Felitïa crawled to the edge of the landing and looked out over the devastated inn. Directly beneath her, Rudiger lay amidst fragments of stairs and railings. His face and hands had numerous scratches, but he didn’t look badly off. As she watched, he pushed aside some of the debris covering his legs and pulled himself to his feet with a groan.

“You okay?” he called up to her.

“Reasonably so.”

“Zandrue?”

“She’s sleeping. She’ll be fine. You?”

“Okay. Luckily, I hadn’t taken my armour off. That was a Volg, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, that was a Volg.”

“Gods damn.”

She could barely believe it herself. Intellectually, she had always considered it a possibility that Volgs were real—or had been at some time in the past—but she had never truly believed they were. They were creatures of legend that would never emerge from the stories told about them.

Yet one had stood before her just a few short minutes ago. It had killed countless people, had tried to kill her and her friends. Would have killed them if not for the arrival of the Isyar.

She looked across to him. He was still kneeling in the street just outside the door, staring up at the sky. He hadn’t moved from there since the battle finished. His mouth was moving, but if he was saying anything, it was too quiet to hear from this distance.

“Just picked the inn-keeper up by his chin,” Rudiger said. “You should have seen it. Twisted his neck right round and practically ripped his jaw right off. Then just tossed him aside like he was nothing. I can still barely believe it.”

People were gathering in the streets behind Jorvanultumn, gaping and prodding at the bloody remains of the Volg or staring at the destruction wrought on the inn. A few approached the Isyar, but a slight shake of his head as he stood up made them keep their distance. He walked into the inn and scanned the room.

“Thanks for your help, friend,” Rudiger said, approaching with his hand outstretched.

The Isyar nodded and tentatively took Rudiger’s hand. “I look for two people. Friends.”

Rudiger shrugged. “Hopefully, they got out. If they were in here...” He paused and the Isyar moved past him, looking up at the hole in the ceiling.

“I don’t think they did,” Felitïa said. “I saw them enter their room just before the attack and the room is...gone now.”

Jorvanultumn rushed forward to the rubble beneath the hole and began to pull at the broken beams that lay there. When they wouldn’t budge, he grabbed at smaller pieces, moving them aside. Rudiger joined him, shifting the larger pieces with little apparent effort. After a minute or so, the two of them had uncovered several bodies. Jorvanultumn scurried from one to another, checking them for life and shaking his head each time.

He stopped at the fourth body, a woman. The body was in a terrible state, and Felitïa had to look away as bile began to rise in her stomach. But she had gotten enough of a look to be sure it was the woman she had seen earlier.

“Her?” Rudiger asked.

“Yes, and this one over here.”

“I’m sorry,” Rudiger said. “Good friends?”

“I did not know them well,” the Isyar said. “A few days only. They are...were the parents of... It does not matter.” He turned to look up at Felitïa. “How did you know who I look for?”

“I met Meleng and Corvinian a few minutes before the attack,” she said. “I never got introduced to the parents, but I saw them interact with Meleng and Corvinian. I too am sorry for your loss. I’m Asa, by the way. This is Rudiger. My friend Zandrue is here, too, but she’s asleep at the moment.”

“Jorvanultumn.” He looked away from her. “Meleng and Corvinian, I must return to them.”

“Wait, we should really talk,” Felitïa called after him, but Jorvanultumn was already disappearing through the side door that led towards the stables.

“Rudiger, we need to get after him. Help me.”

The huge man came over to her. “What’s the big deal? I know he saved our lives and all, but if he’s got other places to be...”

“He’s number six.”

“Number six?”

“The sixth figure in my...uh...vision.” Gods, she hated that term for it, but it fit. “Meleng and Corvinian are four and five.”

Rudiger groaned. “Oh that. All right, I think I can reach you.” With his arms stretched above him, his hand reached just above the landing.

“No, hold on,” she said. “Lower Zandrue down, then get after Jorvanultumn. I can get down on my own.” She went over to the wall, squatted down and put Zandrue’s arm around her shoulder. Zandrue groaned, but didn’t fully wake as Felitïa raised her to her feet. “Okay, Zandrue, I need you to take a few steps forward for me.”

Zandrue moaned, but did as Felitïa asked.

“Almost there. Okay, we’re going to sit down on the edge and Rudiger is going to lift you down.”

“She hit her head or something?” Rudiger asked.

“No, I put her to sleep. The spell’s only just wearing off.”

