The moon, shining through a haze of smoke, lit up a field of corpses. Tissaia waited. It was quiet and the night was still. She closed her eyes and sighed. It was over.

The air was heavy and vile. It tasted of ash and death. Her hair and clothes were singed, and the grass was warm against her legs. Slowly, Tissaia got to her feet. She felt weak and nauseous, shards of dimeritium coursing through her body and reacting to her aura. Standing in her patch of green, Tissaia looked around her. Everything was gone. The field was a sea of black, littered with dead, burnt faces.

A layer of ash danced around her feet like a burst of feathered seeds as she stepped onto the scorched grass. It crumbled under her feet. She took another few steps forward and stopped. Before her, a great rock overlooked the bloody hillside. It looked like it could be in a painting, the sort of place a great leader would stand to preach to his flock. Tissaia watched it carefully.

"Yennefer," she croaked. Her voice rang in the silence. "Yennefer." Tissaia watched the rock and waited. Her lips trembled. "Yennefer!"

The hot ground burnt the soles of her feet as she hurried up the hill. She tripped over the hem of her skirt and fell onto her knees, cutting her hand on a piece of stone. Looking down at her dress, she tore off the tattered edge, wrapped it around her hand and picked herself up. Choking on the polluted air, Tissaia clambered to the top of the rock, her legs shaking.

"Yennefer…"

Tissaia fell to her knees at the edge of the rock and pulled Yennefer's body into her arms. She was covered in blood and dirt, her hair matted with filth. Tissaia touched her face and recoiled. Her skin was burning hot, and beneath all the grime, it glowed with tones of red and gold. Biting her tongue, Tissaia pressed her fingers against Yennefer's neck and slumped forwards. She had a pulse. But as Tissaia brushed the hair from Yennefer's face, she noticed that the woman wasn't breathing.

Yennefer's hand burnt her skin as she held it. Tissaia muttered an incantation and felt her stomach lurch as though she had fallen from a great height. Small jolts shot across her body as the dimeritium in her system reacted to her magic. Tissaia griped Yennefer's body. The painful heat radiating from her skin helped the Rectoress stay awake as she shared her energy and concentrated with all her might to stop the link from breaking.

With her eyes half-closed, Tissaia fell sideways. Lying on the rock holding Yennefer's hand, her other arm draped around the woman's stomach, Tissaia fought to stay awake. As their connection weakened and Tissaia's fingers loosened from around Yennefer's hand, she felt a spark against her burnt palm. Tissaia breathed in-sync with Yennefer as she closed her eyes.

It was still dark when Tissaia woke up. Something was digging painfully into her side and she moved around to make herself more comfortable. Tucking Yennefer's head under her chin, Tissaia listened to the sound of her student breathing and she closed her eyes. The others would have to manage without her, she thought. Besides, she was too tired to move and she couldn't leave Yennefer. They'd wait there until someone found them. Yennefer had said that the Northern Kingdoms were close.

Tissaia wasn't sure whether she fell asleep again, but almost as soon as she closed her eyes, she heard voices in the distance. Keeping very still, eyes shut, Tissaia listened. People were moving around them, ash and bones crunching under their heavy boots. Holding her breath, Tissaia listened to the footsteps. The noises were getting louder. She heard, somewhere to her right, a voice whimpering in pain and then a scream. A Nilfgaardian accent carried across to her in the ensuing silence. She felt the unnatural heat through Yennefer's dress as she pulled her body closer.

Tissaia opened her eyes and, moving as little as possible, tried to find somewhere they could hide. But there was nowhere to go. The rock was flat and unsheltered. If she tried to stand, the Nilfgaardians would see her, and Tissaia couldn't conjure a portal for them both or teleport one person more than a few feet away. She could try to fight her way back to the keep, but Tissaia was at her limit, and she wasn't strong enough to carry Yennefer. There was another scream. Tissaia rested her head against the rock and listened to the soldiers, hoping that they would miss them.

Give her to me, Tissaia.

Tissaia closed her eyes as Fringilla's voice echoed inside her head. She felt the other mage tug slightly at their connection as she tried to press into her thoughts, probably to see where they were. Steadying her breath, Tissaia drew back from Fringilla distancing their connection, but the Nilfgaardian mage held on, preventing her from severing the link completely.

You know I won't stop looking until I find her, Fringilla said. Hand her over, and Nilfgaard will leave. No one else needs to die today.

No, I won't. Not to you, Tissaia replied.

Below them, Tissaia could hear the Nilfgaardian soldiers laughing as they toyed with two of the survivors before finishing them off.

Yennefer is already close to death. Give her up so that the rest of your wounded might live. You've already traded the lives of your other students. What's one more life? You can save them, Tissaia. Give her to me.

No! You can't have her. I won't let you.

Have it your way, Rectoress. I'll find her in the end.

Tissaia felt Fringilla's presence disappear. She took her former student's threat very seriously. Yennefer had made a great enemy of Nilfgaard today, and they would hunt her down with everything they had. Fringilla would not let this slight pass. Tissaia had felt her fear and her anger. She knew Fringilla too well for her to hide it.

The soldiers were almost upon them. She could hear them combing the area around the rock. Tissaia needed to get Yennefer out of here now, but she was still weak from Fringilla's poison and from sharing her reserves. She felt portrayed by her body. Without her magic, she was useless to Yennefer.

Can anyone hear me? Tissaia called out to the other mages. I need help. Nilfgaard is coming. Is anyone there? We need help!

There was no response. Tissaia kept trying to connect, but she was alone. The only person she could sense was Yennefer. Her presence was weak, and there was something about it that felt wrong. Tissaia could tell the difference.

"Up here! There's two more!"

Tissaia sat up as the Nilfgaardian soldier that had spotted them started running forwards. Twisting her hand and bending her thumb and middle finger, Tissaia knocked the soldier sideways and off the rock when he was a few feet away. She heard his bones snap as he fell and broke his neck. One of the Nilfgaardians swore.

Tissaia hooked her arms under Yennefer's shoulders and pulled her upright as three more soldiers started moving towards them. She tucked in Yennefer's legs, held her with one arm and raised the other in front of her.

"amddiffyn ni rhag niwed!"

The air around them shimmered and hummed. Tissaia's arm shook as, with a spark, an arrow bounced off her shield and clattered against the rock. The soldiers paused. One of them drew back his bow and trained an arrow on Tissaia. The others moved to either side of the barrier and started striking their swords against the magic.

Tissaia shuddered as the force of their blows rippled down her arms and across her chest. Her nose was bleeding and dripping onto Yennefer's shoulders as her head rested against Tissaia's neck. The Rectoress' vision blurred and small coin-sized holes started to appear in her shield. The soldiers concentrated their blows on the weakened spots and the gaps started to grow.

Blood splattered at her feet as the soldier who had hung back dropped to his knees. When his body hit the ground, Tissaia saw an arrow buried in the back of his head. The two other men were felled shortly after, and Tissaia dropped her spell as she saw Sabrina running towards them.

"Take her," Tissaia said quietly as Sabrina knelt beside them.

"Tissaia…" she whispered, gripping the Rectoress' soldiers.

"Don't let them find her, please. No one can know, Sabrina. No one."

Sabrina nodded. She took Yennefer's body and stared at her, tears welling in her eyes. Tissaia smiled at them, and then she fainted.