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I am sorry to leave like this but Alouette and I have gone to rescue Bern by ourselves. I know you wanted to do it together, but I have to make up for my mistake myself.

We will meet you back in Sleeria in time for the battle. Alouette said she will convince her father to send his army.

Be safe until then.

— Elian

Marcellus crumpled the note and tossed it across the room. “Demore…” he growled.

Thicket stared at the crumpled ball. Elian had left without her? What was he thinking? They were all equally at fault. There was no need for him to go off on his own like that.

They returned to their room to find Lotta rubbing sleep from her eyes. She took one look at their expressions and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Elian and Alouette took off to save Bern alone,” Thicket said.

“Classic Dymrians,” Marcellus muttered.

“What?” Lotta exclaimed. “How long ago did they leave?”

“I don’t know.” Thicket wanted to go after them. She needed to warn them about what Lavender was planning.

You must choose, dear sister. Dymree or Vindrya.

It wasn’t fair to Lotta or Marcellus if she dragged them into this. Vindrya was their priority. It should also be hers.

“We’ll do as Elian says,” Thicket said.

Marcellus’ intense brown eyes locked on her. “Are you really just going to let them handle it?”

Doubt swirled in her gut, but she clenched her jaw, refusing to let it take over. “What other choice do I have? If Alouette knows how to sneak out of the palace, she will know how to sneak inside. And without Elian to help us find a more obscure path, we risk getting caught ourselves. I’m not going to put you and Lotta in harm’s way just because I want to play hero.”

Marcellus grabbed a lock of her hair, extended it, and let it spring back into place, surprising Thicket enough to stop the race of her thoughts.

“Stop acting like you have to do everything yourself,” he said.

“We are here because we want to be and because we believe in you,” Lotta added. “The weight isn’t yours to carry alone.”

You don’t have to do this alone.

Hadn’t she just said those same words to Elian? Yet what had she been doing this entire time?

I always fail when it matters most.

She had once thought the exact same thing. She still did. But hearing Elian say it made her aware of how wrong it sounded.

“I will ask you one more time,” Marcellus said. “What do you want to do?”

She could take the safe route and go home. Hope that somehow Alouette and Elian would be able to save Bern on their own. But even if they could, the Emperor would still attack Dymree. This plan only served to buy them time. It didn’t truly solve anything.

Thicket was done hiding in the shadows, plotting escape routes and avoiding conflict. She was done playing by the rules of everyone else, constantly worrying about saying and doing the wrong thing.

She. Was. Done.

Elian had said all of the kingdoms sought her out so they could get a hold of her power for themselves. As future Queen, they may not be able to adopt her into their bloodline, but they sure as hell could form an alliance with her. Even Alouette, whose power was the closest to Thicket’s, wanted to build a relationship with her. She had worth and weight in this world. It was time she started acting like it.

It was time she stopped running away.

“I want to speak to the Emperor of the Desert Kingdom directly.”