All was still. The music had stopped playing. Every person in the square was frozen like statues. No one even breathed.

Then a second roar echoed from the night sky.

Kai's hold around Saga tightened as she heard people scream and steps thundering against the ground, though Kai didn't move, and trapped in his arms, Saga couldn't run even though everything inside of her urged her to.

"We'll get out of here when most have left. When there's less chaos," Kai murmured straight into her ear.

She nodded against his body while her fists bundled up the fabric of his clothes.

"You needn't be afraid," he whispered next. "I won't let anything happen to you."

She nodded again and pressed herself closer to him. One of Kai's arms was around her waist and the other up the back of her head. To keep herself calm, Saga focused on that. Focused on Kai's arms around her, on how she didn't need to worry because he would keep her safe. And he would be fine as well. The ruined city from her dreams wasn't Sinkbek, after all, and since she knew he would be there, nothing could happen to him now.

"Kai! Saga!" Astrid shouted over the lessening crowd.

Kai's hold on Saga loosened a bit, enough so Saga could look up from his chest. The first thing she saw was the three creatures circling in the sky. In the dark, she couldn't make out more than their shapes; the bodies with wings spreading from them. They were high up in the sky, making it hard to estimate their sizes, but Saga thought they had to be at least the size of a smaller house.

Then Saga turned to Astrid and Kare, making their way over to them. Both had hardened faces, their eyes roaming the square and the sky alike.

"The two of you must head to safety," Astrid said when they reached them. The square was empty by then, apart from them. Music instruments had been left and destroyed, the wood from them splintered by feet. Several stalls had fallen over. Crushed food covered the ground.

"I'll take her to the cas..."

Another roar interrupted Kai. It drew Saga's eyes to the sky where the creatures descended.

Kai finally moved. With a firm grip around Saga's hand, he pulled her to the wall of one of the buildings surrounding the square. There he pressed her against the wall and covered her body with his own.

Over his shoulder Saga saw the fire spread where they had just stood. A shudder travelled through her body.

"It's too dangerous for you to make it to the castle," Astrid pointed out, both she and Kare had followed them. "You'll be out in the open for too long."

"My home then," Kai suggested, and Astrid gave him a nod.

He turned to Saga, who felt her body tremble, who felt coldness all around her, who felt the warming sensation of her magic in her fingertips.

Kai stretched his fingers out, brushed her cheek lightly. "I'll keep you safe," he murmured.

She nodded and swallowed, wished she could swallow back her magic. But it stayed, spread up her arms as a roar followed by stones tumbling sounded.

Kai took hold of her hand again, and without another word, they ran through the streets. Saga kept her eyes on the ground to not misstep and fall while the sound of the creatures followed them.

Then they reached a door which Kai pulled open and stepped through.

Auda, Thora, and Hedda were all in the hallway. Hedda clung to her mother's embrace while Thora stood, though holding the skirt of their mother's dress.

"Kai! Thank the gods," Auda exclaimed at the sight of her son.

"What are they?" Thora asked next.

"Wyverns," Kai answered his sister, whose skin looked to lose all colour. Then Kai turned to his mother. "Lady Saga will stay here with you until it is safe again. I hope that is fine."

"Of course it is," Auda nodded, then narrowed her eyes. "And what about you?"

"I'll go outside and ensure no danger approaches," Kai answered.

"No!" Saga exclaimed, and the hand holding Kai's tightened while the other grabbed his arm. "It's dangerous!"

His eyes were soft as he looked at her, and his free hand cupped her cheek. "That is what I'm here for. To keep you safe from danger. But do not worry. I promise I'll keep myself safe as well."

Saga shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes.

"You only need to worry about yourself," Kai pressed on. "Remain in here and keep yourself safe."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. It was so brief Saga wasn't sure it had happened, though the tingling on her skin told her it had. A warm tingling which fought against the warmth of her magic and gained ground.

Then Kai disappeared out the door.

Saga's arms went around herself immediately. Held herself together and tried to hold on to the warmth Kai had left in her.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump, but turning around Auda's blue eyes greeted her with softness.

"Do you want a cup of something warm while we wait, Lady Saga?" the mother asked.

"No. That isn't necessary," Saga's answer came without any second thought. "You needn't inconvenience yourself."

Auda let out a sigh which sounded coloured by strained laughter. "It would be far from an inconvenience, Lady Saga. If anything, you would do me a favour by having a task to focus on."

Wordlessly, Auda nodded toward the table in the room right next to the entrance. Saga took a seat there while the mother went further into the house with both of her daughters clinging close.

Left alone, Saga listened carefully for sounds of what was happening outside. The roars of the wyverns came now and then, making their presence continuous. A few times, Saga thought she heard screams, but she wasn't sure she did, or if it was her mind imagining the sounds.

Auda returned with a cup each for all of them. Hedda still sat on her mother's lap as Auda seated herself on a chair, while Thilda poured herself a cup of tea, then went over to look out the window.

Saga thanked for the tea and held her cup with both of her hands, though she had her doubts about her ability to consume anything with the worry so present in her.

