CHAPTER 14

The softest of footsteps woke Vex from her sleep. She blinked against the bright sunlight that streamed through the windows, and everything about her felt heavy and tired. By the time they’d returned to the town hall, the Shade Hall, the sky around them had begun to color in dawn and she was asleep on her feet. It must be—Gods, it must be nearing noon. Shit. Why had no one come to wake her?

The gentle footfalls came closer, and a tremor of unease ran through her, while the quieter, sleepier part of her insisted it was all right. It could only be her brother. He had to be close, because he could be nowhere else.

But along with the harsh sunlight came the realization that Vax was far away from her. Vex reached quietly for the knife on top of her clothing.

When she felt the comforting weight of the blade in her hand, she turned and pushed the heavy down blankets off her, preparing herself for whatever happened next, and leaped out of the bed.

Aswin walked unperturbed through the room, her hair tied into two braids, and wearing what looked like a child’s version of the Shadewatch tunic—a deep carmine with silver triangular shapes that seemed to represent a stylized mountain range—over a gray skirt and stockings. She didn’t blink at Vex’s knife but only had eyes for Trinket, who’d been given a cot to sleep on next to the window. The bear was sprawled over the cot, his head resting on his paws.

Vex hurriedly dropped the knife on the mattress and reached for a shirt to pull over her nightclothes. She rubbed at her forehead and tried to push her hair back into some semblance of order. “Aswin, what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice still rough.

Aswin stopped an arm’s length away from Trinket. “I wanted to come see Trinket,” she said, like it was entirely reasonable. “I never had a bear before. Do you think I could have my own bear too?”

Trinket, aware of the attention, opened one eye and adjusted his position slightly so that Aswin had an easier job scratching his chin. Taking it as permission regardless of what Vex might say, the girl leaped forward with glee.

“I think you should ask your mother if you can have your own bear,” Vex managed. She reached for the carafe of water that someone had placed on a nightstand and gratefully poured herself a cup. Fresh fruit had also been laid out, but she wanted to wash up before she ate. Her mouth still tasted like ashes. And she needed to get out of here.

“Did you ask your mother too?” Aswin asked, sitting down next to Trinket and pulling up her knees while the bear shamelessly leaned into her.

“I … um …” Vex blinked, the innocent question cutting straight through her. She gathered the rest of her clothes, which had all been cleaned while she was asleep, even her armor pieces, and tried to locate a bathroom where she could refresh herself and change.

“My mother is gone a lot,” Aswin continued, seemingly oblivious to Vex’s distress. She spoke with the calm assuredness of a six-year-old girl, who completely understood the world around her. “She always leaves when the ash walkers come. She says she must protect the city and our family. Maybe if I tell her a bear can protect me too, that will convince her.”

Vex spied a door off to the side and dashed into it, finding a small bathroom behind it. In the main room, Aswin was chattering happily to Trinket, and Vex freshened up, throwing water on her face and changing into clean clothes. Her satchel with supplies and her bow and arrow were laid out for her, still bearing the marks of the fight. The image of Vax lying on the ground flashed through her again, and she ducked her face into the cold water once more.

When she reappeared, Aswin had taken some of the pieces of fruit off her plate and was feeding them to Trinket. She was completely at ease with the bear, and grinned when Vex walked in. “I think he likes me,” she said proudly when Trinket took a slice of apple from her hand.

Vex stared at the fierce little girl for a moment. Despite the fact that she lived in a town frequently besieged by monsters, she seemed not to care at all about the fact that Vex was a stranger.

Vex retrieved her weapons. “Shouldn’t you be at your lessons or something?” she asked awkwardly. She wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the young girl or how to get to the Shademaster. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to, or if she should leave and find Vax on her own. Her brother was her responsibility, and no one else’s.

Aswin sighed dramatically. “I already did my chores and, also, I’m hiding from Wick.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like learning my letters. They don’t make sense. I’d rather learn what bears eat.” She scrunched up her face like she was trying to remember something. “Oh, yes! And there’s food for you in the kitchens and Mother says she’s ready to ride out with you whenever you are.”

“Did she send you here to say that?”

