"You must have all six ingredients to open the portal and you must do this inside Petra Marbh," Genelle explained, she remembered each instruction with such ease it was as if she had been rehearsing for this moment for some time. She didn't pause to recall one detail.

"So, we've got the smoke. We just need to get some goat hair, wheat chaff, etioirm-berries, ghea-mach and water from luna lake?" Oslac shrugged. "Seems straightforward."

"Straightforward? Really? Did you not hear me say you must enter the forbidden Petra Marbh?" Genelle said with an accusatory sneer.

"Yes, I heard you!" Oslac bit back. Genelle was clearly getting under his skin. Beanni looked between the two of them as Genelle's condescending smirk and Oslac's deep scowl faced off in a silent battle.

"My my, what will your father say, Prince?" The cocky Fiosolim broke the silence, cutting the building tension in two.

"My Father doesn't need to know, for the greater good," Oslac spat. The anger Beanni saw in Oslac's twitching face made her appreciate the bars that separated the two of them, for she was sure that her best friend was ready to knock this woman out.

She grabbed his hand and gave it a warm squeeze, he turned towards her and gave her a reassuring smile, then turned back to Genelle.

"Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Yes, you must gather these ingredients, set them inside Petra Marbh and leave them for seven days."

"Seven days?" Beanni groaned.

"Yes, you cannot rush such ancient and complicated magic, Beanni," Genelle answered in the patronising tone that Beanni got to know very well within her time trapped in Strelle.

"Very well," Oslac spoke up with confidence. "We shall call you on the mirror shard when we are ready to mix the potion."

He then touched Genelle's cell bars with his light orb; withdrawing the protection spell from her, making her once again deaf and blind to him and Beanni.

"Bay, I'm taking you back to the academy now." Oslac's serious tone did not ease as he spoke, Beanni felt her bottom lip begin to tremble as confusion began to settle upon her.

"But, the potion? The ingredients? We must gather them as soon as possible! We can't wait!"

"No, we can't. That's why I'm going to get them myself."

"Oz..." Beanni began to argue, but he cut her off, as if he was ready for it.

"No, Bay, it will be better this way. You go back to history class so you're there when your father arrives to pick you up. I'll get these ingredients together in no time."

Beanni bowed her head and heaved her shoulders in a deep disappointed sigh. He was right, she, of course, knew he was. However, she couldn't help but feel as though she was missing out. What help would she be sitting in class and sitting at home just waiting?

"I wanted to come with you, to help you," she mumbled towards the dust covered, dungeon floor.

"I know, Bay," said Oslac, the gentleness in voice failed to bring her out of her negative feelings. "But you must understand this is for the best."

The heaviness that Beanni felt caused her to freeze in place - her gaze not lifting from the dingy ground.

"Come on, Bay, you understand don't you?"

"Yes," Beanni forced herself to answer, her voice not managing to climb above a hushed squeak.

"Alright..." Oslac said with uncertainty plaguing his tone. He waited for just a second longer, for her to give him a sign that she was alright. However, it was something that she couldn't bring herself to do. She really hated being side-lined, but couldn't argue with his logic.

Giving in with a deep sigh, Oslac sent wisps of violet from his light orb into the air around them, and in a blink of an eye the dungeon disappeared.

Beanni lay on her bed staring at her ceiling. That encounter in the dungeon consumed her mind - the list of specific ingredients, the suspicious smirk on her birth mother's face, her best friend's authoritative demeanour - the whole thing played round and round relentlessly in her head.

She felt so useless. Just lying there, waiting. Waiting for what exactly? She hadn't a clue, for he couldn't call her. He took her shard away, broke it and gave one half to Genelle and kept the other half himself. He left her within a cloud of purple ribbons outside the academy, after topping up his light orb with another violet strand from her temple.

She had no choice but to go to class.

When she went in, she made up some excuse for being late and sat beside Lola. She didn't listen to anything her teacher said, nor did she listen to her father on the way home. All she could think about was Oz - where he might be and what he may be doing - hating every moment of not being by his side.

"Come on, Oz!" She cursed under her breath, as she got up from her bed and began to pace impatiently around her room. "Why didn't you think to give a piece of that mirror to me? Then I'd be able to contact you!"

