The fire burned low, casting orange shadows over Valeri Beaufort's tense face. A strong medicinal smell emanated from the pot bubbling over the flames. It permeated the small room and filled Valeri's lungs.

The vampire glanced at his human charge, checking the unsteady rise and fall of his chest. According to Fair, Dimitri's condition had deteriorated sharply once they entered the Capital after days of steady decline on the road. The soldier was already hanging to life by his teeth and whatever threadbare connection he shared with Gabriel Todd when Fair's mismatched party stumbled to Valeri's borrowed doorsteps.

The room was in an outer building, just beyond the Capital's gates. It may have once served as a restpoint for envoys awaiting admission into the city. The structure wrapped around a segment of the Capital's outer walls, comprised of one long hall lacking all but the most basic of accommodations. There was only one entrance. It reminded Valeri of a rat trap.

The building lacked a proper hearth. Firewood and water were at hand however, as well as a crude firepit that was far better suited to a journey under the stars rather than a dwelling of any kind.

Fair was good enough to light the fire before shoving his ailing littermate into Valeri's hands. At the time, Valeri was too preoccupied with measuring ingredients and answering Gabriel's increasingly panicked questions to consider much beyond the need to keep Radev breathing.

It was not until Gabriel's departure that Valeri came to question how they had come upon him. He was almost convinced he had imagined Sofia Korral at Fair's side, but the youth currently crouched by Radev's insentient body was too real to ignore. If there was one child present, why not two?

"He's cold," the wolf growled, sounding as if he held Valeri personally responsible.

Valeri determined that the medicine was ready and hurriedly transferred a measure into a cup. He met the boy's accusing glare, his own scowl no less irate.

"Move aside," he snapped.

The boy did so, but continued to hover at Valeri's elbow, watching him pour the sour concoction down Radev's throat. The soldier was able to swallow, at least, though he did try to spit it all right back up. Valeri covered his mouth and watched the man gag the medicine back down without an ounce of mercy.

"Watch him," Valeri told the cub. "If he ceases breathing, let me know. Otherwise, keep out of my way."

The boy grumbled something unhappy. Valeri did not pay the wolf any heed, resuming the mad search for a potion that would pull Radev from Death's embrace.

The ingredients came from Dr. Han's stores. Valeri had pilfered whatever was still of use, thinking it a pity to leave valuable medicine rotting in the tomb of the Gondin household. The reserves remained with Gabriel when their party parted ways in Sinith. Valeri had been pleasantly surprised when the demon thrust a familiar bag under his nose upon their reunion.

He was less pleased with Gabriel's wild stare and threats of bodily harm should anything befall his half-dead darling, but compromises had to be made when dealing with demons.

Darkness swallowed the land outside. It was difficult to tell time's passage with sun and stars absent from heaven's arch. The very flow of time seemed stagnant; whether a passed moment was a step forward or a step back or indeed, a step at all, was difficult to tell.

Valeri did not know how long he spent in that small room. When the somber silence was at last broken, it was as if the world itself returned, startling Valeri from a state akin to deep slumber.

Someone had called his name.

Valeri raised his head. His hands shook, nearly dropping the vial of medicine he had just finished administering. At the far end of the hall stood a ghost.

"Beatrice?" Valeri asked, the word quivering like a flame in the wind.

Beatrice Beaufort took a hesitant step forward. Her appearance was untouched by time, as if not a moment had passed since their last parting. The familiar face struck fear in Valeri's heart, for the woman's bearing was that of a stranger, and a dangerous one at that. The power that wrapped around the woman billowed out to fill the hall. The fire smothered under the weight, drowning the room with smoke.

Malik coughed heavily. The sound awoke Valeri from his stupor and he hurried to point the boy toward the nearest window, casting a worried eye at his patient. Radev was indeed affected. The man had no strength left to cough, but his lungs expanded rapidly, face suffusing with unhealthy color.

