“How’d this happen?” Freya looked between them. “What changed?” She didn’t look as hostile as Yerim had expected. Both Freya and Nuala had been surprising during this whole thing. 

But they’d also been fine with bringing them into another clearing, one where they’d be in the centre, while the other Astra watched all of this unfold. 

The only difference was that some hadn’t gathered in that circle, but near them.  

Yuol frowned then. “Did you do this?” His gaze went to Hyejoo. It turned into a glare. 

Hyunjin moved in front of her. “We’d changed before,” she said sharply. “Of all things to do tonight, don’t jump to conclusions.” 

He looked taken aback. “Watch your mouth.” It was his way of saying be careful. 

“Hyejoo did nothing,” Hyunjin said. “We’re like her. The moment we were attacked, that part became clear.” She explained how they’d lost the light, how they’d felt empty without it. 

Yerim was surprised at how calm she sounded. She’d accepted the darkness without it being from Hyejoo as well. Yerim figured it would’ve been the same with her. 

She looked to Jinsoul and Jungeun then. They were both close to her, ready to jump in if they had to. If things did go bad, she didn’t doubt that they’d intervene.  It wouldn’t matter if they risked being banished, they’d try to defend the three of them. Even with the risk, Yerim was grateful they were there. 

“It wasn’t clear before,” Yerim said when Hyunjin finished. “But I think it was supposed to happen.” She looked for Eline then, wondering how her next words would play out. “I still have the sight. I regained it after some time had passed. I didn’t lose it when I took the darkness.”

There was uproar among the rest. Revealing that she had the sight would divide their opinions on the darkness—redirect their confusion too. 

“It’s true.” Eline’s voice pierced through the rest.

Kolina whirled around, hurt evident in her eyes. “You knew?” 

Yerim felt a pang of guilt. Even if Kolina was nowhere near as close to her as the others, she could still understand why she felt slightly betrayed. She hadn’t known about Jiwoo or Yerim. She probably thought her own sight had failed her. 

“That she didn’t lose her sight,” Eline sent a small nod Yerim’s way, “shows the connection to the moon hasn’t been fully lost.” 

Her eyes widened. Was Eline going to defend them? 

The elder seer’s words sparked further debate. Yerim tuned most of it out, choosing instead to turn to Hyunjin and Hyejoo. Were they safe? Or could something still shift? 

“But then what’s the rest supposed to mean?” Adolar asked. He was someone who led most long-distance hunts. “That connection means little if they have so little light left.” 

Yuol nodded. “They can’t fulfil one of our greatest duties.” 

Turning the spirits. 

“There could be a new one,” Haseul said. She’d found out with the rest of them, but she hardly looked shaken by the revelation. Yerim wondered if that was because she could hide it well. “The bright spirits are changing, as are the dark ones.” She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a harsh scar. “Both types hurt us,” she continued. “And only the darkness can be used against the malevolent bright spirits.”

Hyejoo’s brow was furrowed as she spoke. Yerim hoped it wasn’t because she was going to say something against it. They could settle all of this later. 

“So we’ll just have three people to send against them?” Adolar raised a brow. “We get attacked by them everywhere. Three’s hardly enough,” he peered at Hyejoo, “and that’s assuming we’d even have three to protect those groups.” 

Hyejoo’s eyes narrowed. “You think I wouldn’t?” Her voice was no longer a rasp, but it still rarely rose above her normal volume. She’d usually whined before, either teasing someone or chewing them out. 

“We still don’t know what exactly you did for him,” he said. “How many times were you sent to recruit someone and ended up trying to kill them instead?” 

Yerim felt a flicker of anger in the darkness around Hyejoo. 

“I didn’t go to recruit anyone,” she spoke slowly. “And when they did try to make me their assassin, I left.” The shadows were curling in around her. 

“And nothing’ll stop you from leaving now,” Teveril said. 

The message was clear. Hyejoo wasn’t an Astran anymore. She didn’t belong here. 

And that applied to Hyunjin and Yerim as well. 

“That’s not what we’re here for,” Jungeun said then. “Hyejoo’s healed a lot of us. We already know what her magic brings. Having three is even better.” She sent a pointed look Adolar’s way. “And you always manage to bring back the wounded fast enough, don’t you?” 

Yerim forced herself to keep her expression blank. Jungeun had been on hunts with him before. She always thought he pulled back too soon. Then again, she thought most people who didn’t push on to finish a task pulled back too soon. 

Adolar shrugged it off. “We need to know the risks.” 

"The risks come with sending them away," Sooyoung spoke for the first time then. "No one else here can take the darkness in the amounts they can. No one can else fight a bright spirit. You send any of them away, and you turn away for no other reason than pride." 

"Pride?" Yuol repeated. 

Sooyoung held his gaze. "Two times we forced people who wielded the darkness out. Only once were you proved right that it was dangerous and you hid his existance, because you were the reason for it. Now you're seeing it isn't, not completely." Guilt seeped into her eyes as she spoke. "And you don't want the evidence for that to remain here."

"You voted for her to go as well," he retorted. 

Yerim glanced at Hyejoo, only to see her watching the exchange, her expression unreadable. 

"I did." Sooyoung didn't drop her eyes, even though the shadows of shame were resurfacing. 

Then a group came into view. Someone held another by the arm. Her hands were free of blood, but her clothes were still stained by it. Chaewon. The person dragging her was Lyriil. Another elder. He was one of the most skilled at looking into the past. Had he been able to see what Chaewon had done? 

“The threat the seers sensed. It was another was sent by Alluin,” he said sharply. “And he’s already dead.” 

“Don’t act as if he wasn’t a mental fae.” Chaewon ripped her arm from his grasp, making him stumble slightly. “He wouldn’t have given any answers.” 

“Alluin wants the changed ones on his side,” Lyriil said into the gathering. “He knew this was coming.” His eyes met Yerim’s. A shadow of anger was there, one of hatred was growing. It was mainly directed at Alluin. “We can’t risk them staying here.”

“You want to risk him getting them onto his side?” Haseul asked. Her anger was a lot stronger. It’d been shoved down over the years. It was back now. “You send them away, he’ll just try and use that.” 

“We keep them here,” Yuol stepped forward, “and they could turn on us when he comes.” 

Yerim felt a flicker of rage spark in Jinsoul. She immediately turned to her. 

“Don’t say anything,” she whispered in arcesh. “Please.” 

Jinsoul looked at her, eyes burning too bright, but nodded. 

Yerim met Jungeun’s eyes, hoping she’d understand. 

