By the time I could walk again, the girls from Sorentina had settled in nicely. Three meals a day became the norm, with Cannoli and Fiona heading the kitchens. Keke and two others formed a daily triad of hunters and foragers capable of taking on the groups of Encroachers that slipped through the cracks. And Sanaia, her group of warriors, Ceres, and one other girl from Sorentina set to work on fixing the gates surrounding the city. While Ceres didn’t have the blacksmithing prowess of Espada, she was well-versed in metals and crafting.

That left one final group to attend to the gardens I’d started. I’d insisted on seeing the progress after I was able to walk around without wanting to throw up for a few days. Tristan and Ara accompanied me along with those assigned to farming.

“Shouldn’t you still be resting?” Tristan asked as we made our way up the hill.

Fewer and fewer Encroachers were lurking around the city. The handful that I did see were either harmless—darting from bush to bush and scampering up trees—or quickly dealt with in way of a well-thrown dagger from Ara. I prayed that dispatching the twin Defiled meant less Encroachers as a whole and a faster recovery time for Catania.

“I’m tired of resting,” I admitted. “I’ve been resting for over a week.”

Ara pulled one blade from the corpse of a previously particularly moody roach. “The venom was potent indeed. I should like to know if I could bottle it.”

Now that’s a terrifying thought. “I bet Ravyn could tell you.”

Ara frowned. “I’m sure.”

“Really, though, are you alright?” Tristan asked again.

“Hey, I’m fine. Really. I promise you won’t have to carry me back.” I inhaled the fresh air and stretched my arms at my sides. The musky cave environment had become my norm, and I had forgotten how good it felt to have the warm sun on my face. “You can just let me rot where I fall.”

Tristan groaned. “That’s not funny.”

I chuckled. “Alright. Sorry. What about you? Are you hanging in there?”

I knew Tristan had attended Jazz’s burial, but we hadn’t spoken about her since. He chewed on his lip, and, for a brief moment, his eyes flickered toward the ground. But he recovered with a bright smile and a curt nod. “I’m good. Thanks.”

Yeah, I feel that. “Alright.”

We arrived at the familiar roofless building, and Kahvi, one of the Sorentina crew, carefully guided me between each crop row and pointed out the minute changes she’d made.

“Some of the vegetables you planted need more sunlight than they were receiving.” She pointed to what was left of the overhanging roof. “So I switched them with those that would do better in the shade.”

“It seems like each island has its own climate,” I noted. “That would change the soil’s makeup and your options for plants.”

Kahvi nodded. “That’s exactly right. I’ve visited San Island twice in my life. It rains a lot more here than it does over there, but they tend to have cooler temperatures.”

I’d have to be careful when I started my own garden on Ni. For some reason I had assumed it would work exactly how Shizen had taught me, but now I realized there were more aspects to farming that I had to take into account. I’m glad I have Saphira to shadow. “Thanks, Kahvi. We didn’t overwater anything, did we?”

“Not enough to do any real damage,” she laughed. “Look, plenty of sprouts are coming up. You did just fine.”

I knelt for a closer inspection and realized she was right. Many of our crops had already taken root and long green stems with tiny leaves poked out from the soil. I rubbed one of the leaves between two fingers, picturing Marianne as she dug into the dirt at my side. I could hear her laughing as I tried to explain the fertilizer situation. I may not have known her very long, but her sudden absence was so damn heavy.

Kahvi placed a hand on my shoulder and squatted beside me. “This world is a harsh one. We wake up every day knowing that it may be our last.” She gestured to the plants. “However, our intentions are echoed through those we leave behind.”

I pulled my hand away from the plant and ran it through my hair. I guess I really do wear my emotions on my sleeve. “Thanks, Kahvi.”

A sad smile settled across her lips. “I’ll take good care of this place, I promise.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Later that evening, Keke, Cannoli, Ravyn, Ceres, and I joined Tristan and Ara at dinner to discuss our next plans.

“Portia’s still waiting outside of Anyona. We need to head back,” I began once I’d finished off my bowl of stew.

“You really think she’s still there? I’d have left by now,” Ravyn reasoned.

That was very possible, but we had little choice. It’s not like we could just show up in Venicia and ask for Celestia’s kind understanding to let us and her kidnapped maid and island’s man leave.

“What other choice do we have?” I asked. “She waited for us in Venicia, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. I guess,” Ravyn huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “All this trust makes me uncomfortable.”

“Are you well enough to travel?” Keke asked.

“The other healers here and I have done everything we can at this point,” Cannoli spoke up before I could reply. “He’s eating, sleeping, and moving normally, so it should be safe to travel back.”

“We’ll just have to go through that fucking cave again,” Ravyn shivered. “I’d almost rather face off against the head bitch of Venicia than step foot in that shithole again.”

