Iree’s next verdict was delivered the following day. It came to Dorothea over breakfast, where the atmosphere was much different than usual.

Ariana was being almost…pleasant. Not once had she rolled her eyes or muttered some snarky comment or other. Dorothea was slowly becoming braver with attempts to talk to her—they had managed to chat about the weather multiple times!—but then Ariana blindsided her.

“I wanted to apologize to you,” she said. “For before.”

Even after Dorothea made sense of the words, double-checking that she knew their definitions and hadn’t misheard, she still pinched herself since it had to be a dream at that point. But it wasn’t so. “Um, thank you. I’m sorry too.”

Ariana frowned. “For what?”

“It’s not as if you don’t have a point about me.”

Ariana scraped her fork along her empty plate. “I don’t hate you, it’s just that…” Her back straightened suddenly, and the doors to the dining hall opened a few seconds later. Dorothea got a familiar sense of foreboding aas Iree and Rhys approached.

Iree wore a grin and stood in her usual pose, hands on hips and legs shoulder-width apart, while Rhys slouched, hands visibly twitching from their place hidden in his jacket pockets.

“What’s happening?” Dorothea asked, voice tight.

Iree laughed. “Good morning to you too! Atlin, come with us. The rest of you? It’d be a bad idea to follow.”

As always, it wasn’t a request. With a glance at Shark, whose face mirrored her grim foreboding, Dorothea followed them outside.

“Do you want to explain, Rhys, or should I?” Iree asked once they hovered on the front porch. It almost felt like she was goading him.

His words dripped exhaustion and reluctance. “We’ll be taking back Izozkia.” There was a pained pause. “Just the two of us. You and I, Dorothea.”

Her stomach dropped. “I-I’m sorry? Did your council order this?” No, that didn’t make sense either. She and Rhys were the ones who had bungled things in the first place, so there was no way anyone would want them in charge.

“They don’t know about it, ” Iree informed her. “Just me and Cinder have approved this.”

“Then why… Then how…”

“The two of you need to prove your loyalty,” Iree stated. “And this is how you’re going to do it. The story we’ll tell the council is that you set off on your own to redeem yourselves. Do a good job and the worst we’ll get is a scolding. Fail, though… Well, you’ll be fine, Atlin. Probably. Rhys, though… Not so much. We don’t take kindly to enemy sympathizers.”

Rhys looked stricken. “I don’t—”

“That’s not going to stop people from talking shit!” Iree snapped. “Silence all doubt about who you’re fighting for. Our people deserve to have faith that we’re fighting with our all to keep them safe. They deserve more than what you’re giving.”

As Dorothea scrambled to form a protest of her own, Iree’s final words to send them off sealed the deal. “There are innocent people suffering. That’s what we need to fight against the most.”

Dorothea looked to Rhys, but he avoided her eyes. “We’ll succeed,” she reassured Iree in as confident a tone as she could muster.

“Good luck!” Iree winked before zooming off.

Rhys’ face was blank all of a sudden. “Nothing to do but set off,” he said, turning on his heel and marching off.

“Wait a second!” Dorothea seized his sleeve after speed-shuffling to his side. “This doesn’t seem insane to you?”

He didn’t reply until they were out of the city’s bounds. “Not really. The terms are simple, no survivors. Standard.” Rhys nodded as she paled. “I know. The Ghurians will be anticipating some sort of counterattack, so our job is basically to do a sweep of the area and kill every soldier we see.”

“Is there really no other way?” Maybe she could talk her way through it like Gren Fall had?

“It’s not that simple. There are hundreds of displaced people in Udara right now. They’re without their homes and lives, and they have to keep living in fear of what’s going to happen next. Giving in to the demands of the Ghurians, even in the name of peace, still means taking something from someone else. Trust me, it’s not as if I haven’t thought about this before, but it’s just… Someone gets hurt either way. It’s like Iree said. Our people still deserve better. I don’t… I guess there’s nothing to do for it after all.”

Dorothea’s limbs felt leaden. So acting with belief in the power of words and good intentions was useless without a real solution, and they didn’t have one. The choice to go along with Gren Fall and reach what she’d judged as the peaceful conclusion to the encounter at Izozkia had still hurt a lot of people.

Besides, there was Rhys, and… He looked so tired, but she didn’t know how to help. “Sorry, but how are we going to go about this?” The least they could do was form a strategy, not that she even knew where to start.

“All you need to do is stay close to me, and I’ll handle the rest.”

“Is that really all?” It couldn’t be.

“It is. I know I haven’t given you any reason to believe this, but I can handle myself. You won’t get hurt.”

