At sunrise, Rian, Halbert, and Eiva met up with Leaf, Blossom, the Ectu, and the people of Urvus who had gathered outside the gate of Veron. Rian saw Pine among the Ectu. Pine was staring at Rian with those almost golden eyes. Rian had a bad feeling and looked away, but could still feel Pine watching him.

The group set off across the plains toward Acra. They reached the forest at night and stopped to rest, avoiding where Blossom’s village had been. The Sancta could still be there. A memory came to the surface in Rian’s mind. He recalled Ruari leading Trivius’s knights against Derwen. The memory was clear, like one of his own, but it still didn’t feel like his own.

Pine joined Rian, Halbert, and Eiva, where they sat away from the rest of the group. He stood across from them, staring at Rian. “You’ve lost a lot. But you have allies.”

Rian had an odd feeling when Pine looked at him, and it was no less uncomfortable than it had been when they’d left Veron. It was as though Pine could see everything that was inside of him. More than that, Rian had a strange certainty when he looked at those eyes that Pine wasn’t an Ectu. He was something far older and far more powerful.

“This body is yours,” Pine said, “not his.”

Did he know about Ruari?

“Who are you?” Halbert asked.

The rest of the army had split up into groups, all of them too far to hear Rian, Halbert, Eiva, or Pine.

“I am the All-Keeper,” Pine said, frowning slightly. “The gods, my children, have failed this world.” He walked away.

Rian, Halbert, and Eiva looked at each other.

“I had a weird feeling when he looked at me…” Eiva said.

“A certainty he was telling the truth,” Halbert said.

Eiva nodded. “But why would the All-Keeper himself be here?”

Rian couldn’t help but sigh. “Things with the gods must be bad if the All-Keeper is saying they’ve failed the world.”

“It’s strange he would accompany us to Isley,” Halbert said. “And I saw him watching us back in Veron.”

Eiva stared at Pine where he’d joined the Ectu. Pine watched the Ectu, smiling slightly, but not saying anything. He glanced at Eiva, who looked away quickly. Why had the All-Keeper manifested in Ivrua? And why as an Ectu, most of which didn’t worship the gods?

The group continued the next morning. Soon they were on the plains of Acra. They passed Jasper around midday and reached Isley late at night. The gates had closed for the night, but they weren’t going that way anyway. Blossom had other plans. They entered through the vast, smelly tunnel that was the sewers.

Rian was grateful he could stop smelling it, but Eiva was breathing shallowly and looked unwell. She groaned when they turned a corner and the sewers stretched on ahead of them. Pine glanced back at Rian, Halbert, and Eiva, where they walked at the back of the group. He had watched them on the plains as well.

“Quidvis is a devious liar,” Ruari said in Rian’s mind. “Don’t believe anything he says. The only thing you can believe is that he is Quidvis.”

“Why were you hiding from Trivius?” Rian thought, but Ruari didn’t answer.

The tunnel led into the city. From there the group made their way to the armory, avoiding the knights they saw along the way. There weren’t many knights out keeping watch. Maybe they were preparing for the war against Urvus. The armory was full of swords with that strong, dark magic Rian had seen in the daggers before.

“They’re already enchanted,” Halbert said. “Destroying them won’t be easy.” He looked at Rian.

“Leaf and I can help,” Blossom said.

Rian, Halbert, Blossom, and Leaf destroyed the swords. By the time they were done, Rian was weary, desperate for burial ground. A shout came from outside, where everyone else was keeping watch. They’d been spotted.

“To the castle!” Blossom said.

The group fought their way through the rush of Acra Knights, more than should ordinarily be in the city. At the castle, there were even more knights waiting, and Tierney himself was with them, standing in the entry hall. The castle doors were open. Tierney wore the same armor as his knights, his sword already drawn. The sword was enchanted how the ones in the armory had been. A knight disarmed Rian.

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Rian brought forth a spectral sword just in time to block the next strike. He barely had the energy to keep his sword solid. He needed burial ground. The army of Urvus was outnumbered, and Tierney’s blade would stop the soul of anyone he killed from moving on. Many of the Acra Knights were bad with their swords, as though they’d had little training. Maybe Tierney had gathered people from all the villages to bolster his ranks.

Rian’s magic as the Speaker of the Dead was waiting for him to call on it. His spectral sword flickered again. He dodged a sword that passed through his own. Rian called on the full strength of his magic, making his sword solid again. Red flared to life in his bones, but they weren’t cracking this time either. He still felt the heat of that light, the magic of the Speaker of the Dead coursing through his bones.

