"Sorry, you'll have to repeat yourself. I thought I heard you say that Candra taught you absolutely nothing of value, and that your task for today is to--"

"Let the black diamond infuse me and stew in silence doing nothing," Cedric finished irritably. "Not a word on what I can actually do with the Axis of Darkness, or how. And she knows of our five-day deadline. She'd accepted it without argument or question."

They'd settled in an abandoned house not far from Candra's. A gray film of dust coated the furniture and floors, and the pantry and cupboards had been stripped bare. Only a few items had been left behind--a few spoons, an old pot, a wooden basin.

Nightwind stood outside in the attached pen, sharing his new space with an abandoned chicken coop. They had little to worry about in regard to thieves or worse; the sun would be setting soon, and Cedric would be finely attuned to any human presence that may approach them.

"Haven't you been repeatedly infusing yourself with the black diamond ever since you acquired it?" Adrian said.

"Yes!" Cedric threw up his hands. "And I can already command its ebb and flow. Even my first time, I'd managed to transform into this winged creature--" He cut off at Adrian's slack-jawed expression.

"That was you?" he sputtered. "The Beast terrorizing us all those weeks ago? You?"

Cedric frowned. "This hadn't occurred to you until now?"

Adrian clapped his hand to his forehead. "We could have been flying this whole time?"

"Only if we intended to waste the diamond's reserves. Besides, I'm not especially eager to revert to that monstrous creature." He briefly wondered again at the fate of the Ice Blade. He'd likely never know for certain.

"What will you do?" Adrian said. "Return and demand more useful instruction?"

"Not if it risks Candra rejecting me altogether." Cedric shook his head. "She's helping me on a whim. I need her far more than she needs me."

"Best get to the assignment then." Adrian crossed over to the bed frame of strung ropes, which had been stripped of its mattress. He laid the linen tent over the ropes and settled in. "I'll be attending to my rest."

*

Only when Cedric's body began to tremble with exhaustion did he finally cease the flow of dark energy and open his eyes.

It was long past sunset, and the house was pitch dark save for a short candle burning on the nightstand. Adrian was awake by now, seated on the bed with Oleanna's leather wallet in his lap. He was carefully withdrawing the ingredients one by one, observing them in the candlelight, and returning them to their proper pockets.

Cedric stiffly rose from the chair and crossed over to the bed, where he sank down next to Adrian with a relieved sigh. Adrian offered him a few dried dates from the saddlebag propped against the nightstand.

Cedric grunted in refusal.

"Keep up your strength. Go on."

Reluctantly, Cedric rolled onto his side and took the dates. His hand shook as he ate them, but he did feel better afterwards.

"It's strange, having a solid roof over our heads again," Adrian said. "Almost constraining. The air seems… denser."

Cedric thought of Alvir's cottage and felt a stab of heartache for the only home he'd known, a home he could never return to.

"How does it feel to channel the diamond?" Adrian said.

"Its energy is cold but… alive, somehow. That first time, it swallowed me up and transformed me into the Beast. I was a mere insect swept up by a current."

"But not this time?"

"No. I'm more accustomed to it now." Cedric curled in on himself. "But no enlightenment, no revelation or new knowledge. Maybe I missed something."

"Maybe Candra is a lousy teacher."

Cedric yawned until his jaw cracked. "And you? Any revelations in that wallet?"

"Not anymore. Just reviewing my stock, committing their locations to memory. I do wonder about the salt, though."

"There's salt?"

"Aye, a good amount. But I feel nothing for its potential use. No impressions, just this strange, blank numbness." He grinned. "If we'd found any animals to roast, they would have been well-seasoned."

"What'd you think you'll attempt next?"

The candlelight haloed the profile of Adrian's eyelashes in luminous orange, and cast a warm glow over his rich olive skin. "Depends on whatever deadly situation you'll blunder into."

Cedric could only afford a half-lidded glare. The world was blurring and softening in a most enticing way.

Adrian put a hand on his shoulder, for a mere second, then let go.

"Goodnight, Cedric."

"Night," he mumbled.

*

"I did as you asked," Cedric said the next morning, seated at Candra's table the same as yesterday.

Candra drew from her pipe, exhaled a puff of bitter, acrid smoke and nodded in approval. Cedric waited for further elaboration, but none came.

