Kalden sat in his alchemy lab, putting the final touches on Relia’s pill. He’d already refined the herbs, which was arguably the hardest part of the process. Now, those sat in the refrigerator, waiting for the final two reagents.

The lantre and helocite had to bond at fifty-five degrees over three hours. A few degrees higher and the lantre would dissolve. Colder, and the helocite would solidify. Fortunately, the Unmarked had several alchemy-grade thermometers in the lab. Kalden had attached those to the water well which held the inner pot, and the system regulated itself from there.

He’d been nervous about this project before—far more nervous than he’d let on to Relia. For all his years learning alchemy, the stakes had never been half this high. He’d struggled to care about his projects on Arkala, the same way he’d struggled to care about his dueling career in Last Haven.

Sure, he’d risked his parents’ disappointment if he failed, but that hadn’t been a worthy goal. Somehow—despite making this exact pill before—Kalden’s mind knew the difference.

These last two days, his brain fell into a flow state as he worked, the same way it did in battle. Maybe alchemy was never his problem? After all, he hadn’t been any happier as a champion duelist. His whole life had felt mechanical back then, and he’d dealt with it by—

The glass door swung open, and a man stepped inside the lab. Short and stocky, he had close-cropped hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. One of Hector’s friends?

“Phone for you, Trengsen.”

Kalden blinked. He’d never gotten phone calls here before. Why would …

Oh no. He sprang up from his stool and crossed the lab in five quick strides, taking the phone and pressing it to his ear. “This is Kalden.”

“Hey,” Hector’s voice said from the speaker. “The girls got attacked.”

“What?” Kalden squeezed the phone closer to his ear. How? They’d agreed they wouldn’t split up anymore.

“Wasn’t my fault!” Hector said. “It happened in the bathroom. Relia lost her mark and four soldiers attacked her.”

“Are they alright?” His voice came out calm as if his mind hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

“Akari got hit bad,” Hector said. “Unconscious for a few minutes, but she’s up now. Relia can’t walk. I got them both into the car and we drove away.”

“Good, so get the hell out of there.”

Static muffled through the phone as Hector pushed out a breath. “Not that easy, shoko. They smashed Relia’s pill. Her mark won’t stay put.”

His blood froze at that. Without Relia’s mark, they’d never get past the security checkpoints. Every road was either guarded or blocked, and walls surrounded the city to keep out the mana beasts.

“And she killed the soldiers on camera,” Hector said. “That means Unida’s out for blood.”

“Is there any other way out?” Kalden asked.

“Bridge is our best chance, but they’ve got half a dozen guards. I can’t fight them alone, and Shokita here can’t even drive the car.”

“I said I’d try!” Akari's voice snapped from the background.

"She says she'll try." Hector’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “We need Relia’s new pill.”

Kalden had to lean on the table to steady himself. “It’s almost ready.”

“How long?”

"The lantre has to bond with the helocite—"

"You're speaking gibberish to me, shoko. How long?”

“I need to wait another hour.”

“What happens if you rush it?”

Kalden almost laughed at the suggestion. “Raw helocite explodes when it touches pure mana. She’d be dead the second she swallowed the pill.”

“Merdo,” he cursed under his breath. "Can you bond them on the boat?"

Kalden glanced back at his water well where the reagents waited. The weather was cooler than usual today—probably low seventies. He could transfer the reagents to a portable container and keep them cool with ice cubes. It wasn’t ideal, but it would work if he watched it closely.

“I’d also need an oven,” Kalden said. Heat was always the final step in alchemy—it welded everything together and made it work as a single unit.

"We can find an oven.”

“An alchemy oven,” he clarified. “Twelve hundred degrees minimum.”

“Twelve hundred degrees is no problem. We’ll use my fire mana. ”

"You're serious right now?"

“Dead serious, shoko.”

Kalden balled his hand into a fist. “It’s a hell of a risk. No second chances if I mess up.”

“Look …” Hector lowered his voice. “Things are about to get crazy over here. I’m out if you can’t make the pill on time. Akari's free to come with me, but I can’t save everyone.”

Damnit. That seemed cold, but Kalden couldn’t blame him. Relia would die anyway without her pill, and she wouldn’t want the others throwing away their lives.

“Alright,” Kalden said. “I’m on my way.”

“We’re parked near Encanto and Avenido Primo. Know where that is?”

“Two blocks south of the ferry,” Kalden replied. “See you in an hour.”

And with that, he ended the call and began packing his things. The herbs went straight into a cooler, and he transferred the lantre and helocite into a container submerged in a steel water well. Three separate thermometers stuck out from the top, just to be safe.

