For the three days since Luca and Jack had left the Outcast village, they had communicated little beyond what they needed for trekking through the forest.

This was mostly because Luca had refused to even glance in Jack's direction, too afraid of facing his disappointment and anger after she had admitted to abandoning Saara. She had ignored his attempts to talk to her throughout their journey across Ember Glass and had kept busy by doing most of the hunting, cooking, and tracking while Jack set up camp for them every evening.

Meanwhile, Jack had been waiting patiently for Luca to say something— anything. Despite what Luca believed, he hadn't been enraged by her admission of abandonment. He had only become more curious to understand why she had made such a terrible decision. Though he had tried to ask her these questions at first, he quickly realized that pushing her would get him nowhere when she was determined to pretend he didn't exist. So, he had decided he would wait a few days before asking, though he still wondered what was gnawing at her so terribly that she couldn't even glance his way.

As evening approached on their third day of travel, the orange sunset dappled the forest floor in shimmering light. Jack watched as the greenery of the forest darkened into looming silhouettes and the chittering of the daytime animals stilled, replaced by the hooting of owls and snarls of prowlers. He decided today was the evening he would ask his questions. It had been long enough. Luca would answer him now. Right?

He watched as his friend stepped over fallen tree-trunks, her eyes swiveling around in search of a clearing large enough for them to set camp for the night.

Over there, Jack signed to her, pointing to a small circle of trees. We can set up camp over there.

Luca nodded, satisfied by his choice of campsite. She set her heavy pack down before cracking her back. A long day's worth of travel had taken a toll on her body and she was ready to rest and eat. She slumped against one of the trees, quietly watching Jack remove the tent from his backpack, staking it into the ground.

"So, are you going to explain what happened that day or are we going to continue with this silent treatment business?" Jack asked tentatively as he drove a stake into the ground.

What do you mean? Luca asked, feigning ignorance.

Jack gave his friend a pointed look. "Don't play stupid, Luca. You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

The red-haired Mage raised her waterskin to her lips, taking a large gulp before setting it down on her knee. Her hands were shaking from anxiety. She had been dreading this conversation and had hoped that Jack would stay angry enough not to speak to her for a while longer.

I don't know what you're talking about, she replied, trying to avoid his gaze. You have to be more clear.

Jack threw up his arms in frustration, rolling his eyes. "Luca, you're a terrible liar! Why can't you be honest with me? I thought we were friends!"

Luca's hands shook as she signed.

We are.

This conversation was so similar to one she'd had just a week ago. Too similar.

"Then tell me the truth," Jack said exasperatedly. He nailed another stake into the ground, this time with more fervor. Something about Luca's avoidance grated on his nerves. "Why did you leave Saara behind? I know you wouldn't just leave her without a reason."

Jack was right. Luca wouldn't have left Saara behind if she'd had a choice.

If Saara had left her a choice.

Luca could have explained all of this to Jack. She could have given him the truth he was asking for.

But she wouldn't. Not if it meant breaking her promise to Saara and endangering Jack's life with the Outcasts. So, she told him the same cover story she had concocted for the Sorcerers.

I already told you when we met with the Sorcerers. Saara was captured by the Devalokan guards on one of the nights we were trying to sneak in to spy on the soldiers and their military plans. Saara slipped from her position on the rooftop where we were hiding. All hell broke loose from there, Luca explained, her hands trembling with the lies.

That's it? Jack signed as he drove the last stake into the ground.

Yes, Luca lied, biting her lips nervously.

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. He brushed off the dirt and grime from the now upright tent.

"You're lying. Again." It was very clear to him from her shaking hands, her refusal to meet his gaze, and the way she was shuffling her feet in the dirt, digging a shallow hole. He had known her since they were both six and had arrived at the Outcast village, scared and starved from their terrible childhoods filled with people who hated them simply for existing. He knew when his best friend was hiding something from him.

Luca signed nothing in response to his assertion, only deepening his suspicions.

I'm going to sleep, she told him instead, opening the flap of their tent with one hand. You should rest, too.

Jack sighed, once again settling into silence as he followed her into the tent. He rolled out his sleeping mat and buried his head in his arm. He would ask her again tomorrow. He would keep asking.

Until he got the truth.

