They probably walked for an hour in silence, although it was difficult to judge time in the seemingly endless tunnel. Char knew Iris was walking blindly without the fairies to light her way, but she kept up with Rath's pace, tension written in every line of her face. He was glad she couldn't see Rath. His frequent glances back over their shoulders were unnerving, especially since Char still had no idea what they were running from. And the fairies hadn't returned.

"Do you smell that?" Rath finally asked.

Char sniffed and nodded. "Fresh air."

"Yeah." Rath exhaled in a loud whoosh. "We should be safe now, but the sooner we can get above ground, the better."

"Safe from what?" Char asked.

"Ah, well, I don't know what it's called," Rath said slowly. "Father and I ran into one once. It just looks like a dark cloud, but it moves, and if you get stuck in it, you'll suffocate."

"But - you sent the fairies into it," Iris gasped in shock.

"Well, they wouldn't have gone if they thought it was dangerous to them," Rath said defensively.

"They'll do anything for Iris," Char reminded him.

"No, he's right," Iris said. "They need convincing sometimes, and they didn't even hesitate."

Her words were steady and confident, but she was still worried. Char could see it in the tightness across her shoulders and the nervousness in her eyes. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I don't remember you or Father talking about anything like that," he said to Rath, wanting more information about whatever was chasing them.

"We...may have cut that one a bit close," Rath admitted. "He didn't want to worry Mother, especially since it was one of the first times he took me anywhere. You were still finishing flight school at the time."

"What happened?" Char pressed him.

"Uh...well...I passed out, so I don't really know all of it, but Kelnor was yelling at Father when I came to."

"Kelnor bailed you out?" Char asked incredulously.

"Ye-yeah, maybe," Rath said sheepishly.

Char shook his head. "What was he even doing there?"

Rath sighed. "It was actually a mission assigned to him and Father, but Father thought it was going to be an easy one, so he asked me if I wanted to come along. Of course I said yes. We took off before he was supposed to meet up with Kelnor."

"Wait. The Black Mountain mission?"

Rath nodded and grimaced. "That's the one."

"That thing," Char continued, pointing down the tunnel behind them, "is responsible for what happened at Black Mountain?"

"Not that particular one, but yeah."

"What happened at Black Mountain?" Iris asked.

"Unexplained disappearances and mass nightmares. It kept getting worse until the king ordered everybody to be evacuated. It's been under guard ever since. Nobody's allowed in," Rath replied. "I don't know how Kelnor got us away from that thing, but we would have died if he hadn't shown up."

"A whole team was sent there after Father and Kelnor's mission failed," Char explained to Iris. "With a mage for extra support. They never came back." He looked over her to Rath's grim face. "You saved our lives."

He shrugged. "Yeah, well."

"Thank you, Rath," Iris said softly.

Rath grinned. "It was nothing. I think I see light up ahead."

Char saw it, too. Iris squinted into the darkness, and then her eyes widened, and a smile broke out on her face. "I see it, too."

They hurried toward the small patch of light, but it didn't grow much at all as they neared it. Iris' face fell. It was nothing more than a crack in the ceiling, too small for anything bigger than a fairy to pass through it.

"I guess we'll have to keep looking," she said sadly.

"Nope. We'll make this work. Char, you start carving. Iris, come over here with me," Rath said, taking her by the hand and leading her a few feet away.

"I've never done this before," Char said dubiously, studying the crack.

"Neither have I, but you've got more magic than I do, so it'll probably go faster if you do it." Rath released Iris' hand and leaned casually back against the cave wall, shoving his hands in his pockets. Iris stood by his side, watching Char curiously, and Rath glanced pointedly back down the tunnel. Char turned his attention to the crack and reached toward it with both hands, his fingertips just brushing the stone. He knew how to do this, in theory, and Rath clearly wanted to get above ground as quickly as possible. Ice tore through his veins, but instead of keeping it inside for transformation, he forced it through his fingers, up into the stone, and it started to melt away.

"Hey, Iris, how surprised would you be if I told you that Kelnor and my father were best friends?" Rath asked her.

Char tried not to focus on Rath's voice as he directed the magic to spread outward and reach upward. He wasn't going to tell Rath to stop talking. Rath was trying to distract Iris so she wouldn't worry.

"Very surprised," Iris replied. "Kelnor seems like such a hard, no-nonsense guy, and your father sounds like he was a lot like you two."

Water dripped from the edges of the opening above Char like melting icicles at the beginning of spring.

"That's what he's like now, but the way Father talked, the two of them used to cut up worse than Char and I ever did. They met in flight school and ended up joining the army together."

"Should we move back more?" Iris asked. It was raining inside the tunnel, water hitting the stone floor in a steady pitter-patter.

"It's dry right next to Char," Rath replied. "Anyway, the really funny thing about Father and Kelnor is that they competed over Mother," he continued. The approaching footsteps told Char without looking that Rath was bringing Iris within the widening circle of daylight.

"Really?" she gasped, surprised.

"Oh, yeah. Mother says they were constantly at each other's throats for a while there."

"I can imagine. But it sounds like they stayed friends, or they at least made up eventually, right?"

"They stayed friends. As Father put it, Mother was quite a catch, so they had to work together to stay ahead of the competition. Kelnor ended up being his best man at the wedding."

Char was making good progress, though the strain of using this previously untapped magical ability was making him sweat. His tunnel had almost reached the surface, and he was now focused on widening the hole. They were going to have to fly out.

"Did he ever get married?" Iris asked, still engrossed in Rath's story.

