That night, all of them - with the exception of Thom, who volunteered to tour both Kaelen and Daisy around so that the rest could speak in private - cramped together in their communal guest hut generously offered by the villagers. Bedrolls and overstuffed satchels littered the padded floors, ready to be whisked away for the morning departure. Aryn, Darius, Cassien, and Naomi sat cross legged on the floors facing each other with full bellies and racing minds.

Naomi had taken the opportunity to explain her newfound healing abilities, though it was rather limited and hadn't been recreated since. Cassien had taken the time to refamiliarize himself with his peers, the loss of Finneus, and the root of their mission. Not only that, but it was imperative that he also relearned the functions of the shard's connection between himself and Naomi; in turn, Cassien explained his tests back in Pentley, the way the vision had materialized right as he had been able to reach his powers once more. He talked about how the appearance of the frost had begun a dull ache behind his eyes, though it seemed to have halted as soon as he arrived in Harsbach.

"That's part of the shard's quirks," Naomi said as she tucked her chin between her knees. "As long as we stay close together, there's no pain. But when we're separated for too long…"

"You mean to say you were in pain the entire last few days?" Cassien turned to face her, brows furrowed.

Naomi didn't want to answer - to make him feel even worse. "It wasn't… too bad, the first night. But yes, it did get worse."

"She was keeled over half the time," Darius said in an unimpressed voice, cleaning beneath his nails with a dagger. "Lost count of how many times she fainted."

"Darius," Naomi squeaked, raising her head. "You're making it sound worse than it was."

"And you're trying to spare his feelings," Darius shot back, placing down his dagger. "C'mon. We need to face the reality of the situation. You two can't be apart - and he needs to know the consequences if you are."

Her lips pressed together, but she didn't argue. She knew he was right - even if he was being overprotective about it. Naomi let out a deep sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry. It was… getting quite unbearable."

Naomi felt warm fingers intertwined around hers, looking up to see honeyed eyes looking down. "It's not going to happen again."

Aryn spoke up in confusion, looking at Cassien. "You said the pain only started after the first time you channeled your magic again?"

Cassien pulled his gaze away from Naomi. "I tested it, too - retracted the frost over and over, and the pain matched it in opposition."

"So if it's distance based, how come you were fine? At least intermittently?" Aryn murmured, more to himself than the others.

The others continued their discussion, but Naomi's mind drifted, lost in her own thoughts. She turned through every detail, every second of her own ache and experience with the shard that the others weren't privy to. Clearly, the shard had more limitations or rules than they had initially expected - though it wasn't as if they had done much extension testing back in Tudor, anyway.

Did it have something to do with the new mutation of her own powers that now extended to healing? Had the shard's magical properties - or at least how it affected them - changed with distance?

An idea clicked into her head. "Cassien, what's the extent of your powers now?"

"I can cast it across surfaces, but I can't say I've tried much else."

Aryn and Naomi looked at each other, as if they could hear what the other was thinking. They took turns recalling the great actions that he had done in the past; drawing on his magic to reach impossible feats of strength and agility, effortlessly conjuring icicles that were sharper than daggers, and even the ring of frost that had raised into a jagged ice prison during their battle with Alistair. Cassien listened intently to each explained ability, picturing it in his mind.

"And you had no other adverse effects?" Darius asked.

Casein shook his head. "Only the barest of pain."

Darius scratched the bare stubble on his jaw. "So why did only Naomi get the bad end of the stick?"

"I know why."

How didn't I realize this sooner? Naomi thought.

The others turned to look at her. Naomi's mind raced, chasing after jumbled thoughts before they could disappear. "Think about it - before Pentley, Cassien didn't even remember he had magic, let alone how to use it. The pain started only when he discovered it. That has to mean something. We never tried this in the past - we never had any reason to try."

"Tried what?" Cassien's brows knitted together, the cogs in his mind trying to match her logic.

"Magical suppression. Maybe… Maybe you were subconsciously suppressing the shard's magic with your own. That's why you couldn't cast right away - and it didn't help that you didn't remember what you could do, either."

Darius made a thoughtful expression. "So Cassien's power protected him innately?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Aryn rubbed his chin. "It would explain then why only Naomi was affected by it. She didn't sustain the same injuries as him, so her body didn't protect itself in the same way. At least, not consciously."

"Though by that logic, I wonder if that means suppression limits how extensively our magic works," Cassien added. "Let's say we were separated and I suppressed the pain. If I were to try - say, summon an ice cage, or something similarly significant - would that break the suppression?"

No one in the group spoke up, unable to answer the unknown rules of the ancient magic.

"Shouldn't you be able to suppress it now as well?" Darius questioned Naomi after a few beats.

Naomi bit her lip. "I'm not sure. If it comes to it - of course I'll try."

Darius nodded. "Alright. That's the best theory so far, at least. Now that that's out of the way - we need to finish talking about Kaelen."

"We've talked about this," Aryn sighed. "She's the best lead we've got to getting to Alistair."

"It's not only that. It's her problem with Naomi - that jeopardizes her and the rest of us. What if she were to blow us off, or worse, sell us out? I doubt any of us really trusted her in the first place, anyway. Do we really believe she's only in this for revenge?" Darius pressed in a firm voice, deep lines of concern creased on his tanned face.

Cassien's eyes narrowed, his demeanor visibly changed like a protective dog baring its teeth. "What issue does she have with Naomi?"

