"Do you think we could have them talk like we're doing?" Aley asked.

Rocki snorted a little. "Do you know how hard it was to get them to agree to do this meeting? I don't think they'd be open to sending their leaders to what could potentially be a trap."

She shrugged in agreement. "Especially with what apparently happened the last time they did a peace talk. Over a hundred years ago." She directed the last part aggressively at Xinn. "Apparently they're too chicken to even try again."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We let you come, didn't we?"

She rolled her eyes. "Barely."

"So if we can't do peace talks," said Rocki, "what can we do? To be completely frank, the valicara were planning on having the sariun destroyed."

"Funny. The sariun were planning on having the valicara destroyed." Aley smirked, then bit her lip. "I guess neither of us want that to happen now though. But I'm not sure how we're going to convince them not to kill each other anymore. They'll been fighting for literally a hundred years."

Rocki sighed. "I don't know. I was kind of hoping that seeing you would do something, like the prophecy would kick in and a solution would pop up." Everyone is expecting us to end a war. What if we can't? What if we're not even the right people?

Aley tipped her head up to the sky, pushing her lips out as she thought for a moment. "I don't know. We'll figure it out I guess."

"Better sooner than later. I don't know how long we're allowed to stay here, and I don't know if they'll let us have another meeting after this. I'm still shocked they let us have this one."

"I am too. But I think the council knew that I was going to keep bugging them if they didn't at least try to contact the valicara."

Xinn allowed him mouth to quirk slightly. She would have.

Rocki slowly stretched her wings, then folded them again. "How do most wars get solved? I guess one side gives up and that doesn't seem like it's happening anytime soon."

"And who would be the one giving up anyway? If one of them gives up, the other is going to either destroy them or make their lives miserable." Aley pointed out. "And we don't even know who is in the right here. Xinn says the valicara were trying to cheat the sariun, Kofi says the sariun were trying to surprise-attack the valicara. How are we supposed to know what's true? We can't go back a hundred years to watch and I'm not entirely certain of the honesty of history."

"I know." Rocki pushed her hands through her hair, scratching her scalp. "I wish I had thought to ask Lindka about it. At the time I was a little more concerned about getting you back, so actually ending the war took the back burner."

"Yeah..." Aley sighed. "But there has to be something we can do, right? I mean, obviously the prophecy says there is."

Something flashed in the distance of the desert, catching Xinn's eye. There was something in the sky, but it was small and still very far. He didn't say anything but kept his eye on it. Valicara? Could be. Or perhaps some animals. Valicara aren't the only things with wings around here.

"There has to be," Rocki agreed. "It's just a matter of figuring out what exactly. Do you suppose either of us can convince them to just stop fighting? At this point, whatever they were fighting about before seems irrelevant. I know the valicara sovereign, he seems very reasonable, I'm sure he'll at least listen."

Aley shrugged. "I've spoken with the sariun leaders, and they seem pretty dead set on war. They want to win, apparently no matter how long it takes." She glanced at Xinn. "What do you think?"

"Sariun don't surrender," he said absently, keeping his eyes glued to the distant flying shadows.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, well that seems like a pretty stupid principle. What are you looking at?" She stepped over to follow his gaze.

"Something is flying this direction," he said, lifting a finger to point. And it's starting to look bigger than I would like. Is it the valicara? Are they here to steal the savioresses away? I can't let them. Perhaps I should attempt to return Aley to the forest before they get any closer. She'll hate me if I try to pull her away from Rocki though.

Aley squinted at the shapes. "Are those birds?"

Rocki and Kofi both turned to look.

"Unless they have birds the size of people here, I doubt it," said Rocki, casting a suspicious glanced towards Kofi. "It looks like a couple of valicara."

He didn't say anything.

"I thought so too," Xinn said, taking a hold of Aley's arm. "We should go."

"They're not going to get too close." Kofi scowled slightly. "It's just to make sure that you don't try to steal Rocki."

She frowned at him. "We said no one else could come."

"Well, they have a battalion waiting over at the forest. If they didn't want us to bring extra protection, then they shouldn't have sent some of their own."

Aley glanced over her shoulder. "We didn't tell anyone to wait for us, right Xinn?"

He glared at Kofi. "Of course not. We keep our word."

"Then who is standing around over there?" she asked, pointing back at the edge of the forest.

Don't look away from the enemy. Although... I should be aware of what is happening. He hesitated but risked a quick look over his shoulder. "I don't know. I didn't order anyone to stand guard. It must just be some curious bystanders."

Kofi's wings opened just enough to accentuate his height. "They look like they have weapons and armor."

"Then some guards got bored and wanted to watch," Xinn snapped. "I didn't make any orders aside from keeping everyone in the forest. We have no ambush planned."

"Are we supposed to trust you?"

"Are we supposed to trust you? There is a valicara unit coming this way. How are we supposed to know that this wasn't your plan?"

"Woah!" Aley reached across his body to grab his far wrist when he snapped out a thick blade. "Wait, wait, wait. Calm down. Nobody is getting kidnapped today."

Rocki glanced up at Kofi. "Who is coming?" This could still be a misunderstanding.

"Sovereign Faish sent out a few soldiers when I told him about the sariun watching us. He just wanted to be sure nothing happens to you." We can't let anything happen to her. I can't let anything happen to her. "I'm sure they won't get too close."