“The Defiled and her undead minions are no more. It should be an easier journey provided we don’t touch anything,” Ara replied. She lifted her mug of tea and daintily sipped from the edge.

“You told me of this creature before. Are we certain it was not a [Lich]?” Ceres asked.

A visible shudder ran from the tip of Ravyn’s ears to her tail. “Saoirse’s tits. Don’t say shit like that.”

So that is a possibility. “Assuming the worst with the possibility that she had any phylacteries, we should be cautious all the same.”

“I’m sorry, um, phylacteries? [Lich]?” Cannoli blinked. “I’m unfamiliar with these words.”

“It’s like a Horcrux—wait, no, that’s not a good comparison,” Tristan began, then quickly cut himself off. Good thing, because I had no idea what a ‘Horcrux’ was. “A phylactery is an item that a [Lich]—a Class far more evil than a [Necromancer]—can use to save a piece of themselves into. If they die, they can resurrect themselves with that saved piece.”

The locket suddenly came to mind. It was obviously cursed, but that may have been there to protect its destruction. Dammit, the more I think about this, the more it makes sense.

“So, then, if she were a [Lich], the Defiled wouldn’t be dead?” Cannoli’s eyes widened. She clutched her hands to her chest and her face flushed. “S-she nearly killed us all. We can’t—”

Ceres placed a hand on Cannoli’s shoulder. Cannoli flinched, her ears flickering with her eyes before turning to look at Ceres.

“We do not have to travel directly north. There is a path around that cuts through Leche, and then we can follow the coastline up to Anyona,” Ceres said calmly.

“Leche is where Destiny and Lara were from!” Tristan proclaimed, giving a voice to my thoughts. His excitement quickly vanished, replaced by a furious blush on his cheeks. “S-sorry.”

“Is Leche filled with Defiled, though?” I asked. “If it’s another situation like the walk to Sorentina, I don’t think our group will be enough.”

“Seeing as Leche is entirely abandoned, I imagine it was picked clean long ago. Unless a Defiled has taken sanctuary within what remains, the road should be easier to navigate,” Ceres explained.

“Kuso. Anyona was abandoned, too, and that [Lich] was still there,” Ravyn murmured.

I quickly ran through every Defiled we’d encountered so far in my head and the environment where we’d found them. Almost every battle had been close to, if not right at the gates of, a populated city. “She has a point, though,” I said. “The one in the caves was the first Defiled we’ve faced that chose a place to live miles away from the nearest city.”

“An educated guess, then?” Ara asked. “What if another Defiled has taken residency in Leche?”

“Then we do our best to move around it. The kitten [Lich] already had some kind of connection to Tristan and Cannoli when she marked them for death. It didn’t seem like she could do it to the rest of us. Are you really willing to risk that again?”

Ara bristled, her tail whipping behind her in quick ticks. “No.”

“Then we go through Leche,” Keke agreed. “Ceres knows the rest of the island better than we do. I trust her to lead us through it.”

“Me too!” Cannoli raised her hand.

“Whatever the hell gets us back to Ni Island,” Ravyn sighed. “I need a good bath and a drink.”

Amen to that. “Tristan?”

Tristan looked around the group before picking up Desiree and cradling her in his lap. “Through Leche, then.”

“Are we good to leave in the morning?” I asked. The faster we could quit this place, the better.

“I don’t think we have much to pack,” Keke snickered into her tea.

“Some of us less so than we arrived with,” Ceres replied good-naturedly, gesturing to her bare arms. “Which reminds me. My Lord, what of your combat tunic?”

I grimaced. I hadn’t thought of my shredded top since the battle. “I don’t know if it’s salvageable. They did a number on it.”

Ceres exchanged looks with the other girls before returning her stare to me. “Let us take a look at it. Perhaps we can restore it to working order. Or at least enough to help us safely to port.” She shrugged and tapped one shoulder with a delicate finger. “Seeing as my armor requires immediate replacement, we must rely on you to stand guard of our Party.”

Not to mention I don’t have a shield anymore. “Sounds like we’re going to keep Espada busy for a while.”

“Espada?” Tristan asked, leaning over the table. “Like, the Queen’s Guard Espada? I read her name in a book!”

“Er, maybe they have the same name?” I tried picturing Espada as a white knight and came up short. “She’s a blacksmith on Ni Island.”

“Hm. That’s interesting.” He rolled his fingers along the tabletop in thought. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Tomorrow’s good for me,” Keke said, gracefully returning to our previous topic.

“I’ll be ready,” Cannoli added.

We mutually agreed to turn in early and leave at first light.

Please let us make it back to Portia tomorrow. I’m ready to be home.