Felitïa’s head was quiet for once. It wasn’t just that there were no emotions nearby—there were probably quite a few. It wasn’t even like the times her telepathy waned. The voices in the Room—the ones that constantly called to her and named her friends—were silent too. There was nothing in her head other than her own thoughts, and sometimes it felt like there weren’t even many of those. It was beyond silent.

She had woken up screaming at first. It was a little like that time when she’d first met Corvinian and his powers had attacked her—the time she’d thought she’d lost her abilities. It felt like her abilities were gone.

She knew they weren’t really. They were just...constrained. But in a different way this time. And she hadn’t realised that at first.

With a little probing past the hole in the grey walls, she could easily find the magical field constraining her powers. It was strange. Compared to the grey walls, it was incredibly feeble. Even in her currently weakened state, she could tear it apart easily, let her powers return to her, stronger than they had ever been before. Yet at the same time, the field kept everything out, whereas the grey walls had let a little through.

She could tear the field apart so easily.

And gods, she wanted to. She hated the silence. It was terrifying. How the hell did people live like this? How did they get by not sensing other people’s emotions?

She had done it herself once, back before her telepathy had first manifested. But that was so long ago, and she had just been a child. Could she go back to it?

She would have to.

For now.

She could so easily tear the field apart, but she knew she mustn’t.

Besides, if she did, Mikranasta would just overpower her again, like she had the first time Felitïa had woken up. When Felitïa had instinctively lashed out and torn apart the field.

Gods, Mikranasta was powerful, especially given Felitïa’s weakened state. But even at full strength, Felitïa suspected her skills would be like a drop in the ocean compared to Mikranasta’s. The Isyar could make that field far stronger if she wanted to. She only didn’t because it was less stressful to maintain, but if she needed to, she could easily force Felitïa into submission.

But Mikranasta being able to stop her wasn’t the main reason Felitïa should not tear the field apart. It was there for a good reason. She couldn’t yet control her newly enhanced powers. She could delve more deeply into people’s thoughts without even realising she was doing it. She could be privy to private thoughts she had no business knowing. Worse, she could accidentally harm someone.

At least, so Mikranasta said. But Felitïa had no reason to doubt her. Jorvan, at the very least, trusted her. It was best to listen to her.

So she let the field remain.

She let the silence remain.

And tried her best not to look terrified.

Zandrue squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

Felitïa turned her head to look at her. She’d known Zandrue was there. She could see Zandrue. Hear her. Feel her hand. Yet she had still momentarily forgotten because she couldn’t sense her. Zandrue’s familiar presence was not in the Room in her head.

Felitïa squeezed Zandrue’s hand back. “Thanks.”

The audience chamber doors opened, and a herald’s voice rang out, “Her Highness, Princess Felitïa Asa Folith, Lady Zandromeda Armida, and Mikranasta of Isyaria!”

The chamber was sparsely occupied, only a few courtiers and a couple of guards, in addition to Anita on the throne and Akna standing beside her. Most of the residents of the palace were gone, either fled or possibly magically manipulated into leaving by Plavistalorik.

Felitïa stumbled into the room, supported on one side by Zandrue, and by Mikranasta on the other. She was still so exhausted. She could sleep again, but there hadn’t been much opportunity for it. So she was still overtired, but on top of that, she had drained herself of so much magical power. The prayer beads had let her tap into her deepest stores of power, but that power had still come from her. It was going to take her at least a week to recover, probably longer.

Crossing the room was harder than she’d hoped, and Zandrue ended up supporting her weight most of the way. Even when the reached the steps to the throne—where there was a large bloodstain on the carpet—and stopped, Zandrue couldn’t let go of her. When she had first asked for this audience, she had foolishly thought she’d at least be able to stand without assistance.

Anita, the new Lady of Belone, stood up and came forward. “Your Highness, you look ill.” She indicated the throne. “Please, have a seat.”

“Oh no,” Felitïa said. “I’ll be fine. You only just got that seat. I wouldn’t take it from you.”

“You’re sure? I don’t mind.”

