"What are you doing here?!" Lily gasped. She wrenched herself out of Soup's chokehold and ran to the little mage, pulling her close. "I told you to stay at the campsite!"

"I got lonely," Icelyn said stubbornly. "It was hot and boring in the tent. And you would all be fighting each other again if I hadn't followed you."

Mag and Lily exchanged helpless looks and Lily shrugged.

"She is our best proof. Our only proof. I cannot make you believe us, but Mag and I risked our lives to keep her safe." Lily picked up her sword again and set the fallen torch in a small pile of stones. "I found her outside of the camp when I was on watch duty. She had nothing but her ruby thorn and the clothes on her back. Her boots were worn through. She was delirious from hunger and cold. It is not the way of shamans to allow outsiders to live, but I could not bring myself to kill her."

Natalie had opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it quickly. Soup's eye flickered back and forth from Icelyn to Lily.

Pran sighed and lowered his sword. "Let's say we believe you-"

"I heard my sister die!" Icelyn suddenly shouted. "I cannot lie about this! If there truly were twenty dead maids in Crossfire, then the Regent murdered us because we knew about the existence of the Emerald Heart… and it was my fault that Aitriah died…" She sank to her knees, sobbing hysterically. Lily stroked her hair and glared at the warriors.

"I told her about what had been said when I swore to keep it secret," Icelyn choked out. "All of us promised to never speak of what happened in the royal chambers while His Majesty was dying. But I couldn't keep it from Aitriah. We hadn't seen each other in so long… and I was terrified."

"Hang on," Axoy mumbled. The ache in the back of his skull was finally starting to recede, but it still felt like his brain was made of cotton wool. "Start from the beginning. Where did you work in the Palace?"

"Kitchens," Icelyn gasped. "I wasn't a cook. Just fetched and carried for the others, and brought food to His Majesty's room. It was mostly clear soups and hot drinks; the kinds of things you could eat even if you had no appetite. I knew he was dying before Lady Serena said anything."

"Are you saying he was sick?" Natalie slowly got to her feet, holding out her hands so that the shamans could see she was not a threat. "An aquamancer should have been able to save him."

"It was not a sickness of the flesh. I cannot describe it. He was in perfect health at the time… and still he faded away as if he had simply given up on life itself. No aquamancer is skilled enough to heal a broken soul."

Her words raised more questions than answers in Axoy's mind. "Go on."

"We were ordered to stay with him at night. Lady Serena's greatest fear was that he would die alone, but she could not stay with him because of her duties to the House of Light. He slept very little, and when he did, it was restless and disturbed. A fever developed a week later. I know he was not in his right mind, but he began to speak in his delirium." Icelyn pulled away from Lily's gentle hands and got to her feet, leaning on her ruby thorn for support. "He would call us Lucy or Serena- his sisters, as you know. At first, it seemed like he was only reliving his childhood with them. We thought he was happy… so we didn't say anything about it to Lady Serena."

"Is that how you found out about the Heart?" Zinc asked.

"Yes, but at the time, I didn't know. One night he was screaming at Lucy, or whoever he thought was Lucy, and he began repeating the same words, over and over. 'Put it back, it's not safe. You will answer to the gods if it is destroyed.' We were terrified. I didn't know what to do until DarkAngel showed up and helped us restrain him. She called for Lady Serena, but she was busy and told us that we needed to keep him quiet." Icelyn wiped her face with her sleeve, but a teardrop slipped onto her weapon and froze solid.

"I held his hands at his sides and tried to reassure him. DarkAngel had mixed sleep medicine into his tea, but he refused to drink. He was shouting all sorts of dreadful things; I think they were meant for Lucy. I won't repeat them here, but I cannot forget them."

"What did he say about the Heart though?"

"He said 'How dare you wear our Heart for everyone to see, you whore?' At the time I thought he was simply being rude, but he kept talking about this Heart as if it were something real and very dangerous. What I understood was that Lucy had removed it from somewhere safe, and was either speaking openly about it, or wearing an actual physical item around her neck." Icelyn rubbed her eyes and sighed. "And the last thing he said… 'The dead will never obey someone like you. You may be the rightful holder of the Heart, but you will call into the Light and they will not answer.'"

Axoy blinked in confusion. "The dead?"

"Yes." Icelyn put her fingers to her temples and sighed again. "The dead. All I could assume was that the Heart gives its holder some form of control over them."

"This is insane," said Soup angrily. "If the House did possess something that could resurrect a dead human, they would not need the acolytes or any other living servant. You must have misheard."