Suddenly a bright flash of violet light came out of her bedroom mirror. It lit up the entire room for an unmissable beat. Without a second thought, Beanni rushed across her room to see what was going on, hoping deep in her heart that it was Oslac who may have found a way to contact her after all. However, the only face that looked back at her was her own. She watched the hope dissolve from her tan face, making space for disappointment yet again. Staring into her Biab blue eyes, she framed them with a frustrated scowl.

"Ugh! It's not fair!" she hissed, but before she had the chance to turn away she saw where the violet flash had come from. It didn't come from the mirror. It was reflecting the smoke in the vial that hung around her neck. The rich violet glow it had brought the power into her eyes, making them match its glare.

"An Gealach ell cumhachior naq uairus ipheim..." A whispering voice echoed in her thoughts. The same whisper that filled her mind when she first held the vial in the dungeon.

"What does that mean?" she asked the air around her. But the voice only repeated itself in response.

"An Gealach ell cumhachior naq uairus ipheim!"

"I don't understand!" Beanni growled impatiently, aware that if she raised her voice too high she may bring unwanted attention to her room.

However, the voice, deaf to her grumbling, carried on repeating the same statement over and over again.

It wouldn't stop.

Beanni soon gave in, and let the strange ancient words fill her thoughts. Mouthing each sound that the voice whispered, she learned and rehearsed what it refused to cease repeating.

"An Gealach ell cumhachior naq uairus ipheim..."

As soon as she got a grip of each sound and could say the mysterious statement without the voice's aid, the smoke's violet glow dimmed and the gleam within her bedroom began to fade to the much darker orange hue of her bedroom light.

"What were you saying, Bay?" The sound of Oslac's voice made her jump. She turned away from her reflection, and there standing in her room was her best friend with a bag slung over his shoulder and curiosity seated in his hazel gaze.

"Oz! Finally!" Beanni threw her arms around Oslac's neck.

"Shush!" he hushed her, glancing warily at her closed bedroom door. He looked back at his best friend, whose hands flew to her mouth. Oslac couldn't help but smile at the apologetic look in her eyes. Letting out a sigh and shaking his head, he took out his light orb and drew Samhun Tealia on her chest. Once the orange light sank slowly under the fibres of her jumper and into her skin, Beanni blew out a relieved breath, then shot Oslac a devastating glare.

"You took an age!" Beanni struck the Prince hard on the shoulder. "Do you have any idea how worried I got waiting here? It was excruciating!"

"Sorry Bay," Oslac said with a glint in his eye as he rubbed his shoulder - making out like her punch hurt him more than it did.

"Did you get everything?"

"Almost, I have everything except the water from Luna Lake," Oslac replied, drumming his fingers on the satchel that hung by his side, then quickly added, "...and the smoke of course."

"Why didn't you get the water when you were getting the etioirm-berries? They're both in Night Forest."

"I tried," Oslac rushed into his explanation. "But I didn't have anything to hold the water in, so I thought I'd come here. You being a Draoicis-Lus, I assumed you must have something that'll do the trick."

"Oh, right, well I think I do, hang on..." Beanni turned away from Oslac and headed straight for her chest-of-drawers. He watched her as she searched chaotically, with her back towards him, until she straightened up and spun around holding a small jar.

"Brilliant! That's perfect!" Oslac said, reaching out his hand to retrieve the handy receptacle she had found.

"Ah ah!" Beanni hugged the jar to her chest. "I'll hold it!"

"Bay..." It scared Oslac how much he sounded like his father as he addressed his friend in that reprimanding tone.

"No Oz! You're not getting this jar or the smoke." She looked like a small child about to have a tantrum.

"Bay, what are you doing?"

"I won't let you have them unless you take me with you! I cannot sit around waiting any longer!"

Oslac couldn't help but laugh.

"I mean it, Oz!"

Oslac half expected Beanni to stamp her foot in a temper.

"Alright," Oslac smiled and rolled his eyes. He knew it was useless to argue with her, especially when she was like this. "You win. Come on." He held out his hand for her to grab, which she did without hesitation. He lifted his light orb up between them and watched the violet ribbon swirling amongst the white magic split into many, then surround them.

Beanni's bedroom vanished and countless trees and glowing magic flowers sprung up all around them in a blink.

