For hours, people had been talking, but Rina hadn't paid attention to a single word that had been said. Instead, she stared across the water at the frozen river banks, waiting for the moment when the river would freeze over completely and they would have to walk again. Emrick had said that they wouldn't have much time.

But it was easier than trying to escape from Jonin on foot. The man had come so close to killing her back at the laboratory. If it hadn't been for Emrick, she'd be dead. Jonin may be injured, but she doubted that would stop him from following them wherever they went.

Whenever she closed her eyes, images of Jonin's sword and the burning laboratory imprinted themselves on the backs of her eyelids. She should have fought harder, should have been stronger, then Jonin never would have caught her. She should have been able to kill him so that they would be safe while they searched for the second stone. That was what she had promised Isiah, and already, she was breaking that promise.

It wasn't completely her fault though. If she had been trained to the extent she wanted to, she would have been able to hold her own against Jonin without issue. But, of course, she was to be the next Queen and while knowing to fight would be important, she would never be allowed to have the full training of the Warriors of Ziya. She would have to live vicariously through her brother if she ever saw him again.

With her choice to follow Isiah north, she wouldn't see her family again for a long time. After the fight with Jonin, she was regretting it a bit, but guarding the supposed Beast that was Promised would eventually result in victory for her family. All she had to do was follow through with what she promised and Isiah would hold up his end of the deal.

Lost in thought, she dropped her hand over the edge of the boat, her fingers grazing the chill water. The cold was a sharp contrast to the heat Isiah's stone emitted and she let out a soft sigh at the feeling.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a deep voice said, pulling her from her thoughts. Emrick eyed her in curiosity, a hint of amusement in the tilt of his lips. "The merfolk like to bite."

She ripped her hand away in an instant. "There are merfolk in this river?" she asked incredulously.

"Aye, freshwater merfolk," he said with a nod. "I doubt they've gone into hibernation yet. They won't until the river is completely frozen over, so keep your hands out of the water. Merfolk bites hurt."

She wasn't the only one who stared down in the water in the hopes of seeing one of the merfolk, Nerin also ducked his head over the edge. There was a smile on his face, but it was nowhere near as big as the ones he had seen back in Ishmar before the treaty before his brother tried to kill her.

The water was too murky for her to see anything and it wasn't as though she was going to duck her head into the icy cold. She sat up and watched as Emrick slowly moved the paddles back and forth. Isiah sat near him, staring down at the floor of the boat, his face deathly pale.

She wanted to speak to him but didn't know what to say. He hadn't hurt anyone, not physically, but it was obvious that Emrick was angry over the laboratory, even if he hadn't said as much. It was his home, who wouldn't be angry over the destruction of it? It wasn't just that though, his master, Nerin's uncle, had died as well, most likely as a result of their actions.

So many people had died because of them and she didn't know how to feel about it. She'd been the one to kill some of them after all. But some, like the Father and Nerin's uncle, had been innocent. They didn't deserve what had happened to them, all for trying to help her and Isiah. There was guilt within her, fluttering like butterflies in her stomach, but she also knew that it was something that was going to happen more often than not on their journey.

People dying wasn't going to stop her from getting what she wanted. War had reached Vishera, after all, there would be plenty of death. What she needed to do was stop her family and as many of her people as possible from joining the ranks of departed souls.

Next to her, Nerin let out a huff and pulled away from the rushing river. "I can't see anything," he said, disappointment lacing his voice.

"They're probably hiding," Emrick replied noncommittally. With a grunt, he pushed the boat further. When they'd lost sight of Jonin hours ago, he'd attempted to teach both her and Isiah how to row the boat, but neither paid much attention to him, lost in their own raging thoughts. It probably wasn't fair on him, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

On the nearby banks, the snow fell lightly, smothering the dirt and the thick branches of the trees. A cool wind whipped at her hair, blowing it in her eyes. Sometimes she could feel the cool sting of it, reminding her that it was winter and she would usually be freezing. The stone in Isiah's pocket was the only thing stopping her from freezing to death.

It came as a shock to her that the thing that was warming her up was the same thing that had just destroyed an entire building. Its powers were so wildly different and even with practice, Isiah seemed to have very little control over it. All he needed was practice, but if the few weeks had taught her anything, one little mistake would stop him from doing what he needed.

Potentially, she would have to force him to use it. If she had been the one to get the stone and become the Beast, she would be nervous too. But there was no time to falter. He was obviously needed to aid in the war, but he couldn't do that if he didn't practice. He wouldn't have to kill anyone if he didn't want to, but he still needed to know how to use the stone, especially before he got the second one.

Askarune's fear stone was, according to Emrick's map, up north and still in Brenmar. It would be a long time before she went back to Minisia, but in the end, it would be worth it. Or so she hoped. The Beast that was Promised was something she had never believed in. It belonged to a religion that wasn't her own and she still had no idea what to think about it.

