I carry Kael down the mountainside on my back. My feet bleed on the sharper stones, my soles bruise, but this way Kael can talk without yelping in pain every other word.

"Didn't you mention making some sticks glow once? Was that like your healing thing?"

"I thought so, I thought the branches glowed when they were alive and I was just bringing them back to life a bit." I pause. "It's pretty obvious I was just lying to myself though, and was actually putting mist in them. I didn't fix anything in the stick like how I patch up muscle and bones when I heal."

"Oh. So are we still going by he, or do we use something else now? She? They? I know like two people that use they. Or are we using something entirely made up?"

"Not she," I say. "Unless you want to."

"Nah. Let's use they. Maybe he sometimes. Or some mashup like hirm and che."

"Okay. I'm calling you they."

"Hey, maybe your destroyer powers are why you keep sunlight energy for longer. Like when you sent me flying in the middle of the night, that took a bunch of mist. Or maybe it's not destroyer powers; you just practiced a lot in the dark with all your soldier healing, so you got stronger, to store up a lot of sunlight. Wait aren't you guys nocturnal? How often did you even get sunlight?"

"It came through the walls of my room sometimes."

Silence.

So I glance over my shoulder. Kael's just blinking, like they're waiting for something.

"What?" I say.

"And..."

"And nothing. It came through the walls of my room sometimes. The sun rose in that direction, so usually in mornings when I went to bed, there was enough light to sort of see what I was doing."

Their arms tighten around my shoulders. "That's it? You didn't, like, go on walks before sleeping? You didn't have a window? You went...how long did you go without even seeing the sun?"

"When I was little I went outside in the morning. And if I stayed late in the healer's hall, that's got windows. Then I turned twelve and joined the second watch of healers. That covers the middle of the night."

"How many times have you seen the sun?"

"I don't know, how many times have you seen the moon?"

"A lot. But that's different. I go outside. I've been on the battlefront."

"Well." I scoff. "I've seen the sun plenty."

"Not enough, apparently, if you think sunlight coming through the walls counts as anything."

I stop, and release my arms holding up Kael's legs. But they keep their legs up, and their grip around my collarbones tightens. "Are you tired?" they ask.

"No."

They wrap their legs around my midriff.

This is not-- "You were supposed to fall off," I say.

"What?"

"You said an annoying thing so I tried making you fall off."

"Oh." Their weight shifts subtly to my right. "Well I don't want to. The rocks look sharp. Hey, are you leaving a trail of blood?"

I sigh, but resume walking. We're nearly to the fringes of the valley meadow, covered in green flowers instead of a jagged rock field.

"I didn't know you were going to bleed by carrying me. Hey, Troy, I can walk--"

"Yeah but then you'll yelp and bleed too, so I'll have four feet to heal."

They mutter, shifting on my back. "If there was a stupid tree I could make sandals out of..."

"There's not." A spiky rock stabs the middle of my foot, cutting skin. Blood spreads hot along the bottom of my foot, but my next step lands on a patch of fuzzy blue plants rooted amidst the rocks.

"You left a red footprint on that rock," Kael says.

My foot finds another patch of fuzzy blue; we move past the first of hundreds of tiny brown bushes with green blooms.

"And you're staining the moss."

I tromp through a heap of rocks shifting underfoot, trudging deeper into the valley, through scruffy plants holding aloft miniscule flowers, shaped like curled fists.

"Are you okay?" Kael asks.

"Just look for a good resting place, will you?"

"Oh." Their crossed legs tighten around my stomach and their biceps flex against my collarbones. "This shouldn't do anything permanent."

I open my mouth to ask what--a blinding bolt of light stabs through my body, like it's turning my organs, outside and in, into the fizz of a bubbly drink. Then the bolt's gone, traveled through my body and presumably Kael's.

I turn and stare at the unscathed blue fuzz and green flowers and jagged rocks where the bolt probably struck the ground.

"Hey!" Kael calls. "Quit shooting at us!"

My body turns to fizz again, then a beam of light exits my stomach and strikes the ground, vanishing.

"I do not like that feeling," Kael mutters.

"Who is it?" a voice yells, deep and amplified.

"It's me, you dolt!" Kael shouts. "I found someone!"

I turn around.

"Want to put me down?" Kael asks. "And maybe heal your feet right now too."

"I'm not holding onto you," I say.

A pause. "I knew that." His weight slips off my shoulders.

I shut my eyes, sending magic through my feet, patching up muscle and tiny blood vessels and outer skin, tissue crawling together over the scrapes in my heels, the balls of my toes, the edges and arches of my feet.

"Michael?" a voice calls. I open my eyes, and my stomach growls. A figure in all white runs across the green valley, buzzed hair black against pale skin.

"Who's that?" I ask.

Kael rubs a hand through their hair. "She's Nomsa."

"Michael, who is that?" Nomsa calls. She carries no weapons, not even a backpack.

"Is she one of the guards?" I ask.

