Lonewolf woke up with a dull pain in his back. He opened his eyes, rolled to the side and sat up. A thin blanket fell from him and on the hard mattress. Sigwyn sat on the cot next to his and smiled when his eyes focused on her. Her new clothes were simple and clean and light, the same as his. Even their partial aether-cuffs were the same. He somehow expected to feel cold, but the windowless room was warm. Right, Inggison. After the guards led them here, he made sure Sigwyn was safely on her cot, asked for a healer and passed out from pain and exhaustion.

"Where's everyone?" he asked.

"They moved Ortiz to a guest room and Tatran is being interrogated."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, my injuries were not serious. But you should still rest. The healer fixed the worst of your back and said he'll come to check on you later."

"And what time is it now?"

"Can't tell," she shrugged. After a moment she moved closer to him and held his hand. "So, what now?"

"We wait until the others are done with the diplomacy. And if we still have a choice after that, we get the fuck out of here back to Gelkmaros."

"We should leave now. If we choose the right moment..."

"And leave Darrand and Tatran and Cathy behind?"

"If we just disappear without killing anyone, they'll be fine. They're too important to die. I hate this place."

"Mer..."

"Don't Mer at me, Phair," Sigwyn clenched her fists. "This... let's play nice with the Elyos and maybe they won't kill us thing is nonsense and you know it. That diplomacy will fail and we'll end up in a real prison. Or executed."

"I agree we're in deep shit here. But now every daeva we have counts. I can't leave them here, not when I don't even know what's going on."

"So we wait?"

"For now, yes. I'll do everything I can to get all five of us to Gelkmaros."

"Five of us?"

"We don't have to worry about Ortiz, the Elyos won't harm him. They want Kamar to talk with them again."

"Let me know, when you have a plan," she smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Sure. Let me know, when you..."

A key rattled in the lock and the only door in this room opened. It took Lonewolf a while to recognise the entering person as Tatran, they gave him new clothes, aether-cuff included, bath and a new haircut and after a long time he finally looked like a Wing to the Lady of Wisdom. He walked to his cot and sat down, frowning.

"What happened?" Lonewolf asked.

"Fucking liars," Tatran grunted. "You said, Lady Lumiel was missing. Right?"

"Yeah, no one has heard anything about her since Primum blew up."

"These assholes know what happened to her, but pretend not to."

"You mean she's alive?" Sigwyn asked.

„Don't know. When I told them about the Balaur in Primum, I described how the ruins looked like and that someone either strong enough or far enough from the epicenter could survive. The guards looked like they knew something and Kaisinel sent them away immediately. And refused to answer any question I had about that battle."

"That doesn't have to mean..."

"I'm aware. But they're hiding something that's relevant for us."

"Yeah," the ranger nodded. If Lady Lumiel was still alive, or if her death was confirmed and she left something behind, like Lord Marchutan and Lord Nezekan did, that information would be valuable. "Let's play their game for now and find out."

~ o ~

This time Cathy knew she was dreaming as soon as she saw the ethereal version of Atreia in front of her. The world was flickering in and out of existence and it took her some time to realise what was so different about it. This Atreia was whole. Connected by the Tower of Eternity, with no Abyss dividing its two halves. Bright light burst from the center of the tower. And it froze. No, it wasn't the light, it looked as if time itself had stopped. The world shrank in front of her and became the main ornament on a necklace. Cathy reached for it, but a dragon claw snatched it and everything became engulfed in flames. And among the flames, an army of Balaur marched.

Cathy woke up, sweating and breathing heavily. She was in a bed and everything around her was soft and comfortable. Almost like in Gelkmaros. But the room looked different from hers. The bed frame, the window shape, even the walls themselves were so elegant.

No, I'm in Inggison. Only the last part was a dream.

~ o ~

When Aielyn opened her eyes, at first she thought she became blind. But after a few moments she noticed a thin line of light nearby, possibly under a door. It didn't illuminate anything, but it was there. She crawled toward it, the stones of the floor were smooth, and touched the light. Yes, the slit was real. So was the door. And the secure lock. She searched herself, but found nothing useful for potential unlocking. They even took her belt and shoes! And the floor was cold. She crawled to a corner and curled into herself. The aether-cuffs on her wrists were heavy and she couldn't find any position in which they wouldn't annoy her.

When the door opened, she woke up.

"Get up," the Lepharist, who used to be her uncle, said.