“No.” Aswin shrugged. “I overheard her.” She took another slice of apple and held it out to Trinket, who was clearly having the time of his life.

Vex slipped on her boots and decided on a course of action. To ride out, to be able to do something, would help. And like it or not, she could use the Shadewatch’s expertise. “Can you take care of Trinket for a bit while I go talk to your mother, Aswin?” she asked hesitantly.

“I can do that!” The girl nodded so hard, her braids bounced up and down. She paused midway through. “But please don’t tell Wick where I am?”

“I won’t,” Vex promised. It might not be the hospitable thing to do, but she didn’t know if she could trust the people around her, and the girl deserved her adventure. She’d been taught the rules of etiquette, and she wholeheartedly despised falling back into that world. “Trinket, take care of her, please?”

Trinket sighed happily and stretched out, and with that taken care of, Vex slipped out of the room. When she’d walked around the town hall the previous night—or rather, earlier that morning—little had been illuminated, and she’d been exhausted. So she wasn’t entirely sure how to get to the kitchens or the Shademaster, but she could find her way.

She forced herself to remember which direction they’d come from when the Shademaster showed her to the guest room, and she retraced their steps from there.

The guest rooms were on the third floor of the Shade Hall, in the Shademaster’s personal wing, far away from the main entrance and the large rooms and offices that were used for official town business and meetings of the Shadewatch. The rooms and hallways were decorated for comfort, with thick rugs that dampened Vex’s footsteps.

She made a mental note of the various entrances and exits, because Vax always insisted on it. On having an escape route at all times.

Soft, muted colors covered the walls around her, rich curtains framed the windows that looked out over Jorenn, and paintings of landscapes from all across the continent hung on either side of the hallway. Vex glanced at them as she passed. Perhaps under different circumstances she would’ve admired the vistas of the Lucidian Coast and of the Frostweald. Right now the only landscape she wanted to see was that of their camp. The same restlessness from the previous night settled inside her.

A door opened to her right, and the half-giant she’d met the previous night walked out, scanning the hallway around him. Wick looked no less imposing in a simple tunic and breeches without a weapon by his side. He still towered over her, and he made the rest of the hallway appear smaller, but when he spotted her he merely smiled. “Good morning, I trust you slept well?”

Vex swallowed a remark about sleeping too long. “Shademaster Derowen promised we could ride out to find my brother,” she said without preamble. “Can you take me to her?”

“Of course, I’ll take you to the Shademaster’s office.” If Wick was taken aback by her brusque manner, he didn’t show it. His gaze drifted away from her, skimming across the tall curtains. “I was looking for Aswin, who is trying to escape her lessons again. You haven’t seen her by chance?”

Vex demurred. She didn’t care for small talk, and she wouldn’t betray Aswin’s trust. While the little girl might circumvent her defenses, she knew better than to let others get close.

“Have you eaten?” Wick asked as he walked her down the hallway toward the second floor. When she shook her head, he flagged down a young man in a weaponless carmine tunic, and sent him toward the kitchen to find her a meal.

Vex glanced sideways at Wick. Just the previous night, he hadn’t trusted her enough to draw her bow within shooting distance of the Shademaster. Today he treated her like an esteemed guest. “Why?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Because it won’t do for you to fall off your horse when you’re looking for your brother.”

Sure, but that hadn’t been her question. Not really. “Why not leave me in the inn with the other travelers? Why care? I’m no one to you.”

Wick considered it. He cut an odd figure in the Shade Hall, and she tried to understand his position in the Shademaster’s company. He didn’t wear the Shadewatch’s colors, and his involvement seemed to be more personal, focused on both Derowen’s and Aswin’s protection before anything else. “Because it’s the right thing to do. You’re in need of help, and we can offer it, much like you offered your assistance up on the palisades last night. We take care of each other here.”

She snorted. She didn’t believe a word of that. Much like with that bastard back in Westruun, there was a catch. There was always a catch. A cost or a cruelty.

Next to her, Wick narrowed his eyes. “Kindness isn’t a luxury, Vex.” He pointed her in the direction of another hallway that angled away from the personal wings toward the main building.

