As she and Shark made their way towards the village, it struck Ariana how strange it was that she was even alive.

The Bittersweet Nightshade epidemic had swept through Ghuria ruthlessly, cutting its population down to a third and ruining most of its fertile lands. Then Sacer had declared war, retaliating to what they saw as an unprompted and monstrous attack. Ariana didn’t know herself what had happened on the Ghurian side, but it didn’t change where they were now.

She only stayed as long as she did because of her sister. With their parents lost there had been no one else to take care of her, and it was everyone for themselves in Ghuria at that point.

It all spelled doom. And then that night, the one Ariana could pinpoint as the one that changed her entire life.

They came through the village the Kingfisher sisters lived in, citizens from Ghuria’s outer reaches driven to the brink of starvation. They begged for resources that simply weren’t there. One collapsed right in front of Ariana on the street, twitching and moaning into death despite the protests of the wife and son kneeling beside him. He had whispered their names, Ingrid and Wesley, in apology as his last words. Her sister had shrieked and hid behind her while Ariana stared, transfixed. The emaciated form, those who continued trudging ahead of it. A pathetic, helpless death. Ghuria was a dead, doomed land, and its people could only wait to succumb.

But Ariana saw another way out. She could either lay down like a dog or take fate into her own hands. She would betray everything to survive—she would join the winning side.

Iree Nobelis welcomed her to Sacer with open arms. Once Ariana displayed she had no qualms about killing other Ghurians and was damn good at it, she was by Iree’s side constantly. Ariana became the commander’s left hand for her seedier enterprises, Rhys being her right for the public face.

It wasn’t that she felt grateful, but she was indebted in a way. All the bullshit she got as a former Ghurian in Sacer and Iree smiled at her, clapped her on the back the same way she did everyone else, burned those damn posters and got mad for her sake. She’d left everything behind, earning her the hatred of her people, her sister, her parents’ ghosts, but hey. At least weirdo Iree was there.

Ariana had shown her dedication as a tool for killing and earned Iree’s trust. Now she was complicit in Sirpo’s destruction, in whatever it was Iree had planned to make sure Ghuria met the same fate. Ariana didn’t care what it was so long as Iree kept her promise. The words she’d said to the commander about four and a half years back echoed in her heart constantly.

Let me be the one to kill her. My sister.

Ariana owed her kin that much. The Sacerians meant to slaughter every single Ghurian. If Ariana couldn’t bring her sister over to her side, she’d kill her mercifully to prevent deeper suffering. That was her responsibility and her oath.

All of this came back to her now, when she’d been guaranteed to come face-to-face with her. So today was the day. This would be the end of it.

Once they got close enough to survey the scene at the village, Ariana instantly knew something was off. There was total silence, all doors and shutters locked tight. The reason quickly became clear.

There was a fountain in the center of the village, surrounded by clusters of small pink and yellow flowers. A woman sat on the edge of it, a sheathed sword resting across her lap. Clearly, she’d been waiting.

“Pearlie…” Ariana breathed.

“Just one chick?” Shark said. “Okay then…”

Pearlie Kingfisher stood and smoothed her skirt. She dressed the same way she used to, sensibly and almost dully, in a muted green turtleneck dress, cream cable knit sweater, worn boots and thick, tall socks. “I figured it would be you. Your new ally would be sure to warn you I’d be here, wouldn’t she?” she said evenly.

“You…have the same eyes,” Shark realized aloud. “I knew I'd seen them somewhere before.”

“Shut your mouth.” Ariana didn’t feel anything because she chose not to.

Pearlie smiled. “I haven’t given up on you, Ana. As long as we’re still standing, it’s not too late.” She reached out her hand. “Please, it’s okay. Come home.”

“Stand back, Shark,” Ariana ordered coldly. “She’s mine.”

Pearlie smiled a sad smile. “I missed you too, big sister.”

“Any regrets left?” Ariana asked, unsheathing blades from both hands.

Pearlie’s hand flew to the hilt of her sword, but she hesitated to draw it. “Why are you doing this? Did you really forget everything our parents taught us about right and wrong? About honor, defending Ghuria and our loved ones?”

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Fat lot of good those ideals had done for anyone. Their parents had long since rotted in Ghuria’s dead soil. “If you really believe that bullshit means anything, you’ve only got yourself to blame!” Ariana retorted as she flew forward.

Pearlie seemed frozen but countered the strike at the last second. “Please, we can talk this through!” She struggled not to buckle against Ariana’s strength.

“Come on, call your animals!” Ariana snapped. “Have them do your fighting for you if you’re too weak to stand against me!”

“I won’t…!” Pearlie staggered but stayed on her feet. “Put them in danger again!”

