It takes the entire walk back to the inn for me to forget the smell of Celestine's flowers. For a while, I wonder if it'll ever leave or if the aroma is permanently stained under my nose. Everything went away, along with the settling in my stomach, upon the sight and smell of a fresh body strung up onto a cross on the side of the street. He was still pleading for help when we passed and the smell of his rotting wounds alone removed the flowers and any association with them.

That's the last I'll smell of Celestine's power. The last I'll see it displayed, the bright array of her flowers and the stifling mass of her creativity. If it can't flow at her fingertips, it can't flow at Luna's either.

We got what we needed. Tucked in Citlali's grip the book we need to find one last crystal. We'll have to use Renit's blood, there's no other option, but we won't go after the king. We won't attempt to take down an army that is too large for us to go against. The inevitable is laid out before us and instead of going after the monster rising in smoke and blood, we'll pluck the one thing he has.

His son. The king isn't our target; the crown prince is. With Renit's blood gifted ability to use the crystal to reverse the spell put on the king's men, we'll bring Silas back to himself. He may not be the same, he might crumble at the realization he was the one that killed Celestine, but it'll be one less man the king can use. And the most important one.

I haven't stopped walking briskly since we left Luna's residence. Renit and Citlali walk behind me, muttering about what road I'm going down and whether they should go back and set Luna free, but I keep walking. I don't care what they do; if they choose to be the saints here or choose to follow me into the depths of the underworld where fire is already smoldering my skin.

After seeing Celestine's power, after witnessing Luna use it to her ability and trapping her within her own home...I don't feel any better. My heart is still twisted and knotted tight within my chest, my stomach is empty, my mind leaking with loss. Another death will do me in. I'll lose myself completely if I'm not careful, my power is already gaining recognition and learning to take initiative. That...that cannot happen again.

It's not until we make it to the inn, avoiding an argument being had in the downstairs restaurant and stomping up the stairs to the room, that I finally stop. My feet ache, my body is tired, my mind can hardly think without going over Celestine's death. The knife handle sticking from her chest, her legs tucked underneath her body as if she had crumbled...

I drag two hands down my face and stop in the middle of the room. Renit shuts the door quietly behind us, Citlali approaching me slowly. "You had no right to do that," she says quietly. "Now I have to go back there and free her. Luna did nothing wrong."

"She gave Celestine a power that she didn't want." I lean forward and clap my hands together once, intertwining my fingers. "As a result, my sister is dead. Luna did plenty wrong."

Citlali slams the book down on the table and a puff of dust lifts into the air. Remaining silent and idle by the door, Renit doesn't move. If it's to be believed, he's not breathing either. "Celestine took that power will full awareness of what she was getting herself into. You cannot tell me—"

"I can't take it anymore!" I scream at the top of my lungs. Both of them jump. "I am the last one left!" My voice croaks. "Do you realize how hollow and guilty that makes me feel? My entire family, my mother, my father, my sister, they're dead and I can do nothing to bring them back."

I stare at Citlali, her face blurred through the tears in my eyes, and she takes one step back. Eyes drifting to my neck, I don't have to ask to know my power is making an appearance again. Her footsteps carry her to the door and she takes the knob, saying, "I'll give you two a minute."

When it's just Renit standing next to the coatrack, seemingly trying to blend into it and hide himself from the conversation needing to occur, I begin pacing. It's not until I reach the table, my entire body itching with rage and burning with the need to throw something, that I realize what I'm doing. My steps are unhurried, then I turn, my body moving without my consent, and I grab a chair.

The wood slams against the wall a second later and I don't bother looking to see if it's cracked, for I'm already moving to another. My power gives me the extra strength needed to destroy the chairs I chuck at the wall and following them, I grab the lip of the table and flip it. The floor shakes, the entire building shudders in response, and strong hands grab my arms.

My back slams against the stone wall behind me and like a slap to the face, I'm back to reality. Through the panting, I stare into Renit's silver eyes. He's scared. There's not a single feature on my face that he recognizes and by grabbing on, taking hold, he has risked everything down to his breath. But he did it, only to see if I'd come back.

"I can't do this," I whimper. "I can't...not without Celestine."

"Roux, your sister is dead, yes. She is gone and there's nothing you can do to bring her back." He grips on tighter to my arms, suffocating my blood flow. "But that's not a solid reason to stop fighting. I'm sorry, but it's not. You cannot tell me you're ready to give all this up."

His touch disappears, as does the close compaction of his frame in front of mine, pinning me against the stone wall. "You know what it's like to lose someone, what did you do?" I don't meet his eye as I ask this.

Renit is silent for a moment, but he stares at me all the while. The prince, he has changed a great deal since we first met. We've changed places, considering he used to be the broken down and empty witch that needing healing. I repaired his heart with as many stitches as I could and they're holding together. They'll fray if I'm not careful.

