Ash wasn't sure how long they sat like that, their hands locked together as Caspian used his free hand to hide his tears. At some point, she realized she was crying too.

What she did know was that there wasn't nearly enough time for Caspian to feel all the things he needed to let himself feel. He'd said this was his first time following Haylan's advice. Had he ever let anyone glimpse this shattered part of himself, or had he endured it, let it harden until it was a too-heavy armor burdening him with every step?

If so, she could only imagine the relief he felt putting the lonesome weight aside.

Eventually, his breathing evened out. He dropped his arm to the side and stared at the ceiling above. The tears had washed the emotions from his face. The magic no longer lit his eyes, though they were bloodshot and red rimmed.

"I should be fine now," he said.

Instead of asking which way he meant, Ash only nodded.

Neither of them moved. She was too aware of their connected hands. She longed to provide more comfort than that simple touch, but she wasn't sure he'd accept it, so she settled on that, hoping he could feel the warmth and assurance she focused his way.

Because she knew no words could convince him of what she knew: it wasn't his fault. It was Wolfbane's. It was the cruel Scion who decided to play with his life despite knowing humans shouldn't have magic. It was the false gods who let these Scions go unpunished.

She hadn't thought her hatred for those groups could grow, but she seemed to find new kindling every other day.

Caspian squeezed her hand as he sat up. "Thank you," he said, those two words holding the strength of two hundred. "We need to go."

He stood first, and then he used their established grip to help her up. It might have been her imagination, but he seemed to have to pry his hand from hers.

She curled her hand into a fist, as if she could hold on to his warmth. Then she shook herself. This wasn't the time for this... whatever it was. A crush, most likely. Maybe only stemming from the recent dire events.

Dire events which included the kidnapping of her loved ones. That was far more important.

Caspian looked down at his outfit and then hers. "I don't think we'll be returning to the ball anytime soon, so we shouldn't need these. Movement is far more important."

They shed their dressier outer layer of clothing, and though Ash enjoyed pretty dresses, she couldn't deny that the lack of mobility restrictions brought a sense of safety.

"What do we do without my glamours?" she asked. "I've gotten some rest, but not enough that we should trust it."

"There's other methods." He cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. "Land recharges my strength, and I was on it a lot more than normal these last couple of days. I think I can get us there."

Ash frowned. "They're just doing their jobs," she pointed out.

"Which is why I'm using my fists and not my blade," he said, grinning. "I may need you to use yours, though, if only to keep anyone from escaping before I can knock them out. We can't have them sounding any alarms."

He was settling back into his normal energy, putting the walls around the fragile young boy beneath. Ash didn't resist. She clung to his returning smug confidence as the rescue and its dangers skulked closer.

They showed more care leaving the room than they had entering it. The halls remained blissfully empty as they returned to the large tapestry and the secret door behind it. Caspian hesitated long enough to listen for approach before entering. She followed close behind.

As much as she tried to focus her mind as they crept downward, she couldn't help it from drifting. Her gaze latched onto Caspian as she thought over everything he'd revealed. It was as if he'd lifted a curtain to reveal a mural she'd only seen pieces of before, and even then, some parts were still shrouded.

Fate was cruel, dragging him and Wolfbane back to this place where so much pain was rooted. Perhaps, though, saving his loved ones at the place of the original disaster could bring him some solace. Or, if she allowed herself to hope for more, they could end the beast that haunted Caspian.

"Prepare yourself," Caspian whispered.

His warning sharpened her focus, and she caught the soft sound of footsteps dulled by the strange cloud architecture. She placed her hand on her dagger hilt. It being within reach now that her dress was gone brought a small amount of comfort, though she hoped she didn't have to use it.

Her mind flashed back to the pirate, her dagger in his neck, his blood coating her blade and leaking down onto her hand. With everything going on, she hadn't had time to process that, but she wasn't sure she was ready to add another layer to it.

They arrived at a bend in the hall and crouched down. It didn't provide much cover, but nobody would be watching for people hidden in its shadow.

A Nimfela with bright yellow plumage stepped around first. Caspian sprung up. His fist crashed into her hooked nose. Dark gold blood spilled over her lips as she slammed back into her Nimfelum companion.

Caspian lunged forward, tackling both of them into the opposite wall. While the Nimfela slid down to the floor, he kept the Nimfelum pinned. "Where are the prisoners kept?"

The Nimfelum snapped at him in a foreign, clipping tongue. The language barrier didn't conceal the venom in his voice.

Sneering, Caspian pressed his forearm harder against the Nimfelum's neck. "Humans." He pointed to himself. "Auction items. Where?" When the Nimfelum clicked angrily in response, Caspian raised his eyebrows. "Death?"

The Nimfelum hunched into himself. Terror flashed over his angry façade. "Down," he said, pointing further down the hall.

"Thanks." Caspian slugged the Nimfelum's jaw, and he went down next to his companion, unconscious. "Of course, I had to question one that doesn't know Somnian."

"Well, we know we're going in the right direction," Ash offered.