That wasn’t what she was worried about. “Um, Rhys, do you think you’ll be able to…”

He stopped walking and bent, turning sharply, for his eyes to be level with hers. “I’ll protect you. I promise.”

“That’s not it!”

He jumped and stood at full height. “Then… What?”

“I’m worried about you. About whether or not you’ll be okay!”

“Oh.” He looked surprised; it genuinely hadn’t occurred to him.

“Just remember that we’re in this together.” Judging from the state he’d been in at the end of the last battle, he wasn’t going to end today in good condition. She wanted to be there for him.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Thanks.” He took a shaky breath. “We should hurry.”

“Right.” The trek continued, the two sticking close and keeping their voices hushed in the now rare moments they spoke. Dorothea looked at the woods ahead of them and waited for an enemy to leap out, flinching at the shadows of swooping birds and the smooth rustling of leaves. Too soon, the fort wall was in sight.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s posted in the watchtower,” Rhys noted. “But there are some patrolling on the wall. Likely someone’s stationed at every point, though I don’t suppose it matters where we go in.”

“It doesn’t?” In just a few steps, they would leave the relative safety of the treeline.

“If nothing else, just remember to stay close,” Rhys urged. “I’ll protect you.” The way he said it was less of a reassurance to her and more something for himself, Dorothea thought. It was like…stating his convictions, somehow.

“Rhys, I…” She faltered as he held up a finger, and then she heard it too. Rhys had noticed the sound of multiple sets of footsteps before she had. A small group was approaching from the way they’d come.

“Behind me.” Rhys put one arm out protectively and lifted his other hand, a spiral of water gathering before him. Dorothea held her breath and huddled against a tree, digging her fingers into pale flakes of bluish-white lichens.

Her heart nearly burst when Shark popped into view. “Thea!” they whisper-yelled, waving their arms, rushing to her side and all but pushing Rhys out of the way to give her a hug. “Glad nothing’s started yet. We tried to hurry.”

“We?” she asked, dazed.

Cerid and Ariana appeared seconds later, joining up with far less enthusiasm.

“This is insubordination,” Cerid noted. “Though I appear to be the only one concerned.”

“Iree’s not going to like this, true,” Ariana agreed. “But it’d be pretty inconvenient if they both got killed here.”

Shark grinned. “Eh, take it easy. It’s not like she told us not to come. She just said it’d be a bad idea for us to follow.”

Cerid tilted his head. “And the difference is…?”

“Semantics.”

“Ah. I see. Actually I do not, but I will go along regardless.”

Shark turned their grin back to Dorothea, then Rhys. “So yeah, we snuck out and came to help. What’s the plan, Captain? Uh, Ex-Captain?”

Rhys had tensed even more as opposed to showing signs of relief. “I appreciate the concern, but we’ll follow Iree’s orders. You all go back. Come on, Dorothea.”

“Hooold it!” Shark grabbed his shoulder before he could take more than one step. “Look, I know there’s a lot at stake here, but that’s exactly why we shouldn't be dividing forces.”

Rhys narrowed his eyes. “Why do you think she made us come alone?” he demanded. “This is a test. One I need to pass with full marks.”

A test. Right. Iree had made it plain as day that the council, and probably many others by extension, thought Dorothea and Rhys couldn’t be trusted. Iree’s intent was to force them out of hiding; if they hung back behind the support of others today, they would just keep ending up in the same position until the commander was satisfied.

“Shark, Cerid, Ariana,” Dorothea began, “thank you, but leave it to us.”

Shark stepped toward her, alarmed. “But Thea —”

“Please, Shark. If you want a loophole, then will you just stay out here just in case reinforcements come? We don’t know what might happen.”

Shark’s mouth hung open, and they closed it with a sharp clack of teeth. “Fine, but I’ll come running if I sense any super danger.”

“As opposed to…regular danger?” Cerid asked.

“Super danger is super danger, my man.”

At least Shark felt comfortable enough to joke. It made Dorothea feel a bit braver. “Let’s go, Rhys.” She took his arm and tugged, leading him closer to the fort with far more confidence than she felt. The moment they were noticed, the battle would begin…

A cry came from the fort’s wall, and Rhys jetted forward. Dorothea pursued, heart lodged in her throat. Somewhat distanced, she saw an arc of water materialize before one of the Ghurians above—a spray of red mist followed the slashing of that arc into flesh. She felt the chill of a life lost but couldn’t process it through anticipation of the havoc they were about to bring.