Before Jack knew it, he had drifted off into a deep slumber, tired from a full day's worth of walking, but Luca couldn't do the same. Every time she closed her eyes, she was haunted by the memory of that night.

***

Where are you going? Luca asked, grabbing Saara's wrist as she attempted to slip out the door. This was the seventh night in a row she had seen her friend leave their safe-house in the middle of the night.

At first, she had assumed the stress of their mission in Devaloka had gotten to Saara and she had simply gone off to relax. But then, Saara began returning later and later, her hands and feet often covered in small scratches and bruises.

That was when Luca realized that Saara's nightly escapades were

not just for fresh air.

"Let me go, Luca," Saara pleaded. "I'm just getting some fresh air."

Luca raised an eyebrow. Just tell me where you're going.

Saara shook free of her friend's grip, rolling her eyes. "To the market. For some fresh air. Like I said. Two seconds ago."

Before Luca could question her further, Saara launched off of the ground, shooting up into the night air. Luca followed in pursuit, careful to keep enough distance behind her friend so that she wouldn't realize she was being followed.

At first, Luca couldn't tell where they were going. Even in a city, without the light of the two moons, it was difficult to see the distinct buildings while flying so high up in the air.

But as she watched Saara's silhouette dip down toward a towering wall lit by the glow of a thousand orange torches, Luca knew exactly where her friend had brought them both.

The Teja Palace—the house of the Devalokan royals.

What was Saara doing here without backup? She was going to get herself killed, that was for certain.

As Saara crouched on the stone wall enclosing the western end of the palace, Luca tapped her shoulder, hovering next to her.

Saara jerked back, nearly stumbling off of the wall. She glared at her red-haired friend.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, her tan face glowing orange in the light of the torches.

Making sure you don't get yourself killed! Is this what you meant by "getting fresh air?" Luca signed furiously.

Saara refused to meet her friend's eyes. Go back home. There are too many guards crawling around this place.

No way that's happening! I'm not leaving until you tell me what you're doing.

Saara gave Luca a dirty look. There's nothing to tell. I have some...personal business.

Personal business? At this hour? At the palace no less?

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Saara ignored her, ready to launch herself down onto the small pathway leading to the servants' entry into the palace.

Luca pulled her back, scowling. You're going to tell me what you're up to right now or I will drag you back to our safe-house.

No, Saara signed angrily.

The two friends glared at one another, silently arguing, for what felt like hours until finally, the dark-haired Mage gave in.

Okay, I'll tell you. On one condition.

And that is? Luca quirked one eyebrow up.

You swear on your life that you won't tell Jack or the Sorcerers what I'm about to tell you.

Luca had been stunned by this bizarre request. Hide something from the Sorcerers? Lie to Jack, their best friend?

There is no way I'm doing that! she told Saara. She could barely believe her friend would even demand such a thing. What terrible secret was she hiding?

Then, you have to trust me and let me go, Saara insisted.

No, Luca shook her head adamantly. I told you I'm not letting you go until you explain yourself. First, you explain and then I'll promise if you give me a good enough reason to keep your secrets.

Saara sighed, tired of arguing. Fine. But you can trust that you'll have more than enough reason to promise me.

I'll start from the beginning, she signed. Remember when the Sorcerers asked you to come here with me to Devaloka not only to spy on the Devalokan military but to also free Mage slaves? It wasn't random that they chose such a specific mission. I was the one who proposed it.

Luca settled herself down on the wall next to Saara, dangling her legs over the side. She was intrigued now. Saara had proposed this mission? Why?

Continue.

Saara sighed deeply. Now this is the part that you have to listen to carefully. You cannot interrupt. Do you understand?

Luca did.

Okay, Saara started. You know how we take an oath swearing allegiance to the Outcasts and the Outcasts alone?

Yes, Luca responded, starting to feel uneasy about where this was leading. The oath that Outcast Mages took was sacred, an eternal promise to be loyal to the Sorcerers and other Mages in the community. Once made, the person who took the oath would have to cut off anyone who wasn't part of the Outcasts— including family members.

....well, Saara continued, twirling strands of her black curls in between her fingers, I may or may not have broken that oath.

