Looking up the mountain set off a curling dread of fear in my chest. The thought that within the next few hours we would be climbing up it had nervousness running laps through my veins. Today was the day.

Either we got to the Lyre before the other Dragon-borns, or we didn't. That was why we were starting now when the sun had only just appeared over the edge of the horizon.

Larc had mentioned he was going to check the surrounding area for any shadowed creatures so we didn't get attacked while we climbed. The arduous task was going to be difficult enough without the threat of strange beasts following our trail. Before he left, he hadn't mentioned anything about last night, about how close we had been and the temptation of the kiss that had wrapped around us, and I couldn't tell if that was for the best.

While Larc ensured our safety, Haera and I prepared everything else for our ascent.

"We need to talk," my sister announced, setting the satchel in her hands on the ground and crossing her arms. She never used that tone and those words unless it was something serious. The past times she used that phrase, Haera had turned into an even scarier version of herself.

"What's wrong?" I stopped wrapping a fresh bandage around my wounded hand and gave her my full attention. I wouldn't be able to get the exact tightness that Larc had wrapped the muslin with before, so perhaps it was best to wait until he came back.

"A lot of things." Her eyes scanned the trees for any sign of life. "I'll make it quick before the Dragon-born gets back. For starters, you're getting too comfortable around him."

"Why is that an issue? Larc hasn't done anything wrong." I had thought Haera was becoming less hostile towards him after he gave her the book we found in the tower, but she had other ideas.

"I was watching your whole escapade last night because I couldn't sleep either and it took all the will I have not to throw a dagger at his throat. For the Goddess's sake Zo, you were about to kiss him! Do you realise he's most likely using you for his own gain?"

I flinched at her words. "He wouldn't do that."

"And how do you know that? Sure, I don't hate him as much as I did a few days ago, but he's still not trustworthy!" She stepped closer to me and lowered her voice. "You saw what those other Dragon-borns did right in front of us, do you not think Larc could do the same? They're cruel by nature."

"No, I don't think Larc could do the same." I stood my ground, wondering how far away Larc was and if he could hear any of our conversation. "He wants to help the humans, Haera, not hurt us."

"That doesn't mean he isn't callous in different ways."

"He hasn't proven to be heartless in any shape or form so far, so I don't think you need to judge him so harshly." I closed the distance between us and held her arm with my uninjured hand. "Please, give him a chance. I've said this before, but trust him until he finds a way to break it. He doesn't deserve the way you're treating him after everything he's been through."

"Once all of this is over, when the Lyre is destroyed and we return home, what do you think will happen? The Dragon-born is going to leave us and continue on with his life no matter what your feelings are for him." I had to admit I hadn't thought that far in advance. "And when we get back to the village, we need to find our mother and leave for a bigger city, one with a lot more guards. Silverwood will be the main target for the war, even if the Lyre is destroyed, so we need to get as far away from it as possible."

"But-"

"No buts, this is for our safety. I'm even tempted to leave for another kingdom altogether."

I knew she was right, but Silverwood was our home — the only place we had lived for our entire lives. We had never visited anywhere else as cart travel was too expensive and other towns were too far to visit on foot. Did we really just have to pick up and leave everything behind?

"Where would we go?"

"I don't know exactly yet. Goldburn maybe? Perhaps we could get to Demornt if all their guards haven't been sent to the front lines. It doesn't matter as long as it's far from Silverwood." Haera finally returned my touch, taking the bandage that I had clenched in my hand and silently offering to wrap my wound for me. "You saw what happened to the girl from the Temple that those Dragon-borns captured, we can't risk anything, especially since we've been travelling with one of the traitors to their ranks."

It made sense. If Larc was being hunted down so he wouldn't share any information about the Lyre, the people he was travelling with were bound to be hunted too.

"Do you think mother is okay?" I asked one of the questions that had been haunting me all night.

"I refuse to accept anything else. Our mother is smart, she knows how to survive," Haera said as she carefully wrapped my hand. "But, she also has too much kindness just like you — that's what I fear most. If she sees someone in the village in trouble, she will not hesitate to help them."

Kindness was one of the many aspects I had gotten from our mother, as well as her looks. I hadn't inherited much from our father except his sharp nose. Harea, however, mostly followed him, especially in his anger and determination.

After securing the muslin around my palm, she lifted her shirt and pulled out a sheathed dagger, extending it towards me. "Here, take this and hide it under your shirt. I know your magic tries to restrain you from hurting anyone, but if Larc tries anything and I'm not able to get to you in time, use it."

I tucked the blade into my clothing as my sister commanded, doubting that I would ever find a need to use it. Though, if it put Haera's mind at ease, I would strap as many weapons as necessary on me to settle her worries and suspicions. Before I could tell her that I likely wouldn't need to use it, a familiar head of deep blue hair came into view between the trees.

"There's nothing that I can see around, so we should be okay to start climbing." He nodded at both me and my sister, then turned his eyes towards the mountains.

