The infirmary below me is hushed tonight, and the quiet settles over me like the air of a cemetery. The soldiers' soft sleeping should bring me comfort. Instead, I'm uneasy, as if death were a spectre hovering over everyone's beds. I shift, cross-legged on the floor of my bedroom. I don't suppose apprehension is going to make you behave any better, is it?

Vihnzeirre doesn't respond, but I feel like she's watching, waiting for her moment to pounce and play a nasty trick. Unsettled, I rise and return my story book to its bag. Maybe I'll practice another night.

Papers crinkle against my fingers. I draw them out, faint candlelight revealing the copied pages from Aster's poem book. I almost forgot I had these.

I snag them and the blanket off my bed and head to the living room. The door here is already open, letting in the warm air from below, and I nestle into the couch cushions. If I can't sleep anyway, tonight is as good as any for a scary story.

Candlelight flickers over the warnings of the world's end. My finger runs across familiar words. Of caverns, of snow. A scientist, untamed magic... They're even more unsettling after finding my name among the book's pages.

Something rustles at the edge of my hearing, and my head snaps up. My gaze roams the room, but there's nothing unusual, and the only noise is the crackle of the hearth downstairs. Heartbeat slowing, I turn back to the writing.

Metal clinks against stone, and I jump. Just a rat, I tell myself. Knocking something over. Skies know the castle has plenty. But my pulse beats another truth, and I rise. It sounded like it came from downstairs.

Hurrying down the steps, I sneak over to press my ear against the closed infirmary door. The noises are random, hardly audible: a dull thud, a soft rattle, a rasp against the stone. It could be nothing.

Nerves jittering, I draw in a steady breath and grasp the knob with just my fingertips. With a twist so slow it hardly seems like it's moving, I turn it and draw the door open, one centimeter, two, three. Holding my breath, I peek out the crack.

The hall is empty.

My breath releases, and I lean against the jamb. You're getting paranoid, Leavi. Letting scary stories spook you. I shake my head and turn to go back upstairs.

My steps stall, though. In a world where magic trumps science and secrets trump justice, what better do I have to go on than my instincts? With a soft huff, I turn and slip outside. I'm only paranoid if I'm wrong, and I can't shake the feeling that I'm not. If everything is fine, then it's a harmless jaunt down the hall. Otherwise...

I force my steps to land softly lest I'm caught.

Quick and quiet, I pad down the hall like a cat. My dress makes more noise than my feet, and I gather my skirts to keep them from whispering against the floor. At the end of the hall, I stop to listen.

The noise is still there, intermittent, faint, like a group of ghosts haunting the edges of my mind. It's definitely coming from the left, though. A peek around the corner reveals no one, and I hurry down the next hall. The pale glow of my bracelet mingles with the light of the glow crystals, but I tap it off, just to be safe. The silver fades away as I reach this hall's end and stop again.

The noise is louder now, identifiable as soft footfalls and the quiet clink of metal. Fear shoots through me, but I risk a glimpse around the corner.

Four huge men in furs sneak down the hall, quiet for their size but obviously not quiet enough. Weapons glint in the crystal's glow, and my breath catches. Kadranians.

I duck back around and press myself against the wall, heart racing. The need to tell Aster dominates my mind, but I stand frozen at the impossibility of it.

At this end of the hall are the Kadranians. At the other end are the stairs.

But there's another way up—the servant's set, the ones I came down last night. They're far, much farther than the main set, but if I hurry, maybe, maybe...

I turn to run that way, my steps beating against the flagstones. Their tempo is too slow, and I pump my legs harder. Dread washes over me. I'll never make it in time to warn him.

Silver flashes, and I step into the anti-world. Vihnzeirre! But panic melts into cautious hope. She could be helping, jumping me straight across the castle, right to the steps. Please, please be helping.

When I step back into the real world with a wisp of silver and a rush of vertigo, I stand directly in front of the stairs.

The wrong stairs.

Boots slap the floor behind me. I scramble toward the steps and up the first two, adrenaline streaking through my veins like lightning. A hand yanks my hair, jerking me down.

I fall, and the cold stone knocks my breath out. A Kadranian looms over me, sneering. I start to roll away, but his boot comes down heavy on my shoulder. He slings an axe off his back. Horrified, I twist, but his foot only presses harder, and I'm trapped. His axe arcs toward my face—

Silver flashes as I scream. Black emptiness sucks sight and sound out of reality. Then I'm dropped back into the world, gasping. My hands scrabble at stone, and I'm shocked they can still move, shocked I can still breathe.

