The second Samson heard the sound of boots and shouting, he sped down the stairs outside of his room. He planned to attend the execution. He planned to rescue Emily, Finley, and Felix.

The plan itself was about as clear as mud. He followed behind the rest of the Red Cloaks, not seeing Emily anywhere. She was probably at the front of the crowd with Felix. But before he was able to reach the entrance, a hand yanked him back.

The hand belonged to Wells, and he was pulling Samson back to his room from whence he came.

"What you are doing!" Samson hissed.

"Didn't Celosia tell you? You're not permitted to attend the execution," Wells replied. He saw Samson's expression and grinned. "Did you really think you would be allowed to attend?"

He shoved Samson back into his room.

"What happens then?" Samson questioned, straightening his posture.

There was an evil glint in Wells' eyes.

"What happens? Allow me to lay out the details for you. My daughter will stay and keep watch here to make sure you stay put. I will catch up with the rest of them in the marketplace. Once the Phoenix is gone," he said, watching Samson's expression darken. "Once the Phoenix is gone, we will make sure to bring the news to you first. The Shadow, lastly, is making preparations to send you to the Mountain of Rain. He no longer needs you here."

Samson grit his teeth. "So, that's it? You kill my best friend? She doesn't deserve this. None of the people you have wronged deserve it!" He took a deep breath, lowering his voice. "If I'm being sent to the Mountain of Rain, who will take my position?"

"Well, that would be me," Wells declared. "But I think our time to discuss matters are up. It's a sad thing," Wells continued, closing the door on Samson. "You arrived at the Fortress alone, and you shall leave here alone as well."

Samson went quiet, stunned, as the door closed behind him.

Alone, once again.

Emily's lips were chapped, another consequence of the bitter cold. She and Felix were side by side, being pushed closer to the marketplace. The snowflakes plastered to her bare arms, leaving dark spots as they melted away. Samson was nowhere to be seen, and this greatly baffled her.

Why wasn't Samson here as well?

She could faintly overhear the chatter of Red Cloaks. They were saying something about how Samson's loyalty was in question.

Shocked, she paused to hear more, but Wells pushed her forward. The chains on her wrists clinked together.

Now, all she could think about was what those few Red Cloaks were saying. She thought Samson had been lying to her, but if the Shadow himself was questioning Samson's loyalty, could she have been wrong about him?

Was she going to die without knowing if their friendship was sincere?

"We're—G-Getting C-C-Closer," Felix whispered, teeth chattering.

Emily moved closer to him, subtle enough that Wells didn't notice. They were both shivering.

That was what worried Emily, the shivering. If they continued shivering like they were now, they would be dead from the cold before the execution ever started. This time, Emily wasn't even subtle and moved closer to Felix.

Wells went to yank her back, but Finley stopped him.

"What are you doing—"

"You want to kill him, but if he dies of the cold, you won't be able to do so," Finley explained, nose pink. "I'm going to give their cloaks to at least hold them until we get to the Bluebird Marketplace, understand?"

Wells reluctantly agreed, letting Finley drape the spare cloaks over the two of them. Emily mentally thanked Finely for that clever idea.

Emily was mad at herself for thinking it, but she suddenly wished Samson were here.

Where was he?

Samson sat on his bed inside his room, feeling quite numb. Only a few hours earlier, Wells told him he wasn't allowed to attend the execution. He never actually said the reason why, as Wells had danced around the answer, but he didn't have to.

He knew why the Shadow said that.

They were questioning his loyalty.

The minute Samson saw the Shadow during Emily's verdict, he knew the Shadow had already figured it out. He would never know how the Shadow was able to figure it out, but somehow, he did.

While he sat here, Emily was on her way to be killed. She had looked him in the eye and told him she hated him. And as Samson took more and more time sitting on his bed, he realized he didn't blame her for saying it.

He couldn't even look at himself in the mirror. He had finally made a friend, a really good friend who hadn't turned him in. A good friend who believed him in.

She had been genuine, despite the fact that she was never really a Red Cloak.

He had failed her.

And his parents. He had failed them too.