"She's not the biggest fan of mine, but I can handle it," Naomi leaned over, patting his knee comfortingly. But even the gold hearted duchess couldn't excuse everything, and she held up a hand to stop Darius from cutting in. "But Darius has a point. If we can't trust her like we do with everyone else, I think we should look into other plans."

"Thank you!" Darius remarked pointedly at Aryn.

"Buuuuut…."

Darius whipped his head back to her. "No, no, no buts-"

Naomi sucked in her cheeks in a disapproving look at the rogue. "But I'm not okay with ditching her on the side of the road. Plus, she did save both our lives."

"Nobody said anything about ditching!"

She shot daggers at him knowingly, and he held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. But is that really such a bad idea? My gut… doesn't trust her."

Aryn considered his friend's words carefully. The two had known each other for far longer than any others, and he considered Darius's opinion greatly. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Before he could respond, the door to the hut rattled open at the return of Thom, the two women following behind him. Naomi returned her expression to a neutral slate, staring at Darius silently as if she were telling him to leave the topic alone - for now. Kaelen hovered in the corner of the hut, face more sullen and body withdrawn than usual. Daisy playfully nudged Cassien's shoulder in greeting before sitting on the floor beside him, opposite to Naomi - who inwardly was cautious at the casual touch.

Thom slapped his knees as he sat. "So! What'd I miss?"

"We were talking about the best way to get to Redgorn," Aryn lied smoothly. "The village chief wasn't familiar with that city, but he did confirm that Augustine is only a few days' travel by horse. My hope is that we could board a voyage to Seraveth from there."

"More ships," Naomi mumbled a little queasily, taking a deep breath. "Just our luck."

"Don't worry, the odds of another wreck are pretty unlikely," Darius said, though his own expression had a semblance of nervousness. "Not a bad idea, though. If I could procure a few more disguises before then, we could pass off as a group of tourists."

His eyes narrowed towards Kaelen then. "And assuming that everyone is still on board… our associate here can handle the rest."

"Oooh, I've never been outside of… well, Pentley, really - this is so exciting! Why are we going there, by the way?" Daisy squeaked into the discussion, sparkling blue eyes lit with excitement.

All eyes fell on her then, though she didn't seem to notice. Naomi shuffled awkwardly, unsure of how to act or think. This was a no brainer to everyone else - under no circumstances would a civilian be allowed to accompany them.

To everyone's surprise, Cassien spoke up first.

"I'm sorry, but you can't come with us."

Her smile faltered. "Why not?"

He glanced at the others before directing his words back to her. "Let's talk outside."

Daisy blinked in surprise, but nodded. Cassien gave Naomi a peck on the cheek before releasing her hand, and the two headed out from the hut.

What just happened? Naomi thought inwardly, her body stilled.

She knew Cassien was reserved, even cold, especially with people he barely knew. Previously, he would've been straight to the point, dismissive even. It wasn't that she disapproved of his change in courtesy - it actually made her quite happy to see him break loose from his shell - but what had this woman done exactly to have achieved that with him?

Shouldn't… that have been my job?

"Uh, what just happened?" Thom asked the words that she couldn't quite get out. "Was that me imagining things, or was Cassien being…. nice…. to a stranger?"

"You mean 'be nice in general,' right?" Darius grumbled. "But no, you didn't imagine it."

Naomi could swear Kaelen was smirking from the shadowed corner of the room.

Outside in the cool night air, the two unlikely allies stood far enough away from the light of the thatched hut that their voices wouldn't be carried. The gentle wind swept back Daisy's golden hair and the hem of her white-blue dress while Cassien considered the best way to put words to the group's silent rejection.

Daisy broke the silence first, hugging her arms. "You don't have to make an excuse. I know why I can't come."

Cassien might've been caught off guard by her bluntness, but it had been apparent from the start that it was her defining trait. If anything, he admired her for it. "It is quite dangerous. And you are…"

"Just a regular ole' human being with no sparkly magic," Daisy finished for him.

Cassien simply nodded.

"So I guess this is goodbye, huh? Well, tomorrow morning, technically. Can't say I didn't see it coming."

"It is."

She offered a crooked smile. "Gotcha. I was hoping mayyybe the sheer awkwardness would've broken you all down to say yes."

"Unlikely, but nice try," Cassien almost smiled back.

"You say that, but it almost got your lady there. Her face was like, 'Oh shit! What do we do?'" She laughed mischievously, the sound dying down to a soft breath. "...She clearly missed you."

"I missed her," Cassien stared towards the hut for several long seconds before turning back to Daisy.

Her eyes were bright with emotion, genuine and joyful as always. It struck him at how much he owed her, the immense gratitude of her rare, unprejudiced kindness that hadn't faltered even for a second since the moment they had met. If it had not been for her recognition of Harsbach or stubbornness in insisting she accompany him here, he may have never had made it back to Naomi.

He inclined his head towards her with arms positioned at his sides, and it took Daisy several moments to recognize that he was bowing deeply to her.

"Thank you, Daisy. For respecting my privacy back at the tavern. For guiding me here and bringing me back to Naomi. And for being someone I didn't expect to find."

A lump lodged in her throat. "And what was that?"

Cassien smiled then - really smiled - and Daisy knew in that moment exactly how Naomi had fallen for him. "A friend."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.