"So, uh, is the fight over?" A gravelly voice asked to my right. "Because I don't think I can take much more of this."

  I turned and looked the voice's owner over. It was the goblin I'd broken in half with my shield after he'd tried to run. He was a gangly thing that couldn't have stood more than three feet tall. He was even shorter due to the way he was walking. The goblin was hunched over, with his face almost perpendicular to the ground.

  "You alright?" I asked.

  "No! I'm not alright!" He turned his head up and glared at me. Gesturing at his crooked body, he snapped, "Do I look alright to you?"

  At first, I thought he was just walking weird, or maybe he was tired after coming back to life for the second or third time, but no. On second glance, I saw that the guy's torso was horribly twisted, his spine was bent at least sixty degrees to the side. Worse, his ribs had healed in a way that clearly showed where my shield had struck him. They were caved in a good four inches.

  "Just sit down. We all need to have a little chat." I pointed at the ground next to the others.

  With a grunt and a nod, he half-sat, half-fell into his friends.

  The others shuffled over so he could lie on his side.

  When he got situated, I took my time looking at each of them, doing my best to channel my inner sensei from back on Earth. Once they all looked uncomfortable, I took a deep breath and asked, "So. Let's start from the top. What are you people doing here?"

  The leader's lips parted, but before she could speak, a woman shouted to my left.

  "Sis, what's the word? Am I turning this guy into a pincushion, or what?"

  I looked over to find the sniper standing about fifty feet away, bow drawn, arrow pointed directly at me.

  "Stand down!" Urik shouted back.

  "Why shouldn't I light him up?!" The sniper stomped her foot.

  "He's one of the fucking hands!" The goblin shook her head.

  "Oh, shit!" She visibly tensed. "For real?"

  "For real," Urik looked up at me. "I never would've taken this job had I known it would get us wrapped up with you fuckers again." She blew a raspberry. "I just wish you woulda said something before we got all stabby."

  I shook my head. "It's not like you gave me much of a chance." I nodded at the alleyway that led to where Vral was holed up. "Plus, you were messing with Vral. What was I supposed to do?"

  Urik frowned. "I thought Vral got on your bad side and ran off? You all figured it out, then?"

  So she really did think I was with the Hands of the Fallen, huh? "Yeah, we figured it out."

  Her eyes brightened a little with what looked like hope. "So, uh, do you think you, me, and my crew could figure something else out, too?"

  I did my best to channel some Devon energy. "That'll depend on you, now won't it?"

  "I know what that means." She sighed. "I thought that, when we got the hell out of the Dregs, that would be the end of it. Looks like we're never getting out." With her final word, her forehead fell back onto her knees.

  "A hand, huh?" Urik's sister Berik, the sniper, was close now. She'd stopped just far enough that I couldn't easily strike her, but she was close enough that I could make out her features. She and her sister both looked remarkably like Vral, with the same skin color and jet-black hair, but while Urik's hair was cut short, Berik's was dreadlocked like Ark's. Unlike Berik, half of Ark's ear was missing, and a large, bloody slash had opened up her armor on the side. From the look of it, she'd gotten messed up recently.

  Her red eyes never wavered as I looked her over. "I just saw that black blade of yours, but I've never seen you. Are you one of Devon's boys?"

  Devon's boys, huh? Looked like she had a few paramours of her own in Reial. I snorted. "Been there, done that. Never again."

  Berik's lip quirked upward. "That means you have to be one of the big dogs, huh?" She loosened her bowstring. "I had it on good authority that you fuckers were being watched in Istaera. What are you doing out here?"

  Normally, I wasn't cunning at all, but I figured this was as good a time as any to try to fix that. I wanted information. "I got word that our old friends the Black Ears were in the area, so I thought I'd come out and say hello."

  "I wish you hadn't," one of the other goblins muttered.

  Berik shot her chatty companion a look before continuing. "Are you out here to put us down after we ran off on you when the Pit got cleaned out?" Her fingers tightened on her bowstring again as she spoke. "Because I'd rather bygones be bygones. Don't you agree?"

  I put on a smile. "Yeah. That's all in the past."

  "Then why are you here?" She asked.

  What story could I cobble together? Think, Alex, think! "So, I was... I was content to leave you all be, but after Devon got word that you were working with someone named Kasimir, I figured I'd come out here and remind you of your oaths." Did they even swear oaths? Shit!

