The castle loomed in front of us, its tall, andesite-stone walls formidable and dreary in contrast to the setting sun that cast a golden glow around the outline of the castle. Ravens circled the tall towers, swooping down occasionally to grab something before quickly leaving again.

A belt with assorted knives lay beside me, and I buckled it on, following it two sets of lock picks, which I slid into my socks for later use. Then, with a heavy sigh, I got down from the cart I'd ridden in and caught up with some of the other Magi. Aelia cast a glance over her shoulder at me, and I smiled at her wearily. She grinned back, looking a lot more alive than I probably did.

"How are you holding up?" she asked as I fell into step beside her.

"I'm okay, I guess. I could use a nice bath and a break from everything," I replied.

She nodded, understanding flashing across her face. "When we finish things here, you should be able to get your break."

I huffed out a laugh. "I don't think I'll be getting any real rest for a long time," I told her wryly.

She shook her head. "It isn't healthy, Eris. You need your sleep more than ever now, and you're getting less and less as things escalate."

As much as I appreciated her concern, I didn't want her worried about me. It would forever plague me if I found out that she had died because she was too focused on worrying about me. "Don't worry about me, Aelia. I'll be fine. I'm used to operating on low energy, and I did get a decent amount of sleep on the way here. My energy levels are a lot higher now," I said.

In truth, my energy levels were halfway full at best. I hadn't slept well, and I'd been too busy trying to plan how to get into the castle to spend much time trying. Hopefully, though, I would have enough energy to get over the acid moat and past the walls without touching them.

A pang went through me as I looked up at the beautiful, golden sunset again. I'm doing this for you, Ionean. Hopefully, wherever his soul was resting, he would hear me and understand. When a small measure of peace flooded through me, I knew he was still out there, waiting for me to join him. Maybe I would join him soon, but I couldn't let it happen until I'd managed to get his family out.

Aelia touched my arm. "We're going in, right?" she asked.

I frowned a little and looked at the castle walls, remembering all of the information that Kyren had given me. Getting over the wall and moat would be a breeze compared to everything else that stood between me and the only ones I had left to call family. Aelia's presence would definitely help to even the odds out, but the death hounds still bothered me. We'd have to give them a wide berth.

"Definitely. Follow my lead. I've got an idea." It had slowly been formulating in my mind and I worked to develop it as I slipped away from the army and across the barren fields leading to the castle.

"What have we got to work with?" she asked.

"I've got my shields, but they won't help further in. I managed to grab a belt of assorted knives which will be useful, and I can use hand to hand combat if I need to. Also, I can unlock the chains with my lock picks too, but it might take a while, because I'm not that good at it. You?"

She motioned to the belt around her waist. It held several throwing knives. A bow was slung across her back as well, along with a quiver of arrows. "This, my bow, and my Magic," she said.

I nodded. "It's not much, but it should work. We can't be seen or detected, though, or else we're going to end up getting everyone killed."

Someone cleared his throat behind us, and I turned to see Mordzar striding up to us. "What are you two doing?"

"We're getting our family back," Aelia said.

He looked stricken. "On your own? We're trying to do that as an army. You can't just rush in by yourselves! You'll get killed!"

I placed my hands on my hips and scanned him up and down. He was armed with a blue-bladed scythe that was strapped across his back. He looked like he was as ready for some action as everyone else in the army, despite Jahad's capture. His black hair blew into his face, and he pushed it out of his eyes, studying me and clearly waiting for a response.

"I'm not going in with the army, Mordzar. You know as well as I do that they're stuck unless they can find a way to get across the moat and over the wall; they won't get far. If we get in first, we might be able to lower it for the army. Even if we can't, it's worth a try."

He shook his head. "Eris, you have a concussion that Eiridan can't seem to heal. You can't just jump into combat with a head wound like that and such low energy levels and expect to come out alive."

His ability to tell that my energy levels were still on the low end bothered me, but I kept that to myself and stared back at him. "I'm not going back. You can come with us, but I'm not leaving. It might be safer if there were just two of us."

Aelia watched the two of us with a curious expression on her face but didn't intervene. Mordzar's mouth pulled into a thin line of annoyance. Remorse curled in the pit of my stomach, and I felt bad for being so hard to deal with, but I wasn't going to compromise on this, and he knew it.

Finally, he blew out a breath. "Fine. I'm coming with you, then. I'm not taking the chance that you might get hurt because I left you on your own."

"Don't you have an army to command since Jahad isn't here anymore?" Aelia asked, finally voicing her opinion.

He shrugged. "No. I helped a lot with the initial planning, but Jahad left someone in charge of the armies, and I wasn't going to take over on him."

Wordlessly, I started forward again. We weren't far from the walls, and I didn't want to wait out in the open for someone to spot us and decide to shoot. Hopefully, they were more focused on the army than they were the three lone figures coming toward the wall and heading away from the army.

***

The walls loomed in front of us in the dark. It would have been next to impossible to see if it hadn't been for the glowing acid in the moat below that bubbled and foamed. Little splashes of acid popped up from the moat occasionally. One nearly caught me in the face as I was looking down into the moat, and I stumbled back, barely avoiding it. Sucking in a deep breath, I tried to settle my nerves and calm down.

Bending down, I picked up a sizable rock and dropped it in. The rock dissolved immediately, and I had to suppress a shiver at the thought of falling into it. If my shield touched it, it would dissolve completely. Well, no use thinking about it.

"Edonna thand," I whispered. A small platform materialized slightly above the moat and I started across at a brisk pace, all too aware of my low energy.

Aelia and Mordzar followed behind me as I meticulously created more shields until we were halfway across. Drawing a breath and ignoring my slightly shaking hands, I created another shield and stepped onto it.

It fizzled out just as I'd settled my weight onto it and created another on. Before I realized what had happened, I was plunging towards the acid. Choking on a scream, I let out a terrified squeak. Mordzar called out my name, grabbing for my hand and missing as I fell past him.