"As long as he understood me." Caspian shot the Nimfelum a glare, as if they had already found the information false, and then they continued onward.

They ran into a lone Nimfela, and she did speak the human tongue. After telling Caspian what he could do with his questions, he dragged the answers from her. The hall continued straight down to the entrance of a storage area, and it was there they'd find the auction currency storage.

As Caspian delivered a hard blow to the Nimfela's head, a shrill but quiet ringing echoed through the hall. He grimaced and recoiled from the Nimfela. She slid to the ground without his hold to keep her up, and the ringing grew fainter.

"What the blasted gales..." He crouched down and studied her.

Ash found the source first. "Her wrist," she said, pointing. A band encircled her wrist, crafted from the icy material. Black symbols shifted along its surface while the band itself flashed with a pale light.

He grabbed her arm and shifted it to study the bracelet before tapping the surface. Nothing happened. The symbols continued to shift, and the shrill sound continued to claw at her ears.

"We need to hurry," he said. "It could be an alarm that the others didn't have, and even if it's not, this sound will surely draw attention."

Despite his theory, as they rushed down the corridor, they didn't run into anyone. Ash clenched her dagger harder. She hated this. They shouldn't be able to get to the storage so easily, not after that strange alarm.

Caspian's frown gave her the impression he was as offput as her, but they kept their thoughts quiet as they ate away at the distance between them and the end.

His pace picked up suddenly. She discovered why when she glanced past his shoulder. The path leveled out at an arched doorway, letting out into a room that had to be one thing.

Ash nearly tripped as she rushed after him. They still didn't know if their friends had been dragged up here, but they knew one person was here for certain.

Callum.

Her stomach performed a confusing flip. He was the likely cure for her sister, and he'd also become her friend during their time together. But nerves infiltrated her excitement as she recalled those raw moments when she'd wanted him closer.

The time she spent with Callum felt like another lifetime, and she didn't know how to face colliding with the past, nor did she have the time to brace for it.

Caspian made it into the room while she still had a couple dozen feet to cover. Something large and metallic clattered on the ground, and then he shouted, "They're not here!"

"What?" Ash stumbled into the storage room. She'd greatly increased her stamina, but the strain of the last twenty-four hours wore on her body. Huffing for breath, she looked around.

Crates, vases, and chests took up most of the space, each bearing a plaque with a strange, weaving writing. Caspian stood surrounded by metal cages, all of them empty. The one closest to her differed from the others. It missed portions from three of its bars. A quick glance revealed another cage, this one on the far right, in a similar state. Black material lay on the ground in front of it, as well as a strange brown pole.

She approached and crouched beside the objects. Up close, the material looked like gloves with the wrists torn off. Those were strange enough, but when she picked up the pole, she found it to be earthen and brittle. The edges were jagged, almost like...

Eyes widening, she held the pole up to the missing spots on the cage. Sure enough, on her second attempt, the bar's broken edges nearly matched the pole's.

"Willow!" she called to Caspian.

He paused in whatever he was doing. "Willow?"

"Yes, Willow." She held the petrified bar up for him to see. "She broke them out. Or, at least, broke two of them out. And then they must have opened the other cages." It didn't explain the gloves, though pieces of a theory drifted in the back of her mind.

She saw the understanding settle on Caspian's face as he worked out the same conclusion she'd come to. A proud smirk began to curl his lips, but then he glanced around, and it fell away. He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. "That explains the cages, but then where are they? We should have seen them coming up the hall. Unless they did it earlier, but you'd think there'd be an alert if prisoners escaped..."

Their eyes met, and they came to the realization at the same time. "That band the Nimfela wore," she said, and he nodded.

"It would make sense, but then we definitely would have seen them."

"Unless there's another hidden door? We've seen enough already," she pointed out.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but the frustration remained in his features. She couldn't blame him. They'd been so close, and the others truly had been here with Callum. Now they were reduced to more guess work.

"I hate this stupid cloud island," he said as he opened his eyes again. "If this was earth, I could sense a secret door. Instead, we have to do this the old fashion way."

To Ash's surprise and relief, it didn't take long. She'd expected the cramped space to be a detriment, but it guided her to a portion of the wall that was uncovered. She trailed along it, pushing to see if any part swung inward, and in less than a minute, she found it.

Caspian paused his brief search along a more covered portion of the wall. "That feels far too easy."

"Well, if I had a secret entrance, I wouldn't want to climb boxes to get to or from it," she reasoned.

He still eyed the opening warily. "What if there's more?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. After everything they'd gone through, she didn't like how easy this part had been, either, but they couldn't afford searching for every potential secret door they could have gone through.

"What if there isn't, and this is the way to them?" she pointed out. "If the servants have been made aware of an escape, we need to get there and help them."

He shot a quick glance around the room before setting his jaw and nodding. "Let me go first."

The command lacked the condescension and mocking it would have had only a quarter-lune ago. His skills made him a better choice to go first, and that was all there was to it. Ash couldn't help the small prick of pride at his lack of doubt.