Kael stares at me. "Obviously"--they turn to Nomsa's running figure--"their name's Troy!"

Nomsa's pounding boots thrum closer; clothes whip through stems and waxy leaves. I shuffle from foot to foot, squishing fuzzy blue plants, hands bobbing at my sides. I feel stared at. Even though Kael's technically only glancing between both of us, and Nomsa's looking at the ground.

Until she stops beside Kael, panting, hands on her head, white boots crushing a brown plant into the rocks. "Hey." She squints at Kael. And sticks out a fist. Kael bumps it. She puts her hand on her head again, taking heaving breaths.

"Hi," I say. I frown at Kael. "Should I do the breathing thing?"

"You already didn't get obliterated by the light bolt and that's pretty unequivocal." They shrug. "But if you want to?"

Mist leaks from my lips. Not that I meant to. I blame Kael. I inhale, and tell myself to stop. Nomsa still hasn't actually looked at me, she's just staring between Kael and the pale sky, panting. I exhale, and mist comes out. "Could you please tell it to stop?"

"Stop," Kael says. The mist goes away.

"Thanks."

They flash a smile.

"Hey, Michael," Nomsa says, lowering her hands. "What are you doing back already? Did you find a route to assassinate their leader already?"

My eyes bug. "That's what you were scouting out for?"

"Ahem," Kael coughs. Then sweeps their arms toward me. "Presenting Troy, born and raised in the Obsidian Castle, the cause of my return."

"I thought you were scouting out a way to attack the castle from behind!" I say.

Nomsa looks at me, as directed by Kael's hands. She blinks light green eyes. "Did you...dreamwalk it?"

I wrinkle my nose. "Huh?"

"Nomsa"--Kael's hands flutter--"I can't do that."

She blinks at me. "Did you..."

"Bewitching isn't a thing, that book made it up."

She tilts her head and steps closer to me, freeing the plant trampled under her boots. The stem springs up, having lost a handful of limp leaves. Plus all its bright green flowers now stain a small stone.

Nomsa pokes my arm, and I jerk it away, glaring. "What is your problem?"

"Nomsa, quit poking them."

She looks at Kael. "How did you get someone born and raised in the Obsidian Castle to carry you on their back? Do you know mind control?"

"No!" Kael says. "That's not real either, Nomsa."

I cough. "Turns out I do light stuff, so I ran away and Ka--"

Kael shoots me a wide-eyed stare.

"...Mi...chael." Kael's shoulders slump in relief, and I keep talking, "Like, saved me."

Nomsa looks at me, up and down. "Huh."

My arm itches, anticipating her poking me again. But she doesn't. "That's it?" I say. "Huh?"

She spins to Kael. "Livia told you to go on the scouting mission, right?"

Kael slowly nods.

"Well Madrina killed her. Then Madrina disappeared and now no one knows who's in charge anymore, but Calvin's got like a third of the castle following him and Axak has a lot of supporters too."

Kael frowns. "Livia's dead?"

Nomsa nods. "We were all super surprised. Oh and Zadia's on the battlefront so she has no idea yet."

"So...you've been alone?"

Nomsa shrugs. "I've been staying on guard out here. I've got a tent and some fish traps. No one ever comes through here."

I cross my arms, heart rate picking up. Dead people, a bunch of random names...I swallow. "So there's a power struggle right now?"

They both turn to me, blinking. "I guess." Kael shrugs. "This is why I stay in the library most of the time."

"So this is..." I just kind of stare. "This is normal?"

"I wouldn't say normal," Kael says. "Livia's been in charge of the fort for at least two years."

"Two..." I swallow again. "Only two years? The Empress has been leading the castle for...my whole life."

Nomsa goes still. She reaches out and pokes Kael's arm, and they swat her away, but she hisses something. "Nomsa says what," Kael says. "How is this possible."

I glance between them. "Because...no one's tried to kill her?"

Nomsa sticks her tongue out.

"That is not true," Kael says. "We've tried to assassinate the leader of the castle at least three times now."

My eyebrows sink toward my nose. "What?"

Nomsa turns to Kael. "Anyway, what should we do now? I'd like to get to my quarters and fetch another pair of boots, assuming no one else has claimed them--my quarters, not the boots. I don't know why anyone would claim my boots."

Kael's expression wrinkles. "Why don't you do that yourself? I'm hungry, and I need a bath. We both do."

Does that mean I smell bad?

Nomsa steps in front of Kael. "My quarters have that pipe that comes in from the river. And a tub. You could use those. If you help me get them back."

Kael squints. "Or, maybe we'll just bathe in the river. And use your fish traps."

Nomsa's hands clench into fists. "Do you want me to tell Calvin you're back? And that you brought a Night Warrior? He'll probably blackmail you into joining him."

"Do you want me to tell him you've been camping in the valley and avoiding the conflict?"

"I've been on guard duty the whole week."

"Um," I cough. "I'm not a Night Warrior."

"How long were you planning to do guard duty, then?" Kael glares.