She could assume that Nerin was in the same boat as her. He believed in Sol and Lune as well, although, he seemed much more open to the idea of the Beast than he should be. It was understandable, even she was a little bit in love with the idea of a destined saviour meant to fix all of her problems, despite what it meant for her Gods.

Emrick was someone she couldn't read. She had no idea how he felt about something that proved even the science he studied wrong. He hadn't said anything about it. In fact, somehow, he had completely avoided the topic of the Beast or the stones since they escaped from Jonin. When she had been listening, he'd talked about menial things, the merfolk, the boat, their surroundings, anything but what was on all of their minds.

There were so many questions she had for him after what had happened at his home. He knew how to fight, and in her style too. She doubted a Warrior of Ziya would have gone to a border town and trained one of the struggling criminals that lived there, so how did he know how to fight? She doubted he was born of the Askari side of the border, living in Brenmar, so that made everything all the more confusing.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Emrick," she said and bit down on her lip at the exhausted look in his eyes. "What will you do now?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, lowering the paddles and allowing the boat to be carried by the river currents.

"Well, now that..." she trailed off when Isiah looked at her, guilt in his yellow eyes. "Once we come to shore again, what will you do?"

Emrick didn't answer for a moment, looking around at the tree-lined banks. Some still held leaves, but all were doused in a thick layer of snow. The dark clouds above them spilt more and threatened a thicker fall in a few hours. They'd need shelter soon, but she doubted they would find any. They would be on the river until at least nightfall.

"You're the only one who can fight, Princess," Emrick finally said, drumming his fingers against the wooden paddle. "And you were still almost killed by Jonin. Nerin may be learning but it still isn't enough. If you want to get to the second stone and beyond, you'll need all the help you can get."

Isiah stared at him, lips parted and eyes wide. "You're coming with us?" he asked. It had to be the first time he'd spoken since they'd gotten in the boat. What had he been like before she met him? Had he been talkative or was he just as quiet? She'd never know; there was no one left to ask.

The halfling shrugged. "What else can I do?" he said and Rina almost winced at the sadness in his voice. It wasn't even her doing and she still felt terrible. "I have nowhere else to go and you all need help. Jonin killed my family, I want him to pay for that."

She let out a soft sigh of relief. She may not know what to think of the halfling, but he was a strong and capable fighter, someone they desperately needed with them if they wanted to find all of the stones.

"Thank you," she said, the smallest of smiles pulling at her lips. Nerin sat in silence but nodded at Emrick in thanks. They didn't get along, that much she knew, but she had no idea why. Emrick was a little strange, but he appeared to be good company.

"Are you sure?" Isiah asked, wringing his hands together.

The eldest of them all frowned down at him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Even Rina was confused by his words, but she didn't dare speak over him. "It's going to be dangerous, deadly even," Isiah said, his voice so quiet that the wind threatened to blow it away. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of this. Too much has already happened. The Sanctum, both of them. I- I don't want anyone else-"

"I'm not going to get hurt, Isiah," Emrick said, a soothing tone to his voice. "Alright, that's a lie. I might, but this is still my choice. I want to help you, even if it means I might get hurt. You need help and I want to see the Kingdom fall. It's a win for both of us."

Isiah didn't look all that convinced. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His fixed his gaze on the same spot on the floor of the boat as before, his teeth worrying into his bottom lip.

Nerin made a noise of disapproval. "But I'm the Kingdom," he argued and crossed his arms over his chest.

Emrick rolled his eyes. "You're twelve, you know nothing of royal matters," he said and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm thirteen! And what do you know of royal matters? You're a scientist's apprentice," he replied, annoyance lacing his voice. Rina wanted to reach over and stop the two of them, but she didn't know how.

"I was a prince's apprentice. Turian taught me a lot, Nerin. I know far more than you think," Emrick said, his voice monotone and his face bored. "But you aren't your brother. I'm hoping that this trek will help you see that there is more to being King than war."

Nerin said nothing, just looked out over the water. Rina ran a hand down her face and wished for a comfortable place to lie down and sleep, but she already knew they wouldn't find one. Across from her, Isiah's knee jumped up and down and he was still wringing his hands together.

"We'll be alright, Isiah," Rina said, reaching out to place a hand on his knee. "Emrick and I will make sure of it." It was probably a lie. They were young and inexperienced; there was no way they would end up uninjured during their journey, but she wouldn't know for sure until it happened. She would try and keep her words true. She didn't want to see any of them hurt and in pain.

Isiah sighed and tilted his head to look at the cloudy sky. "Thank you for helping us, Emrick," he whispered, nudging the other man's leg with his elbow. "I'm sorry for all that's happened since you met us."

There was a pause so poignant it seemed that even the river had stopped flowing. Nerin met her eyes, a nervous set to his face. "It's alright. Turian wasn't your fault," Emrick replied, but his voice seemed far away. The words hidden were obvious. It wasn't their fault that Turian was dead, but it was their fault that his home was gone and there was nothing they could do to change that.