Gabriel was by the soldier's side when Valeri looked up again. The demon's fingers were shaped into long, burning claws; they gripped something incorporeal that glowed bright enough to blind. Valeri hissed and turned his face away.

"Fix him," the demon demanded, voice twisted into something no human throat could produce.

"I need to be able to see to do that!" Valeri told him crossly. He was far too exhausted to be intimidated by Gabriel's state. Even the sight of Beatrice hovering like a specter at the edge of the room no longer moved him. Whether it was truly her or not hardly mattered; she was a stranger in either case.

Valeri noticed Sofia Korral's presence at Beatrice's side. Victor Fair came to stand by Malik, the soldier urging the boy away. Valeri raised a brow when the man passed by Sofia without a word. A warning to take the girl outside sat on his lips, less the child saw more than she should.

Sofia looked at him then and the world lost its shadows.

"Remove the blade," Sofia said.

Beatrice raised her hand. The blade in Radev's chest rose bit by bit, red with the soldier's blood. The crystal of which it was made quickly grew black, like paper stained by spilled ink. It flew to Beatrice's side and melted into the shadows that enveloped her body.

"What is happening?" Valeri demanded. His thoughts raced in ten directions at once but he voiced his most immediate concern. The soldier's state was beyond fragile; a faulty move would break him without repair.

"The blade bled magic," Beatrice said softly. "It was meant to keep him alive, as those blessed by your hand did for dangerous souls you thought worthy of a second chance. However, my magic was never meant to be so kind. It poisoned the boy's blood instead of sustaining him. It is now gone. He should recover, if he has the strength to last through the injury of the blade itself."

The woman's explanation was meant for Sofia. She did not seem cognizant of much beyond the girl, despite her initial surprise at Valeri's presence.

Valeri bowed his head over Radev's gaping chest. The wound was fresh, as if the blade had just pierced the soldier's flesh. It went through the man's ribcage and exited near his spine. The bed was already wet with blood.

Valeri stood to gather medicine appropriate for cleaning a dressing a wound of such a horrid state. As he did, Gabriel took his place. The demon bent his head over the wound and opened his mouth. Blood the color of rubies dripped from his torn tongue.

Radev's thrashing subsided. The wound across his chest did not close, but a careful inspection revealed that the exit wound had scabbed over and no longer bled. Valeri settled the man and turned a freezing glare at Gabriel.

"May I suggest any future treatment be discussed with me before application," he hissed to the room in general, so irate he could bite.

Gabriel was as unrepentant as ever. Valeri's anger cooled under the demon's hard eyes, and although he refused to cower, he turned his attention to dressing the soldier's wound with due haste.

Beatrice and the Korral girl spoke in soft tones. Valeri strained his ears but could not hear a word, despite his enhanced senses. He gave up the endeavor and tried to draw an explanation from Gabriel instead. The demon was however uncharacteristically silent. His face was drawn, each feature beautiful but jagged, lending the man a dangerous air.

Radev's brow eased at some point, the man slipping into true restful sleep after days without. Valeri took a moment to gather himself. He realized that he had been staring blankly at the doused fire only when a hand fell over his shoulder, the touch offering comfort.

"You did well," Iavor told him.

Valeri looked at the man. His words stuck in his throat at the sight of Ira Hale, by far the more battle-worn of the two but still undeniably alive and whole. Valeri had avoided thinking of the woman during their parting. His wry smile turned genuine, limbs suffused by a quiet warmth.

"You are here," he said simply.

"So are you," Ira noted, a trace of a smile on her soot-stained face. "I am glad that you are safe."

Valeri bowed his head, briefly overcome.

"Gabriel bled all over my patient," he complained after a quiet moment passed and his wrought emotions settled.

Iavor laughed. "That was not blood, but demonic essence. It is rarely shared, as doing so diminishes a demon's own power. What Gabriel provided should be enough to keep the soldier alive long enough to receive treatment."

"It did help," Valeri allowed, tone turning considering as he added, "Perhaps I should feed the human my own blood."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Iavor asked.

