It was strange how quickly he’d adjusted to this, to these visions and the strange, suspended mental state that came with them. So that he could be watching himself prepare to fight Eldred while still being himself preparing to fight Eldred.

And how he could feel Ruan pulling back, fighting to get free. How he could feel Samir holding the magic together, keeping Ruan from breaking it.

Let me go! Ruan was furious and terrified, and they were all tied together in that dangerously intimate way that meant Varajas could feel it. Varajas could feel everything.

The fight with Eldred was playing out before them. Varajas didn’t need to watch. He knew what happened. How quickly his surprise at Eldred’s betrayal had turned to anger, and how that anger had given him strength. All the strength he’d needed to fight back. To defend himself. To kill his fellow bladed brother.

Varajas knew all that. He remembered. Just as he knew what came next.

I don’t want to see! Ruan’s mind beat against its cage like a panicking bird.

I do, was Samir’s calm reply, his magic around them like steel. And with that, they were all dragged back down.