She brushed the comment off and continued to mark the rooms and hallways around her. She needed to understand this place. For herself, and for Vax. “Who are you to the Shademaster then?”

He led her down a set of stairs, and she could feel his eyes on her. His curiosity against hers. She didn’t know exactly what he was looking for, but apparently he found it, because he answered calmly. “I’m her friend, first and foremost. We traveled and worked and fought together before we settled in Jorenn. She was there for me when my partner died, and I had nowhere to go back to. I was there when she lost her home to the wrong sort of people in Kymal. If it hadn’t been for her brother, she might have lost her life too. We were both searching for a new place to call home when we stumbled across this town beset by monsters, looking to anyone who might lead them. When she decided to stay here, I decided to stay by her side.”

“You protect her?”

He tensed then smiled. “Always.” He picked at the band around his neck, and for a second it seemed as though he wanted to say more. He simply settled on, “Jorenn allowed us both to become more than we thought we could be.”

Wick reached out to knock on a tall wooden door.

“Ash walkers aside, it seems like a good place,” Vex said. Instead of bitingly the words came out soft.

Wick glanced in her direction, and she managed a half shrug. “Aswin. She seems like a good kid, and happy here.” It felt like such a pointless observation the moment she said it. Vex knew, rationally, most people didn’t care about heritage. They cared about friendship, family, hard coin. But some days, when she felt vulnerable and alone, those years in Syngorn overrode all sense.

He shook his head. “She’s the Shademaster’s daughter and she’s spoiled rotten, but everyone knows she’s as kind and brave as any six-year-old can be.”

“And they know I will murder anyone who lays so much as a finger on her head,” said Shademaster Derowen, from a door opening. She smiled wanly at Vex, and despite the dark circles under her eyes, it looked like she’d been awake for some time. The desk behind her—practical, not beautiful—was covered in various notes, letters, and other pieces of parchment. “My daughter is perfect the way she is. I wouldn’t change her for the world.”

“Good.” Vex managed a smile, though her throat felt too tight and her heart hammered too loudly.

Behind Derowen, someone pushed open the door, and the archer who’d stood by Vex’s side the previous night walked out. His damp curls were tucked behind his ears, and underneath a long, flowing coat he wore a rapier instead of a bow. He looked far more rested than the Shademaster, and a thin smile played around his lips. “Where’s your sense of hospitality, Dera? Invite her in.”

He held out a hand to Vex. “I don’t believe we were properly introduced last night. Culwen. A pleasure to meet you.”

“My brother,” Derowen said, with a slight wince, while Vex introduced herself. In the light of day, she realized his green eyes were as vibrant as Aswin’s, though the lines around them were deeper. Culwen held on to Vex’s hand, and observed her like he could try to unravel all her secrets. “Nice shooting out there, and under such dreadful circumstances. Derowen could learn from that.”

Vex pulled her hand back and managed a polite smile. She wasn’t sure how else to respond. “Thank you.”

Culwen directed his attention to the half-giant behind Vex, and he grinned viciously. “Wick. Did my niece escape you again?”

Wick—who had taken Vex’s questions with good grace—froze, and at the door, leaning against the doorframe, Derowen grimaced. “You’re a bad influence on her, brother.”

“Someone has to be.” Culwen leaned in and pressed a kiss to his sister’s cheek despite the fact that she flinched away from him. “Give her my love. Tell her to get into trouble. I’ll be back in a couple of days, and I promised her I’d bring a present.”

“She’ll hold you to that,” the Shademaster said, her voice curiously flat.

Culwen tipped an imaginary hat. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint her.” With a nod in the direction of Vex and Wick, he sauntered out of the hallway.

Vex breathed out hard and tried to pull herself together, but when Wick placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, she flinched.

Derowen watched Culwen walk away before she turned to Vex. She held on to the doorframe, and her ring shimmered in the morning light. She breathed out. “We should go find your brother,” she said, her voice neutral. “I’ve sent scouts ahead. Once we find him, perhaps you two can tell me some about where you come from and what brings you here. It’s been a long time since I was able to travel, and I miss hearing about the world. You’re very welcome to stay with us for as long as you need.”

