They waited patiently in the guard station, listening to the rustling from the other end of the talking flower. Blū figured it was the sound of the other flower being passed around—assuming there was another flower.

  “Hello?” came a posh, female voice. Probably not the legendary Hero Darleth. “Can I be of any help?”

  Silver paused for a moment. “…Madam Marie, I presume.”

  “Ah… you recognize my voice, Silver.”

  “It’s not hard to deduce that you’d be the one to answer for him. So—is he there?”

  “Darleth is off-world currently,” she replied. Her tone held a subtle mockery, like she was toying with Blū’s master.

  “Is that true?” Silver asked.

  “Does it matter? You know I won’t elaborate for you.”

  “…Will you pass on a message for me, then?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Chestnut was raided.”

  Blū had been surprised to learn this. Yig hadn’t mentioned it to him, but earlier today, he’d overheard Yig and Silver talking about it while walking past a room in the temple. He hadn’t caught the details—just that something had happened.

  There was a pause from the other end. “When?” Her voice had shifted—deeper now, more serious. A better match for her elegant tone.

  “Months ago.”

  “Does the place still exist?”

  “From what I’ve been told.”

  “Who told you?”

  “A boy. His name is Yig.”

  Another silence.

  “Hello?” Blū asked.

  “Sorry, sorry. I’m here. You say Yig and Mona have left Chestnut down?”

  “Yig is here in Moonset now. But he came with a Sil, not Mona.”

  “…Did he say where Mona is?”

  “He said he lost a good friend… Does Darleth know of the boy? I assumed he would.”

  Silence again. Then:

  “You don’t need to know that.” Her voice now held a note of distress.

  “Well…” Silver replied, clearly annoyed. “That’s all.”

  “…Pass the flower back to the Captain. He and the palace have things to discuss. And… thank you, Silver.”

  Silver didn’t reply. He simply handed the flower to Liria and sighed.

  Blū couldn’t tell what his master felt in that moment. A decade of living with him, and yet he still wasn’t always sure what the man was thinking.

  “I’m going to get some air,” Silver said, then walked out the door.

  “Hello?” asked the woman’s voice from the flower—the same one as before.

  “Hello, it’s Liria. Sorry for the interruption.”

  “If it were a problem, I assure you, we wouldn’t have responded to his request.”

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  “If we can, I’d like to discuss our current prisoners. We’re not equipped to hold them for an extended period.”

  “We understand. Though I cannot confirm it at this time, we will be sending a vessel to Destin Port. Will you be able to get them there?”

  “I don’t believe we have the proper means to do so.”

  “That’s alright. The vessel will dispatch a crew to Moonset to collect them. Additionally, the High Court requests a member of your garrison accompany the prisoners to the capital and give their account of what happened.”

  “Then that will be me,” Liria replied. “And I request that I, too, be arrested for my crimes.”

  Blū was taken aback. What crimes? The Captain—a man with no knowledge of mana control—had been under the influence of a Levula.

  “No, Captain!” Joe protested. “We can’t let you do that.”

  “Joe,” the captain replied, his voice soft. “I gave this valley into the hands of evil. I cannot be trusted to continue in this role.”

  “You know that’s crazy, Captain.”

  “Is it? Were my hands not the ones that welcomed our enemies in?”

  “Your mind was altered.”

  “And perhaps it still is…”

  “But what happened to you could happen to anyone. They twisted your love for this place. That should tell you more than anything—you need to stay.”

  “They need to hear what happened from someone who lived through it firsthand.”

  Joe placed a hand to his chest. “Then let me go. Let me be the one to tell the High Court what happened. I was lucid the whole time!”

  “…Son, you’re missing an arm.”

  Joe stared his captain down. “But my dreams are still with me.”

  Blū walked to the door. He had thought he could help, explain mana if they had questions. But for a conversation like this, he felt it best to step away. The cuffs Silver had given them would hold. They’d be alright.

  As he left, he heard one last thing from the flower: “We accept this arrangement.”

  ◇─◇──◇─◇

  Blū could feel anxiety ripple through his legs as he crossed the fields. In a divot between the mountains, Host trained with dummies and planks, frustration in every strike. Silver stood on a tall hill above, sipping soup from a clay mug as he observed.

  Blū sat beside him, crossing his legs in the grass like his master.

  “There’s still some in the pot,” Silver said.

  “What is it?”

  “Carrot, potato, and mushroom.”

  “Umm… mind if I talk to you?”

  “Well, you’re already sitting next to me. I don’t see much choice on my part.” Silver chuckled.

  “Seriously… I need to talk.”

  Silver turned his head with a curious look, then glanced back at the morning scenery, a conclusion already made. “What’s on your mind?”

  “My Exure… how is it?”

  Silver smiled. “Compared to what?”

  “Well… just… is it good?”

  “How would you define ‘good’?”

  “My progress. Have I progressed at a… steady pace?”

  “You’ve improved,” Silver said, taking another sip. “In a more structured school of the arts, I’d say you’d be considered high level for your age. But if you’re asking whether you’re anywhere close to mastering your knowledge, then you’re very mistaken.”

  “I don’t think that. What about you and Nil—how do I compare to the two of you?”

  “You say that like Nil is as strong as me,” Silver replied, raising a brow.

  “You don’t train yourself much anymore. So I’d assume he is.”

  Silver took another sip. “Fair point. I’d say… at our level, combat skill isn’t everything.”

  Blū huffed. He was now realizing he might not get a straight answer. “How do you compare yourself to the guy who attacked us? The Preacher.”

  “I could’ve fought him, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “You were weaker before that fight. Would you have wanted me to take that away from you?”

  Blū stayed silent for a moment, debating whether to speak his next thought. “I could have died.”

  “You want strength, right? I can’t give you that by coddling you. Like it or not, you’re at a point where near-death situations are some of the best training experiences you can have. Or would you rather keep following that monotonous routine you’ve been stuck in the past year?”

  As much as it felt like Silver didn’t care—as if he was playing with Blū’s life too casually—he was right. Blū had grown frustrated with his lack of progress. He’d plateaued. He’d played it safe, and in doing so, had stayed the same, falling far short of the Hero he’d imagined becoming back in that alley when he’d first made the promise to his master.

  “Have you talked to Sum recently?” Silver asked.

  “I’ve tried, but he doesn’t answer. He only came to me that night—during the festival. I hadn’t realized how much I’d forgotten what the blue flame felt like… until I held it again.”

  “Sounds like he agrees with me,” Silver said with a belly laugh. “He showed up when you were pushing yourself. You see what I’m saying?”

  “I need to use Exure in real combat. That’s what he was meant for.”

  Silver nodded and sipped his soup.

  This was it—the moment to say it. To ask the question that had been burning inside him.

  “So… it’d be a good idea if I left with Yig?”

  “That’d sure solve the problem.”

  Blū stared at his master, stunned by the lack of emotion in his face. He had few words left—and a fear of using them.

  “Alright. I suppose I will.”

  “Hey, Silver!” Nil called out from behind.

  The two turned toward the path as the young master approached, his cloak flapping in the morning breeze, a blade hanging at his side.

  “Could I have you for a moment?”

  Silver shrugged. “I think that’ll be fine.” He set his cup down beside Blū and stood, brushing himself off. “What do you need me for?”

  “To talk about what happened in the town,” Nil said with a smirk. “What else?”