Felitïa nudged Zandrue a little farther forward so her thighs were hanging over the edge. Rudiger grabbed hold of her and eased her down a little. She slipped through his hands and then into his arms.

“Careful!” Felitïa snapped.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Rudiger said. “I’ve got her.”

Zandrue opened her eyes all the way. “I could get used to waking up like this.” She grinned. “Though I don’t remember going to sleep.”

“Felitïa used a spell on you,” Rudiger said. Felitïa’s heart skipped a beat.

“Oh, she did, did she?”

“Wait, what did you call me?” Felitïa said.

“Your name,” Rudiger answered, lowering Zandrue’s feet to the floor. “I heard Zandrue using it. A few times.”

“Oops,” Zandrue said. She put one hand to her forehead and wobbled a little. “Sorry.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Rudiger said. “I better go catch up to that Isyar.” He hurried towards the stables.

“There was an Isyar?” Zandrue muttered. “Oh, we heard about him, didn’t we? Gods, I feel like I just woke up from a week-long drinking binge. What did you do to my head?”

“It’ll pass soon,” Felitïa said. “Help me down.” She sat down on the edge and pushed herself off. Zandrue made a feeble attempt to catch her, but missed entirely. Luckily, it wasn’t a far drop, so Felitïa landed—not gracefully, but landed—on her feet.

People were gathering at the main doors, looking into the inn. Only a couple had actually stepped inside though. “Go get help,” Felitïa told them. “Find the Watch. They should have been here by now.” A couple people nodded and ran off.

Zandrue shook her head vigorously. “Holy shit, look at this place.”

“It’s bad. The Volg killed a lot of people before Jorvanultumn arrived. We owe him our lives.”

“Volg? Oh right.” Zandrue sighed and feelings of discomfort began to ebb from her. “Look, Felitïa, um...”

“It’s all right. I understand. We better get after Rudiger.”

When they had passed through the side door and were in the hall that led to both the office and the stables, Zandrue put a hand on Felitïa’s shoulder. “Felitïa?”

Felitïa turned to look at her.

“I just want to say sorry. I... I lost it back there. I...”

“It’s all right. I lost it first. You helped me, I helped you. There’s nothing more to it.”

Zandrue nodded, but her feelings of discomfort did not dissipate. “Did I...um...say anything about...well...”

Felitïa looked her in the eyes. “Just something about they’d found you, that it was impossible. It wasn’t very clear.”

“Oh, good. Um...” Zandrue broke eye contact. “I suppose this means you have more questions about... about my past.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m not surprised. But see...”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Zandrue looked back at her. “You...you mean... really?”

She wanted to know, and it wasn’t fair that Zandrue still refused, still didn’t trust her. However, she pushed those thoughts and the anger welling with them aside. “I felt your fear, Zandrue. It’s always been there in the past, but never so...so viscerally. I won’t make you relive that fear if you’re not ready to.” But when would she be ready?

“Oh. Well good.”

They stood there for a moment in silence, then Zandrue put her arms around Felitïa and hugged her tightly. For a moment, her body shook with sobs, and Felitïa tightened her grip on her, their cheeks pressing against each other. Then Zandrue straightened up and looked her in the eye again.

“I will tell you eventually. I just need time. I know it’s been a long time already, but well...”

“It’s fine.”

Zandrue hugged her again. “You know how much you mean to me, right?”

Felitïa smiled. “Yes, I do.”

“I’m glad.”

As they stood there, so close together, a thought came to Felitïa. She turned her head just a little so that her nose was against Zandrue’s cheek, and she sniffed. Zandrue had a smell, of course, though Felitïa was hard-pressed to describe exactly what it was like beyond just body odour. Certainly not something she would remember without repeated exposure, their bodies in close proximity, pressed up against each other...

As long-buried attractions to Zandrue started to resurface, Felitïa let go and stepped back. “We’re going to lose Rudiger.”

“So, what do I smell like?” Zandrue asked.

“Sweat?”

“Kind of generalised, but it’s a start, I guess.”

They found Rudiger with Jorvanultumn in the stables. The two of them stood by the main doors in conversation. They turned to face Zandrue and Felitïa as they approached. A short distance away, Meleng sat against a stall door, comforting Corvinian who lay crying in his lap. There were three rows of stalls, most of them with a nervous horse.

“Jorvan and I have been talking,” Rudiger said. “I told him about your vision.”

“Ah yes,” Felitïa said. “My vision. This is my friend, Zandrue.”