  "I don't even know you." She frowned. "And oaths don't mean shit when you're facing death."

  Okay, she bit. You've got this. "Oh? Well, Baelgrim sends his regards."

  She tensed.

  Based on her reaction, that hit the mark. "So, you were saying?"

  Setting her jaw, she somewhat convincingly replied, "We don't work for Bealgrim anymore."

  Channeling as much of my bitchy inner Devon as I could, I asked, "You think it's that easy to run away from us?"

  Her frown grew. "I thought you assholes fucked off to Volkash or Evron or some shit. Why are you even back in Isteara?"

  I shrugged. "That information is need-to-know, and you don't need to know it."

  Her eye twitched. "Are you people still making those mutated things? You are, aren't you? And you want more subjects, right?" Her bowstring tightened. "If so, just kill us, yeah? We don't want anything to do with that stuff."

  Mutated things?

  I searched my memories. The only thing that seemed similar was the mutated werewolf thing we'd found in Bethany and Bertram's barn. Since werecreatures weren't a thing in Reial, she had to be talking about that. I hoped. "We lost the alchemist, so that project is on hold."

  She exhaled. "Good. Keep it on hold."

  I wanted to know more, but I didn't know any way to get her to talk about it without giving myself away. "Anyway, we're back because Istaera is where our plans are centered. And you're a part of those plans," I lied.

  The sniper looked me over. "You've got powerful people following you, and you're strong, but you aren't hero strong. You're not even as strong as Devon, and you're a far cry from Baelgrim. So how're you doing it?"

  I pretended to sigh. "I can't say it hasn't been hard. Truth be told, I don't think we'd even be able to set foot in Istaera without his help." Who was he? No fucking idea. But Devon said the same thing, so I was going with it.

  Berik quirked an eyebrow. "The Duke's still bankrolling you fucks? I'm surprised."

  Elise's dad was helping the Hands of the Fallen? I couldn't say I was all that surprised. With all the terrible things he allowed to happen in Istaera, he was probably using it all as cover to help the Hands. For what reason? Who knew. But I could see it. "Why's that? I think we've been quite good friends."

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  She laughed. "I mean, sure. But after you hired our friends to off his daughter and that old dwarf, I'd have thought your relationship with him would have soured a bit." With a shrug, she added, "Can't say I don't get it, though. You people helped him settle his fat ass into that fancy throne of his."

  Some puzzle pieces clicked into place. The current Duke used the Hands of the Fallen to kill his brother. Then, he killed his niece, who was the heir, and ascended to Calvareth's throne. That was some medieval politicking if I ever heard it. My best guess was that, in return, he was helping the Hands do whatever they were doing in Istaera. That whatever involved making were-things, or something. To do that, he was using places like the Pit to... what? Gather recruits? Sacrifices?

  I remembered Devon sacrificing that young noble out in the forest.

  "Yeah, probably sacrifices." Did I say that out loud?

  "Huh?" Berik asked. "What sacrifices?"

  Alex, you dumb ass! "Uh, we've made many sacrifices," I said, doing my best to recover. "Things are coming back together."

  She laughed. "You're a funny one. I like you better than Devon."

  Urik finally stirred. "Says the one who didn't get her ass beat by this guy for the last half hour."

  "You should have taken up the bow when we were girls," Berik replied. "It's your own damn fault."

  "Psh." Urik rolled her eyes. "I'm not a little bitch."

  "I think they went this way!" A squeaky voice echoed down a nearby alley. It was the one that led back to Vral.

  "Well, you better know it, you stupid piece of shit!" Something clattered down that alley. "You assholes chased me halfway across this city! How hard can it be to find a big ole' muscle man, huh?"

  Turning, I watched as the first goblin I'd killed back in the alleyway exited the alleyway. He was holding his neck and walking in long, bowlegged strides. He was approaching slowly and waddling with every step. Like the other guy who was all twisted and messed up, this one's body was ruined, too.

  "Huh, I thought he died," I muttered to myself.

  "I see him!" He squeaked

  "You better be real right now; otherwise, I'm gonna slit your throat, you fuckin' fuck!" Vral's voice echoed down the alleyway.

  "I swear!"

  I knew that voice. My heart skipped a beat. "Vral!"

