They arrived at the cave entrance which Faolin had mentioned. There was a small opening under a low hanging hill, next to a barren and dry wasteland. It was a perfect hiding spot, out of sight and away from strangers. The most important thing now was for Lianne to rest and to get the fire started.

Amra got off her horse and tied both Luna and Sol to a rock nearby. She took out the bedroll for Lianne and laid it down in the cave. "Put her there," she said to Faolin while quickly rushing out of the cave, to find branches, twigs, or anything she could start the fire with.

Amra quickly gathered all the wood she could from nearby, keeping an eye out for Faolin at the same time. He got off his horse and took Lianne in his arms. He carried her to the bedroll and gently lowered her down.

Amra filled her lap full of branches and went back into the cave. She took the flint and immediately started the fire, to keep Lianne warm. She had done it many times before, so it was easy for her. As the first flames started burning, Faolin left Lianne's side. He got up and walked to his horse.

Amra immediately went to Lianne and checked that she was still alright. "Are you leaving?" Amra asked, carefully looking at Faolin from the corner of her eye. She was still wary of him, even if he didn't feel threatening.

"No," Faolin said while taking out a pipe from a small ornamental pouch. He came back and sat next to the fire as if he was meant to stay there. He put the pipe to his lips and with a quick hand gesture, lit it. A trail of smoke rose into the air and a sweet earthy aroma reached Amra's nose.

Amra went back to the campfire and threw a couple more sticks into it, to make it burn brighter. She sat down and leaned back on her hands. Her alert body was starting to relax, the tension gradually draining out of her. Faolin's tranquility made her feel calm, even after what happened with Lianne and Thorad.

"I didn't know elves smoked," Amra said silently while glancing at Faolin.

Faolin turned to look at Amra, an amused expression on his face. "Are we all the same?" he asked with small laughter.

"No, I'm sorry," Amra apologized while shaking her head ashamed. She was feeling out of place. "Thank you for helping us," she said, clearing her throat.

"You are welcome," Faolin nodded. "How long will she be out?"

"It depends," Amra shrugged.

"On what?"

"I don't know. She usually wakes after some time, but she doesn't remember anything," Amra said, looking at the fire intensely.

"That happens every time?" Faolin asked.

Amra nodded. "Yes, but I'm pleased about it. She'd be devastated if she'd remember everything."

"What happened to her?" Faolin asked, the smoke lingering in the air around him.

Amra immediately averted her gaze. She didn't know what to tell him. "She's not a bad person. She only made bad choices," she answered hesitantly.

"I never thought that," Faolin replied surely.

"She tried dark magic," Amra said silently. Faolin turned to her and raised his eyebrows in interest. "She's really good at magic, but...." Amra trailed off.

"She did not succeed?" Faolin asked and Amra shook her head.

"No, everything went wrong," she said while throwing a couple of sticks into the fire. The crackling of the flames filled the silence between them. Amra still remembered the night when the darkness had taken control of Lianne the first time.

Faolin broke the silence while pointing at Amra's face. "Do you need help with that?"

Amra frowned and touched her face, realizing that it hurt where Thorad had hit her. She had forgotten all about it. She had been too focused on Lianne and Faolin to actually notice that she was hurting.

"No thanks, I'll be fine," Amra said, feeling the lightly swollen skin under her fingers.

Faolin turned his attention to the fire again. He looked at the crackling flames, seemingly deep in thought. He put the pipe on his lips and took another deep inhale before letting it all out, the smoke mixing into the smoke of the campfire.

"How did you come by us?" Amra asked what had been on her mind. Was it a coincidence that he was there, or was he there for a reason?

"I felt the need to come here. It is not something I can precisely explain. It is something I know," Faolin said, not exactly giving Amra the answer she wanted. But she didn't want to push it further. Faolin had helped them and she was thankful for that.

After an hour, Lianne started opening her eyes. For a moment Lianne looked ahead, her eyes unfocused. She felt strange. She remembered vivid fragments of what happened, the elf who had shot her and the fear in the people's eyes. She remembered how she regained control of her body again.

