Part 2: Pax Adrestia, Chapter 2.


Abyss was quiet at night, despite the presence of several heavily armoured soldiers guarding the gate that separated the underground from the halls leading to Garreg Mach.

But the gates, nor the guards had seen anything, Byleth realized when she reached the cell where their prisoner had been held, tortured, and interrogated.

The room was well lit with a single torch on a wall, and the air still stank of mildew and blood, yet there had not been any sign of a breach. If she was truly honest, it seemed as if the door had simply been left open and Cornelia Armin had strolled out, never to return.

"Anything from the guards?" Byleth turned to Yuri.

"No," Yuri said, shaking his head. "The guards say that apart from a delivery of food, nothing has reached the cell while we were gone, and nothing left with the delivery man either."

Byleth scanned the floor to find any sign of food, but could not find any.

"Have you encountered Lysithea?" Byleth asked. "She has not been seen since we left for Myrddin."

Yuri shook his head. "Nothing on that front either, Teach."

"Linhardt?"

"Nope," Yuri said. "He's gone too, but I suspect he's just buried in a pile of books. Lysithea... perhaps she went on a trip with him?"

Byleth fell silent for a moment as she considered the possibility of a mere coincidence. She didn't like coincidences. "Have you told Edelgard yet?"

Yuri shook his head vigorously. "She's suffered enough as is. Show her this, and she might as well drop dead."

Byleth considered his plan for a moment, then she shook her head when she thought of ERdelgard. "No secrets. I'll tell El. Once Hubert gets back, we'll need to go over it all."

Yuri paused, his eyes watching her, then he nodded. "Whatever you say, Teach."

Byleth gave the empty cell one last look before she headed away to the office where she knew Edelgard would be, though she paused and nodded over to Hubert and Dorothea when they passed her through the central hall.

The room had been only a little brighter than when she had left it the morning before she left for Myrddin, but she noticed the ragged dress of Edelgard tossed over to the side on the desk in contrast to the usually neat and crisp room.

She stood there, admiring the delicate lacework around the edges and studying the damage occurred through the battle at Myrddin. The dress was a haunting reminder of death, and the fact that she had somehow escaped it yet again, though she remembered none of it.

To her right, a door opened, and Byleth looked over to find Edelgard standing alone, clad only in a small towel, her hair down and her mouth wide open.

"El," Byleth said softly, glancing at the two maids who had drawn the bath behind Edelgard who were cleaning up the hastily drawn bath. "Can we have a conversation in private?"

Edelgard closed her eyes for a moment, then she nodded, turning to the maids before dismissing them with a nod of her head.

They stood in the darkness, the room lit by small, tender flickers of flame and the rising moon.

"What is it?" Edelgard asked finally, her eyes hardening.

Byleth closed her eyes as she tried to find the right words, but couldn't find any to use. "Cornelia is gone."

"What?" The response was harsh and instant, yet it lacked Edelgard's frigid determination, as if the words had knocked the breath from her lungs. "What- gone? How?"

Byleth opened her eyes again. The towel had slipped from Edelgard, and Edelgard had begun to breathe heavily, her hands shaking in what seemed to be either rage or panic.

"The cell was empty," Byleth said after a long minute, her lips unable to offer anything but the cruel truth. "It was as if she had disappeared into thin air."

"No," Edelgard whispered, staggering over to her desk, but never reaching it, for her legs crumpled under her. "No!"

The shriek echoed from the walls, and Byleth could only watch as Edelgard seemed to shrink into a ball, her arms wrapped around her naked shoulders.

Byleth ran forward and fell to her knees beside Edelgard. She tried hard to find words to say, but her lips had nothing, and her throat was suddenly dry.

So she did what she could, and she wrapped her arms around Edelgard. They stayed there for a time, Edelgard's frustrated, ragged breathing turning into whimpers and tears.

It occurred to Byleth that she had never seen Edelgard cry the way she had. Edelgard was inconsolable, her shoulders shaking with a rushing torrent of emotion, as if the world for her had collapsed overnight. And, Byleth surmised darkly, perhaps it had.