"He is strong and capable. He will manage," Auda said, though with her eyes out the window, the mother's words seemed spoken rather to herself than Saga. "And with how good-natured he often is, you wouldn't believe how stubborn he can be as well. Like the day he came home and told me he had become a squire." She shook her head. "No matter what I said, there was no changing his mind. His stubbornness will always keep him going."

Silence fell in the room for a bit. Another roar echoed from outside, followed by the sound of crumbling stones, and this time Saga was certain about the screams accompanying the other sounds.

"He speaks highly of the Lady," Auda continued, and Saga tore her eyes away from the window to look at the mother whose voice was overflowing with pride and love. "Cares deeply about her. He's not said much about it, but a mother can always tell."

The sounds from outside seemed to move closer.

Saga swallowed and cast another glance out the window before answering. "He performs his duties admirably."

Auda shook her head. "Does the Lady truly think it is all about duty?"

Stones crumbled nearby, making them jump and turn their gazes toward the outside. If the sounds continued to move closer, it was only a matter of time before Kai would need to take his sword to keep them safe.

Saga didn't truly think Kai's actions were all about duty. She knew it was more than that, had felt it herself several times, though she didn't know exactly what it was. But the way she and Kai interacted wasn't the way a lady and a squire should interact. How he had reassured her before stepping outside again had had nothing to do with duty.

However, she found no word to use to describe it. Friendship was the closest she could find, but it also didn't feel right. She was by now friends with Astrid, but she could not imagine the other woman looking at her like Kai did, or making her feel the way Kai could. No, what had grown between her and Kai was more than friendship, but she couldn't find the right word.

"Kai!" Thora yelled from her position by the window. Her cup of tea broke against the floor. The white shards splintered the wooden floor. And the girl rushed out of the room. Out of the house.

"Thora!" Auda stood and shouted after her oldest daughter, but the girl had already disappeared into the night.

And Saga stood and followed. She did not hesitate. Did not think or consider. Her body reacted and knew she needed to do two things: bring Thora back to safety and ensure Kai hadn't been injured.

"Lady Saga, you can't!" Auda shouted behind her, but Saga didn't listen. Instead, she closed the door to the house.

Screams echoed from further away, as did the sounds of the wyverns attacking the city. But all was quiet where Saga stood. No sign of Thora or Kai or anyone, though there were signs of fighting having happened nearby. The roof of one building had been torn to shreds, while the corner of another had crumbled. Three somethings lay dead in the middle of the street, something far too thin to be human.

"Thora!" Saga yelled, hoping the girl would answer. But when she didn't, Saga took a steadying breath and walked toward the three somethings.

Thin compared to a human, but for what they were, they could not be considered thin.

Snakes. Long and thick. Two of them lay in darkness, while the moon's light hit the third. That light reflected back out, though green from the snake's scales instead of the misty grey of the moon.

All three of the snakes were clearly dead. All three had their heads separated from their bodies. Blood spattered the ground, and she prayed it was only the blood of the snakes.

Yells made Saga's head snap further up the street.

"Thora!" she shouted again and hurried over the red-stained snow in the hopes of finding the girl. "Kai!"

She ran toward the sound, making a turn onto a narrower street. Then another turn. All the while shouting Thora's and Kai's names. And all the while traces of blood and destruction lit her path.

She took another turn and got half-way down the street before noticing it led to a wall. But turning around had her freeze on the spot.

In the opening to the alley, a snake like the dead ones towered. Though quite a distance away, Saga knew it held its head higher than she was tall. It blinked and tilted its head with its eyes on her. As if measuring her, trying to determine how big a threat she was. Or finding it curious someone as feeble as her was out roaming the streets all alone with danger around.

For she was all alone.

No Kai or Viggo to save her. No knight or guard or anyone.

It was only her and the snake, which blinked again followed by a hiss, certainly tasting her fear in the air.

She should have never left the house. She should have listened to what Kai had said and stayed. What had she even thought she would accomplish by running blindly out through the streets? She didn't even know the city well enough to find her way during daytime, so what had made her think she would manage to find Thora and bring her back home?

It had been stupid. Real stupid. And this was what she got for it.

The snake lowered its body slightly, though its head was still elevated from the ground. Then it slithered toward her.

With trembling fingers, Saga reached inside her robe and withdrew the knife Astrid had given her. She had practised both how to hold the knife and how to stand enough that it came naturally to her. But she didn't feel powerful and stable like she sometimes did when training with Astrid. The knife instead felt like nothing more than a twig compared to the snake's massive size. It would do it no harm, and the snake had to know she was defenceless because it slithered faster. Hissed again.

Her eyes went around the alley. Tried to find something, anything she could use to defend herself with. But there was nothing. She had nothing but herself and the knife to rely on.

And to make matters worse, she felt her magic pouring in her. White-hot. Thundering. Hammering to get out. Her head ached with the intensity of it, blurring her vision and making it hard for her to think straight.

The snake was almost upon her. Its white fangs contrasted against the green scales. A hiss mixed with buzzing carried to Saga's ears. She could see the yellow of its eyes. The thin line of the pupil.

Then it lunged. Its mouth was wide open. Poison dripping from the sharp fangs.

And a realisation hit Saga.

She was alone with the snake. No other person in sight. No one innocent who could be harmed by her magic.

Blinding pain from the snake's fangs erupted in Saga at the same time as she let go of all control over her magic.