Passion smoldered in Flare's eyes as she leaned forward. "You're educated. You know that the world doesn't have to be so bloody and hopeless. Your instructors taught you that there are worlds beyond ours.” Flare watched me intently. “Ours is so young. Once it was time for us to grow beyond little tribes that massacred each other for meager power. Now the reign of the Prophets must come to an end. Tribes must give way to nations.”

I blinked. “Social evolution happens in its own time.”

“Why does it have to work that way? Do you want to spend an eon slaughtering one another?”

“World peace sounds great, but you’re delusional if you think whatever you’re doing in the darkness will lead to that. Who are you here for today? The Flatlanders or the Valley? Will you save my people or watch our enemies take us away?”

“You’re still thinking too small. I’m not here for the Flatlanders or your people. I came here for you. The distraction at the camp gave me the perfect opportunity to talk to you.”

For the last eight years, I’d focused solely on the Prophet as our great enemy. Whoever this woman was, regardless of her claims that she wanted to help us, might prove to be even worse than him if she had any way of making her plans a reality. I didn't trust her for a moment to bring peace. “Tell me what you know, please. I need to help my people.”

"I know you must plan to return to the mountain for help, because you've left yourself no other options. Gather your allies and work with me to free these lands from the Prophets."

It might have sounded as though we wanted the same things, but I knew from the games Flare played with the Prophet that we had very different ideas about what kind of world we wanted to live in. "Let me guess. You won't talk until I deliver."

"Of course not. Now, take Nash with you. I trust him. He'll be an asset to you and he'll ensure my interests are remembered."

If this woman trusted him, then he couldn't have been the man I hoped for him to be. "Fine." Not. No way I'd do anything she wanted. "Now leave, so I can save my people." I would never ally with her. She reeked of trouble.

"Okay, then." Flare took a step back. “I’ll find you when the time is right.”

“How could you possibly find me?”

“I have the eye of the gods. I can find anyone in the world at any time.” She touched her neck and frowned at her bloody fingers. “Now, be good. I’ll be watching.”

I couldn’t speak. As glib as she sounded, I recognized a threat when I heard one, and I knew to take it seriously. Something was very much not right about Flare.

“Oh, and take care of Nash,” Flare said. “I’m fond of him.”

She flashed a smile and vanished. I stumbled back, searching the area. I’d seen demons move with incredible speed, but that wasn’t what she did. One moment she was here and the next she was gone. Not even my best instructors could do that. It shouldn’t be possible.

Stolen story; please report.

I pressed a hand to my stomach, staving off the nausea. What the hell?

No. There was no time for panic or confusion. The camp was under attack and with Flare gone, there was no one to stop me from returning.

I hiked through the trail of snapped branches Flare had dragged me through with sweat popping over my brow. She shouldn't have taken me so far away. What if I was too late? Their names swelled in my throat. Wren! Leif! I had to clamp down on my teeth to keep from crying out for them.

The smell stung my nostrils first, and then heat flooded the air. Fire. I sprinted through the woods to the field and skidded to a stop. Flames consumed the tents, clawing for the clear sky overhead, the camp glowing red and hot.

I threw myself to the ground to crawl low, despite how my mind screamed at me to run as fast as I could for my dearest friends. My hands ripped away clumps of grass each time I dragged myself forward. Before I even reached the perimeter of camp, the fire had started to eat into the surrounding field. Sweat doused my body from the heat.

I caught a glimpse of the center of camp through the tents. The flames crashed over the area as if hitting an invisible dome. Panic tightened around my heart again. Dozens were tied up in the center of camp.

Chief Kaid sat among them, blood running down the side of her face.

Damn Flare for taking me away. Tears sprang into my eyes.

Where the hell were Leif and Wren?

The grass rustled behind me. I climbed to my knees and twisted with fists ready. Nash faced me, his finger pressed to his mouth.

“How did you get away?” I whispered.

“I left to find the body on the battlefield. I saw the flames in the distance.”

How awfully convenient.

“What about you?" he asked. "How did you get away?”

Should I tell him? He might offer information. I decided it was worth the risk. “Flare took me.”

“Flare? Why?”

“Trying to recruit me.”

A flicker of emotion flashed in Nash’s eyes. Concern, possibly. Frustration. Perhaps fear. Whatever it was, he didn’t seem happy about what I’d told him. I couldn’t begin to guess at what this meant to him when apparently I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on.

Besides, I wasn’t ready to believe his story and that deserved my attention. He may have known this attack was coming. The offer to help me escape could have been a cover the entire time. The heat of anger rolled through me, but instinctively I knew I shouldn’t show him I was suspicious. If he was trying to fool me, I might have a chance to catch him off guard by pretending I believed him.

Even so, I wasn’t ready to stay by his side during this attack. I started forward but he grabbed me.

“We should do this together,” Nash said.

“I don’t have time to figure out what I plan to do, much less explain it to you.”

“Unless you plan to take on ten demons and a small army by yourself, I’m guessing that you’ll run.”

I clenched my fists. Ten demons? Were there really that many? “Where’s Leif and Wren?”

“I don’t know.”

Sometimes, when I was desperate enough, I could scrounge the meager amount of power it took to listen for my friend's heartbeats. Straining, I heard nothing, until finally I quieted my thoughts.

I heard the soft patter near the trees, further down from where I’d been taken. One of the hearts sounded so faint. I nearly ran for them but stopped myself. I couldn’t let Nash know.

“This is where I last saw them.” I combed through the grass to pretend to search. “There’s tracks. Stay here and watch my back.”

He nodded.

I rushed for the trees in a crouch. A boot hung out past a patch of thistles. Tears filled my eyes. Leif’s body sagged against a tree with Wren holding onto him with bloodied hands. Arrows stuck out from his chest, covering his shirt in splotches of blood. Three in total. He must have come after me and gotten chased through the woods. Damn it!