“Our sisters,” Sarabelle said, bowing her head. “The three we lost… they are not dead. The truth… is far worse than that.”
The group had moved within the shelter of some ruins, so the wind wasn’t tearing at them and its howling, wild gusts weren’t so loud. Delilah had used her Divination Magic to try and locate Marcus, the last member of their group, but had had no luck. “Don’t worry about gramps,” Alice had said with a grin. “He can take care of himself. He’ll probably find us before we find him.”
And even if she’d been able to locate him, not all of them could move right now. Sarabelle was in no state to move — she hadn’t been injured, but she was still physically frail after all she’d been through, and whatever emotional assault Dullan had inflicted upon her had left her struggling to continue on. But even so… she insisted on telling her story now. “Before I lose my nerve,” she’d said.
So Delilah, Alice, Maribelle, and Isabelle sat around Sarabelle, while Bella sat in Sarabelle’s lap, nuzzling against her hands.
“You know what happened to our sisters?” Maribelle asked. “Truly?”
“Yes,” Sarabelle said. “Because I… I did find them. Briefly, before losing them again. Mari, you remember when our older sisters started disappearing. How we… more I than you… argued so much with Mother over them.”
Maribelle nodded. “We both wanted to go after them. How could we not? Our sisters were disappearing, and there were no explanations as to why. Something was wrong. But Mother… she forbade it. And, at least to our eyes, she wasn’t doing anything to help.”
“I… had hoped to go searching for them with you,” Sarabelle said. “But you traveled more and more, and I thought time was of the essence. So when I… when you thought I disappeared like them, I had really gone to try and find and save them myself.”
“Alone?” Isabelle asked. Her eyes were wide with astonishment.
“I… wasn’t merely traveling,” Maribelle said, but she bowed her head, and her expression looked full of guilt. “I was looking for clues, too, but I… I know now how it looked to you and the twins. It looked like I was just retreating into my own passion for travel, trying to ignore the problems. I… I should have been there. We should have gone together. I’m so—”
“Do not apologize,” Sarabelle said. “If we’d gone together, then we both would have suffered. As it is, only I did, and I count it a blessing that you did not join me in that. In my searching… I learned of the actions the Darkness was taking. I learned of how it was slowly, craftily, bypassing the defenses of Bastions still manned by Paladins, how it was learning to go undetected by Light Catchers.” She paused a moment, shaking her head. “At first, I thought perhaps our older sisters had gone out to fight against this evil. But then I learned… that evil had found them first. Had lured them away from the Library, had ensnared them in its vicious trap. The Darkness… it has different aspects. Often, those aspects are all together, combining in one place. But these aspects can separate, can be potently focused into singular forms. Four aspects — they are the precursors to the Sons of Night.”
“Precursors?” Delilah asked. “But the Sons of Night —”
“Have not always existed,” Sarabelle said, “just as the Lord of Night has not always existed. The Lord of Night is the one who brought out those four aspects, who gave them personifications, but before then, they were just as potent, if unable to take on a focused, physical form.” She held out her hand, palm up, and light, pure and white, gleamed within, forming images that lent weight to her words.
“There is the Darkness’ raw power,” she continued, the light in her hand forming the silhouette of Sen with his massive sword, “and its arrogance that it is the supreme power, which was personified in Sen.” Next, the light formed into a silhouette of Valgwyn, with his bow and arrows. “The Darkness’ capacity to grow, to spread, like a sickness, or like, in their own terms, a garden — personified in Valgwyn, one who now actively spreads Darkness, plants the seeds and helps them grow.” The light changed now to a silhouette that sent a chill down Delilah’s spine — Kaohlad, with his twin sickles in hand. “The Darkness’ endless hunger and capacity for devouring all in its path to grow and spread, personified in Kaohlad. And…” Sarabelle closed her hand, bowing her head. Her voice trembled as she spoke. “And finally, the capacity of the Darkness to draw upon the Darkness within a person, the link of the Darkness to death and decay, the capacity of the Darkness to manipulate and coerce even the brightest of hearts — personified in Dullan.” She paused as she said that name, as if it prevented her from continuing. “It… is that aspect which carefully, subtly, worked at our sisters’ hearts, one by one, drawing them out, calling them to their doom. It was already working on me before I left, which is likely why I left without waiting for you, Mari, or properly telling anyone. But it had not finished its work.”