She obeyed, despite being half blind from the sudden light of his lantern.

"What do you want?"

"Ah, little Lyn, why so antagonistic? Aren't you happy to see your uncle?"

"We're not related."

"That has never bothered you before."

"You never tried to kill me before."

"True. But my duty is to defend this place and you were an intruder."

"Then why am I still alive?" her sight was returning and she looked at him.

"You're not a threat anymore," he shrugged and gestured out of the door. "Come with me."

She stared at him for a few long seconds. His face was unreadable to her, except for a light smirk of amusement. She walked out of the room. He followed, placed the lantern on a hook in the wall and nodded at her to continue.

"You know, Lord Israphel was very angry because of what you and your friends did."

"Good, I'm angry too."

"I can see that, little Lyn, but it's not good. I'm sure you understand that."

"What do you want?" she stopped.

"Go on, little Lyn, don't stall," he smiled. But that smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Stop calling me that, I'm not a little girl anymore," she grunted.

"You're not in a position to make demands. Move along or I'll stop being civil."

Shivers ran down along her spine. She hesitantly started walking again.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, Lord Israphel was angry, but I convinced him that you're just young and naive and he's willing to forgive you, if you properly atone for your transgression."

"What does that mean?"

"If you join us and help us with our cause, there will be..."

"No," she clenched her fists and kept staring at the floor in front of her.

"You need to compensate us, little Lyn. You ruined a very important experiment when you and your friends freed your grandfather."

"Grandfather? Who..." Was her name Laila? "How..."

"You remember the device powered by spirits, right? That was quite expensive. And getting a proper replacement for Tatran is not easy."

"But..."

"Anyway, if you join us, there will be no need to keep you as prisoner," he continued as if nothing happened. "There would, of course, need to be a probation period, but..."

"I said no. Are you deaf? I won't join someone who killed my parents!"

"Lord Israphel wasn't even there."

"His minions did it. That's the same."

"Ah, little Lyn, have you ever wondered, why were your parents fighting in the first place?"

All the time. She stopped again and glared at him, as tears slowly crawled into her eyes.

"I asked your dad the same thing, when we were getting ready for the battle. They were Kamar citizens, they didn't have to fight and didn't want to. Do you know what he told me?"

"No, I wasn't there."

"Someone sent threats to both of them, but separately, that if they didn't join their armies, you would get badly hurt. And there was an accident, where you almost got badly hurt, so they took it seriously."

So you're the reason why she died. Everything made sense now. He was right.

"You stopped again," the patronising tone in his voice was so infuriating. She wanted to punch him, or at least scream, but her muscles wouldn't move. "Come on, we're almost there."

He sighed theatrically, grabbed her arm and led her to a nearby door, which he unlocked and pushed her through. Inside the room was a plain table on top of which lay a person, a woman, with several tubes attached to her veins. Whether they were taking her blood or pumping something into the body, Aielyn couldn't tell.

"Go on, take a look," Herlen gestured.

Aielyn slowly walked towards the table. When she saw the face of the woman, she stopped. Even though Mira's wounds were bandaged and she wasn't bleeding anymore, she was pale and her eyes were glassy.

"Mira? Are you... awake?"

"Nghnn?" the sorceress turned her head to her, but couldn't focus.

"What did you do to her?" Aielyn looked at Herlen.

"That's what happens to traitors," he shrugged.

"Why am I not like that too?"

"You're not a traitor, just a trespasser."

"So?"

"Or do you volunteer to end right next to her?"

"No! I..." Aielyn looked around. What could she do? She had no idea what any of these tubes or crystals did, removing or breaking any of them could make it worse for Mira. "Just... please, stop torturing her."

"Can't do, the experiment runs on a precise schedule," he shrugged again. "And speaking of schedule, let's go, we have a few more things to do."

On her way to the door she gave Mira one more glance. The sorceress was motionless with a blank expression. She wanted to say goodbye, but a lump formed in her throat and she had to expend all her willpower to not start shaking. Why am I even here?

~ o ~

Despite the interruption during the night Nesha woke up early. After the breakfast, which she also had to pick up for her wards, since they were scared to leave the room, she headed to the quartermaster. It was still too early and the place was closed, so she walked around the plaza, in hopes to hear more information about the visitors from the night. Two guards eagerly told her that the interrogations started, but sadly no one was being executed yet. The teleportation statue activated and two people stepped out of the portal. One of them was Lorsa, the other a ginger-haired man dressed in practical clothing with a fancy vest, a sword at his hip and several daggers more or less hidden all over his body. They immediately walked to the main building, stopping in front of Nesha.