Jungeun nodded once, before taking Jinsoul’s hand. She was angry as well, but it was more contained. 

“We’ve seen what Alluin does,” Yerim said. “I won’t ever be a part of that.” 

Lyriil was already shaking his head. “You really have no idea,” he muttered, his gaze shifting to Hyunjin, “Alluin has so much he can use. In all three of you.” He grit his teeth. “We lost more than one the day he turned. Not only those who minds he destroyed,” he spat, “but the few whose anger he used to turn against us.” 

Hyunjin didn’t respond. She didn’t have to. People knew her parents hadn’t the Astra. Others had. 

“I know you’ve resented us,” Lyriil continued, eyes still on Hyunjin. He looked to Yerim then. “You never felt as though you belonged. He’ll offer you a place where you do.” Then he turned to Hyejoo. “And you hate us.” 

“They’d never turn against us,” Heejin said then. She was angry, but it wasn’t showing through. Not this time. 

Even so, Yerim saw the panic in Hyunjin’s eyes. 

“Hyejoo’s had the chance to do it a few times. She wouldn’t,” Heejin looked around, meeting the eyes of the other Astra who’d gathered here, “and don’t you see that staying here, showing us what’s happened, was a greater risk than just leaving was?” She looked at the three of them once. “Your first instinct is to restrain and remove the threat,” she met Hyejoo’s eyes once, “it could’ve easily happened here. And it would’ve worked.” Her jaw tightened. “But they still came here to tell all of us what’s changed. If they were who you think they are, they would have already gone to his side.” 

“That’s taking many leaps of faith,” Yuol countered. 

“Which I can do,” Heejin him, “because I’ve known two of them my entire life, and I’d trust Yerim with my life several times over.” 

“But all three have changed,” Lyriil said. “The darkness can and has changed those it’s touched. Even people you’d have known all your life.” 

“I changed too,” Chaewon said then. 

Everyone stopped and looked. Yerim saw Jiwoo and Sooyoung's eyes widen. Neither had known, not even Jiwoo. 

The grey haired girl held a piece of light and darkness in her hands. “That’s why the fairy came to me,” she said. “Alluin will take all those who hate the Astra. And if they don’t, he’ll share his hatred with them, either teaching it to them or giving it.” A piece of the darkness rose into the air. 

Even from where she stood, Yerim could feel that hatred emanating from it. It was directed at Chaewon. Yerim had started to see that most of the darkness Chaewon held was like that. 

“Or he’ll offer us what we want,” she went on. “He’s taken fairies and elves into his ranks. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had others.” The darkness and light went back into Chaewon's skin. 

“He has vampires and witches,” Hyejoo said. “And enough to recruit others on a contract.” 

Contracts like Jungeun tended to go on. Those would be people who didn’t feel any respect for the Astra. They’d be able to fight them without considering the consequences. Especially if Alluin was offering the right rewards. 

“Alluin won’t be able to turn any of them,” Chaewon said, looking to the three of them. “We didn’t know what he wanted before he started sending people close to the camp. More would have joined had their intentions not been clear. He wants to attack us,” she turned to Lyriil, “you can’t let your hate for him blind you to what these three would and wouldn’t do.” Her eyes brightened slightly. That light was from certainty, but nothing more. “Yerim and Hyunjin changed because they’d lost it to those attacks,” she said. “But the darkness can’t change the mind.” 

“Yes it can—” Teveril started. 

“Not what we have,” she cut him off. “I’ve always been able to sense darkness and my light has always drained. It still does. As does this.” She summoned the darkness again. She let it hover in the air. “But there's no reason that could ever convince me to turn on you.” She looked to Eline then. “Or do you see that happening?” 

The seer shook her head. 

Freya finally spoke. “But when did you start to change?” She looked at the darkness, some of her impassive expression cracking. She wasn’t afraid, but unsettled. Yerim could even sense the slivers of fear that came with worry. 

"After her—Hyejoo's banishment.” Chaewon glanced at Hyejoo once before looking away again. She looked tired now, her eyes dim again. “That didn’t change my light. I only started to get the darkness after she was gone.” 

“And it was only me who took any darkness from Hyejoo,” Yerim added. 

Hyunjin nodded. “I took it from a shadow in the forest.” 

They started talking amongst themselves again. Yerim was torn between listening and just turning to Jinsoul and Jungeun. She chose the latter. 

“There’s people on our side this time,” Jungeun told her, taking her hand as well. “They won't do anything.” 

“But they could still force us out,” Hyunjin said. She was looking between the Astra. “A good amount still want to.” 

“They do that and we lose our way to heal the worst wounds,” Jinsoul replied. “Nuala won’t let that happen.” She was watching said healer now. 

Nuala was in what seemed to be an argument with both Yuol and Lyriil. 

Yerim still couldn’t bring herself to listen. She didn’t want to hear how many people were against them and how many were for them. How had Hyejoo managed it? How had she even been able to come back to them? 

She looked for her now, only to see her attention was elsewhere. 

Chaewon’s arms were around her own stomach. She looked both exhausted and nauseous. She wasn’t looking at anyone, not even Jiwoo or Sooyoung who’d come to her side. They both looked confused and shocked, but they were still there with her. 

“Might throw me out too,” she muttered, laughing once. “We’ll see.” 

“They won’t,” Sooyoung said. “They can’t.” She looked at Jiwoo, desperate. 

“I don’t know yet,” Jiwoo whispered. “But if they try that, I won’t let them. If they manage it, I’ll go with you.” 

Chaewon looked up then, frowning. “What?” 

Jiwoo nodded. “I won’t let someone be alone. Not this time.” She looked to Hyejoo then. The apology was clear. 

Hyejoo just looked away, but she didn’t blow up. That was at least some sort of progress. 

Yerim found herself looking at Chaewon again. She was sinking into herself. 

“We’ll put it to a vote,” Freya said, her voice carrying over everyone else’s. 

Hyejoo stiffened. Her eyes were flitting between all of them. Fear was quickly wrapping around her. 

Yerim saw how Chaewon looked up, alarmed. She looked at Hyejoo, worry filling her eyes. They’d been empty before.

“It’ll be okay,” Jungeun was saying. She went over to Hyejoo’s side. “This isn’t like last time. You’re free,” she whispered. Then she set in a line. In Korean, through the many discussions around them, she said, “and I’ll fight with you.” 

Yerim saw Jinsoul look up at that. She saw the dread then, followed by fear, before some sort of resolve came. 

Yerim knew full well that Jungeun would fulfil that promise. She’d fight against the Astra to protect them. Jinsoul would join her. 

