I stood up, unsure of what to say. I didn’t actually expect him to come rescue us, if anything I figured the portal would appear and we’d return ourselves. Instead, Grim seemed to barely contain his laughter as he breathed in.

His eyes flickered and dimmed into a dull scarlet before he ran his hand down a nearby trunk. The bark flaked and left his palm black, but he didn’t seem to mind–going so far as to taste the soot.

“Familiar,” he muttered.

I stood and helped Alice into a standing position. When Grim continued to stare absently at his palm I cleared my throat.

“Grim? We’ve retrieved the blood.”

“Huh?” He glanced toward the urn, his eyes regaining focus. “You did. And without resorting to mutual destruction. Impressive.”

So he was watching us. Just how much did he see?

His eyes flickered to where Alice stood and in a blink, he loomed over her. He sniffed and crouched low, his eyes directly in line with her chest. I tensed, but whatever he was looking for must have satisfied him.

He backed away and chuckled to himself. “Curious little pup. Apparently I’ve missed an interesting child. Shame, that is.”

“Prime,” Alice stated.

“Tell me, girl. You were his brother, no? How do you compare yourself to him?”

Alice’s skin rippled as her nails elongated. But she kept her voice steady and met Grim’s stare. “He was more experienced.”

“That’s all? Even more curious why he would pick him over you.”

Alice’s eyes flashed red and I moved to interrupt the conversation but Grim appeared behind me. He patted me on the shoulder and smiled as I spun around. He held up a finger and familiar red flames wisped off the tip. Before I back away he gently tapped the center of my chest, injecting the spark into my core.

I fought through the sharp sting and blinked away tears as my mana churned in response.

In my core, the spark crashed through the lava and met the rising bead of flames that had rested underneath. It was smaller, my own mana having eaten away at the edges but as the bead and spark touched, the larger of the two consumed the other.

The edges that were eroded regained their fullness and the lava around the flames was pushed back, the sheer intensity of the heat creating a thin divide. The second half of my mana reacted with fury, the sea creating thin strands that attempted to pierce through the shell.

The foreign mana rebuffed it and a crushing pain jarred me out of the metaphysical world.

Grimm slid his hand from my shoulder to my neck, cradling my chin and tilting it up to meet his eyes. “Don’t fight it. You are above that now, ignore the pain and let it through.”

I pulled out of his grip and slammed my will across the bead’s barrier. It bent inward, shattering and letting the flames mingle with my own before the lava dragged it down and smothered its fury.

It wasn’t settled, nor had it assimilated. But the pain receded leaving my chest sore and my mana upset but relatively calmed compared to before.

“Why?” I demanded.

“Merely adding kindling. Tell me, have you noticed the benefits or are you too blind?”

I was extremely familiar with my core and my mana. I spent days constantly cycling it in an attempt to unlock whatever it was Grim intended to give me. There was no change. Nothing tangible to proclaim.

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Before I could give an answer, he shrugged, rolling his shoulders as he swept his cloak behind him, sending a cloud of dust into my face.

“Return to the Warren. I have business here so I won’t be following.”

Alice tapped my shoulder and pointed to the sack on my waist. “Prime. We have retrieved one of our fallen.”

Grim paused but he didn’t look back. When he spoke, his voice held none of the mirth from before; absent of the cockiness, the assurity. It was solemn and his chin lowered.

“Illeth,” he whispered. He straightened his form and continued deeper into the woods, pausing only after reaching the edge of our sight. “Did you find her iron? It was a dagger. A wolf’s head on the pommel.”

Alice produced the knife and held it up. “We did. It saved us during a crucial moment and the core shattered.”

“I see. Good.”

He slipped behind a tree and I heard the crack of wood. We waited, listening till eventually Alice tugged my arm and reached for the urn. I got on the other side and helped lift it up, approaching the portal even as I glanced back at where Grim had disappeared.

I wonder if he’s going to visit Nameless. I’d pay to see that.

“Ready?” Alice prodded.

“Maybe,” I admitted.

“Expecting trouble?”

“Always. But I’m half worried the other Grimms are still statues.”

She shrugged and tugged me forward. We pushed through the dimeonsal fabric and touched the other side. It took a second to adjust, but the sky was dark, with dull moonlight illuminating the town.

The zombie horde of Grimms were thankfully absent, with only a skeleton crew standing around the portal. I only barely recognized them as ones who were recalled by Grim.

A grizzled man approached, his face gruff but his fingers clutching onto his weapon as if prepared for an attack.

“Where’s the Prime?” he grunted.

“Don’t know. He went off to explore on his own,” I answered.

His frown grew more pronounced, and he opened his mouth to speak but someone shouted Alice’s name from across the square.

It was Adeline, joined by Kierra.

“Sniff somewhere else, Corin. They just returned from a hunt.” He spun around and jabbed an accusing finger her way, but she brushed him off. “The Prime can handle himself. So stuff it.”

While the two Grimms had a stare off, a skinnier man with a wispy moustache moved closer.

“Is that urn the sacrifice?” he asked.

I dragged the urn forward and handed it over. “It should be.”

“Thank you. Congratulation on the completed hunt.”

I politely smiled and he snuck away.

Eventually, Adeline shoulder checked the gruff man and walked through the meat barricade.

“Alice. Cain. You’re alright.”

Alice held up a hand sniffed the air. As she did I did the same and noticed a strange absence.

The blood’s gone, weird.

But the tree stood, as did the portal to the other place. The chains were still wrapped around, and even more of the red streamers had joined the links, fluttering in the breeze. The only thing I could smell was sea salt and something delicious cooking not too far away.

Movement to my right made me turn and support Alice as she stumbled, but she kept her eyes pointed to the sky. She held a strange expression before she leaned closer to Adeline, getting within inches of her face.

“How long were we gone?” Alice demanded.

Adeline frowned and pushed her back. “What’s gotten into you? Are you hurt?”

“Answer me.”

“Alice?” I cut in.

She pointed to the moon. “How long were we gone?”

“You were gone-” Adeline started but Alice’s legs gave out and I shouldered her weight till Freki emerged and I laid her on his back.

“Alice!” Adeline shouted.

Two of the Grimms standing guard nearby began to approach but I waved them off.

“She’s just exhausted. We should probably take her inside and grab Astra.”

“What happened to her?”

“She received a boon from a Keeper. If she reacts at all like how I reacted, we’ll need Astra to keep her chained down.”

Adeline grabbed my shirt and tried to pull me closer but I grabbed her wrist and knocked her hand aside.

She growled. “What do you mean chained down?”

“How about we stop causing a scene and get to the Warren. I’m tired too, Adeline.”

She looked ready to argue but Kierra patted her arm and gently tugged at her sleeve. The huntress relented and composed her self before directing us down a wide path.

“That way.”

We slipped through several rows of houses.

The windows were covered in wood and painted with runes, even more runic circles encircled the buildings and connected together in a big chain that led to a singular line. I traced the line back to the tree.

More protections, more defences in preparations for the Harvest. They definitely weren’t there the last time we visited.

“Adeline, just how long were we gone? It was probably less than a day, right?”

She stopped and looked to the moon. Her eyes widened and she qiuetely whispered something under her breath.

Her head hung low and groaned. “That explains it.”

“Uhm, hello? Want to fill me in?”

“The moon. Notice anything about it?”

Not really. It was barely a sliver.

“What about it?”

“Her brother, Cain. We bury our dead on the first moonrise of the new month.”

“And that made her angry why?”

Adeline patted Alice’s hair with sadness in her eyes. “You weren’t in there for a day. Its been nearly a week, Cain. First moonrise is on the new moon in three days time.”