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A shadow passed across Elian’s face and she remembered his words from earlier.

It isn’t always that simple.

“I don’t know much about how this… act of true love works,” Thicket said. “But I think something similar helped me wake up. You helped me wake up by giving me something to fight for.” She held her hand out. “Right before I woke up, I reached out for you, and while I might not have been able to grab hold of you at the time.” She laced her fingers through his. “I can now.”

She had thought her words would chase the shadows from his eyes, but if anything, they seemed more clouded now than they had before.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

Before he could respond, Lotta stepped into their path.

“Thicket?” she said, glancing at the two of them.

“Lotta? What are you…” She gasped. “Were you following me again?”

Lotta folded her hands behind her back. She had changed since the meeting. Instead of her usual maid uniform, she wore a simple cream dress embroidered with dozens of stitched flowers. It made Lotta look softer than usual, far more like a girl her age should be. Yet it couldn’t hide the intelligence whirring behind her eyes. “Not this time,” Lotta said. “I was on my way to visit my brothers.”

She had once told Thicket she had two younger brothers who had been adopted after their parents died during Lavender’s initial attack a century ago. Instead of remaining in the orphanage, Lotta sought a position as Thicket’s maid. “How are they doing?”

“One of them is having a hard time adjusting to the new town,” Lotta said, “so I thought I would bring him something from our old home.” She traced a reverent finger along the handle of a pale basket dangling from the crook of her arm. “It’s strange. Everything was exactly as I remembered it.”

“You lived here?” Thicket asked. “In Sleeria?”

“Before the curse.” She smiled softly, though it was tinged with sorrow. “Being here brings back so many memories, both happy and painful.” She shook her head, as though that were enough to shake them away. “Where were you two off to?”

“I wanted to see if we could find the Lost Soul Lagoon,” Elian said.

“Oh!” Lotta said, recognition illuminating her features. “It is a very popular legend around here.”

“Do you know anything about it?”

Lotta hummed thoughtfully. “Only that kids used to challenge each other to find it. Most never did, but the rare few who were able to went missing.”

Elian and Thicket shared an apprehensive glance.

“I guess Lost Soul Lagoon lives up to its name,” Elian chuckled.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go,” Thicket said.

“You will be fine so long as you do not go into the water,” Lotta said. “I can accompany you if you are worried.”

Thicket waved her off. “No, it’s fine. You already have plans to see your brothers.”

“I already visited them earlier. It is just with everything that is going on, I sometimes worry that there will never be a next time and they’ll become yet another name carved into the obelisk.”

Thicket’s heart contorted, as she was reminded of what everyone had to lose if she failed. Maybe it was time to stop resisting. The longer this was drawn out, the more lives were at risk.

What was the fate of thousands compared to the fate of one?

“What is your strategy for finding the lagoon?” Lotta asked.

Elian puffed out his chest. “My Aneuma, of course.”

Elian’s badger escorted them through the streets. Its body was a deep dandelion yellow, the same color as the building it was conjured from, with a single dark stripe running down its center. The heavy stone of its feet pounded against the ground as it sniffed the bricks lining the streets, stopping every so often to paw at the raised stones, before trudging on.

On occasion, the badger would stuff itself into a crack and return with a lost item. A necklace, a watch, or some other forgotten treasure.

“Does it know what it’s looking for?” Thicket asked.