Claudette felt her breathing ease as she looked down. The predictable sound, the stillness, the reassuring presence, all of it combined to reassure her. After the night she had so far, it was a welcome shift.

Neshamah’s lips twitched as she looked over at Randidly, laying on the cool sand underneath the tiki bar. His chest rose and fell at regular intervals. “I cannot believe he can lay down and fall asleep right now.”

“His ability to handle tension is… refreshing,” Claudette spoke with a wry smile, looking at Randidly with affection bubbling in her chest. “And despite this display, he’s always been quite reliable. Even from the moment we met, he seemed to have confidence that everything would be alright. I’m starting to see… that it’s just his inner determination. Something that I’m slowly learning to possess.”

With that, Claudette’s expression firmed up. She glanced at Neshamah and Yust. “Speaking of which, we shouldn’t waste this opportunity. While the other attendees are mingling, I have no doubt my father is making his final preparations. We need to be doing the same. If either of you has any ideas-”

Yust’s eyes flashed. His lips curled back to reveal his long tiger canines. “You know, watching the Ghosthound gave me an idea: can I not do the same thing to Moonlight Blade that he did to Wick? If he is forced to deactivate his connection to Alymian and return to the Nexus, he will no longer be a threat. I’m very confident in my-”

Neshamah punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Bad idea. Randidly has the benefit of his Nether Core to give him an edge, plus his physical Stats are-” She and Claudette shared an understanding and slightly bewildered glance. “-difficult to rival. Even reduced here, he might be a match for some old monsters in the Nexus. Besides, Moonlight Blade is a very different warrior from Commandant Wick. More experienced and more primal. He might even be excited if you challenged him like that. The last thing we want to give him is an appetizer.”

Yust raised his chin stubbornly. Pride flashed in his eyes. “I-If you did not trust my abilities, why did you invite me to join your conspiracy?!”

Perhaps on another night, Claudette would have sweet-talked Yust out of his horrible, prideful idea. However, despite the recent easing of her tension, she just didn't have the spare energy to deal with him. Yet at the same time, she was unwilling to allow him to so obvious poison the well. So she lowered her stance and then brought her fist whipping around to slam into his chest, right in the diaphragm.

Yust’s eyes grew very wide. First, he stumbled, then he collapsed fully on the ground as his body briefly seized up, preventing him from breathing. Claudette put her fists on her hips and glared down at him. “We do trust you. But that doesn’t mean we can be foolhardy. Thinking about this; if I can knock you out in a single blow, even if it was a cheap shot, will Moonlight Blade miss such an opening?”

Then she looked at Neshamah. “Make sure he’s alright. And that no one tries to do anything to Randidly while he sleeps. I do have one more person that I’d like to talk to, just in case we can get a little extra assistance.”

Claudette walked down the beach toward the water, following the edge of the sea away from the tiki bar and the light from the bonfire. Distant palm trees swayed in the wind as she moved determinedly forward. She eventually reached a loose ring of locals that spoke in soft voices and indicated that Claudette should return to the party. She ignored their soft pleases and pointed fingers and strode right past them. They did not attempt to stop her.

Further down the beach, as the well-maintained sand turned to rocks and the light and noise from the party had been eroded almost entirely by the sound of the waves, she found who she was looking for. Claudette bowed to the figure. “Pinnacle Seeker Thousand Bones. My martial grandmother. I’m glad you came to this party. I’ve missed you.”

The massive owl-woman clicked her beak and ruffled her feathers, her gaze never wavering from the direction of the party. She shifted her weight from one scaled leg to the other. “Keh. Girl-child, you know I would not leave you along in your time of need. Especially considering how much your Mistress has done for me in the past. By the way, have you heard any news-”

Claudette shook her head. “Unfortunately, I have discovered nothing about the Frost Matriarch. After the incident with the Nether King, she appears to have gone into hiding. Even from me.”

She lowered her gaze, allowing her golden blonde hair to swing in front of her face. Then she steeled herself and looked at Thousand Bones; she could not allow herself to dwell too long on that unexpected and inopportune withdrawal of support. “I know that it is impossible to ask for you to stand up against my father. But I also know no one who possesses as much wisdom as you do, Grandmother. What can you see that will help me protect my freedom?”

Pinnacle Seeker Thousand Bones fluffed up her body even more, the soft feathers of her body scrunching together. She narrowed her luminous yellow eyes as she finally shifted to examine Claudette. “Is that the ultimate goal then child? To maintain your freedom?”

There was a ritualistic lilt to the old owl’s words. Power wafted off of the carefully chosen words. Claudette lowered her gaze and sank to her knees in the rocky sand. “Yes, grandma.”

“Hmph, grandma this, grandma that. Yet despite how intimate you act now, when was the last time you came to visit me?” Thousand Bones grumbled, but as she did so, the yellow light in her eyes grew brighter, so much so that Claudette had to avert her own eyes. That luminous gaze shifted back to the party. More of that subtle power filled the air and the ancient Pinnacle Seeker seemed to be flying, buoyed ever upward by the force she perceived-

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Then, suddenly, all the brilliance vanished.