Felitïa straightened up and nodded. “I’m sure.” Her legs buckled and Zandrue had to catch her.

“I really don’t think you are,” Zandrue said quietly.

Felitïa sighed. “Thank you, your Ladyship. I think I’ll take your kind offer after all.”

Zandrue helped her climb the steps and then lower herself into the throne. It was good to sit down, even if she felt exposed sitting in front of people in a throne. Her legs—her whole body really—were a lot weaker than she had been willing to admit.

“Better?” Zandrue asked.

Felitïa nodded. “For now.”

Zandrue smiled and moved to stand on Felitïa’s left side. Akna remained standing on the right, while Mikranasta circled behind the throne and out of sight.

Felitïa straightened her back as best she could and smiled at Anita. “Your Ladyship, thank you for agreeing to see me.”

Anita curtsied. “Your Highness, no thanks are necessary. We owe you a great debt. You and your friends have saved us from the evil that had embedded itself here. Seeing you is the least I could do.”

“Well, thank you anyway.”

Anita curtsied again.

“How is your mother, by the way?”

Felitïa wanted to think Anita looked sad at the question, but she couldn’t sense it, and that just made her judgement seem...unreliable. She was going to have to get used to reading people’s body language and not relying on feeling their emotions.

“Resting.” Anita frowned. “I confess I… I gave her a sleeping draught. She was very distraught over Danel’s death.”

Felitïa nodded. “That’s understandable. How did he die?”

“I killed him,” Akna said. “However, Siba thinks I was being controlled by Plavistalorik.”

“It’s best she not learn otherwise,” Anita said.

“I understand,” Felitïa said.

“What was it you wished to speak to me about, your Highness?” Anita asked.

“Just Felitïa’s fine. You know I’m not really into all that formal stuff.”

Anita blushed. “Of course. Felitïa. I guess I’m just getting used to my new role. And you are seated in the throne.” She grinned.

Felitïa chuckled a little, but the effort hurt the muscles in her chest, so she had to stop. “I actually wanted to talk to you about Plavistalorik. She was established here for many years under your father. She was presumably manipulating things from behind the scenes the whole time. There’s a good chance there are still people here loyal to her. We’re going to need to root them out.”

“I was worried about that,” Anita said, “but I’m not sure what to do. I could replace the whole staff, I suppose, but I’m loath to do that. It would be...cruel.”

Felitïa shook her head quickly, then regretted it as a wave of vertigo passed over her. “No, there’s no need for that.”

“It wouldn’t work anyway,” Zandrue said. “The people Plavistalorik worked with could easily get some of their people in with the new recruits. We’d still be rooting them out.”

“I’m glad,” Anita said. “I mean, that I don’t have to let the whole staff go.”

“But don’t worry. I’ve got some ideas for finding them. I’ve had a little bit of experience with this in the Royal Palace. I can—” Zandrue stopped and looked behind her. “Oh, well yes, sure. He and I can… Right, of course. But I think he’ll be happy for my help. Okay, yes, of course, I’ll talk to him.”

Felitïa blinked a few times and tried to clear her thoughts and vision. Was there something wrong with her hearing. “What’s going on?”

Zandrue looked at her in surprise, then sighed. “Right, of course. Mikranasta is talking to us in our heads to bypass the language barrier, but she says you can’t hear it because she’s blocking you from that sort of thing.”

Felitïa slumped a little in the throne. It was not the most comfortable seat and keeping her back straight was proving difficult. “I see.”

“She’s been telling me that Jorvan will take charge of finding any Darkers in the palace. She says it’s part of his family’s job. I was trying to tell her that I can help with that, that I…” She groaned, and paused before continuing. “Yes, I understand what you’re saying. I just… She’s telling me Jorvan will decide who helps him and who doesn’t and he will come to me if he needs me.”

Felitïa straightened up. “Mikranasta, Zandrue is a good friend of mine. I trust her completely, and I have no doubt she can help root out the Darkers. I appreciate your zealousness to take control of the situation, but this is not your jurisdiction. I’m assigning Zandrue to assist Jorvan in these duties.”

