hyacerite doesn't work. It has no power. Up on that mountain, it glowed purple. It had power. I think we both know where that power now sits."

Freya.

"Nobody knew that was possible," he says. "I'd quite like to know what that means. Wouldn't you?"

"So you're what? Going for a thinking walk?"

He smiles. "I think it's time we pay Myers a visit."

-

Freya

Hours after Alaric brought me back after finding me spying, Lei sneaks through the window. She doesn't bother checking if I'm awake before she starts talking. Lucky for her, I haven't slept a wink since I got back, watching the moon travel through the sky, get swallowed by the clouds.

"I know what we could do," she says, expression more animated than I've seen since being in Dadun.

I swing my legs over and get into a sitting position. No part of her appearance gives any indication that she was slinking through the forest just moments earlier.

"What did you hear?"

"They were talking about you, at first," she says. "But that stopped pretty soon after we were within ear shot."

I remember what Alaric had said, about sensing me in the forest, and wonder if that's why they stopped.

"Look, there's a slim chance we can break the forcefield."

"How?"

"Tonight, after he left, Harris and Hana were talking about him. That he seemed... weaker. They mentioned this is the longest he's had to hold up a forcefield for."

I think it over.

"When you two were training," she says, "you asked him whether it was a conscious effort to hold up the forcefield."

"He said it was."

"Even while sleeping."

"What're you thinking, Lei?" I ask, leaning forward.

"Is he training you to conjure the cloud?"

"That's the end goal, I guess."

"Then you need to damn well learn." When I don't respond, she continues. "No one is completely immune to the cloud."

"Alaric is," I say. "And because of him, so is Hana and probably this entire village. That's the reason they were able to travel Torinne. He protected them from the cloud."

"I know Alaric protected them when they went through Torinne, but they always anticipated it. They at least had a few minutes to prepare. Now, we can catch him by surprise. And he's in a weakened state."

I blink at her, tossing her proposition over in my mind. First of all, the idea that I could even conjure the cloud if I wanted is a difficult concept to grasp. But the fact that she wants me to is even crazier.

"So you want me to do what? Attack him?"

She moves across the room, her eyes narrowed into a slit, alight with enthusiasm. This version of Lei, motivated and full of energy, is the one I remember. The one I feel I haven't seen for such a long time. "When you learn how to conjure it, I want you to set it on Dadun in the middle of the night. When he's asleep."

Horror washes over me. "Are you hearing yourself?"

"He'll be asleep, weakened. He won't have time or energy to upload the force fields if he's trying to protect himself from the cloud." She grabs my wrist, a smile tugging at her lips. "They won't be prepared for it. They'd never expect you to do it."

I snatch my hand back, rising to my feet. "Because I never would."

She frowns. "You don't want to get out of here?"

"I don't want to set a deadly cloud onto Dadun," I urge. She merely blinks at me, an expression settling on her face that makes me feel as if I have upset her. "Lei, the majority of the people here... they're innocent."

Her jaw sets. "And they'll all die anyway if we don't escape and Hana gets her way with you."

"They'll die anyway so who cares? That's your argument? Are you hearing yourself?" She doesn't respond. "I don't even know how to conjure it, let alone if I even can consciously do so." I shake my head. "There has to be another way. One that doesn't risk the lives of hundreds of innocent people."

She rolls her shoulders back, unwilling to back down. "You're being unreasonable."

"Oh," I say dryly. "I'm sorry that I'm not comfortable with the idea of massacre."

"Yes, some people in Dadun will die. Innocent people. But more people in Dadun and all of Elel will die if we don't escape. You have to look at the bigger picture."

"You sound like Ereon."

She grows deathly still, her eyes narrowing. My stomach drops; I wish I could snatch my words back. A tense silence grows between us, unnerving me entirely. When she rises to her feet, the walls cave in. The sun had nearly risen now, streaming in through the shutters and casting her shadows across the ground, surrounding me.

"Is this really just about the people in Dadun?"

I furrow my brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You looked pretty comfortable with Alaric in that cave."

"So?"

"I'm just surprised how fleeting your affections are." She shrugs, nonchalant. "It's just an observation."

My heart skips a beat. Whether she intended to or not, her comment delivers with a sting, twisting in my chest. "Don't you dare accuse me of whatever it is you're trying to say."

"Am I wrong?"

I stare at her, those accusatory eyes, the nonchalant tone. Her accusation burns in my chest more than I expected it to. "If you mean about not wanting to kill Alaric, then sure, you're right. I don't want to murder Alaric. But this has nothing to do with him. Or Killian."

"I never mentioned Killian."

But I did. Like she expected. I can barely look at her, my gaze burning with rage. I press my lips together and take a step towards her. The sun behind her shifts out of reach, her shadows dropping away in its absence. I meet her gaze with a cool one of my own.

"You have no idea what this is like for me," I say, my voice low. "You have no idea what I'm going through. What it's like to suddenly be bestowed the ability to kill hundreds of people by accident. It is not a gift. It is not something to be proud of. It's a curse." My hands shake with rage. "You don't know what it's like to feel like an alien in your own body."

Her eyebrows pull together. "Freya--"

"I'm not done--"

She grabs my shoulders, and though I try to break away, shakes me with vigor. "Look."

She forces me to the window, and my heart drops to the pit of my stomach. I had noticed the absence of Lei's shadow, the missing sun. But as my rage settles and my mind finds a new focus, my other senses tune in. The glass rattles. The wind groans. Sleet hammers sideways against the window. With a shaky breath, I press a finger to the icy glass, clearing the fog.

At the edge of the treeline, a low cloud crawls along the ground.

It's here.