Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience and kind words. Much appreciated. Hope you enjoy this chapter. <3

Drawing: Reth and Deneck by Annany. SO CUTE!

25.

Touch of Light, Touch of Dark

From the way it cut through the horizon like jagged pieces of ice breaking through a river's surface, Reth knew it was far off from where he was. He had noticed the blue glimmer about an hour ago, tiny sapphire crystals that glistened through the gaps in the canopy like miniature suns. As Reth jumped through branches and dashed through stalks of grass, the shimmer would catch his eye, and each time it did, he felt a touch of divinity wash over him.

"I know it's pretty, but I'm sure you're going to smash into one of these trees if you keep staring at it," Deneck said.

Reth saw his friend grin at him as they were both suspended in a midair jump. "I doubt I'm that inattentive," he said as they both landed.

Deneck's smirk widened before he dashed ahead, sword bouncing off his hip and wind cutting through his tunic and pants. Reth gave a quiet smile knowing he was also wearing similar clothes. Similar, non–Rhokin clothes.

Reth continued running. It wasn't an exhausting task, but it was excruciating in another way. Each hour that passed distressed him. His ser's life and physical body was at stake, and the chance to save them both decreased with each tree the appeared in his vision, with each peek over the horizon that proved the edge of the island was still a ways off.

Reth's stomach tightened.

It was all a gambit. Even if they did find the edge, if it provided them no way to descend, then all their efforts would have been in vain. The uncertainty didn't sit well with him. Circumstances that were out of his hands, especially this one that involved his ser, frustrated him in ways he didn't think was possible. This was the first time Reth had ever felt so helpless.

No.

He pushed his doubts out of his mind and increased his speed, enough that he caught up to Kota. The Nayichi glanced at him over her shoulder but said nothing. She was in her human form, a form that released enough of her magickal essence so her movements could be sensed throughout the dense vegetation to prevent any of them from losing their way. Or so Deneck said, but they all knew the true reason: to prevent Kota from escaping.

Though Reth was certain he could kill her at any given moment, he had to admit her speed was impressive. She didn't rustle the foliage around her and her light steps didn't disturb even the thinnest fuzz of moss covering the jutting tree roots. Reth noticed the wooden fingers had become abundant, prominent now on the uneven terrain. The stalks wove across the land and grew through earthy coves, creating cages that reminded Reth of the prison Kota had encased him in not too long ago.

A small ball of anger pushed against his chest at the memory. Separated from his ser so that he could see her but do nothing to help her had panicked him to a state he had never felt before. Even now, the thought of the bloody hole through Sianna's neck twisted his insides in ways no battle injury ever had and probably never will.

Her neck was too lovely to be decimated like that. Reth enjoyed the sight of her stray hairs brushing against it during windy days or the way her sweat would slide down her throat to her collar bone and—

Reth's foot slipped. He fell backwards, nests of twigs and rocks digging into his back. A leafy awning thick with vines and strange rainbow flowers outlined his vision. There was an opening in the middle that framed the azure sky crystals as a celestial flower.

"I told you you were going to fall," Deneck said and his grinning face came into view.

Reth blinked. "I recall you saying it was a tree that I would hit."

"You're still flat on your back. That was the point."

Reth took the helping hand Deneck offered and stood up. He picked the leaves out of his blond hair, feeling where his scalp was damp from the moss.

"Are you two done?" Kota asked.

Reth and Deneck saw the Nayichi on one of the branches above them. "I found a clearing where we can camp. The day is almost gone," she said, extending her arm to point towards an area further up ahead.

"Are you sure it's not the week that's coming to a close?" Deneck asked. There were undertones of frustration in his voice despite his smiling face.

Even from below, Reth could see Kota's resigned sigh that showed she had accustomed to Deneck's not so hidden contempt. But Reth knew what Deneck meant. Since their arrival on that floating island, time felt extended. Though this was their first day of scouting, it had felt more like three. There was a hazy discomfort to it, one that Reth felt was the closest he could get to dreaming.

"I assure you it has only been a day, and it's coming to an end," Kota said as she jumped off her branch and landed in front of them.

Reth made a fist.

The end of the first day. A quarter of our time has already been wasted.

"We should continue our travels through the night," he said.

"No. Traveling through here at night is unsafe," Kota said. The worry in her eyes made Reth think there was more to it than that.

"We're Rhokin with heightened magickal powers accompanied by a lunatic yet I admit somewhat powerful Nayichi. What can be so dangerous we can't face it?" Deneck asked.