Without a word, they darted along the overgrown path towards Luna Lake.

Beanni didn't wait to see if Ethan would appear within the lake; her mind was set on one goal, which was to get the last ingredient for the Patengailte Potion. She opened the jar's lid and plunged it straight into the lake, scooped up the glittering water and then sealed it shut again.

"Got it, let's go!" She got to her feet and headed back towards the trees.

"Wait, Bay," Oslac jogged to catch up to her. "You're behaving like the world is going to end any second!"

"We have no time to wait, Oz! We need Ethan here as soon as possible." She didn't slow down her pace at all.

"Bay, come on!"

Beanni ignored him as she kept true, following the path she learned from her Fiosolim captor.

"Bay!" Oslac yelled, making her halt in her tracks and spin on the spot to look into the Prince's worried eyes.

"What Oz? What's wrong?" she demanded.

"Aren't you scared? Not even a little? I mean we're going to Petra Marbh!" Oslac said, his gaze lost in the trees standing behind her.

"What brought this on?" Beanni asked, her brow squeezed into a confused scowl.

"I... stories I've heard of Petra Marbh... Bay, it's forbidden for a reason!"

"I understand, Oz, I'm not exactly thrilled to go in there. I mean last time I was in there..." Beanni shook her head. "But we have to! Its the only way to get Ethan home. It's the only way to save Dillan... I mean Natanstrelle." Beanni's lip trembled as she turned away from her friend and set off again towards Petra Marbh.

She heard Oslac's hurried foot steps amongst the undergrowth as he caught up to her again.

"I'm sorry, Bay, I was being a coward." Oslac panted by her side.

"No, you weren't being a coward Oz. I get it. There is no need to apologise. I'm scared too."

It took little to no time for them to finally reach the old cave that held the forbidden secrets of the Fiosolim family's history. The àrdurum wood door stood before them with a sign above it. It was covered in vines and leaves that grew around the abandoned structure over so many years, but they could still make out the words Petra Marbh.

"Right, let's go," Beanni said, then grabbed the handle and pushed against the door, but it wouldn't budge. She tried again, then took out her light orb and slammed it against the wood. Still there was no change. "It won't open!"

"Let me try," Oz said and took up his place by the door. Armed with his light orb, he gave it a mighty push, still it wouldn't yield.

"I don't get it! Genelle had no trouble getting in and out of this place!" Beanni moaned.

"I'll call her," Oslac announced, finding his piece of the mirror shard in his orb pouch. He held it up to eye height, holding his orb in his other hand, and called out the Fiosolim's name.

"Ah, there you are, Prince, I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long."

"We have the ingredients, we just need to get into Petra Marbh," Oslac said in a cold, matter-of-fact tone.

"Ah, yes, of course you two wouldn't know that, sorry, I forgot." Genelle's reflection began to ramble from the shining glass shard in Oslac's outstretched hand. "Having Fiosolim blood or simply gaining permission from those who did used to be enough to get that door open. However, Queen Amber had the bright idea to make the entrance to Petra Marbh a bit more tricky the day she decreed it to be forbidden."

"That's all fascinating, Genelle!" Beanni interrupted impatiently. "But how do we get in?"

"You need a royal seal symbol, at least eight years old. Press it to the door and it'll unlock."

"Ugh! Why didn't you tell us that part? You just sent us off to gather ingredients to not be able to carry out the potion at the last hurdle!" Beanni raged.

Genelle's tiny reflection let out an exasperated sigh. "Teenagers!"

"Bay, don't worry, we can get in," Oslac announced gently, lowering the glass shard. Beanni watched the light leave its smooth surface as he drew out his magic - ending the call.

"We can?"

"The one thing I always have on me is the Royal Seal, Bay," Oslac said with a smile. He then lifted his shirt, exposing his ribs and there burned into his skin was an eight pointed star set in a perfect circle. Beanni felt the urge to slap herself across the forehead. She felt so stupid. Quietly, she watched Oslac press his royal mark against the door; the mark that ancient magic scarred his skin with at birth, branding him the next king of Natanstrelle.

As Oslac's skin made contact to the àrdurum wood, a ray of white light fanned out from that spot, glistening its way across each fibre in the door's structure. A loud click then resounded through the still night air, and the door swung open.