As we stood outside and the tension continued to rise, Ailbert wisely ushered the kids inside. Nathaniel and Ubel stood face to face, much to close for my liking. One split second of poor judgement, and Nathaniel would easily knock Ubel off his feet. Maybe he needed to reconsider the playing safe thing.

       "This is completely unfair and unethical," Nathaniel accused. "Your personal vendetta has no room in the Legion's politics. You know this is wrong."

       "You dare speak to your leader that way?"

       "This could kill her!" I had never seen Nathaniel so angry. There was no trace of his usual poker face, anger undeniable from his furrowed brows. Even Ailbert looked shocked and mildly concerned. If Nathaniel pushed any further, he was going to find himself with a court. He was going to be extra mad if we ended up sharing the same cell.

       "The children of the Legion are made to survive the ritual," Ubel defended. "The completion of the ritual reduces her risk when she faces the duhovi."

        "And you waited until Aadya left to mention this? You specifically ensured that she would be absent... Why would you only bring up your concerns seconds before we decide to leave?"

       Ubel's posture stiffened, black eyes tracking Ailbert who stood a few feet away. He was worried about his credibility. Worried that Ailbert would tell others of this encounter. "You tread in dangerous waters with your accusations," he warned Nathaniel. "It only occurred to me moments ago that it had not been completed."

       He could try all his might, but we all saw through his bullshit, even Ailbert. When the war did strike, I truly believed that we could now count on the Gladstone's to side against Ubel.

       "But even so," Ubel continued. "Aadya is not required for the completion of the ritual."

      "She is her guardian."

      "We can call her back." Ubel held his chin high. He was trying to waste time. The later we left, the more time they had to ensure the trap would work.

       "We don't have time for that." Nathaniel gritted his teeth. "If she can't pull herself out, who is going to command the medical help?"

       "I will grant you permission to command it on Aadya's behalf."

       "Funny how you bend our rules when it services you."

       My eyes widened and searched Ailbert's for help. Nathaniel had the audacity to preach that I had to watch my mouth? My fingers were seconds away from calling Aadya – she would know how to stop him. I was so shocked by his abrupt turn of character that I stood helplessly on the sidelines.

        "I will not let you leave until this is done!" Ubel growled, face growing redder by the second. He probably wasn't used to people defying him. "The Legion demands its completion."

        "It is also the Legion's protocol to have training and education." Nathaniel wasn't backing down anytime soon.

        Snapping out of my stupor, I tugged on the back of Nathaniel's shirt. I decided to intervene before my blond friend threw a punch at the old guy and got himself arrested. Me, Aadya, and Nathaniel behind bars – we'd be granting Ubel's greatest dream. Another clan name soon to be scratched from the meeting table.

        Coming to the same conclusion as me, Ailbert headed for the barn. He was collecting buckets, for ice I assumed. He was trying to do us a favor. He knew that Ubel's wish was inevitable, but Nathaniel noticed Ailbert's initiative and only grew more tense.

        "Just give us a minute," I requested. I yanked Nathaniel away with me. He followed me wordlessly, nostrils flaring with anger.

       I couldn't go too far, but I pulled him far enough away from Ubel that we could speak without being heard if we whispered.

       "Let's just do it," I told him. He could argue until his face was blue, but there was no other way out of it. It was better to get it over with, so that we could move on. The later we left, the greater chance we had at failing the mission, and that would also lead to my likely death. And the later we left, the greater the chance that Nathaniel would be brought to trial for attacking the Legion's leader.

       His jaw clenched as he folded his arms over his chest.

      "You know it's the only way," I tried to reason.

       His jaw remained clenched, listening to me but watching Ubel in the distance. I grabbed his chin and brought his attention back my way.

       "Stop looking at him," I ordered. "We need to leave and arguing with him is only delaying us more. Not to mention placing you in danger. You're letting him win by letting him rile you up."

       His anger was still prominent, but some reasoning returned to grey eyes. He knew I was right. He took a deep steadying breath.

       "We don't even have a healer on site," he objected one last time.

      "You know CPR, don't you?" I poked at his bicep. "I'm sure you'd have no problem cracking a rib or two to save me."

       "Nothing about this or what you just said is funny."

      I sighed. "Humor is my coping mechanism."

