Alara's head spun. This couldn’t be real.

There was no series of underground tunnels in the Haven. There was no bruya network. There was no threat to those she cared about.

She was still asleep in her dorm room, or perhaps just sleeping through her history class again.

You’ll need to leave with the rest.

Except, no. This wasn’t a dream. This was all too real.

She understood the truth of those words the second she killed that councilguard.

She was going to lose her home—everything she knew—for the second time in her life. Nothing made sense anymore. She looked at Adelmo’s face as he spoke, remembering all the conversations she had had with him about the Council and El’dyo. Had all of that been a lie? Was he just spying on Emaru through her?

And Emaru. Could she have known about the bruya mind-cleanses? Alara knew the answer before she even finished asking herself. Nothing happened in the Haven that Emaru didn’t know. The thought of it made her stomach twist and her throat tight.

Micos’s grim face flashed through her thoughts.

The ground fell away beneath her.

You’ll need to leave with the rest.

The words sunk into her body and settled in her stomach like a rock. She felt the wood of the spear gripped loosely in her hand. The grain was smooth and warm beneath her palm.

She took a deep breath and focused only on this sensation. There was no time for self-pity right now. There would be time for that later. During a battle, all you can do is focus on your next move. Focus on not getting killed.

Alara looked at the worn profiles of the group gathered around the table. The torches in the room cast long and dark shadows across their faces. Zinita and Khuna were still pale and thin from their time in the dungeon. Runeo’s eyes were glassy and distant. Lili and Quenti looked just as exhausted as Alara felt. Mitteo, Suri, and Elna were the only ones not strung out. They were ready to fight a battle—or, in this case, break through a magical barrier.

“We’ll split into groups of two or three,” Elna pulled Alara from her thoughts. “The smaller the groups, the less attention we’ll draw. We’ll need to make our way to the edges of the city without being caught.”

“Make sure a magite or mage is in each group—the bruyas won’t know where they’re going.” Alara’s voice sounded strange to her own ears. “It may also help us blend in.”

“Who’s with who then?” Suri asked.

No one moved for a minute, their eyes roaming the room warily. It was Lili who stepped forward first, grabbing Mitteo’s arm with a smile so bright only Lili could have managed it. “Partners?”

“Aren’t you a tierren?” Suri said, frowning. “He is as well. We should split ourselves up into more diverse groups. We don’t know who we’ll be up against.”

It was Zinita’s turn to step forward, her lips tight. “I can go with him.”

Mitteo turned to look at the bruya, his focus honing in on her sharp black eyes. He nodded, giving Lili a weak smile as he stepped away from her.

The rest of the group split up hesitantly, trying to make an even split of power. A deep frown creased Elna’s face as she saw the cuff on Alara’s wrist.

The mage didn’t comment, but pointed to Lili and Quenti. “I can take you both with me. I don’t plan on leaving. Can you find your way out after we break through?”

They nodded in agreement.

Once Khuna and Suri formed their own group, Alara and Runeo were left standing next to one another. The magite gave Runeo a weak smile, and he answered with a stiff nod.

She looked away, her smile dropping quickly as she turned to Adelmo. “Are you coming with us?”

“I can help get you to the border, but my place is here,” he said.

Alara didn’t know how to feel. Her heart instinctively sank at the thought of never being able to see him again, but the reality was that the man had been lying for years. No. Her entire life. She was torn grief and distrust.

Would I have trusted myself with the secrets he held? No.

“Okay.” Elna’s voice was firm as she looked around the room. “Everyone needs to make it to their section of the border before dusk. That should give us all a couple of hours.”

They then made their plans to meet up in the woods after they broke through the barrier. From there, they would head back to Arbol. Those of them with blood on their clothing changed into the spare pieces they had stored in the chamber. Alara almost found herself laughing as Quenti pulled on a mage’s tunic that was clearly two sizes too small, leaving a line of her stomach bare. The taller girl let out a growl at Alara’s face.