Luca's ice blue eyes widened in shock. She now understood why Saara had said nothing before. Breaking an oath was terrible, but anyone aware of the oath-breaking would also be banished from the Outcasts like the oathbreaker, if found out. Here she had thought Saara was keeping secrets when all she had done was try and protect her friend. And Luca had ruined it with her demands to know the truth.

My parents, as I'm sure you remember, Saara reminded Luca, were very upset when I cut ties with them to take that oath and learn Magic from the Sorcerers. I never told you this, but I was greatly pained by their disappointment. So, before I swore myself to the Outcasts, I made them a promise, telling them that if they ever needed me for any urgent reason, I was their daughter first and an Outcast Mage second. I left them with a discreet way to contact me if there was ever an emergency, but I never expected such a day would come because they live in such a close-knit, safe Merchant community. The day they did contact me, the news was far worse than I could have ever imagined.

My little sisters had been captured by slavers.

Luca placed a hand to her mouth in shock, her heart dropping. Saara's sisters had been enslaved?

How? she asked.

Recently, slavers have been venturing into the jungles to kidnap Merchant children and sell them to buyers in other parts of Devaloka. My sisters...they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only good news was that my parents were able to find out that the slavers were taking them to Devaloka's capital city, Teja, for the biggest slave auction of the year. They begged me to help them. All their efforts had failed and they hoped that by using my Magic, somehow, I would be able to free my sisters.

At this point in the story, Saara paused, tears plopping into her lap. The last month had been hell for her. Between worrying for her sisters' lives, hiding such a terrible secret from her friends, and trying to plan an escape, Saara had barely slept or eaten. Her dark eyes had grown more haunted and her warm, golden skin had lost its luster. Luca swept her friend into a tight embrace as she sobbed uncontrollably. She couldn't possibly imagine how Saara was feeling, but that didn't mean she couldn't comfort her.

After a moment, Saara continued as she wiped her tears away. I needed a way to get into Teja without alerting the Sorcerers of my true intentions, so I decided to propose my venture as a mission instead of a random excursion. I knew they would never allow me to go to my sisters' aid, but they would allow me to free enslaved Mages in auction houses. So, that was what I asked to do.

Surprisingly, the Sorcerers agreed to my plan, but only if I would also spy on Devalokan military movements and report back to them. I agreed, of course. I didn't care what they asked of me so long as I would be able to save my sisters. When they told me to bring you along, I agreed to that, too.

So this was why Saara had proposed this mission. She hadn't come to Devaloka as a Mage. She had come as a sister. Luca admired her friend's love for her family for it was no easy thing to break an oath and risk her high ranking in the Outcasts.

While we've been freeing Mages and tracking military meetings, secretly, I've also been searching for my sisters', Saara continued. I found them six days ago in one of the auction houses we raided. When I went to free them that same night, though, they had vanished.

Six nights ago was when Saara's nightly escapades had started, Luca recalled. It all made sense now.

I spent the next five days tracking them down, promising freedom to slaves who helped me and threatening wretched slave-traders for information on my sisters' whereabouts. By the Great Mother's luck, I found out that they had been sold to the Teja Palace. You and I both know the layout of the palace thanks to the Outcast historians, so I knew where my sisters would be kept—the slave quarters in the eastern side of the palace. That is why I'm here now. Do you understand, Luca? Do you understand why you have to let me go?

Luca did see why. She may not have sisters or any family to risk her own life for, but she did have her friends. If it were Jack or Saara in place of Saara's sisters, she would have done anything, broken any oaths, to get them back. If she stopped Saara now, she would have done the right thing as a Mage.

But not as a friend.

I'll help you, Luca said. We can do this together.

Saara shook her head, pointing to the servant entrance to the palace. No. Since you followed me here, I need you to stand guard while I get my sisters. One of my cousins is waiting by the Great Bridge, so once we exit over there, we're going to fly out immediately to the meeting spot. Got it?

Luca didn't like the idea of sending Saara into the palace alone with no back up, but she couldn't argue. Standing guard at the exit would be pivotal to their escape.

Fine, she agreed, readying herself to knock out the guards standing at the entrance. If she was going to protect their way out, there could be no Devalokan soldiers standing in her way.

"Thank you," Saara whispered, smiling softly as she squeezed her friend's hand.

