The sign of the Occult was a golden eye with black rays spiraling out of it. Antonia saw it stamped everywhere as she entered the spaces between makeshift tents. Despite being primarily nomadic, the Occult was known as a well-off organization. They had several branches across the world, with a secret base somewhere in the Nameless Lands.

Antonia could see the depth of that wealth now, even as a swarm of children raced by her, all dressed in clothes that wouldn't have looked too out of place at the palace.

"How many of you are there?" Antonia asked, spinning around. The woman who had led her inside the pop-up village glanced over her shoulder and smiled. She paused by one of the tents, removing her shoes and stepping onto a woven rug toward a bubbling cauldron. Antonia hesitated and followed suit, taking off her shoes and letting her feet sink into the fine wool as she ducked inside.

"About forty," the woman answered, pushing up her sleeves as she approached the cauldron. A green liquid was sploshing around, thin lines of white sizzling through the air. "I never got your name, by the way. I'm Cretara." She smiled and held out her hand. Antonia hesitated before taking it. Cretara looked about ten years older than Antonia, her hair coiled into black, textured curls and dark skin.

"Anotnia," she answered and used the handshake to turn Cretara's palm up, studying the colors smeared over her hands.

"Air and earth magic combined into one form," Cretara said before Antonia could ask.

"You just mix them?"

Cretara made a high-pitched 'eh' sound before shaking her head. She gestured Antonia closer to the cauldron. "Not quite. Mixing magic is a science. See?" She pointed to the liquid in the pot. "This is earth magic melted down."

"You can't melt magic."

"I can, and I did," Cretara grinned. "It's dangerous, though. You have to be careful." She grabbed a long stick before dropping it in the cauldron, stirring slowly. "Once this is ready, I want to try and mix it with some melted water magic."

Antonia leaned over the liquid. Magic didn't tend to smell like anything, but with the heat bubbling up, she could have sworn she caught the scent of forests and drying clay.

"And then what? You can use earth and water magic at once?"

"If you're using expensive magic, yeah," Cretara said, wiping her brow before stirring again. "If it's cheap, it'll start giving you weird side effects." That sounded...concerning. Antonia glanced at Cretera over the bubbling pot, brows raised.

Cretara's lips twitched. "The last time I tried this, I ended up sucking the moisture out of any piece of earth I touched."

Antonia cringed at that. Cretara lifted her hand, summoning a light breeze to cool off the cauldron as she stirred some more. Biting her lip, Antonia put her hands behind her back. Her hands had no sign of magic, but sometimes, she felt as though people could still see it. It always felt present to her. The blackness swirled uncomfortably through her veins.

"How long have you been here?" she asked. Cretara pulled out the stick and carefully placed it on a blanket beside her so the magic began dripping off.

"My whole life," Cretara shrugged. "My parents were Cambrian, so when the Htraehean prophecy was given, we needed to find someplace to go."

From outside, there was a popping noise. Antonia jumped, spinning around to see a flash of light outside. Cretara didn't seem bothered, so she turned back to her, torn between confusion and curiosity.

Cambria was a vast empire out East. It was made up of ten countries? Twelve? It was an unusual empire in that it didn't take any of the countries belonging to it by force. By joining the empire, you were under the Chosen Family's protection. The family Octavia had wanted Antonia to find.

"Why did you need to leave Cambria over a Htraehean prophecy?" she asked.

Cretara raised an eyebrow. "Cambria and Htraeh hate one another. The prophecy was about a war between them. My parents weren't going to sit around and wait for that destruction to ravage our home."

A war? Was that prophecy her parents were worried about? Antonia had no interest in Cambria or Htraeh. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with her.

As she opened her mouth to ask more, the fabric of the tent door flapped back.

"Toni."

Nema. The voice perked her up almost instantly. Nema's hair was tied up in a sloppy bun, clothes hastily falling off her shoulder, and eyes slightly narrowed despite her shoulders slumping in relief.

"Hi," she began, and Nema walked inside, intertwining their fingers with a stony look at Cretara. "We were just talking about Cambria," Antonia said, not budging when Nema pulled her arm. "I was going to ask about chosen magic."

Nema's fingers twitched against Antonia's palm.

"Chosen magic?" Cretara repeated, looking amused. "I can't say I know much. Only the Chosen Family uses it, and I've never met the Chosen Family. If we had stayed, I might have been evaluated."

"Evaluated?" Nema repeated, unenthused.

"To rule," Cretara shrugged. "Cambria doesn't like bloodlines. For every generation, they have hundreds of children brought to the capital and spend years evaluating them until they're left with five. Then those five children are given an order for which will ascend the throne after the Aik."

Antonia pursed her lips. Was that how the Revolutionaries planned to run Romanov? By changing families every generation with no regard for any ruler that came before? She supposed she could see how it would appeal to the masses, but it was bound to be a mess in practice.