Thousand Bones sighed after several moments of dark silence. “Well, if freedom is your goal, I can give you three pieces of advice. First… and this will perhaps be the most difficult truth to accept: you need to distance yourself from the boy Randidly Ghosthound. As soon as possible.”

“Why?” Claudette pressed her lips together. Considering the public display with Commandant Wick, Claudette had recognized that the close relationships she shared with Randidly would come with steep costs. The current Military High Command made powderkegs look stable. But she wanted to hear what Thousand Bones could see.

The Pinnacle Seeker started by chirping lightly. “This is not about Wick. No, it is the interest of that madwoman Devick that is most problematic. Because what is Wick but another unfortunate soul that has attracted her attention? Stay as far away from Devick as possible, until she burns herself out, is for the best. You will not be able to avoid her cloying attention so long as you remain involved in the life of the Ghosthound.”

“Is she really that powerful?” Claudette wondered aloud.

“Yes,” Thousand Bones said decisively. “Most of the other monsters who’ve completed their image fulfillment will act casual about her presence, but her sudden arrival has them skittering around like blind beetles. Her power is real. However, most are willing to leave her alone, since her fixation is not upon becoming the next Elhume, like the rest of us.

“However… I’d like to suggest something else about Randidly Ghosthound.” The owl’s tone shifted. “From a single glance, I can tell that he would do anything for more power. He has plenty of things that he needs to protect. Do not forget that your father currently possesses the Skull of Truth. That artifact holds much sway in the hearts of those who desire power.”

She didn’t even think about it. Claudette shook her head in front of the wise Pinnacle Seeker. “Randidly wouldn’t betray me. I understand what you see in his situation, but I don’t think you see the core of him very well at all.”

“How flippant,” Thousand Bones chirped again. Then she clicked her beak several times and tilted her head side to side. “Keh. However, you may have a point. His Nether can screen my abilities. Trust your instincts, girl. All who hold true strength do.

“The second thing that I see to help is also perhaps a phrase that you don’t want to hear tonight. But your father loves you. Very much. All these actions he is taking are to ensure a safe future for you. Such is his nature that he is also earning an advantage to himself in the process, but he is not driven by greed or recklessness, only love. So perhaps-”

Claudette stood, her hands clenched into fists. Her chest burned and bubbled. “So what? So I should accept that he always knows better than I do? To be a doll that he can pose for the rest of my life?”

For the first time, Thousand Bones condensed her body into a smaller figure, drawing the feathers more tightly against her flesh. Her eyes remained dim. “I understand why you would be upset to hear this, but in your mind, it is completely unacceptable to allow your father to plan for you. And admittedly the method he is using is not kind. But also, perhaps the consequences won’t be as dire as you believe.”

Claudette bit her lip for several seconds. Then she shook her head and said. “Being safe and well cared for… is not all there is to life. It is not enough.”

“That is true. Especially for you,” Thousand Bones spoke in a soft voice. “You are one of those individuals who cannot subsist solely within the control of another. Especially recently; I can see the way the last several months have shaped who you are becoming. The possibilities might be faint, but I can see a few lives where you transform into something marvelous.”

The tone of Thousand Bones helped alleviate some of Claudette’s fury and frustration, but she still couldn’t help but glare briefly at the powerful Pinnacle Seeker. The old owl chuckled and twisted her head back and forth, rotating her head almost 180 degrees.

“And the last thing?” Claudette finally found her voice.

For the first time, Thousand Bones spread out her wide wings, the feathers on her aging body looking extremely thin and wan, even in the darkness of the rocky beach. “I cannot tell you much, but I think perhaps the true target of your father’s plotting, and the one who is the greatest threat to that resplendent version of yourself, is not one of the three you have been planning to neutralize.”

That brought a bucket of metaphorical cold water crashing down on Claudette’s mood. “What are you talking about?”

The Pinnacle Seeker released a long breath that whistled through her beak. “Hoooo, it is hard to say. I can just glimpse the shape of something on this beach, in the way that the various powers are arraying themselves and the way the Don is moving between the groups. Something inevitable is unfolding that is not obvious on the surface. Only out of the corner of my eye, only when I’m not looking for it at all. And the more I seem to glimpse it, the more I feel it receding, as though it senses my observation. Even for you, child, I dare not observe more closely.”

For several long seconds, Claudette was silent. She stood on the beach, but she felt herself sinking into the chilling waters that had submerged her for most of her life. She drifted down, small metaphorical bubbles fluttering out from her lips and rushing up to the surface of the water. Eventually, she hit the bottom and could sink back and regress to an observer. Everything around her was insulated; she felt the familiar numbness settling across her skin. The pressure of the water kept her still, restricting her movements.

But in that familiar darkness, where the world around her manipulated her entire life, a soft noise began to rise in her ears. The desolate blade Clarent sung, crooning softly to her. Even if everything else abandoned her, that horrifying curse of destruction was truly hers. The chilling cold that could seal light and warmth would always remain within her.

A blade that Randidly Ghosthound had exhausted himself to create. A blade that had been baptized in the blood of the Lizakh people. People like-

Sucking in a breath, Claudette took a step forward. “It will be fine.”

Her voice was soft, but the more she spoke the more confidently she felt the words coming. “It will be fine,” she said again. “Because it has to be. Because I cannot afford to be anything less than fine today.”