The sky was ever so slightly lightened, and the stars still shone as if they defied the dawn.

Mattos and Ary slept with the tent pitched in the shelter of one of the stables of the outpost. Xellie quietly ambled around to the half-crumbled inn, and leaned against the wall watching the sky brighten up.

Vella appeared next to her, mimicking her pose against the wall.

“You and your mother are very much alike,” Vella admitted grudgingly. “Neither of you thought twice about running into a fire... I would call that heroic, although for stupid reasons.”

“Why’d she do it?” Xellie asked, not taking her eyes off the sky.

“Love.” Vella sighed heavily. “Underneath this cold front, she puts on, she is constantly punished for her emotions. If you could see her soul as I can, it is so bright and beautiful, as if it was painted with the most delicate rainbows.”

“She was saving a lover?” Xellie screwed up her face in thought. “She doesn’t seem the type.”

“Because she knows, love will only lead to bad things. He wasn’t even in the building when she died. All her hopes and dreams, to be a mother, to have a family, they all went up in flames that day...for nothing... and....” Vella gave a quiet sniff as if she was holding back tears. “She doesn’t even remember.”

Xellie lowered her gaze slightly as she thought about Vella’s words.

“So when I mentioned Lafayein it triggered bad memories...”

“Yes.” Vella sighed once more. “It pained me to be the one to block those memories from her, but it couldn’t be any other way.”

“You did that to her?” Xellie glanced over at Vella, who was still leaning against the wall, with her head tilted toward the sky.

“Sometimes you have to do awful things for the ones you love. I would never let her suffer again the way I saw her back then. Sometimes she cries because she can’t remember her real name. Sometimes she screams when she can’t understand her past... But it's nothing compared to the way she was when she remembered... And took all the blame upon herself...”

“You’re not going to elaborate on that are you?” Xellie said defeatedly.

Vella’s face brightened a little as she turned and tapped Xellie on the nose.

“You’re learning our ways!”

“I want to know more about her. She is my mother you know.” Xellie replied pretending to be irritated as she swatted Vella’s finger away. Secretly, she was relieved that Vella seemed to suddenly consider her worth speaking to.

“I told you too much already. But out of respect, child, try not to pry into her past. It can only hurt her. But you should never doubt the depth of her love. She would give up her life once more if it meant saving someone she cared for. It’s a rare quality... her love for the lives of others is so strong.”

“So I’m worthy to be spoken to now huh?” Xellie said slyly.

“Yes, I was hard on you. You’re just a baby. Raye and I have over a century on your age, I suppose I forgot what it’s like to be young. But mark my words, I will destroy you if you’re not competent enough to join us.” Vella said with a grin.

“Well, thanks for that Auntie Val.” Xellie laughed.

“Oh, your family was an odd one.” Vella laughed alongside Xellie. “Your father never suspected a thing... not until the day Raye was recalled home.”

“Huh.”

Xellie thought back to Raye talking about the terrible day she had to leave her family, and how ‘they’ took her.

“Your father was killed to get at me.”

Had the valkyries killed her father? Was it in cold blood to make Raye leave? Or had he tried to fight them off?

“... who killed him?” Xellie asked hesitantly.

“I can’t tell you this.” Vella chided her. “That is between you and your mother. If she wants you to know, she will tell you.”

“Pfft.” Xellie pouted.

Vella vanished suddenly, without warning.

Taken by surprise, Xellie looked around to see why Vella had disappeared. She didn’t see anything immediately, so settled back into watching the sunrise

Footsteps alerted her attention. Assuming it was Mattos coming to find her, she turned to wave to him.

It wasn’t Mattos.

It was Tane.

Tane violently pushed her against the wall, using his forearm to push into her stomach, putting the other hand over her mouth. The sand from around their feet rose up and formed around her body and arms, solidifying and keeping her against the wall.

Tane relaxed his grip slightly, keeping his hand over her mouth.

“I know I can’t fight you. Just hear me out.”

She nodded, gulping slightly. She was completely stuck for now and couldn’t reach her sword.

“Okay.” Tane removed his hand. “Please, just come with me. I hate fighting you.”

“Because you can’t win?” she spat back angrily. “Just release me.”

“Believe it or not, I still care,” Tane answered haughtily. “You’re heading somewhere you’ll hate. Just please, come with me and hear the big guy out.”

“Never.”

"why must you be like this?!" Tane exclaimed.

“I don’t suppose you’ve bothered to think with the correct head. That Deena isn’t Deena. Don’t you see how lifeless her eyes are? Don’t you hear how flat her voice is? For all we know her soul is in there trapped, watching everything that is going on... And you're okay with this, for what? Because it undoes the past?”

“I suppose you’re becoming an expert in souls already?” Tane slammed his hand into the wall next to her head, bringing his face almost nose to nose with her. “Well, maybe if you weren’t pre-programmed to seek out death, you’d have stayed close to me and stopped scaring everyone that cared about you by wandering off and picking fights!”

That was a low blow. Xellie felt her stomach turn with Tane’s words about their past together.

“You don’t like the idea that someone could come back to life?” Tane continued. “Does that scare you? Does it disgust you? Do you prefer people to be dead?”

“SHE ISN’T ALIVE IDIOT!” Xellie yelled back, pulling against the sand restraining her. “You are being manipulated! This whole thing is to control you!”

Tane backed away, then slapped her across the face.

“YOU ARE SO STUBBORN!” He shrieked back, turning away and tracing a circle in the air.

As his wooden wand sliced through the air, a doorway opened up, to a dark forest, Black mist seeped out of it, creeping along the floor. The metallic stench of blood filled the air.

Gagging at the smell, Xellie looked nervously through the portal. The trees were alive with blackened leaves and a life of their own.

As she studied the portal, a silvery line caught her eye. She couldn’t see where it came from, deep in the portal, however, it connected to Tane between the shoulder blades.

Tane tapped the sand cocoon keeping Xellie trapped and it fell to the ground. He grabbed her by the arm and threw her roughly toward the portal.

Tane’s strength took Xellie by surprise as she landed on the ground by the portal. Where her foot crossed over and into the dark world, a burning, stabbing pain filled her foot and began to spread up her leg.

She pulled her foot away quickly and rolled away from the portal, standing up to face Tane.

“I cannot go in there.” She told him flatly.

“Yes, you are!” He screamed, running toward her and grabbing her hand before she could grab her sword.

“Forget it Tane!” She yelled back, grappling with him to get him to release her. She kicked him hard in the stomach, pushing him through the portal.

“Next time there will be three of us.” Tane snarled from inside the portal.

“Hmm.” Xellie scratched her chin in mock thought. “No, I think Niko is disposing of Talynn.”

“Killing another of our friends, I see.” Tane screwed his face up in disgust. “You and your assassin of a brother are sick.”

“Says the guy who made a contract with a demon lord.” Xellie rolled her eyes. “Get out of here before I make enough noise to call help.”

Tane huffed and walked into the darkness, the portal fading behind him.

“Do you still have feelings for him?” Vella whispered from behind Xellie, not visible to anyone.

“I don’t know Vella...” Xellie sighed. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Hey!” Mattos called. “I heard something going on!”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Xellie told Mattos, relieved that he had come to check. “I might try and get an hour or so in before we set off.”

“Oh, you do that.” Mattos nodded sternly. “I’ll stand guard for a while, we have time. And you never sleep it seems.”