It wasn't until Edelgard had stopped moving that Byleth realized that she had collapsed into a deep sleep, and her own heart fell with every inch of Edelgard she saw.

Looking at Edelgard, her face blotchy, her naked limbs limp, Byleth couldn't bear to wake her and bring her to the black heart of Abyss, where Cornelia's escape taunted them all, so she did her duty, not as a soldier, but as a friend and lover.

Edelgard was surprisingly light, and slender without her heavy plate armour. Byleth had managed to lift her and slip her into a fresh nightgown before laying her to sleep, giving her a small kiss to the forehead before parting ways.

She left the room after that to find the rest of the Black Eagles, along with what seemed like a quarter of Edelgard's personal bodyguard waiting in the hallway beyond.

Hubert was the first to open his mouth, but he never got the chance, for Byleth silenced him with a dark look and a finger pressed to her lips.

"She's resting now," Byleth said softly, noticing the assembled faces soften. "But she's been through a lot over these past few days. She needs to rest."

There was silence for a moment and more than a few wary glances before Hubert spoke. "And what shall we do in the coming days?"

Byleth closed her eyes again, her mind racing through possibilities, cutting through options one by one until only a single option remained. "We must find out what has happened while we were away."

Hubert nodded. "I have men looking."

"What of our other members?" Byleth asked, looking around the hallway. "Constance and Linhardt may have seen something."

There was silence in the air before Marianne spoke up. "Hilda said that Constance kept her company while we were away, but she also said that she hadn't seen Lysithea or Linhardt."

"Has anyone seen either of them these last two days?" Byleth looked at the faces of the soldiers around her.

One guard cleared his throat, and Byleth noticed that the entire hallway had turned to him.

"I last saw General von Hevring late on the first day," the man said, his eyes darting from face to face. "Erm- he seemed… stressed."

"Explain." Hubert's voice was suddenly alert, and his gaze was piercing.

"He was carrying a number of books away from Abyss," the guard mumbled, his eyes on the ground. "We offered him a hand, of course, but he didn't seem to notice us at all."

"Where was he headed?" Hubert asked.

"North," the man said, his eyes darting around him, as if for support from his fellows. "Though I'm not sure exactly where."

"We'll have men search the north of the town," Hubert said with a nod before he turned to Byleth. "A moment in private, if you will."

Byleth nodded slowly as the guards dispersed, their steps heavy as they left the Officer's Academy. She waited for some time before she turned to Hubert.

"I understand that you will be seeking to assist with the search," Hubert said, his eyes dark. "However, we need you to be with Lady Edelgard more."

"Hubert-" Byleth started.

"Please Professor," Hubert replied with a shake of his head. "Lady Edelgard has suffered greatly these past two days. You would serve a much better purpose at her side in this dark hour than running through the dark again."

Byleth nodded as she suddenly felt both a weight lift off her shoulders and her strength fading at the same time. "Provide me with an update when we wake."

Hubert gave a small bow before he walked off, his footsteps heavy against the marble floors.

The office was quiet when Byleth returned, and she did a few small things before she joined Edelgard.

The dress, stained by soot and dust, was carefully laid into a laundry bin and lightly dusted. Edelgard had more dresses like it, but Byleth still took good care of the damaged garment.

Then Byleth stripped down and washed herself with a small sponge using the leftover water in the bath Edelgard had drawn.

In a sense, the bath reminded her of the times her father had allowed her to bathe first, before he himself washed up using the leftovers.

Even though she knew she was alone, she almost felt her father's arms around her shoulders as she washed the grime away from her skin.

The sensation brought tears to her eyes as the sponge landed in the water with a small splash. She wondered how much her father had truly sacrificed to keep her from Rhea. Would he have been proud of what she did to end the war?

When she dressed for bed, Byleth had none of her questions answered, but when she saw Edelgard's limbs sprawled wide on the bed, she almost leapt into action.