And the two of them would probably get a lot of headway. Especially Jungeun. As much as it was hard to believe, she knew Jungeun could do it. 

It was as worrying as it was a relief. 

Hyejoo nodded, a weak smile appearing. “I know you would,” she said. “But it won’t come to that. Not this time.” 

“Who is the vote for?” Nuala asked, frowning. She came over to Yerim’s side. 

“The three with darkness,” Yuol said. “And her.” He looked to Chaewon. 

“Her?” Sooyoung repeated. Fury appeared in her eyes almost as quickly as the darkness came. 

Immediately, Chaewon grabbed her arm. “Don’t,” she hissed. The darkness didn’t surge around her. She had a grip on it. 

“Whether or not you’ll stay,” Freya continued. “All those in favour of their departure.” She looked around. 

A fair amount raised their hands, including Teveril, Kolina, Yuol, and Lyriil. Surprisingly, Priad didn’t raise his hand. 

Yerim looked away before she saw the rest. Of course there’d be people convinced. To them, they weren’t Astra anymore. 

Jinsoul took her hand, giving it a small squeeze. 

“And those in favour they stay?” Freya asked. She raised her hand in the next moment. 

Yerim looked this time. Heejin and the others raised their hands. Sooyoung and Jiwoo raised both their hands. 

More followed. Many more than before.

“It’s decided then,” Freya said. “They stay. All four of you.” She turned away, golden eyes dimmed. She stopped when she passed Hyejoo. “You’ll never forgive me And there’s no reason to.” She looked to the others. “But you’re still Astran,” she said quietly. “Even if you don’t have the light.” She walked away. 

Yerim could feel her exhaustion. She saw the same thing in Chaewon, but the glow in her eyes from before was gone. 

She met Yerim’s eyes once, before turning away. Sooyoung made to go after her, but Jiwoo caught her wrist. 

“Not this time,” Jiwoo whispered. 

Heejin’s arms were around Hyunjin and vice versa. Hyunjin was crying. 

Then Hyejoo was walking away as well. Her fear was fading, but traces of it still lingered. 

Jungeun followed her. 

Yerim went with her, Jinsoul close behind. 

Then Jungeun was running. 

“Wait,” Jinsoul started. 

“Not now,” Yerim patted her arm, “she’ll take it easy later.” 

She heard Hyejoo’s stifled sobs next. 

“I thought,” Hyejoo gasped. The next words didn't come. 

Yerim watched as Jungeun pulled her into her arms. 

“You thought it was going to happen again,” Jungeun said quietly. “And it didn’t.” Her jaw was clenched. The pain there was clear. It encircled them both. 

“It didn’t happen,” Hyejoo muttered, nodding slightly. She was trembling. “I knew it wouldn’t, but when–when,” she broke off. 

Jungeun rubbed her back. “I know,” she muttered. “But you’re staying if you want to." A small pause. "You're staying," she repeated.

She didn’t reply. 

“It’ll be okay,” Jungeun said quietly. 

Yerim looked to Jinsoul. She was watching, a careful edge to her eyes. There was worry too. 

Hyejoo sighed. “I know,” she said. “It’s just,” her voice dropped in volume, “just—“

“A lot,” Jungeun finished. She rested her chin on Hyejoo’s shoulder. “But none of that happened. You’re here. We’re all here.” She lifted her eyes, meeting Yerim’s first. We’re okay, that said, even if the strength in her eyes looked more like a facade. 

It took a few seconds. Then Hyejoo pulled away. She wiped her eyes. 

“Are you okay?” She also looked to Yerim. 

Yerim just nodded. “Fine.” She didn’t want to think about what tonight meant. She didn’t want to remember who’d voted for them and who hadn’t. 

A hand slid into hers. The skin was warm. A lot warmer than her own. 

Jinsoul squeezed her hand once. 

“I’ll show you how it works,” Hyejoo said then. “We’ll find Hyunjin and I’ll teach you how to take away the darkness.” She got to her feet. “I’m not sure how much either of you can take.”

Jungeun stood with her. She didn’t look worried, but there was something to her gaze. 

Hyejoo was already walking off. Yerim nearly followed, but she lingered. 

Jinsoul let go of her hand. “I think she needs you,” she whispered. 

Yerim couldn’t help but think, what about you? Jinsoul was stronger than she was, but she was nearing her limit. She would’ve fought for them if the Astra had them. That was how far both Jinsoul and Jungeun would go. 

She wondered if Haseul would’ve done the same. There was a chance of that happening, same with Heejin and Yeojin. Jungeun had told her what they’d done after Hyejoo’s banishment. 

Then again, Hyunjin would’ve probably tried to stop them before they did that. Haseul wouldn’t have let Yeojin or Heejin turn against their people. 

“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Jungeun said. She smiled at her, but it looked strained. “It’ll be good for all of you to use that magic.” 

Yerim was reminded of when Jungeun left the tent if things got bad for her. How she unleashed her magic, burning the air. Sometimes she did it for an hour, other times she did it until hours after the sun had risen. 

Then she thought of how both Hyejoo and Hyunjin had cried. Hyunjin had been so relieved. Hyejoo had been reliving what’d happened before. 

Yerim nodded once, before going after Hyejoo. 

Her own eyes were dry. 

Behind her, she heard them talking. Yerim slowed down. 

“I have to go to her,” Jinsoul said. “I should’ve done it when this all started.” 

“You’re sure?” Jungeun asked. “I can go.” 

“No.” A long pause. “I don’t think you should.”

Jungeun sounded confused, but there was something else in her voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You know what she’s going through more than I do,” Jinsoul replied. 

“And?” 

Yerim found herself nodding along with Jinsoul. Jungeun couldn’t see how Chaewon was. Not now, even if Jungeun understood the place Chaewon had fallen into. Jinsoul didn’t want her to see it. 

Yerim didn’t want her to either. 

Then Jungeun scoffed. “You’re serious? I’m not saying that you going is a problem, but,” a short pause, “do you think I can’t handle it?” 

“That isn’t what I meant,” Jinsoul said. “I just—”

“You think seeing someone who hates herself for what she’s done pushes my limits?” Jungeun asked. “Having someone crawl through my head does that. Reliving a killing spree over and over again does that.” 

Yerim heard Jinsoul try to talk, but Jungeun wasn’t stopping. She wondered how long this’d been building. There was no anger in the air. Not really. Only confusion, hurt, and frustration. 

“Just because you’re one of the only people who knows—who sees any of that,” Jungeun’s voice sounded strained, “doesn’t mean you know what I can handle and what I can’t.” 

