Note: this chapter contains references and depictions to self-harm. You have been warned.

I dislike the discussion of these topics with small ones. Yet you are the queen and will be an adult in three years. Therefore, I must tell you the consequences of this horrid Spell.

❂❂❂

Nell raced back to Bright Moon Palace as soon as Angella sent word: Micah had been further injured, and he was in need of attention. He gathered his nurses and rushed into the palace infirmary, where Angella herself was giving his friend a sponge bath.

Nell swallowed. "X-Rays. Now." The nurses got to work, and he walked over to his king.

Micah sighed. "I have to ask you guys something. That rod – Shadow Weaver was after that when we were in the tunnel. What is it for?"

Angella looked up from a book. "I think I know," she said. "I can't touch it. When I get close, it moves away like...a magnetic force."

"Why would it resist an angel?" Nell asked.

"Because," Angella said, "I believe this is meant to show the way to the Shrine of Levity."

Nell didn't know what she was talking about, but Micah seemed to. "You mean –"

Angella frowned. "We don't know who the steward is. Only they can wield the power of Levity and bring it to me without burning to ashes. We're lucky we seized it before Shadow Weaver did."

"It repelled her," Micah said. "Why?"

"Likely because she's an Obtainment Acolyte," Angella said. "At any rate, we cannot abandon the war. Finding the shrine now would be folly – we must stop the Horde. Then we'll be able to seek Levity and restore Amenity's full power."

"Where could we hide it, though?" Nell asked. "Alura could locate us wherever we go."

Angella frowned. "She could. But Mystacor is, perhaps, the safest place. And the least likely one she would travel, considering it would be a death sentence. Madame Arvina could hide it in the Forbidden Archives if we contacted her."

"She's a devout Seraphite," Micah said. "She'll be willing to help us then, at least."

"I'll contact her while Nell tends to you," Angella said. "We'll need to leave in haste – we'll be back soon."

Micah grinned. "I'm coming."

"No," Nell said firmly. "You're staying here. We'll need to leave early tomorrow."

"I'm coming," Micah repeated. "If she does come to Mystacor, someone needs to protect you."

"You're in no condition to do that," Nell replied.

"I'm the king," Micah said stoutly. "You can't keep me here."

Nell looked to Angella for backup, but the queen sighed. "He won't budge," she said. "We'll need all the help we can get anyway."

Micah nodded. "Shadow Weaver will be on the move – she may try to invade the palace here."

Nell frowned. "What'll we do then?"

"I will not leave my injured husband at the mercy of a half-insane woman," Angella said. "We may be able to lead her to the entrance and keep her out – if she enters Mystacor in the first place."

Nell gritted his teeth, then looked over at Micah, whose face betrayed a smug expression. "Fine. But first, we've got to operate."

Angella nodded, leaving. "I understand. My blessings, Nell."

He nodded back. It was not lost on Nell that Micah refused to talk about his interactions with Alura.

✧✧✧

Shadow Weaver stumbled into an alleyway in Illuras, hair matted. Whispers in an ancient language rang through her ears. She inhaled, half-sitting, half-falling onto the street, her undergarments slopping in the slimy trash of the outer city.

You I I I you I you I you we I you I I we we... Shadow Weaver's brain played the three words on repeat. Her breathing was labored, quick. Spots gathered in her vision, her head grew cold, and she...she...

Shadow Weaver woke up.

She lay on the ground of the alleyway, the pungent smell of garbage entering her nose. Deaf, blind, and numb, nausea bit Shadow Weaver's stomach as she shivered.

You I I we I we you you I you we we I we you I I...

Shadow Weaver cried out, tearing at her hair, trying to jog her thoughts. The pain made the meaningless chants louder. You...I...we...I...you...I...we...

According to her signature readings, someone was walking down the alley. You I I, her brain responded. Shadow Weaver gasped, tears running down her cheeks. She grabbed her last dagger from her pocket and hacked off great chunks of her hair, pulling as hard as possible, begging the pain to bring her back to lucidity.

I we you, her mind taunted. The traveler stepped over her. Shadow Weaver staggered in a crawl and grabbed their ankle, her vision hazy but returning.

The sorcerer cursed, kicking her in the mask, but Shadow Weaver grabbed the magic within their body. The sorcerer groaned as their skin faded to a dull gray; they slumped over, dead.

Shadow Weaver could think again. She gasped, her mind returning to some form of sanity as she sat in the alleyway, though her head throbbed with intense pain.

I need to (you I we I I) sleep...it is (I we) needed...if I am to find Nell...

Shadow Weaver closed her eyes, holding her dagger's point and letting it cut her palms. Tears squeezed out of her eyes and flowed down her face. Tears of confusion. Tears of loneliness.

Tears of regret.

❂❂❂

Did you know...

- Shadow Weaver's experience with a broken mental monologue is something I've experienced. When I get stressed, it's like someone speaks to me through my thoughts. When I was little, I thought it was the voice of God till it kept saying things that weren't coming true.

- Shadow Weaver hacking off her own hair is based on Azula's mental breakdown.

Tell me what you think...

- Will Nell be able to save Shadow Weaver? Why or why not?