Raena was in that strange stasis between consciousness and the unconscious. She wasn't aware of whether it was day or night, wasn't aware of what was real, or what wasn't. By this point, everything was mushing together into one, incomprehensible passing of time.

Her dreams were distorted, nonsensical. When they had first injected the needle into her, she had fallen into a deep sleep. She had dreamed she was back at the waterfall, running from the draugr that she hadn't yet seen, but knew was coming after her. As if her subconscious knew of the danger that was awaiting before she herself could see it. She thought she had spotted Iris inside Grandpa Sage's cave, behind the waterfall, but when she tried to reach her, the sheet of water became solid, cutting off her connection from her sister.

She had banged on the thick blanket of ice, calling out Iris's name, begging her to help her, to turn around. And she almost had turned around. But then Raena had been pulled away from her dreamland and back into reality when the anaesthetics had worn off, and what she awoke to made her wish she had never left the draugr in her dream.

Raena's head was fuzzy, her body completely numb. It was only when she managed to glance down at the two nurses in the mint masks, that she slowly became aware of her surroundings, remembered where she was. The male nurse – Evan, she remembered his name – was removing a bag full of blood which she could only assume was for testing.

Her blood. Bile rose in Raena's throat. That was her blood.

Her head spun, and she let out a groan. The nurses noticed, then sedated her once again.

***

It went on like that. She awoke several times, panting and sweating from her hide-and-seek games with the draugr she knew was waiting in her dreams. It hadn't shown its face yet, but Raena knew why. Soon, it wouldn't have to hunt her down. She was weakening with each dream she fell into, the blood loss draining and sapping her energy entirely. All the draugr had to do, was wait until she had no strength left to think, no will left to run. Then it would get her. And she would let it, when the time came.

She once awoke when a searing pain hit her shot up her shoulder, and Raena opened her mouth to let out a hoarse scream when she saw they had cut a part of arm open, and were beginning to stitch it up now.

They sedated her again, but some alarm entrenched deep within Raena's mind wouldn't allow her to fall back asleep. Dream, reality, dream, reality. It was all a nightmare now.

She fell asleep. Then awoke to what felt to her like minutes later, but must've been longer. Even breathing was an effort now, and she felt physically and mentally exhausted. She only hung onto a thread of hope: Braedon. Iris. One of them would find her. She just had to hang on a little longer.

The voices surrounding her were indecipherable. It was as if her brain couldn't function properly enough to comprehend words anymore. But she noted Jasper in her peripheral vision, pointing to something, then to her. Next minute, she was being injected with something that made her legs kick out wildly, as if she had no control of them anymore. They thrashed, and Raena felt some kind of chemically-made adrenaline pumping through her veins. Something deep within her chest grumbled, like a beast stirring in its sleep.

"It's working," she heard Jasper say.

Finally. She was making sense of words. But though the adrenaline had stimulated some part of her brain, it was now making her breath quicken, her palms and forehead sweat.

"More," he ordered.

"But Sir, if we pump anymore into her there's a risk that she might fail, like the others." That was the female nurse, not so much sounding concerned, as she was stating it matter-of-factly.

"I said more."

Another needle was injected into her arm, and Raena convulsed, opening her mouth to cry out, but no sound came out. No oxygen came in. Her body began to shake, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. There was no describing the shooting pain that raced up and down and through her body, like a thousand electric bolts zapping through every vein, every bone, every fibre of her being. The grumbling became a rumble in her chest.

"One more dosage."

"Sir, it's too dangerous." The female nurse sounded grim. "She can't handle that much pressure."

"I'll decide that. More."

The needle was injected into her right arm now, and Raena's head was screaming, as if her brain was threatening to explode within her skull. Pins and needles were covering her body, and though she was sweating, she felt cold and her teeth began to chatter.

She blinked in and out of consciousness, and the monitor next to her was beeping insurmountably.

"We're losing her!" the male shouted.

"Dammit! Then bring her back!" Jasper ordered.

There was frantic tapping on the monitor, more shouting, but Raena let the world fade away as her strangled scream became a mere whisper. Her body was convulsing mercilessly, her head singing a high-pitched melody in her skull, rattling her insides. But something deep within the back of her brain had finally relaxed, had finally given up, and though the pain didn't stop, Raena knew it would all be over soon.

No more draugr. No more experimentation. She'd be elsewhere in a matter of seconds.

And the thought didn't scare her. She knew it should have. Knew that no one at fifteen should welcome Death with open arms. But she did. She wanted to embrace it. A warm comfort to the never-ending agony she was going through.

So, when her brain stopped receiving pain signals, and the world around her blackened completely, and she stopped hearing the outside world, she finally settled.

No more pain. No more fright.

***

Raena couldn't see herself, but some ethereal part of her seemed to be walking towards a darkness even blacker than night. It was calling to her, beckoning to her, and she didn't hesitate as she walked towards it.

Whatever was on the other side had to be better than here. It had to offer her reprieve from both her surroundings and her own pain.

The patch of darkness swirled into what appeared to be an outstretched hand. Raena paused for just a second, her hand in mid-air as she reached towards inevitability.