She gently pushed herself against Edelgard, allowing her sleeping lover to direct her spasms and kicks at her. The pain she felt was minor, something she almost didn't notice, but she inched closer with every sleeping move Edelgard made.

It was when they were in each other's arms did Byleth finally stop, allowing herself to shrink into a position that Edelgard took advantage of, bringing one long, smooth leg over Byleth's own.

Then she inched closer, and allowed Edelgard to rest against her chest, her own arms gentle across Edelgard's back, and the two of them locked in an unbreakable embrace.

It was then, with Edelgard's breaths a soft, steady melody, that Byleth allowed herself to fall into a deep, restful sleep.


Morning came slowly, and Byleth winced when she felt Edelgard mumble something against her chest.

Her body was still entwined, her leg slightly numb with Edelgard's leg having rested on it all night.

But there was a series of loud thuds against the door, firm and urgent.

"Professor?" Edelgard's voice was slow, confused. "What-"

"Shh," Byleth said softly. "I'll get the door."

Edelgard groaned but slid her leg back, allowing Byleth to free herself, but not before she gave Edelgard a little kiss to the head.

Byleth climbed from the bed and hurried to the other room, wincing over the cold floor against her bare feet.

Hubert stood by the door, and by him was another man, though he did not possess the uniform of an Adrestian soldier, instead wearing travelling clothes and a loose cloak.

"He found Linhardt," Hubert said, turning to the stranger before he continued. "I regret to inform you that Linhardt has been badly injured."

The stranger nodded, then he cleared his throat. "I found him at a… certain pavilion in the forests to the north."

"Pavilion?" Byleth repeated the words, her mind spinning until the location narrowed in her mind. "In the Forbidden Forest?"

Hubert nodded. "He says he noticed a pair of tracks that led deep into the forest."

"There was a scrap of cloth on a tree as well," the man added, holding up a small strip of torn cloth as proof. "I believe you may recognize it?"

Byleth took the torn strip of cloth and examined it. Indeed, she could only think of the jacket Linhardt wore, and indeed, she could see the jacket tearing on an errant branch, especially if Linhardt was in a panic.

"Where is he now?" Byleth turned to Hubert. "We need to see Linhardt."

Hubert only shook his head. "Like I said, he was badly injured. He's been transferred to the infirmary."

Byleth turned to the other man. "What did you see in the Forbidden Forest?"

The man grimaced. "Mr.-"

"General," Hubert corrected.

"General," the man repeated the word slowly before he cleared his throat and tried again. "General von Hevring was badly injured when I found him. He appeared to be suffering from extreme dehydration and had suffered some form of heavy magical attack, although I cannot tell you exactly what form the attack took."

Byleth narrowed her eyes. "Are you certain?"

"Peri demanded we be familiar with various forms of damage," the man replied, his tone surprisingly casual. "I'm nearly certain the injuries the General suffered were magical in origin."

The name of the mysterious crime lord brought up dark memories and the sudden feeling of shame inside Byleth, and she looked away from the man's eyes as she tried to form her next sentence.

"Will you show me the site?" Byleth asked. "We may be able to find something there in the daytime."

The man nodded. "As you wish."

"I will be in the infirmary," Hubert said. "If Linhardt wakes, I will ensure his cooperation."

Byleth nodded to the other man as Hubert turned away. "Stay here. I should be back shortly."

With a single step, Byleth opened the door to the office and slid back, closing the solid door behind her.

"Did something happen?" Edelgard asked.

Byleth glanced over to Edelgard, her hair undone but her face grim and her eyes sharp.

"One of Peri's men found Linhardt," Byleth said. "It seems he's badly hurt by some kind of magical attack, but there's no sign of Lysithea."

Edelgard's face hardened. "Peri?"

"Olivia's employer," Byleth reminded Edelgard. "He had two other men at Garreg Mach apart from her."

"Right," Edelgard muttered, her lips pressed together. "He must have questions about what happened at Myrddin, even if Dorothea did go over it with him."

