Young Writers Society

Tula was losing her patience. Normally, when she had superiors, she had incredible patience and accepted that she would sometimes be in the dark with information. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't mind being in the dark, though.

But now? Now she was working for no one but herself. Well, herself and Deidra.

And she had to wait.

After everything that happened, Tula had to wait with almost no information. It was driving her insane.

Tula was confined to the small cabin in the woods, of course. Deidra was supplying her with information and details, but she could tell that Deidra was getting tired of the continuous updates. It didn't help with Deidra kept zoning out into the sky, self-reflecting. She didn't seem to mind keeping Tula up-to-date, but at some point, there was nothing else to update.

Never mind that Deidra wasn't paying attention to the loads of people living behind her. What Tula would give to have her stare at James so she could see what he was up to...

Well, she wasn't going to ask her to do that, though.

So Tula asked Deidra if there was anything she could do to help. There had to be something she could do besides pace around uselessly, staring at the same stars Deidra was looking at. It wasn't like Robin was going to let her see anything, anyways.

"Come on, Deidra. I know you're going to sleep soon, but there's gotta be something you can tell me. If not, is there something I can do? Can't you ask Bo? He seems to have all the answers."

And all the power, apparently. Tula didn't forget seeing him fight.

Deidra was staring up at a boring, blank ceiling. There were stalactites, so she was probably in a cave.

"Tula, I'm exhausted," Deidra said tiredly. "Everyone made it out alive. I can tell you more tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now."

And so did Tula. But she was right back on it early the next morning, immediately sending her a message.

"Morning, my dear friend. Please, don't make me beg," Tula said tiredly, knowing Deidra would know what she was talking about.

"We're already on our way," Deidra told her when Tula peered through her sight. She could see Deidra was riding a horse, and Bo was riding one beside her. Robin was running further ahead. "Just wait one more hour."

Deidra turned to look at Bo more directly, and the man turned to look at Deidra with a smirk.

"It's funny how it kind of feels like you're here, even though you're not," Bo said. "But if you're really that bored, why don't you try spying on the people you met from the kingdom? That is, if you knew them long enough to do so, since you escaped pretty quickly. You could even spy on some of the suns while you're at it if that doesn't work out."

An hour.

Oh, Tula could do so much in an hour.

She grinned, pacing around the tiny floorplan of the cottage, going through the list of people in her head.

Rita. Her stooges. Hell, if she really wanted to mess with the others, she could even spy on Alexander, Butch, and Pitch.

Fortunately, Tula was not that petty.

She despised Rita and no longer wanted anything to do with her. Yet, Tula wasn't compelled to spy on her life. She'd rather not rekindle any more grievances, leaving it be.

But the kingdom... she was never loyal to the kingdom. She could never be loyal to anyone who wanted her kind dead.

And Tula did meet someone from the kingdom. She didn't have time to fully note all her features, but she remembered her face. She was the tall, slender knight with light skin and sleek dark hair, braided and draped over her shoulder. There was a small scar on her cheek, likely from a fight. Her expression was icy as she waved her hand towards Tula, which signaled the lumshade dart that James took for her.

She only hoped that this knight could remember Tula's face.

Fiercely sitting on the bed, Tula entered a deep focus as she spied on her again, and again, and again.

The woman was talking with a man - another soldier. This man was a little shorter than her, and he had short, dark, curly hair and a full beard. They were walking speedily down a narrow hallway.

"What's his status?" the woman asked.

"Fonzi's foot was inside out when they brought him in," the man said. "They're doing reconstructive surgery. I don't know if he'll ever walk again."

The woman sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes for a moment but never slackening their pace.

"Ingrid," the man whispered. "It was a--"

"I know it was a healing mage," Ingrid hissed under her breath. "Damnit, Kirk, I know. I've just never seen someone-- not even--"

"He's never gone that far," Kirk said under his breath, his eyes flicking down the hallway like he was checking that it was clear.

"Not that we know," Ingrid said. "But I'm sure he's capable. We have to cover our own asses on this. I'm not willing to die for this--"

Their conversation was cut abruptly short the moment someone else entered the hallway, and they proceeded to walk in hasty silence.

Tula had no clue who they were talking about. At least she knew their names now, but she was still missing so many pieces of the puzzle. She was missing far too much information to even begin making assumptions.

The only thing she could do was keep listening.

"--can't go in with you," Ingrid said, looking down at Kirk at someone else, now. A shorter woman with voluminous frizzy red hair, deeply scowling with furrowed brows.

"He'll know," Ingrid said. "I'll distract him. Kirk, you were there when it happened."

"You saw him--?" Hellen asked.

"Yes," Kirk said.

Tula noted all three of them were in a secluded area. She could barely make out more of where they were at aside from it being a dark corner.

"What is it?" Hellen asked, looking up at Ingrid.

Ingrid had glanced rapidly over her shoulder.

"It's-- let's just be quick," she said.

"There was a man who'd come to rescue James," Kirk went on, still in hushed tones. "Tall, blonde man. He was a healing mage, but he was using his magic to harm instead of heal."

"Defensively," Hellen said.

"But it was like he was transferring his injuries," Kirk said. "Only when he did, the injures he transferred were ten times worse."

Hellen, who seemed like she normally wore a permanent scowl, grimaced at that.

"And then--" Hellen began.

"The commander retaliated," Kirk said lowly. "I think if the man wasn't a healing mage, he would've died."

"I thought he said he'd never use his magic--" Hellen said.

"Clearly, he was lying," Ingrid snapped. "We're done talking about this. You know what to do."

"What about you?" Kirk asked. "You're going to see him alone? You don't think he suspects--"

"He'd never suspect it from us," Ingrid said cooly. "That's why its our responsibility to prevent him from destroying himself. To prevent him from becoming a monster. If he's willing to use his magic for this... I don't want to follow him. Do you?"

Hellen and Kirk were quiet for a moment before they looked at each other and solemnly nodded in unison.

"Then it's decided," Ingrid said.

Ingrid turned. A pause.

"What about Nessa?" Hellen asked.

"What about Nessa?" Ingrid asked, looking over her shoulder with even more edge in her voice.

"She'd never support this. Even if she knew," Hellen said quietly.

"That's why she won't," Ingrid said.

And with that, they parted ways.

Tula kept watching Ingrid, but she continually walked down the hallways, obviously paranoid and becoming more on edge. It was fun to see her becoming more and more paranoid, feeling like someone was watching her - but Tula knew that she if kept it up, it would become unproductive.

They were about to reveal something. She had to tune back later.

So Tula kept pacing, wondering if she had all the pieces of the puzzle yet. They mentioned a tall, blonde man who was there to rescue James. Tula figured it could be the bumbling idiot man, but he wasn't a healing mage. Or... was he?

She was kept in the dark about this too. She hardly even knew him. Gods, she couldn't even spy on him since the idiot couldn't remember her face even though she shot him.

It seemed more likely that they were referencing someone within this secret mage group. Tula didn't know until she asked Bo and Deidra.

Hellen, Kirk, and Ingrid were obviously harboring a secret. They were keeping someone named Nessa out of it. At first glance, this seemed to be some drama between friends, but Tula knew it had to be more than that since it involved the resuce mission.

And Tula wasn't ready to make an assumption yet on what this secret could be or who they were about to tell.

After some more time had passed, Tula resumed her spying on Ingrid.

Ingrid was looking down at a man on a what looked like a hospital bed. The man had bushy brown hair and a goatee, but Tula mostly noticed that he looked like he was under some form of anesthesia, since he seemed to be out cold. His upper half looked normal, and he was clothed in a simple, sterile white gown.

Then Ingrid's eyes drifted to the man's legs.

Or rather, what was left of them.

It looked like they'd been amputated up to the knees. Both of them.

This must be the Fonzi that Tula heard about in the first conversation. From the context of the conversation, Tula thought only his feet were broken, so seeing him like this was a surprise.

"You couldn't save anything?" she asked, her voice barely present in the room.

A voice across from her on the other side of the bed, presumably a doctor, responded.

"Even the king's healers couldn't repair it," a feminine voice responded. "There was too much damage, and not enough time. He'd already lost so much blood."

Ingrid nodded faintly. Even though Tula wasn't there and couldn't see her face, she could feel Ingrid's rage. It was palpable.

Ingrid stared at the bandages wrapped thickly around the remains of Fonzi's legs.

"You said not even the healers could fix it?" Ingrid asked harshly.

"It... it would've cost them their lives, General," the doctor hesitated.

The silence that followed was boiling with tension.

"Thank you, Doctor," Ingrid said cooly. And then it was back to more walking.

Tula's pace quickened, and she found herself enjoying this way more than she should have. Something about Ingrid not knowing she was spying, and something about Tula knowing that she was watching relationships crumble before her very eyes...

Gods, she lived for this.

The unanswered question still gnawed on her: who did this?

Even Tula was afraid to know.

She waited some more, pacing and thinking before resuming spying on Ingrid, hoping she wasn't endlessly walking around again.

Ingrid whipped around as someone grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop from her ceaseless marching around the palace. Ingrid stared down at a woman with dark skin, and thick black hair pulled back into a bun. She looked up at Ingrid fiercely, eyes swimming with anger and offense.

"What are you doing?" the woman asked in a harsh whisper.

"Nessa, it's already done," Ingrid said cooly. "You need to stay out of this."

"You can't do this to him after everything he's done for us," Nessa said. "Just because some foreign healer is capable of doing that doesn't mean--"

"You don't understand what this is really about, do you, Nessa?" Ingrid asked, her words cutting, cold as ice. Nessa stared back up at her with a piercing glare.

"This isn't just about his magic," Ingrid said. "This is about us. Everything's about to go up in flames and if we don't find a scapegoat the whole army's going to be looking at each of us under a microscope."

"And you think turning in the King's Hand will get them to look away?" Nessa asked. "That's only going to make it worse! If mages could get that high in the ranks, they'll look everywhere else! We're screwed either way! We should be fighting this together, not--"

"But it is also about his magic," Ingrid cut in. "You and I both know Carter isn't as perfect as he seems. You most of all should know the darkness he hides beneath the placating smile he wears. You're closest to him. You know he's just as bad as Blackfield and you're just too afraid to admit it because you feel like you owe him something. But you don't owe him anything, Nessa. Carter doesn't own you."

Nessa stared up at Ingrid, left speechless as she finally let go of Ingrid's arm.

"I suggest you do what the rest of us are doing," Ingrid said. "Hurry up and cover your ass and find a way out of this hellhole before you end up like the rest of our kind: dead, naked, hanging in the public square. Or would you prefer to be burned at a stake? Drowned in the river?"

Ingrid was staring at Nessa, who only seemed to grow more and more distressed at Ingrid's words.

"The only one who owns you Nessa--" Ingrid said harshly. "Is you. If you want to be safe, then right now you need to focus on saving yourself. Let. Carter. Burn."

The conversation ended, leaving Tula standing still, grinning.

Now she had most of the pieces. Now she could start making assumptions.

Did she know everything? No. But she did know this: this was not going to be good for Carter.

Tula had to contain her laughter from the pure irony of it. She wished she had met him so that she could watch his demise from his own eyes.

She had to take a moment to decompress from the thrill of it, but eventually she sat down, thinking.

This was a fued between friends that started when a healing mage used his magic to inflict harm, transferring his wounds to Fonzi, who in turn lost his legs. It seemed that Ingrid, Hellen, and Kirk grew nervous over this idea that a healing mage could inflict this type of irreversible damage, and so they formulated an idea to use Carter as a scapegoat.

Why Carter?

Well, Tula couldn't be sure of it, but from the conversation alone...

Carter was a mage, wasn't he? He seemed to be hiding it, keeping it a secret from others. And based on their wording choice, it seemed that he had similar magic to the healing mage that inflicted damage.

Hence why they were now afraid of Carter and using him as a scapegoat.

Not only that, but it seemed that they were all mages, based upon Ingrid's choice of words. "Our kind" implied that they all had a shared trait. A shared trait as Carter.

A mage.

Gods, it was disgusting that they were all mages yet continued to execute mages. Such hypocrites. She only wished they would all fall with Carter as well.

Tula had so much to update. She could hardly contain herself, impatiently pacing again as she continually spied on Ingrid, but only got paranoid walks again.

It didn't matter. She still had so much to tell Deidra, Bo, and Robin.

More time passed, until finally, Tula heard shuffling outside.

There was a knock, and then the door opened.

Deidra entered first.

Normally, Deidra wasn't a very outwardly expressive person. But Tula could see the weariness in her eyes lift as she looked at Tula, visibly brightening.

"Hey, Tula," Deidra said, stepping in to let the men behind her follow.

Well, Robin was in his wolf form. He slipped in behind Deidra, and then the man Tula had only seen through Deidra's eyes finally stepped in in person. Bo.

"Deidra," Tula said brightly, but then stared down at Robin with annoyance. "Robin," she said dully.

"Tula," Robin said just as dully.

Tula then shifted her gaze over at Bo, tilting her head curiously. "You must be Bo."

"In the flesh," Bo said with a grin.

He was just as tall and wide as she saw through Deidra's eyes. The tattoos were a giveaway. She hadn't scene the full tattoos since she had only seen him wearing sleeves, but she could see the bright red and blue lines peeking out at the edges of his sleeves.

Most notable, however, was his one eye. She remembered how it glowed blue as sparks of electricity spiraled out of his hands, sparking the air.

He was someone not to be trifled with.

Tula wasn't going to waste time, although she did want to milk this.

"I have news," she said calmly, observing for their reactions. "I've been spying on one of the kingdom's knights."

"See anything interesting?" Bo asked.

"You might want to sit down for this," Tula said with a smirk, motioning them in.

Bo and Deidra looked at each other, sharing a look before Bo shrugged, and the both of them sat on the edge of the nearest cot. Robin just sat... as a wolf.

Tula nodded, standing up straight as she flicked her eyes between Bo and Deidra, ignoring Robin and mostly keeping her attention on Bo.

"Are you familiar with any of these names?" she asked. "Ingrid, Hellen, Kirk, Fonzi, and Nessa."

Deidra merely looked at Tula blankly. That was expected. But Tula saw Bo's expression turn more serious very quickly.

"Those are the soldiers in Commander Haddon's inner circle," Bo said.

Tula nodded. "I've been spying on Ingrid," she said, pausing for a moment as she studied Bo. "I have a question for you. Was there a tall, blond man in your rescue mission? And does he have healing magic?"

Still serious, Bo wore a very netural expression. Tula wondered if it was practiced since he didn't seem further unfazed despite the very specific question.

"Yes. Elias," Bo said.

Wow. Of course it was. Tula couldn't hide the dismay that she didn't even accept this as fact. It felt too ridiculous.

But it made sense, considering the little background she did know about him.

Tula sighed, deciding to get straight to the point.

"It appears that your little friend had too much fun using his magic," Tula said. "I heard them talking about feet being broken inside-out. In another conversation, I saw Fonzi laying down, legs amputated from the knee down. That seemed to cause quite a stir in the kingdom. Our friends here have been plotting something that will greatly interest you."

"Go on," Bo said.

Tula watched for Bo's reaction.

"Carter is a mage," she said. "And so are the people I mentioned."

Bo stared at Tula blankly for a moment, and then he very slowly closed his one eye, letting out the longest possible sigh. He bowed his head and brought a hand up to hold the bridge of his nose as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

Robin pinned his ears down, growling.

"That's not all," Tula continued. "Carter seems to have similar magic to Elias, which started to spook them. Now, they are using him as a scapegoat. They are all turning against Carter."

Deidra looked between Bo and Robin, then back at Tula, her eyebrows up in surprise.

"Turning against him?" Deidra asked. "Like..."

"'Let. Him. Burn,'" Tula quoted dramatically. "That was what Ingrid said."

"How long ago was this?" Bo asked, unmoving as he still covered half his face with his hand.

"Not long. Minutes before you walked in," she said.

"Can you spy on her again?" Bo asked, finally looking up. "It sounds like this is about to happen soon."

A devilish smile tugged on her lips as she nodded, sitting down on the opposite cot.

"Gladly," she said, getting right to it.

It was chaos.

It was just like James to make friends who'd leave a mess behind them just like he did when he left the first time. Now Carter had to deal with The Blue Suns - who were apparently accusing the kingdom of killing Rita, their kingpin. For years the Blue Suns had been causing the kingdom trouble behind the curtain, and now that their mighty leader had fallen, the suns were scrambling not only for revenge but for control of their criminal empire.

If James's friends had anything to do with Rita's death - which was what Carter suspected, as she'd been the one who'd turned James in - he would've thanked them. What was inconvenient about it was that it split his focus between two crises.

On one hand, Carter was having to pull strings and make bribes with his criminal contacts so he could get someone to take Rita's place that would be under the kingdom's influence. On the other hand, he now had a group of powerful mages who'd managed to successfully infiltrate the palace and escape with their lives. And the latter was far more concerning.

It was a massive security breach, and as the King's Hand it meant that ultimately, all the blame was pinned on him. That was the downside to power with responsibility. If something went wrong, it was his fault.

But more than that - now he was faced with the mess of having to cover up the existence of mages in his ranks. He was almost positive that the soldiers down there were all ones within his trusted circle, but there was an ever-present nagging doubt that there was someone who'd seen something they weren't supposed to.

And if it came to light that he'd been knowingly recruiting and sheltering mages within the ranks, he knew that Blackfield would be quick to brush it under the rug to avoid a public scandal.

But Carter? Fire would be put under his feet. They'd start digging. He'd have to trust his soldiers to keep their mouths shut.

Everything felt like it was seconds from bursting into flames.

Carter found himself standing on the other side of the king's door, having just finishing briefing the king on everything that had trespassed in the past few hours.

It was early in the morning, and Carter hadn't slept since James's escape. Nonstop, he'd been running around putting out fires.

The situation with Arimala was a mess. She didn't give James lumshade as instructed because she wanted to feed off of his pain - which was the only reason he was able to use his magic. Arimala was becoming too unstable, and though she never fessed up to it, he knew she tried to use James as a bargaining chip to get out as well. Tragically, she was useless if she wasn't trustworthy or controllable, and seeing as she was starting to really lose her mind, he decided to have mercy on her.

He had her executed. Of course, he did that quickly. Her existence was as much a secret as her death would be.

That was another concern of its own. Not only was he trying to plug up information leaks in his own forces, but James himself was now leaving the kingdom with the knowledge that mages were in the army.

In one day, everything he'd worked so hard to build was being threatened by one man's impossible escape. It was going to take months to spring back from this, and Carter knew he'd have to push plans forward sooner than later.

His window of opportunity was closing. He needed to act before things got out of control.

Carter marched back to his study, hastening down the halls. He ignored the murmurs of those who passed him as he walked with a single-minded focus, to put pen to paper and come up with an explanation for the public to cover up this disaster and spin it into propaganda against mages (Blackfield's wish) and the Blue Suns (Carter's wish). It was a compromise.

They had to figure out what they were going to tell the public. They'd notice the collapse of the abandoned mines, the chaos of the chase, and they'd want answers for the Blue Suns' retaliation. Parents of fallen and mutilated soldiers would want more than pat answers - especially the father of the solider whose foot had been ripped from the inside-out.

And that was another concern.

There was another healing mage out there willing to use their magic for death outside of the kingdom's control. But he'd yet to see something quite like that - where a mage healed themselves through a magnified transference of wounds.

A mage like that wasn't just a danger to the kingdom. They were a danger to the world.

Carter turned into his study, frustrated and overwhelmed with the knowledge that the next few hours, days, and weeks would be crucuial for the future of the kingdom. More than that - they were crucial for his future.

He found himself heaving himself into his chair at his desk with a deep sigh. He leaned forward onto the desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting the exasperation linger for a moment more before he pushed it aside to put his job first.

Always, always, he put his job first. Always, always, he put the kingdom first, knowing it would never prove his loyalty if they knew what he was.

A knock on his door. Carter's head snapped up to attention, but before he could open his mouth to tell whoever it was to go away, they came in anyway.

He straightened up.

Ingrid.

Ingrid pushed two double-doors open, marching into what looked like a study. Tula immediately recognized Carter crouching over his desk. The sketches she saw of him in papers matched his face, although his hair was longer here, and neater in the paper. His curly mustache was not exaggerated, though.

Carter looked up the moment Ingrid stepped in.

"They know," Ingrid said, marching up to the desk with fast steps.

Carter's eyes went wide, and his brows jumped up for a split second before they pinched down and rage burned in his gaze.

"No," he said.

"You weren't careful," Ingrid said, practically seething. "They did the math. The only reason that mage's magic didn't work on you was because you were able to push back. Right? That's what happened when the death mage tried to hurt you?"

"There was no evidence--" Carter started.

"I'm not here to argue!" Ingrid hissed, leaning over the desk. "I'm here to warn you. We're all in hot water, here. Sgt. Aimes has already gone to report to Blackfield. He saw the whole thing. We don't have long."

Carter stared at her, frozen for a split second before his eyebrow twitched, and he pushed himself out of his chair to his feet.

"Get the others," he said. "We have to go."

Ingrid whipped around and marched out of the room, leaving Carter behind her.

Tula dropped her concentration, her smile widening from the sheer drama of it. She flicked her eyes between Bo and Deidra, waiting for one of them to ask.

"What did you see?" Deidra asked first.

"Oh, just Carter being outed," Tula said casually. "And Ingrid lying to him, saying that his magic is exposed because Elias's magic didn't work on him." She paused, adding, "That's a lie, by the way. That's not the reason he's outed."

"Ingrid and the others turned him in," Bo said lowly, leaning forward on his knees again as he stared down at the floor, his hands held together between his knees.

"Yes," Tula said. "Seems that James is not the only traitor in the kingdom."

"Traitor isn't the word I'd use for him," Bo said lowly. "But yes."

Tula wasn't going to argue that in front of Bo, so she reeled the conversation back to the topic at hand here.

"This changes things, doesn't it?" Tula said with a tilt of her head and a smile.

Bo sighed deeply once more.

"Yes," he said. "I need time to think."

"I don't," Robin cut in. "Carter's dangerous. I say we kill him."

"Robin--" Bo groaned.

"What? I'm right," Robin said. "That man's about to snap and drag the whole world down with him the moment he find out his trusted friends betrayed him. I bet you he tried to kill Elias just to take out the competition."

Robin turned to look at Tula.

"Right? I'm not wrong," Robin said.

Tula shrugged innocently. "I don't know what happened down there. Don't you? You were literally there."

"I was getting out of the palace while that was happening," Robin growled.

Tula rolled her eyes. "So you saw nothing," she deduced.

"I didn't get there until after Elias's feet were broken," Deidra spoke up. "But Carter was on top of Elias... choking him."

"See?" Robin said.

Tula flicked her eyes between them. "Well? Is Elias dead?"

"No," Deidra said. "I think... Carter did try though. I saw... something. I don't really know if I was just imagining it. But it was almost like... smoke. Coming from his hands."

"Hell no," Robin spat. "That's-- Bo, he's too far along if he's--"

"What does that mean?" Tula cut in. "What's smoke got to do with this?"

Bo was holding his head in both of his hands.

"Give me a minute," he said, his voice terse, like he was losing his patience.

Tula shut her mouth. She didn't want to see what he looked like when he was annoyed. She noticed that the others also stayed quiet too.

There was a long pause. Tula noticed Robin's tail started to impatiently tap the floor in faint thumps. Deidra was twiddling her thumbs.

Finally, Bo spoke up.

"Tula," Bo said. "Can you keep up with the developments as this unfolds? If Carter is caught successfully, the kingdom will deal with him personally. But if he escapes... then he'll be our responsibility. I need to know which way this turns."

"Of course," Tula said with a nod. "I can keep you updated."

Tula really wanted to know Bo's inner thoughts, but it seemed that he wanted more information before saying anything.

So if it was information he wanted, it was information she'd give him.

Ingrid was in a stable, waiting. It looked like she had several horses at the ready. Hellen was with her. Kirk was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Nessa.

