“…Al? Hello?” He noted Clara’s distant voice. “Are you ok? I’ve been calling your name, and you didn’t react at all.” She finally reached him. Her forehead was scrunched with worry. “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head. “I was just lost in thought.” He turned his gaze back towards the mist laden town. “Thinking about the spire… and Fairford.”

  Clara let out a sigh. “Yeah… I miss home.” She then folded her arms. “Putting that aside though, it’s almost dusk.”

  He glanced at her. He couldn’t read her expression at all. Was that anger, worry, or something else? “Are you still hung up on Victoria?”

  She flinched.

  I knew it. He suppressed the rising annoyance. “Why?”

  “It’s too risky to try and use the mana core.” She folded her arms and raised her chin. “What if something goes wrong? What if it damages or destroys the Hallowed Ground?”

  The Hallowed Ground hasn’t done a thing to protect us. Aside from the fog dome, but that hadn’t happened again. “What if she figures out how to cleanse it and we can use it against our enemies?”

  Clara narrowed her eyes. “Is it worth the risk?”

  “I don’t know. But giving her some time till dusk won’t do harm.” He sighed. They were talking in circles, avoiding the actual topic they should have been discussing – the reason why this was a problem in the first place. “Clara, what’s your problem with Victoria?”

  His sister’s lips formed a thin line. “I already told you, I think she’s not taking the danger seriously.”

  Alaric shook his head. “Please just stop the charade and tell me what’s going on. I know you well enough – if it was Ava wanting to try that, you’d be backing her up.”

  “I am-“

  “Clara!” His voice raised ever so slightly. He didn’t mean to raise it. “I’m tired. I need to figure out a way to get rid of the final spire, I need to figure out how to protect us from the cold, and… and I’m just exhausted. Just tell me what’s got you so worked up, please. I can’t play guessing games right now.”

  She looked down. “Why would you risk dying to save her?”

  He stared at her blankly for a split second. “What? Are you talking about how we killed the Witch?”

  “Yes!” Clara exclaimed, her fists clenched, and her brows furrowed. Her eyes were slightly wet, as if she was holding back tears. “You jumped down the tower to save her!”

  “I jumped down to kill the witch. Before the mark made me into her thrall.” He instinctively rubbed his right arm, where the Witch had once used the mark of command on him. Just remembering how it felt send a shiver down his spine. “I didn’t have time left. It was the only thing I could think of.” He stared at her. “Is that what’s been bothering you?”

  “You can’t just risk your life to save her!” Clara wiped her tears. “What if you die? What am I going to do then? I’ll be all alone and… and…” tears flowed down her eyes as she started crying. Her torso shook, her voice faded away.

  So that’s it…

  “I won’t leave you all alone.” He tightly hugged her and rubbed her back. “We’ll survive this. I promise.”

  “You can’t promise that…” her voice was a weak, broken whisper.

  “I can. You can heal me no matter how wounded I am. And I won’t die. I can’t promise not getting wounded – but I won’t die.” He stroke her hair. “Alright?”

  I want us all to survive. I want this to end. I want to go home.

  “I’ll hep Harriet with supper.” Clara left with those words once her tears dried up, and her voice stopped cracking.

  Once she left, Alaric turned his gaze towards the cliffs and the steep mountains beyond. The sun was crawling towards the horizon. She’s running out of time. He marched back towards the church. Elizabeth was still petting Sol, and Ava had joined her now.

  “I love how fluffy his tail is. Look at it!” She lifted Sol’s lazily wagging tail. Elizabeth nodded with a smile. “He’s so calm too.”

  “Hey girls,” Alaric chimed in as he approached the two young women. “Glad to see you three get along.” He glanced at Sol, who yawned, then nudged Elizabeth’s arm with his snout so she’d continue petting him. All three laughed at the wolf’s cuteness.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “I was looking for Victoria. Do you know where she is?”

  “She asked Jason to come with her to the mana core. Do you remember where she stashed it?”

  He nodded. “I’ll drop by there, see how it’s going.”

  “I can come with.” Ava suggested, motioning to get up.

  “Get some rest. Tomorrow will be just as exhausting as today.” Alaric then forced a smile. “And I’m not planning on going too far ahead this time.”

  Ava chuckled. “You better not. You scared us today. Lochlan too.”

  There was less than an hour left till dusk, so he walked with a fast pace. The tree Victoria hid the mana core under was a small birch tree, and as he approached it, he spotted her and Jason.

  Jason was leaning against the tree, his gaze fixed on two small birds chirping on one of the lower branches. Victoria was sitting on the grass, cross legged, the mana core in her lap. Her eyes were closed, brows furrowed, and forehead scrunched up with focus.

  “I thought you’d sleep till morning.” Jason said with a smirk as Alaric approached.

