I do not own the Inheritance Cycle.
There's a few things happen in this chapter that won't be explained until much later.
Edited 1/30/22 -

Please let me know your thoughts throughout the story, I'd love to hear for you :)

Enjoy,


Midnight

Rose leaned against the doorway, completely defeated.

All that planning, risk of facing a Shade, and the grief that she had put Thorn through, it… it had all been for nothing. She could have sworn to the gods that she had felt Eragon when she had searched for him, merely seconds ago. Though the mental light may have dim, she had assumed that was because he was asleep but not once did it occur to her that it because it was not him.

Rose looked at the shadowy window above the woman, her lip wedged beneath her teeth. Her eyes were burning with tears. She bit harder on her lip to drive them away, and then as she looked at the woman a choking bitterness consumed her.

It was not the woman's fault, she reminded herself but the bitterness remained. She could not rid herself of it. Why could it not have Eragon inside the prison cell instead?

For all she knew he could be anywhere within Alagaësia, or even outside of it. There was no way for her to know unless she searched through every town, every house, in the many of hundreds of territories, and there was no possible way to do such. Not for her, at least. If Eragon had been here instead of the woman, she would not have to wonder about it, or even think about such an impossible search.

She reached within her mind and felt her link to Thorn almost instantly. She could not feel his emotions, they were well guarded from her, but she knew that he was distraught, their mindtouch buzzed with tension. Thorn? she said. We were wrong. Eragon is not here.

Then leave, Thorn said sharply. Contact Saphira and leave as soon as you can.

Rose silently agreed and broke her conservation with Thorn, casting her mind once more but this time for Saphira. She felt nothing, not even the smallest trace of the dragon. Panic clawed at her heart; had something terrible happened to Saphira?

Saphira is not there, she said contacting Thorn once more. She shifted from foot to foot. Where are you?

For a short moment he was silent, and then when he spoke their mindlink quivered with tension. I'm coming, he said with a pause. You worry only about leaving that place.

I am not certain we will be able to retrace our steps, she said rubbing her arm. This place is the strangest of mazes.

If you cannot leave then find a place to hide and stay there. I will find you.

The sound of creaking wood echoed through the hallways, startling her. She jolted straight and peered into the dim shadows. "We need to go," she muttered softly, looking back at the woman.

The woman glaring at her murderously, slowly staggering to her feet. She moved her hand against the wall and leaned against it just enough to balance herself, yet despite this, her shoulders were straight and her chin held up. In the dim light Rose could see a nasty, half-healed cut ran down the side of the prisoner's neck, puckering the skin around it and discoloring the skin. Her cracked lips were pressed together in a hard line, which made the seeping cut underneath her right eye more noticeable. She looked up at Rose with dark, piercing eyes, her delicate features were half hidden in the shadows of her dark hair which fell around her shoulders in witchlocks. She was filthy, her tattered dark clothing was so stained it was impossible to tell its original color, and she was barefoot.

The woman could be no older than Rose, and this is what caused her to pause. What reason would the Empire have to keep a woman, hardly older than a girl, inside a prison? She had to have some sort of importance somewhere, somehow.

Rose took a deep, uneven breath. "You come with us if you would like," she said, clasping her hands together. "I cannot promise you anything but we are going to try to leave this place."

The woman's eyes narrowed further, suspicion drawn clear on her features. "Where is it that you are going to?" the woman asked. She had a light, clear voice though now is tight and strangely twisted as if she were in a great pain.

Rose turned to her with a frown, her mouth open to answer but something brushed against her mind so softly and briefly that she thought she imagined it. She closed her mouth with a slight frown, having forgotten what she wished to say.

"I think that at the moment, our goal is to get out. Anything beyond that is a mystery," Dormnad said slowly, looking at woman with a fixed gaze. The woman nodded at him warily, and then slowly bent down to pick up a pair dark leather boots which was hidden underneath the cot. Dormnad turned to Rose questioningly. "Unless you know where your brother is at."

She shook her head. "He is not here," she said softly. "At least I do not believe that he is."

Dormnad swore violently. "I hope your knowin' that for a fact," he said in a hard voice. "I an't coming back in here if he is."

"He is not here." Rose frowned.

"You're meanin' to me that you forced me to come here for nothin'?"