  "Is that my man?" She sounded exhausted. "Hey, asshole! Is that my man?"

  A throwing dagger whipped past him, making him squeak. "I-I think so? Is he a big, ugly human?"

  "He's glorious, you stupid piece of shit!" Another throwing dagger skittered past his feet. "You should see him when he takes that armor off. That shit's chef's kiss. It's even better when he pulls those pants of his—"

  "Vral, I'm here!" I took a step toward the alleyway, but caution got the better of me. Turning back to the goblins just as the two broken guys sat with their friends, I said, "If any of you move—"

  "You'll cut open our stomachs and feed our entrails to the fish while we kick and squirm." Urik flicked her wrist. "We got it."

  "Uh, yeah. That." Definitely wasn't what I was going to say.

  Still...

  I ran to the alleyway and found Vral hobbling toward me, using a piece of a crate as a walking stick. Her entire body was covered in cuts and blood, and her right side was bandaged poorly and absolutely soaked with blood. Her green skin was ashen and grey, and most of her veins were bulging and black.

  When she saw me running to her, her red eyes flicked up to meet mine, and she grinned. "Hey..." She wiped blood off her lip. "Hey, handsome."

  Without a single word, I rushed to her.

  "Hey, now... Don't be such a worrywa—whoa!" Tripping on a poorly set cobblestone, she would have faceplanted if I hadn't been there to catch her.

  Pulling her into my arms, I cupped the back of her head and whispered, "I've got you."

  "You always do," she whispered back, nestling into my neck as she spoke. "You big dummy."

  "Are you okay?" I pressed the back of my hand to her forehead. She was on fire.

  "I don't know..." She looked at the blackened veins on her wrists. "Berik got me in the liver with one of her arrows. I'm not feeling too great. The walk here damn near killed me."

  With a massive lump forming in my throat, I turned and walked back to the street, only stopping when I was standing in front of the goblins again. Looking for Berik, I found the woman slumped against the wall next to her sister.

  "The antidote." I held out a hand.

  She shook her head. "I'm not in the habit of carrying any."

  My heart skipped a beat or three. "Then how do you cure your poison?"

  "You don't." Her face fell. She knew what it meant for her if Vral died in my arms. "Be strong?"

  A buzzing noise filled my ears. Looking down at Vral, I whispered, "Are you strong?"

  She looked up at me and grinned. "The strongest." Then, she nestled back into my shoulder.

  I looked over the goblins sitting on the ground in front of me. "If she dies, I'll..." Images of what I'd do filled my mind.

  The goblins all looked at one another, nodded, and threw themselves onto their knees. Screeching as loudly as they could, they all started begging for their lives.

  "We didn't mean anything by it!"

  "We swear!"

  "Don't kill us!"

  "Please!"

  "Mercy!"

  A part of me, the part that had just burned one of them alive, the part of me that had broken them over and over again, told me to kill them all. To burn each and every one of them alive for what they did to us. For what they did to my Vral.

  Becoming kindling for the flame was all they were good for.

  Feed... Let us feed... The black blade whispered to me, urging me to kill them all.

  But...

  [Stoneshatter]

  My glowing fist collided with the wall directly above Berik's head.

  "Sis!" Without hesitation, Urik threw herself over her sister, shielding her from the falling rubble.

  Why? Why did she do that? Why did she have to be even slightly redeemable?!

  "FUCK!" I wanted to kill them. I wanted to kill them so badly.

  But...

  What would Tristan do?

  She would show them mercy. Even if they didn't deserve it.

  Even if they were terrible... even if they wouldn't give us the same luxury... She would spare them. She'd say that everyone had the capacity to be better. To change.

  Vral had changed, right?

  Who knew what these people could become one day?

  Who knew what they could do with the right guidance?

  Couldn't they be better?

  They will... betray us...

  My sword's voice hissed in my soul.

  They will... end us...

  With a roar, I ripped the black blade out of my inventory and, with a heave, I threw it up the street. It clattered a hundred feet away, struck a crystal, and began dissolving in the crystal's light.

  "Hey..." Vral murmured into my chest. "Listen..." Her words were getting weaker.

  "Yeah?" I looked down to find Vral's eyes heavy and hazy. "No. None of that. No death speeches!"

  She smiled up at me. "Well... I don't know... if you get to make that choice..."

