Rhea hadn’t wept.

She refused to let tears fall from her eyes. Though, sometimes, she wanted to. She wanted to break down and pretend that she had stayed the person who enjoyed her work with Master Caro Barca. Who didn’t venture beyond the work he had given her. It had been a simple life. An interesting life. One she could be proud of.

Not a murderer.

Not a destroyer.

Not a city killer.

None of those atrocities that were tattooed on her heart. That woke her up, screaming in the night…on the nights she could sleep at all.

She had given the king and prince everything they had asked for in the end. It had barely taken any pressure. She was ashamed that she hadn’t been able to withstand even the slightest amount of torture.

At least she hadn’t known enough about Cyrene’s plan to give her away. Thankfully, Prince Kael had seemed less interested in Cyrene, and since he was the one with the fireballs, she’d appreciated it. He’d already known enough about her work, but he had asked her every last detail about the bombs. And she had given it up. It had been easier than talking about Cyrene.

Then, the news had trickled in.

The capital city of Eleysia was gone. Burned and bombed to the ground.

Her work. Everything she had done to get her bombs working had resulted in this.

She should have listened to Master Barca. He had told her that he had no interest in militarizing his Bursts or in figuring out how to harness their blast potential. But she had been determined. Now, people were dead.

Just because you could do something didn’t mean that you should do it.

Rhea had taken to making laps in her small cell. Food only came twice a day, and what little news she could acquire from the guards gossiping was more depressing than anything. It wasn’t as if they were going to strike up a conversation with her.

Elea had already been gone when Rhea returned from her horrible torture session, and despite the constant gossip, she hadn’t heard a peep about her. It was as worrisome as the bombings.

And lonely.

Being alone in a dark dungeon for more than two months was hard. She couldn’t deny it. The walls had started to close in. The food was stale. She found that she’d started to talk to herself. She would do anything for a book at this point. But nothing changed, and she was still all alone.

She hated the fact that she looked forward to when her food showed up. At least a real person delivered it. And that time was roughly now.

Rhea straightened and tried to look presentable even though she knew that it didn’t matter. A lantern appeared at the end of the hallway, and her heart skipped a beat in excitement. The best part of her day.

But the face that appeared before her was not one of the rotating guards who brought her a tray of food. It was Master Caro Barca!

“Master Barca!” she gasped. “What are you doing down here?”

“I’ve come to get you out, girl.” He slid a key into the slot and turned it.

“How are you doing this?”

“Doesn’t matter. What matters is that I won’t have them keeping you locked up. It’s bad enough that they used my Bursts to hurt Eleysia. I won’t let them take this beautiful brain and destroy it down here. Come, come,” he said, prying the door open.

Rhea fell into his arms. “Thank you.”

Then, they were both hurrying down the hall. She gasped when she saw a guard on duty and stalled her steps. They would be caught.

“Come now,” Master Barca said.

The guard turned around, and Rhea gasped.

“Eren?”

The High Order she had fallen head over heels for stared back at her with a rare smile. She had no idea what he was doing here. He had ended their relationship. Or what little relationship they’d had. He followed the rules. He was a thoroughbred High Order who was close friends with the king. None of this made sense.

“Rhea,” Eren said, grasping her hand, “it’s so good to see you.”

“You, too.” She blinked back the tears she had been avoiding since being imprisoned.

“The hall is still clear,” Eren announced. “We must move quickly.”

Instead of turning left, back toward the main part of the castle, Eren veered right and headed deeper into the underground part of the castle. She and Master Barca hurried behind him. She didn’t ask questions about where they were going. All she cared about was that she was out of that wretched prison cell.

Byern was not the city that she had known and loved while growing up. Something dark and sinister had taken root in the castle. It was ebbing through the walls and destroying the place she had once adored.

Eren opened up a door and ushered them inside. They hurried down a staircase and then down a long corridor before taking another staircase up a steep incline. Rhea was breathing heavily by the time they reached the top of the stairs. Eren pushed open a door, and Rhea realized that they were in the stables.

It was dark outside already, as the sun had been setting earlier and earlier during the day. Eren had two horses prepared and waiting for them. He threw a traveling cloak over her head to conceal her and then helped her onto the first horse. Master Barca took the second, and then Eren took the seat behind her. It would have been better to have three horses, but it was less conspicuous to have two. She wasn’t going to complain when Eren pressed his chest into her back and heeled the horse out of the stables.

The guard at the gate waved them through without ever glancing up into her face. She breathed a sigh of relief as they trotted down the hill that led into the city. Eren took a roundabout way before Master Barca took over and directed them down a side alley. They stabled their horses behind a ramshackle building that Rhea would never have looked at twice.

