Zusia, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

The Athrii in the aircraft was strong, but it was incomparable to the amount of power roiling within Matthew's chest. He gasped, blinking hard as the floor of the aircraft teetered beneath him. His dazed mind fought to make sense of the situation, flashing memories he knew weren't his distracting him from the problem at hand. The Athrii was trembling against his touch, struggling to keep the aircraft in the air despite the Warmth's attacks. Soldiers cried out, falling against the walls as the aircraft dropped several feet, shuddering and tilting. Matthew knew it was his fault.

Stop! He stretched out with his mind, gathering the Warmth to him — it was like a bucking wild animal. It fought to silence the Athrii around him. He panted with the effort of restraining it, begging for it to stop fighting. He could feel the touch of Athrii on his fingertips; it surged through this machine, powering it, battling his Warmth with efforts that seemed to double in strength. The Warmth writhed in his chest, in his mind, and he struggled to keep it at bay.

The aircraft set down with an ungraceful thunk, and immediately the Athrii was silenced. Matthew gasped for breath, letting the Warmth spread through him again. It was calmer now, but still on guard. He had never battled it before. It seemed to have a mind of its own, sulking over the fact that he had tried to restrain it. He shook his head incredulously. You almost got us killed.

Lifting his head, he realized he was leaning on Todd's knees, sprawl partway on the floor of the aircraft. The soldiers were collecting themselves, aiming their weapons at him, and that's when he realized that his wrists and ankles were cuffed — or had been. He had broken those?

Glancing at Todd and Jessie, he saw that Jessie was panting nearly as hard as he was. Todd was watching him with nothing but relief. Matthew was relieved, too. What had happened, he wasn't sure, but it couldn't have been good if he had been knocked out for... well, however long it had taken them to get to Zusia.

The soldiers did not advance. Were they scared? Matthew took a deep breath, lifting his hands toward them, palms up, watching the broken chains dangle from the cuffs. "I think these need fixing."

The jest was not taken with humour. None of the soldiers moved, each of them too timid to approach until the commander ordered them to restrain him. Then they advanced, quickly grabbing his wrists and pushing him face down on the floor while they cuffed his hands behind his back with — oh, brilliant, two different cuffs. He made a face at the ground, grimacing as they unceremoniously yanked him to his feet and pushed him out of the aircraft.

The night air was cool, the well-lit city dimming the stars. Matthew looked around in surprise, finding that they had landed in the palace courtyard. Tall stone walls surrounded them. Two towers stood at the entrance into the courtyard, and beyond the entrance lay the city of twinkling lights. He knew Todd was having a similar response, looking around at the buildings and lights and hearing all the sounds and noises. The city didn't seem like it slept at all.

The palace was magnificent. Standing tall and powerful with its tower and huge windows, it illuminated light itself, an impenetrable fortress Matthew knew would be as impossible to escape as it would be to get in. They were pushed toward it, forced to walk up the steps onto the very portico Matthew had seen on the screen in the cabin. Lives had ended here just days ago. It sickened him just thinking about it.

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Perhaps their lives would end on it that very next morning. Just another group of rebels.

The dungeon was below the palace, cold and carved from stone, reminding Matthew so much of the mining tunnels that his heart pounded unsteadily. They walked past steel doors with small, barred windows, but even with his height, Matthew couldn't see inside them. When the soldiers stopped, Matthew realized that they were being locked in different cells as Todd and Jessie were prodded onward. Todd's soldiers stopped at the next cell over.

"Todd," Jessie called out, her voice tinny and scared as she was escorted beyond his cell to the next door.

"It'll be okay, Jess," Todd told her, his voice calm and low, sounding far more assured than he looked. Matthew watched them, staying still as the soldiers fought to unlock his cell door. The silence was deafening, broken by the sound of jangling keys and rattling wheels.

"Excuse me," a voice mumbled, and a girl pushing a mop bucket skirted around Jessie and her guard. The Trainee kept close to the opposite wall, keeping her head down. Matthew watched her, a sense of familiarity confusing him. Had he seen her before?

"Get in." One of the soldiers gave him a shove, and he grunted as he hit the edge of the door frame. The girl looked up, and he met her gaze for a moment. She reminded him of Stephanie, with her dark hair and the dragonmark imprinted on her face. Matthew only caught a glimpse of her before he was pushed into his cell. The door slammed shut, the lock clicking in place, and Matthew was left standing alone in the cell, his hands chained behind him and the nagging sense of familiarity puzzling him. He hurried to the barred window, looking out, hoping to catch a glimpse of the strange girl again. All he saw were the soldiers marching off and the cold, stone hallway walls.

Sliding down the door, Matthew closed his eyes, realizing now just how much his head ached. He fiddled with the chains on his wrists, breathing evenly as he fought to focus. His mind was jumping everywhere, from worry over their captivity to the strange memories he knew didn't belong to him replaying over and over in the back of his mind. He chose the latter to think on, keeping his eyes closed as he fought to make sense of what they were.

Running through the forest. Glowing hands. Tumbling through the snow. Facing a... a demon? Matthew's eyes flew open at the sight, his heart hammering in his chest. What was that? Closing his eyes again, he struggled to follow and understand the sequence of events that followed. A lot of dodging, rolling through the snow, glowing hands, the cabin, a dagger in hand.

Blood. Bright red blood, dripping from golden hands. Matthew heard a child's shuddered gasp in his mind.

Then nothing. Matthew opened his eyes, struggling to comprehend what he had somehow witnessed. He only had one explanation for what could have happened.

He had just witnessed through Anthony's eyes what had happened after he had somehow given the boy his Warmth.

His hands felt incredibly warm. Curling them into fists, Matthew yanked on the chains, gasping when the metal held firm. He pushed more Warmth into his arms, bracing himself as he yanked on the chains again. They still didn't break.

Gritting his teeth, Matthew poured everything he had into his hands, his arms, giving the chains one last jerk. Both chains snapped and his arms flew forward, throwing him momentarily off-balance. He panted, looking at his arms. Three cuffs now dangled from each forearm, their chains ripped apart. His hands glowed golden, lighting up the room with their warm glow.

The Warmth, his magic, held abilities beyond his wildest imagination, and he had no idea how to use it. Or why he had been granted it in the first place.

"What are you?" Matthew whispered, unsure if he was asking the Warmth or himself.