Rippling Moon took them all the way out of the palace proper and into the main courtyard. The grand entrance of the palace had only received the most basic of repairs, and its stonework remained blackened from fire damage. A collection of large tents filled the area, and imposing men and women hurried about. This was where the Lost Company now quartered themselves as the monumental task of securing Ecclesia, former capital of a fallen kingdom, dragged on.

The tent Moon brought them to was one belonging to the Lost Company's surgeons. These healers weren't the ones that had earned Enfri's resentment. Quite the opposite. She thought there was a lot she could learn from these six men. Battlefield surgeons carried a special brand of courage, possessing wits and mettle in astonishing quantity.

Also, in Enfri's brief chats with them, they had interrogated her for everything she knew of herbalism. That had proven a surefire way for the Lost Company's healers to endear themselves to her.

A number of soldiers and knights had curious looks on their faces. The sight of Jin carrying Enfri in her arms must have been an odd one. Even surrounded by goblins and dragons, Enfri felt like she stood out. Frightening.

Moon slipped inside the infirmary tent and past the surgeons. No one raised a word against it. She went to a low cot covered in fur blankets, but the man lying there was obscured from Enfri's sight.

Surgeon Cobrin barred Enfri and Jin's path into the tent. He was a ruddy man at the end of his middle-years, slender and wiry with long arms. His hair and curled mustache were both a dark burgundy with few signs of gray, and he wore an interesting apparatus about his head that could fix magnifying lenses over his eyes.

"What in the name of tides is she doing here?" Cobrin demanded of Jin. He leveled a calloused finger at Enfri's face. "Waves, but the Lady Yora was halfway into the grave just yesterday. Look at that dark skin! She just can't pull in enough sunlight at this latitude. No. Put her back, and make her rest."

Jin arched an eyebrow at him. "If you wish to debate it with her..."

Cobrin's eyes narrowed, and his voice went flat. "I'd rather man the stormbreak again."

The way everyone talked, one might think Enfri was a terror. She didn't much care for that reputation— completely unearned, she might add— though it was proving convenient.

Ignoring all this slander flying around her head, Enfri gestured for Jin to set her on her feet. "Is it true that the kith scouts brought Ban back with them?"

"Aye," Cobrin replied. His eyes darkened. "The Karst is in poor shape, my lady. He walked through Hell to get as far as he did. We've tended the worst of it, and the captain has always been a tough blaggard, but..." Cobrin scratched at his head. "Mayhaps you can see to him. His... well, I'll let you take your measure. This is outside of what they taught at the university."

"What sort of injuries?" Enfri asked while Jin kept a steadying hand on her arm.

"Broken bones, mostly," Cobrin said. "Exposure. Some frostbite on his feet and hands, but we've seen to that much."

"Ataxi and feywort?"

"Aye, but for a lad his size, I added an ounce of powdered nettle root into the mix."

Enfri logged that away to write down later. She'd rarely had much cause to treat frostbite before, and she appreciated Cobrin passing on his knowledge.

The surgeon grabbed a stool and placed it next to Moon by the sickbed. He held Enfri's hand to help her sit.

"Winds show mercy," Enfri whispered once she had a look at Ban.

Large splotches of purple and yellow bruises covered much of his face. Ban was a ruggedly handsome young man, chiseled jaw and bold brow, but he looked to have just stepped out of a prize fight with an ogre. His eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling at a steady rhythm.

Enfri lifted the blanket covering Ban. He'd been undressed, so she could see that the bruises continued down his broad chest. Ban was strong, almost inhumanly strong, so Enfri had trouble imagining what could inflict such injuries on him. Punching the slabs of muscle that covered his body would have been like hitting rock.

Rippling Moon was watching her inspect Ban, her large eyes pleading. She held Ban's hand. "Ban is not whole," she said.

"What could do this to a paladin?" Enfri asked Cobrin.

"The snows can make an overland trek perilous," he replied. "I'd wager a month's pay he suffered a fall. Several, by the look of him."

"Overland?" Deebee exclaimed. "Trek? There'd be no reason for him to walk if Kimpo was with him. They'd have flown!"

Jin knelt on the other side of Moon. "This is why you came for me," she said. "There are several breaks. His arm. Two ribs."

"God-sighted has her bone magic," Moon said with a nod. "Can she..."

"She can," Jin said in assurance. She drew a knife and nicked Ban's shoulder. Her thumb smeared the blood, and she closed her eyes.