"What are my next steps?" he pressed on.

"That depends on what you hope to learn," she said. She tapped some ashes into the small clay dish before her. "I'm clearly disappointing you, but disappointment requires expectation. What is it you expect?"

"To learn to channel the black diamond for longer periods of time." He paused. "To understand what the Axis of Darkness truly is, and all the ways I can wield it."

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"Is that all?" Candra snorted. "A lifetime's worth of study, condensed into four measly days?" She cocked her head. "Well, I can at least disabuse you of your first expectation. No, you will not be able to build your endurance to the black diamond. Your strength is the same fixed constant as that of all Blessed Ones, past and present, and no amount of training can ever change that." She tapped the fingers of her free hand on the table. "What matters is the quality and quantity of the gemstones drawn upon, and the ingenuity of their wielder."

"Rhea had told me something of the sort, that the Axes' potential may only be limited by our imaginations."

"Then what does the element of darkness mean to you? What does it represent?"

"Safety," Cedric said at once. "Companionship."

"More traditionally, it may also represent the unseen, the unknown, the hidden, the repressed." Her eyes flickered as she exhaled another plume of smoke. "The monstrous."

"Is that why I can cloak myself from others' attention?"

"Yes, because that aspect of the Axis of Darkness happens to resonate with you. What else have you done with the black diamond?"

Cedric cast his mind back over the tumultuous weeks since he'd fled Methodosia. "I transformed into some sort of dark animal. With wings. My mind was completely lost to it. Then…" He considered. "On another occasion, I drew from gemstones that weren't diamonds, and managed to extract a single spark that disorientated the two men restraining me."

"Then you've already seen for yourself that the Axes aren't solely the tangible elements we can see and feel. They're also symbolic, metaphorical, unique to each Heir's incarnation. But they've failed to acknowledge the subtleties of their power for a very long time. They're comfortably confined within the bounds of the orthodox, knowing only how to manifest their power in the bluntest of forms."

"Not my predecessor," Cedric said quietly. "He experimented. He unleashed the Madness."

Candra avoided his eyes as she emptied the last of her ash. "The Scholar assigned to him would not have encouraged him to do so. Your predecessor must have been inspired to uncover his affinity by someone less bound by convention."

"And he slaughtered half the kingdom because of it."

"Knowledge is never the enemy," Candra said, a little sharply. "Only what we choose to do with it."

"Yet you Scholars hide the truth of the Axes from the Heirs."

"The truth may not be offered unprompted, but it is there should they seek it."

"Then surely every Heir would strive to learn all they could about their own abilities. Even I managed to discover some aspects of my affinity on my own."

Candra raised an eyebrow. "Unlike you, the Divine Heirs have historically grown up in a luxurious tower with their every whim catered to, every vice indulged. Worshipped by all but their kin, never challenged or scolded. A perfect environment for cultivating incuriosity, among other critical deficiencies." She shrugged. "If nothing else, your imprisonment spared you that."

"How fortunate for me."

Candra almost smiled.

"Then what is the most I could achieve within the next four days, following less orthodox teachings?"

"Have I not given you enough already? This wealth of information should occupy you for at least another day."

Cedric blinked. "But… what should I be doing with that time?"

She flicked her hand. "Not my concern. Go on."

*

Adrian was heating a pot of water over the kitchen fireplace when Cedric returned.

"Back so soon?" he said as he dropped a pinch of green flakes into the pot. "There were a few logs left in the woodbox. Thought I'd make use of the time."

Nightwind's large, dark head nosed in from the open window nearby. Adrian briefly turned to pat his snout.

"And I thought the well water had fouled," Cedric said.

"I've purified it. At least, I hope I did."

Cedric slumped into a chair. "Then you've already achieved more than I have."

"What did Candra tell you?"

"Plenty. But not what I should be doing." He rubbed his jaw. "She did confirm that the Axes are far more than tangible elements. Interpreting their symbolic meaning is crucial to wielding them effectively."

Adrian blinked. "The Axes of Creation are subject to your interpretation of them?"

"Aye, but the affinity varies for each incarnation of us." He closed his hand around the black diamond in his pocket. "For me, the darkness conceals and protects. My predecessor could draw out the darkness in one's spirit. Perhaps our pasts and desires shaped those abilities."