Lianne realized that there were two voices talking close to her. One of them was Amra's soft voice that she knew well, but the other was one she didn't recognize at all. It was clearly a male's voice, deeper.

"We're heading north to find Clandmere," Amra said.

"Clandmere? Really?" the other voice asked surprised.

With some effort, Lianne moved. She sat up, her body aching. She looked around, blinking her eyes a couple of times as if she couldn't adjust to the light.

To Lianne's surprise, she saw Amra and the same elf that shot her sitting next to the fire. Lianne immediately remembered the feeling she had when the arrow pierced her body and heart. She hadn't felt pain in the normal sense but rather a dull stinging in her as if something was trying to bury deep inside.

As soon as Amra realized that Lianne was awake, she quickly got up and ran to her. "Are you alright?!" Amra asked hastily while putting her hands on Lianne's cheeks. She looked straight into her eyes, to make sure that she was the same as before.

Lianne looked back at Amra for a moment. She had a bad-looking bruise on her face, and Lianne immediately started feeling guilty. Amra got hurt because of her.

"I'm fine," Lianne said and adjusted her position, leaning against her legs and holding her head.

"Are you sure?" Amra still demanded to know.

"I may have a slight headache," Lianne said and smiled. "I'm sorry about that," she added while pointing at Amra's face, her smile faltering. She hated seeing Amra hurt.

Amra waved her hand, gesturing that she was alright. "Don't worry about that. It suits me," she said, trying to act casual.

Lianne smirked. Then she glanced towards the elf, who was watching their interaction curiously.

"This is Faolin," Amra introduced him.

Faolin nodded at Lianne, who looked back at him warily. She couldn't get the feeling of the arrow out of her mind.

"How did you stop me?" Lianne straight up asked.

"It is an old magic that runs in my family," Faolin said while leaning back on his hands and straightening out his long legs. "I am proficient in the healing of different kinds, whether it is a soul or a wound."

"But what about the arrow? What did it do?" Lianne still asked, not satisfied with the answer she got.

"It quelled the urge for blood inside you. The arrows, Qesser, are meant to stop evil, whatever form it takes," Faolin answered.

Lianne was silent, pondering what Faolin told her. She was surprised how openly he had told her that. He was a stranger. He had no reason to help her.

"You can remember it? Why?" Amra asked surprised.

Lianne shrugged. "I can only remember that, but it must be because of what he did," she said while glancing at Faolin, squinting her eyes. "Did I see you in the town the other day? Windermore?"

Faolin nodded. "Probably. I was there."

"Why?"

"Is it so strange to see someone like me there?" Faolin asked back.

"Why did you help us?" Lianne persisted. She wanted answers.

"I have no reason not to. I am not the enemy," Faolin answered surely.

"How do we know for sure?"

"I have no reason to lie to you."

Lianne still looked at Faolin. It seemed that she couldn't get any more out of him now. Faolin was speaking openly but not that straightforward.

Lianne stood up. "I'm going to get some fresh air."

Amra was about to open her mouth when Lianne glanced at her, knowing that she would try to come with her. "I'll only be a moment. I need to be alone for a while."

Amra nodded as Lianne walked out of the cave, feeling both of their eyes on her back.

As Lianne stepped out of the cave, she stopped and let out a deep breath. She was feeling out of place, her body still faint and empty. She had a hard time trying to forget about the looks of the people, their eyes full of fear. Lianne wouldn't have wanted to remember that. Even if she didn't know the details of what she had done, she still remembered too much.

Lianne glanced at herself. She had blood on her clothes, but not as much as usual. Faolin had stopped her before she had been able to properly wreak havoc. The blood still stank, and she wanted to get rid of the clothes as soon as possible.

Lianne walked around, stretching her legs. The ground was bare and all she could see on the horizon was a dry wasteland. Lianne related to her surroundings. She felt so bare. A stranger had seen her at her worst. Lianne was sure that Faolin judged her and considered her evil. Who wouldn't?

Lianne knew she deserved to die after all she had done. She wasn't herself when she got the urge to kill, but it was still her body. She was to blame, but she still didn't want to die for it. She wanted to live without that burden.

