Despite how eager both had been to break into the Chamber and storm the Vault, Ki could barely stand. Reluctantly, she forced herself to agree to Flint’s order to rest and regain her strength for a few days.

  It was torture. Every day she spent in bed was another day Na was alone. She didn’t know if he was suffering, she didn’t know if he was safe, she didn’t know anything anymore. Her own mind made sure she was aware of this fact. It taunted her even in her dreams, causing restless sleep. Each time she woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, total silence and darkness greeted her. With the curtains to her right closed, no moonlight could flood her room.

  During the day, Flint was kind enough to answer her questions about the world outside. He gently informed her of the two “sky-lights”, being the sun and the moon. One for the day, one for the night. Ki listened in awe to his stories, childlike wonder warming her chest. As far back as she could remember, she had been in the Chamber; with no sun, no moon, no forests, no lakes, no towns, and only the other Guards to keep her company.

  Yet, for some reason, everything Flint told her tickled the back of her mind with familiarity. As if she had always known, but simply forgotten.

  How could she have known if she had always been in the Chamber? And if she hadn’t always been in the Chamber, why couldn’t she remember anything before it?

  When this question arose, her mind strayed to the blond boy who had appeared in Na’s place. He had been so convinced that he was Na.

  She furrowed her brow, biting the inside of her cheek as she leaned her chin against her knees. 

  Everything about the outside world made sense. There was a flow of time, there was a system to everything, there was light in the day and dark in the night. Light created light, dark created dark. It was everything the Chamber wasn’t.

  So then why do I feel such a sense of wrongness from something so right?

  After nearly two weeks, Ki found enough strength to cross from one side of the room to the other on her own. The ache in her wound remained almost nonexistent as long as she didn’t do anything to irritate it--which, she quickly discovered, was an extremely difficult task as the wound was irritated by nearly every movement she made. She made a mental note not to be stabbed ever again.

  Taking a deep breath, she pulled the curtains open, letting the silver moonlight in. The outside was quiet, save for the soft chirping of crickets. Stars dotted the deep indigo of the night sky, keeping the full, round moon company through the long, quiet hours. Without the sun, darkness blanketed the small village beyond the window. No one wandered around at that hour, but Ki could see a few candles flickering behind drawn curtains in the houses opposite her window.

  She couldn’t help but sigh, leaning against the window.

  The world outside the Chamber was not only right, but beautiful as well.

  More than anything, she wanted Na to be able to see it with her. She tried to picture his expression if she took him to the forest, or to the lake Flint had told her about beyond the village. Na, who had always sought that right feeling, would certainly be in awe of this world.

  Hold on a little longer, Na. I’m coming for you.

  <><><>

  “Did you decide the window was a better place to sleep than the bed?” Flint chuckled. “Honestly, if all the Vault Guards are as strange as you, I can’t understand why no one has ever made it to the Vault.”

  Ki sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her lower back ached from leaning over against the window all night, and she could see a faint smudge on the glass from where she had been resting her head. Heat crawled across her cheeks and she quickly shoved away, rising to her feet. The chair beneath her scraped against the wooden floor, a brisk reminder that she was still grounded to the world outside the Chamber, now bathed in the warm sunlight rather than the silver moonlight.

  The world she wanted him to see.

  Lifting her chin, she steeled her resolve before turning to face Flint. He had set out her breakfast for her on the desk at the far end of the room, just as he always did ever since she began to wander around the room on her own. She had only left the small bedroom to shower and relieve herself, and she had never heard anyone else in the house. When Flint was gone, the house remained silent.

  He didn’t seem to mind, and she never brought it up.

  “They’re not all… like me,” Ki protested. “Na is level-headed and kind, whereas Ti is…” She stopped short, sucking in a sharp breath. Normally, she would have described Ti as dependable and trustworthy, but now, she wasn’t sure. What was Ti? Why was Ti the only one she couldn’t figure out? 

  Flint tilted his head, waiting for her to continue.

  She pursed her lips. “Ti is the one we need to watch out for. She’s unpredictable and she seems to know more than the rest of us.”

  With a sigh, Flint leaned against the desk. “Will there be replacements for you and your missing friend?”

  “Na was replaced immediately, so I assume I will be too.” Ki glared down at her bare feet. “I don’t know much about replacement-Na, and of course I never met replacement-Ki. All I can tell you is to stay away from Ti.”

  “Staying away from her is out of the question, since we’re charging right into her territory. We’ll just have to outwit her.”

  In any other circumstance, Ki could have laughed at the idea. She had never outwit anyone as far as she knew, especially not Ti. The only reason she had escaped in the first place was by the mercy of the Chamber itself when it swallowed her and spat her out in the forest. The only things that were supposed to leave the Chamber were the corpses of the thieves, Ti had always made sure of that and Flint’s story of the forest only reaffirmed it. She could only assume it was by Ti’s power that she had been released, or maybe by the Master and the Chamber.

  She hated that she didn’t know. She was just as clueless as Flint, despite having been an insider for a time.

  Flint gestured for her breakfast on the desk. “Come here and eat, Ki. We can discuss strategy while you do.”

  Ki perked up. She dragged her chair from the window to the desk and sat down in it, staring up at Flint expectantly. “Strategy? You mean we’re going to the Chamber?”

  “Well, that was the promise. You seem pretty okay now.” He frowned, scrutinizing her. “You are okay, right?”

  She flashed an innocent smile, shoving aside the faint ache in her wound. “Absolutely. Let’s go get Na.”

  “Eat your breakfast first.” 

  Ki glared at him. She picked up the small loaf of bread, tore off a piece, and stuffed it in her mouth. 

  Satisfied, Flint nodded and pushed himself off the desk. The playfulness vanished from his eyes, leaving behind a hardened look of steel. 

  “I have to admit, it’s tricky, but I think we can make it.” He smoothed his hair back from his face. “The Chamber is like a long hallway to the Vault, right?”

  Ki nodded, swallowing her mouthful of warm bread before taking another bite.

  “There’s no place to hide, is there?”

  She shook her head.

  “If I cause a distraction, will you be able to make it to the Vault and get inside?”

  She hesitated, thinking back to her time in the Vault. Thieves usually came alone and Ti would deal with them herself. The thought of her freezing up if two appeared seemed unlikely, but it would give them a chance--especially if the other two Guards turned out to be incredibly underskilled. It would give Ki just enough time to slip into the Vault and find Na.

  She swallowed, hard. “But what about you? Didn’t you want to get inside the Vault too?”

  “I do,” he answered without hesitation, though the resolve in his eyes crumbled for a moment. “Don’t worry about me, just worry about yourself.”

  Ki fidgeted with the hem of her tunic. “Is that really all the planning you can do? Is the Chamber that much of a mystery?”

  “Do you have a better plan?”

  She looked away. “Nothing at all.”

  “But you want to go?”

  “Of course I do!”

  “Then we have to stick with the bare minimum.”

  Bitterness tainted Ki’s thoughts as she curled her fingers into tight fists. With Flint’s lackluster idea, they were rushing into certain death. Ti was no amateur, and she was no moron either. What would be unexpected to her?
  Ki rose to her feet. “I have an idea,” she said, pacing towards her bed and shoving her feet into her shoes. When she looked back at Flint, she found him watching her expectantly. Confused, but expectantly.

  She drew in a deep breath, pushing her shoulders back. “Meet me outside. If this doesn’t work, I’ll take the bare minimum.”