She sent Wick off to assemble the guard and walked back into the office to grab the tall sword she’d worn the previous night, acting with gracious efficiency. Before Vex had time to feel restless, Derowen had organized an escort of a dozen riders, new arrows for Vex, and she’d ordered the food Wick had sent for to be bundled up for Vex to eat while they rode out into the daylight, where the sun had broken through ash and mist.

JORENN LOOKED CALMER BY DAYLIGHT. The shopkeepers who’d boarded up their shops were in the process of opening up doors and windows again. A group of children chased a chicken through the streets. The tension of the previous night made way for everyday ease.

When they passed The Scattered Bar, Nera, the half-elf scout, stood outside the door, deep in conversation with a human man. Her ankle was bandaged up and she leaned against the outer wall. Blotches of pale skin showed her fatigue, but that didn’t stop her from arguing.

When she noticed Vex, she held up a hand to stop her and limped forward. “I heard about your brother. I hope you find him.”

Vex hesitated, then nodded. She felt a twinge of guilt at the ease with which she’d discarded the scout. She’d fought well, and she’d been nothing but kind. But letting anyone get too close was such an easy way to be hurt. Though no one in this town seemed to care about that.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” She gestured at Nera’s leg. “I hope that won’t trouble you long.”

“I’ve been in worse situations.” The corner of Nera’s mouth pulled into a crooked smile and she admitted, “Better ones too. I’ll be fine. I’m on my way to Westruun later today. I may travel home afterward. I’ll keep an eye out for your twin, just in case.”

She held out a hand to Vex, and Vex clasped her forearm. “Safe travels.”

“Good hunting.”

THE CLOSER THEY CAME TO the spot where Vex had last seen her brother, the harder it was to breathe.

The place where they’d set up camp the night before was ruined. Two horses were half eaten and the rest of their carcasses were left for the birds. The pots and pans they’d used for food were scattered across the campsite, and so were some of their belongings. One of the scholar’s notebooks lay crumpled and torn near the upturned cart. Some of the dwarves’ tack was ripped apart, bridles broken and brushes thrust aside. A torn-up saddle lay gathering dust and ash. There were stray arrows and footprints everywhere.

It was a miserable memory of an encampment surrounded by gray stalks of shadegrass and grayer hills.

And Vax was nowhere to be seen.

Vex dismounted and walked around the spot where she’d thought she’d seen her brother fall. She combed through the layers of soot, and despite the bright glare of the sun, coldness settled inside her, hard and heavy.

Scouts rode the perimeter, and the guards around her scoured every inch of the place. One of the guards found the chewed-upon corpse of a walker near the remains of the campfire. A once-human woman, whose cursed remains were half devoured by ash, but for bone and some muscle. Her skeletal hands and feet were sharpened to claws, and after the battle, what remained of her was torn apart by the scavengers that roamed the hills. Another guard uncovered a mangled body of a smaller ashen corpse at the edge of the encampment. A third guard picked up the torn up pieces of a half-finished bridle.

Everything else was broken equipment and layers upon layers of gray dust. Whatever had been on the toppled-over cart was long gone. Some of the crates had been smashed to pieces by the impact, but most were simply gone. Carried away.

Something sparkled underneath the gray dust, and Vex dropped to her knees to reach for it, expecting perhaps a coin or some jewelry. Instead her fingers wrapped around a small copper pick, like one used for a zither. Ash collected in the grooves and the edges of the pick, and she dusted it off with her thumb. There was a small horse etched in the copper.

A few feet away, she saw the outlines of a leather bag. She crawled through the dirt and picked it up to feel the familiar wear and tear, the scars along the leather, and the patched-up bits. The world spun around her, and what little breakfast she had clawed its way up. The bag, which her brother had carried with them since their earliest days in Kymal, was empty. She knew what had been in it, and it all seemed so pointless now. Provisions. Rope. Bedrolls for setting up camp. Tinder for starting a fire. Bland things. Supplies they needed, supplies they’d miss, too. Nothing of actual value. Aside from the cloaks they wore and the clothes they’d mended over and over again, aside from the feathers in her hair and their weapons, they hadn’t brought anything along from Syngorn. There had been nothing left in Byroden. They carried their homes with each other, and she didn’t need this empty bag here.