"Couldn't Candra lend you a hand in sorting this out?"

"She seems determined that I make the connections on my own."

"Then the verdict is 'lousy teacher' after all."

Cedric shook his head. "No, not that. She hides it well, but she seems almost… afraid."

"Of you?" Adrian rolled his eyes. "I suppose kittens and lambs set her on edge as well."

Cedric found himself inordinately offended by that.

*

Adrian startled awake to a hard hand clamped over his mouth.

"Three men are coming," Cedric murmured, then lifted his hand.

Adrian rubbed his eyes. "Must be the ones Gideon mentioned." He gathered up the tent as soon as they both rolled out of bed. "Should I saddle up Nightwind?"

Cedric ran his hands through the tousled mass of his hair, restoring some semblance of order to it. "Good idea. I'll find out what our midnight callers want."

"What? Why would you do that?"

Cedric didn't answer. He lightly tossed the saddlebag over to Adrian, who caught it with much greater effort. "Go on without me. I'll catch up."

He clenched his jaw and didn't move.

An insufferable exasperation crossed Cedric's face, as if Adrian were merely some errant, tiresome brat. "Adrian--"

"Oh please, I'm not your bloody child." He dropped the saddlebag to the floor with a crash. "Whatever daft reason you're staying, it'd better be worth it."

Cedric glared. As he opened his mouth to argue, a series of harsh thumps rattled the front door.

"Evening, lads," came a cold, reedy voice. "We never properly acquainted ourselves. What say you to a proper introduction between fellow travelers?"

Orange torchlight flickered between the thin cracks of the closed shutters.

"They've surrounded the house," Cedric muttered.

Adrian's heart began to thump audibly in his ears. "Wonderful, we're trapped. Why did we let that happen?"

Cedric waved an impatient hand, and Adrian was again tempted to hit him.

"Evening, sirs," Cedric called out. "I'd be glad to make your acquaintance, but am I wrong to assume that this would not usually occur in the dead of night?"

"Extraordinary circumstances, I'm afraid. My compatriots and I are in dire need of your help, and it's only polite that we exchange pleasantries first."

"What help do you need?"

"Something that would surely set us up for a good, long time. You'll hardly suffer for parting with it."

"If it's our horse you want, I assure you we'd suffer greatly."

The voice cackled. Adrian felt a shiver run up his spine.

"Your horse, we'll just take. But the diamond is what you'll kindly give to us."

Adrian looked to Cedric in shock, and the latter met his eyes with resignation rather than surprise. Suddenly, all was clear--Cedric had wanted to find out whether these men had come knocking on their own, or if they'd been sent.

"And if I don't?" Cedric said. Adrian saw his fist tighten in his pocket.

"Then we'll simply retrieve it from your corpse. You're not negotiating for the diamond, lads, you're negotiating for your lives. This is a kindness."

When he didn't respond, the door jumped in its frame with a startling crash.

"Now what?" Adrian hissed, but Cedric didn't seem to hear him. It took him a few long seconds to realize that his friend was trembling in anger.

"Get the saddlebag," he spat as another crash rang out.

"What--"

"Now!"

Adrian bent down and slung the saddlebag over his shoulder, then yelped as Cedric scooped him up in his arms.

"What are you--"

"Hold on." Cedric closed his eyes, and his brow furrowed in concentration.

"There's still time for a peaceful handover," the voice called. Another crash. Splinters of wood showered the floor with dry clacks.

Adrian looped his arms around Cedric's neck, feeling both foolish and terrified in equal measure. It was possible that Cedric had risked their lives with no regard to escape, but he banished the thought from his mind. Not even Cedric would be that reckless. He surely had a plan.

Adrian watched him closely, but it was the sudden coldness of Cedric's body that signaled a change. The chill of his skin bled easily through Adrian's sturdy travelling clothes; he shivered but gripped Cedric's icy neck all the tighter.

The door burst open with a final, thunderous crash, and its assailant tumbled forward into the parlor. He was a short, wiry man wielding a club in one hand and a lantern in the other, and his weaselly eyes bugged at the sight of their strange bridal embrace. He hooted in derision, revealing a missing front tooth. "What in Eris' shriveled--"

The explosive surge of massive black wings killed the expletive in his throat.