I had struck a chord. He placed his hands behind his back, looking at Daya with pure, unadulterated anger. His upper lip was wrinkled and his nose scrunched. "Fix this. She's your weakness."

Daya scowled at him. She struggled to her feet and looked at me, her left cheek swelling from the hits Fal had landed on her face. I had never seen her so unkempt. Some of her braids fell in front of her shoulder so she tossed them back and straightened herself out. "This is your last chance, Aumee."

"My last chance at what? Killing you both?" The sand and wind were inches behind my back, and I watched as it spun the water that we stood in, causing it to spiral in on itself. "I have nothing to lose right now."

Daya smiled but it was lopsided with pain. Blood painted a few of her teeth. "You may have nothing to lose, but you have everything in the world to gain." She gestured to herself and Deorcae. "Think about it. We will rule the new order of the world. We will be the ones to oversee the chaos and the darkness. If you hand me that knife, we can promise you a place in that world. Complete forgiveness of your betrayals against us. You wouldn't have to remember any of this. You could live your own perfect life. Just like you always wanted. You would have it all to yourself. You would have your freedom. Your solitude."

Fal shimmered into my brain. Solitude? What good is solitude anymore? You wouldn't remember, I told myself. I wouldn't remember the way Fal Ere looked at me or the way he was so gentle with me even though he knew I didn't deserve it. I wouldn't remember Via or how I had doomed her. I wouldn't remember any of it.

But even I knew that not remembering would never bring anything good.

There would always be more for me. More darkness and blood and death.

She could promise forgiveness and a blank slate all she wanted, but I would always carry my burdens. I looked from her desperate eyes to Deorcae, who was watching me intently. Daya surely had not asked him for his permission before making me that offer. He wanted me dead because I was the one thing that could get to Daya, and he gave her the chance to kill me yet here we were. His own little bird had failed him the same way I had her.

I forced myself to relax and held my hands up. "If I hand over the knife, I'll get a new life in the next world? In Deorcae's world?"

"Yes," Daya said, but I could hear Deorcae grunt.

"I'll hand over the knife, but we need to clarify a few more terms when this is all over." I looked to Daya and she nodded quickly. She knew that if she failed, Deorcae would have no mercy. She also knew she didn't have it in herself to finish me off. Why else would she have made the deal? I sighed and made my way over to Daya, reaching out to place the pale white dagger in her pinkish palm. "We have a deal," I lied.

Daya managed a smile as she watched the dagger sit just above her hand waiting for it to come into her possession. Instead, I threw my head forward, knocking it into hers. She stumbled back, holding her forehead with both hands. I grabbed her and wrapped my left arm around her chest and arms, while my right hand held the dagger just atop the skin of her exposed throat. "You..." she struggled against me, but I only squeezed tighter, "foolish girl."

"This dagger will remove your soul faster than you could escape, so stay still if you want to ever make it out of this alive," I hissed in her ear. Her body froze up in my grasp and her breathing slowed as she became more aware of the weapon at her throat.

Deorcae just stood there. His hands were at his sides, but the palms were turned outward towards the sand as it swirled around us. He knew he was losing the fight. "What do you think you're doing with her? Threatening me?" I threw his head back and laughed. "Aumee, you don't cease to amuse me." His eyes fell on us. "You think I need her? She's just some thorn that I've had in my side since escaping. I only wanted you dead because you were her one weakness. If you want to kill her and free me from our deal, then go right ahead. I'll be glad to say goodbye to the pathetic witch who thinks she can take control of my plans."

I tried to hide my smile as Daya went slack. "You need her. You wouldn't have gotten this far without her," I said as I prodded him on. If I could just get him to say more, to enrage her, I wouldn't have to lift any fingers. Daya's wrath and pride were a god of their own.

"I needed her then, yes, but since then she has done nothing but held me back. Daya fails to see much of my brilliance, Aumee, as I'm sure you can relate to. If you killed her I would be overjoyed to be relieved of such a nuisance." He was challenging me. He thought I was the one who had to be goaded on, but I could feel Daya shake with rage underneath my arm.

