Arden was a sight to behold. People were gathering on their rooftops and along walls to chance a glimpse at the oncoming storm clouds. They didn't pay us any attention as we made our way into the city and traced our way back to Fal's home. When we arrived, we eased into the library, knowing that Daya could have easily placed someone there to wait for his or our return. It was empty, though, and nothing seemed distrubed beyond how we had left it the first night we were there.

We still had at least an hour before the storm hit, and even then, the people of Arden were preparing to take shelter from the sandstorm that they could see building on the horizon. Ambrose began boarding up and reinforcing the outside of Fal's home, while Sidra went off to find Councilman Ere. I told her to use the name Leda Galahad in case she ran into any trouble, and told her that it should catch Sander's attention enough to win a meeting with him. Fal stayed inside, though, helping me rifle through his belongings in search of a spell that would help us to imbue Deorcae's soul into something else. We would have to worry about the item in question later.

We both searched in silence, with him doing most of the reading while I pulled any books that had keywords he told me to look for. It wasn't long before we found what we were looking for. The spell was printed cautiously onto a yellowing page of a leatherbound book. The book itself only read "The Art of Enchanting" and was one of our last choices.

I gave Fal a moment to read everything over, and he then told me what to write down on another blank sheet of paper. I had never been the best with quills so I kept messing up the words on my own. Paired with Fal changing his word of choice, he eventually took it for himself and I had to sit nearby with no use. When I asked if I could help with anything else, he just gave a heavy grunt and a side eye glance. I began looking around for items that we could attach the soul to. When I reached for a small gemstone, Fal's voice came from just behind me, and my hand knocked the gem down to the ground with a clatter.

He huffed and picked it up himself. "Nothing in here. It's all either too important or has other magical properties that would impede the process." He placed it back on the shelf, his eyes not even looking at me as he spun on his heel.

"Understandable. Sorry for messing your things-- messing with your things, I mean." Since when was I so bad with words?

"Just don't touch anything, then."

"If you don't want me here I can leave." When he didn't say anything, I started for the stairs. "I'll take your silence as an answer."

"Of course I want you here," he blurted out, "but we're going to need to talk about a few things."

I nodded. "Whenever you want."

Fal sat on the couch, his back turned to me.

I wanted to let him speak first, but when he didn't say anything for a few minutes I listened as the words flew from my mouth. "Fal, I'm so sorry. I wish I had never gotten you into this mess. I wish I had never said those things to you. You didn't deserve it. You've been a good friend, despite everything that I've done to you." I could feel my cheeks heating up. He still wasn't saying anything so I moved to sit on the couch in front of him. He only turned his face in a different direction, and there was a twinge of pain in my chest. "It's no excuse, but Via was the only person I really ever had. Other than Daya. I didn't think..." I looked at the outline of his shoulders and face, highlighted in the dying colors of the candlelight. "I didn't think what we had was like that."

He let out a small laugh. "Of course it wasn't." He turned to me. "It was never going to be." His eyes were soft. "Aumee, I knew who you were when you first met me. I followed Sander so he would feel the need to get protection. The best kind there is." He nodded to me. "I knew you would be sent to kill me when I found out my men had failed."

"You thought I would be sent to kill you," I corrected.

His smile grew a little bigger. "Thank you for the clarification. I was angry at first. When I was cursed. Once we set out together, though, I realized that you were just doing your best. You were trying your best. I had every means to make a good living for myself without having to work in the Ring. I didn't have to do the stuff that I did. You did. You didn't have a choice."

"Yes, I did."

"Not really. You had to choose between two terrible options." He went to say more but I stopped him.

"You're just saying that because you've grown soft," I teased. "Living the life of a bride to be is a much better option than the life of an assassin. I could have done it. Easily. I chose not to."

He looked down to his feet. "I suppose. Either way, as you've pointed out, someone else would have been doing the killing anyway." We soaked in the silence for a minute. "All I'm trying to say is, I think you're brave. Being with you for the past month has taught me that much. You may not have been brave enough to shoulder everything it was Daya had you do, but who would be?" He reached his hand up, as if to touch my arm, but then he pulled it back towards himself. "Aumee, I admire you. I think you can guess that much. I just... I don't like seeing you like this. You have been a warrior from the moment we met. To see you just give up like that... it worries me."

I sighed, wrapping my arms around myself. "If you expect me to be fearless, you would be fooling yourself." I looked down to the soft brown fabric of the sofa. "I have all of my guilt and burdens back. I'm not going to be the person I was at the beginning."

"And that's okay. I just..." He looked to the daggers at my waist. "I need to know that those daggers have no intention of--"

"No," I reassured him. "They don't. I don't."

"Very well then."

I swayed in my spot for a minute as we both looked away from one another. I snuck a peek at Fal's face. His eyes were a beautiful shade of brown and were rimmed with dark lashes. His beard was already coming along nicely, and it masked some of the rock that crept up his neck. He caught me staring so I decided to embarrass him first. "So, when you say you admire do you mean as a fighter or as...?"