"You, Nesha, was it? Do you know where Ylrian is?" Lorsa asked.

"Sort of, probably in his room."

"Good, tell him to get here. I have urgent news for him and Lord Kaisinel and I don't want to repeat myself."

"Sure, I'll get him."

Nesha bowed slightly and walked to the officer accommodation wing of the fortress. It took only two people to navigate her to where Ylrian's room was. The door wasn't any different than the others in this hallway, but it was fancier and sturdier than in the rest of the soldier and civilian quarters. She knocked and after a while it opened. But behind it was a bald man with a beard, the quartermaster, holding a blanket around his waist.

"Yes? What's happening?" he yawned.

"Sorry, wrong door. I was looking for Ylrian."

"Nah, the door's right. Hey, Ylrian, you have a visit."

"Who's that?" the gunslinger sounded half asleep.

"Tell him, Lorsa's here and wants to talk with him. Now. She's on the way to Lord Kaisinel's antechamber."

"Well, fuck, I'll be right there," Ylrian groaned.

Nesha turned around and strode away. She had no specific place in mind, so she just strolled around the fortress. Well of course he would find someone to share his bed with. No, stop, he can be with anyone he wants to. That flirting wasn't serious. And besides I told him I'm not interested. She stopped. In her aimless wandering she got to a fancier part of the fortress, a place where she technically wasn't forbidden to be in, but it would still be suspicious. She'd better go back.

"So what is it this time?" Lord Kaisinel's voice sounded from behind the corner.

"I'm sorry, my lord, she's furious and burned another bedsheets," a woman, a servant based on the tone, replied. "She said, and I quote, my lord: 'How is Nezekan here, when he's supposed to be dead? His death made this war a thousand times worse!' Those were her words, my lord. Could she be able to sense Izith?"

"Yes, Izith is a big part of this," the Lord sighed. "I'll deal with her, ignore her further questions regarding this and take care of the bedsheets."

"Yes, my lord."

There were two sets of steps, one going further away from Nesha, the other closer. She instinctively hid into the shadows and held her breath, although with the partial aether-cuff the masking was quite bad, as if there was glass or water in her place. It wouldn't help her, if it was Lord Kaisinel coming this way, but with the servant she had a chance, unless she was directly looked at. For a few heartbeats nothing happened. Then a woman in a servant uniform emerged and hurried through the hallway. Her uniform had a special style of collar that identified her as one of those few who were allowed to serve the Lord directly. Nesha waited until she turned another corner and then followed her, quietly and still pretending to be water. Someone, who was able to sense and recognise the Izith without seeing it, was hiding there?

The servant went straight to the laundry storage to pick up the replacement for the burned bedsheets. She knew what she was doing and in a moment she was back in the hallway carrying her load to whoever did the burning.

"It happened again?" another servant chuckled as she came from the hallway turning.

"She freaked out again," the first one confirmed. "What's wrong with her, she should be grateful that Lord Kaisinel is letting her stay here."

"I know, right? What's the deal with all those Asmodians? Why are they not in prison?"

Does it mean this mysterious person is also Asmodian?

"Right? The fortress is already full and there are still people coming and he says to treat these Asmodians as guests? He must have a plan. He can't be turning his back on us, right?"

"But what plan could he have with a girl who doesn't even speak? I'm begging her to take a bath but she keeps ignoring me."

So Cathy is here! Maybe I should check on her, I can find the other one later.

"Maybe she's special? A daughter of someone important? Who knows with them?"

Nesha, still behind the corner, stepped out of the shadows. She gave herself a few seconds and walked towards the two women.

"Special? Maybe especially dumb, if you ask me."

"At least my... hey, you what are you doing here?" the servant shouted at Nesha.

"Hi, I heard some special people are here, I wanted to take a look," the assassin smiled. Why make something up? Surely there were more curious people.

"This is a VIP area, get lost before I call the guards. How did you even get through them?"

"They let me in."

"Wait, I remember you. The traitor brought you in, when you were injured!" the one complaining about Cathy said. "I was taking care of you when you were out."

"Oh, thank you."

"Do you know these Asmodians?"