Someone yelps, and their nimble feet dodge around me. I push up, looking about wildly. Standing to my side is Aster, his door open directly behind me. I'm lucky he didn't step on me as he came out. "Leavi?"

I shove to my feet, forcing myself to focus. "Soldiers. Here."

His brows draw together, and he spews a stream of nonsense. Wait. Not nonsense.

I tap my bracelet on to speak Morineause again. "There's Kadranians in the castle."

"No, no, no, no, no." He doesn't even pause to ask how I know and darts down the hall.

I chase after him. "They were coming up from the second floor."

"Up?" he asks. "Maybe Reyan hasn't gone down yet." His cloak flares behind him as he runs, and we dash for the stairs.

Metal rings as we approach, and Aster speeds up. We skid into the hall. At the top of the stairs stand the four Kadranian soldiers. Two have advanced into the hall's narrow mouth, where the Captain stands. The other two are a little below, on the first and second steps. The Captain's sword showers sparks as he blocks blows. An axe sweeps low, and he dances around it. Through the gap between the front soldiers, a curved sword tip darts toward him. I call out, but he's already dodged back a step. The Kadranians step forward with him.

The hall is narrow here, but there's not much ground to lose before it opens up. One man can't hold off four forever.

Aster draws a fist-sized stone from his cloak and casts. It hurtles toward the man with the axe. He makes a sharp gesture just before the stone collides with the man's head.

It hits with a smack and tumbles to the ground. The man just growls, swinging his axe down toward the Captain's neck. He ducks and parries another blow from a curved sword. "Antium, Aster, use something sharp!"

Aster pulls the small knife he uses for casting. "Et væ!" Magic shoots the knife toward a man in midswing. The tiny blade buries itself in his cheek, and he howls. Blood streams down his face.

The Captain kicks him, and the man falls against one waiting behind. They both tumble down the steps. One of them catches the rail. The other disappears around the curve with a bone-chilling crack

Metal continues to sing.

"My rapier!" Aster calls. In a dazed horror, I don't realize he's talking to me until he adds, "It's in my room!" The discarded stone flies back to his hand, the axe whizzes past the Captain's head, and I turn and run, cursing the skirts that slow me down.

Once I'm in the next hall, someone cries out behind me, and my chest tightens.

I twist halls, finally bursting into Aster's room. My mind demands to know how much time has passed, what could be happening, but I have no way to know. I search wildly for the blade. It hangs sheathed on his coat rack, and I snatch it.

Boots pound past Aster's door, terminating with a splintering crunch of wood. I run into the hall as a Kadranian shoulders his way into a room. A woman screams, and the blood drains from my face. The Queen.

I chase after the Kadranian as he runs past the ruined living room entry and bursts into her bedroom.

Framed by the doorway, Queen Selenia sits white-faced in bed. She scrambles to escape the sheets as the giant crosses the room in three thundering strides. I rush in, and the giant reaches across the mattress to snag her nightdress. She screams and frantically pulls away, the fabric tearing as she thuds to the ground. I sprint to the bed's foot, struggling to pull the rapier out of its sheath. My eyes widen as he steps onto the bed to cross it. Horror-struck, I watch as the Kadranian jumps to the floor. His foot rams into her side with a sickening crunch, and she cries out, hands scrabbling against the stone. Still struggling with the sword, I stand helpless as he steps forward and kicks her in the head. Her face snaps to the side.

The rapier finally comes free. The Kadranian raises his axe to bring it down toward her limp form.

I jump forward and thrust the sword at him, both arms extended. My head turns aside as the tip pierces his arm, and he calls out. The axe misses, bouncing off the stone.

I stumble back, the rapier sliding free. Blood drips from its shaking tip. The soldier growls, and my skin goes cold. He turns on me and swings.

I duck, Aster's blade scraping the floor. I'm hopelessly outmatched, but I dance back, holding the light sword at arm's length to keep the man at bay.

He bats it from my hands, and it clatters to the stone. Stepping forward, he raises his axe, and my heel hits the wall. I throw my arms in front of my face.

A knife flies tip over hilt and sinks into the man's head. He goes silent and collapses.