       "That's ridiculous."

       "Ridiculous?" I snorted. "Do you really think that you're handling this better than I am, at the moment? Maybe you should consider adapting my coping techniques."

        He puckered his lips. "I had a small lapse of judgement."

      Small? I was tempted to correct him, but the clock was ticking.

       "Are we going to stand here and bicker some more, or can you tell me how to shock myself back to life?"

       He sighed. "There's not much I can say on such short notice. You just have to focus on your desire to live. Remember what you're doing and don't let the sense of peace pull you completely to the other side... We usually have a family member with us, an anchor to real life. Sometimes hearing their voice helps to keep the person tethered to reality."

        "I guess you're it," I joked. "I suppose, we're basically family now. Talk to me about my parents or brothers if I need help... I trust you."

       "You trust me with your life?" he asked incredulously.

      "I kind of don't have a choice."

       He grunted, not the least bit reassured by my words.

       Ubel sported a knowing smirk when we turned around. He knew he won. I walked between Nathaniel and Ubel, as we approached the barn, in case Nathaniel decided to smack the smirk off his face.

        Inside the barn, Ailbert already had a copper tub full of ice and a needle in hand.

      "Did you just casually have a lethal injection hidden in your barn?" I asked him.

       "The twins are turning twelve tomorrow," he explained. "We've been preparing for their ritual."

       How convenient. I trusted Ailbert but I had no doubt that Ubel knew we would have an injection on hand.

       I shuffled beside the tub, hesitant to remove my sweater and socks. I grimaced at the ice. I once again wondered what I did to deserve this drastic turn in my life. I should have been at a family softball game today, instead I was here, preparing for my hopefully temporary death.

       "If this goes wrong, will you visit my family?" I asked Nathaniel. "Tell them it was peaceful and –"

       Nathaniel rolled his sleeves up furiously and interrupted me. "You are not dying."

       I looked at him funny, lips twitching with contained laughter despite the situation.

      "You're not staying dead," he corrected.

      A small giggle escaped me.

      "Is this another nervous breakdown?" he asked.

      "Probably," I admitted. "You're kind of cute when you're enraged."

      "Now you're delirious." His face was still but his pink cheeks spoke for his lacking facial expression.

      "Focus," he told me. "Think about your family. Remind yourself why you want to come back."

      I nodded to his words. I could do that. I willed myself to think of my family as Nathaniel helped me into the tub of ice. I thought about the softball game I was missing. I thought about our last family game night: a competitive game of trouble. I pictured myself dancing with my dad at my aunt's wedding. I thought of my mom trying to learn how to skateboard when we couldn't bond over her love of ballet. I remembered holding my brothers for the first time...

       The minute my body sank in the icy water, all thoughts vanished from my head. Christ, the temperature enough could send me into cardiac arrest! I inhaled sharply, nails digging into Nathaniel's forearm.

      "Hurry. This up," I told him through a trembling voice. "This. Alone. Is torture."

      Ubel approached us with the injection. "I'd be happy to do the honors."

      "Not—t a chance." I seized the injection from his hand, no care to be polite in refusing his offer. "I'd like you to stand outside. You –You can watch from far, if you need to make sure I go through with it, but I don't want to see you."

       "She's entitled to remove what she claims will distract her," Nathaniel added.

       Ubel wasn't pleased but he could not refute this rule.

       I thought I would hesitate longer, but perhaps because of the cold, I wanted this done quickly. No time for overthinking. I brought the needle to the skin on the inside of my forearm but found myself incapable of pushing the plunger. Whether from the cold or the nerves, my hands shook too much.

       I knew it was a difficult, perhaps unfair, thing to ask of someone, but I looked at Nathaniel pleadingly.

       He groaned and looked up at the barn ceiling. "I will never forgive you for this if you don't come out of it," he huffed and took the injection from my weak grasp.

      "Really?" I teased. "That's your choice of potential last words? No, it was nice knowing you. No, you would have made a great Burkhard."

       He bit his lip, too stubborn to let himself smile at a moment like this. "Please, shut up."

       "You literally have the means to do so."

       This time he couldn't help himself. The softest chuckle parted his lips.

       He took my arm in one hand, and the needle in the other. With hands just as shaky as mine he brought the needle to my brightest vein. Grey eyes met mine as he slowly pushed the plunger.