"I would rather wait and see what she has to say about you."

I lifted my arm up, and as soon as Daya was free from my grasp, she swung her arms in a wide arc before clapping her hands in Deorcae's direction. Water from the lake followed her movements, and the tinted red liquid dashed at Deorcae with a force that sent him reeling through the wall of sand he had created. There was a rumble as the walls came crashing down, revealing the guards around us as they prepared for battle. A few of them charged towards Daya, but I held my hand up.

Daya was already onto her next assault. She rose her hands into the air, and metal blades lifted from the hands of guards before diving towards Deorcae. He was just standing up when they impaled him, digging so deep into his flesh that the tips of the swords glistened with black blood on the back side of his body.

Fal appeared at my side, his hand nudging my own to swap daggers. I did so, but squeezed his hand for reassurance. "Who should take the lead?"

"You'll have to. He thinks you have it."

I nodded. Fal disappeared into the crowd, the guards using their shields to form walls around Daya and Deorcae as they stood opposite one another. Deorcae pulled the swords out, throwing them one after the other towards Daya. She easily deflected them, but as she did so I saw Fal easing up behind Deorcae.

Deorcae flicked a finger, and Daya rose into the air, air swirling around her. I watched as air was pulled from her lungs, and I braced myself as I ran in front of her, throwing the false dagger so that it was directed perfectly at the dark god's head. He reached up and grabbed it in mid-aid, a wicked smile flashing across his face.

I heard Daya fall down into the water behind me, but I couldn't bear to look as Deorcae loomed across from me. "I have to admit, you made this much harder than I thought it would be. Still, I can't say I'm not thrilled with the outco--" his words died in his mouth and he turned slowly to lay eyes on Fal.

Fal stood with the dagger in his hand, a black and red and purple flame coming off of the sawl ripa. Deorcae tried to reach for him, but his outstretched fingers began disintegrating into a fine black sand that was washed away by the Waters of Kafali. "Sidra!" I called out, running towards Daya as she sank under the water. She was still breathing. I lifted her up and out, my eyes landing on a golden necklace around her throat. A black gem hung from the chain, and I yanked it off her neck before motioning to a guard. "Put her in chains and get her out of here." The guards nodded.

When I ran to Fal, I felt my heart skip a beat at how relieved he looked, only for him to fall down to one knee. "Sidra," I called again, searching the crowd around me. "Come fast!"

A commotion came from the people around me, but I was focused on Fal. He let out an agonizing scream as he held onto the dagger, and I watched as his right hand began turning to the same black sand as Deorcae had just moments before. "I'll take it," I said, reaching for the dagger. Fal was in too much pain to deny me, and I peeled it from his hand only to feel a terrible cold begin spreading through my fingers. I held the dagger in my left hand as Sidra appeared in front of me. Ambrose held the book as she began to work the spell, words flowing from her mouth like water and her fingers gliding over the spellbook as she did so.

Fal groaned, "We need an object."

Sidra nodded with her eyes shut as Ambrose began searching for an item. I groaned in pain and reached my hand out, presenting the necklace I had stolen off of Daya's body. Sidra placed one hand on the object and her other hand around my fist as it suffered the icy darkness. I could feel my fingers giving way to the sand, but could hardly stand to open my eyes and face it. The feeling spread past my wrist and up my forearm, and I cried out in pain. My bones were freezing and my skin was being burnt off as the sand took over.

When the pain began to ease, I forced my eyelids open to see the brilliant fire of Deorcae's soul arcing through the air and settling around the necklace. It wrapped around and around it before the fire slipped into the blakc gemstone, making it beautiful and translucent. Sidra let her hands fall to her sides.

"It's over," she muttered.

At her words, my body gave up. I crashed down into the water, the cool embrace lulling me into a pleasant darkness.

⇼❂⇼

Something tickled my face. I reached up to scratch at it, but when I moved to press my fingernails against my cheek, I felt nothing but air. I tried again, but the tickle only became more irritating. I resorted to using my other hand, pulling it out from beneath a fluffy pillow and finally dealing with the annoyance. I sighed, sinking deeper into the pillow.