Byleth nodded as she hurried over to their mutual wardrobe, handing Edelgard a long red dress before she pulled on an old Garreg Mach uniform to replace her dirty clothes in the laundry bin.

When she looked up, she noticed Edelgard staring, her mouth slightly open.

"El?" Byleth asked.

"Sorry," Edelgard blinked several times as her face flushed. "I- I just never thought I would see you wearing a student uniform."

Byleth nodded quickly as she walked across the room, pulling on her boots. "It's rather warm today, and that's not mentioning how the clothes we wore yesterday are filthy."

"Right," Edelgard muttered, pulling on her clothes. "Should we bring a weapon?"

Byleth paused, looking down at her hands. "We did lose our weapons yesterday, didn't we?"

"Yes," Edelgard said softly, pausing for a moment before she continued, as if she wasn't sure what to say. "While I'm glad to be free of Aymr, I have to admit it was a strong weapon."

"We can pass the armoury along the way if need be," Byleth said finally. "But we're trying to find Lysithea."

Edelgard nodded as she dressed, finishing a few short minutes later before she turned to the door.

Byleth reached the door first, and she swung it open, nodding to the man awaiting on the other side.

"Right this way," the man said with a small bow to Edelgard.

Byleth shut the door behind her before she followed Edelgard and Peri's agent, their steps echoing on the empty halls of Garreg Mach.

"We'll need to find weapons," Byleth said quickly when they passed a nearby armoury. "Our previous weapons were destroyed."

Peri's agent nodded as he reached for a pouch on his belt. "I have only a few coin on me, but-"

"That will not be needed," Edelgard raised a hand. "We know the armourer and weapon smith well."

The man said nothing, but took a step back regardless, giving Byleth and Edelgard a little more privacy as they entered the armoury.

It was a small place, but hot, with a tall, burly man hammering away at a long, powerful looking sword.

To Byleth's surprise, the man only grunted as he looked up at her, his eyes focused on the sword a minute later.

"We need weapons," Edelgard said quietly to Byleth.

"Whatever you need, go ahead," the blacksmith replied without even looking up, having heard Edelgard despite his focus on the sword in his hands. "I would be honoured."

"Let's go," Byleth whispered to Edelgard as she selected a long, plain sword from a nearby wall, nodding to herself as she pulled at the weighty weapon.

Next to her, Byleth watched as Edelgard took a simple double sided axe and a long, kite shaped shield.

"Good equipment," Edelgard said approvingly as she hefted up the shield. "Still, this may take some time to get used to."

"You've used Aymr for a long time," Byleth observed.

"Yes," Edelgard said, shaking her head. "But that is in the past. It's time to move on."

Byleth nodded and turned back to the relative silence outside the forge.

The man was still waiting, his posture reminding Byleth suspiciously of Hubert, his eyes vigilant and his hand on the sword he held by his belt.

"Is something wrong?" Byleth asked the man.

He said nothing for a moment, but he shook his head. "I see you have brought a sword with you. Good."

Byleth swallowed and glanced around the street, noticing how Garreg Mach seemed so empty in contrast to the bustle in the day. It was strange, something she had never quite seen despite all the time she had spent at the Officer's Academy.

"Shall we?" Edelgard nodded to the stranger.

"Follow me," the man replied, turning and taking a step toward the Forbidden Forest.

"Wait," Byleth called after the man. "We never got your name."

The stranger paused for a moment before he turned back around, his eyes guarded. "My name?"

"Yes," Edelgard said. "The Professor is right. We have not been informed of your name."

The man closed his eyes for a moment. "Gerald, though I regret to inform you that none of us have family names. Although if you must insist, I suppose my family name would be von Peri."

Byleth nodded slowly as she began to follow the man, her mind wandering to the Forbidden Forest.

"Has Dorothea informed you of the…"

It was rare for Edelgard to stumble over her words, perhaps it was due to a sense of awkwardness due to the lack of familiarity with the mercenary soldier, but Byleth found it strange nonetheless.