"I've met some of them, yes."

"Can you make this girl take a bath and eat? Or at least say something?"

"She never talked with me, but I can try."

"Fine, come with me," the servant turned around and quickly walked towards Cathy's room. Nesha followed, leaving the other one to just roll her eyes and continue with her bedsheets journey.

The curtains in the room were drawn, but even with them there was enough light to see it was way more fancy than Nesha's room back in her home in Oriel. There was a table with two plush armchairs, a wooden screen with a painting of Inggison scenery and a large bed with fluffy pillows and blankets. Cathy was sitting among them, hugging her knees and curled up as if she could get lost in them.

"Cathy?" Nesha said carefully. "Are you alright?"

The girl looked at her with an anxious expression and nodded.

"That's good. Come here, so we can have breakfast," Nesha took a plate from the table and sat at the edge of the bed. "This is beshu berry, it's a bit sour, but still tasty and very substantial," she ate one and paused for a moment. This one was really good. "These slices are from nenana, that's a very sweet fruit and you can eat it like this or cook it with meat. It goes well with crestlich. And these are lunime, not as sweet as nenana, but much more refreshing. And if you don't want fruit, there's still the cippo bread. So? Do you want to try it?"

Cathy hesitantly reached to the bowl and picked a slice of nenana. As she tasted it, her face changed from anxiety to surprise. She tried the other fruits and the bread and soon the whole breakfast was gone.

"I always knew the Asmodians were wild, but I thought they at least knew how to eat at a table," the servant said. Cathy froze for a moment, bowed her head and slouched in shame.

"Oh, come on, can't you see she's scared?" Nesha objected.

"Scared little animal. Well I don't have all day, Lord Kaisinel wants to speak with her before noon and she can't go to him dressed like that. Was she rolling in mud or something? So get her to bath, there are clean clothes for her," she pointed at the wooden screen. "The water may be cold by now, but I heard they don't mind."

"A bit of politeness wouldn't kill you."

"Politeness? Why? She's our enemy."

"No, she's not. But keep treating her like this and she'll grow into one," Nesha sighed. "Come on, Cathy, there's a bath for you."

The girl quickly shook her head.

"What's wrong with the bath?"

This time she didn't react.

"Right, yes or no. So, is something wrong with the bath?"

Cathy shook her head.

"Not the bath, then. Is it the clothes?"

A hesitant nod.

Nesha got up and went behind the screen. There was a pile of a bit outdated but functional and comfortable pants and tunic, dark purple and blue with tiny embroideries of eyes with butterfly wings at the hems. Nesha looked back at Cathy, who seemed to be at the verge of panic. She brought the tunic to Cathy.

"Alright, what's wrong?"

Cathy pointed at the embroidery and then shook her fingers in front of her face. Of course.

"I suppose you don't have any Asmodian fashion here?" Nesha turned to the servant.

"Asmodian fashion?" she snorted. "Why would we have that? This is one of our best stuff. Is it not enough?"

"It's pretty, but it's too Elyos. And, well, it's complicated, but she can't wear this. Can you bring her a simple bathrobe and wash her clothes and dry it?"

"Aion above! So we give her this room and food and we take care of her like a little lady and she can't be grateful enough to wear the clothes we give her? Fine, whatever. Just get to the bath. I'll be right back," the servant rolled her eyes and left the room.

"I guess I should go too, I still have some duties," Nesha put the tunic on the bed. "If you need, I'll check on you later."

Cathy caught her right arm and Nesha had to grit her teeth to ignore the sharp pain that exploded in her.

"Lyn!" the girl whispered, as if she were forcing herself to speak. "Still there... please, help!"

~ o ~

After they left the room with Mira, Herlen led Aielyn through other hallways, even to another floor, and kept quiet, except occasionally nudging her to move. Her feet were freezing, but she didn't dare to complain. She couldn't talk. She was scared. And even knowing that didn't help her to deal with the fear growing inside. Her parents did die because of her, after all. And Carmir. Chroma as well. And Mira... if she didn't go to the fortress...

"We're here," Herlen opened a door and pushed Aielyn through.

"Finally, took you long enough," a lean woman with her grey hair kept in a tight bun said and stood up from the floor.

"E-Eibie?" Aielyn blurted. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," she pointed at her attire with a flowing gesture. The lepharist uniform. "And the name's Darillia. You're Aielyn, right?"

She nodded.

