This entry was written by Several7s who wrote the guild Silent Phoenix. Enjoy :)

They had done it. Eris slumped against the wall of the ship, both physically and mentally exhausted. Shielding the ship from Dragon Empire attacks hadn't been as draining as she'd thought, but her Mathanos was still low.

She looked around the cabin at the thirteen Magi who had made it out. They had been lucky to find Rovad and the two others with him- Scarlett and Rhogar. If they hadn't stopped in the forest before attempting their escape, they would have left the smaller group behind. Still... thirteen Magi out of thousands who had been alive before. The number of deaths hit her anew and tears sprang into her eyes.

"You okay?" Vatre asked, sitting down beside Eris.

She felt the telepath trying to see inside her mind, but she blocked the attempt. Her feelings were her own. If she shared them with anyone, it would be Zaydaan. Her throat tightened. But he was gone. She pulled her knees up against her chest and laid her head on them.

"No." She didn't think she would ever be okay again. After the life she'd lived, she wasn't sure 'okay' had ever entered the equation.

"You should sleep," Vatre suggested. "We're heading back to Euresix for now. It'll be a long ride."

Eris laughed bitterly. Sleep. As if that were possible. She saw Zaydaan's ruined body every time she closed her eyes. Saw Ionean sacrifice his life for her. Saw the destruction of her home and the deaths of her friends and family. No. Sleeping wasn't an option. She couldn't live through that in her dreams again. Not now.

"I can't," she said, standing. She moved to the window of the ship and looked out at the vast, empty darkness of space. "Zaydaan should be the one seeing this," she whispered, mostly to herself.

Vatre touched Eris's shoulder, and she turned. The telepath pulled Eris into a hug, and she could hear Vatre crying. Eris stood in Vatre's embrace, tears welling in her eyes. "You were supposed to leave me behind," she sobbed. "I wanted to die with him."

"You don't deserve that." Vatre stepped back, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "He would have wanted you to live."

She wasn't wrong, but Eris couldn't bring herself to care. Living with so much loss was slowly destroying her, even with Zaydaan's help. Now he was gone too.

"I'm still here," Mordzar said from behind her. His hand slipped into hers and she squeezed it.

"Yeah." For now.

"Guys, we've got incoming," Rovad yelled. "They found us."

The ship slowed, and all eyes turned to Xanadar. "What are you doing?" Vatre demanded.

"He promised to leave everyone else alone! He just wants them." Xanadar gestured to Eris, Kyren, Jaeyria, Eiridan, and Mordzar. "Otherwise, he would have let the Dragon Empire kill us all."

"What?" Rovad stared at Xanadar, shocked. "Who?"

"I don't know! But he promised to get us through the barrier."

Eris leaned against the wall. There was only one person she could think of who had a grudge against her and her friends specifically. "It's Vaxon," she whispered. No one heard her.

"You sold us out!" Kyren yelled, slamming Xanadar into the wall. Felix tried to pull Kyren away, but it did little good. "We could've made it on our own, you coward!"

"No, we couldn't! The only reason we found the gap we did was because he made it so we could get through!"

The ship rocked as a larger ship docked. Doors opened and a group of Zhol marched through, followed by Vaxon. Eris's heart sank. She had hoped she was wrong. I named Zaydaan justice, and when justice died, Vaxon came back to life.

Kyren turned to face his father, rage written across his features. "You," he spat, sending waves of darkness flying at his father. Vaxon dispelled them easily.

"Yes, me," Vaxon eyed the Magi distastefully. "I assume Xanadar told you the terms of our agreement."

"We aren't turning them over," Rovad said, stepping in front of Eris.

"Then I'll kill you and take them by force."

"No!" Eris moved away from Rovad. "You can take me. Just leave the others alone."

Vaxon laughed. "That wasn't the agreement, Phoenix. I want all of you."

"We'll go too," Eiridan and Jaeyria said together. They held hands, faces pale.

"Don't do this, guys!" Vatre looked at the small group, tears in her eyes. "We can fight him."

"We can't." Mordzar moved to Eris's side. "This is the only way."

"I'm not letting you hurt my friends," Kyren growled, joining the small group.

Eris looked at Mordzar and felt her throat tighten. Ionean and Zaydaan's deaths flashed through her mind, sending terror through her. She couldn't let anything happen to Mordzar. "Not Mordzar."