"I did not force you to come anywhere," Rose told him, turning away and looking down the hallway. "I believe that we should try to retrace our steps, and see if we can rediscover that door, unless you know of a different way out."

"I don't," he almost growled. "I only know of that one."

"Oh," she said with a frown. "Well, that's a shame."

Rose began ringing her fingers around her hands as she looked down the glooming hallway. As she studied the passageway the woman slowly approached them, her footstep were slow and slightly unsteady.

Rose wondered how long the woman had been in the tower, and when the last time someone had bothered to say kind word to her. By the tight look on the woman's face Rose guessed that it had been quite some time. To be polite she asked, "What is your name?"

The woman looked at her with tight lips. "Arya," she said lowly. "And yours?"

"I'm called Rose."

The woman, Arya, looked to Dormnad as if waiting for him to introduce himself as well but when he did nothing except to huff in annoyance she pursed her lips. She swayed slightly, only regaining her balance by placing her hands against the wall and leaning.

"Are you going to be able to walk?" Dormnad asked, glancing at her. "'Cause I an't wantin' to carry you."

"There should be no reason for you to do so," the woman said giving Dormnad a murderous glare. "I am capable of walking."

He shrugged. "If you say so."

A short silence formed over them and soon they all turned and began their way down the corridor. They heard no one coming or going, nor the noises from the outside world, and Rose wondered if the town had gone to bed yet. She would reach out to Thorn every so often, more for the comfort of knowing that he was there than anything else, but never once did he say a word.

Behind her she heard Arya's slow and uneven footsteps often scuff against the stone flooring. The woman walk slowed, as if she were moving through deep water, though she never asked them to slow down for her.

After a time of listening to the scuffling, Rose slowed her own pace and walked beside her. She did not feel that it was fair to ask the woman along and then leave her behind. Arya looked at her for a short moment. There was sweat running in runnels down her face and the edges of her lips trembles but she said nothing, she seemed far too busy just trying to keep herself upright.

"We can rest, if you would like," Rose said with frown. Dormnad turned around and cast her a dark look. She ignored him, slightly wishing for a brief rest herself; her whole body ached with exhaustion.

"No," the woman said. "We must make haste."

Rose raised an eyebrow at her. "We shan't get very far, very fast if you collapse on us."

Arya gave the cobbled floor ahead of them a withering glare and squared her shoulders slightly, a shadow of pain quickly spreading over her face. She took in a strangled breath, and stumbled forward slightly. "A brief rest perhaps," she said breathily.

Dormnad made a groan of complaint but turned into the doorway of the next room they came across, and finding no one inside he waved them in. He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed firmly over his chest as Rose passed him, muttering angrily under his breath.

"I expect that we need to figure out where we're going," Dormnad said, stopping his angry hissing. Rose nodded and moved towards the center of the room where a torch burned on top of a wooden table that was surrounded by chairs. The flame licked the air, dimly throwing harsh shadows across the room. The room they entered was like everything else with the Iron Tower, without decoration save for the emblem of the Empire carved into the wood of the wall above a cold, dark hearth. The door shut behind them with a dull thud. Nothing could be heard from the outside and there were no windows, suddenly Rose felt claustrophobic. She took a deep breath and sat down at the table with a feeling of great relief.

"We cannot afford to tally here for long," said Arya. She was standing near the door, swaying from foot to foot, looking as she were about to collapse.

Rose reached out her mind to Thorn and told him what she knew of their position, which was agonizingly little. Thorn did not answer her but she felt his acknowledgement.

With a frown, she looked up at Dormnad. "For the time being it may be best that we do tally," she said making up her mind. "It is better than marching through the halls as if we're looking for someone to spot us and raise alarms."

Dormnad narrowed his eyes at her dangerously. "So we're just goin' to wait for the Shade to find us?" he said. "That's real brilliant. I say we try to leave."

"It is impossible to escape this place," Arya said sharply.

"Then why come with us, if you know that you shall not be able to leave?" Rose said, an edge creeping into her voice. She tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword and took a deep breath.

Arya said nothing for a moment. "There comes a time when there is a clear choice," Arya said. "The difference between one person and another is how they meet that choice." There was a short silence, and then she took a strangled breath. "There is little choice between staying and leaving this place. No matter how it may end it is worth the chance."

