The group remained silent. The snow continued to fall through the window and clumped on the wooden floor. Andrea stepped back and knocked over a chair in the room, nearly crashing to the ground with it.

  Andrea searched for answers, picking up the crumpled paper on the ground. Her eyes scanned its four corners, but there was nothing. Only two words: Ryder Hartigan. A name not spoken in the streets of any Artros city, unless it was to scare children into doing their chores. The stores depicted him as a monster–not human. Yet, the Council and the King sent him to the tower with not so much as a sketch of his face. Why?

  Emily marched out of the bar, melting the snow with her footprints. Her feet blazed a clear path in the untouched snow. The sizzle got quieter as she left with her back to the tower.

  "Well, Captain," Connor said, watching Emily storm off. "What do we do now?"

  Andrea was still searching for answers; her eyes scanning the letter’s four corners. The man who killed her cousins and cleared the Royal Tower was on his way. A fight she thought would never happen.

  "We will use him. A grave sin against the Kingdom was committed, not just against the Royal family. He will atone for that sin. I'll make sure of that."

  Sarah's head remained in her hands. Her elbows dug deep into her knees, causing them to ache.

  "Any of y'all know the full story?" Flint said. "I graduated from the academy years before the massacre. There are a lot of rumors."

  "I also don't know. I studied in my hunting village outside the Capital's walls, so I only know bits and pieces," Mace said.

  The twins glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. "We still don't know the specifics. What about you two?" Andrew said, turning towards Sarah and Andrea.

  Andrea ran her fingers through her thick golden hair, letting out a deep sigh. She crumpled the boy's name in her hand and launched it at the window. It didn’t leave the bar, landing in a newly formed snowpile just below the broken window.

  "My father never said anything about him. The Council was pretty quiet, too. He basically doesn’t exist on paper.”

  Sarah stood, facing the cold wind. She stared at the crumpled piece of paper in the snow. The archer's eyes were quiet, but her hands trembled.

  "Was it really one member from each of the three branches?" Rae said. Flint threw his hands in the air, almost falling out of his chair. "Why would you ask that?"

  Andrea turned to Rae stiffly. "Yes, except for the Silverfields," she said coldly. Flint put his hand on Andrea's shoulder.

  "Thank you, but I'm fine.”

  "Alright, what about you, King's scholar?" Connor said, looking at the yellow-eyed girl.

  The paper was slightly buried by the snowfall. The base of the snowpile glistened from the broken glass on the floor as Sarah stared out the window. Her eyes turned red, creating a bright contrast with the yellow pupils.

  "Yeah, I knew him," she said with a trembling voice.

  Those who were seated stood up, their chairs screeched on the wooden floor.

  "You knew him?" Andrea said as the snow trickled in. "Why have you never said anything?"

  Sarah frowned. "It's not an easy subject to bring up. Plus, we didn’t talk much. I would just check in on him occasionally."

  "Check in?" Connor said.

  "I just pitied him, okay!" she snapped. "That was all."

  Mace put his hand in front of his eyes. A bright orange flame appeared at the entrance of the bar, lighting up the cold room.

  "How could you?" Emily shouted. Her fire made the snow cry as it evaporated.

  Sarah's pupils constricted from the light, suddenly filling the dark atmosphere of the bar.

  "Pity him?" Emily said. "He murdered my sister!"

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  "Listen, I don't condone his actions," Sarah said. "But I just don't know if he--."

  She stopped herself. As if she was going to say something she would regret. Emily's head tilted, and her flames inched closer. "You don't know what?"

  "His life was hell," she said quietly, shoulders shrinking. “An outsider looking in. I swear that's it.”

  Andrea jumped in front of Sarah. The Xavier brothers had a sword and shield in each hand, eyes locked on Emily. Her flames shot out of her hand, just missing Andrea and hitting the table behind her. It was a beam of light that destroyed everything in its path.

  "Emily, calm down!" Andrea said with her hand raised.

  Emily's tears created wet streaks down her face; they glistened as the flames whipped around her whole body. The flames were the brightest thing Ingold felt since the black tower's appearance.

