kael's eyes widened in surprise and his breath caught in his throat.

i had startled the swordbrother.

my hands started to tremble and i grasped his shirt for dear life. "tell me." my voice shook. "tell me what you see."

kael started to breathe again, though his gaze never left my eyes. his thumb gently rubbed my cheek.

"i see you, thalia. you."

"what else, kael? what's wrong with my eyes?"

"nothing's wrong. it's beautiful."

"it?" i cried, confused.

"it's silver. one of your eyes turned silver."

i didn't believe him.

"thalia, one is blue and one is silver." he chuckled still holding my face.

"eww!" i scrunched up my face at him in disgust. "how horrible." i would have said more, but kael's eyes turned stormy in disapproval.

"i think i'll be the judge of that."

he was mere inches from me and i couldn't help but reach out to him and touch the burn mark on his face. a powerful current raced through my arm, overwhelming me as i healed the blister.

"ouch!" kael jumped and stood back. reaching up he touched his face and found the burn gone, along with the scratch on his neck. in disbelief, he checked his arm and the wound was gone.

"i'm sorry." i winced when i realized the power had rushed from me and shocked him.

"this could be useful," he grinned.

have you noticed that power is starting to draw to you? faraway spoke up. it comes to you almost naturally now. you hardly ever have to pull from me.

unfortunately, yes. and i'm scared about what it might mean. that i'm still changing, still transforming? i thought as i mounted him.

kael swung himself up behind me and took the reins from my hands.

"he's my horse," i grumbled, pulling the reins back from him.

"do you know where we are going?" kael argued, a little more stern than he had been.

looking around me, i couldn't even tell where we were.

"um, no," i said sheepishly.

"that's what i thought," kael said. he tugged the reins back from me and steered faraway onto a northerly route. embarrassed, i had no choice but to let kael wrap his arms around me and to lean into his broad chest. he kept a quick pace and we seemed to make good time.

unfortunately, i fell asleep against him and woke up a few hours later. the sun was starting to set and i had yet to see fanny, joss, hemi, or darren. i tried to clear my throat but it was dry and scratchy. kael handed me my water bag. after taking a drink, i wiped my mouth and asked him about them.

"i don't know. i told them to take mona and head immediately for haven. i took your horse and went after you, promising that if i found you, i would do the same."

"you mean you left them there to fight off the septori alone?" i gasped.

kael scoffed at me. "when i left, there were no septori remaining. except for the girl. they didn't even try to rescue her or take her."

"what happened at the cave? i saw you enter and i tried to warn you. why in the world would you walk into a trap?"

kael's eyes hardened and the muscle in his jaw line twitched. "they're dead. well, not talbot, but he ran at the first sight of me."

"but how? you were outnumbered."

kael refused to speak for a moment. "it was a trap and a poor one at that." he looked at me sideways. "i doubt you really want to know how, do you?"

the look he gave me sent chills down my spine. i had seen him fight; i had seen kael kill ruthlessly. i didn't need any gory details.

"we couldn't save the farmer and his wife. by the time i got there, i was surrounded by an army of septori." kael's fists clenched and i reached out to touch his hand. my touch instantly made him relax.

"i know you tried," i spoke softly.

"how did you know? how did you know about the fire?" kael asked and nuzzled the back of my head with his chin.

"would you believe me if i told you i had a vision? i saw it before it happened, so i tried to stop it."

"did you know about the septori?" he asked.

i had a feeling he already knew the answer. "yes," i whispered meekly.

"it was why you sent me out of the barn after the farmer wasn't it?" kael growled into my ear. he was angry and i couldn't blame him, but i wasn't afraid of him.

"yes."

"you are one of the most stubborn, stupid, selfish people i know. do you realize that?" kael was furious and i let him vent. he needed to vent. i had put him in a position where i knew the outcome and almost made him break his promise to my father to protect me.

"do you realize what you did? the barn almost came down. you could have died!" kael's breath was coming quicker.

my silence was all the affirmation he needed. he pulled faraway to a stop and pulled me by the shoulder so i had to look at him.

"that was you? were you trying to get yourself killed?" his disbelief and anger made me comprehend how foolish i was.

i dropped my head in shame. i had been trying to kill myself, and kael must have realized that, because he wrapped both arms around me and hugged me.

"don't! don't you do anything like that again? do you hear me?" kael rocked me in his arms and i cried.

"you don't understand, kael. i felt the monster i was becoming rise to the surface. it loved power and didn't care whether people lived or died. i had to try and kill it before it consumed me," i sniffed and tried to look away from him, and not show him my silver eye.

"you have been touched by it, but you've survived. you are stronger because of it." kael grabbed my chin and made me meet his eyes. "i won't let the monster get you. i promise."

and like before, i believed him. kael pulled back to stare over my shoulder, eastward. his eyes took on a faraway look, and i could see the muscle tick in his jaw as he pondered something.

"i want you to come somewhere with me," kael said, never taking his eyes off of the distant mountains. "there's something i need to do."

"where?" i asked and turned slightly to see where kael was gazing. it was the mountain range to the southeast. a dry and barren range with little to no life.

"why so many questions? this will be just a little detour," he said.

"what about the others? what about hemi and joss?"

kael pulled away from me. "thalia, i promise you will get to see them again. it's just been a very long time since i've been this close." his gaze drifted to the barren mountains again, and i could hear longing in his voice. it became soft and husky. "i'm so close, yet so far."

never before had he asked for something from me. demanded yes, but asked no. what harm could there be in going with him? we would just be a few days behind the others, and i knew that with our bond it would be easier if i just went with him.

"okay, kael. you lead, i'll follow."

his face erupted into a smile of relief. a smile that rocked me to my very core. i forgot to breathe.

kael wrapped his arms around me in a completely unswordbrotherly fashion and touched forehead to my temple. "thank you," he whispered. "thank you."