"As in I would be very envious if my brother had been the one to marry you. More so now than before all of this happened." He finally worked up his courage and reached forward, touching the side of my face with a delicateness I didn't think I could attribute to him. "I admire your strength and your courage. When you're not looking, I admire other things." A wicked smile flashed across his face. A wave of heat went through my body and he let out a laugh. "I don't mean to embarrass you."

"I think you do."

He sighed and let his hand fall back to his side. "I hope all of that doesn't change anything, though. You're quite the puzzle and I haven't figured out yet if you even think of me in the same way. If not, I'll live. Albeit broken hearted but..." he turned to face where the sun had dipped over the horizon, "I'll live. I meant what I said, though, about being by your side. I would put off breaking my curse for you. I would also break my curse for you. In a heartbeat. If that's... if that's how you preferred me. Though, I can't say I would blame you for not wanting someone so horny." He turned to me with raised eyebrows and a big smile.

I couldn't help but laugh. Whether it was his terrible joke or his childlike excitement, I laughed. "Fal Ere, you keep making jokes like that and you may win me over yet." I nudged his arm. "I won't say I'm head over heels for you, but you're definitely sweet," I said to him. I wanted to be honest. He deserved that much. His happiness faded the slightest bit, but there was hope in his eyes. "If there's one reason I made it as far as I have, it's you. I didn't want to let you down after having pulled you into this mess. And I... I could have turned my back on you when I visited Daya but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. As she put it, some boy was sweet on me." I reached up, pushing a curl from his face. "I suppose you could say you've had me charmed for a while."

Fal grabbed my hand and held it to his face. "That's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me."

I laughed again and pulled my hand away. "You're pushing your luck."

"Can I push it further?" His eyes glanced to my lips, and I felt another wave of heat. Rather than answer him, I leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"You may not."

"I'm just fine with that." He bowed ever so slightly to me when I pulled away. "We should go help Ambrose with reinforcements now that we've found what we needed." He rose from the couch and started towards the staircase.

I fell in step behind him, but pulled him back. "Wait, Fal." He turned, his eyes hopeful. I couldn't help but smile. He thought I would give him a kiss. I remembered that I had stopped him for something much different, though, and I felt the warm feeling in my chest fade away. "I have a plan. For Deorcae."

He glanced over his shoulder. "Are you sure? As in... are you sure you want to do it?"

"We either do it or we don't. Either way... I think there's really only one way we can get Daya and Deorcae to move to the location."

"I'm always on board. You should know that." His voice was solemn as he stood before me. He reached forward with his left hand and held my arm.

"I need to be the one who brings Daya to us. I need to be the bait."

⇼❂⇼

Sidra returned just as the city began sounding the alarms for the storm. We still had a little over half an hour, but we all could feel the weight. Sidra slipped into the makeshift doorway, while Ambrose lowered a thick piece of wood across the middle. Sidra removed her scarf and took in a deep breath as she looked around at us all. "You all seem to have been busy."

"And you haven't been?" Ambrose rolled his eyes and plopped down on a chair.

Sidra shot him glare. "It didn't take as long as I thought it would to see the councilman. As soon as I gave his servant my name, he met me at the entrance rather than send for me to be brought to him. What's the meaning of the name?" She looked at me curiously.

"It was the name and identity I was to take on when I married him. That never happened." I could feel Fal tense up beside me as Sidra sized the two of us up. "Continue. We don't have much time."

"He's willing to meet. Not in Kafali, though. He said he would come here. With guards, of course, but..." she shrugged and leaned against the door, letting her eyes fall shut. "He said he would be here just after me, but I couldn't sense anyone following me. We may have to wait a few minutes."

Fal laughed. "No we won't. Follow me." He led everyone back down into the hidden library but advised us to wait on the stairs. I watched as he made his way over to one of the bookshelves where he grabbed onto a small wooden idol. When he pulled it away from the shelving, the bookshelf parted from its place against the wall and swung out to meet Fal. He opened it all the way to reveal a tunnel. "My brother and I were always quite the fans of things like this."

Ambrose muttered something in my ear. "I can't tell if it's genius or ridiculous that he hid a hidden room within another hidden room." I couldn't help it as the corners of my lips betrayed my amusement. Genius or not, it was coming in handy.

Fal grabbed one of the candles from its place along the wall and sat it on the floor of the tunnel. Within seconds, I could hear footsteps echoing from the dark hallway. An armored guard appeared first, his hand at his waist. Behind him, I could see Sander Ere lurking in the shadows. Fal stepped back so the guard could leave the tunnel and we all sat in silence as the people filed out of the cave one by one. Sander had brought seven guards with him. Each one wore a purple sash around their leather and silver armor, with the chestplate engraved with a brilliant golden sun.

"Fal?" Sander rushed forward to grab his little brother, his hands coming to hold his face as he took him in. "I wasn't sure I believed it." Tears escaped Sander's eyes as he pulled his brother into a hug. I could hear them muttering and whispering to one another as they held on, but Sander's eyes turned suddenly in our direction. His eyes lit up as they fell on me. "You."