But in that brief moment of hesitation, the beast within her stirred, and it seemed to speak to her, its voice slippery and smooth, giving her the sensation of waves rolling over one another, gently crashing onto the shore.

Do you want to go?

Yes, she answered, though her mouth never moved.

We can get out of here.

How?

The voice was quiet for a moment, before it whispered soothingly, Together. Just turn around. But only if you want to.

And Raena wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to, but some sensation deep within her mind or what was left of it, told her this wasn't the end. This wasn't how her story was supposed to finish. She looked at the still outstretched hand of darkness, then turned away.

One day, it would be her turn. But not today. The beast within her seemed to hiss softly in approval, and as she walked back towards the light, the beast comforted her, and she let it. Its presence shrouded her, and though Raena couldn't see it, she knew it was there somehow. Within her.

Together. And she wasn't sure if the beast had said the word, or if she had, but when she opened her eyes, so did it.

***

Jasper couldn't believe he had lost his best patient. They had been so close. They had gotten the blood samples they needed, they just needed to draw her powers out, then he could begin testing the different elements. But now he'd never get that chance. How was it possible that she had failed too?

He whirled on the nurses. "What did you do?"

The nurses exchanged a nervous glance. "Sir, we told you..."

Jasper banged a fist on the metal table beside the princess.

"She was the one."

"There will be others, Sir," the female offered weakly.

Jasper had just opened his mouth to reply, when the heart monitor beeped once, and Jasper stepped back in stunned shock as Anahita opened her eyes.

But it wasn't her eyes.

They were a bright, piercing blue, as if their normal colour had been enhanced and brightened by a hundred. The ceiling began to drip with water and the girl's body was changing... morphing.

"It worked," Jasper breathed. "Quick, inject..."

But he didn't get to finish his sentence, for at that moment, Raena's body did indeed morph... into water. And Jasper gaped at the water figure in front of him, every bit the girl she previously looked like, and yet... not. Her clothes had disappeared, as had her hair, which was now flowing down and around her like a waterfall. She sunk through the straps holding her down, her body disassembling and moving through the room in a river like manner, then she stopped in front of the two nurses, her face a contortion of anger as she stretched both arms towards the two nervous nurses and sprouted her watery arms down their throats, drowning them.

Neither nurse could move, they could only stand there as Anahita forced more water down their throats, until they collapsed to the ground, unmoving. Then she turned towards Jasper.

He stared in dumbfound shock at the two dead medics, then back at the approaching water creature that was Anahita, coursing with water shaped as a body, the only resemblance of what she was before.

Jasper stumbled backwards, fumbling for the doorknob before bolting out and down the corridor. Anahita shot after him, just a stream of water spiralling towards Jasper. Just as she was about to hit his back, she morphed into her water body again, crouching with one knee to the ground, holding a hand to her chest as if in pain.

Jasper stopped and turned. This was the first time she had ever been in her pure element. Of course it wouldn't last. She was already weak. Anahita wouldn't be able to stand being in this form for too long.

Suddenly feeling much more confident, Jasper stood above her, observing her crouched figure.

"Well done," he said in amusement. "You passed the first test. Now do yourself a favour and walk yourself back to the Testing Room. We still have a long journey ahead, Anahita."

The Lypmphan beast of a princess met his gaze in pure and utter rage, and though he would never admit it aloud, the cold glance she cast him did deeply disturb him. But she didn't attack him. It seemed she didn't have much time left in this form, and it was only when she gave him a sly smile that he understood what she was about to do. A smile that seemed to say, You're right, we do have a long journey ahead. But not today. And definitely not here.

"Wait," he cried out, swiping out a hand. But it was too late. The Lymphan princess morphed into a jet of water that shot upwards, through the cracks in the ceiling and out of sight.

***

The beast was weakening, she could feel it with every metre travelled upwards, every droplet that separated from her being. They were making their way through mounds and mounds of dirt at an incredible speed, higher and higher, and though the ground was thinning with each metre, the beast found it an effort to keep up. But she couldn't morph back now. And it knew it too. She'd be buried alive.

So, she pushed through, coaxing it, reassuring it as it continued to travel onwards. She wasn't sure where it was taking her. This was past the Terra District, for sure. She could feel her the beast being drawn towards its own elementals – as if like was attracting like. And then she could feel a different bond, one that kept her connected to her flesh and blood even in dreams, so she gave the beast strength through that tug, urging it to follow that string she knew would lead her to her sibling. Nevertheless, the beast was hissing with effort now as it gradually weakened, and Raena knew that she would morph back into her body very soon.

Thank you, she told it.

The beast hissed softly in response, before giving itself one final shove through the dirt, and she and the beast burst through the earth like a water sprout, up into the cool night air before coming back down like a puddle. The water recollected itself, shaping back into a body, then the water molecules devolved, morphing until Raena could once again see her own pale skin, feel the throbbing in her head as she scanned the surrounding area for danger.

She saw a bunch of people standing at odds with each other but gaping at her. Saw her sister, Iris. Another guy... Trevet, she thought. A deadly female dressed in black, golden whip in her hand. Grandpa Sage. And...

"Braedon," she whispered hoarsely, then Raena's head turned light, her body collapsing in on itself, and unconsciousness drew her back into darkness before her head even hit the dirt ground beneath her.