There was something she wasn’t saying. Even after so many years of being around Jinsoul, of them being as close as they were, Jungeun still wasn’t used to being cared about like that. Much of the time she accepted it, but there were moments when something shifted. Yerim still didn’t know why that was. 

“I know I don’t,” Jinsoul said softly. “I know it takes more than that to push you.” 

Yerim could hear the small tremor in her voice. 

She knew that Jungeun could hear it too. She’d probably spotted the same in her expression. 

The frustration faded immediately. 

There was a long silence. Yerim could almost see Jungeun’s frown, mind going from saying no, then maybe, and finally to yes. 

“Fine,” she said. “Whatever it is, we can talk about it tomorrow.”  

“Or later tonight,” Jinsoul said quickly. “We can see what we do next. The three of us.” 

Yerim smiled. To their credit, the two had managed to make sure she never felt left out. They were closer than family, even if two of them were somehow a lot closer than even that. She’d need to sit some things out a few times, trying to make it so that the two were alone for longer than a few hours. As much as she’d tried, they’d still not said the things they needed to. 

She’d mostly given up. 

“Okay,” Jungeun muttered. “Whatever you want.” She sounded tired. Then there were the sounds of her starting to walk.

Yerim felt a small rush of worry. Jungeun was the strongest person she’d ever met, but there was a part of her that was fragile. And when she was just between the two, she pulled away. She didn’t do it like some did, where they were genuinely unreachable. It felt like you could still talk to her and she’d still tell you if something was wrong, but she wouldn’t say everything. 

“Wait,” Jinsoul started. There was a hint of desperation there, as if she needed to take something back before Jungeun walked away. 

“We’ll talk about this tomorrow,” Jungeun said. 

Silence. Yerim wanted to, but she didn't go to either of them. Jinsoul was going to Chaewon, while Jungeun needed the time alone. She'd see them later. 

Or tomorrow. 

______

They’d taken up guard duty again. Just the two of them. The entire time, there’d been a silence she hadn’t been able to break, not even to talk about the darkness that Chaewon had. 

How they hadn’t known, Yves still couldn’t believe it. She should’ve seen it sooner. Chaewon had been taking in more darkness and her light had lost its glow. She should’ve known. 

There was a stretch of unspoken words between them, ones that might’ve helped, others that might’ve hurt. Yves had the feeling neither of them wanted to risk the latter coming out. 

Every time she saw Jiwoo, Yves was reminded of how they’d both acted. Jiwoo barely met her eyes when they were together, and she avoided her when she didn’t have to. And when they did speak, there was always an apology within her words, a caution that Yves could barely stand hearing. 

Yes, Jiwoo had lied to them. Yes, she hadn’t confided in them about everything she’d been facing. 

But she’d also spent all that time alone. She’d made her sight a burden that only she would bear. 

I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t trust you with. 

Yves knew she meant that. She knew Jiwoo trusted them—her, but the feeling that that wasn’t true hadn’t faded. She still felt betrayed. Whenever she saw Jiwoo, she thought of that too. When Jiwoo talked about what she was seeing, how she referenced the future, now without the lies to hide behind, it hurt. Something so embedded in Jiwoo’s life, and Yves had never seen it until now. 

Yves had thought she’d known Jiwoo. She’d been aware that she didn’t know everything, that Jiwoo had kept some things to herself, specifically the moments when her smile had finally fallen away. She’d been there for some of those moments. She’d always seen enough to know that there was so much more to her than just a bright smile. 

That person was still here. She knew both those sides of her. The seer had been hidden and Jiwoo had lied, but she hadn’t completely put up a mask. 

Yves still saw the person who’d spend years trying to reach out to Chaewon and Hyejoo. Jiwoo had been so patient, even resilient when she’d gotten pushed away, sometimes gently, other times with shouts. 

But then that person had withdrawn, now weighed down by guilt for so many things. 

Yves broke from her thoughts when she heard someone. Then she saw Haseul walking through the forest. She looked to see if Yeojin was nearby. The last thing Haseul would be doing now is let Yeojin be on the periphery of camp alone. 

When she didn’t find her, she realised Haseul was coming over to both of them. 

Jiwoo didn’t look surprised. Of course she didn’t. 

“Didn’t feel like warning me?” Yves asked. 

Jiwoo smiled slightly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d stay.” She didn’t look at her. 

It shouldn’t have, but the words stung. 

“Dahyun will be coming tomorrow,” Haseul said. “They want her to go through each of their emotions, to see if there’s a connection there or not. They want to see if Chaewon can be,” she grimaced, “fixed.” 

Yves’s stomach twisted. “Fixed,” she repeated. “As in taking the darkness away?” Not helping the state Gowon was, independent of her magic. 

Haseul nodded. “Dahyun was coming anyway, but they see this as some sort of hope.” 

“You don’t?” 

She took a few seconds before she replied. “Can I walk with you?” Haseul asked. She looked a lot more tired than normal. “Before you ask, I am here to talk.” She met Yves’s eyes. “If that’s okay.” 

Yves just nodded. Over the years, she’d gotten used to not having her friends from before. 

That didn’t mean she didn’t miss them. Especially Haseul and Jungeun. Jinsoul too. 

“Is it about Chae?” Jiwoo asked. She wasn’t going to pad the conversation with pleasantries.

“Not just her,” Haseul said. She came to Yves’s side. “I didn’t know about any of that until right in that moment.” The corner of her lip twisted upwards. “I was a little surprised.” The little bit of humour was overshadowed by doubt. 

Yves knew what that felt like. To think you had an idea about what was going on around you, with the people closest to you, before finding out there was something completely different going on. 

“Do you know what happened with Chaewon before?” Yves asked. 

Her heart hurt just thinking of how she’d looked, blood coating her arms. It’d confirmed what Yves had been afraid of. Time hadn’t healed anything. It’d made it worse. 

Jiwoo had told her they needed to leave her alone for at least tonight. As much as she’d wanted to disagree, she knew Jiwoo was right. Chaewon had already lashed out at them. They were making her feel trapped. More than she already was. 

Haseul shook her head. “He tried his hand at getting someone on his side. The only person he thought he had a chance to turn.” 

Yves tried to push down the anger she felt at that. “She’d never.” The other Astra suggesting that had hurt, but Haseul thinking that, it was almost worse. 

She raised her hands in surrender. “I know that,” she said. “I don’t think he did.” 

Jiwoo caught Yves’s eye. “Why?” 

