At first, Rosalea dreamed of home. She could see Lio sometimes in her dreams, talking with Kaylar while Genya or Yelena was with her. In this dream, Yelena was explaining that she was going to have a baby. It felt achingly real, and Rosalea wanted to reach out through Kaylar and just congratulate Yelena and get Lio hyped.

The dream faded. It wasn’t the first like it that Rosalea had, and she wanted to cling to it, but like all the rest, it faded before she was ready.

There was fire. Rosalea looked around for Lindir, the dream of fire was always from her. Unexpectedly, the dream seemed like it had skipped to the end. Rosalea was looking down at Lindir on the floor. Ulric seemed to step out of her space, crouching down, shaking her. “Lindir! Lindir! Please!”

Great big tears were streaking down the sides of his face as he cried out her name again and again, but she did not stir. Rosalea became aware of herself shrieking in the crib, the smoke filling the room around them becoming insufferable to breathe. The look Ulric gave the crib was so pained and haunted looking that it unnerved Rosalea.

The dream shifted, spinning on that hollow look. “I am going to… because of you…” Ulric was whispering almost incoherently.

Rosalea jerked awake; the whole thing had disturbed her. The light in the sky was still pale because of how early it was in the morning. She moved over to Ulric right away, ears forward, relieved to hear him still breathing.

She became human again. Fen got up and laid down near Ulric, adding warmth to him as Rosalea delicately touched his forehead. He still had a fever, but he seemed like he was improving. She breathed out, I am glad he is not dead.

She got the feeling of Fen being a little smug at her, the wolf feeling that she had proved herself correct. Rosalea frowned. Stupid dream.

She huffed and decided she was going to make herself some breakfast. I guess I was hoping he would be awake. Then I do not have to think about using mind magic on him.

Rosalea put off meditating, but she knew after a good night’s sleep, she probably had plenty of magic to do what she was considering. Kaylar and Yelena had taught her quite a bit, and she had used mind magic on certain animals to compel them to do what she needed (usually stand still for medicine or being sheared or something like that), but she had never tired or wanted to try using it on a person. Even what she used with the animals was entirely to keep them safe and for their own good. She did not want to be like the Ieshans were to her.

But, I feel like I should compel him not to touch me or use mind magic on me or something.

Rosalea ate breakfast, fed Fen plenty, noticed that Fen returned to laying near Ulric to keep him warm, and she knew that her liana was reflecting her own sense of concern about him.

Rosalea procrastinated by brushing out Nira thoroughly and scrubbing out the grass stain with her magic. Then she used a little healing magic to soothe her aching muscles and joints. Ulric was still not awake.

She meditated and cleaned up her magic so that her river was completely smooth. Her healing magic was still low though. Well, he is still not awake. She sighed. “Fen, I am going to use mind magic on him. I want to compel him not to touch me and never to lie to me.”

Fen met her eyes. “Sometimes truth can be really painful,” she cautioned.

Rosalea bowed her head. “But it can heal, and if I had known the truth about myself, I am sure Rhainnon would not have been in so much danger because of us.”

“It can heal, but it can also disrupt and hurt,” Fen half-agreed. Rosalea frowned. What her truth-bound liana would and would not say was sometimes very revealing. She stared at Fen, expecting more, but Fen either would not or could not.

Rosalea breathed out. “I know. I still want to do it.”

She kneeled down by Ulric’s head and placed her hands on it, like she could remember had been done to her many times before.

No resistance. Ulric was unconscious already. When she pressed herself into his mind, she realized he had not even a tenth of the magic available to him that she did. He could not have fought her if he wanted to at this point. She was no child any more.

She closed her eyes, focusing on her red magic, flowing it through her and into him, and she imposed her will on him. Do not ever touch me. Always tell me the truth. She repeated it until she felt a sensation of him echoing it back at her.

Rosalea let go then. “Fen, his magic is really low, and he does not have much of it.”

“He was dying when he got to us; it is lucky that he had magic to burn through to get to you for help.” Fen’s ears twitched as Ulric moaned a little.

She felt a little unsettled by imposing her will on someone else, like a real Ieshan. I did not take any memories or dig around inside his mind or heart or do anything that would change him. I just want to be safe.

She washed his clothes, scouring them clean of all the unsavory things on them, and then she spent time mending the actual stab holes in his shirt. He did not stir.

We have a lead and now a delay. Do the Gods mock me? She thought as she glared at Ulric.

“You want him to be well by tonight?”

“Yes.”

Fen’s eyes were intense on her. “Give some of your magic to him.”

Rosalea frowned and sat, ears going back. “Kaylar taught me not to do that, even though he did it to save me. I barely remember it, but I remember it was painful. Also, it has the danger of creating bonds.”

