"Well, we can't bring him home." Lilly ran a hand roughly through her hair and glanced at the boy trotting happily alongside her. He'd quickly recovered from witnessing the brutal fight with the Naga. There hadn't been time to pause and work the situation through. After all, there could've been more Naga drawn by the commotion. Saia doubted they cared about her at all, but Lilly knew better than to assume safety.

"Remind me why you decided that following us was a good idea?" Saia gave Omari a disapproving look that any sane child would've run from.

"I wanted to help." Omari ran his fingers gently along passing branches, eyes roaming across every detail as if drinking in every sight, touch, feel, smell, and taste he possibly could. He had never seen the world beyond The Valley, and though so far it wasn't much different from what he was used to, it was uncharted territory. Saia was secretly in just as much awe.

"I have a friend, Fen, in Asterbourne whom he can stay with. That is, assuming she's still alive."

"No!" Omari whirled, his tiny hands balled into fists. "I want to come and fight. I can help!"

"Well, all you've done so far is put yourself and us in a lot of danger." Saia crossed her arms and looked down her nose at him. "How are we supposed to stop The Beast when we're on babysitting duty?"

"I've got just as much right to be here as you do! Just because I'm young, doesn't mean I'm weak!" He put his hands indignantly atop his hips and inclined his chin. Lilly and Saia shared a look. Omari was persistent, they had to give him that. If they didn't give him what he wanted, he'd take matters into his own hands. At least this way they'd be able to keep an eye on him.

"Fine," Lilly sighed and a triumphant grin spread across Omari's lips. "But as soon as we get to Whitespire and find the Kings and Queens, I'm bringing you to Fen." He looked about to protest again, but Lilly raised a brow and any words died on his lips.

"Don't push your luck, kid." His shoulders sagged, but a moment later he was back to his chipper demeanor.

"Do you think the King will let me wear his crown?" Omari skipped ahead, leaving Saia to narrow her eyes at Lilly.

"You're gonna regret that."

"Probably," Huffing a laugh, Lilly followed after the boy. Paper crackled as she unfurled the map of Fillory she'd packed for her journey. It was easy to locate The Wandering Desert as it spanned almost the entire southeast corner of the map. The Valley, while uncharted, would be nestled within The Copper Mountains. From there it would be a days journey at least to reach Castle Whitespire. "I only packed enough food for myself, did you bring some?" Saia nodded, gesturing towards a pack slung across her back. She'd clearly been expecting to leave. "Omari?" The boy smiled bashfully.

"I didn't really think that far ahead, but I did bring my slingshot." He brandished a makeshift weapon and a small rock from his pocket proudly. Saia rubbed her forehead to quell her rising irritation.

"Great," Lilly feigned enthusiasm for Omari's sake, but as soon as he'd turned away, she too was massaging her temples.

"We're so screwed." The women followed after the skipping boy with matching furrowed brows.

"As long as The Suriel was right, and there are Kings and Queens, we'll be fine. We can refuel our packs there and make a plan of action. If Fen's still alive, maybe I can convince her to help." Lilly shoved the map back into the front pocket of her pack, cringing at the crinkle of paper.

"Well, I suppose all we can do is hope," Saia mused.

They kept well off the beaten path, never following the roads Lilly had traversed with her friends. It was too dangerous now. Martin knew she remained alive and in Fillory, and though he hadn't found her yet, he undoubtedly continued to search. She was more than just a loose end, she was his blood.

Omari's smile never faltered. His constant chatter was at once a nuisance and a welcomed distraction. While it resembled a mosquito in her ear, it also kept her mind from stewing over the consequences should they fail. Every time they stopped for water, the boy would show off his slingshot skills. He was very proud of his little weapon and the particularly sharp rocks he'd collected along the way.

The sun had warmed to its final crescendo before sunset and now cast a golden halo upon the traveling trio. Lilly stood atop a high point in the terrain. The trees had parted in a rare respite from the deep forest path they'd blazed. Saia's eyes sparkling with wonder, her pink lips parted as she loosed a breath.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Castle Whitespire gleamed in the path of the sun's descent beneath the horizon. The last time she'd seen it, she'd been by Quentin's side, in a drastically different version of Fillory. She was in the afterworld now, and the once sparkling towers no longer seemed to pulse with power and might. The heart that had once drummed within had thumped to a final stop and now only a shell of the magnificent structure remained.