"To heal him," Valeri replied.

"Vampire blood has no healing properties," Iavor told him.

Valeri stared. "That is not true. Beatrice..."

His words faltered. Beatrice had taught him about the power of his blood the night a desperate woman brought her dying child to Valeri's doorstep. The child lived, but only after she consumed Valeri's blood.

Valeri relayed the story to Iavor and Ira. His eyes slipped to where Beatrice stood, then to the young girl at her side.

"The witch lied," Gabriel called from his vigil at Radev's side. The demon glared at them dully, his black eyes narrowed into slits. "Keep your blood where it is if you wish to remain in one piece."

"He is right," Iavor said, disregarding the demon's belligerent tone with the ease of practice.

"But Sofia Korral did survive," Valeri protested.

"No," Iavor said, "She did not. Someone else was reborn in her flesh."

Valeri looked at Sofia Korral again. He remembered the flower that fell from the heavens, the withering and blooming of its seed.

"The Queen – she takes mortal form in this manner?" he asked numbly.

"A flower needs soil to grow," Iavor said simply. "Remember, the human child was already gone."

Valeri was not comforted by the man's reasoning. The ways of the Kingdoms Above appeared as strange and distant as those of the Kingdoms Below. He was more certain than he had ever been that he had no path to tread in either.

"Beatrice lied to protect her," he realized. No one aside Valeri knew of the child's miraculous recovery, and his own doubts were neatly explained by Beatrice's tale about vampiric blood.

Valeri cast an embarrassed glance Ira's way. The woman had suffered the false remedy during her bout of self-inflicted poisoning. Ira's knowing smirk dashed any hopes that she might have lost that particular moment to her fever.

"Will three days suffice?"

Sofia posed the question, whatever magic kept her conversation with Beatrice muffled breaking at last. Valeri did not have the time to wonder about the girl's purpose before Gabriel answered.

"I will not begin until he awakens," the demon said.

All eyes shifted to Valeri.

"He is asleep and will waken naturally, likely in a few hours," Valeri said.

Indeed, the soldier stirred within half a day. He woke only briefly but had enough strength and sense to scold Gabriel for hovering. The demon did not cease smiling foolishly long after Radev slipped back into slumber.

"Go, I will handle the rest," Gabriel bid, eyes still on the soldier's sleeping face.

Sofia offered her gratitude. There was nothing in the girl's manner or presence that would mark her as an immortal being of immeasurable power. When she paused at Valeri's side, the vampire was still attempting to reconcile the fragile state of the Queen's existence.

"Thank you for all you have done, Sir Beaufort," the girl said. "For Dimitri and for my mother, as well. I do not believe I ever thanked you properly."

Valeri accepted the words with a quiet nod of recognition, unable to think of a proper reply. He had not been able to do anything of note for Mrs. Korral. Indeed, as the Layfe siblings had visited Elsendorf in his name, he was partially responsible for the woman's death.

Some emotion must have spilled through the mask Valeri wore when braving the world, cracked as it were after months of overuse. Sofia smiled sadly in response and said, "If there is blame to be had, it lays on my shoulders."

The girl smiled at Ira, bidding a soft, "Miss Hale," in greeting. Ira offered a kind word in response. Sofia nodded to Iavor and left the hall, her steps shadowed by Beatrice's silent presence.

"The Queen set roots in Elsendorf. It was the place of her first birth, and was foretold to be the cradle of her last," Iavor said softly.

"The serpents," Valeri began.

"Beatrice wished to keep the Queen hidden and allow her a peaceful life. This was her reason for visiting Elsendorf and witnessing the Queen's rebirth, before returning to the Capital to assume rule in her place. I assume the pain of losing her lifelong companion grew too much to bear, and she chose to forget much of her past, same as every mortal in the Kingdom," Iavor said.

"The Queen's Court naturally jumped at the chance to take advantage," Valeri guessed.