I managed to catch myself on another shield just above the acid, landing hard. At this height, there was too much of a chance that some of the acid would hit my shield before I could get out again. After taking a second to collect my wits, I ran up a series of shields as fast as I could manage and back up to where Mordzar and Aelia were still standing, fear in their eyes.

The rest of the journey was spent on auto pilot as my brain tried to process how close I'd come to dying. When I collapsed on the other side of the wall, I finally stopped to think and started to shake.

Mordzar took my arm gently. "You okay?"

Taking a long, deep breath and letting it out again helped to stave off the rising panic, and I nodded.

Aelia landed lightly on the grass beside us and grabbed me in a fierce hug. "I thought you were going to die," she whispered.

Her statement pulled me out of my shock and panic. "I'm okay," I said. It helped, saying it out loud. It made it feel more like the truth, somehow, or something that could eventually become true.

She pulled away. "What's the plan now?" she asked.

We'd managed to make it over the walls without being detected by the hounds that prowled around, but we had to make it by the guard barracks and into the castle dungeons next. Mordzar watched me, waiting for an answer.

"We have to get past the guards and through the maze of tunnels that lead to the dungeons and the throne room. I think I can remember the way to the dungeons from the first time I was dragged down there, but we still have to get by the guards."

Mordzar nodded thoughtfully and Aelia bit her lip. "I have an idea," she said.

"What've you got?" I asked.

"I could knock out any of the guards who might bother us by taking away their air supply."

It was the best we could come up with, so we ghosted across the courtyard and waited while she knocked out anyone who might bother us. She came back minutes later and we followed her past the barracks and into the tunnels.

The tunnels were long and dark, with nothing to light them. I had to stop for a minute to allow my eyes to adjust to the dark corridors. When I could see relatively well, I headed down the corridors, trying to remember exactly how to get to the dungeons.

I'd barely been coherent when I'd been dragged down the first time, but I figured I would be able to rely on the memories at least a little. Mordzar corrected my direction once or twice, and Aelia helped too, until we finally made it all the way to the lower level dungeons.

Aelia found her family quickly, and I used my lock picks to open the dungeon door. She rushed in to meet them just as the footsteps of someone coming down the stairs began to echo down into the dungeon. Mordzar had left to find his family, so I knew whoever was coming wasn't him.

Quickly, I slipped the lock picks back into my sock and gently closed the door. Hopefully, I would be able to draw whoever it was away from Aelia and Mordzar and then ambush them. Then I could find Ionean's family and free them.

The guard rounded the corner just as I'd hidden myself in a dark corner. He didn't spare a second glance for Aelia and her family. They'd melded into the shadows, hiding Aelia behind them in the darkest recesses of the cell.

Silently unsheathing my knife, I aimed and threw it so that it thudded into the wooden doorpost above the guard. He gave shout of surprise and indignation before taking off in my direction. Several other guards joined him, and I slipped out of my hiding place and took off down the hallway, skidding around a bend and then speeding up again.

The guards were fully alert to my presence now, and I could hear at least a dozen of them coming after me. My feet pounded on the stones, the noise echoing off of the walls. To me, it sounded deafening, but hopefully, the guards wouldn't be able to hear it that easily.

Slipping around another corner, I slowed and scanned for a good place to hide. When I spotted a couple of barrels, I quickly slid behind them and watched the guards enter the tunnel and continue on, unaware that I had stopped.

My plan was simple in thought, but putting it into practice was a bit harder. Silently, I rose from my position and moved behind the guards as they entered a large room that had plenty of extra room for what I intended to do.

Easing the door closed as I slipped in behind them, I waited for them to notice that I'd closed off their only exit. They turned at the creak of the door closing and stared at me dumbly for a few moments. It was all I needed.

It only took a few seconds to cross the room, and I formed a quick shield to boost me up, using it to flip over the first guard. I flipped up and over the lead man and slit his throat as I was coming down while he turned to confront me. He collapsed, and I swung my leg out as I landed, tripping two of the men coming after me and stabbing both in quick succession.

Using the men as a boost, I jumped, yanking two throwing knives out of my belt and sending them spinning into two more men. Hopefully, that would help even the odds. It had only taken a minute, but I'd cleared out five men already, leaving me to face seven more.

They were uncertain now that I'd easily cleared out five of their comrades, and I used that to my advantage, running at another man and sliding between his legs smoothly, coming up on the other side and stabbing him in the back.

The remaining six men circled me warily, and I waited for them to make the first move. They lunged as one, and I ducked all of the blows, slipping between two men, slitting the throat of another and then coming out on the other side. Only four guards remained when they finally untangled themselves from each other, and they were clearly scared.

Standing calmly in the middle of the room, I watched them as they eyed me, looking for weaknesses. Although they were clearly very good at what they did under normal circumstances, their confidence had been undermined by my ambush, and I had planted a seed of doubt in their mind that had grown quickly with each reduction to their numbers.

However, it was still four to one, so I would have to play it safe. They would adapt to the situation quickly and making mistakes wasn't an option. The one in front seemed to realize something, and he suddenly smiled cruelly. The others seemed to understand the first one's happiness, and they all grinned too.

Rather than let it faze me, I sheathed my knives and watched them, my gaze unwavering. A tiny noise behind me alerted me to the other guard, and I swung around, unsheathing a throwing knife and sending it spinning into an already wounded guard's chest. He collapsed, his upraised sword clattering to the ground. Bending down, I picked it up.

The soldiers weren't smiling when I turned back to face them. "Come and have a go," I said grimly. "If you think you can survive it."

They came at me slowly, advancing with their swords up. Their hands shook, and their pupils were dilated. One of them was sweating profusely, and the other three were breathing hard, watching me and waiting for me to make a move.

They were all still scared.

Once I realized that they weren't going to make the first move, I did.

My sword hit the tallest soldier's sword with a resounding clang. The man's sword locked with mine, refusing to budge. His eyes were filled with a steely determination, and victory shone in his eyes as he glanced left. A whistle ran through the air, and I swung out of the sword lock with the other man, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the path of his friend's swinging sword.

The second man tried to pull back, but he was too committed to the strike, and it sank deep into the first man's chest, immediately killing him. The last two men came at me while the other one wrestled his sword out of his comrade's body.

