The council chamber is freezing.
I'm... still caked in mud. We all are. I can feel the grit on my neck. We haven't slept. Maybe... in thirty hours?
Elder Stoneheart... he just... nods. I can't... I can't read him.
Ironwood. He's the problem. He's... watching me. Not like... not like I'm a person. Like I'm... a... a bomb. One he's not sure how to defuse.
"Your findings..." he says, his voice all... smooth. "...are concerning. But your methods... are what I wish to discuss."
He doesn't care about the data. He cares about us.
Lysara steps forward. She's... she's vibrating with exhaustion, but her voice is... sharp. "With respect, Elder, the data—"
"Will be discussed," he says. Just... cuts her off. "First... the elephant. You sent... three children... into an active void zone."
Kaela stiffens. "We were—"
"We volunteered," I say. My voice... it's... quiet.
"Of course you volunteered," some... new... elder says. Moonstone. "Children... volunteer... for all sorts of... unwise... things. That's... why... they... shouldn't be... leading... dangerous... expeditions."
"They were supervised," Felric's voice... booms. "And they completed... the mission."
"Did they?" Ironwood... he... leans back. "Or... did they... encounter... a problem... they... created?"
He... is he... is he blaming us? Like... like we caused it?
"The corruption... predates... our arrival," Lysara snaps. Her... her logic... it's... it's her shield. "The... the patterns... suggest..."
"I'm not questioning... your observations, scholar," Ironwood says. That... that smooth... voice... again. "I'm questioning... the wisdom... of... sending... a ten-year-old child... with... integrated curse magic... into... an... active void zone."
He... he says it. Like... like it's a... disease. Like... it's... separate... from... me.
My hands... clench.
The shadow... it reacts. Just... a flicker. Stupid.
Kaela's hand... warm... just... grabs mine. Under... the... table. A... a silent... stop it.
I breathe. It fades.
"With respect," Dren's voice. It... it cuts. "Those three... performed... at... levels... that... would... challenge... experienced... scouts. Their... restraint..."
"Of course... you'd... defend... them," Ironwood says. "You're... training... them... to be... soldiers... instead... of... children."
Dren's face... it... it doesn't... move. But... his... his hand... the... the real... one... it... clenches.
"I'm... training... them... to... survive," he grunts.
"And that... is... the... problem," Ironwood says. "You're... accelerating... them. Toward... conflict. Toward... becoming... weapons... instead... of... people."
Weapons.
The... the word... it... it just... hangs there.
It... hits... me. Harder than... than any... void beast.
Then... he... looks at me. Right at me. "Tell me, Ren Amaki... if I... forbade... you... from... fighting... if I... told... you... to... go home... and... study... like... a... normal... child... what... what would... you... do?"
I...
I... I don't... have an answer.
The... the honest... answer... is... I don't know. I... I can't... imagine... just... stopping. It's... it's who I am.
...Oh, Gods.
He knows. He... he sees it.
"That's what I thought," he says. Quietly. And... and... he... he sounds... sad.
Kaela's on me... the second... we're... in... the hall. She's... vibrating... with... rage.
"'He's wrong, Ren! He's... wrong! We are... ready!"
"But... is he?"
The... the words... just... fall... out of... my... mouth.
She... she stops. "What?"
"He... he asked me... what... I'd... do. And... Kae... I... I don't... know. What... what if... I... can't... stop? What... what if... this... isn't... a... choice... anymore?"
"You're... both... catastrophizing."
Lysara. She... she just... appears. From... shadow. All... logic. No... emotion.
"He's... not... afraid... of... you, Ren. He's... afraid... because... he... can't... control... you. Your... power... isn't... his... to... give. That... threatens... him."
She's... she's not... wrong.
"So... what?" Kaela asks.
"So... we... keep... proving... we're... valuable," Lysara says. "We... complete... missions. We... show... results. We... make... them... need... us."
A... a solution... for... now.
Miren's in... the... healing... house. She... she knows.
"Your... father... was... here," she says. Not... looking... at... me. Just... counting... herbs. "He's... furious."
"...I know."
"He's... scared, Ren." She... she stops. "Scared... of... losing... you."
She... she says... he... grieves. For... the... son... he... imagined. The... the normal... kid. The... the one... who... wasn't... me. The... the one... who... didn't... frighten... him.
"I... I don't... know... how... to... not... be... this," I... I whisper.
"I... I know," she says. And... her... voice... is... so... tired.
The roof. My... my spot.
Kaela... she's... there. She... she sits. Close. Warmth.
"I... I talked... to... Lysara," she... she says... quietly. "About... Ironwood. About... control. ...She's... scared... too. She... she just... hides... it... better."
"I'm... not scared."
"You're a... terrible... liar, Ren. You're... terrified. You... you just... live... there."
"...What... what if... we're... just... lying... to... ourselves?"
"'Then... we're... lying... together," she says. 'All three of us.'
She... she takes... my... hand.
"And... I'm... okay... with... that."
Lysara... she... climbs... up. Silent. She... she... sits. On... on my other... side.
I'm... cradled.
She... she talks... about... data. About... patterns. About... how... we're... necessary. It's... it's her... way. Of... of saying... what... Kaela... said.
Then... she... she... takes... my... other... hand.
Her hand... it's... shaking.
...Just... a... little.
We... we just... sit... there. Hands... intertwined.
Below... us... the... village... sleeps. The... council... is... dark.
Up... here... we're... just... three... kids.
Holding... on.
"Whatever... comes... next," Kaela whispers. "We... we face... it... together."
"Together," Lysara echoes.
I... I don't... say... anything.
I... I can't.
I... I just... hold... their... hands.
Tighter.