"They're already too close," Xinn snarled. He took a step back, pulling Aley along with him. "We're going back to the forest. I will not allow you to steal our savioress." I can't fail my people like this. I must keep her safe.

Aley jerked away from him. "No!"

"Stop!" said Rocki at the same time. "You don't have to go. Nobody is going to attack."

"Except for them!" Kofi pointed at the forest, grabbing Rocki's wrist to pull her backward. The sariun must have noticed the rapidly approaching valicara because more soldiers had collected and were lining up at the border. "We have to go."

Her wings burst open as she pushed herself away from him. "I'm not going anywhere. I will not be separated from Aley again."

"Do you want the sariun to take you away?" His own wings flared open. I can't lose her.

"I want this war to be over so I can go home!" she shouted. "And I can't do anything without her!"

Aley dashed over to Rocki before Xinn could grab her again, taking her hand. "We're going to figure this out, but we need you guys to call off your soldiers." Her heart thudded against her chest as the sariun left their forest and started driving their vehicles towards the group of valicara. "If neither of you were planning on launching a surprise attack, there is no reason to fight!"

Xinn and Kofi held each other's gaze, neither making a move to dash for the girls, but both tensed for the moment the other did.

"Kofi!" Rocki barked. "Tell them to back off."

"Not if they're going to endanger you," he snapped back.

Aley clenched her sister's hand tighter as the two battalions drew closer to each other. "Xinn, make them stop."

He only clenched his jaw. They're not under my command... but they did the right thing. The valicara are coming to take Aley from us and then there will be no hope. This "peace talk" was a bad idea.

"We should go," Kofi said after a moment. "I'll take Rocki home and you can..." He clenched his fists. We must stick to our word. "You can take Aley."

"No!" Aley protested.

"Absolutely not," said Rocki, crossing her arms.

Xinn met Kofi's gaze. He is willing to keep his side of the agreement. Perhaps he is not the one pulling the strings here, the attack may not have been his idea.

Kofi's eyes darted to Rocki for a moment, before bouncing back to Xinn. I have to get her out of here. Please let us go. I don't want to fight with them right here. They could get hurt.

Ah, Xinn though. He's in love with her. Just like I'm—He closed his eyes for a half second to erase the thought. "Aley. Come." He held out a hand to her.

She clenched Rocki's hand tighter. "I can't. It took me weeks to get back to her. I'm not about to just leave her again."

He glanced up at the valicara who were starting to get a little too close to comfort. "If we don't leave now, we'll be caught in a battle zone. You might get hurt."

Rocki tugged her sister a few steps away from the two males, eyeing both of them. There won't be much we can do if they try to grab us. They're both stronger than either of us, and I'm not sure how far we can get with only desperation.

"Rocki!" Kofi said in protest. The sariun are getting too close. They're going to take her. I could grab her. She would hate me, but at least she would be safe. His eyes darted toward the rapidly approaching enemies. "Please, I don't want you to accidentally get hurt. We'll set up another meeting after everything has cooled." If the sovereign will let us.

Her heart was pounding, but Rocki still couldn't bring herself to let go of Aley. "I don't think they'll let us after this." The valicara and sariun were so close she could hear the wingbeats and hums of engines. We're going to be in a warzone. I need to get Aley out of here. I have to keep her safe. Maybe I should send her with Xinn. He's at least kept her safe so far. What can I do? I want to see her again, but I want to get her away from here. Maybe just her and I can run. Where would we go though? I don't know this world very well. Even if I had any idea of how to survive in the wild, which I don't, this is a completely new environment. If I can't get us out of here, I have to take away the danger of being here.

Break it down. What is the danger? The valicara and sariun who are almost on top of us. Why are they dangerous? They're about to get into a fight and we might be caught in the crossfire. How can we take away the danger? Distract them. Or make them stop the fight. How can I stop a battle? I'm a savioress. I have some power among the valicara who know me. If the sariun find out who I am, they won't want me to get hurt either. We have to make ourselves known and make sure they understand that we're not going to leave. They might try to take us by force. That will make another fight. But maybe they'll listen to us—we're their only hope at ending the war, they'll want to hear what we say. We have to talk to them. Will that work? I don't know. It's the best idea I have right now though.

She squeezed Aley's hand. "We have to stop them. Do you think you can talk to them? You're better with people."

Aley's eyes widened. "You want me to just stop two war parties? I know I look confident, but I would have no idea what to say."

"I'll help. Come on." Rocki spread her wings. "I'll stop the valicara, you stop the sariun, and then we can all talk."

"They won't listen," Aley protested, opening her wings anyway. Even though she wasn't sure about it, she would always follow Rocki.

"We'll make them. We're the savioresses, remember? They have to listen." Rocki leapt into the air, beating her wings hard.

Kofi jumped up after her. "Rocki, stop!"

Xinn started towards Aley, but she was already running, building momentum before she took flight. "Don't!" he shouted, reaching up towards her.

"Have to try!" she called after him.

"Rocki! We have to get out of here!" Kofi said, shooting over to her.

She ignored him, spinning to face the approaching unit of flying valicara. "Stop!" she cried, holding out a shaking hand. Blazes, what have I gotten myself into?

"Hey!" Aley shouted at the sariun, making sure not to gain too much height because they were still only ground level with their hover bikes. "Stay back!" This should be interesting.