  I clenched my jaw. "Why did you run ahead?"

  "Because..." she chuckled, then coughed up blood. "Because I wanted... to avenge my tribe... with my own two hands..." She held her hands up. "I almost did it, too..."

  "You're an idiot!" I shouted.

  "Yeah... I'm an idiot..." She chuckled again. "But that's who I've always been." Her eyes grew sharper for a moment, then they faded again. "Vral, the Idiot."

  "Damn it!" I didn't mean to say that.

  "Hey." She patted my cheek. "I just wanted you to know that—" She winced, and blood trickled from her lips. "I had... I had the best life with you two."

  "Don't," I said, my voice rough. "Don't talk like that. I'll fix it. I'll—"

  "Let me... finish..." She coughed again. More blood. "I never thought... I never thought I deserved to be so happy. After everything I'd done. Everything I was." Tears leaked from the corners of her red eyes. "But you... both of you... you made me believe I could be better. Could be... someone good."

  Tristan could fix this. She could fix Vral up. But I didn't know where she was.

  Vral's breathing was getting shallower. Her eyes were dimming, the black veins spreading across her entire body now.

  Where was Na-Ya, damn it?!

  "Are you... going to... say anything?" She asked.

  "I love you," I said, squeezing her hand.

  "I know..." Vral's eyes started to close. "I'm pretty... great..."

  Her hand went slack in mine.

  "Vral?" My voice cracked. I pressed my fingers to her neck. There was a pulse, but it was weak. So weak.

  Watching Vral go limp, the goblins shrieked below me.

  "I..." My mind reeled. What could I do? "I..." I wasn't good at anything but fighting!

  [Stoneshatter]

  I punched the ground, exploding the cobblestones beneath my feet.

  Didn't that asshole Dark Lord make me [S?o?v?e?r?e?i?g?n?]. Didn't that mean I had a right to shape this world?! Didn't that mean I had the right to choose?! Then I should get to choose who lived and who died! That was my right!

  [Stoneshatter]

  A nearby pillar exploded into fragments.

  And the Goddess had chosen me, too, damn it! I was [Chosen by the Light]! If anyone had the right to change someone's fate, wasn't it me?

  [Stoneshatter]

  My fist collided with an ancient cart, shattering it into toothpicks.

  Maybe nothing gave me the right. Maybe might did make right? Maybe that was the way of the world? It was all kill or be killed. I had to hold onto what was mine, no matter what. To do that, I had to be strong enough. Was I strong?

  No.

  Not strong enough.

  [Stoneshatter]

  An old, rusted metal door ripped off its hinges from the force of my blow.

  But what if I was really just starting down the road to becoming some self-righteous piece of shit? Was this my villain moment? Did I have the right to choose anything? Would I end up like Devon? Some broken shitty person ruining other people's lives for whatever her fucking reasons were?

  I hesitated.

  That thought terrified me. What if the gap between Devon and me was paved with good intentions and bad decisions? What then? What was the line? And who would be there to keep me from crossing it? Tristan? Vral? Our missing third? Ro or Na-Ya? The temple? Faye?

  Looking down at Vral's failing body, a single thought filled my mind.

  Did it matter?

  I knew what I had to do.

  I had a way that I might be able to save Vral, and I'd keep the goblins in line, too. If I were lucky, maybe, just maybe, this would work.

  If I really were the [S?o?v?e?r?e?i?g?n?] here, I should have the right to choose.

  I took a deep breath and sank into my spirit. There, deep in my inner world, I felt the threads that connected me to Ark and Grort's crew. To Dhurak. Taking a moment to prepare myself, I focused my mind.

  When I felt ready, I said, "All of you, listen to my words." As I spoke, [S?o?v?e?r?e?i?g?n?] stirred within my spirit.

  One by one, the other goblins' eyes met mine.

  But not Vral's.

  "Vral." My voice was firm.

  She didn't move.

  [Provoke]

  Slowly, weakly, Vral's eyes opened again and found mine. "... huh?"

  "Stay with me, okay?"

  She coughed. "... 'kay..."

  Doing my best to recall the words Dhurak spoke the night before, I felt a tugging on the thread that connected his spirit to mine. Slowly, I began to hear his voice echoing inside my mind. Letting his words wash through me, I spoke: