By the time Crow had taken one step outside the arena, Astra had regained strength enough to walk, bearing enough that she insisted on doing so herself.

The modicum of independence seemed to do little for her nerves. She remained silent as they entered the carriage, moreso during the journey.

Crow barely noticed. His eyes were held on Unity.

The boy was as quiet as Astra, though his demeaner couldn’t have been more different. Eyes clear rather than cloudy, as if empty of thought entirely. Yet distant, too. Seeming locked upon something a dozen leagues away.

He wanted to bridge the gap between them, but couldn’t imagine how he might start. It was impossible to look at him without seeing the gore clinging to every inch. Impossible to even share a carriage with the boy and not smell what fraction of its stench hadn’t been scrubbed clear by the rain.

Selsis’ blacksmith had often let Crow watch while he worked. Unity’s reek brought back memories of hot iron burning his nostrils. He shuddered to recall where it had come from.

They arrived at the Crux after what felt like no time at all, travel made swift by the haze of scattered thoughts. Deka was waiting in the hall as they returned, gesturing them into her room with a silent urgency.

Gem was sat upright in her bed and staring eagerly as they took their seats, eyes wide and affixed on Unity with an intensity Crow had yet to see in her. The boy was no more fazed than he’d been by anything since the task.

“Care to explain yourself?” She asked, emotion making her words shake. Unity blinked, and for a moment Crow thought the boy might break out into tears.

Then his face stilled again, silence returning.

Pyrhic answered Lavastro’s summons quickly, entering her quarters in silence just minutes after being mentally called for. She bowed upon seeing her, awaiting orders as dutifully as ever. Somehow they were hard to give.

“Contact whichever individuals amid the Taikan spy network you deem most reliable.” She instructed . “Order them to gather as many accounts of Eden’s worst behaviour as possible, then diffuse them among the public. Under no circumstances is our hand to be recognised in it.”

“Very well.” She answered, then paused before adding. “Should I have falsified accounts spread, as well?”

Lavastro weighed the suggestion.

“If you find yourself certain that doing so would not increase the chances of this being traced back to Taiklos, then yes. If not, err on the side of subterfuge.”

Pyrhic nodded, asking for leave and hurrying out once given it.

Her absence left Lavastro alone, save for her bodyguard. The man’s silent contempt wasn’t lost on her.

“You have something to say. Say it.”

For a moment he remained quiet. Then, hesitantly, the man spoke.

“You’re performing the investigation after all.” He said, almost dispassionate. As though his observation were purely intellectual.

“I am.”

“But you believe that the boy’s killing was an accident.”

“I do.”

He said no more for a few seconds, the silence irking Lavastro in a way impossible to name.

“It doesn’t bother you, then?”

She turned to meet his eye, yet found no betrayal of emotion or thought in their hazel pools.

“Of course it bothers me.” She answered. “But what’s best for my nation is not determined by how squeamish I feel in doing something.”

“And condemning a lad of fifteen is best for your nation?”

Lavastro saw the impudence threatening to emerge from his tone.

“In this instance, it seems to be. Eden is a lodestone for the current Faction Leader’s powers, tying them to the Founders who came before them. By casting aspersions on him I’m attacking their greatest claim to authority and weakening the Taikan Empire’s greatest rival.”

“That’s a lot of importance for a single boy to hold.”

Irritation burned past Lavastro’s temper.

“It is.” She snapped. “And I could criticise the world that assigned it to him until I ran out of breath. That still wouldn’t change that it happened, nor that it makes him the Alliance’s most vulnerable target.”

He stiffened, then turned away without another word. It irked her.

“Don’t bite your tongue on my account.” Lavastro pressed. “Speak your mind, I promise you’ll face no consequences for it.”

The Wrathman’s hawkish features seemed to double in sharpness as he eyed her. Hooked nose becoming a sickle blade, small eyes like rapier tips. He spoke almost begrudgingly.

“Do you know what I did to end up here?.”

She said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

“I punched an officer because he hanged someone for a crime he hadn’t committed. Didn’t feel right to see then, and it doesn’t now.”