There was a pause before Zandrue spoke. “She says, and I quote, ‘As you wish, Will-Breaker.’”

Felitïa slumped over again and rubbed her temples. Mikranasta seemed to like to take charge. She hoped this wasn’t going to become a problem.

Zandrue leaned over beside her. “You okay?”

“Mm.”

“I’ll coordinate things with Jorvan, and don’t worry. I can handle his mother.”

Felitïa looked at her in the eyes. “You sure? She’s unbelievably powerful.”

Zandrue smiled. “Child’s play.”

Felitïa rolled her eyes. “If you say so.” There was no doubt Mikranasta had heard every word they’d said.

Zandrue straightened up. “There was another thing we wanted to discuss, your Ladyship. It’s probably related to the Darkers.”

There was? Oh right! Felitïa had almost forgotten. Gods, she was exhausted and still not quite thinking straight.

“What is it?” Anita asked.

“Princess Sinitïa.”

“What about her?”

“You didn’t know she was missing, did you?”

“She’s here, isn’t she?” Anita said.

Zandrue nodded. “Yes, she is. But a couple months ago, when we arrived in Arnor City, she ran off with Meleng and Jorvan to Isyaria. Without her family’s knowledge or permission. They panicked, sent out word of her disappearance. They believed Meleng had abducted her, so wanted him caught and executed. You heard nothing of this? Patriarch Ardon himself was ordered to get the word out, and he’s generally pretty good at his job.”

Anita looked perplexed. Felitïa was sure she had too when she’d first heard from Zandrue about it. Anita shook her head. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t we hear of it?”

“That’s the big mystery,” Zandrue said.

“Hold on,” Akna said. “We’re a long way from Arnor City. Maybe word just hasn’t arrived yet.”

Anita shook her head again. “You don’t understand, Akna. The church has a way of sending messages very fast. It’s one of the things that gives them so much power in Arnor. A country this big could never hold together if we had to rely on standard methods of sending messages. We should have known within a day. Two at most.”

“Which makes me very worried about what’s been happening there since I left,” Zandrue said. “We’d mostly rooted out the Darkers, but there was still Lidda Plavin and the dragon. Rudiger…”

Felitïa reached for Zandrue’s hand. She didn’t need to sense Zandrue’s feelings to know what she was probably feeling now.

“Dragon?” Anita said.

“We’ve got a lot to fill you in on,” Zandrue said.

Felitïa only knew the barest amount herself. Zandrue had explained a bunch of it to her, but she had been too tired to keep it all in.

“Princess Sinitïa Alessia Deanna Folith and Meleng Drago!”

At the sound of the herald’s voice, the doors opened and Meleng and Sinitïa stepped into the room. Corvinian walked just behind them, his head hanging low. Felitïa wondered if that was because the herald hadn’t announced his name or if he was pouting about something else.

“Jorvanultumn, Fevionawishtensen, and Hedromornasta of Isyaria!”

Jorvan entered the room with a short, female Isyar beside him—presumably Fevionawishtensen. Hedromornasta walked behind them.

Meleng and Sinitïa only made it partway across the room before Sinitïa broke into a run. “Felitïa!” She bounded up to the throne and practically threw herself on top of Felitïa.

Felitïa shifted against Sinitïa’s weight. “Careful. I’m a little winded.”

Sinitïa backed up. “Oh, sorry. I was just really excited to see you. I’ve been to Isyaria!”

“I heard. It’s good to see you. I promise I’ll give you a proper hug when I’m feeling better.”

Sinitïa nodded, a wide grin on her face. “That’s okay.” Her hair was dishevelled, and the make-up on her face had been hastily applied. The gown she was wearing had clearly not been washed in quite some time and even had a couple tears in the sleeves. But she otherwise looked in good health.

Sinitïa turned and motioned to the Isyar. “Have you met Feviona yet?” She took Meleng’s hand. “She’s Jorvan’s fomase and our fomaze.”

Felitïa rubbed her head. “Sorry, I’m not following.”