The sun was already setting, casting shadows on the other side of the hills. Lianne walked to the shade and felt the air cooling. She inhaled and tried to erase all the horrid thoughts running through her mind. She wanted to get rid of the feelings of remorse.

Lianne looked at the dark ground beneath her and remembered the Shadows. Who were they and what did they want with her? What was the changing the people had talked about? Did they mean what happened to Lianne when something inside her changed so that she could kill? Or did they mean something entirely different?

Amra and Faolin were both sitting in silence when Lianne got back to the cave. She felt a bit more at ease as she sat down next to the campfire. Amra immediately offered her a cup full of her herbal blend. She drank the warm liquid and felt as it soothed her body.

Lianne realized that Faolin glanced at her curiously from time to time. "What is it?" she asked.

"What was the dark magic you used?" Faolin asked.

Lianne froze in place baffled. How did he know?

"I told vaguely about what happened to you," Amra confessed. "I'm sorry."

Lianne sighed. "That's fine, Amra," she said and stared firmly at the cup in her hands. "I tried to bring my brother back to life and it all went wrong," she explained, feeling a strangling sensation in her throat. She didn't like talking about it. She was like that because she had wanted her brother back so much.

"I was stupid enough to try that," Lianne scoffed.

Faolin shook his head calmly. "I do not think it is stupid to want something so badly that you are willing to risk everything for it."

Lianne turned to look at Faolin, her eyes wide. Just when she had thought that he was judging her. Nobody had ever said that to her. Most people would say that she was a stupid young woman who didn't know what she was getting into. Most would think that she should die.

Lianne turned her gaze on her hands that were squeezed tightly around the cup. So many thoughts were circling in her head, but she didn't seem to be able to grasp any of them. Everything seemed like a mess, but there was one thing clear. She didn't want to experience that situation over and over again. She needed help.

"I'm afraid..." Lianne whispered so silently it seemed to drown under the crackling of the campfire.

Lianne lifted her gaze and inspected Faolin's expression. He looked back at her, his eyes never judging nor expecting anything from her, only staring without a word.

Lianne put the cup down and stood up. She walked to Faolin and knelt next to him. She looked straight at him, inspecting his dark brown eyes as if she wanted to see into his soul.

"Please, help us. I need your help," Lianne said with an open heart, bare and fragile, trying to get through how desperate she was. She turned her gaze on the ground, feeling a strangling sensation in her throat. Her tears started to surface. Lianne hadn't cried for the entire time they had traveled. She had to harden herself from what she had done, otherwise she couldn't have gotten even that far. But now there was a silver lining in all this. She needed him.

Lianne started to tremble. "I have no right to ask for your help. I don't know you, but please, I need your help," she said. She didn't even lift her gaze to meet his eyes. Her tears kept streaming down her cheeks and dropping on the ground one by one. "Please, whatever you can give, I need."

That's when Lianne felt a warm hand touching her. Faolin took a hold of Lianne's chin and lifted her head, to meet his eyes.

Lianne looked at Faolin and felt shame growing in her. She didn't know this person and he had already seen her at her very worst.

"Your friend has already asked this of me," Faolin said with a gentle voice.

Lianne glanced at Amra, who was looking back at them cautiously. Amra's eyes gleamed in the fire's blaze. Even she hadn't seen Lianne as fragile as this.

"I am traveling north, like you. I can travel with you for some time," Faolin said to Lianne, smiling the warmest smile she had seen from a stranger.

Lianne immediately took a hold of Faolin's hand and squeezed it tightly between hers. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"Please," Faolin said while stopping Lianne, his voice embarrassed as he softly pulled his hand away.

Lianne wiped the tears from her face. She felt as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She felt lighter, now that this stranger was going to help her.

Lianne smiled at Faolin once more before backing away, giving him some space. She sat back down and took her cup, taking a sip of the herbal blend while letting her heart calm down.

Then she once more glanced at Faolin. "Are you sure?"

Faolin nodded. "Yes."

Lianne let out a deep relieved breath and turned to Amra, who smiled at her. The campfire was blazing between them all. Faolin's addition to their party was a relief. It meant Amra wasn't in as much danger and it meant their chances of finding Clandmere were far higher than before