"Not in the way you may imagine," Iavor said dryly. "Each of the Court's Lords had their own idea of the proper way forward. Most seem to have agreed that the Queen must return, and acted to draw her out of her quiet life."

"The serpents," Ira realized, a touch of anger in her voice.

Iavor nodded. "Precisely. However, not all wished for the Kingdom to revert to its old state – or rather, not all thought it possible. And so began an intricate war of subversion and sacrifice, each player thinking their own motives righteous and their means, necessary. The worst kind of evil is spawned precisely under such conditions."

The heavy silence that followed Iavor's words was broken by a low, contented humming. They followed the sound to Gabriel. The demon was busy playing with the ball of light in his hands, clawed fingers pulling and poking at the lumpy mess.

"What are you doing?" Valeri could not help but ask.

"Unknotting Lord what-was-it's terrible handiwork," the demon responded. He managed to unspool a sliver of light from the rest as he spoke. When he let it go, the light slipped through his fingers and seemed to disappear.

A mournful wail rose in the distance. It remained unbated for some time, raising alarm in the encampment that had formed outside.

"What was that?" Ira asked.

"It should be one of those unfortunate soldiers Barton commanded," Iavor replied.

"What did Gabriel do to him?" Valeri wondered. He had no love for the Amith Capil, and even less for their monstrous kin that went by the moniker Zero. Still, it was his understanding the two camps had come to some kind of peace. There was no need for provocation.

"I returned his soul," Gabriel drawled.

Valeri's eyes widened. He looked to Iavor for confirmation, but the man only shook his head, a wrinkle between his brows.

"Lord Barton's Spark – it consumed souls," Ira said.

"Partially," Gabriel corrected. "He left a piece behind in each of his puppets so as to tether their souls to their mortal shells; otherwise, they would have died directly."

"I expect quite a few will perish from shock and lingering wounds, once their souls are freed," the demon added. He resumed his contended humming after a short pause, not at all bothered by the grim reality that awaited an unnamed number of men and women.

"Is there no one else who can untangle their souls?" Valeri asked, eyeing the stars spinning between Gabriel's fingers with some concern. Assigning a demon such a task was akin to having a fox guard a henhouse.

Iavor shook his head. "He promised the Queen his aid," he said.

Valeri subsided. Gabriel was not a merciful man, but he did keep his promises faithfully.

"I will see the situation outside," Ira said.

Iavor expressed an intent to follow. When Valeri did the same, Gabriel raised his head, face washed blank under a fearsome glare.

Valeri sighed. "Bring news back," he said.

Iavor and Ira did not return until a full night passed – or what Valeri decided to count as a night, given the lack of change in the sky. When he asked about the curious darkness, Gabriel had responded by saying, "Some flowers pull their petals inward as they die," which was far more than Valeri wished to know about the world he occupied. Dimitri woke up twice in the interim. He stayed awake for a handful of moments each time, but his improvement was noticeable. Gabriel's work sped up accordingly and a number of souls found their earthly bodies in due haste.

The remaining soldiers had settled in camps outside the Capital's walls. The wounded were being treated by whatever medical staff remained, the dead buried in shifts. It was a dour world held together by sheer determination and the very human tendency toward stubbornness in the face of imminent death.

"The Queen addressed the troops. She has a solution," Ira said.

"The Kingdom can be saved?" Valeri asked.

His excitement disappeared as Ira shook her head. Grief weighed his shoulders, making him stoop further in his seat.

"The Kingdom will open its borders, then it will wither entirely," Ira said.

"What does that mean for us?" Valeri asked dryly.

"It means that we will join the mortal world beyond Samodevia's lands," Ira said, sounding just as unhappy as Valeri felt. "That is, those of us who can make the journey."

Valeri thought the comment strange – would the injured not be allowed passage? That seemed rather strange, and far too cruel. Another possibility occurred to him, one of far better reason.

"You mean Zero," he guessed.