“Eden won’t be hanged.” She scoffed. “I doubt he’ll be so much as scolded. I aim to attack nothing but his reputation.”

Kleidra said nothing, and Lavastro realised the man was past convincing. She suppressed a sigh, waving him off.

“You’re dismissed.”

He left without a look back. Lavastro could practically see him standing outside her room, even without magic.

She threw herself across the nearest sofa, let herself melt into its cushions as tension and strength alike bled from her body. Eyes closed, head slack, she enjoyed the first true rest to come to her in over a day.

All her tasks were in progress, and there was nothing she could do to further any of them but wait. As close to true peace as Lavastro had found for herself since coming to Udrebam. Close, but still so far away.

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She’d laid back not five minutes before thoughts of Gemini came to her, snapping her from the peaceful daze with a sharp immediacy.

I still haven’t been to visit her. Lavastro realised, guilt suddenly worming its way in.

It almost tempted her to stand, leave and hurry to the girl that instant.

Her saner thoughts prevailed. Eden was the girl’s teammate, and Lavastro couldn’t be sure of how he’d react to seeing her. If she were to get into an altercation with the boy, it would harm her efforts to besmirch him.

Lavastro’s heart ached at the memory of Gem’s loss, and she buried the feeling. Encased it in iron, sealing it in stone. There would be time for weakness later.

“I’m going to go and have a shower.” Unity said.

The boy’s words drew all eyes to him as he left, soaking away the room’s sound. It was the first thing he’d said since arriving at the Crux. The first thing he’d said since ending the task.

Crow didn’t imagine any had missed the hollow vacancy underlying his voice.

Discussion began the moment Unity was gone, hushed and hurried.

“He’s losing his wits.” Gem said at once, glancing at the door as if fearful the boy might return. “He was hardly normal before, but now… I think he’s on the brink of madness.”

“On the brink implies he’s yet to cross that threshold.” Astra cut in. “That boy’s been half mad since I first met him. Now, though? We all saw the way he stared out into space, as if he wasn’t even here. Something serious has gone wrong inside him.”

“We’re jumping to conclusions.” Crow cut in. “He just saw something more terrible than most ever will, it’s normal for anyone to be distant after that.”

Astra turned to him, a fierce look in her eyes.

“He didn’t see it, Crow. He did it. And he’s far more than just distant.”

“Regardless, that doesn’t mean he’s mad.”

Looking between his sister and the Gemini, he continued.

“Do either of you think you’d be unfazed, seeing a person come apart before you?”

“Making.” Astra snapped. “Making a person come apart. Eden wasn’t just a helpless spectator, he’s the one who caused that boy to die. You seem to keep glossing over that, Crow.”

“Because it makes no difference.” He answered, feeling heat rise under his collar. “It was an accident, clearly.”

“Was it?” Asked Gem, stilling all other voices in spite of her gentle tone. “What makes you so certain? I watched his fight myself from the room’s scrying slate, it seemed plenty intentional to me.”

“Because I saw the look on his face afterwards!” Crow roared, stunned at the girls’ stubbornness. “Do you think he could have faked that?” He demanded. “Do you think anyone could?”

“Yes.” Gem answered simply.

Crow found himself wordless as she continued.

“The world’s a big place, Crow. And there are plenty of people in it who lie better than you could imagine. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn Eden was one of them.”

“Well it would surprise me to learn this is a performance, considering you yourself were talking about him being mad not a minute ago.”

Gem bristled at that.

“Do you think I’m just looking for ammunition to use against him?”

He shrugged, didn’t bother replying. Watched as blood rose to redden her snow-pale face.

“There’s something wrong with that boy.” The Gemini continued, growing strangled. “I don’t quite know what it is, but it’s there. If he’s mad now, it may well have been what caused him to kill that boy. If his wits are leaving him only after having done so, maybe he’s deep in the midst of thoughts that aren’t right for anyone to have.”

“Why do you think that? What has he done to leave you so certain he’s this wretched, twisted monster of a person?”