Their forms and natures make so much sense now. Valgwyn… I remember how his arrows worked. They spread darkness wherever they struck — a “gardener,” in his own twisted way.
“Dullan,” Maribelle said softly, bitterly. There was a smoldering rage in her eyes at the name.
“Even before he was a Son of Night, his focus was on us and the Library of Solitude,” Sarabelle said. “And in my travels, as I followed the clues… I found a place. A horrific place, a place that no one has a name for. It was on the very edge of Darkness, the very edge of Night, eternal Night, itself. I perched on that horizon, gazing out into a Darkness that would terrify even the bravest and strongest Paladins… and I saw them. Our sisters.”
“They were taken there?” Maribelle asked.
“But what happened to them?” Isabelle asked, scooting closer, eagerly gazing at Sarabelle. “They’re alive, right?”
“Alive, yes,” Sarabelle said. “Though… it is hard to… call them such. In that place, by the workings of Dullan before he was known by that name… they were being transformed. Subjected to vicious, endless torment. There is Darkness in every heart, in every single one of us. We all give into it in small ways, some in large ways. But no matter how seductive that Darkness is, to see it fully unleashed from the heart, to see it truly take over the heart… that is something no one has ever actually seen before. For that to happen, a great battle must be waged, and Light must be truly defeated within that person’s heart. Even those most drawn to Darkness do not willingly give up the entirety of the Light within them. It must be forced to submit, and that is what was being done to our sisters. Their… their screams… their faces… I still…” Sarabelle shuddered, and Bella stood on her hind legs, pressing her front paws against Sarabelle’s chest and gazing up at her. Sarabelle scooped the little cat up in her arms and held her close, remaining silent for several long, tense moments.
Finally, she lowered Bella into her lap. Petting Bella gently, Sarabelle continued. “I was frozen in fear. I… could not bring myself to go to them. But I could not bring myself to flee. And… I remained frozen on that horizon for too long. Dullan, still nameless then, noticed me, and he attacked. I… I do not know much of what happened after that. I was taken into that great Darkness, but… only for a time. Everything was a haze of pain, of fear, of sorrow. While I knew my sisters were in that place… I could no longer see or hear them. I… I cannot… speak of all that happened. It is too much, and my memory… is not entirely whole. Much has happened that has weakened me, mentally and physically.”
“The Darkness was after all of you, wasn’t it?” Delilah asked. “I remember at the Library of Solitude, Valgwyn was trying to take Isabelle from us, trying to capture her without a fight. He was willing to kill us, but not her. So then he…”
“It is Dullan’s project, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see his ‘brothers’ working on it with him,” Sarabelle said. “And… yes. Dullan wanted all of us. He failed to ensnare Annabelle because Darkness is less potent within the heart of a child, and she ended up in the Radiant King’s clutches too soon. As for Isabelle, you spoke of a ‘nothing place’ where you were after being separated from Mother and Mari?”
“Uh-huh,” Isabelle said, nodding emphatically. “It was like… there was nothing there. But it wasn’t dark! It wasn’t… light, either. It was just white, I dunno how to explain it. And Jormungand came there to ask me for the flute Mommy gave me, but I wouldn’t give it to him. I gave him lots of copies, though. But… it was like… he couldn’t actually do anything to me. If I’d refused to give him anything, he probably couldn’t have stopped me.” She sighed, bowing her head. “I wish I’d known how much trouble he was going to cause with them back then.”
“What about Mari?” Alice asked. “She’s older.”
“Mari… was deemed the most difficult,” Sarabelle said, gazing at Maribelle with pride. “I know that much. Dullan’s plan was to work on her over a longer period of time, isolating and wearing her down steadily.”
“And he made a bargain to accomplish exactly that,” Maribelle said, glaring. “I wish I’d never believed his lies.”
“What bargain?” Delilah asked.
“You made a deal with the bad guys?” Alice asked.
“I… I agreed to live at the Last Home on the farthest edge of the Westward Plains forever,” Maribelle said softly, bitterly. “I would not leave. To leave would be… to invite a great price. He was never specific about what that price would be, but… I never asked. At the time, separated from Mother and Belle-Belle, thinking everyone now lost to me… I didn’t care. Why would I care to leave from my solitude?”