Ira nodded. Her eyes slipped to Radev, then to Gabriel at the soldier's side. "Zero was composed entirely of Sparks," she said quietly. "Something about the structure of their souls made them easier to break, and so they were targeted exclusively. Perhaps because their souls were not their own alone from the start."

Valeri startled. He was aware of the existence of Anima, although his knowledge on the subject was rather poor. Still, he knew enough to understand Ira's meaning.

"Where will they go?" he asked.

"Where else? To the land where their souls were first born," Ira replied.

Iavor had approached Gabriel at some point. The demon did not pause his work often, but he did so as their conversation progressed, hollow black eyes lifting to the vampire's face in astonishment.

"Carmen?" Valeri heard him ask.

Iavor nodded in response. "Letter," Valeri made out from their whispered conversation, as well as, "Rae will agree, if it is him asking," to which Gabriel only nodded, his gaze slipping pensively to Radev's face. The joy that usually sufficed the demon's face in such moments was entirely gone.

"I heard that there is a resident of Hel in Elsendorf by the name of Carmen," Ira said. "Kai has already departed for the village, carrying word of the Queen's plea of refuge for those destined to fall in Hel's lands. This Carmen is meant to write the letter that will go to Hel's own queen. He must not be a simple man, if his word is expected to hold such weigh in the Kingdom Below."

Valeri nodded, too overcome to parse much of what he heard. The loss of his childhood home, then Beaufort Manor, and now the entirety of all that he had known – it was too much to bear.

He found an excuse and slipped outside. The soldier encampment sprawled in a crescent around the hall where Valeri had spent the past few days, large enough to put a pause to Valeri's steps at first sight. His presence was quickly marked. The soldiers on post nodded to him, their tired faces bearing no trace of malice. Valeri nodded back hesitantly and quickly switched route.

The Capital was well and truly deserted. The outer streets Valeri wandered bore no signs of battle, seeming like any other quiet path awaiting familiar footsteps.

Valeri's sight blurred briefly. He wondered, for the first time since the grief of Silva's betrayal left him, why it was that he had lived to see this day come.

"All will be well," a woman said.

Valeri turned. He saw Beatrice standing where he had just passed and chocked back a startled laugh. This was not the powerful witch wrapped in shadows he had met a day ago, in the Queen's presence. This was his sister – face open and human, eyes warm.

"Where were you?" he asked in a broken voice.

"I was always here, even when I did not wish to be," Beatrice told him. "This is true for us all. There is no use in running from ourselves, and what is meant to come."

Beatrice approached slowly. Valeri allowed her to come, and when the woman opened her arms, he leaned into her embrace readily.

"I am sorry. I wished to protect you, just as I wished to protect –" Beatrice swallowed a sob and shook her head. Her hair smelled of herbs and fire, reminding Valeri of long days spent by the fire in the Beaufort library, sharing the world in quiet comfort.

"You had no right," Valeri told her.

Beatrice nodded. "I know. I am sorry, Val. I am so sorry."

Valeri broke away. Beatrice wiped his cheek with her hand, her smile a wobble.

"You are different," Valeri said.

Beatrice laughed. "My magic twisted too much of me, so I gave it back to the Kingdom. I am now tied to this land. It is freeing, setting roots at last."

"What will that do to you?" Valeri asked, taken aback.

"I will not be able to leave, when the time comes," Beatrice told him. She smiled still, without a hint of sorrow or regret.

"You..." Valeri did not have words, his anger turning to grief in the face of Beatrice's bittersweet happiness.

"It is what I want," the woman told him. "She will fall asleep, and her Shadow will rule a land that shifts like sand in a storm in her stead. I will keep her company."

Valeri had nothing to say to that. When Beatrice bid him goodbye for the last time, he watched the woman leave as if in a dream.

"I hope we meet again," he said softly.

Beatrice was long gone. Yet, the wind seemed to carry her laughter, as if in promise.

Valeri did not linger, no longer in the mood to wander the Capital's remains. He returned to his post, taking comfort in Ira and Iavor's presence.

