Cadby Creed was the key, and Dorothea was running to him now. Sacer wasn’t safe anymore, she was convinced, so she needed to get in and get out as fast as possible without being noticed. If things turned sour before she got what she needed, she’d reverse events as many times as necessary. Everything was going to be okay.

She paused just long enough to catch her breath before slipping into the Creed mansion. She was grateful that the door was always left unlocked and even more grateful that the family members she passed by nodded to her, respecting her status as an excuse to allow her into their home without question. Last time, she’d felt a sense of awe at the sight of this palace. Now, the feeling of entering a trap crept along her skin. Maybe all traitors felt this sense of paranoia…

She kept a more or less collected mask until she’d crept into the library and all but slammed the doors shut behind her. “Cadby!” she called, nearly tripping over a stepping stool next to one of the shelves as she rushed. “Are you here?! Cadby!”

He was nestled in the same chair as last time with a thick tome on his lap. “Dorothea! Goodness, you’re a mess. What’s the matter?” He folded the corner of the page to keep his place before clapping the book shut, signalling that she had his full attention.

“I need your help, and I don’t have a lot of time. Please, if you ever, ever treasured any of the time you spent with my mother or want to acknowledge Sacer’s part in this war in any way, I have to have your utmost sincerity.” She could hardly breathe after throwing the words out, and she took a gulp of air before asking, begging, “Do you know about the original version of the contract and the promise that Sacer made to Ghuria before the Fall family was executed?”

His puzzled expression fell into a deep sadness that seemed to sink into every line of his face. “Yes. I helped draft it.”

She paused. “Did… Was there ever any issue with your memory?”

He shook his head, wearing a sad smile. “There’s much for me to fear in this place, but never mind that. There are more important things.”

She couldn’t dwell on that right now. “Where is it?”

“I hid it somewhere in this library. It’s inside one of the books I knew no one would read. If I’d kept it in my room, someone would have found it… Or I would have lost it, anyways.” He let out a halfhearted laugh.

“Where?” She halfway wanted to shake him.

“You see, I… I don’t know, genuinely. The books have been moved around so many times over the past decade that I don’t even know if we still have it. Part of me thought it was better to bury the past and the truth anyhow, but… Now you’re here.”He bowed his head as a tremor wove around his words. “I’m sorry. This war… Your mother lost her life, because of what we started… I’m sorry. No words are enough.”

Sympathy erased her frustration and anger in an instant. “Thank you for telling me the truth.” If that was all she had to go on, then she’d look through every single book until she found it. There were thousands of texts. She had until tomorrow morning or Gren would turn his back on the chance of compromise and her Sacerian friends would never know the truth… Better get started, then.

As she stood and spun towards the stacks, the library doors burst open. Stifling a scream of anxious fear, she put her hands together and tensed. Who was it?

“Grandfather!” Cerid called. “Is Dorothea…” He stopped running and put a hand to his heaving chest as he caught sight of the two of them. “We have been worried sick!” he barked, approaching to stare into her eyes. “You are not hurt? What did they do to you? No, those statements are contradictory… Bah! Are you alright, is the question!”

There wasn’t time for this! “I’m fine, but—”

“AHH!” Shark howled out an exasperated groan as ze burst onto the scene. “Cerid you’re so fast, why are you so fucking fast, I mean, I like it, but, OH HEY THEA!” They flashed to her side and trapped her in a crushing embrace. “What happened?! Fuck, I thought they’d… I thought you were…!”

“Shark, I’ll tell you, but right now—”

“Goody,” Ariana sighed as she made a much calmer entrance. “Whole gang’s here.”

Could she trust Cerid and Ariana with this? Well, she’d give them the benefit of the doubt at least once. “Somewhere in this library is an alternative version of the Wither Contract that proves that… Well, you’ll understand when we find it, and it’ll be easier to believe when it’s in front of you. If you don’t want to help look for it, you should leave, because that’s what I’m going to be doing. The only clue we have as to which book is that it’s one no one would normally read. Understand?”

Cerid caught her gaze. “You…” He shook his head. “Very well. I have indulged you to this point, so a tad farther will not do any harm.”

“I have no clue what’s going on, but okay. I’ve got your back.” Shark frowned while taking in the full measure of the task. “So we’re looking for a single piece of paper that doesn’t belong in a single book? Sounds…fun and simple…”

“I’m sorry to trouble everyone, but this is important.” Dorothea turned to Ariana. “What will you do?”

She shrugged. “I’m not busy.”

Something was off about her. A certain indifference or sadness had replaced part of her usual alert snappishness. “Well… Thank you.” Maybe it was better for her to be here. Among everyone in Sacer, she had an important and unique perspective. “Ariana?”

“What?” She looked annoyed at having been interrupted just as she’d been moving to get started. This seemed more in character.

“At the beginning of the war, what did you hear about the contract? What was your understanding of it?”

Her brow furrowed. “All we were told was that Gren Fall turned everything to shit by losing control and that Sacer was going to war with us over it. That’s all there was to it. Why?”

“Just wondering how you thought of it.” Gren had said that the execution had come after they had been presented with a contract to be rid of both Wither and Thaw… But even other Ghurians, as evidenced by Ariana’s reply, believed Sacer’s version of events. So it was the same case in both lands that some knew the truth while others didn’t. Why…? Maybe Gren would be able to divulge more when they met again.

“Hey.” Ariana seized her arm. “Things never work out the way you hope they will,” she warned vehemently.

“Then I’ll keep trying until they do.” The person she’d been before would never have said words like these.