"He said he's coming," Ingrid said through her teeth to Hellen.

"We don't have much time," Hellen whispered. "Blackfield's expecting this to be--"

Ingrid hushed her. Hellen fell silent as Carter walked into the stables wearing plain clothes, no longer looking like the shiny knights she'd seen around the palace. The moment he saw Ingrid and Hellen, though, something on his face told Tula he already knew something was wrong.

Tula heard something whizz past Ingrid.

A dart pierced Carter's shoulder, and suddenly Carter's eyes went wide, and his brows knit together, enraged.

Not even a second after the dart made contact, Carter ripped it out of his shoulder and he ran forward, tackling Hellen.

Tula noticed smoke... coming off of his hands.

Hellen let out a scream. Ingrid seemed frozen in shock for a moment as the life instantly seeped out of Hellen's face as Carter landed on top of her.

Ingrid pulled out her sword, but more darts started shooting out from somewhere in the stable. Carter ducked and when he got up Tula saw a purple ooze had leaked out of his shoulder where the dart's puncture wound was.

Carter and Ingrid locked eyes. Carter's pupils were so large his eyes looked pure black.

Ingrid raised her sword.

More darts hit Carter. One in his arm. One in his chest. Tula heard someone scream out of view. It sounded like a man.

Ingrid didn't get to land her hit.

Carter grabbed her arm as it came down, and Tula watched as Ingrid's hand rapidly decayed before her very eyes. The darts that hit Carter seemed to fall out, like they were actively being pushed out of his skin, and so did the lumshade.

Ingrid let out a blood-curdling scream. Then everything went black.

Tula opened her eyes to process everything that happened, not eyeing Bo right away even though she knew he was staring at her.

Did she just witness Ingrid... dying?

Dammit. She was the only eyes she had. How else was Tula supposed to spy now?

She sighed, preparing to deliver the news.

"Yeah," she said casually, hiding the mild entertainment that she was getting from this drama. "Carter escaped. His backstabbing friends are dead now."

The room was dead silent for a moment. Then Bo stood up.

"Get up," he announced to the others. "We're leaving."

Robin sprung to his feet, following as Bo marched to the door.

"Wait. It's worth noting too: Carter is resistant to lumshade," Tula said as she trailed behind.

"Of course he is," Bo said lowly. "But I don't plan on using lumshade."

Well, Tula wasn't going to question not. Not after she witnessed Bo fighting.

"So we're killing him?" Robin asked, perking up.

"Robin, do you think you can sniff him out?" Bo asked instead.

Robin hesitated, but nodded.

"Do you think you could bring him back if necessary?" Bo asked.

Robin hesitated longer at that.

"I... could try," he said quietly.

At this point, Bo and Robin were already several yards outside the cabin. Bo was walking at a steady pace, and Deidra had no problem keeping up with her long legs. Robin was practically jogging, as a wolf. Tula had to practically run to keep up, still feeling a bit out of loop despite her feeding him all the information she knew.

"Wait! So... so we're tracking him down? Then what?" she said while keeping up.

"We're going to find him," Bo said. "And I am going to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone again. And if we can, we are going to transport him to a secure location. He's dangerous, but he's valuable. He knows more about the kingdom than we do, and if I can, I want to utilize that."

He paused, looking back at Tula.

"But if he hurts any of you, he's useless," he said.

And Tula could feel the weight of his words. He meant it.

It was strange to be working for the other side now. But at the same time, Tula didn't fight it - especially because bringing Carter down would bring her great satisfaction.

She nodded, keeping up a steady pace as Robin led the way.

"Let me know if there's anything I could do to help," she said as they hastened their pace.

"I'll tell you on the way."

The race was on to find Carter. Bo and Robin led the way as Deidra and Tula stayed behind. Fortunately for them, Bo knew Robin had sniffed enough around the palace that he could pin down anyone in it if he tried. He was the best tracker Bo knew. He could find someone in a city full of people in under an hour. And out in the forest? Even faster.

They walked in silence with careful footsteps, sneaking through the trees as they trekked back into the territory outside of King's Peak. But they didn't get far before Robin jolted to a stop, and the hairs on his back raised up.

"...He's out already," Robin said lowly.

Bo could sense it too. There was a dark energy in the air that he'd only ever felt when mages used their powers to hurt and to harm. It was pungent, and heavy. It hung in the air like a thick tar, creeping into his lungs.

It smelled like death.

"You three will stay back here," Bo said severely, stretching out his arm.

"But--" Robin started.

"I will deal with him myself," Bo said sternly.

He was not going to let Carter hurt them.

Bo looked to meet Tula's eyes.

"You will not, under any circumstances, interrupt my sight," he said.

Tula seemed to understand the severity of the situation, nodding. "I understand."

"Robin," Bo said. "If I don't return in 30 minutes, you will lead Deidra and Tula on your own."

Robin twitched at that, and Bo understood that he didn't like the order. Bo didn't either. But Bo and Robin knew full well that Robin was no match for a mage as far gone as Carter, and if Carter was in any way hostile, Robin wouldn't stand a chance. Neither would Tula or Deidra. Deidra was immune to outward physical attacks, but this wasn't something that pierced through the skin. This was something that reached into your soul and pulled out your very life itself.

Robin nodded.

"Be careful," Robin said stiffly.

"Stay safe," Bo said to Robin.

And at that, he parted ways, following the smell of death on his own.

It only grew stronger as he neared the city. Bo had to stay quiet as he avoided scouts hiding out, but he'd become accustomed to their tells, and it was easy to avoid them. It seemed that Carter knew their tells as well, because he could sense his direction drawing closer. They were already on a path for collision. It seemed that Bo wouldn't even have to find Carter.

Carter would find him.

When the presence of Carter's magic started to become almost suffocating, Bo stopped, knowing Carter had to be close. He stopped underneath a large tree and leaned against it, facing the direction the energy was coming from.

Carter was on the run. He wasn't going to be looking for attention, but he was also going to do everything he could to get away and avoid trouble.

Bo stood with his arms folded. Waiting.

Then he saw a figure coming down the hill.

Bo knew what Carter looked like. He'd seen him in person from afar. He'd seen posters, illustrations, depictions of the King's Hand in new postings and in kingdom propaganda. Usually, Carter was always dressed up in the illustrations - always depicted in full shining armor, looking regal and strong.

But Carter was a man of small stature, and despite undeniably being built like a lifelong soldier, he was a good foot or more shorter than Bo.

There wasn't much about him that looked outwardly impressive. But Bo knew better than to judge him just on his outward appearance.

Carter was dressed in plain clothes - black, beige, and browns - blending in with his surroundings. It was strange to see him so relatively normal when Bo knew not just his former position in the kingdom, but exactly what he was.

Carter was about a dozen yards away when his eyes snapped up to see Bo.

Bo didn't move. He simply observed him to see his reaction.

Carter didn't seem to know what to do at first. He stared, but Bo felt no pulls or shifts in the air around them to indicate Carter was going to try anything with his magic.

At least, not yet.

"Come a little closer," Bo said, projecting his voice just enough to reach him. "So I don't have to yell."

Carter didn't move. His eyes flicked around him, like he was looking for others.

"It's just us," Bo said, smirking. "I don't make good bait for an ambush."

Carter hesitated. Bo watched as he deliberated over his options, and Bo could sense Carter thinking about reaching for his magic. It was like someone was knocking on a door, with their hand on the doorknob, ready to open it.

"We don't have all day," Bo said. "The kingdom will be looking for you, no?"

Carter finally - slowly - began to approach Bo. Bo didn't move. He could sense Carter was looking for any excuse to try and kill him.

"Who are you?" Carter asked lowly, his gaze piercing as he stared Bo down.

"An ally," Bo said. "If you'll let me."

"You were in the palace," Carter said, his words bladed.

"Was," Bo said, watching as Carter drew closer. Closer.

"Why are you here?" Carter asked through grit teeth. His upper lip twitched, and now that Carter was only about four yards away, Bo could see that his pupils were so large they swallowed up the iris.

"I have an offer," Bo said simply.

Carter stopped about three yards away, fists balled at his sides.

"Your life has now irrecoverably changed," Bo said. "Your options are few. You can run for the rest of your life and kill off anyone who comes close to you, destroying yourself in the process, or you could come with me in exchange for safety."

"At what cost?" Carter hissed.

"Information," Bo said.

Carter wasn't dumb. He knew what Bo was talking about. The valuable information Carter had to offer was about the Kingdom.

"And when I've told you everything?" Carter asked.

"Freedom with conditions," Bo said.

"What conditions?" Carter sneered.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Bo said. "But I can promise you it will directly correlate to your behavior."

"So you want me to trade my freedom for a prison in exchange for security?" Carter asked, a faint laugh bubbling at the back of his throat.

"If you want to take your chances with the mage hunters," Bo said. "You're welcome to."

There was a tense silence that followed as Carter stared at him, glowering. Bo could feel the tension building in the air like a winding spring.

"You're not going to give me a choice either way," Carter said lowly. "Are you?"

"It would be irresponsible of me to trust you to make good decisions," Bo said. "Seeing as you haven't made any that I'm aware of."

Carter balled his fists even tighter, and Bo could practically see the waves of rage seeping out of him.

"Fuck you," Carter spat.

And that was when Bo felt Carter rip into the life all around him.

The grass at Carter's feet died in an instant, turning black. Smoke rose from the ground as the path of dead grass rapidly ran to Bo's feet. But Bo was no longer standing by the tree.

He flew at Carter, his true form flashing for but a moment - barely perceptible - and he grabbed Carter's head in his hand, slamming it into the ground.

Dirt flew as a small crater was created when Carter's head was pummeled into the earth.

For a moment, Carter's pull on the world around him felt like it was severed. Bo couldn't sense it at all for a second, and he wondered if he'd overdone it and killed Carter instantly. But then he felt a small pull reach out to him.

Electricity charged through his arms and Bo let go of Carter's head to grip his shoulders.

He lifted Carter up and threw him back into the ground again, his weight going down with him along with the crackling electricity in the air. He pumped the electricity through Carter's system, and he could feel the electricity interfering with Carter's magic - as well as everything else.

Carter's heart stopped, and Bo let go for a moment, letting Carter's body drop to the ground before he forcefully placed his hand on Carter's chest and shocked him again.

Carter's heart started beating again, and when Carter came to, his eyes were wide and wild, and each breath was quivering.

Bo kneeled over him, looking into his eyes with no smile. No emotion.

"You are a danger to society," Bo said cooly. "And if you refuse to come with me, I will not hesitate to end your life right here in this patch of dead grass, alone, where no one will see, and no one will know. No one will find your body. No one will mourn your absence, because you killed all of your friends who cared about you, and the ones who remain have seen you as you truly are. If you'd like to have a second chance at life, this is the only one you're going to get. So if you have any amount of self-respect left, I suggest you take it. You've started down a path that will not only destroy you, but everyone you come in contact with. And I will not allow that to happen."

Carter stared up at Bo. All of the rage and offense had dissapeared from his eyes, and all Bo saw was fear.

Good. Carter needed to feel fear. He'd been controlling everyone else with fear his whole life. This was his wake up call.

Carter didn't respond right away. Bo watched as the wheels spun in Carter's mind until finally Carter nodded, ever so slightly, a resignation showing as he averted his eyes.

"Good," Bo said. "I am going to take you somewhere far away from here. I am taking some friends with me. You will not touch them. You will not hurt them. You will not so much as look at them the wrong way or your journey will be cut short."

Carter nodded again. It appeared that Bo had rendered him speechless.

That was fine. Bo didn't want to hear villainous monologuing anyway.

Bo grabbed the front of Carter's shirt and ripped him to his feet.

"Follow me," Bo said.

Carter swayed on his feet.

Hm. Concussion must've been worse than he thought.

Carter took a step, but it became clear very quickly that Carter was going to slow Bo down. And he didn't feel like wasting any more time on this man.

"Nevermind," Bo said, and he leaned down, reached his arms around Carter, and hoisted him over his shoulder, holding him with one arm.

Bo was not normally the type to make fun of people for their size, but there was something about the way Carter squirmed and kicked his legs (for only a moment) that made him seem laughably small.

It was a quiet walk back to the others.

Carter didn't speak, and he didn't fight it as Bo simply carried him through the woods, winding around until he saw Tula and Deidra in the distance. Robin popped out into view a second later, clearly trying to get view of Bo.

Bo could see Robin's tail wagging. That made him smile.

When he was within reasonable speaking distance, he spoke first.

"Got him," he said anti-climactically.

"He's not dead," Robin said, sounding disappointed.

Bo set Carter down on his feet. He didn't know if Carter had ever been in a position where he'd been so powerless. He looked... so awkward.

"Gods. I'm feeling second-hand humiliation," Tula said, also sounding disappointed as she stared at Carter.

Carter's mouth twitched in contempt, but he said nothing, and stared at the ground.

"Careful," Bo said. "You don't want to burn holes in the grass with your eyes."

"What's the matter? Big boy lost his voice to defend himself?" Tula teased.

"Hey, there's no need to belittle the man," Bo said. But he, admittedly, had to use all of his self control not to laugh when he said 'belittle.'

"Please," Tula said with a click of her tongue. "May I have this moment to share that he looks disappointingly small?"

Robin side-eyed Tula at that comment.

"You're no exception," Tula said harshly to Robin.

"Hey," Bo said. "Making fun of Robin's height is off limits."

At that, Tula crossed her arms, observing Bo.

"But you can make fun of my one-eyed-ness all you want," Bo said with a smirk.

And if he could wink, he would've winked. But, you know.

One eye.

"You were not gone very long," Tula said, still watching him suspiciously.

"I am very persuasive," Bo said with a shrug and a grin.

"I see. After all, you've managed to pursuade the King's Hand and silence him even when I humiliate him," Tula continued to comment.

"I can talk," Carter growled.

"Oh, it speaks," Tula said boredly, giving him an annoyed look.

"Anyways," Bo said. "Introductions. Carter, my name is Bo. Robin, Carter. Tula. Deidra."

He pointed at each one.

"It's always nice to know what company you're keeping," Bo said. "Especially when they're new."

"And especially when we've seen each other's faces," Tula said with a devilish smile, eyes on Carter.

Carter glared at Tula.

"You must be overjoyed to not have undergone the same treatment James recieved," Carter said cooly.

"Oh, are you talking about the torturing?" Tula said dimissively. "You're talking to one of his torturers."

"I know," Carter said, his eyes narrowing.

"And I can't wait to see through your eyes. I'll always be watching you, you fucking traitor," Tula said, her smirk widening.

Gods. This was entertaining to a point. And he'd reached his limit.

"Well, now that introduction are out the way," Bo cut in. "We really should get going."

He gestured for everyone to begin following him.

"You think you can keep up?" Bo asked Carter, pointing beside him.

Carter avoided eye contact with the others as he clenched his jaw and stomped up to walk at Bo's side.

Bo was aware Carter was going to have to take three steps for his one. Bo was going to be merciful and walk slower than normal.

"Don't worry, if his short legs slow us down, I'm sure Deidra can carry him like the child he is," Tula taunted.

"Only if he has trouble staying upright," Bo said vaguely.

They walked in silence, but Bo could tell that Tula was doing the mental math. She was making vague comments, trying to figure out how Bo had managed to convince Carter to join. Her observations were unrelenting and she mostly stared at the back of his head.

"A bit wobbly there, aren't you?" she cooed to Carter.

Carter didn't dignify that with a response.

"Headache preventing you from talking?" she continued to press.

"We won't be walking for long," Bo said. "Just a little further."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carter snapped. Though he sounded more confused than anything.

"You have a head injury, you idiot," Tula said blandly.

"I know," Carter said.

But from the sound of it, it sounded like maybe he didn't, actually.

"It's a shame you couldn't use your magic to stop him," Tula said, obviously trying to press his buttons.

Again, Carter was silent.

Though Bo could sense Carter was thinking about it.

"Do you really want to do that again?" Bo asked lowly.

Carter's mouth twitched, and he looked down at his feet.

"My, my. Little boy is so scared of the big man," Tula taunted again.

"Tula, I know you're having fun," Bo said. "But don't taunt the man who could very easily kill you. It's not wise."

"Perhaps. But I admit I am dying to know how you managed to pull this off," Tula finally said more directly this time. "Words are not enough. Neither is a little electrical shock."

Bo sighed.

They had walked for about an hour, now, and he could feel the time crunch wrapping around him.

Tula and Carter were a handful, but they would be taken care of if he got them to the guild. Elias needed him - even if he didn't want him. And so did Elise.

"Oh," Bo said, a smile growing on his face that didn't quite meet his eye. "Dying to know, are we?"

As he looked over his shoulder, he could see Robin's eyes go wide.

"No," Robin barked. "No, Bo. Please don't--"

Bo's smile turned into a wide smirk as he started to laugh. And with a flash of bright light (at least, for the others) he shifted into his dragon form.

His body wrapped around the four of them, and he brought his head down to look at them straight-on.

Carter let out a very loud explative, looked like he'd jumped out of his skin, and fell back onto the ground. Deidra was frozen, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Wh-- wh--" was all Tula managed to get out as she stared at him with wide eyes, also falling backwards on the ground.

As for Robin, he just looked... miffed. He rolled his eyes.

"What, you have fun when you shift into a wolf for the first time," Bo said to Robin. "And I can't in my dragon form?"

"You know it's different," Robin said flatly. "You're terrifying."

"Thank you," Bo said. "It's a good thing we're friends, then."

"Right," Robin said. "If we're doing it this way let's get it over with. You know I hate flying."

Bo grinned, and he lowered his head so he was close to eye level, at least with Deidra. Well, as close as he could get, anyway.

"Tula," Bo said. "Are you going to be okay?"

At that, Tula immediately stood up stiffly, although was still visibly shaken. "F... flying?" she said thinly with a high-pitched voice.

"I will hold you," Bo said. "You'll be safe. It's just faster this way."

Tula just stared at him in response.

"Deidra," Bo said. "You with us?"

Deidra stared at him for a moment, and finally broke from her frozen shock.

"Y-yes," she stuttered.

"Sorry for shocking you," Bo said. "I know it's disorienting."

"Oh so you apologize to her," Robin said.

"I extend my apology to all of you," Bo said magnanimously, lifting his head so he could touch his claw to his chest in a very human-like gesture.

He let his eyes fall on Carter.

"This makes sense of some things, doesn't it?" Bo asked, the friendly air in his voice fading.

Carter was still on the ground, staring up at Bo, wide-eyed.

"...Yes," Carter said breathlessly. "Yes it does."

"Now," Bo said. "I'm going to pick you all up. It's going to be scary, but I won't drop you, and I'll fly gently. Your hair will probably get messed up, but besides that, the only thing you have to worry about is looking down. If you're afraid of heights? Don't."

He paused, and then reached out to Tula first, offering his hand.

Well, dragon hand.

"Gods. I need a drink after this," Tula grumbled as she stared at his hand, bracing herself.

"That can be arranged," Bo said, wrapping the pads of his paw around her so she was only surrounded by the soft skin. He couldn't do much about the roughness of his scales, but it was what it was.

Robin stepped up reluctantly, shifting into his human form as he did so.

People were easier to hold onto than wolves. They were a little longer and fit into his hands better.

He picked Robin up in his other front claw, and then turned his body, scooping Carter up in one of his hind feet and Deidra in his other.

With a powerful flap of his wings, he took off.

Shooting up into the sky, he focused on traveling upward first, wanting to avoid being seen if in any way possible.

They zoomed through the air, and within seconds, broke through the clouds.

He felt just about everyone in his grip go limp except for Robin.

And unfortunately it felt like Carter peed in his hand.

Gross.

Bo did not want to compare the feeling to holding a frog who was so scared they peed in your hand. But that's really what it felt like.

"Blech," he said audibly to himself, since no one else was really around to listen.

"Why is this necessary?" Robin shouted over the sound of air rushing past them. His voice was almost carried away.

Bo turned his head upside-down to look at Robin as he continued to fly north.

"They need me back with the others," Bo answered.

"But is it worth the risk?" Robin shouted back.

Bo huffed through his nose and lifted his head, looking out into the sky.

He was flying high enough and fast enough that he didn't think anyone would spot him. He was intentionally flying over the less populated areas as well.

But that didn't get rid of the risk of someone spotting him and noting the direction he was flying, and that wasn't even accounting for the fact that it would be the first time anyone had seen a dragon in decades.

The problem was, Bo couldn't think of any other options.

He knew Elias was dangerously close to a breaking point, and frankly, he didn't want to leave Elias alone.

Carter was put in his place, but Carter still needed lots of accountability to be kept in his place.

Elias... he didn't need to be put in his place. He needed help.

Bo didn't respond to Robin's question as he sped northward. What would take them months and weeks of travel on foot only took Bo an hour when he was flying at his fastest, and by the time he hit ground, it wasn't even noon. They still had a whole day ahead of them.

Gingerly, he put Robin down first, letting him leap out of his hand, shifting into his wolven form to be reunited with the earth. Gently, Bo ended up setting Tula, Deidra, and Carter on the ground near each other, as they all were still very out of it.

Then he shifted to his human form.

Looking down at them, he went to Deidra first. He bent down and gently shook her shoulder.

"Deidra," he said quietly.

That was enough to shake her from it. She blearily opened her eyes, and Bo helped her sit up.

"Mmmm..." Tula groaned from the sound of her friend's name. She rolled her head, but didn't wake up.

"Ah. Tula," Bo said. "The flight is over. You made it."

He reached over to her and poked her shoulder gently.

"It's time to get up now."

Tula opened her eyes, staring at Bo with a dead look as she slowly, so slowly, moved to sit up.

"Gods," Robin said in disgust. He'd gone up to Carter, who was still very unconscious. "He pissed himself."

"Yeah, I know," Bo said flatly. "I was holding him."

Robin pulled the edges of his lips back and scrunched his nose.

Bo turned his attention back to Tula.

"Do you guys need anything?" Bo asked. "Water?"

"Land," Tula said flatly as she began to stand up.

"Well, you're on it," Bo said.

"Thanks," she grumbled sarcastically.

Bo stood up, and Deidra got up beside Tula, rubbing her face like she was trying to wake herself up from a dream.

Bo looked down at Carter.

"Mickey should be able to sense us from here," Bo said to Robin.

"He's not going to be happy," Robin said.

And though he didn't say why - likely because of Tula and Deidra - Bo knew what he meant. Mickey was not going to be happy that Bo flew here.

"Then it's good he really, really loves me," Bo said. "So he'll forgive me this time."

"If he chastizes you I'm not getting involved," Robin said, turning up his nose.

"So kind of you," Bo said dryly, and he looked down at his left foot.

It was still a little wet. He didn't like that those things transfered between forms. He frowned.

Now his foot smelled like pee.

"You should really ask if people have to go to the bathroom before you pick them up," Robin said.

Bo gave Robin a flat look. He sighed.

"Deidra. Tula," Bo said, looking back to them.

He noticed Tula was tying back her frizzy hair into a bun. Both Deidra and Tula's hair had been wind-blown, but Deidra's had been pulled back in a sleek, tight braid, so it was less worse off than Tula's, which was spilling out everywhere.

Well, now it wasn't. Now that it was in a messy bun. He guessed it looked a little intentional.

"Sorry about the terrifying ride, but that saved us weeks in time," Bo said.

"Oh, no. Now I don't get to spend weeks travelling with my favorite boys," Tula said sarcastically, seemingly bouncing back from the flying already.

"I know," Bo said, matching her sarcasm. "You're really missing out. But don't get too disappointed. Robin will be your point person for the next two months until I get back to you."

Tula snickered, but when she saw Bo was being serious, her gaze turned to a piercing glare.

"Two months?" she spat.

"During which, you will be going to mandatory therapy sessions," Bo said. "When I return in two months we will talk and evaluate how it's going and whether we mutually feel its beneficial for you to continue. But for two months, yes, you will have to endure this. It is only two months of your life, not years. You will survive."

