"The hardest part isn't leaving. It's believing that after everything that happened, coming back is still possible."

– From the diary of M. Landa, 202 years after the Awakening of the werrens


Ela, transport to Oko Lahab


With the sunrise, Ela sat in the departing transport, swaying gently along the uneven road. She pressed her forehead to the cold window and watched as the city disappeared into the dim morning mist. The further they got from the Beacon, the more she felt a mix of relief and pain. She had hoped to find her future in Prim. And she had. Just not the one she had wished for. In the end, she had left behind everything that once gave her life meaning and everything that had disappointed her. The werrens, their monumental Beacon, and the system that promised safety. The only thing she carried with her now was a small box in her pocket, hiding a strange piece of jewelry. The meco, which had once connected her to the Beacon's systems and to her werren, now had a far more important function. It held everything Tonot had left behind, including Seren herself.


Vin had gone above and beyond and promised that when the time came, he would help with the restoration. She liked that his voice carried a sense of optimism. He was probably the only one who still believed this wasn’t the last time they’d see each other.


She took a deep breath and suppressed the wave of emotion that threatened to engulf her again. She couldn’t afford to draw attention to herself, yet she glanced back one last time. Her eyes wandered to the top of the Beacon, which was vanishing into the gray mist. She made out the shadows of massive horuses rising from the tower like dark creatures lifting into the sky. Flashes from their engines sliced through the morning haze as they slowly gained altitude. She realized Reng was probably sitting in one of them. Her face twisted with pain at the thought of his expression. Hard, determined, and hiding his true intent. She believed he would keep his promise and that they would meet again where it all began. In Karhen Rouz. They could only hope they’d be allowed back, even though both of them were returning damaged and forever scarred by the world beyond.


A burning pressure rose behind her eyes and she quickly turned away from the window. She wasn’t sure she could bear another look at the machines disappearing beyond the horizon.


“Is this seat free?” said a familiar voice that pulled her from her thoughts. Ela turned, surprised, and stared at the figure smiling at her with that same cocky, ever-defiant grin.


“Ked!” Her heart pounded wildly as she blurted out her brother’s name, stunned by his sudden appearance.


The red-haired boy smirked smugly and slid into the empty seat beside her. “Councilor Brooks figured you'd bolt. I didn’t believe him. You seemed pretty fired up about their little cause.”


“What the twist are you doing here?” she asked suspiciously. It was obvious her brother’s appearance wasn’t just coincidence.


“What do you think? I’m making sure you don’t slip away. After that prissy bastard Valis stabbed us in the back, everything’s falling apart, and the whispers say your tin can got caught up in it too.”


“News spreads fast,” she muttered bitterly.


“The bad ones sure do. And don’t whine, you’re not the only one knee-deep in shit right now.”


Ela sighed wearily. She guessed that Councilor Brooks, like her, was drowning in the mess unleashed by Valis’s unexpected broadcast.


“So Brooks sent you?”


He nodded. “He did. And not just him. I think there are more people who want a word with you.”


“I’m not interested,” she said flatly. “I want to go home. I’m done. You understand? I don’t have anything to do with this anymore and I don’t want to.”


“That’s not your choice,” Ked said with such calm that it sent a chill down her spine. “You should’ve figured that out by now.”


She’d escaped one trap only to walk right into another. Slowly she looked around. She had a feeling Ked wasn’t in the transport alone. He was still her brother, but even he had to know she wouldn’t be persuaded that easily. And she was right. A few men looked away under her gaze, but it was almost certain they were with him.


“What do you really want from me?” she asked him, her voice filled with hopelessness.


She wanted to go home so badly. And now she knew it wouldn’t be as easy as she had hoped.


“Me? Nothing,” he said with a grin. “If it were up to me, I’d wish you a nice ride back home. Father would be thrilled, the rest of the people, not so much. But hey, they stomached our mother, they’d survive you too. But it’s not up to me. Not even up to you. It’s up to those who want a chat. And if I were you, I’d think very carefully about what to say.”


“I just want to go home,” she repeated, defeated, sinking back into her seat. “I don’t want to be part of another game. I just want to go back.”


Her gaze drifted once more to the retreating shape of Prim. The Beacon had already vanished into the mist, and somewhere out there, far away, horuses were gliding through the sky, carrying Reng toward the distant south.