"So you're one of us now?"

"What? No!"

"Herlen?" Darillia frowned.

"Still working on it. Did you get what I asked?"

"Yes," she gestured at the wooden screen with paintings of colourful fish. "Still I don't get why you're making such an effort for one... so ordinary girl."

"She's my niece. I only want the best for her," he flashed a smile. "Come on, Lyn, take a look at..."

"I'm not going to join you. I don't care how you want to bribe or threaten me."

"Sure," he gripped her arm and dragged her behind the screen. There was an empty bath tub with a pump and next to it a stool with a neatly folded lepharist uniform. With shoes. And... Aielyn's breath stopped in her throat. On the top of the pile, a flower-shaped, colourful hairpin was glinting in the light of the lamp.

"Mom's..." she reached for the hairpin. As she wrapped her fingers around it, she couldn't hold back her tears. "Is it real? How..."

"I had your stuff brought here," Herlen snatched the hairpin from her grasp. "So? What will it be, little Lyn?"

"What..." No, he can't! „...do you mean?"

"You're smart, little Lyn, I'm sure you figured it out," he kept smiling. She wanted to punch him. Several times. Until that freaky smile disappeared!

"Say it anyway."

"If you insist. Out of the goodness of my heart I will give you back your mother's hairpin, if you join us and prove to me that you're not going to betray us."

So, never. She stopped herself from saying it aloud and glared at him instead. Did he really think she would fall for this? Or did he have other plans? Of course, he was a high-ranked Lepharist, he had to have plans within plans. But if she agreed, she could try to help Mira. It might be even easier to escape! Did he count with that possibility? Probably. If she failed, she'd be punished as a traitor. She shivered at that thought.

"So? What's your answer? I don't have all day for you."

"Fine, I'll join you. But return it now. And give me back my clothes."

"No, little Lyn. This isn't a negotiation. You'll get this, when I see fit. Darillia? You have a job..."

"At least let me wear my own clothes, please!"

"No. The uniform is more than enough. You'll have to earn anything special. Now, I have to go, Darillia will guide you here and give you all the information you'll need. She's in charge and you listen. Understood?"

"Fine. Yes. I understand."

"Good girl. And welcome," he flashed a smile, waved with the hairpin and walked out of the room.

"Alright," Darillia tapped the bathtub. "Bath and proper clothing first, then I'll give you a tour of your new duties. Don't be difficult."

The bath was cold, even colder than it used to be in the Shelter, but Aielyn endured it without complaining. Darillia unlocked her aether-cuffs and checked her injuries, she only had minor bruises and cuts. As she was dressing up, the lepharist clothes felt wrong. The fabric was decent and it fit her well enough, but something was off.

"What's this?" she held a round piece of mesh with a ribbon around it.

"That's a hair net. When it dries, you should bind your hair up," Darillia pointed at her own hair. "Unless you want it to get tangled into someone's experiment."

"Experiment? What kind of..."

"Anything, really. If you can slap an aether crystal on it or into it, someone will try to test what it does."

"What... What experiment is being done on Mira?"

"That's classified."

"Oh. Alright. Uhm, I can't wear these shoes, they're too small," Aielyn tried to take a few steps, but it didn't help.

"We have these or some several sizes larger. We can send a request for supplies, but that won't be a priority."

"Or you can give me my boots. You can paint them black, if you want, nobody is going to look down."

Darillia frowned and looked Aielyn up and down.

"Hmph, you were the only person nice to me in Gelkmaros, so I guess you earned something," the Lepharist sighed. "Follow me and don't make me regret it. I'm only doing this because you won't be any help without proper shoes."

Darillia navigated the building with ease, Aielyn hobbled behind her, trying to remember the path, but the discomfort of her feet made it difficult to concentrate. They crossed the outside to another building, clearly a warehouse. There was a large room filled with shelves with boxes, bags and things just lying around.

"Here, this is the section with confiscated stuff," the Lepharist pointed at a shelf. "Start searching."

Aielyn opened the first box, on the top was Mira's dress and shoes. Her cube and aether-enhancing jewel were missing. She combed through the contents until she found her vest. One of the few things that were with her until she woke up here. She ran her fingers over it and felt a round shape in one of the pockets. I'm out of red! She cast a quick glance at Darillia, who was looking through another box, pulled the vest out and hugged it.

"Hey, I allowed you boots. Put it back or we're leaving now."