“Shana talks about it as if you were so eager to leave with her,” Delilah said.
“I was,” Maribelle said, smiling. “I didn’t hesitate for a moment.”
“Even though you would break this bargain and exact some unknown price?” Alice asked.
“Yes,” Maribelle said. “After all, it turned out Dullan’s lies were false. My sisters were not all dead. I believe that is why nothing has happened since I left the Westward Plains. Though he warned me on the road to the Share House, nothing has come of it. I believe his lies made his bargain a bluff, and nothing more. If he’d been more confident, he would have tried to get me to sign a Contract, but I wouldn’t have agreed.”
I hope she’s right. A price… what did Dullan have planned? Was it really just a bluff?
“But you… didn’t end up like our sisters,” Maribelle said, looking at Sarabelle. “What happened?”
“I… despite the indescribable torment, pain, fear, and loneliness… I managed to fight. I managed to hold on, just a shred of me, but a shred was enough. And I held on long enough… for light to find me. I was rescued. At least… that was what I thought.”
“Someone went into that place and got out with you?” Alice asked.
“Yes,” Sarabelle said.
“But why didn’t they save our other sisters, too?” Isabelle asked.
“It was a great strain just to find and rescue me,” Sarabelle said. “I… I was the newest captive of that place, and I… was still fighting. I believe, by that time, however long it took for my rescuer to find and flee with me… our sisters had already… succumbed.”
“But we can’t give up on them if they’re alive!” Isabelle said.
“And we won’t,” Maribelle said gently, taking Isabelle’s hand. “Please, Sara. Continue, if you can.”
“I must,” Sarabelle said. Despite her frailty, and her soft voice, and the fear that had been so evident in her story to this point, there was a determined gleam in her eyes. “These secrets have tried to eat away at me, and they have come back now, after so long, to try and destroy me once more. My rescuer… he was not as benevolent as I’d hoped. And his light was wholly different. Powerful, yes, but… there was a darkness within it, a darkness that would take a long time for me to see. The man who saved me… was the Radiant King.”
“He saved you?” Maribelle asked, eyes ablaze with fury. “But he’s the one who —”
“Yes,” Sarabelle said. “He took me to his palace, and for a time simply tended to my wounds, with the help of his followers. It took a very long time for me to be able to even speak, let alone move about on my own. But when I finally could… he began to question me. I did not realize it was an interrogation at first. He had such a warm voice, and such a smooth, kind way of speaking. But he took great interest in the Library of Solitude. I would not tell him anything of our home or of my family. My silence on the subjects that mattered most to him… eventually earned his wrath. He tried to force answers out of me, but I still would not submit. I had already failed in so many ways… if the Prime Bastion had not yet fallen, how could I allow myself to be the architect of its destruction? So I refused him, no matter what he said or did. He… brought me very low. He was crafty, and clever, and his power was like nothing this world has ever seen, or likely will see again. When no amount of pain or trickery would win his desires… he crafted a Contract. I still would not sign it, despite his great efforts, for I know Contract Magic. There is no way to force a signature. However… it was through Contract Magic that I found my one small hope. I… I was the primary mind behind the Contract that made me into the Gold Knight.”
“You engineered your own captivity?” Maribelle asked in a hush, taut voice.
“I was already a captive,” Sarabelle said, “with no hope of escape. But I could force my own silence. It was… a bargain. But I betted on… on one thing. Or rather… one person.” She lifted her head and gazed at Maribelle.
“Me…?” Maribelle asked.
A small smile played at Sarabelle’s lips. “You are the one who saved me, after all, aren’t you?” she asked. “You found the Contract, and you understood how to break it, and you saw it through, almost single-handedly. I understood your magic in ways the Radiant King could not. He thought the clauses for breaking the Contract would be impossible, given the power it would grant me. If nothing else… I could be silent, forced into silence, to never give up the secrets of our home or our family. For I saw the Radiant King for what he was — a vicious villain, willing to use any means necessary to accomplish his goals. To fight against the Darkness in such a way could not be condoned. But… despite my efforts, I was nearing my breaking point. I knew that. So I betted on… on you, my sister.”
“Sara…” Maribelle said softly. She bowed her head, tears glistening in her eyes.
