Dorothea, Shark and Hollyhock were busy chatting and snacking in the dining hall when the deciding news arrived.

Dorothea and Shark, their backs to the door, were alarmed when Hollyhock jumped up from his seat mid-sentence. “Iree,” he called, skirting around the table.

Dorothea once again stumbled as she stood and spun around at the same time, and Shark took her arm to steady her. Once they saw Iree and Rhys approaching them, they took her hand and held tight. Rhys was frowning tensely and Iree’s clothing was torn, skirt boasting a newfound ragged slit while one of her sleeves was almost detached completely. Blood had dripped down her face and onto her chest, smeared now, from a cut near her hairline.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Hollyhock asked, taking her arms.

“I’m fine,” Iree replied impatiently. “So’s Ariana. Dammit…”

It was good that they had both survived, but that only made the obvious problem feel even more ominous. Dorothea looked between Rhys and Iree in rapid trades, willing one of them to spit it out.

“Dorothea, Shark, it’s…” Rhys trailed off when Iree held up a hand.

“I’ll say it. It’s my fault, after all.” She met Dorothea’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but Sirpo has been destroyed. By the time we got there… It’s all gone. There were no survivors.” She hung her head. “I’m sorry.”

Dorothea’s breath caught somewhere between her chest and throat, and she and Shark turned to face one another’s shock and horror at the same time.

Iree continued, anger shaking her voice. “We met some of those lowlife Ghurian rats on their way out and came to blows, but they fled since they’d already done what they had come to do. We kind of knew it after that, but we had to see for ourselves and… I didn’t think they would go that far. We’ll do whatever we can to make up for this. Again, I’m so sorry.”

Apologies were hardly needed; Dorothea could stop it all from happening. But what good would that do? They were in the same sticky spot of not knowing if or when the Ghurians would stop these unprompted assaults.

Shark seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “Let’s think about this, Thea…” Their grip was so tight Dorothea felt that her hand might splinter apart. The pressure was good and safe, anchoring her.

“Right…” They needed to consider how effective their efforts would be before acting. Yes, the events were easily reversed, but what action would prevent them from facing the same dilemma again?

Hollyhock supplied suggestions in a gentle voice. “You can turn back time to save them, maybe come get us for help earlier. We can plan ahead.”

“It isn’t that simple,” Dorothea murmured. Her voice sounded far away, diluted, to herself. What would saving their lives change? When would the next attack come? Even assuming that the Sirpoan villagers were taken into Sacerian protection in the end, there was still a chance the war would be lost and they would all be slaughtered regardless.

What was the best way to protect the people of Equin? The Ghurians had taken everything so easily. How could she fulfill her duty? But what duty was that? Serve them until she shared her mother’s fate? Remain isolated and blissfully uninvolved while the two warring factions destroyed each other? Was that all her power was meant to be used for? She didn’t know anything anymore. “We… We need time to think.”

Iree put a hand on her shoulder. “By all means. Take all the time you need to decide what to do next.”

Dorothea barely heard her. How could the Ghurians be so cruel? The fear the people of Sirpo must have endured in their final agonizing moments! “Gods…” She put her hands over her face and bowed her head, trying and failing to hold back tears.

“Thea.” Shark draped their arm over her shoulders. “Come on. We should be alone.” She could feel them shaking; it was anger and not fear, she knew.

“You can stay at my house,” Hollyhock offered. “That’ll be a more comfortable place for you to feel what you’re feeling.”

Dorothea couldn’t pay attention to what happened next; it was all she could do to float along and accept it. She had promised from the very beginning of her life, it seemed, that she would save the people of Sirpo despite her own reluctance and fear; the oath was carved into her heart. She would do her meager best, as always, and then… Only then would she give up her life for them.