For what seemed like hours, Alicia and I checked the ankle tags of the dead and injured. Dread crawled across my skin like a thousand ice ants each time I went to the next body, but we found neither Bragda nor Marcus among the departed.

Alicia drew a sudden intake of air when she read one of the names and broke down into tears. Kaylar shot her an angry glare.

"Boldea, pull yourself together!"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Who is it, Alicia?"

"My roommate."

I walked over to Alicia and tried to give her an awkward pat on the shoulder, but she shrugged away from me, her dark eyes flaring at me.

"How can you be so calm?"

I'm numb. There's a difference.

"Give the casualty lists to the guards," Nurse Kaylar commanded once we had finished. "Be quick about it--we want to avoid riots."

Alicia puffed in anger and snatched her scroll. We handed over the lists containing more than a thousand names. They didn't include the countless piles of ash on the battlefield. The Guards called them out in a dull monotone, a litany of sorrow and pain that cut me to the quick.

Alicia sank into the snow beside me, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I can't believe he's gone. Marc was my soulmate."

"How do you know he was your soulmate?"

"When his skin touched mine, our energy danced along my skin." She traced her fingertips across her forearms. "Little tingles, like lightning. That's the soulmate bond."

Peter. I felt that with Peter.

She brushed her tears away. "I still feel him in my heart, Liselle. He has to be alive."

"I felt that way when Mama died, too. That's your mind not wanting to accept the truth."

Alicia snapped her gaze to meet mine. "You're a really shitty friend, do you know that?"

"Alicia, I didn't mean--"

"You have no idea how to grieve, do you?" She pointed in the direction of Halden. "Your sister just died. Your village is destroyed. There are no traces of our teachers or friends."

"Don't you think I know that?" I clenched my jaw. "I'm fucking dead inside, damn it. I don't know how to cry because I can't feel anything."

"I'm sorry. I'm just lost," Alicia cried as she wrapped her arms around me. "Forgive me."

Embarrassed, I slowly wrapped my arms around her with a puzzled expression.

First, she was angry, and now she's hugging me?

"We need to find them," she said through her sobs. "We need to go to Halden and find them."

Not this again!

"I was there," I said, pulling away from her embrace. "There was nothing but broken fragments and ash. Firedrakes just incinerate whatever they find."

"I have to see for myself."

"What's your plan? Facing the Gatál army on your own?" Indignant heat burned my cheeks. "There could be dragons on the border, never mind legions of Dragonborn Warriors with anti-magic armor."

"I don't care if they kill me."

"Are you mad?"

A second-year Warrior heard our little spat and stared at us as we argued. He sauntered towards us with a wry smile, shaking his head. "I can make this really easy for you, ladies. Our patrols aren't letting anyone through to the other side of the border."

"How do you know?" Alicia demanded.

"My friend tried," he replied. "He wanted to find his girl, and I went with him. When he got to the Gatál border fence, they shot him with a dozen arrows from their towers. Now our patrols aren't letting anyone through the gates."

Alicia and I exchanged shocked looks.

"Unless you wanna die like him," he said before he turned to leave, "don't try to teleport across the border."

Alicia pulled me aside. "I can't live with myself if I don't go. Will you come with me, please?"

"I've seen enough people die today."

"What if I promise not to cross the border?"

"As long as you know what you're doing," I said with a deep sigh. "Teleport spells are tricky, so we'd better not land in no man's land or behind enemy lines, or we'll never make it back."

"We won't! I promise."

"You'd better be right about this."

We clasped hands, and she began to chant a spell in Ancient Risan dialect. A frigid breeze whipped across the plain, making the freshly fallen snow swirl and dance in the air around us in a flurry of white.

The ground slipped out from under our feet, and we landed with a thud within sight of the Halden border. "Told you I could do it," she whispered as we peered out from behind a giant boulder.

