"They'll see that they need us, Lark. They always do."

A young woman sat on the railing of a wooden balcony, her multicoloured hair blowing freely around her face in the slight wind. It had once been dark brown, and it was still dark brown, but it was also dashes of blue and pink and purple. It was just one of the many things about Lark that had changed in the past few years; from her calloused hands, to the scars up her arms. She was not the girl she had once been, scared of a power she possessed that she did not understand, an outcast of the humans that had recognized she was different.

She sat watching the sunrise, focusing intently on the light, something that the girl who was watching Lark knew she did when she was trying not to cry. Lark was the leader, after all, and she would try not to show weakness in the face of such loss. Lark sat dangerously close to the edge of the balcony: if Lark were human, one would have been worried that she might fall, but Lark was a windweaver - although it was not her greatest strength. No falls could harm her - defying gravity was just one of the gifts she possessed.

"Serenity, this time was different. You know it was." Lark said, her voice containing obvious regret. "Rachel was so close - the closest she's been in months to being within our grasp. If I could have captured her, the war would have been over." Lark spun a ball of water in her palm, lost in thought.

It was unfair, Serenity thought, that Lark has all the powers I could only dream of having. My years of training and effort, and she comes in and takes what is mine. She pushed her bitterness aside, however. Now is not the time for these petty grudges. Not in the face of such a tragedy. Serenity sat down on the wooden railing next to Lark, barely noticing as splinters pierced their way into her skin. She may have been only sixteen, but the war had been raging for nearly two years. One could not fight in the frontlines of a war without becoming immune to pain, to a certain extent.

"It wasn't your fault," Serenity said, putting her hand on Lark's shoulder. "The five of us, we're a team. We win and lose together." Serenity hesitated, feeling a little bit awkward. She and Lark had never been the closest of friends. She knew she wasn't what Lark needed, even Aiden could understand Lark better. But it was still dark out, with only a glimmer of light on the horizon. It would be a while before the others woke.

"I'm worried that the war will escalate," Lark confessed, looking at her. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and regret. She blames herself. She always does, Serenity thought.

"We are not the sole force that keeps the world from chaos. The military and the Academy will do everything in their power." Serenity said, though the words were less reassuring then she would have liked. Faith was what her foster parents had always preached, faith in the government, and she would not let her faith fail her now.

"I hate that the council is doing this, splitting us up. One failure doesn't warrant this." Lark sounded almost confused, not angry like Serenity had anticipated.

"It is not like they said the team will never return. They are just putting us on different paths for now." Serenity said, praying that Lark wouldn't ask where she was assigned to go.

"Yes, I know. Mia will go home to Aluria, to try and use her family's influence to convince them to bring the team back together." Lark said.

Serenity bit her lip. She could not help but feel a little sorry for Mia, who was venturing back into the world of politics she hated so much. "And I spoke to Aiden last night," she said. "He got his assignment yesterday; he'll be sent seeking in rural Argentina."

Lark was silent for a moment, lost in thought. She opened her mouth, poised to ask Serenity a question, but Serenity intervened quickly, trying to avoid discussing her assignment for as long as possible. "And what of you? Where are you going? You never said."

"I never got an assignment. It's so strange, to have no responsibility, obligations to anyone but myself." Lark was almost smiling, but glanced at Serenity with eyes filled with guilt. "I feel so horrible, not doing anything, leaving the rest of you to pick up the mess we made."
"No, no, we could never blame you. You've hardly stopped to rest for the past six months. You're burnt out, Lark. You need a break, and you have earned it." Serenity paused for a moment, watching the sun slowly rise, feeling the dull flow of power through her veins. "So, what will you do?" She asked finally.

"I'll visit my aunt first, I haven't seen her in nearly a year. She has a house near the border of Zirka and Opaque. I think I'll go there. And then, I don't know, I think I'll travel through the outer provinces, help out where I can, maybe paint." She smiled, though her eyes were puffy and red.

"That sounds nice," Serenity said, for lack of a better word.

"And what about you, Serenity? Where will you go?" Lark asked, genuinely curious, although she didn't appear to be too invested.

