Irayen woke with a terrible headache. Likely the result of another night spent sobbing into her pillow. The pain in her head mirrored the ache in her heart. There was sunlight bleeding through the curtains, she had overslept again. Waves of nausea hit her, and robbed her of the meager contents of her stomach. She had been so drained by the morning sickness. Still, it also brought her a strange comfort. It meant that her child was growing. She smiled as she ran her hands across her abdomen, feeling the slight bulge. There was a knock at the door and she jumped.

"Just a moment."

She quickly threw on a loose robe to hide her stomach and sat back down, careful to keep her expression neutral.

"You may come in."

"Good morning my lady."

Farida, her maid, bustled in and pulled open the curtains. Sunlight streamed in and glinted off the silvery hair of the man who entered. He carried a large bag and gave Irayen a warm smile.

"Good morning to you, madame. I am Doctor Wahid."

Irayens' heart dropped.

"Your husband has asked me to look in on you. I understand you have been unwell."

There was a heavy pit in her stomach. If Rifat discovered her pregnancy it would complicate things. Irayen did her best to smile.

"Oh, that was so thoughtful of him. I am a lucky woman to be so treasured. It really is unnecessary though. I'm certain it's only stress. All of the recent events were terribly upsetting for me. Surely you understand."

Doctor Wahid chuckled and crossed to her, setting his bag on the side table. He wasn't going to be pacified with her excuses. Rifat must already be suspicious of her illness.

"Of course my lady, I'm sure it was all a terrible shock. But you know, that can have a negative impact on your health. It wouldn't hurt to be sure now, would it?"

He unclasped his bag with a snap. Irayen squeezed her eyes shut, and held back a groan.

—

Rifat sat in the dining hall, absently devouring a sumptuous breakfast. He piled his platter with salted meats and fresh hot flatbreads, finishing it off with a mound of fresh fruit. Juice dribbled down his chin from a particularly ripe mango as Doctor Wahid was escorted in. The doctor beamed, and Rifat motioned for him to speak.

"Well Mr. Kazeem, I have excellent news for you. Upon examination, I have found that your wife is not sick. It would seem that you are on your way to becoming a father."

Rifat dropped the mango, wiping his fingers on a towel. He stroked his coarse beard, eyes gleaming.

"You are certain?"

"I would estimate that she is already four or five months along."

"Would you say that she knew?"

The doctor nodded.

"It does seem rather unlikely for her to have been unaware of it for this long."

Rifat stood, fingering his lips, deep in thought. He strolled past the doctor, abandoning the food he had barely touched.

"Thank you, Doctor Wahid. Mr. Naseer will see to it that you are compensated and escort you to your horse."

He made his way down the hall to Irayens' room and threw the door open, letting himself in.

"My darling," He purred "I just heard the news from the doctor! What a delightful surprise!"

Irayen smiled back at him with red rimmed eyes. Her lips trembled slightly. RIfat wrapped her in his arms and kissed her neck. Her skin crawled at his touch. His breath flicked across her cheek as he murmured into her ear.

"I will have to be sure to take extra special care of you from now on, my dear. I wouldn't want any surprises of a... less pleasant nature."

Irayens' blood ran cold. He knew she had been hiding the baby. What else did he know? It looked like she was going to have to move up her plans.

"Look Akua, isn't it beautiful?"

Akua peered down through the clouds to the lush forest below. A winding river lead away toward a vast desert, before it disappeared, buried beneath the sand. Akua imagined himself sitting in the shade beneath the trees, or walking through the hot sand with the sun on his face.

"Akua, are you listening?"

A pale hand waved in front of his face and pulled him from his daydream. Nasrin laughed. Amusement sparkled in her violet eyes.

"Sorry Nasrin." He hung his head. "I just got a bit distracted."

His mentor turned back, a wash of gossamer silver hair settled across her back as she continued telling him about the land before them. Her voice faded out and Akua looked up now into the face of the goddess Zyree.

"I've sent Nasrin on a mission. But I'd hate for my favorite demon child to get bored. So I was thinking you could hang out with me and my sisters while she's gone." She winked, and patted him on the head.

"How long will she be gone?"

His voice was higher than he remembered. It sounded strange for some reason. His vision swirled, and faded to black.

Zyree was there again, her usual grin replaced by a hard look. Anger. Something he had not seen on her face before. His insides felt like they were trying to crawl away.

"Nasrin has fallen. She can never return." Zyree softened. "I'm sorry Akua, I know how much you looked up to her."

Akua reeled. Gone? Fallen?

"How?"

Zyree darkened.

"She fell in love with a human. One that did not love her in return, and it drove her mad."

The vision shifted and they looked down together over a small village in the forest. A small girl ran happily through the trees, her long dark hair streaming out behind her. She leapt into the open arms of her parents. Her smile was so bright, like a flame in the darkness. The scene before them shifted again. Blood, flames and chaos. A deserted village and the girl with the bright smile being dragged away, screaming for all she had lost.

He looked up at Zyree, his eyes clouded with tears, his pain reflected in her face.

"Can't we do something to help her."

Zyree shook her head.

"A deal was struck. We can't interfere."

Her somber face warped and faded. Her voice echoed in his mind.

"You have an assignment Akua."

His name repeated, again and again, the sound distorting as it blended with another voice.

"Akua... Akua..."

Something brushed against his shoulder.

"Akua, wake up."

He opened his eyes, the strange memories fading at the sight of Neiras' face. Her hand was on his shoulder, she pulled it back into her lap, her eyes lowered. The others were awake as well, clustered together in silence. Neira fidgeted, her eyes sunken and red.

"We need to- well, now that we've patched up all the survivors..."

Her eyes shifted across the ground, over the swath of bodies. Tears pooled, and spilled down her cheeks. Akua put a hand on hers.

"I understand."

He stood and offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet. Dyric looked up at them, his face twisted with grief.

"I suppose with your help we won't need any wood for the pyres." He swallowed hard. "We should dispose of the bandits as well, or we'll soon be overrun with scavengers."

Akua nodded, beside him Neira was trembling.

Those who were uninjured gathered the remains of their friends and loved ones. They laid them out gently on the warm sand. Tears drenched the sand as they shared memories of the departed. At last, the pyres were lit. They watched in silence as flames danced across the bodies, until all that remained was ash.

Smoke curled upward into the sky. Dyric followed it with his eyes and cursed. Heavy black clouds were rolling in fast.

"I don't want to alarm anyone, but we do not want to be out in the open when those clouds reach us."

The others looked up at the ominous storm, and a flash of lightning lit up the horizon. Neira winced.

"Do you think we could get to the cave in time?"

"I don't think we have much choice."