Useless

"We need to get to Dania as soon as possible…" Mairwen caught herself as she spoke. Her lips pursed. "But she is unlikely to be in the same spot at night. Taran is a little too vain and proud to let his fiancée sleep where she works. It wouldn't look good for his reputation."

"So you think we should wait until morning?" Renat finished her thought.

"It seems much smarter than trying to break into that building and just hope that she is there." The princess fiddled with the clasp of her cloak. She did not like the idea of leaving Dania there even a moment longer, but it could not be avoided.

The others looked relieved. They had not wanted to argue with the princess. Unless the brunette scientist was miraculously within the large wooden building that Alaron had described, they likely would have been traveling tent to tent in search of a needle in a monstrous haystack.

Going by night when the camp was quieter would have been preferable, but not at the expense of knowing where they were heading. There were just too many unknowns for which they could not account. Morning was indeed the safer call.

Alaron shifted to get to the front of their small hideout. "I'll take the first watch."

Eira muttered under her breath. The princess and prince could not hear her, but Alaron smirked as he flipped up his hood and exited.

The soldier had called him out on why he had volunteered to go first. After working up a sweat, Renat's stench was unbearable. The open air was the only escape.

The Guardian took up his post outside the little hideaway. If not for the smell, the others might have been more comfortable staying up inside the hideout to listen for danger, but Alaron wanted to be able to use all of his senses.

After being cooped up underground with the gnomes, the white-haired man realized that he preferred the less confined spaces that nature had to offer. Being indoors too long, even in his own home in the middle of nowhere, was suffocating to him.

Finding just the right spot in the shadow of one of the ancient trees, Alaron pressed himself into the brush and settled down to watch the moonrise. If not for the job that would need to be completed tomorrow, he would have happily watched over the others all night.

But since he was going to be an integral part of the rescue effort, the Guardian would have to eventually rest. He would wait until at least midnight before waking Eira or Renat, which meant he still had a long watch ahead. It was all the better. He needed time to think.

Alaron reveled in the cold night air, not feeling a bit of it thanks to his miraculous cloak. Even with the abominations not far off, the Guardian was relatively certain they were safe where they were. As such, he allowed his mind to wander while he kept an ear out for anything suspicious.

The stars overhead peeked out one by one, each seemingly with an endless amount of light to pierce the night sky. The Guardian made out the shapes he had learned as a child, though being this far north meant that many of them were not ones he knew.

'The centaur, the javelin master, the wagon wheel...' he rattled them off in his head as he pictured the images in the sky. His gaze paused on three clusters of stars that formed a broken circle. "The Fates," he whispered, barely aware that he had spoken.

The wind rustled around him, tugging gently at his hood. If not for the imminent danger, it was a nearly perfect evening to be out in the open.

'I wonder if mother would ever let me take Colvyr camping when he gets bigger?' Alaron thought with a slight grin. 'I wonder what he would think of all the forest animals, especially something big like a bear—'

The bush rustled beside him, far closer than any creature should have been able to sneak without his notice. A dagger appeared from the Guardian's cloak as he prepared to attack in the next moment.

"I wouldn't do that," a voice whispered into his ear. Alaron knew the speaker well.

His hand relaxed slightly as he turned to view the pale blue glow. An ethereal being took shape next to him against the tree.

"Turn off the nightlight, Justum," Alaron snipped quietly. "You are going to lead the enemy right to us."

Justum's skin faded to be almost as colorless as his eyes. Although the Fate was willing to comply with the request, he wasn't going to go so far as to appear human. With the transformation, he almost seemed like the sky itself had come down to rest next to the Guardian.

"You called?" Justum said flatly.

"I did?" Alaron remembered his hushed remark about the stars. "I wasn't talking about you then...but I've been trying to reach you ever since we left you back in Valiant. Where have you been?!"

Justum was quiet for a long time, so long that Alaron almost wondered if he wasn't really there at all. Did he imagine the Fate's presence? Was he dreaming?

At last Justum spoke softly, his words pained. "You are not the easiest person to find up here...Not that I have been looking for you if I am being honest."

It was clear to Alaron that the Fate had more to say, so the Guardian waited patiently for the ethereal being to continue. Moments stretched into minutes.

Justum sighed, "I have been in the Mystic Spires. All of the Fates have, actually."

A flash of silver accompanied Alaron's frustration. "You abandoned humanity just like that? I thought you had finally seen the light. I don't know why I should be surprised though. You left us before..."

"It is not so simple. Do not speak about things which you do not understand." Justum's presence suddenly became oppressive to the Guardian.

Alaron held his breath until the Fate's anger receded. "Wait, you said all the Fates? Hanna would never agree to leave us. What has happened?!"

"I am not sure if you know, but Hanna has been healed physically of her injuries." The stern Fate pressed his lips together.

Alaron did know. It was the last communication that the group had received before losing the mirror. He stayed silent, hoping Justum would elaborate on his own. Another question might anger the Fate and stall their conversation.

His patience paid off.

"Hanna is physically healed, but she tried to use big magic before it was replenished...The results were catastrophic. If I had not taken her back to the Mystic spires and placed her where she could recover in time, Hanna would have died." Justum's voice was heavy.

"Wait, Fates can die?!" Alaron had not considered the possibility. Even with Hanna being hurt, the thought of her dying was not something he could fathom.

"We are mortal like the rest of you, just...less so. No Fate has ever actually died, and I don't intend for Hanna, or any of the others, to be the first." Justum's indignation caused him to resume his normal matter-of-fact tone. All hints of fear and uncertainty were gone.

"So you all just...left?" Alaron scanned the woods.

Everything around them was eerily quiet. The Guardian could sense that even those inside the hideout were breathing soundly. He wondered if Justum had somehow made it this way so they could speak privately.

"As I said, it is not that simple. The Fates need to find out what is happening. So we convened to conduct our own inquiry. If something can wound or kill a Fate so easily, can you imagine the problems that will cause?"

Alaron pictured the dead Chancellor and then his wolfish brother in law. "Utter chaos."

"Exactly. The Fates are meant to bring order, but if our lives are at stake, how are we supposed to complete our goal?" Justum shook his head.

"By doing your job no matter the risk," the Guardian looked pointedly towards his mentor.

"Such a mortal way of thinking." Justum scoffed and turned up his nose.

Lifting one finger, the Guardian quickly objected. "Didn't you say a moment ago that you were mortal?"

"Different meaning of the word mortal. You'll see in time…" Justum shrugged.

He still had much to teach the Guardian.

"So you aren't going to help us…" Alaron could see that until the Fates were confident in their survival, they would not physically intervene.

"We are helping more than you realize." Justum scolded. "I should not have come. I simply thought you deserved some answers."

Alaron pressed his lips together helplessly. "And yet you are leaving me with more questions than before. If we combined our information, then perhaps together we can solve the mysteries…"

"I am glad to see you are well. It would not bring me any pleasure if something happened to you." Justum sounded almost affectionate. "I wish you luck in the coming engagement. It will not be easy."

Alaron laughed dryly. "Nothing ever is for me, but it would be better if I had a Fate watching my back—"

His words were useless. Justum was already gone.