She wanted to know that too. She also wanted to know why Haseul had come here now? They’d only ever talked when it came to the discussions or some other mandatory consulting Haseul insisted on keeping up. She’d done that with Teveril and Kolina, and then she’d extended that to mean Yves and Jiwoo. 

“He knew about the others and how the darkness would come to them. I think he knew about the bond as well.” Haseul looked around as she said that, as if careful that no one else would overhear it. “So he thought Chaewon would be desperate enough to want Hyejoo back. I think he has an idea about how it’s affecting her, maybe even how to help her, and he thought that would get her loyalty.” She pursed her lips. “Sending a mental fae was also an advantage he was trying to use.”

Yves felt herself start to get a headache. “So first, you think he knows everything a lot of us just found in the past weeks.” She grit her teeth. “And then you’re saying he can help her too?” 

“He might be able to,” she replied. “But that says nothing about him even keeping that promise for long. He probably hoped that Hyejoo would get her revenge that way and be on his side again,” she shrugged, “I don’t know enough about what he’s actually like, but I’m just going from what she said today and from what Hyunjin told me.” 

“Right,” Jiwoo nodded, “she’d heard about him.” 

“Met him too,” Haseul said. “Years before Hyejoo was even banished.” She looked disturbed at that. “He knew what was coming.” 

“Do you think he has the sight?” Jiwoo asked. “Because from what I know, no one could’ve ever sensed that.” 

“It has to be something different,” Haseul replied. “I don’t know what, but I was hoping to find out soon.” 

Yves frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She suspected the worst already. People always said Yves was reckless, the same for Jungeun. They didn’t count Haseul into that, because she could explain herself better, but she could make her mind up faster than even Yves could. 

She smiled slightly. Then she looked to Jiwoo. “Is anyone nearby, or coming here?” 

Jiwoo shook her head. 

Haseul nodded once. “I’ve got a plan to learn more about Alluin and his people.”

Jiwoo drew in a sharp breath. “And if he knows you’re coming?”

She shrugged. “He hasn’t tried to off me, so either he doesn’t think I’m a threat, or he doesn’t know.” 

Reckless. 

“What’ve you done so far?” Yves asked. “Were these those times you were leaving? When you got back hurt?” 

Haseul’s brow rose. “Keeping track?” A hint of teasing crept into her eyes. “I’ve been trying to find them ever since I found out he even existed.” She shrugged once. “All I’ve really got is kinda what we’ve already seen. Hyejoo wasn’t the only one he tried to make into an assassin, but he succeeded with the others. He sent them on contracts, all sent out by either wealthy mortals, or the witches, vampires too.” 

“Two of those groups are mortal,” Jiwoo said. “Getting their favour is worthless.” 

“Getting their money and other gifts isn’t,” she replied. “He wants something in both the mortal world and ours. And then he gets more people on his side with each passing lifetime.” She looked faraway for a moment. “They all know who he is over there,” she said. “Some’re afraid, some respect them.” 

“You talked to them?” Yves felt her stomach twist. “They would’ve passed that on.” 

“When people hear of him, they ask. Some end up joining, others steer clear.” She tilted her head, as if to ask, what’s the problem? 

“How close did you get to them?” Yves asked. “How close are you planning on going?” 

“Never got close enough.” Haseul chuckled lightly. “I had enough sense not to go that close on my own.” 

“And now you think it’ll be better just the three of you? None of you can control darkness, which he can. He’s sent people here who’ve almost managed to kill us. He’s got fae on his side.”

“Everyone he sent failed,” she said. “Maven and Hanna almost took Jungeun, but they still didn’t. The people he’s sent have been expendable, sent with the hope of something, not with the full intent of achieving something.” She shrugged. “Unless he’s that short-sighted, but that can’t be it.” 

They kept walking, making the round of camp. Yves wished she knew how to say the right thing to keep Haseul here. She never had. 

“I’ve got Vivi, who I’m very sure knows how to get out of situations like that, and Yeojin who needs to learn that.” Haseul smiled slightly. “Might be hard to believe,” she said. “But I know what I’m doing.” 

“I know that.” Yves sighed. “But what if it’s a mistake?” 

“We know too little about them. This’s just something where we’re trying to find his followers,” she replied. “The ones he’s not sending our way are the ones he doesn’t want to lose. I need to know how far they’ll go for him, if they’re following him because they believe him, or if they don’t have anywhere else to go.” 

“So if they’re like the ones who attacked us,” Yves said. “Or if they’re like Hyejoo.” 

Haseul nodded. “Yuol’s been considering calling in everyone who owes us." Her voice turned harsh. "He wants to attack all of them. And if we’re killing people who don’t want us dead,” she broke off. She closed her eyes. “We don’t know enough. Hyejoo told me what she knew, but it wasn’t much.” 

“But he trained her,” Jiwoo looked pained by the words, “he took her in.” 

“He held her at arm’s length too,” Haseul’s eyes were on the sky now, “he didn’t tell her everything he wanted to do against the Astra. She didn’t know he’d want her to kill someone until she got the contract for it.” She let out a long breath. “And she didn’t care enough about everything else he wanted to do.” 

Yves almost smiled. How everyone else thought Hyejoo would ever turn on them, it both angered her and could’ve been funny in another world. If Hyejoo found something she loved, or something else that she could settle into for a long time, she wouldn’t question much else. Yves was usually the same, so was Chaewon, Hyunjin too. They let others handle that. 

Yves had always had Jiwoo to do that. Until she’d been pushed to the discussions and negotiations more and more over the years. 

“I should go with you,” Jiwoo said. “You need someone with the sight.”

“No offence.” Haseul gave her a smile. It had a surprising amount of warmth to it. “But you’re needed here more than I need you over there.. 

“And you’re not?” Yves asked. “You’re the one we all turn to. You’re the one who gets the elders to listen, even if they don’t all agree. Freya listens to you.” 

“She listens to you too,” she replied. “If you’re convincing.” 

“Let me go instead,” Yves said. “We need you back here.” She didn’t miss how Jiwoo stiffened at that. 

“Chaewon needs you here,” Haseul said. “Even if she’s been pushing you away, both of you are the only constants she has right now.” She stopped walking, making them both turn to face her. “Does it look like I’m dying any time soon?” she asked Jiwoo. “Has something changed?”

“No,” Jiwoo said immediately. She’d already been looking. Was that her first instinct? To see if someone was safe, and for how long they were? “But it could still change. The moment they realise you’re there, or if you show yourself.” 

She smiled slightly. “That’s kind of what I’d expect if they’d actually noticed me.” 

