Mari was slowly forced back to her feet in a painful and awkward way. People shuffled away from her as she huffed, and her head whipped around. Bidkar grinned, and Mari's stomach turned. Bidkar had her rush towards the female scholar and grab her by the neck. Mari's fingers tightened according to Bidkar's hand movements.

The scholar coughed, but did not reach for Mari's hands. Bidkar growled, and Mari watched the scholar hit the ground. She hovered over her a moment later and grabbed the woman's leg. A pause, and then Bidkar thrust her hand up, clenching her fist. A second later, a crack and a scream filled the air.

Bidkar tossed her head back and laughed. Mari didn't know how to describe herself. She was blank. Bidkar's excitement and pleasure thrummed through her, but it wasn't her own. It was just there, and she herself didn't know what she thought or felt. What did this scholar's pain mean to her? She slowly realized it had always been like this when the Seven had taken control. What they felt, she felt, but it wasn't hers. She said things, but they weren't her words. She did things, but they weren't her actions. So what did that make her? Who did it make her? If she was separate from the Seven, like the time with Dainan, who was she?

"Does anyone else want to test me?" Bidkar said through Mari's cold voice. No one rose to her challenge. Mari staggered to her feet; her arms hung at her sides. Bidkar raised her voice, and Mari's own matched. "Now, who's going to tell me what I want to know?"

A moment of silence. The prisoners looked at each other. Mari caught one of them looking between the woman who had been thrown aside, the man who had been pushed into the ground, and the small humans that had been with the woman. He shut his eyes for a moment, but his lips moved. His head turned slightly upward, and no sound came from him. Whatever he said to the sky caused him to open his eyes with his face hardened. The prisoner shakily stood up. "I will."

Mari did not understand what he could have possibly said that would give the strength to stand up when no one else would. The Seven turned to face her. Bidkar moved her fingers, and Mari walked towards the prisoner. The prisoner closed his eyes and took a breath. "Our kingdom has a few magic users, but they are few and far between, and not at all strong. They are reclusive, preferring to live on the borders. The previous king's grandfather was the last king to call on one."

Rekema smiled and gave Bidkar a short nod. Bidkar's fingers twitched, and Mari stepped away from the prisoner. Before Mari even realized it, she stood above the other prisoner who had refused to answer the Seven's questions. Her foot connected with his stomach, and she hauled him up by his shirt. Bidkar's searing power surged through her veins and then her hand came out the other side of his stomach.

Another surge of power. She threw him into one of the nearby buildings. He went through one of the walls, bringing it down. Balak laughed somewhere behind Mari. Bidkar let go, but before Mari's legs could give out, Rekema had taken her again. With a voice so cold and unfeeling, Mari didn't even know her voice could sound like that, she said, "Now I trust you all know where your loyalty lies, with me. I expect nothing less than your complete and utter cooperation from now on, or I won't be as generous and merciful as I have been today."

So this was mercy? Somehow, it didn't quite seem right.

* * *

"Hey, don't go passing out on me. I am not dragging you back to that room. Either stay conscious and put a little effort into walking, or I'll leave you to lie on these stairs."

Muraad. Mari couldn't remember what was happening. The others had gone, and Mari could barely stand. Bidkar's inhuman power had left her barely able to open her eyes much less walk or think.

Muraad's grip slipped, and Mari fell to her knees, starting to wretch up what was in her stomach. Even after her stomach was empty, she continued to spit up, trying to rid her mouth of the burning pain.

Muraad forced her to her feet; strangled breaths barely escaped her. She staggered up the steps again, bumping into the walls. Her vision blurred. She felt disgusting. What happened? Her memories were jagged and painful to touch. She tried anyway. A man lying in the dirt. Mercy. A crack. Mercy.

Tears leaked from her eyes as she fell into her room. Muraad let her collapse on her bed. She fisted her hand into the covers, curling herself around it. Sharp pangs coursed through her stomach and chest.

"Bidkar shouldn't have—It was too much, ugh, look, pet, you'll be fine tomorrow. You just have to wait it out," Muraad said. Mari groaned burrowing her head deeper into the bed. "I know, pet, the next few hours are not going to be pretty for you."

Another groan. Mari squeezed her eyes shut.

"I have to go. Just stay here and wait it out. I don't know when I'll be back."

"No..." Mari tried to sit up. She forced her arm out from under her, reaching for him, but he had gone. She set her head down and for the next hour faded in and out of consciousness. The nightmare flashed in and out of focus. Her own voice taunted her. His frozen, horrifying eyes. She was so cold. It was so heavy. This crushing weight on her heart. The sun had begun to set when Mari found the strength to pull herself out of bed. "Muraad?"

"Anyone?" Gritting her teeth, Mari forced herself upright. Mari forced herself to the door. She had to lean against the wall as she climbed down the stairs. It was nearly impossible, but she had to keep going. She couldn't stay in the room. She was certain the silence would suffocate her before her strength left her completely.

As her fingers scraped against the rough wall, Mari's head bobbed up and down, not paying attention to her steps. A moment later, her legs tangled underneath her, and she tumbled down the stairs. Once she finally came to a stop at the bottom of the staircase, her head throbbed. She coughed and laid there for a moment, hoping the pain might fade. Mari groaned and forced herself to her feet. The world spun around her. Mari couldn't put her thoughts together; however, she knew where she was going. That one thing was clear to her. She remembered the way. She had to stop several times to catch her breath, but eventually she made it. The guard outside the room stepped aside as she approached. She fumbled with the handle as she pulled it shut behind her. Her legs shook, and she swayed.

"Mari?"

"Dainan," Mari muttered. She dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach and head.

"What are you doing?" Dainan hurried toward her.

"I couldn't stand it." Mari doubled over. "I needed someone, anyone. Alone, in pain, all of their feelings. I couldn't bear it alone."

She reached out a hand to steady herself, and Dainan caught her. "You mean the Seven? They left you again?"

"You... believe?" Mari looked up at him through her tangled hair.

"Yes." Dainan helped her lay down. He set her head on his lap. "I saw what happened through the window. You couldn't, wouldn't do that, not on your own."

"You saw?" Mari stared at him, not even bothering to mask whatever strange emotion coursed through her. How did he know she wouldn't do that on her own? How did she know she wouldn't do that on her own?

Dainan pulled a thin blanket over her. "Yes, I did. All that pain, there was a moment, you fell, and I saw, for just a moment, your pain. It was... before then, you acted nothing like you, and then there was that moment. I could see you, the you that came to me, the you that told me all you desire is not to be alone. I may not understand fully, but I know what I saw, and the things that happened, they weren't you."

Mari took quick, shallow breaths, staring up at him. Now, for a moment, she was the one who didn't believe. He pulled her hair out of her face and adjusted the blanket on her. "The Seven may have left, but I'm here. We barely know each other, but we're alike. You don't have to bear this pain alone. You don't have to bear anything alone anymore. Not now, because for what it's worth, from a man stuck in a cell, you've got me."

"I—" Mari took a sharp breath. Her eyes fluttered shut. "I'm not alone because of you. I cannot express the relief that gives me from this burden."

She wanted to say more. But where were the words? She tried.

"Shh... you need rest. Don't worry, you're safe."

Safe? Was that like being not alone? She hated being alone. She would take any company, any measure of comfort, anything offered that would ease the pain on her heart no matter how small. Dainan, locked away in his cell, stripped of his crown, was there. He was the only one offering her anything, and he didn't even know her. He made her feel less alone. Truly, she had no words to express what that meant to her. Was there even a word for such a feeling?

Mari fell into unconsciousness again. She did not dream; she had no nightmares. Not that night.