Meira wakes up late the next day, in a hut that isn’t theirs. The party ended late, so late it was practically early next morning, and even when it had ended, she spent a while longer up with another girl from the town.

The sun is as high on the sky as it will get, and Meira walks towards their hut. The others are probably already up, and they have to meet the people Lífdagar’s father brought from the plains. If she had known how long the night was going to be she would have asked the meeting to be postponed. Even if she has the luck of being able to stop her head from hurting, she is tired.

She opens the door to a hut full of people. The other Kyusei are there, and Gabriel, also Lífdagar’s parents and brothers. She searches with her eyes, there is a couple at the back that she doesn’t recognise, they are talking with Lífdagar’s father. There is a child near them that she doesn’t know, playing with Lífdagar and her nephew and Rakan.

Kylem is the first one to notice her arrival. He is close to the door, talking to Lífdagar’s brothers. He turns when the cold air coming through the door touches his face.

“You decided to rise at last.” he says.

Meira stretches her arms above her head with a smile.

“Long night, you know?”

“Did you have fun?” One of Lífdagar’s brothers asks, he has a playful smile on his lips.

“Oh, I certainly did.” Meira answers with a smile. “So,” she points to the couple at the back with her chin “those two are the ones we have to meet?”

“And their daughter.” Kylem adds. Meira looks at the child Lífdagar is playing with.

“Do you know why they are here?”

Kylem shakes his head. “Not yet. But when they came, they seemed anxious and kept looking at their daughter. Don’t look at me that way. I don’t read people’s minds unless it’s necessary, I’m not you.”

“But you would know so much more if you did.” Meira starts. Kylem makes her turn with a push to her shoulder and continues to push her forward towards the back of the room, where the others are.

After the introductions and custom pleasantries, Lífdagar’s brothers, sister-in-law and nephew leave the hut. The others sit around one of the tables that are opposite the beds. The Kyusei in front of Lífdagar’s parents and the couple. The woman has her daughter sitting on her lap. Meira notices her tense arm around her.

“I know you must find this strange.” Åshild starts. “We met them when the leader of their town contacted with us to get our help. The Council had come into their town and taken their daughter.” Meira frowns and looks at the child, happily playing with a small wooden wolf. “We were deciding how we should go rescue her when they came back with the child. She was fine but...” she says something in her language to the woman next to her and she nods. The woman lifts the child on her lap and rolls her right trouser leg up. She has a scar, almost in the shape of... “she was Marked before they took her.”

“You are saying they erased her Mark?” Lífdagar asks.

“And took her powers.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Why would the Council go all the way there to take the powers from a child?” Meira asks.

“She... different” the woman says. She looks around at everyone’s eyes, clearly anxious. Odvarr says something to her in their language, his voice calm, reassuring.

“They told us that her powers were different” Odvarr says. The woman seems relieved. She probably doesn’t speak the common language well.

“Different how?” Kylem asks.

“She hurt people.” Meira frowns again, confused. “When she was angry, she made wounds appear on other people or animals.”

“So they took her powers to protect her.” Meira says. “Like they did with Rakan and I after he burnt me.”

“But you still had some powers, and your Mark.” Lífdagar says.

“Not the Kyusei Mark.”

“I don’t think that was from the Council sealing your powers.” Kylem says.

“Whatever it was, if she was hurting people on accident, they obviously did it to help her.”

“But taking her from her family without an explanation and removing her Mark like that is not right.” Lífdagar insists.

Someone clears their throat. Odvarr is looking at them and signalling with his head to the couple next to him. They look distressed, clearly lost by the exchange that is happening in front of them but can’t understand. What they can understand is the tense tone of their voices. The Kyusei understand. They shouldn’t be arguing like that in front of the worried parents of a child.

Lífdagar talks in her language, and Kylem adds to it, in her language too so Meira only understands the words thank you and travel. The man in front of them repeats them when he answers. They stand up, shake hands, and say their goodbyes.

Now there’s only the Kyusei and Gabriel left in the room, in silence.

“Why couldn’t the Council explain what they were doing with the girl and let her parents come with her?” Lífdagar asks, she sounds hurt.

“Oh, come on” Meira answers with a snort. “They probably did but you’ve seen them, they can hardly understand a normal conversation.”

“My mother wouldn’t have called us here if it was only a misunderstanding.”

Meira doesn’t have a chance to answer before Kylem speaks.

“I’m with Liv. This whole situation is wrong. Stealing someone’s power before they can learn to control it.”

“Do you think there’s more?” Gabriel asks. They all turn to look at him. “I mean, we only know about this girl because of a personal connection so there could be more cases that we just don’t know about.”

“And if it’s in places more loyal to the Council the parents wouldn’t even question it.” Kylem finishes in a low voice, almost talking to himself.

“But,” Rakan starts “if the girl can hurt people shouldn’t that mean that one of us can do that too?”

“Theorically yes” Kylem says. He looks up at Meira.

“Don’t look at me, I can’t hurt people like that, only heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Meira says. Kylem turns towards Lífdagar. She shakes her head.

“I have never tried.” She says.

“Do it, then” Meira says. “Do it with me, I will just heal if you manage to hurt me.”

A full half minute passes where everyone holds their breaths in silence, Lífdagar’s gaze focused on Meira, her face becoming more and more one of unsuccessful effort.

At last she says “I can’t”

“I can’t either.” Kylem answers. “You thought I wasn’t trying too?” He adds when the others look at him.

“You think the one that has this power is...” Gabriel trails off. He doesn’t want to say the name.

“He would have used it if he could.” Kylem answers.

“But that’s impossible. You should have all the types of power between you five, even if you choose not to use them.” Gabriel says.

“None of us can use runes and they’re a thing.” Rakan says.

“But they are different, more complicated than normal magic.” Lífdagar answers.

“So what do we do now?” Rakan asks.

“We go with them to the plains. There is something I want to see there” Kylem answers.

Meira rolls her eyes. She can see what they are hinting at, what they are thinking. Conspiracies, the Council lying to them. But why would they? What good would that bring to them. They are the Kyusei and they are in the same side as the Council, there is no reason for them to hide things from them, no reason for them to lie. They only have to go back south again, talk with the Apatya, and she is sure they will explain everything to them. No need for secret expeditions to discover some ancient secret.