My sword met the next man's sword midair, stopping it and pushing it back. Unsheathing a knife, I used it to stop a swing from the third guy's partner as I was pulling away from guard number three.

Ducking a swing, I dove for another sword, rolling as I grabbed it and coming up in a crouch with the swords crossed above my head just in time to block another blow, this one from the second guard. The third and fourth soldiers bore down on me at the same time while I was fighting off the second one, and I was forced to retreat.

If they were going to fight together, I was going to need to pick them off quicker than I already was. A plan quickly formed in my mind, and I went for the second guard, my sword flashing in the dim light of the torches on the walls of the room. It slammed into the man's sword so hard that it flew from his grasp, and I finished him off as he was trying to get it back.

The other two came for me from behind, their faces pale and determined. With a grim smile on my face, I quickly engaged them, cutting downwards with my left sword towards the one nearest to me and dodging between their follow own strikes. My sword met flesh, and a scream tore from the third man as he collapsed on the ground, blood oozing from his chest.

The remaining man looked at his comrade and ran for the door, but my last throwing knife sank into his throat before he got more than ten paces. My job finished, I exited the room and eased the door shut. If I was lucky, the men wouldn't be discovered for a little while yet.

***

Turning another corner, I finally found the cell that should have held the hatchlings. When I looked inside the cell, I realized that only one hatchling remained. Kzaqua was gone and the little hatchling that remained in the middle of the room was curled up in a tight ball, surrounded by a little puddle of fiery tears. Fear curled deep within me, even as my heart melted for the terrified creature that was so alone.

Leaning down, I started picking the lock. "Where are the others, little guy?" I asked it quietly, even though I knew it wasn't going to answer. When it lifted its head, I noticed that it was a little male dragon. His bright eyes met mine, their deep blue depths rimmed with tears. He shuffled closer to me, sticking his head through the bars.

The lock finally clicked open and I gathered the little guy in my arms, wincing slightly when one of his hot tears hit my bare arm. It lay its head down on my shoulder and relaxed in my arms, falling asleep quickly. A voice sounded behind me, making me freeze and turn slowly.

"So you did try, then." It was a statement, and from the cold detachment in the voice, I could tell it was Vaxon.

He was leaning against the wall, darkness swirling around him in agitated patterns, obscuring his facial expression. "I killed them all, you know. The others in your bond's family. They've all joined him in death. I kept this one because I want to see just how far you would go to keep it safe."

Tears clogged my throat, but I forced them away. "Y-you killed them?"

The darkness moved out of the way and the dim light of the torch on the wall revealed his cruel smile. "You know they never named this one? You bond's mate always called the others by name, but never this one. She just called it 'you'. I think they left this little runt to be named by you. Amusing, isn't it? They didn't even get to ask you to name it before I ended them."

I swallowed thickly. "What do you want, Vaxon?"

"Your loyalty or your death, whichever one you decide on. If you pledge your loyalty, I will spare your little dragon friend here, and you can raise it like you raised its father. But if you don't, I will kill both of you."

"How did you know I was coming here?"

"You're so predictable, Eriswen. There wasn't much question to it. All I had to do was make sure you actually made it into the castle. It surprises me that you came alone, but I suppose everyone does stupid things sometimes."

"If I promise to help you, I can raise the hatchling, and you won't force it into the army?" I asked.

"I don't need a coward in my dragon army, and your little runt is too terrified of everything to do much in an army. You can raise it, but you have to take a binding oath."

My choices had been eliminated the minute Vaxon had found me, and I knew it. If I wanted Ionean's legacy to go on, I had to submit to Vaxon. Mentally, I kicked myself for getting into this situation, but when I thought about it, there was no way I would have been able to avoid it even if I hadn't come. He would have found another way to get me to either pledge my allegiance or he would have just killed me.

Looking down at the small dragon in my arms, I couldn't refuse and let Vaxon kill it. The last time I'd tried that was still fresh in my mind. Kzaqua's tortured cries for her hatchling was branded in my memory. It wasn't something I would soon forget, although I wanted to. Quietly, I said, "Alright. I'll pledge my loyalty to you as long as you spare the hatchling."

Mordzar entered the tunnel just as I said it, and he looked like he'd been slapped. His mouth opened and then closed again. Betrayal flashed across his features as guilt rose through me. But I couldn't let Vaxon know he was there. Mentally, I begged Mordzar to leave and get to safety while I distracted Vaxon.

Vaxon allowed a lazy smile to spread over his features and I stepped closer to him, waiting for him to tell me what to do. His hand flicked out and there was a flash of steel for a second. Pain flashed up my arm, and I grabbed it with a gasp.

He held the knife in front of me. "Pledge to serve me until you die and to never betray me under any circumstances," he ordered.

Mordzar watched, an agonized expression on his face, while I repeated the words back to Vaxon. The feeling that I'd betrayed him sliced through me with each word, but I hid it. "I pledge to serve you until I die. I will never betray you no matter the circumstances," I whispered past clenched teeth.

A tendril of darkness slid out of the general darkness that swirled around Vaxon, and it curled around the knife. Blackness spread upwards towards my blood and consumed it, leaving nothing left. Instantly, I felt Vaxon's presence in my mind, reading my thoughts and wrenching information from my mind before I could try to stop him.

He whirled, spotting Mordzar, who was still watching me with an expression of shocked betrayal. When Vaxon's eyes landed on him, he growled. Mordzar disappeared around the corner before Vaxon could do anything.

"Bring him back, Eriswen," Vaxon said coldly.

Numbly, I set down the hatchling, deaf to its tortured pleas to be held again. Vaxon locked it up in the cell again and it hid in a corner, keening softly, begging me to come back. Even though I tried to, I couldn't. My body lurched forward against my will, and I was suddenly running after Mordzar, despite my inner protests. My leg muscles were burning already, and the fire quickly spread to my whole body as I was pushed to my limit.