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Tula said, clearly not following.

"Therapy?" Bo asked. "Do you know what that is?"

"Where the fuck are we going to find a therapist?" she spat out again.

"Oh," Bo said with a laugh. "Right. Right."

"And I don't need therapy," Tula said with a snarl.

"In therapy you'll learn self awareness," Bo said. "But as for where we'll find a therapist - that would be in the city we're going to very shortly."

Tula seemed to still not fully understand. "What the hell is happening?" she said under her breath, looking to the others for validation.

"I'm not sure what you expected," Robin said flatly. "But this is a lot more merciful than I think anyone else will be. So I'd take it."

"Therapy..." Deidra echoed quietly.

"Yes. Therapy," Bo echoed. "I know this has all been very abrupt and confusing for you, Tula. But it'll be for the best."

He was about to move them, but Carter interrupted them with a loud groan. He rolled over to his side.

"Ah. He lives," Bo said quietly.

Carter pushed himself up on his hands and knees.

"Gods..." he muttered.

Which was ironic considering that saying came from people regarding dragons as gods.

"Anyway," Bo said quickly. "We'll be going to a city. It's closeby. I'm sure you'll like it. It's a lot nicer than living on the road in the forest."

If Tula had any more protests, she didn't voice them. But Bo could tell she was holding back, considering her arms were crossed and she clenched her jaw, giving him the fiercest glare.

Bo knew that Tula was going to fight this tooth and nail, but he was going to reinforce this as much as he could on the front end.

He reached out and firmly rested his hand on Tula's shoulder.

"I will be expecting to hear how it's been going in two months," he said, meeting her eyes. "I promise that it won't be forever. But I believe it will greatly improve your overall well-being and your relationships. Even if you don't believe me now, I hope one day you'll be able to look back and appreciate it."

Tula groaned loudly, squinting her eyes so much they were nearly closed.

"It's really not that bad," Deidra said quietly beside her. "It really could be worse."

"Thanks, Deidra," Tula snapped.

Deidra raised her hands in surrender and stepped back.

"You'll still have a lot of freedom," Bo said, pulling away. "One hour of your day won't kill you."

Carter, who had taken a very long time to recover enough to get to his feet, finally stood up beside them.

It looked like he was on the verge of throwing up.

"Please aim away from me," Robin said, inching away.

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Carter snapped.

"You think I need therapy?" Tula scoffed at Bo, pointing at Carter accusingly. "What about him?"

"Oh," Bo said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "He has something else coming for him."

Tula went silent. Carter stared at Bo with an expression that told Bo he might've pissed his pants again if he had any left in his system.

Deidra averted her eyes, and it was at that moment that Bo relaxed his expression, smiling.

He felt a rumble in the earth.

Robin was umoved, but the others turned to look behind them, like they were searching for the source of the sudden tremors in the earth.

To anyone else, it felt like a minor earthquake. But to Bo, it felt like coming home.

With no announcement, a small hole opened up from the ground just ahead of them, and Mickey rose out of the ground, the earth lifting him beneath his feet.

Mickey looked just like he last saw him. That was the lot of dragons.

His long, grey hair was pulled back in a singular braid, highlighting his high cheekbones and his freckled, tawny skin. His eyes passed over the others with a quick, assessing glance, and his eyes caught on Carter in particular.

His eyes narrowed for a moment, and then his eyes shifted to meet Bo's.

Without a word being said, Bo could hear all of the questions Mickey had waiting for him.

But he couldn't talk freely with everyone here.

Bo could sense Mickey's worry, but also his frustration. Not so much with Carter's existence (because he was the one who smelled of death) but with Bo, for very obviously having used his dragon form for faster travel.

There was no other way he'd get here that fast. They both knew that.

But Mickey's expression softened, and he gestured for Bo to come with a small wave of his hand. Bo closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around Mickey, who had always been considerably shorter than him.

For some reason he was just... surrounded by short people at the moment. Deidra being the only expection.

Mickey hugged back tightly, but quickly, and when they pulled away, Bo knew he had to get to the short of the story first.

"Carter Haddon," Bo said, holding out his hand towards Carter.

Carter didn't look like he knew how to respond. Then again, this was, in its most honest definition, a kidnapping, so Bo couldn't blame him.

"We have much to talk about," Mickey said, meeting Carter's eyes.

Carter blinked.

"...And you are?" Carter asked slowly.

"Probably the only person willing to protect you aside from Bo," Mickey said. "You're very infamous among mage-kind. You being a mage will only make that worse."

It seemed like realization was finally dawning on Carter.

He'd been whisked away without explantion, but it seemed that Carter was finally understanding what he'd been brought into.

He was surrounded by mages. There was a remnant of mages in hiding in greater number than he'd ever known. And he'd been directly responsible for the deaths of many of their friends and loved ones for years.

Carter stiffened, standing up straight.

Bo and Mickey exchanged glances.

"Well, no point in delaying the inevitable," Mickey said, looking out at everyone. "Let's take you to the city, shall we?"

With a loose movement of Mickey's hand, he pulled the earth beneath Tula, Deidra, and Carter's feet, pulling them close. Once several feet away, now they were within his reach.

Robin trotted over to join them.

Bo created a small ball of electricity in his hand.

They were about to be in the dark.

Mickey carved a ring in the earth around them, and then that ring began to sink into the earth.

Slowly.

Mickey was being gentle.

"It'll be an hour," Mickey said to the others. "If you need anything, just speak up."

"There better be a fucking bar in this city," Tula grumbled.

"There's more than one," Bo said. "You'll have your pick."

"You flew them here, didn't you?" Mickey asked.

Bo could hear how he intentionally kept the question light, but he knew it wasn't even a question.

Mickey knew.

"Yeah..." Bo said as the earth above them closed up, plunging them into darkness.

"Then it's no wonder she needs a drink," Mickey said.

Elias hardly slept that night, feeling like he was being haunted by himself. He came in and out of sleep, tossing and turning against the chilly floor, jolting himself awake any time he felt like he was going to dream of something. He wished he could enter a deep slumber of nothing.

Did someone come in the room last night? He couldn't tell. He thought so, but maybe he was imagining it. Maybe he dreamed it. Maybe it wasn't real at all.

Elias closed eyes, the stupid vision of him holding the dagger entering his vision over and over again - until finally, he was looking at his dagger. Inspecting it, turning it around in his hands.

He came to Nye without any weapons. Bo gave this to him before he went into the palace. He didn't get the chance to use it, but Elias knew Bo would inevitably ask for it back.

He knew. He knew he would.

He didn't want to return it. He had to think of a good hiding spot for it now. He didn't want anyone to look for it or take it away.

Still staring at the dagger in his open palms, Elias watched as a gloved hand drew near and wrapped his fingers around the blade.

"Do you truly fear me, Elias? Or do you fear yourself?" Sohiro said beside him, and even though Elias tightly closed his eyes, he could still see his beady evil eyes staring down at him.

Elias wanted to throw the dagger and scream.

Instead, Elias found himself staring at a plate of porridge, continually spinning the contents with his spoon in a slow rhythm. He stared at the porridge, not sure how long he had been staring at it, or where he was at, or how he got here, or if this was another flashback. He continued to swirl it, letting time pass him by.

One... two... three...

He counted the times he swirled the porrdige around his bowl with his spoon.

"Sometimes... it's like you're not even here," Mel's timid voice said sadly across from him.

Elias snapped his head up, expecting to see Mel, but instead he saw Elise - her gaze so full of concern for him. He hadn't realized Elise was even here.

Where was he?

Right... the cave... they were eating breakfast.

His gaze travelled past Elise, noticing that Mel was not even near him. She was chatting and eating with Jordan.

Right...

When were they going to leave? Elias didn't know how long he could keep this up. Staying here was starting to feel like a prison.

"Uh... are you alright?" Alistair asked beside him.

Elias almost thought he wasn't real, but he knew he couldn't imagine Alistair grown up now, even when he was still staring at him with hesitation and growing concern.

"Yeah... sorry, did you ask a question?" Elias asked weakly.

Alistair shared a look with Clandestine, who Elias didn't even notice was here too.

"I asked if you're alright," Alistair repeated. "You know, since you seemed more focused on your food than your sister."

Elias closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a splitting headache.

"It's fine, Alistair," Elise said meekly. "I was--"

"When are we leaving?" Elias interrupted, back to swirling his food around.

There was a pause.

"In a few hours," Elise answered.

A few hours... alright. He just had to... occupy his time with something.

Yeah. That usually helped.

Elias suddenly pulled the bowl to his lips, shoveling the porridge into his mouth and not caring that it burned his tongue. He nearly slammed the bowl down on the table as he briskly stood up, leaving.

He heard someone say something, but he didn't process it. He didn't process the words nor the voice. He just knew something was said.

Elias felt his heart beating fast, not knowing where his feet were taking him until he found himself standing in front of Mel and Jordan. He clearly interrupted their conversation since they suddenly grew silent and shifted their eyes between him and each other.

"Heeeeeey," Mel drew out with a raised brow. She sounded weirded out. "Is something wrong?"

Elias opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't know what to say. He felt his senses numbing as he saw Mel speak some more, and Jordan speak as well - but he didn't register their words.

Panicked, Elias quickly escaped, running away without looking back.

Who are they going to believe? the intrusive thought burned into his mind as he escaped into the hall, slamming his body against the wall. He hit his head against the wall as if it would help clear his mind and miraculously cure his headache.

"Please, just leave me alone," Elias croaked, tightly closing his eyes again.

"Oh... I. I can, if you want," Adina's voice said beside him. "I was just. Um. Going to ask for help with something."

At that, Elias snapped his eyes open as everything went silent. All the noise, all the building pressure in his head... it disappeared, making him feel so much lighter.

He didn't realize how noisy everything was until it all disappeared.

He quickly turned beside him to see Adina looking up at him with one of her weak, nervous smiles.

"Oh... Adina," he said softly, standing up straighter. "Sorry... You said you needed... help?

"Yeah," Adina said softly. "I'm trying to pack up some foodstuffs from the storage room into the wagon before we go, but I need help carrying it. It's heavier than I thought it'd be."

Elias slowly nodded. "I can help," he said.

"Thanks," Adina said, her smile turning sweeter as she turned and nodded her head for him to follow. Elias trailed behind her, feeling like he was rediscovering this cave for the first time.

There was a storage room?

"We're going to be eating a lot of dried and preserved food for a while," Adina said. "I can't wait to have fresh food again."

"Hmm... yeah," Elias said in agreement. "That'll be a while."

"I really miss fresh fruit," Adina said. "What do you miss?"

Elias was thinking far too hard to answer this question. His mind blanked on him trying to even think of a single fresh item.

"Uh..." he quietly drew out as an answer when he knew he was taking too long to say something.

"Do you like fruit?" Adina asked. "My favorite is peaches."

"I was going to say that I miss you," he said quietly instead.

Adina faltered in her steps for a moment, looking up at him with wide eyes. Her expression softened, but he hardly had time to notice anything else since he was busy trying not to run into her.

"Well, I'm not far," she said with a giggle, dodging out of the way with a skip.

"I know," Elias said as he turned back around to face her, standing still now.

He gazed at her face, trying to imprint it in his mind.

Adina came to a stop, looking up at him.

"What're you thinking?" she asked softly.

"Nothing. Just... trying to remember you," he said just as softly.

Adina tilted her head and hummed. She looked to the side like she was thinking, and then reached around her neck, pulling out her stone necklace.

She pulled it over her head and reached up to Elias, having to go on her tip-toes to place it over his head.

"Here," she said. "Something to remember me by."

Elias flicked his eyes between her and the necklace, then gingerly held the stone in his palm, tilting it so that it shined in the daylight.

He pulled his lips back, really studying the stone. It was beautiful.

Adina looked up at him with a grin.

"It feels right, for it to have its home with you now," she said.

"Are you sure?" he asked as the stone slipped out of his fingers, dangling against his chest now.

"Yeah," she said softly.

"I don't know what to say," he admitted as he kept his gaze on her now.

"That's okay," she said. "It looks good on you, I think."

She tilted her head.

"Walk with me again?" she asked.

Elias felt a small appreciative smile tug his lips as he nodded. "Yeah. Of course," he said, following after her again.

"It's also going to be winter soon," Adina said, walking beside him with a little sway in her step. "Which means it's going to get soooooo cold. But fortunately we'll be passing through the Desert Sands for some of it, so it won't be as harsh. Winters in the Moonlight Kingdom are freezing."

She paused.

"So I hear," she said. "I've never been to the Moonlight Kingdom until now."

She stopped at a large wooden door and pushed it open, leading them into a storage room littered with boxes, crates, and some supplies on simple shelving. There was a big crate set aside, closer to the door that had food and supplies packed into it. It took Elias some moments to realize that he had already been here with Bo and Raj yesterday.

"This big crate," Adina said, pointing to it. "I tried to carry it myself and quickly gave up. I'm not that strong."

Elias was about to bend down and attempt to lift it up, but it was far too wide for him to do it himself. He stared at it for a second, trying to figure out how we was going to do this.

"I'll get this side," Adina said, coming around it. "We'll get it together."

"Oh, alright," he said with a nod and went to the opposite side. "Ready?"

Adina had her grip secured and nodded.

"Ready," she said.

Elias picked up his end of the crate, although purposely lifted it higher than normal so Adina wouldn't have to use a lot of her strength to lift her side.

Adina grunted as she lifted, but it seemed like she had her side secure.

"Do you want to back out or should I?" she asked.

"Where, uh..." He looked out past the door. "Where are we taking this?"

"Out front where the animals are," she said. "This goes in the wagon."

Right... he knew where that was.

"I've got it," Elias said as he backed out with the crate, looking over his shoulder as he walked them down the hall. He was trying not to trip over himself or let anything fall out at the same time, so Elias mostly focused on himself, shuffling over to their destination.

With a grunt, he dropped the crate in front of the wagon.

"There you go," he said as he finally got a better look around, seeing the animals perk up with their arrival.

Adina let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you," she said, shaking her hands. "Gods that was heavy!"

"Yeah, no problem," Elias said as he already started to back out, looking over his shoulder to see if James and Eve were still in the main room.

They were. Eve was sitting up by him, but James was still laying down. He wondered if he was still asleep.

He glanced back at Adina.

"I'm going to check up on James," he said. "Do you need help with anything else?"

"No, that was it," Adina said softly. "Can I come too?"

"Oh, yeah. Of course," Elias said with a nod. "Let's go."

Elias led the way to James and Eve, who were still at the same spot as last time. He noticed that the blanket he put on them was still there - only over James, though. The pillow was also resting under his head. Eve noticed them approaching, watching him with a small smile.

"Hey, Eve," Elias said as he stood across from her, hands in his pockets. His eyes drifted down to James. His eyes flickered open, but he didn't quite look fully awake. His eyes looked bleary.

"Good morning, Elias. Good morning, Adina," Eve said.

"Is James fully awake?" Elias asked.

James hummed, and reached up to rub his eyes.

"You can interpret that however way you want," Eve said to Elias.

"Moving but not talking. That's half awake in my book," he said with a smile. "Did you sleep fine last night?"

"I slept," James said, his voice lower than usual.

"Oh hey, James. Welcome to the land of the living," Elias said.

James rubbed his eyes again before he began to roll on his back. His face was pinched with pain.

"He's still recovering," Eve said apologetically. "It'll take some time before he can converse as usual. Healing takes time."

"I know," Elias said. "Just wanted to say hi."

"I appreciate it."

"I can talk," James said, still sounding like he just woke up. His voice was a lot deeper than usual.

"But if you still need to rest..." Eve said, trailing off as she placed her hand on his arm.

"I'll get more later," James said. "We're leaving soon, right?"

"I think in a few hours," Elias said.

James hummed.

"Probably in like... two hours, I think," Adina said.

James blinked slowly, and looked to Adina like he was seeing her for the first time.

He didn't say anything for a moment. He just... stared. Like he was in shock.

"James," Eve said gently with a smile. "You remember Adina, right?"

"I do," James said faintly.

Adina's face lit up with a warm smile.

"It's been a long time," she said. "It's good to see you again."

"You too," James said quietly.

"Adina is the one who found me in Ruddlan. She helped me find the others," Eve said like she was reminding him. She paused, looking up at everyone, still with a soft smile. "It's nice that we're all friends now."

"Yeah," Adina echoed. "All your friends are friends too!"

James blinked slowly, like it was taking him a few seconds still to process everything. Then his expression relaxed, and he seemed to smile tiredly with his eyes more than anything.

"You look well," James said to Adina.

"I am," she said with a smile. "We'll have to catch up later, when you're a little less sleepy."

"You know, it's funny how old friends keep coming back to you," Elias thought out loud. "Remember how we first met? You were naked then too, just like when I carried you in the palace... Well, maybe a little less naked than that."

"Wow, Elias," Eve said flatly, unimpressed.

James huffed a weak laugh through his nose.

"Sorry you had to see that twice," James said.

"It's alright. I have a bad memory anyways," Elias said with a shrug and a smile.

"Why was he naked the first time?" Adina whispered to Elias, sounding a little concerned and weirded out.

"Well, he wasn't actually naked the first time," Elias answered in a normal tone of voice despite her whispering. "But I had to remove all his clothes right after meeting him."

"I was wounded," James offered for context. "Elise had to heal me."

Adina's eyes went wide, but she nodded.

"Anyways... already forgotten," Elias joked.

"Good," James said. "It's for the best."

"I'm surprised you guys hit it off after that," Adina said. "It wasn't weird?"

Elias shrugged. "I guess I've seen weirder?"

"So have I," James said.

"Can we please not talk about my partner being naked," Eve said tiredly.

"Sorry," Adina said quickly.

"Oh, lighten up, Eve," Elias said light-heartedly, tempted to give her a playful shove, but she was out of reach. "Can't you see this man's been through enough? His hair is literally turning white from the stress."

James blinked.

"Huh?" James asked.

"Don't worry about it," Eve said, reaching over to tuck the strand of hair out of his face.

"My hair is turning white?" James asked.

"I think it looks pretty neat. I mean, if all your hair is turning white, I'd say you look pretty old. But it's just some of it," Elias said.

James hummed.

"I guess... I'm not surprised," he said.

"You look surprised..." Elias observed.

James hesitated.

"I'll... see it later, I guess," James said.

"I think it looks cool," Adina offered.

Elias perked up when he noticed a loud shuffling coming from the hall. Hendrik was loudly dragging a crate across the floor, leading it towards the wagon. The sound of the crate dragging across the floor was so loud, everyone watched in silence, not speaking against the noise.

The sound was so loud everyone went silent. James wasn't sitting up, so he couldn't really turn at an angle to see what was causing it, but it sounded like something heavy scraping against the ground. And, of course, it echoed off the cave walls, making it sound even louder.

Finally, there was a thump, and someone clapped their hands together. James could hear their footsteps clapping on the ground as they approached.

"Finally! Speedy boy is awake!" Hendrik exclaimed as he approached, his voice booming down the wall, no doubt alerting everyone in the caves.

"Hendrik," James said quietly, staring up at the man as he came into view, standing over him.

James had thought Hendrik had been lost in the abrupt transition from Earth to Nye. For so long he'd been berating himself, wondering what was wrong with him that somehow Tula would end up on Nye and Hendrik didn't. He'd been worried Hendrik had been found by Ovrell's men.

Relief flooded through him.

"You're on Nye?" James asked with a small smile as Hendrik joined the crowd around him.

"Miss me?" Hendrik said with a grin, but his words sounded serious.

"Where were you? What happened?" James asked.

"Beats me. I was in a jungle when the puppy found me. He was infuriating - still is - but I followed him anyways," Hendrik said.

At this point, James didn't even care what happened. He was just happy Hendrik was here and alive.

But...

"Puppy?" James squinted in confusion.

"He means Robin," Eve answered for him. "He's a werewolf."

"That's what I said," Hendrik said like it was obvious.

"I'm glad you're okay," James said. "I was worried you were stuck on earth without everyone else."

"Hmph. That's right. Now I'm stuck on Nye with everyone else."

At that, hurried foosteps were heard down the hall before flooding into the main room.

"Gods, Mel, slow down!" Alistair's voice said thinly, his voice rapidly coming closer.

Finally, Mel and Alistair were peeking over him. Mel first, who was beaming with excitement, then Alistair, who looked like he was being held here against his will. But upon seeing James, he seemed to lose the tension in his body.

"James! Finally we can see you. You slept for a crazy long time. I thought we'd have to drag you away when we leave," Mel said with a lot of energy.

James found himself smiling. He knew it was a very tired smile, but there was a relieved, comforting warmth that filled his chest as all his friends came around him.

Maybe before this he'd have hated all the attention. There was a part of him that was still overwhelmed and didn't know how to feel about all the eyes being on him, but he was surrounded by people he cared about, and who cared about him.

He'd taken that for granted, before, and he knew that.

He didn't want to this time.

He could feel his throat tighten up a little bit, but he tried to swallow it down.

"Mel, Ali," he said. But he couldn't think of anything else.

He was just happy to see them.

"Hey, James. It's really good to see you again," Alistair said with surprising gentleness.

"Oh my gosh, you look like you aged twenty years," Mel said with a laugh.

"Wow," James said, a laugh escaping him. It hurt, though, to laugh. "You look great too."

"Hey, the white hair streak can totally be a new trend! Who knows, maybe you can convince me to do that too." Mel paused, thinking, then giggled and shook her head. "Just kidding. I would never."

"Well, then we'd be matching," James said. "Can't have that."

"Now you look as old as me," Hendrik said with a laugh.

"Nah. James looks older," Mel said with a shrug.

"So I look younger, eh?"

"Yeah, Hen, that's how age works," Mel said with a giggle. She turned back to James, bright-eyed. "Hey, when you feel better, you should let me cut your hair again! Just like old times."

"Do I have to be feeling better for that?" James asked.

Honestly, his hair felt disgusting, and he wanted it washed and off his head as soon as possible. He could feel where some of it had matted in the lower layers by his neck.

Mel hummed. "I guess not. Hey, maybe a fresh cut can bring your confidence back. Confidence always makes people feel better."

"Who said I lost my confidence?" James asked.

"Your hair. Duh," Mel said.

James... did not understand. He squinted up at her in confusion.

"Hey, you have more visitors coming!" she said instead, looking back.

Footsteps approached until Elise came to view, standing over James. There were whispers behind her, but she crouched down and focused on James, offering a smile.

"Hi, James. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A little better," he said, though he didn't know how to measure that.

It felt like some of his wounds had been healed. Namely, the one on his neck felt like it was mostly restored.

He wondered if that was the one that woke him up the first time.

"You should still get plenty of rest, but I'm glad we can all meet you again," Elise said with a gentle smile, looking over her shoulder. "Um... Makiel wants to see you, if you'll have him."

James's brows rose slightly.

"Yeah," James said softly. "Of course."

James heard Mel harshly whisper "Go!" for encouragement, pushing Makiel closer.

He stood over James with a steely expression, pulling his lips back as he looked down. His hair was still short, but growing, as well as covered by a knitted hat. He was leaner than usual, but he seemed to be at a healthy weight, even when wearing a thick jacket.

James was glad to see he'd recovered after he last saw him.

"Hey..." Makiel greeted as he flicked his eyes to the others, noticing that the others were backing off.

There was a pause as everyone else peeled away, leaving James and Makiel alone, except for Eve, who hadn't left James's side.

James found himself struggling to find words.

He and Makiel had never really gotten along. When they'd parted ways on earth, it had still been with a lot of tension between them. Makiel and Rudy had been alone on Nye and the last time they saw each other was when James gave himself over for Makiel and Rudy to be let go.

There was a lot that could be said. A lot was left unsaid.

Makiel let out a tired sigh as he slowly crouched down beside him.

"I think, after all this blows over, I'm going to retire as a sheepherder," he said lowly. "I'm going back to my roots. This is far too tiring."