Luca smiled back. By the way, I promise not to tell Jack and the Sorcerers about this. I know why you didn't tell me before. You were trying to protect me.

Saara nodded, giving her friend one last hug before they launched themselves towards the Devalokan guards. Luca had delivered a series of swift punches to their guts, disorienting them so that Saara could pull the air straight from the lungs, knocking them out soundly. Leaving Luca to deal with the bodies, she barged in through the door, disappearing.

As the red-haired Mage waited for her friend to return, she tapped her feet rhythmically, counting the seconds as they passed.

One thousand one...one thousand two...two thousand twenty two...two thousand three hundred and fifty three...three thousand...

What was taking Saara so long?

CRASH!

Luca heard two high-pitched screams. That was all she needed to abandon her post, guards be damned.

She barreled into the dark hallway, lighting her finger with a flame so she could see her surroundings, turning from corner to corner as she ran blindly toward the sounds of screams and clashing swords. Finally, she came upon an intersection of four hallways where eighteen guards had encircled Saara and her two little sisters. The girls were cowering behind their sister's legs as she protected them with a forcefield of air that repelled all the weapons the soldiers threw at it.

Luca took advantage of the soldiers' ignorance to her presence and stomped her foot, icing the entire marble floor. The soldiers began screaming one by one as they slipped and fell. With no traction, they wouldn't be able to get far.

"Luca!" Saara cried, her eyes widening with fear as she released her hold on the forcefield. "What are you doing here?"

Trying to help, Luca responded as she soared over to Saara. She gave a little wave to the little girls who looked just like Saara with their big, soulful eyes and long black hair.

Run. I have your back, she told her friend.

So Saara did. She pulled her youngest sister onto her back before launching into the air, dragging her other sister by the hands as they zipped toward the exit through darkened hallways.

Saara couldn't afford to run. She needed to fly.

Luca followed them, too, throwing scorching flames at anyone who came her way. It kept most of the soldiers at bay, but soon there were more swarming around her than she could deal with. So, Luca used her next favorite tactic.

Ground breaking.

As she sprinted through the halls, Luca gathered every drop of Magic in her body into her fist. She could feel them fizzling with excitement, their tension building, their need for release growing. The Mage turned around to see hundreds of guards on her tail. She smiled in greeting and then slammed her glowing fist into the ground.

The earth shattered below the soldiers' feet as they screamed, falling between the cracks, dropping down, down, down, through the basement floors of the castle. Their anguished cries grew quieter and quieter as they fell. Satisfied by her success, Luca continued to chase after Saara, hoping they had made it out already.

They hadn't.

An ear-piercing cry cut through the tense air.

Luca knew that scream.

The Mage vaulted past unconscious bodies, shooting flames and ice at the few guards left in her way until she came to Saara's crumpled body on the ground. Her two sisters were crying, their hands covered in a dark, sticky substance.

Blood.

"Help!" the little one cried. "She was shot by an arrow!"

Luca flipped her weak friend's body. What the girl said was true. Saara had been shot in the thigh, too weak to walk or to fly.

"Go," she murmured to Luca, pointing to the girls and the exit that was just at the end of the long hallway. "Take them."

Luca shook her head. No. I'm not leaving without you.

Both of them could already hear the shouts of guards gathering outside— and behind them. If they didn't leave soon, they would all be captured and thrown into prison.

"Don't argue, Luca. Take them. I'll hold the guards off," Saara insisted, her eyes fluttering from the pain.

Luca couldn't stop the tears from coming. Abandon her friend? She couldn't do that. She wouldn't.

No, we can all make it out. Please—

"We can't, Luca. You need someone to watch your back so that you can get out of here safely. I can't walk right now, much less fly, so it has to be me that stays. Please, save my sisters while you still can. Promise me."

Luca shook her head. No.

The shouts of the guards came from only a hallway away now.

"Luca, please! Promise me. Promise!"

The tips of the soldiers' spears peeked from behind the walls.

Luca ignored the roiling guilt in her gut as she grabbed the little girls and launched into the air. She didn't even have time to wipe her tears as she flew faster and faster, careening down the hallway until she burst through the exit doors, the night air washing over all of their tear-stained faces. Luca dared to look back once more to see a glowing forcefield— Saara's forcefield— protecting them against the rain of arrows headed their way.