They always wanted him to become strong. Sure, did he choose to come to the Red Cloak fortress? No, no he did not. But deep down, he knew his parents meant well. They wanted the best for him.

If he decided to go to the execution, would he be failing them? Could he give up that part of his life so easily?

Samson recalled when he met Emily two months ago. The way she argued with him, teased him, but also listened to him. He remembered when they found the entire pantry full of decadent food. Food which could have been given to all of the Red Cloaks instead of hoarding it.

  He remembered when she first met Bear, and how she had asked him about what he'd name a dog if he had one.

But most of all, he remembered it was the first time he had actually enjoyed being in the Red Cloak fortress.

It was the first time he hadn't felt, well, lonely.

He couldn't let Emily die. He couldn't let her.

Here he sat in his room like a coward while she was probably shivering to death out in the cold, on her way to be executed.

"I'm going to save her, aren't I?" he muttered to himself.

  He pulled on the Red Cloak winter coat and pulled the hood over his head. He made sure to sheath his sword, and immediately remembered he needed to find Emily's sword as well.

Her room was still cracked open, and even though he didn't want to go in, he knew her sword might be there.

When he opened the door entirely, he realized the entire room had been ransacked. It was completely trashed. He felt queasy, as if he already knew why it was trashed. This had probably happened right after her verdict a day ago.

Regardless, he searched the room for Emily's sword, searching under torn blankets and tattered sheets. Who could be so violent and destroy the entire room? He checked under the bed as well, but nothing was there.

Where could it be?

Lastly, he checked the closet, hoping it might still be intact. But it wasn't. It too had been trashed, clothes strewn on the closet floor.

Samson's heart sank when he couldn't find her sword anywhere.

But he knew someone who would know where her sword was.

He left Emily's room and marched down the stairs.

Sylvia was just about to check the entire fortress again until she heard loud footsteps coming at her way too fast for her liking.

She whirled around, standing face-to-face with Samson.

"Aren't you supposed to be in your room?" she asked, clicking her tongue. "Disobeying directions isn't like you, is it?"

"Where is Emily's sword?" Samson asked.

Sylvia quirked an eyebrow. "Why would you care? Are you keeping it so you can remember her?"

"Sylvia, I'm serious. Where is her sword?" Samson warned, hand placed firmly on the hilt of his sword.

Sylvia turned her back to him and continued toward the dining hall. Samson followed, about to ask her the same question once again, but then he noticed something.

Something was giving off a red glint, and the red glint was coming off of Sylvia. His eyes shifted to the hilt of her sword, noticing a jeweled ruby in the center of it.

A jeweled ruby which could only belong to Emily's sword. Samson reached out his hand, swiftly ripping the sword from Sylvia's sheath.

She spun around. "Hey! Who do you think—"

"What the hell were you doing with Emily's sword!" Samson exclaimed, raising his voice.

Sylvia shrugged. "It's not like she'll be needing it anymore. This sword would have been mine had the Placement gone correctly."

"It would have never belonged to you. The jewel is a ruby, which is Emily's birth month, and the designs on it resemble Phoenix wings."

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Samson, it's just a sword."

Samson glared at her, and as he continued to stare at her until an alarming realization came to him.

"You were the one who trashed her room, weren't you?" Samson asked. "Were you even given permission to go in there?"

Sylvia's expression darkened. "You're just like her. You are so full of absolute crap."

Samson pinched the bridge of his nose, finally deciding he didn't have the patience to continue arguing with her or attempting to help her see reason. She wasn't going to.

Instead, he needed to focus on what was important.

Ignoring Sylvia's incessant yelling, he went to the stables.

He found Olly, and was about to leave, but then he saw Elle looking at him. He ended up taking both of them, riding out into the bitter cold.

The cold didn't matter though, but he was going to save the Phoenix.

He was going to save Emily.

The snowstorm only worsened, leaving Emily and Felix reduced to frozen statues in the grass. The stalls in the marketplace were abandoned, as the people had fearfully fled the previous day. Even Autumn's mother and Dara managed to pack all of their things away before the Red Cloaks arrived.

Both Felix and Emily's teeth chattered. If they didn't start the execution soon, there was the possibility of them dying from the cold instead. Finley had been ordered to execute Felix, and Emily would be saved for last, to be executed by Wells.

