Braedon didn't know what he felt first. Anger at himself, for falling asleep and leaving Raena vulnerable. Tired, still, for one thing. Damn-well scared, for another. And utterly confused at the beautifully bewildered figure standing at the doorway, her golden picturesque frame shining in the dim light just outside.

He turned his attention back to Raena, and helped lean her against the bedpost, next to him. Barefoot and oddly out of place in her long, formal dress, Iris quietly tiptoed into the room, barefoot, shutting the door behind her and turning on the lights.

Braedon winced, shielding his eyes and opening his mouth to tell Iris to turn them off, but Raena caught his glance and shook her head.

"Leave them on," she said quietly.

Braedon didn't question her further. Instead, he turned to Iris and gave her a sceptical look. "What are you doing here?"

Iris looked at Raena. "You tell me. Did I dream that or...?"

"Yes," Raena nodded, hugging her knees and resting her head against them. She gave Iris a sidelong glance. "It was a dream. My dream."

Iris blinked several times before sighing. "So, wait, is this another power we have, or something?"

Braedon looked between the two of them. "What is going on between you two?"

"She was in my dream," Raena responded to him, then to Iris, "I don't think so. Or maybe it is. I'm not too sure. But somehow, you entered my dream. Were you sleeping?"

Iris nodded then looked down at her own dress. "After the speech I was escorted back here. I felt... sick." She shrugged, her eyes darkening at a memory. "I was lying on the bed and I couldn't be bothered taking off all of this yet..." she gestured to the dress and then make-up, which was a little smudged. "I got lost in my thoughts a while, then got tired and fell asleep, I guess." Iris's hair was wild around her face, as if it had been pinned up and then let loose and ruffled.

Braedon squeezed Raena's shoulder, guilt gnawing at his insides. How could he have fallen asleep, again? How could he leave her on her own like that? He had made a promise to Grandpa Sage – that if anything should ever happen to him, Braedon was to take care of Raena. How was this living up to his vow? "I am so sorry, Raena."

Raena looked up into his face, studying it and then wincing slightly as if she were not quite seeing him, but something else in her mind, before she said, "It's fine. You had to fall asleep eventually."

"Raena," Iris walked to her side and knelt down, squeezing her hand. "That... creature. What was it? What did it want from you?"

"It's a draugr," Raena said solemnly, holding up the same arm Iris was holding. "See that scar? That's where it bit me."

Braedon didn't like to look at that wound. It was still quite a fresh scar, despite the salve and cream Grandpa Sage had rubbed over it.

Iris cringed. "It bit you?"

Raena nodded. "Now it's gotten a taste of me and... well, it won't stop until it kills me. I found it in the Tenebris Forest, wandering around. Which is strange, considering they normally raid far-off lands and dwell near tombstones. They're creatures of death," Raena explained. "And staring into its eyes for too long... it's maddening. It haunts my dreams, gets inside my head."

Iris's face paled. "So, if the draugr were to hurt you in your dream..."

Raena grimaced. "If I die there, I die here."

Iris shook her head, her lips thinning. "That's why you guys are so tired, and why you've been cooped up in here all this time. You haven't been able to sleep. Why didn't you tell me?"

"The only way to defeat it is if you kill it," Braedon said briskly, avoiding her question entirely.

"Well, we did that, didn't we?" Iris asked, and Braedon lifted his eyebrows.

"How?"

"We set it alight," Iris explained to him, before giving Raena a half smile. "You should have seen us. It was kind of cool if I do say so myself."

Raena looked like she wanted to laugh, but the noise died in her throat. "I almost burnt you to a crisp. If you hadn't had that fire extinguisher..." she stopped. "What were you doing with a fire extinguisher?"

Iris looked sheepish. "When I woke up – in my dream, I mean – there was this really bad smell, like expired meat, but worse. I opened my door to tell Jasper or one of the maids, but the entire mansion seemed..."

"Empty. Dead," Raena finished, and Iris nodded.

"At first, I closed the door and decided to go back to sleep. I mean, I wasn't about to go searching this dark mansion alone, in the middle of the night, just to find that rotting smell. Talk about looking for trouble." Iris paused, as if recalling the details in her mind. "Then I heard a noise, like the sound of wood breaking, and then the sound of footsteps running in the opposite direction to my room, and some yelling. I got scared and searched for some weapons in my bedroom, but for a mansion hosting the Commanding Officer, they don't seem to be keeping too many around." Iris shrugged. "Anyway, in the end, I decided to sneak out, and I saw some black blood and that the door to your room had been broken, but no one was there. I was going to take the main staircase but the closer I walked towards it, the stronger the smell became, so I took the opposite route through the emergency staircase and found the fire-extinguisher. I thought it'd be a pretty heavy and effective thing to knock over the head of any intruder."

Iris stopped again, pondering. "I don't know what made me go to the ground floor. It was like... a tug, I guess, and it led me to the supply closet. Next thing I know, I'm opening the door and I barely have enough time to pull the fire extinguisher..."