Zandrue leaned over. “It’s an Isyar thing. It’s complicated. I’ll explain later, but basically, the four of them are all a family now.”

Sinitïa yanked Meleng along with her as she went over to the female Isyar who had entered with Jorvan. “Anyway, this is Fevionawishtensen, but she’s okay with us calling her Feviona.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Fevionawishtensen,” Felitïa said.

Feviona lowered her head in a slow nod. She was bruised and battered with several bandages visible under tears in her pale, skin-tight clothes—a uniform Felitïa had seen on numerous Isyar on Scovese. The Élite they were called, if Felitïa remembered correctly. There was a particularly large hole in the uniform’s side, revealing thick bandages.

“You’ve obviously suffered a great deal,” Felitïa continued. “Thank you for everything you did for the Hall of Knowledge.”

Feviona smiled and moved her arms and hands about in patterns that were clearly meant to be a visual language. One of her first movements was to touch the top of her chest, which presumably was a way of indicating herself, the word I or me, but that was the most Felitïa could follow.

“She says she’s honoured to help,” Sinitïa said.

“My fomase is mute,” Jorvan said. “She can only communicate with signs.”

“She also doesn’t know Arnorgue yet,” Sinitïa said. “She only understood what you said because Mikranasta is using magic.”

Feviona signed something.

“She says she’s learning though,” Sinitïa said.

“Thank you again, Feviona.” Felitïa slumped forward, and groaned.

Sinitïa rushed forward and Zandrue leaned over her.

“It’s okay.” Felitïa straightened up. “Just exhaustion. I’ll be fine.” Now was definitely not the best time to have a big reunion like this, but Felitïa had wanted to see Meleng and Jorvan again. It might have been a bad decision, but she was grateful to see them. “We obviously have a lot of catching up to do. I need to rest a bit first, though.”

Sinitïa beamed at her. “That’s okay. We’ve got lots to tell you, like Jorvan’s going to teach me how to use magic!”

“He’s what?” Sinitïa using magic?

“Going to teach me how to use magic!”

Felitïa looked to Jorvan, and he nodded. Dear gods, what had he gotten himself into?

“Sinitïa has the greatest store of magical power I have ever seen in a human. More than most Isyar even.”

“Oh.” Felitïa couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Isn’t it exciting?” Sinitïa was practically bouncing up and down.

“Um...yes...it’s…great. What else do you have to tell me?”

“Meleng and Sinitïa are boyfriend and girlfriend,” Corvinian called out.

Sinitïa took Meleng’s hand again and beamed.

Zandrue leaned over. “That’s part of what it means to be fomasee.”

Before Felitïa could say anything, the herald’s voice rang out again. “Etiënne Gen, Captain of the Lustrous Rose, and his first mate, Miana Ting.”

Felitïa wasn’t sure whether to be grateful for the new arrivals or to wonder how people she’d never heard of before had been invited to this gathering.

Sinitïa spun and waved to the people entering the room. “Oh, you have to meet Etiënne and Miana! I hope you don’t mind that I invited them. Etiënne’s captain of the…”

Etiënne.

Felitïa lowered her head, as it started to pound, drowning out Sinitïa’s words.

Miana.

In the Room in her head, the voices were speaking again.

Zandrue, Rudiger, Borisin…

The next figure in the line-up—the tallish, thin one—began to clear, revealing a lanky man with stringy black hair.

Meleng, Corvinian, Jorvanultumn…

His hands were calloused, and well tanned. Despite his lanky frame, there were well-developed muscles there—not Rudiger-strength, but probably stronger than anything Felitïa could muster.

Quilla, Kindanog, Nin-Akna…

His teeth were crooked and yellow, and several were chipped. His eyes were thin and deep-set, but piercing.

Etiënne…

Number Ten.

And behind him, Number Eleven was clearing as well. This one was much smaller, but had something about their stance which made them seem bigger. They had short, but thick black hair, and their eyes… If Felitïa had thought Etiënne’s were piercing, his had nothing on this person’s. Deep grey and almost shiny.