James understood how that felt.

"That sounds like a nice future," James said quietly.

"Yeah... thank you," Makiel said.

But James knew that that "thank you" was not directed at him talking about his future.

James's expression softened, and he reached out weakly, resting his hand on Makiel's shoe. It was the closest thing he could reach, and moving hurt at the moment.

"I don't regret it," he said.

He was glad Makiel was okay.

Makiel kept his steely resolve, still staring at James.

"And I didn't lie when I said I'd see you again," he said lowly and quietly.

James tried to smile. But he could feel the tears building behind his eyes. He didn't have the strength or the energy to push it down.

Tears sprung to his eyes and his vision blurred.

"You're a man of your word," James said, his throat feeling tight. "I respect that."

Makiel looked away. "What are we without our words?"

"We're left with action," James said.

"And you're a man of action," Makiel said as he looked back at James, pulling his lips back some more. "I respect that as well."

James had to swallow to get rid of the knot tempting to grow in his throat. He blinked hard, letting the tears run down his face since he knew there wasn't anything else he could do about it.

Makiel cleared his throat. "That's all I wanted to say," he said, looking away like he was ready to leave. "We can talk later."

"Sure," James said quietly, his voice on the verge of cracking.

With a nod of his head, Makiel stood up, lingering for a moment, but averting his eyes as James continued to cry. He and Eve had a silent conversation with their eyes before he turned and walked away.

Eve watched Makiel leave, but quickly turned her attention back on James with her brows pinched together. She reached for his hand and wiped away his tears with her fingers.

"I'm okay," James said hoarsely, his voice thin.

That was a lie, overall. He just meant in this moment, in this context.

"I know," she said softly, still busy wiping his tears.

"I'm okay," he repeated, barely audible.

He was trying to convince himself.

Eve didn't respond to that, instead cupping his face with her hand, leaning over him with a small, sad smile.

James had seen this look before.

I know you're not, she said with her face, rubbing his cheek with her thumb.

James was trying to keep it in. To keep this a controlled cry, because he didn't want to bawl again when everyone could hear - especially now that he was more aware of everyone around him.

He just wished he could get through one conversation without crying. It felt like not even a minute in, he kept falling apart.

He turned his face, hiding half of it in Eve's palm as he closed his eyes, fighting against his own breathing to keep it from getting out of of control.

"It's alright. We're okay," Eve said softly, letting him hide against her hand.

He took in shaky breaths, clenching his jaw as he tried to keep it down.

"Is anyone watching?" he whispered, though his voice cracked.

Eve pulled her gaze away from him to glance around. "No," she whispered back. "We're alone."

"Okay," he said, but it didn't give him any comfort.

He wished he could get up. Go somewhere. Hide. He felt so exposed lying in the middle of an open cave.

It was as if Eve could read his thoughts, because she suddenly pulled the blanket over him. She pulled away for a moment before she laid down beside him, laying close. She placed her head an inch away from his as she pulled on the blanket again, making sure it covered both their faces.

"There. Now we're really alone," she said softly.

James sniffled. Their faces were so close to one another.

"My... breath probably smells bad," he said.

"A small price to pay for love," Eve said with a smile.

James let out a shaky laugh through his tears.

"That's so cheesy," he said.

"I know," Eve said with a wider smile. "I get it from you."

"You make it sound like a disease," James said, feeling a smile tug at his mouth as tears kept rolling down.

"Hopefully it's not contagious to the others. But I guess it's not a bad thing if it is," Eve said as she started to wipe away his tears again.

"At this rate," James said, sniffing again. "It's better if you wait until I'm done. You're going to keep wiping."

"Mmmhmm," Eve said as she ignored him, continuing to wipe. "A small price to pay for love."

That made James laugh again, albeit weakly.

"That's a good line," he said. "Hold onto it."

"Oh, I will," Eve said confidently. "Mark my words. Years later, you'll wake up beside me with bad breath - and I'll know exactly what to say."

"You probably won't have to wait years for that setup to happen again," James said.

Eve continued to catch his tears. "No. But I'd rather say a new line tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that."

"That's a lot of cheese," James said.

"Well, thankfully," Eve said with a wider smile, "you love cheese."

James sniffed, finally feeling the tears starting to subside.

"You're right," he said. And he leaned his head forward, leaning his forehead against Eve's. "I do."

Things were settling down in New Haven. Mickey was well equipped to handle Tula and Carter, and Robin was happy to be home, even if it meant having to keep Tula in check.

Deidra was offered a lot more freedom and options, but Bo knew that it would take some time to adjust to a new life and some time to decide, so he had Tula and Deidra placed in one of their many temporary homes for the two months. There were still parameters for them both - they were under Robin's supervision, but were able to explore and settle into the city as they pleased. There were no bars to getting a job or starting any hobbies or whatever they pleased. The main requirement was that both of them were expected to see a therapist. For Tula, she would have a session every day. For Deidra, it was only twice a week or as needed. And that was the main thing Robin was around to reinforce.

And Robin knew he had permission to pull on Mickey if Tula or Deidra gave him any trouble. Not that Bo thought Deidra was going to cause any trouble. It was really only Tula he knew would fight it.

But Bo wasn't worried about Tula. He had a feeling it would all work out.

Carter, however, he couldn't be sure of.

Yes, he'd been able to subdue him, but even with him being isolated and Mickey taking over, Bo was worried Carter was going to snap. He'd seen it happen before - not many times - but when life mages were pushed to their limit, there was always a tipping point. He had yet to see anyone come back from it.

But if anyone could handle it well, it was Mickey. He trusted him.

Now Bo could turn his focus back to the others - among which, there were so many dynamics going on - but the people he was returning back for the most were Elias and Elise.

When he and Mickey had finally gotten a moment alone, he was able to catch him up on everything that had happened. Unfortunately, the conversation was very rushed, but Mickey was better at taking in information quickly and making logical connections and responses than Bo was.

They were several miles deep underground, just outside the small living space they'd locked Carter in.

It would be a lie to say Carter wasn't a prisoner. But they weren't treating him like an animal. He would receive the basic needs and comforts of any person. The only thing he couldn't be trusted with was people. Or rather, just any people. He was going to be limited to the people who had the power to retaliate if necessary.

Bo and Mickey stood further down the hall, far out Carter's earshot, as there were several sealed doors between them now.

"Do you think Elias would hurt anyone in the group?" Mickey asked quietly.

And to even think of that answer pained Bo.

"I don't think he would with his magic," Bo said. "Unless he was really pushed to and not fully aware."

He paused, looking down to the floor.

"He's far more likely to hurt himself than anyone else," Bo said.

There was a small silence that followed. Here, so far underground, there were no sounds of outside life, and they were too deep to hear the sounds of the city. The air was heavy, even with the vents pumping in air. But maybe that was just because Bo felt the weight in his gut.

"I want to be there for him," Bo said. "Like... like you were for me."

Mickey gently rested his hand on Bo's arm.

"I'm proud of you, Bo," Mickey said softly. "You've grown. You're a far better man than I."

Bo smiled but shook his head.

"Mickey--" he started.

"For many years, I was too careful," Mickey said. "I was afraid. In the coming years we're going to need men like you who aren't afraid to do what must be done, even if it's costly."

Mickey patted Bo's arm before pulling away.

"Elias is worth saving," Mickey said. "Go to him."

Bo nodded, and he swallowed, steeling his resolve.

"I'll still be careful," Bo said. "I'll try."

Mickey smiled, and Bo could feel the pride in his eyes. But there was a quiet, lingering worry.

It was always present, these days. Every time Bo left. He supposed that worry never left when you were a parent.

Bo pulled Mickey into one last hug, hugging him tightly, no longer feeling like he had to keep a straight face for anyone - because it was just them. He leaned over so his arms were around Mickey, but his face was in Mickey's shoulder.

"Remember you have friends who care about you," Mickey said softly in Bo's ear.

"I know," Bo said.

And years ago - many - that meant something different. Years ago, he'd needed that reminder every day. But today, it wasn't just a reminder to champion him forward through the day. Mickey was calling back to a time when Bo was in a very similar place as Elias, carving his own path to self-destruction. Back then, Mickey had been there for him when everyone else was too afraid to stay. When Bo had been out of control.

Now, it was Bo's turn to be that person for someone else.

Bo pulled away, feeling himself starting to get choked up. He let out a little laugh, wiping the few tears from his eyes.

"You always know how to get to me," Bo muttered.

"It's not like I'm aiming to make you cry," Mickey said.

"Yeah, well," Bo said with another laugh. "Thanks, anyway."

He sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, drying them. He stood up straight once more and took in a deep breath.

"It will be nice to fly again," Bo said.

Mickey's eyes flicked down to Bo's left foot. It still smelled like pee.

Before Mickey could say anything, Bo pointed at Mickey.

"That was Carter," he said.

"Are you... going to change your socks or something?" Mickey asked.

Bo blinked. And then he sighed. That was going to take longer to get back to his home - which he hadn't actually lived in in ages, at this point. But that's where his socks were.

"Quickly," Bo muttered.

And quick it was. At least, as quick as he could make it.

It was strange, being back in New Haven and not being able to stay. Usually when he passed through he at least tried to reconnect with people while he was there, checking in on folks to see how they were doing, catching up. But this wasn't one of those trips, nor was it usual circumstance.

Even though he saw several people he knew walking around town, he had to keep it short and move on.

So, once he obtained a new sock and pair of boots, he was off.

He departed far enough from the city so he was out of view when he shifted, and then he shot off into the sky.

It wasn't going to take him long, but during the hour or so of flight, he found himself running through an explanation in his mind. He'd told Elise he'd be back in a few days, but he'd never given a clear timeline to anyone else besides Mel and Raj, and that had been in a private conversation. So there wasn't too much to explain away that didn't have an easy, logical answer - even if it was a partial lie.

But Bo had been doing this for years - having to explain away his magic to others. Usually it didn't come up because he used it so sparingly or in a very limited capacity, but this time... things had been messy.

He'd revealed that he was a dragon to Elias on purpose. He wanted to build trust early on, and he knew that Elias wasn't going to go deep on his end. So Bo took that leap knowingly.

But what happened with Eve... that was more impulsive. Her knowing wasn't a huge liability, but it did make things more complicated. At least she didn't seem to care that much, but it always got more complicated with more people knowing. It meant more people to keep track of, and more people who could let it slip on accident.

He was trying to keep the secret contained, but he had a feeling he was about to lose control of the secret now that Tula and Carter knew. Even if Tula respected (or feared) him enough not to test him, he wouldn't put it past her to complain about her experience to anyone who would listen.

That was his fault for not explaining to her it was a secret in the first place.

Bo considered turning around just to do so, but he was already 30 minutes away. It would double his travel time, so he decided against it. The less he was in the air, the better. He didn't want to be spotted.

That, and he was flying far higher now that he wasn't carrying anyone and he didn't have to worry about them suffocating for lack of air.

He could sense when he was getting close.

Mel and Raj had a familiar sense about them that Bo had long since memorized. Both of them had exceptionally powerful magic, and Mel's magic in particular felt like a beacon. But Bo could sense the others' magic as well. Eve and James's magic in particular had a peculiar draw to it - the kind that could pull you in if you got too close. Or, at least, that's how it felt. Elias's and Elise's felt like two opposing forces, pushing and pulling against one another. But Elias's was always louder.

Clandestine's, however, was always the loudest. Hers was always the first he could feel, and he could feel it for miles. It was like an explosion of light and heat, like a fire that never died.

He knew she could sense him coming too, before anyone else.

He stopped a few miles short of the group, diving to the ground and landing in his human form on two feet. He walked the rest of the way as the last of the sunset's lingering light faded from the sky. He was antsy to get back to them, so he ended up running most of the way, going out of his way to go around them so it looked like he was coming from the south, not the north.

By the time he walked into the camp, it was like all of the stress of the day finally caught up to him.

He was exhausted.

They'd made a good distance from the cave, and made camp under the canopy of a few evergreen trees. It looked like Eve was with James in the back of the wagon, and Clandestine and Alistair were nearby, sitting at the base of a tree trunk, talking.

Makiel and Hendrik were with the animals, and Mel and Jordan seemed like they were back to their usual, flirting by the fire. On the other side of the flames, Adina and Elias looked like they were deeply focused on playing the game pick-up-sticks.

Further from the fire, and closest to him as he walked up, were Mel, Raj, and Elise. They were sitting on a blanket, and Raj was knitting between Mel and Elise. They were the first to notice him.

"Welcome back, boss!" Hendrik yelled at the other side of the camp.

And apparently Hendrik was second to notice.

"You're back," Mel said, clearly trying to mask her surprise.

"That I am," Bo said.

Bo noticed Raj and Mel shared a look between the two of them. It clearly read: 'he flew here, didn't he?'

"Is everything okay?" Elise asked worriedly. "I thought it would take a few days."

"Yes," Bo said. "I decided it was better for Robin to go the rest of the way with Tula and Deidra. It just meant I had to spend the rest of my day playing catch-up."

"Oh. I see," Elise said quietly.

"Good news is Tula didn't give me much trouble," Bo said, trying to keep it light. "I guess I must come off as intimidating."

"You certainly can when you want to," Mel said.

Bo smiled softly.

"Yes, I can," he said quietly.

Hendrik had already noticed him but it seemed that he grew impatient from waiting to hear Bo make an announcement, so he marched his way over, inviting himself into the conversation.

"How was today's day of travel?" Bo asked before Hendrik could ask anything.

"There weren't any problems," Mel answered. "It went about as smoothly as it could."

"Boss," Hendrik began immediately after Mel finished. "What's the status? Did you find the traitorous spy? Did she cause trouble?"

"Tula was very cooperative, actually," Bo said, sighing as he took a seat with the others. Hendrik did the same. "She didn't argue with me at all. Sure, she has a bit of an attitude, but I think she's really coming around. Robin's taking her and Deidra. They'll be fine with him."

"Where's he taking them?" Hendrik asked.

"To the same place we're going," Bo said. "It's further away, but safe. Think of all the bases we've been to and just... make it a lot bigger in your brain and add more people."

"I'm still going to kill her," Hendrik said angrily, balling his fists.

"You will have to go through Robin and I first," Bo said more sternly.

Hendrik sighed. "Boss. Help me out here. Why are you helping her?"

"Because I think she could actually become a better person with some help," Bo said. "And I don't like to kill potential before it gets a chance to grow."

Hendrik laughed, aggressively patting Bo's shoulder. "I see. I used to think that. Then I grew old."

Bo bit back the comment he wanted to make, which was that he was considerably older than Hendrik and had far more life experience. He tried not to glare at him and instead reached out and aggressively patted Hendrik's shoulder back.

"You're really not that old Hendrik," Bo said. "You've got a lot of life ahead of you."

"That's right," Hendrik said with a chipper voice, slightly topping his aggression with a single pat on the back - but it almost turned to a slap. "Lot more life to catch traitorous spies with the boss."

Bo was not trying to compete in this patting competition. He let the slap slide and let out a loose laugh.

"If that's something you're interested in doing, sure," Bo said. "But where we're going, you'll have more options if you wanted to settle down and pursue something else. So that could be something to think about."

"Me? Settle down?" Hendrik said with a booming laugh. "Hah! Good one, boss."

Bo slid his eyes over to Raj, sharing a look that said: "I guess this is our life now."

It wasn't that Bo disliked Hendrik. But he had a tendency to be very condescending sometimes, which wasn't enjoyable when they were trying to have a normal conversation.

Robin had a tendency to do that too, but at least he never did it with Bo.

Okay, that wasn't true. But at least Bo knew Robin would still respect him and they trusted each other. Bo was still building trust with Hendrik.

"How are you hanging in there, Hendrik?" Bo decided to ask since it seemed he wasn't going anywhere.

This was supposed to be an innocent question about Hendrik, but he took it upon himself to interpret this as Bo asking for a status check on the others.

"Oh, things have been doing just fine while you were gone, but it'll be better now that you're here. Lovebirds are back at it. Eve's been with Speedy all day. Seems that he's sick now."

"James is sick?" Bo asked.

"Mmhmm. He's feverish. Must have caught something nasty in that palace," Hendrik said with too much confidence.

Bo turned his attention to Elise, making eye contact with her.

"Do you know what's going on?" Bo asked.

Elise seemed pleasantly surprised to be called on, but she nodded.

"Mel and I helped clean up his wounds but thankfully found no infections," she said. "We think he's going through lumshade withdrawals. But he also transitioned out of a severe environment. His body is adjusting and may be in shock."

Bo nodded slowly.

"Is he stable?" Bo asked.

"Yes. He'll get better with time," Elise said with a small smile.

Bo nodded back, returning the smile.

"So back to what I was saying," Hendrik continued. "The arsonists are together again. I've taken Maks under my wing to look after Bongo. Little girl has been playing sticks with the soldier all day." Hendrik paused. "Hmph. Don't think soldier is a good name for him anymore."

Bo had grown accustomed to all the nicknames, but somehow it was still hard to follow.

And somehow Hendrik avoided answering the question entirely.

"I was asking about how you are doing," Bo emphasized after Hendrik paused for a beat to think.

Hendrik grinned. "Ah, doing well. Glad we're moving again."

Well. If Hendrik was in any form of distress, it didn't show. He had a feeling that Hendrik was not the type to hide how he was feeling, though. If he wasn't doing well, Bo had a feeling everyone would know about it.

"Me too," Bo agreed.

"What about you, boss man? How are things with you?" Hendrik asked.

Bo smiled.

"Things are alright with the boss-man," Bo said. "I'm just tired from a long day of travel. I'll be happy when I get to lie down."

"Well, won't be too long now. Get a good nights rest now while you can," Hendrik said with a brisk nod.

"I will," Bo said. "I've just got a few more people I want to touch base with."

At that, Bo got to his feet. He briefly met Mel and Elise's eyes, silently trying to tell them that he wanted to talk later. But he didn't know if they'd get a chance today.

Bo walked off and wandered over to the fire, passing Mel and Jordan who were... cuddling. As people do.

He stopped by Adina and Elias, who only had three sticks left in their game. Adina was so focused on lifting her stick she didn't notice Bo walk up until she lifted the stick in the air with a victorious: "AH-HAH!"

She blinked, staring up at Bo. Her smile fade for half a second before it returned.

"Oh! Bo. You're back," she said.

"You can finish your game," Bo said.

Elias hardly even looked up at him, obviously just as engrossed in the game as Adina was even though it was still her turn.

Adina nodded and returned her attention back to the sticks. It was two sticks balanced one on top of the other. Adina took in a deep breath as she tried to grab the one on top without making the one below it shake.

Unfortunately, it seemed Bo had broken her focus, and it trembled ever so slightly.

With a defeated sigh, she leaned back, turning it over to Elias. Bo decided to sit down to watch the last of the game unfold. It could still go either way if Elias didn't get this stick and his turn was forfeited back to Adina.

Elias got in position, crouching closely in front of the sticks and leaning forward, setting one elbow on the ground. With his other arm, he slowly reached in to make a similar move as Adina, but he was much slower, taking his time. His hand was slightly shaking, so by the time he got close enough to get a grip at the angle he wanted, he very quickly pulled out the stick on top without making the one below it move.

Elias released his breath as he held the stick close to his face.

"Did it move?" he asked Adina.

"You got it!" Adina said. "Now get the last one! Get the last one!"

Elias stared down at the single stick. "That's not really a challenge," he commented.

"That's the whole point, silly," Adina said. "The last one's the easiest!"

Elias seemed to mull this over, casually picking up the last stick and inspecting it in his hands.

"Ok now count your sticks," Adina said, grabbing the ones she had in her pile.

Elias looked down at his pile, hesitating. "Sorry, I didn't know we were supposed to count them." He hesitated again. "I broke some in half while waiting..."

Adina looked at Elias with a blank stare for a moment, and then she laughed.

"I guess that means you win, then!"

Elias seemed to mull this over again, not looking particularly too pleased. His eyes finally landed on Bo as he took in his surroundings.

"Oh. Hey," he said.

"I was just watching that very tense ending," Bo said with a small smile.

"I didn't see him coming either," Adina admitted.

Elias didn't comment, preoccupied with the last stick still in his hands. He snapped it in half like the others.

"I didn't want to interrupt," Bo said. "But could I talk to you for a bit, Elias?"

Elias looked back up at him again, letting the twigs slip out of his fingers. "Oh. Yeah. Sure," he said, flicking his eyes to Adina.

"I'll take care of the sticks," Adina said.

Bo got to his feet, waiting for Elias to follow. It took some moments, but Elias finally got to his feet and waited for Bo to lead the way. Bo began to lead them away from the camp, just enough to be out of earshot.

As they walked, he reached into his pocket.

"Did I do something wrong?" Elias asked.

"What?" Bo asked. "No, you're not in trouble. I just had some news I didn't really think everyone should hear. But it's relevant to you."

With their long strides, it really didn't take long for them to be in a space that was more private. Bo came to a stop and turned to Elias.

"And I have a gift for you," he said.

He pulled a small knick-knack out of his pocket and held it out to Elias.

"What is it?" Elias asked, staring at the object in his hand.

"Take it," Bo said with a grin. "It's a gift my father gave me decades ago, but I don't use it anymore. I thought you might like it. Mickey is an earth mage, so he shaped the rocks into six pieces, making three joints. You can basically roll it inside and out over and over. I've always found it comforting when I need something to do with my hands."

Elias hesitated, but then he reached out to take it out of hands, looking down at it as he began to roll the rocks with his fingers. Some seconds passed as he continued to play with it, until he abruptly stopped, tilting his head back up at Bo.

"Are you sure you want to give this to me?" he asked. "If it's from your father..."

"I want you to have it," Bo said. "I don't believe in holding onto things I don't use anymore for too long. I prefer to give them a new home with someone who will use it more."

"Well... thanks," Elias said as he weakly rolled the rocks between his fingers again. "I don't know what to say."

"That's alright," Bo said with a smile. "Usually thank you works just fine. You don't have to think of more than that."

"Right..." Elias said as he rolled the rocks once more, before hesitating and then placing it in his pocket. He looked back up at Bo expectedly. "You said you had news?"

"Ah," Bo said. "Yes. It has to do with the palace. More specifically Carter. Do you want to hear it?"

Elias didn't say anything right away, but then it seemed he processed that Bo had asked a question.

"Oh. Uh. Yeah, that's fine," he said.

"The very short version of it is that Tula managed to spy on him through another soldier," Bo said. "It came to light that Carter was a mage, and things have been a bit chaotic in King's Peak. Carter escaped, and I had to intervene."

He paused, wanting to give Elias time to process, since it seemed like he was taking things in a lot more slowly.

"Carter... escaped?" Elias repeated.

"Yes," Bo said, deciding to wait and leave space again if there was a follow-up question.

"Did you find him?" Elias asked.

"I did," Bo said.

"Where is he now?"

"Well..." Bo sighed. "I ended up having to take him to the city faster, in my other suit."

Elias looked at him blankly, clearly not following.

"You know. Scales. Fangs," Bo said, making a claw motion with his hands.

"Oh, right," Elias said with recognition and a nod.

"He was a lot more submissive that way," Bo said.

Elias was still nodding, his brows creased together in thought.

"What's he doing now?" he asked.

"Hopefully being cooperative," Bo said. "My dad's taking care of him now, so. I think he's in good hands."

Elias quickly flicked his eyes up and down Bo's body. "Did you get hurt?" he asked with much more sincerity in his voice.

"No," Bo said with a small smile. "I'm okay. You think Carter can take down a dragon?"

"He didn't take me down either, but just feeling it is enough," Elias said with sudden seriousness.

Bo paused, nodding slowly with understanding.

"It is scary," Bo said softly. "He did try. But I was faster."

"What did it feel like to you?" Elias asked.

"Much like it smells," Bo said.

"And what's that?"

"Death," Bo answered.

Elias nodded, not commenting further.