"It is what he said. I heard him clearly. Perhaps I did not understand the words, but I am certain that the Emerald Heart is a weapon that allows its living holder to summon the dead."

"Wait," Pran said slowly. "Icelyn, how did you escape the Palace with this kind of information?"

"I hurt my ankle on the stairs going up from the kitchens." Her voice was getting shakier with every word. "Aitriah found me… offered to carry the tray that I was supposed to bring. We weren't supposed to share duties. I told her to say that she was me if anyone asked. Followed her up. One of the footmen met her in the hall. Dragged her into His Majesty's room and left. He didn't see me. I went to listen in and… and…" Icelyn dropped her ruby thorn and began to breathe into her cupped hands.

"Lady Serena was there. Asked if she knew anything about the Emerald Heart. I'd already told Aitriah about it. She said yes. And then she killed her. I… h-heard it."

Her eyes were glassy and fixed. Every bit of color had drained from her skin.

"That's enough!" Lily snapped. She wrapped an arm around Icelyn's shoulders and picked up her fallen staff. "Mag, help me get her back to camp. This is too much."

The two earthwardens began leading the trembling mage away. Lily shot a final angry glare at Soup and Axoy as they left.

"Luc was present when Serena murdered the sister. I would assume she used it to intimidate him into granting her the Regency," Zinc said. "Icelyn trailed him to Attherough when he left the Palace. She did not have a horse, and it took her much longer to reach the valley. But she made it to the outskirts, and was found by Lily and Mag."

"Oh gods." Pran looked horrified. "I didn't mean to-"

"She will recover. But what you need to know is that the Emerald Heart is a grave risk to all of us, and this place inside the chasm was of great significance to the House of Light. Enough for them to conceal two murders and destroy this section." Zinc pointed to the broken stones that covered the ground. "I pieced together some of the carvings… and there was a sunken grave with shards of bone and some artifacts. So far I am not sure what any of it means, but hopefully the answer is still under the ruins somewhere."

"We can leave Tiff's death for later," Axoy said quickly. "What exactly were you planning on doing about the Emerald Heart?"

"The part of Icelyn's story that gave me this idea was how worried His Majesty was about the Heart being physically vulnerable while Lucy wore it openly on the pendant," Zinc said. "But here is the chance that we have: Serena wears it in the same way. I was there when she took her oaths to become the Daughter of the House. It is a large gold locket on a short chain. I have never seen her without it."

"I've seen that on Serena too," Natalie said. She looked stunned. "I… Some of my workers vandalized a statue of her in the Palace courtyard, about six weeks ago. Took off the head, then blindfolded the eyes and left it at the door to her room while the Queensguard were asleep. She made this long f***ing speech about treason in the morning, and she was practically still in her pajamas. I was wondering why she'd forget to put on a dress, but she'd still have jewelry on."

"Exactly. But for all its power, it is not immune to being damaged or broken." Zinc hesitated, looking at Elivagar and the warriors. "It... may be possible for a lone intruder to enter the Palace and shatter it."

"A lone…" Axoy felt as if the ground had been pulled out from underneath him. "You didn't come here to help us. You want our help with your plan."

Zinc sighed and cast a frustrated glare over the four warriors. "I did not ask for your participation. I am offering you a way to help us break the Regent's hold on the warriors of Stormwind and free all three cities from the influence of the House of Light… if you are brave enough to risk it. If not, walk away. We will be gone by the time the Minister arrives, and you can return to the mines."

"Wait," Natalie said weakly. "You're really trying to help us?"

"This is what I tried to tell you and the others in Stormwind," Zinc said. "Our causes are the same. The House has brought nothing but suffering to all of us. I am sure they will be more amenable to discussion if their greatest-kept secret is discovered and destroyed."

Axoy weighed his options again, looking at the others. On one hand, it could be an elaborate trap. Shamans never offered help or advice unless there was something in it for them as well. It didn't take any stretch of the imagination to know that as soon as the crown came off of Serena's head, it would be in Luc's hands.

But they had no reason to lie, and every reason to seek revenge against the House of Light. If Zinc was right about Tiff's death being a cover-up by the House, and if Icelyn's knowledge of the Heart was accurate, it wouldn't be long until the warriors went the same way as the shaman tribes. He couldn't let it happen. Wordless understanding passed between all four warriors.

"Fine. We'll help you."

COMMUNITY DECISION: Send Axoy alone to Stormwind. Using Zinc's knowledge of the Palace layout, he will attempt to destroy the Emerald Heart while she is asleep.