When Destan was nine years old, he'd stood in front of his grandfather, the entire tribe watching, waiting for their Chief's final decision, wondering if he'd cast out his own grandson. The square they'd gathered on, in front of Remus' house, had been so quiet that the rustling of leaves was the only thing you could hear. If Destan closed his eyes, he could imagine there were no people there; nobody to cast him that accusing glare.

It was nothing compared to the pressing silence that blanketed the little square now. Even the forest had gone quiet, as if paying respect to the fallen triber. The wind kept still, along with all the people watching as someone lifted the boy's body into a freshly-made coffin. Keara's quiet sobs were the only sound piercing the deafening silence.

Destan kept his eyes trained on the muddy ground below his feet. His heart pounded in his ears. He couldn't even bring himself to glance at Keara, as she held on tightly to her parents' arms. They were all she had left.

Destan knew exactly how she felt. He could clearly remember how it felt when his little sister was taken away from him. When his dad passed away. How lonely, how terrifying, how empty. And now Keara's brother had been taken from her. And it was all his fault. Guilt tore at his insides, making him shiver uncontrollably.

This whole feud would never have happened if it wasn't for Destan. It all started when he'd showed himself to Julia, after all. That's when Nero decided to get back at him, that's when these ridiculous back-and-forth attacks began. All of that had led to this horrible, heart-breaking moment, in which his only friend was sobbing against her parents' shoulders.

Destan's actions had started the war that got Keara's brother killed.

He felt sick at the mere thought of it. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the suffocating crowd, go home and throw up until all the horrible thoughts and feelings had left his body and he could breathe again. But he couldn't leave. Not while Keara needed all the support she could get.

Not that she'd want his support if she knew what really happened.

Keara's parents stepped forward with hunched shoulders to place the lid on the coffin, locking their son away. As soon as the boy disappeared from sight, Keara turned around. With her eyes on her feet, she pushed through the crowd and went for the forest.

Elias immediately followed her. Destan hesitated only a few seconds longer. Slumping down under the massive tree, Keara burst into renewed tears, her face hidden in her arms. Elias sat down next to her, rubbing her arm awkwardly, while Destan half-hid in the shadow of a nearby tree, wishing himself invisible.

If only I'd never shown myself to Nero, he kept thinking, watching Keara's shoulders shake and tremble. If only Julia hadn't been there that day. If only I'd never found her, all those years ago. Keara's brother would still be alive. Keara would still be happy.

This is all my fault.

After what felt like hours, Keara finally quieted. "Thank you," she said suddenly, her voice cracking. She wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "Both of you. For being here for me."

"Hey, that's okay," said Elias. "I'm always here for you, you know that."

Destan wasn't sure whether she leaned in or he pulled her in, but he suddenly found himself watching his teammates embrace each other. He quickly averted his gaze, drowning out a confusing kind of sadness with a fresh wave of guilt over what he'd done.

As they let go and Keara put her arms around her knees, Destan could no longer stop the urge to say something. "I'm so sorry about your brother, Keara," he whispered, immediately hoping she hadn't heard him. He wasn't worthy of her forgiveness.

"Thank you," she said. "I just can't believe Ruul's gone."

Destan's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her brother's name. Ruul. A strong name for a strong man, if he was anything like Keara. He remembered what she'd told him about her brother; a farmer, always helping her and being there for her, protesting for peace. He didn't deserve this, that much was certain. Neither did she.

"You guys should go," said Keara suddenly.

Elias finally took his arm off her shoulder. "What? Why?"

"I just... I just want to be alone right now."

Destan hesitated, watching Elias do the same. Was leaving her alone really the right thing to do, while she was in this state? It didn't feel right at all.

After a few seconds of silence, Elias turned to him and said, "You. Go away."

The words took a moment to register. Before anger and outrage had a chance to overcome him, Keara had already glared at him. "You too, Elias. I need to be alone."

