The metallic taste announced itself as a biting scent, even before Kaelen took a sip from the murky water Nyu offered him in a worn clay mug. It reminded him of the underground lake, where he and his sister barely escaped their untimely demise. He resisted the urge to gag, trying not to show his disgust in the face of Nyu's unexpected hospitality.

"Thank you," he muttered, forcing a smile.

The woman nodded stiffly and walked back into the kitchen, where two other women were preparing a meal for them. Kaelen's body struggled to recognize what time of day it was, nor did he know if that concept even mattered down here. Why have breakfast and dinner when there is no sun to dictate day and night? Here, they were just meals.

He politely put the mug on the floor next to him, not planning to touch it again. He was sitting in a small room with dark walls, on a spotty blanket that had served as a makeshift bed. There was no furniture to speak of, just an old faded rug on the floor and a stack of black coals in one corner, next to an assembly of dusty pottery. Elara was sitting across from him, hugging a worn-out pillow, and pensively twisting a strand of hair in her fingers.

Kaelen had never seen his sister this scruffy — her hair looked shaggy, her clothes were filthy and covered in stains. A thin crust of dust and dirt had formed on her cheeks, emphasizing the scratches she had suffered in the scuffle with Althor and his men. Of course, Kaelen was fully aware that he did not look any better. And he probably smelled worse, too.

Kaelen had expected Nyu to lead them straight to the surface after retrieving the tome. But instead, the tough woman had taken them to her own home to spend the night — or what passed for night down here. They had been hesitant at first, half expecting a trap, but their tired bodies were lured by the promise of rest. And so they walked through the glum streets of Morathen, their faces shrouded by their orange hoods, trying to avoid the stares of beggars and bystanders. The houses looked increasingly poor the further away from the palace they got, their gray walls blending in with the darkness of the backdrop, and the dirty walkways were rarely illuminated out here.

"Oil's expensive," Nyu had commented without being prompted.

When they reached her neighborhood, Kaelen had to breathe through his mouth to avoid the stench that wafted through the narrow alleys, bouncing off the facades of tall houses with tiny windows. Dripping clothes were hanging from lines taut between smudged walls, and garbage was sprouting along the streets like vegetation. They only saw a few inhabitants, some of them children, most of them shying away into darkness as the group approached. Where Kaelen caught glimpses of them, his stomach curdled — their faces were covered in scars and blemishes, their clothes torn, with gaping holes exposing their patchy skin. They looked sick, all of them.

Nyu's family, or what was left of it, lived in a small apartment on the bottom floor of a three-story building that pressed itself against the cold rock of the cave wall. The overarching stone face was dripping dark drops onto the flat roofs and seedy alleys below, leaving muddy puddles in front of the glum apartment building. The facade showed signs of corrosion, and patches of algae covered numerous iron planks that were barring most of the undersized windows. Kaelen figured this building must've housed ten families, judging by its size. He was shocked, however, when he learned it was shared by more than twenty parties.

When Nyu ushered them inside, they gingerly stepped into a dim corridor with dust-lined baseboards and a low-hanging ceiling, rows of unassuming doors on either side of the hallway. Following Nyu, they had entered the small apartment she, her mother, and her younger sister Senya called home, where they had slept a couple of hours on the cold floor of what Nyu euphemistically called a living room. She had given them a pair of scratchy pillows and some old blankets to sleep on before retreating to the second room of the small apartment.

Elara immediately fell asleep from exhaustion, despite the rough conditions, but Kaelen had listened to the two sisters argue, the sound of their voices effortlessly traveling through the thin walls. Senya did not try to hide her disapproval of the strangers Nyu had brought into their home, and the promise of profit did not seem to sway her. She accused Nyu of getting reckless, of being in over her head, risking the lives of them and their mother. Soon, though, Kaelen got too tired of caring, and when he finally closed his eyes, sleep's warm embrace had welcomed him with open arms.

#

The clattering of dishes pulled Kaelen back into the present.

He cleared his throat and slowly got up right when Nyu entered the room, followed by her sister. They were carrying plates of food in both hands, and handed Kaelen and Elara one each. Reluctantly, Senya sat down in the far corner of the room — which was only a few feet away, given the limited dimensions of their apartment. Nyu just leaned against the wall between the siblings and started mechanically shoving spoonfuls of brown paste into her mouth. She looked angry, the corners of her mouth even lower than usual, and her eyebrows menacingly close together.

When Kaelen sat down again and examined the mountain of brown pulp in his bowl, any appetite he might've felt left him. He couldn't even tell what he was looking at — everything had been chopped into shrapnel and mushed together with some sort of binding slush. The smell was not exactly enticing, either, and Kaelen could relate to the look on Elara's face.