Rose took a deep breath through her nose. "You believe it will end badly," she stated, thinking that she felt the same way. This was a death trap, and there seemed to have been no reason for walking into it.

"For it me it likely will," the woman said so low Rose almost did not hear her.

Rose glanced at Arya but said nothing, instead she turned away and acted as if she hadn't heard anything. She noticed that Dormnad had taken a sudden interest in the emblem above the fireplace.

"We are not waiting for the Shade," Rose said lowly. "Thorn will come, he promised."

Dormnad's eyes flickered to Arya but he must have come across the same revelation Rose did; that this woman would find out about the dragons soon enough. "What about the other beasty? Where's she at?"

Rose looked down at the table unable to say anything. Where had Saphira gone to, and why? She sincerely hoped it was for a good reason, good enough to abandon her here in a metal tower with an angry stranger and a roaming slaughterer that could be looking for them at this moment.

"She left, didn't she?" Dormnad grinned wickedly at her. "Figures don't it? She talks you into takin' all the risk and skivvies off as soon as she knows that what she wants an't here. Just figures. You should've listened to ole Dormnad, yes, girly, you should've. Now you're stuck here and with no escape teh boot."

Rose clenched her fists, taking in a slow deep breathe as she tried to drive away the burning feeling in her eyes. "You are trapped here as well," she said not looking at him. "Do not forget that."

Slowly she stood up, reaching out her mind again to Thorn but felt nothing. Had he closed her off for a reason? Her frown deepened and looking at the door, she walked to the far wall where Arya sat with her head resting slackly against the wall as if she were asleep. As she approached, Arya's head snapped up and focused on the door behind them, like a deer sensing danger.

Rose looked back and saw that a man had walked soundlessly into the room, the deep shadows nearly hid him from view. The way he held his head high gave off the impression that he had been listening to them for a quite some time; that he had been waiting outside the doorway for the right moment to come in and say as he wished. Rose resisted the sudden urge to groan at the man's arrogance. As she stared at the shadow man a crippling panic crept into her bones. This thing, she realized, was not a man but something much more menacing. She felt its awareness brooding on Arya, gathering all its might as if it were to strike her down. Her mind reeled and she cringed, suddenly overwhelmed by a sense enmity and malevolent pride, tempered over the years until it had become something that was a sheer, immeasurably cruel, focused point like the sharpest of blades.

"If you wanted inside the tower so badly I could have arranged it. There was no need for all trouble entering this place has caused you." The tall figure loomed in the darkness slowly gliding towards them.

Rose gasped as a slender hand suddenly grabbed ahold of her arm and pulled her away until her back was touching the wall. She heard Arya whisper something into her ear but did not hear the words only the faint hiss of air. The voice laughed softly.

"Come now, there is no reason for such contempt. I have no plans to harm you."

A voice whispered fiercely in the darkness, "He's lying."

Rose had gathered that much.

She tightened her grip on her sword and took a careful step away, not wanting to step on Arya's toes. His face was outlined in a golden light from the torches yet she could not see it clearly. His eyes were lost in the dark, and black shadows carved his face. His sharp teeth flashed white in the darkness as he stepped closer to them.

With a frown, Rose looked behind the shadow man into the corridor, he had left the door open wide. The shaded hallway was empty and silent.

"It is no use," the man said and then laughed, and its laugh was more terrible than its voice. "You are not leaving now that I found you. You have caused a drift of trouble, running about the hallways and taking my friend-" his eyes gleamed in the shadows as he looked to Arya "-from me. It would have gone unnoticed too, if we had not made previous arrangements for tonight. Quite sneaky. I'll have to keep my eyes on you, all of you, from now on."

He moved into the touch light with a chillingly smooth movement. His face had the livid hue of something that had been long dead and his eyes were a blazing red, like the deepest shade of a flame and yet were colder than any ice. As his gaze shifted to Rose she felt chilled to the bone.

"The elf will die if you leave with her," he told her, clasping his hands together. "She is poisoned, or has she not told you that?" He tilted his head to the side, and furrowed his eyebrows. "It would seem not. Quite the pity, truly it is."

"Should I leave, I shall die free," Arya said lifting her head up, her lips pressed together in a firm line.

The Shade, for it was the Shade Dormnad had warned her about, grinned at her mockingly. "You will still be dead," he said. "Do not forget the offer that has been made. You could live if you took it."