Her shoulders shoot up. "Until you or Zadia came back, and we could set up a base inside the castle."

Kael blinks, and runs a hand through their hair. Gray dirt from their fingers leaves streaks. "You didn't say set up a base."

Nomsa untenses. "Yeah I did. Basically."

"Why don't we go for Zadia's quarters, then?"

"Because she booby traps the place like mad? And I don't want to die?"

Kael's eyes flick over Nomsa's shoulder, to my face. "Troy can heal."

"I can?" Wait. "I mean, yeah, I can. I'm really confused right now, why are we trying to get into quarters that someone has booby-trapped?" I glance around the meadow, like tripwires and hidden projectiles will catch us unawares from the flowers. "Why are anyone's quarters booby-trapped?"

"Wow," Nomsa says, not looking at me. "Is your night warrior sheltered?"

I stare daggers at her scalp. "I'm not sheltered. Just because I don't know about booby traps doesn't make me sheltered. And I'm not a night warrior. They tried to kill me."

Kael nibbles their lip, staring between Nomsa and I.

"Michael?" Nomsa asks, like I haven't even spoken.

I stick my tongue out at her bare neck and storm away, through rows of flowers.

"Nomsa, you are being a jerk," Kael says, and runs after me.

She sputters. "What?"

Kael yelps like they've stepped on a rock, so I glance back to offer and carry him. But they trip into me, and I stumble, arms wheeling. "Hey!" Kael whirls. Mist, shaped like a block, rises from the trampled plants. I gape at Nomsa, who stomps a foot, mist leaking from her breath.

"Don't call me a jerk," she says. The mist that Kael tripped on dissipates.

Kael tilts their head. "Then don't act like one."

They stalk away, on their tiptoes, ginger on the rocks.

Nomsa exhales mist. From where she's standing, paces behind Kael, vapor fires from her breath in a fist, streaking toward their exposed back. I open my mouth to warn them, lift a hand to intercept it or something--but Kael just ducks, a thin puff of vapor left behind from their mouth. The mist-fist soars over Kael's head, narrowly missing the breath--then their stream of mist darts after Nomsa and slams her shoulder, knocking her to the soil.

Kael spins. They glare at Nomsa, who sits up and glares back, both of them panting mist.

But my eyes go round; Nomsa's mist blur rockets back toward Kael.

I shout their name, jumping behind them. Light clouds in my face, my palms flash and I lift them before me.

Her mist blur collides with my glowing hands to dead silence.

Tendrils of light claw from my chest, jagged as lightning, and stab into Nomsa's weapon, draining it out like a dozen straws sucking. Mist pours from my skin, and the lightning tendrils shoot behind me, pouring energy into me.

"Troy, stop," Kael's voice hisses, and the light disperses. I pant for air, breath clear. Power spreads from my heart and fills my veins, like I could sprint back up the mountain without sweating.

"Whoa," I say, hands drifting at my sides like they're weightless, floating away.

A voice groans.

"I haven't seen that before." Kael's hand touches my shoulder. "What did you do?"

I turn. Kael's uninjured, their eyes wide. "I don't know," I say. "It just kind of happened." Paces away, Nomsa's sprawled on her back. "Did I...steal her energy?"

Kael's other hand pokes my shirt, where the lightning sprouted from. "Did you?"

"Nomsa?" I say. "Are you alright?"

She groans.

I blink at Kael. "I think I did. Did those things...try to drain you too?"

"No?" Their hand crawls up my ribs, to my collarbone, prickles in my skin trailing their touch. "Want to go make Zadia's booby-trapped quarters our base now? I'm hungry for real bread." Their eyes glitter. "And fish."

I point down the path. "What about her? And baths? Is she going to try to punch you again?"

They glance back, and shrug. "That's Nomsa. Have I said that? Don't worry, she'll go with my plan--river bathing, using her fish traps." They shrug again.

I swallow. "Because we beat her? Is that how this works?"

"Oh, no. She was going to go with it whether she lost or not. She just hates being wrong and takes it out like that." Their head tilts, hair flopping. "I don't understand why."

My eyebrows furrow. I don't understand either. I don't understand Nomsa, or Kael saying we can just use her stuff, or this fort apparently in the middle of a power struggle, which is a frequent occurrence-- "How have you guys not lost to the night warriors yet? They're way more in control of...they don't fight each other. Or, they spar to practice. But not like that." I wave my hand toward Nomsa. "They all work together."

Kael grins toothily. "Maybe they're not winning because they don't fight each other. They're all squishy. Too predictable."

"But they're not dying."

They step away from me. "Are you back to defending them? I thought you were over--"

I shake my head. "I'm just saying, maybe you're more scrappy and smart, but if you want to actually win, you have to, like...work together."

They plant their hands on their hips. "I'm working with you, aren't I?"

My lips open.

"I can walk, now." Kael trudges through the plants, the thin soil. "You got Nomsa?"

***
Author note: On a scale of 1 to 13, how much do you think Nomsa and Kael actually like each other?