       The liquid burned as it entered my bloodstream, but I didn't have much time to dwell in pain. In a flash grey went to black. Nothingness. The darkness was so brief that I couldn't describe it. Just as soon as everything disappeared, my vision returned. I gasped and shot forward. Waves of ice water toppled over the tub.

        "What happened?" I asked a bewildered Nathaniel. Was something wrong with the injection? Had he only given my part of the dose? We didn't have time for any other mishaps.

        "I've never heard of anyone coming out of it so fast..." Ailbert marvelled a few steps behind Nathaniel.

        The injection worked... I didn't even have time to think about my family.

       "Lahila did," Ubel uttered seriously. I hadn't believed Nathaniel when he said Ubel was afraid of me, but there was no denying the emotions dancing in his thoughts then. He had been terrified of my mother and as days went by, I was only continuing to highlight my obvious heritage.

        "We've wasted enough time," Nathaniel snapped back into action, rapidly changing the topic. "We've done as you've asked. You can bring up your concerns at the next meeting."

       Nathaniel swiftly pulled me out of the tub. Finally. I didn't even occur to me to stand, until he pulled me out of the freezing water. The wave of warmth came as a shock and my legs threatened to collapse under me. Nathaniel tucked his arm under mine, supporting the weight of my useless body.

        "Your task is to bring Savannah back, no matter the cost," Ubel warned one last time. "Failing to bring her back means failing the task. Have I made myself clear?"

       I shot him a shaky thumbs up, middle finger also twitching with the urge to greet him.

       Nathaniel paid him no mind, basically dragging me towards the truck. I put up a fuss about his fussing, for approximately ten seconds. He was already so riled up that I quickly concluded that it wasn't worth frustrating him more. I let him coddle me, as he grumbled incessantly. He was so strong that my feet barely touched the grass. I felt like I was walking on air. He may as well have just picked me up.

        Once he heaved me into the passenger seat, he wrapped me up in a blanket and clipped my seatbelt on. He took his seat and cranked the heat all the way up, even though he was in only a t-shirt. It was a warm summer day – no need for the heat. I reached forward to turn the temperature down before he got a heat stroke, but he swatted my hand.

        "I'm fine," I complained.

       Since coming out of the tub, he took his first proper look at me, surveying me from head to toe. Finally, his furrowed brows relaxed as he concluded that I was indeed fine. "You should be a lot worse."

        My head hit the seat as he swiftly placed the truck in reverse, tires screeching as he drove away from the farmhouse. Clearly, he didn't want to spend another second here.

       "Why is that?" I asked. "How come I'm not worse? What went wrong?"

       He shrugged. "Nothing went wrong. It went better than we're accustomed to. It usually takes longer for a body to shift between realms," he said. "We're talking minutes; you were down at most thirty seconds."

       "But it does happen sometimes?"

      "Not really," he said. "Lahila is the only known member to come out of it so quickly."

      That's why Ubel was so worked up when I came out.

      "She can't really be the only one."

       "Not anymore," he mumbled. "Although, my mother used to claim that her grandfather did. She said that he had been resuscitated as young child – nearly drowned in a pool before his brother found him. She believed that because he had already technically died, that the link between realms had already been formed. While we use the injection, it's not necessary for the ritual. It's simply the easiest way to induce arrest."

       "Oh..."

       Nathaniel perked a brow at me.

      "When my dad found me by the riverbank, he brought me to the hospital right away," I started. "They confirmed that I was his and admitted me for a few days to run tests. They suspected that I was a preemie – about two months early from my size. I had some faint bruising on my chest that led them to believe there were complications with my birth and likely resuscitation."

       "That could explain it..." He looked like he had a lot of questions, but he kept them to himself. He had a lot more self-control than I did.

       "So, I probably did that for nothing?" I concluded.

       "I guess so." Nathaniel snorted. "If I had known it would be that easy, I wouldn't have put up such a stink."

        I laughed. "Can I be the one to tell Aadya that you're next on Ubel's list?"

       He narrowed his eyes at me, and all was back to normal. I almost let myself take a breath of relief. All we had left to do was follow the burning blade towards the stolen stone. Shouldn't be too difficult...