Arya said nothing, her chin set out stubbornly in a way that made Rose think that this conversation had happened many times before and always ended the same way. She wondered, again, how long Arya had been here, at least now she felt that she knew why; if she was indeed an elf than was more than enough of a reason for the King to wish to keep her within his grasp.

The shadowed figure made eye contact with Arya, and suddenly everything went quite still. Rose head buzzed with the power that passed between them. She felt almost as if it were a clash of swords; Arya's will answering his, the collision of the two forces shivered through the room. The Shade's eyes stabbed red flames and Arya's body began to shake all over and then with dreadful suddenness she collapsed.

Rose fought the urge to bend down beside her and to check to see if she were alive but the Shade was looking at the woman, as if he were expecting something to happen. Nothing did. "The elf is not normally so weak," he said breathing hard. "The events tonight must have been too much for her."

Dormnad, who had been staring at Arya with a strange expression, stood abruptly and painfully yanked Rose's sword from her hand. He moved forward, the blade held protectively out in front of him, his head held high.

The Shade looked at him briefly, his lip curling. "Come to avenge the elf, have you? Do you truly think that you are enough to challenge me?" he asked, his hand moving to the sword hilt at his waist.

"An't much of a question now is it?" Dormnad said, flashing the silver blade in the torch light. "You talk too much and think too little."

The Shade sneered at him, and pulled a thin blade from the scabbard at his waist. He raised it, and too fast to see, swung through Dormnad as if he were cutting through butter. The man collapsed, his head rolling away from him, a pooling of ruby blood blooming from the headless stub of his neck.

Rose let out a shriek, her hands going cold. Her heart was pulsing behind her ears, deafening over the silence.

The Shade looked down at Dormnad's body, his eyes gleaming, and a slow toothy smile over his face. "These are interesting events do you not think?" he said. "Normally things are not quite so… remarkable."

Rose said nothing, not wanting to fall for the bait the Shade has lay out before her. She knew of these games, saw them once portrayed by players and heard about them in tales. The hero would always say something but it was always the same thing, and then he and the villain would duel and the hero would win. She was not certain that it would be her who won that duel.

Again she reached out to Thorn and again she felt nothing. Rose felt her breath rush out of her, a cold sliver replacing it. She sent her mind out to him again, and again received nothing. Surely Thorn was unharmed; but then why would he be blocking her from his mind? She kept her mouth firmly shut, hoping that the Shade did not notice her reaction.

Suddenly an awareness blazed inside her and it seemed then to Rose that the room lightened around them in a silvery illumination, and there as the Shade approached seemed to be a swirling darkness. For a reason that was beyond her, she reached for her bow beside Zar'roc, until then she had forgotten she had it. She lightly brushed her fingers against the smooth wood before drawing it out. With a new clarity she strung the bow and pulled the string back. She rose and straightened herself, pulling back on the string, and without thought she released the arrow.

It sailed evenly through the air with a faint whisper and as the Shade turned to the sound, it seemed to curve to him completely on its own, hitting him directly between his eyes. A malevolent shadow streamed out from where the arrow hit enveloping the Shade with a terrible wail, draining him of color until he faded completely as if he were never there. The place he had stood before was empty, and suddenly everything was silent.

Rose had no time to feel amazed at what she had done; there was a tickling at the edge of her mind. As she reached out to identify it, it shifted like the sunlit edges of rippling water and then vanished.

For a moment her vision went black and she swayed, nearly falling. She caught herself and frowned, not completely certain what had happened. She felt utterly empty.

And then like a thunderbolt she remembered Arya. She looked to her, and saw that she hadn't moved. She lay still sprawled across the ground from the force of her fall. Rose shakily bent over to her, wondering if she were dead. She turned her over and her head fell back, hanging limply. For a moment she was briefly certain that she was died, and then Rose leaned down and heard the elf take in a shallow breathe. She stroked Arya's brow gently; it was clammy with sweat and blood that was not her own.

Rose looked about the room helplessly, not wanting to move the elf any further. She didn't know what to do, nor why Arya had fallen. Slowly she stood back up and walked slowly to the doorway, stepping carefully around Dormnad's body, and peered down the hallway. Seeing no one, she pulled the door closed and with a great struggle she pushed a heavy table against it.

