Our camp was situated on top of a rather steep hill that overlooked a snowy forest. I had thought that we were done with snow, seeing as it was almost summertime. However, the universe had decided to be cruel and curse us one last time. It took almost twenty-four hours of straight walking to reach the camp, and the Wu only let us stop for bathroom breaks every four hours. I envied Gravity for his ability to float the entire way. He was older, so he had better control over his power.

If I had tried to use lightning to light up the path the whole way, I would have passed out from exhaustion less than a couple hours through. And if I had admitted that to Cumulus, she would have shaken her head and said I wasn't trying hard enough.

Our camp consisted of tents. I would have expected a Garmadon to amass something with a better technological edge, but apparently Wu wanted to stick to the basics. Each tent was barely tall enough to stand up in, with one cot and a small bucket for waste. There was also one polished chest in each tent for storage. It was more basic than the servants' quarters.

Again, I was surprised no one complained. Even Mr. Pretentious graciously accepted his tent with a smile that I knew was fake. There was no way someone so high up in the rankings of House Shadow would thank anyone for giving them a living space worse than a servant. I laughed to myself when I was alone, because now Thunder finally got to experience what it was like daily for Cliff.

Wu told us to get some rest, though he did warn us we'd be expected to start training at the crack of dawn. I had thought to myself before reaching the mountain that there was no way we'd need to 'warm up' in the spring heat. When a loud gong woke me up at sunrise, I was too bitter about being cold to even consider the hilarity of the irony.

It turned out the Seconds arrived while we were sleeping. The Seconds were a group of young people selected before a battle to prepare to take on the burden of carrying elemental power. Everyone in the Houses knew the rules of holding elemental power. Once you had it, it was yours until you passed it on, or until you died. If you died carrying elemental power, the power died with you. And if your House's elemental power died out, then the House would extinguish soon after. Thus, it was essential to every elemental master to have a successor chosen before they faced death.

One of those 'death' scenarios included warfare.

Master Ores Earth of House Earth was an older man. He may had not yet reached his fifties, but he was still bound to be slower than the younger crowd. I wasn't surprised to see his little Lilly among the Seconds, her head held high in an attempt to look confident. I had heard many rumors about the line of House Earth, none of them good. They said Ores' wife had a fit of despair and threw herself out a window. They said Ores' father went insane for no explained reason. They said Ores himself might one day snap, and the entire House would go be buried beneath the rubble is his insanity.

Aster Ice's nephew showed up, but no one neither knew nor cared to learn his name. The boy was scrawny, underprepared, and underaged. House Ice was one of the lowest Houses; Aster's existence was the only thing keeping it together. As soon as Aster passed away, House Ice would pass with him.

Gravity had a relative show up, a boy by the name of Levity. He was barely a teenager, though Gravity claimed he was very accomplished in both self-defense and the violin. House Gravity was one of the middle Houses, so I didn't judge Levity too harshly.

The Time Twins, Form, Water, Fire and Sound didn't have anyone show up to take their spots, which was concerning, but sadly normal. After all, I didn't have a Second chosen. A lot of us were younger and had only recently been given our elemental power. Nine out of ten times a young elemental master would not bring a Second to conflicts, purely banking on the fact that their youth would give them an advantage if they were wounded. Cumulus Lightning would have slapped me upside the head if she found out I was betting my entire House and extended family's livelihoods on the fact that I'd survive this war, but I didn't particularly like Cumulus, so I didn't care what she thought.

There was one woman who had showed up aside the Seconds, one woman who rendered everyone speechless.

Umbra Shadow.

I'd heard many legends about the mastery of this woman. They said she'd been able to take down an army alone. They said she was so powerful in her mastery that the mere sight of her dark hair, sharp face, and pale pallor would intimidate even the Garmadons. They said that she'd even shook hands with the First Spinjitzu Master, and that he'd told her she was the best elemental master he'd ever seen.

When she stepped out of a larger tent into the clearing where everyone was introducing themselves, suddenly everyone's mouth was detached from their jaws. We gaped at the tall woman as she walked through our midst like a god among men. In some sense, she was.

Umbra was supposed to be dead.

She'd gifted the elemental power of shadow to Thunder over four years ago, then died due to heart failure. That's what everyone said. That's what everyone believed. Because we all went to her funeral. In fact, it was at her funeral that I first met Mistress Cumulus Lightning of House Lightning.