He ducked into the new corridor, and she followed close behind. She unsheathed her dagger. Each step forward was a step closer to danger. She felt the truth of that in her bones. After a short distance, she heard the truth of it as well.

"It says they're gathered in the west quadrant!" someone ahead of them shouted. The shrill ringing from before sounded from the same direction, but this time, it was a chorus of multiple bands signaling their warning.

"The auction items!" another shouted. "Do you think the pirate planned this? I told His Highness not to trust those dronilt up here."

The conversation continued, more voices throwing in their opinions, but they left behind the Somnian language for their own.

Caspian looked over his shoulder at her, his mouth set in a grim line. These Nimfeli would lead them straight to the others, but it meant more threats for everyone to handle. Taking them on alone meant the two of them against who-knew-how-many, but they'd have the element of surprise and the Nimfeli would lack reinforcements.

She held up her dagger. "Let's do this."

He considered her for a moment before smirking. She didn't know if it was that specific tilt to his lips or the approval in his gaze that made her stomach flutter with pixies. Maybe it was both.

"Don't slow me down, Cinders." That nickname again. The single word shifted, sizzling where it had once prickled, but she couldn't explain why. Maybe it was the new intensity in his gaze when he said it.

He wrenched his gaze away, and cool air rushed to fill the previously heated space between them. She really needed to figure out what had changed between them once they escaped.

When they took off down the corridor, they didn't bother with the slower care needed for quiet. The Nimfeli made enough noise, and even if they heard the approach, they'd likely dismiss it as reinforcements. At least, Ash hoped so.

It took longer than she liked for them to catch up. She heard more voices ahead of them, though she couldn't see where they came from yet. The corridor slanted upward before evening out, hiding whatever lay past the climb.

The first Nimfelum noticed them when less than ten feet separated them from the Nimfeli. He shouted something, but Caspian cut off whatever he said with an uppercut to the jaw. A loud crunch followed the blow. Even Caspian winced. Ash was beginning to feel bad for the Nimfeli's heads. It was better than stab wounds and slit throats, though.

Before Caspian could correct his footing, a Nimfela swiped her arm through the air, and a blast of wind came with it. He yelped as the gust caught him and threw him into the air. By the time he crashed back down, the Nimfeli were on him.

Ash charged forward and swiped at the closest ones. Two dodged, but the blade caught a third one in the chest. She steeled herself as she watched that golden blood trickle down his skin. Her intent was to distract, not kill, and a few cuts weren't the end of a life.

Yet guilt still nipped at her as she swung the dagger again. The dagger didn't get close, though. A Nimfelum's palm pulsed the same deep violet as his feathers as he thrust it sideways. The air followed the motion, diverting Ash's swing. She stumbled straight into another blast of wind against her chest. The breath rushed out of her as if she'd been punched.

A Nimfela's tail whipped out, encircled her ankle, and yanked. She hit the ground, and her watering eyes filled further, blurring her vision. She blinked her sight clear just in time. The Nimfela had produced an ice-spike-like short sword from somewhere that she jabbed at Ash's face.

She blocked with her own dagger and kicked up. The Nimfela squawked as Ash's foot struck near her elbow. Ash rolled out of the way before the Nimfela could recover. Another reached for her and earned a sliced-open palm. Ash's victory was short lived. She rose half-way to her feet when another gust tossed her backward.

She wished she could summon fears without losing control. It would stun them long enough for her to get her bearings. Even if she could, though, her magic stores were too low.

Readjusting her grip on her dagger, she leaned against the wall as she forced herself up. Another Nimfelum appeared with another icy blade. Before she could move, he used his own magic to pummel her chest with wind, pinning both her and her arms against the wall. His eyes narrowed and his mouth paled into a near-invisible straight line as he kept the air stream running. Then he shifted his weight forward, drew his arm back, stabbed forward—

Caspian tackled the Nimfelum then punched him one, two, three times in the face. It was only after the third one that the Nimfelum's head lulled. Caspian swiped a hand across his forehead as he stood. The consistent usage of magic to strengthen his blows was starting to take its toll. His eyes glowed a frantic amber, and sweat speckled his face. He'd also taken blows from the Nimfeli. A cut on his cheek, four different ones slashed open on his body that she could see. She could feel bruises forming from the air blasts, and she was sure he'd find some later as well.

Past him, unconscious Nimfeli bodies littered the floor. She pressed her lips together. He'd done nearly all the work and faced the brunt of the damage. She vowed to practice more rigorously after this.

He looked her up and down. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Before she could answer, someone screamed up ahead. His eyes flicked over her once more before he took off. She followed. The sounds of combat funneled through the corridor, spurring her faster even as her body ached for rest.

The others were so close. Twenty feet. Twelve. Seven.

They burst over the crest of the incline and straight through an open hidden door. A battlefield greeted them.

*****

No breaks to figure out emotions >:D We need a climax to happen! I'm debating elongating chapter 34 to show their escape. Thoughts? Or was it fine just having it all explained by these two? Either way, the gang escaped, but it seems they escaped right into trouble 😬

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!