Rhea had been utterly silent the entire ride. She was too afraid, her heart pitter-pattering in her chest. This felt like a dream.

How many times did I imagine that I would be swept out of the castle and off my feet? How often did I envision myself having the strength that Cyrene had and refusing to be locked up?

“Where…where are we?” she asked. “And how is this possible?”

Eren dismounted and then eased Rhea from her seat. “I couldn’t let you rot away in there. When I went to Caro, he already had a plan in place to get you free. Having my help only assured it.”

“What they did to you was not right,” Master Barca agreed.

Eren pulled her slightly aside. “After seeing what happened in Eleysia, I couldn’t stand back and do nothing. It’s wrong, what they did to you. It’s wrong, what happened in Eleysia. I never thought it would go to such an extreme.”

“You’ve had a change of heart,” she said, her own heart swelling.

“Yes. I know that I am proud of my country, but I can’t stand by and watch them conduct themselves in such a manner. And I could never leave you behind.”

“But I thought…we were…over. I mean, not that we were together, but…” Rhea trailed off as she realized she had been rambling.

Then, Eren moved his hands up into her dark red hair and pressed his lips to hers. She was so caught off guard that she gasped and opened her mouth to meet him. Butterflies flittered in her stomach. Her body seemed to melt at his touch. All the worries and fears she’d had disappeared. It was just Eren and his lips and the enormity of what this all meant.

“I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

“You do?” she asked in shock.

“I have for so long. I should have told you instead of pushing you away. Can you forgive me for making you wait so long to know my true intentions?”

She nodded, tears slicking her cheeks. “Yes. Yes, of course. I…I love you, too.”

“Music to my ears.”

She laughed. “Mine, too.”

“I should have said it better…and at a better time.”

“No, this is perfect.”

He kissed her once more. “I have to get back to the castle. They’ll notice that I’m gone, but I’ll come back for you. I’ll get away as often as I can.”

“Okay,” she said. “I wish you could stay.”

“Me, too. Just know that you have a special place with me, and we’ll be together when the time is right.”

“Yes,” she agreed in earnest.

He finally released her and reluctantly strode back to his horse.

Master Barca appeared then, looking almost a bit sheepish for having intruded on the moment. “I also have to go back with the young High Order. I hate to leave you here, but suspicions will be high when they find you are missing. And everyone believes me too senile to mount any real escape plan.”

Rhea laughed and pulled her Receiver into a hug. “I always knew that you were more than you seemed.”

“I am everything I seem, and I prefer to be that way.” He pulled back and held her at arm’s length. “You should learn to accept that for yourself. You are brilliant. The daughter I never had, and I am so proud of you.”

“But I created those bombs.”

“You do not get to choose how your creations will be used. You did not ignite them on a city. You simply had the genius to create them. Do not ever stop creating. You were born for it.”

“I will miss you.”

“And I, you.” He hugged her one more time. “Go inside. One of my contacts is waiting. He is expecting you. Boss him around a bit. He could use it.”

Rhea grinned. “Where have you left me?”

“A house. Find a way to make it a home.”

He squeezed her shoulders and then mounted his horse. He and Eren waved farewell one more time and then disappeared around the corner. That meant that she was all alone once more.

She stared up at the derelict building and wondered where Master Barca had brought her. Who could he trust so much to drop her on a doorstep?

But she trusted him. So, she would find her own way.

With a gulp, she moved to the door and knocked. A minute later, the door swung inward, and a man stood, blocking the doorway. His figure crowded the space, and his broad shoulders nearly touched either side. He had the appearance of someone who knew an honest day’s work but had the mischievous look of someone who also knew how to squander it. His hair was close cropped, but he had a bit of a beard, as if he couldn’t decide whether to fit into society or buck standards. His mouth turned downward, but his eyes were alight. He seemed to be a walking contradiction.

“Hello,” she said confidently.

“You must be Rhea.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, what are you standing out here for? Get inside.”

She scurried past him and into the building. It looked like a hovel on the outside, but the inside was well maintained.

“Your bedroom is the first on the left. You’ll find everything you need in there. Meals are at six, noon, and six. If you’re hungry before or after that, sorry.”

The man turned away from her, as if that was his entire speech.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, “but who are you?”

“Oh, right. Introductions.” He brushed his hand over the back of his neck. “I’m not that great with those. I’m Fenix.”

He held his hand out, and they shook. His hand dwarfed hers, as did everything about him. She quickly retrieved her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Fenix. Um…what exactly do you do here?”

“Caro didn’t tell you?”

She shook her head. “We were on a tight schedule.”

“Ever heard of the network?”

“No.”

“Good. That’s how we like to keep it.”

Fenix turned and strode away from her then, leaving her puzzled and excited. What is this new life?