Ban jerked on his sickbed, and a wheezing gasp tore from his throat. Enfri knew from experience that this was far from a comfortable sensation, but she also knew of its effectiveness. Osteomancy was most often used as a terrifying weapon. That Jin was growing more and more comfortable using it as a tool for healing was wondrous.

"It is done," Jin said as she opened her eyes. The bruises darkened around where the breaks had been. Her elder magic could mend the bone, but it wasn't kind to the surrounding tissue. Still preferable to a broken arm.

While Jin fended off the thanks of a grateful Moon, Enfri placed her hand on Ban's chest, over the deep scars he carried. One had come from the lance of his brother, Rodrik. The other from a sword wielded by General Kastus, his mentor. Ban's bond with Kimpo should have erased those as soon as the bond connected them.

Enfri furrowed her brow as she wondered why that was. Maybe the scars were in his heart as much as on his flesh.

He's my first knight. My true friend. Everyone I'm close with suffers.

Because they are nothing, a horrid thought said, breaking into her mind. A Ruby Knight is just a soldier— a sword and nothing more. If it breaks, forge another.

It came to Enfri so forcefully that she winced.

Forge another!

The voice continued to howl in the back of her head. Enfri did her best to pay it no attention. If she just ignored it, it seemed to work itself into exhaustion and leave her alone longer than if she simply told it to shut up.

"You said something more than his injuries was wrong with him," Enfri said to Cobrin. "What did you mean?"

"I won't pretend to know of your... elder blood... my lady," Cobrin said, "but I thought the Karst would heal any injury he took."

"Flames," Deebee murmured. "If he hasn't drawn from the bond, then my Huntress must be in even worse shape."

It was the only explanation Enfri could imagine. Taking healing, just as she had done with Deebee throughout her withdrawals, carried a cost from the giver. Her worries redoubled themselves. She needed to know what had happened to Kimpo the Huntress more than ever.

"Ban," Enfri whispered. "Come back to us."

His breathing changed. It caught before resuming. Enfri took it as a sign that she'd been heard.

Moon continued to hold Ban's hand, anxious and fearing for him. Enfri touched her shoulder. The heat radiating off Moon's skin always came as a small shock, but Enfri had learned to see goblin warmth as a comfort.

Rippling Moon loved Ban fiercely, and he returned it. Paladin and goblin, once sworn enemies, but now in love. That they only admitted it so soon before Ban disappeared must have made the last few days horrible for her.

"He will heal," Enfri said to her. "Faith, Moon. Your red will always come back to his blue."

Moon leaned against Enfri's leg. "Green one speaks white words. I will hear them."

"Ban is a tough mortal and will pull through," Deebee said. "I'm more concerned now for my blue. Err... red. My red blue. My red dragon who is a... Winds, but goblin phrasing muddles things. Kimpo, girls. What about Kimpo?"

A thought occurred to Enfri. Her elder magic allowed her to place a bond between mortal and dragon. Perhaps there was something more she could do. If she used her magic to touch upon their bond again, perhaps she could learn if Kimpo was still out there and injured.

Her hand on Ban's chest pressed down a little more firmly. Enfri let her ether probe into Ban, questing for his imprint within the Weave. She found him, felt his swirling maelstrom of a thousand essences. She felt how they roiled and stormed in a dizzying, chaotic blend that made Ban who he was. His soul. Enfri sought out the part of him that was Kimpo.

She found nothing. Nothing but a void, a black emptiness that Ban's soul recoiled from. It was a scar as surely as the marks carved on Ban's flesh. It lay where the bond had once been.

"No," Enfri whispered. "Winds save us, no. The bond has been severed."

"What?" Deebee shouted. "No! Are you saying... Enfri, do you mean to tell me that Kimpo is dead?"

Enfri sobbed. Kimpo, the only other dragon besides Deebee she'd known, was gone. Polite and wrathful. Claws that lay gently upon her shoulder as readily as they could crush the battlements of a fortress. They had only just found each other.

"Deebee," Enfri said. "I'm so sorry, love."

Behind her, she was aware of how the surgeons of the Lost Company had gone quiet. They doffed their hats and lowered their eyes. The Lost Company knew Kimpo as a warrior that had fought with them in the defense of this city, but they hadn't known her as Enfri and those she loved did.

"Kimpo," Ban whispered. "Don't forget..."