"I'm sorry we can't offer you a three-course meal," Senya snarled when she noticed their hesitation.

Elara blushed and started eating, swallowing most bites without chewing. Kaelen, however, saw a chance to delay the inevitable, and instead responded to her snide remark.

"Look, we're sorry for the inconvenience," he said apologetically. "We didn't expect to be here, either."

It was true — he still didn't fully understand why Nyu had brought them here. Sure, they had been tired and exhausted, but the woman did not strike him as someone who cared about the petty sensitivities of her half-prisoners.

"Oh yeah?" Senya hissed and flashed her eyes at Nyu, but her older sister seemed unfazed.

"Did you want to give Malvorn time to realize what you have done, so his soldiers can block all exits out of Morathen?"

Nyu lowered her spoon.

"They will never block all exits."

Senya scoffed. "Your arrogance will get all of us killed."

Nyu opened her mouth, then closed it again. She pensively stared at her food, her features turning soft. Like porcelain, her tough shell slowly cracked.

"You know why I'm doing all this," she whispered, with a voice Kaelen had not heard before. She sounded gentle, empathetic even.

Senya frowned, but didn't interrupt Nyu.

"Look around you," she said. "Is this the kind of life you want to lead? What you had in mind for your future? A life of poverty, surrounded by filth and disease?"

"This is our home," Senya protested, but with less resolve than before.

"It's not a home, it's a prison," Nyu muttered and stared at her bowl of food.

They fell silent for a moment. Kaelen studied Senya, carefully trying to avoid eye contact. She had the same color palette as Nyu, but was a few years younger. Her orange hair was longer, and matted in places, and her clothes were those of a civilian — unlike Nyu, who dressed like a thug. Her features were softer, her nose dainty, flanked by pointy cheekbones. Kaelen could tell she was pretty, underneath the layers of dirt and dust. He could also tell that Nyu cared deeply for her sister, even if Senya was seemingly trying hard to ignore that obvious fact.

Nyu sighed.

"I know you don't want to live on the surface, I get it," she said wearily, "but if I pull this off, you guys will at least have enough money to move somewhere better down here. Maybe closer to the city center, where it's cleaner and safer."

"You guys?" Senya scoffed. "Do you not even consider yourself part of this family anymore?"

Nyu looked visibly pained. She spoke plainly, which is how Kaelen got to know her, but that didn't gain her points in diplomacy. He started to realize that Senya was simply hurt by the fact that Nyu didn't seem to put their family first. That's why she was trying to make things as hard as possible for her older sister. He reflected on that thought for a moment, wondering if there had been parallels to Elara and him throughout the years.

"What do you expect me to do?" Nyu asked with increasing frustration.

She had put the bowl of food on the floor next to her.

"Do you want us and Mom to just rot in this hell-hole? I am trying my best, okay?"

Her voice sounded powerless, and Kaelen felt increasingly awkward. This was not a discussion he and Elara should be part of. He looked at his sister, who had taken the opportunity to also rid herself of her meal. When their eyes met, they spoke more than a thousand words.

Senya looked at her hands. She hadn't even touched her food — instead, she hissed through gritted teeth: "That's what Dad used to say."

Kaelen knew immediately this was a low blow to Nyu. The normally so tough woman flinched noticeably and looked away in embarrassment. Against all odds, Kaelen suddenly felt sorry for her.

"And don't pretend like you are the one taking care of us. I'm the one taking care of Mom, not you. While you are out on your adventures, I get to clean up this mess. We don't need your dirty gold, we need you — here."

Kaelen didn't get to explore these new feelings of compassion further, as Nyu's mother slowly shuffled into the room. Senya pursed her lips and fell silent. Nyu shifted from one leg to the other, seemingly uncomfortable.

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"What is going on here?" Nyu's mother asked in a frail voice, and her hazy gaze drifted through the room.

Kaelen hadn't paid her much attention the night before, when his sleep-deprived mind could only focus on finding a place to rest, but he did notice that Nyu's mother, Alva, was nothing like her daughters. Clearly, they were getting their orange hair and blue eyes from their absent dad, but also in terms of personality, they seemed rather different. Alva had not said a word during their arrival, and seemed rather apathetic to her surroundings altogether, to an extent where Kaelen wondered if she even cared. While the sisters had argued, probably for hours still after he'd fallen asleep, Nyu's mother had not commented on the matter whatsoever. At first, he thought the woman was deaf — clearly, though, that was not the case.

"Nothing, Mom," Senya reassured her, sounding like a parent. "We were just discussing the current situation."

Alva stared at her for a moment. Her big brown eyes sprawled with innocence, and dark curls framed her gentle face.

"What situation?" she asked in honest confusion.

