I felt like someone knocked the wind from my sails. It’d been a few minutes since we left the Second Shell, and as much as I wanted to immediately put this place behind me and take my chances out in the desert, there was no way we’d last more than a day without Agni. We kept at a brisk pace the entire time we walked, craning our heads like a pack of zebras awaiting the lion’s pounce.

Beads of sweat had collected on Zahra’s forehead. Cannoli and Destiny flanked her, keeping a close eye on the puncture. Zahra was adamant about walking without help, but Cannoli’s gentle hands never left the [Myrmidon]’s good arm.

“Matt, Zahra should really rest,” Cannoli said.

“As soon as we find Agni,” I assured her.

“Please keep her fluids high. Even a small puncture wound in this climate can endanger her,” Ceres advised.

“Do you need another tincture?” Destiny asked, the worry building on her face. “You’re sweating more than any two of us.”

Zahra shook her head. “I will be fine. I just need to rest. My sister…” Zahra sucked in her lips, and angry tears collected around her eyes, refusing to fall.

I couldn’t imagine she was too thrilled about her recent family reunion.

The eyes of many drew upon us, whispers following in their wake. As we journeyed from tent to tent and building to building, we inquired as to where Agni may have gone. Every answer was a mixture of half-hearted grumbles and shrugs.

“I haven’t seen her since yesterday,” one catgirl admitted without even glancing at us.

“What was she doing?” I asked.

“Beats me.”

“Can you try and think a little harder?” Even I could hear the impatience in my voice.

The silver-haired catgirl turned around, and when she did, I saw she wore an eyepatch over her right eye. A long, X-shaped scar ridged the skin beneath it. “Don’t take that tone with me.”

“Finally got you to turn around,” I said, crossing my arms. “We got here a few days ago. She heads a bunch of gigashanks. See her anywhere?”

A pause followed. “Maybe. What’s it worth to you?”

God damn it. I’m sick of this place.

My toes curled. Fury boiled in my veins. “I don’t have anything to bargain with. I just want—”

“Then it sounds like it’s not my problem.” She turned back to her stack of boxes and began to point at each of them, mumbling.

“You know what?” I started.

“Please,” Tristan said, stepping forward. “You won’t see us again. We just don’t want to die out there.”

The girl looked at us over her shoulder with her good eye, narrowing it at Tristan. “You leaving doesn’t pay the tax, boy.”

Zahra tossed a handful of Bells onto the counter. Her cold expression spoke volumes.

Eyepatch scooped them into her palm. “She left yesterday. Said she needed to visit the oasis. Planned to make some dealing with the Ejderha there.”

There was no way we could go back to the oasis. We all knew that. Agni hadn’t been there when we kidnapped the hunters, so we agreed that she likely had to leave for some reason or another.

“What if the Chikara—” Keke began.

“She probably had a gigashank with her. Let’s continue as if she’s safe,” Destiny interrupted.

I had to agree. Some positivity was something we all needed.

“Thank you,” Tristan said to eyepatch with what I knew was a forced smile. With a hand against my back, he turned away from the catgirl and guided me away, muttering under his breath. “Let’s get out of the city. Word might have gotten out about what happened with Sanrai, and the Third Shell is rough enough to start with.”

“I have a hard time believing any of these girls already know what’s going on,” I argued. “It’s every catgirl for herself out here. I doubt she’s any different.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I could see how they affected Tristan. I regretted them instantly. “Sorry. You’re right. Let’s get out of here.”

With that out of the way, there was little we could do within the Third Shell. An immense relief washed over me when we exited through the gate. It was a lot like the sensation one felt pulling a splinter out of their foot.

I couldn’t wait to be rid of this place.

“So, what now?” Cannoli asked when we were out of earshot from the crowd. “I’m worried about Zahra’s arm and running into the Chikara again.”

Zahra adjusted her posture and gestured for Cannoli to remove her hands. Then she stepped forward, wiping the sweat away from her brow. “I know it bothers you, but if Agni is nowhere to be found, perhaps we should reconvene in Madhyam before our next plan of attack. I can lead us back. Destiny’s potions are doing the trick. I have enough supplies to get us to my mother’s.”

“I have a hard time believing that,” said Keke. “We struggled even with the supplies Agni brought along. We’d also be on foot instead of mounts, which doubles our travel time.”