Reth stared at him, pleased to know he wasn't alone in his suspicions. Kota gave Deneck a wry smile but kept her peace and sped away.

"I hate that silver slut," Deneck said as he watched Kota disappear. "Why Meryl chose to join up with her is beyond me."

Reth nodded. "She hides too much from us, but she is our only guide in this world."

"A guide that killed our sers."

He scowled. She did.

"Come on, Reth." Deneck placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll race you to Kota. The loser takes first watch tonight."

"But we had agreed you would take it tonight." He didn't finish his sentence before Deneck took off.

Reth followed and was sure he won the race. He arrived first at the clearing Kota mentioned though both he and Deneck halted at the edge of it, hesitant to step into the landscape. The grass was shorter. It was stunted by the giant shadow that loomed over the entire field, a product of the canopy of leaves and dangling vines. Where the ground wasn't green, it was dark brown with overgrown roots that half dug into the earth resembling nests of giant worms showing their overgrown bellies. Pebbles and boulders dotted the plain of grass and bark. However, Reth couldn't find the tree that it all belong to.

Deneck maneuvered through the terrain with careful, expert steps. He tensed and his eyes darted from one side of the field to the other. "Where the hell is that damn Nayichi?"

Kota's magickal essence had disappeared. Reth's unease from earlier doubled, but before he could sprint off in search of her, she appeared before them like a manifestation. A surprised look adorned her face which had reverted to its Nayichi form. She looked down at her arms as if the multicolored jewels on them were a new sight to her, but when Deneck pointed the tip of his sword at her throat, her usual frigid composure returned.

"That wasn't my doing," she said, orange gaze on the Rhokin.

Deneck kept his pose, eyes hardened. "I don't believe you." He smiled.

Kota pushed the sword away with a flat palm. "Well you'll have to. We're in a world of magick. Sometimes unexplainable things occur."

"How convenient."

Reth could see Deneck's desire to cut Kota in half because it was burning within him too, but he also understood why Deneck sheathed his blade. For the same reason Reth himself had mentioned earlier. Kota was their guide. Their biggest hope in making it out alive.

She shifted into her human appearance, her magickal mark pulsing out for them to sense. Unruly red locks bounced around her freckled face. "We're camping here, so find a comfortable groove between the roots to rest."

Reth looked up to study the endless thick mass of leaves and branches above. It was too thick to see the sky. The blue crystals were hidden from his view, and for some reason that saddened him.

"Are you sure night will fall soon? It was still so bright before we came here," Reth said.

Kota's eyes narrowed. "It will and faster than you think. You'll know when it does because the environment will change. Just stay where you are and it should be fine. I can't stress that enough. Don't leave this field of roots. I'll be...close by." She hugged herself, fingers grasping her elbows.

Reth had never seen Kota look so vulnerable. Her walk was taken with heavy footsteps, any trace of her nimble speed from before gone. She entered a small cove of tangled roots and hugging her knees to her chest, she sat down and closed her eyes. But Reth knew she wasn't asleep yet.

"Well," Deneck said with a grin, "I think I won."

It took a second for Reth to understand his words. "You're incorrect. I arrived here first."

"But the finishing point was Kota, and I reached her first."

Reth sighed but smiled. "How convenient."

Deneck laughed.

The two Rhokin sat on the ground and shared a small meal that still left Reth hungry. The lengthened run of the day had exhausted him more than he thought, and he found himself craving a huge bowl of potato soup. Not that he hadn't had other foods. As a Lenient Rhokin at the Citadel he had heartier meals than most: seasoned meats, honeyed fruits, and even foreign sweets. But despite all the delicious meals, potato soup remained his favorite because it had been what he had eaten when he first met Sianna. The memory of that day brought a small smile to his lips and a warm touch to his cheeks.

"What's that about?" Deneck asked.

Reth blinked. "What?"

"Your little smile there. What could serious Reth be thinking about that made him smile like that?"

He opened his mouth and said, "It's nothing." His quick and simple lie surprised him.

Deneck nodded but Reth felt like he saw through it.

"Since you lost our race and night supposedly is coming, I'm going to sleep," Deneck said and stretched out on a somewhat flattened root. "But I'll be here if you need me."

Reth nodded and climbed out from their nest of roots. He settled on a makeshift chair of boulder cushioning and tree root backrest and found it more comfortable than he had expected. He rested his head and sighed, still craving the taste of potato soup and something else he couldn't understand.