"But he won't be hurting anyone else," Bo said sincerely. "We're making sure of that."

"Is that all the news?" Elias asked.

It wasn't. But Bo didn't think Elias was ready to hear what happened to the people he used his magic on.

The truth was hard to face, and Bo didn't want to force him to. Not now. Elias was already barely staying afloat as it was.

"That's all," Bo said, gently patting Elias's shoulder.

Elias nodded, looking over his shoulder in the direction of the camp.

"I don't really remember much that day," he said. "Sorry I couldn't tell you earlier."

Bo had a feeling that was a partial truth. But he was just glad that Elias told him eventually.

"It's okay, Elias," Bo said softly. "Thank you for telling me now."

"Right. No problem," he said quietly.

"Are you ready to go back?" Bo asked.

"Are you?" Elias shot back.

Bo laughed lightly through his nose.

"Not really," he said. "It's been a long day."

"Maybe you should go back and get some rest," Elias suggested.

Bo smiled.

"I suppose that would be wise. I just wanted a moment to breathe," Bo said. "But you don't have to stay if you don't want to."

Elias looked back over the direction of the camp, deliberating in his head whether to stay or go.

"No, I can keep you company if you'd like," he finally said.

"I do like your company," Bo said.

Elias placed his hands in his pockets. "Well... there's lots of air to breathe here."

Bo closed his eye and turned his head skyward, taking in a deep breath, in and out.

"Smells like forest," he said.

"I don't really smell anything," Elias said.

"Oh?" Bo said. "Do you have a very strong nose in general?"

"I think I used to. But not so much anymore," Elias said as he also tilted his head upwards towards the sky.

"Then I'll tell you what I smell," Bo said. "And you can imagine it."

"You smell forest," Elias said as he gestured around. "I imagine forest."

"But smells have nuance," Bo said. "A forest can have so much nuance. Out here we have the crisp mountain air, the evergreens. The faint smell of tree sap and the smoke from the crackling fire. The smell of the stew you had earlier, lingering in the air. The smell of sweat, and the smell of everyone's body odor."

"That's a lot of smells," Elias commented when he finished.

"Try being a dragon sometime," Bo said. "It's constant overstimulation."

He waved his hand in front of his nose like he was wafting away a smell.

Elias hummed. "What does death smell like?"

Bo raised his brows.

"Well... not much different from a rotting body," Bo said. "So. Not pleasant."

"A rotting body," Elias echoed, thinking over his words.

"It's probably better that you can't smell it," Bo said. "You'd hate it, I'm sure."

"I know. Why do you think I've lost my sense of smell?" Elias asked as he reached up to pick a leaf off a tree branch above.

Bo glanced over at Elias.

Elias picked another leaf off the tree, focused on spinning it in his hand, not commenting further. Elias was giving Bo vague bread crumbs, but it was something. Bo decided it was best not to push it for now.

He reached up and grabbed a leaf of his own, spinning it in his own fingers. Then he held his leaf next to Elias's. Bo's was bigger.

"When we get to the city," Bo said. "I'll have to get you a big candle. One that smells very strongly of forest."

Elias hummed, still spinning the leaf in his fingers. "I'm getting tired of forests," he said.

"What would be more exciting?" Bo asked.

"Dunno," Elias said as he tossed the leaf. "Maybe a mountain. Some place really high."

"It would be cold, but have a great view," Bo said with a nod.

"I was thinking it'd be more fun to climb," he said.

"Are you much of a climber?" Bo asked.

Elias shook his head. "No... but it'd be nice to learn."

"It can be a useful skill to have," Bo commented simply.

The conversation came to a natural end as Elias continued to find distractions around him, scuffing up grass and picking more leaves off branches.

Until, finally, minutes passed and Elias was leaning against a tree trunk, now rolling a blade of grass between his fingers.

"I think I'm going to go for a run," he said out of the blue.

"Right now?" Bo asked.

"Yeah," Elias said as he stood up straight, dropping the grass and looking back up at the sky. "I still have time."

Bo nodded, watching the sun as it began to dip down towards the curve of the earth.

"If you're fast," Bo said. "I suppose you do."

A beat.

"Want a running buddy?" Bo asked.

"I think I'll go by myself today, but thanks," Elias said as he slipped out of his jacket and offered it to Bo. "Can you take this back?"

"I'll keep it safe for you," Bo said, taking it.

"Thanks," Elias said as he then peered around the forest until he found an opening with the least amount of trees. "I'll be back."

And with that, he zipped away - briefly jogging at first but then quickly gaining speed before he disappeared behind the thicket of trees.

Bo watched as Elias disappeared, standing still for a moment with Elias's jacket in his hands.

He wondered how many times Mickey had watched him walk away, worried for him. He wondered how many times Mickey felt like he was constantly being tested, and how many times he was afraid Bo would push him away.

With a small sigh, he turned and walked back to the camp under the light of the setting sun.

When he got back, he noticed Elise's eyes immediately locked onto the jacket in Bo's hand.

"He's fine," Bo mouthed before she could even ask.

She looked relieved. Somewhat. Bo walked over to her.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Went for a run," Bo said. "Gave me this for safekeeping."

"Oh," Elise said softly. It looked like she wasn't sure how to interpret that.

"I think he just needed to clear his head," Bo said, even though he had a feeling it was deeper than that.

"I suppose a run is a good way to do that. I just hope he doesn't use all his energy," she said.

He probably would. Elias looked like he pushed himself to his full speed from the start.

"Well, if he tires himself out, we're all going to bed soon anyway," Bo said, taking a seat beside Elise. "So he'll be able to sleep that off."

Elise was sitting with Mel, but it looked like Raj lied down to sleep early. Some of the others had gone to sleep already too.

"Yeah... that could be intentional," Elise said with a sigh. "Thank you for letting me know."

"Of course," Bo said softly.

There was a short, natural lull. But Bo could see Mel's mind turning, full of questions. She drew nearer to him and Elise.

"What really happened?" Mel asked.

Bo hesitated.

He didn't know where to start.

"Well... it was a lot," Bo said slowly.

Mel raised her brows, looking between him and Elise expectantly.

"Oh. Well, I don't know what happened, but you should know that I also know," Elise said to Mel vaguely.

Mel looked like she was processing.

"My true nature," Bo added, slighlty less vague.

Mel's eyes lit up.

"Oh, thank goodness," Mel said, letting out a heavy sigh like she'd been holding her breath. "I'm glad you know, Elise."

Elise weakly laughed. "Glad I can be part of the secret club now."

Mel put her arm around Elise, pulling her into a quick, half-hug. Elise smiled warmly.

"Happy to have you," Mel said. But then her smile faded and she looked at Bo with no amusement.

"You flew here, didn't you?" she hissed quietly.

"Well, things got more complicated when I went to meet Tula," Bo said. "She was spying on Deidra and Robin a lot on our way there, so I suggested she spy on the soldiers in the kingdom if she met any when she almost got turned in. And then that turned into her stumbling into witnessing the most dramatic fallout in the kingdom's upper ranks since James's whole... thing."

He gestured his hands vaguely.

"The escape?" Mel asked. "Or do you mean when he became wanted years ago?"

"The last one," Bo said.

Mel looked at Elise. Bo noticed she was looking for some kind of visual validation.

Elise shyly averted her gaze for a second, flicking her eyes between Bo and the fire.

"What's this fallout about?" she asked.

Bo looked down into his lap, taking in a deep breath, trying to think of the most succint way to describe it.

"In under two hours," Bo said. "Carter Haddon's inner circle turned on him. Carter Haddon has been a healing mage all this time, and after seeing Carter and Elias's magic at work when they fought in the palace, his own friends decided he was too dangerous and had to turn him in. They successfully exposed him, but tried to trick Carter by alerting him of his exposure and setting up an ambush under the guise of helping him get away. They never succeeded, as he killed all his friends and escaped."

That was the short of it. Right? Yeah.

"Again," Bo said, speaking lowly. "Tula saw all of this and reported the last of it to me as she was seeing it in real time."

Mel stared at Bo, wide-eyed, and he could see her expression shift from shock, to horror, to rage, to realization. Elise also stared at Bo wide-eyed, but she seemed shocked the whole time.

Obviously, Bo was here. So the story didn't end there.

"Not wanting Carter to get very far, I decided to intervene," Bo said. "Between Robin and I we were able to track him down quick. I went ahead to confront him myself. Once I subdued him I knew I couldn't risk wasting time trying to make sure Carter was taken somewhere secure..."

Bo paused, taking in a slow, deep breath.

"So I flew him and the others to the city. It was that, or I would have to figure out a way to keep Carter with me for two months of travel, separate from all of you, while also having Tula, Deidra, and Robin in tow."

He sighed.

"So I just... took the shortcut," Bo said. "And hurried back."

There was a long bout of silence that followed while both Elise and Mel continued to stare at him, processing. Mel seemed more exasperated than Elise, but Bo knew that was likely because Mel understood the stakes more than Elise did. Even though Bo had explained it in brief, she was still new to all of this information, nevermind this whole world.

"What's happening in King's Peak now?" Mel whispered.

Bo paused.

"I don't know. We don't have eyes in there anymore through Tula now that the person she was spying on is dead," he said quietly. "I... could've asked her to try someone else, but it'd be a long shot. And I don't really want to drag her into this any more than I already have. We'll have to wait to hear from our normal spies and informants. But while we're on the road we'll be out of the loop for a while."

"If Carter's gone they're either scrambling to cover it up or they're using him as fuel for more hate against mages," Mel said. "If it's the latter..."

"Even if it doesn't go public, they're going to crack down either way," Bo said. "Things are about to get a lot more difficult."

And Bo didn't know if his or Raj's identities were compromised, now. They'd been partially masked when they broke into the palace, covering the lower half of their faces, but Bo knew he was easy to spot if people knew to look for a really tall, muscular man with one eye.

There was a lot that was about to get more complicated for all of them, especially for Bo in particular. It was likely that at least a rough description of him was about to circulate, and he didn't know if anyone had spotted him flying yet. If they did, they'd start to hear about it eventually. Not right away, but...

He'd tried to be as careful as he could. In the palace he'd restrained himself as to cause any suspicions about his true nature. When flying, he'd taken longer routes to avoid flying over cities and towns. He'd flown through as much cloud cover as he could find. But that only did so much.

No one was about to suspect that a dragon had infiltrated the palace, but it was possible that both "versions" of him could be put on people's radar like they never had before.

It was stupid that one of his first thoughts was he might have to retire. At least, in the rescuing business.

There was just no way to know. They'd have to wait it out.

It seemed that Mel understood there wasn't anything they could do about much of this. It was already unfolding out of their control, and it didn't make sense to talk about all the worst case scenarios when they could already imagine them. It was premature to voice them when they had more immediate concerns around them with the people in their care. The fallout would catch up to him eventually, but Bo wanted to see this through first.

"You didn't get much information out of Carter, did you?" Mel whispered.

Bo shook his head.

"Didn't have time."

"Because I'm just confused as to how he ended up a mage in the first place, with his parents being who they are," she said.

Bo glanced at Elise, knowing she'd need more context.

"His parents are the head of the guild," Bo said. "The guild that enforces all of the anti-magic laws and hunts down mages."

"Which is why it's not just dramatic but confusing how Carter's been a mage all this time without anyone knowing," Mel said.

"Unless... they did know," Bo said. "But I don't know what motives they would have to keep that a secret besides familial loyalty. But Carter's parents have always been so radical about hating magic and mages, so it doesn't seem likely. Even if it was a front, they're still responsible for the deaths of so many."

Mel sighed, leaning back in thought.

"Maybe... they're mages too," Elise said quietly when there was a pause.

"I mean, Carter had to get the magic from somewhere in the bloodline," Bo said.

"If not his parents," Mel added. "Then his grandparents. Unless his parents aren't really his parents."

"You said he is a healing mage, right? But since he fought against Elias, does that mean...?" Elise asked, trailing off.

"He's been using his magic to kill people," Bo said, not cutting corners in explaining this time. "I can sense that his magic is very powerful. And he appears to know what he's doing..."

"You think a mage trained him?" Mel asked.

"Or he's just a progidy," Bo said.

Which wasn't really fair considering how Carter was abusing his magic.

"This kind of magic... it's very different from other magic. It can be isolating. If Carter did inherit this magic... well, maybe he also inherited his hate for other mages. Especially since this magic is so different and universally hated," Elise said.

Bo hesitated.

"It's... well," Mel started quietly. "I know it's a bit different on Earth. But on Nye... every healing mage is capable of causing just as much death as they give life."

She looked down into her lap.

"Technically, I'm capable of what Carter's doing as well," she said. "But before the calamity and the mage war, using healing magic to bring death was always forbidden. Not just because it hurt people, but because it would end up destroying the mage as well. There's... there's something about it that's addictive, if you use it too much. Even doing it a little is dangerous, especially for people who aren't as mentally stable. The first thing it affects is your mind."

Bo stared down at the empty space between the three of them.

"If a mage keeps pulling life from the things around them... there's a point where they never really seem to come back. Their minds are forever altered... and there's something inside them that's forever hungry. And they don't know how to stop. But the more they keep doing it the more it eats away at their mind, and eventually their body. To the point where, if they stop doing it, they'll die. Because their body's stopped being able to feed off of anything else."

Mel was quiet for a moment.

"That's... much, much further down the line than Carter seems to be," she said quietly. "But... that's why it's so dangerous."

"Oh... I see," Elise said quietly, deeply processing again.

"My hope is that my father can help bring Carter around before he destroys himself and others in the process," Bo said faintly.

Mel nodded. Bo could tell there was more she could say, but she was looking at him. He wondered if his weariness was becoming more transparent.

"We already have the shifts covered for tonight," she said after a long pause. "Since we weren't expecting you. You should get some sleep."

Right. Bo looked around the camp, noticing the only person still up was Eve, sitting on the edge of the wagon, not far from James while she kept watch.

Bo nodded and got up to go grab his things.

"Hey, Bo?" Elise called before he could get too far.

Mel had already split away to get ready for bed herself. Bo paused, turning to Elise.

Elise had stood up, wringing her hands as she looked up with a tired smile.

"I know there's a lot I don't fully understand and may have missed, but I know you took a big risk to get here. So I just wanted to say... thank you. I appreciate all you do for everyone here."

Bo's expression softened, and he smiled, even though his was tired as well.

"Thanks, Elise," he said.

Elise nodded. "You're probably so tired. I hope you get a good night's rest."

Bo reached out and pulled Elise into a hug. She was stiff at first, hesitating before she returned the embrace.

"You too," he said.

They were on the move again, but Eve didn't want to leave James's side.

After everything that happened... after all they had been through... it still felt like a risk to leave his side - even if just for a moment. If she was near, she wouldn't lose him.

The future had yet to be written, but she knew it was only going to get better. Nothing was going to separate them again. They had allies. They had friends. They finally had a safe place to go. They finally had a real, tangible future.

There was still so much to talk about and so much to discuss with James, but Eve wanted to be patient. They had a lot of time together now. There was no rush.

It was evening, now. Eve hardly left the wagon for a full two days. She understood that she had missed so much, but that was only noise to her. Eve knew that Bo and others had this covered. She wasn't anyone's leader, and no one depended on her to be up-to-date on information.

Elise and Mel were the only ones that came into the wagon, mostly because they wanted to check up on James. He had been feverish and unconscious since they left the cave. His body was shivering, shaking, and sweating - all signs of lumshade withdrawls. Eve knew that he had been fed so much of the drug the last month... and seeing him like this pained her. But it was necessary for him to flush it out of his system.

Eve did her best to take care of James. She fed him as best as she could, but it proved to be difficult since he wasn't fully conscious. In fleeting moments he was awake, he could only stomach a few bites. Eve always opted to feed him a soup since he could drink it rather than chew and swallow, which seemed to be easier. Plus, she wanted him to be as hydrated as possible - but she knew he could be in better condition.

Whenever James was asleep, Eve found herself trying to clean him up whenever she saw fit - from dabbing away food stains, to brushing his matted hair, she tried to be there for him whether he was aware of it or not.

Eve hoped she wasn't burdening anyone else, though. She was now perfectly healthy to move and help the others, but she hadn't volunteered to do so yet - nor did anyone come in to ask her to. It seemed that everyone understood that she wanted to be close with James, and she was grateful for that.

But she knew that she couldn't coop herself in the wagon all day, only going out to get supplies. Eventually, people would worry.

And although Eve didn't need to make decisions for the group, she still wanted to be informed, and she still wanted to keep in touch with those she cared about.

Eve watched James heavily breathe in and out. His bowl of soup was still by his side, mostly untouched - as was hers. Something about seeing him unable to eat made her lose her own appetite.

Eve sighed deeply, leaning in to gently kiss his forehead.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get some fresh air," she said softly, even though she didn't think James would be able to hear her.

And predictably, he didn't react.

Eve ventured out of the wagon, taking a deep breath as she slowly stepped out, taking in her surroundings. It seemed that everyone was beginning to get ready to go to bed. Yesterday, she volunteered to take a longer watch at night since she felt obligated to do so. She could do it again today.

But first, she wanted to be on the same page as everyone else.

Her eyes landed on Bo, who was still chatting with Mel, Elise, and Raj. Eve invited herself over, lingering nearby and knowingly interrupting the flow of conversation.

But she didn't have to wait long. Bo seemed to have recognized she came over to see him, and he already excused himself, getting to his feet.

"Sorry to interrupt," Eve said, directing the apology to others, but mostly focused on Bo. "Can I talk to you, Bo?"

"Of course," Bo said, giving the others a small wave before he started to walk away, following her lead.

At first, Eve didn't think they needed true privacy, but then thought better of it, instead taking him past the camp and through the thicket of trees. After silently walking through the woods for a bit, Eve felt confident enough that she stopped and turned to him, deciding to get straight to business.

"I want to apologize for not being very present the last few days," she said. "James is still recovering, so I thought I'd use this time to be more well-informed with everything going on. There's still a lot I'd like to know - mostly related to our rescue mission, but also about Rita. I assume you haven't told anyone yet?"

"About Rita?" Bo asked. "Only Elise and Mel know at the moment."

"Is it worth telling anyone else?" Eve asked.

"I don't think anyone else needs to know, no," Bo said. "As it's not really relevant to them."

Eve crossed her arms. "And James?"

"You should tell him at your discretion," Bo said.

"How would you like me to explain her death?" she asked.

Bo let out a quiet "ah" and nodded slowly. He slipped his hands into his pockets.

"You can tell him that I killed her, if that's what you mean," Bo said.

Bo was a dragon, after all. Eve simply asked the question to get his blessing on whatever method of death he preferred, since she assumed that instant dying of energy was off the table.

"I suppose I can say that the fight was a struggle, and we got lucky evading lumshade darts," she said.

"If he asks how, I don't mind you explaining," Bo said. "It was electrocution, and it was quick. If he knows I have lightning magic that should put two and two together. But if you're wondering about whether you should mention I'm a dragon, I'd prefer if you left that part out. At least, for now."

Eve paused. "For now?" she asked.

"I'd rather tell him myself. I want to be the one to tell people that secret personally," Bo said.

"Of course. I understand that," Eve said, glancing back in the direction of the camp, furrowing her brows.

It didn't feel like it was her place to tell him what to do, but...

"How many people already know?" she asked, attention back on Bo.

Bo glanced back towards the camp as well, and he let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Six. You, Mel, Raj, Robin, Elise, and Elias," he said.

Eve nodded. She hadn't realized that Elise and Elias knew as well, but she didn't think this would ever naturally come up anyways since this was a secret.

"And I'd say everyone in this group is very trustworthy," she said slowly. "But if it's truly a secret, perhaps we should try to minimize the number of people who know. I don't think anyone would reveal your identity on purpose. But as you know - sometimes, details leak out."

Eve sighed, fully aware that she was telling a dragon - who was likely older and more experienced than her - a suggestion that he already knew.

"I know you know this. And I know you're careful. I'm not trying to patronize you. But with everything going on, I'd like to give you a friendly reminder anyways," she said.

Bo grinned.

"I appreciate it," he said. "To be honest with you, I don't plan on telling anyone else. And as for James, I only plan on telling him if it feels like it's needed."

"Well," Eve said with an exaggerated fluorish of her hand. "He did keep a heavy secret for seven years and became a wanted man because of it. I think your secret is safe with him."

Bo's grin grew, and he nodded with a small laugh.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said.

Eve nodded. That covered that.

"I also wanted to talk to you about what happened at the castle," she continued, switching topics. "I know I was out of it for a lot of it towards the end. I can do my best to fill in missing pieces, if you still need them. But otherwise, I was hoping you could give me a full briefing of what happened."

Bo nodded, looking around them like he was searching for something. His eye landed on a fallen log.

"Sure," he said. "Mind if I sit?"

Eve nodded, gesturing for him to help himself, and he did so. He sat heavily on the log, and it shifted slightly under his weight.

"I could start from the part where you were hit with lumshade and knocked unconscious," Bo said. "But it might be easier if we went back a little further than that. I know you got James out of his cell, but I can only assume you two froze time for a portion of that, since it happened so fast. Am I correct in that assumption?"

"That's correct," Eve answered, now eye-level with Bo since he was sitting down. "But unfortunately, I used most of our paused time unlocking the chains holding him down. There were dozens of keys and many locks. By the time we left the cell, we only had about two minutes left."

"And the...?" Bo made a slicing motion across his neck.

Eve bit her lip, her eyes drifting down to the ground. "There was a healing mage in his cell. Right before we froze time, she sliced his throat and threatened that we needed her to heal him, implying that we must also free her as well. Of course, we didn't do that, instead locking the door behind us when we left. Elias did his best to stabilize the bleeding afterwards."

Bo nodded, like some pieces were falling into place for him.

"And after that was when you came back into the hall, and then you got hit with the dart while Elias was carrying James," Bo said.

Eve nodded. "That's right. I ran as far as I could, but then everything went black. And when I woke up... well. You know what happened."

It was still bizarre. She remembered Bo and Raj panicking, unable to get back into the dungeon hall due to unforeseen blockages. She was only half-conscious, but she remembered that they fought so hard to get back in, because they weren't going to leave James and Elias in there.

It wasn't until Tula communicated with Eve that they knew Deidra was safe with Elias and James. After that, they turned around and went back to safety - even when they still didn't have all the answers.

"The Moonlight Kingdom has mages secretly in their service," Bo said. "You know this because of the healing mage who tortured James, but they also had their own earth mages close up our exit so we couldn't get back in, and Elias and James couldn't get back out. That left Elias and James alone for two or three minutes before Deidra reached them. Obviously we only got a little bit of James's side of the story, but he somehow managed to carry you, Raj, and I out before all of that using his own magic."

Eve was putting everything together in her mind. Things were making more sense now. From James apologizing for not getting Elias out in time, to the tunnels being blocked... it made sense.

The kingdom holding healing and earth mages was still a bit of a shock. Eve had a feeling they were hiding many more mages than they let on.

"Having heard from both Elias and Diedra's accounts, it sounds like in the time before Deidra reached them, Elias was restrained while James had fallen unconscious. Carter Haddon came in at the time and began to interrogate him, which quickly escalated to violence. But Deidra intervened before Elias could be too hurt," Bo said.

Eve stared at Bo with wide eyes. She had no idea Carter was involved in this. She had no idea Elias even faced him.

"Deidra, in her own words, tossed Carter out of the way before picking James and Elias up. At the time, both were wounded, and of course, James was unconscious. So she carried them out, going back the way she came. She was able to meet up with the rest of us and we helped her get back into the mines. You, Elias, and James were all still a little out of it, so between Raj, Deidra, and I we all carried you out with the others leading the way. We made it out of the mines just before they blew them up and they caved in. From there, we all piled into the wagon and onto the horses to get away. Those who were more well off helped defend against those who tried to chase us."

Slowly, Eve moved to sit next to Bo, processing all of this. Eve remembered bits and pieces of everything after Elias and James came back, but even then, her memories were hazy.

