Fraschkit clapped my shoulder. "Remgar has defeated more Demons than anyone else here, so I've asked him to give us some tips for beating the enemy."

Everyone stared at me, some expressions curious and others skeptical.

I swallowed and drew a breath. "The Demon team is very strong. To defeat them, we will need to train hard and summon all the courage of the First Guardian."

"Yes," said Fraschkit, voice tight with impatience. "But what exercises do you think could help us to kill more Demons? Or to kill the Queen's Scouts?"

As I had done several times over the last couple of hours, I racked my brain for some magic answer. How had I defeated so many Demons? But once again, my mind got stuck on the details Fraschkit had omitted...and on Isalio.

He should have been here. He knew more than I did. I had defeated the Demons mostly by luck, and I didn't even fully understand what the Queen's Scouts looked like. Slugs with wings? That sounded deceptively benign. Fast, poisonous spies? That would only reinforce the fear that we stood no chance.

Fraschkit cleared her throat. "Remgar?"

"The Queen's Scouts will likely arrive first, so that is our first priority."

"We can practice shooting down flying targets and rushing them," said Fraschkit. "And what else, Remgar?"

"If we don't kill every Scout, we need to evacuate Sitaklasa as soon as possible."

The Sitaklasa humans exchanged nervous glances. "You mean we'll have to abandon our home?" one woman called out.

Fraschkit grimaced. "Hopefully we can kill all of the Scouts before they can deliver the message to the palace, so that won't be necessary. But just as a precaution, we have a group of Guardians out searching for a safehaven right now, and they informed me that they already have a lead." She turned toward me once more. "Now, do you have any ideas for how we can train more effectively, Remgar? Any technique you used that you can show the rest of us?"

What did I know about the most effective ways to train? I wasn't even sure how I had killed as many Demons and beasts as I had. I suspected a good deal of my success was borne from luck, and my luck had to run out eventually.

"I agree with Fraschkit," I said. "We need to follow her lead."

Fraschkit folded her arms. "Fine, great. You can leave the stage now."

I felt both relieved and letdown to receive that permission. The pressure on me had relaxed, but Fraschkit was clearly disappointed.

For several hours, the humans and Guardians with crossbows practiced hitting projectiles while the rest of us hunted down any successful hits. The sun blazed high in the sky, and then dipped lower again, but the humidity only grew more oppressive; sweat trickled down my spine, and my clothing clung to my body. I tried to muster enthusiasm for the tasks, but I couldn't stop thinking that we were doing too little too late—and with too little knowledge. If Isalio were there, he could have pointed out what we were doing wrong.

Then something happened that eliminated the rest of my focus: Ranndu hacked a cough into the crook of arm as he passed me, and blood speckled his sleeve.

Discreetly, I touched Ranndu's elbow and nodded at a shady spot on the edge of the courtyard. A frown twisted his scar-creased face, but he followed me without question.

Once we were out of the training area, I pointed to the blood on his sleeve. "What happened here? Are you hurt?"

He fidgeted with his sleeve. "Don't worry, Brother Remgar—this is normal. It always happens when someone has lost too much lifeforce over too long a time."

I swallowed a swell in my throat. "You should be with a healer, not out here training."

"With all respect, Brother, I'd rather fight while I can. Nothing the healer can do for me at this point."

"How do you know?"

"Every time someone in the barn starts coughing up blood, they die within a month." He patted his blood-speckled sleeve. "My cough started a few weeks ago."

Cold anxiety seeped into my chest, restricting my breath—anxiety because we were too late to save some of the humans we thought we had rescued, and anxiety for another reason I could not tell Ranndu.

Isalio was also coughing up blood.

Were Demons like humans in this regard? Strings of conversation replayed in my mind, things Isalio had started to say but never finished.

'I hurt you.' 'No, that's from...I'm fine.'

'You gave back too much. You're still not well.' 'That doesn't matter. It's inevitable, anyway.'

How long had Isalio been coughing like that? And why?

Forcing my attention back to Ranndu, I laid a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe there's still something we can do for you," I said. "The Duchess can heal. If we can get you to her somehow—"

"In the next week? I don't think so." His shoulders caved with a gusty exhale. "Sorry, I don't mean any disrespect, Brother Remgar."

