I barely slept that night. By morning I was a wreck, alternating between the image of Emmanuel's body, dead and broken on the floor, and thoughts of kissing Tristan.

He had said that he would take care of "the break in." I shuddered just thinking about it. As much as I didn't like the idea that Emmanuel had died because of me, I was equally terrified by the realisation that, if Tristan hadn't been there, it could have been my body lying, lifeless, on the floor.

I sat up in bed and pulled the covers round me more tightly. Arcan covers were pitifully thin, so Brae had sent three of them over to my room when I had moved in. It was slightly less comfortable, but at least I was warm. I wondered if he had done the same for Roxy; I hadn't taken notice when I was last in her room.

Despite how long I had stayed in the castle for now, the room still felt alien. It was light, airy and very Arcan, with white walls, white voile in the window, and polished wooden floors. Brae had had most of my clothes sent over and I still had all of the things I had brought back from the Brizan Realm with me. But all of my personal things had been left in my old room. I hadn't thought to grab any of it when I went there last with Brae and I was regretting that now. Everything felt so strange. I could have really done with something familiar to comfort me.

I decided that it might be a good day to go and visit Caleb and Noni; I needed the comfort of home. I could spend a couple of hours there and visit Devon on the way back. She had remained unconscious since the attack; the doctors said that she was still 'at risk'. She had sustained horrific burns. They weren't... They weren't entirely hopeful.

I threw my covers off and forced myself to get out of bed. If I wanted to go, I should leave now, before too many people woke up and learnt about Emmanuel. I would never find time to leave once the questions started.

I got showered and dressed quickly and was shoving my feet into a pair of thickly lined boots when there was a knock at the door.

"Yes? Come in," I said, while silently wishing that I had already left. I needed to get out of the castle for a day.

I was surprised when the door opened to reveal Roxy, standing awkwardly, dressed only in a cream blouse and grey trousers. She looked freezing and was eyeing my thick jumper enviously.

"Where do you get all of your warm clothes from?" she asked at once. "All I seem to have been given is stuff that's designed to cover me up for modesty, not to keep me warm! I've almost forgotten what the sun feels like."

"Arcan's don't wear thick layers-they like to feel the breeze. Noni-my housekeeper-got me most of my thicker clothing. She has a couple of friends who make clothes for a living. They used to make items especially for me." Roxy shivered in the doorway. "Here," I said, walking over to my wardrobe. "We're not too dissimilar in size, you can borrow some of my stuff." I grabbed a couple of cardigans and a jumper down from their hangers and handed them to her.

Roxy accepted them tentatively, perhaps wondering what I was going to ask from her in return.

When a beat passed and I didn't make any demands, she pulled the sequined white jumper over her blouse. "This is going to make a huge difference," she told me, sounding sincere. I supposed that was a 'thank you' by Helian standards.

"Don't worry about it; that's what sisters are for." I shrugged my shoulders.

Roxy pulled a face. "Sisters." She sounded as though she was tasting the word, to see how it felt on her lips; she didn't like it.

"Hey, I didn't ask for it any more than you did. Besides, once the attack is over we can both go our separate ways and pretend that the other one was just a bad dream."

"I..." Roxy started, but trailed off.

"Don't worry-even if you're planning to stick around, I'm not sure I will be." I leant back against the wardrobe door and gazed out of the window. "I could do with a change of scenery."

"Jasmine, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it." I shrugged my shoulders. "Speaking of a change of scenery, I'm planning to go over to my old house. You could come with me if you wanted? I probably have a spare coat over there that you can borrow." I was asking purely out of politeness; I really needed to get going and I didn't think for a second that Roxy would want to come with me.

"Sure, why not," she agreed to my surprise. I did my best to hide my shock and headed for the door.

"Follow me then."

We walked most of the way in silence. There wasn't a lot to talk about and the destruction around us brought on an eerie silence which neither of us seemed to feel should be broken.

When we reached the city centre I paused for a moment, in shock. Had it really only been a few months since we had welcomed Brae back from his first visit to the Brizan Realm? Hundreds of Arcans had gathered together in this very place, dancing, eating and celebrating. Everyone had been so carefree. Laughter and music had floated through the air.

But now, it was a demolition zone. At least three of the buildings lining the huge square had crumpled, spilling brick, glass and metal into the square. Flowers had turned to charcoal and ash in their beds. Lights had exploded in a shower of glass. The very floor we had danced the night away on had a huge chasm running through its centre, splitting the paved floor clean in two.

The worst part though, was the silence; the emptiness the centre now carried. Everyone travelled through this part of the city. Every minute of every day it was full of Arcans with places to go, people to see. Where were they now? Had they escaped to the mountains and smaller towns? Were they cowering in their homes, too afraid to come out? Or were they already dead, crushed beneath the debris I was looking at, or burned by a direct hit of fire, like Devon had been?

I felt the tears fall from my cheeks, down onto the blackened, charred, floor before I even realised I was crying. How had it come to this? How had we let it happen? We should have been out here, constantly, protecting all of them. Wasn't that what we were here for, why we had been given our powers: to protect. Looking round the centre now, it felt like we had failed. We had been too caught up in our own petty problems, our relationships, our heartaches, our own tragedies. We had lost sight of the bigger picture. Sat around in the conference room, we would talk about a personal battle with Cinaer, a need to hurt the Helian who had caused us such individual grief. But what about all the collateral damage? What about the innocent people who had died while Realm leaders fought for power and dominance over one another? Were we really all so selfish? Was this the only way?

Cin didn't care how many innocent Arcans died in his quest to destroy us. When we sat in the conference room we spoke of 'casualties', what did they matter in the greater scheme of our plans? At the end of the day, weren't they only numbers-statistics-to be recorded in a book for posterity to learn about? To be studied. Remembered. That was all their lives were worth. This was what they had been reduced to.

My concern for Caleb and Noni was overwhelming. I heard from them every day but, surveying the damage with my own eyes now, I realised how selfish I had been to let them stay out here while I remained in the better protected castle. I would make them move up at once, today, before it was too late. I would protect them, at least.

I couldn't bear to stand in the centre anymore, but I couldn't go straight home either. I led Roxy the long way round. There was one more place I needed to see. I needed it to still be standing; to survive.

I came to a halt in front of it, breathing heavily.

"Where are we?" Roxy asked. They were the first words either of us had spoken since leaving the castle. She had been content to let me survey the damage in silence back at the centre, but now she felt a need to speak. Perhaps she could sense that this site was important. Personal. It always came back to what mattered most to the individual.

"Messie's." My voice barely came out. "We used to come here all the time, to drink and chat. And now it's..."

Dust. That's what it was, although I couldn't bring myself to say it. Messie's had been obliterated. There was nothing left; not a single brick.

I turned away, unable to look any more.

I was surprised when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "It will be okay, Jazz," she said softly. "We will make him pay for what he's done, to both of us."

{Please vote/comment to let me know what you think. Chapter 31 coming next Friday.}