“Just know,” Elna continued, “by doing this, we are not just going against the Council, but against the network as well. Outside of this room, there is no one else we can trust. Those in the network will turn you in just as fast as anyone. You are all leaving—for good.” Elna’s eyes fell on Alara on this last line, and she felt the icy cold knowledge of what she was doing sink into her chest. But she held Elna’s gaze unflinchingly, unwilling to show her fear. The mage nodded after a second and looked away.

Before they left, the group said their goodbyes. Quenti and Khuna gave each other a tight hug and Alara watched as Lili placed a soft kiss on Runeo’s forehead, whispering something into his ear. Alara stood off to the side, awkwardly watching the exchanges. She gave a small jump as Quenti threw her arms around her. Lili followed suit and Alara’s chest squeezed tight as the two bruyas wished her luck.

She’d be lying if she’d said it didn’t feel good. It was a warmth she had never really felt, even with Emaru.

“Do you have your lucky letter opener?” Quenti asked, eyes searching Alara’s belt.

Alara frowned at the dull dagger that still sat at her hip. She pulled it out, fingering the dull blade lightly. “I don’t think this thing has brought me any good luck. Maybe you should take it.” She pushed it forward toward Quenti.

The other girl frowned, pushing the blade back to Alara. “It brought you to Arbol. I’m calling that good luck. Keep it and hopefully it will do so again.”

Alara bit her lip and slipped the dagger back into her belt, next to the sharpened one. She, Runeo, and Adelmo then re-entered the main tunnel, heading back to Adelmo’s stables. Behind them, the other groups split up in different directions.

As they rushed toward the stables, Alara placed a soft hand on the dull dagger at her side and whispered a small prayer to El’dyo. And, for an extra bit of luck, she added a prayer to the bruya god, Sol.

***

When they left Adelmo’s home thirty minutes later, the city was in chaos. People rushed by, eyes sweeping the streets and alleys, as if waiting for a bruya to jump out.

Mages, magites, councilguards, and blameless alike all combed the city, in search of the elusive fugitives—though it was clear they had little idea who to look for. The bustle of the hunt made it all the easier to slip through the streets unnoticed. So worried were they about the bruyas on the loose, they didn’t think to look at those in their own uniforms.

At one point, Alara’s heart halted in her chest as a group of councilguards called for them to stop. But as the three of them were pushed to the side of the street and onto the narrow walkway, they marched by without so much as a second glance.

Alara let out a small curse at the incompetence of the councilguards before thanking El’dyo for their luck. Cielo wasn’t a huge city—cities up north were more sprawling—but it was densely packed, and the streets wound along the mountainside, making it difficult to find any direct route.

As they made their way toward the borders, turning toward the eastern edge, the chaos quieted. Adelmo took them down ever thinning streets, the number of villagers dwindling with each turn. As they ducked to the right, the street transformed into a set of stairs weaving between the tall buildings. The sun hung low in the sky, blanketing the narrow alley in deep shadows. It almost felt like entering the tunnels again. The staircase was just wide enough for two people to pass by each other, shoulders brushing against the stone walls.

“Hurry,” Adelmo said as Alara paused at the top of the alley. She didn’t respond, but bounded after him, Runeo close on her heels.

Only a few others were on this street, but each time Alara had to brush by them, she held her breath, waiting for inevitable discovery. She was so absorbed by this dance, she didn’t notice when Adelmo stopped and she bumped into him, catching herself from falling backward onto the stairs.

As she looked over Adelmo’s shoulder, her breath caught in her throat. A man she didn’t recognize stood in the middle of the street, his face grim and eyes narrowed. He wore the garbs of a councilguard, his hair a mixture of black and silver.

“I went by the stables to ask for your help with the fugitives. You weren’t there.” The man’s voice was low. “I’d hoped I was wrong.”

“Get out of our way.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. The network’s been ordered to turn in the escapees.”

“No one here is an escapee. You can let us by and forget you saw us.”

“You’d put your future at risk for a stupid pack of bruyas acting on a whim?”

“I’m doing what’s right.”

“So am I.” The man moved his hands and a blast of wind hit Adelmo. His body jerked to the side, smacking against the wall of the building next to them.