"Please don't apologize, Brother Ranndu. I'm not your superior, and with all you've lived through, I'm the one who should be apologizing."

His eyes widened at being addressed as 'Brother,' but he bypassed the breach in protocol to address the other part of my statement. "You've done whatever you could, and the barn is empty now, so no one else will suffer this fate."

I wished I could summon his confidence, but even if we somehow defeated the Scouts, how could we beat the Palace? The Morgabeast? At least we had Isalio on our side—but would the Guardians even allow him to fight? Against my will, I darted a glance toward the gravel road that led to the jail. How much longer could Isalio survive, cuffed underground and coughing up blood? Could he save us? Could I save him? Guilt pricked me for worrying about Isalio in the presence of someone he had leached lifeforce from...but then again, Ranndu also seemed concerned about Isalio's fate.

I turned back to Ranndu. "Why did you defend the High Prince at the trial? Just because he made it hurt less?"

"Not just that." He hesitated, glancing toward the training humans. "Mostly, I believe in him because of something that happened in the barn. But the rest of the humans who were there at that time are dead now, so I'm the only one who saw it."

"Only one who saw what?"

"There was a group of Demons who used to work the night shift at the barn, and they would sometimes use human cows for...something other than lifeforce."

Bile burned the back of my throat. "They were allowed to do that?"

"Maybe not technically allowed, but no one would stop them. That group was paid by the Farmer, who owns the whole barn and half the palace. From the conversations I overheard, it sounds like the Queen and King have squandered their wealth on paying for protection against Guardians, so the Farmer has everyone in his pocket."

I remembered the Farmer, the Demon at the Revival who had tried to buy me from Isalio in exchange for a hundred human cows. Now that I knew how much influence the Farmer held, I wondered if Isalio had faced repercussions for striking him down.

Ranndu continued. "One night, the High Prince walked in while the group was in the middle of it. He was...livid. But they were so confident, those monsters, laughing together with their chests all puffed up. They said, 'If you try to stop us, we'll tell the Farmer.'"

"And what did Is—what did the High Prince do?"

"There was a blinding flash of light, and when I could see again, only one Demon from the group was left standing. I thought the Prince had missed that one, until he turned toward him and said, 'Go tell the Farmer.' After that, no one used us again. Not in that way, at least."

My throat swelled as conflicting emotions clawed at me. Ranndu's story proved that Isalio was not the heartless monster most thought him to be, but it also illustrated the confounding contradictions in his character.

"But the High Prince kept taking your lifeforce."

"He did, but I knew he didn't want to. I tried to thank him once, for ending those night visits. He just got this expression like...I don't know how to describe it, but he wasn't happy. He said he was the last person I should be thanking. But then he told me he was working on a way to get all of the humans out of the barn."

I knew what solution Isalio had found to get all of the humans out of the barn: Guardians would 'serve humans' by taking their place. Maybe that was the best answer for why he had kissed me. When that blissed-out expression crossed his face after our lips touched, he was probably imagining our conditions reversed, imagining every last Guardian filling the barn, imagining me fully restrained and subject to his whim.

At the rebel base, his kiss was the kiss of death. And at the palace...had he been making reparations; paying amends? I was glad that he felt guilty for wanting me enslaved—or at least, I should have felt glad—but discomfort needled me like a sliver I couldn't dislodge. I didn't want that second kiss to signify his guilt.

I wanted him to want me the way that I wanted him.

Ranndu seemed not to notice my change in mood; he stared longingly up at the sinking sun. "He promised he would get me out before I died. I think that's why I lived as long as I did—because I still had hope."

"But you're..." You're dying. Ranndu had finally left the barn, but it was too late. I swallowed and changed course. "You're a very brave man, Ranndu."

He shrugged. "I just have nothing to lose."

Just like Isalio. That thought brought on another wave of conflicted feelings. Once, Isalio would have been pleased to see me locked up in the barn, reduced to a power bank for my enemy.

But fuck, I didn't want to see him die.

I was distracted by a sound: a frantic yip. The stray dog I had seen earlier hurtled across the courtyard, weaving through legs on the way toward the gate. Then the bushes nearest us rustled, quickly growing louder—frantic. Around me, other Guardians noticed the strange spectacle and dropped what they were doing to watch. Through the branches, tails and paws flashed.