Straightening, I glance over, breathless. The Captain lowers his hand while Aster rushes past me to the Queen's side. Red stains her white gown.

"You saved my life."

The Captain ignores me, shouldering past. "How is she?"

"Alive," Aster says. "She's alive."

Shoving down my shock, I hurry to crouch across from Aster. Blood seeps from the Queen's side, blossoming out like a deadly flower. A rib must have punctured the skin. I press my head to her chest.

"What's she doing?" the Captain demands.

"She studied medicine in her country." Aster leans closer. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I'm getting Illesiarr," the Captain says as he leaves.

Her breaths are faint and ragged but clear of any popping noise. "She broke at least one rib, but I don't think it punctured her lung." I snag a blanket from the bed behind me, putting pressure on the wound to staunch the flow. "Grab pillows. Help me prop her up."

Aster retrieves some from the bed. "Why?"

"Ribs help expand your lungs." Aster gently lifts his sister, and with one hand, I place the pillows beneath her. "If they're broken, they're not doing their job. This helps. She also needs a cool cloth on her head." Aster rises to get one, and we lay it over the contusion. Though it's not cold enough to do much, it's better than nothing. At her side, blood still wets the blanket, but I just hold it in place. There's nothing more I can do.

Aster grabs my wrist. "Is she going to live?"

The intensity in his eyes wrings my heart. Lying doesn't change the truth, though, and he wouldn't want lies anyway. "I don't know."

He looks away. He takes her hand after a moment, and we sit in silent eternity until the Captain comes back with Illesiarr, almost carrying the old man in his haste. I cede my spot to the doctor.

"Aster." The Captain's voice rumbles with dark urgency. "We have to go."

Aster's gaze breaks away from his sister, and he blinks like he's trying to understand the Captain's words. "Why?"

He leans over to snatch his dagger from the Kadranian's throat, and I swallow a swell of nausea. "They weren't the only men to break through the gate. The castle's under attack."

He dashes out of the room, and Aster stumbles to his feet after him. My instinct is to follow them, but I have no idea how I would help. I've almost died twice in less than ten minutes. The closest I'd come to a real fight before this was in Veradeaux's manor, the night we kidnapped her. A man cut me with his knife; in turn, Idyne slashed his throat open. But Kadranians aren't country guards with knives and truncheons. They're hardened killers, giant, powerful men. The only thing I would do in a battle with them is die.

I'm lucky I haven't already.

Illesiarr brought a kit, and I assist him as he tends to the Queen. When he's done all he can, I echo Aster's question. "Will she live?"

He brushes a lock of hair from her face, and I wonder how long he has cared for her, whether he's watched her grow up all her life. What torture it must be to see the people he's sworn to guard from death be continually pushed into its grasp. "When skill is spent, only fate can tell." His hand drops. "For now, there is a straightboard in my infirmary. Elénna can show you where. Retrieve it, and we'll lay her on the bed."

I nod, but something in me recoils at the thought of laying her in the same place all this violence started. Will she panic when she wakes, thinking someone is after her? I skirt the corpse, trying to see it as little as possible and wondering what they'll do with it.

Blood slicks the hall to the stairs, two of the intruders' bodies splayed across the red flagstones. A silent scream builds inside me, and I blink, trying to clear my vision enough to pick through the carnage. I leave red footprints on my descent.

I steel myself for what is coming next, but a choked noise still escapes me when I see the third body lifeless and twisted near the bottom of the staircase. His head is cracked, and blood matts his hair and beard. Aster's casting knife sticks from his cheek like a pin in a dissection specimen.

I've handled death plenty in sterile labs, but this is something much darker, something unnatural. The longer I stare, the deeper the image carves itself into my mind. Swallowing, I jump over him and hurry away, already dreading my return.

The path through the halls is a blur. Faint light streams over my feet, and I turn to face a large window. Clouds speckle the castle grounds with deep shadow, and in the patches of dark and light, dozens of men fight and fall and die. Torches flare on the castle wall, painting blades and armor with fire. The world is flames and blood, hate and fury, shadows and corpses.

My hand presses against the window, and I try to pick Aster out among the group. He's just one more shadow in the darkness, though. There's no way to tell if he's alive or dead, fighting or falling. There's no way to tell who's winning this battle.

I hurry to the infirmary.