Rune mounted the horse, settling into the saddle with Tawnyclaw on her shoulder. She blinked hard to clear her eyes as she thought of Eridor, with the slavers, all alone. Shay's warhorse Bane was with him too, she reminded herself. So Eridor wasn't all alone.

But still.

Focus! Tawnyclaw snapped at her, sensing her wandering mind. Hart Starpelt.

She nodded at him.

Tabor himself was struggling into his own saddle. His horse, the huge roan draft – who really was more suitable for pulling and plowing, but was the only horse who could support Tabor and his rather wide girth – sighed angrily as the saddle chafed his skin.

Rune reached out to the horse's mind, trying to calm him. Tabor had finally managed to get himself erect on the mount's back.

"Are you sure that bird knows where to go?" Tabor asked worriedly, looking at Tawnyclaw.

Tawnyclaw bristled at being called that bird.

"If you want him to do anything, you'll have to ask him nicely," Rune said primly.

"Well, I—" Tabor started.

Kel cut him off, riding nimbly around his mount with her own. Her gold hunting dress and leather riding boots complemented her beautifully. "Is something wrong, your lordship?"

"Your slave is asking me to talk to her bird," Tabor sputtered, clearly unused to being told to do anything by his slaves.

"If that is what it takes to hunt your deer, isn't it worth it?" Kel asked.

Tabor grumbled. "Slave," he muttered, "ask your bird politely if he will track my deer."

Rune looked at Tawnyclaw.

No! Hart live! Hart not meet death at end of arrow of fat man! Starpelt! Justice! Pelt not hang upon wall! Antlers not grace mantle! Hart Starpelt live!

"He says yes."

Tawnyclaw sank his talons into Rune's arm, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

Starpelt will live, she said. Where's Eragon?

Tawnyclaw looked around. His hawk vision spotted the young Rider, mounted on a horse.

Coming. He hunts.

Rune nodded. Soon she too caught sight of Eragon. He pulled alongside her.

"This isn't a hunt," he whispered, "It's a slaughter. No deer can outrun eight men on horseback. He should at least give it a fighting chance."

Rune's fingers curled angrily around her reins. She sat taller in the saddle. "That's what we're here for," she whispered back. She explained her plan quickly.

Eragon nodded, and Rune handed him the cloak she had stolen. He slipped it around his shoulders.

"I understand that it's wrong to kill an animal in cold blood," Eragon said, "But why are we going through so much trouble to save it?"

Rune fixed a cold sorrel-eyed gaze on him. "Because he's like us," she said. "We too, are hunted."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Súndavar, wake up!"

Súndavar groaned, pushing the voice away. It hurt his ears, and his head pounded the same way it did after Rune's birthday party. His mouth felt dry.

"Wake up!"

The voice was familiar though…

"Shay?" he muttered, his tongue tasting the name before letting it go. The noise he made confused him…was it Shay? Who was Shay? Did he know her? How did she know his name? For that matter, how did he know her name?

He opened his eyes and light rushed in, illuminating Shay. He sighed as his memory defogged, and he remembered. Beside Shay, there was a girl. She looked faintly…familiar. Had he met her too?

"Where's Rune?" he asked.

Shay helped him into a sitting position and held a mug of water to his lips. He drank deeply, before glancing around the room. "Where am I?"

"Robin said we could keep you," the girl said.

"Who's Robin?"

Shay shook her head. "Can't tell. Sorry."

The other girl folded her legs daintily under her, flicking brown hair over one shoulder. "You're the guy from Tabor's estate," she said.

Recognition flashed in Súndavar's eyes. "Yes. And you're the girl who I met. What's your name? Taten?"

"Yes. Taten."

Súndavar shifted his weight. "You know, that really hurt."

Taten laughed. "Men are such babies," she said, before turning to Shay. "Hot friend you have," she said, ignoring Súndavar entirely.

Shay chuckled and pushed her playfully. "Súndavar," she said, suddenly serious, "Do you know what happened to your eyes?"

Súndavar frowned. "My…eyes?" he crossed his eyes for a moment, making Taten giggle. "What's wrong with them?"

Shay chewed on her lip. "Taten, can I borrow your mirror?"

Taten frowned, but produced a shard of glass from her pocket. It was roughly the size of Súndavar's hand, and jagged on the edges.

"Don't drop it," she warned.

Shay held the mirror up for Súndavar to see himself.

Súndavar gasped, gaping at his reflection.

All was as if should be – black hair, pale skin, defiant jaw. Except his eyes.

