I frantically gathered my belongings before rushing out from under the blazing canopy. As burning limbs and sparks rained from above, the treetop seemed almost an umbrella of fire sinking to cook us alive. Flinging my pack into the grass ahead of me, I clutched my only weapon tightly in my fist—Lylisia's knife.

The first howl was followed by another as the hunting dogs raced toward the pillar of fire and smoke, their trainers presumably right on their heels. Andrin emerged from under the canopy just as a huge branch of flaming leaves fell where he had left. My head swiveled frantically in search of Koren before I realized he had escaped with Andrin, one arm around the Baldük's shoulders.

As the first hound leapt from the grass the two Animaré stood side-by-side, Naem-shul drawn and ready to face it. With the inferno to their backs they were two resolute silhouettes ready for any foe. The beast barely entered the circle of light before it was immediately cut down. Hope rose anew in my chest before I realized the bright blades were growing duller—keeping Koren alert was sapping both their energy.

As hope gave way to fear the energy inside me strained to be released, to lash out and destroy my enemies. It rose to my fingertips almost faster than I could stop it—quicker than in the past, and I only just caught myself and forced it back down.

I barely had a moment to recover before the second hound reached us, this time charging straight for Koren from the side. He narrowly spun away from the lunge and slashed the dog across the back, only for his blade to glance off its thick armor. It hardly landed before Andrin buried his broadsword up to the hilt in its back. It let out a piteous howl and suddenly the only sound was the raging fire to our backs. We scanned the circle of light cast by the fire, watching for the next hound to emerge. None came.

"We need to move," I yelled over the flames, more out of panic than anything else.

"Wait." Andrin snapped at me. "We need the light more than they do."

I considered sprinting off into the grass alone. The magic pushing against my soul screamed that I needed to move—run, fight, anything. It was taking all my strength to remain rooted to the spot, and I feared the longer we waited the more likely I was to explode.

Suddenly every hair stood on end. The energy froze inside me, cooled and braced for any sudden movement.

Two figures melted from the darkness of the grass into our little halo of light.

My heart stopped. Last time I had my Animaré by my side.

This time I'm alone.

Each figure stepped fully into the light and calmly drew its weapon. The same black robe, black hood, black mask. The masks had distinct markings in white chalk, each grotesque and twisted. They made no other move and uttered no other sound, but simply stood, clutching dark swords in their fists.

"You will not take the amulet." Andrin said evenly.

"Tragsith ek krassath." The Ska'al raised his sword to point to Andrin. He turned the blade to me next.

"Hirqioh vrai uil'krassath." The second spoke now.

Without another word, they lunged.

I wasn't prepared to die. Not that I was dreading it—perhaps I'd be with my Animaré again. But at the same time I was angry. Maybe I still had chance, maybe she could come to me instead. I wanted to live long enough to find out.

That anger fueled the magic in my veins and pushed it to the surface the moment before my small blade connected with the Ska'al's dark one. I grit my teeth as I felt the force of the blow all the way up my arm. The energy strained against my will, screaming to be let free, to devour my enemy.

Not like this.

The ferocity of the warrior's attacks pushed me quickly back toward the blazing inferno, his vicious strikes forcing me on the defensive. The firelight reflected in the chalk on his mask, the gruesome etchings glaring at me as he wove a tapestry of death with his blade. He was driving me away from my friends.

I dove sideways to avoid backing straight into the fire, and barely popped back up before I dropped to the ground to duck his next swipe. I parried the following blow and instinctively swiped at his sword hand. Caught off guard, he stepped back clumsily and had to retreat momentarily to regain his footing.

I suddenly had an idea.

The Ska'al's movements were fluid and calculated. I would never break his guard, especially with a weapon a fourth the length of his.

A bone-chilling scream split the smoky air, and the Ska'al's fraction of a head turn was all I needed. Every hair was on end, but I didn't have time to check who had fallen. I struck.

The Ska'al was expecting my strike and raised his sword to block a blow that never came. Before he could recognize the feint my kick to his knees swiped his feet out from under him, and I pounced before he could blink.

One hand went straight to his wrist, pinning both hand and sword to the ground. I raised my knife arm for the killing blow and froze.