She cautiously reached her mind out certain that Thorn was still blocking her. To her surprise it was his disbelief and shock that flooded over her thoughts and feelings. Keep away from the walls, he said in a low and dangerous voice. Saphira and I are coming. Be ready to leave.

Rose frowned as a blazing anger knotted in her chest. Where have you been?

Causing a distraction, he told her. There is a good reason that tower is so quiet or have you not noticed?

Oh, I have. She slowly moved back to Arya and lowered herself next to her. Cutting yourself off from me was not the wisest of ideas, Thorn. The Shade found us and Dormnad is dead. It could have gone worse.

Thorn was silent for a time, his mind thoughtful. It was not I who severed our mindlink, he said slowly. I had thought it was you.

It was not. Rose shook her head.

There was a pause and then, And the Shade creature? Did he hurt you?

He did not get the chance to. He is dead, at the very least, I think he is.

Thorn made a humming sound. That is good, he said. Be ready.

But before Rose could ask what she was readying herself for, the building about her shook, and suddenly there was a chaos of noise; the crack of stone and wood buckling and crashing, yelling, the clang of metal on metal. She shot up, suddenly remembering her sword and scrambling towards it. Cringing she pulled it out of the pooling of blood with the tip of her bow, not wanting to step into the sticky gore itself.

The wooden beaming from the ceiling began to shake and creak loudly as if it were being torn apart. Rose looked up at it in horror, and then rushed to where Arya was laying. The large beam cracked and splintered, falling to the ground floor with a deafened sound. What, in the gods' names, are you doing? she called out to Thorn.

A loud roar answered her, shaking the room, and then the ceiling above curved away and a glistening blue head poked through the hole. Are you wanting to stay here? the dragon asked, jumping lightly through the hole.

Rose said nothing for a moment, her eyes wide and heart beating fast. "That was your rescue plan?" she said. "I'm certain the whole city will notice this mess!"

They are busy elsewhere at the moment, Thorn said, his head poking through the hole. He looked her over for a moment. Hurry up. I want to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Nodding, Rose looked down at Arya. "I will need help getting her up," she said turning to Saphira. "I am sorry that we did not find Eragon but I'm certain he's somewhere."

"I'm right here," a voice called out and then Eragon's head looked down at her. "Thorn didn't tell you what happened?"

Rose stared in shock and then slowly shook her head. "It seems that he told me nothing at all."

We have no time for this now, Saphira warned, her head snapping up to look icily at Eragon. We need to leave.

"Alright! Fine! I'm going!" Eragon sighed and disappeared from view.

Rose didn't know where he went nor did she wish to think about it, her mind felt strangely sluggish. After a moment, Saphira nudged her, startling her and then together they got Arya onto her back. Once she was lain over the dragon's back like a sack, Rose looked up at Thorn questioningly, suddenly wondering why he did not come down.

He can't fit through the opening, Saphira said following her gaze. There was a hint of amusement in her voice. You shall have to ride with me until we get to the valley.

There was sounds of shouting from around her. The door shook.

Rose simply looked at Saphira before jumping to the dragon's back. She was not going to argue, no matter how much she wanted to.

The dragon bent down and leapt to the floor above then, and continued to do so until they reached the ceiling. The cool night air seemed streamed through Rose, bits of her loose hair hit her face. She looked up at the stars blazing bright in the dark sky and took a deep breath as Saphira unfolded her wing and sailed away.

There was a shout behind them, and then the sound of whizzing arrows. Looking behind her, Rose saw archers on the roofing of the building around them. An arrow clinked harmlessly against the dragon's scales near her leg, she yelped and sank lower to Saphira's back.

As they drifted farther from the city, Rose sighed, struggling to get a better hold but even as she did it felt unsafe. Thorn was not far behind them. Rose could hear his grumbling and growling, and did not try to make contact with him.

After a time Saphira drifted down, landing in the middle of the small clearing. As the dragon roughly lowered her wings to the ground, Rose bound off of her back and looked towards the sky, ignoring the branches that fractured her view and watch Thorn glide down towards her. She looked away. From where she stood only the lights of Gil'ead could still be seen, though, only barely.

They may have flown more than a mile from the city but she felt that at any moment the soldiers might be sent out to look for them. She heard Eragon gasp, and watched him as he pulled Arya from Saphira's back. Rose bit harder into her lip, barely hearing Eragon when he called out to her and did not respond when she did.