“I never thought he would ensnare Annabelle,” Sarabelle said. “And I… wish I could have held out, could have somehow prevented that from happening. But I… I have never been powerful. I have never been strong. So I —”
“What are you talking about?” Alice asked. All eyes went to her in shock. “After everything you’ve told us, you honestly want to say you’re not strong? Your older sisters were taken over by the deepest Darkness, but you weren’t. The Radiant King with all his power couldn’t force you to give up the answers he wanted. And you’re gonna sit there and act like you’re weak? You’re taking humility way too far.”
Delilah smiled. “She’s right, Sarabelle,” she said. “So please, don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“Thank you…” Sarabelle said, clearly still surprised. “I… yes. Thank you. As for all that has happened since… there is not so much. I have had nightmares, often, repeating the torment I watched our sisters undergo. But… those nightmares have gone beyond my own memories. They have shown an aftermath — our sisters, the three oldest and most powerful Princesses of Solitude, transformed.”
“Transformed?” Maribelle asked.
“Yes,” Sarabelle said. “They were still in agony, but it was a pain that drove them, that ruled them. Their eyes burn with fury, their whole bodies are wreathed in a fiery darkness. Pain, loneliness, sorrow, fear… those are their core, now. Frightening, powerful, like wicked angels, that is how they appear — the greatest agents and servants of the Darkness. For so long… I believed them to be nightmares, and nothing more. But here, when Dullan found me… he showed me.”
“Showed you?” Maribelle asked. “But you can’t mean… but he didn’t take you anywhere! How could he show you anything as it is? They must have been visions, illusions to —”
“No,” Sarabelle said firmly. “It was no illusion. You have seen how the Sons of Night fled, through those portals of Darkness. They cannot use such transportation to bring them to places like this, places yet to be consumed by Darkness, but they can use them to flee to places of Darkness. And he opened one such portal to show me… our sisters.”
“They’re alive!” Isabelle said. Despite what she’d heard about the state of her sisters, her eyes were aglow with hope.
“Perhaps,” Sarabelle said. “No, I know that… they are. But it is hard to even see them for who they were. Darkness… it rules them, now. Furies, Dullan called them. ‘They are very nearly ready,’ he said. ‘When next we meet, I will bring them. And you will’,” Sarabelle’s voice cracked a moment, and she shook her head. “He said… I would join them.”
“We will never let that happen,” Maribelle said.
‘But now… you cannot see, but you know,” Sarabelle said. “Our sisters… they do live. But Darkness has fully, truly taken hold of them. It is not like so many other cases — where the living Darkness from without consumes living things, absorbing them into itself. No,” she placed her hand over her heart, “this is the Darkness within their own hearts taking full control. They are ruled by evil. Whatever Light was ever in them has either fled, or been completely dominated. I… I do not know what hope remains for them.”
“ ‘Where there is life, there is hope’,” Delilah said.
“Where’d you get that?” Alice asked.
Delilah smiled. “Great Feline Adventures.” She looked up at Felix, who stood at the entrance of their shelter, watching for any danger. “It’s one of Felix Feline Felinosis’ guiding principles. He lost his greatest apprentice and friend, Garland Feline Grenwelt, to Chaos, but he never gave up on him. Garland became one of the most terrifying villains in the entire show, the strongest and most dangerous foe the characters had ever faced, but Felix still refused to give up on him. He wouldn’t kill Garland, and he wouldn’t let Garland kill others. ‘As long as you still live, there is hope for you.’ And in the end, he did manage to save him and bring him back to the Twelfth Circle.”
“Spoilers much?” Alice asked.
“Sorry,” Delilah said, smiling sheepishly. “But I believe it, too. Your sisters are alive, so you can’t give up on them. Shana never gave up on Annabelle, and that allowed her to save her. Maribelle figured out who the Gold Knight was, and didn’t give up on setting you free, and she succeeded. And Chelsea… I know she never fully gave into her own Darkness, but she very nearly did. But Gwen didn’t give up on her, and she didn’t give up on herself. I know we don’t have any examples that are as dire as your sisters, but that’s no reason to give up on them. Their Light… I don’t believe it’s fled. It’s still inside them, just buried deep. It’s defeated, but not permanently. It’s waiting — waiting for someone to give their Light the spark it needs to rise back up and rescue them. It won’t be easy, but we have to believe it’s possible. Giving up on them… that’s the only guaranteed way to lose them forever.”
