Kreis shut the door behind him with a sigh, then looked up to see his mother coming towards Kieme's door.

"She’s asleep," Kreis said. "She still needs her rest."

"I need to speak to her," Tarin began, but Kreis cut her off.

"It can wait," he said, tired of his mother's attitude. "I can’t believe you. You used her, and she had to take on all this responsibility by herself, and the guilt that comes with it."

"It’s for the prophecy, Kreis," Tarin replied. "For you, my son…"

"Oh, so you’re just going to stand by while the woman I love throws her life away? For me? Thanks, Mother. Thanks a lot."

"To be king, you must think of the world before your own feelings…"

"That’s the same kind of thinking that’s killing Kieme!" Kreis said. Now he understood why Kieme couldn’t have confided in Tarin--she would only have spouted empty words about doing things "for Elorhe," without offering any sort of comfort. "I doubt if she even remembers how to worry for herself. What meaning does it have to love others when you don’t love yourself? What good is caring for the world if you don’t care about yourself?"

"You are only one man, and there are millions in the world," Tarin said. "Consider your own honor, as King—"

"Love comes before honor," Kreis replied. "I would be a hypocrite to claim to protect this world, if I did not feel love. Asima herane darel. I will not let Kieme die."

"Kieme hates it when other people make decisions for her."

"I only intend to show her that life is worth living." Kreis glared at his mother. "I understand what you're trying to do. I appreciate it. It's better for Elorhe, and all that, but it's not going to make me forget that you abandoned me, and for that, I can't forgive you."

Tarin met his eyes, then looked away. Finally, he'd said something that had actually touched her, not just her concern for Elorhe. "Or should I thank you?" Kreis continued. "Because Faradine raised me much better than you would have. You were raised in the Order of the Crane, weren't you?"

"The Order...won't last in this world, you know?" Tarin said, touching the mark on her wrist. She sounded regretful. As soon as she had spoken, lightning crashed nearby and thunder shook the building.

"At the rate things are going, neither will any of us." Disgusted, Kreis turned and left.

*

The nearby lightning strike and the roar of thunder that followed awakened Kieme. She was alone in a dark room, but felt rather calm nonetheless. She wondered how long she'd been asleep.

Another thunderclap, and she heard a squeal. The door swung open, and Aradel burst in, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Go ahead and make fun of me," Aradel called through the door. "I’m afraid of storms, okay?"

"Ara..."

"Kieme, it's horrible!" Aradel cried. She jumped onto Kieme's bed, just as she had when she was little. "When is it going to be over?"

"I don't know," Kieme replied, smoothing Aradel's hair. There was something comforting about this...how long had it been since the last time they'd been together without being the Queen and her messenger? She remembered when she met Aradel; a shy, sad eight-year-old who missed her mother desperately.

"I...really...hate this!" Aradel said. "I'm so sick of everything being like this! We couldn't even get things back together after the dralions! It's so not fair!"

"The ocean has always been dangerous. We've lived through storms like this before. There's shelter for those who need it, and all we can do is wait it out."

"Well, the ocean sure has bad timing," Aradel replied.

"I may be able to do something about that," Kieme replied, only half joking.

"Kieme...do you ever wish you could just make it all stop?" Aradel murmured. "Just...make the world be quiet for a while?"

"Sometimes," Kieme replied. "But we can't make the world stop for ourselves. You can try, but it always just goes on without you, anyway."

*

"Your sister?" Triana repeated. "What's going on, Gregan?" The actor stood dripping in her doorstep, looking muddy and absolutely miserable.

"My sister...came to Thaliron," explained Gregan, beginning to regain his breath. "She says she's got a great idea, some great story that she's writing. But she hasn't been thinking of anything else."

"She's here?"

"She just had to come..." Gregan said. "Wouldn't let anything in get any her way. Even when she got sick." He dragged her towards one of the doors to the Palace.

"Whoa--" Triana murmured. "You--you don't want me to go out in this?"

"Please," Gregan replied. "No healers will come out in this weather, and there's no way I can move her. If no one helps her, she's going to die, Triana. Please."

Triana looked at him, saw the desperation that had broken through his usual charm. She'd never seen him sincerely afraid before, and it was terrifying, more terrifying than the storm.

"All right," she whispered. "I'll do what I can."

When Gregan opened the door, they were both blasted immediately by the wind and rain. The sky was dark, and the little they could see of the outside world was completely deserted. "Oh my," Traina whispered. She took Gregan's hand. "I'm not going to get separated from you in this," she shouted over the wind. "You have to show me where we're going!"

Both were soaked to the skin before Triana shut the floor behind them. Gregan led her into the wind, which wanted to push them back against the Palace. The once grand, strange architecture didn't seem so impressive when it was hardly even visible. Triana didn't know what time it was, noon or night, there was no light that could make it through the clouds. She could feel her feet sinking down into grassy mud, disgusted by the feeling but pressing forward because she had no choice. Gregan dragged her, with more perseverance than she would have expected from the actor.

She slipped and felt mud splash up her leg. She cursed, but couldn't even hear herself above the wind. Gregan looked back at her to see if she was all right, and she nodded. Speaking was a waste of breath, when they needed their strength to push against the wind.

Already Triana couldn't remember a time she'd felt so miserable. Kreis's "betrayal" paled beside the cold and rain that chilled her to the bone. It hurt to even open her eyes, but she could only look down to see where her feet were going.

The streets ran like rivers. Triana wanted to sit down somewhere and cry. She thought she might have already been crying, but it was hard to tell with so much water already being driven into her face. She didn't even know what she'd be facing when they got to Cetolyn, but she trusted Gregan. He wouldn't have brought her out here if it weren't important.

She heard a snap, a tree branch being blown from its trunk. She heard it fall...somewhere. It sounded like it had been a large branch. They would have to be careful that nothing fell onto them. The thought struck her dully; she didn't really care. She just had to keep moving.

How long had they been walking? Too long...but she felt like each step took forever. The world felt like such a cold hell...