Every person had a distinctness to the rhythm of their hearts and I savored my friends' unique sounds as I finally made out their forms approaching.

There was no sign of the injuries that had left Leif wilted against the tree. The distance quickly disappeared between us but I couldn't slow down. Had to reach him so my hands could tell me what my eyes didn't believe. That he was here, alive and well. I slammed into Leif with my arms around him and knocked him onto the ground.

Tears streamed from my eyes onto his shirt as I buried my face against him and sobbed. "You're alive. You're really alive."

Leif groaned on the ground, holding onto me tight. "I missed you too, girl."

I reached for Wren, unable to release Leif, and drew her down to wrap an arm around her.

"Your wounds…" I wiped my eyes and nose and then patted Leif's chest and stomach where the arrows once protruded.

He wrinkled his brow. "Yes, please, wipe your snotty tears all over me."

I laughed and smacked his chest. "You're completely healed."

"The healers took care of all our injuries, no matter how minor." Wren smoothed my hair back from my face to get a good look at me. "What about you? Are you hurt?"

"No. Leif opened his big fat mouth and screamed for the enemy to get him. The fool saved me."

"I would do it again," Leif said, voice serious.

"Never again." Tears warped my voice. "Never."

"We have a lot to talk about." Wren met my eyes.

I didn't like the sound of that. Wren had her commander's voice, the calm but impossible to deny tone she used in battle and meetings.

"We do," I said. "Just first, tell me how you escaped. Are they searching for you?"

"The demon from the Prophet's village came," Leif said.

"Her name is Flare," I said with a hard voice.

Wren nodded. "Then the Flatlanders released us with our weapons. We brought yours." When she pulled my bow off her back, I immediately grabbed it like I had Leif. "They told us we were free to attack the Prophet of the Valley as long as we didn't interfere with them again and they let us leave while they kept the others hostage."

"They're using you as a weapon." I twisted at Nash's voice. "You've been a shield for the Flatlanders for many years. The Prophet was too busy in the valley to turn to them."

Leif eyed Nash. "What do you know of the Flatlanders?"

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. When he opened his mouth to speak, I interrupted. "I'll explain everything soon. The Prophet has information on the Flatlanders." I held Leif's arm. "Let's talk on the road."

Nash watched me, looking surprised.

Leif didn't seem satisfied, but he did nod. He would never accept Nash if he knew the truth, not when he was still suspicious of him anyway. I'd cover for Nash, for now. Though I had concerns of my own, I did believe that I could kill Nash myself if he stepped out of line. And I had the help of Leif and Wren now. If he truly hated the Prophet as much as he said, then we needed him. Plus, Flare could cause problems if I ditched Nash. Concern churned in my gut as I reasoned with myself, because it was starting to sound an awful lot like rationalizations, and if I had to keep it a secret from Leif, then maybe it meant I was being a fool.

As we walked, I remembered what Nash had said after we sparred. He felt like we'd met in a dream he couldn't remember. I knew that feeling so well. Maybe it was why I couldn't send him away. Or maybe it was a much more pathetic reason. My head was spinning with worry.

----------------------------------------

We'd spent two days on the road and still had so far to go to make it to the Mountain of the Gods. After a few hours of anxiety, I'd tried to convince Wren and Leif to return to our people. Only Flare had already told them of my plans to travel to the Mountain of the Gods, and Chief Kaid had already commissioned our trip. Wren took her duty as a commander too seriously. Even without the order, I wouldn't have been able to convince these two to leave me. There was no turning back.

Wren had said that it hadn't been an easy conversation before they left. Our leaders had questions that no one could answer except for me. They had always respected that I didn't want to discuss my past. That was over now. When I returned, I had to answer to the chief, and she was angry with me for withholding so much more than she'd ever imagined. To my surprise, Wren said Beast had been the first to say that they would wait for my return to attack the Prophet, because they wouldn't be able to defeat him without me and whatever I had been hiding on this mountain.

I would have accepted Leif and Wren being angry with me as well, but they weren't. It only fueled the guilt I felt for not telling them about my history. I'd wanted to protect them. Now, I was leading them to the most dangerous place in the world.

"Flare told us you'd agreed to work with her and brought us here." Wren's eyes were on the pink of the sunrise as we walked. Nash had ventured further up the path and Leif hung behind him, refusing to take his eyes off the other man for a moment.

