Seiren dashed down the stone steps, the sound of her feet echoing off the stone walls. She turned left at the bottom towards the men's quarters. There was a traitor within Karma, supplying Hanna with rune magic to breach the walls of Acrise. But who would do that? What do they stand to gain? If Karma falls, there would be no more mages, no more peace.

And what was worse, it could be any of the mages they know who provided those runes.

Seiren burst into Rowan's shared room without knocking. The other mages would be out working. Sure enough, the room was empty except for Rowan leaning against the bedpost, fast asleep in the corner. The two other beds were tidy. Two framed photos sat on the far left table, a well-leafed textbook sat on the middle one, and on Rowan's lap there was an open tome with multiple bookmarks jutting out. Intrigued, Seiren leant closer. Chapter ten: Advanced Burst Magic and its Application in Combat. Of course Rowan would be scrubbing up for the fight to come. Seiren remembered the book on advanced runing combinations on Maura's table. They were really more alike than they'd care to admit. She glanced at the bookmarks and did a double take. Long snouts and soulful black eyes stared back. She tugged out the nearest one. It had soft fluffy brown-white fur and perky ears that tipped down at the top. She'd almost forgotten the soft spot he had for dogs.

Rowan sniffed. Seiren snatched her hand back in alarm. Something shone on his cheek. She leaned in closer.

"Loren?" he said, groggy. His eyes fluttered open, dark green in the dim light. Seiren's chest tightened.

"No, it's Seiren."

"Oh." He couldn't sound more disappointed. Seiren fought back the rising resentment. He sniffed and tried to subtly wipe the tears from his eyes whilst pretending to rub his nose. Seiren feigned interest in the textbook on the middle table. Rowan cleared his throat and made to speak but then choked, his cough thick and wet. He coughed until he wheezed and was blue in the face before flopping back, gasping for air.

"Are you okay?"

Rowan closed his eyes. For a moment, Seiren wondered if he'd died. His eyes flew open as he started another coughing fit again. He leant forward, hunched over his knees, hacking his lungs out. Seiren put a hand on his shoulder, unsure what to do.

The coughing didn't stop. She slapped his back, the way her mother used to do when she'd choked on sweets. It made no difference. He wheezed, clutching the front of his chest. Seiren's heart palpitated. What was this? Pneumonia? Consumption? She wasn't a doctor. His skin glistened with sweat despite the chilly air. He strained forward, each hacking cough rippling through his chest.

Seiren bent forward and placed a hand on his chest, attempting to empty her head. The hubbub in her mind drifted away, replaced by the steady drumming of blood in her ears. After a long time, the thoughts and the drumming, too, faded. She became aware of the energy in her body with each breath in and out. Magic tingled to the end of each hair on her body.

All the while, she thought of Madeleine. Not Madeleine as Seiren had last seen her, twelve years old with her chubby face and long dark blonde hair tied in braids on either side of her head, but the same age as her, but with shoulder-length hair that fell in light curls and the same thin, pinched face and long-lashed dark eyes. But eighteen-year-old Madeleine's hair curled a little more and her eyes were a little further apart than Seiren's. The hesitation of her previous failures, first with Kori Fernard and then with Loren herself, crept into her conscience. The real Madeleine pressed against the doubt, spreading her own warmth and positive energy until the negative thoughts dissolved away.

Rowan's energy pulsed against hers. Keeping her mind otherwise empty and bathed in the happiness of Madeleine having her own body again, Seiren released her own energy into Rowan's, encouraging its natural flow.

She opened her eyes. Her hand glowed white and chaos magic flowed through Rowan's nightshirt into his chest. Already his gasps lessened and the bulging veins in his neck eased. Seiren kept her mind focused on the positive thoughts and her hand on the flow of his energy, encouraging them to flow smoother.

The white glow continued to flow along Rowan's energy until colour returned to his cheeks and his breathing became natural again. Seiren released her hold. The chaos magic disappeared, along with the mental image of Madeleine standing alongside her.

Aww, I love you, too.

Okay that's enough. Seiren winced, leaning back.

"I'm sorry I didn't come protect you."

Seiren blinked. Had Rowan mistaken her for Loren again? But no, he was staring right at her, looking himself again.

"You're... forgiven?"

"No." He sat up with a groan and rubbed the back of his neck before tugging the sleeves of his night shirt down to his wrists. "You shouldn't be here. I'm your tutor. I should have stopped you. You don't even have a full licence, for magic's sake."

"Well, too late for that now, huh."

Rowan only shook his head and coughed again, but this time it was less heavy and coarse. One drenching shower and he became incapacitated. No wonder he wasn't fit to be a military mage.

There was another pause.

If you wait around for another... there we go. Now it's sufficiently awkward.

Thank you, Madeleine.

"Loren taught you chaos magic, huh," he said in a weak voice.

Seiren stared down at her hands.

"Just be careful with it. It drains the heck out of you. Loren developed it when we were both at King's--" His voice broke. He cleared his throat. "One time, she tried to heal an injury I got during physical training and she ended up bedbound for two days."