Mordzar slammed into a shield I hadn't even been aware I'd constructed, and I caught him by the arm, slamming the hilt of my dagger into his head and knocking him unconscious. He slumped to the ground, and a couple of guards rounded the corner behind me. I handed him over to them, and they shackled him and dragged him away.

Remorse flooded me as I watched helplessly, waiting for the next order to be given. Rebellion was no longer an option and as much as I tried, I couldn't stop myself from hearing Vaxon's next command which echoed through my head as clear as day. "Get Aelia before she escapes. Kill her friends and bring her cousin to me."

It didn't take long to find her. She was trapped in the castle until she could find a way over the wall and the moat without getting herself and her family killed. She let me approach her, assuming that I'd come to help. As much as I wished that I had come to help, I wasn't able to stop what happened next.

My knives came out of their sheaths easily, and I quickly slit both of her friends' throats. Aelia stared at me in mute horror while her cousin screamed in terror and shrank away from me. Snatching the woman's arm as she was retreating, I spun her around and held her against me, pressing my knife to her throat. "If you don't come with me, Aelia, I will kill your cousin like I killed your friends. If you try anything, I will kill her too, so don't try to suffocate me."

Aelia stared at me for a few more minutes, fury, pain and betrayal showing in the depths of her stormy blue eyes. "Why?" she choked out.

Regret ricocheted through me again as I silently dragged her distraught cousin through the long tunnels of the castle towards the throne room. Aelia followed behind me, pleading with me to let her cousin go.

"Eris, please, you don't have to do this. I know this isn't you. You don't betray your friends. Please." The note of pleading in her tone tore me up inside, but as I'd come to realize, there was no going back from my oath to Vaxon. He had complete control over me. I wasn't going to wrestle it back while I was alive, and there was little point in having control if I was dead.

We reached the throne room, and I handed Aelia's cousin over to the Nires that stood watch over the huge, oak doors that led inside. Another one grabbed Aelia, who struggled briefly until the one holding her cousin stuck a claw into her cousin's throat hard enough to draw blood. The anguish in her eyes was hard for me to ignore, but I couldn't find a way past the spell that kept me from doing anything to disobey Vaxon's orders.

My body strode into the throne room confidently, but in my mind, I was cowering in the corner, terrified of what Vaxon might make me do next. Over and over again I told myself that I had made the oath for the tiny unnamed hatchling in the dungeons that was Ionean's only remaining bloodline. But I knew that I'd done it for another reason too.

It was easier to give in and stop fighting than to continue to say no to Vaxon. He was going to get to me eventually anyway, and I'd decided to take the vow so that I would be able to get away from that. Now I wished that I'd fought harder to avoid this outcome, because if I had, I wouldn't have had to see the looks in Aelia and Mordzar's eyes when I betrayed them.

Vaxon smiled at me as I kneeled in front of him and Vassti. "Excellent work, Eriswen. Now, how about if you go join the fight outside while I deal with your friends here? I'm sure my soldiers could benefit from your help."

With a nod, I stood and left without glancing back. At least if I was fighting there might be a chance of forgetting who I was fighting for and getting distracted for a while. Maybe I'd be killed in the fight and Vaxon wouldn't be able to use me anymore. There was a distinct possibility. If I could keep myself from fighting to my full potential, the possibility could become reality. The freedom that death brought would be a sweet release.

My thoughts turned to the ensuing battle as soon as I made my way up the stairs and onto the wall to look at the battle scene below.

Part of the army was massed on a hilltop shooting at everyone on the wall. The rest were out on the plains fighting Vaxon's loyal soldiers and pushing them back towards the wall. The drawbridge was up, but the army didn't seem too worried about that.

When the part of the army on the hill started firing the mechanisms they'd been working on, I realized why. Two ropes shot out of whatever they were shooting with and the glint of grappling hooks shone in the light of the full moon and the glowing acid in the moat. The hooks landed on the walls a thin bridge's width apart and I noticed that the length of thick cable running through the grappling hook was doubled. It began to run through the hook rapidly, and I looked out into the night. A length of wood had begun to rapidly move toward the wall and already soldiers were moving across it.

A bow lay on the battlements next to the body of a dead guard. Grabbing it, I tried not to wonder who or what had killed the guard. Taking the quiver of arrows slung across the dead man's back, I began to rapidly shoot at the approaching men. Several fell off the bridge-in-making, but the distance was too far for me to have enough accuracy to hit well.

Guards poured onto the battlements several moments after I'd run out of arrows, and I grabbed a sword from someone passing me. He glared and ran off to replace it while I headed for the ropes holding up the strange bridge that the army had made. Three more were shot off, and several other guards detoured to get rid of them.

Torches were lit below us, slowly filling the air with acrid smoke. Archers lit their arrows in the fires and took aim. The arrows shot up at us in perfect synchronicity and met their mark before I could block them. Most struck the dry wood of the catapults that were wheeled up to the walls, rendering them useless in a blaze of flame. Others hit the guards trying to destroy the bridges and they went down screaming, their wounds instantly cauterized by the dancing flames.

The heat was almost unbearable and sweat rolled down between my shoulder blades, irritating me. More arrows were shot off, this time normal ones. Another line of guards went down and more yells of pain bounced around in my head, reminding me that people were getting hurt with each passing moment. This happens every time you try to help someone. Only this time, it's going to be you doing the killing this time, not Vaxon.

Turning to the first rope, I started hacking with the sword I'd grabbed. It took some effort, but eventually one of the bridge's ropes broke, and all of the men running across it were tipped off. Several had gotten over the moat and fell in with terrified yells that turned to pain filled screams as they dissolved before my eyes in the acid.

Fighting the urge to vomit, I hacked off the other rope and watched the whole bridge collapse. Several other bridges were collapsing too, but one had been missed in the general confusion and already the soldiers running across it were jumping down onto the battlements and engaging those nearest to the bridge, guarding it so that no one could chop it down and prevent others from coming across.

Heading for the bridge, I found myself confronted by one of the Magi, who had fought his way to me. It was Evian, and he wasn't happy. Anger shone in his eyes as he confronted me. "How could you betray us like this, Eriswen?" he demanded, bringing his sword to bear on my own.

