Elena is nervous. It’s not easy to see from her carefully crafted mask of disinterest, but I can see it. Her eyes, a beautiful light brown, are darting back and forth between her bags and Elder Amata. She’s already snapped at Elena once for rifling through her bags, but there must be something she needs.

Her heel taps quietly, not quite hitting the wood of the lift. If I wasn’t looking, I might not have noticed. Next to the watch tower is the lift. Perched over the Valley’s edge, it’s an open-air platform with a two-foot high border around it. The way down usually isn’t a problem, and no one has an issue with keeping balance as we’re lowered. It’s coming back that can be an issue. Some Valley Beasts can breathe fire. Some Valley Beasts will lose interest if they lose sight of you. Some are deterred by human construction.

Its main function, though, is to give us an easy hurdle to jump if we’re running back and can’t stop. The time it takes to open and close a door could be the end.

Peggy is counting the knives on her belt. Twenty-three. That’s how many times she’s had Lourens make her a weapon and how many times he’s failed.

They’re good weapons made of Valley Beast bone and tempered in their blood. Anyone else would be happy to have that many, but Peggy disliked all of them. “They’re not balanced,” she’d say every time. “When I hold the knife, I need it to feel like an extension of my arm, not an unwieldly stick.” There’s only one knife she has that she likes. It’s strapped to her thigh and nearly as long. Serrated on one side and razor-sharp on the other, it’s one that she made three years ago with Antonia. She never goes on a hunt without it.

“Elena,” I say. Her eyes snap to me and her leg stills. “Will anyone be seeing you off?”

Her eyes roll up in thought before she meets mine again. “Everyone already said their goodbyes. What about you?”

“Well,” I say, looking over at Vidia and Vahn. “I suppose I should.”

They’re standing close together, their shoulders touching as they look at the ground. Since they woke up, they haven’t been the normal chatterboxes I’ve grown accustomed to. They’re quiet and somber.

I reach out and smack them, their heads hitting each other as they careen together.

“What the hell was that for?” Vidia yells.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I say. They rub their heads and look back at the ground, clearly irritated. “Do you think I want to see your sad faces as I go down there?”

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“If you don’t want us here you could just say that,” Vahn mutters and gestures toward the lift. “It was Reggie who dragged us here.” She smiles at me and waves. We’ve already said our goodbyes.

“That’s Elder Reggie,” I say. “Be respectful.”

“Only if she is,” they say together. They look at each other, a small snort coming from them as they start to giggle.

“There we go,” I say, smiling. “That’s what I wanted to see.” They look at each other, then back at me, confused. “I want you to be smiling when you send me off. I don’t want to see you looking depressed.”

Vidia opens her mouth, then closes it. She does this several times before Vahn puts a hand on her shoulder. His brows are scrunched with worry as he says, “We’ve done this before. It’s not any easier this time.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I didn’t think either of you cared that much.” There’s hardly a time when they prefer to be around me. Most days I don’t see them unless they want something or I’m getting them out of trouble. The last few days being the exception, I figured they were just paying back the favor.

“Of course we care,” Vidia says. Her voice is shaking and quiet. She’s still looking at the ground. Her fists are clenched, and I see something small fall to the ground. “You were the only thing that kept us going after our parents…It was thanks to you that we managed to get back up. Of course we care.”

“Come back,” Vahn says. His voice is breaking, and tears begin to fall, but he’s not breaking eye contact. There’s no hint of his usual shyness or anxiety. Just a determination I didn’t know he possessed. “You have to come back to us.”

“You know I can’t promise that.”

“Try,” he says. He’s pleading as he wraps his arms around Vidia. Her whole body is shaking and her hiccupping sobs seep into my chest and wring my heart. “Try with everything you have to make it back to us. You’re all we have left.”

I shouldn’t promise them. Going into the Valley at this point is all but certain death. If we do as we’re told, there’s a chance we’ll come back. If we don’t, then there’s almost no chance. Peggy will want to come back once we catch the trail, and Elena seems anxious enough for all of us. Mom and Dad are not all that I have, but I owe them so much.

I pull them into a hug and their arms wrap around me with a tightness that squeezes my heart tighter. Their tears soak into my robes, and I lay my hand on their heads. “Okay,” I say. “I promise I will do everything in my power to come back.”

“Yvie,” Peggy calls. “It’s time.”

They’re reluctant to let go, but slowly they move back and away.

I hop over the barrier and take in the forest around us. It’s chilly, and the snow has yet to fall. It’s quiet. Not even the birds sing this close to the Valley. I pick up my bow and sling it around me. The Elders, the students, and the twins are the only ones here are we begin to descend. Vidia is wrapped in Vahn’s arms. Elder Reggie is splitting her gaze between us. I shake my head. I know it’s too much to ask them again.

Reggie pulled the lever to lower us down and the clunk of the machine draws their attention. Vidia viciously rubs her eyes as they both take a deep breath and shout, “See you later!”

They’re smiling.

I raise my hand. “Later.”