"I never thought I'd see anything beyond The Valley." The ghost of a smile curled Saia's lips. "It is truly a sight to behold."

"We're going there?" Omari had sidled up between them, mouth agape. He looked as if he'd just struck gold. Lilly made a mental note to watch his sticky fingers when they arrived. Omari had a habit of acquiring shining bobbles that didn't technically belong to him.

"Yes," Lilly looked down at him earnestly, "and you'll be on your best behavior when we get there, right?" Omari wrung his fingers together and shifting between his feet. "Right?" Her tone was more of an order than a request, and Omari huffed like an insolent child.

"Fine."

"We only have an hour left of daylight. We need to get moving." Saia took a swig from her waterskin and gestured for Lilly to do the same. "I don't want to run into whatever creatures patrol these woods at night." They were all in agreement with that sentiment.

By the time they'd arrived before the iron gates of Castle Whitespire, they were indeed shrouded by the cover of night. The entrance was bathed in golden torchlight and four heavily armed guards stood post, dawning in the colors of the Fillorian Royal Guard. Saia kept a firm hold on the collar of Omari's shirt, lest he decide to do something stupid and get them all killed before their journey even began. They were concealed in the treeline, weighing their options. Lilly looked to her companions questioningly.

"We can wait for a changing of the guard, but they likely won't leave their post unattended. Their armor will slow them down enough that I can take out two without issue, but I'll need the element of surprise, and a second hand," Saia whispered.

"If we attack their people we'll be starting a war. What we need is an alliance." Lilly pulled the enchanted bow and arrows from her back as quietly as she could. "We stash our weapons here and come back for them." Saia raised a brow in protest and Omari clutched his slingshot possessively to his chest.

"We'd be completely defenseless!" Her harsh whisper raised the hairs on Lilly's arms.

"They'll take our weapons and see us as a threat if we go in like this. I don't like it any more than you do, but if we want their help, we need to play by their rules." Saia clenched her jaw. "Besides, we won't be entirely vulnerable." Lilly twirled a tiny butterfly blade between her fingers before tucking it into the front of her armor. It took a few minutes to find a suitable hiding place, but in the end, they left their weapons behind in the depths of a hollowed-out tree, though not without a few protests from her companions. But they would not be wholly defenseless. Lilly was still a Magician, a Shifter, and the granddaughter of Jane Chatwin and The Bloodreigna of The Valley. If it came to it, they would make it out alive. They had to.

Hands held high, palms shown in a sign of submission, they stepped into the light. The guards were armed and ready almost as soon as they revealed themselves. Swords were unsheathed with a glint of metal in moonlight. Omari hung back, sticking to the feigned safety of Saia's shadow.

"We request an audience with your High Kings and Queens." Lilly's voice cut through the night like a lance, deafening to her own ears. It was the voice of a dignitary, a warrior. Two guards approached, swords raised.

"State your business." The nearest man commanded, now only a foot away.

"Hey! Hands to yourself!" The other guard began to pat Saia down rather coarsely. They didn't bother checking Omari, and she was thankful he'd been left unruffled.

"We seek an alliance against Martin Chatwin." The guards shared wary glances and gestured for the others to open the gates. A deep, unsettling groan filled the night as the iron gates swung open. They were shepherded through and into the walls of Castle Whitespire. Lilly and Saia eyed the weapons still pointed at them cautiously. The guards seemed on edge, and given the current political climate in Fillory, it wasn't all that surprising.

Vines crept up the arched hallways, clinging to the stone-like their lives depended on it. Firelit sconces hung every few feet, illuminating the dark castle with warm flickering light. The guard's boots thumped against the flawless marble floors. They flanked the three foreigners on each side and one behind. Saia and Lilly could easily take them if needed. Their clunky movements gave away their skill level. They relied on brute force rather than speed and tact. The women were adders in a den of bears.

"Let me do the talking." Lilly glanced over at Saia who alternated shooting lethal glares at each of the three guards.

"What? Don't you trust me to play nice?"

"No," a playful smirk curled Lilly's lips. Saia, she'd realized, had a very different definition of nice.

"--We always just thought it was just infighting." A female voice, soft and lilting like a lullaby floated through the castle to meet them, growing louder with every step. It was a challenge to make out the muffled words, as they ranged from sharp to unintelligible.