He dropped the mirror.

Two blood red orbs stared back at him.

Shade's eyes.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Behold, Matrix bid, the glory of our homeland! The splendor of our birth! The very place the wind and fire make love to one another and gave birth to dragons' soul! Mother wind that lifts our wings, father fire that lights our path and graces our life's breath, behold Kuthian!

Slate felt his wings slow. They felt heavy, as if the weight of what he was seeing was weighing him down. Beside, him, Saphira wavered in the sky.

It is Paradise.

No, Matrix said. It is Home.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Shay dabbed Súndavar's head with the damp towel. Everett watched, his brown hair in his eyes.

"Will he be okay?"

Shay shrugged, not unkindly or uncaringly, but simply because she didn't know.

Taten was pacing the room. "He broke my mirror!" she huffed. "It took me two months to find one that was big enough, and he went and broke it."

"Don't you have a hundred more in that hiding place of yours?" Everett asked.

Taten glared at him. "First off, don't snoop in my stuff," she snapped. "Second off, that was my best one. It wasn't cracked or anything."

Shay tossed the towel at her. "You wake him up then," she said. "Everett, come on. You need to teach me how to cook dinner."

Taten threw the towel back. "If you're leaving to cook dinner, then you can't leave. You're a terrible cook."

Shay snorted. "Hence the fact that Everett needs to teach me."

Everett cut in. "Shay, she's right. You can't cook. But you can cut onions and slice meat without cutting yourself. Come on, you'll help. I'll do the cooking. Taten, stay with Blackie over there until he wakes up."

"His name is Súndavar."

"I don't care," Everett said. "He's not one of us."

Shay folded her arms over her chest. "Neither was I."

"Robin trusted you," Everett shot back. "That's not my decision. When the kid wakes up, he's out of here."

"I'm going with him."

"No, you can't leave," Everett argued.

Shay stood up angrily. Everett followed. They were almost matched in height, Shay being an inch or two shorter. They stared angrily into one another's eyes.

"You're worse than Vanir!"

"You're more stubborn than Tamara!"

Taten watched quietly, unsure what to do.

Finally Shay stalked off. "I'm going to…go do the dishes."

Everett didn't point out that the kitchen was the other way.

He sank to his knees when Shay was out of sight. Taten watched him with her wide blue eyes.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Okay," Taten said finally. "Go kiss her and make up. I'm hungry, and you can't make dinner by yourself. Everyone knows you're useless with a cutting knife."

Everett flashed her an angry glare. "What makes you think I want to kiss her?"

"Because you only fight because you care," the younger girl retorted.

"She has that elf playboy."

Taten sighed. "You've gotta fight for what you want."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

Everett snorted like a horse. "Tate, last I checked, you were the fighter. You sneak around, stealing and pick pocketing and collecting like a rat, and when it comes to a fight, you kick a guy in the groin harder than any girl I know. But I'm not like that."

"Why not?"

"Because…because I'm not."

Taten glanced at the unconscious Shade boy. "What do you suppose will wake him up?" she asked.

"Ahh," Everett grinned. "Now one thing you aren't queen of is a subtle subject change."

"Shut up. I asked a question."

The young man shrugged. "I don't know. But the sooner Sleeping Beauty comes to, the sooner I can find out who he is."

With that, he left the barn.

Taten sat dejectedly on the floor.

"You broke my mirror," she told Súndavar. "I should hate you."

He didn't respond.

She slapped him lightly on the cheek. "Wake up!" she called. "I want to hurt you for breaking my stuff."

Still, he slept on.

After several minutes of hitting, Taten gave up. She collapsed to the ground next to him. He felt warm. She snuggled up to him, until she could feel his heart beating. It sent goose bumps up and down her arms.

"You're very handsome, you know," she told him, knowing he wouldn't respond. "Suppose that girl is your lover. What did you call her? Rune?"

Taten laid there like that, for a moment allowing herself to envision the future she never thought she could have. She had never allowed herself to get attached to people. She'd never had a lover – Tari would kill her if she had – or even a sweetheart, for that matter.

Suddenly, Taten found herself on top of the boy. Her lips met his and stayed there.

He woke up.

For a moment, he gave into her kiss. The moment didn't last long.

"What in—" he cried, pushing her away and sitting up.

Taten turned a brilliant shade of pink.

Súndavar's red eyes burned like fire for a moment, then cooled. He blinked at her. She blinked back.

"So."

"So."

He reached a hand out to her, to help her to her feet. When she stood up, he pulled her up a little too hard. She stumbled into him. This time he turned pink.