"What did you say?" Vaxon glared at her. "You're in no position to bargain, Eriswen."

"Let Mordzar go," she said again. Tears pooled in her eyes. "Please."

"What are you doing?" Mordzar asked. "I'm not letting you go alone."

He tilted his head, an amused expression flitting across his face. "You're begging?" He grinned. "I heard you two finally admitted you had feelings for each other. Well, this will be fun."

"It'll hurt him worse if he has to let me go alone," Eris blurted. "So just... let him go."

"No!" Mordzar tightened his grasp on her hand. "I won't let you do this."

Vaxon glanced between them, and she knew he saw the truth in her words. "It's too late," he said. "I'll agree to your terms, Eriswen." He gestured to his guards, who yanked her away from Mordzar.

They dragged Eiridan, Jaeyria, Kyren, and Eris through the door and onto Vaxon's ship. Chaos erupted as everyone began yelling at Vaxon and the other's. Eris held back tears as Mordzar screamed her name. The Zhol forced him back as the doors closed, sealing her off from him. It's better this way. She couldn't watch Vaxon destroy the man she loved. It was too painful.

Briefly, she let Vatre into her mind. "Tell him I love him. Make sure he finds someone else to love. Don't let this destroy him."

She cut the connection before Vatre could reply. The small group of captives faced Vaxon with mixed expressions of determination. He eyed them with a smile and gestured to the Zhol holding Jaeyria. "Bring her."

The look in his eyes told Eris what he had planned. "No!" She lunged forward, but the Zhol holding her kept her in place. "Leave her alone!" Flames ignited around her, causing the Zhol to hiss in pain.

Vaxon walked forward and tipped Eris's head up to look her in the eyes. "Don't worry, Phoenix. It'll be your turn next."

Eiridan yelled, struggling to reach his wife. "Don't touch her! You have no right!"

"You're all mine now," Vaxon sneered. "I can do whatever I want."

The flames around Eris rose higher as frustration and anger built within her. Finally, the Zhol holding her could stand it no longer. The grip on her arms released. She stepped forward to attack, but something slammed into her from behind. Everything went black.

***

Three years later:

Eris stared up at the ceiling of her cell, holding back a moan. Everything hurt. Vaxon had pummeled her the day before. She must have said something that got on his nerves, because he'd been worse than usual. The groan of pain escaped despite her attempts to stop it, and Kyren stirred beside her.

"You shouldn't antagonize him," Kyren whispered, reaching for her hand and squeezing it.

"One day, I'll break you, and then I'll make you my queen." Vaxon's words echoed in her ears, sending a shiver through her.

"I hate him," she mumbled.

"I know," Kyren answered, shifting closer to her. She curled up against him and fought back tears. "One day, I'll make him pay for everything he's done," he promised.

A cry interrupted their conversation. Eris sat up. "They're hungry again." She glanced at Kyren. "I'll feed Caidor first, if you'll calm Ciwen down."

He nodded and climbed out of bed to get the baby girl. Standing, Eris moved to the cradle and picked up Caidor. He settled into her arms with a contented smile and she couldn't help smiling back. A part of her couldn't help wondering if she should hate them. They weren't just her children- they were Vaxon's too. But despite everything, she loved these children, and she knew Kyren did too.

She sat down on the bed to feed Caidor. Her gaze drifted to Kyren, who was pacing the cell with Ciwen in his arms. The little girl held his thumb, her cries quickly quieting. Seeing him there with her daughter reminded Eris of the reasons she was still alive. Before she had the twins, she'd almost killed herself, determined to escape Vaxon and keep her children from being raised into monsters. She would've too, if Kyren hadn't stopped her.

They were in separate cells at the time, but he had reached for her anyway, when he saw what she was planning. "Don't leave me alone," he had whispered. "Please." And she hadn't. They lived for each other, and for the twins.

"He's going to take them away," Kyren said, breaking the silence. "They're both Zhol and Phoenix... he wouldn't give up the chance at that kind of power."

Eris looked up, trying not to imagine what that would be like. He was right. Vaxon would happily rip her children away- she'd feared it from the beginning. They were lucky he didn't want to deal with infants. "I know," she said. "But we're powerless. There's nothing we can do to stop it."

"There is one thing." Kyren cradled Ciwen, showing a strength and determination Eris hadn't seen since shortly after Vaxon captured them. "We can escape."