Raena gave her a small smile. "Sorry about that. I thought you were the draugr."

Iris shook her head. "Don't apologise. It's just as well you were ready." She turned to Braedon. "You should have seen her. She burned that ugly beast real good."

Braedon wasn't all too surprised. He knew Raena could look after herself, but it didn't stop him from worrying any less. Raena was like a sister to him. They did everything together. They basically grew up alongside each other for fifteen years. If he lost her now, to some gods-forsaken monster...

Braedon scanned Raena over, his eyes lingering on her exposed right ankle, which looked slightly swollen. "Did it get to you?"

Raena shook her head. "I tripped and fell down the stairs. But I'm fine," she said before Braedon could inspect it.

Iris let out a small sigh, biting her lower lip anxiously. "Do you think it's dead?"

Raena looked down at her knees gloomily. "I highly doubt it. If anything, it's probably just madder now."

A short silence swallowed the room, and Braedon looked between the two sisters, both miserably quiet. He had only had to face the draugr once, but he remembered the merciless gaze it gave him. Those hallow, beckoning eyes truly were maddening, and Braedon remembered with a chill its stone-cold voice that echoed throughout his mind. Raena had not one, but three encounters with the draugr. How many more until her luck ran out? How much longer could they hold out? She was right, of course. Sleep was inevitable.

"Okay," Braedon said softly, breaking the silence. "Maybe it's time we asked for help." He looked towards Iris, who raised her eyebrows before nodding. "What do you think you can do for her?"

"I'll ask Jade," Iris offered. "She's one of the maids but she's been helping me develop my element this past week. She might know some potions or whatever that could help."

"You trust her?" Braedon asked carefully.

Iris considered a moment before nodding. "She's the only one I do."

He breathed in through his nose, looking up to the ceiling. Gods, he sure hoped this was the right call. Is this how Grandpa Sage felt? Never knowing what was the right decision? He couldn't begin to fathom how stressful every decision he made both among his family and as Weapons Master must have been. Every move could result in a big consequence he may never be able to reverse. And who was he to trust? No wonder Grandpa Sage had chosen to live far away from other civilians. In the middle of a war, how reliable could a person really be? Everyone had their own agenda.

Iris stood up; her face already set with grim determination. "I'll go find her right away. The sooner we can figure out how to stall dreams of that... thing," she shuddered slightly before continuing. "The more time we have to figure out how we can properly kill it."

Raena stood up before letting out a small cry, almost falling back down. Braedon caught her arm, steadying her, and Raena winced as she looked down at her swollen ankle.

"I want to come with you too," Raena said in a small but firm voice.

Iris and Braedon both shook their heads and Raena was about to protest when Iris swiftly cut in.

"There's no point in you coming down. I'll go find Jade and bring her up. I'll also make sure to get something for your ankle. There's no way you'll be able to dance like that."

Braedon and Raena both shared a quizzical look.

"Dance?" he said, and Iris nodded.

"Jasper decided to host a ball in celebration of my return," although her voice sounded chipper, her eyes spoke otherwise. "It'll be fun, I guess."

Raena furrowed her eyebrows. "Isn't it dangerous for us to be out amongst other Terrans? Would Jasper really like that?"

"Jasper," Iris said curtly, "can stick it. No one will recognise you anyway, so long as we keep our birthmarks hidden."

Braedon didn't know what the term 'stick it' meant, but he couldn't help smiling at Iris for the first time. He wanted to trust her. She seemed gentle, kind, funny, and admittedly – very pretty. But his top priority was Raena and Grandpa Sage. And he simply couldn't risk anything – or anyone – getting in the way of their safety.

"You guys have been cooped up for too long in here," Iris continued, catching Braedon's smile and giving one in return. "And you're not prisoners. So, I don't care what Jasper says, you guys are coming with me, and we're going to have a ball, pun intended."

Raena gave her a small smile, and Braedon's heart melted a little to see Raena's eyes alight with excitement – something he hadn't seen in her for so long.

"The celebration is in four days," Iris confirmed. "So, I'm going to make sure that you guys are well-rested, that your ankle is ready for some dancing," she said with a glance in Raena's direction. "And that this draugr situation is under control. And don't worry," she added. "I'm working on a plan to get your grandpa back, so try not to stress."

"You don't think anybody will think us suspicious?" Raena asked worriedly, and Iris shook her head.

"You've been in hiding all your life. No way they know how you look. As long as both of you keep your powers under wraps, I'm sure people will just think you're refugees."

Braedon didn't mention that, as far as he was aware, he had no element. He also didn't mention, as Iris walked out the door and Raena grinned at him in ecstatic joy, that he was just as keen for the ball, but for an entirely different reason.

A celebration in honour of their returning princess would be assumedly huge, and Braedon figured every citizen would be busy the next couple of days with preparations for the upcoming feasts and decorations and music that was to be organised. The entire district would be in a total frenzy and utter commotion.

Which meant that when the time was right, he might just be able to slip away from the party and away from this district, completely unnoticed.