A tingling ran through his hands and the rest of his body since they disappeared. Finnian didn’t quite understand what had happened, though logic told him it went beyond the effect their magic had when they collided. He turned, finding Leander, who was watching him curiously, despite his heavy breathing.

“They disappeared before you bounced off their magic.”

His heart continued to race, and although his mind was going slower, his body was moving on its own. His friends were okay, alive and in one piece, but he had to tend to soon with injuries, and they weren’t the only ones.

“You don’t know what you’ve done, do you?” Leander said. His voice was husky, though already calm from not being exposed to hostile conditions.

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Finnian replied.

He continued with the survival mode activated. It was a pressure in his chest that he had known in nightmares but which he developed in Elthea in the face of the deadly dangers he always encountered. Even with the suspicions and indications, watching his worst thoughts come true was what continued to affect him. Bringing his hands to them, he let a soft glow emerge from them. Healing needed a catalyst, something to aid in the process, but he didn’t want to stay on the outside. At least this way, he sensed how it took some of the pain away, which would allow them to recover more effectively once they entered their pendant.

“Finnian?” Ead had returned. “I saw what happened.”

“It’s all my fault. I should have stopped her earlier. “

“Why do you say that? It’s not at all!”

Because Braunah warned him. Because if he knew her so well, he must have seen that something wasn’t right. His indecision had gotten them to that point, though he wasn’t sure if that could be considered a defeat.

“You are not guilty, do you hear me?” Ead exclaimed, flying in front of him. “If so, I should have realized that Kali was not one of mine, and we would have been spared this.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Neither do you, so stop beating yourself up,” the hummingbird replied.

“Did you read my mind?” Finnian said.

“No, but I see your heart. I sense what you feel. And I can tell just by looking at you how much you care,” Ead ead.

“Listen to the frionach. Even I can sense it, and I don’t have his talent.”

The bow had been transformed into a staff that Leander used for support. Perhaps it was not the best time for introductions, even if they were no longer necessary. His gaze was like the sky that accompanied them, a mixture of blue and purple, serene and profound. Then, he touched his chest with one hand, pointing to Finnian and the spot itself.

“Are they in there?”

“They can come out whenever they want. It’s the best I can do for them now,” Finnian explained.

He was not strong enough to carry them at once, but they would be more than safe within his Mark. It was as if he was hiding them in his heart, or those were Nova’s words. That way, they could rest and heal faster and see and hear the same as he did. Then he turned to Leander, and before they could say anything else, he slung one of his arms over his shoulder for support.

“Better this than walking back alone, right?” Finnian said, forcing a smile.

And though they said nothing more, they both resumed their walk back to the Silver Orchid. For a few minutes, they walked in silence, and even Ead didn’t break it, keeping an eye out for anyone else following them. They were alone, with danger far from them, though not safe.

“They left. The fairy teleported them away before you damaged them.,” Leander said.

“I’m glad to have lost sight of them, not so much for the rest,” Finnian said.

“You still don’t understand how it happened,” Leander said.

“I wanted to protect all of you,” Finnian said.

That surge of energy was not born out of hatred, anger, or frustration at their situation. He just wanted them to turn out as well as possible because when he saw Blanche’s true colours, he even had his doubts that such a thing would happen. They were alive, though, which was no small thing.

Their talk did not go much further, or not for the moment. As soon as they reached the dorean’s entrance, a small group of elthean were guarding it. However, it was enough for them to withdraw their weapons when Leander instructed them not to.

“Keep a perimeter. We should see anyone coming who intends to come through here.”

It would be too soon to reveal that there was a renegade Signer in Elthea, at least until they could regroup. Even with it being night, the feeling that he would not (and could not) rest did not leave him. Nor was Leander aiming to turn them aside, even if they had been quite sincere about their intentions. After returning home, several healers came, lightening the load of what needed to be taken care of.

“We’re fine,” Rune said.

“More than fine,” Aer said.

“Let them examine you,” Finnian asked.

No one would go anywhere, nor would they speak if others were around. However, before they were left alone, they did not hesitate to insist that they should eat something. Even when his nerves had not left him, at least his hands no longer trembled, but the idea of late supper seemed even a more extraordinary task than the fight against Blanche. However, he was surprised to see how easily that meal went in.