Fen shrugged. “Your magic is more similar to Ulric’s than the dragon’s magic was to yours. It might make a bond, but you already feel attached to him. It might benefit you if you happen to be able to see things his way or read his mood.”

Rosalea breathed out. “I would have thought that as my bonded liana, you would be jealous of me wandering around and forming bonds with random people.”

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Fen seemed amused. “Nothing is like a liana bond.”

Rosalea supposed that was true. “Fine, I will try it. I want him to get better, and I want to get us moving again.” She moved back into her human shape, kneeling by Ulric, staring at him as if that would make him wake up. He did not. “You are sure? He does not have to be awake to share with me? What if I hurt him?”

Fen tilted her head. “Nadia, since when have you ever set boundaries on what you could or could not do? You have shown yourself capable of using a host's magic against itself. You even put a stopper on death.”

Rosalea sighed heavily, trying to release some of her emotions. “All right.”

Fen seemed pleased. “Mages live until they run out of magic. Magic is our life force, the more you have, the better you do. Give him magic to work with, and it will help him recover. Just… be careful not to over do it, you could over fill his magic and kill him that way.” Rosalea stared at Fen. Fen waited and then continued, “You have done it before, think.”

Rosalea frowned and once more placed her hands on Ulric’s head and followed directions. This time, she did not use her mind magic or her healing magic, she just made herself become aware of Ulric. Then, slowly, she remembered something she had forgotten about. Lio, I had to save Lio this way. Her magic was draining when she was born. Everyone thought she would die.

Rosalea tried to remember what she had done, but could not. She didn't know how she had done it; she had just done it. She focused on his magical core, not to attack it with mind magic, but this time to imagine herself overlooking his internal magical pool. Then, very cautiously, she directed neither her healing or her mind magic specifically toward him, but her life magic in general. She carefully touched her magic to his pool, and nothing bad happened. She let the magic flow between them until things did not look desperately empty here. A little of her life force for him, and she retreated from his inner world.

Rosalea observed him for a little while, and she was pleased to see that he looked to have a normal color to his skin, and he seemed to have recovered from his fever. She started some tea as he began to moan and stir. Fen got up and moved back to Rosalea.

A moment later, Ulric moaned. His eyes fluttered open. Rosalea froze and stared at him. She was conscious of every heartbeat and a feeling of fluttering in her stomach. Now that he was awake, what would happen? At first, he only lay there and stared at the sky. He began moving his limbs and paused; Rosalea knew he was checking his magic.

She also knew he would find more magic that was hers than he would find of his own. He looked down finally, seeing her. He sat up immediately, and then reeled as his head rushed and laid back again with a moan. Another second or two passed, and this time, he sat up much more slowly. The blanket fell down around him. He flushed a deep red as he realized he had nothing beneath the skins. He pulled them up, hugging them to himself to cover his nakedness better.

He stared at the ground. Rosalea was silent. She removed the tea kettle from the fire. “Do you feel well enough to eat?” she asked, carefully toneless.

“Yes,” he answered hoarsely. He cleared his throat, “The magic is yours?”

“It is.” She called her stew pot into existence on the fire, followed by a clean bowl and spoon. She floated it across to him, not really wanting to go near him. Maybe, a little she wanted to show off that she was more than a little good at magic now. She kept her face empty and as expressionless as possible. After a while of awkward silence, “I have washed and mended your clothes, but I have not dried them yet.” He flushed deeper and huddled deeper in the bedding. She wondered if she had ever seen him embarrassed before.

“You saved my life,” he stated softly.

“I can honestly say I considered not doing that,” Rosalea said bluntly, mostly because she wanted to see him react.

He continued to look at the ground, flushed. “That is fair. I… at first wanted to find you because I wanted to apologize. Though no apology can hope to repair all the wrongs done against you.”

Rosalea felt her temper rising. “What if I do not believe you?”

“You have no reason to. All I have is to beg for forgiveness.” He was flushed, staring hard at the ground as she stared him down. In the silence, he spoke again. “The day you escaped the Fort, I was relieved in my heart. I also… I felt the Gods were against us. I found out… about Gaiden. You… I always thought your grand child would be the one, you know? But it’s you.”

“Erasing that detail from my life nearly got the only people that have ever been kind to me killed,” Rosalea said, unable to keep her tone even.

Ulric winced. Rosalea repented her harsh words immediately. “I know how it must look, that I am apologizing only now that I have found myself to be wrong. It is not so, I knew I was in the wrong when Nashota decided we could keep Lio and… be done with you.”

“Remember, it is the truth,” Fen prompted Rosalea, reminding her of the mind magic she had cast on Ulric.