“We can hunt during the night,” said Zahra. “There is no Encroacher I haven’t faced out here.”

“The fucking Chikara could eat us alive,” said Ravyn.

“Buried in the sand, squawwwwwk!” cried Ball.

“Whatcha all doin’ out here?” asked a voice behind us. When we turned around, it was Agni, accompanied by a gigashank. “Ya ain’t all leavin’ yet, are ya?”

Oh, thank God. Praise be.

I fought the urge to fall on my knees and kiss the ground Agni stepped on. As much as I tried to put on a brave face, I was fully committed to the idea that this would be my new grave. Perhaps my head would join the Chikara’s legion of head spiders.

Destiny and Cannoli closed the distance in a flash. They each took one of Agni’s arms, flanking the gigashank tamer and muttering sweet thank you’s.

“Uh, a bit dramatic, eh?” Agni asked with obvious discomfort.

“We’ve been to Hell and back,” Ravyn growled.

Tristan frowned. “I believe Zahra’s right. Heading back to Madhyam to heal and discuss a new plan would be better than burning through our supplies while we sleep outside of Rājadhānī.”

Agni frowned. “Really? Truly?” She turned around with Cannoli and Destiny still attached to her arms. She stared for a time, then turned back around. “I take it your journey here didn’t bear fruit, eh?”

“That’s putting it nicely,” spat Ravyn.

“We have to rethink our position here,” Tristan said, shaking his head. “There’s no way to get in there as we are.” Sighing, he pinched his chin between his fore and thumb fingers in thought. “I made too many jumps too fast. I should’ve been more careful. It’s time to step back and observe the situation more closely.”

“No,” I said, glancing at him. “I don’t think we should get involved any longer. We’re just making things worse.” I’d been away from my island for longer than I’d actually spent time on it. We couldn’t drag Magni kicking and screaming out of his tower without starting a war. We needed to go home. I walked over to Agni. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do more, Agni.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” she said, shaking her hand. “I wasn’t expectin’ nothin’.” For a second, she gazed at the gigantic tower in the distance. It loomed over us like some mega death weapon, primed and ready to wipe out all except those who resided in Rājadhānī. “This island’s in a bad way. Been thinkin’ of movin’ over to one of the other islands.” She looked at the girls attached to her arms. “What are your islands like?”

“Oh, oh, oh! I would love to tell you all about Ni Island!” Cannoli cheered.

“Please, allow the residents of Shi Island to accommodate you some time!” said Destiny. With her arms still wrapped around Agni, she turned toward Tristan. “That would be okay, right, Tristan?”

Tristan blushed. “Y-Yeah. That would be fine. We would be happy to have you, Agni.”

Agni’s smile widened. “Well, sounds like I’ll be payin’ ya’ll a visit real soon here, then.”

“Matt,” Ceres said so only she and I could hear. “Are you quite sure this outcome is to your liking? Should we not acquire outside help to assist in our endeavor? Pray, do not allow me to enforce my opinions upon you. However, my heart hurts for these people.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that at first. To have gone through what we had, leaving was the safer choice. Sure, it would’ve been nice if all four men could have a, uh, summit, as Tristan called it, but would we even want to work with someone who puts catgirls in the walls, hangs them from cages, and refuses to talk to us?

“I won’t say anything one way or the other right now, Ceres,” I said. “But to be honest, you and Zahra could’ve lost your lives back there if Sanrai and the others pushed us any harder.” Ceres bowed her head. “Maybe we’ll come up with something better, but for the time being, we need to pull out. I’m not willing to put you and the others in that much danger.”

Ceres smiled. “I understand. It gives me great joy to know that our lives are so important to you. I pray we are able to give the residents of Ichi Island similar solace.”

“Same here.” Though I doubt we ever will.

After a brief conversation on where we’d meet, Agni returned to Rājadhānī to replenish her supplies for the trip. As kind as she was, she did express that her repeated assistance would not come cheap. Zahra and Ravyn were the first ones to offer their Bells.

“Kuso. I’ll pay anything to get the fuck away from this dump.”

Once we agreed upon seating arrangements, Agni fetched her gigashanks, and we were on our way back to Madhyam. I don’t know what it is about traveling back the way you came, so maybe it was just my imagination, but the ride to Madhyam felt quicker already. Agni was adamant that it would still be a few days before we arrived back in Madhyam, but honestly, I didn’t care. I was just glad to be away from Rājadhānī.