She needed her brother.

She reached for her necklace and stayed where she was, unable to move. He was hiding somewhere. She would have felt it if something worse had happened to him, she was certain of it. Right?

She balled her fist so tightly around the copper bear, the tiny edges cut into her hands. She felt impossibly cold.

He was out there, somewhere. He had to be.

A hand squeezed her shoulder. “He is,” Shademaster Derowen said softly. She’d dismounted and stood next to Vex, compassion in the lines of her face, but worry in her eyes.

Vex hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud, and her stomach dropped at the sight of Derowen. “Did you find anything?” she demanded.

“The scouts found tracks leading away from the camp,” Derowen said.

“My brother’s?”

“Multiple tracks, actually,” the Shademaster replied. “They surmised a handful of people entered the camp after the Shadewatch left, presumably to loot the abandoned supplies. The tracks leading in and the ones leading out don’t match up. They can’t really make sense of it.” She hesitated. “Come, it’s best if I show you.”

She held out a hand to Vex, who flipped her the copper pick instead before she got to her feet. Derowen caught it with nimble fingers.

“Bandits?” Vex asked.

Derowen led her toward the edge of the encampment, where two women in Shadewatch uniforms were marking the tracks they found. “It’s not as simple as that,” she admitted. “A group of outlaws, led by a man by the name of Thorn, were a part of our community once. Miners who explored the hills and delved into new mining systems—until they dug too deep.” She turned the copper pick this way and that, letting the crudely drawn horse catch the sunlight, and a thoughtful frown crossed her face. “Jorenn Village has always had their share of dangerous creatures that come down the hills. It has monsters. It has horrors. And it has townspeople able and determined enough to keep the town safe, people willing to learn how to protect themselves and their neighbors. But we can’t fight what is already dead. The miners disturbed creatures better left untouched, and we all suffered for it.”

The Shademaster gestured at the destroyed camp, and Vex grimaced.

“Why would these miners remain here?” Vex asked. She knelt next to one of the guards, and studied the footprints that the woman pointed out to her. Around the campfire, the prints had been too chaotic and trampled to follow, but here at the edge, she could make out what had alerted the scouts. The prints didn’t match the boots of the guards, and they overlaid the horses’ hoofprints, indicating that people had been here after the Shadewatch evacuated the camp. She followed the ones into the camp and then walked over to compare them with the ones that led out.

“When the Shadewatch tried to break up the miners’ endeavors and bring them to justice for the dangers they brought to Jorenn, most of them escaped deeper into the mines,” Derowen said. “We’ve tried to lure them out to no avail. They know the hills better than any one of us. They took up residence in an abandoned mine system not far from here. Claimed to have a right to stay, despite the fact that they endangered our community, and they’ve been a pest ever since. They know the Shadewatch keeps an eye out in case any of them show themselves aboveground, but they’ve attacked travelers before. Presumably, they need the supplies.”

One of the guards pointed out the tracks leading away from the camp, and Vex traced one of the clearest footprints with a finger.

She clenched her hands into fists. “Do you know where those outlaws are, exactly?”

The Shademaster rubbed at her forehead, and frustration shone through in her voice. “They elude us. If we’d known, we would’ve raided their camp a long time ago. They’re responsible for the destruction of too many homes. They’re responsible for too many lost among the Shadewatch as well.”

Vex felt tendrils of ice crawl up her spine. She traced the drag marks next to the footprints and followed them, step by step. She noticed every single break in the pattern. The places where the drag marks were interspersed by other footprints. The drops of blood. The tracks that indicated that for a while, two people had walked side by side, something heavy between them.

Or someone.

To Vex’s left, Derowen held out the pick to a guard, and at her gesture, others began to collect what belongings they could find. She directed one of the guards to a bag of supplies in the corner of the encampment. It was half covered in dust and blood splatters but seemed otherwise untouched.