Deebee hopped down from Jin's shoulder and sat next to his head. "Dear boy. I know you gave your all for her." She touched his cheek with her little claws. Her voice grew hard. "Heal, Ban, so that you and I can avenge our Huntress."

"She needs us," Ban said. His eyes slowly opened and stared up at the roof of the tent. "I promised her. I promised we would find her."

Enfri bit her lip. He denied the truth even now. That Kimpo was lost to them.

Like a shot, Ban snapped upright into a sitting position. Enfri startled at the abrupt movement.

"Ban?" Enfri took him by the arm and tried to get him to lay back down. "Winds, Ban. You'll hurt yourself all over again."

He turned to look at them. His eyes took in Enfri, Jin, Deebee, and finally Moon. Ban let out a long breath, and his hand tightened around Moon's. "We need to go after them. That woman took Kimpo."

Enfri and the others listened as Ban told them what had happened. Of how Elise and Garret came upon him and Kimpo as they sought guidance from Nashal at her tower. How she used her anti-magic spikes to unravel their bond and then placed a new one between herself and Kimpo.

If that alone wasn't horrid enough, what Ban said next shook Enfri to the core.

"Elise did something to her," Ban said, his eyes lowered. "She used the bond to... force her to obey. It caused Kimpo pain. Elise tortured her into submission."

Enfri gasped and covered her mouth and nose with her hands. "What are you saying?"

Ban raised his eyes to her. They were sorrowful. "Enfri, I thought the bonds were a connection— a partnership— but they're a leash."

"A leash?" Jin asked. "As to say, Elise can use the bond to... control... her dragon?"

Ban nodded gravely. "Kimpo behaved like she'd been tortured for days. Months, even. But it was only for a few seconds. Elise called it 'eternal moments'. It didn't last long from where I was standing, but at the end, Kimpo saw me and looked like she could hardly remember who I was."

"Flames," Deebee whispered, discomforted. "The more I learn of Shan Alee..."

Enfri was certain she could hear the sound of distant laughter, malicious and cruel, in her mind. She shook her head as if to deny it all. "That monster. Everything Elise touches gets corrupted, and now she's done the same to dragon bonds."

"I am not so sure," Deebee said. "Perhaps even our own bond could be turned towards coercing..."

"Stop it!" Enfri cried. "No. Never!"

Jin came to stand behind her and lay hands on her shoulders. She didn't say anything, but kept near to lend her support.

Deebee wasn't offended by Enfri's outburst. She looked on Enfri with sympathy and patted her knee with a tiny claw. "There is much we don't know of your elder magic, love. This only proves that. The Aleesh that dwelled in Ejasta must have preserved much of that lore, things Varn and the others chose not to share with the next generation of dragons."

"Ejasta," Jin murmured.

Enfri turned to look up at her. "You know of it?"

Jin nodded with reluctance. "Yes. My grandfather conquered Ejasta more than forty years ago. One of his justifications for it was the enclave of Aleesh hiding there."

"This is still new to us," Deebee said to her. "Enfri... Enfri the elder, I should say... never spoke of where she came from before settling in Sandharbor. To think she was someone so important. She must have known she was either of the elder blood or carrying the child of a man who was. I only knew her as a washer woman."

"The elder Enfri," Jin asked, "what manner of woman was she?"

"Nothing like her daughter," Deebee said. "Compassionate and kind to a fault. If they didn't look all but identical, I'd say Elise was lying about being related to her."

She was weak, the dark voice added. A different vessel should have been chosen.

Enfri pinched herself. Her wicked thoughts weren't even making sense anymore. She really was going nuts.

Stay strong, Enfri.

More disturbing was when the voice addressed her directly. As if someone other than herself was thinking with her mind. With effort, she silenced the voice again.

Ban had been exchanging low words with Moon during the discussion. Apparently coming to a decision, he tossed aside his fur blankets and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

The act sent the gathered women into fits of turning red. Moon squawked and did an about face. Enfri covered her eyes, and Jin glared at him. Deebee blinked as if wondering what all the fuss was over.

"Ah," Ban said. "So, I'm naked then. Good to know. Waves, Cobrin, but you could have left me my skivs!"

Enfri heard rustling and felt Ban's leg brush her sleeve. She flinched away. Cobrin scolded Ban for being out of bed while tossing clothes at him. Enfri didn't lower her hands until she was certain Ban was out of sight. "Ejasta was forty years ago, wasn't it?"

Jin nodded. "Forty-two, to be exact."