The sun was beginning to set, which made the temperature even worse. There was no heat source besides Felix who was next to her. She hoped Felix was wrong about Autumn showing up. In fact, she was sure Autumn would show up and cause a disturbance; somehow.

  At the back of the line of Red Cloaks, two figures joined in. Autumn was one of them. The previous day, Dara and Autumn's mother had worked together to sew a Red Cloak for her, making it as close as they could to resemble the actual cloaks the Red Cloaks wore.

So, here she was at the back of the line, Blaise off in the forest where they discussed meeting up after Autumn took Felix back. Another figure stood next to her, and she tried her best to not make eye contact with anyone.

But before she was able to make any type of move, the figure next to her yanked her back, pulling her into the shadows of the woods. When they were out of sight, Autumn ripped her arm away, managing to knock the figure to the ground.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.

"You're, you're Autumn, aren't you?" Samson wheezed; lungs compressed under Autumn's weight.

Autumn drew back only slightly out of pure shock.

"Even if I am, what business is it of yours?" she hissed. "I see what you're wearing. You're a Red Cloak."

"I'm here to save my friend, like you are," Samson answered, finally able to catch his breath.

"How am I supposed to know that? In fact, how do you suppose someone like me is just supposed to trust someone who wears a Red Cloak?" Autumn said.

"Look, trust me, don't trust me. It frankly doesn't matter to me if you do. I figured though, that we have the same objective here, and there's a chance we may be able to work together," Samson whispered.

Right away, Autumn knew Blaise would shake her head at her again. She would most definitely disapprove of Autumn agreeing to work with this boy. She knew she would, but what choice did Autumn really have? She needed someone her size who could fight. Blaise was heavily skilled, but she was also too small to enter the fray.

"Fine, I don't trust you, but I do need your help. Are you willing to listen to my plan?" Autumn questioned.

"Yes I am."

"Good, but I'm going to need a name," Autumn said.

Autumn could barely make out Samson holding out his hand.

"My name's Samson," Samson said.

  Autumn shook his hand. "Okay, Samson, let's crash this execution."

As the marketplace became a place of complete silence, it was then Emily and Felix knew the execution was starting.

  The Shadow held a torch, level with his head.

"We have gathered here tonight, to end this shameful pattern of treachery," the Shadow began.

The Red Cloaks cheered.

"These are the traitors. Remember their faces well. One assisted in an escape of our biggest enemy, Autumn, who I hope will join us tonight as well. The other thought she was capable of infiltrating the fortress, but she too found out she was horribly mistaken," the Shadow continued.

Nearby, Autumn pulled the hood of her cloak back over her head, the snowstorm only beginning to worsen.

"This could work," she began, scanning the outline of Samson's face. "Here's how this is going to go. We need to wait until they announce my name. When they do, I will step forward as a means to distract all of them."

She could see Samson nodding.

"While I stall them, you need to begin putting out all of the torch light. All of this is going to happen quickly. When the light is gone, it will allow me to grab Felix and Finley. This will give you a chance to take Emily from Wells too, understand?" she explained. "The snow picking up will help veil us too."

"That's—impressive," Samson whispered. "You sound so organized."

Autumn was glad it was dark. She couldn't believe she was receiving this compliment from someone she had deemed dangerous a few minutes prior.

"We just need to wait now," she said.

Wells' foot pressed Emily's face further into the grass while the Shadow continued his long, pre-planned speech. Emily tasted blood in her mouth when she bit her lip. Finley's hands shook as she pulled Felix up. Wells yanked Emily from the ground.

  "Bring them closer," the Shadow said.

"Before we continue any further, if Autumn has decided to join us, will she step forward?" Celosia announced.

Felix shivered, deep down, hoping Autumn and Blaise were somewhere around here.

Autumn slowly emerged into the torch light. Every Red Cloak turned in her direction. Felix's eyes widened.

"Ah, yes. The Shadow and the Great Celosia! It's such an honor to be in your presence," Autumn mocked, bowing to the two of them.