"What?" Umbra snapped at us, ripping me from my reminiscing with her cold words. "Have your Houses taught you that proper etiquette is staring?"

Even her words were frostier than ice. Everything about this woman was cold, raw power. I shivered in my robes, for the first time wishing I had been able to bring extra skirts with me. At least the heavy layers of fabric would keep me warm and provide layers between me and this woman.

"You're supposed to be de—" Master Acronix was cut off with a well-timed glare.

"And you're supposed to be civilized," Umbra lashed back, her tight braids whipping against her back. "I believe the proper etiquette for meeting new people is to be introduced to them, not gaping and staring like little toddlers. Are we toddlers or are we elemental masters?"

She barked Thunder's name next, and he snapped to attention. The idiot didn't even look phased by his dead mentor calling for him. He calmly stepped forward and introduced her to us.

"This is Mistress Umbra Shadow of House Shadow."

I noticed he called her 'Mistress'. That title was only given to a female who held elemental power. If Thunder now possessed her power, then she should have been called Lady Umbra, not Mistress Umbra. It was unlike Thunder to make such a crucial error. One glance around the camp told me everyone agreed. But then again... had any of us ever seen Thunder use his supposed power?

It turned out that Wu had put Aster in charge of our morning training. Umbra, of course, went with the Wu to discuss battle strategies. Aster had us practice manipulating our elements, then we moved on to dueling with each other. I claimed Ray for every single duel, because as much as I wanted him to have a shot with Mistress Water, Thunder kept trying to maneuver his way over to me. The Seconds watched from close by, clumsily trying to copy our movements.

Think, don't feel. A battle requires the senses, yes, but it mainly requires the mind. If an enemy can get in your head or outsmart you, they've won. It does not matter if you are bigger or more powerful. If they conquer your mind, then they will defeat you.

Cumulus had been unable to stand when I came to her estate to train. She had been put into a device called a wheelchair, which she had a servant wheel around the grounds for her. However, when we were training, she always shooed the servant away.

Lightning also requires the mind. If you do not have total control over your element, it will control you. Lightning is more than a force from nature. Lightning can kill, lightning can burn, lightning can paralyze. Do you see my wheelchair here? I am sure you've heard your father talk about how I cannot move my legs. That is because I wasn't careful enough. One day, I let someone get into my mind, and I lost control. You must not lose control.

In the six months I'd stayed at her estate, I'd spent three of them meditating. She played many games that required strategy with me, along with challenging me to think on my feet. She used her servants to test the limits of my temper and patience. She'd drilled me with training until it took every ounce of strength I had left to calmly excuse myself. When I left Cumulus's estate, I was glad to go. She may have transformed me into a fighter, but her training also shaped me into the best possible Second.

And when she was on her deathbed, she called upon me to be her successor.

"A Second," I realized out loud that afternoon.

Ray looked up from his flask of water. We'd finished our duels and we were waiting for the Wu to brief us on our battle strategies. Despite the cold from the snow, the training had made us all sweaty. Except Form. The shape he was holding looked perfectly fine. I wonder who was beneath that mask, and if he was miserably hot underneath his pale face and blonde tresses.

I glanced around the group (Sound was clearly eavesdropping) and lowered my voice.

"A Second," I repeated to Ray, "Thunder is a Second. He doesn't actually have elemental power."

Ray nodded once. "That seems to be the case. Why else would Umbra be here... alive?"

His confirmation only worsened my sour attitude. "I can't believe it. The Houses are heralding a Second as the greatest thing since sliced bread—just because he's from House Shadow. If I hear one more person talk about how I'm supposed to create a powerful bloodline with him, I will zap them until they cry. How am I supposed to create this grandiose alliance with a moron who doesn't even have powers?"

"Storm, no one has been talking about how you're engaged to Mas—Lord Shadow except you."

"It still doesn't excuse the fact that he's trying to marry me!"

"Don't talk so loud." Ray touched my arm. "Please, Storm, we don't need to worry about this during wartime. Let's just focus on mentally preparing for the battle."