I heard whispers nearby and I shot upward, my hands going to my hips for my daggers only to find that they weren't there. I looked down and saw that I was completely stripped down to just my undergarments, but I was laying in a plush bed with turquoise sheets and white gauze draped over the sides of the bed. Through the gauze I could make out a few people standing off in a corner. One body turned in my direction, and I wrapped my hand around the gauze, ready to pull it and the bar that held it up down on someone's head if they came too close.

"Aumee? Are you awake?"

"Fal? Is that you?"

The curtains were pushed aside. Fal stood amongst them, dark bags under his eyes and a stained white tunic that seemed white against his golden brown skin. His horn still protruded from his head and his left arm was still encased in rock, but he looked lighter. Newer. He quickly tied the gauze off to a post of the bed and I watched as the Morrigan twins appeared behind him. "How was your sleep?"

They all stared at me in anticipation. I moved to wrap my arms around myself but my right hand fell on air. I looked down and saw that my left arm was gone, or, at least, just beneath the elbow. My jaw dropped slightly as I reached to touch the bandages. "What happened?" I didn't know how to feel about it. How to feel about having nothing there despite having an arm there my entire life.

"When you took the sawl ripa from me, it spread through your arm pretty quickly as Sidra was completing the spell," Ambrose explained. "Fal's only spread to his palm, and it seems like he really only lost touch. You, though, didn't have reflexes. The surgeon said it would be best if we..." he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. None of them could.

"I see."

"I'm so sorry, Aumee," Sidra fell to her knees and reached for my right hand. Tears were streaming down her face. "I wish I could have been there sooner. It's my fault." She dropped her head onto the mattress.

I pulled my hand from her own and placed it on her head. "Come on, you're going to ruin these nice sheets. Besides, what's done is done." I tried to convince myself of it as I pushed myself out of the bed and beyond the three of them. "It's not like it will come back with crying." They all looked to me and Fal shuffled his feet. "What about everything else? The storm and Daya?"

Fal took over. "All gone. Daya has been imprisoned by Arden. She's heavily guarded, so there's no need to worry about her anymore." He scratched as his dark beard. "The girls of the sanctuary have all been made aware of the changes that will be taking place. Sander has agreed to take temporary control of it, but they plan on sending any girls with families home."

I twisted my lips and turned away from them. The room was beautiful. With carvings all along the walls. A set of beige curtains masked a balcony, but the desert breeze blew through them and made me sigh. A vanity sat against one of the walls, and I was tempted to look at myself in the mirror. Not with everyone here, though. Not yet. "So it's all taken care of."

"Yes."

"That's good."

I heard shifting behind me and a door opened and shut. Fal came to my side, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Why do you seem so upset?"

I smiled and cocked my head. "There doesn't seem to be a monetary reward."

He chuckled. "I'll see what I can arrange."

I made my way over to the balcony, slipping through the curtains to find myself standing high above the rest of Arden. We were still in the Mouth of Kafali, just at the edge of it all, and I figured we were still in Councilman Ere's quarters. The once dark and cloudy sky was back to its brilliant blue, not a cloud in sight-- black or otherwise. Fal slipped his arm over my shoulders as we both took it all in. I wasn't sure how much time had passed since it all happened, but the water of Kafali ran as clear as ever.

Fal read my mind. "It's as if it had all never happened."

He was right. Over the crashing waterfall, I could see tiny people and creatures milling about down below, crossing paths without a worry in the world. I could hear the rowdy market square in Lower Arden. It was so peaceful. I looked to the left, trying to see into the back of the cave, but the building's wall blocked my view. I could only see up a small portion of the river and a few houses across the way.

As if it had never happened.

"Where is it," I asked, looking up to Fal. "The necklace."

"Locked away." He looked over his shoulder as if he were afraid someone would overhear us. "We haven't decided what to do with it yet. While you've been out, Sidra and Ambrose have been going through my things to find spells and enchantments that could keep the chest we put it in sealed. So far, the only answers seem to be blood magic."