Samson slipped into the Red Cloak crowd, their attention glued to Autumn a few feet away. Torches that had been situated in the ground had now gone dark, and anytime one of the Red Cloaks turned around, Samson had retreated into the shadows.

Autumn continued with her distractions.

"I assume you have come to offer a deal in return for your traitor friend," the Shadow said.

Autumn moved slightly closer. "You assumed wrong then. I am not naïve to how this works. I am aware of the games you and your Red Cloaks play. So, with that being said, striking up an offer would be my way of doing things. This time, I'm going to settle things by playing by your game instead."

Felix was startled by how harsh Autumn's voice sounded. She didn't sound like herself at all.

She snapped her fingers.

Samson grabbed the rest of the torches as the storm picked up, putting all of them out, and the marketplace was in complete darkness. Wells barely saw Finley push Felix away before the darkness descended on them. Emily struggled away from Wells.

Emily struggled away from Wells as best as she could, the Red Cloaks in a panic without any of their light.

"EMILY!"

Emily knew that voice.

"EMILY!" the voice called again.

It was Samson! Emily's voice was shot, her energy nearly spent from trying to maintain body heat. Crawling through the snow and disarray, she managed to choke out a weak, "Samson!"

She scrambled to her feet, more of a struggle with her hands bound. She stumbled in the direction of Samson's voice. Commotion filled the marketplace, everyone running blindly in the dark. Autumn tripped, practically landing on Felix.

"Found you," she said. She carefully pulled him toward the forest, retracing her steps from where she had been, the dark making it hard.

The Red Cloaks were scattering left and right, a stampede of red dashing through the marketplace.

"Emily!" Samson called out again.

Emily found her voice. "SAMSON! CUT ME LOOSE YOU IDIOT!"

She had been left unattended, Wells too fixated on the sudden uproar in the marketplace. Samson broke for the center, grabbing the dagger in his sheath, Emily's in the other sheath he brought.

He found her and began sawing at the rope. It frayed, and finally broke loose.

Samson went to say something, but Emily held up her hand.

"Talk later. Right now, let's see what you're capable of," she said, voice giving Samson a new wave of motivation.

"Right," he said, tossing her sword he brought with him. "Let's do this."

As the snow hit their faces, they charged into fray. Emily had picked up a lot while training with Samson, and one of them had been working as a team.

Emily was almost certain if they had to, she and Samson could work as a team with their eyes closed. Too bad he had sold her and Finley out in the end.

"To your right!" Emily called out.

They were back-to-back, keeping a watchful eye on either side.

The snow was only getting worse.

  More Red Cloaks charged at both of them. Samson managed to take another one down, knocking them off their feet.

Neither Samson nor Emily wanted to kill anyone if they didn't have to, but they still kept their swords close to their bodies. If she really had to do it, then she would.

"They'll figure out we're soon!" Emily yelled over the ruckus. "We need to leave."

Before Samson could answer, something smacked into them, sending them in opposite directions into the darkness and snow.

Emily landed flat on her back.

"Autumn," Felix pleaded. "I have to go back."

"Felix, you can barely stand," Autumn said as she draped his jacket around his shoulders. "You can't go back."

Felix tried to stand up, only to fall back down again.

Meanwhile, Emily struggled to pull herself up, winded from the fall. Wells had spotted her as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

But Finley had spotted Wells heading toward her. She drew her sword.

Samson frantically searched the darkness as his eyes adjusted too, hoping to stumble upon Emily.

Wells was nearly a foot from Emily, sword raised, Emily unaware.

But the sword never came down.

Finely rammed into Wells, sending him stumbling backwards.

"I knew it," Wells snarled. "I knew you were a traitor too."

"I rather be a traitor than one of you," Finley spat back.

The two of them charged at each other, swords clashing.

Wells must have underestimated Finley's strength. Her boot connected with his injured hand, and out of shock, he dropped his sword.

Finley lunged at him, landing a punch.

"That's for Felix."

She hit him again.

"That's for Emily."

She punched him one more time, landing one more to his face.

"And that's for my FAMILY!" she yelled, backing up when Wells stopped fighting.

He wasn't dead, but he wasn't fighting anymore. Finley took off to help the others.