"Good to know," Nema said, firmly tugging Antonia's hand. "And while it was lovely to meet you, we need to go."

Cretara smiled, the everlasting look of amusement never leaving her face as she waved. Nema threw her another suspicious look as they stumbled out of the tent.

"Have you lost your mind?" Nema hissed. Their fingers were still together, despite Nema's obvious annoyance as she continued to drag them through the tents and miraculous displays of magic. Antonia's breath caught as a cat darted by, eyes glowing green. Could animals have magic? Was that possible? "I wake up, and you're just gone-"

"You needed to sleep," Antonia objected, pulling her focus back on Nema. "I had it under control."

"Under-? Antonia, a man at the market was talking about a thief and some Occult woman. What on earth were you even stealing?" she began as Antonia remembered the morning's events. Wordlessly, she reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out the necklace she had taken that morning. Nema paused. "... you're joking."

"It reminded me of you." Antonia let go of Nema to undo the clasp.

Despite the heavy sigh Nema gave, she didn't object as Antonia put it on her. Her fingers touched the gold, studying them with a slight shake of her head. "I don't need this."

"But do you like it?"

Nema's lips twitched, and she looked away, clearly trying to hide the beginning of a blush. "I- yes, but you can't get in trouble to get me things. Please don't do that again." Antonia pouted a little. "And please don't just leave without me-"

"I was going to come back."

"Coming back can be a lot of work. It's a lot easier not to leave, in my opinion." Nema looked around surly. "And look where you ended up," she added under her breath. "The Occult is dangerous-"

"They seem nice," Antonia frowned. Nema grabbed Antonia's hand again, pulling her to the side where a large building stood. It was the only building on the premises, several stories high without windows. Several people in white were filing in, all looking at one another nervously.

"I wouldn't trust people who experiment with magic," Nema said, watching a few others enter the building warily. Her hand tightened around Nema's. "People desperate for power will do anything to get it."

And with that, they left. They didn't return to the hostel. They couldn't afford another night anyway. Instead, Antonia and Nema took off to another dock where water was lapping up against the shore.

"Look at the clouds," Nema said, falling back on the damp wooden panels that led up to one of the boats. Antonia looked down at her, ignoring the soft sound of footsteps somewhere behind her. "See? Look. They're pretty."

Antonia couldn't imagine what might be prettier than looking at Nema but tore her eyes away to study the clouds above. They were bright white against an unusually blue sky, clumping against one another in all shapes and sizes. Antonia laid down next to Nema.

"They don't have clouds in Htraeh." Nema's voice was so quiet that Antonia almost didn't hear her. She turned her head, seeing a flicker of genuine grief on Nema's features. "They all live underground with no sky. It will be hard to live like that after seeing the sun and stars for so long." She reached above her as if to snatch the clouds.

"We're going to Htraeh?" Antonia asked. Nema blinked, turning to meet Antonia's gaze. "We don't have to go to Htraeh."

"Yes, we do." Nema propped herself up on her elbows, hair falling out of its bun in a clump of red. "The Htraeheans and the Dualians both have prophecies about you. I'm guessing you don't want to help the Dualians in any way."

Antonia made a face. "The Htraehean prophecy is about a war between Cambria and Htraeh - and who knows what the Dualian one is about. I'm Romanovian. My country is Romanov. What does either prophecy matter?" Antonia asked. Nema pursed her lips. "Octavia told me to find the Cambrians. They have chosen magic. As far as I can tell, that's the closest thing to my own. I need to go to them to learn to use it."

"And how upset will the Cambrians be to learn a Htraehean prophecy rings true?" Nema asked. Antonia looked away. A tingle shot down her spine, almost like someone was watching her. When she turned, the dock was empty. "I'm just saying," Nema continued. "You going to Cambria could be what causes that war."

"Or maybe me going to Htraeh could cause that war," Antonia countered and sat up, tucking her leg underneath. "I need to learn how to use this magic. I have to. For my family, if nothing else."

Her chest tightened. Antonia had been hidden and shielded from the world for all her life. Yes, she was a princess, but perhaps only in name. It was Octavia who was beloved by the people up until they rebelled. It was Trajan who was heir to the throne. Her father ruled. Her mother kept all their secrets. Antonia's role had been hiding away like a weapon that might burst into flames at any moment.

She wanted to be more than that. She could be more than that. Antonia couldn't let her country fall to pieces. She would get Trajan on the throne and restore the proper order. She owed her father at least that.

"....one of these boats must lead to Cambria," Antonia said quietly. Nema closed her eyes, kneading her forehead with the heel of her hand. "It's what I think is best. You'll come with me, right?"

Nema pulled her hand away from her face. The sun had turned her cheeks slightly pink, her skin burning slightly. Giving a little huff, she smiled.

"Where else would I go?" she asked, getting up and dusting off her dress. Antonia grinned and jumped up after her.