Yona rubbed her throbbing temples as she made her way down Verna's densely packed streets. The sun was setting over the horizon, casting the streets in a soft, golden haze that would have been relaxing if Yona hadn't spent the entire day in Zorro's insufferable company.

He had been in a mood more foul than usual and spent the better part of the afternoon complaining. No matter how hard Yona tried to turn her ears off, his whines still made it through and now that she was finally on her way back home, she had a splitting headache accompanying her.

The looming thunder in the distance wasn't helping either.

All Yona wanted to do was get home, put on her comfortable clothes, and sit on the couch with a book as Suoh played soft melodies on the piano.

Her shoulders relaxed a little when she was away from the dual-level city and began her trek through the rice fields. Just a little farther and she'd be home.

A few people were still working in the rice fields, up to their knees in water. Their hats covered their faces, protecting their skin from the harsh rays of the sun. Though now that the sun was setting and the sky behind the storm clouds was dipped in deep orange, they didn't need the hats anymore. An elderly man, his back still hunched over from a lifetime of working the fields as he stood up, waved to Yona. She smiled and waved back. She saw him everyday, always working hard, his wrinkled skin covered in sun spots. She never spoke to him, but she respected him. Sometimes she imagined what his life was like and pictured him working extra hard to provide food for a large family of multiple generations all living under the same roof.

An ache formed in the center of Yona's chest and her smile faded as she picked up her pace, her feet sloshing in the wet earth as she walked.

That kind of domestic life was so far out of her reach that just imagining it for herself was pointless. Her life was survival first, Suoh second. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else could matter.

So Yona shoved those desires down and focused on getting home, instead thinking about what she could make for dinner. Maybe she'd even stop by the market and pick up some squid. She had a couple extra silvers jangling in the pocket of her cloak.

However, when Yona made it back to Daeshi, the fish market was closed and people were gathered in the streets, huddled together behind hushed murmurs.

Something's wrong.

The thought sent a cold chill down Yona's spine, the hairs on her arms standing on end.

Suoh.

Yona took off in a run, shoving her way around people who were gathered on the sidewalks. They shouted things after her - probably profanities - but she didn't hear them. She only focused on the adrenaline pumping through her veins and the terrible thought that Suoh could be in danger.

Sweat gathered on the nape of her neck, beads of it rolling down her back as she sprinted through the streets in the familiar direction of their apartment. She caught snippets of gossip when she found herself caught behind a more steadfast crowd and the little she heard made her mouth dry up, her tongue suddenly feeling too big for her mouth.

"Can you believe it? The princess is missing."

"I heard they're going to publicly whip the girl who saw her last."

"But she's a child!"

"The Imperial Family doesn't care. In their eyes, no one is more important than the future empress."

Yona pushed past the people, her heart practically in her throat. What-ifs ran through her head like flies in the fish market. She tried to send them away, but they were loud in her head. She had told Suoh not to go near the windows today when the princess was visiting their town, but what if—

What if, what if, what if!

"Hey, watch it—!"

Yona ignored the angry shouts spewed in her direction, her eyes remaining straight ahead, her mind and heart focused solely on her brother.

By the time she made it to the apartment building, she was totally out of breath as she ran up the steps two at a time, the hood on her cloak pushed down and forgotten.

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She felt the cold before she saw the ice. It stretched out into the hallway, clouds of cold air drifting off the ground. Crackling filled Yona's ears as her heart sank all the way to her feet, her entire body suddenly light and heavy at the same time.

The door was wide open.

Yona's breaths came.out sporadic ans short, panic filling her lungs. The ice cracked under Yona's feet as she stepped into the apartment and was greeted with utter disarray. The small table they used to eat meals together was flipped onto its side, ice wrapping around the legs of it like vines. The books Suoh had set aside to read next were strewn across the floor, some open, their yellowing pages bent and flapping in the breeze coming from the open window. And the piano—

The piano.