"Indeed," Gerald's voice was low. "Lady Arnault has informed us of Olivia's tragic end, and the role of this… Verrat."

"Does the name mean anything to you?" Byleth asked.

"No," Gerald replied without hesitation. "As I understand it, the title is used in reference to a series of mages who specialize in fire magic, but I know little beyond that."

Byleth felt a slight sense of disappointment welling up inside her. Gerald had repeated Hubert's own explanation almost word for word, but another idea came up.

"Gerald?" Byleth called.

Gerald turned around, his face stony as usual, but she noticed a spark of emotion in his eyes that disappeared almost instantly.

"Would Peri know something about this Verrat?"

Gerald paused for a moment, then he nodded. "It is possible, yes, but I cannot tell you for certain. Olivia was our… cell's contact with him, and as she has fallen, we no longer possess any means of contacting him."

"What do you intend to do then?" Byleth asked the man.

He shrugged in turn, his face emotionless. "I cannot say for certain, but there are other units under Peri's command. If one of them learns of our unit's losses, it is possible Ajax and I will be absorbed into another unit."

"How long will that take?" Edelgard asked.

"I cannot say for certain," Gerald replied with a shake of his head. "It is possible that the messenger Olivia sent to Enbarr will return with orders in the coming weeks, but as it stands, we are trapped in Garreg Mach for the direct future."

"Lord MacLeod," Byleth recalled, a sense of disgust filling her chest at the man before an idea came to mind. "Wait…"

Edelgard's eyes narrowed when Byleth turned to her. "Olivia must have told him where to find Peri."

"If we could get to him quickly, we may be able to discover Peri's location."

"Possible," Gerald said from before them. "But as I understand it Peri would probably react poorly to an unit of the Imperial Army arriving on his doorstep. He is a rather secretive man."

Byleth nodded to that. "Do you believe you could act as an intermediary if the time comes?"

Gerald tilted his head for a second, then he shook his head. "That question is for the future. I cannot answer it without consulting Ajax, and possibly the leadership of another one of our units."

"Right," Byleth muttered, wiping a layer of sweat from her brow. "Let's go to the forest then."

Then Byleth heard something.

A scream echoed through the deserted streets of Garreg Mach, a sound that jerked Byleth into an alert stance, her sword drawn. From the corner of her eye, Gerald drew his sword and Edelgard clenched her new axe tightly.

"What in the world?" Gerald whispered as his eyes darted from side to side, his sword held out defensively.

A second shriek, this one no less monstrous than the first, came, this one sounding far closer. Whatever was behind the screams, it was fast.

"We need to fall back," Gerald growled, his eyes hard as he took a step toward the Officer's Academy.

Byleth agreed with the sentiment, but she also knew the Officer's Academy was more than a hundred paces away, too far away for them to reach it. And then she thought of the innocents sleeping in their beds.

"No," Byleth snapped. "Whatever is happening, we cannot leave the innocent to fend for themselves."

"Agreed," Edelgard said, raising her shield. "Professor, we need to rally the town guard, at least until we can bring Hubert."

"Too late," Gerald hissed, pointing a long, pale finger up at a nearby building. "Is that-"

Byleth looked up in time to see the figure roar, drowning out the other man's sentence. In a single heartbeat, Byleth felt dread creep through her veins, for she recognized the monster that loomed over them.

It was Lysithea, though something horrible had changed within her. She still was human, or as human as one could be with bloodstained claws tearing through the flesh of her hands.

She was quick too, for Lysithea leapt from the building with the grace of a cat, though the snarling, demonic visage that were her features brought the mindless beast at Myrddin to mind more than a gentle, friendly cat.

Already, Gerald had stepped forward, his sword in a defensive position, but Byleth pushed him aside, stepping forward with Edelgard, following her lead by laying her weapons in the dirt. It was a gamble, but she hoped deep down Lysithea was still somewhere within the beast.

In the early morning daylight, face to face, it was even easier to see the horror of what Lysithea had become. Thick plates of black armour covered Lysithea's arms and legs, extending to everywhere that was not her face. Yet that was where the true horror lay.