“Giving up is the only guaranteed way to lose…” Maribelle said softly. She smiled. “I wasn’t going to give up on them — not after seeing what faith has done to reunite me with Annabelle and Sarabelle — but thank you, Delilah.”
“We can’t give up on them!” Isabelle said, her little hands balled into fists. “That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time!”
“Thank you, Delilah,” Sarabelle said. She smiled as she bowed her head. “I… you call me strong, but I still do not know. I’m terrified of what they have become. And I do not hold much hope for saving them. But… I do trust all of you. I could never save them alone. But… perhaps together…”
“Of course,” Isabelle said. She scooted over so she could hug Sarabelle tightly. “Together is the best way to do things. And when it’s our sisters, we have to do it together. There’s three of us, and three of them. And if we can get Annabelle with us, then we have them outnumbered!”
“You already have them outnumbered,” Alice said, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t forget about us, you know? And… well, I hate to break up the happy stuff, but all this talk about capacities of Darkness and the Sons of Night made me wonder something.”
“What is it?” Sarabelle asked.
“If the Sons of Night are just personifications of specific capacities of the Darkness,” Alice said, “then… if one of the Sons of Night died… he can’t really be considered ‘dead,’ can he?”
“I… do not know for certain,” Sarabelle said. “I know that it was not an easy or swift task to bring forth each capacity in personified form. At the same time, those capacities are not then exclusive to the Sons of Night — the living Darkness itself continues to have all four capacities wherever you find it. If one of the Sons of Night were to be slain… it is likely he would be able to be brought back to ‘life,’ so to speak. Though I do not know what would be required, or how long that would take.”
“Kaohlad…” Delilah said softly, eyes widening. Alice nodded, her expression grim.
“Kaohlad?” Sarabelle asked. “Wait… do you mean…”
“He was killed in Grimoire,” Alice said. “He had been ‘exiled’ or whatever, but maybe now that he’s dead, he’ll return to the capacity of the Darkness, and then his ‘father’ will give him a new lease on life.” But then, surprisingly, she grinned. “That would be great. I never did get to put an end to him, he slunk off before Rabanastre and I —” But she suddenly went silent, bowing her head, her hands clenching into fists.
“Marcus might have an idea about Ra—” Delilah started.
“Yeah, so what’s taking him so long to find us, huh?” Alice asked. She shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Anyway. What do we do now? We’re supposed to be in the Final Frontier, right? To find T-guy, whatever his name is.”
“Terevalde,” Isabelle said, suppressing a giggle.
“We could head for the place we need to go,” Maribelle said. “But I’m worried about Marcus. He came through with us, so why is he nowhere to be found? And…” She cast a worried look at Sarabelle.
“I can move,” Sarabelle said, standing slowly, Bella clambering up onto her shoulder. “I’m sorry for delaying you.”
“You shouldn’t be sorry!” Isabelle said.
“Yeah,” Alice said. “Besides, what you told us was important. It’s not really a delay.”
“And there’s still the question of where we should go,” Maribelle said. “Delilah, do you still not see any signs of Marcus?”
Delilah scanned in all directions with her Divination Magic. But no matter where she looked, she saw no one in the distance — not even the faintest mote of light. “Nothing,” she said with a sigh.
“Then let’s move forward,” Sarabelle said. “I am ready to be rid of this place.”
Maribelle nodded. “If we don’t find Marcus before we find our destination,” she said, “then we can work back from there to seek him out. If we try to wander and seek him out, we’ll be roaming this vast landscape with no sense of direction.”
“I’ll keep searching for him while we go,” Delilah said.
So they set out. Maribelle led the way, but also set the pace by Sarabelle’s ability, so they didn’t travel quickly. Before they’d gotten very far, Delilah walked beside Sarabelle. “I’ve been wondering,” she said, “after all that’s happened to you, and knowing that you aren’t a fighter… why did you come after us like the others?”
Sarabelle looked at her in surprise for a moment, then bowed her head. “I… am not entirely certain, myself,” she said. “I would never have expected it of me. But when I saw you lead the Lingering Will away, and others follow… my legs… moved on their own. I couldn’t help myself from chasing after you.”