His mask.

It came loose when he fell, and now his wide blue eyes stared up at me. Not empty slits or another mask, but the eyes of a man, wide with fear.

In that moment the anger raged against me. But now I met it with iron resolve—I would not kill a man like a dog.

The moment ended. A left hook to my jaw send me flying sideways and he scrambled to his feet, sword in hand, mask completely loose. He seemed smaller now without it, just a man with a cowl and a sword. My head was still reeling from the punch but I stumbled to my feet as Andrin stepped up beside me, Naem-shul gleaming in the firelight.

"Come and take him!" Andrin threatened over the sound of the flames.

I braced myself once more, trying to clear my head and regain my balance. Magic roared within me, demanding the death of the cloaked warrior. I pushed it down again and steeled my nerves for his lunge.

It never came. Without a sound he turned on his heel and melted into the darkness.

Andrin and I exchanged shocked expressions. I let out a long, slow breath, releasing some tension in my body. Somehow I knew he wouldn't be back. As the magic and adrenaline faded I crumpled to ground, exhausted.

Somehow the roar of the fire was softer than the gentle breeze of the grassland, it's light dimmer than the twinkling stars in the sky. My strength faded and the dark sky bent down to close my eyes.

* * *

"Koren!"

I sat bolt upright, breathing hard. Was it all a dream?

The tree was nowhere to be seen—not that my bleary eyes could see far. I didn't remember moving anywhere, so where was I?

What happened to Koren?

"Your friend is asleep. Injured, but sleeping."

I whirled around to face the figure. He sat cross legged in the grass a little ways away. A bit of ash drifted lazily down onto his cloak and he brushed it away casually.

"They're... both asleep? Is that necessary?"

"Tell me. Would your friends take kindly to me?"

Koren wouldn't trust an unnamed figure for an instant. "Fine, they sleep. Why did you come back?"

"You know the answer to that. You had a question to ask of me."

My heart leapt into my throat. He came back to answer me. "Can I become an Animaré again?" I blurted out.

He paused for a moment while I held my breath. Maybe he meant for the suspense. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps? That's the hope you have for me?"

"'Perhaps' is the best hope a Solace could ever have," he snapped, emphasizing the word I hated. "It is possible to achieve stability in your current state, and perhaps possible to reverse it."

I sat in stunned silence. It was too good to be true. Too good. "Why should I trust you?" Suddenly I questioned the lifeline this man had given me.

"What do you have to lose?"

I didn't have an answer. In all the world I had a knife and a bedroll. He disappeared without another word, leaving me turning it over again and again in my mind.

A whisper of hope stirred the tattered edges of my torn soul.

* * *

"Koren!"

Andrin was by my side in a flash. "Breathe Sedris, calm down!"

I whirled around, bleary-eyed and still confused. "That scream, it was horrible, that wasn't him, tell me it wasn't him!"

"It was the Ska'al, I forced it into the fire. Breathe Sed, Koren is right here." He pointed to a nearby lump in the grass. Koren's breathing was slow and steady.

"What happened then? Is he hurt?" I made to push myself up and check on him but Andrin kept a firm hand on my chest.

"First... Sedris are you alright?" His eyebrows knit together. "You passed out and then, well, you were muttering and thrashing. Did the magic have to do with your passing out?"

I paused. "The first time I think it did." I gingerly felt out the edges of my soul, searching for the lingering presence of power. It lay silent inside me for the moment, not even stirring as I probed the fragmented currents drifting lazily through my soul. "I don't remember what happened after that."

"The first time? You didn't wake up at all, not that I know of. Koren and I carried you all the way out here." Andrin gestured to the open grassland around us. In the distance, a thin trail of smoke drifted lazily into the growing dawn. This must have been where I woke up the first time. "That tree was a massive beacon to our location. Any other Ska'al tracking us will know to go straight there."

I chose my words carefully. I didn't want to reveal the presence of the cloaked man. "So you moved me immediately?"

Andrin nodded. "Koren was actually alert at that point and he was able to take our things while I carried you. He's injured, and the poison took its toll, but he'll make it."

