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placed on her by the Reaper. The Thief of Souls.”
    A hush settled over the group. Rae took a step back, feeling some of their sudden hostility towards her. It was Alyan who spoke, turning towards Cathel. “You read the geis, I assume,” he said. “The Reaper isn't capable of killing from a distance. He must be present to take her life.”
    “I read it,” said Cathel, nodding once. “It does not specify her death itself. Rather, it specifies that exactly one year from the date that she entered the Twilight Realm, the Reaper will enter the Realm again to meet with her.”
    This time, all eyes turned towards her. In spite of herself, Rae took another step back, placing Cathel between her and the group of masters. Their looks were a mix of hostile and fearful.
    “We should kill her,” said one of the masters, a woman with blond hair. Cathel took a step forward, placing himself slightly between her and them. Rae stared at him, a look of surprise on her face.
    “Mira, you know as well as I do that killing her won’t invalidate the geis,” said another master, turning towards her. “It’ll just draw the Reaper here in a year, to her body.”
    “Then what do you suggest we do?” asked Mira. “We can’t allow the Reaper back into the Realm!”
    “We send her into the Edgelands,” said another master. “Let her find Kaeltharin. If by some miracle, she succeeds, then we are safe. If she fails, then she is in the land of the Ivali. Let the People take care of their own.”
    “If she succeeds, we are not safe,” said the blond master again. “If she succeeds, we have given the Grim Reaper the Shard of the Star. That is worse than allowing him back into this realm.”
    “Who says she intends to give the Shard to the Reaper?” asked another master. “Has she said anything of the sort?”
    Rae kept her eyes straight ahead of her, not saying anything. It had been her plan to give the Shard to the Reaper, but she wasn’t stupid enough to say so here.
    “Then one of our own should accompany her,” said another master, the same dark-haired woman as before. “As an added precaution, to make sure that if she succeeds, Kaeltharin does not fall into the wrong hands. I can’t say I would be upset to see the Shard of the Star in the hands of Laria Tower.”
    “To go to the Edgelands is practically suicide,” said the blond master, angrily. “Who in their right minds would agree to such a thing?”
    “Cathel will go,” said Alyan, interrupting the conversation. Rae’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Cathel. He stood next to her, his shoulders tensing and his mouth drawing into a fine line, but he didn’t interrupt the masters, and he didn’t protest. She saw his fists clench at his side, at their words.
    “…That is,” said Alyan, glancing at him. “If you agree.”
    “…I have no complaints, honored master,” said Cathel stiffly. Considering his tone, Rae had the distinct feeling that he wanted to replace honored with a different word.
    “Does the council agree with this decision?”
    Murmurs flooded the room as they discussed amongst themselves. Finally, one of the masters turned towards Alyan. “No complaints,” he said.
    “Then you should prepare to leave,” said Alyan, turning towards Cathel and Rae. “With haste.”
    “Of course,” said Cathel stiffly. “We’ll leave tomorrow.” He bowed once, a shallower bow this time, then turned around and stalked back towards the tapestry. Rae stared after him, then took a deep breath and turned as well, following him.
    Cathel said nothing, he extended an arm towards her. Hesitantly, she placed her hand on it, and they stepped through the tapestry together, the light shimmering around them as they vanished from sight.
     

Chapter Four: The Connection Between Us
    The light faded away, depositing both Rae and Cathel on a different floor from the one he had picked her up from. Rae didn't recognize the floor itself, but from the look of the trees outside