Yves found her voice then. “Haseul, they hate us,” she said. “They catch any one of you, the only exception being Viian, they’ll kill you. Or worse.”

“I know,” Haseul replied. “Vivi will be able to get both of them out of danger.” 

“And you?” 

“I’ll be fine,” she just said. “But I need you to be ready. If you get word, anything at all, you’ll get the right people to wherever I am.” She started to turn around. 

Yves took her arm, letting go soon after. They were on much better terms than before, but she wasn’t going to push it. 

“What?” Haseul’s brow rose. A challenge, but without any malice.

“Why does this all sound like you’re planning to become their prisoner?” 

“I have to be prepared for it, don’t I?” 

Yves stomach twisted again, even more than before. “And what if you’re wrong and you don’t become a prisoner? What if he kills you the second you get there?” 

“I’m as much an asset as I am a threat,” Haseul said, as if it was simple. “He won’t kill me until I tell him what he wants.” 

“You don’t know what he can do!” Yves snapped. “What if he has an emotional fae? What if he has someone worse?” What if he sends you somewhere no one can get you? The face of someone else who’d sunken far into the darkness filled her mind. If Haseul became someone like that too, and she could’ve stopped it—

A hand took her own. 

Haseul was giving her a painfully small smile. “He does something like that, to someone who wasn’t even alive when he was banished,” she said. “You’ll know he’s too far gone. Nothing that’ll happen now will be for nothing. I’ll make sure of it.” She squeezed her hand. “And I’m sorry for what I did after her banishment.”

“We deserved it,” Yves could only say. 

“You might have,” Haseul said. “But I let that go on for too long.” She smiled at both of them, fully. “I come back, and we’ll start doing what we did before. Be how we were before, at least with what we’ll have by then.” 

Jiwoo’s eyes were glassy. “Your path is still there,” she said. “You’re coming back.” 

Haseul nodded. “I’m leaving until after I’ve seen Dahyun. Until then, don’t tell anyone about my plan.” She winked. “You can do that afterwards.” Then she turned away, walking off back to camp. There was no falter in her step. 

Yves wished she could call after her. She wished she could go back to camp and tell the right people. If Jungeun wasn’t the type to go with Haseul, she would've had a better chance at keeping her here. Hyunjin too, but she would've also gone with her. 

“She’s going,” Jiwoo said. It sounded like she was saying it to herself. 

“Did you know before she came here?” Yves asked. “Did you know where she was going?”

“I wasn’t looking.” Irritation flashed across her face. “Clearly none of us are. And I still can’t—” She cut off and turned away. She was leaning from one foot to the other. 

“Were you looking at Chaewon’s path instead?” 

“Hers,” Jiwoo started, “Hyunjin, Hyejoo, and Yerim’s too.” She shook her head. “As if that’ll help any of them.” 

“Chae didn’t mean that,” Yves told her. “What she said earlier.”

“She was right.” The look in her eyes was painful to look at. Yves could feel a flicker of that doubt. Probably because of the bond, even if the feeling was faint. “I haven’t asked her yet, but I think Yerim can tell the difference. I thought I could too, with the vampires and the other elves,” she scoffed, “but no.” 

“Jiwoo, wait—”

“I ruined everything,” she cut her off. “I let myself believe that the darkness meant she was dangerous. I put what I saw over Hyejoo and even if it wasn’t all me, what if I’d have looked past it?” 

“It’s too late,” Yves said. “We can’t change what happened.” 

“Chae told me the same thing,” Jiwoo smiled, but it was shaky, “she said she didn’t blame me, but I know that was just for me.” 

“She doesn’t.” She put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her to face her. “The person she blames most is herself. Everyone else,” she shrugged, “we’re either making it worse or we’re just there.” 

They’d seen the worst tonight. Chaewon had been numb. Detached. She’d barely flinched looking at the body. Yves almost didn’t want to know how it’d been when the fairy was alive 

Jiwoo wiped away a tear that’d slipped through. Yves had barely noticed it falling. “I know,” she said. “I just wish,” she faltered, “I wish I could just do the right thing. For her—both of them.” 

The look in her eyes turned vulnerable, something Yves still had rarely seen from her. People often tried to take advantage of her because she was always kind and humorous. None of them knew how unwieldy her mask was until it fell. 

”All my life,” Jiwoo said slowly. “I’ve had to go through the paths of people, spirits, and raindrops. Everything I said and did, I had one big lie in mind.” She scowled then. An expression that didn’t fit her. “And I thought it was worth it, but it was all pointless. I didn’t see the right thing and we lost her. Then I kept lying,” the scowl fell away, “and we’re losing Chaewon too.” She shook her head. “The sight,” she muttered. "I didn't even see their magic changing. Everything else I used it for—I didn't help with anything.” 

“No.” Yves shook her head. “No, that’s not true.” 

It broke her a bit to see how Jiwoo didn’t believe it. 

“So yeah, you’re right. About all of it.” She took a step back.

Yves followed. Even if they were distant, something that she wasn’t used to with Jiwoo at all, what was being said was honest. She couldn’t let the distance grow again. They were finally being honest with one another. Even if what they were saying hurt, even if what they were all stuck in was painful, they couldn’t change that. 

“Wait.”

Jiwoo stopped, but she looked confused. And irritated. Yves was torn between being surprised at the genuine display and hurt that it was directed at her. 

“You were helping us—me, that entire time.” She wanted to reach for her, to hold her and tell her how much she meant to her. She only felt she could do one of those things. “You were there for me after the attack, you helped me through the start when they told me I’d be leading, you gave me the confidence to keep going.” The list was endless. “You were there for both of us when Hyejoo was gone, you were the one who made us feel useful in any way. And that whole time, you kept us safe when you could, and alive when you needed to.” 

Multiple times, she'd thought over what Jiwoo had said about the future. How she'd hated being able to see it, but hadn’t shown that in all those years. It seemed an impossible feat, but Jiwoo had managed it. And Yves had never picked up on it, but she'd not sat on the side, letting the future play out. She'd tried to change it when she'd been able to. 

“I lied to both of you that entire time.” 

“I know,” Yves said. “And it’ll still take me some time to move past that, but I hate how things are now. I hate not being able to talk to you. I hate always having this shadow where you’re scared I’ll lash out at you, and I’m stuck thinking over these past years.” 

Jiwoo nodded. “You can ask me about those.” 

“I will,” she said. “But after all this is over.” 

The words struck something else in Jiwoo. She looked away immediately. Yves felt her heart constrict. There was fear, confusion too. 

“What is it?” 