Though Dorothea tugged away, Ariana’s grip only tightened. “You should never have come here,” she hissed. “Why… Why couldn’t you have stayed in that village to die like you wanted…?” Her eyes widened as she realized what she’d just revealed. Only someone who’d read Dorothea’s journal would know that.

Dorothea gritted her teeth, forcing down a surge of anger. “Ariana… You took our home. You and Iree forced Shark and I into this. You don’t get to complain about how either of us choose to conduct ourselves in the situation you put us in. If you and Iree hadn’t done what you did, none of this would be happening.” She jerked away, glaring. “I control my own path now.”

“Not all of us are as lucky as you!” Ariana snapped. “You get as many chances as you need, but I only get one! I don’t get to regret anything!”

“Don’t you dare blame me!” Dorothea spat. “If you’re not happy, it’s your responsibility to do something about it or let people help you! If you need me, just say so!”

The swordswoman was so stricken by this that she took a step back. “Why would you even say that?” she whispered. “Offer that?”

“If you’re in need of help, I want to do something.” No one could deny that Ariana had been dealt a wretched hand. “That’s the kind of person I want to be now.”

“Uh, guys?” Their conversation had drawn Shark to them, and Cerid peeked out with concern from between two shelves. “You gonna leave all the work to us, or…?”

“Sorry.” Dorothea looked into Ariana’s eyes, trying to connect. “Just keep in mind what I said.”

“Ugh…” She rubbed her temples and shook her head. “Your goody goody schtick is insufferable…” With that mutter, she stalked into the stacks.

Shark sighed, the sympathy in their face surprising Dorothea. “In the last battle, we killed someone she was close to. Her sister.”

“Oh…” Either way, Dorothea’s offer stood. it was up to Ariana now. “Sharkie, I have so much to tell you, but I have to find that contract first.” Iree wasn’t stupid; she’d see through what had happened soon enough. Dorothea needed to get out of Sacer.

Shark hesitated. “I don’t have a good feeling about this, and I don’t like how often I feel that way around you lately.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll tell you everything soon, I swear.”

“In detail.” They winked. “Now, come on. I can’t be the only one getting paper cuts here.”

“Right.” Every single book. Even with four people, this would take a long time. Each one was checked for hidden contents by her grasping both sides of the cover, holding it face down and flapping the pages about to see if anything fell out. Several older volumes sustained heinous damage to their spines, ripping in a painful cacophony along edges already frayed and splitting with use.

She had barely cleared checking ten when yet another interruption came.

“Hi!” Hollyhock chirped, leaping into her sight from behind a shelf.

“Wah! Hi!” After jumping, Dorothea cleared her throat. “Hello…”

Hollyhock grinned. “Glad to see you’re safe.”

“Thank you.” She smiled back, feeling more at ease from Hollyhock’s breezy demeanor. Maybe he’d be willing to help? “What brings you here?”

“Looking for you, actually. There’s the business of you disappearing to who knows where during the last battle, and trust me, Iree’s not happy, but there’s other stuff to worry about. I really, really need you to come with me right now. Iree got hurt pretty bad, and she needs help.”

Dorothea nodded, remembering the sound of Iree’s back cracking. It was lucky that Wesley had been ordered not to kill her. As it had been her fault, she couldn’t let Iree suffer any more. Still, it would be much better to have the contract already in hand when meeting her next. “I’m sorry, but I have to do something here first. I’ll go to her as soon as I can.” She put her hands together in supplication. “I really am sorry. Sorry.”

Hollyhock leaned in to whisper. “It’s not just that. It’s Rhys. He’s in a bad spot right now.”

Everything else fell away at the mention of his name. “Where is he?” Dorothea demanded.

“The hospital. He…” Hollyhock swallowed as if trying to drag down a blockage so that words could arise. “He keeps talking about wanting to die,” he whispered.

The hospital, of course. That was why she hadn’t found him anywhere else. Wanting to die… It was too much to process all at once. “Is Iree there…?”

“No. She’s resting at home. My house, I mean. You know how it is.”

“She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

He smiled a tight smile. “Yeah…”

“But what do you think I’ll be able to do for him?”

“I really don’t know. I’m not an expert in situations like this. But he keeps asking for you, and he really does seem to trust you a lot.”

“Okay… Let’s go.” She’d sensed Rhys was starting to go towards a bad place, but this… “Everyone!” she called. “I have to go! I’ll be right back!”

“I curse you with a thousand paper cuts!” Shark replied. “Ow!”

“Hurry, please,” she urged as Hollyhock moseyed them outside. Which way was the hospital again? She could have sworn they needed to turn left, but Hollyhock turned down the main route that would take them towards the fort’s entrance. “Hollyhock, I don’t think this is the right WAH!” She yelped as she was yanked into a sprint. They were heading towards Springen’s farmlands, definitely not the hospital. “What’s going on? Are… Are you alright?” Belatedly, she grew alarmed. “Please let go of me. I can follow you just fine.”

“You know…” His grip tightened. “I’m really sorry about this.” In a rush, he turned to face Dorothea, pulling her closer, bent his knees after stepping forward with his left foot, pivoted, and flipped her over her shoulder. Before Dorothea could recover from the impact crushing the breath from her body, Hollyhock had pinned her down with his body over hers, wrapping his hands around her neck. “It’s not personal. Please remember that.”

Dorothea flailed in vain, feet scraping lamely in the dirt. “R-Rhys…” she choked. “What...have you…done…?!”

Guilt crumpled Hollyhock’s face. “Don’t make this harder for either of us. Just break quickly, okay? People like you never last long…”

And she didn’t.