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The darkness seemed to whisper in the forest. I had never been in the forest alone this late at night... I'd always had Blake to return home to before sundown. My chest began to burn at the memory of my little brother, and I felt hysteria try to override my senses- but I fought to stay in control. I was on a mission.

I was crouched in between the branches of a tree, peering through the leaves at a fire burning a little way away. The Guard -that despicable lot- was huddled around a fire and munching away at some game they'd caught right after tearing Blake away from me. 

I wondered vaguely if the Guard had various Skills of their own. Skills could range from my own Skill of Hunting, to Mind-Reading, to Healing and so much more. If the Guard had Skills that put me in danger... well, they certainly didn't seem to be aware of me for now. 

The rational part of me realised how impossible that was. They were the best guards, assassins, fighters, and killers in Asten. I couldn't possibly outsmart them.

But the thought of Blake locked into one of their dingy caravans obliterated any rationality in me. I had to get him back, and I had to get him back now. 

It seemed like hours later when they finally began to stamp out the fire. My body was aching and my leg battered from our scuffle before, but my determination overruled everything else. 

"Psst!"

I almost screamed. 

In bewilderment, I looked around in the darkness. I couldn't even call out, for fear of the Guard hearing me. Was this an attacker? Was this an ally? Or, better still, had I imagined the sound? 

That was when I saw two shards of lilac ice piercing through the darkness, barely concealed by the branches of the next tree. 

Kaya!

I hardly dared to say something to acknowledge that I had heard her. I prayed that her nuisance of an ability to know things would at least come in handy now. 

Kaya adjusted herself silently to catch some of the faint moonlight on her face; she slowly raised a finger and mouthed, "Wait." 

It was when I saw her ethereal -but still familiar- face that my chest ceased to burn. My fear evaporated, and I felt resurged with energy. Kaya was here. She would help me save Blake. 

All I could do was nod. 

Nimble as a cat, she shimmied down the tree and landed quietly on the ground. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw her gesture for me to do the same. What if they heard us? It was a fat chance, to be fair, but the stakes were much too high at the moment. 

But I trusted Kaya. My instincts did too.

So I followed her instructions, the whole while praying to God that I would not land with a noise. I had to bite my tongue to keep me from screaming out in pain as my bruised leg bore the entirety of my weight. To my relief, I landed almost as nimbly as she had. 

A lump of fear and worry that I had not noticed to be jammed in my chest before now, suddenly vanished, as her small, smooth hand slipped into my large one, rough from years of labour. I let her pull me along in the opposite direction to Blake because I trusted her. I let her take me back towards the edge of the forest because I trusted that she had a plan, that this was part of the plan. 

As soon as we reached the clearing outside the forest, I turned to Kaya, eager to find out our plan of action. Instead, all I saw was her face, expression twisted in anger as she pulled her hand back in a fist and thrust forward to punch my arm with all the strength she had. 

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