Serenity hesitated. She remembered the words of the order she had received, from the Warden himself: I fear Ms. Lang clings onto her humanity, the way the weak cling to fear. She has one particular weakness, as you know. It is an old wound we cannot allow to be opened up. She knew it would be hard to lie to Lark, and as she slipped off the railing and stood on the cracked porch, she had her lie ready, on the tip of her tongue.

But when she glanced at Lark once more, she faltered. She seemed so open, so trusting, so much of everything Serenity was not. It would do no harm to tell her, Serenity reasoned. After all, if the years have taught me anything, it's that Lark can keep a secret. The Warden will never find out.

"I'll be seeking." Serenity hated the way her voice shook. "In Toronto."

Lark sat up abruptly, her back straitening. Her eyes widened by the slightest of margins as they met Serenity's. "Toronto? That's... That's... Tha-"

Serenity sighed. She knew the effect the mention of the city had on her friend. "It's where you're from, I know."

"Not just me," Lark said, her voice barely a whisper. "Serenity, if you see my sister -"

Serenity cut her off. She knew exactly what Lark would have said. "You know the rules. To tell humans of our world is as good as treason." She tried to sound as comforting, yet as direct as possible. She was probably failing.

Serenity changed the subject. "And what of Thomas? Do you know what his next steps are?"

"No, to be honest, he hasn't told me." Lark confessed. "I suspect he'll be trying to wipe out the rest of Bloodbound, before they can harm any more humans."

Serenity laughed. "It's obvious where he'll go. Yes, Bloodbound is a priority to him, but what is the one thing he cares about more than repairing his family's reputation?"
"Game of Thrones?" 

Serenity was pleased to see a little bit of the light back in Lark's eyes. She laughed as she recalled Thomas' obsession with human culture, which the others had always found a little bit odd. After all, when you were living a war, what was the point of investing so much of your time into following fictional ones?

"You," Serenity replied. "Thomas will follow you to the ends of the earth, Lark. You'll grow old together someday."

"Pop culture references for the rest of my life," Lark said grimly. "I can't imagine a worse fate."

The two girls shared a laugh, as Serenity swung her bag over her shoulder, preparing to depart the place that had felt like home for so long. Along with Lark's apartment, most of her memories from the past few years had been her. Lark noticed the movement, and glanced at the clothes Serenity was wearing - hiking boots, a tank top coloured appropriately, and thick denim pants, the various small weapons dangling from the belt. When Lark's eyes reached the bag filled with Serenity's few belongings, her lips parted.

"Leaving already?" Lark asked, laughing. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised - it's just like you to sneak out in the middle of the night, telling no one, or just Mia, where you're going."

Serenity felt a little defensive. "This time it's not my choice. My assignment starts tonight, and someone's coming for me a few miles out in... Half an hour." She glanced at her watch. "I better go."

"Need a lift?" 

"I'd rather not fall to my death, thanks." Serenity joked. "Your windweaving leaves something to be desired." She glanced at her watch again. "I really better go."

Serenity started down the stairs, but Lark grabbed her wrist. "If you see her..." Lark trailed off, but her eyes conveyed a million different messages words never could.

"I know." Serenity said. "But it's not like I'll see her anyway - there are millions of people in Toronto."

Lark nodded, brushing tears from her eyes. She reached in and pulled Serenity into a tight hug. "I'll miss you," she said. "We all will."

"I'll miss you all too," Serenity said. "But this is exactly the heartfelt goodbye I was hoping to miss." She started down the wooden steps, waving at Lark. She broke into a sprint once she was on the ground, letting the earth guide her. She played the words she had said to Lark over and over again in her head. There are millions of people in Toronto, she reasoned. The odds I'd run into Cassandra Winters were one in a million.

~~

Hello, and thanks for reading! I got the idea for this book when I was twelve, and am beyond excited to put it out there for someone to read. I really hope you enjoy it - and feedback of any sort is much appreciated. Please vote and comment on what you think will happen next.

Thanks, 

Sky