At first the silence was surreal, then it washed away with the lapping of the surf. All of the small sounds were amplified. The soft slap of Flit’s blood-soaked feathers, Yaz’s uneven breaths, the blood dripping from Nieve’s sword, Fernella settling further into the coarse sand, and the subtle breeze blowing through my fur.

  The fog was starting to thin, and with it, the world seemed so much more open. The salt of the sea competed with the smell of spilled viscera. As the adrenaline filtered from my body, pain and exhaustion dragged me to the ground. I laid down, careful of my wounds.

  Keagan walked up to me, his hand outstretched but stopped short. Probably because every inch of my fur was either bleeding or aching. “Lucia, are you okay?”

  “I’ll live,” I muttered.

  I could barely hear myself over the throbbing in my skull. Even after the levels and killing the tritons, part of me still felt empty, or rather unfulfilled.

  We did it. Now we can chase after Luther. But why do I not feel any closer?

  Yaz stumbled on a loose cobblestone. His tail feathers drooped, dragging the ground. The shredded edges of his scales fluttered with every breath.

  “Yaz,” Dillon said sharply, “slow down, take it easy.”

  “I fine,” the raptor snapped, wobbling even as he said it.

  “No, you are not,” Flit huffed.

  She wasn’t in much better shape; her right wing had a jagged tear near the joint, she wasn’t putting any weight on her one leg as she stood on the ground, and dried blood glued half her chest feathers together.

  Merella kept glancing at the pair of them, then at me. “We need to go get the healer. You all should stay here.”

  Dillon scooped up Fernella, who wasn’t moving beyond the slightest hint of her chest rising and falling. I couldn’t even hear her breathing. “Fernella needs rest. I’ll take her to the clinic and bring the doctor back with me. Merella, you should go to the Association and bring Sal here. He needs to see that the threat has been handled.”

  The woman nodded and pointed to her partner. “Stay here. Don’t cause any problems while I’m gone. I’ll see if I can’t find you some prime steak to cook after we get home.”

  I saw the harpy’s eyes shimmer for a moment. Then she put on a smug look. “I deserve it.”

  Merella walked into the fog towards town.

  Nieve dismissed her weapon and stared down at her hands. “I killed someone.”

  Yaz finally gave up standing and eased himself to the ground across from me. Seeing his wounds up close made everything more real. Yaz’s ruined scales looked much worse. Then I realized that many were missing.

  “I killed nine someones.” There was a strain in the raptor’s voice that cut his usual chirpiness. “Am I great?”

  “Yeah, you did great, Yaz.” Dillon scratched Yaz’s feathers delicately while he held Fernella with one arm. “Stay here and don’t move around. Okay?”

  Yaz gave a chirp as confirmation. Dillon then headed back to town.

  Keagan grabbed Nieve’s hand and guided her to sit down next to me. “It’s okay. You did what you had to do. Thank you for protecting us.”

  Her hands shook more. “I murdered another monster.”

  I flattened my ears and closed my eyes. The memory of the basement where I killed someone—it was two people at once—for the first time in my last life played in my mind. Then I remembered the talk I had with Mom afterwards.

  “You did not murder,” I said calmly. “Killing is not murder—not always.”

  “I understand, but I’ve never done it before.” Her voice quivered. “I earned my first level, but it feels wrong to be rewarded for killing.”

  I sighed. “The system doesn’t know nor does it care why you kill, only that you did. Is it easy to get addicted to killing constantly just for the levels? Probably. A wise woman once told me that because you feel remorse for taking a life you understand the value of life.”

  “Who was she?” Nieve asked. “Did she ever kill anyone?”

  I smiled. “That world knew her as Nora Stormleaf. I simply called her Mom. And she has killed far more than I have, even with both lives combined.”

  Keagan ran a hand through my mane. “You see Nieve, killing doesn’t make you a bad person.”

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  I nodded. “There are right reasons for killing. Defending yourself, others, or a place, for food, for…”

  A lump grew in my throat. I looked out to the ocean and let the memory of my death wash over me again. This time, there was a sense of peace, not rage or fear.

  I swallowed the lump. “For mercy.”

  “And vengeance?” Nieve’s voice stabbed through my acceptance with needle sharp guilt.

  I hung my head and said nothing.

  Escaeris, I am glad you found peace. I don’t believe I ever will.

  Keagan hugged me. “Nieve, maybe that was a little too harsh. Lucia’s bloodline makes some things harder for her.”

  I tried to nudge the boy away from me. “She’s right, kid. And she’s also right to be as harsh as she wants; I deserve far harsher.” I looked at the dullahan. “Vengeance is never a good reason to kill. Killing as a punishment of fine, some crimes warrant it. But the line between punishment and vengeance is so narrow that many can’t find it. As for me, it probably never existed.”

