That dream again. Water, this time a raging river that she was in up to her neck. Dorothea could barely stay on her feet, and she choked and spat as water continuously flooded her mouth. Rain pelted down, stinging her skin like hundreds of wasps. In brief glimpses as she desperately wiped at her eyes and tried but failed to move her feet from the spot she was rooted to, she saw it. The fish, that glittering, cryptic figment of some strange part of her imagination.

“You’re running out of time!” Its gills flared, mouth open in a wide circle as it howled at her over the weather.

“What are you talking about?!” Dorothea screamed back. Not that there was a point. These were just dreams, no matter how lucid they felt.

“The juncture approaches!” It was leaping closer to her despite how determined the current was to drive them apart. “Open your mind and heart completely! Be willing to forget what you know!”

“Juncture…? What—” Dorothea shrieked as, with sudden violence, water jetted at her ankles with so much force it felt like they might shatter under the pressure. This wasn’t real, this was just in her head, but the water cutting off her air filled her with genuine panic. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t breathe!

Something smooth and cold as ice brushed against her, and she grabbed blindly to wrap her arms around it. When her head broke to the surface, she saw that they were now floating in a serene ocean. As far as she could see in every direction was the sobering sight of the sky and the sea colliding on the horizon.

The fish looked at her sidelong, fixing her in its huge black eye. Her reflection in that orb looked miniscule, confused and scared.

“The juncture approaches,” it repeated.

“What juncture?” Dorothea asked urgently. It was ludicrous, but she was starting to think that maybe these dreams weren’t so insignificant after all. “Is everyone in danger? What am I supposed to do? How can I protect all of them?” The questions just wouldn’t stop coming. She really, truly didn’t know where to go from here.

“Do not repeat our mistakes. Forget. Break apart and learn everything over again. Have that will. And once you have shattered completely… Reassemble each piece with the new knowledge.”

Dorothea was so flummoxed and overwhelmed that she couldn’t speak anymore beyond pathetic utterances.

“Dorothea Atlin. War is only just beginning. You are needed. You are loved. Turn your heart into a chasm and fill it. This is the only way to live. Live. Fight on. Do not repeat our mistakes.”

“But whose mistakes?!” Dorothea yelped as the fish threw her from its back with sudden violence. She should have floated, but her body became so heavy that she began to sink into dark depths.

When she woke up feeling wet, panic made her cry out and claw at her tight chest. But it wasn’t water. It was sweat, a hot layer that spoke to a fever now weathered as her body had recovered as much as it could from the use of her magic. It was disorienting, as she couldn’t be sure how long she had slept or what had happened in her absence.

Dreading that another attack and more death had befallen the Sacerians, she rushed into the living area of the Novak residence first thing. Holly and Hock, cuddled on the couch with a book between them, noticed her concern with a single joint look.

“You’ve been asleep all day, but you haven’t missed a single thing,” Holly informed her gently. “You can relax. Everything’s fine.”

Dorothea breathed a sigh of relief. “Good…”

“You’re not too late to make it to the celebration, by the way, if you wanted to go,” Hock added. “In fact, you should. I’ve heard they’re a heck of a time.”

“Celebration?” What was there to be happy about after what they’d done?

Holly explained the general holiday the Springen residents had taken all while urging Dorothea into the bathroom to get ready. “Just clean up and head to the barracks. A young lady should have her fun, so I’m ordering you to go.”

“Yes ma’am,” Dorothea peeped.

Holly softened. “Thank you. For returning Sunmer to us. It’s lifted a burden off everyone’s hearts.”

Dorothea nodded. “Of course…” Not everyone.

At Holly’s continued urgings for her to hurry, she was out the door and tottling over in a daze before she knew it. Once she peeked into the barracks, her personal suspicions were confirmed: she had no place being there.

The space was aching with the heat of body against body as the soldiers leaned against one another, talking and laughing with their tall wine glasses sloshing about. Both tables had a wide crowd around them, and many a coin was traded as they gambled over their cards. Each voice seemed to endeavor to climb above the rest, and Dorothea could barely think straight through the swelling hum.

Still, she was trapped the moment she was noticed. Hollyhock bounded up to her, full skirt swishing and eyes shining as brightly as glossed lips. “You live! Come on, you’re so behind the rest of us. Gotta catch up!” She was pulled to the shelf of wines, and what felt like a quart of deep purple was in her hand before she could get a word in.

“Um,” she began, but Hollyhock had already vanished into the ether. Determined to make the best of things, she scanned the crowd for a face she knew. Relief and a large smile spread when she saw Shark wading towards her. “Sharkie!” She could barely hear herself even though she felt like she was screaming.

They leaned closer to talk in her ear. “Iree’s been waiting for you. Don’t ask me why. Come on, Thea. I’ve got ya.” They took her hand and guided her, steeping deftly between legs and over heads, to where Iree sat. The couch the commander lounged on was the throne of which she was the master. There were legs draped across hers, a head in her lap and on her shoulder, and people at her feet. The moment she smiled at Dorothea and twitched to move, her subjects shifted to make way.

“Glad to see you’re alright.” She shook Dorothea’s hand and cleared her throat. “Now that you’re both here, I’ll just go ahead.”

Go ahead with what? Before she could ask, Iree had lifted an arm in the air and boomed, “Hey!”

The room went quiet as all heads swiveled towards her.

“It’s been a while since we’ve celebrated like this, and we’ve got some people to thank before you all go back to what you were doing.” A few whoops rose up, and Iree grinned. “Rhys, wherever you disappeared to, stand up and come here.”