She followed Vex at a careful distance. “The town controls the active mines now. We’ve asked the miners loyal to Jorenn to keep an eye out, and the Shadewatch patrols regularly. So far, we haven’t had any luck.”

The trail led to a rockier patch, where any tracks would be near impossible to follow. But not before the drag marks stopped and a pair of footprints appeared between the two others. Vex immediately recognized the scars and inconsistencies on the soles. She knew Vax slightly favored his right foot. She held her foot next to one of the prints for measure, but she didn’t need to see her brother to recognize his presence.

Perhaps the tracks made no sense to the scouts, but they told Vex all she needed to know. There’d been a scuffle here. One of the outlaws had dragged Vax out of the camp, with some assistance of a second person. They’d put him up on his feet here, briefly.

She placed her hand on the prints. The blood spatters she saw around her were bad, but thankfully not so bad as to suggest that he was bleeding to death. He was hurt, though. He needed help.

She followed the traces until she got to the gravelly path that led away from the campsite.

Vax’s tracks disappeared as soon as the tracks hit rock. The first set of footprints continued until the ground became too hard, their outline deeper than before. Much deeper. It took Vex a second to realize why.

They’d carried Vax out. Had he seen too much? Did they need a hostage? It didn’t matter. There were no good reasons for Vax to be captured, only bad and worse ones.

Where had they gone?

Vex ran her fingers over the splatters of dried blood before she got to her feet. She brushed off her knees. She tried to breathe in. Terror and anger wrapped around her chest and her voice cracked when she said, “They’ve taken him.”

Derowen frowned. “The scouts mentioned there were more tracks here, but—”

“No.” Vex shook her head and pointed out what she’d seen, explaining to the Shademaster what it meant. As she did, Derowen’s frown deepened and some harsher thought flashed across her face, but she didn’t give voice to it, and for that Vex was grateful.

“Those outlaws have taken my brother,” Vex said, her voice flat. Now that she knew what had happened, she knew what she must do. “And I will bring him back.”

“They’re dangerous,” Derowen said. She was still staring at the last set of tracks, and her hands clenched by her side. “We don’t even know where they are.”

“Then I’ll find them,” Vex said. She couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t be surrounded by this emptiness, by the fear of losing him, by all their compassionate looks. She walked over to her horse and mounted again. She’d tear down these hills stone by stone if she had to.

Derowen fell into step with her, clearly considering Vex’s words. She sighed. “I believe you may have a better shot at this than any of us,” she said eventually, though she didn’t sound entirely convinced. “But these hills are deadly. Your brother wouldn’t want you to endanger yourself, would he?”

Vex patted her bow and arrows and pulled herself up straight. “I can protect myself, and he knows that,” she snapped. “If anyone can track them, I can. I need to find my brother, Shademaster, and I won’t let anyone hurt him.”

Derowen nodded like she’d expected that answer. She gestured for two guards to come closer. “Then allow my riders to stay with you. Nari and Olfa know the area, and they’ll be able to tell you what we’ve found so far. They’ll bring you back safely, and if you do find something, you’ll need backup. They can alert the Shadewatch. My daughter would never forgive me if I didn’t try to help in any way I can.”

“I’m better off on my own,” Vex said coldly. She grasped for a semi-polite way to decline. “I appreciate your assistance and Aswin’s care, but they’ll only get in the way.”

Derowen lifted her chin and pulled her mouth into a thin line. Then she nodded at the guards to mount. “Don’t forget your targets are our targets too, Vex. They will join you or they will follow you.”

They stared at each other, and Vex saw no compassion in Derowen’s eyes. Just ironclad purpose.

“Fine.” The fury inside her morphed into determination. Desperation. “If they can keep up.”

With that, Vex spurred on her horse to canvas the area around the camp, riding in ever-wider circles to find something, anything. Tracks. Hidden brothers. Something or someone who could tell her that she wasn’t alone and wouldn’t be alone in this gray corner of the world.

VEX WAS CERTAIN SHE’D BE able to track Vax down, but the hills drained that conviction from her. She started on the other side of the rocky patch and found a trail twice. First, a set of footprints that looked vaguely humanoid. They trailed away from the general direction of the encampment toward the glowing hills where shadegrass made way for green grass. The guards stayed with her, at a distance, and they only spoke if she had questions about their surroundings, the wildlife in the area, and the mines that were long since abandoned.