"Because I wasn't left with any other choice," I replied. Blocking his strike, I retaliated with one of my own, sweeping my sword towards his left side. As he moved to block it, I switched direction, swiftly changing the strike so that it came from the right instead. It bit into his side, spraying blood everywhere. He let out a moan and slumped to the ground.

Leaving him where he was, I joined the fight near the last bridge. Another Magi was fighting near me; Leo, if I'd placed his name correctly. He went down quickly, stabbed in the gut by another guard's sword. Two more soldiers took his place and soon the palace guards couldn't hold them back anymore.

The drawbridge fell into place over the moat before I even realized that someone had slipped away to lower it. The rest of the army flooded through the gates and into the castle, coming up to join the fight. Vaxon's men weren't going to last long against Jahad's army. Inwardly, I was thrilled that the siege was working, but that didn't stop me from obeying Vaxon's orders.

Vaxon's men were quickly pushed back and into the castle by the army, and we had to retreat into the castle and regroup. There weren't many of us left to fight, but there were enough of us to hold off the army at least for a little while. Hopefully, Vaxon would wait until the last possible moment to join the fight, if he did at all. It he didn't, at least then Jahad's rebellion would have a chance.

Through my new bond with Vaxon, I felt him calling me back to the throne room. "Get back here, and guard the throne room with whatever force necessary. Use a shield to block the doors."

Breaking from the line of nervous guards, I made my way back to the throne room and threw up a shield over the doors. My energy was perilously low, but I couldn't disobey the order. Regardless, I knew that I could hold it for no more than five minutes before I collapsed from exhaustion. At the rate I was pushing myself, I might not even have that much time.

The throne room was filled with the families of all of the Magi and most of them were quivering in the grasps of angry Nires. Many of the Magi themselves had also managed to get through the fight to the throne room and they were also held by Nires. Aelia stood next to her mother, a grim look on her face. Mordzar sagged in the grip of a regular guard, blood dripping from a gash on his forehead. I spotted Jaeyria too, but she was standing alone next to Vassti, a nervous look on her normally emotionless face.

Vaxon stood up from his throne and turned to address Eiridan, who was dragged into the room through a small door off to the side, followed closely by Kyren. Both of them were in terrible shape, but Kyren seemed to have sustained more damage than Eiridan had, and he was barely standing on his own. A long gash stretched across his arm, dripping blood into a rapidly forming puddle underneath him. His nose was dripping blood as well, and it looked broken. A dark bruise was forming over his left eye, and his cheek had been sliced up as well.

Eiridan looked like he was having trouble breathing properly, and his eyes were a little bit glazed over, but he began to murmur something, and he began to breathe a little easier.

Jaeyria moved forward, her entire body taught with anger. "You promised not to hurt him!" she yelled at Vassti.

Vassti met her angry gaze coolly. "I didn't. He shouldn't have resisted the Nires when they came to get him."

Jaeyria stared at Eiridan, anguish etched all over her face. Her fear for him was evident in the taut posture of her body and the slightly wild look in her eyes.

Vaxon clapped his hands and one of the Nires dragged a woman forward. She was thin and malnourished and didn't have the strength to stand on her own. Her face was lined with pain and weariness, and her eyes were dull with only a flicker of life in them.

Don't make Eiridan pledge his life to you, Vaxon, please. He won't be able to live with himself if he does. Deep down, I knew that even if Vaxon heard the silent plea, he would ignore it, because his heart was as black as coal and after years of burying his conscience, he no longer felt even the slightest twinge of guilt for anything he did to hurt others. Perhaps once, long ago, he had understood what it felt like to feel guilty, but those times had long ago disappeared.

"I'm going to give you a choice, healer. Either you pledge your allegiance to me or your mother here dies in front of you, right before I finish you off," Vaxon said, his voice laced with cruelty and an undercurrent of victory. He knew he had everyone in the room trapped unless they were willing to let their families die. Most of them didn't look like they were ready to make that sacrifice.

Eiridan stared at his mother, clearly about to agree to Vaxon's demands. "I..."

His mother stirred suddenly, lifting her head and staring her son in the eye. "Don't do it, Eiridan. Be the man I taught you to be, even if it means that I have to die because of it. Don't sacrifice who you are to save me." Then she collapsed, her strength used up.

Blinking back tears, Eiridan watched her for a few moments before looking at Vaxon with a new resolve in his eyes. "I won't do it. I won't serve you, Vaxon." Turning to the Magi around the room, he addressed them. "If you're considering joining Vaxon, then think long and hard, because if you do, you will be pledging your lives to a man who is cruel and who doesn't care about anyone but himself. This is our last stand, and we can't waste it. We need to stand up for ourselves and fight back before Vaxon destroys us. We're the only thing standing between him and the world, and if we fall, the world isn't going to be far behind. Don't give up hope because he's threatening you."

The Magi around the room stayed motionless, waiting for Vaxon's reply to the outburst. Quiet, mocking applause came from the throne, and Vaxon smiled grimly. "Bravo healer. You've grown a backbone, I see. Unfortunately, I can't allow for that currently. Kill his mother."

The Nires holding Eiridan's mother put a claw to her throat and slit it cleanly, slowly licking the blood off of its claw and dropping her lifeless body to the floor. Eiridan looked stricken, but he didn't stand down as Vaxon locked eyes with him.

For a minute, some sort of mind battle seemed to wage between them until finally, there was a brief flash of light from Eiridan, and he collapsed to the ground. Jaeyria screamed, jumping down from the raised platform that the thrones were on and collapsing next to her husband, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The pain in her face cut deep into my core, and I thought about the day I'd saved Vaxon's life. I should have left you to die, Vaxon. If I could go back and do it again, I would leave you to die. How could you do this to another human being and not feel guilty? How do you sleep at night?

Vaxon watched the two lovers on the ground for a moment before turning to Aelia, who was trembling with anger in the grasp of her captor. "What about you, little Air Mage? Will you join me, or should I kill your last remaining family member like I did to the healer?" he demanded.