  Nieve turned her head away. “I will never understand what that’s like. But I think I understand what you’re trying to say. Does that mean you will give all this up?”

  “I can’t.” As much as I wanted to say otherwise, I could not deny it. “I made a promise.” Nieve deflated at my answer. “But, I will allow you to talk to him first; you can have your answer first. I will not deprive you of that.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “What in the names of all the gods was that?” Flit screeched.

  I glared at the harpy. “A private conversation.”

  She looked to Yaz, who had a black stare on his face, then back to me. “Then shouldn’t you have had that, oh, I don’t know, in private?”

  Okay, maybe I got caught up in the moment and forgot that those two were still here.

  Yaz tilted his head. “It was pretty. I liked it.”

  “Did you understand any of it?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nope.”

  Ignorance is bliss. “Are you going to talk about it? I asked Flit.

  Her jaw went slack for a moment. “No. Who’s going to believe me? The only thing I can say is you three are lunatics, and that’s already been clearly established when you proposed this whole slaughter on the beach.”

  Keagan grinned. “What level did you reach?”

  She blushed. “Eighteen. So your little infant idea worked. Did you want me to say thank you or something? Because if I wasn’t here, it would’ve failed and you’d be dead.”

  Keagan placed his hand over his heart. “Thank you for helping us.”

  Flit beamed and raised her nose in the air. “Your praise is accepted.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And now you’ve ruined it.”

  I stood up and headed over to the closest triton I killed.

  “What’s wrong, Lucia?” Keagan asked.

  “I’m hungry, so I’m going to eat.” It’s time to use this Gourger trait of mine and get some more stats for all this.

  “You’re not seriously going to leave, are you?” Nieve tapped the back of her head. “You need the healer too. Shouldn’t you stay here?”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” I ran my claws along its belly.

  “What are you doing? You aren’t going to eat one of those?” Flit’s voice rose with each question.

  “Yeah, if you wanted something to eat, all you had to do was ask.” Nieve stood up and headed for her pack. “I’m sure I’ve got something better than…”

  “No,” Keagan interrupted. “Don’t worry about it, Nieve. Just let her do this.” He gave me a knowing nod.

  Flit scoffed while Yaz watched, completely enraptured. I ate most of the creature before the notification appeared.

  Triton consumed: +3 Power, +1 Toughness, +1 Resilience.

  Triton consumed: +3 Power, +1 Toughness, +1 Resilience.

  After I ate the second one, I was full.

  “Taste good?” Yaz asked. His voice dragged a bit as his eyes drooped.

  “Not really,” I said as I returned to lying down next to Keagan and Nieve. “They taste like fish, but with extra salt. Also, their texture is chewier than any fish I’ve ever eaten before.”

  Nieve retrieved a water skin. “Thirsty?”

  “Yeah.”

  As I drank, Flit pouted. “That is why I demand all my meat must be cut into steaks and cooked to perfection.”

  “Not everyone is a spoiled bird like you,” I sneered.

  She slapped her wings and wrapped her talons around my throat. “Don’t you dare! I work hard every day so I can have the best. If you want to perform the best you have to do your best, train the best, and feed yourself the best. I earn everything I get.”

  I remained perfectly still. She held on to me but never squeezed.

  Keagan tried to push her away from me. “You’re right. You’re right. She didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Nieve walked up behind the harpy and wrapped her arms around her, pinning her wings to her sides. “Haven’t you had enough of fighting for one day? I thought we were all friends. Friends should hug, not kick and scream at each other.”

  Flit let out a series of sounds that sounded like words that turned to bird squawks. I’m all her flailing, she let me go. She couldn’t curl her legs back to grab Nieve, but I couldn’t tell how effective that would’ve been. It was clear Nieve was the stronger of the two.

  Nieve can handle me like I’m nothing. Flit was injured by the tritons, so her defense is not her strong suit. Maybe…

  “Nieve, what’s your power?” I asked.

  “612, why?” She tilted her head.

  Flit suddenly went still. I could smell the fear coming from her. “Oh, uh, sorry. Maybe I overreacted. You can put me down now.”

  That’s what I thought. She’s not dumb, she may talk big, but she clearly knows her limits.

  Nieve gently placed the harpy down and smoothed out some of her feathers. “Good. I’m glad we’ve sorted that out. If you want some food, I will be happy to cook for you. Maybe that’s why you’re so cranky. Nothing helps recovery after a tough training or a battle like a good meal. Just tell me how you like your steaks and I will do my best to feed you the best.”

  “Ugh, it stinks,” a voice called out from the fog. Sal stepped into view with Merella beside him. His eyes went wide at the sight of us. “Oh dear.”

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