The critters were digging.

Dread swamped my gut. Could it be...? No—I couldn't consider it. We weren't even ready to face the Queen's Scouts. If this was what I feared it was, we were all dead.

"Leader Fraschit! Brother Remgar!" Kardki appeared at the edge of the courtyard, doubled over and panting. "The Demon begged me"—gasp—"to deliver a message."

Treetops rippled as birds took to the sky, squawking and screeching. A few leaves ripped free and were swept away in the current of a sudden cold breeze. The wind tugged on my clothing, and my sweaty skin grew clammy and cold.

"What message?" Fraschkit demanded.

"He says, 'It's coming.'"

Manikbar seized a mace. "The Queen's Scouts are about to arrive?"

Thunder growled in the distance, low and ominous. I turned my face up to watch the dark clouds billowing overhead, stamping out the sunshine—and my hope. It wasn't just too late for Ranndu. It was too late for all of us.

"Not the Queen's Scouts," I said. "The Morgabeast."

Fraschkit's face paled. "Humans and Guardians from Sitaklasa, go spread word for the humans to get underground—and then join them. Zuzette, Ranndu, Andradkut, you go as well. Find a place to hide and don't come out until—" Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. "Until the storm is over."

I knew she had wanted to say 'until we've won,' but this was not something we could win. The Morgabeast would not fight us.

The Morgabeast would slaughter us.

The humans exchanged wide-eyed glances, and Zuzette piped up with a concern I did not expect her to voice. "That doesn't leave many Guardians to fight. What will you do?"

"We'll buy you time."

"But you'll all—"

"Go! Now! There's no time to waste."

The Sitaklasa Guardians herded the humans out of the courtyard, and the entire group broke into a run. Just seven Guardians remained, standing in a sudden deadly stillness.

We all looked to Fraschkit for the next command, but she only stared up at the sky, arms folded tight over her chest and fingernails digging into her biceps. Terror tightened faces, and hands gripped their weapons tighter, weapons that had seemed so lethal moments ago but now felt like children's toys.

Like the First Guardian figurine I had clutched to my chest fourteen years ago.

Focus, Remgar. There was something I needed to say—something I needed to do. I needed to save Hefgar and my mother... no, that wasn't right. I needed to save my team. I tried to summon the will to do something, but dread weighed down my limbs.

I grasped for the pulse of energy beneath my feet, and a gentle wave lapped at my feet, blossoming into words in my mind. Save them, Remgar. But then the wave receded, and tears burned my eyes.

I'm not strong enough. I can't do it.

Manikbar broke the silence. "Leader, what are we doing here? You know we can't fight this beast. We should be hiding underground!"

Fraschkit's eyes remained fixed on the sky, voice cold and listless—a stark contrast from her usual brash demeanor. "We can slow the beast down."

He choked out a laugh. "That monster will cut us all down in a single minute."

"That will give the humans one more minute to hide."

"But when they come out, no one will be left to protect them!"

Fraschkit fell silent. A raindrop landed on her cheek and rolled down to drip from her chin like a tear.

Another drop plopped on my arm, an icy cold splash. Then rain sprinkled the ground around me, dark spots speckling the dusty courtyard. The mace slipped from my fingers, clattering against the stone with the same tinny echo of the First Guardian on the marble floor as my family died. The Demons had all cackled, all except for the monster with the cold amber eyes...

I knew those eyes now—not eyes of a monster, but eyes of a broken bird. Isalio. The moment his name passed through my mind, the energy beneath my feet beat stronger. He had been my worst nightmare, but now he was our only hope.

I cut across the courtyard to Fraschkit. "Give me the key to the Demon's cuffs."

"Are you crazy? He's the one who summoned this beast."

"And he's the only one who can stop it."

"What if it's a trick? He just wants us to uncuff him so he can—"

"It's not a fucking trick." The Guardians around me gasped at the blatant disrespect, but I didn't have time for manners. "The Morgabeast can easily kill us all without his help. This is our only chance."

Fraschkit chomped on the corner of her lower lip, and her gaze swung from the Guardians watching us, to the critters burrowing in the ground, to the dark clouds which now flickered in the distance. As thunder crackled, she tossed me a key.

I charged toward the road.