"No, he's still got a thing for Mother," Rath replied. "It's kind of sad, actually. She hasn't really recovered from Father's death yet, so Kelnor hasn't made a move, but you can tell when you see them together."

There was a pause, and then Iris's voice came, hesitantly. "Did Micah kill your father?"

Char grimaced, and not just because of the fatigue building in his muscles. His arms were begging him to drop them to his sides, but he wasn't sure he could direct the magic appropriately if he did that, so he kept them up.

"I don't know," Rath replied quietly. "Kelnor was there when it happened, but he only told us a mage killed our father. He hasn't talked about it since."

"I'm sorry."

Char could picture Rath's dismissive shrug. "You apologize too much. Hey, Char, hurry up."

"Trying," Char grunted.

"Try harder."

"Is it coming?" Iris asked nervously.

There was a heartbeat of silence. "Yeah," Rath said. "How do you do this?" he asked, entering Char's peripheral vision.

"It's like you're transforming, but make the magic go outward," Char said breathlessly.

"Easy enough." Rath took a deep breath, reached up, and the stone began melting faster. The rain became a waterfall, splashing off the stone floor and soaking their shoes and pants. Char felt Iris' warmth as she stepped closer to him, close enough for their clothes to brush against each other.

"I can feel it," she whispered.

"Just a little longer," Char said through gritted teeth.

A sudden chill permeated the air. "It's moving faster. Iris, now would be a great time for you to throw up a shield," Rath said urgently.

"I-I don't know how," she stammered.

"Figure it out!"

Under any other circumstance, Char wouldn't tolerate Rath shouting at Iris like that. But he was nearing the end of his strength, and he wasn't even sure he could transform anymore. The cold was crawling across his skin, freezing the sweat on his face, and then all the light vanished. He couldn't breathe. It felt like a pair of hands wrapped around his throat, strangling him slowly, as if his attacker wanted to prolong his suffering as much as was possible before his inevitable death. Rath swore loudly beside him, and an icy wind blew through the tunnel, driving the darkness back for just a moment. Stone shuddered and crumbled as Rath roared, his body squeezed too tightly into the narrow space, muscles twisting and straining to widen the gap, his claws just missing Char and Iris beneath him. Iris shrieked in surprise as he reached down to grab her with his teeth and toss her up and out of the hole. Char realized what Rath was doing and pushed harder, keeping the waterfall going, widening the exit, and then the light vanished and the hands at Char's throat returned, and Rath's teeth snatched him up and tossed him into the air. Char braced himself for impact, and then a blinding white flash forced him to squeeze his eyes shut. The hands left his throat while he was still midair. He hit the ground hard, hard enough to knock the wind out of him, but he forced himself to sit up, gasping for air, and Rath shot out of the hole and into the sky. Iris was on her hands and knees at the edge of the opening, and a wall of white sealed it behind Rath, just barely missing his tail. Char fell back and closed his eyes, focusing on breathing. Dry grass crunched under the footsteps hurrying to his side.

"Are you okay?" Iris asked breathlessly, her fingers brushing his hair back from his face.

"Yeah," he gasped.

An earth-shaking thud told him Rath had landed. The icy blast of wind marked his transformation, and Char pushed himself to his feet, glaring at his brother.

"Don't you ever do that again!" he shouted, storming up to Rath.

Rath held a hand up in front of him, too breathless to speak, his chest heaving as he sucked in air. His face was ashen and sweaty.

"Char-" Iris said, putting a hand on his arm. He brushed her away and punched Rath in the jaw. Iris gasped as Rath hit the ground.

"That's what you get for nearly getting yourself killed!" Char yelled, standing over his prone brother. "If you try a stupid stunt like that again, I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"Char," Iris pleaded.

Rath sat up slowly, massaging his jaw. The corner of his lip opposite his injury quirked up. "You've got a wicked right."

"You're such an idiot," Char replied, exasperated. He dropped onto the grass to sit beside Rath. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself like that, got it?"

"Turns out I didn't have to, because you and Iris came through," Rath said, fully grinning.

Iris sank down to the grass next to Char, her brown eyes wide. "You were..."

"Yeah. The hole wasn't wide enough for him to get out, but he transformed anyway so he could get us out of there in time," Char confirmed.

Rath shrugged. "Something like that. But I knew Char would figure out what I was doing and widen the hole in time, and Iris can't sit back and watch somebody get hurt, so it was a pretty safe gamble, actually."

Char snorted. "Since when do you gamble?"

Rath set both hands a bit behind him and leaned back, a smug smirk on his face, a bruise already forming on his jaw. "Since about five minutes ago. Hey, Iris, that was a nice bit of magic there."

"Oh. Thanks," she said, smiling self-consciously. "I didn't control it very well, though."

"You're telling me. My rear's still tingling from that explosion." He looked back at Char, his blue eyes dancing. "It was like she shot me out of a cannon."

"Somebody probably saw that," Char muttered.

"Yeah, probably. Give me a few more minutes and we can go."

"Or I could set up a barrier, like I did when we were camping," Iris suggested. "Since I figured it out," she added, smiling shyly at Rath.

"No thanks. Unless we're in a situation like that, I'd rather you practice your magic somewhere away from me," he replied, smirking.

She smirked back. "Too late."

"What do you-"

Dozens of golden orbs surrounded them, spinning and twirling, darting into the center of the circle the three had formed, zipping back out, shooting up and dropping back down. Iris watched them, her bright smile reaching up to her shining brown eyes. Char grinned and found her hand on the grass between them.

"Told you they were fine," Rath said, flopping back and interlacing his hands behind his head as he watched the show.