My eyes widened when I saw the border patrol on our side. Usually, just a lone tollman stood bored in a wooden shed to collect taxes from people crossing the border. Now dozens of Warriors of all races stood guard wielding broadswords and battle axes. From two observation towers, ranged archers peered across the border with spyglasses, ready to attack at the first sign of an invasion.

Alicia ran towards the patrol before I could hold her back. "Alicia, no! Come back!" I hissed under my breath.

But she ignored me.

Several armed guards whipped around and withdrew their weapons. "Halt!" a Dwarf Warrior shouted. Alicia held her hands up in the air in submission. "What business do you have here?"

"I'm a Risan Healer," Alicia replied, pointing at her ribbons. "I want to help the sick and injured across the border."

"Ain't nothing left, sweetheart," he replied. "Firedrakes done turned everything to ash."

"My soulmate is over there!" She pointed across the border as the Barbarian drew nearer, drawing his battle ax. "I have to find him."

A middle-aged Risan Healer emerged from the patrol and patted the Dwarf on the shoulder. "She's one of my people, sir. I served with her father in the Ministry. I can take care of this."

"Make sure that you do, Renescu," replied the curmudgeonly Dwarf. "No one crosses the border. Not even the daughter of a Minister."

"Come with me," the Healer said to Alicia in a firm voice. "Your friend, too."

How did he--?

"I'm a telepath." He motioned to me to come out from behind the boulder. "Useful in times of war. Come on. No time to waste."

Renescu led us toward an observation tower, bounding up the stairs with ease. My legs burned in protest after several flights, and both Alicia and I were gasping for breath in order to keep up with him. Despite being twice our age, he seemed fitter than us.

After we'd climbed about fifty flights of rickety wooden stairs, we reached the upper deck of the observation tower. Giant telescopes like the ones at the secret university tower stood at key vantage points around the dome. Half a dozen Guards stood at attention when he approached.

"I can't let you cross the border," the Risa whispered, his blue eyes twinkling. "This will allow you to see the battlefield from a safe distance."

"Thank you for helping us," Alicia said with a sigh of relief.

"Guards, step aside," Renescu ordered as he approached the northern scope. He gestured towards the lens of a giant spyglass larger than a stone troll, and Alicia ran towards him. "I must warn you, though. It's quite a shock."

Alicia peered through the lens, gripping the giant metal barrel with both hands.

Her jaw dropped.

"Oh, my gods! It's ..." She drew a sharp breath through her teeth. "There's nothing left. No buildings. No rubble. No..." Her voice cracked. "No bodies."

"I hardly believe it myself," Renescu replied, his voice strained. "I didn't know such destruction was possible. Only charred rock and dust left."

"The dragons have incinerated everything." Alicia turned to me, tears trailing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. It's just..."

"You see?" I said, ignoring the heavy pressure on my chest. "There are no words for that."

"Our friends..."

Alicia covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing a retch. She turned a strange shade of green and ran over to a metal bin. I exchanged an apologetic glance with Renescu as she continued to retch, the Guards grimacing from afar.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Alicia," Renescu said in a soothing voice. "But it was necessary so that you wouldn't run blindly towards your own demise."

Alicia cleared her throat and rose to her feet. She stumbled, and Renescu grasped her by the arm to steady her. "Thank you, Master Healer. I'm most grateful, but I think I need to go home."

"Shall I teleport both of you back to the university?"

She gave a weak nod, and I agreed. Renescu chanted in Ancient Risan over our joined hands. A warm gale swept across the plain and carried us back to the university, setting us in front of our dorm with a gentle nudge. We stood there in silence, unmoving. Not quite comprehending.

"Thank you for what you did today," Alicia said, her voice strained and hoarse. "You stood by me. I won't forget that."

"Sleep if you can," I replied. "You need to recover your strength."

When I reached my room, I slumped into my office chair. My eyes flitted over Bragda's belongings, and my heart constricted.

Not today. I can't deal with that right now.

I tumbled into bed and clutched my pillow as the ache in my chest grew. Sleep evaded me, and yet I'd never felt so exhausted.