Enfri furrowed her brow. "I've wondered something since I first met Elise. She's my father's older sister. How old is she?"

"According to the assassins' investigation, Elise was thirteen when she led her enclave to the City of Althandor. She must be fifty-five now."

"That can't be," Enfri said. "I mean, she looks so young. I'd hardly call her a day over thirty."

"Oh!" Deebee exclaimed. "Have I never told you?"

Jin was trying not to smile. "It seems we've discovered another gap in your tutoring, dragon."

"Oh hush, it was hardly a pressing matter," Deebee replied. She looked to Enfri. "It's a product of elder magic, love. Women who are marked by an elder bloodline simply... stop aging. Barring injury or illness, you and Jin will be much as you are now until you're old crones."

"It's the same with Ban's mother, then," Enfri surmised. "I thought Lady Ascania seemed too young to have a son Ban's age."

"Ma's a looker, isn't she?" Ban chimed in.

Enfri refused to look his way. Ban was still bare chested as he fastened his belt. "Do we live longer?" she asked.

"Perhaps another decade or two," Deebee replied. "As far as I know, the arcane mechanism behind this font of youth hasn't been explained to the magocracy's satisfaction."

Jin smirked. "Few royal ladies I've known would be willing to subject themselves to the hierarchs' study."

"They could be a bit more forward thinking," Deebee huffed.

"And what of men?" Enfri asked. "Your uncle Gain seemed his age, as does Lammlyth Karst. Don't they gain something?"

Ban had his shirt on. It was silk and dark green embroidered with gold. "Nothing extraordinary," he said. "At least nothing obvious beyond the elder magic itself."

"Really? That doesn't seem very fair."

Ban chuckled. "Men of elder bloodlines rule the world. I don't think we have room to complain."

Jin regarded Ban in disbelief. "I seem to have gone mad. I could swear I just heard him acknowledge the privileges of manhood."

"You're giving Moon the wrong idea about me," Ban scolded. "There. No more naked knights in the tent. It's time to go after Kimpo."

Deebee gave a firm nod of agreement. "Indeed. We must do whatever is necessary to free our Huntress from that woman. Then Enfri can reunite her with her true Ruby Knight."

Ban all but sagged with relief. "Waves, but it's good to hear you say that."

"As soon as possible," Enfri agreed. It was true that she was worried about a number of things. Chiefly, how to separate Kimpo from Elise. No one stated it outright, but the simplest method of ending a spell was through the death of the arcanist who cast it. Enfri rose from her stool.

And promptly toppled over when her legs proved unequal to the task of holding her up.

Both Jin and Ban caught her by the arms before she hit the ground. She felt like she weighed no more than a feather when supported by the pair of them.

"Are you alright?" Ban asked.

"I'm fine," Enfri said, blushing.

"Of course you're not," Deebee fretted. "We shouldn't have brought you here. You're still not fully recovered."

"Nor is Ban," Moon added. She came up and took Enfri's arm from him. "I and god-sighted will aid green one. Ban must heal. He sights like blooded mess."

"Listen to her, Ban," Deebee advised. "Kimpo needs you, but she needs you at full strength."

Ban waved their concern away. He was more concerned about what was the matter with Enfri.

"I sampled a sour potion is all," Enfri said to answer his questions. "I'll be fit to ride by lunchtime."

"Is white, Ban," Moon said. "I sighted and carried little beetle blue for mighty."

"Beetle heart," Ban said in understanding. "A reagent to replenish Deebee's ether so she can heal Enfri through the bond."

Winds, Enfri thought. I already knew and hardly understood what she said.

Ban's elder magic, hydromancy, was the most subtly significant power Enfri could imagine. Unparalleled insight. It wasn't as flashy or dramatic as mastery of bones or tying souls together, but Enfri believed she'd be tempted if there was ever an option to trade.

"Let Cobrin see to you," Enfri said to Ban. "Once I'm up to it, I'll come back. I know a spell or two that'll fix all those bumps and bruises."

Ban touched gingerly at his jaw and winced. "If that's your command, my lady."

Enfri frowned and arched an eyebrow. She appreciated his compliance, but it was strange that Ban responded like he was her armsman.

He failed to notice the unspoken question, or perhaps just ignored it. "You're still bedding down near Pacifica's chambers?"

"We are," Jin said.

"I'll come to you, then. In the meantime, I should make the rounds. Sasha will probably charge me with desertion and have my head for being away so long."