Its ivory keys were stained with blood so dry it looked brown.

Suoh's blood.

Yona wasn't sure how she knew it was his, but she did. He was bleeding; he was hurt; where the hell was he?!

Her feet moved on their own and before she could think any kind of rational thought, Yona was standing in front of an empty closet covered in a thick layer of ice. Inside were two large footprints. He was in here. He hid in here. But what was it he was hiding from?

The whispers and gossip of the townsfolk came crashing to the front of her mind. ‘Can you believe it? The princess is missing.’ Yona's breath caught in her throat. The Imperial Family were the ones who hunted and slayed those plagued with magic. They murdered all those children. And if the future empress caught so much as a glimpse of Suoh, she would have gone after him.

Yona rushed back into the main room, practically choking on her own heart.

There was more blood than before. No, that wasn't true; it had been there the whole time, but Yona was just seeing it now. It was on the floor, splattered on the walls, staining the worn arms of the couch. On the back wall, around where most of the blood gathered, now frozen to the floor, was a peculiar stain. Unnatural. Furrowing her brows, Yona twisted her head so she was looking at it upside down and suddenly it resembled the smudged remnants of a word written in blood.

Fight.

Tears fogged Yona's vision as she reached up and buried her fingers in her hair, pulling it at the root as loud sobs escaped her throat. She fell to her knees, the sudden pressure of her weight cracking the thin layer of ice that lined the floor. Suoh. She could feel the meaning behind the single word he wrote in his own blood. It told her that he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Maybe that realization should have filled her with relief that he was surely still alive, but all Yona felt was an intense wave of loneliness and guilt and pain.

Her beloved brother was gone and she had no way of tracking him. He was out there, somewhere, left to survive in a world he knew nothing about.

And she was alone.

Not once, in all the years she lived, had she been alone. She shared a womb, a crib, a heart with someone else and now it was quiet. The weight of that realization was heavy on her shoulders.

She didn’t know how to be alone.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, her breaths coming out short and ragged.

She dropped her hands from her hair and let out a loud cry that was masked by a clap of thunder. Sobs rose up her throat, choking her from the inside out. Clutching at her heart, the fabric of her cloak buried in her closed fist, Yona sobbed until her throat was raw and she had no more tears left to cry. Yona fell back against the piano, the ice making her shiver as she looked up at the ceiling. The loud pitter-patter of rain drowned out her wheezing breaths as the shadows in the room grew and began to twist, reaching out for Yona’s ankles.

Gasping, Yona hugged her knees to her chest, trying to pull herself away from the shadows as her heart pounded against her ribcage. The shadows twisted like growing vines, reaching—searching. Searching for her.

Yona gasped again.

She knew what this was. She had read about it when she was searching for a way to cure Suoh of his magic, how the creatures were born from shadows like a twisted phoenix rising from the ashes.

Before she could solidify the thought, the shadow lifted up from the ground and wrapped around her ankle, pulling her towards it with a shocking strength. Yona yelped, grabbing onto the leg of the piano before it could pull her fully into the darkness, her nails straining against the wood and threatening to break. The piano scraped across the floor, cracking the ice and Yona screamed.

Invisible nails dug into her ankle, scratching and pulling and ripping. Yona kicked and thrashed, trying to free herself from the shadow's grip, but it held tight and eventually her sweating palms slipped from the piano and she was dragged into the dark.

A flash of lightning lit up the room and Yona saw a pair of dark eyes staring back at her, her breath catching in her throat. She wanted to scream, but no sound left her lips, a crash of thunder shaking the apartment.

When Yona finally found her voice, it came out as weak and feeble. "Who—are you?"

The shadow twisted and Yona saw a flash of teeth, canines sharp. "Why ask when you already know?" The creature's voice was soft and distinctly feminine. Hot breath tickled Yona's ear as the creature spoke again, its lips brushing against the shell of her ear. "I'm your shadow."