Zandrue held out her hand and Jorvan took it. “Jorvanultumn, but you may call me Jorvan.”

“A pleasure,” Zandrue said.

Jorvan took a step back, slumped forward, his wings almost dragging on the floor. “I wish this was a happy event.”

“Jorvan,” Felitïa said, “I want to apologise to you, Meleng, and Corvinian. I fear the Volg was here because of us and if we had not been here, Corvinian’s parents would still be alive.”

He looked up at her, surprise in his eyes. “No, the Volg was here for us, for Corvinian.”

Felitïa paused. But the Volg had recognised her.

Will-Breaker!

That blasted name.

This isn’t over, Will-Breaker, Dyle had said. Were he and the Volg connected?

“I don’t understand,” Zandrue said. “Because I... that is, we...”

“Corvinian’s parents came to me for help,” Jorvan said, walking over to Meleng and the boy. “People tried to take him.”

“Darkers,” Meleng said. Corvinian looked up at the word, sniffling, but with a glint in his blue eyes. No, that wasn’t right. The boy’s eyes were green—at least, they were in Felitïa’s pseudo-memory of him. “It’s all right,” Meleng told him. “They’re not here.” The blue glint faded and Corvinian’s eyes returned to their green colour. The boy buried his head in Meleng’s chest again.

“What just happened?” Zandrue said.

“It’s why we think they’re after him,” Meleng said.

“Is he trained in magic?” Felitïa asked.

“No,” Jorvan said. “He has no talent.”

“Then how...?”

“I thought at first that it was some sort of instinctive ability,” Meleng said, stroking the boy’s hair. “It reacts to his moods, but it can also react when he isn’t even aware of what’s happening. It’s almost like the magic uses him. Like it’s manifesting through its own intent. Yet there shouldn’t be any magic there. Like Jorvan said, he doesn’t have magical talent. I can’t explain it. It’s beyond me. And believe me, I’ve tried to figure it out. We were going to go to Quorge. There’s an academy there. I was hoping to use their resources, but after this, I don’t know if we can get there before they catch us.”

“If you mean the Hall of Knowledge, it’s not an academy, though I suppose there are similarities.” Felitïa went over and knelt beside Meleng and Corvinian. The boy had stopped crying, but he remained curled in Meleng’s lap, still distraught. She could barely imagine what he was going through. She remembered her own reaction to Elderaan’s death and that wasn’t sudden. If he had been taken from her like...

No. Again, something wasn’t right. Why did she even need to imagine his feelings?

It wasn’t a case of her abilities having abated. She could feel sadness from Meleng and Jorvan, sympathy from Zandrue and Rudiger, disappointment and self-hate from Jorvan—she suspected he was blaming himself for events—but nothing from the boy.

She closed her eyes and the Room sprung up in her head. She sorted through the presences scattered about. There was Zandrue and Jorvan. Meleng and Rudiger were easy to spot. Borisin. Several weaker but noticeable presences that were likely the other horses in the stables. Some even weaker ones that might be rats or maybe a cat or two.

There was no sign of Corvinian.

Felitïa opened her eyes, but did not dismiss the Room. She focused on the boy that she could see with her eyes but not her mind, tried to find him. He wasn’t there. Like Elderaan hadn’t been. Except Elderaan had been dead.

She shook her head and doubled her focus.

“Are you all right?” Meleng asked.

The Room exploded, pieces of the wall splintering apart, the black stone slamming her mind. Felitïa fell onto her back with a cry and dismissed the Room, but the pain in her head remained.

Zandrue was leaning over her in an instant. “What happened?”

Felitïa could see the concern in Zandrue’s expression, but she couldn’t feel it. All the feelings in the room were gone. Her abilities had shut down. A defensive response, perhaps? She hoped so.

“It’s okay, Corvinian,” Meleng said. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

Corvinian had sat up. His eyes were glowing blue again—much brighter this time—and the glow had spread to form a nimbus around his head and hands.

“It’s okay,” Meleng repeated.

The blue glow began to fade. The pain in her head, too. But her telepathy was still not there.

“He has no mental presence,” Felitïa said, taking the hand Zandrue had offered. “It’s like he doesn’t exist. And when I tried to find him, something attacked my mind.”

Corvinian’s eyes still had a glint to them, but the glow had otherwise disappeared now.

“It’s not surprising, given everything else,” Meleng said. “His powers are all defensive in nature. They react whenever something threatens him. Or appears to threaten him, at any rate. As best I can tell, that is.”