After a few frustrating minutes, Reth pulled out his broken sword which he had whittled down to a dagger. The small black blade gleamed in spite of the lack of light. Reth remove his left glove—despite his rebellion against his uniform, he found himself fond of the gloves—and his bare hand ran over his chin and cheeks. Sharp stubble bit at his palm and fingers and he frowned.

He had never shaved with an armadura blade before, but his discomfort outweighed his hesitation. Reth placed the dagger by his jaw line and ran it up to his ear. The edge melted the hair away, and it was the best shave Reth had ever had. When he finished and ran his hand over his jaw and cheeks, he was amazed and satisfied at how smooth it felt.

"I'll always be amazed at how you can shave like that," Deneck said as he came into view.

"Deneck." Reth watched him sit next to him. "Were you unable to sleep?"

Deneck smiled. It was warm, a strange yet endearing sight. "Yes and no. I'm damn tired from this day that felt like a week, but I mostly can't sleep because even without seeing you, I can sense how worried you are. What is it?"

The urge to lie hit Reth. Curious how fast the sensation surfaced so quickly from his last. "I said I am fine."

Deneck scratched his chin. Reth could hear the scrape as his fingers dug through his dark facial hair. He had never seen Deneck without some layer of stubble on his chin, and what he was sporting now was a borderline beard. Reth didn't understand how Deneck didn't go crazy from it.

"You're a terrible liar," Deneck said. "Not surprising,"

Reth swallowed, a small wave of shame attacking him. "Yes, I am worried."

"About?"

"Sianna." Reth felt his cheeks flush at the sound of his own voice saying her name. He turned to Deneck and saw a giant smirk on his face.

"And there it is."

Reth didn't answer, refusing to dig any further into his embarrassment. He hadn't meant to say his ser's name. At least not out loud and certainly not in front of Deneck.

"When did it start?" Deneck asked.

He frowned. "When did what start?"

"What you're feeling."

"What I am feeling?"

He shot him a look. "You know what I'm talking about."

Reth shook his head. "Is it that you are disappointed because I lied earlier?"

Deneck pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I won't lie to you again," Reth said, alarmed at the defeated look on his friend's face.

Deneck laughed. "No. This has nothing to do with you lying which by the way is okay to do once in a while. But I know this is about your ser."

Reth pursed his lips shut in fear of saying her name again, but curiosity soon coaxed other words out of him. "Deneck, how do you feel about your ser?"

Another smirk. This one went well with his silver eyes that looked off into the distance like he was recollecting something pleasant. "Meryl is the person I care for the most in this world. I would do anything for her because I love her."

Excitement rushed through Reth's veins and pumped into his palpitating heart. His feelings had been put into words. And how simple it had been. All his countless emotions and inability to sort them out had been reduced to two sentences and one important word. "Yes," Reth said. "I love my ser too."

Deneck laughed and shook his head. "No, I think your love is different."

He stared, puzzled. Had he misunderstood something?

"Tell me, Reth. When you were at the Citadel, I'm sure you saw a lot of beautiful women. There were noblemen's daughters, alluring whores, and plenty of other pretty faces and beautiful bodies."

He nodded, the movement slow. Reth didn't know what Deneck meant by all this.

"When you saw them, did you think they were more beautiful than Sianna?"

Reth frowned but answered, "I did see many beautiful women. There was this one woman in particular that I remember smiled to me. Her hair was of copper and her eyes were a color I had never seen before, like honey.

"She was stunning, and even though I saw how she was more beautiful than my ser, she also was not. There was something in her that did not match my ser. That never would. My ser held a different beauty, and despite how that day her sweat had plastered her hair and dirt smudged her face, she was still the most gorgeous woman in that city."

Deneck nodded, a wicked smile on his lips. "This beautiful stranger with the honey eyes...Would you bed her if she was standing right here in front of you, asking for it?"

"No. I neither held nor now hold any desire to please her, beautiful or not. She's a stranger to me."

"What if you had known her? Not a beautiful stranger but a beautiful friend you have created a sort of relationship with."

"I do not understand."

Deneck sighed and again scratched his chin. "Let me ask something else. What about Meryl? You know her. Do you find her beautiful?"

Reth nodded. It was true he could see Ser Aldermeck's attractiveness in her clear blue eyes and curvy figure. There was even a strange allure in her dominate personality and direct words.

"Would you bed her?"

Though the question was the same, Reth felt it distinct. The woman with the honey eyes was only that; however, Aldermeck was a companion, someone he felt a bond with. The thought of sleeping with someone like Meryl did excite him a bit, but there was also a strange emptiness to it.

