Chapter 12

  The Only Solution

  “Let’s get out of here,” Aaronn suggested. “Without knowing the Eyes’ intentions, it’s too dangerous to stay.”

  “And the mission?” exclaimed Linart, struggling to accept the idea. “I remind you, Milla and I are here for a reason.”

  “Yes, he’s right,” she added.

  By the end of the day, Aaronn and the others had gathered in the former crackmendre den while hauling up the daily harvest at the gallery’s exit.

  “Manve?n has his eyes on us now, for sure!” Aaronn said. “We won’t be able to collect amarite quietly. He’ll guess that your pouch is a sacred treasure. And if he’s already guessed, he’s trying to trap you to uncover your real intentions. What’s your plan after the amarite mine?”

  Linart and Lunamilla exchanged expressions mixing approval and annoyance.

  “The mission isn’t over,” Linart replied. “We have to get to the Ornéa megacity to contact a noble. I can’t tell you more for now.”

  Aaronn wanted to fulfill his personal mission, but he knew how to be patient. Right now, he was fully focused on Linart and Lunamilla’s mission, as if he were part of their team. In his current state, he lacked the strength to protect them against the Eyes—neither them nor himself—otherwise he wouldn’t have suggested fleeing immediately. Manve?n was a serious threat.

  “Listen,” he continued, his tone more persuasive. “Do you trust me?”

  Linart’s gaze hardened, then he nodded slowly with a long exhale.

  “Y… yes. I don’t know why, but I feel your intentions are good.”

  “I’m unsure,” Lunamilla said softly. “E… everything was fine before you arrived.”

  “I understand,” Aaronn admitted, momentarily at a loss.

  “What’s wrong?” Linart asked.

  “What I’m about to propose will seem even crazier.”

  He didn’t know how they would react. Yet the situation demanded it. They could barely escape now that the Eyes had noticed them.

  “Get rid of all your surplus. Give it to today’s harvest. Then, we leave. I’m convinced we’ll receive at least double what you’ve given.”

  Linart burst out laughing, then regained his seriousness.

  “Are you serious?” he said, trying to sound understanding. “You know we can’t do that, right?”

  Aaronn closed his eyes and exhaled deeply before reopening them.

  “It’s the only way. Either that, or you lose your sacred treasure and all your harvest at the next intervention by the Eyes. My solution is the best way to avoid the worst.”

  “Aaronn… it’s too hard to make that choice,” Linart replied, his voice faltering. “I want to trust you, but the resistance needs this amarite.”

  Aaronn didn’t know what to say. How could he convince him to trust him?

  “Linart… let’s do what Aaronn says,” Lunamilla intervened, unexpectedly. “Our escape lies in this pouch. If the Eyes take it, we’ll be stuck here for the duration of our sentence. If he doesn’t decide to eliminate us.”

  “And what if that’s his plan? What if he’s guessed we’re part of the resistance and wants us to lead him to it?” Linart countered.

  Linart’s theory couldn’t be dismissed. Aaronn was backed into a corner. He had no cards up his sleeve, not even his sister. No protection from the Arcane, no reinforcements. He couldn’t even claim he could protect the resistance from the warriors of light. He was alone. Alone, facing his physical and mental limits. He couldn’t impose this decision on them.

  “It’s a risk we have to take,” Lunamilla said. “In any case, if that’s his goal, he’ll let us escape. And if it’s not, we risk losing our sacred treasure—and our lives.”

  Linart collapsed against the wall behind him.

  “You know it’s useless to go to Ornéa without that amarite,” he said.

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  “I know…” Lunamilla’s eyes sank slightly. “But I want to trust Aaronn. I want to believe in this universal justice.”

  “We’ll go anyway,” Aaronn said. “Because this amarite will come back to us soon enough.”

  “Swear to us you’re not lying,” Linart demanded. “Swear we won’t return empty-handed.”

  “I swear it. The universe is impartial. What is given will be returned more abundantly. It’s not justice—it’s law. And I accelerate this phenomenon.”

  Linart sank fully against the wall, his mind fully absorbed in thought. Fighting for the resistance had been his dream since childhood. And now, he was on his first mission for it. Was following his intuition the best choice? Until now, it had never failed him.

  “Alright…”

  “Great, thank you!” Aaronn exclaimed, his face lighting up.

  There were more than a hundred bins to haul to the surface. In the meantime, Aaronn and the others could take the opportunity to escape. They returned to their gallery. Since mining was nearly complete, the drones no longer distributed bins, so Aaronn materialized new ones.

  “I can hold them until we escape,” he warned. “Meanwhile, let’s take advantage of the Eyes watching the harvest unloading to fill these ones.”

  Lunamilla hesitated before taking out the pouch, afraid of being caught by the warrior of light. Finally, she decided to open it. She withdrew a vial containing a transparent liquid.

  “This vial contains a concealment spell. When I break it, our actions will be falsified in Manve?n’s eyes for a whole hour.”