Jiwoo was already starting to shake her head. 

“Don’t do that,” Yves said. “Tell me.” 

A few seconds passed. Yves knew the second Jiwoo made up her mind. 

“I don’t know when it’ll be over,” she whispered. “I’ve been trying to see it, but all I do see is darkness. It’s his, even though pieces of it aren’t.” She took a shaky breath. “Yerim’s dreamed of it, the others do see it. It’s one of the reasons they’re so on edge, but no one can make sense of it.” 

“But you said it yourself,” Yves slipped her hand into Jiwoo’s, “what you see— it isn’t sealed in time. The right events can change it, maybe even clear it up.” 

“But this’s too far-reaching,” Jiwoo retorted. “Inevitable.” 

“Did Eline say that?” 

“I know she believes it,” she replied. “And so do I.” 

“So what is it?” And why hadn’t the seers, or the elders for that matter, given them a warning? A proper one? If they were just going to stick with being paranoid, that wouldn’t bring them anything. 

Jiwoo looked at her for a long moment. “I don’t know.” Her voice broke. “I just know that there’s a darkness that closes in. Not on anyone, but it nears all of us.” The first tear fell. “And it’s cold. Anything I do see,” she blinked away more tears, “it scares me.” 

“If you don’t know what it is, then you don’t know if it’s unstoppable either.” Yves brought her other hand to her cheek. “We can still find a way out of it.” 

“And if we don’t?”

The words created a pang in her chest. Where was her hope? Even at the most terrible of times, Jiwoo had been able to put on a smile. 

“I can’t see what you see, so I don’t know how serious it is,” Yves said. “But we’ll try.”

Jiwoo opened , doubt evident in her eyes. 

She beat her to it. “That’s something we can do.” She pulled her closer. “We’ll figure out what it is.” She wiped away the tears that had fallen. They clung to her chin and cheeks, as if they were afraid of falling away completely. 

“How can you be so sure that there’s a solution?” Jiwoo asked. 

Again, she was struck by how Jiwoo didn’t seem to want to believe the same. Yves wasn’t sure what the way out was at all, but she needed to believe there was one. They all did. 

“Haseul’s got a plan,” she said. “We’re the last people I would’ve thought she’d tell, but she did.” The thought still confused her. “But if she trusts us enough for that, then we have to be ready to make sure she’s coming back.” She let her hands fall, wishing she could close the distance still between them, but she hadn’t closed that gap yet. 

And there was still a lot they needed to talk about. When it was all over, they'd need to talk about the bond. Yves was still confused and everything Jiwoo had said about it had stuck in her mind, but she didn't want to lose Jiwoo. The bond came second to that, regardless of what it meant, and what Jiwoo's rejection of it meant. 

It’d probably take a few years to seal the gap, to understand everything that'd happened, but they’d have that. Yves needed to make sure they all would. 

______

Jinsoul found her on the periphery. She made sure no one else was near. 

The other elf looked up then, before looking away soon after. 

“I don’t need your pity,” Chaewon muttered. 

Jinsoul shook her head. “That’s not why I’m here.” As she came closer, the light from her skin enveloped Chaewon. She hadn't let the light cover her own skin. 

She watched her. Jinsoul realised then how dull her eyes had become. They still had light, but they didn’t look like they had before. And something was sorely missing from her eyes. They’d been gently mocking before, always withholding a joke or a slight smile. 

“Then I don’t need you wondering about what’s happening with me.” Chaewon looked away. “You can see it. You heard it too.” 

“I’m worried about you,” Jinsoul said. 

She flinched. 

Jinsoul sat down beside her. “Hey,” she said, “I’m not here to try and help you, I don’t know how I would.” She tried to meet her eyes. “But I’ll at least be here for you.” 

Chaewon didn’t meet her eyes, but she took a deep breath. 

“You can tell me about it.” Jinsoul felt strange being here. It’d been half a century since she’d even talked to Chaewon like this. The times she’d had to heal her didn’t count, especially when Chaewon hadn’t said a word the entire time. 

“There’s not much to tell.” 

“What about the emptiness?” Jinsoul asked. “The cold that’s there. Does it hurt slightly, or more than that?” 

Chaewon lifted her head. There was a flicker of hope there. It was followed by dread. “How do you know about that?” 

“It’s less than what you have, but Jungeun has it too,” she replied. “And I got some of it when—“ The words caught in . The only person she could talk to about it was the one she’d almost lost. Saying it to anyone else, she just couldn’t. 

Chaewon nodded. “Hers is from what she lost—from more than one encounter, I think.” Her hand went to her chest, where the light and darkness had met. “This’s from two things.” 

“The bond you lost,” Jinsoul said. “And the guilt?”

Chaewon smiled, but it lacked any real humour. “Everyone’s realising that, aren’t they?” She traced the space above her heart. “The start was from that. The rest came when the darkness shifted.” 

“Shifted?” Jinsoul repeated. 

“I’ve got two types of darkness,” she said. “I checked, compared it to the spirits, both kinds.” Her eyes fell again. “The others, they’ve got the kind that doesn’t hurt, but she—H-Hyejoo,” she shut her eyes, “has both too.” 

“And you still have some light,” Jinsoul said.

Chaewon laughed once. It reminded Jinsoul too much of how she’d looked in the forest. She’d seen someone else look like this before too. “That's the problem.” 

“Could one of the others help?” she asked. “Could they—“ 

“Take it out?” she finished. “I tried that.” 

Jinsoul waited. 

“And when I got rid of some of it,” she trailed off. “I realised it was actually just mine.” 

That settled in. Chaewon had destroyed pieces of herself. That was one of the reasons for the holes. 

“So it won’t even be brought up,” Chaewon continued. “Because it can’t be helped.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“I’ve lived with this for a while, Jinsoul. I’ve tried a lot of things and it never got less.” Her shoulders fell. “Either an eternity’s going to solve it, or it doesn’t. It doesn’t matter.”

Jinsoul shook her head. “You don’t mean that.” Carefully, she reached out. 

Chaewon didn’t flinch away when she took her hand. The skin wasn’t freezing, but it wasn’t warm either. 

“And what about the guilt?” Jinsoul asked. “Do you think that could ease with time?” 

Something gave way in her expression then. What lay underneath broke Jinsoul’s heart. She knew that look as well. “It shouldn’t ever get less,” Chaewon said. “Just like none of you have to forget what I did.” Tears were starting to form. 

Jinsoul pulled her into her arms. 

Chaewon was stiff, but she relaxed after a few seconds. She was still holding back her tears. 