"I can see how bedding Ser Aldermeck would be pleasurable. She is quite beautiful. She seems to be the type of woman to enjoy herself in bed. It will be easy to do as she wishes," Reth said. He paused when he thought he saw a flash of aggravation pass by Deneck's face, but when the Rhokin didn't say anything, Reth continued. "Though I doubt I would ever do so, even if the opportunity arose."

"Why?" Deneck asked, face full of an emotion Reth couldn't name.

"Because I desire Sianna." He froze. Reth wasn't sure if it was because he had said his ser's name out loud again or because of the realization he had come to. He felt an inner calm. Clarity. But it was shattered when Deneck threw his arm across Reth's shoulders, laughing.

"The difference between your love and my love is that I don't want to bed Meryl," Deneck said.

Reth shook his head, Deneck's words confusing him again. "If my ser didn't want to be bedded, I wouldn't bed her, so why is there a difference between your love and mine?"

Deneck sighed and slumped against the giant tree root that was their bench. "This is going to take longer than I thought."

"I—"

"The few times I've seen Sianna laugh, I noticed she would throw her head back."

Reth's eyebrows knitted. "That can't be all you've noticed. Her nose wrinkles in this endearing way and her eyes light up, especially when she laughs herself to tears. In fact, there was this one occasion where we were in the training yard and my ser couldn't find her sword. She instead used a regular one which I ended up breaking with my own armadura blade.

"She stared at me, her brown eyes wide and her mouth open. And then laughed. 'Your face, Reth,' she had said. 'You look like a kid that was caught stealing.' And my ser laughed some more." Reth smiled.

"I had made Sianna laugh. It caused...a strange sensation in my chest like my heart didn't know whether to stop or speed up. Even now whenever I think of the memory, it brings such an array of emotions that I feel I can't control anything, yet I like what I'm feeling." Reth gripped his tunic over his heart.

Deneck stared at him, amused. "Now tell me, Reth. What have you noticed when you've seen Meryl laugh?"

Reth blinked. "When Ser Aldermeck laughs she closes her eyes."

He nodded. "She does and sometimes snorts, but don't tell her I told you that. It makes me happy to hear her laugh, but it doesn't tear me up with such emotions as the one you described.

"I've also seen her cry, but she never sobs. Her tears are silent, the sorrow in them strong enough for me to feel it. But don't also tell her I told you she cries. A rumor within the Guard preceded her that she had no soul because no one had ever seen her cry. I'm sure despite her timely death in the Guard she wishes to keep that rumor. "

Reth nodded, wondering if there were any rumors about his ser at the Citadel. He would have to ask the Centurio recruits when he saw them. When he returned with his ser by his side.

Deneck caught Reth's eyes with his own. "Have you ever seen Sianna cry?"

Reth's throat seized shut and his stomach cramped up as another memory hit him. "Yes," he whispered. "We were at a tavern once and a bard started singing a song. She immediately stood and said we were leaving, but I caught sight of a tear and though the noise of music and laughter, I could hear her soft cries.

"The sound of it twisted up my insides worse than anything my pain seal has ever done. If cutting off my arm would have made her smile, I would have hacked it. If killing the man that was singing the song would have brought her joy, I would have stabbed him. I had such odd thoughts that day."

"It's because you love Sianna, Reth. I doubt if you had seen Meryl crying, you would've wanted to cut off your arm," Deneck said, his hand making a slicing motion across his forearm. "I know I would hesitate to do that even if I saw Meryl sobbing and pulling her hair out. Maybe. But don't tell her I said that."

"Are you saying what I'm feeling is not normal?" Reth asked.

Deneck laughed. He was full of laughter whenever he was around Reth, but when around others, his smiles are quiet. Reth felt honored to be privy to a side of Deneck that was loud yet endearing. A side he didn't share with others.

"What is normal?" Deneck answered Reth's question with one of his own. "I'm sure by now you have seen enough of what absurd things people can say and do. But I can tell you that it is common for a Rhokin to love or fall in love with his ser. In fact, sometimes I think it's expected. Why else teach us what they did?"

Reth recalled that particular training he had received while he was in the Instituo. "How to pleasure?"

Deneck nodded, smirking. "Yes. How to pleasure our sers in bed."

"Have you ever?"

Disgust attacked Deneck's features. "Never! Even if she were to ask for it, I wouldn't!"

Reth was surprised. "You would refuse your ser's orders?"

"I have before. She called me a ruder word for idiot, but I saved our lives that day by not following her orders. I still never let her forget that."