Cold air swept through the infirmary tent. A young man in a resplendent silver and cerulean coat burst in. "You're floundering right I will, old man."

The stubble of scarlet hair on Sasha's head was growing back in. The King of Ecclesia was eighteen, Ban's junior by five years, but that he'd seen his share of battle was engraved into his eyes.

Though his greeting had a sharp edge to it, Sasha stalked right up to Ban and seized him into an embrace. They were brothers-in-arms, once meant to be brothers-in-law. Enfri was also privy to Sasha's not-so-secret infatuation with Ban.

"You couldn't have come back at a better time," Sasha said, holding Ban at arm's length.

"Your rune knight is at your service, my lord," Ban said. Though his words were formal, his tone and expression were as irreverent as ever.

"I've no need of a rune knight," Sasha said gravely. "I need a Karst. The Karst."

Ban grimaced. "Waves..."

"I don't want to prod at fresh wounds, Ban," Sasha apologized, "but with Rodrik and Niklaus dead, you're the head of House Karst. King Adeyemi will need both of us there to explain the situation."

"Adeyemi's here?" Ban asked in surprise. "Could he maybe come back when things aren't falling apart?"

Sasha looked over his shoulder as if expecting to find a Melcian lurking there. "Pacifica is receiving them as we speak. I don't need to tell you the position we're in. House Akazewi is second only to Algara in power, and Adeyemi speaks with confidence as Cathis' voice. He'll want answers, and not just for Rodrik's Rebellion."

"Crown Prince Dashar," Ban murmured darkly.

"You were there when my cousin fell," Jin said to Ban, interrupting. "You fought at his side. King Adeyemi was as close to Dashar as anyone alive. They were friends. If anyone can convince him that Ecclesia is not responsible for his death, it is you."

"Not you?" Ban asked.

Jin hesitated. "I think that would be unwise."

Ban's eyes flickered to Enfri, then he nodded. He adjusted his shirt and gestured for Sasha to lead the way. "I guess it's time to pay the piper."

Cobrin offered a token protest against Ban leaving before he was recovered. The surgeon spoke his dire warnings in a bored tone, fully aware anything he said was a futile effort. Sasha and Ban left the tent.

Jin made to carry Enfri again but was rebuffed.

"I can walk," Enfri assured her. "It was only a stumble. That's all."

Jin was unconvinced but relented. She offered her arm for Enfri to lean on, and Moon supported Enfri on the other side. Once settled, they followed the men out of the tent.

With a flutter of wings, Deebee landed on Enfri's shoulder. Her tail wrapped around Enfri's neck to steady herself. "If I might ask, Jin, how much danger do the Melcians pose to us?"

Jin's eyes stared straight ahead. "More than any other we've yet faced," she replied. "Adeyemi is known as the Warrior King. He is not marked with his bloodline's elder magic, but he is a hierarch."

Deebee shuffled her feet. "I suppose we can take comfort he's not a spirit caller."

"Adeyemi would be less dangerous if he was," Jin said

Enfri glanced at Deebee, but if the dragon had an explanation for Jin's curious statement, she didn't share it. Deebee had clambered to Enfri's back, concealing herself from sight.

Her abrupt movement distracted Enfri from everything else, and she was surprised when Jin jerked to a halt. Ban and Sasha stood ahead in place.

"What is..."

Enfri's breath caught in her throat. Ahead, a procession of people filed out of the charred doors of the palace. A dark man led the way. Princess Pacifica was at his side, suggesting that they return indoors.

"Please, nay upset your duties over us, my lady," the large man said. The rich accent of the north was thick on his tongue. "It is plain as day that our arrival was poorly timed, and I nay wish to cause more trouble. I cannae expect your brother to attend me in his own kingdom. I shall go to him and lend what aid I can."

Enfri felt Jin and Moon tighten their grips on her arm. Ban muttered something under his breath, and Sasha's hands were fidgeting behind his back. Moon's reaction was the most telling. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she stared at the ground.

"White-scented," she whispered. "The pact-makers."

The man could be no other than King Adeyemi. Enfri looked up and saw his eyes staring right back at her. She caught the look of recognition. The Warrior King knew her immediately for an Aleesh.

Leave this place! the dark voice screamed. It echoed over itself like a chorus, a dozen wicked thoughts shrieking in terror. Run! Dangerous! Stay away from him!

This may have been the first time that Enfri and the voice were in agreement.