Just as Kalian had predicted, rain began to fall shortly after they made camp for the night. They were still a good three days out from Selcouth, but Kalian thought it might take them even longer to reach it now, depending on how long the storm lasted. He sat beneath a tarp, which was stretched over his tent and held up by six wooden poles.

Similar tarps hung above the rest of the tents as well. They were designed to keep water off of the tents and were doing a fairly good job so far. Kalian had cast a shield around himself in an additional effort to stay dry while he was outside. He'd considered shielding the tent as well, but decided against it. That could raise questions that he wouldn't be able to answer, and might set the Ironblades on edge.

Kalian knit his brows as an electric buzz worked its way through his bones. His magic hummed in response. He rose to his feet, recognizing the summons. There was a Witch nearby and she was calling to him. Kalian left the shelter of the tarp and let his shield prevent the rain from drenching him.

He ducked out of sight of the few guards on duty, working his way to the perimeter of the camp. The tingle grew stronger and Kalian let it guide him. The summons led him a good distance from the camp. It didn't let up, even when he approached the edge of the Vetiti.

    The Witch continued to call to him, but Kalian halted just beyond the forest, unwilling to go any further. The humming in his blood ceased and a slender figure emerged from the shadows. Kalian's eyes widened. This wasn't just any Witch. She was the right hand of his King and Queen. Sybella, one of the greatest Witches in all of Orphic.

"Kalian Deirdre," the Witch said. Her gold eyes, with pupils ringed by silver, flashed suspiciously. Peppered brown hair hung in sodden locks against her back and her clothes stuck to her body. Kalian allowed his shield to encompass her, protecting her from the rain.

"Sybella," he answered. "Why are you here?"

"Queen Iyan sent me. She was worried because there had been no reports from you yet."

"That is because there's nothing to report," Kalian said. "Tell her Majesty that she will be the first to know when I find something. And tell her that I will contact both of them when I can. It's too dangerous sending people to meet with me. Things will go a lot smoother if they let me handle correspondence."

Sybella's lips curved into a smile. "That's precisely what Gabriel said, but Iyan didn't feel obliged to listen to him."

"She is the Queen. She doesn't have to listen to anyone if she doesn't want to."

"She didn't listen to anyone before she became Queen," Sybella chuckled. Her shrewd gaze swept over him once more. "Is there something I can do for you before I leave?"

Kalian combed his fingers through his hair, smothering a sigh. "I don't think so."

"Then allow me to offer you some advice, and a warning." Kalian narrowed his eyes. "Moira Lev is not who you think she is. She needs someone to remind her of the truth and help her find her way, just as you do. The warning I have for you is reminiscent of my advice. There are others you have yet to meet who are also not as they seem to be. Tread carefully. They will be your undoing." Sybella turned to go.

"Wait," Kalian called. "A Tenebris gave me a warning too. It said that a great sacrifice would be demanded of me, and there's nothing I can do to avoid it. Do you know what it meant?"

Sybella shook her head. "I will think on it. Perhaps the answer will come to me in a vision. You should return to the Ironblades now, Shadow of Death, before they realize you're missing." Sybella left the protection of his shield and vanished from sight.

Kalian started back towards the camp, his wings bristling with apprehension. What had the Witch meant? He knew exactly who Commander Lev was, and he was certain she would never change her opinions about what she believed to be true. No one, especially not a Faerie, would be able to sway her. And...Sybella had insinuated that he was as misguided as the Commander. How?

Kalian returned to the camp unhindered, but paused, spying movement just outside the Commander's tent. He allowed his shield to fall, knowing she'd question him if he was somehow completely dry in the middle of a storm like this. Commander Lev didn't look up as he walked past. He doubted she even heard him through the thunder rumbling overhead.

She sat on a crate, her face hidden in her hands. Dark curls shrouded her shoulders. There were only a few drops of water rolling down her arms, thanks to the tarp that sheltered her. Kalian hesitated, then switched directions and headed towards her. Commander Lev looked up, as if sensing his approach.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I'm thinking." Guilt swam in her burning gaze.

Kalian cocked his head. "About what?"

