“Ah, so it wasn’t you we were supposed to wait for?”

“No,” I say. “The plan was for you three to not attract any attention until Grímr could swoop in and pull you out.” Now that I think about it, we’re lucky he was quick to realise what was happening when he came crashing down. “Good job Grímr. How’d you time your attack so perfectly? I didn’t think you could see through my flames.”

“Attack?” Grímr tilts his still deformed head back. “Oh right, yeah… my attack… I uh, just figured that was the right time.”

I stare at the back of his head for a good moment before letting out a laugh. He’s still such a horrible liar.

“You crashed, didn’t you?”

I burst into giggles at the wordless glance he sends back. It’s been ages since I’ve felt this relieved. The constant pressure and worry I’ve been subject to pops like bubbles with each laugh. I may hold reservations for what they did, but I’m glad we are all finally free.

“Flying is harder than you think,” Grímr rebukes, only to send me into another fit of giggles. He realises his mistake quickly. “Well, this bird is. I was too far away when you started your distraction, so I tried to hurry. By the time I was close enough, I couldn’t slow down quick enough.”

The last streaks of twilight dim and leave only the moon to light the land beneath us. Grímr’s metallic sheen glows, but the outer edges of his wings lack the same lustre. It’s a good thing Grímr doesn’t feel the pain of his body in the same way a normal creature would. I’m sure it would be excruciating.

“I’m going to take us down, alright? This body is starving, and I’d rather not lose another so soon.”

“You’re not going to crash land again, are you?” I tease.

“Probably. I can’t feel my feet.”

As Grímr slowly lowers his speed and altitude, Remus takes the opportunity to speak. “I need to properly thank you both. I appreciate you came for us over such a long distance. There’s no doubt in my mind it must have been difficult. Solvei, even after my poor decisions, I owe you everything for getting these two and myself out.”

Bunny nods seriously, but Jav still seems mostly unfocused. He’s looking out over the landscape, but isn’t paying attention to the conversation.

I’m sure whatever they went through must have been hard. I feel asking about it would be the wrong choice. After escaping the Henosis soldiers, the last thing I wanted to think about was what happened while I was with them.

True to his word, Grímr doesn’t land softly. He slows himself enough, but his chest and head still slam into the ground. We grind to a halt after a few metres. I throw myself off to check his condition, but the underside of the alicanto is in a far worse state than the upper side we’d been sitting on would indicate.

The Forvaal tore away his entire metallic protection. Not a feather remained down there and each taloned foot had all but disappeared.

Despite the critical state of his body, Grímr drags himself a few metres from where we landed and slams his beak into the stone. I’m worried he’ll hurt himself even more, but soon he’s dug a hole deep enough to bury his head. His movements change and a grinding crunch accompanies the bobbing of his head.

I guess he’s found something to eat.

Thankfully, Grímr had the awareness to drop where there is no snow cover. I’d change back now, but as a show of faith, I left my bag and snowsuit with the mermineae we are supposed to meet later tonight. Okay, maybe I didn’t really care about giving them any assurances, but risking my outfit while I was the focus of hundreds of mermineae wasn’t something I wanted to do. It was just easier to leave it with them.

Bunny and Remus both stretch. Sighs of contentment come from each as they stroll in the open.

I know Aana said that the birds of prey won’t hunt near others, but it’s concerning how visible we are. We were originally supposed to fly immediately to the meeting point, but I don’t blame Grímr for taking a break after the amount of damage he’s sustained. I hope he can get his body fixed up, finding another one as good as that might be hard.

I planned to set Jav and Bunny on their tasks to fix my outfit and spear as soon as they were free, but seeing them now stops me. Making demands now would be inconsiderate. I’ll give them some time before letting them pay me back.

My eyes fall on Remus’ missing limb. During the fight, I had felt it fall away into dust through my flames. It is good he’s still alive, but if I’d been quicker, he might have come away unharmed.

Strangely, as the dust remnants of his limb passed through my flames, not a single fleck burned.

Remus’ eyes roll back in his head and he catches me staring. He wiggles his stump and gives me his usual eye smile. “Don’t worry, Solvei. A quick visit to the Lu-Lum family will get this fixed up as if it weren’t ever gone.” His eyes rise to the ever watching Titan perched on the Alps. “Well, that might take some time, but don’t think I’m any weaker without it. This is hardly a scratch to me.”

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I don’t comment. I’d actually thought it would be easier for him to recover from a missing limb. To know he needs to meet with someone to regrow it is an awakening. Áed can regrow limbs by eating. After watching Grímr’s speedy healing while he was a mountain panther, I’d assumed all fleshy creatures were like that.

Is there any other odd assumption I’ve made that is simply wrong?

“What happened since we were separated? You have grown like a wildfire.” His eyes grin. The word choice obviously amusing to him.

“Grímr followed you. I ate bugs.”

He gives me a perplexed look at my excessively brief explanation. I let out a chuckle at his expense before going into more detail. I tell him of the lurking monstrosities, my spear fights with the creatures in the shadows and the massive amount of energy the glow-bugs provided.