He emerged from a corner and slid closer, receiving a hard clap on the back from the commander when he reached her side. Iree’s other hand came down on the small of Dorothea’s back, and she swallowed a gasp. It was such a vulnerable spot, and her fingers were digging in.

“As you know, these two singlehandedly reclaimed Sunmer for us,” Iree announced. “To keep it short… Rhys, we’re glad to have you back, and we’ll be watching you so we can keep being inspired by your strength and bravery. Dorothea, you’ve lived up to the symbol of luck and hope you were meant to be in coming here. Our eyes are on you as well to help lead us into a new age of peace. Take a drink to them, everyone, and then get back to your fun.” A roar rose up, and heads tilted back as glasses were downed. “And if any of you are going to fuck, take it somewhere else! I’m not going to have a repeat of last time’s incident!” Iree concluded, and, with much laughter, the party resumed.

“Incident…” Dorothea echoed, winded.

“Best not to think about it,” Rhys muttered.

“Just relax, alright? Both of you. This is a night of celebration.” Iree slapped both of their backs once more for good measure before turning back to settle into her previous position.

Dorothea wasn’t so sure. Twice, Iree had mentioned in some way that she and Rhys were being watched. It was a warning, no doubt about it. Now that they had supposedly proven themselves loyal, Iree wouldn’t just let go of their leashes. Nervous to even look at Rhys under the threat of eyes following them, imaginary or not, she dared a small peek.

He leaned in to speak just like Shark had, but it felt different. Warmer. Fluttery. “Come outside with me?”

“Yeah.” Dorothea halfway expected them to be stopped, but it wasn’t so. Maybe Iree had decided to show mercy for now, or she’d been too paranoid? But no, she had good reason to be nervous.

“Iree’s not even trying to hide it from us. How suspicious she is,” she whispered once they were outside with the mosquitos and pale indigo sky. They skirted around the left side of the building, tucking away where its shadow met those of the trees.

“She doesn’t have to be subtle. She knows there’s nothing we can do about it.” Rhys shrugged. “It’s no secret to anyone that I’m not as good as I used to be, either. Iree’s definitely not alone in feeling like I can’t be trusted.” He glanced at her. “But how are you? Your condition, I mean.”

“Please don’t worry. I’m fine.” At his doubtful frown, she smiled slightly. “I promise.”

“If you say so.” He noticed that she’d started to stare at him. “What?”

“You look…different.” Many of the soldiers had dressed for the occasion. Iree, for instance, had worn a long, flowy dress that concealed far more skin than usual but still hugged her strong, lovely figure in just the right places, and her hair had been drawn up into a bun with a few subtly elegant strands drifting down. Rhys, by contrast, had dialed down for the occasion and was clad in a simple tank top and baggy shorts. She’d never seen him wearing such a low neckline. His chest was strong, the bones sharp and protruding in a way that somehow made him look a little delicate at the same time. Beautiful, almost.

He looked her over. Did his eyes linger just a bit, or was it her imagination? “You look good.”

She couldn’t help but blush. Though the words themselves were tame, there was a heat behind them, in his voice. “I’m wearing the same thing as usual…” It was all she had.

“Yeah.”

Gods, the simplest word from him could do terrible things to her heart. “Y-You didn’t feel like dressing up?”

“Not particularly. If I had to come, it’s enough just to be somewhat presentable, isn’t it?”

“You don’t like parties?”

He frowned. “No, I loved them. I’d usually… Uh, never mind. Didn’t really feel like it this time, though. By the way, is there a reason you brought that wine with you?”

“I just didn’t know what to do with it,” Dorothea mumbled.

“Not much of a drinker?”

“Not exactly…”

“That reminds me, Shark mentioned that once. They said that when you get drunk, you’re really…something. Care to share?” he teased.

“No. No thank you.” It had become so hard to look at him. Dorothea tried to rub the warmth from her cheeks and think serious thoughts. “Um. But what should we do now?”

“Not sure. I don’t know what to expect, but we can’t act rashly. Be careful who you trust and always be wary of eyes and ears around you.”

“Can do.” They were immersed in this tango of suspicion for the time being since the situation didn’t warrant using Juncture to escape it, at least not yet. “Does it scare you? The idea that our every move is being tracked?”

“It’s more bothersome than frightening. Why, are you scared by it?”

“Well…” She took a few moments to think, envious of his calm. “In part, maybe it’s Iree who’s scared that we’re going to mess up what she’s working for. In that sense, I can understand.” Not that she wasn’t angry or frightened at all, but Iree wasn’t totally inhuman.

“Yeah, I can’t really fault her for it either. At least not entirely.” Rhys sighed, looking off to the side in thought with a furrowed brow. “Doesn’t mean I like it.”

“But, on that note… What are her goals? Obviously I understand that she wants to change things, but how exactly does she plan to do that?” Rhys had outlined that he, Iree and Dale had always had this desire, yes, but even he hadn’t seemed clear on the details.

“If she can reenter the ranks of the nobility and keep in Cinder Creed’s good graces, then Cerid’s, she’ll have the political influence she needs. Then it’s a matter of making the right friends and spreading her ideals to create something concrete.”

Dorothea frowned, doubtful. “That easy, huh?”

“She puts lofty goals in simplistic ways. And you’ve seen that she has a persuasive way about her anyways. It’s hard not to believe in her. I mean… I still do.” Even as he said it, he seemed confused and ashamed by the notion.

Dorothea understood, though. Iree had gravitas. “But how can she be so certain that she’ll reach that point?”

“Because she’ll be the one to end this war. War heroes have a surefire ticket into the ranks of the ones who make the decisions around here. That’s something she’s understood since the beginning. The Creeds are the best example. Battle is how we create and retain power.”

So that was the core of Sacerian society. How…grotesque.