Sonder did not reach for the mask.
Her hands rested quietly at her sides as she continued looking at the cloth covering it.
When she finally spoke, her voice was resolute.
"I will use it."
The Yellow Mage nodded.
"I expected as much."
She remained silent for another few moments.
"I wish I could tell you that I only want its power for Vell."
The admission came slowly.
"That would be the kinder answer."
She lowered her eyes in shame.
"But it would not be true. There is a part of me that wants it, deeply."
She placed a hand lightly over her heart.
"I have chased these shards across the world, crossed mountains. I cannot remember everything."
She held her face and began to cry, but as it had aways been, no tears came.
"I think I have even killed for them."
Her fingers tightened.
"I tell myself I did it for Vell, but it is not so. I want the power. I do not want to be weak. I never want to stand helpless while someone I love suffers. There is a part of me that believes that if I become strong enough, nothing like this will ever happen again. Even knowing that it is not true, I still want the strength it will give me."
The Yellow Mage regarded her quietly.
There was no judgment.
Only understanding.
Real understanding, not force or trickery.
"It would concern me more if you claimed otherwise. Of course, the desire you feel is not entirely your own, but everyone has a voice that tells them the same things.
"What would love be if there were no greed, fear, or wrath? If you have never felt those emotions at the prospect of losing what you love, have you ever truly loved at all?
"Love gives strength, but it also brings foolishness. Our task is to strike a balance.
"Can you strike that balance for Vellichor's sake?"
A feeling of hopelessness passed through Sonder.
Would it even matter?
She felt so small, and her own power was smaller still.
But instead of despairing, she accepted those thoughts.
Just as the Yellow Mage had said, her fears were part of her.
There was nothing wrong with feeling angry or being afraid.
She simply had to do what she believed was right.
To help those she loved.
"I will do my best," she said.
The Yellow Mage inclined his head.
Then the golden glow behind his face wavered ever so slightly.
"There is something you should know, and I am sorry to say it.
"If the mask consumes you, if you cease to be Blackbird Sonder and something else emerges, if you fail your task, I will have no choice but to kill you."
It was not a threat.
It was a promise.
Sonder neither flinched nor bristled.
"The rib I placed within you does more than allow me to reach your mind. It allows me to reach your body as well.
"The Dread Mage possesses enough power that I doubt I could stop him through it. I might injure him or slow him for a moment, but I could not end him.
"You are different.
"No matter how much power the mask grants you, your body remains connected to something I placed within it.
"If necessary, I will detonate it.
"My tower would be destroyed, and part of the village with it.
"But what other choice would I have?
"I could not go on knowing that you roamed free."
Silence settled over the tower.
The words hung between them with terrible simplicity.
Sonder considered them.
Then she nodded.
"I understand."
She sounded almost relieved.
"I hope it never comes to that," the Yellow Mage said.