Night fell, and we pitched the tent. The entire time we worked in silence. It seemed like no one really knew what to say about the situation. I felt awful, like I was abandoning these people.

Agni, Ravyn, and Lara worked on the fire while Tristan, Ceres, and I set up the tent. I was surprised that I barely had to think about it—my body just went through the motions. If my dad knew that I could pitch an effective tent, he’d be picking his jaw up off the floor.

I took my spot on a tarp beside Zahra, and set a bowl of soup beside her. She’d been staring at the fire for some time, her gaze miles away. I’d been there, and I’d always appreciated someone bringing me back to reality.

“How’s the arm?” I asked.

Zahra shook her head. “Better. Thank you for asking, Matt. If I’m being candid, knowing that my sister tried to kill me weighs heavily upon me… as does my defeat.” She rolled her shoulder slowly, staring at the sheathed katana in front of her. “What about you?”

I shrugged. “I’m getting by, I guess. Still angry about what happened in Rājadhānī, but trying not to let it bother me.”

Zahra nodded. “You’re not alone. Of that, I assure you.”

I stirred the contents of my bowl in thought. “Did you want to talk about what happened?”

“I must confess…I wagered that I would confront Sanrai, but I never imagined her hatred ran so deeply. Our mother was convinced that, deep down, we still held a familial thread. A foolish thought, maybe.” She sighed through her nose, her gaze rising to meet the dying fire. “And, despite all my training, she’s still my better. I never stood a chance.”

“Try not to think about it like that,” I said, nudging the bowl of soup closer to her. “It’ll drag you down. That’s why I never got dates.”

Zahra turned her head toward me, frowning. “Dates? What do you mean?”

“Erm, what I mean is, you can’t compare yourself to others. Not even family. Only to yourself.” I chuckled and delivered a portion of the soup to my mouth. “We did everything we could, given the situation.”

“Wise of you to say.”

I gestured to Ceres at the opposite end of the tent. “You can thank her. Those were her words, not mine. She spoke them to me while I was on my deathbed.”

Zahra wore a gentle smile. “She seems a wise woman. Level-headed.”

“A little too level-headed, I think. You didn’t hear that from me.”

Zahra chuckled. “Your secret is safe with me, Matt. Thank you.”

Keke suddenly appeared, returning from a brief perimeter scouting. “We’ve got company.”

“Who is it?” Tristan asked.

Keke shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t see from here. It’s too dark. But I can hear them. Two, maybe three sets of footsteps?” She looked at me. “Matt, come take a look with me, will you?”

“Sure,” I said, setting my bowl down. “Are they moving fast?”

“I can’t really tell. Their steps are erratic.” She looked at Ravyn next, frowning ever so slightly. “Ravyn, can you come out too?”

Ravyn held up a finger, chewing on her stew. “Mattaku.” Setting her bowl aside, she brushed the sand from her dress and joined Keke.

We took about ten steps from the camp before Keke stopped and pointed.

“Well, at least it’s not the Chikara,” I said, squinting.

One tall shadow walked toward us at a comfortable pace, flanked by two others. They were at least three or four hills away from us, and with how dark it was, I could’ve easily missed them if Keke hadn’t pointed them out.

“More travelers to Rājadhānī?” Keke guessed.

“Who the fuck travels at night like this?” Ravyn asked in a whisper.

I swallowed. Something about the central figure seemed familiar to me. It made me uncomfortable. They moved at such steady paces that they seemed almost robotic. With them being two dunes away, I looked at Ravyn.

“Ravyn, get the others. Something’s off here,” I said.

“Bally?” Ravyn’s parrot flew in a brief circle before swooping into the tent. The parrot squawked a few quiet chirps, and soon the others joined us.

“Make sure you’re all still in [Combat Mode],” I said.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized why the figure’s gait was so familiar. After the three silhouettes descended the last dune toward us, I could see them.

A man with pointed ears and blonde hair strode toward us in brilliant silver armor. To his sides, two catgirls—one of which we’d been confronted by in the past.

They stopped a few feet from us, and the man offered his hand.

“Matt,” he said with a casual smile.

The word barely escaped my lips. “Cailu.”