Ruari’s memories flooded through Rian’s mind, memories of Ruari calling on this magic many times when he fought the Sancta. The call of ravens cut through the air, followed by the cry of knights as the ravens swooped in and attacked. Eiva was staring up at the ravens, frowning hard. Her eyes were yellow, with no visible white. Two knights came at Pine from either side, but a flash of light threw them back.

Rian’s magic burned brighter and hotter. His bones cracked and his sword flickered. The knight he’d been fighting backed away, staring at Rian with wide eyes. The hood of Rian’s cloak had fallen back in the fight. Blossom disarmed Tierney and ran him through, her sword going up below his cuirass. Tierney gasped. The enchanted blade fell to the ground, only to be destroyed by Leaf’s magic. Blossom pulled her sword out, letting Tierney fall to the ground. Rian felt the life leave the King of Acra.

“Don’t fight the magic,” Ruari said in Rian’s mind. “You’re losing control.”

Rian tried desperately to pull the magic back, but that made it only more wild. He cried out as the cracks in his bones deepened. Ruari rushed to the surface, helping Rian pull the magic back. The red light went out of Rian’s bones. He almost collapsed.

“We can work together,” Ruari said. “Together we can free Trivius.”

“I won’t free him,” Rian thought. “Why did Trivius think I was you?”

Ruari sighed. “He doesn’t know I let you live. Your soul was still there when you were born, but it was very weak. I hadn’t thought it would recover, so I let you live. Your soul survived and became stronger, perhaps because I was within you.”

“I won’t free Trivius,” Rian thought again.

“Then we’ll have to do this the hard way,” Ruari said. “I will free him myself.”

Ruari’s presence became much stronger. Was he trying to take over?

“Rian!” Halbert was standing in front of Rian, the chaos continuing around them. The hood of his cloak had fallen back as well. “We have to go, now.”

Rian pushed back against Ruari as hard as he could. He brought forth his magic, red light flaring in his bones again. This time Rian wasn’t fighting it and it readily answered his call, but it leeched what little energy he had left. Ruari pulled back sharply, not having expected Rian to fight back so strongly.

They needed to get out of Acra. A new chaos had spread through the Knights of Acra with the death of their king, an uncertainty, but it wasn’t enough to stop the battle. The red light went out of Rian’s bones again. He would have collapsed if Halbert hadn’t caught him. The next moments were a blur. Rian saw the sewers under the city, the plains of Acra, then nothing. He woke up lying on burial ground. He recognized it as the graveyard just outside Jasper. The sun was rising.

The graveyard didn’t appear to be guarded. He could barely see the army of Urvus out on the plains, staying away from the village while they rested. Halbert sat near Rian in the graveyard. Neither of them said anything as they gathered energy. The cracks in Rian’s bones finished closing, then they rejoined the rest of the group. The group continued across the plains, passing through the forest. Rian had his energy back, but he was worried it wouldn’t be enough the next time Ruari tried to take over.

“What happened?” Halbert asked. The two of them were walking near the back of the group. “I thought we lost you back in Acra for a moment there.”

“Ruari tried to take over,” Rian said. He told Halbert all Ruari had said.

“We need to get him out,” Halbert said.

Rian hesitated. “I’m not sure I can fight him off next time. I can’t surprise him like that a second time.”

Neither of them said anything more. Eiva was walking off to the side. She seemed distracted, lost in thoughts. Had she meant to call those ravens back in Isley? Before long, Rian felt Ruari stir again, but Ruari didn’t try to take over. Not yet. The group crossed the plains of Urvus. It was late at night when they reached Veron. They had ended the King of Acra, but what of the Sancta?

They would be even more against the Ectu now that the Ectu had fought in Acra. The Ectu entered Tarthala the morning after they returned to Veron. After a few days, Urvus and Acra were officially no longer at war. Acra had no ruler, but things had calmed down somewhat. Rian, Halbert, and Eiva prepared to leave Veron that morning. They didn’t want to endanger the city any further.

Eiva stopped before they reached the gate. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going with you.” She avoided looking at either of them.

“Maybe we can help,” Rian asked. “Does it have to do with your magic?”

“It does,” Eiva said, “but I need to figure this out alone.” She turned and walked away, further into Veron.

“She has powerful magic,” Pine said, “but only she can learn to control it.”

Rian hadn’t seen the All-Keeper join them, but there he was. Pine stared after Eiva with surprising sadness in his eyes.

“I’m going with you,” Pine said. “I won’t be hiding in the forest with the Ectu.”

Rian didn’t want to leave Eiva behind. He knew Halbert didn’t either, but there was nothing they could do if Eiva didn’t want their help. The three of them left Veron. Rian was uncomfortable with Pine walking so close to him, but it wasn’t as though they could tell the All-Keeper he couldn’t go with them.