Rosalea huffed. “Keep talking then, persuade me you had a change of heart.”

Ulric still wouldn’t look at her. “Nashota wanted to be king. That much is obvious to me now, but… When I was little, it wasn’t.” He put his hand to his head, covering part of his face. “My father betrayed his family, and I became erased, baktya,” Ulric said in small tones. “My aunt died. My cousin died in front of me.” His tone had become thick, Rosalea could hear his mouth was dry. Her own heart had begun to race wildly. “You and Lio were all that were left. I could not count, dishonor rests on my shoulders, and has since I was seven.” He slowly lowered his hand and his misery-filled eyes stared at Rosalea. “He wanted to kill you. What did he do to Valaysha? To my father?”

Rosalea’s own mouth was dry as she stared at Ulric. “You… are my cousin?”

Ulric bowed his head, covering his face in his hand again and sobbed.

Rosalea sensed that he had divulged much more than he would have wanted to… because she had compelled him to be honest. Mind magic is dirty, she thought helplessly. She poured tea in a cup and brought it to him, kneeling down next to him. He was wordless, and he only held the cup alongside his stew bowl, which was untouched because of this confession.

Rosalea tried to comprehend everything that was said, and also what he had not said. She thought back to her childhood, how some Ieshans had always reacted to Ulric. She thought about the way Nashota had always talked down to him. There was a little bit of resentment that he was not banished like others of his status. “Nashota wanted you to get me to be a certain way, and you were desperate because… there was no way a baktya should have been as close to the Princess as you were to me.”

He didn’t say anything; he just crumpled up. Rosalea felt conflicted all over again. Lindir killed herself in front of him.

“Our family is horrible,” Rosalea said. Ulric half laughed. Rosalea took a deep breath in, and then slowly breathed out. Distract him with something? “Lio is still with Kaylar, the dragon. She will be safe.”

Ulric nodded.

Rosalea swallowed. “How did you know I was the one and not her?”

“The prophecy has always called for someone with both Uryan and Ieshan magics, and you had a liana and all magics and all races.” He managed with his tongue sticking.

Rosalea breathed out, standing and kneeling near him. “I understand you a lot better now. I still hate you a little, but… I understand a little. You should eat. I will dry your clothes, and then you can go… wherever you want to. You are free now.”

“You have not forgiven me?”

Rosalea hesitated. He reached out to take her hand, but stopped just short of it, unable to touch her. Rosalea uncertainly patted his shoulder. “I do not know. Not yet.”

He sighed but nodded. Rosalea patted him again, and then she got up and moved to where she had hung up his clothes. She felt weird. She felt… used. Ulric had been used… turned into a weapon against his own family. I hope Nashota suffers in the worst ways.

She looked back at him. He was small, gaunt looking. He seemed bigger to her when she was a child. Not, it seemed like all the potency and power had gone out of him. Like he had just given up something or been crushed by something. She looked to Fen, and Fen was staring impassively back, urging her to give him this gift of forgiveness.

She looked back to him. He looked so pathetic. Slowly, all her anger died. “It does me no good to withhold forgiveness, I suppose,” she allowed at last.

Ulric smiled weakly. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice filled with emotion. Then, he fidgeted. Rosalea had never seen him do that either. This was a whole side of Ulric she did not know, this weakened, vulnerable… cousin. After a moment of struggling to speak, “I was hoping that I could come with you.”

“You what?” she stopped mid drying his clothes.

Awkward silence prevailed. Ulric stared at the ground and fidgeted. Rosalea was aghast at the idea of bringing him with her anywhere. She was annoyed that she had even let herself become so involved even this far.

“Let him come. He won't be with us long.”

Rosalea gave Fen a flat look. What is with you taking his side? She got the impression of a shrug. She gave Ulric a frown, “Why should I allow you, you of all people, to come with me? I want to forgive you, but you killed Gaiden. When I have nightmares about the Ieshans, half of them feature you. You do not have to go back to the Ieshans, but do not come with me.”

Ulric cringed under each word, as if it were a physical blow. Rosalea did not feel the least bit guilty or repentant about her harsh words. He deserved them, every one of them.

“Nadia, do not be so hard on him. There is more you do not know.”

Rosalea felt irritation at Fen for siding with Ulric again. “Then let him tell it to me,” she answered a little more flatly than she meant to. Ulric’s eyes tried to bore holes in the ground. Rosalea breathed out slowly, “After you drink your tea and after you eat your stew.”

Ulric took a deep breath in and sighed himself. “That is fair. I have no more energy for secrets.”

Rosalea closed her eyes. “Eat and drink first,” she insisted, stalling his story. She suddenly was not sure if she actually wanted to know it after all. Fen had tried to warn her.