"Sorry, it... it's my favourite..." she gave the vest one last look and returned it. The boots were easy to find and she immediately put them on. "Yes, this is much better."

After Darillia locked the warehouse door, she turned to Aielyn with a stern expression.

"Now show me your pockets."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't trust you. If you're not too dumb to take something you shouldn't, you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, well, fine."

The only things Aielyn had in the pockets of her new clothes were a handkerchief and the hair net. When Darillia was content with the inspection, she led her to the kitchen to start her first day helping there. But with the threat to have her pockets searched anytime, Aielyn could only hope that the red bead she dropped into her cleavage holds there until she finds a safe place for it.

Red explodes, what else?

~ o ~

Cathy carefully adjusted her plain light-green bathrobe and sat into the plushy armchair. Instinct kept telling her to pull her knees closer to her body, but she ignored it. She knew how to sit properly, she wasn't a wild animal waiting to be tamed. The Asmodians were civilised people, she had to represent that. But the waiting was unbearable. She became restless just a few minutes after the servant left with her clothes. She stood up and paced back and forth. She looked outside. The world behind the curtains was bright, but she was already used to it. Everything in the fortress was elegant, the roofs, the buildings, the stairs, even the windstream looked like it belonged there. And everywhere were people. Elyos. From this point of view they didn't even look threatening. They looked... normal.

"Enjoying the view, Lady Cathy?" Lord Kaisinel said. She turned around in surprise. When did he get here? "You were very quiet yesterday, which is understandable, so I'd like to discuss a few things with you."

She opened her mouth to respond, but still couldn't form any words. She bowed her head in shame and hugged herself.

"Shall we sit?" the Lord gestured towards the two armchairs.

She nodded, walked over and sat. Properly.

"I received some information about your escape from Morheim. You had trouble talking. But during the recent events in the Lepharist facility, you were capable of speaking just fine. I would appreciate, if you communicated with me."

She wanted to apologise, but the words weren't coming.

"Do you know why this keeps happening?"

She shook her head.

"I heard about people who also have this condition, it seems random, but research suggests it is related to trust or sense of danger. I understand you don't feel safe here, even though this is one of the safest places you could be in right now."

She looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

"I could force you to speak or I could look directly into your mind, I highly doubt you were trained to resist such actions."

Yes, he was right, she already heard about his terrifying powers. She looked aside and tried to force herself to speak. It worked earlier with Nesha, why couldn't it work now?

"Fortunately for you I won't do that. Unfortunately I don't have time until you feel comfortable," he stood up and walked to the door. "Could you please follow me? I believe someone you could find less threatening would also like to talk with you."

She hesitantly got up and followed him to the hallway. Their destination, a door with two guards, wasn't far. The Lord of Illusions entered and invited her in. The woman in a plain, warm-yellow dress sat on a bed, legs crossed and fists clenched. As they walked in, she opened her golden eyes and brushed her long, dark purple hair from her face. There were claws on her fingers.

"Hello, Lumiel, I brought you a guest. This is Lady Cathy, the one who inherited Marchutan's power."

Lady Lumiel?

"Oh," the Lady of Wisdom looked at her. "So he really is dead."

~ o ~

Lonewolf was pacing back and forth in their cell, when the guards came in and took all three of them into a council room of sorts. Everyone important was already there, along with one or two people he would call unimportant. Lord Kaisinel, whom he already had the pleasure to talk with during the interrogation, was at the head of the table with Outremus and Darrand beside him. There was also a group of Elyos, Ylrian, Lorsa and one ginger-haired guy sitting behind them on the windowsill. Nesha sat apart from them and she had her right arm bound to her body with a leather harness. She also had a partial aether-cuff on her left wrist, but Ylrian didn't. The guards nudged him and his companions to prepared chairs and left the room.

"We have everyone, so let's..." Outremus started.

"Wait," Tatran said. "Why is Lady Cathy not here?"

"She is still recovering," Lord Kaisinel replied.

"She wasn't injured," Darrand said. "Where is she?"

"Her mental state is not good enough for this meeting. She's in care of someone, who can help her with that. You have my word she is safe. You can reunite after this meeting."

"Fine."

"Well," Outremus coughed. "We have several things to discuss and due to increased tensions among the people here, we should come into agreement as soon as possible. First on the list is the offer of Lord Darrand's help in exchange for letting all of you return to Gelkmaros."