"Nothing I want to talk to you about. Leave me alone." Kalian ignored the order and sat down on the crate beside hers, stretching his long legs out in front of him. His wings dragged against the ground, but he kept them well out of Commander Lev's reach. "Are you deaf?" She growled.

He smiled. "What? I can't hear you over the thunder."

"Prick," she huffed, crossing her arms and turning her face away. Kalian allowed a small amount of magic to shield the area around them. The rain lightened and the thunder grew fainter. "The storm must be letting up," Commander Lev said finally. Kalian just nodded, and waited to see if she would say something more.

☽◦༻◦☽◦༺◦☽

Moira's thoughts circled through her head until she had no choice but to put them into words. "How did you know my reason for killing Faeries was revenge?" She asked, recalling their conversation from a few days ago.

"I've learned to recognize your behavior. You're a lot like me in some aspects, but less so in others. You are always angry and burning. I'm usually cold and empty. You want others to share your pain. You want them to suffer like you have. I just want to find the man responsible for my family's suffering, and make him share their fate."

A muscle in his jaw twitched. Moira didn't press for further answers, but waited for him to continue. "I've been hunting the man who killed my wife and daughter for two years," Kalian admitted.

Moira studied him curiously. He only told me that his family died when Cosette was destroyed. I didn't know he had a wife. And...a daughter.

"I've killed dozens of people in the process, just so I can uncover possible leads," Kalian said. "Every lead led me to another dead end, and I can't give back the lives I've taken. I recognized your guilty feelings because I share them."

"I don't feel guilty for killing Faeries," Moira protested.

"Faeries, no," Kalian agreed. "But innocents?" She didn't respond. "Why do you spare Faerie, Scindo, and Witch children? Most of them are young enough that they'll die without their mothers."

"My baby is only three weeks old! She will die without me to feed her, and Felia and Jas? Think about the fate you have driven them to. They will see their parents die. They will watch their infant sister starve to death. What kind of life can an eight year old and a four year old make for themselves? You are a monster!"

"I let them live," Moira whispered. "They are the ones who must choose to survive."

    I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster. This is what they deserve. This is what every last one of them deserves. The words tumbled through her mind.

"Tell me how children survive in this world, Commander. Tell me why you'd let those children go, just so they can be forced into lives of thievery or prostitution or worse. Tell me why you let them live, just so they can starve to death later. Tell me how the guilt of knowing what you've done eats you alive."

"It doesn't."

"You are not a good liar."

Moira rounded on him. "Don't you want to slaughter Faeries for what they did to your wife and daughter? Don't they deserve to be punished for their cruelty?"

Kalian's gaze darkened. "My wife and daughter were killed by a Human, not Faeries. And while I might be here to support your cause, he is my ultimate goal. I only kill who I have to. You kill whomever you want to."

    He rose, those strange sharp shadows etching themselves into his features, somehow making him appear more beautiful and lethal. "Tell me this, Commander. Do all Humans deserve to die because of the cruelty of a few?"

"No," she spat.

"Then why is it any different for Faeries?"

Moira leaped to her feet, curling her nails into her palms. Why was it that whenever she spoke with Kalian, she was always tempted to hit him? "Careful, Deirdre," she growled. "You're not sounding like an Ironblade."

Kalian held her gaze, unflinching. That was another thing about him that confused her. No one else dared to meet her gaze, but he held it as though he were her equal. Only one other person had ever been able to do that, and he'd been dead for seven years.

"Go," Moira ordered. "I want you and your tentmates on the dawn patrol."

His lips twisted into a wry smirk. "There you go again, punishing others for the actions of one."

"I..."

"You should start holding the guilty accountable, Commander, and let the innocents be." Kalian strode off without another word, and the storm returned in full force. Moira slipped into her tent to avoid the gale.

"The nerve of that man," she muttered to herself. "He has no right to challenge me like this all the time."

Moira furrowed her brows as she thought. Kalian had been in the camp a sufficient amount of time now. Perhaps she'd start questioning his companions about their thoughts on him. Maybe they knew something that could help her make sense of him, or find out whatever it was he was hiding. No matter what he said, she knew he was hiding something. He had to be.