“And we were too caught up in trying to help to stop you,” Maribelle said. “I am sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry!” Isabelle said. “It’s okay to be sorry for stuff that’s your fault, but you’re both apologizing for things that don’t need apologizing for! We were all trying to do our best. And Sara, you’re stronger than anyone thought. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that you followed us.”
Sarabelle smiled, her eyes glistening with the onset of tears. “Thank you, Isabelle,” she said, taking Isabelle’s hand in hers. On her other side, Maribelle took her other hand, and the sisters walked ahead, leading the way. Alice trudged along a few paces behind, so Delilah joined her. For a long time, the five of them walked on in silence, trusting Maribelle’s guidance, while Delilah periodically scanned the area with Divination Magic — yet again and again, she came up with nothing.
“Hey,” Alice said after a while. She spoke softly, just loud enough for Delilah to hear over the howling winds. “Do you… have any ideas about Rabanastre?”
Delilah bowed her head. The image of Rabanastre, in his dark form, moving to strike his own Summoner, was a frightening scene, burned into her mind.
“I… wonder,” she said. “When you snap your fingers and transform him, what is that? How do you do that?”
“What’s that got to do with it?” Alice asked.
“He didn’t turn on you until you transformed him, right?”
“But we were out of sync before… yeah, well. You’re not wrong. I… don’t know.” Alice stared at her left hand, the one she always snapped with. “It’s always been there. I just used it once, when… I wanted to kill someone. But I didn’t want to do it myself. I thought snapping my fingers to give the command just… looked cool. When he transformed, it was surprising, but he was even more powerful than normal, so it was really exciting. I’ve never thought about the why, you know?”
“He’s usually white,” Delilah said. “But when you give him that command and snap your fingers, he turns black. I was wondering if… that’s Darkness.”
“Darkness? Why would I be able to use —” But Alice stopped. “Oh. Right. Scarface and his stupid experiments on me. Made me some Darkeater, and I don’t even know everything about that. Darkness… I thought I was just able to eat it up and spit it out, make it harmless. But maybe I’ve been… using its power as well?”
“You said Rabanastre started feeling out of sync with you after the Revue of the Night, right?” Delilah asked. Alice nodded. “When we did that, we both went into the Shadowland together. We confronted the Darkness within ourselves… and we rejected it. If you’ve been using the power of Darkness to transform Rabanastre all along, without realizing it…”
“Then rejecting it must’ve felt like rejecting him,” Alice said. Delilah hadn’t thought of it exactly that way, but she thought that made even more sense than where she’d been going with it. Alice shook her head, staring at her feet as she trudged along. “It’s not like… I ever knew. But if he thought that… well, Summons are all about finding their purpose in their Summoner, right? I’ve… changed. A lot. Since I was born, since I was taken in as Blaise’s secret weapon, and since meeting you. Maybe he started thinking I… betrayed him?”
Delilah was silent. She had no idea what to say. She thought she knew so much about Summons and Summoning, but this was way outside of her wheelhouse. A Summon feeling as if its Summoner had betrayed it? Could that happen? She’d never heard of it, but…
The powers of Darkness and Light are bigger than any kind of magic. If she’s been using Darkness all along to empower Rabanastre — and she gives him the order to kill when she does, and that order must feel like a powerful sign of intent and purpose for Rabanastre — then her rejecting that power, the power she gives him, the power she’s told him to use…
I see.
“Maybe he does feel that way,” Delilah said.
“Then… what do I do?” Alice asked. Her voice was trembling.
“Help him understand,” Delilah said. “It’s… probably going to take time. But you —” Delilah cut off suddenly as Alice grabbed her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
“I thought you were going to tell me to abandon him,” Alice said. Delilah felt Alice’s tears against her face. “I thought… I thought you’d tell me I had to get rid of him.” She pulled back, staring at Delilah, tears streaming down her face from pure white eyes, and yet she wore a smile. “I should’ve known better, coming from you.” She let Delilah go, wiped away her tears, and then continued on after the Princesses, who hadn’t noticed the sudden, quiet outburst behind them. For a while, the pair walked in silence, but then Alice held out her hand, curled into a fist. “Thanks.”
Delilah smiled, raising her own hand and bumping knuckles with Alice. “We’re both Summoners,” she said. “We can’t ever give up on our partners.”
Alice nodded, grinning, tears glistening in her eyes. “You got that right.”