There was a roaring in her mind so intense that she could barely hear the sharp gasp Kai made. The world was fading away from her, a steady tug dragging her gaze to the boy who was currently huddled next to Finn's toilet, eyes wide with fear.

No, not a boy.

An inkblood.

Finn moved faster than Tigris thought was possible, lunging to stand between her and the boy. His verdant eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness, fierce and protective. "Tigris, don't." he pleaded. Tigris could hear the warning in his voice. Her hand twitched towards her sword instinctively.

"Are you mad?" she hissed, wondering if Finn had been enchanted somehow, "That's an inkblood!"

"He's a boy!" Finn snapped back, edging back until his lithe figure stood in front of the scribe. Finn's pale chin jutted upwards defiantly. Ire tore through Tigris' chest.

"Look at his arms, Finn." Tigris growled, her fingers tightening around the pommel of her sword, "He's got inkblood in his veins. He's-"

"He's just a child," Finn insisted, eyes flashing with anger, "You would see him burned? I thought you were a better leader than Father, Tigris."

Tigris' heart dropped in her chest. Finn had never outright challenged her views. So often they were allied in their small schemes against their father, enacting small plots to tweak their father's plans to help the lower town, or aim for peace when their father pushed for war. Fighting their father together was what they did.

They never fought each other. Not on things this important. But Tigris could only hear her father's voice in her mind as she had all those years ago when he'd enacted the ban. She'd been a child, but she heard the furious, heartbroken tremor of his voice as he'd announced to the masses,

"Inkblood is foul. Inkblood is monstrous. Those that let it run through their veins are evil incarnate and have taken all that I love. It can stand in this city no longer."

Tigris unsheathed her sword with a metallic screech. "It's enchanted you."

"Tigris, please." the steel in Finn's voice melted into desperation, "Do you realise what Father will do? He'll burn the child, and he'll... he'll..."

Tigris swallowed, her mind racing. Her father had already vowed to imprison Finn for treason if he aided the scribe. She swore under her breath.

"You've had him here this whole time?" she whispered, trying not to let the betrayal sting, "You would have let me search, let me disappoint Father?"

Finn's eyes flickered with remorse. He stepped forward, the fire in his eyes fading into an ember of something more genuine. He splayed his hands in front of him placatingly.

"Yes. The alternative was a lost life," he confessed softly, the words all wrong.

"You betrayed me. Betrayed Father. You must be enchanted." Tigris swore, her throat tightening, "My brother would never do such a thing."

Just like that, the rage was back in Finn's eyes. He stepped aside, pointing to the scribe hiding in the shadows. "Look at him, Tigris! He's just a boy, how could a child enchant me?"

It didn't make sense. Enchantments were made by powerful inkbloods. If the scribe was just a child...

Finn edged closer until his chest was just a hairbreadth away from Tigris' sword. His breath fogged up in the cold air.

"He's just a child," he repeated firmly, his jaw set with determination, "He doesn't want to hurt anyone. He just wants to find the librarian and get home."

Tigris' mind spun. Her sword wavered. "I-"

"Look at him, and tell him that you'd see him burned." Finn demanded coldly, inching closer to the sword until Tigris was forced to take a step back to avoid impaling him. "Well? Tell him!"

Tigris stammered, never feeling quite so speechless. She swallowed, staring at the scribe. Her resolve began to waver as she looked at the boy. His strangely brassy eyes were round with terror, his too small, child-like frame huddled in a thick cloak.

Tigris had never liked her father's pyres. She knew they were necessary to punish those who willingly took on the evil of inkblood, but this was a child. A child who had probably had no idea of the danger of what ran in his veins. And technically, he'd done no harm yet. It was his librarian guardian that had fled, that had taken on inkblood knowingly.

Tigris lowered her sword.

Roche edged in at that moment, standing next to Finn with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Please don't be mad at Finn," she begged, "It was my fau-"

"No, it wasn't." Finn interrupted, casting Roche a sharp look, "I chose to keep him here. How he got here doesn't matter, I insisted that he stayed."

"Still-"

"Both of you, shut up." Tigris groaned, sheathing her sword, "Get the child. Now."