Aelia lifted her chin and stared at Vaxon. "I refuse to follow someone who would so willingly sacrifice the life of another human being." Her voice quieted as she finished. "Even if it means that you're going to kill my cousin."

Her cousin looked proud that Aelia had stood up to Vaxon, even though it would mean her death. "I'm sorry," Aelia whispered hoarsely.

"It's my time, Aelia. I'll be joining my parents soon," her cousin replied quietly.

Aelia nodded, blinking back tears. Vaxon gave the signal and the Nires holding her cousin slit the woman's throat, dropping her to the floor and stepping away.

Bravely, Aelia lifted her head as the Nires stalked close to her in order to give the killing blow. She closed her eyes, ready to embrace it. The Nires lifted its claw, and something snapped inside of me.

The shield around the doors disappeared as I pulled it down and took off at a run, using the last of my dying energy to tackle the Nires holding Aelia and releasing her. She scrambled back, and a wind began to howl through the room, blowing back the second Nires.

Desperate to get a hold on the Nires I'd tackled before Vaxon called me off, I slammed my fist into its nose and grabbed for its arm. It slipped past me and sunk its claws into my chest at lightning speed before I could stop it.

Someone screamed at me, but I couldn't hear them over the roaring of blood in my ears. The pain washed over me seconds later, heating my insides as blood poured out of the wound and puddle around me. The Nires I was on top of pushed me off roughly, and my head smacked the floor when I landed.

My vision was blurred, but I could just see Aelia fighting Vaxon. The Nires in the room continued to hold onto the Magi and their families, leaving Vaxon to handle her. Darkness began to wipe the scene away and eventually, my mind faded away completely.

***

A light shone down on me, almost blinding even though my eyes were closed, and I could hear something calling my name softly. Although I was still groggy, I realized that the pain from my wound was gone and that I was no longer in the throne room. My exhaustion had disappeared as well, and I felt like I'd slept for three days straight. When I reached for my magic, however, I couldn't find it.

Sensing something over my head, I opened my eyes and looked up. The Phoenix was perched there, its head cocked to one side. "You were brave, Eriswen," it commented as I sat up.

Rubbing my head, I tried to feel where the bump should have been from when I'd hit my head. It was gone. "Am I... dead?" I asked. My voice was hoarse and the question came out as a whisper.

"Yes. You died defending your friend, but it will not do anything for her if she continues to fight Vaxon," the Phoenix replied.

"Then... help them. Someone has to help them. I can't do anything to hurt Vaxon or disobey him. I barely managed to attack that Nires and only because he never ordered me not to, specifically. But you're stronger than I am. You can go in there and defeat him," I said. "Please help them."

"I cannot. I faced Vaxon once, and it nearly destroyed me. If I face him again, I will be destroyed. But he must be dealt with, and I am too weak now to do it."

"They can't win on their own," I whispered, choking back a sob. It's your fault this is happening, Eris.

"They need you, Eriswen," the Phoenix told me firmly.

"I can't do anything if I'm dead!" I yelled. "I could never do anything! All of this is my fault, and I could never do anything to help them..." my voice broke. "So many people died because I tried to play the hero."

The Phoenix nodded solemnly. "Do you want to fix your mistakes, Eriswen?" it asked me kindly.

Hugging my knees, I nodded. "But I can't now. Not anymore. Not now that I'm dead."

"I can help you, child. You have passed my test, and you became a sacrifice so that others might live. I can use this to help you to correct things."

"How?"

"I am old and the time is long past for me to train the next Phoenix," it said calmly. "I will make you my apprentice. You can use the power that it gives you to go back and confront Vaxon. It will give you a chance to right your past mistakes."

"I'm not strong enough to defeat Vaxon," I whispered.

The Phoenix lowered its head so that its beak was touching my forehead. Something sparked between us on contact, and I felt my magic roar to life within me again. But it wasn't a familiar magic. It was different. Somehow, despite its strangeness, I knew instinctively how to use it, as though the Phoenix had not only given me its power but its knowledge too. When it lifted its head away from me again, I felt as though I was buzzing with magical energy.

"Phoenix magic is shaped by thoughts. If you will something to happen within the limits of your energy, it will. You will also be able to shift into the Phoenix form for certain periods of time. But as an apprentice, you will retain your human form most of the time."

"Send me back. I have to help them now before more people die," I said.

"You have much to learn. I will instruct you from your dreams, but you will need to practice during the day time. Your powers are weaker at night, because they are fed by the sun. You will need to look deep within yourself to find what it takes to defeat Vaxon. If you do not succeed where I have failed, then I fear that our kind will never be returned to its original strength. You are stronger than you think you are, Eriswen, so don't give up. Sometimes, you have to take great risks in order to win. Don't hesitate to do what you have to."

With those parting words, the Phoenix dipped its head again and touched its beak to my forehead again. There was a brief flash of brilliant light and then the world went dark again.

***

My cheek was pressed to the cold stone floor of the castle, and I could hear noise. It was indistinct at first, but gradually, feeling returned to my limbs, and I began to pick out individual voices.

Jaeyria was screaming at Vaxon, her voice raw with unsuppressed anger. Darkness had filled the room, and when I finally did open my eyes, I was met with pitch black. Clearly Vaxon had lost his temper, and his magic was reacting to it.

Someone lay on the floor next to me, and I realized that it was the body of Aelia's cousin. Bile rose in my throat, but I forced it down again, refusing to show any further signs that I was still alive. So far, I hadn't been noticed, and for the moment, I wanted it to stay that way.

There was more shouting, this time from someone else, a voice I didn't recognize. Then Vaxon was in control again, calmly asking Sigel where his allegiance would lie and threatening his brother if the wrong answer was given.

Bitter anger festered inside of me, and a glow began to permeate the darkness. It took me a moment to realize that it was coming from me. Vaxon's arrogant face was illuminated in the glowing light that pushed back his darkness. He was staring at me, his eyes showing his shock, even though he tried to hide it. "You died," he growled angrily.

"Yeah, well, I'm back again," I shot back, just as angrily. "And I'm here to finish you."