  “Too many nightmares.” Alaric admitted with a helpless shrug. “I’d rather deal with this one rather than made up ones.”

  “This feels just as made up if you ask me.” Jason clicked his tongue. “The Empyrean was it? I wonder if we’ll ever get to see it. Meet it.” He narrowed his eyes. “Kill it.”

  I don’t think we’d survive any encounter with it.

  “Time will tell, I suppose.” He glanced at the young woman. “How is it going?”

  “I think you were right.” Victoria’s shoulders dropped. “I can’t cleanse this. I can use it like this, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She opened her eyes. “It wouldn’t be safe, I think.”

  “It was still worth a try.” Alaric crouched next to her. “You still have time. You can keep trying.”

  She bit her lip. “There’s nothing left for me to do. But…” she hesitated. “Can you try using your power on it?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “The Mark?” He asked. “Do you think it’ll work?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. Worth a try?”

  “For sure,” Jason chimed in. “Try it.”

  Alaric took the mana core and placed it on the ground a couple of steps away from them, then removed his right glove. “Fair enough…” he mumbled, then put his palm against the crystal.

  Yeah… That’s what I thought.

  Victoria tilted her head. “So it only works on living things.” She waited till he put his glove back on, then handed him a hammer. “You can destroy it now.”

  “A shame…” Jason let out a sigh. “I think it was a good idea though.”

  OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED

  YOU HAVE DESTROYED THE MANA CORE

  THE NORTHWESTERN NESTING SPIRE SLUMBERS

  REWARDS GRANTED:

  PHYSICAL ABILITIES INCREASED MINISCULLY

  MANA INCRESEAD

  MAGICAL APTITUDE INCREASED

  NESTING SPIRES REMAINING: 1

  “I was wondering,” Jason piped up as they walked back to camp. “The final spire is quite far from camp. Do you think we can handle it in one day?”

  Alaric remained silent for a few short moments. Jason’s question was one of the many things lingering in his mind. “I’m not sure. We probably shouldn’t try to.” Seeing the other man raise his eyebrows, he clarified. “We have no idea what’s there – it can be simple and empty like yesterday’s spire, or a disaster like today almost was.”

  “We can’t just ignore it either.” Victoria chimed in. “And we don’t know whether it’s safe to be outside at night. Outside the Hallowed Ground.”

  “It’s probably fine.” Alaric admitted. “When the Witch took people, nothing happened because they left the Hallowed Ground.” That’s not the issue though. “I’m worried about what happens after we deal with the spire too.”

  Jason scowled. “You mean… you think something will happen immediately? A new objective?”

  “Or a new shift in the earth.” He broadly gestured all around them. “Or an attack, while the camp is defenceless, or we’re too tired and wounded to deal with it.” He shook his head. I don’t know what to expect, and it’s worrying me.”

  “We’d need to split our forces.” Victoria pressed her lips together. “It’s doable. Except for your sister.” Noticing both their gazes on her, she quickly clarified. “She’s capable of healing. I’d argue she’s the most important person in the camp. Does she go to the Spire, or does she stay behind.”

  “Spire.” Both men replied. Jason smirked, then explained. “The chance of being wounded in the Spire is greater. The risk is greater too – anyone wounded in camp can be tended to and stabilised until we return – until Clara returns. But if we have to carry someone back…” He didn’t need to complete his sentence.

  “Yeah…” the young woman pursed her lips.

  They soon arrived at the camp. Avery and Elizabeth were sitting on the boulder, accompanied by Sol who was asleep under it. Eizabeth’s face lit up as she spotted them approaching. She climbed down and rushed to her twin.

  Charles, Ava and Clara stepped out of the ruined church. Ava’s expression was somewhat dark, her brows were furrowed, her lips a thin, pale line, and her forehead scrunched up. She seemed annoyed, or angry. Did something happen? He would ask her later.

  “Oi, Jason!” Avery called out from the top of the boulder. “Tell Reuban to come up here. It’s his turn.”

  Jason chuckled. “Sure,” he smirked, and marched towards the back of the ruined church with a mischievous expression.

  “What happed with the core?” Clara was the first to reach them. Her eyes were still somewhat red, her face still pale. Her voice was meek. “Did you find a way to cleanse it?” She didn’t look at Alaric – her question was directed towards Victoria.

  The other woman shook her head. “No, I think it’s not something I can ever do.” She shrugged and awkwardly smiled. “Maybe someone else should try it.” She quickly turned to her sister. “Where’s Grandma?” They left with quick steps.

  Clara’s shoulders dropped.

  “You’ll need to talk to her.” Alaric pointed out what seemed quite obvious. You can’t sweep your accusations under the rug like this. “Apologise for what you said.”

  Clara flinched, then nodded. “Yeah. I’ll do that…” she walked off.