Ariana leaned into the attack with her shoulder to press with more weight so Pearlie wouldn’t be able to move quickly enough to avoid a fist into her jaw. She was sent sprawling to the ground, and Ariana bent to have the tip of her blade pricking her neck.

“Why…? Why did you betray us?! Why do you want to kill me?!” Pearlie shuddered as tears overtook her. Strangely enough, she didn’t look afraid in the face of death. All that displayed itself was a deep sadness. “Why did you leave me alone when I needed you most?”

“I’ve already explained my reasons long before now.” The moment was here. All she had to do was flick her wrist and it would be over. Just a tiny movement… Why wouldn’t her arm move?

That hesitation was enough of an opening. Pearlie flipped her dress up, revealing a knife strapped to her calve. She drove the blade into Ariana’s foot, pinning her in place while she scrambled backwards and to her feet.

“Fine. I accept your determination,” she said quietly, leveling her sword at Ariana’s chest. “And I’m just as determined as you are. You’re coming back home even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming!”

Ariana scoffed. “You’re ignoring reality. Winners decide the history! Ghuria’s going to lose this war, and I’m going to be on the winning side. It’s a simple matter of self-preservation. If you had any sense, you’d walk away with me right now.” Despite herself, there was a spark of hope within Ariana that her sister would join her now.

“I’m a Ghurian through and through. All the centuries we’ve been stepped on by Sacer…” Pearlie smiled. “I’d rather die than fade into a land like that the way you’ve chosen.”

“Then there’s nothing else to say.”

“It’s the opposite, Ana.” Pearlie moved in a flash, aiming to sever Ariana’s right arm at the elbow. Just as Ariana moved to dive out of the way, ripping the knife that pinned her foot from the ground in the process, a pillar of earth slammed into the side of Pearlie’s head. As she stumbled from the impact, a stupidly stunned look on her face, a second pillar emerged from her left side. Her head was trapped between them, and they advanced until her skull was crushed in a great gushing of pulp.

Ariana stared at the corpse as it crumpled down. So just like that, her sister was dead. The soft blue bubble of her afro was dyed red. She’d used to hate it when Ariana had combed her hair at night, teaching her how to properly care for it… A great tide of emotion reared up in her chest, and an odd, strangled gasp sounded from somewhere. No, from her. It came from her.

As Shark approached and hoisted her onto their back, her knees hooked over their arms, she snapped, “Why the fuck did you do that?!”

“Oh, so you wanted me to sit there and watch you get maimed?”

“She was mine. Did I not make that clear?”

“Yeah, yeah, so you’ve got some family issues. Don’t we all. All that matters is you’re okay.”

It was supposed to be her. That had been the only way to close the chapter. “It was supposed to…” She hit Shark’s back. “Let me down! I swear I’ll—”

In retaliation they jumped up and down, flailing her about until she stopped yelling. “Just suck it up and let me help you.” They smiled as she put her arms over their shoulders. “Besides, it’s not as if you really wanted to kill her.”

“What exactly makes you think that?” Ariana snapped.

“‘Cause she’d’ve been dead and you wouldn’t have needed my help in the first place.”

“That’s…” They were right. Her resolve had vanished upon seeing her sister’s face. But staying in Ghuria had been a death sentence, there was no other choice!

Shark sighed, adjusting so Ariana could be more comfortable. “I’ll get you to Thea and we can get your foot healed up.”

Ariana scowled but let herself be hauled along. Dorothea had healed her hand earlier. She’d wanted to say thank you, to apologize for dehumanizing her, but there was no way she could say that sincerely while still hiding what she’d helped do to Sirpo.

What was she supposed to think about anything anymore, really? Ever since the epidemic, no, even long before that, the world had been so twisted. Everyone hated each other at the end of the day, such an all-consuming hate, and that continuously led them to war. What was she supposed to do in a world like that, one with so little hope?

“I’m a little confused though,” Shark commented.

“Shocking.”

“You brat,” they laughed. “I mean it. It was important enough for Thea to warn us about what was going on at the village, but there was only one person and no casualties. Earlier, Iree said there’d be forces plural here, right?”

“Pearlie…” What a piece of shit she was to think she still had a right to say her name. “That woman said it herself. The Ghurians were prepared to change their strategy if they knew Dorothea had joined the Sacerians.” She sat up straighter. “They would have paid attention to whether we were present at the fort and if conditions had changed before splitting their forces.”

“So we can assume there are more soldiers on their side at the fort right now than there were the first time around.”

“We need to get back to the others.”

“Hold on tight!” Shark launched into a sprint, and she gripped the front of their shirt to steady herself.

Just because her personal mission had ended didn’t mean the fight was over. She had to keep moving forward either way.