Then he filled his backpack with extra reagents, pill casings, a miniature cauldron, compressors, and every other tool he could think of. He also grabbed a portion of grenades he’d made the day before, along with some liquid mana and mental enhancement potions from the refrigerator. These weren’t technically his to take, but he could always return them if he didn’t need them.

And if he did need them … well, theft would be the least of his concerns.

Finally, he threw in a bottle of space mana he’d bought yesterday on a whim. Kalden had gone through the aspecting ritual in his dreams, and he knew Akari wouldn’t be making portals anytime soon. He also knew that synchronizing their personalities wouldn't bring back their old aspects.

Still, he had room in his bag so it couldn't hurt to bring it along.

~~~

The ferry was still running when Kalden arrived, and he found a nice cool spot below deck. The other passengers shot him strange looks as he dropped ice cubes in his water well, but most people didn’t look twice.

Honestly, he’d seen stranger things from alchemy students back in Elegan.

The ferry took its time pulling into the eastern shore and Kalden was already waiting by the ramp when it docked. The last two reagents had finished bonding. Now, he just had to add the herbs with an emulsifier, mix them in a cauldron, and blast them with heat.

Kalden kept his head down as he walked down the sidewalks, passing an unusual number of Grevandi. A crowd gathered as one dragon stood on a raised balcony outside a restaurant, shouting something in Cadrian. Kalden didn’t catch it all, but he definitely heard the phrase, "Artisto Muerto,”

Death Artist.

How long before they locked down the city? Even the Unmarked might turn against Relia once they saw that video.

The bystanders grew wilder as the Grevandi spoke, and Kalden avoided the denser parts of the crowd. Fake mark or not, he hated being a foreigner at times like this. Angry mobs made people stupid, reverting them back to their tribal instincts. Either you agreed with them one hundred percent, or you represented everything they fought against.

No middle ground, and no chances to discuss things rationally. It was the same narrow-minded thinking that had caused this war in the first place

“Kalden,” a voice whispered from behind him.

He spun to see Akari poking her head around an old brick building. Her glasses looked like they’d been broken and taped back together in the middle, and her right lens was shattered, revealing a black eye beneath. A trail of dried blood ran from her right nostril, and other spots marked her cheeks as if she’d tried to wipe it away and failed.

He hated seeing her injured, and a part of him wanted to drop his things and pull her into a hug right then. But of course, they had bigger things to deal with, and Akari was already leading him back down the alleyway.

She stopped when they reached a brown conversion van, big enough to seat seven people.

“Where’s the other car?” Kalden asked as he stepped inside.

“No good,” Hector said from the driver’s seat. “Security cameras saw us leave the hotel.”

In other words, they’d stolen this one.

Kalden turned his gaze to the back bench where Relia lay. Sweat covered every inch of her body, all the way to the strands of her red hair. Her eyes widened with hope as Kalden sat on the floor. Damnit. Why hadn’t he woken up an hour early today? If he had, the pill would already be finished.

Kalden shook his head as he unloaded his supplies on the floor. There’d be time for reflection once they were safe. Now, it was time to focus.

The lantre and helocite had bonded into a blue, gel-like substance, and Kalden poured them into his miniature cauldron.

Akari hovered nearby as he worked. As usual, she hated sitting idle, so Kalden gestured to the base of the cauldron. “Hold this still,” he told her. “Don’t let it spill.”

She grasped the base with both hands as Kalden added the rest of his reagents. Blue mana flashed between them as they touched. So far, so good.

A sound of pain escaped Relia’s lips in the back, and Hector drummed the steering wheel.

“How much longer?” he asked.

Kalden fought down his annoyance as he began stirring. There were too many variables here to make a guess. He’d seen this take as long as twenty minutes, or as little as two. But of course, no one wanted to hear that.

“Ten minutes,” Kalden said. “Maybe shorter if it’s quiet.”

Hector didn’t take the hint. “Then you’re ready for the fire?”

“Right,” he replied through gritted teeth.

The next few minutes passed uneventfully, and the mixture shone like a blue flame as it boiled. Kalden continued stirring with his right hand, using his left to feed extra mana into the battery.

Akari perked up, staring at something out the back window. “Oh, shit.”

Kalden followed her gaze and spotted the flash of red and blue sirens from the street behind them. Several soldiers approached on foot, surrounding their van. One shouted something in Cadrian, but he couldn’t make out the words.

“Shit,” Hector agreed. “You better be ready, shoko.”

“I’m not,” Kalden said. The process had gone well so far, but he needed five more minutes at least.

“Fine,” he said. “Then hang on tight.”

Kalden had barely processed the words before Hector slammed the pedal to the floor. The van flew forward, and mana flashed around them as the soldiers attacked.