Vaxon laughed coldly. "Finish me? Get in line, girl. Hundreds of others have made that same claim and they're dead. I don't know how you survived, but it doesn't matter. Leave the room, and don't come back until I call you. If you insist on trying to rebel, you'll soon join the others who tried it."

He was trying to order me around like a dog. My anger grew, and I pushed up off of the floor, ignoring the slight burn in my side where the claws of the Nires had gutted me. The wound was gone, but my body could remember the pain, and it stung. "I don't think so. That's not going to work anymore, Vaxon," I hissed.

"How did you break the spell?" he demanded, his shadowy tendrils reaching for me. They pulled back the second they touched the light coming off my skin and I smiled grimly.

"It expires after I die," I told him, enjoying the power that I had. Maybe it wouldn't last, but while I had the control, I was going to make sure that I used it to undermine Vaxon's confidence as much as possible.

"But if you are dead then how are you alive now, and healed?"

Stalking towards the throne, I climbed the steps until I was standing face to face with Vaxon. A hush fell over the room as I stared into his coal black eyes. "If you want to know how I survived," I said quietly. "Then ask the Phoenix."

A flicker of something showed in Vaxon's eyes, possibly fear, and I knew I'd gotten under his skin, however briefly. "I defeated the Phoenix. It's dead."

"So was I, and I came back," I taunted, and his eyes hardened.

"You think I can't fix that?" Vaxon said harshly.

"I have no doubt you'll try," I replied, moving away from him. "But I also know that I'm not going to let you kill any more innocent people. Your time on the throne is well past, and I'm here to put an end to it."

"You'll have to try harder, then, girl," Vaxon spat, sending shadows after me.

Light spun around me in a vortex, dispelling the shadows. When the light finally died down, I was no longer a girl. Stretching my new wings out, I looked at them for a moment. They were a blinding white color, like new snow that sparkled in the sunlight. The tips of my feathers were golden and looked as if they had been dipped into liquid gold and allowed to dry. My vision had sharpened, and I could see Vaxon clearly through the shadows that surrounded him.

Deep inside of me, the magic I had received from the Phoenix stirred, responding to my call. It was like a well deep within me, able to hold much more magical energy than it had previously. Light zipped around me in tendrils, anxious to get rid of the darkness that lingered in every corner of the castle. Lifting my head, I let out a piercing shriek and flew up above Vaxon.

It took little effort to project my voice into Vaxon's head. "Maybe my predecessor failed to bring you the justice you deserved, but I will not."

Vaxon's eyes darted up to me, and he let out a furious yell. "Come and face me, shield wizard!" he called.

Letting out another high-pitched shriek, I sent tendrils of light zipped towards Vaxon. His darkness ate it up quickly, but I sent more down after him.

Coasting down from the heights near the room of the throne room, I perched on the back of Vaxon's throne. He moved closer to me, and I stopped him with a wall of light. My feathers began to glow as he sent darkness to pin me down. As soon as his magic touched me, it dissipated into nothing.

Something tugged at my magic, and its energy began to drain slowly. Vaxon's eyes glowed black like holes that would somehow suck in everything that came too close. A black hole formed in the wall between us, and Vaxon stepped through it. "You can't win this, girl. I've always known how to defeat your kind. I can take all of your life force and leave just your husk of a body behind. You've already lost."

My energy was half full, and I pulled down the wall of light behind Vaxon, forming it into ropes that I sent after Vaxon. They latched onto his arms and legs, but he dispelled them with his dark magic and stepped closer to me.

"I can see your energy levels, girl. They're lower than you think they are, and there's no stopping the spell. Give up," Vaxon said. His whole body was taut, as if he was focusing hard on something.

Closing my eyes, I focused on pulling all of my energy back into myself and allowing Vaxon to trap me with his dark ropes. When his magic touched me, all of the colors in the room faded away to grey. The taste of sour lemons filled my mouth and I fought the urge to gag. The strong smell of burning bread enveloped me in a thick cloud.

Looking over at Vaxon, I saw a deep pit of darkness residing within him. Next to it was another well of magic, this one vivid and dancing with colors. The lower my magic levels became, the bigger the second well of magic within Vaxon grew. A small stream of light was flowing from my body and joining with the well of magic.

The bright pit jerked towards the dark one, and Vaxon's expression grew more concentrated until it finally halted, inches away from his magic. The energy he was taking from me had slowed to barely a trickle, but I could feel the lack of magical energy getting to me already. If he took too much more, I would pass out.

The puddle of magic that Vaxon had stolen from me reached towards the black one again and touched it briefly before Vaxon managed to gain control of it again. The darkness that the stolen magic had touched dissipated, reducing the size of the black magic within Vaxon.

My head began to spin, and the effects of Vaxon's magic draining spell began to hit me hard. A desperate idea hit me. Mentally grabbing the remaining energy within me, I threw it as hard as I could at Vaxon. It flew out of me and slammed into him. The puddle of stolen magic within him spun out of his control and barreled right into his magic, completely consuming it within seconds.

Vaxon's face went ashen, and he crumpled to the ground. My claws lost their grip on the back of the throne, and I collapsed too, landing in a heap on the floor. Pain ricocheted up my wing as it cracked against the stone tiles. Dimly, I heard people moving around and yelling. Something bright rose up from Vaxon's body and drifted towards me, settling into me just as I blacked out.

***

I woke up in my human form, tucked into a large, soft bed. My arm hurt, and when I turned to look at it, I realized that it was broken. Someone had put a splint on it though, and the pain wasn't anything I couldn't deal with.

Careful not to hurt my arm, I stood up and walked shakily over to a mirror that hung on the wall over an oak table. The person in the mirror looked like she'd gone through hell and back. No one had changed my clothing, so my shirt was covered in dark bloodstains, and my pants were ripped and ruined. A long rip had been slashed into my shirt too, courtesy of my Nires executioner.

My hair was longer than I remembered, extending all the way down my back in a tangled mess, and my face was a disaster of dirt and dried blood. My eyes, once grey, were now a blaze of orange and gold fire. They danced like flames, strangely mesmerizing.