  "It sounds like you still pity him!" she shouted. "Like he is the victim! He murdered Mercy in the tower! How could you sympathize with him?" She knelt on the floor, arms dangling. "How could you?" Then louder, "How could you?"

  A few residents watched from their homes as the bright light in the bar fought the city’s darkness. The light from Emily’s flames reflected off the broken glass buried under the snow from the window, hitting Sarah in her right eye. She didn’t blink; her eyes filled with tears.

  "It wasn't just your sister that died! There were 5 others from the academy!" she said. "They were my responsibility! That includes Ryder!"

  A loud thud rang through the room when her knees hit the floor. The flames wavered as more snow continued to fall, no longer reaching for the girl with yellow eyes. The room looked like a painting from the outside, lifeless with no movement.

  The one to break the silence wasn't Andrea or the hot-headed twins. It was Mace. He reached for Sarah, grabbing her clenched fist. Sarah relaxed and revealed the bloody finger nail imprints left behind. He squeezed her hand tightly, and a bright green glow appeared. When he let go, her wounds were gone.

  Mace shifted his eyes back and forth from Sarah to Emily. "Let's save the fighting for the tower," he said with an awkward smile. "We are supposed to be the perfect team, right?"

  The two on the floor avoided each other's gaze. A silence followed Mace's words.

  Andea grabbed his shoulder. "He's right, we need to be on the same page for this tower." Andrea hesitated but moved toward Emily, who was still sitting on the floor. The Princess raised her fist but lowered it quickly. She felt the tower's presence looming behind her. "I will let it slide this time, given the circumstances, but if you ever use your gift to threaten a member of this party again, I'll kill you. Understand?"

  Emily nodded. The Xavier brothers returned to their chairs, no weapons in hand.

  "And Sarah, we will have a long talk later," Andrea said. Sarah sighed, drying her eyes with her sleeve.

  Rae sat silently in the corner with her eyes tightly shut, not making any noise. She scratched her chin and looked up.

  "How do you even kill 6 other students?" she said. "Even Andrea would struggle. He would have to be as strong as the Commander at that age."

  Andrea wanted to interrupt, but she let it go, not wanting to start another fight. Victor was another sore spot. Although not nearly as bad as Ryder was.

  “How could someone be so socially inept?" Flint said, punching the air.

  "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious either," Andrew said. "What's his god?"

  Andrea turned to Sarah, her eyes were so wide they could fall out. "Do you know? Please tell me you know."

  Sarah paused for a few seconds. "It's probably the biggest misconception I see about him.”

  Andrea moved closer to Sarah. "Some think his god is the god of fear," Andrews said. "Leaving you frozen with one glance."

  "I've heard he's a demi-god. A half god, half human with unlimited power in his eyes," Rae said.

  "The only thing the rumors get right is the color. Pitch black voids. But everything else is exaggerated. His gift is useless against any trained fighter; it's heavily restricted. He was rarely on academy grounds, so I’m guessing it was really good in the towers."

  Flint raised his hand. "What do you mean by heavily restricted? Everyone has a Vice, how is his different?"

  "It's better if I just show you," Sarah grabbed a glass off a table and walked outside. She filled it halfway with snow. "Imagine this glass is your gift, the snow symbolizes how inherently strong your god's gift is."

  Connor shifted in his chair, rolling his eyes.

  "The stronger your gift, the heavier the glass. A heavier glass limits how long you can hold it.”

  “Unless you are this freak,” she said, pointing in Andrea’s direction, "the stronger your gift, the more intense the Vice is." Andrea turned around to see if anyone was standing behind her, but no one was there.

  Sarah filled the glass all the way, creating a mound that extended over the top of the glass. "This is how strong Ryder's gift is."

  Snow drifted through the broken window into Andrea's eyes, but they did not close.

  "Still, it's pretty useless against 5 people," Sarah said. "Even in a duel, most here would have no issue killing him."

  Emily's neck cracked when she turned. However, the room stayed cold and dull.

  "Ok, we get it, can you just get on with it?" Connor groaned. "What is his god?"

  "It's the," Sarah gave a long pause.

  Andrea's eyes remained wide open, her chest beat uncontrollably. Her mind hung on Sarah’s words. Could I beat him?

  "The god of foresight.”