"I would do anything my ser asks even if it should kill me. I want to see her happy."

Deneck grinned. "I know which one of her orders would make you happy."

Reth's face contorted with confusion and embarrassment and Deneck laughed.

"Of course you would want to do anything to make Sianna happy," he said. "That's what being in love does."

Reth froze as a sudden but heavy thought crashed down on him. He didn't know whether to push it away or to find its solution.

Deneck seemed to sense it. His face was somber. "Sianna's feelings towards Rhokin have changed, even if she won't admit it. She can look me in the eyes now, and I'm not even her Rhokin. I'm sure she cares about you."

He nodded, the growing weight in his chest leaving him speechless. Reth faced the ground where small patches of grass grew between pebbles and through the gaps of the giant, winding roots. He spotted a single blade poking between a stone and a root. It appeared crushed, as if any moment it would break and be picked up by the wind to shrivel and die within its breath. Reth knew how it felt.

"I think it's best I sleep now," Deneck said, rising to his feet "Wake me whenever you feel like it. I don't want to sleep for an entire week or for however long this damn night goes on. Make sure you get some rest, Reth."

Again, Reth could only nod. It wasn't till he couldn't hear Deneck's rustling movements that he let out a sigh. He clamped his mouth shut, refusing to utter the words that blistered inside his mouth. But he lost the fight.

"I love Sianna," he said.

A strange constriction tightened in his chest like his heart had caught between his ribs. His stomach folded in half and his hands inside their gloves felt unusually hot with the ache to touch something. Or someone. They were all familiar feelings, eccentric as they were, but this was the first time the sensations caused Reth to smile.

He loved his ser. So be it.

Reth didn't know how much time had passed. His thought had been a blur, and the unfocused feeling was alien to him. He sighed and threw his head back. A dark sky caught his gaze. He blinked. That was impossible. He was sitting under a canopy so massive and thick, the tree it belonged to couldn't be seen. How was it he could see the sky?

Then he noticed it.

There was a hazy sheen to it, and Reth realized the leaves and vines had become opaque, allowing the dim light of a night sky to illuminate through. However, this night sky was unlike one Reth had ever seen.

Waves of light pulsed in the air, blankets of wavering colors that attempted to tuck in the stars. Stars that were zooming around the heavens, Reth noticed. They looked different than shooting stars. These balls of light were luminous fireflies that danced with one another to create images Reth couldn't comprehend. Some of them were recognizable though. A giant human eye with diamond lashes winked down at him as twinkling tears fell down to splash on a radiant blade that was impaling a winged monster.

More white stars appeared. Zipping. Circling. Creating. Reth saw plants come to life and devour a starry sun. Figures with too many limbs danced in ways that rivaled a gust of wind weaving through a field of grass. Lightning and earth mixed to create towers with bricks of fire and doors of thunder. The sky was alive, a magickal play of white emotion framed by rainbow curtains.

Then it all disappeared.

Reth blinked several times, trying to comprehend the deep blackness that now reigned the sky. It was suffocating and flat. Too dark to focus on, yet he couldn't look away. An unknown force pulled at it, reminding Reth of a whirlpool he had seen once. It had appeared endless, the water sloshing with foam, but this darkness had no foam. No lines. Nothing. It was just disappearing in itself, and when Reth thought it was going to completely vanish, it stopped as an enormous dot in the sky.

Black branches shot out from it, midnight threads weaving between them until Reth recognized it for what it was: a pair of wings. Limbs erupted. Two elongated necks with lizard–like skulls at the end of them grew from the darkness. A tail long enough to curl around the sun appeared. Despite its transformation, unchanged was its impenetrable color of death.

Yes. Reth was certain. Without a doubt it was the color of death.

"That is why we can't travel at night and why everything that is life scatters when it appears."

Reth turned to see Kota standing next to him. He hadn't even sensed her approach despite her still in her human form.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm sure you already felt it."

"I sure as Saints did," Deneck said as he jumped from atop of a tall root down to Reth and Kota. "That thing's essence woke me up." He paused. "Which by the way makes me wonder. Where did our big branch full of leaves and trees and tinnier branches disappear to?"

"It did not disappear. It is here, simply unseen," Kota said.

"Isn't that what happens with something disappears?"

She shot him a glare but continued to talk. "The canopy over our heads is one of the many manifestations from Drasil'tule, a tree of life that grows within the temple of The Walls of Light."

"The temple where we can find The Eye of Artemis and which will restore our sers's bodies?"

She nodded. "It's from there where it protects all from him."