But Wells' eyes flickered open, blood trickling from his nose. A smile spread across his face as his eyes landed on Finley running into the darkness.

Samson finally found Emily lying on the ground.

"Are you okay?"

She waved him off. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

She managed to clamber to her feet.

The Shadow watched the chaos unfold, clearly unbothered, but losing patience.

"Tell the rest to fall back," he told Celosia.

  Celosia sighed, but still yelled, "FALL BACK!"

Red Cloaks ran, stampeding through the marketplace and toward Celosia's voice.

"Samson," Emily said. "Go find Autumn and Felix. See if they're okay. I'll be there soon."

"Emily, I'm not leaving—"

"Please, go," Emily cut him off. "I promise I'll be there soon."

Samson quit arguing and disappeared further into the snow and darkness, merely a bleak shadow.

"Ms. Finley!" Emily called out, shivering. "Where are you?!"

Two hands appeared through the smoke, and soon enough Emily was face-to-face with Finley.

"You're okay!" Emily exclaimed. "Thank goodness. You saved me from Wells."

"Let's get you out of here," Finley said.

Emily took Finley's hands. "How'd you do it? What happened to him? Is he dead?"

Finley shook her head. "No, no, he's not dead. I knocked him out."

The smoke continued to clear.

"Hopefully, it will buy us time. We need to get going—"

Emily pulled Finley's hand along, but Finley didn't budge.

Emily paused, wondering why Finley had stopped.

She stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around.
  As her eyes adjusted, Emily realized why Finley hadn't moved, and she let out a horrified scream.

A sword was sticking straight through Finley's stomach, the tip of it glinting red with her blood.

Emily and Felix from afar watched in horror as Wells pulled the sword back, letting Finley fall to the ground.

Emily was too in shock, too petrified to move as Wells ran at her.

At the last second, she blocked him with her own sword, and she tumbled backwards into one of the stalls.

It collapsed on her, already heavy from the snow weighing it down.

That's when the marketplace became eerily quiet, the only sound being. Felix broke free from Autumn and stumbled across the marketplace to where Finley fell. Autumn followed him.

He almost threw up the minute he saw Finley lying in a crimson pool of her own blood. Even the snow began to turn a dark red.

Autumn ripped a piece of her cloak and tried to staunch the gaping wound.

Her eyes met Felix's.

"She'll be okay, right?" he whispered.

Autumn turned back to Finley, silent.

"Autumn," Felix said weakly. "She'll be okay, right?"

Finley suddenly wheezed, her hands feebly taking one of Felix's.

"Felix," she began. "I need you to...go to my sons, to my...husband."

"No, there will be no need for that. You're going to live," Felix argued, squeezing Finley's hand.

Finley smiled sadly, the light in her eyes beginning to grow dim. She was looking at Autumn.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Felix," Autumn whispered, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "You're a hero."

"I'm...barely a hero, my dear," Finley muttered. Her breathing grew even more shallow as the pain set in. She turned back to Felix. "My family-they live in a town...called Lakebridge. Please, tell them what happened, please—"

Felix's eyes grew wide when Finley's hands loosened their grip.

"No! No, please don't. Don't go. You're going to be okay. We'll get some help," Felix pleaded. "Someone! Please! SOMEONE HELP!"

Tears spilled down Autumn's cheeks as Felix called for help. She had realized Finley's eyes had closed, and her chest wasn't moving anymore.

"Please," Felix said, weakly this time. "You can tell your family yourself."

"Felix," Autumn cried. "She's gone."

  Felix's hands dropped to his side.

Autumn smudged her tears away, waiting for him to react, but there was nothing. He kneeled motionless in the snow; eyes glued to Finley's body.

Autumn shakily rose to her feet, gently taking Felix's hand. He followed, walking as if he were on strings as she guided him toward the forest. She didn't know what else to do, but she couldn't bear to look at Finley any longer, and she didn't think Felix could either.

His expression was blank

Autumn continued to support Felix's weight.

She reached the edge of the forest where Blaise was waiting for them. Blaise saw Autumn's expression and remained silent.

"We're going home," Autumn said.