Now that she had all the pieces, she felt even more overwhelmed.

"I didn't know that Carter was there," she admitted quietly.

She already had to mentally prepare on telling James sometime soon.

"Yeah," Bo said quietly. "There's... more to that."

Eve snapped her head up at him, already feeling a wave of anxiety. "What do you mean there's more?"

"No one's in danger," Bo assured her quickly. "But after our escape, many things in the kingdom came to light as they dealt with the fallout of the rescue. You have to understand that from their perspective, they just had four powerful mages break into what was supposed to be one of their most secure locations. What we accomplished was, on their end, a huge security breach. So naturally, once we'd escaped, things were chaotic in the mess we left behind."

Eve waited for him to get on with it, but the long explanation of him prefacing what he really wanted to say started to pain her.

"It came to light that Carter Haddon is a mage," Bo said. "A healing mage."

Eve stared at him blankly, not even processing the words right away like she usually did. "What?" she spat out.

"This was made clear in Elias's confrontation with him," Bo went on. "Where Carter retaliated against Elias with his magic."

"He - what - he's a mage," Eve sputtered out. "Didn't he kill mages? And what does this have to do with..."

Eve groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. She could now understand why he seemed hesitant to drop the news right away.

Bo took in a slow breath and let out an even slower sigh.

"This doesn't directly affect you," Bo said. "But considering your connection to James, and namely, James's affiliation with him, I thought you'd want to know."

"And I'm glad you're telling me. Really," Eve said, putting her hand down as she faced him more squarely. "But I am confused. How do you know he's a mage?"

Bo clicked his tongue, nodding to himself as he looked out into the forest.

"Tula," he said. "Mostly."

Well, the story just kept on thickening, didn't it?

"Of course it is," Eve said lowly. "What did she see?"

"Well... a lot," Bo said with a sigh, leaning forward with his arms crossed over his knees. "When she was about to be turned in, she briefly met one of the guards. A woman named Ingrid. Tula, of course, escaped, but the interaction was enough that the two of them remembered each other's faces, so Tula was able to spy on her."

"Ingrid was one of Carter's five generals. There's this whole weird thing about him being the 'King's Hand' so... the generals are like... the fingers but. You know what. Nevermind. Ingrid was one of the generals, and Tula watched through her eyes that whole morning immediately after we escaped. In short, she saw Ingrid plan with the other Generals to expose and turn Carter in as a mage, hoping it would save them from exposure since they were also mages themselves. Apparently, after seeing Carter use his magic, they realized they wanted out. In a complicated web of events, they tricked Carter into thinking he was already exposed by someone else, and they were going to help him escape. But it was actually a setup to capture him. Their capture was unsuccessful, and Carter ended up killing them and getting out of King's Peak."

Bo paused, letting out another deep breath. Eve was too shocked to say anything right away, trying to process everything all at once.

"Should I keep going?" Bo asked.

Eve didn't even know what question to ask right now. She felt like she had so many, but none were coming to the surface.

She thought the story would end there, but apparently, there was more.

"Yes. Continue," she said instead.

"Tula witnessed the escape in real time by the time Robin, Deidra and I reached her. I decided Carter was too big a threat to let out into the world unchecked, so with the help of Robin, I tracked him down," Bo said.

"You found him?" Eve asked incredulously.

"It really wasn't that hard," Bo said dismissively.

"No, I'm not--" Eve wildly shook her head. "I mean, what did you do to him? Did you... kill him?"

"That would've been easier," Bo said, and it sounded like he was tired just thinking about what he'd done. "But no. I put the fear of dragons in him and flew him off to the city we're all headed to because it was faster that way, him being as unstable as he was. I ended up taking Tula, Deidra, and Robin as well."

He made a squiggly motion in the air in front of him, like he was imitating his own dragon form flying.

Eve sighed.

She didn't really understand Bo. She had seen him easily cast the "fear of dragons" to others, instantly killing them. On the other hand, she also saw him being quick to forgive. After all, he wanted to help Deidra and Tula. He saw potential in them.

But Carter? He saw potential in Carter?

"Carter's a wealth of information," Bo continued. "Even though his reputation is ruined--"

"Would you have helped Carter if he wasn't a mage?" Eve cut in, interrupting him.

Bo blinked, and turned to look at her.

"Yes," Bo said quietly.

"And you would still take him to the city of mages?" Eve pressed.

"To hand him off to someone else, yes," Bo said.

"Would you have helped him if he didn't have valuable information to give about the kingdom?" Eve asked.

Bo looked out into the forest, like he was deep in thought.

"I guess that would depend on how he responded," Bo said quietly. "If he wasn't a mage, he'd be no match for me. So he probably would've surrendered even faster. He's not an idiot, and I know he wants to live."

He paused, looking over at her with a searching glance. Eve kept her stony, stoic expression.

"I don't know if he's redeemable," Bo said. "I honestly hope that everyone is, but I know that's not always reality. Some people choose to stick on the paths they're on because they actually like it, no matter how dark it is."

"How are you going to test whether he is redeemable or not?" Eve asked.

"What's this really about?" Bo asked.

Eve sighed. She wished he would just answer the question. She pulled her gaze away, not realizing that it had turned into a glare.

"If I tell James about this, he will find reasons to redeem Carter - especially if he's put in this new environment where it's possible for him to change," she said. "I'm not questioning your morals. I'm simply bracing myself with what may happen and considering the possibilities."

"If it gives you any peace of mind," Bo said. "We are going to be greatly limiting who visits Carter. Namely on the basis of his misuse of his magic and the fact that we can't trust him yet to not hurt anyone. So even if James did want to visit him for whatever reason, there would be bars against that. At least, for a time. I can't say when that will change."

"The bars won't stop words from being exchanged," Eve said. "Obviously, I'm not going to tell James what to do either. But Carter is manipulative. Anyone who visits should proceed with caution."

Bo laughed, but it was dry and joyless.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," he said.

Eve took another deep sigh. She'd ask him what he planned on doing with Carter, but it seemed that it was still too soon to tell. And it also seemed that he was currently being handled with people Bo trusted. Bo also seemed tired - not of her or this conversation, but just in general. Eve took him as someone who didn't spend as much time speculating about a thousand different what-if scenarios, so she didn't want to waste his time.

"It sounds like it's being taken care of, then," she said. "Thank you for telling me every thing."

Bo nodded.

"Of course," Bo said. "And if you find you have any other questions, just pull me aside."

With a small grunt, he got to his feet and gave her a small smile.

"And I know we blew past it earlier," he said. "But you don't have to apologize for being preoccupied with James. He's your partner, and he needs you. Everyone understands that. But you also don't have to care for him alone. Let us know when you need a break and there's a whole horde of people who care about him as well that I know would be happy to help."

Eve slowly stood up, suddenly feeling very awkward now that he was raining her with kindness. It wasn't that she wished he didn't say this, but it still felt strange regardless.

"Thanks... I appreciate it," she said stiffly, leaving it at that. "Are you ready to go back?"

Bo smiled.

"Yeah," he said.

Eve nodded, leading the way to the camp again, letting the silence fall between them.

Eve wasn't in a mood to talk anymore. She was far too occupied trying to digest everything he told her.

There was so, so much...

Rita. Bo being a dragon. Mage soldiers. Elias facing Carter. Deidra. Tula. Carter as a mage. Carter being exiled. Carter's destruction. The city.

Eve wished that she could talk this through with James right now, not liking that she had to contain her thoughts to her head at the moment. But she wanted to be patient, waiting until he was ready.

They went back to the camp, and Eve parted ways from Bo without another word. She returned to the wagon, briefly going inside for a bit so she could lay down next to James.

Eve volunteered to keep the first watch that night again, so she didn't have much time to stay here. But she just wanted to enjoy this, just for a little while.

"If only you knew what I knew," she whispered, brushing strands of hair away from his face. It was sticking to his hot, clammy skin. "I don't think you'd believe it."

Eve stayed there, watching him heavily breathe in and out, brushing his hair with her fingers to keep the sweat at bay. It hurt her to see him like this, but she knew he would get better soon.

Eventually, Eve stood back up, pulling out a clean rag so she could wipe the sweat away from his face. By the time she came back from her shift, she may have to change him out of his clothes. It was starting to get drenched with sweat.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," she said with a small playful smile, even though she knew he couldn't see or hear her. Still, she leaned down and gave James another kiss on the forehead.

With that, Eve retreated to the end of the wagon, sitting at the edge so that she could keep her eyes on the entire camp. She was content sitting in silence by herself, alone with her thoughts as others drifted to sleep.

Only a few minutes passed before she - again - saw Elias crawling out of the woods, also drenched with sweat. And, just like last time, he collapsed on his bedroll, clearly exhausted and tired.

She stared at him quickly fall asleep, wondering what that was about. She meant to ask him about it today, but it hadn't crossed her mind. That was, until she saw him do that again.

And now knowing everything that happened back at the castle, with Carter...

Perhaps the events were more connected than she thought.

Elise and Mel checked on James again the next morning. They claimed that James's fever was starting to break, but he needed more rest. His energy would be returning soon, though.

It was great news. Eve was elated, but she knew that they still needed more time.

"You hear that?" she said softly after they left, beaming as she crouched down next to James, taking his hand. "Your fever is waning. You'll feel better soon. You'll see."

Eve continued to stay by his side, gently rubbing her thumb against his hand.

"I'm happy that you're getting better. But... even if you still felt this way for days, or weeks, or even months... I'd still be here, you know. But I know you already know that," she said, squeezing his hand.

Eve didn't expect a response. But seeing him breathe in and out was enough.

"I'll be right back. I'll get you food and water," she said, giving his hand another squeeze before pulling away and leaving the wagon.

That morning, Eve decided to help clean up the camp a little, even if she didn't need to. Bo's words rung in her head, but she stubbornly decided to help the others anyways.

Finally, Eve came back in the wagon with a full canteen of water and a plateful of dried fruits. She usually mashed the dried fruits to a jam and fed James that way since it was easier for him to eat.

It was still difficult to feed him, but she tried her best. Eve had to compose herself as she tried to sit him up so he could drink water, but he sputtered and coughed it all out.

Eve sighed, sadly watching James sleep again. He was getting better and regaining his strength, but without enough food or water, his strength wouldn't return.

If only there was a way for her to help some more...

Another minute passed, and Eve took another deep breath, deciding to pull away for a few minutes so she could sit at the edge of the wagon by herself, hoping it'd be easier for her to eat that way. She watched everyone chat and finish loading up the animals, knowing that this mean they would leave any minute now.

"Hey," a voice said beside her.

Eve whirled around to see Elias standing with his hands in his pockets, smiling.

"Hey, Elias," she said.

"How's James?" he asked.

Eve sighed, fiddling with the plate of fruit on her lap. "He's getting better, but still not feeling too well. He's going through withdrawals."

Elias invited himself over, sitting on the opposite side of the wagon. "Withdrawals...?"

"From lumshade," Eve explained simply.

"Ah," Elias said, leaving it at that.

Eve turned the dried fruit in her hand, inspecting it closely even though her mind was lost somewhere else. Somewhere deep within the chasms of other thoughts, lost in more chasms and layers.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked quietly instead, still staring at the fruit.

Elias hesitated for a while. "About...?" he said, trailing off.

"Carter," Eve said, deciding to just feed this to him. She sighed, turning to face him. He looked at her with worry and concern, even though this wasn't about her. "I didn't know you saw him. Why didn't you tell me?"

Elias glanced back in the wagon. "I mean... you have a lot of other things to worry about," he said. "I was going to tell you eventually. It's all so new right now."

Eve sighed, staring back down at the fruit.

"I know," she said defeatedly. "It just feels like important information to know. But... I guess it doesn't matter now." Eve glanced back at him. "What happened back there?"

"Well, first of all, as you can see - I'm fine," Elias said with a little smile, gesturing down at himself. "It might be easier to say what you don't know. I'm guessing Bo told you?"

Eve couldn't help but feel a little suspicious, but she nodded anyways. "He told me you were restrained and were interrogated until Deidra came in." She paused, feeling a tug of shame that she wanted to say something else, but then decided to blurt it out. "But before she could come in, he mentioned that the two of you fought. Weapons were involved. It must have been scary."

A lie. If this did happen, Bo didn't mention it. Eve just wanted to see if Elias would correct her.

Why couldn't she shake the feeling that he was witholding more information from her?

Elias nodded, leaning forward and setting his elbows on his lap. "Yeah, that's right. Except I wasn't really scared."

Eve watched him carefully, trying to look for a tell or any sign to indicate that he was acting unusual.

"You weren't?" she asked.

"No... I mean, being scared isn't really that helpful when you're fighting," he said with a slight shrug.

"Did anything else happen?" Eve asked.

"Well... it doesn't help that I have gaps in my memory, so--"

"Elias, what are you hiding?" Eve interrupted, cutting to the chase.

Elias faltered. "Nothing," he said innocently with his hands up in the air, brows raised high. "I'm not hiding anything."

Eve stared at him, casting doubt.

Elias weakly laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Okay, I admit it - I don't really want to talk about it. I did have to fight. And I got a head injury. I don't remember much, but... honestly, I don't really want to remember it anyways."

"Bo mentioned that you used your magic," Eve said, leaving it at that and continuing to watch for his reaction.

Elias hesitated again, clearly growing uncomfortable, but Eve was simply just trying to get answers. "Well... yeah," he said like it was obvious. "That's what mages do."

Eve waited to see if he would elaborate, keeping silent.

"I was using it defensively," Elias said with a lower voice, leaning forward again.

"Alright... that's fine. I get it," Eve said. "It's just... well..." She sighed, deciding to let it go. "Never mind."

There was a tense pause as Elias glanced her way. "What?" he pressed.

"Nothing," Eve said more seriously. "I'm just trying to process everything. That's all."

Along with everything else that happened, now she could add being wary of Elias back on the pile. Of course, she was still friends with him - but she couldn't help but feel like he was lying to her. And she couldn't fathom why.

Eve had a feeling that if she outright asked if and why he was lying, he wouldn't answer her. This all felt so unusual yet so familiar.

There was a long, tense pause that sat between them, feeling heavy. At least, it did for Eve. Maybe not for Elias. Maybe this was all in her head again.

"You should eat," Elias said softly. "I know you haven't been eating much."

Eve glanced at him again. "How observant of you," she said.

After all, he also noticed that she had a conversation with Bo. Maybe he was watching her.

"I just care about my friends. That's all," he said.

Yeah. Maybe Eve was being needlessly paranoid again. Keeping everything in her head was really starting to get to her.

"Elias, what were you doing last night?" she asked. "And the night before as well? I was keeping watch and saw you crawl to bed from the woods."

"Oh... hah," Elias said with a weak laugh, shifting his weight. "I went for a run."

"A... run," she repeated slowly.

"Yeah. I had a lot of energy and needed to get rid of it to sleep. You know?"

Eve couldn't say she did, but it sounded like something he would do.

"Since we're on the move again, you may want to start saving that energy," Eve said with a sigh.

Elias smiled. "Yeah... maybe. But I'm trying to train."

"Train? For what?"

"I'm going to climb a mountain one day," he said matter-of-factly.

Eve stared at him blankly before narrowing her eyes at him. "A mountain?" she repeated. "Which one? Why?"

Elias hummed. "I'm not sure yet."

"Does running even make sense if you're wanting to climb a mountain? Shouldn't you, I don't know, be climbing trees or scaling cliffs?" she asked.

"Small steps, Ev. I'll be running one day, then swinging like a monkey another day," Elias said with a growing grin. "You'll see."

Eve sighed, shaking her head. "You are so strange."

"Thanks," Elias said proudly.

Suddenly there was a violent coughing noise behind them. James. It sounded like he may be spitting something up.

Both Eve and Elias abruptly turned around, then looked at each other, bothing thinking the same thing. Eve scrambled to her feet first, hurrying in the tent. Elias trailed right behind her.

"James," Eve called, immediately tending to his side and offering a handkerchief near his mouth in case he really did need to spit something up.

He was somewhere between awake and asleep. He didn't seem fully responsive.

"Maybe he's spitting out the lumshade," Elias joked.

Eve briefly turned to give him a pointed look, but quickly turned her attention back to James, watching to see if he'd awaken.

James groaned, leaning weakly to his side as he started to heave.

"Water," James rasped.

Eve frantically looked to her sides for the canteen.

"Here it is," Elias said, interrupting her search as he suddenly tossed the canteen to her.

Eve barely caught it, almost letting it slip from her hands. She had to stop herself from giving Elias another pointed look, instead hurriedly opening the canteen and helping him sit up.

"Here," she said softly, pulling his hand to the bottle. "Do you have it? Do you need help?"

James took the bottle with shaky hands, and he started drinking like he hadn't had water in days. He only paused every few seconds to take a breath.

"Sheesh, you must have really deprived him of water," Elias said as they watched him excessively drink.

"I didn't--" Eve began, but then sighed, starting again. "I gave him plenty of water. It's hard to keep down when you're sick."

"I know, I know, I'm just... teasing," Elias said with a weak laugh as they watched James finish the bottle.

It took him a minute, but when it was presumably empty, he set it down and leaned back down, breathing heavily like he was exhausted just from the effort.

"Well... seems he's back to sleep," Elias commented. "But this is a good sign, right?"

"Yeah," Eve said softly, sitting next to James and leaning forward, still worried anyways even though this was a good sign.

James's eyes were cracked open, but his eyes looked bleary and absent.

"Hi, James. It's just me and Elias. You don't have to answer, but... it's good to see you," Eve said with a soft smile, watching for any reaction.

James didn't respond right away. After several seconds, he hummed faintly and reached out towards her, likely seeking her hand.

Eve happily took it, trying not to collapse right then and there from being overjoyed that he was finally responding.

"I'm here," she whispered.

James held her hand, but his eyes drooped heavier, and his breaths fell into a familiar sleepy breathing pattern.

"I think we'll be leaving soon. I'll going to help the others," Elias said quietly, slinking away from the wagon. "Hey, Ev?" he called after some hesitation.

Eve finally tore her gaze away from James to look up at him.

"Ah... nothing. Never mind," he said quickly, already leaving the wagon.

If this were any other situation, Eve may have stopped him or asked him what he was really thinking. But she was far too preoccupied with James to overthink this right now, holding his hand and keeping him close.

Eve laid down next to James again, still holding his hand. She wasn't very tired, but she wanted to be there for him when he was ready.

She just had to be patient.

It has been a little less than a week since they infiltrated the palace, now. Elise was glad that they hadn't run into any more trouble since then.

Trouble was all relative, of course. Fortunately, no one was in danger... but it didn't mean they were stress-free. It was always difficult travelling in a group, hiking for a minimum of twenty miles a day with animals and supplies. Elise was aware that everyone was pushing themselves more than usual lately, more so because everyone knew that the kingdom must have retaliated with mage hunters.

They were all travelling with a well-rounded, good group though. And now that Elise knew that Bo was a dragon... well, she certainly felt safer.

The past several days went by quickly.

Elise was trying her best to spend time with Elias, although she knew that he was still holding her at a distance. She tried not to let it get to her, doing her best to instigate conversation and keep him present.

She asked him a lot about how running was going, although she couldn't fathom why or how this newfound obsession came about.

"It's going fine. I think I'm getting better," Elias simply said when she asked about it another day.

"How have you been keeping track of your progress?" she asked.

"Time, mostly," he answered.

"Ah. Do you have a stopwatch?"

Elias shook his head. "No. I just know I'm getting faster because I come back before dark now."

Elise nodded, pausing to think of more questions. "Are you training for anything?"

Elias shrugged. "Can't I run to run?"

"I suppose so," she said softly, and left it at that.

Elise knew that there had to be a reason that this was coming up, but she didn't press further. If she had to guess, this was a distraction for Elias - and he didn't want to admit it.

They were on route to get to the city of New Haven in 5 weeks or so. If Elias could hold out until then, she was sure that there would be opportunities in which he could truly talk to someone and get the support that he needed.

Whenever Elias did squirm away from her, Elise found herself naturally drifting to Bo or Mel - or both of them, if they were together. Although, if they were together, Elise found herself to be more shy, drawing back a little. After all, Bo and Mel knew so much and had a strong leadership presence. She was glad - and frankly, kind of honored - that they considered Elise to be a good friend.

Every morning, Elise would check in on James. He was doing better every day, but he was still on the slow route of recovery. She could see the excess worry in Eve's eyes as she continually asked for a status update, and every time, Elise would tell her the same thing with a smile: "He's recovering and will continue to get better tomorrow."

Fortunately, Elise didn't have to check in too often, because Eve was doing a good job at taking care of James. James was conscious enough that he could move and do everything himself, but Elise was persistent that he take it easy and lay down since his recovery time would be slowed with every movement. She hoped that neither James or Eve minded that he still had to be aided with food, water, and other daily tasks.

Elise and Mel did see the open wounds he had, and both of them shared a serious look of understanding with one another, but didn't address it. They knew that these wounds were not accrued in battle.

But that was a topic for another day. For now, Elise was happy and content with his progress.

After checking up on James that morning, they continued to move again, following a creek. It was nice to be by fresh water so they could fill up their bottles and clean up.

At mid-day, Elise helped wash dirtied clothes and rags, scrubbing the excess grime away and watching it dissapear in the clear, frigid water. The water was ice cold, but that didn't stop people from jumping in. Elias in particular splashed in before it was even an option, not even removing his clothes beforehand. It didn't take long for Jordan to follow suit. The water wasn't deep, but it was something.

Everyone cleaned up and then sat down under the sun, drying off. Elise dried off quickly so she could help hang and fold clothes, but then Bo peeked out behind a hung sheet, catching her attention.

He flashed her a smile, ducking under the clothesline to come around to her.

"I'm glad it's not too cold today," Bo said. "Water's cold, but once you get out it's not too miserable."

Elise glanced up at the sky, squinting at the clouds that just now briefly covered the sun. "Yeah. It helps that it's a sunny day."

Bo stopped beside her, standing with his hands in his pockets, staring up at the sky with her.

"Want to go for a walk?" Bo asked. "We'll be stopped for a while."

Elise glanced up at him, hesitating before quickly hanging a wet shirt on the clothesline.

"Sure," she said with a smile, finishing up. "I'd like that."

"I think I saw some fish down this way," Bo said, starting to walk down to the water. "A little school of them. They might be further downstream already, but let's see."

Intrigued, Elise followed Bo, watching the water to see if she'd see this school of fish. She had been so busy cleaning up that hadn't been paying much attention to any creatures in the water.

"What do they look like?" she asked.

"Small," Bo said, making a shape with his hands to indicate that they were thin and about six inches long. "And shiny."

"Small shiny fish," Elise repeated out loud, imagining them.

"They taste good," Bo said. "If you can catch them. They're not super meaty but they have a nice taste to them. It's rich. There's a certain..."

He rubbed his forefinger and thumb together in one hand while he searched for a word.

"There's a subtle sweetness. Not in a sour, sickly sweet kind of way. More like the way honey will melt into something's flavor."

"I see," Elise said with a smile. "It sounds like you're already preparing for dinner."

Bo turned to her with a wide grin.

"Yes," he said.

"Well... I can't say I've ever fished before. So I hope your catching skills are good," Elise said, still smiling.

"Lucky for you," Bo said. "I already caught some."

Second-guessing her memory, Elise searched to see if he was actually holding any fish, but he wasn't.

"They're back at camp," Bo said.

"Oh, right. So that's what you've been up to," she said with a little laugh.

"But my hands are still a little slimy," Bo said with a mischievous grin, reaching over to wipe his hand on her arm.

Elise squirmed away, scrunching her nose and laughing. "The water is right next to you," she playfully scolded, pointing down at it.

Bo laughed, instead wiping his hands on his pants.

"I don't want to have to dry off again," Bo said playfully.

"Wouldn't it still be better to rinse your hands in the water then wipe them dry on your pants?" Elise asked.