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"I am not working with her. She told me bringing you here was a gift." I shook my head. "I think it's a warning. She's showing me what she can do and indebting me to her."

"What about Nash? Do we trust him?"

I smiled at that. We. Because if I trusted someone, Wren would too, no questions asked. Unlike Leif. "Enough for now."

"He won't be easy to take down if it comes to it."

"No."

Wren hesitated, voice gentler now. "If the worst does happen, with him or whatever awaits us on the mountain, we'll need your power."

Pain twisted my stomach. I couldn't bring myself to look at her. "How long have you known?"

"Longer than Leif." She hooked her arm around my neck and leaned on me as we walked, lean and tall. Always there to keep me grounded. "He told me the power is sealed. You'll get it back. I have no doubt."

And that was all she said. No questions asked. No details given. Just a nonchalant update that my circle knew I was a demon and always had known. Great.

Where Leif might have chided me for my shame or tried to make me laugh until I forgot, Wren only walked alongside me, and let us be silent together. Though they knew my secret, they didn't really understand. They hadn't seen what I was capable of but soon they might. What if they looked at me differently? They would always love me. But what if the precious comfort of their acceptance grew dimmer and things shifted? And I lost what I loved most in the world?

By the time we stopped to rest for the night, my stomach was in a tangled mess. That didn't seem to matter to Leif, though, because he decided to pounce anyway. Nash and Wren both left to forage before bed while Leif and I prepared a fire. Hardly a minute had passed after they left when Leif ripped the firewood from my arms and threw it on the ground.

"Tell me the truth now," he said.

I frowned at the wood on the leafy forest floor and then at him. "What?"

"What? You know what." Leif scowled. "Are you fucking the enemy?"

My jaw dropped in indignation. "Obviously not."

"It's not obvious at all."

I growled and shoved him. "Don't be an ass, Leif!"

He swatted me away. "Girl." Warning filled his voice. "I'm not playing."

"I'm not either."

"Then make this make sense. Why is he here?"

Now real hurt spread over my chest. "You think I would compromise the most important thing in the world to me because of that? The only thing I care about is getting our people back."

His expression softened, but it didn't stop him from saying the next part. "You wouldn't do it on purpose." He held up a hand when I started for him again. "Don't. I mean it."

I lowered my fist to my side. "We need all the help we can get. He has inside information on the Prophet and Flare and he's one of the best swordsmen I've ever met."

"Those all sound like reasons to me to never fall asleep around him. Max, you're not this stupid."

"Wren trusts me."

"Wren is too trusting. You're usually the first to say that."

He had a point. I fell back against the closest tree. "It's my gut, Leif. No matter what happens, I just keep feeling like he's supposed to be here. And don't you dare say it has anything to do with any kind of feelings for him because it doesn't."

Looking unconvinced, he sighed. "I've always trusted you, but I don't trust him. If he's here, then we're sleeping in shifts. My family is on the line, Max."

"I know." I bit the inside of my cheek. "Look, if we send him back now, then who knows what he'll do? If he really isn't on our side, he could go straight to the Prophet. If we keep him with us, we can watch him and kill him if he crosses us. Is there anything more trustworthy than my bow and your sword?"

Leif grinned now. "Hell no. Nothing. Look, if the time comes, you have to really kill him though. You can't let your emotions get in the way. And just know if he even looks at you too long, I'm ripping his windpipe out with my bare hands." He lifted his fist in the air like he was imagining it. "Then I'll shove it back down his throat, deep in there, and–"

"Okay." I pushed off the tree. "Damn. I get it."

He picked up the wood and hesitated. "I may have been a little harsh with you."

"You were an asshole!"

"Stop being so childish." Leif groaned. "Shouldn't you have grown up more by now? You're not a kid anymore."

"You're the one who should have grown up by now, you old man."

"I am not old."

"Arn would take my side, you know. He wants you to be more patient with me."

Leif rolled his eyes. "Only a holy man could have enough patience to deal with you, girl."

As much as the bickering could annoy me, I loved it just as much, and I loved having Leif and Wren back with me. When I settled to sleep that night with Leif and Wren both close, I finally had a touch of peace. But it still wasn't enough to keep me from slipping away in my dreams.