"Have you figured out how many Balaur should I kill for you?" Darrand grunted.

"When the barrier was placed over Gelkmaros, the Balaur concentrated their efforts here and took over the Soteria sanctuary. Your task will be to retake it and clear their supply line all the way to Hanarkand. You can take any of your companions here along with you, with the exception of Lady Cathy, who will join you, along with the civilians, you after you finish the task."

"That is unacceptable. I won't leave her in this place alone."

"As I already stated," Kaisinel said, "she is safe here. Safer than in a battle with Balaur."

"You mentioned civilians. What does that mean?" Tatran frowned.

"We have six Asmodian humans in our custody. They will be leaving with you. Ylrian will also join you on your way to Gelkmaros with a letter to Lady Triniel."

Lonewolf eyed the gunslinger, who looked like a wuf suddenly splashed with a bucket of water. Clearly, the Elyos felt as uncomfortable as he did. Good.

"What kind of letter?" Darrand asked.

"A diplomatic one," Kaisinel said. "I intend to do no harm to your little community in Gelkmaros."

"Yeah, no harm after you already almost wiped us out!"

"This result is unfortunate, but we couldn't let your attack at the Rancora fortress unaswered," Outremus clenched his fists and clearly forced himself to remain calm. "We are doing you favour with our offers."

"Are you fucking serious!" Darrand punched the table and got up. "That attack wasn't us and if you still believe that braxshit, you're even dumber than..."

"That's enough," Kaisinel's calm voice, enhanced with aether, resonated through the room. "Once we secure Inggison, I will dispatch a trusted group to investigate the ruins of Rancora. I am aware that Israphel's forces already cleared what they could, but what they didn't clear is also important. Now, unless Lady Siel's power is somewhere in the form of a relic, we cannot even think of changing the past, so I would like to ask you all to focus on the present and the future," he made a placable gesture.

"For now," Darrand grunted and sat down.

"What is the next topic, Outremus?"

"Apologies, my lord. Ehm. After you finish the task, we will give you enough supplies for the travel to Gelkmaros and let you leave. However, Darrand will be transported to Beluslan instead."

"Why?" Lonewolf asked.

"I'm going to destroy that lab."

"That's insane," Tatran objected. "You will die."

"If so, it's Aion's will. But they won't expect me back this early. I will do damage they won't be able to repair and give you time to fortify Gelkmaros."

"Lyn's still there. If you go on a rampage..." Lonewolf said aloud the thing that gnawed at his thoughts in the last few hours.

"If she's not dead already, one person is an acceptable loss," Tatran's eyes flashed red. "We daevas have been created to protect our people. We have duty to take Lady Cathy and any civilians to safety."

"Lyn's one of us too."

"As you said yourself, she's an Elyos from Kamar," the spiritmaster's voice was eerily monotone. "She's not one of us."

"I'll go with him," Nesha spoke. "I can scout ahead, see if she's there and get her out before he destroys everything."

"Why? What is your business with all this?" Sigwyn asked.

"The Lady of Fate asked me for help."

Someone knocked on the door. There were no guards or servants in the room, so Outremus got up to answer it. After a brief whispered exchange, he invited a short but muscular woman with close-cropped brown hair and wearing leather armor that was covered with dust and torn at a few places.

"My lord, I bring the urgent report you requested," she glanced over the people in the room. "Update on Silentera and Gelkmaros."

"Give us a summary," Kaisinel said.

"Yes, my lord. The Balaur have increased their activity in the Silentera canyon. They use it not only as a staging ground but they are also looking for something that appears to be stolen by a group of rogue Balaur."

"Are they preparing the staging ground to attack Inggison?"

"No, my lord, everything suggests that their primary target right now is Gelkmaros."

"How imminent is the invasion of Gelkmaros and how many are there?" Darrand asked.

The scout looked at Kaisinel who nodded.

"Maybe several days. There were around a hundred of them that weren't occupied by the searching and their communication suggests more will be coming directly from Tiamaranta."

"What kind of Balaur is that?" Tatran asked. "Tiamat's? Beritra's?"

"Tiamat's only."

"Thank you, centurion, prepare a detailed report and give it to generals Versetti, Yulia and Outremus. You may leave."

"Yes, my lord," she bowed slightly and left.

Heaviness fell on Lonewolf and seeing from their expressions, on the others too. Balaur invading Gelkmaros? Now?