Lysithea's eyes had turned black, and an evil red had replaced her usual pink irises, with cruel, bloodshot veins spiralling into the depths of her head.

"Lysithea," Edelgard called, taking a slow, deliberate step forward, her arms spread, as if to welcome the monster that might have been Lysithea back with a hug. "Are you alright?"

For a moment, Byleth allowed herself a semblance of hope as Lysithea seemed to pause in her assault, the beast taking deep, savage gasps of air. For what could have been the tiniest of seconds, she could have sworn she saw the blood red of Lysithea's eyes return to normal, but then that light was gone, as if it had been a mirage.

Yet another shriek echoed across the empty lanes of Garreg Mach as the monster leapt at them on all four long, awkward limbs, but it never got there, for when the titanic claws descended, a long silver blade rose to meet it in a din of clashing steel.

Byleth saw a glimpse of Gerald's skilled pose before she scrambled back, reaching for her sword once more before, but when she grabbed the blade again, she heard a loud roar.

Little had changed apart from the sudden appearance of a great and terrible dust cloud around her, but Byleth could still feel the unholy heat that only dark magic could bring on her skin.

"Lady Edelgard!" Hubert's voice shouted from somewhere down the street. "Are you hurt?"

"Get back!" a voice shouted as Byleth instinctively took cover, seconds before a blast of powerful dark magic tore through the cloud, back in the general direction Hubert had launched his attack, the power emanating from the attack making the first appear pathetic in comparison.

A distant shout of alarm, followed by an explosion, drew Byleth's gaze for a second, but her eyes could not penetrate the cloud of dust and smoke that the explosion had kicked up in the distance.

The one thing Byleth could see, however, was the figure of Lysithea crawling forward, out of the smoke that Hubert's first attack had caused. She was still on her knees, the claws extending from her knuckles having shattered, many of the individual blades warped by the dark magic or outright snapped in two.

What horrified Byleth was the damage done to Lysithea, or rather, the lack thereof. What had remained of her dress was now torn, exposing the blackened carapace underneath, a carapace that, to Byleth's eyes, was almost undamaged, despite the fact that Lysithea's face now leaked black, viscous blood from almost every orifice.

Slowly, despite the injuries, the monster staggered up again, shaking hands holding together another ball of darkness, this one even greater than the one before, the power vibrating through Byleth's bones.

But the attack never reached Hubert, for a figure now stood between the two arcane duelists. Edelgard now stood between the two sides, her untied hair flying free in the wind, clear as day despite the smoke and the dust, her arms outstretched, hands wide open.

"Lady Edelgard!" Hubert's voice shouted. "Clear the way!"

From Byleth's position, she saw Edelgard give Hubert no mind, walking forward to Lysithea, their eyes on each other.

There was silence in the street, and if a pin was to drop, Byleth knew she could hear it, but the silence loomed heavy, as if the world around them had stopped to watch.

Edelgard said nothing as she approached the frozen figure of Lysithea, but she knelt slowly, taking a small, bare hand to brush aside a lock of dirty pale hair from Lysithea's face.

"Are we still friends, Lysithea?" Edelgard's voice was gentle, almost mothery.

Lysithea said nothing, though Byleth wasn't sure if she was capable of speech any longer.

"It's been five years now, hasn't it?" Edelgard asked, her hand gently stroking Lysithea's face. "Since that day we talked over cake?"

Byleth swallowed as she noticed Lysithea's hands shaking. The orb of dark magic had stopped growing, but the power held within the orb had it been fired would almost certainly kill Edelgard, and at the very least maim Lysithea.

"We've been through so much together these five years," Edelgard said softly, her voice so low that Byleth herself could barely hear. "But we're closer to a cure than ever. You know that."

Lysithea had begun to shake, her fingers trembling as the wind blew hair into Byleth's vision. By the time it had stopped, Edelgard had removed her fingers from Lysithea's face, but instead put her hand on the orb of raging darkness in Lysithea's hands.