I studied his face. Andrin had no reason to lie. Did he truly not remember being asleep? I turned my conversation with the cloaked figure over in my mind. Andrin and Koren were most certainly not awake.

"As soon as Koren can travel some distance we need to get moving again. I'm afraid that second Ska'al will be back."

"He won't be." Somehow I knew. The look in the man's eye—he knew I spared him.

"I want to know why he ran. Ska'al don't run," Andrin said flatly. "They're warriors committed to justice above all else. They don't back down, they don't surrender. And they never run."

Just then, Koren began to stir. Andrin immediately went to his side and helped him sit up. Koren stretched his leg gingerly and Andrin made to change the bloody bandages wrapped around his thigh.

"I could've killed him." I stared at the ground. His eyes were etched into my memory.

Andrin looked puzzled, Koren shocked. "You let him go?" Koren demanded.

"What do you mean Sed? It looked like he just ran."

"I could've killed him," I repeated, "but I didn't." I looked up at the Animaré. The coming dawn cast long shadows in the grass. "He was just a man. He didn't need to die. Do you understand that?" I searched my friends eyes desperately.

Koren just shook his head angrily. Andrin couldn't seem to find the words. "This is life or death Sedris," he said softly. "He wouldn't have done the same for you."

Koren hoisted himself up and grabbed his pack. "Let's go," he said, not even looking back. "We have to get moving. It won't take long for one Ska'al to bring back more." He began to limp off into the vast horizon. "Now they know we're easy targets."

My cheeks burned. I hoped mercy wasn't our downfall.

* * *

No one spoke a word. They hardly breathed. Tension hung in the air like fog. The nighttime breeze stirred the edges of the cowls, but no one moved.

The prince stood at the entrance to his tent, silent and still like the warriors assembled before him. But beneath the cowl his blood boiled. Disorder was not tolerated amongst the Ska'al—disobedience was treachery.

A solitary figure appeared across from the cloaked leader. Without a mask he seemed a man amongst monsters, a robed warrior amongst robed statues.

"What fate met your conspirator, traitor?" The prince's voice dripped with venom.

The newcomer bowed his head. "He paid for his crimes. As will I." His eyes met the mask before him. "As will you."

"Traitors reap death," the masked leader growled.

"Tragsith ek krassath!" The other warriors echoed their leader as one.

"By the stones of D'ulk-kyra I will die a traitor than an ally to Bërrha son of Ashotyth! The Solace is not as you swear it is—it's hands are innocent of bloodshed," he hissed. "You have deceived us, your warriors, your loyal servants!" The leader began to speak but the unmasked warrior cut him off. "You shall have no word of defense, no trial, for the abuse of your power deserves death! I challenge you in mortal combat. Let the scales of justice determine my fate."

The Ska'al fell silent. All masks turned to Bërrha, the prince. He betrayed no emotion.

"Let the just be the victor."

He stepped forward into the circle of his warriors as his challenger did the same. The unmasked Ska'al drew his black sword, the long blade almost an extension of the shadows around him.

The Ska'al leader took another step forward and uttered a harsh growl. The air hummed with power as the currents gathered as Bërrha dictated. The warriors collectively held their breath as suddenly a blinding white Naem-shul leapt to the prince's hand like lightning.

The battle was over before it started. With one savage stroke the prince smashed his opponent's weapon as the unmasked Ska'al raised it to parry. The next stab went straight through his heart.

His scream still rang in his fellows' ears as Bërrha turned back toward his tent. The traitor's bloody body crumpled to the ground, a smoking, mangled hole in his chest.

"Ska'al fight as one. Traitors reap death."

* * *

Koren held up the twentieth chunk of dirt. "So... what exactly are we doing again?"

Andrin buried his nose in it once again and inhaled deeply. He clicked his tongue and immediately went back to digging. "We're finding the dormant root of a carocae flower. They haven't blossomed yet, so they're hard to find. But they'll help us in the long run."

I sat back on my knees and wiped sweat from my forehead. The sun beat down on us without a cloud in sight as we kneeled in the grass. "How, exactly?"