I nodded to appease him, but quickly returned to my own thoughts. Wu came to give us a briefing on the Serpentine we'd be fighting. He talked about snakes with supposedly no weaknesses, yet how our elemental powers could hold them back. Our goal was to fight through the main offensive and somehow get in contact with the leaders. We weren't supposed to kill any of the leaders; our mission was to secure a peace treaty.

I didn't gather much more than that. My mind was too full of sudden elation. Thunder was a Second, which meant I was technically ranked higher than him, socially at least. He couldn't claim my hand in marriage based on ranking. The knowledge of him being a Second was a free pass to call off the marriage as soon as we exited this war. He was powerless to stop me. All I had to ensure is that Umbra left this war alive.

The only thing he could use against me was to claim Umbra was dead, but all of us had seen her. The funeral was probably just a stunt House Pretentious pulled to give themselves attention. It didn't seem like too far of a stretch for them to do that.

If Thunder was a Second, and I could rebuff the marriage without social shame, that meant I was free. I could move on, marry Cliff, and start my life with him in House Lightning.

Oh wait, Cliff was gone.

Just like that, my elation sunk to a dismal state, and my day was ruined.

>(<>)<

Warfare was a bloody game. The Anacondrai were fast, heavily armored, and stealthy opponents. It took way more lightning than I planned to shock them back, and even then I was constantly trying to keep myself from being stabbed by their sharp blades. Wu whisked through the battle on a whirlwind of Spinjitzu, taking out hordes of snakes in his path. Our greatest assets were the Masters of Time. They kept reversing situations that would have ended badly.

They couldn't be everywhere at once, however.

On our third day of war, I saw Ray's head fall beneath the sea of snakes.

"RAY!"

When allies fall in a fight, you must let them fall. Try to forget about it. When you lose your mental stability, you lose control of the lightning.

"You suck, Cumulus," I muttered under my breath and ran to Ray.

He had been stabbed in one of his legs and was leaking scarlet blood onto the crisp, white snow. The Anacondrai were about to strike him while he was down. I ran into the horde of them and let my powers lose. Rage fueled each strike, dispatching uncontrolled bursts of energy. Even the Anacondrai's thick scales couldn't block it all; their metal armor conducted the electricity and made it much worse. In the end, they were scurrying away from us, but Ray was twitching like he was having a seizure.

"I'm immune to fire, not lightning," he wheezed.

I wrapped my hands around his chest and tried to pull him to his feet. Just touching him sparked my hands, and our hair started to stand up. There was too much electricity in the air. Too much uncontrolled power. Cumulus would be furious if she saw me right now.

"Why... are you... so heavy?" I gasped for air, letting Ray drop against the snow. What was once a somewhat beautiful forest had become a nightmare of grey slush and stick-thin trees that stook up like fingers out of the ground.

"Storm, Storm, look at me," he grabbed at my pant leg, tugging gently to get my attention. When I dropped to my knees to help him, he propped himself up with a wince. "I want you to know that if I survive this, I'm going to propose to Mistress Water."

"You're not dying," I insisted, "so I'll see you at the wedding. I'm going to be your best man, right?"

"You're not a ma—" He tried to playfully shove me but ended up getting shocked upon touching my metal armor. Ray twitched and moaned, dropping back down into the slush. His flushed cheeks were draining of color as he continued to bleed.

I wasted no time untying my gi and using the sash and a dropped arrow to create a temporary tourniquet. I could hear the hisses of battle coming closer; the Anacondrai saw that we were distracted.

"WU!" I yelled into the sea of hisses and clanging blades. "UMBRA! SOMEONE!"

A single Anacondrai broke off from a unit and slithered towards me. It held one of their sharpest weapons (an Anacondrai Blade) menacingly as it approached. I scrambled to my feet, holding out cold hands to do whatever I had to do.

Instead of attacking, the Anacondrai sloughed into a human, and Form came running at Ray with a slight limp. His face flickered between the handsome blonde one and something else, but I couldn't see his true face due to it changing so fast.

"It doesn't look fatal," he pressed his fingers into Ray's neck, feeling for a pulse, "I'll carry him back to camp."

"You were just an Anacondrai," I said, suddenly feeling the chill in the air. "Were you...?"