"Sorry," they said at the same time. "Curse! One, two, three, four, five! You can't speak until I utter your name!"

Both broke off. They started cracking up at the same time.

"Suppose I should introduce you to Robin," Taten said.

Súndavar shrugged. "Or you could tell me the best place to view a sunset with a pretty girl."

Taten smiled evilly. "I could. But it would cost you."

"What?"

"I want my mirror back."

Súndavar smiled. "Do you have the pieces?"

Taten produced them from her tunic pocket.

Closing his eyes, Súndavar searched for the words.

"Make it whole," he said in the Ancient Language.

The pieces slipped together and blended. The edges rounded, and a thin strip of silver spread over the diameter and the back. Taten stared in wonder.

Súndavar handed her the mirror. To his surprise, he didn't feel any weaker. Such a spell would normally make his muscles ache. But…he felt…stronger. It was almost as if the spell was exercise, and it had strengthened him.

"This," she said, "Is worth ten thousand sunsets."

He smiled. "Look in it."

She did. She glanced back up at him. "It's just my reflection."

"That is worth ten thousand sunsets," Súndavar said.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Everett sat down next to Shay. His feet dangled in the crystal water next to hers.

"I used to swim here naked with Lily," she said. "When I was little."

"I remember."

"What?"

"I…I mean…You must miss her."

Shay raised an eyebrow. "I do."

They let the silence settle over them like a blanket. Everett met Shay's eyes hesitantly.

"You know," he started, a bit awkwardly, "When I saw you, when Robin brought you home in chains, know what I thought?"

"Mmm?"

"I thought, 'Robin brought her. She must be okay'. And then, instantly, I was jealous. Because Robin brought me in the same way."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't…Can I trust you?"

Shay bit her lip. Silently, she kissed his cheek. "I'd like that."

Everett touched his cheek where her lips had been. "I don't know exactly how to tell you this," he said quietly, "All of us, the whole group, made a vow. We don't talk about the past. Or the future. Our motto is 'Tomorrow shan't ever come, yesterday shan't ever return'."

"But you have to think about the past. Don't you?"

"I try not to. We're all orphans, Shay. Robin is the only father we have."

Shay frowned softly. "My mother died giving birth," she said. "And my father died in battle. I suppose I'm an orphan too. I never really thought about it."

"Not like us," Everett whispered. "We're different."

Shay looked at him, and she saw that he was sweating. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him. "Everett, what's wrong?"

He breathed slowly. "It's about time you knew," he said. "Robin wanted to tell you already. But I wouldn't let him."

"Knew what? Tell me what?"

Everett stopped talking. Tears welled in his eyes. Almost as if in a dream, he spoke. His voice was quiet.

"I had a sister," he said. "She would be about fifteen, sixteen now."

Shay didn't speak. Even if she had, Everett wouldn't have heard. He was lost in a memory, drowning in the waters of his sadness.

"We never opposed Galbatorix," he said. "We didn't like it, but we followed the rules. We never did anything to him."

A tear slipped down his cheek. "But it didn't matter. They came for her. They said he wanted her. My parents were out, at the market. I told them that my sister was staying with me."

Shay touched his cheek with her tapered fingers.

"They gave me another chance. They smelled bad, I remember. Like death and hatred. I told them no. Cady was staying with me. They…they hit me. I can't remember what happened after that, so I must have blacked out."

His shoulders shook with the weight of the memory. "We didn't do anything wrong. Nothing wrong…."

Shay frowned with concern. She pressed herself against him. "You're shivering."

"They killed them. When I woke up, Cady was gone. And my parents heads were on stakes outside of our house. I never even said goodbye to them. They were dead."

Shay let her head fall to his shoulder.

"I never cried for them," he said. "Crying made me weak. I…I swore, they would pay. They would pay with their lives, like my family did. Robin found me. I never…I never cried."

Without knowing exactly what she was doing, Shay tilted her head up towards him. She kissed his lips softly.

"Give me your pain," she said.

His tears ran onto her tongue. They were salty and sad. He wrapped his arms around her.

Vanir, something in her whispered.

She pushed the little thought away. She loved Vanir. She loved Vanir more than the world. But Everett was hurting. He needed her.

"Cry," she whispered. "Just cry."

And he did. He cried into her chest, and she kissed his tears softly from his cheeks. When the two finally fell asleep on the beach, the sun had set, leaving only scars of red and purple for the sky to remember the sunset by.

Shay dreamed of Vanir.

They were guilty dreams.