Left, right. Left, right.

Ailyn was lying on a sack of grain, which she had to drag from the bottom of the ship to the deck. Her eyes wandered through the sky, catching clouds of various shapes; a sword, a heart, a crescent moon. They all eventually melted into the pink sky, their particles scattering with an inexplainable grudge. The sword's blade shattered, the heart broke, the moon cracked in two. She wasn't sure if it was the gods trying to tell her something, to warn her, to scare her off the small schooner.

She snapped her lids shut, letting the weak sunlight bathe her skin orange. The gods had said enough.

There was no time to waste. Immediately after Salo and Nora returned - without Arden, who had left for Frya unexpectedly - they immediately left for Norstat's harbor. One of the people back in the abandoned town owned a schooner docked there. It was small and dirty and contained all kinds of spoiled merchandise, but they still boarded and left as soon as possible. The wind was favorable and, with the help of two water manipulators who would take turns creating small but swift waves, they would hopefully arrive right on time for the winter festival's grand ball in Seyal.

The plan was all set. Ailyn and Iona had taken hours to walk through every single step, and the former provided as much information as she could remember. Months ago, they had decided it was going to be a masquerade ball, but that could have changed. Nobody was allowed to stray from the entrance. Guards were in every entrance. It had to work, even though it was clumsy and hadn't had the chance to mature in their heads.

Salo and Nora had little to say about it. They mostly sat alone, muttering to each other, smiling and laughing for no apparent reason. Perhaps the ocean breeze drove them mad. They were both jumpy and smiled nervously a whole lot, even when talking about the possibility of getting caught and dying. The sea, Ailyn consoled herself every time she threw a worried glance at the two, it's the sea.

Arden's sudden departure firstly came as a shock. Arden was never fond of Ela, that much everyone knew, but with him gone there was a hole in the team, a void in Ailyn's mind. He fought the best - even though Salo wasn't bad himself - and always had some crazy but weirdly effective idea. Most of all, though, he glued everything together. He could magically strap the whole team to each other and coordinate it. The puzzle was just not complete without him, even with the reassurance that he would somehow get to Seyal in time.

Bela had boarded the ship too, they had told her. She wasn't looking forward to getting a scolding yet, so she avoided her gloomy presence.

A weight nudged her leg. "Wake up, your Highness."

Ailyn opened her eyes to see Iona looming above her, a tranquil smile on her lips. She sat up, shielding her eyes from the sun. "I exiled myself long ago, general."

Iona dropped down, scooting close to the girl. Her golden hair caught the warm sun. "I heard you have some special new power."

"Who told you that?"

"The twitchy girl."

Of course she did. A sigh left Ailyn's mouth. "I'd rather avoid using it again. It isn't mine."

"And whose is it?" the general laughed, looking at dots of land ahead. "Do you mean to live your whole life without using this gift by the gods?"

"It's more like a curse," she replied quietly.

"Why don't you try it again?"

Ailyn's head snapped to the side, her brows raised. "Here? Now?"

Iona stood and started pacing back and forth. It felt as if Ailyn was back in the army, ready to invade an enemy base. "The spy told me what happened. You didn't just suck the light out of that room; everyone else started feeling fatigued and dull. It's not only light you can absorb, it's some kind of life energy as well."

She nodded. That much she had figured out already.

"So why not try to focus that absorption on just a living being?"

Her brows plummeted to a frown. She could almost feel her skin crawl. "You want me to kill someone on this ship?"

Iona nodded towards the spare water manipulator trying to catch fish in the corner of the schooner. A bucket was placed next to his feet. Ailyn pushed off the sack, staring at the man as he hauled a bubble of water from the ocean. A small fish was convulsing in the droplet.

"Kaihao, hold it," Iona yelled, and the man - Kaihao - turned to look at them startled.

The general beckoned Ailyn closer to the fish. She reluctantly followed. Her newfound power wasn't something she was proud of, and having two more witnesses before the monstrous act she was about to attempt terrified her more than killing a fish. The last time she used it she had felt alive, as if dozens of hours worth of energy had been restored in her system. The horror she had felt afterward, however, the quiver of her limbs, it wasn't worth it.

She sniffed in a deep breath of salt-ridden air. If push came to shove in the ball she would have to use the dreadful power, ideally not to kill but to daze. She reached her hand out, hoping the visual cue would help her concentrate. Hurting Iona or Kaihao was out of the question.

A bizarre feeling bloomed in her chest, curling and twisting uncomfortably. She sucked in a breath. It's happening. Her eyes squinted, her hand tensed. Finally, after a painful moment, the fish's spasms gradually grew more sluggish. A sudden jolt in her bones made her jump. And then, the energy came. It was like a warm summer breeze brushing her skin, a calming session in the palace's steam room. The heat caressed her skin, which seemed to get brighter and brighter.

The poor animal suddenly stopped moving.