"I was infiltrating their ranks... trying to get to the generals. It's not what you think," Form grunted as he slung Ray over his shoulder. For a second, I could see a squinted dark eye, but then it was instantly replaced by a grey-blue one. "They are more suspicious of each other than I realized. Something must have started bringing tension into their ranks. It is unlike armies to be this unsettled with each other."

"Are you saying we use that to our advantage?"

"I'm saying I need to get this injured man to camp so he can survive the fight. Water would be devastated if he died." Form didn't stop moving. He started sludging through the snow towards a thicket of leafless trees that didn't house as many snakes.

"Will she say yes if he proposes?" I asked suddenly.

Form paused, only for a second, then started to move out of earshot. I didn't get to see him disappear because more Anacondrai were slithering to my position. This time, they weren't elemental masters in disguise.

And we fought on.

Two nights after Ray was injured, he claimed he was well enough to enter battle again. Before we reached the field, he dropped to his knees. Everyone thought he was too weak to stand. Then he held out his arm and asked for Maya's hand in marriage.

Maya Water was a gentle soul who quietly blushed when she was complimented and only bashfully talked about the weather if you entreated her to converse. I had never seen much spunk in her, only quiet devotion. She didn't scream or sob or shake when Ray asked for her hand.

She flushed only slightly, stepped forward until she was in front of him, and took his hand.

And we fought on.

The Anacondrai were never consistent with their attacks. Sometimes we didn't even have time to warm up before we had to storm out to war. Sometimes we'd wait all day with our weapons ready and they'd never show up. The Seconds hung around camp, providing us all with warm broth and constant attention. Young Lilly would run around, her stout face red from exertion, eagerly attending to everyone she could. She'd pester us for the details of our bloody fights, and no one had the courage to deny her requests. We'd spill every last detail, until her curious smile had turned to bitter tears. Then, she'd wipe her eyes and say that it wasn't over yet. We could hold the line. We could make peace with the generals. We could win the war.

And we fought on.

I still didn't understand why Thunder fought with us. He was a Second, and Seconds stayed in the camp so they'd be safe. We couldn't risk them dying. Yet, Thunder came out with us to battle every day. He'd fight—sans elemental powers, of course—he'd give the battle his all, then he'd return to camp with the rest of us. The young Seconds, Levity especially, commended his bravery. All I saw was stupidity.

And we fought on.

Umbra was a force to be reckoned with. Everything about her screamed mastery and power. Even the Anacondrai faltered upon seeing her. She moved like an angel through their squadrons, disarming them before they even saw her coming. She'd twist in and out of the shadows, her movements like a sick dance of death. She was so above the rest of the elemental masters that she didn't even wear her house color.

Umbra wore purple, with the design of a raven stitched into her gi. Ravens were birds of death. Umbra was a woman of death. I had heard rumors that she challenged all of her suitors to duels. If they could beat her, she would marry them. None of them won. None of them even left alive.

Every night she'd return to camp and silently eat broth. She didn't speak to anyone unless they disrespected her, even Thunder. After her meal was finished, she'd return to her tent, wash off the stains of blood from her gi, and reappear at the crack of dawn. She was always moving with purpose outside of the fights, either training for battle or stretching the aches of war from her shoulders.

I almost died watching her fight.

She was cleanly cutting through her opponents with a stolen Anacondrai blade. Whenever they cornered her, she'd launch herself into the shadows and reappear in a better tactical position. I was so engrossed with her skills with her elemental power that I didn't notice an Anacondrai silently slithering up to me. It raised its sword, ready to plunge it through my weak armor and into my heart—

"Storm!"

Arms wrapped around my waist, sending me flying forward and out of reach from the weapon.

I heard the squelch of flesh and a scream of agony.

When I opened my eyes, we weren't in the battlefield. Lilly was running to us with Levity by her side. She slid down to her knees and pulled my savior off of me, wasting no time in ripping her tunic to staunch his blood flow.

"Levity, get Cirrus! And every medicine kit we have!" she commanded him, checking for my savior's pulse then moving to make sure I was okay.

I barely felt her probing fingers. I was in camp. I was in the battlefield two seconds ago.

We must have teleported.

Shaking, I turned to look at my savior. There was only one elemental master in camp who had the ability to teleport. But she wasn't lying next to me, her pale skin growing clammy with death.

Beside me was her ever constant Second, the one who was supposed to be powerless.

It turns out he wasn't powerless at all.