Radev improved rapidly. By the end of the second day, Valeri was no longer needed at the soldier's side and instead spent most of his time in the Amith Capil camps, assisting the military medics in their work. The Zero who survived the ordeal of regaining their souls were in particular need of attention. Valeri spent many an hour breaking badly healed limbs and setting the bone anew whilst listening the Army's trauma specialists handle the mental anguish of Zero patients nearby. It was a grounding experience.

The Queen had given Gabriel three days to complete his task of freeing Zero's souls. The reason became apparent as the deadline approached; a pale mist had fallen around the camp, covering all beyond immediate sight. Valeri instinctively knew that noting remained where the mist touched. Worse, it seemed to advance slowly, forcing everyone present ever inward.

Gabriel was struggling with what seemed to be the last two souls when Valeri returned to administer his usual check-up. The demon bit his lip bloody in concentration, but could not seem to separate the two stars still held in his hands. At last, he tore them apart under Valeri's shocked gaze, each one still bearing a bit of the other.

"They will be fated in their next lifetime," the demon shrugged, appearing not at all concerned.

Valeri's indignant silence went entirely unnoticed. Iavor patted his shoulder in consolation.

A commotion at the door broke the quiet. Ira entered first, supporting a limping Zero youth Valeri found distantly familiar. A young girl hovered at her side, followed by a one-armed soldier who took in the room's occupants with obvious mistrust.

"Please, sir demon, you have to help him!" the girl called as soon as she lay eyes on Gabriel.

Gabriel blinked, possibly caught by the strangeness of the girl's address. "What's the matter?" he asked Ira.

"He has not yet received his soul," Ira said.

The Zero youth swayed in place. His eyes went in and out of focus, likely due to whatever medicine dulled his pain. The wounds on his body were not few, after all. Valeri frowned in displeasure to see him upright.

"Of course not," Gabriel scoffed. "His soul was not with the rest."

The girl burst into tears. "It must! Please, it must be! Can't we – can we look? Maybe it got lost, maybe-"

"It was not lost," Gabriel interrupted, sounding faintly impatient. "It is right here, is it not?"

The girl blinked, eyes wet. She followed Gabriel's line of sight, as did all present, to herself. "Wh-what?"

"Are you certain?" Iavor asked.

Gabriel sniffed haughtily. "Naturally."

The girl looked between them, visibly confused but hopeful.

"What is your friend's Spark?" Iavor asked her.

"Ian, he – he can move from place to place," the girl replied.

"He must have hidden the part of his soul Lord Barton attempted to seal, moving it from his own self into someone else. An interesting use of his power," Iavor said.

The girl stared. "You, you mean," she hiccuped. "Well, could you, please, return it to him?"

"Are you certain that you wish that?" Gabriel asked.

Valeri watched realization dawn, drawing the girl's features tight.

"If I keep it with me, will I be able to go with him when the time comes?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Gabriel told her.

The girl turned to the Zero youth. "Ian," she said seriously, "Did you hear? Can you tell me what you would like to do?"

The boy called Ian looked and looked at her. At last, he opened his mouth, and said, "Go with you."

The girl sagged in apparent relief. She passed a hand over her face, chocking back a sob. "Of course I will. Mrs. Starr is going, as well. It will be fine with the three of us together."

The one-armed soldier and apparent Mrs. Starr did not appear nearly as enthused, but she nodded kindly when the girl glanced her way.

Ira sent them back. The sudden quiet lasted until she returned, at which point a long-unheard voice remarked,

"Well, that was interesting. Someone mind filling me in?"

Gabriel was first to react, being the closest to Radev and more interested in the soldier's wellbeing that likely healthy. The demon nearly scrambled up the bed to get into Radev's face, ignoring the man's belligerent protests.

"You are well," Gabriel breathed.

"Let go of me," the soldier said – or at least that's what Valeri thought he meant, given that his words came out distorted, his cheeks squished between Gabriel's palms.