“It’s a good idea to replenish your energy at any time. You never know what might happen,” Leander said.

While none of them planned for it, they couldn’t do much more, especially with everything they had to deal with when the time was not on their side. Then, before they began, Leander had a gesture that reminded him too much of his parents. He put a hand on his forehead and then on his wrists as if he were checking his temperature. Finnian furrowed his eyebrows, then received something handed to him: a crystal cut in the shape of an owl. At first, the work seemed simple, especially since it was as pure blue as the sky itself. However, it was enough that it remained in his hand for a few seconds for the energy to flow over it, allowing him to appreciate more clearly its beautiful finish or how magical it was.

Leander soon held up a wrist, showing her a djinn bracelet similar to his, and dangling from it an amulet identical to what he had just given him.

“A primordial crystal is what makes the Valiant so special. It is not available to everyone, but someone worthy of it can harness the power it offers,” Leander said.

He had been told about them before, although he had never had the opportunity to see such crystals with his own eyes. Leander’s explanation was the one he knew, and from the way he closed his hand to keep that shard, he understood that it had protected them the way it did when they fought Ailfryd.

“Anwil told me about what you did for Azure, or how to be precise,” Leander said, smiling at him with his gaze. “Although it was only after seeing you react tonight that I realized it was you I should have given it to.”

“I’d have to thank you for something like that, but I don’t even know how it comes to me,” Finnian said.

There were several places in Elthea where these minerals grew. Not that they were going to see them on any map or book, for the primordial crystals that formed the valiant were as scarce as they were capricious. Only a few managed to find one that reacted with them, though not on this occasion. Leander went to get his several years ago, and it was in that same mission when a second crystal appeared in his path, fragmenting in two.

“I’m barely in control of my magic enough to play with something like that,” Finnian admitted.

“I don’t think you have a choice. Since you arrived a month ago, your valiant has been calling for you,” Leander said, “and I know that because I felt the crystal reaching you.”

“You came here with magic, more than you had expected,” Aer interjected.

“Elthea may have been more in need of a strong Signer than ever,” Rune said.

“But it’s also giving you the means to fight for it,” Leith said.

“Don’t think about what could have been different. This only confirms what we already know about you,” Nero said.

Leander looked at them. This time he took the time to observe them a little more closely, even if it was only for a few seconds. He remained calm even after a crisis like that, being able to show gentleness when he could have died. He was the definition of a leader. Different from Ailfryd, but a full-fledged guardian.

“I understand why you were chosen, though we have a greater challenge than ever.”

Blanche, Kali and Ark. All three were a threat for what they had been doing for months without interruption. Destruction, sowing such chaos that the very balance of that world would suffer irreversibly. He wanted to think that they hadn’t reached that point, or not for the moment.

“What level are you at? Master?” Finnian asked.

“That bug with wings will fool anyone,” Leith admitted, clicking her tongue.

“Maybe she was a Master, or close to it,” Rune said.

“It’s not one of mine, sure,” Ead said. “It’s an Eternal.”

Eternals were mistaken for frionach for various reasons, though the main one was that they pretended to be one of them. While Ead and his ilk guided other elthean, the Eternals like Kali sought greatness and focused on their goals. They possessed a lot of knowledge, although they did not know whether they acquired it because they had their community or took it from others. They used to accompany the Calamity Lords as a finishing touch, serving as their right hands, or at least in the past.

“We didn’t even believe they still existed. It’s not like they would teach us anything like that on Galya either,” Aer said.

“Too many forgotten things are coming back,” Nero said, letting out a sigh.

“And that Signer’s partner, Ark, was his name?” Leander asked. “His power is not his alone. Maybe she’s infused him with some of hers.”

“That’s... Scary!” Ead muttered.

“One more problem to add to the list,” Finnian said, rolling his eyes. “At least they’re not allied with Calamity.”

Something that looked good but turned out to be worse. If Ariel couldn’t see what Ark and Blanche were when they were captured or knew how to hide well enough to fool him, Kali’s influence affected them even when she didn’t travel with them. Perhaps that was the reason for their absences or limiting the magic they did: to avoid being discovered too soon. At least now they weren’t fooling around anymore.