The Baldük sighed. "Do you really need a thorough explanation?" I opened my mouth to say no, but he continued anyway. "The carocae root can be crushed and mixed with almost any liquid to form a regenerative drink that not only soothes pain and heals wounds but also provides energy, strength, and fresher breath."

I blinked once then returned to my digging, internally rolling my eyes. Why do I even ask.

"I understand the usefulness of this root, Andrin, but the Ska'al could be following closely behind us." Koren's tone was serious despite the smear of dirt on his nose. "We need to reach Aelridia as quickly as possible, and this doesn't seem to be getting us any closer."

"You need a different perspective!" Andrin huffed. "Would you rather be sick and injured while we flee those monsters or healthy and ready for battle?"

I tuned out the Animarés' squabble. My mind hadn't been too focused on them anyway. I had been too preoccupied with the shred of hope I received from the hooded man.

I can be fixed.

My heart fluttered in my chest. Hope had briefly replaced the anger, the magic inside me now a gentle flow. Even the currents seemed still and serene, fragmented as my grasp on them was.

I took a deep breath and shoved Andrin's little spade into the earth once more.

Thud.

The currents vibrated and I sighed. My grasp on their steady rhythm had slipped away again.

Thud.

Something wasn't right.

"Andrin? Koren?"

"Did you find it?" Andrin peered excitedly into my little mound of dirt.

"What's going on in the currents?" The vibrations didn't stop. They weren't just reflections of my poor connection to them—something was sending them into disarray.

Koren's brow furrowed. "Some sort of massive herd running—" he swung his arm around "—northwest." His eyes widened. "They're terrified."

Without another word he took off through the grass like a gazelle, bounding with long strides through the yellow sea. Andrin was on his heels in an instant, leaving me to scramble to my feet and follow suit. Shoving the spade in my pocket, I hooked an arm through my pack and tried to keep up as best I could.

"Andrin!" I yelled ahead, hoping he would slow to hear me. "Andrin!"

He turned his head briefly to check on me and then dropped back a bit. We were still running fast.

"What're we gonna... gonna do if we... catch these things?" I panted. "Does Koren really think... he can calm them all... down?"

"They're horses Sed, of course we can calm them down!" He barely had to take a breath to answer me, his long stride outmatching mine by a mile. "You can't feel them?"

Horses! Of course! Animaré could communicate on a basic level with animals by projecting calming energy through the currents. Usually it soothed any agitated beast, but Koren had a special way with horses. If anyone could calm a frenzied group of horses, it was him.

Before I knew it my pounding heart was drowned by the thundering of hooves. I caught sight of a cloud of dust off to our right before I smashed into Andrin and sent us both sprawling. Koren had stopped a few feet ahead of us without my notice.

His arms were outstretched, palms facing up, glimmers of light dancing at his fingertips. The energy he accessed ached to form a Naem-shul, but I knew he was keeping it in line. I felt the slightest pang of jealousy.

Although the currents still rattled, I gathered them as best I could as I felt a few of them sing with power. The two Animaré, with Koren leading, were simply smoothing the currents gently with magic. Primitive as they were compared to an Animaré, the horses would hopefully respond as the energy-laden currents washed over them.

The wild creatures were now in full view, bearing down almost on top of us. I couldn't tell if the vibrating currents were due to their hooves or their anxiety. Hopefully the former.

The first one flew by inches from Koren's outstretched arms. The rest of the team followed, the thunder of their hooves deafening. Neither Animaré moved, and neither gave up. Even I felt the currents smooth out once or twice before I lost my grip on them. It seemed for a moment that we had failed, that they would simply continue past us.

But then suddenly, miraculously, the thunder died out.

It couldn't have been more than a few seconds since the first horse passed Koren, but now the whole group slowed to a halt, gradually at first, but then all at once, the leaders out front turning back and the stragglers falling in line behind. Before my eyes some fifty stampeding horses had slowed to a stop and now bayed contentedly in the bright sun.

All but one.

From the far side of the pack we heard hooves and frantic neighing, indicating that something still wasn't quite right. Koren and Andrin were breathing hard, so I cautiously jogged around the outside to see what was going on.

As I neared the beast it became even more frantic and trotted around the opposite side of the group away from me. "Hey, get back here."