Alara launched a fireball at the mysterious man. He dodged the flame, but fell back a few steps, giving Alara a chance to check on the downed Adelmo, who groaned softly.

Runeo followed up Alara’s attack with his own, sending a blast of wind toward their assailant. It hit the man before he could counter. Runeo stepped forward, bow raised, arrow pointing unerring at the man’s chest.

Adelmo lifted his hand and tugged at Runeo’s sleeve. “Don’t. He’s on our side.”

“He has an interesting way of showing it.”

“He’s just following orders to protect the network.”

Alara looked between Adelmo and the other man. He sat against on the alley wall, heaving as he looked up at Runeo.

“If we leave him, he could turn us in.” Alara’s voice was colder than she expected.

Runeo hesitated, but dropped his bow. “He’s right. We should go.”

“We can’t just leave him,” Alara said.

“Alara.” Adelmo spoke softly, pulling himself up from the ground. His eyes were focused on her with an understanding that made her scowl.

“We can’t trust him,” she said, chest burning with an emotion she refused to acknowledge.

“I know, but we have to go.”

It was Runeo who moved first, tugging at Alara’s arm as he tucked his bow back away. Adelmo turned with a nod and continued to lead the way. Runeo kept a steadying hand on Alara as they moved down the thin path.

Alara didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried that the man didn’t pursue them.

A few minutes later, they had reached the outskirts, which saw them at the bottom of the mountain, Cielo rising in the sky above them. The sun had ducked behind the whole of the city, and the shadowed forest that stretched before them.

After only a moment’s hesitation, the group moved forward. The trees were twisted and wild, but the forest itself was thin. It ended abruptly only a hundred yards after it had begun. They broke into a clearing and Alara saw the tall wall that encompassed Cielo stretching in front of them.

But that wasn’t what brought Alara up short. Shimmering in the approaching dusk, the air a few yards short of the wall undulated. As she approached, the air thickened. After a few more steps, she had to stop short, her ears popping from some unseen pressure in the air and her face flushing red with the heat.

Runeo was beside her, a drip of sweat forming at his brow as he tried to press his own hand forward into the invisible force field.

“The sun it setting. You need to act now.” Adelmo’s voice echoed in the silent clearing.

Runeo and Alara made eye contact before they both stretched out their arms. Alara closed her eyes and pulled at the thread hot in her chest. The heat intensified around and she could feel Runeo’s powers building beside her. She opened her eyes and bit her lip, pressing her magia toward the barrier.

She could feel the pull of her magia meeting resistance, the air sizzling. She tugged, trying to put it out as she would a campfire. Beside her, she felt the edge of Runeo’s own magia slam into the wall. She could see the ripples in the air moving, the barrier pushing and pulling between their magia, wavering under the pressure.

She was probably imagining it, but it seemed like she could feel the others along the border pushing their own magia into the wall, weakening it with each wave. The shimmer in the air sparked, and the heat abated as she tugged at the boundary.

“Wishing you took your cuff off now?” Runeo’s voice was loud in her ear and she realized the hum of magia she was hearing was in her head, the surrounding clearing still silent.

“A little late for that, don’t you think?” Alara said, out of breath from the effort.

“Just wanted to know if this was an ‘I told you so’ moment.”

Alara clenched her teeth and pressed hard against the magia. “Nope.”

She could feel the barrier weakening, the ripples in the air quaking. Her ears popped again, and she knew the pressure around the wall was starting to decrease. A small thrill of excitement and pride shot through her, and the flame of magia at her core burned brighter.

And then there was a loud crack. She only had a millisecond to register the sound before Runeo slammed into the barrier, his body bouncing off like a stuffed doll. Alara’s thread of magia immediately snapped away from her grasp and the barrier pushed forward against her. She stumbled back and whipped around, eyes frantically taking in the clearing behind her.

The first thing she saw was Adelmo, face white and eyes wide, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at the edge of the forest where Emaru stood, hand still stretched out.

Her eyes were dark and focused on Alara.