The Gemini paused, sagging slightly before answering. Crow was suddenly reminded of the girl’s condition, all strength lost to her worn face. Hair without its gleam, eyes without their fire.

“I’ve never in my life seen a person look at me with half the hate he did when we first met.” She said, quietly. “That Karma herself spoke out against him and his performance would be testament enough, even were it not for that.”

“Karma Alabaster?” He asked. “What did she say?”

Clearly more had happened after Crow left the stadium than he’d thought.

It didn’t take Gem long to regale him with the woman’s speech, boiling his blood.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand what goes through her head.” He muttered.

“She wants to help people.” Gem said. “And she’s the cleverest woman I’ve ever met. so I’m inclined to trust her judgement.”

Hearing the girl’s faith struck a chord in Crow’s memory, turning his mind back to times when he’d felt that same, unwavering confidence himself.

“What makes you so unshaking in defending him, Crow?” Asked Astra, the question making ho, notice how uncharacteristically silent she’d been.

He met her eyes before answering, found the words stuck in his throat.

“He saved me in the first task.” Crow said, honestly. “Said he didn’t, or that it was an accident. But he did. I know he did. And he suffered a wound to his own body in doing it.”

“Can I cut in?” Asked Deka. All eyes turned to the girl as she practically withered from the room’s gaze. Crow felt a stab of guilt at the sight of her, having entirely forgotten she was even present.

“Unity’s shock is genuine.” Deka mumbled, meek as a mouse.

“Elaborate.” Demanded Gem and Astra, speaking with one voice and glancing venomously at each other when they realised.

“I’ve read books on battle shock.” Deka said. “And he fits every other symptom I could name.”

“Battle shock?” Ecohed Crow.

“A curious condition that can… well it’s hard to describe, but I suppose leaving people locked up in themselves is a good way to word it.”

“And you think this caused him to kill Bim?” Asked Astra.

“No. I imagine that was a pure accident. Atirstam is the main sphere behind the ability he used, and it’s always been the most unpredictable of magics. Killing Bim, however, hasn’t driven Unity mad. It just shocked him.”

Another silence descended at that, ended by Astra.

“And how long does this shock normally last?”

Deka blinked, then her face twisted halfway to a smile.

“It’s not that simple. This isn’t just a mood, if it really is like the battle shock I’ve read about he could be distant and unreachable for… pit, weeks. Months. Even years.”

Only halfway through the sentence did Deka seem to realise what she was saying and quiet to a murmur.

“And people suffering from this aren’t particularly good in a fight.” Said Gem.

It was a guess, clearly. Deka’s reaction revealed it had struck its mark.

“Fuck.” Crow muttered, burying his face in both hands. “This isn’t good at all.”

Part of him felt guilty for thinking only of their success in the Sieve. Mostly, though, he felt only worry.

“I could be wrong.” Deka hurriedly said. “Or… well, it’s difficult to gauge these sorts of situations. Sometimes someone sinks into themselves only to reemerge practically unfazed. People are strange, no two will react quite the same way.”

“Unity doesn’t seem less cowardly than normal.” Astra remarked. The words sparked a peculiar fire in Deka.

“It’s not about cowardice.” She barked. “It’s a sickness, anyone can-”

“We’re getting off topic.” Gem interjected. “There are likely a few days before the next task, yes? Time enough to try and gauge Eden’s state more accurately.”

Crow bristled as the girls all eyed him.

“I’m not going to lie to him, if that’s what you’re all expecting.” He remonstrated.

Gem spoke quickly.

“You don’t need to. Just speak to him, check on him. Try and discern what sort of condition he’s in, mentally speaking. No lies are necessary.”

He didn’t answer that. Didn’t complain that it would still feel like lying, or protest that they would use his familiarity with the boy against him. Even as the thought lay putrid and sickening in his mind, Crow saw the sense in it.

Astra was a greater mystic than him, and he’d learned well enough what a distinction that truly was. Amelia had crushed her all the same. The world was big, the peak he sought a formidable one.

There was no choice for him, save winning the Sieve. And he hadn’t the luxury of hesitating when he saw a way to do so.