"Him?"

Kota pointed and they looked up. The black dragon was swallowing up stray stars that hadn't escaped its arrival. Skeletal jaws opened wider than they appeared they could. Black fangs crushed the white dots into powder, but not even the bright explosions of their deaths could illuminate the dragon's dark silhouette. As death's shadow darted across the sky, devouring, Reth noticed it had grown another pair of black wings.

"You mean that is a he?" Deneck asked.

Kota nodded, the action slow. Reth thought he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes as the ground held her stare. "Don't worry," she said, any trace of melancholy now gone from her. "If you can see him, he can't see you. This is how we know we are in a safe place."

Reth stared at Kota. She was hiding something, as always, and only letting them know what she believed they needed to know. Somehow, though, he felt like this time around she was protecting them.

"We should rest now," she said.

"Rest? I doubt I will be able to sleep for a week after seeing that monstrosity. Reth, I'm taking watch now. Not that I wish to see that thing above me," Deneck said.

Kota hissed. "It is not a monstrosity nor is it a thing. He is Death. As part of our world as is Life."

Deneck's eyes hardened, all smiles gone. "The death I've seen is a not welcome part of my life."

"Welcomed or not, it is still a part of life," Reth said.

Deneck and Kota gazed at him with surprised expressions. Reth himself didn't know where his words came from.

"Yes," Kota said. "It is. Now—"

She gasped as her body was pulled in midair. She suspended a few feet above the ground, body supported by invisible arms that carried her as a prince would a princess. Another gasp and her human disguise faded. Her orange eyes closed, panic expression replaced by a peaceful features.

"What?" Deneck asked. His furrowed brows and parted mouth betrayed his bewilderment.

Reth's confusion deepened as well when whatever was holding Kota came to view. It was a male humanoid. His skin was plum colored and swirling around his limbs and torso were white lines that shone like shooting stars. Leaves darker than moss sprang from his head like hair and gathered at the nape of his neck where they embedded and disappeared under his skin. Aside from the harness across his chest that carried a spear and the leather belt that held multiple pouches, he was nude.

And he was also kissing Kota.

They parted only for Kota to throw her arms around his neck and utter a series of sounds far from her usual hisses. He responded, matching her sounds on a deeper level. Their conversation sounded like the bubbling of a brook, water flowing on and on over pebbles, parting the land with its wet kiss.

"And you are?" Deneck asked, pointing his sword at the male.

He gave the dark haired Rhokin a curious look before gazing at Kota. She spoke more words of water and the humanoid placed her down. Reth and Deneck stared at her, waiting for her explanation.

"This is Yokir. He is a Nayichi," she said.

"Nayichi?" Deneck gave Yokir another look of disbelief.

Reth did too. He had never seen a Nayichi with colored skin before. In fact, it was believed all Nayichi had grey skin. He inspected Yokir closer and noticed what he had thought were white markings on his skin were actually jewels, all like diamonds unlike Kota's multicolored collection of gems.

"And I suppose all Nayichis greet each other like that?" Deneck asked Kota of her kiss.

Her cheeks took on a darker shade of grey, and Reth realized she was blushing.

"He is what you could call my husband," she said. "I haven't seen him in over three decades."

"Over three decades? How quaint you would meet each other now out of all circumstances and places."

"That's what I was talking to him about. He wasn't supposed to see me. No one was." She shot Yokir a glare.

He grinned as if he knew what it was for, but other than that, he didn't seem to understand their conversation. His orange eyes were focused on Kota. The way he watched her made Reth wonder if he had ever seen Sianna in such a fashion.

"How did he get here considering there is a giant dragon of death in the sky?" Deneck asked.

Kota smiled. "That is the good news. Umnal."

"Umnal?"

"Yes. It was the umnal that helped him ascended up here, and it is how we shall descend too."

"What are umnal?"

"Creatures of flight. You will see them in the morning. They are probably tired right now and are hiding to sleep."

"Are they fast enough to help us find our sers and take us to the temple?" Reth asked.

Kota nodded. "They will take us exactly where we need to go in order to access the temple's entrance, and they are swift enough to do it within the time we need."

Reth couldn't detain the irrational joy that washed over him at hearing those words. Deneck, however, wasn't as relieved, and his question was the same one Reth was thinking but didn't wish to acknowledge.

"How do we know this is all going to work?" Deneck asked Kota.

"Because," Yokir said as he stepped up to the two Rhokin, "the Nayichi are the keepers of Life and Death. The keepers to the temples you seek to save your loved ones."