Bo laughed, shaking his head slightly as he quickly reached down into the water, splashing his hands in. He pulled them out and clapped them together, sending a little spray around them.

"All clean," he said.

"Sorry," Elise said with a weak laugh. "I wasn't trying to mother you."

"It comes out naturally," Bo said with a small shrug. "I was just being silly is all. Don't worry about it."

Yeah... Elise did tend to react to silliness this way, but maybe it was because she was so used to it when she took care of Elias growing up.

She nodded. "Do you see the fish yet?" she asked.

Bo's eye lit up.

"Oh, right," Bo said, scanning the creek beside them. "A little further."

He hurried in his steps, and Elise had to jog a bit beside him before he stopped, and pointed out into the water.

"There," he said. And there, swirling in creek was a small school of shiny, shimmering fish. Some of them had parted from the group and were feeding off the bottom of the creek.

Elise crouched down, leaning forward as she watched the fish circle around the water. Bo was right. They were surprisingly shiny.

"They're called glimmers," Bo said. "Bet you can't guess why."

Elise glanced back at Bo with a wider smile. "It's a very fitting name."

"True," Bo said.

A pause.

"Maybe one of these days you'll get to see me in my other suit," Bo said. "My scales are pretty shimmery."

"You think so?" Elise mused as she stood up.

"That's what I'm told. And, well, it's not like I can't see myself," Bo said. "I have at least one eye."

"Well... I guess when I do see your other form one day, I can let you know if you're truly shiny," Elise said with a little laugh.

"I'll trust you not to lie to me," Bo said with a grin.

"I think you could probably read my thoughts before I even voice them," she said.

Bo leaned his head back and laughed lightly.

"I'm not a mind reader, Elise," he said. "Please still speak your mind."

"Of course. I won't hold anything back," Elise said, still smiling. "Just pointing out that you're observant, is all."

"Observing that I'm observant," Bo said. "Says Elise, who is also observant."

Elise huffed an amused puff of air through her nose, looking down at the ground and kicking a pebble in the water, which made a fish quickly swim away.

"I wouldn't really say I'm observant, but... I try to pay attention," she said.

"I think that's a good quality to have," Bo said. "No one catches everything, but paying attention helps a lot."

"Yeah..." Elise said quietly, glancing back up with a small smile.

"What would you say are your strengths?" Bo asked casually. "Like, what do you think you're pretty good at?"

Elise stared at him for a moment, but then laughed and shook her head, having to shake her hand in front of her to tell him to give her a moment.

"I'm sorry. That just... well," she said, her airy laugh fading. "I just had this really weird feeling. You know, you kind of remind me of my older brother."

Bo blinked, turning to look at her.

"How so?" he asked.

Elise hummed, zoning out over the water as she thought about the comparisons. "Well... everyone really liked Ethan. He was funny, but grounded. He always knew how to bring the best out of people, much like you do."

Bo looked at her with a small grin.

"I didn't know you had an older brother," Bo said. "How many siblings do you have?"

"Six, including Elias," Elise said. "I had a pretty big family."

"Where are you in the birth order?" Bo asked.

"Third oldest. I had an older sister and brother. Elias was the youngest," Elise said.

"I know a little about how you left everything to rescue Elias from his situation," Bo said. "Were you well connected with your other siblings before that?"

"I really haven't seen them since I was twelve," Elise said with a longing sigh, thinking back on that day. "I've sent them letters, and I did my best to keep in touch. But it's very difficult to see anyone on a military base. I know they are doing well, though."

Bo nodded, falling silent for a moment.

"It's... likely you'll never see them again," Bo said quietly. "Even I don't know of any ways to get you back if you wanted to."

"Oh, it's fine - really," Elise said with an appreciative smile. "Of course, I wish I could see them again. But they do seem happy over there. I'd be uprooting their whole lives if they came to Nye. Many of my siblings already have families and kids of their own."

"Do you think they're alright?" Bo said. "In your absence? I know your dissapearance was not without... controversy."

"I think so. I mean... I hope so," Elise said quietly. "That's why I didn't involve them in any of my plans, even if it would have expedited everything. I didn't want them to suffer any repercussions. I think they would just... worry. Because we both disappeared without a trace."

"And that was before you even ended up here, right?" Bo asked.

Elise solemnly looked back down at the ground. "Yeah. I made peace with that long ago. It was a hard decision, but..." She sighed. "I've already been out of their lives for a long time, and I know Elias needed me."

"That's a big sacrifice," Bo said quietly. "But I'm glad you did it."

"Me too," Elise said, smiling again, trying not to seem too sad. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

Bo let out a small laugh.

"Oh. Well, I don't, really," he said. "It was just me. At least, as far as I was able to uh, put together. My childhood was a bit of a, uh..."

He gestured loosely with his hands in front of him, spinning his hands around each other.

"A mess, really," he said. "I guess I don't have to dance around the fact that it was 80-something years ago. But I was born in the middle of the war between mages and anti-mage hunters. I really wish we'd come up with a better name for them, to be honest. Murderers would be more fitting, but it's non-specific. Anyways. I was obviously too young to remember a lot of it, but my mother ended up dying in one of the raids against the mage-guilds. And I got kidnapped while my dad got captured."

He paused, looking over to her hesitantly, smiling slightly, like he was a little embarrassed.

"That was a very long way of saying I'm an only child," he said.

Elise laughed, although it felt pained since she felt like she shouldn't have laughed over all the heavy subjects he brought up. She had to catch up to quickly process everything.

"That... that does sound messy," she said, as she tried to think of which subject to focus on first. "I'm sorry about your parents. Especially your mother."

Bo hesitated.

It then dawned on Elise that Bo was 93 years old. There was no way that his father could have outlived him, even if he survived the battle.

Embarrassment flooded her face as she shook her head and tried to backtrack. "Oh... I mean..." she began.

"Thanks," Bo said quickly. "It's-- I've had a lot of time to grieve. I mean, I still miss them. But it's more that I miss the idea of them, since I never really got to meet them in the first place."

Elise creased her brows together. "You never met your parents?" she asked.

"Unless you count when I was born and a baby," Bo said. "But, like I said. Didn't really retain that memory. It would be really impressive if I did, though."

"Oh... I see," she said quietly, thinking back on what Bo told her before. "You mentioned the other day that you have a father. I assume...?"

"Adopted," Bo said. "Yeah. Fun fact. He's also a dragon. Funny how that all worked out."

"Ah," Elise said with a nod. "Was he able to detect that you were a dragon too?"

"Yeah," Bo said. "It... well."

He paused again, letting out a weak little laugh.

"So, this... there's a lot of layers to this," he said. "But, basically, during the war the winning side - you know the ones with all the drugs that make your magic stop working and knock you out - they didn't kill all the mages. They hung on to some. Prisoners of war, whatever you'd want to call them. Some were used for entertainment in cage fights. Some were forced into servitude. And then there was me, who they made into a child experiment. As you can imagine that kind of messed me up for a while, developmentally. To make a very long, sad story as short as I can, I managed to escape when the dragon before me passed and I inherited his magic."

He paused.

"There's a whole way to explain how that works," Bo said. "But let's just. Pause there for now."

It was a lot to take in, but Elise did her best to catch up, watching him attentively and digesting everything.

A child experiment...

That made her heart sink.

"To answer your original question," Bo said after a pause. "After I escaped, Mickey, the dragon of earth, and now my adoptive father, was able to find me by sensing my magic. Since it was on par with dragons and all."

Elise nodded. "That makes sense. Things make more sense now," she said.

Bo nodded, but he seemed to let another silence pass between them, giving her time to think.

"Thank you for providing all the context," she said after a few moments. "I guess... when you say you were kidnapped, and you were experimented on... even though this was a long time ago, that must have been so traumatic. I'm sorry you went through that."

"Me too," Bo said with a sad smile. "But... I learned a lot. It was still terrible, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But I think in the long run, it's part of how I ended up who I am today. And I don't mind that."

Elise nodded. "I certainly enjoy the person you are today," she said with a smile, hoping she could cheer him up. "I'm sure you've gained quite a bit of wisdom, considering you are 93 years old."

Bo snorted.

"Yes, yes, I'm quite old," he said, stroking his beard. "Much age. So wise."

"Very word," Elise added on, not really thinking about what she was saying.

Bo's eye flicked to her (which - and Elise was used to it by now - was more a full turn of his head) and his eyebrows raised for a split second before he burst into explosive, booming laughter.

Elise didn't even think what she said was very funny, but his laughter was contagious, and she found herself smiling with him - although she was also embarrassed.

It was nice, though, to hear Bo laugh. She didn't realize it was so loud. If they were inside, his laugh would take up the entire room.

Bo's laughter calmed within a few seconds, but he leaned forward, wiping his eye with a smile.

"You'd think the old jokes would stop getting funny," Bo said, still slightly wheezing. "But life's full of surprises."

Elise beamed, shoving away her embarrassment. "Glad I can entertain."

"You can," Bo said, suddenly very assertive as he pointed at her. "Yes."

Elise didn't really know what to say to that, letting out a nervous "hah" and nodding along.

"Okay, okay," Bo said quickly. "So, I know we ended up talking about family things. But I'm still curious about my question about what you think your strengths are."

"Oh. Right, sorry. I got side-tracked," she said with a little laugh.

"No, it's totally fine," Bo said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Now I know you're from a big family, and you know I'm old."

Elise kept her amused gaze on him before she slowly stared back over the water, trying to think.

"My strengths," she repeated, in thought. "If I had to pick one, I'd consider myself a hard worker. I know I have to try a lot harder than others sometimes. But I try not to let it get to me. I just do my best."

"And that's all you can do," Bo said with a tilt of his head towards her, returning his hands to his pockets.

Elise didn't know if Bo wanted to know a specific number of strengths, but she needed time to think of some more. She hadn't really thought of this before, so she needed some time to reflect.

"You know," Bo said. "I think you're missing a really big one."

"What's that?" she asked, turning back to him.

"You're so compassionate," Bo said. "That's a huge strength."

Elise felt the embarrassment return, feeling her face go warm as she shyly looked back down.

"Oh... that's a good point," she said with a weak laugh. "I was trying to think of another word. That's a good one."

"Also you can bake," Bo said. "Obviously I can't prove it but I'm taking you at your word on that one."

"Well... we'll be in New Haven soon. I guess you'll just have to see for yourself," Elise said with a sheepish smile.

"You mean taste for myself," Bo said with a waggle of his eyebrows. "Though, I guess presentation is half the battle."

"I'm not very competitive, so I hope it's a very wholesome presentation. Something about competing just makes me... do worse," Elise said.

"Oh, we won't be competing," Bo said with a small laugh, waving his hand. "It's about the joy of eating good food."

"And giving others the opportunity to eat good food," she added on.

"Exactly," Bo said. "You understand."

Elise beamed up at him. "Glad we're on the same page."

"Me too."

It had been twelve days since James showed signs of feeling better. Elise said he was getting better every day, but then why was his recovery so slow?

Eve knew she should be patient, but she couldn't help but worry and feel anxious. She had a feeling that him not being able to eat or drink as much didn't help, but she really did try her best to feed him and take care of him. At the end of the day, that was all she could do.

That was what Elise kept telling her, anyways. It was like she knew how worried she was - which wasn't surprising, since Elise was an endless well of worry herself, but directed to everyone.

It wasn't that James was unconscious the whole time. Instead, he came in and out of consciousness, usually drifting off within the hour. Eve was able to hold conversations with him, and they were getting longer every day. They only lasted a few minutes, at first. But now they could chat for about an hour before he stopped processing. Even then, the conversation was strained. James had a hard time keeping his mind clear, after all.

But Eve was willing to wait. He will get better every day. And every day, Eve chose to be be his side, watching his progress. She did her best to test his limits, but never pushed too far, making sure he was always comforted.

On the twelfth day, Eve was pleased to see that James was able to stomach more food than usual. She was even more pleased to see him more lucid and aware of his surroundings. This felt like significant progress.

"It looks like you're getting better. How are you feeling?" Eve asked, hopeful.

"Hungry," James said, taking another big scoop of soup.

Eve had to repress the big smile that tugged her lips. Him being hungry was great news actually. It meant his appetite was finally returning.

"Do you think you can eat all of it?" she asked, gesturing to the bowl of soup he was holding.

James nodded, taking another big spoonful of soup.

"If you'd like another bowl, I can get you one," Eve thought out loud. "I hope you're not getting tired of soup though. I know it's easier to drink food, but if you're ready... maybe I can get you something that you can... you know... chew. Maybe it would taste better that way. And then you'd want to eat more of it."

Eve honestly had no idea what she was saying. She was just filling the silence with unfiltered thoughts, hoping it could help bring more awareness to James.

James paused in his eating, and he looked to her, making pointed eye contact as he started to chew.

"Does that mean yes to other chewable foods? Or no to chewable foods?" Eve teased, even though she knew that he was telling her that he was perfectly capable of eating other foods.

"I'd appreciate something more solid," James said after swallowing. "But... I don't know if I could handle it right now."

Eve nodded. "That's alright. I can look into other options tonight, even if it's a small portion. In a perfect world, I'd prepare a more elaborate meal that you'd enjoy. But it looks like we'll have to save that moment for another day."

"It'll be a very good day when I get to eat the food you make again," James said with a small smile.

Eve smiled as well, leaning forward as she straightened out the blanket draping over his leg.

Every day, she was giving him small updates about their travels. She usually stopped when it became apparent that he could no longer follow, drifting off to sleep again. But she could test the waters again.

"We're going to a city called New Haven. Do you know about it?" she asked.

James blinked at her mid-soup sip.

"No," he said. "I assume... it's hidden. For it to be somewhere a bunch of mages would be going."

Eve nodded. "I don't know too much about it. But most of it is hidden underground, yes. And it's a decently sized city with many mage inhabitants. Apparently there's a place for all of us over there. We'll be somewhere safe."

James was quiet for a moment, taking another full spoonful of soup as he seemed to digest the information.

"Where is it, exactly?" James asked.

"It's in the wilds," Eve said. "I'd show you on a map, but as you know, the wilds aren't mapped very well. But New Haven is surrounded by the wilds on all sides."

"It must go pretty deep into the wilds, then," James commented. "To not have been discovered yet."

Eve nodded. "Between being underground and being surrounded by a forest with deadly creatures, I'd say the location is fairly secure," she said.

"Well, no one's going to look for them there, at least," James said. "But secure is relative. I... well, I assume they have ways to keep the beasts at bay, is all I mean."

James was thinking in more detail now. This was good. This was progress. He was starting to feel more like himself.

"It is a city full of mages," she said. "I'm sure they have thought of creative solutions."

"True," James said quietly.

"I imagine Hendrik would volunteer to help tame the beasts. I'm sure he'd love that," she said.

"I'm sure he would," James said, looking down into his bowl. It seemed like he was deep in thought, but it didn't feel like she'd lost him this time. It still felt like he was with her.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, deciding to pry.

"Oh," James said quietly. "Just... Elliot."

It dawned on Eve that James hardly had time to interact with Elliot. She had been so busy taking care of his needs, that she didn't even make this a priority. Suddenly she wished that she had done something about this earlier on, perhaps when they were still in the caves before the withdrawals.

"I know he's being taken care of," James said. "And I know I'm barely functional myself. It's just... I don't know. He's been one of the few constants in my life since -- you know. My whole life got upended. It's strange having him here and not caring for him myself. Not that it's the first time that's happened..."

He trailed off, looking down as he swirled his spoon in his soup.

"I understand," Eve said softly sincerely. "It is strange. I do see him every day, and I can tell he misses you. When you're ready, maybe you can sit at the edge of the wagon, and I can bring Elliot to you. That way, you can still see him without going too far."

"I really can't wait to stop living in this wagon," James said with a small sigh. "But... that's a start."

Eve nodded, watching him closely again. He was still swirling the spoon in his soup before he decided to take another big spoonful.

"You're making significant progress," she said, voice laced with hope. "It won't be too long now."

James nodded, but he didn't really seem encouraged. If anything, he just looked sad.

"Yeah," he said faintly, before taking another spoonful.

Eve slowly crawled towards him, now sitting beside him so that their shoulders were almost touching. She stretched her legs out, hands on her lap.

She wanted to encourage him somehow. Different possibilities played in her mind.

"I'll make the day special. It'll be a day we can both look forward to," she said, offering a little smile.

"You mean the day I get out of this wagon without Elise or Mel chiding me?" James asked.

"If anything, I think they're being too nice. I suspect they're concealing hard truths. Or maybe I'm just reading into their words too much," Eve said.

"Nice doesn't mean they're lying," James said, swirling his spoon again. "Elise seems about as nice as she normally is. Which is to say, very."

"I suppose so," Eve said with a sigh.

James seemed to be much more aware today than previous days. She wanted to to reveal more hard truths - namely about Rita and Carter. But she also wanted to wait until he was ready.

"Speaking of..." she began, watching him again. "I've had a strange conversation with Elias the other day. I think he's also hiding something. But... I don't know. It's just a feeling."

"You're worried about him," James observed quietly. Eve noticed now he was watching her.

"Of course I am," she said just as quietly. "But Elias hates it when people worry about him. So I'm trying to not let it show."

James nodded.

"Maybe he just needs... some time," James said quietly. "It really hasn't been that long since-- since everything. In the palace."

"Yeah," she said softly, pausing for a moment before glancing back at him. "He saw Carter. They fought."

She noticed James went a bit more rigid in his posture, but it looked like he was trying to keep a neutral face.

"Oh," he said quietly, swallowing thickly.

"I don't know many of the details. But they did fight, and it did get ugly. Deidra picked you and Elias up before any serious damage could be done," Eve said, although she knew that damage was not only limited to the physical sense.

"Right," James said, and Eve noticed at this point, it'd been a minute since he'd touched the soup aside from staring into it.

Eve noted to talk to him about heavier subjects after he finished eating next time.

"I'm glad Deidra came around," James said quietly.

"And Tula too, although I can't believe I'm saying this," Eve said with a sigh.

James let out a weak laugh. But there was so much about the laugh that didn't match his expression. There was a weary, sad, and alost desparate look in his eyes as his lower lip pulled into a slight frown. But it seemed he was fighting it.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm glad she came around too."

"They're in New Haven already, apparently," Eve said.

"Oh," James said. "That's..."

His brows furrowed together, and he looked up at her with confusion.

"...fast," he said.

Eve wasn't going to lie. But she did have to fill the gaps with something until Bo was ready to tell James himself.

"At least, they're heading there now. Robin - werewolf - is keeping tabs on Tula and Deidra," Eve added on.

"Ah," James said, nodding slightly to himself. "That makes more sense."

"Although, I can't imagine the group's interaction with Tula will go very well. I think she's somewhat redeemed herself, but she will have to drastically change her behavior to be completely forgiveable," Eve said.

James went quiet again, looking back down into his bowl.

"I guess we'll see," he said vaguely after a long pause.

Eve was tempted to bring up Rita, as this seemed like an appropriate segue to do so, and it seemed that James was still at a right frame of mind to handle the information. But she had a feeling that he wouldn't eat any more if she told him now.

"Do you think you can finish your soup?" Eve asked gently.

There wasn't much left. James nodded and instead of using his spoon, brought the bowl up to his lips and tilted it back, slowly drinking the last of the broth and catching the last few pieces of carrots that had been sitting at the bottom.

He set the bowl beside him, clinking his spoon into it.

"Soup finished," he announced.

"Good," Eve said warmly, feeling some of the tension leave her body.

But it only returned when she tried to think of how best to approach this conversation. She didn't think there was an easy way to do it, so she decided to just go for it.

"There's news I think you should hear," she said, catching his full attention again. "It concerns Rita."

James's attention snapped up to her, and he stared at her expectantly.

"She's dead," she finished.

James stared, his expression unchanging.

Eve continued. "I was there when it happened. Bo was too. It was the same night that Tula escaped. She was looking for her, and Bo used his magic before she could attack us. He pinned a kingdom medallion on her shirt to make it seem that her death was at the fault of the kingdom. Her men was attacking King's Peak the next day, which was the same day we came in as well. It was a mutually beneficial distraction."

For a few long seconds, James didn't outwardly react. His stare became unfocused, like he'd stopped staring at her, and was now staring through her, like his mind was somewhere else.

Finally, his brows creased inward and he closed his eyes, nodding ever so slightly.

The silence wasn't that long, but it still felt agonizing. Eve wanted to say more, but she didn't think there was anything more to say - so instead, she waited.

James let out a breath that he'd been holding.

"O... okay," he said distantly.

"I... well... I know it's a lot to process," Eve blurted out when he didn't say much more. "And we can take our time processing it, together. I wanted you to know, though. I wanted you to know that you will never see her again. She can't hurt you anymore."

James was still quiet. He looked down into his lap, and Eve could tell there was a complex tension of emotions swimming in his eyes. He seemed relieved, yet sad. But most of all he just looked tired.

He'd been tired ever since they rescued him.

"You don't have to say anything," Eve said quietly. "It's alright."

"I just don't know what to say," James said faintly.

"It's okay," Eve said quietly. "Just knowing is enough. You don't have to say anything. We don't have to talk it."

James didn't react, still quiet.

"Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?" Eve asked, switching subjects.

"Kind of," he said. "I don't know if I'll be able to."

"You can lay down and see if it comes to you. I'll still be here with you," she offered.

"Can I..." he hesitated. "Can I have a hug?"

Eve didn't wait to say yes to give him approval. She reached over his shoulder and pulled him in, embracing him. She dug her head into his hair, closing her eyes and squeezing him lightly. He leaned into her embrace, bringing an arm around her.

It felt like he wanted to hold her tighter, but he was holding back.

Eve didn't think any words needed to be said, but she knew that there were many difficult thoughts floating around his mind right now, especially since there was a slight tremor in his hand against her back.

If she wanted to say anything, she wanted to say a reminder.

"You know I'll always be here for you," she whispered softly in his ear, hugging him a little tighter.

She didn't pull away. Not yet. Not until James was ready.

Eve waited for him, still leaning into him as she focused on the rhythm of his chest breathing in and out.

James didn't move, and he didn't speak.

At least, not right away.

"Sometimes it doesn't feel real," James said after a long silence, his voice barely above a whisper.

Eve heard the tension straining his voice. He was trying not to cry.

"I keep worrying that one day I'm going to wake up from all of this and it'll just be a dream," he said.

Eve felt her heart sink even more. She gave him a gentle squeeze, empathizing with him.

It was the lumshade. He had been drugged for so long, there was no telling what kind of effects lasted with him...

Eve didn't want to interrupt his thoughts, in case he had more to share. She patiently waited, still holding him.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he said, his voice starting to break. "I never thought I'd see you again in reality."

He buried his face in her shoulder, and she could feel the tears start to fall as they seeped through her shirt. It sounded like he was trying to suppress his cries.

He hugged her tighter, his arms shivering.

Eve hugged him tighter as well, gently rubbing his back with her palms as she let him cry in her arms.

This thought must have weighed so heavily in his mind ever since they met again. She wanted him to let it out safely. She wanted him to feel safe in admitting all this and feel difficult thoughts and emotions in front of her.

"I'll always be here for you," she said again, trying to sound more confident this time. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. You must have been so, so scared... and even though you're safe now, I understand if you are still scared. But I'm here now. And I want to be here with you. I want to figure this out with you. And I promise you, James..."

If James wasn't hugging her as tightly as he could manage, she would have pulled away to meet his eyes. Instead she opted for the opposite, placing one hand at the back of his head so she could pull him a little closer.

"I'm not going anywhere. Our future is a reality. We're in this together. Every step of the way," she whispered.

James finally let himself fully cry. Eve continued to hold him close, one hand on the back of his head, the other hand firmly rubbing his back. She wanted him to let it out and take his time to do so.

And it took a while. His sobs were deep and heavy, but she didn't mind letting the tears and snot run down her shirt. Eve could have given him a handkerchief, but she didn't want to pull away from him.