Ailyn stumbled back, her breath caught in her throat. She abruptly lost her glow.

Kaihao stared at her, horrified, bewildered, but also astonished. He slowly dropped the dead fish into the bucket with a disgusting plop.

"How do you feel?" Iona murmured, rushing to her side. The world spun, Iona's blue eyes shifted in and out of focus. She wasn't dizzy out of exhaustion. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

As best as she could, she glared at her. Leaning against the railing she sighed, her heart hammering against her chest, her eyes wide and alert even after her short nap.

"Alive. I feel alive."

༺──────────────༻

Dinner time came faster than anticipated. Ailyn had spent her whole evening trying to do something productive, fish, help the captain sort the maps, anything to exhaust the energy she had gathered. It felt alien inside her veins. It didn't belong there, and her body could tell.

At last, she resorted to helping prepare food in the kitchen. Some semi-fresh beef meat had been found in the cellar, and any rebel remotely skilled in cooking was tasked with boiling it. The flesh was tough and hard to cook. Maybe it wasn't even beef. Ailyn failed to care; she had lost any suggestion of appetite.

When all traces of sunlight had left the sea, Iona gathered everyone in the moth-eaten oaken table. A quick headcount revealed they were twenty-six in total; way more than the schooner could house, nevermind feed. Ailyn declared her abstention and took a seat next to Salo and Nora, whose nervousness had only skyrocketed since the time they left land.

As the seemingly chewy beef was served, Ailyn's head balanced on her closed fist. She glanced at Nora, who was so jumpy she had barely touched her meal, even though they had barely eaten anything all day.

"Aren't you going to eat that?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. She wasn't sure what she was suspecting, exactly, but something was wrong.

Nora glanced at her. "I thought you weren't hungry."

"I don't want to eat your meal, Nora, I want to know why you aren't eating it after such a tiring day."

The spy groaned, leaning back on the uncomfortable bench as she threw her shoulders in a shrug. "If you have the right to go on a hunger strike, so do I."

"Did you have a fish's soul for brunch?"

The clatter of a fork against a plate sounded behind Ailyn. She turned to face Salo, who was pushing his plate away from him. "Now I'm not hungry, either. Thanks."

Ailyn scowled, looking at either side of her at the two suddenly full people. "What the hell is wrong, for all that's holy? Somebody tell me, I cannot take this derangement any longer."

Nora batted her lashes, feigning bewilderment. "Wow, your Highness. I think the sea is transforming you into a full-blown sailor. Did you hear that language, Canbar?"

Salo nodded gravely. "I'm shocked."

Ailyn puffed out a breath, shoving up from her seat and stomping up the stairs, toward the deck. The stars were myriad and endless, spots of paint splattered on a black canvas. Clouds of stardust enveloped the exposed areas of the sky, bringing color to the bleak scenery; blue, purple, and blinding white.

She dropped on her favored sack and gazed at the sky in awe. A smile found its way to her lips. Mere hours before what could be her untimely end, less than a day from her impending doom, and she had the spine to grin. Same time tomorrow she probably would shoot up there and join the stars worshipping the moon. There would be no more worries then, no more war, not more pain. All that would be left would be the blinding glow of the fellow deceased. Maybe her parents would be there, too, in some distant corner of the sky.

Suddenly, there was creaking. She didn't bother looking at the intruder; his silent, timid movements and the warmth he managed to carry around were enough to identify him. He stood for a moment, intimidated by the infinite sky. Eventually, he sat next to her, shrunk back to avoid accidental touches. Why was she so disappointed?

They never spoke a word that night. Just his presence brought a sense of security in Ailyn's heart, and suddenly everything she had planned for the ball felt so trivial. What happened the next day didn't matter. It likely would then, at that time of crisis. But now, sitting next to him who had become her favorite person without even speaking a word, who had defended her, who had forgiven her, death didn't matter. Kage didn't matter.

After a few moments, she dared lean against him. The warmth radiating from his body wrapped her in a tight embrace. It wasn't like the heat she stole from the fish or the soldiers in Bela's house. It was pure. It was enough. She couldn't imagine ever needing anything more.

That night of stargazing and silent prayer that time could simply freeze was the calm before the storm, the last moment they could be happy in each other's company without looking over their shoulders. The tranquility was intoxicating. But it was short-lived.

***

Here's a cute moment because shit is about to hit the fan ;)

So, double update! It was the least I could do after a month of silence. I am proud to say I am finally home and everything is now fine! (no, I was not abducted)

I also sat down and made a detailed plan of the ending, and according to my calculations there will be 8-10 more chapters. Because I am also working on another project, as well (who is into french revolutionary France, by the way?), I will be crazy and unrealistic and say that I will have every single one of these chapters up within a month! As you may have realized I have crazy commitment issues but I swear I will try!

Please consider voting and commenting if you enjoyed this double update, it means so much ♡ Thank you for reading, as always!