“Well, I won’t try that again,” Felitïa said. Her powers would come back soon, she told herself.

“You did not cast a spell,” Jorvan said. He peered at her, his gaze moving from her head to her toes. “You have talent. Much talent, but you did not cast.”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I’m telepathic. Sort of.” Knots were forming in her stomach. This had to be temporary. It was always temporary. “It’s a long story. I’ll explain later. We should get away from here. You were planning to leave town, yes? How about Zandrue, Rudiger, and I join you?” Her mind had never been attacked like this before. What if her powers never came back?

Jorvan looked to Meleng.

“We definitely need help,” Meleng said. “We’re in over our heads. Yes, yes, thank you.”

“I agree,” Jorvan said. “We go to Quorge like we plan.”

“What about Porthaven?” Felitïa said, trying her best to keep her outward calm. “It’s a lot closer and probably has just as many resources. Maybe more.”

Jorvan shook his head.

“We came from there,” Meleng said. “That’s where the Darkers first tried to take Corvinian, where the Volg first started chasing us. There are more Darkers there, maybe more Volgs. We need to go far away.”

Zandrue placed a hand on Felitïa’s shoulder. “You ready to go back to Quorge?”

No, not at all. “I don’t think we have much choice at this point,” Felitïa said. “I need to know what’s going on.”

“Right, let’s get the horses ready,” Zandrue said. “I’ll have to ride ahead of the group for a while until your horses get used to me. Animals don’t like me much for some reason.”

Meleng continued to sit with Corvinian while everyone else began preparing the horses. Rudiger finished with Borisin before anyone else and joined Felitïa. “You know, if we’re all travelling together, we should probably be open with everyone about everything.”

“You mean my name?” she asked him. She tried to focus on just his mental presence, but she couldn’t even bring up the Room at the moment.

He nodded. “I mean, I don’t really care what name you want to go by, but why go by one in public and another in private? Doesn’t it get a little confusing?”

“A little, yes. Sometimes.”

“So why?”

Felitïa finished securing her bags to Simeria. “Don’t you recognise my name?”

Rudiger shrugged. “Yeah, sure. There was Queen Felitïa, and I have a kid cousin named Felitïa. What’s the big deal?”

“Queen Felitïa was my grandmother.”

“Oh.” Rudiger paused a moment. “So that would make you...”

“The missing Princess Felitïa, yes. That never occurred to you?”

“Why should it? Like I said, I have a cousin named Felitïa. Must be lots of people with the name. No reason to think you’re the princess with that name. Honestly, I don’t even know all the names of the princes and princesses. Aren’t there like a dozen of you?”

“Nine, actually.”

“Okay, not quite a dozen. But I still didn’t even remember there was a Princess Felitïa. Out on the Thumb, you’re all so far away, no one really pays attention to things like that. Though I guess I understand the secrecy now. Still think you should tell everyone though.”

Felitïa nodded. “I will.”

Once the horses were ready, Rudiger helped Jorvan and Meleng onto theirs. It turned out neither of them had any experience riding. They had walked from Porthaven and Jorvan had purchased the horses earlier today.

“You’re in for a fun time after we stop tonight,” Zandrue said and winked at Meleng.

Rudiger then picked Corvinian up and placed him in front of Meleng.

“Actually, Rudiger,” Zandrue said, “Corvinian would be better off riding with you. You’re a more experienced rider and Borisin can handle the extra weight better.”

Rudiger frowned. “In that case, maybe he should ride with you or Felitïa. Borisin doesn’t accept other riders. He’s very—” He spun round and looked at his horse. “What? Seriously? Okay then. Borisin says he’s okay with it. Wonders never cease.” He lifted Corvinian off Meleng’s horse and carried the boy over to Borisin.

Zandrue opened the stable doors and peeked out. “A lot of people still gathered outside. Looks like there might be some looting going on at the inn. No sign of the Watch yet, though. They’re taking their time.”

“In Porthaven, the Darkers paid the Watch to watch other parts of town,” Jorvan said.

“So you think they’re doing the same here? Could be. Well, it avoids awkward questions if nothing else.” She opened the doors fully, then mounted Lucinda. “Right, we take the east road. Like I said, I’ll go ahead. Give me a minute and then follow.”

As they rode out, Felitïa took the rear. People on the street noticed them and some called out, though Felitïa paid them little mind. Her thoughts were focused on the panic building inside her. It would come back, she kept telling herself. It would be like every other time. She just had to wait it out.

Yes, wait it out.