After Aarush's funeral, Noah had a newfound realisation. Life is short, and you never know when it can end. With The Revealing coming to a close very soon, the idea of death is closer than he could have ever thought. With that understanding, he began spending as much as time as he could with his boyfriend, Orion Winders. The thought of calling Orion his boyfriend, sparks a goofy smile on his face.

However, spending more alone time with Orion meant, spending slightly less time with Sierra and Lucas. So when Sierra informed him that'd she'd be rushing around Western Veneficia today, he had jumped into the carriage with her.

But now, as Sierra Kingsley scampers in and out of the stores in Western Veneficia, a strange sense of purpose is each stride, Noah Woods is very much regretting his decision. Best friend or not, Sierra is not a fun person to go shopping with. She is a mad, mad woman.

"So you wanna talk about what's going on with you and Day?"

"What do you mean, nothing's going on with Day and I."

Noah snorts. "Stop bullshitting, every time you two are in the same room, I'm worried you're going to start ripping off each other's clothes."

Sierra moves around the shelves of potions, her eyes roaming across the labels. Up, down and across.

"You're imagining things, Noah." Sierra responds, her eyes still looking for the list of potions that Alec had asked her to grab. Finding the second one on her list, she gently places three of the glass bottles into her basket.

"Lucas has started asking about it, and you know he's unobservant as fuck."

Sierra grudgingly agrees, though she knows better than to think that Lucas is completely oblivious constantly. She knows that the Seer witch sees more than he will ever let on.

"In the maze, things changed, we were put through so much, oh god. I was so worried about him, and it made me realise just how much I care about him. And that's terrifying Noah," Sierra concedes, worrying that if she moves her vision away from the potions and looks at Noah, she may just burst into tears.

The memory from the maze is fresh in her mind. She closes her eyes, trying to push away the image of her wailing while Day pulled her back. Even in that moment she'd known that she was hallucinating how her parents died, curse by curse. But that didn't stop her from trying to stop it and crying out in agony.

But Day, oh gods, he had been so good to her. He had held her as she cried into his chest. Not the silent crying, but the full on ugly sobbing.

"Care about him in what way?" Noah asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.

As if in a daze, Sierra replies, "I have feelings for him."

"Are you going to act on them?"

"No way, Jose!" she snaps, flustered at the idea and bewildered by the concept.

"And why the fuck not?" Noah deadpans, trying to keep his impatience at bay. He knows that Sierra Kingsley isn't someone you boss around. If you pestered her towards one thing too much, she would run in the complete opposite direction.

"There's no place for romance in what's coming."

"So you're saying Orion and I are a bad idea?" Noah retaliates, picking up on the tell tale signs that he is slowly getting under her skin.

"Of course not!" Sierra replies hastily. "You two are different."

"Pray tell, how?"

Sierra huffs in frustration, handing Noah the basket as it slowly gets heavier and heavier.

When Noah realises that he isn't getting a reply from her, he continues, "You can't let this ruin everything for you. Basileus Nox will be an issue whether or not you make out with Day."

"Noah!" Sierra chastises, her eyes frantically scanning the store for any students from the academy.

"What?"

"What if someone hears?"

With the roll of his eyes, Noah drawls dryly, "As if everyone doesn't already know that Day wants to get into your panties."

"Excuse me?" Sierra's eyes are wild with incredulity, and she stutters and stumbles like a bumbling idiot.

"God, you're oblivious," exasperates Noah, his narrow eyes shutting close with a sigh.

"Says that boy that didn't realise Orion was crushing on him for months."

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sierra wipes her sweaty palms on her skirt. She can feel the eyes of her friends on her, as she stands in front of Amisha. The tension in the room is as thick as the cream they'd had for dinner a few days ago. Her eyes meet Amisha's, and the Summoner witch gives her (what Sierra assumes to be) an encouraging nod.

"Are you sure, you're okay with this?" Sierra asks, wondering if the witch had changed her mind in the time it took for Sierra to walk from the courtyard to the lounge.

"For the love of the Gods, Sierra. Stop stalling."

"Uhm, okay," Sierra bristles. With a deep breath, she begins chanting, "Animus immenium, animus immenium."

Sierra raises her hands, her eyes closing as she concentrates on sliding into Amisha's brain. She focuses on the closed curtains, her hands pushing blue wisps of magic through. Small, subtle movements, and then a large ball of light.

Sierra breathes through her nose, her eyebrows wrinkled in concentration. Her magic searches for the night that Amisha was attacked. It is as if, the memory had been pushed away into a box by a force of nature. Not a controller witch, this wasn't deliberate and precise, not this was forceful.

Gently, Sierra directs her magic to pull the memory out. Sierra gasps as she is dragged into it. Her mouth moves with the incantation as she watches Amisha sauntering through the halls, being pulled towards the courtyard. Amisha's magic soars to life, as if sensing a dark spirit.

Before Amisha's eyes can adjust to the darkness, the figure in the dark robes, attacks her with a spell and she crashes to the ground. The witch moves towards the statue, hurriedly finishing his incantation and throws a handful of ash to the ground and disappears without a trace.

Sierra pulls back from the memory, her magic slowly making its exit. Without a trace, as if she'd never been in Amisha's mind, she escapes. Her senses coming back to her.

Her legs shake, her fingers suddenly clammy.

"Sierra?"

Day's concerned voice snaps her out of the haze and she looks up at her friends, staring at her with questions.

Sierra gulps. "Well, I saw the memory."

"And?" Noah coaxes, pushing for more information.

"It's a bender witch. He's doing something to the statue, and he attacked Amisha. He's been using some sort of ash to move through the academy." Sierra pauses, catching her breath. She looks at Amisha before continuing, "You went in there because you were drawn there. Some summoner witch instinct."

"You told me, you felt like you were being drawn there," Amisha recounts, her voice firm but her eyes conveying her fear.

Sierra gulps, taking in the quizzical looks she receives from everyone else.

"What do you mean, you were drawn?" Alec questions, an edge to his voice.

"I had a dream, it was like this darkness that kept calling me to the statue. I woke up, and I had this really strong need to go."

"Did you go?" Day asks, his gaze unfaltering.

Sierra shakes her head, strands from her ponytail flying and escaping the hair tie.

"I keep sensing dark magic around the statue, but I can't put my finger on exactly what's going on," Day adds, his brows scrunched together in concentration.

"Then we need to take a look at the statue," Noah concludes. His jaw locked, and his arms crossed. Looking at him, Sierra realises that she no longer stands in front of her best friend, but a leader fit to fight the Dark King.