Valerie hadn't given the Fractus in the Atacama Desert any warning before she gripped the rock from her garden in her pocket and left. Her sudden exit would be strange, but she hoped that they wouldn't be suspicious enough to report the incident to Reaper.

She saw movement in her house and slipped out of her garden before anyone called her inside. It wasn't time to release her disguise yet, and she didn't want Thai to see her looking like she'd aged thirty years in a day.

Instead, she turned her steps toward Silva, running at first, but slowing as she came closer. She reminded herself that she was another Fractus supporter going about life as usual.

But she couldn't hide her immediate reaction when she reached The Horseshoe. A handful of the buildings were rubble, including The Society of Imaginary Friends. Others were streaked with black, either from lightning cast by the Fractus or the black substance dredged up from Plymouth.

The Horseshoe was eerily empty for the middle of the day, except for a few Fractus who were patrolling the grounds.

Without warning, a storm of fire ballooned out from the windows of the Weapons Guild, engulfing two of the Fractus hovering nearby. They were incinerated. A high whistle filled the air, and Valerie heard thudding footsteps rumbling closer.

Fractus began charging the Weapons Guild, battering the front door and sending lightning again and again into the stone walls. There was a rhythm to it, as if the Fractus had rehearsed. This had happened before.

It dawned on Valerie that the citizens of Silva were fighting back against the Fractus even now. The scorched state of The Horseshoe was a testament to the ongoing battles. Reaper's hands were fuller than she'd guessed.

Valerie took advantage of the mayhem to pass through The Horseshoe and head toward the spot that Willa and Steven had blown open into Plymouth.

The closer she got, the more Fractus she ran into. At first, she ducked her head, afraid of being recognized. But everyone was busy with their tasks, and she welcomed the bustle. Being one face in a crowd was a better disguise than even the one Roza had given her.

At the edge of the pit, she peered in and saw that the vast lake of Carne had diminished significantly. Had it all been sent to the pool in the Atacama Desert, or did Reaper have other uses for it, as well?

She followed a group of Fractus down into the pit and saw that many of the tunnels were filled with workers, both Fractus and Groundlings who had been forced into slavery.

"They've found another well of Carne," one of the Fractus whispered to a friend.

The woman who had spoken was one of the Knights who wanted to leave the Fractus to join the Fist and was remaining only on Valerie's command. They would finally have a role fighting for the Fist in the upcoming battle.

The Knight continued, "We tried to hide its discovery from Reaper, but one of his new generals found it with us. Don't think the vivicus would have liked it if we killed the general and kept this magic from Reaper, but it's probably what we should have done."

Valerie considered revealing who she was, but decided against drawing attention to herself. And their opinions weren't unique among the members of the Fist. The longer the war raged, the more unreasonable her desire to capture instead of kill enemies seemed to many.

Valerie caught sight of Reaper in one of the tunnels, rubbing Carne between his thumb and forefinger as if he could tell more about its properties by touch.

He turned, and his gaze froze when it stopped on her. His face went white. Valerie was certain he recognized her, but he immediately created a portal and stepped through, cutting off the Fractus who was speaking to him midsentence.

Had she seen Reaper frightened before? She didn't think so. But rather than wait to see if he returned, Valerie scrambled up one of the ladders that led out of the pit and back into Silva.

She took her first deep breath when she reached the trees, but it was a breath she took too soon. Reaper was waiting for her, his hair a little damp. His face had regained its color, and his old confidence had returned to his posture. Panic flooded through her so forcefully that she heard a buzzing in her ears. His narrow-eyed gaze left her with no doubt that he recognized her through her disguise.

Valerie reached for her daggers, and Reaper let out a snort. "I defeated you when you wielded Pathos. Will you now try to kill me with those dim little daggers, or can we talk like grown-ups?"

"I'm surprised you can see me, given the beating Summer gave you," Valerie said, hoping to throw him off balance.

A snarl flashed across Reaper's face. "Nothing I couldn't fix."

"What do you want?" Valerie asked, summoning her magic.

Reaper eyed her as if she was a puzzle piece and he was figuring out where to put her. "What if we made a deal?"

"No."

Reaper took a step closer. "What if you didn't have to be an orphan any longer?"

Valerie's mind had been racing with possibilities, and nervous energy made her jittery. But at Reaper's words, she stilled.