Like guilty little children, Finn, Roche, and Kai gathered the scribe in their arms and trudged over to sit on the edge of Finn's large bed. They sat there, looking as despondent as kicked puppies.

Tigris paced in front of them, stopping in front of Kai. The servant looked like he was ready to pass out as she stared at him.

"I can't believe you took part in this," Tigris muttered. Kai flinched like the words were a slap. A small, vindictive part of Tigris' mind whispered, good. The rest of her only felt shame.

Roche coughed, "He didn't really have much of a choice."

"I did," Kai whispered, his voice too soft, "I'm sorry if you find my actions wrong, my lady, but I do not."

Tigris raised a brow, sighing. Kai was the wisest of all of them. She had no place criticizing his judgement. "You've done nothing wrong." she murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose as a headache began to pulse in front of her eyes, "But do you realize what my father will do if he figures out you were involved?"

Kai somehow managed to grey further. Tigris stifled a curse, mindful of the child in their midst. She stared at the stowaway for a moment before crouching before him.

"Do you have a name, little one?" she asked gruffly. The child blinked up at her silently.

"He doesn't really like talking," Roche explained gently, "But he mentioned that his name is Orpheus. The librarian he was with was his guardian, Tarak."

"Right," Tigris sighed, "Is there anyone else he knows who can take him in?"

"No," Roche replied quickly, "He needs to find Tarak. And I think it'll do you well to find him, too."

Tigris nearly snorted. "Why? What's so special about that ink- Tarak." Tigris amended her words at Finn's pointed glare.

Roche stiffened slightly. "Because," the maid answered, "He can tell you more about the curse of misfortune that came with the omphalos."

Tigris instantly felt her chest seize. "Roche, don't be absurd."

"Think about it," her maid urged, eyes shining brightly like lanterns in the darkness, "The logs rotting, the pipes bursting, and the electricity going out before the coldest days of the year can't be a coincidence. Don't you find it a bit strange that it all happened at once?"

Tigris couldn't deny that. "It's a bit strange," she agreed, ignoring the way Roche's eyes lit up triumphantly, "But that doesn't mean it's because of that inkblood."

"Princess," Roche said softly, "What else could such misfortune be caused by?"

"Coincidence?" Kai murmured weakly. Roche shrugged, raising her brows at Tigris as if to say: Well?

Tigris swallowed, fighting the urge to grab her sword and hack at things until the turmoil of uncertainty settled. Roche's words struck the worries she'd been pushing away since the power had gone out.

Perhaps these misfortunes were all just coincidences, but Tigris couldn't stake the kingdom on that, regardless of what her father thought. Deep down, she knew that the kingdom's bad luck wasn't just coincidence. Plus, the citizens of the lower town only had the night to keep warm. After tonight, they'd freeze if this spate of bad luck didn't lift. There was no other option.

They needed to find the librarian.

"How do we find this Tarak?" Tigris asked finally. Roche and Finn traded a loaded glance. Tigris would have smirked at their camaraderie if she wasn't so worried.

"I'll look into it," Roche promised, "For now, you all should get some rest."

"I can help you research," Kai offered, glancing at Tigris shyly, "If that's alright?"

"Of course it is. I can help too." Tigris added.

Roche and Finn traded a glance again, and this time Tigris felt nothing but irritation.

"I think I can manage," Roche said finally, looking at Kai, "If you're spotted in the library, you'll be suspected of getting books for Finn."

"What about me?" Tigris asked when Kai slumped in defeat. Roche's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Oh, I didn't know if you even knew how to traverse the shelves. I thought all you knew how to do was swing your sword around like a brute."

Tigris smirked at the insolent maid, swatting her head. "Whatever. You know the library best, and I don't want all the nobles camping there to see me. Help me get ready for bed and then go do your research." she ordered, "I'll sleep here with Finn to preserve wood. Aodh's on night shift, so he won't be coming."

Roche's grin was bright in the darkness. "Of course, my lady."

A/N: Yay Tigris is in on it now! Also, I just finished outlining this thing and it's 197 chapters in total :O This is going to be a treat to edit.

What did you think of this chapter? As always, happy reading!