Senya exhaled quietly.

"The situation with our guests." She nodded in the direction of Kaelen and Elara, who were caught by surprise and had not wanted to be involved in this discussion.

Alva looked at them in utter surprise, her mouth wide open.

"Who are they?" she stammered, pointing at Kaelen and Elara.

The siblings exchanged puzzled looks, uncertain how to react.

Nyu pushed herself away from the wall and moved towards her mother, wrapping an arm around her.

"It's okay, Mom," she said caringly. "They are … business associates. I offered them a place to sleep."

"Oh," Alva said, and her eyes lit up, the shroud of confusion vanishing for a brief moment. "That's so nice of you, Dear." She patted Nyu on the back and smiled at the guest she'd already met.

"It's so nice to meet you," she sputtered. "I'm Alva. Nyu never introduces me to anyone from work."

Alva waved at them with sincerity, and the siblings politely waved back. Senya sighed in the corner of the room and started to massage her forehead with her fingers. Then, she moved over to the door Alva was standing in and gently, but firmly, pushed Nyu aside.

"Come on, Mom," Senya said, "maybe we just hang out in the kitchen for now, hm?"

"Oh, okay, Dear," Alva muttered. Then, facing their guests, she added: "It was nice meeting you."

She gave them a warm smile before Senya shoved her out of the room and closed the door behind them.

Nyu stared at the shut door in front of her for a few moments, then slowly turned around.

"If one word," she said slowly, "of what you've seen or heard in here ever leaves these four walls, I will skin you alive with a rusty knife."

She let her words be felt, then moved back to the wall she'd been leaning against and sat down with visible exhaustion, her chin resting on her chest. Kaelen knew it would take her a moment to put the tough mask back on.

"Your sister seems … nice," Elara said quietly after a moment of silence.

Nyu raised her head and gazed at Elara with angry eyes.

"You don't get to have an opinion on my sister," she hissed and crossed her arms.

"I'm serious," Elara said, ignoring her warning. "She seems like a decent person. And I'm pretty sure she is a good influence on your otherwise questionable character. Apparently, you are not always a prick."

Kaelen inhaled sharply and held his breath. If Nyu had been close to losing it before, she was now fuming like a volcano.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she barked, pushing up a strand of orange hair with a quick blow.

"I wouldn't go that far," Elara said and shrugged.

His sister was surprisingly confident when it came to challenging Nyu. She was walking on thin ice, Kaelen thought.

Nyu sighed. "If you want to upset me, I'm afraid you're late to the party."

Kaelen still felt sorry for Nyu, so he tried to steer the conversation into more shallow waters.

"I'm sorry we caused such trouble," he said gently, "It was kind of you to take us here and offer us a place to sleep and a warm meal."

Kaelen hoped no one would notice the full bowl of food next to him.

"That said, maybe we should've just left for the surface right away."

"Believe me, I wish that would've been an option," Nyu rasped, "but I'm afraid it wasn't possible. After overhearing that discussion between Malvorn and his ominous visitor, I had to go see someone."

Kaelen and Elara looked at each other in surprise. At least, that explained Nyu's sudden change of heart when she invited them to stay at her place the night before.

"Who did you see?" Kaelen inquired.

"Who I meet with is none of your concern," Nyu snapped. "Let's just say they are as much a friend of Malvorn's as I am."

"When did you even have time to see them?" he pressed.

Nyu started to look smug again. "When the two of you were snoozing like babies."

Kaelen knew she wouldn't tell them more than she wanted, so he tried a different angle.

"What Malvorn said …," he began, opening the room for discussion.

"Was lunacy?" Nyu finished his question. "Agreed. The man has lost all perspective, and he will tear everything down that stands in his way."

"Surely, his soldiers would be no match for the armies of Cylion," Elara placated.

Nyu chuckled. "You speak with the arrogance of a true topsider. Malvorn's troops are no joke. They endured rigorous training and have gone through hardships your knights in pretty armor can only imagine. They've been hardened by darkness, while your soldiers were bathing in sunlight. There might not be enough of them yet, but that can change — quickly."

"How would you even know what life on the surface is like?" Elara protested.

Nyu hesitated for a fraction of a second, but long enough for Kaelen to notice.

"My profession has taken me there a couple of times."

Elara scoffed. "What profession would that be? Cut-throat? Enforcer? Thief?"

Nyu just gave her a facetious smile but didn't respond.

"In any case," Kaelen interjected, "it's bad news. We need to let our order know as soon as possible."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, I will take you back to Cylion for that reward, remember?"

"I can't believe you are still going through with that ridiculous scheme," Elara exclaimed in disbelief, clenching her fists.