I stood my ground as he unsheathed a sword from a nearby guard and made his way over to me, placing the tip of his sword just under my chin. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Councilman."

"She's one of Daya's! Arrest her!" Sander's face was contorted into a hideous grimace as his guards stepped towards me.

Fal yanked his brother back and forced him to sit in a chair, where his brother's rage doubled. "She will not be arrested."

"She's the reason you were taken--"

"You..." Fal held his hand up but looked to where the guards were prepared to grab a hold of me. "Call off your guards, Sandy. We don't have time for this. I'll explain later. She's on our side."

The air in the room lightened up as the twins and I sat on the couch across from the Ere brothers. The guards paced the perimeter of the room and held the doorways as Fal explained everything to him. Everything about why he was pushed to go to Daya in the first place, to why he was cursed, to why we were there now. As soon as he finished, I jumped in. Sander still hadn't said anything.

"All of this is because Daya was able to restore much of Deorcae's strength. He's the reason the storm is coming in. It's not just any storm, though. We think the black sand, if it's breathed in, will make people more violent. We need you and the Council to make a decree that everyone should tightly wrap their nose and mouth so that they can't breathe in any sand. It will help to reduce the risk of the city going mad against one another while we take on the source."

Sander leaned forward and intertwined his fingers. "We can try, but we have no guarantee that residents will actually follow those rules. Some may, of course, but others may think it's silly. To them it will be just another sandstorm." He leaned back in his chair, thinking hard about everything presented to him. "Believe it or not, I think giving that order would do us more harm than good. If Daya and Deorcae know that such a warning has gone out then they would be on edge. I think, personally, it would be better to risk the residents turning on one another than to give away what little cover we currently have."

I nodded. "You're right. There's really no way that would work."

Ambrose chimed in. "We may not be able to warn the residents, but you could inform your guards to do it for their own safety. It would be able to stay under wraps that way, and, as a bonus, we could have guards watch over the residents and provide support to us." He mimicked Sander's stance and Sander smiled wide.

"Very good thinking. Remani," Sander snapped and a guard rushed to his side, "run back to the Council and give those orders immediately. Tell the other councilman that we have insider information and that they should all retreat to their safest locations after giving the orders."

"Yes, Councilman Ere." The guard bowed and sprinted into the tunnel.

"That brings us to the next step," I began. "I'll need to lure Daya to a specific location where your guards are hiding and ready to provide any support. I'm not sure how many we'll need but as many as you can manage would be helpful. We need to keep them both distracted for long enough that one of us can get to Deorcae." I nudged Sidra and she pulled out the sawl ripa.

"This is a dagger than can pull souls from the body housing them. We think we can take Deorcae out of his physical form and use a spell to imbue it into a different and less threatening item." She looked to me as if for affirmation.

Fal was the one who answered. "We need to be around water, and I think the Mouth of Kafali, near the base of the waterfall, is a great place. Water will help for the magic to flow easier."

"Whatever you think is best," Sander said with a stern face. "You'll be the one practicing the spell?" He pointed to Sidra and when she nodded he sighed. "I'll have my guards be sure to have their eyes on you. If anything threatens you, my men will be advised to protect you. That way we can ensure that if all goes well with Daya and Deorcae, you'll be there to finish it."

"Thank you, Councilman Ere." Sidra bowed her head, and as she did so I could see a tear fall from her eyelashes and onto her leg. I grabbed her hand in mine and squeezed.

"Sidra will be in charge of staying well until we have the soul. For that, we'll need to work together on not only distracting Daya, but Deorcae as well. That way one of us can get a hit in." I looked to the guards around the room. "I can't be the one who starts out with the dagger. Daya will immediately suspect me. Fal or Ambrose will have to hold onto it, and we have to be ready to trade it off."

"If we're going to be fighting in the lake, I recommend everyone have a sturdy grip on the damned thing." Ambrose rose to his feet and began pacing the room. "We should think of an actual plan. So far we have nothing but ifs."

Fal grunted in agreement. "Aumee will be the bait. She'll bring Daya there, and hopefully, Deorcae will be at her side. How will we know when to attack?" All eyes turned to me. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek as I tried to think of the best options. Or, the only options we had.

"I'll try to fight her myself to start with. Perhaps that will draw out Deorcae. If it doesn't immediately draw him out, I'll need the guards to come in first to help me fight her off. Then, Deorcae should at least be aware that what's going on is more than personal. If we can draw him out, we'll need all hands in. I'm not sure what Deorcae will be capable of, exactly, but we need everyone fighting. Fal and Ambrose, if you two can stay out of the fight for as long as possible, that gives us the best chance."

They both nodded. Ambrose continued, "The first opening one of us sees, we'll head in and take our shot."

"If it's not clean?" Sander's rose his brows. "What then? If you miss, the dagger could either fall in the water or into the hands of the people you intend to kill. It seems to me like any shot will have to be absolutely perfect."

I managed a smile as I looked up to meet Fal's eyes, saying, "So we'll make it perfect."