Where were we going to start? It wasn't like we knew exactly where the Lyre was on the mountain. Climbing to the top and then searching for the artefact could take us days — perhaps even weeks — of time we didn't have. It would be all too easy for the Dragon-borns to fly overhead and straight where we needed to be.

"I saw a flatter part as I was looking around," Larc announced. "We could start there to make the climb a little easier."

"That would probably be best," Haera replied, nervousness trembling through the hands she hid behind her back. I could feel the same unease spreading throughout my own body in apprehension of what we were about to do.

We could do this, I told myself as I took a deep breath to stable my shaking arms. We had to do this. For the Goddess and for everyone in the Kingdom of Aerla, we needed to get to the Lyre before anyone else.

As we began, the climb was easy. The jagged rocks that formed the base of the mountain made finding places to put our hands and feet effortless and the fear of falling was a mere tug at the back of my mind. However, the higher we got, the more difficult the task became.

My hands throbbed with pain as I looked for another rock to grab a hold of above me, the wound on my palm from the blood-oath protesting as it was pressed against the rough mountainside. I could feel the cuts and scrapes that had formed on Haera and Larc's hands too, my power begging me to reach out and soothe the pain it was causing them, but I had to resist. Now was not the time to use the magic I had been blessed with — I couldn't risk exhausting myself before we made it anywhere close to the top.

It flared again deep in my chest, stronger this time as if it were trying to tell me something. When I still didn't listen to it, trying to focus all my efforts on not falling off of the rocks I clung to, it tugged me like it had done before when we were running from the shadowed creature.

Finally, I stopped to listen to what the Goddess was trying to tell me. Her pull on my power forced me to look down, making my head spin at the sight of the mountain we had climbed. What was she doing? Was she trying to get me to fall?

Before I could resume the climb to keep up with Larc and Haera, I felt it. Deep beneath the rock we ascended was a thrum of power, one that was much stronger than the barrier surrounding the tower could have ever been. There was so much raw power — the Goddess's power — that I cursed myself for not being able to notice it sooner.

"Zo?" Haera called out from above me. "What's wrong? Why have you stopped?"

"The Lyre," I began, "it's below us."

"Below us?" I sensed there was a storm of curses brewing on Haera's lips. "Are you sure? Fuck."

"Yes, it feels like it's down in the middle of the mountain."

Larc stopped his movements too, conflicting emotions crossing his features. "That could mean there's a cave at the top that leads down into the centre, or there might be an opening at the base of the mountain somewhere."

"It has to be at the top, right? Otherwise, why would this Lyre need a sky-dweller to get to?" Haera pointed out.

"What do we do?" I asked. "It would make more sense to get down and look around the mountain first as it would save time." Though, the task of climbing back down looked a lot more daunting than the feat of getting up.

As I imagined a map of Aerla in my head, picturing the mountains we were climbing up, I realised my suggestion might not work. Walking around the base of the mountain to search for a cave entrance could take weeks, especially since there were only three of us. The mountain cut into the border of another kingdom too, so it would be impossible to enter unless we wanted to be caught and tried for illegal entry,

"I didn't see any sort of cave while I searched the area, though I could have easily missed it. The entrance could be anywhere." Larc scanned the area around us, searching for anything that could look like an entrance to a cave. "Can you pinpoint the exact location of the Lyre? Is it directly beneath us? Or is it further away?"

"I know for sure that it's on this side of the mountain rather than the other." Reaching out with my power, I tried to focus on the Goddess's magic that I had been tugged towards moments earlier, but it gave no further indication as to exactly where it was. "I didn't feel it at the bottom of the mountain, so I might be able to feel it better if we get higher up."

My sister turned back to the mountain, adjusting her grip on the rocks, with determination building in her voice. "Up the mountain we go then."

We continued the relentless climb, struggling to find footholds the further up we got. The rocks became smoother and much more difficult to grasp, making our progress much slower than any of us would have liked. The distant thrum of power beneath us didn't grow or shrink in strength, forcing me to wonder whether continuing up was worth the effort at all.

As I focused on the Goddess's magic, I didn't notice that one of the rocks I reached towards with my hand was about to crumble away and fall off the mountain.

"Zofia!" My sister cried as my hand slipped away from the rocks, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the side. She pushed a hand to my back to steady me as I scrambled for something, anything to hold on to.

"Are you okay?" Larc asked from above us, panic flitting in his golden orbs.

"I'm fine!" I called back, thanking my sister as she stabilised her own hold on the mountain. "The rocks are just getting a little looser now we're getting higher up." The air was thinner too, I could feel it as I attempted to calm my breathing.

As if I had spoken a curse into existence, the rocks beneath Haera's foot crumbled, pulling her balance and all of her strength away from her. She slipped off the mountain with a scream, her hands flailing to reach out for anything she could.

"Haera!" I reached out an arm for her to grab onto, but her fingers only grazed my skin before she continued to fall.

I could only watch as my sister slid down the side of the mountain, each rock she held onto crumbling beneath her touch, listening to the sound of her desperate cries.