His face contorted in a way that would be hilarious if the situation hadn't been so awful. Destan could've sworn he saw at least four different emotions pass by on the boy's face; hurt, anger, sadness, and something that made it seem like he'd just smelled something disgusting. All in a matter of seconds. Then he pushed himself to his feet and looked down at her in what was probably supposed to be an understanding way. "Okay. If you need to be alone, we'll go. If you need anything, anything at all, you know where you can find me."

Keara nodded gratefully.

"You coming?"

Destan was surprised to find Elias talking to him. Normally he wanted Destan as far away from him as possible, and now he was asking him to come along?

Deciding not to question it, he nodded encouragingly at Keara and followed the other boy away from the big tree. From the corner of his eye, he already saw her put her head back in her arms again. Destan shoved his hands deep inside his pockets as he trudged behind Elias, who stomped off ahead of him, obviously not interested in waiting for him in the slightest.

If only he could do something for her. Make her feel better in some way. If only he could cheer her up. But she'd just lost her brother, how was he meant to cheer up someone who'd just lost their brother? It was like Julia, except...

He stopped dead in his tracks when the thought hit him. Julia was the only person he did know how to cheer up. The flower-game. Destan glanced over his shoulder at the tree that hid his only friend from view. It seemed stupid. Was he really going to make a fool of himself, possibly even make Keara angry at him, just for the slight possibility of cheering her up?

His eyes had moved back and forth from the direction of the tree to that of the camp and back several times, before he'd reached a decision. He was just going to do it. What the hell. The best possible outcome outweighed the worst possible outcome; it was worth the risk.

Elias had disappeared from view a while ago. Destan turned around and tiptoed back as silently as he could. On his way back, he picked a flower that grew out of the bark of a tree; a five-leafed one with a very pretty dark-blue colour that Destan thought matched Keara's eyes really well.

Feeling more and more stupid by the minute, he lowered himself against a tree without a sound, watching his friend from afar. She had burst into tears yet again – how did she even have any tears left to cry? With a heavy heart, Destan reached out to the molecules of the flower and hovered it above his hand. He sent it over to Keara and let it float just in front of her head. Then he waited.

Keara didn't look up. She just sat there, her head in her arms and her shoulders shaking every once in a while. She just sat there, as if she'd tuned out the world completely. As if she wanted to escape everything.

"Come on, Keara," Destan kept whispering to himself, straining to keep the flower hovering on the spot. Even the lightest things would get heavy after a while, especially if they needed to be kept still.

Yet she still didn't move. Destan glanced around desperately. How could he get her to look up, without letting her find out that he was there? If she knew he was there, the game was ruined. That was part of the fun; the flower just hovering in the air of its own accord. It was no fun if she knew he was the one controlling it. He just needed something to grab her attention and make her look up from her misery. Something like...

As he turned to glance behind him, the leaves he sat on crinkled and rustled. He froze, fearing Keara had heard it, too. Luckily, he seemed to be too far away. She still hadn't moved.

The sound of the leaves had given him an idea, though. Keeping the flower in the air just in front of her, Destan reached out with his free hand to a twig on her other side. He lifted it up just a few inches above ground and dropped it again. The dry sound of dead leaves crumpling rippled through the air.

Keara's head shot up. Destan couldn't see her face from this angle, but he knew she was searching for the source of the noise. Before she had a chance to hide away again, Destan made the flower hop about in the air as if it was doing a little dance. When Keara spotted it from the corner of her eye, she flinched and pushed her back further against the tree.

As the little flower flipped and spun around like an acrobat, Keara just stared at it, her jaw dropped and her eyes wide. She followed its movements as if it could turn into a gun and shoot at her any second. A look of shock and confusion did not leave her face.

Scrap, Destan thought. She hates it. Of course she does, what was I even thinking? She just wanted to be left alone.

He let the flower slowly slump down until its stem touched the ground. Its head hung as if in apology and it hopped off, finally leaving Keara on her own.

I'm sorry, Destan thought as he stared at his only friend. I'll leave you alone now.

Just as he was about to break the connection with the flower and drop it lifeless to the ground, Keara's face broke. The corners of her lips curled up and a cute little giggle escaped her. Destan's heart skipped. No way... I did it!

