The next hours were a blur to Lorena. When Murtagh realised she was injured he found a healer to take care of her. She lost a substantial amount of blood, which made her head throb and her concentration to collapse.

She could hear shouts. Apparently Ajihad and other leaders were forming groups to take into the tunnels to find and slay as many Urgals as possible. Murtagh knelt beside her with his fingers interlocked with her right hand, her uninjured arm. He stared off at the groups, his brows furrowed in thought.

"Go on," whispered Lorena. Murtagh turned at looked at her puzzled. "I'll be fine. They said it's not serious. Go fight with Ajihad, let the whole Varden see that you are an enemy of the Empire."

Murtagh smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Get better."

Lorena untangled her fingers from Murtagh's and pulled his lips down to hers in a searing kiss. "Stay safe."

After Murtagh left Lorena lay back down, her head spinning worse than before. She could hear the screams of the dying. Not long after she closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.

When she woke she felt a body close beside her. Sitting up she examined his face and gasped. It was Murtagh, a white bandage wrapped around his head.

"Murtagh!" she cried, horrified. She then noticed the rise and fall of his chest and sighed in relief. She sat with him until he opened his eyes and smiled at her. "What happened?"

"I killed plenty of them. Until one managed to get past my defences. He banged me on the head and they sent me back. I wanted to keep fighting but Ajihad ordered me to recover first."

"Luckily you have a thick skull." Lorena grinned at him.

Murtagh smirked, "You'll pay for that."

As she watched the commotion around them Lorena spotted Orik walking through the field. She called out to him and waved an arm. Once he spotted her he made his way over. He informed them that Eragon had fought a Shade in Tronjheim and was injured. They were given directions as to where to find Eragon and took off at once.

They found Saphira and Arya waiting outside. They said they greetings and waited together in silence. Lorena chewed on her lip, both bored and concerned.

Eventually the door swung open. Arya, Murtagh, and Lorena filed inside a small room. A brown haired woman sat on a chair beside a long bed. There lay Eragon swathed in soft blankets. Saphira snaked her head into the room after them, her body too big to fit through the doorway. Her chest vibrated as she hummed deeply, eyes sparkling.

Eragon smiled as he looked at her. And they could sense that Eragon and Saphira spoke across their mental link. Eragon then looked at Arya, Murtagh, and Lorena he smiled yet looked confused. Murtagh grinned widely. "About time you were up. We've been waiting in the hall for hours."

"What... what happened?" asked Eragon.

Arya looked sad. But Murtagh crowed, "We won! It was incredible! When the Shade's spirits—if that's what they were—flew across Farthen Dûr, the Urgals ceased fighting to watch them go. It was as though they were released from a spell then, because their clans suddenly turned and attacked each other. Their entire army disintegrated within minutes. We routed them after that!"

"They're all dead?" asked Eragon.

Murtagh shook his head. "No, many of them escaped into the tunnels. The Varden and dwarves are busy ferreting them out right now, but it's going to take a while. I was helping until an Urgal banged me on the head and I was sent back here." Lorena hmmed, causing Murtagh to turn on her. "Oh shut up!" he grinned as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She smiled up at him, pleased by his good mood.

"They aren't going to lock you up again?"

His face grew sober. "No one really cares about that right now. A lot of the Varden and dwarves were killed; the survivors are busy trying to recover from the battle. But at least you have cause to be happy. You're a hero! Everyone's talking about how you killed Durza. If it hadn't been for you, we would have lost."

"Where were the Twins? They weren't where they were supposed to be—I couldn't contact them. I needed their help."

Murtagh shrugged. "I was told they bravely fought off a group of Urgals that broke into Tronjheim somewhere else. They were probably too busy to talk with you."

Eragon turned to Arya. "How come you didn't crash? You and Saphira were..." His voice trailed off.

She said slowly, "When you warned Saphira of Durza, I was still trying to remove her damaged armour. By the time it was off, it was too late to slide down Vol Turin—you would have been captured before I reached the bottom. Besides, Durza would have killed you before letting me rescue you." Regret entered her voice, "So I did the one thing I could to distract him: I broke the star sapphire."

"But why didn't any of the pieces hit you or me?"

"I didn't allow them to. When we were almost to the floor, I held them motionless in the air, then slowly lowered them to the floor—else they would have shattered into a thousand pieces and killed you," stated Arya simply. Her words betrayed the power within her.

Angela added sourly, "Yes, and it almost killed you as well. It's taken all of my skill to keep the two of you alive."

"How long have I been here?" he asked with trepidation.

"Only a day and a half," answered Angela. Lorena was shocked. Had it really been that long? "You're lucky I was around, otherwise it would've taken you weeks to heal—if you had even lived." Alarmed, Eragon pushed the blankets off his torso and twisted around to feel his back. Angela caught his wrist with her small hand, worry reflected in her eyes. "Eragon... you have to understand, my power is not like yours or Arya's. It depends on the use of herbs and potions. There are limits to what I can do, especially with such a large—"

He yanked his hand out of her grip and reached back, fingers groping. His face changed from fear to horror as he found and followed the scar on his back from his right shoulder to left hip. Lorena tried to hide her pity, but it was obvious on hers and Arya's faces. "You have paid a terrible price for you deed, Eragon Shadeslayer."

Murtagh laughed harshly. "Yes. Now you're just like me."

Eragon closed his eyes. Lorena looked to Murtagh and smiled slightly at him. He bent and kissed her forehead. "Things will get better," she whispered, truly believing it.