Gabriel laughed in delight. The rest of them shared a glance and unanimously left the two men to their own devices.

The camp buzzed with activity. The Queen had given word for all to divide into groups based on who they wished to depart alongside, in the hopes of possibly finding each other in the world beyond Samodevia. The news had anxiety surging like bile in Valeri's stomach.

"We will not be sent out together?" he asked.

Ira shrugged. "Even if we are not, our connection runs deep. We should be able to find each other again," she said.

Valeri tried to find comfort in her words, but a seed of worry remained, muddling his thoughts.

They found Fair speaking with the young Queen. The man did not appear in good spirits, although he did his best to maintain his stoic persona. The cub at his side, by contrast, was not even trying to cover his upset.

"I'm staying!" they heard him shout.

"You cannot," was Sofia's answer, sounding long-repeated. "Staying behind means death, do you understand, Malik? I will not allow it."

"But – you are my friend," the boy insisted. There were tears in his eyes, which he tried to blink back intermittently.

Sofia's lips wobbled, breaking her insistent frown. "You are my friend, as well. That is why you cannot stay," she said.

Fair marked their arrival. He bowed to the girl, only to stiffen in surprise when Sofia darted forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a brief, childish embrace.

"Thank you, Mr. Fair," she whispered. "I will miss you, too."

Fair completed his bow. His eyes were sad when he turned away, his hand firm on the wolf's shoulder. The boy twisted in his hold and protested the whole way.

"It will not be long," the man said once he reached them.

Iavor glanced over the man's shoulder. He caught Sofia's eyes and bowed to her, then sighed. "Let us return. It is better that we meet the end together – perhaps that way, we will meet again."

Valeri followed wordlessly. Each step weighed his heart.

"What of Zenith?" he recalled suddenly.

Iavor glanced at him, not pausing his steps. "Zenith will return to the land of his kind," he said simply. A wry smile hooked his lips. "Perhaps he will take Horus with him. I do think he rather misses his brother, although he pretends otherwise."

Valeri was not certain he understood. As long as Zenith did not disappear, he reasoned, all was well.

Gabriel and his soldier were in the midst of a heated conversation when they entered the hall. The human seemed most incensed, although Valeri did not for a moment confuse the flush in his cheeks for one born out of anger. He would scold Gabriel for messing with his patient if there was time for such mundane concerns.

"Captain!" Radev called when he caught sight of Ira. "Tell me he's lying! We ain't really leaving, are we?"

"Lightning, I think you better make your choice, and fast," Ira said calmly.

Radev deflated, his illness-born frailty becoming more pronounced without the spark of his temper. "I guess I'm goin' to Hel," he muttered.

"You do not have to," Gabriel began, seeming to be picking up the thread of an existing argument anew.

"You want to be chased down by your own for breaking the peace treaty?" Radev snarled. "Just – shut up. It'll be fine."

"I will make sure of it," Gabriel said, his words as serios as they rarely were.

The two shared a look. Valeri found himself envious of it, of the easy understanding and even the forced codependence between them. At least they knew that they would not be separated. At least they had each other, when all else fell apart beneath their feet.

It is time.

Valeri felt the voice in his soul. Panic rose and was washed away, all his fears subdued by immense feeling of warmth.

Know that you are loved, the voice bid. Know that you were born in a place of wonder, that you carry all of Samodevia's magic within your own hearts.

A hand took Valeri's. Valeri raised his head and saw Ira smile at him through eyes slowly losing vision to a brilliance of pale light. He reached for Iavor and caught the man's hand as well. Perhaps he would not lose them, he thought.

His home did not lie in the ruins of Beaufort Manor, or the long forgotten remains of his childhood home. His home was with these people, and perhaps – perhaps he would get to keep it still.

Let us meet again, their Queen bid.

***

Rae, Queen of Hel, watched the stars swaying over Hel's frozen lands. They sang a song of a land far away, a land of magic and wonder –

The Kingdom at the End of the World.

END