"I won't let Sidra--"

"Just a little bit. No sacrifices would be involved," Fal reassured me. He moved away from me and rest his elbows on the railing of the balcony. He lowered his voice. "The chest is in my possession at the moment. Here, actually. I didn't want to leave your side, and I figured that since I wasn't sleeping anyway I could watch over it. Just until Sidra finds a proper spell."

"Then what? We bury it? Hide it away forever?"

"Well," he blew air out of his mouth, "we were also thinking of seizing all of Daya's belongings. Not just the sanctuary, but the artifacts in her office. Even the place she brought you. The vault. That way it's still all protected and put away. Since it's all magic related, we thought Sidra would be a great candidate, but there would be very clear sanctions from Arden, as well. She would have to report to them anytime she took an artifact in, or work with them to figure out what all Daya and I have."

"Your items? But you've worked so hard to track them down and take care of them."

Fal frowned. "Yes, I have. That's not the point of it all, though. I originally just wanted a collection, but some of those items, as I have said before, are there because I didn't want them in any other hands. I figure a safe place would be where only few can reach it. My hidden library is great and all, but you have to admit the safety is questionable." I couldn't help but smile. "Exactly. Is it fun having a hidden library? Of course. It is just hard to justify hiding all of those documents and items in there and saying that they're safe when I kept the sawl ripa in there. That dagger also needs to be hidden somewhere more secretive. More safe." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"It seems as if you have everything handled. Sidra will be the... Keeper of Arden," I joked, "Ambrose seems like he may be following in your brother's footsteps, though, that may be wrong." I thought back to when they were speaking with one another about the plans for the attack. Sander seemed to enjoy his ideas.

"Actually, you hit that one on the head. Ambrose will be training under him as a Councilman's Errand Boy to begin with, but he'll be sitting in on the meetings to learn more about defense and whatnot. All of those upper crust fundamentals." Fal waved his hand around and rolled his eyes.

"You seem jealous."

"No," Fal scoffed, "there was a reason why I went to the Ring rather than to my brother to make a living. I couldn't stand the tight clothes and frivolous conversations."

"You have a honey tongue."

"Always have. I prefer to use it for things other than buttering up councilmembers, though."

"I'm sure you do." I joined Fal as he leaned over the bannister, but when I leaned down I nearly fell over from where my left arm wasn't there to support me. I barely caught myself and straightened my back out. "This will all take some getting used to." Fal grunted in agreement. "What's next for you, then, Fal Ere? I take it you aren't going back to the Ring." I traced my finger over the bumpy surface of the bannister and looked at Fal out of the corners of my eyes. "Or will you use your newfound heroism to relax among the upper crusters?"

He looked to me with a slight blush over his neck. "Well, Aumee, if you must know, a dear friend of mine recently found herself in need of a caretaker. She requires my assistance. I'll have to help her for quite some time."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"What makes you think your dear friend can't take care of herself, then? I'm sure she isn't entirely useless." I turned to face him and hid my smile, but I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest as he looked down at me, his dark eyes taking in my face and trying to read it.

"Oh, I'll agree with you there. She doesn't need me. Except for one thing."

"What's that?"

"How is she to undress herself and bathe? I must be there to help her. I hope you understand."

I let out a gasp and elbowed him. He chuckled. "You think lowly of me."

"On the contrary. I think I'm doomed to die at your feet, Aumee." He reached up, his playful expression dying down into a somber one. He pushed one of my curls from my forehead. "If that's the case, then so be it. I just think I still have some hope."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well," he sighed, "you did mention me in your sleep quite a few times."

"You liar."

"You wish--" I leaned upward, placing my right hand on his chest so I could balance as I pressed my lips against his. His beard ticked my face, and as soon as I felt him lean into me I pulled away.

"I suppose you're right. I will need some help here and there." I gestured to my arm that was no longer an arm. "You know, for the arm."

"Of course. For the arm."