"We don't have time to go to Cylion," Kaelen said, calmly but assertively. "Besides, our parents' willingness to reward someone for bringing back their children probably won't meet your expectations."

Nyu's features grew sour. "It better will," she snarled. "And I suggest you don't get any funny ideas along the way. Just because you stayed at my place does not mean I won't harm you if you do something stupid, or if you get on my nerves. Or, really, say anything I don't want to hear."

Kaelen looked at Elara, who had crossed her arms and pursed her lips in protest. He knew that they probably had no choice but to go to Cylion with Nyu.

"Can we at least send a message to the other Fateweavers? To inform them of this threat? And also, to tell them that we found the tome."

Nyu considered the question for a moment. "If you promise to shut up, I might be able to arrange for that."

Kaelen nodded, glad they could at least come up with a compromise, even if Elara didn't seem pleased. Luckily, she kept any further remarks to herself.

"Agreed," Kaelen conceded.

Nyu seemed pleased and leaned back, her muscles going from bulging to a state of relaxation.

"I'm sure whatever Malvorn is planning will leave enough time for you to take a detour via Cylion. Moving armies is a lengthy affair."

"From what it sounded like, employing soldiers will only be part of their plan," Kaelen mused. "There is still the matter of the fate tome, and the role it seems to play in all of this."

He had kept the book at his side since they left the palace. It had been lying right next to his pillow while he slept, his hands protectively wrapped around it. From what it looked like, the tome had not been damaged or come to harm, at least not visibly. Its yellowed pages were wrapped in a brown leather cover, with subtle decorations along the edges. There was no name plate or title inscription on the tome, nor any other remarking features. It looked like any other fate tome Kaelen would see in the common sections of the Great Library, but he probably wouldn't have pulled this one off the shelf during one of his night shifts — its appearance was too unassuming.

"How should that dusty old book be of any use?" Nyu sneered, "You can throw it at people, but that will at most take out one soldier."

"You clearly never learned to appreciate the written word," Elara muttered.

Books were sacred to her, and so she easily assumed the role of their protector.

"Most people here can't even read the written word, princess," Nyu shot back. "Let alone buy books to read."

Elara lowered her gaze, acknowledging that she had spoken in haste.

"It's not just a book, it's a fate tome," Kaelen jumped to his sister's aid.

Nyu frowned. "You sound like Malvorn and his visitor."

"Well, that might be the one thing they are right about," he admitted. "Fate tomes are way more powerful than mere books. And for whatever reason, this one is important to Malvorn, or at least to his mysterious ally. That explains why they went to great lengths to steal it from the Great Library. They even sent a professional thief."

"Professional, hm?" Nyu muttered.

"They certainly knew what they were doing. I almost caught them, but they used some foul tricks to escape me."

Nyu raised an eyebrow. "Did they now?" she asked mockingly.

"They were faster than me, okay?" Kaelen admitted and was reminded of his failure to stop the theft.

"Well," Nyu said and stretched her arms. "If you want to know why this book is so important, I guess you'll have to read it."

Kaelen looked at the unassuming book lying on the floor next to him.

"Maybe we should just take it back to the Great Library," Elara thought out loud. "Maybe its contents are not meant for us."

Kaelen considered her remark for a second. Clearly, Elara didn't want to get in trouble or break any rules by reading a tome from one of the most restricted sections of the Great Library — a section which she apparently did not have access to. On the other hand, he knew that she was just as curious as he, if not more. Her thirst for knowledge was fighting against her obedience, and the inner conflict showed on her face. Kaelen could tell she wanted him to convince her.

"If the Fateweavers are in even greater danger," he said slowly, "we need to know. This way, we might be able to warn them in our message." He reached for the book, then added: "It would be too risky not to check if we can learn more."

Elara nodded slowly, but she still looked concerned when Kaelen turned the tome in his fingers and opened the cover. "What —," Kaelen muttered distantly, skimming through the first pages.

"What is it?" Elara asked and inched closer towards him.

"It's … empty," Kaelen said without taking his eyes off the blank pages. Eventually, though, he reached parts of the books that actually contained content. "Well, at least part of it is. It's missing the beginning."

"That's strange," Elara murmured, frowning as she tried hard to think of an explanation.

Kaelen fell silent as he began reading the scribbled lines of green ink. His gaze followed the trail of words, and soon his mind was consumed by the narrative that was unfolding in front of him. His face must've shown his disbelief, because Elara started shifting impatiently.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice concerned.

Kaelen didn't respond right away — he was too drawn in.

"Kaelen?"

Reluctantly, he took his eyes off the tome and gazed at Elara. He opened his mouth, but didn't speak right away. When he did, his voice sounded frail.

"They are going to assassinate the King Montis of Cylion. This is the fate tome of his assassin."

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