  The others nodded before she shattered it. Then, for each bin Aaronn materialized, Lunamilla shook her pouch just above it to release the contents. Her intent alone—to empty the pouch of its amarite—was enough to make the substance appear. The drones handled transporting the bins to the central platform.

  Before any suspicion could arise over this unusual amount of amarite, Aaronn and the others returned to the crackmendre den. Just in front of the precipice, Lunamilla retrieved a horn flute from her pouch and blew into it. A low whistle echoed through the cavern, as if the air struggled to pass through the instrument’s cavities.

  “What is she doing?” Aaronn asked.

  “The resistance has trained hundreds of crackmendres. We’ll use them to escape.”

  Light tremors resonated in the darkness. Distant rock walls seemed to crumble. Aaronn leaned over the precipice. After a few minutes, he made out a figure climbing the wall.

  Sharp claws gripped the rock beneath it. A four-legged creature ascended to them, hairless, its musculature visible under its pale skin. Despite its imposing frame, it moved skillfully between Aaronn and Linart before lying down.

  “It’s inviting us to climb on,” Linart said. “But there are only two spots. I think you can follow us with your abilities, Aaronn, right?”

  “Yes, no problem.”

  The crackmendre let out a low growl through its long black muzzle. Aaronn was surprised by its appearance. On Arthémis, their skin was dark brown, covered with the same-colored fur on their backs.

  Linart and Lunamilla climbed onto the creature’s saddle. Linart went first, gripping the strap connected to its muzzle to steer it.

  “The crackmendres’ claws and teeth can tear through rock walls in no time. With that, we’ll continue underground for at least two kilometers to escape the Eyes’ reach. After that, we’ll see.”

  Aaronn nodded.

  The crackmendre descended the precipice with its claws, Aaronn following closely using his powers. Twenty meters down, he reached the ground and moved through the tunnels he had previously created. The crackmendre used its long limbs to dig, its powerful sweeping motions carving wide passages.

  Night had fallen over the continent. The full moon lit the rocky desert below. Fissures widened across the arid ground before it collapsed completely. The crackmendre carrying Linart and Lunamilla emerged from the opening.

  “Finally,” Linart said, descending from the creature. “I’ve had enough of hearing rocks crack.”

  He brushed dust from his clothes.

  “Yes, truly,” Lunamilla added, imitating him.

  Aaronn emerged from the hole a few moments later. At this spot, the group was out of the Eyes’ range.

  “And now?” Linart asked. “I don’t want to be a killjoy, but how do we recover our amarite?”

  “Don’t worry,” Aaronn reassured them. “It will come back sooner or later. Let’s keep moving and continue with the plan.”

  “But how? The next step of our plan is to bring this amarite to Ornéa.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Linart’s irritation was clear—a reaction Aaronn sensed through fluctuations in his aura. He couldn’t blame him. No rational person would choose to sacrifice six months of work. He couldn’t expect Linart to be cheerful now.

  He turned to Lunamilla, who, to his surprise, seemed less upset by the change in plan. Eyes closed, she lifted her face as she filled her lungs with fresh air.

  “Feels good, doesn’t it?” Aaronn said.

  “Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “I’m enjoying the fresh air before we reach the city.”

  Aaronn smiled.

  “How long until we reach Ornéa?” he asked.

  “We’re currently in the Ymir Desert, south of the western continent, Amraal,” Linart replied. “We’ll have to head north to reach the Ornéa megacity. It’ll take about three days’ march.”

  Lunamilla pulled the bottomless pouch from her pocket and retrieved several outfits, distributing them to the rest of the team.

  “C… could you… turn around?” she asked timidly. “I’d like some privacy.”

  Linart turned, while Aaronn raised a hand skyward, as if erecting a stone wall. A broad white curtain materialized between Lunamilla and them, floating weightlessly, rippling in the wind.

  “You shouldn’t be embarrassed now,” he said.

  “T… thank you.”

  Aaronn could still see her silhouette through the fabric. She untied her ponytail and carefully combed her hair. He saw a young woman who seemed fragile and unsure of herself. Unlike Linart, he couldn’t detect the spark that had drawn her to the resistance. To join such a cause in this context, she must have had strong conviction to compensate for her lack of heart.

  After changing, Aaronn and Linart wore matching outfits: gray clothes covered by brown cloaks.

  When the curtain dissipated, Lunamilla also wore a similar outfit, tailored to her figure. Her long, wavy blonde hair now fell freely to the middle of her back. Aaronn found himself surprisingly attracted to her, more than he should be at this moment. Their eyes met briefly, then quickly shifted away.

  “We’ll stay here for the night,” Linart said. “With any luck, the Eyes won’t notice our absence until tomorrow. And when he does, it will already be too late.”

  “I’ll stand watch,” Aaronn said. “Unlike you, I need less sleep. And I owe you that much.”