"Rose?" Eragon asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, startling her. "I need your help. Saphira has an arrow stuck in her wing and I need you to hold it down."

After looking over Thorn for any injuries Rose turned to Eragon and nodded. She wanted to know what had happened, where he gone and how Saphira and Thorn had found him. The events made little sense to her and not matter how much she thought them over she could not make sense of them.

As preoccupied as she was, she nearly stepped on Saphira's wing but the dragon's growl reminded that there were far better places to place her feet. Eragon showed her where he needed her to hold Saphira's wing. "Hold on tightly," he said.

Rose had half the mind just to lay on the dragon's wing-arm, but settled on giving Eragon a sharp look as she placed all of her weight down. He didn't see her glare, he was studying the arrow shaft intently before wrapping his hands around it and yanking it from Saphira's flesh. Rose could hear the sharpened metal rip through muscle, and cringed just as Saphira's wing jerked from her grip, cuffing her jaw and sending her onto the ground.

A curse flew from her mouth before she could stop it but what she said was beyond her. Her ears were ringing with a high pitch whistle, and she had to blink a few times before her vision cleared of red and black specks. Rolling onto her back, Rose saw that Eragon stood over her, his hand extended down to her. She took his silent offer and allowed him to help her onto her feet.

"If there is ever a next time," Rose said, touching her chin, "you hold down the wing while I pull out the arrow."

"She didn't mean to hit you," said Eragon, as he checked on the elf. She hadn't stirred in the least and was still lying in the same place they had left her. "What happened to the Shade? And who is that woman?"

Rose pulled her hand from her face, it came away wet. She grimaced and said, "I wish I knew."

Eragon frowned, and studied her for a moment though he was not quite able to meet her eyes. "Thank you for coming after me."

Nodding, she pressed a rag to her face, wincing at the sharp pain that shot up her cheek. Rose was certain she would have a bruise there to go with the cut. With a sigh, she grabbed Eragon's bags and handed them to him. "I'm not the one who found you," she said, turning away. "Let us pack. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible. We can talk more at a later time."

Eragon agreed, and pulled some food out the packs. He ate the bread as they worked. Rose kept glancing at Thorn questioningly but he said nothing, simply stared back as he switched his tail across the ground.

While they worked Rose told Eragon what had happened while he was missing. When she mentioned the Urgals, he turned to her with a scowl, "This could mean war. Once the people of the Empire learn that the soldiers was working with those beasts, they will rebel and support the Varden."

Rose shook her head. "I highly doubt it. Even if every person in the Empire heard of it, few would dare head to the Varden and even fewer would make it. You seem to forget that the King rules by fear and force. He has enough warriors now to close off the borders of the Empire completely and thus stay in complete control of his lands. Few would rise against him if they believed they had a common enemy."

"Who would that be?" Eragon asked, turning away from tying a bag onto Saphira's saddle. His eyebrows were drawn together.

"Must you really ask that?" she said, testing a knot. "I believe that I am ready."

"Same here." He turned to Arya and looked up at her with widening eyes. "She's the woman I had dreams of," he said, rubbing his neck. "I think we were meant to save her."

Rose glanced towards Gil'ead searching for a trail of light headed their way but saw none. She looked over at Eragon. "I am not certain what was troubling you, Eragon," she said, "whether it was dreams about Arya or something more but I believe that it might be best not to think too much of it."

Nodding, Eragon lifted the elf up and set her on Saphira's back. "We'll have to find a way to transport her without hurting her until she wakes up," he said, not looking up from her. "And I'll have to heal her once we are out of this area."

After loading Arya onto the dragon's back, he jumped on and Saphira took off into the skies but Rose did not move for a short moment. Something about the way Eragon looked at Arya made her feel uneasy, there was a strange crazed blaze in his eyes. She shivered and thought for a moment that she should have insisted on moving the elf to Thorn but decided not to press the matter; it was too late to do so now anyway.

With a troubled frown, she clambered onto Thorn's back and rubbed his neck. He turned around to glance at her, his eyes gave away nothing of what he was thinking and then he turned around, and jumped into the dark sky. Rose moved lower onto Thorn's saddle, her eyes heavy watching the lights of Gil'ead until they were nothing more than a haunting memory.