“Forget is the wrong word,” Jinsoul told her. “Forgive isn’t the right one either.” She tightened her grip on her. “I can accept what happened, just like I know you regret it more than anything.” 

She didn’t reply. 

Jinsoul closed her eyes. She’d hadn’t realised how bad it was. She’d thought Chaewon had been in the same state as Sooyoung and Jiwoo, weighed down by guilt, but moving on with it. 

She still shouldn’t have been one of the people to shun them. She wished she could’ve reached out sooner. 

Even if it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. 

Chaewon slowly pulled away. She didn’t let go of Jinsoul’s hand. She held it carefully, as if she was scared of dropping it. 

“You know,” she muttered. “This’s nowhere near as bad as that, I’ve got it a lot better.” She grimaced. “But I think I understand Jungeun now. Why she never let those people’s minds get erased, or let an emotional fae force forgiveness.” 

Jinsoul waited. This was what she’d been afraid of Jungeun hearing. 

“I’d rather never be forgiven," Chaewon said. "I’d rather be hated for the rest of my life, then for someone’s mind to be taken up by lies.” 

Jinsoul wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to be, but she knew full well that those words wouldn’t work. She also knew that the hatred Chaewon talked about wasn’t just that of other people. 

She peered up at her. “That’s what Alluin was offering me. I think that’s why he sent that fairy in.” 

“He would’ve taken Hyejoo’s memories?” Jinsoul asked. She felt sick just thinking about it. It was the simple solution, but one that no one ever used. It was cruel to even try and the consequences were sometimes more than you’d thought. 

It also wasn’t fair. 

Chaewon nodded. Then she looked to the sky, avoiding Jinsoul’s gaze. “It’d be a lie to say I wouldn’t want things to be different.” Her eyes welled up. “It’s all I want,” she laughed weakly, “so I guess I was the one they thought’d be most likely to turn. They don’t have much of anything to offer the rest.” 

Jinsoul squeezed her hand. “But you didn’t accept it.” 

She shook her head. “Don’t act like it was something even slightly good,” she muttered. “It’s not hard to know how wrong that’d be.” 

“Weaker people would’ve accepted,” Jinsoul told her. “There’s a lot I’d do to keep some people in my life.” She paused. “And I’d kill for them too. A lot of people would think that was wrong.” 

“These’re memories,” Chaewon retorted. “Most of us would say changing those, or taking them away, would be worse than killing someone else.” 

Jinsoul didn’t reply to that. They’d end up going in circles. 

“Don’t tell anyone what they offered me,” Chaewon said. “Not because they’d think I’d turn. Jiwoo and Sooyoung'd pummel anyone who thought that.” A dry chuckle. “But,” she sighed. The rest didn't come. 

“No one else’ll know,” Jinsoul promised. Even if she didn’t entirely agree with it, she wouldn’t say it. “Do the other two know about the darkness?” 

“They knew something had changed,” she said. “They always knew that, but they didn’t know how bad.” She let out a shaky breath. “That’s why I’m out here.” 

Meaning she didn’t want to see how worried they were. Jinsoul had heard from Sooyoung how Chaewon tended to be when she was in pain. It’d probably been the worst she’d been in the past years. 

“It’s not fair to them,” Chaewon grimaced, “I know it isn’t.” 

“But it’s suffocating?” Jinsoul suggested. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she was starting to become that for Jungeun. Or if she'd already had been. 

She pushed the thought away. That was for later. 

Chaewon smiled. It wasn’t the empty one from before. Jinsoul was relieved to see it. “Still, they probably know the least at this point.” Her smile faded as quickly as it had come. “They don’t know what they can do. I told them they can’t do anything, but that,” she blinked and tears fell, “it doesn’t help.” 

Jinsoul remembered what Jiwoo had said to Jungeun. How powerless she’d felt. She’d feel that way now too. Both her and Sooyoung would. 

“They’ve tried everything,” Chaewon said quietly. “They’ve been there for me this whole time and I’ve just,” she winced, “sunken into myself again.” 

She tried to gather the words to say. It wasn’t that Chaewon was fragile. She was coping with more than most. 

“If I told you to talk to them,” Jinsoul started, “that probably sounds like the worst advice I could give.”

“I could think of worse,” Chaewon muttered, a familiar lilt in her voice. 

She smiled slightly. “But you should tell them what’s wrong. Even if they can’t fix it, knowing what’s happening, and being able to just know how much it’s hurting you.” She tried to catch her eye. “I think that’ll help all three of you.”

Chaewon stared at the ground. 

Jinsoul pulled her in for one more hug. “I’m here too,” she said. “That probably doesn’t mean much, but—“ 

“It means everything,” Chaewon said. Her arms wrapped around Jinsoul. “Thank you.” 

“You don’t have to thank me,” she told her. “I should I’ve been here earlier.” 

”You didn’t have to be, or even now,” Chaewon replied. “You don’t have to be there later either.” 

“I did." Jinsoul brushed a hand through her hair. "I do,” she said. “And I will.”

She tightened her grip when Chaewon finally let her tears fall freely. 

______

Author's Note

This was a really hard chapter to get through. Part of it was what I was writing about. A second 'trial' of sorts was difficult on many levels, both for me and the characters themselves. The other points of discussion for the characters, as well as plot points coming into place. We're getting to a place I've been waiting for (I think I've felt that way for multiple plot points). 

However, the next update will probably take longer than this one did. I wanted to give you a longer one before I took a small break. I'll still be writing, definitely, but I've got exams coming up. Getting through the chapters, finishing writing, and then putting it all together on here takes a fair amount of time. It's early morning where I am and I'll need a semi-decent sleep schedule for the next month. Maybe I'll manage to put the next update up, as well as for the other ongoing story, but I doubt it unfortunately. 

Regardless, I hope this chapter has been interesting. Once again, this one was combining many different threads and pieces I've been waiting to write out. It brings up a few problems/points as well, which will be revisited in future chapters. 

Reading your thoughts on what's happening has been incredibly inspiring this entire time! Feel free to write out any predictions, thoughts, or even concerns and/or frustrations you might have with the characters. I've tried to make them realistic in that some of their decisions were either blatantly wrong, or flawed. Some are inconsistent and others may be reaching logical extremes, but I honestly love all twelve of them. 

Thank you so much for your support of this story so far! I say this a lot, but the fact that you're keeping up with it for as long as you have means so much to me.

I hope you're all doing well! Hopefully I'll see you in the next chapter sooner rather than later.

Twitter: @hblake44

If you have any questions regarding the au.