She followed the footprints for the better part of an hour, until they turned to crawl marks, until she came across a sheltered spot between bushels of heather. Traces of ash covered the evergreen plants, and when she took out her bow and sneaked closer, she found the broken and cut-up corpse that had tried to crawl away, facedown between the flowers.

She stabbed it again for good measure, breathing out hard.

One of the guards spat at the body. “Fucking monsters.”

Vex circled the area where the dead walker lay, but the tracks didn’t pick up again.

The second trail led in the direction of where the guards told her part of an abandoned mine system was, and it was one of crumbling rocks and flattened shadegrass. She kept on that until the sun crested toward the horizon, and the sky around them turned from the bright blue of day to the pinks and oranges of twilight. The trail gave her nothing more than a torn-up deer, attacked by predators.

She knelt next to it and ran her fingers through its fur, imagining the wounds mending and breath coming back to the broken animal. It didn’t, of course. Her hands felt hot and uncomfortable, but there was nothing she could do to fix this pain.

She took a sip of water, rubbed her face, and tried to remember what to do next.

The tracks that had been so clear around the camp seemed to have disappeared.

“No one has ever been able to find them?” she asked hoarsely.

One of the guards—Nari—shook his head. He glanced at the setting sun. “Not yet.”

It made sense, too. Being able to hide well was presumably the only thing that kept them alive this close to town. But they had Vax, so it didn’t matter. She had to figure out a way to find them.

Vex hightailed back to the encampment. With the rest of the guard gone and the remains cleared out, she could figure out if other tracks led away from the camp. They did, of course, but all in the direction of Jorenn. Horses trampling through ash walkers. Horses carrying guards to retrieve possessions. Her tracks, full of despair. All the other footprints disappeared at the edge of the encampment, like whoever’d walked here knew exactly how to avoid being found.

“We’ll do what we can to find your brother for you,” Olfa promised. “But we’ll have to be back behind the town walls before nightfall.”

“He’d want you to be safe,” Nari said.

Derowen had said almost exactly the same thing, and Vex cursed. Perhaps they meant well, but it felt as though they were all using her brother against her. None of them even knew Vax. She wouldn’t let them hold her back. She couldn’t let them hold her back.

She balled her fists and focused on the slightest hints of another trail. A set of footprints, leading away from the encampment in the direction of the hills. One person with soft feet. If she closed her eyes and pretended she didn’t know better, that she didn’t see the footprints were the wrong size and the steps the wrong rhythm, she could imagine this was Vax—free from the walkers and free from the outlaws.

With the two guards keeping a respectful—but worried—distance, she kept her focus on the trail and attempted to reconstruct it. The image of a young half-elf, dashing away from the fight. One foot in front of the other. A step to the side, presumably to dart out of the way of an attack. A single footstep that crushed some stalks of shadegrass. The sky darkening around them—around him.

Higher up into the hills, angling away from where the mines were supposed to be. Dusty footsteps across rocky ground. Soot. Disturbed rocks. A half-hidden cairn. A hint of blood?

Vex couldn’t tell. She could only follow the tracks.

All she had to do was find him.

It was so hard to breathe.

Then these tracks disappeared too. Everything around was hard stone once more, and no matter where she looked there were no footsteps. No drops of blood. Not even the barest hint of ash. Without prior knowledge of this location, it was impossible to tell which stones—if any—might have been disturbed.

“We really have to go back,” Nari insisted, riding up next to Vex. “Shademaster’s orders.”

Vex felt the words like a gut punch. The hills around them were bright orange and red in the light of the setting sun. And while the vibrant shades cast colorful shadows, she knew she couldn’t go on. Not with the safety of the guards on her shoulders, no matter how much she wanted to keep searching.

She could do nothing and she felt so lost.

Purpose and desperation morphed into cold terror again. She fought down the urge to scream in frustration, and instead she pushed out the words through gritted teeth. “We’ll go back.”