Just a few seconds too late, Destan remembered to turn the flower on the spot so that it was facing her again. When Keara smiled at it, he made it leap back towards her and do its little dance above her head. She wiped the last few remaining tears from her face and laughed. Although it didn't quite sound like the old Keara yet, it warmed Destan's heart, knowing he'd been the one to make her smile again. Even if it was for just a little while.

"Destan!" Keara called, not taking her eyes off the flower. "Why don't you come and join me?"

He rolled his eyes. Way to ruin the game. Smiling, he pushed himself up to make his way over to her. But before he'd even taken the first step, another scream tore through the sky. His eyes snapped towards its source, the flower dropping to the ground.

Oh no... Not again!

Keara jumped to her feet and was already sprinting back to camp before he'd even so much as moved a muscle. He bolted after her, praying to the ancestors that nobody else had got hurt.

The closer they got, the more Destan realised that it wasn't just one person screaming; it was several voices. A whole group of people was shouting. If only he could hear what they were saying. When he broke through the edge of the forest and into camp, the words finally took form.

"... him to the Chief..."

"... kill him! He killed one of us too!"

A lot of shouting followed this statement and Destan spotted the group of tribers, all in a tight circle, slowly making their way to the centre of camp. Keara had stopped when she realised nobody had died, and she turned to throw him a confused glance. He shrugged back and they followed the group.

"It's time for vengeance!" said someone. "We've put up with them for too long!"

A roar came from the middle of the group and someone else shouted, "Keep him still! Do not let him escape!"

They've caught someone! Destan sped up. Ruul's killer?

Remus, who must've heard the commotion, already stood in front of his house, waiting for the angry tribers to reach him. Someone was shoved forward, landing on his hands and knees at Remus' feet. The old man looked down at him with disdain.

Destan stood up on his tiptoes to try and see more clearly past all the people. He spotted the young man on the ground, his black hair slicked back –

Nero! Destan's heart skipped a beat, the blood draining from his face. Oh no! Not this... Anything but this!

"Do you think that's him," Keara whispered to him. "Do you think that's the one who killed Ruul?"

Destan took a hesitant step back, words getting trapped in his throat. They're going to find out... They'll find out everything!

His gaze moved to Keara, her eyes were wide as she stared at Nero. She's going to find out...

Bitter panic rose to his throat. He wanted nothing more than to stop this, to freeze time and make this situation go away. But even the ancestors couldn't help him now.

"Explain yourself," said Remus. Destan swallowed hard, taking another step backwards. All the atramental power in the world couldn't help him now. He had to get out of here.

"I didn't kill anyone!" Nero shouted, the anger in his voice edged with panic. "It wasn't me!"

"Then why are you here?" said Remus, taking a step forward as Nero crawled back. "Don't think we don't recognise you. You were the first to attack us – you're the one who started all of this! And now you're bold enough to come back? Why?"

Keara put her hand on his arm and whispered, "Hey, are you okay?" But he couldn't take his eyes off Nero as he opened his mouth again.

"That's not true!" Nero shouted. "It was one of you lot who came to me first."

Me, Destan thought. It was me. Oh scrap, if he says that... Keara frowned at him as he took another step back, but he couldn't help it. All he could do was stare as the scene unfolded. Stare, as his life, that he'd built up so carefully over the past couple of weeks, scattered like a house of cards.

"Who was that, boy?" Remus pushed.

"The kid who threatened me and my sister. He's the one who started it, not me! If he hadn't –"

"Who?" Remus' voice boomed so loud it made the trees tremble. Pure fear made Destan's brain go blank. He wished he could disappear. Just leave this world behind and never look back.

"I think his name is... Dustin?"

A hush fell over the crowd like a blanket. Destan's breath caught in his throat. He stood frozen on the spot. Someone turned and found him, poking his neighbour with his elbow and pointing at him. It wasn't long before everyone had turned to look at him. Including Remus.

Including Keara. Never before had he seen such a pained, tortured, disappointed look on her face.