"We've shared every triumph and tear these five years I've gotten to know you," Edelgard said gently, her smooth voice not giving a single indication of the terrible agony her hand must have been in. "And I cannot help but weep for the future you stand to lose."

From Byleth's position, she could already see the red lines in Lysithea's eyes fading, her breathing becoming laboured as Edelgard spoke.

"You told me once that you hadn't hugged your mother since the war had broken out," Edelgard's voice was still soft as ever, despite the fact that Byleth could see the skin on her hand blistering and blackening against the raw power the orb of churning darkness held aloft in between Lysithea's shaking hands. "You told me you wanted to have children one day, happy, free, able to live the life you- no, we had been denied."

"How can you do that if you die in a place like this?" Edelgard asked.

As soon as the question hit, Byleth watched Lysithea freeze in place, the blood red of her irises fading as a rosy pink returned to her eyes, the unstable orb of dark magic in her shaking hands fading as Lysithea's trembling hands took Edelgard's burned one in them.

Already, Byleth could make out a rambling apology escaping Lysithea's lips, though it seemed that the words dropped to nothing when Edelgard wrapped her arms around Lysithea's blackened shoulders.

Slowly, as if she was in a daze, Byleth stumbled to Edelgard, wincing when she noticed the claws extending from Lysithea's knuckles had been digging into Edelgard's back,

And yet Edelgard showed no sign of the pain, her voice murmuring soft, gentle words as Lysithea broke into wailing, unconsolable sobs.

Byleth flinched when Edelgard rose to her feet, her muscled arms firm as she lifted Lysithea by her waist, taking a slow, deliberate walk back toward Garreg Mach.

Byleth followed slowly, giving Lysithea a warm, comforting smile when their eyes met, but she gave Hubert a hard look when they passed. There would be words later, when Lysithea was cured, but not now.

It wasn't long until Lysithea was in the care of the infirmary staff, her hand clenched tight against Edelgard's until sleep finally claimed her. Only then did Edelgard give a final squeeze and let go.

When Byleth laid eyes on Edelgard's face, she felt a sudden sense of panic. Edelgard seemed unsteady on her feet, and Byleth had to help her to a free bed before Edelgard collapsed entirely. They held hands for a long minute as Hubert rushed in, his face grim as a few doctors gave Edelgard a strong potion to drink, peeling off her ruined dress to apply dressing to the wounds in Edelgard's back.

"Hubert," Edelgard called softly.

"Yes, Lady Edelgard?" Hubert asked as he came to the other side of the bed.

"Are there any other ways to cross the Airmid River west of Myrddin?"

"No," Hubert replied. "To do so one would need to- you suspect The Verrat's forces…"

"They cannot escape northbound," Edelgard said, her voice cold. "There is only one place in the Empire they could flee to."

"We will make preparations at once," Hubert nodded. "And for Cornelia?"

"She could not escape into the north," Edelgard said. "There is no place there for her to hide."

"All roads lead to House Varley," Byleth concluded. "And that's where we'll go next."

Edelgard managed a pained nod, then she gestured for them to come close as her voice dropped to a whisper. "When you find Cornelia and the warriors of this… Verrat, you will break an answer from their lips. Do what you must."

"Understood," Hubert said as he squeezed Edelgard's hand, stepping away from the bed as he did. "Sleep well, Lady Edelgard."

Edelgard turned back to Byleth once Hubert had stepped out of the room. "I-"

Byleth shook her head as she pressed a finger to Edelgard's lips. "We'll talk later, when Lysithea is safe."

Edelgard let out a deep sigh as her eyes fluttered shut, a moment before Byleth planted a parting, chaste kiss on her lips.

When she looked up, Byleth blinked in surprise when she saw Ingrid's flushed face and fallen jaw, and she almost didn't recognize the woman next to her.

"Hey Chatterbox," Hapi said with a small wave.


AN: Double update day and Fallen Lysithea!

Read, Review, etc.

Next chapter: The Death of House Varley.