“So that was you?” Remus asks, and at my confused gaze, he continues. “Our assailants were becoming increasingly nervous as we moved through the tunnels. They’d been hearing the quakes through the earth and let their fears run wild with what it might be. It was particularly bad for the group watching over us, as it always seemed near. They’d come to think we were cursed.”

Remus lets out a chuckle. “It’s amusing to know it was you the whole time.”

I smile at hearing that. It hadn’t been an easy trip for myself, so to know I made it worse for the ones we were following is satisfying.

Bunny sits down and listens in halfway through my retelling. She looks around, obviously searching for my spear once I tell them I’d learn to carry it in my flames, but I soon tell of the fate that befell it.

“We need new weapons,” she speaks for the first time since we freed her. “I’m uncomfortable without one. I’ll make you one once there are materials for me to use.”

I follow her gaze over the plains beneath the Alps. There’s no obvious trees anywhere to use in creating the weapons she might want to make. Bunny probably wouldn’t have an issue using entirely metallic weapons, but that would most likely be far too unwieldy for me.

Grímr is still gorging in the hole he’s dug himself. He must have a smell for metals in that body, which will be incredibly helpful for both me and Bunny.

“So what about those mermineae? I assume you were working with the one who freed us from our restraints. Are they truly on our side?” Remus asks.

“I’m not sure,” I say. “They seem determined to oppose the mermineae that captured you. They call them ‘traitors’. Though, as much as they say they need our help, they don’t risk much in their support.”

“They need our help?” Remus asks.

“Yeah. Apparently we aren’t the first to cross the Alps. The ones that came before us don’t listen to their requests, so they want us to talk to them on their behalf.”

His eyes widen. “Did the mermineae not try to force them?”

“I think they were too strong for them. Caavaa said the outsiders ignored their threats. They were quick to move from the Alps, but the mermineae couldn’t stop them.”

Remus’ eyes lower in a frown and he goes quiet in contemplation.

“Do you know who they are?”

He raises his eyes to meet mine once more. “I have a hunch.” He pauses before continuing. “Actually, there is only one group it could be, but I don’t want to believe it. It means they’ve abandoned their oath and left the pact nations undefended.”

Now that I think about it, Remus is supposed to be one of the stronger mercenaries, right? Who are these people that can brush off the mermineae when not even he can?

“Who?” I ask.

Remus absently pokes at the stub of his limb. “The Beith mercenaries. Many of which I am friends with… or at least I was. I’d known some were missing, but I never thought they would leave the younger generation to defend against the Alps alone.”

So the elite mercenaries that are meant to remain on standby for major threats are on the opposite side of the Alps from the land they are supposed to protect? Are my friends no longer safe where I left them?

“Will the people of the pact be okay?”

“I… I don’t know. Without the Beith mercs to defend them, I’m not sure the Mercenary Order will hold off the mermineae invasion.”

“Invasion?” I ask. I knew they were trying to get to the other side of the Alps, but there is plenty of land along the Stepps that I thought they’d settle in. Was that too naïve of me?

Remus glances up at Jav, who’s still to react to my existence, lost in the starry sky above. “I’m afraid our interrogators made it quite clear their intentions. Besides, there is almost no chance the countries bordering the Alps will cede the land. The wealth of resources they’d lose would be astronomical. Thankfully, those in charge of their invasion are the last to push through the Alps. There should be a few months before war ignites.”

“The last? No, Caavaa said there were still far more coming. They are running from their god. From what I understand, every mermineae not part of Kalma’s clergy is on their way to reach the ‘beyond’, as they call it.”

Remus’ eyes fall on me. His intense gaze searching for any fabrication in my words. “If that’s the case, then we need to find my old friends, not to help this clergy, but to prevent the destruction of every pact nation. Why does this Caavaa want to stop his own race?”

“Fear. The three I’ve met that oppose the mermineae trying to cross the Alps are all terrified of a being they call Kalma. They believe if she finds out the mermineae race is trying to flee, they’ll face a horrible fate. Even those who don’t run.”

“Damn.” Remus turns to watch Grímr climb out of the deep hole he’d excavated in the stone. The alicanto appears in far better shape than when he started his feast. So eating metals can recover his body? That’s helpful.

“We’re going to be busy for a while.”

“You want to work with the clergy?” I ask.

“We have little choice. We don’t have the time to solve this ourselves. If our goals are aligned, we might as well.”

I still don’t like how they have refused to take on risk themselves. It makes me feel like they consider us disposable. “Just be careful around them. I don’t trust them.”

“Of course.” Remus nods.

I’d wanted to just live again once we freed the trio. If the mermineae expected me to risk myself for them after this, I would have just walked. This side of the Alps might be dangerous, but it’s a whole new world to explore. If it meant I have to go through the Alps again, there isn’t a chance I will return.

I was content to leave my friends in the safety of the pact nations and go travelling. Maybe I’d eventually find another path around the Alps and I’d be able to return. But now that I know they are in danger, I’m forced to get caught up in all this mess with the mermineae.

The clergy better live up to their goal. Just as the Beith mercs better return to the pact nations. I didn’t leave my friends there only to be thrust into the midst of war. I’d seen how that had destroyed Leal’s life. If I can prevent the same happening once more, I will.