"Roots?" I asked, coughing a bit of blood.

"Yes," he said, "I don't know for how long you have him, but he has already reached your spine."

It wasn't unexpected, Zanir had warned me about using him too much, but I didn't think it would be that fast before it became a concern.

Deep roots, was that why it wasn't turning back even after I stopped the Lu flow?

"Get done with that already, Len," said Drak, digging where the mother and daughter were hiding before, "the longer you stay here, the more suspicious they'll get."

The woman...

"Well, you heard the boss, I did what I could," said Len, blue flame going out.

"The woman," I said, "can you see if she's ok?"

"'Ok?'" said Len.

"She's alive?!" asked Drak.

Len walked towards her and started to examine her and the soldier, "She's fine, there's some bruising but she just fainted. this guy is definitely dead, though, did you hit him in the face with a hammer?"

"This is bad, we can't have witnesses," said Drak. "Check the others too."

"Mika," said Setros, "did she see you killing Hadrum?"

"No," I answered.

"Are you sure?"

I wasn't, but I was afraid of what admitting that would mean for her.

"Yes."

He paused, and for a moment I thought he saw through my uncertainty, "Then it shouldn't be a problem, we'll just tie her up and put something over her eyes in case she wakes up while we're here."

"Everyone else is dead," said Len, he had checked the boy last, "I really wanted to see how this all played out."

"Are you really fine with that?" said Drak. "We don't know him, he doesn't know the stakes of this plan."

"Will you put a spear through her chest too, then?" asked Setros.

"Her family is dead, we'd be doing her a favor. Alive she'll just be a pleasure giving, baby making tool."

"Not if we succeed."

A few seconds passed, enough for the fact that they were arguing wether or not to kill her to settle in.

"Her life won't be easy, it probably never was, I know that, but it can get better. I have to believe that, you have to believe that. Or else this is all pointless," said Setros. "It's not our choice wether she lives or dies, and she doesn't have to die."

"Do it fast then, we won't have a choice if she sees this," said Drak.

"Truly a benevolent act, Drak, the king is no match for you," said Len, acting impressed.

"If you're done with him then go back already," said Drak, stern.

"Nothing more I can do," he said looking at me, "one of your ribs punctured a lung but you should be fine now, though, you better wait before going killing another noble, the pieces are on the right places but the glue isn't dry yet, if you know what I mean."

A punctured lung? It was hard believing he managed to heal that, but I did feel a lot better, breathing never felt so good, even with the faint smell of iron.

He gave another look at my arm, grinning, and said, "Very interesting indeed."

"You don't plan on going back alone, do you?" said Setros, having finished tying up and blindfolding the woman.

"Was waiting on you. You got yourself an admirer, Mika, I'm looking forward to more of your beautiful works," he said, turning and gesturing to Hadrum's body before continuing out the door.

It was with that odd comment from that odd guy, that I realized I had just killed people for the first time. I didn't feel particularly sad about it, if anything, they deserved it, my only regret was not doing it sooner.

"Are you gonna lay there till the last crystal fades? Get up and help me dig this hole, this is your mess, after all," said Hadrum.

I used the wall to slowly bring myself up with my one working arm, my left arm was still in its armored form—despite my will—but I wasn't able to move it, maybe the damage had done something to it, seeing a crack running through it was worrying. Unfortunately there was nothing I could do at the moment.

I walked towards the passage in the wall to see Drak using a tool that resembled a pickaxe, except the end where the flattened blade would be had something that looked more like a shovel. He broke the harder parts of the ground in small pieces and dug with the shovel.

"There," he said, pointing to another one of the tools.

Despite the pain in my chest, I grabbed the tool and started digging enough for three people.

We finished digging the grave after quite some time, though the unchanging dim blue light from outside made it difficult to notice. We were both very tired and covered in dirt by the time Drak dragged Hadrum's body into the hole, but that little time together didn't make him any more compassionate towards me, letting the other two guards for me to carry with my one working arm.

We were halfway through filling the hole when a flash of light covered the whole room, it was almost blindingly bright, for a second it didn't even feel I was underground, but it ended just as fast as it appeared.

"Already?!" said Drak, "Go faster, we have to finish this."

"Why? What was that?" I asked.

Now covering the hole faster, he looked at me with a suspicious look before answering, "You really aren't from here, are you? That's the First Light, it means a fade has passed, people will start getting out to work soon. And that means more possible witnesses, now dig."

After filling the grave, we leveled the ground as best as we could by stepping on it, then we left the secret space and put the rug back on it to cover. Honestly, it was more of a question if whoever discovered that space behind the rug would be willing to dig the hole again, because it was pretty obviously a recently dug area.

He walked up to the woman and asked, "Are you awake?" while lightly slapping her face. When she didn't answer, he untied her. He got something from his waist and put it on her hand. Leaves and berries, white leaves and black berries.

"What did you give her?" I asked.

"Choice," he said. "Let's go."