"Why was there no barrier?"

There it was again. Even in the middle of a crisis, Josh's heart still performed its uncomfortable rollercoaster ride at her voice, and even more so at her appearance. Mara strode forward, chin held high, ponytail swinging with every step. She held a physical bow and had a quiver strapped to her back.

He wanted to wrap her in his arms, to breathe her in and just remember life and good continued even after this type of loss.

He wanted to run in the opposite direction, to escape the memory of her and Cale alone in a classroom and all the conflicting feelings that arose with it.

Swallowing, he focused on Omero. Relationship drama would wait.

Omero stood from where he'd been checking on a middle-aged woman collapsed on the street. The scar running down his milky left eye accentuated the grimness of his expression.

"That breach opened faster than any we have ever seen," he said. "The closest would be the primal incident from last month, and since then, we've been struggling to catch them in time. But this..."

"It was instant," Josh said, and he received a nod from Omero. Josh stared at the spot where the rift had first formed. "Or, well, nearly. Everyone had only noticed it for a couple of seconds before—the twins!"

Suyin had run into the fray to help him. They'd been far too close to danger, and he hadn't been able to keep an eye on the outcome for them. He spotted eight different snake bodies in various states of disintegration, so someone had defeated the two that chased after her. Where was she though? What about Kai?

"We are good."

Once again, the twins just appeared at a spot where Josh knew he'd looked. They were paler, and tears collected in both of their eyes, but they were unharmed. He felt selfish from the spike of relief. None of the people here deserved their fate, but he'd interacted with these two, and they were kids.

Mateo walked over to them and crouched to be at eye level. He must have been feeling all types of emotions from the twins. "It's okay. Nobody here will hurt you, and there are no more monsters." He paused, and then he pointed at Yvonne. "And she won't take you back to an orphanage, if that's your concern."

Yvonne made a small sound in the back of her throat but didn't contradict Mateo. She was the only Sage in a suit, which must have been why the twins thought her some official.

Suyin and Kai looked at each other. A silent conversation passed between them, and then a verbal one in rapid-fire Mandarin.

Everyone besides Josh could likely understand them, or at least make out more of the conversation. They seemed to relax as they spoke a language they thought the others wouldn't understand, but then Omero popped their bubble by replying as fluently as they spoke.

Kai scowled while Suyin bit her lip.

"He's telling the truth," Mara assured, stepping up beside Mateo. Josh could have sworn Kai's cheeks brightened as he gazed up at her. She smiled. "We can explain what's going on, but... Well, we should probably find somewhere to sit for a little bit."

Suyin glanced around. Releasing a choked sob, she spun back to Kai and buried her face in his shoulder. He reached over and cradled the back of her head. Kai faced the carnage, his paling face still determined.

He spoke in Mandarin once again, but this time, Josh caught something like "us safe."

Mara nodded.

As she continued to speak with the twins, Mateo stood and approached Josh. "The Sages will keep their barrier up to ward off the normal citizens. We need to find a secluded place within the barrier to talk."

There had been that random door down the alley, but he had no idea where it led. "We're probably best off asking the kids."

Sure enough, when Mara asked the twins, Kai had the perfect place: a small building that had once been a local restaurant, but after a fire inside, it relocated, and nobody had repaired the place yet. It was only around the corner, so well within the barrier.

"Did not want lead you there," Kai explained to Josh.

After a quick explanation to Omero, everyone followed the twins. Josh took up the rear, and he felt a bubble of warmth when Mara slowed to be near him. It almost burst with heat when she took his hand. In the darkness of that day, her presence shone light, and it may have been that contrast that made his urge to kiss her stronger.

Later. Now wasn't the time.

"I've only been on two missions to watch over a budding Soul-Bound. First time, we see the first dragon-possessed human in centuries. Second, we see the first outbreak to happen near instantaneously." Her smile was heavy, weighed down by the circumstances around them but fighting for humor. "Are you cursed?"

He bumped his hip against hers. "Why is it me and not you?"

Because it seems everything bad happens when you're around? Boomer offered.

That wasn't true, but Josh chose to let his dragon believe as he wished. Boomer snorted.

"It can't be me." She returned his bump. "I have you, after all."

The happiness shielding him from reality shattered. He struggled not to stop walking as it felt like a pit opened beneath him. Just moments before, he'd been thrilled because of her affection, as if it were something he wouldn't expect. Now, she spoke of him like some gift in her life, but a cavity opened wide between them, one she chose to make by closing him out.

What was his purpose in her life?

And then there was that flash again, of her finally breaking open in that dark classroom, and desperation ravaging the pain on her face. Desperation for what?

Cale had been right there.

Josh must have poorly hidden his shift because Mara's expression fell. She searched his face. Before she could say anything, Kai's voice piped up.

"It here."

They'd reached the end of the street. Kai and Suyin stood in front of a boarded-up shop with burnt edges and soot-smudged walls. He pulled back a loose section of the wood, creating a slim opening. All of them would fit one at a time, but not with ease.

Suyin ducked in first, followed by Kai. The three Paladins shared a glance before Mateo slipped through.

Josh hesitated and turned back the way they'd come.

He didn't want to, but Josh forced himself to take in the scene again. His stomach protested, churning with the acid that remained in his gut. Still, he looked. All these people had lost their lives in a bout of mindless violence from beasts. The Sages would hide the truth from their families. Someone needed to know what happened, to grieve for the cruelty of it.

Something had gone very wrong, and even if he didn't know how any of this had happened, he knew one thing for certain.

Things would never be the same again.

Boomer wrapped his presence around Josh, offering what comfort he could.

"Josh?" Mara held the boards partially open. Her brows drew close as she watched him.

He took a deep breath, burning the image of those unnecessary casualties in his head, and approached her. She reached out and squeezed his hand. Ignoring all his doubts and insecurities, he relished the contact.

Alive. She was alive, and so was he. If he was going to remember death, he also needed to embrace the feeling of being alive. And that meant being able to change and fix things.

He'd find a way to fix them.

"You guys alright out here?" Mateo asked, glancing back out from the building.

"We're coming, Mateo," he said. He tucked a few loose strands of Mara's hair behind an ear, taking the time to drink her in.

Before his doubt or the darkness of the street could reach him, he walked over to the boards and stepped into the building.

Fun Fact: I once planned to open book 2 with a mission to grab a newly bonded person, and they had to fight off gargoyle like creatures.  It didn't really fit there, though, so TSV has the opening it now has, and TPW gets to open with unexpected death :D Literally.  I hadn't planned it.  I was writing and puzzle pieces went "really dark start time!"

Never the same, Josh?  Really?  Isn't that basically every start to the books in this series?  But hey, after what just happened, I think he has earned a right to a bit of dramatic statements.  But man, poor Suyin, having such a brutal introduction to everything 😬 Makes Josh's start look like sparkles and unicorns.

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!