Reaper took a step forward. "Oberon is in the ether, where even I may not call him back. But your mother lives, in a way."

Valerie wouldn't give him the satisfaction of asking what he meant, but her feet wouldn't move, so she could attack or run, either.

"I knew she might be a useful tool to control you or Henry or Oberon, so I have kept her in stone these eighteen years. When I saw you, disguised to look older, in Plymouth today, I thought you were a ghost, or that she'd gotten free. But I checked the place where I stashed her, and she stands there still. That's when I knew it must be you."

Valerie's heart pounded, her elation and horror so mixed together that she had trouble focusing on anything else. Then she remembered who she was talking to. "No deal."

"I'm not asking you to join me. Only that you tell your people that you are stepping down as their leader, and then you disappear. Surely, you don't think you're so important that the Fist will fall apart without you?"

The chance to live away from this war with her mother? The dream was so sweet that Valerie's heart ached at the thought.

"No." She'd meant to shout the word, but it came out a whisper.

"I keep my promises. If you refuse, I won't destroy her statue. I will leave her in it forever, so she is unable to join your father in the ether. There will be no peace for either of their souls."

The emotion that crashed through Valerie reminded her of her vivicus power in its intensity, and the pain it brought. Her face was numb, frozen, as if her lips refused to speak the words that would leave her mother buried alive forever. So she shook her head instead.

Reaper's face remained neutral, but Valerie saw the tree near him dissolving, and guessed that he was angrier than he let on.

She drew her daggers, ready to fight him, though it seemed cruel that she would die and join her father while her mother remained entombed in a prison of stone, alone.

Reaper's lip curled in distaste. "I will not make a martyr of you today. Run, little vivicus."

And she did.

At first Valerie raced blindly, trees snapping in her face as she crashed through the woods. Henry was in her mind, trying to sort out what was happening, but her thoughts were too disheveled to put into any kind of order for him, so she let him know she was unhurt and then shut him out.

Thai was visiting his family today, introducing them to Emin, and Valerie was glad. Sometimes, it seemed that all she had to share was misery, and she'd rather keep it all to herself.

As her burst of energy subsided, she made her way back to The Horseshoe, not really caring if anyone else saw through her disguise. She yearned for a fight. Her steps took her to the Healers' Guild, and the doors opened at her touch.

She made her way down the hall to the little room where Gideon still lay, as distant from her as the moon. When she opened the door, he was thrashing in his bed. Before she could call for help, she saw that Nightingale was at his side, pressing wet cloths to his friend's forehead.

Nightingale eyed her warily, and Valerie remembered her disguise.

"It's Valerie. I'm wearing a glamour. Are you trying some new kind of magic treatment?"

Nightingale wrung out a cloth. "It's water. I'm cooling his fever down. Sometimes, we have no more tools than humans."

A cowardly part of Valerie wanted to turn around and leave, but instead, she made her way to Gideon's bed. "What's happening to him?"

"I don't have answers. No one has ever had so much of the dark fairy dust in their system and survived. But thanks to your vivicus power, he has a fighting chance. And right now, he's fighting hard."

Gideon began groaning, his head thrashing back and forth.

Valerie smoothed back the sweaty hair on his forehead. "How long has he been like this?"

"It began two days ago. I was hopeful, because his pulse was stronger. Your friend Dr. Freeman came by and suggested some treatments that we tried. But if his fever doesn't come down, it will weaken his body, and he will be unable to expel the rest of the dark dust."

Valerie leaned down and whispered in his ear. "I won't ask you to fight, because I know that you're incapable of doing anything else."

Valerie took over sponging Gideon's forehead, and Nightingale quietly slipped out the door.

Valerie gripped Gideon's hand. "Something awful happened today. If you knew, you might not forgive me. I don't know what the right thing to do is. I need you here to help me, to lead with me. I was never meant to do this alone."

Gideon's eyes opened, but he didn't see her. His gaze was searching until it paused on her face.

"Adelita. My love, you came for me at last," Gideon said, lifting his head a bit.

Then he fell back on his pillow, still. Panicked, Valerie searched for his pulse and rested her ear on his chest. She almost cried when she heard his heart beating strongly. But when she shook him, he didn't move.

Valerie called softly for Nightingale in the hall, and he hurried into the room to check on Gideon.

"Is he any better?" she asked him.

"Hisfever has broken. I still don't know if he will wake, but now he has a chance."