Finally, when James pulled away, she saw that his face and eyes were red, and wet tears streaked his cheeks. He avoided her eyes as he quickly lifted his hand to wipe his runny, leaking nose.

Finally, Eve pulled away as well, leaning away from the bed to reach for the pile of handkerchiefs she had at the ready, folded for him days ago in case James needed it. She took a couple and offered it to him, resisting the urge to jump ahead and dab his face for him.

He took one quickly, blowing into it loudly. The blows following were quieter, until he seemed to have finally cleared his nasal passages, and he bunched up the handkerchief in his hands, pulling it away.

"Well," he said, voice cracking. "Now I'm tired."

"I know," Eve said with a little smile, taking the snotted handkerchief away and offering him a clean one in case he needed it.

He took it, dabbing his eyes.

"Thanks," James said. And somehow Eve could tell he was just trying to come up with things to say to fill the silence that followed.

"Are you still hungry?" Eve asked instead.

"Not really," James said.

"We can test your hunger when I come back in with chewable food next time," she said.

James nodded, but he was already slowly moving to lie back down.

"Why don't you get some rest? There's no rush to talk and move around. We have lots of time."

James laid down on his back, looking up at her, and she could tell just by looking at his face that he was spent.

"Okay," he said quietly. And he didn't say more.

Eve didn't push it. She laid down with him for a while, combing his hair back with her fingers and watching him slowly drift off to sleep. She laid still with him for some more minutes, contemplating sleeping as well - but she thought better of it and carefully slipped away to touch base with the others and replenish supplies.

It didn't take long for her to slip back in the tent though. Eve stayed by James for the next several hours, staying up with him and carefully watching for every movement. She stepped out that evening again to grab food, but James didn't wake to eat.

Since she didn't need to keep watch until the last shift, Eve drifted off to sleep next to James. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she awoke to whimpers.

At first, she thought she was imagining it. But when it persisted, Eve awoke in a moment of panic, stirring to sit up.

"James?" she called softly, hand on his back.

"Shh," James said through his tears, his voice quivering. "She's watching."

Eve felt her heart sink, knowing that he must be talking through a nightmare. Perhaps about Tula.

Hesitantly, Eve laid back down, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close to let him know that she was here.

The sun was starting to set. Eve had left to go sit with the others for dinner while he'd been asleep, but he'd woken up soon after she left.

He didn't want to bother her. So he simply lay in the back of the wagon, staring up at the sky as it started to fade from blue to orange.

For a moment, it was peaceful.

And then he felt a creeping, familiar feeling.

Tula.

She was spying on him.

James knew, at this point, that the tides had turned. Tula was no longer hunting for him or any of his friends. Tula wasn't even nearby anymore. Tula, as far as James knew, didn't even have any relevant reasons to spy on him besides the fact that she was probably bored.

Unless for some reason... she wanted something.

James couldn't shake the frozen feeling that settled over him. His chest grew tight, and it felt like his throat was closing. Tula wasn't even here, and something inside of him felt trapped.

"What do you want?" James whispered. And he knew he sounded as exhausted and desperate as he was.

Apparently that was enough for Tula to get tired of hearing his voice.

Suddenly he saw what she saw.

Tula didn't give him much to look at. She was sitting on a chair beside a table, facing a barren plain wall. On the table was a bottle with a long skinny neck with a deep red liquid. It was likely wine, especially since the bottle sat right next to a wine glass.

Seemingly pleased that she had taken over his eyes, Tula slowly picked up the bottle and poured the wine into the glass.

"What do I want?" she repeated lowly with a click of her tongue, picking up the glass and swirling it in her hand. "I want to know if you can taste what I can taste."

With that, she took a generous sip, but James could only see the wine being brought to her lips, hearing it go down. Satisfied, Tula set the glass back down on the table but still held the cup by the stem.

"It's too bad you can't taste this. It tastes like power. Information is power, no?" she teased. "It's too bad I can't tell you, though. Gods, wouldn't you like to know? You're alive now - you're welcome, by the way - but are you kept in the dark? How much do you actually know? How much can you trust your friends? Your past? Your memories?"

Tula tilted her head and picked up the glass again, stopping before it reached her lips.

"Ah. I don't want to be rude. Next time, I'll pour you a glass. Food for thought, lover boy. I'm sure I'll see you again someday. This time, at least try to stay alive, you idiot," she said before the vision ended.

Well.

James couldn't honestly say that it was nice to see her again. Sure, it was good to know she was safe and apparently well off enough that she had procured wine somehow. But he didn't really know what that was all about.

She had information she wanted to tell him. He didn't know why she was being so vague about it.

He was sure there were things he didn't know, but... he didn't know if Tula was just trying to get in his head again.

Why would she? Just to mess with him again? Just because she could?

She always hated when he'd say anything, but especially if he was right. Maybe she just wanted to rub it in his face that she knew something he didn't. That seemed like something she'd do. She was... immature like that.

Still, he didn't know what kind of information she had that prompted her to taunt him like this.

He was just so tired. He didn't want to think about it.

He didn't want to see her again or hear her voice. Not right now.

It made him feel trapped again.

He rolled over onto his side, pulling his blanket over his face so he could be in complete darkness.

He knew Tula wasn't watching anymore, but he wished he could talk back to her.

He wished he could tell her to leave him alone.

Yes, he helped her escape. Yes, he'd wanted to. Yes, he was happy she was turning over a new leaf.

But every time he thought about her, all he could remember was pain, and her joyfully causing it.

James pinched his eyes shut.

And faster than he thought he would, he fell asleep.

James wasn't sure if he was awake or not. He couldn't remember when he'd started crying, and he couldn't remember what even caused it. Too many memories were swimming in his mind. It still felt like he was in the wagon, with Rita. It still felt like he was in the palace. He was cold. He was clammy.

It felt like he kept seeing himself through his own eyes, looking on with desparation like a third party, stuck outside of his own body, forced to watch. But these weren't undone memories from others he could just push out of his head. They were his own, and they kept burrowing to the forefront of his mind, pushing against the back of his eyes, demanding to be seen.

He couldn't even pinpoint what specifically he was afraid of, but fear gripped him, making him feel frozen, unable to move as he finally realized he was in someone's arms. It took him too long to register that it was Eve. He felt like he should've known. He should've remembered.

How could he be sure this was real? How could he be sure any of it was? He couldn't shake the fear that someday it was all going to fall apart, even though he knew - he knew - it was real.

It was real. It was real. It had to be real.

It felt like it took forever for his brain to feel quiet. There was a ringing in his ears that wouldn't go away, but he found that he didn't mind it. It felt like it blocked out the sound of his own cries, and his own breathing. Finally he found the will to move, and he touched Eve's arm, which was wrapped around him. Upon his touch, she loosened her grip so that she could instead hold his hand.

The ringing in his ears started to fade.

"Did I wake you?" James asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"I'm a light sleeper," Eve said softly in response.

James squeezed her hand.

"So am I," he whispered.

"I know," Eve whispered back.

And for a moment, there was silence between the two of them. James held her hand close, trying to let her touch ground him as he waited for his heart to stop beating so fast that it hurt.

It didn't really fade, but he got tired of waiting, and he decided to roll over. Slowly, he let go of Eve's hand and turned around so that he was facing her, even if he couldn't make out any of her features in the dark. She seemed to be able to see him better since he felt her fingers already moving the hair out of his face.

James reached up to her, gingerly feeling for her face in return. Eve moved her hand away from his face and to his hand reaching out, guiding him to cup her cheek.

"Feeling better?" she asked quietly, her hand resting on top of his.

"Not really," he said honestly. "My heart's still racing."

With her free hand, Eve reached across to place her palm against his chest, feeling for his heart.

"I'm listening," she said quietly, although it wasn't clear if she meant his heart or his thoughts.

James took in a deep breath, but it didn't make a difference.

"Tula talked to me earlier," he said quietly.

James could feel Eve stiffen, already getting defensive for him.

"Did she?" she said lowly, almost sounding offended. "What did she say?"

"She... all she really said was 'I know something you don't,'" James said with a shaky sigh. "And... not to die anymore."

"That sounds awfully immature and not at all productive," Eve said tiredly.

"I don't think she was trying to be productive," James said. "I think she was just... bored."

That, and she was just... always weirdly obsessed with him, even still.

"Do you think she's taunting you? Trying to mess with your head again?" Eve asked.

"Maybe," James said. "I don't really know what to think about her motives anymore."

"I can relay this back to Bo if you think it'll help her leave you alone - especially if she does it again. If he finds out that she's been taunting you... well, it won't be good for her," she said.

James hadn't really spoken to Bo much.

He'd seen him around, making calls, leading the group and all, but James didn't really know what to think of him, besides that he seemed to be a kind and respectable man. He was helping them, and had gained the trust of his friends, so that was enough for him. But Eve implied that Bo had enough power and/or influence to not only put Tula in her place, but also to make her afraid enough to obey.

"Bo is a very powerful mage," Eve said, seemingly detecting his thoigjts. "Tula witnessed him use his magic, and you know how she is with powerful authority figures."

"...Right," James said quietly, wondering why Eve had been so quick to jump in with an explanation before James could even ask a question.

"Needless to say, I'd like to know if Tula does reach out again. But if she didn't give you an opportunity to speak... maybe she would leave it at that," Eve continued.

"She... she made it sound like you all know something I don't," James said quietly.

Eve was quiet for a moment. "All of us... as in, our whole group?" she asked.

"I don't know," James said. "She was vague."

"Perhaps she does know something you don't know. And she wanted to taunt you with this because she wanted to feel like she had power and control over you. But... it doesn't mean anything," Eve said softly.

James hesitated.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Eve. He did. He trusted her with his life. But he couldn't deny that something did feel off, and he couldn't pinpoint why.

He wasn't inclined to trust Tula's word, but...

"Is there something important you haven't told me?" James asked in a whisper.

It was an innocent question. Yet, Eve hesitated for far too long. The hesitation alone indicated that she was withholding information.

"There is," she finally confessed, sounding almost blurted out. "But it's not directly related to you or any of us here. I planned on telling you soon, when you were feeling better. I know the news with Rita was heavy, and I..."

Eve stirred more awake now, letting her hands slip away from him as she sat up.

"I don't want to be brash. I was waiting until you're ready. I promise, I'm not trying to hold secrets. This is just... all bad timing," she said, sounding defeated.

"I believe you," James said softly.

He wasn't going to let Tula's immaturity come between him and Eve. If Eve felt she had good reason for waiting to tell him, he trusted her judgement. He knew it wasn't out of malicious intent that she was withholding information.

Eve sighed a breath of relief. "But now that you know that there is something... well... I could tell you now. But I do think it's wise to wait."

James took in a deep breath as he sat up, tensing as he moved again.

Eve had already prefaced that whatever news she had might be hard to hear. Knowing that, James tried to prepare his heart for the worst.

"If it's difficult news," James said quietly. "I don't know that time will make it any less difficult."

Eve sat still for a moment before she reached across the floor, fumbling around for some item. She then struck a match and then lit the small oil lantern on the floor, finally releasing some light so he could properly see.

With another hesitation, Eve turned back to sit next to him again, her expression severe with the shadows now dancing across her face.

"It's about Carter," she finally said, watching for his reaction.

James stared at her.

He didn't know what he'd been expecting. But he was surprised at himself that the first worry that overwhelmed him was that something had happened to Carter.

Was he... okay?

"He's a mage," Eve said in the ensuing silence, still watching for his reaction.

A mage.

James blinked.

"A... mage?" he echoed quietly.

"A healing mage," Eve said. "But he doesn't use his magic to heal. Only to hurt."

James's first question was: since when? But he knew, logically, if Carter was a mage, he'd always been a mage. It was just a shock that somehow he'd managed to keep it a secret all of the years they'd known each other.

Then again, Carter had always kept secrets.

Maybe it wasn't so unbelievable at all.

James waited, knowing that couldn't be the end of it. If Carter was a mage, then--

"His magic was revealed the same day we got you out. The rest of the King's Hand outed him. He's now on the run," Eve said.

James didn't know how to process this.

"Where is he now?" James asked.

He was about to ask how Eve even knew all of this, but then it clicked.

Tula. Ingrid. Ingrid had been there when James was captured, and she was part of the King's hand. If Tula had been able to spy on her, she would've been privy to all of this when it was happening. It just so happened that Tula must've gotten lucky to witness all of this unfold in real time. She was, after all, alone for some time (as far as he knew) after his rescue, and would've been itching for something to do while she waited for Deidra and Robin -- who he hardly even remembered -- to come get her.

But Bo had also gone with them -- originally. He'd left and then come back within a day.

If Tula had learned all of this the morning after the rescue, she would've told them. She wouldn't have been able to not tell them.

"He's with Robin, Tula, and Deidra," Eve answered. "At least, that's what Bo disclosed to me."

Everything would've fallen into place if Eve hadn't added the last qualifier about Bo.

So, Bo was the lynchpin in this whole... secret. Or, at least, there was something Bo was withholding that Eve didn't feel like she could tell him.

"If you'd like, and you're ready to hear it... I can invite him here tomorrow to tell you the full story," Eve added.

James nodded slowly.

"I think I'll ask him myself," James said.

Eve nodded. "Of course." She hesitated. "You've been improving every day. But I also don't want you to push yourself."

"It's not like I'm going on a run," James said. "I'm just having a conversation. I can handle that."

"Alright," Eve said quietly. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"I do," James said. "But it sounds like it might be easier for me to wait to ask Bo. I don't want you to have to keep dancing around whatever it is he's asked you not to say."

Eve stared at him for a few seconds, furrowing her brows. "Is it that obvious?" she said dully.

"Well, it is now," James said. "Now that I don't feel like my brain is full of water."

Eve huffed an amused puff of air through her nose, shaking her head. "I guess all it took was for me to reveal Carter's deepest darkest secrets," she mused.

James tilted his head, looking to her with a small smirk.

"I can't lie," James said. "The fact that he's a mage is just... painfully ironic. Cruel, even."

"Does he know you're a mage?" Eve asked.

James hesitated, his eyes flicking to the ground.

"Now he does," James said, more quiet. "I don't think he believed it at first. He suspected it, I think, after talking to me. But I'm sure he believes it now, after we escaped. Especially after I..."

He still didn't quite know how to describe what happened in the palace, and he hadn't even begun to consider the implications of it. It felt like he was still learning about his magic more and more any time something... traumatic happened.

"And that's a whole other subject," Eve said. "It seems that you are still discovering your magic."

"I'm a late bloomer, I guess," James said.

"Which makes me wonder... was Carter a late bloomer as well?" Eve said.

"I don't think we'll know anything about his magic until we ask him," James said, but he hesitated, looking at Eve out of the corner of his eyes.

"Not that I know if that's possible," he said. "Or a good idea. But--"

He clenched his jaw for a moment, taking in a deep breath as he looked down into his lap.

"I'll think about that later," James said quickly.

Reconnecting with Carter outside of the context of one of them being at the other end of a blade had been such a foreign concept until the present moment. James didn't even know how he felt about it. He honestly couldn't even imagine how Carter was convinced to join Tula, Deidra, and Robin in the first place. Carter was so determined to go his own way. If his whole life fell apart underneath him, and everything he valued with it... James didn't even know what Carter would do.

Had he really settled for joining a group of mages? Mages he'd for years been complicit in killing?

"You have several weeks to think about it. We won't be near him any time any time soon," Eve said.

"Right," James said faintly, unable to come up with any concluding thoughts at the matter at present.

"How do you feel about all of this?" Eve asked instead.

"It hardly even feels real, at the moment," James said. "I know you're not lying to me. It's just... it feels almost impossible to imagine that all of the King's Hand was dissolved."

He hesitated, glancing at Eve.

"Do you... know what happened to the others?" James asked. "Aside from Carter?"

Eve looked away. "Bo has all the details. But... he did tell me that he used his magic against them. I assume some or all of them are dead."

If Bo knew that, he only knew it through Tula. And if Tula saw all of that...

James had a sinking feeling that it was true. Tula probably watched Ingrid die, and who knew who else.

He knew it didn't make sense to ask Eve about Hellen, or Kirk, or Nessa, or Fonzi--

"Did you know them?" Eve asked softly.

James flicked his eyes up to Eve.

"...Yes," James said. "A long time ago."

They'd been friends, once.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I know this isn't easy news to hear."

James looked back down.

"I'd rather hear the truth now than find out later," he said quietly. "I think... it'd only get harder to hear, knowing others have known for so long."

"Not everyone knows," Eve said. "And I'm not sure what information is being pushed by the kingdom. I'm sure the effects of everything will be catching up to us soon, but we will persevere. We always do."

"I imagine... keeping Carter's fall a secret will be near-impossible at this point," James said. "If I know anything about the Moonlight Kingdom, they've probably employed every able-bodied mage hunter for this kind of manhunt."

It was depressing to think that the people employing those hunters were Carter's parents. But Carter had always despised them.

Maybe this was why. Maybe Carter always knew it was inevitable if he never secured his own place in power above them.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Eve said with a sigh. "And it's a select few mages that are protecting him."

"It... makes sense of some things," James said quietly. "Him being a mage."

Carter's motivations had always been dubious. He'd been difficult to understand. Carter had always been so passionate about certain issues of injustice but so quick to dismiss others. The only ones that seemed to anger him though, in retrospect, were ones related to mages. He'd always resented his parent's power and influence, but he'd always said it was because of what they did, not just who they are. At the time, James had thought that was a cop-out, but now, James wondered if Carter had feared his parents more than anything.

"You think so? Have you ever suspected?" Eve asked.

"You know," James said faintly. "One of the few things we both passionately agreed on was that mages didn't deserve to die. He'd always wanted to put an end to their suffering. He and I just had very different ideas of what that looked like. He'd... he'd always wanted to use the system. To take it apart from the inside-out."

James let out a weak laugh.

"And I... well, you already know about my part," James said.

Eve slowly nodded. "I see. I'm sure knowing he's a mage changes your perspective on some things."

"Well, it makes more sense of why he cared about mages in the first place," James said. "Honestly, as someone coming from his upbringing, I didn't know how he came to that conclusion on his own. Not that I thought he was incapable of thinking for himself, but..."

"Do you think his family may be mages as well?" she asked. "Maybe they had influence."

"That they used to kill people like them," James said. "It... it would be sick if that were true."

"That is what Carter did," Eve said as a reminder.

James sighed.

"Yes," he said stiffly. "It's just... I don't know. I don't know how they've reconciled that evil for so long in their conscience. But I guess I shouldn't dismiss it as a possibility."

"I'm sure he has come up with his own rationalizations, however illogical they may be. To lie and execute your kind like that..." Eve shook her head. "No sane person would do that. He must carry a tremendous amount of self-loathing and hate for himself, unless he views himself as being an exception or superior to other mages."

James looked at Eve flatly.

"I really wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter," James said.

"Well, then Carter is in for a treat. A treat of genuine humbleness," Eve said with an exaggerated fake smile.

"So it seems," James said, but he couldn't find it in him to match Eve's level of sarcasm.

Even after anything, James still couldn't feel joy in Carter's downfall. It felt wrong to take pleasure in people's pain. Even if it was deserved.

"I know it's late, and I know you'll talk about this in more detail tomorrow. I'd be happy to process this with you, but if you're tired or need some time to digest all this yourself... that's fine. We don't have to discuss this all right now," Eve said.

James nodded slightly, looking out into the dark, somewhere outside of the wagon.

It wasn't like he was looking at anything, since he could hardly see a foot in front of him even as his eyes had adjusted, but he wondered if anyone else had woken up, or if they'd fallen back asleep by now.

Someone was always keeping watch, and it wasn't Eve. But now that Eve had lit the lamp in their wagon, he was sure it at least got their attention.

James had wanted to respond to Eve. But he found himself distracted at the thought that someone might've been awake and potentially overhearing their conversation.

It was an old thing, the paranoia, but this was different. James wasn't so worried about someone coming for him. He just... wished there was some form of privacy. But that was nearly impossible when traveling together in the wilderness.

"I do need time to think," James finally said, very delayed.

A pause.

"I'll probably be up for a while," James said. He knew he wasn't going to fall asleep soon after this.

"That's alright," Eve said. "Do you want me to keep the light on?"

"...Sure," James said. "If it doesn't bother you."

It was nice to at least see something. He could see Eve, at least. That was a blessing.

"Not at all."

James nodded, and he broke away for a moment to prop up some blankets and pillows behind his back so he could sit up with more comfort, and after he leaned back, Eve laid down beside him, resting her head on his thigh.

James let out a deep sigh as silence followed, and Eve got comfortable, snuggling against him.

The air was crisp and cold. But it kept his mind sharp.

He wondered what Carter was up to... what would he even be doing if he wasn't a soldier? What would life look for him outside of the kingdom?

Suddenly a head full of frizzy hair peeped out from the edge of the wagon.

James blinked.

"Finally. Are you guys done talking now?" Mel's voice whispered.

Eve immediately sat up straight, exchanging a wide-eyed look with James.

Mel took this as an invitation to sit at the edge of the wagon, swinging a leg over to better face them. The dim light barely reached her face, but she was grinning wide.

"Not that I was eavesdropping," she prefaced. "But I was keeping watch, like, right there." She pointed below her. "And I didn't want to interrupt. So, here I am. Nice night, huh?"

James glanced down at Eve. Silently, the two of them understood that Mel clearly had overheard them. If not accidentally, intentionally. They would probably never know either way. But Mel knew what they knew, now.

"Yeah," James said. "Nice and cold."

"I thought you were sick. You should put on more layers. Don't want you getting sicker, ya know," Mel said, swinging her leg against the edge of the wagon.

"Mel... did you hear everything?" Eve asked quietly.

"I mean... I was right there," Mel said. "How was I supposed to know that James was going to wake up crying in the middle of the night? And here I thought that this would be another uneventful night."

Eve looked back at James, furrowing her brows and curling her lips back. She seemed to look at him for answers on how to best approach this.

"If my crying was an event for you," James said. "I'm sorry your life's been such a bore thus far."

"Pfft," Mel said with a wave of her hand. "No need to be so dramatic. Oh, but hey. That was some pretty juicy stuff you shared. Just saying. That's dramatic."

"So you heard everything," James said. "At least we won't have to repeat it. I assume you have your own commentary to offer."

"Hey, I'm not going to say anything. This secret's safe with me," Mel said in a chipper voice, using her hands to pretend to zip her lips shut. "But I totally do. Namely: was no one going to tell me? Sheesh, do I have to keep watch every night by you to know anything around here?" she huffed.

"I don't think it was wrong for-- well, I don't know who all knows," James said. "But it's sensitive information."

"Clearly," Mel said. "But don't worry, I'll pretend I heard nothing if that'll make you feel better."

James sighed.

"Just don't tell anyone else," James said. "I don't know who's... supposed to know or not know."

"Got it," Mel said as she glanced behind her towards the camp. She turned back around, smiling again. "So. When are you going to talk to Bo?"

"Tomorrow," James said carefully, not sure where this was going.

"Okay, but when?" Mel pressed.

"I don't know," James said. "In the morning, if he's able."

Mel hummed. "How do you feel about getting a haircut in the evening? You said you wanted one."

James blinked.

"...Sure," he said, sounding out each letter. "Yeah. That works."

"Sounds good! I'll see ya tomorrow then," Mel said brightly, beginning to hop out.

"Mel," Eve called before she could duck away.

Mel turned around. "Yeah?"

Eve sighed. "Please tell me we don't have to worry about you knowing all this."

Mel giggled, dismissing the thought with her hand. "Please. I've kept how many of your secrets, Eve? What's one more?"

Eve stared at her, dismayed.

"I should be switching shifts soon anyways. See you in the morning!" Mel whispered, already ducking away.

Eve slowly laid back down, feeling stiff.

"That went well," she mumbled.

"Mmhmm," James hummed.