"I...I cut off their heads and spiked them on the gates," Renit mutters. "I wanted everyone to know what happens when they threaten someone I care about."

I shake my head immediately. "I can't do that—I can't kill Silas."

"No, it's not Silas's fault. It's my father's fault." Daring to step towards me once more, Renit's figure blocks out the rest of the room. I stare at his grey shirt instead of meeting his eye. The mood in the room shifts and Renit, the banished prince—the witness and victim of heartbreak—takes a deep breath. Those have come far too often lately. "I don't want to see you do that again."

The tone in that alone; I don't have to ask to know what he's talking about. "It just slipped. I won't let it happen again."

For my sake, he doesn't protest. But the side of his finger presses underneath my chin and pushes up. The back of my head scrapes against the stone wall and this attempt to search over my features comes out much different. Renit finds what he's looking for, the Roux returned to my amber eyes and the gentle tilt of my smile to reassure him that everything is all right.

"I can't lose you, too," Renit pleads. His words are as silent as a frosted night. "I want you until the end of days and if anything happens—"

I press a hand to his chest. "Nothing will happen. And when we find that crystal, I want you to promise that we don't go after your father. We go after Silas instead; we bring him back."

Renit's nod does nothing for the exhaustion inside my chest. I feel like a damp rag that has been wrung dry. "I've lived for over three hundred years and I'm not nearly done yet. Not a chance." He leans in close to me, brushing his nose against mine. "I want to marry you once this is over; I want to live happily; I want to watch you smile without faking it."

That hand on his chest presses back. "I haven't been faking it."

"I also want you to stop lying to me." The finger he has held underneath my chin, supporting my stare, moves up in the flash of a second to flick my nose.

A knock sounds through the silence and I grind my teeth, attempting to bury my growing annoyance. The aftermath of this, the rebellion, it cannot come soon enough. I want to have these moments with Renit without realizing they'll be over soon. Every second is cherished, yet I'm suffocating on my ability to withhold them all.

Citlali raises her brows at the broken chairs and turned over table. "We don't have the money to pay for that," she barks.

"We'll find another way," Renit says, not wasting a second. "Roux and I are leaving to find the crystal. We're going to Fire Mountain and you're going back to Arego to alert the others."

Citlali's retort doesn't waste a second after Renit finishes speaking. "Excuse me?" She crosses her arms over her chest. "I didn't bring you all this way, lead you to Luna, and have you completely disrespect her—only to go back to Arego alone."

"Please, this is the only logical way we can do this. We have little time to argue about this; you must go back to Arego and prepare forces. Once Roux and I return with the crystal, there won't be much time between then and us advancing towards the castle to kidnap Silas. That is the plan. Silas only."

The witch of ground doesn't bother to hide the node of derision in her laugh. It's the last thing she wants to hear, betrayal at the hand of my outrage. Slowly, every day, I find myself unable to control what slithers underneath my skin and suffocates my breaths, choking my heart. Citlali will fail to understand that, but she must come to terms with it.

She exposes her palms and slaps them against her thighs. "Fine. I'll go back to Arego and alert the rebels to prepare themselves. I figured this would happen, anyway; I do everything and I'm left out to dry. This has happened more than once, trust me."

"I'm sorry," I choke out. "I'm sorry for my behavior today."

Sucking on a tooth, her weight shifted to one hip, Citlali can't seem to meet my eye. "I'm not the one you should apologize to. Luna is still trapped in her residence, and it's either me or you that will set her free. Maybe on your way out, you can do it and apologize for behaving like a child." I take the insult with a grain of salt.

Although I make no promises, I dip my chin in silent acceptance. Not wanting to separate just yet, Citlali examines us. The physical embodiment of our two powers, the storm, and the ground standing before her. As if she sees something we aren't focused enough to witness. But she shakes her head, deciding against speaking, and gathers her satchel where it lays crumpled on the floor. It was on the table.

"I'll see you two eventually," she sighs, handing over the book to Renit. "Stay safe; don't die. We need your powers."

Renit's words are the final piece says as she opens the door to the inn room. "Safe travels," he whispers. But Citlali is too far away and too locked onto the thought of heading back to Arego alone that she doesn't hear him.

The door shuts, as quiet as a mouse, and Renit turns on his heel. Leather bound and aged, the book is familiar in his grasp. It's similar to the one he held containing information on the crystals leading to this destruction. If only we'd been smarter from the beginning and used what opportunities we had to remove the king from his power and by that, ridding the kingdom of these controlled soldiers.

The words he doesn't want to speak are on his tongue. From exhaustion, the unruly nature of his hair being the first indicator, I know he doesn't have the strength to get those words out. I step forward, taking the book from the crook of his arm, and flip to the page where the white feather rests. It's crumpled, smooshed, and flat against the page.

I speak through a sigh, my words wheezed and weak. "Let's get started."