"Change of plans," Darrand broke the silence. "Beluslan has to wait. We have to depart immediately and defend our people in Gelkmaros. We'll clear your sanctuary on the way. Lady Cathy and the civilians are coming with us."

"That is not..." Outremus's protest was silenced by Kaisinel's gesture.

"Do you give us your word that you'll do your task before going to Gelkmaros?"

"Yes."

"In that case I would suggest to wait for the detailed report. In the meantime..."

They heard another knock on the door and Cathy walked in. She was dressed in a simple bathrobe, but otherwise she looked alright.

"I..." she said quietly. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I really..." she took a deep breath. "Lady Lumiel wants to talk with Mister Tatran and Mister Darrand... sorry, Lord Darrand."

~ o ~

As soon as the meeting was dismissed, Nesha went directly to Evitina, her current superior. The officer at first doubted her claim of getting a mission, but she verified it with Outremus and removed Nesha's aether-cuff. The assassin got her cube back and went to the quartermaster to pick up standard-issue armor, weapons and supplies, including one teleportation scroll back here. The Asmodians were getting their supplies out of sight outside of the fortress. They were quite a big group already, although only barely a half of them could fight. Cathy, now in her own clothes, still looked anxious, while trying her best to hide it. Ylrian noticed her watching them, stopped his conversation with the civilians and strode to her.

"Nesh, please, don't do that."

"Why not? It's just a recon mission. No getting into fights."

"Because Beluslan is dangerous and you're injured."

"Yeah, that makes me the least risky person to go. I'm not good for fighting right now, recon is the only thing I can do."

"No, Nesh, that means you will die or get captured. Needlessly."

"Maybe no one needs me here," she shrugged.

"I do."

That response took her by surprise, she didn't know what to say.

"Come with us to Gelkmaros. Lady Yustiel is there, she might be able to help you."

"We don't even know if she made it out of that lab."

"Oh, she did. Lonewolf confirmed it. Everyone made it out of that lab."

"I don't even know if she can help me. I would only lose time... I was in Miragent, that still means something."

"But you're injured now!"

"Yes, I know!" she took a deep breath. She didn't want to yell at him. Especially when he was right, it was dangerous. But she felt she had to go. "Look, I know it's dangerous. And I know my skills are limited now. But I'm going anyway. I'll be careful."

For a split second Ylrian looked like he'll fall apart in the next moment, but he composed himself and hugged her. She put her healthy arm around his back. He cared and that felt nice. He shifted and gently kissed her on the lips.

"Wait," she pushed him away. "What are you doing? Don't you have a boyfriend already?"

"No?" he seemed confused for a moment, then it hit him. "Oh, you mean Garret? No, we're not together. I'm not cheating on anyone, I promise."

Nesha couldn't help but chuckle. The last sentence almost sounded like the Ylrian she met back in the swamp.

"You've been acting weird since we got here."

"Yeah, I guess I am. Sorry about that. Just, please, come back safely."

"Don't worry, Yl, I'll go with her," the ginger-haired man, who was acting like Lorsa's shadow the whole day, strolled towards them.

"What?" they both said in unison.

"Don't act so surprised, I'm a Wing to the Lord of Freedom. People held in a lab against their will and being experimented on? Nah, that doesn't really vibe with me."

"I... I appreciate that, Aiden," Ylrian smiled faintly.

"Good, your group is ready to go, so you should join them. Lor will help you with Soteria and then will go back, so be nice to her."

"Right. Yeah. Please, be careful. Both of you," Ylrian waved and walked away.

"So, you're Nesha, right? I'm Aiden."

"Yes, I'm Nesha. Nice to meet you, Aiden," she shook his offered hand. "So, why do you want to go with me?"

"I told you. I was serious. Plus, seeing Yl freaking out is just painful."

"Ah, alright."

"I need to pick some stuff at home and you could use better equipment too, so we're going through Sanctum. I got it that you're a traitor or something? How much is it known?"

"No idea. The last time I was in Sanctum, I was kicked out of Miragent."

"That sucks. Hm, yes, if anyone asks, Vai... ehm, Lord Vaizel gave you a chance of redemption, so we're going to meet him."

"That sounds creepy."

"Exactly. No one will ask questions about that. And if they will, direct them to me. You have no problem with lying, right?"

"I'm not exactly great at it, but not terrible either."

"Good. Let's go."