Everyone they encountered had the bearing of a soldier, the quick reaction time, the anger and bloodlust covering the fear in the eyes. There was a group of four facing them as soon as they had sprinted onto the first side street. Dorothea prepared to run, turn back time, whatever Rhys ordered, but nothing was happening. None of the enemy was moving to attack. They were immobile, bodies stiffening as if they had been frozen from the inside out.

She looked to Rhys’ lifted hand with confusion. How?

When his fingers closed to a fist, four corpses crumpled. Dead eyes met hers as necks turned at awkward angles in their fall, and she couldn’t stifle a screech despite how she tried. Fluid flooded from eyes, noses, and mouths, tongues lolling out to drip with accusations unanswered.

A hand wrapped around her wrist to unfreeze her too, and she jerked away on reflex. “Um, I… It’s not you, it’s…”

Rhys smiled slightly in understanding. “Go back,” he offered. “You don’t have to watch.”

“I’m fine,” she squeaked, clearing her throat to continue. She had no right to run away; the whole situation was partly her fault. “I won’t leave you behind.” Whoever was right andwhoever was wrong right now, she would stay with him.

Rhys nodded and gestured towards the direction they would go next. The streets felt eerie and haunted from the absence of rowdy exchange. The milling Ghurians were quieter in the way they conducted themselves, wary in this foreign dwelling. They were right to be, as those Rhys descended upon hadn’t the time to defend themselves or even start to call for help before they were slashed apart or else killed in the same bloodless yet gruesome manner he had the first group.

“Gods,” Dorothea breathed. He was horrifyingly strong. Iree wasn’t crazy for ordering this, not one bit. In pushing Rhys to his full potential, she’d unveiled a weapon unlike any other.

Hours would pass in the process of combing the entire fort for inhabitants. When they were less than halfway through, Dorothea noticed Rhys starting to slow down. Sweat had broken out and slithered down his temples, and his breathing was labored.

She scanned around them, picking a building that looked untouched. Once she had pulled Rhys inside, she checked the upstairs and found it vacant. They would be safe for now. After he was propped against a wall and slid down to sit, he closed his eyes.

“Just a minute,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”

Dorothea knelt next to him. “I can restore your energy.”

He cracked an eye open and batted away the hand she’d lifted. “Don’t waste it.”

Her life, he meant, she realized after a second of confusion. “Rhys, how are you even doing that...thing?”

“Water,” he stated, “is everywhere. Even though the amount of water vapor in the composition of the air is small, I can still gather it and use it to attack. It’s the same with a person. The brain, heart, kidneys and lungs are primarily composed of water, so it’s possible for me to manipulate that water to crush people from the inside. Skin, muscles, bones… Water’s a part of all of it. For me, the human body is like…like a clod of wet dirt. The faintest pressure, and it all falls apart.”

Dorothea got a chill. “It’s…an incredible amount of power.” No wonder his allies had all been so enraged at his refusal to fight; with power like this, he was too valuable to lose. It was the same way people thought about her, reducing her usefulness and purpose to the magic she’d been born with. That was why she’d been so shocked and touched when he’d defended her during the council meeting. He’d seen her, really seen her.

“Right. Well, having dangerous magics on each side is part of what keeps wars going.” He shrugged. “We’re right to be scared if a single person can just waltz in and do this much damage. At least, I guess that’s how people think. Being one of the strong ones, I shouldn’t talk about how scared other people might feel.” He hugged himself, frowning.

“Rhys, are you okay?” She touched his arm, but he twitched away. He certainly seemed to dislike being touched without warning. She’d need to be more mindful. “Sorry. But why are you so drained?”

He sighed and tilted his head back, sagging further and sliding down the wall some. “The sheer amount of ammunition I have… It took years to hone the control to pinpoint exactly how much water I gather and how I manipulate it. That’s part of why my parents started me off so young. Still, it takes a lot out of me. My stamina’s never been the best, no matter how much I train.” He blinked as he sat up, and she could tell he was fighting a rush of dizziness.

“Take your time,” she urged gently.

He frowned, studying her. “Are you not phased at all right now? I thought by now you’d be…”

“A complete blubbering mess?”

He looked away, embarrassed. “Kind of.”

Dorothea managed a small laugh. “Me falling apart wouldn’t help us right now.”

“I see.” He heaved himself to his feet. “Come on. Still a lot to do.”

“Please tell me if you need my help.” That was all she felt she could say.

To this he said nothing, and she knew then that he’d rather push himself to the most painful brink possible than have her trade another second of life in using Eternal Rosemary. She also knew that, if he asked or needed, she would give up as much as it took.