The stronghold was shaking. Everything was shaking. I kept running but it felt like I didn't move. And then it hit me. Like a wave of... I lacked the words to describe it. It stopped me dead in my tracks and I fell to my knees. Aleks stopped too and he was talking to me, but I wasn't sure what he was saying. It was too much.

"Alvina." Her voice broke through the mess that was happening in my head. I looked up at Nila and almost burst out crying. "Take my hand." She held her hand out toward me.

I hesitantly put mine in hers and she pulled me up to my feet.

"The block," I croaked.

"Yes, it is gone. But your brother needs you now."

I nodded. Quinn. He needed me. He needed me. He needed me.

I continued up the stairs into the stronghold. I had expected guards waiting for me. Rebels. But no one was there. It was empty and shaking. And then I realised why. There was a humming sound. As if there were thousands of bees inside the stronghold. It was nauseating and it made my head ache. Aleks groaned and dropped to his knees.

"Go on, I can't with this," he mumbled and lied down on the floor.

I nodded and continued. I was too tired to argue. I felt a pull in my chest and I just knew it was Quinn. I stumbled down the stairs to the catacombs. I remembered being there for my father's ceremony. I never got to attend my mother's. It was supposed to happen three months after her death. I wondered if they had even bothered giving her a proper burial down here.

I pressed on. By the time I finally made it to the last coffin, I was crawling. I couldn't even stay on my feet anymore.

Barr was pleading with Quinn, trying to pull him off the floor, but Quinn was on his knees, his hands over his ears. Bent over and seeing nothing. Another man was in the room and I had no idea who he was. Obviously Bursaaq, so probably a rebel who tried to stop Quinn. But the block was destroyed. We had won.

Except my brother was breaking from the inside.

I made it over the last stretch and put my hand on his shoulder. "Quinn," I croaked.

He opened his eyes, one entirely blue, the other dark brown. Both eyes widened and the humming stopped.

"Al?" he whispered.

"Yeah." I nodded and circled my arms around him. "It's alright now."

He broke down completely, his hands digging into my back. I leaned back against the wall and held my brother, softly patting his head with my metal hand. He sobbed quietly, his face pressed to my shoulder.

"It's alright now, Quinn," I murmured, untangling his hair a little.

"There's too many voices," he whimpered.

"He hears the whole city," Barr said. He was sitting close by us, looking endlessly tired.

"Can you do anything?"

He shook his head. "Quinn has to do that on his own."

"I want Islo," Quinn muttered.

"Alright. Let's go find him." I rose to my feet and hauled Quinn up with me. Together we walked out of the catacombs, Barr trailing behind us. He held on to the man I didn't know. He was unconscious so it wasn't exactly hard for Barr to tow him along.

We went to the apartment Quinn had lived in his entire life. I was surprised he hadn't moved into the reigning regent's.

We walked in through the doors to find Quinn's family hurdled together on the floor. Charred looked up, his eyes wide, probably at the sight of me.

Quinn let go of me and dropped down on the floor with his husband. Charred put his arm around him, cradling a baby with the other. A young girl, probably Charred's daughter sat with them as well. They were a lovely family, that was for sure.

I sat down on the sofa and exhaled. Finally. It had felt like I had been holding my breath ever since we got to Andahavn and now I could finally breathe.

I was asleep for a long time after that. I just slept. Woke up occasionally to Dy forcing me to eat and drink, go to the bathroom. And then back to sleep. I was finally done. I had no more I needed to do. I wasn't the queen and rehabilitating the country wasn't my job. I shoved away all responsibility. Quinn could handle it. Him and Charred and Jura. Dy helped with an Aatskina perspective. Barr helped too. Everyone helped but me.

And I was alright with it. I tried to make myself feel bad for it, but I couldn't. I didn't want to do anything but sleep. Finally, I could just sleep.

It took me about a month to be done with sleeping. Dy finally coaxed me out of my room and into Quinn's apartment to see the kid. And my brother.

He had been managing everything a lot better than me. He looked happy. He had gained weight too. The scars in his face wasn't as visible anymore. The only trace of the last two years was his blue eye.

The same couldn't be said for me. My arm was missing. My scars hadn't faded. My hair had grown out a little, curling around my ears, but I was hollow. I was sure everyone could see that.

"Al," Quinn said softly and hugged me. "You've finally awoken from your slumber."

I snorted half-heartedly. "Don't be so sure."

"Come on, have some coffee with me." He pulled me to the sofa and sat me down on it. He gave me a cup and poured me some coffee. It did smell good and it might be just what I needed.

I took a sip and sighed contently. Charred sat with his daughter by the dinner table, doing homework with her in hushed voices. The little boy slept in a crib next to the sofa, close by so Quinn could take him if he woke up. Dy had excused herself, letting me be alone with this whole new family of mine. Or of Quinn's. I felt horribly out of place here.

"The Bursaaq tribe has started rebuilding," he said after a moment of silence.

"That's good," I muttered.

"And the Kabiran navy has gone home. With some of our engineers. It was a good deal you gave them. It'll help future trading with them as well."

I nodded.

"You've laid a lot of great groundwork for me. And for the council to work on. The leader of the Aatskina tribe is very excited."

"Right."

"Al, I'm trying to say, you've done really well. You've deserved this break."

I looked up from my cup and met his gaze.

"If I know you, and I think I do, you're beating yourself up a little by not being in the middle of things. But it's alright. Rest for as long as you need."

I put the cup on the small coffee table and leaned back against the backrest. "I'm so tired, Quinn."

"I know. You did everything right though. You don't have to do anything now." He patted my metal hand.

"I also don't feel bad. And that's terrible right? I should feel a bigger obligation to do more for this country, but I don't."

He tipped his head slightly to the side, the corner of his mouth twitching a little. "Honestly Al, you don't have to feel bad. You just fought in a war. I can't even imagine what you've been through. All this time I felt bad for not doing more, but now I finally can. So, please let me do this."

I nodded a bit and put my hand on top of his. "Alright, you can do this."