Someone opened the door behind me and I whirled. It was Aelia. She looked a lot better than I did, but it was pretty obvious that she'd been through just as much as I had. Her face was paler than usual and dark circles were evident under her eyes.

"Hey," I croaked. Seeing her reminded me of everything I had done to hurt her. You killed her father. She'll never forgive you for that in a million years.

A tear made its way down her face and she stepped into the room. Swallowing hard, she stared at me, a mix of emotions showing on her face. "Why did you help him, Eris? Why did you have to kill my father?" she asked finally.

"I'm sorry, Aelia. I wanted so, so badly to stop myself, but I couldn't. I bonded myself to Vaxon, and he'd ordered me to do it."

"Why would you do that to yourself? To us? Did you see what happened to Mordzar after you subdued him?" Aelia's voice caught and she looked at her feet, more tears glimmering in her eyes.

"I couldn't let Ionean's last hatchling die," I whispered. "I didn't know what it would do when I made the pledge, Aelia. I was just thinking that I had to save Ionean's hatchling."

"Eiridan refused him, Eris, why couldn't you? You should have fought harder." Anguish written all over her face, she backed out of the room. "You should have fought harder," she said again, her voice a barely audible whisper.

She turned and disappeared down the hallway, leaving me to think about what she'd said. Even if I had defeated and possibly killed Vaxon, I hadn't been able to keep my friends from suffering anyway. The bitter taste of failure welled up within me, and I sat down on the bed, hugging a pillow to myself and wishing that I could have done something more to keep the others from having to lose those they loved.

Someone knocked lightly in the door frame, and I looked up. Mordzar stood there, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay, Eris?"

A tear slipped down my cheek, and I wiped it away. "Yeah," I said, my voice raspy. "How long was I out?"

"Almost a week. I didn't know if you were going to make it. Everyone thought you were dead when you collapsed like that... We thought you'd died a second time and weren't coming back." His voice was quiet, but easy to hear in the relative silence of the room.

"Is Vaxon... Is he dead? Is it over?" I asked, silently begging Mordzar to say yes.

He nodded. "Whatever you did, it killed him. He's not going to hurt anyone else."

"What about Vassti, Nassia, and Kyren? Where are they?"

Mordzar looked down and laced his fingers together. "Vassti and Nassia are gone. They escaped through some sort of secret tunnel. Kyren... He's still here, but he's different. His kids were killed, and his wife almost joined them."

My breathing stopped. How could Vaxon kill his own grandchildren and not even care? What kind of cruel man was so heartless? It was sad how far Vaxon had fallen before I'd killed him.

"Are the Nires gone?"

Mordzar nodded. "It took a bit of fighting, but Jaeyria helped out with her portals and we managed to force them through. They didn't fight very hard after Vaxon was killed. For a while it was all out mutiny, but we managed to get a temporary leader in place."

"Who's in charge, then? Kyren? Am I going to be in trouble for siding with Vaxon the first time?"

Mordzar grinned boyishly. "You're looking at him. They elected me because Kyren didn't want to take the throne and not all of the Magi trusted him either. It shocked me at first, but I got used to it. Eventually, we'll figure out something more permanent and someone else with probably replace me, but for now, I'm doing my best to take care of things and avoid anarchy.

"And you killed Vaxon, so as far as most of the Magi are concerned, there's no reason for you to be punished. Don't blame yourself for whatever happened while you were under his control."

"I did some things that are going to bother me for a long time, Mordzar. It wouldn't surprise me if Aelia never talked to me again and as far as I'm concerned, I deserve to be punished."

"Even if we tried to lock you up, I'm not sure we could contain you, Eris. You've got some strange magic. You'll have to explain it to me sometime."

"I'm not sure I could explain it." Remembering the reason I'd sided with Vaxon in the first place, I asked, "Ionean's hatchling. Where is he?"

Mordzar met my gaze with a raised eyebrow. "He's waiting for you in the throne room. The little guy is scared to death, but Jaeyria managed to calm him down. If you want to see him, though, you should probably change and take a bath. And don't take things too quickly. You might not be fully healed."

Looking down at my ratty clothing, I realized that Mordzar was right. Unclenching my hands from around the pillow, I stood up. "Okay." I hesitated and then added, "Thanks, Mordzar."

He smiled and left, gently closing the door behind him.

After taking a short bath to get clean and finding a decent change of clothing, I ran all the way to the throne room and threw the door open. Ionean's little hatchling ran to me eagerly, rubbing my leg and silently begging me to pick him up. Bending down, I complied and set him down on my shoulder. He bumped his little head against mine playfully, and I smiled, reaching up to stroke his crimson scales.

Jaeyria stood in the middle of the room with Eiridan, watching me. Carefully taking the hatchling in my arms, I moved to join them. Jaeyria broke the silence that had fallen over the room. "He needs a name, you know. We can't just call him 'he' or 'it' all the time."

The little dragon nuzzled into me, resting its head on my shoulder and blowing hot air onto my neck. "What would you name him?" I asked Jaeyria.

She shook her head. "You have to name him. Ionean and Kzaqua left this one for you to name," she replied easily. "Besides, I'd have no idea what to name him."

The hatchling blew out another breath of hot air and then quickly fell asleep in my arms. Glancing down at it, the perfect name came into my mind. "Zeydaan," I said quietly. "I'll call him Zeydaan."

Eiridan looked at the little dragon. "What does it mean?"

"It means justice."

Zeydaan opened his eyes and snorted at me, as if he was agreeing with the name. Jaeyria laughed. "I think he likes the name," she said, reaching out to stroke the dragon's back.

Grinning, I set Zeydaan down on the floor. Instantly, the little dragon shot up from its sleeping position and wound his way around my legs, slapping me with its tail every so often. Looking at the happy creature, I knew that, somehow, life would be okay now, even with all of the loss that had stained my past, I knew that I could move on now, with a little bit of help from my new companion.

Picking Zeydaan up and hugging him to me, I whispered quietly in his ear. "We're okay now, Zeydaan. We're finally free."