Miana…

There were still more names in the list, still more figures in the line, but they remained obscured.

“Felitïa!”

Felitïa opened her eyes and sat up. It wasn’t clear who had called her name. Possibly, it was several people. Everyone was gathered around her. Zandrue had her arms around her, and Mikranasta was bent down in front of her. Nin-Akna was on her other side, and squeezing between her and Mikranasta was Sinitïa.

“This makes no sense,” Mikranasta said.

Felitïa tried to wave them all off. “I’m fine. I was just…” She looked at Meleng who was craning his head behind Mikranasta. “Ten and Eleven.”

Meleng’s eyes widened. “You mean…Captain Gen and…?”

Felitïa nodded.

Mikranasta leaned forward, blocking all of Felitïa’s view and stared her in the eyes. “My spell translates words, but not necessarily meaning. Ten and eleven? Explain this to me.”

“Next figures in the line-up in my head,” Felitïa said.

Mikranasta moved back a small distance. “Ah. Jorvanultumn has told me about these. The Captain and his first mate are revealed to be in the line? This still makes no sense.”

“It just happens sometimes, though it’s been awhile.”

“No, that is not what I mean. Something bypassed the shield. That should be impossible.”

“The voices in my head spoke again,” Felitïa said.

“Another thing that should be impossible.”

“But you said it was a weak shield. Just strong enough to block my uncontrolled powers. I was able to break through when I pushed, remember?”

Mikranasta’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll assume it’s your exhaustion making you so dim. Yes, it’s a weak shield, and if something had broken through, I would not be concerned at all. Well, I might be concerned about what did it, but not that it happened. But this didn’t break through. It bypassed the shield, as if it wasn’t even there. That should be impossible.”

Felitïa sat back. Mikranasta was right. The shield was still there, still blocking her abilities from getting out, and other things from getting in. It was completely undamaged. The voices in her head were silent again, too.

“Excuse me.” The voice was Etiënne’s, though Felitïa had never heard it before. “I don’t mean to intrude, but is her Highness well? We can excuse ourselves and come back later if needed.”

“Her Highness is indeed not well,” Mikranasta said, “though I suspect you should stay given what has just happened.”

“Yes, it’s fine.” Felitïa motioned at the people around her to back up a bit. “I just need some space, thanks.”

“You sure?” Zandrue said.

Felitïa nodded, and Zandrue and the others backed away. Felitïa then motioned to Etiënne and Miana. “Please, Captain, come forward.”

Etiënne and Miana approached, They both doffed their caps and bowed. Felitïa really wished she wasn’t sitting in this throne.

“Welcome, both of you,” Felitïa said.

Etiënne bowed once more. “Thank you, your Highness. It’s an honour to meet you at last. We’ve been ferrying her Highness, your sister, around for quite some time now.”

“I hope she hasn’t been too much trouble. I know she can be a handful.” Felitïa grinned, hoping in her tired state, people would still know she was joking.

Sinitïa stuck out her tongue at her. That cleared things up pretty well.

“Not at all, your Highness. She, Meleng, and Jorvanultumn—and more recently, the other Isyar—have been excellent passengers. We have had some grand adventures.”

The barest hint of a scoff came from Miana. “Captain Gen has a way of understating things. Not all of us would describe what we have been through as adventures. However, it is an honour to meet you, your Highness.”

Felitïa smiled at them. She wasn’t sure how she knew to think of Miana in a genderless manner, but that was obviously something to do with the weirdness in her head. “Perhaps, Captain, you could learn from your first mate. You don’t need to colour your words to avoid offending me.”

The Captain bowed again. “Just attempting to be polite, your Highness.”

“You also don’t need to keep bowing and calling me Highness. I prefer to keep it casual.”

Etiënne nodded. “As you wish.”

“So, you took Sinitïa, Meleng, and Jorvan to Isyaria?”

“We did, your High—” He cleared his throat. “Yes, we did, and them brought them back here afterwards. Your sister paid us handsomely, though of course, it wasn’t just for the money. We were happy to be of service.”

Miana looked at their captain with a raised eyebrow.