Seiren looked up, incredulous. Loren had never mentioned repercussions of chaos magic.

Did you really think all this giving had no cost? Madeleine sounded equally incredulous. Are you naive or just really dumb?

"Your body's the catalyst. It amplifies the natural healing of your target. You have limited resources of your own."

"How did you...?"

"Who do you think proofread Loren's whirlwind handwritten notes?"

Seiren managed a weak chuckle, then the humour was gone. "Henley Culpepper said the demons are runed to climb the wall. We're in a spot of trouble."

Rowan made no attempts to show he realised she had spoken, let alone heard what she said.

"Um, Rowan?" She wondered if she'd overdone the chaos magic and cooked his brain. "What's wrong with you?"

Rowan blinked.

"I'm just thinking about the last time I faced the Hannan-Karman border," he said in a soft voice. "Things were quite... different back then."

"The past is the past. Stop dwelling on it like you're some old git. You do realise we're on the brink of war, right?"

Rowan chuckled, but it held almost no humour.

"You have a bad habit of ensuring people have the worst impressions of you, but then everything you do shows you're better than that."

"Oh, really? Well it's nice to work with no expectations."

Rowan chuckled again. "Things are just going to get worse from here, you know."

"What's your point?"

"Just... be careful. This isn't like practice. One wrong move and it could all be over."

She knew he was talking more than just what was to come. Recklessness and disobedience made Rowan pay the price dearly. She wouldn't make the same mistake. A place like Acrise relied on a whole team, not a singular person.

Check you out, Miss Wisdom.

"What's your task for today?"

"Helping out with the townsfolk. Most of them have gone down to Iwade, but the ones staying are moving closer to the centre where it's safer. I'm going to prepare some healing runes, too."

"Not...?"

"No, not those bloody ones I was experimenting on. Or chaos magic." Seiren rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot."

Rowan smiled, looking more like the tutor she knew.

"Well, you go and do what you do best," he said, the carefree and jovial tone colouring his voice.

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, burst mages have to patrol, right? Now that you've fixed me. Thanks for that." He swung his legs out of bed. Seiren stood back to give him space and averted her eyes. "If you'll excuse me. I have to make myself presentable."

Seiren left him there, the awkwardness having gotten too much for her. Madeleine snickered in the back of her mind but made no witty comments.

Snow began to fall outside, cloaking the treacherous mountain-tops with white.

From the bottom of the battlements, the watchers on the wall paced. Their cloaks swished and weapons flashed in the afternoon sun. The air was saturated with worry and agitation. They had survived one surprise attack; there was no guarantee they would survive another.

Heavy snow was predicted that night, said one of the remaining townspeople who stayed to help. Half of the town had been evacuated, taken by train down south. The last train had run; soon the tracks would freeze over and Acrise would be locked in. Seiren squinted, her hand over her forehead to block out the sun. Her gloved fingers were turning numb at the tips as temperature continued to fall.

The cold air made her chest tight and nose burn. The sunlight glared straight into her eyes. She spent the next few hours making runes that would secure what remained of the centre of Acrise. The medics popped up occasionally to ask for a healing rune but most of the injured had been evacuated already. The sound of soldiers marching in unison echoed across the courtyard. Everywhere, people's jaws were set with determination, the flash of resilience strong in their eyes. The Karmans were ready for war, even if the odds were against them. Despite the unease in her chest, Seiren felt a sense of camaraderie she'd never felt whilst at King's. The snow fell heavier than ever, covering the ground up to the ankles in fluffy pure whiteness. Her fingers might be blue and her breath create puffs of cloud, but she had a purpose. She was making a difference.

Towards the end of the day there was a tense difference in the air.

"Mage Nithercott," said Tylene, appearing from seemingly out of nowhere. Seiren jumped at her voice, almost knocking over the pile of wood. She steadied it with numb fingers and spun around, still crouched on the floor. "There is a summoning for all mages to gather in the committee room."

"Again?" She clicked her tongue with irritation. "We were just there this morning."

"This is--" Tylene hesitated, her face full of foreboding. "--a matter of urgency."

Seiren stood up and brushed the snow off her shoulders and cloak.

"Very well."

Tylene's footsteps were rapid. All around, the townspeople continued their work without a break. Their determination steeled Seiren's own. These people depended on her and she on them to survive this. She would be there for them.

For the second time in the same day, Seiren found herself entering the committee room full of the mages stationed in Acrise. Tylene disappeared. Rowan sat in the centre at the back, behind the circular wooden table. He nodded at her. Portendorfer reclined in the corner, showing Seiren his toothy, empty smile when their eyes met. Seiren shuddered and made towards the other end of the room where Maura Woodbead stood, her arms crossed and a disgruntled expression on her face. She gave Seiren a tiny, curt nod when she spotted her.

A hooded figure in a royal blue cloak -- a king's mage cloak -- strode in and the door slammed behind him. He drew his hood back. There was a hushed gasp that ripped through the crowd. 

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