Sometimes, she wished she could be Valen. Switch places with him for a day, and feel what it was like to reach the greatest heights of compulsion. Valen was the strongest person Nor had ever known—so strong that Darai could no longer train him. The old man had stopped even trying only weeks after Nor pulled Valen from his cold, empty cell in Lunamere, taking to the shadows instead.

He was likely jealous, in much the same way that Nor sometimes was. But she knew everyone had their place. Valen was their power source; Nor was the face of their mission. And Darai was indispensable as well, with all his knowledge of Exonia.

“There’s something else,” Valen said softly.

Nor looked up at him, raising her brows in a silent question.

“You know I visit the castle in my mind quite often.”

It probably sounded silly to anyone who didn’t understand how deeply he was speaking the truth. Valen wasn’t one for jokes—Nor had learned this about him early on. It was one of the things that connected them, besides the obvious. It had taken time and effort to develop a relationship that existed outside of their shared blood.

After all the years they’d spent apart, she’d often wondered if they would ever have any sort of bond beyond the compulsion. But little by little, she’d grown to know Valen. He was a creature of complexity; a young man who lived in constant darkness, yet found such fascination with painting the light. And she could no longer imagine a life without her brother.

“Yes,” Nor told him. “I’m aware.”

“I think...it’s beginning to take its toll,” Valen said carefully.

“In what way?” she asked, looking him over intently. His golden eyes were dull, with dark circles marring the skin beneath them, and Nor felt a twinge of guilt, as she often did, for what she’d done to him in Lunamere. For the massive weight she’d placed on his mind, with all the energy the compulsion required.

“Today, when I left the castle... There was a flicker, of sorts.”

“A flicker?” Nor echoed, confusion sweeping through her.

Valen nodded. The firelight illuminated the shadows beneath his eyes.

He needed rest. Darai had warned her of this—that the power would demand a price. But Nor hadn’t wanted to ask Valen about it, for fear of discovering just how bad it truly was.

Her stomach clenched as she looked at him, so burdened. Perhaps he simply needed a reminder of what they were both working toward. For if Valen faltered now, when they were just beginning to feel the pressures of their mission...what would she do without him?

“Can I show you again, Valen? Our home?”

He nodded.