Etiënne cleared his throat softly again. “Uh, yes, well. It was an interesting voyage that I’d love to discuss with you in more detail at another time, but I can see you are exhausted. We won’t bother you any longer.”

Felitïa smiled at both of them. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“Have you been okay since our arrival?” Meleng asked. “Sorry we haven’t been able to get back to check on you, but I was a little worried.”

Etiënne waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, lad. We were fine. The local constabulary forgot about us after the fires started. They went to fight those and didn’t bother us again.” He turned to Mikranasta and bowed. “Something I wanted to thank you for, Madame. Without your and your siare’s distractions, we might not have come out of it so well.”

Mikranasta raised an eyebrow. “You are welcome, Captain, but the fires had nothing to do with us. We created distractions, yes, but not the fires. I don’t know what started them, though they were...fortuitous.”

Etiënne looked blankly at her for a moment. “But if not you, then…” He straightened up and breathed in sharply. “Fortuitous, as you say.”

Felitïa sighed. She didn’t know anything about any fires. Clearly she had a lot to catch up on, but now was not the time for it. Her headache was getting worse. “I think we should...um…” She waved her hand in circles, trying to think of the next word.

“Depart?” Zandrue said.

Felitïa nodded. “That’s it. Thank you, everyone, but I need to get some sleep. We’ll all speak again soon. Zandrue, can...can you help me?”

Zandrue held out her arm, and Felitïa used it to help her stand.

The others parted to let them past.

“If you need anything,” Anita said, “just let me know.”

“I will, thank you.”

With Zandrue’s help, she walked slowly to the side door. Mikranasta walked behind them. They’d only made it a short distance through the adjoining room when a voice called, “Your Highness?”

Felitïa turned around and Mikranasta stepped out of the way. Miana was at the door, blocked by a pair of guards

“May I?” Miana asked.

Felitïa nodded to the guards and they let Miana pass.

“What can I do for you, Miana?”

Miana approached and bowed low.

“Miana, I told you—”

“Please, your Highness, allow me this one moment.”

Felitïa nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I will honour your request to treat you casually. However, it is custom with my people, that when we first meet royalty, we present them with a gift. I was not able to do so with your sister as we had to pretend she was someone else, and it has weighed heavily on me. Allow me the opportunity to make up for that with you.”

“Of course.”

Miana knelt and took out a piece of cloth folded over several times. They held it out before them and bowed their head low. “Your Highness, please accept this gift from a lowly, unworthy peasant.”

Felitïa grimaced and was glad Miana couldn’t have seen it. She took the cloth. It was soft and silky. She began to unfold it.

“It is Singean silk.” Miana did not look up as they spoke. “My mother wove it many years ago. She gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday, just before I left home to become a sailor.”

Felitïa finished unfolding it. The outer border was green with a yellow circle in the centre. In the circle, stitched in red thread, were several Singean characters. “It’s beautiful. Thank you. Now, please stand.” She held out a hand to them.

Miana looked up and gave a slight smile. They took Felitïa’s hand and stood up.

“What does it say?” Felitïa asked.

“Affection, love. My mother was a sentimental person.”

“I will treasure it. Thank you.” She started folding it again, trying to follow the existing creases. Somehow, it got tangled. Gods, she was tired.

“Allow me.” Miana took the cloth, undid a couple of the folds, and then correctly folded it back up. Then they placed it back in Felitïa’s hand.

“Thank you. I’m so tired I can’t even do simple things, it seems.”

“It’s a complicated folding pattern.” They looked up at Felitïa, again with just a hint of a smile, their eyes still incredibly piercing.

“That’s kind of you to say.” The image of Miana in the line-up flashed in front of Felitïa’s eyes. She realised Miana was still touching her hand and her cheeks warmed. If only she could sense what Miana was feeling.

“Are you all right, Felitïa?” Miana asked.

Felitïa nodded. “Yes. Yes, just...the vision of you in my head...I mean...just tired, like I said.”

“There’s a vision of me in your head?” They were still touching her hand, still staring up at her with those piercing eyes.

