"You are of no use exhausted," he interrupted. "Sleep."
The way he gave the order left no room for argument. Malek was right. If I wanted to help Leone, I needed rest.
I settled onto the floor, resting my head against the hard wall. My eyes closed, and the invisible armor I had carried for days finally crumbled as my mind slipped into darkness.
???
I jolted awake at the sharp bite of something pressed against my throat. When my eyes snapped open, I found a pair of blue eyes—identical to my own—wide with panic.
Leone knelt before me, brandishing a jagged shard of obsidian he must have taken from the floor. His stare held no recognition. It was the look of a wounded warrior, cornered and fighting for his life.
"Who are you?" he hissed, his voice hoarse but steady with determination. "Where am I?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but a snarl of pure fury tore through the air, vibrating against the hut walls. Leone tensed instantly.
I looked up to find Malek at the entrance, two steaming bowls in his hands, his eyes blazing, muscles tight like a predator ready to spring.
"Release her, kir’shakur!"
"Don't come any closer," Leone growled, pressing the obsidian deeper against my skin.
I moved quickly to intervene before the tension erupted into senseless violence.
"Leone, it’s me! Fiona!"
The panic in Leone’s eyes faltered, replaced by confusion. He scrutinized my face and frowned doubtfully. He still didn’t recognize me; to him, I was nothing more than an orc standing between him and survival.
"Fionnuala’s gone," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "You can’t be her."
Malek halted a few paces away, tension radiating from his frame, yet he waited, allowing me to handle it. Relief washed through me at his trust.
"Malek," I said. "He’s wounded and not in his right mind."
I turned my attention back to Leone, keeping my voice soft and steady.
"Do you remember the stories Mother used to tell us about Eldaerenth? How the forest spirits would snatch us away if we dared sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night...?"
Leone’s eyes widened, and finally, the rigid tension in his frame cracked. That was a memory only the two of us shared.
"Fiona?" he whispered, his voice breaking as tears welled in his eyes.
"Yes," I answered, feeling the sting rise in my own. "It’s me. Your sister."
Leone blinked, and the shard slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a sharp clatter.
An instant later, he flung himself into my arms, just as he had when we were children—back when I traveled with our mother to our grandparents' summer estate, leaving him behind in Ceilte to his studies.
"F-Fiona?"
"Yes, brother," I choked, pulling him into a crushing embrace.
He grunted at the force of my grip, now stronger than his own, yet held on with equal desperation. His body shook withpain and exhaustion, but the familiarity of my touch seemed to calm him.
“You're alive," he whispered, breathing in the scent of my hair. "It really is you! What happened? When I returned, Father said you had vanished."
"It's a long story, Leo," I said, pulling back slightly to cup his face in my hands. "But what happened to you? Why was Grìosach hauling you in that… that cage?"
Leone gasped, struggling to steady his breathing and gather his thoughts. His eyes darted around the cabin, unfocused and frantic, until they landed on Malek.