“Yes, um...long story. I’ll tell you later.”

“I look forward to hearing it.” Miana let go of Felitïa’s hand and stepped back. “But I will let you rest for now. You clearly need it.”

Gods, she wanted her abilities back!

“Until later, Felitïa.” Miana bowed their head slightly, then turned and headed back to the audience chamber.

Felitïa watched them until the door closed and Zandrue waved a hand in front of her eyes.

“Still there?”

Felitïa snorted. “Yes, I’m here.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you look so lustfully at someone since you met Rudiger. That woman on Scovese. What was her name?”

“Maneshka.”

“Right, Maneshka. Did you look at her like that?”

Felitïa jabbed her lightly with her elbow. “Fuck you.”

Zandrue laughed. “You really are exhausted.”

“Yes, and I need to get to bed.” She took Zandrue’s arm again, and they continued to her room.

Once they were there, Zandrue helped her undress and get ready for bed. Mikranasta watched silently the whole time.

Felitïa sat on her bed, as Lon as Nesh scurried about. “I’m going to need your help in the coming weeks, Zandrue.”

Zandrue sat beside her. “You know you have it.”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes while you’ve been away.”

“There were extenuating circumstances. You couldn’t sleep. Anyone would make mistakes.”

Felitïa sighed. “But it started before that. I shouldn’t have split us up. That was a huge mistake.”

“One I helped partake in. I agreed to it, remember?”

“Yes, and now we don’t know what’s happened to Rudiger and Quilla.”

Zandrue put her arm around Felitïa. “We know they’re alive though, right?”

“They’re alive, but hurt. Rudiger has a broken leg, and Borisin’s badly burned.” She leaned her head on Zandrue’s shoulder. “Gods, Zandrue, the blisters. If you could see the blisters.”

Zandrue hugged her tight. “And Quilla?”

Felitïa took a moment to look at Quilla in the line-up. “She’s fine physically, but she doesn’t look happy.”

“Rudiger’s a big boy, Felitïa. He can look after himself. And Quilla...well, hopefully, she’s got Rudiger to look after her. Or someone else.”

“You don’t worry about him?”

Zandrue took a moment before answering. “Yeah, I do. But like I said, he can take care of himself. I trust him to survive, and if he doesn’t, I’ll kill the motherfucker who kills him.”

Felitïa smiled and chuckled. “I have no doubt you will.”

They sat in silence for a while before Zandrue said, “You better get some sleep. I’ll see you later.” She started to get up, but Felitïa grabbed her arm.

“I said I needed your help, Zandrue, but I need you to do more than just root out the Darkers in the palace here.” She glanced at Mikranasta, who watched impassionately. “I want to take the fight to them. No more being the victims. I’m sick of it. You said Dyle’s dead, right?”

Zandrue nodded.

“Then he’s just the first. We need to stop Lidda Plavin, Mister Speedy, Castroff, and all the others. No more sitting around. It’s time we became the hunters. Are you with me?”

Zandrue grinned. “You know I am.” Leaning over, she kissed Felitïa on the forehead. “Now get some fucking sleep before I thump you into unconsciousness.”

Felitïa laughed. “I will. I promise.”

Zandrue pulled away and headed to the door. She looked over at Mikranasta. “Look after her.”

Mikranasta nodded once, and Zandrue left the room.

Felitïa shooed Lon and Nesh from her pillow and lay down. She wasn’t sure yet how they were going to become the hunters like she had told Zandrue, but it was overdue time. With luck, Agernon could figure out the Staff, now he had the Pearl to go with it as well. She also needed to get the prayer beads to him and the crystal Zandrue had taken from Dyle.

But she couldn’t wait on Agernon finishing. She had to start as soon as possible. The first step was learning to control her powers so she didn’t need Mikranasta or Hedromornasta shielding her all the time. There was no telling how long that would take, so the sooner she started, the better.

But even before that: sleep. She closed her eyes and let beautiful, gorgeous sleep overtake her.

THE END OF PART TWO OF

The Will-Breaker