"This curse is fucking determined, I'll give it that." A deep male voice grumbled in response, and Lilly's attention piqued at the familiar tone. It was echoed and soft, but she could've sworn she'd heard it somewhere before. Saia shot Lilly a curious sidelong glance as she quickened her pace as much as possible without spooking the guards. "How do we reverse it?"

"Curses are tricky."

"You don't say," The man spat back. By now, their conversation was almost totally overheard by Lilly and the others. Their exchange seemed to have grown more frantic and strained. In a few moments, they'd turn the corner and see the pair of strangers exchanging their hushed words.

"They usually end once they've run their course, and not before."

"Well, that doesn't help us. This one seems to want to run its course until they're all dead." They paused their conversation as the sound of approaching guards warned of potential eavesdroppers. Lilly rounded the corner to see a pair hunched in a conspiratorial stance, their backs to her. They looked over their shoulders at her approach, expecting to find guards on their scheduled patrol of the castle.

Lilly stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart thudded sudden and painful halt, and for a moment, every plan was forgotten and every instinct overwritten. Even the fact that she was held at sword point. All she knew was that he was alive. He was alive and standing before her in flesh and blood.

His eyes widened as he took her in. Fighting leathers clung to her like a second skin, the dark lines of her Caladrius tattoo peaked out from beneath and curled across her chest in midnight swirling ink. So much had changed in their few weeks apart. She'd been sharpened into a weapon, but the woman he knew before remained behind those dark brown eyes.

Lilly's companions looked between them in confusion, and Omari tugged at her hand impatiently. She was too shocked to respond. Penny looked just as she remembered, though dark shadows had settled beneath his eyes, as if he hadn't slept since the day they were torn from each other.

"Lilly?" His lips parted as he sighed her name involuntarily. It was as if the name was an instinct, and it took only the sight of her to pull it from his lungs. His voice alone was enough to spur her towards him. The guards were too slow to stop her from flinging herself across the expanse. Her arms wrapped around his neck with such force that Penny had to take a step back, so they didn't go toppling to the ground together. She hadn't realized she was crying until he embraced her and the tears turned to wracking sobs. She clung to him like he was a life preserver in the midst of an open sea, and he was the only thing keeping her from slipping beneath the roiling waves.

"I'm here, it's me." His voice was warm and soothing like honey. Her hands trembled against his shoulders and he pulled her tighter against him in response. Warmth enveloped her as she inhaled the familiar scent of brown sugar and cloves that always clung to him.

"I thought you were dead. I thought- I thought I was alone." Her voice shook and cracked mercilessly. She pulled back just long enough to press her lips to his. The kiss was reckless and desperate as they savored the touch of the one they'd been so desperate to hold. Warmth spread through her chest, stomach, down through her legs. Her toes just barely scraped the floor as he lifted her up to meet him. The slight scruff he'd grown in her absence scratched at her fingertips as she traced the lines of his face in a longing caress.

It was a long moment before she managed to pull herself from his embrace. She wiped desperately at her wet cheeks, trying to stop the incessant tears from flowing. They weren't tears of sadness, these were of shock, relief, and happiness. She wasn't alone and at least Penny was alive and well. She pressed her palms lightly his shoulders as if to assure herself that he wouldn't disappear. "Is everyone-"

"They're all alive. We're all fine." She looked behind him to find Fen grinning brilliantly. The weight that had pressed down on her like a ton of bricks seemed to lift with that one statement.

"How? I saw them die before you took me out."

"Alice, she's god powered." He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I came back to get you as soon as she revived me, but you were gone. We were so worried."

"So, The Beast is dead then?" She breathed, wiping the last of the tears, though Penny didn't seem to mind her wrecked state. Her eyes were hopeful as they met his, but the look he returned was anything but.

"No, Julia double-crossed us. She took the blade and used it to strike up a deal with the Beast." The fury seeped through his tone like acid. "We've been trying to find a way to stop him ever since." Lilly clenched her jaw. Julia. It seemed she had burned through the last of her chances, and in the process, she'd nearly killed the lot of them.

She took a deep breath and turned a fond smile on Fen. Her hug was much less desperate, and Lilly kept a hand on Penny's arm. Neither wished to break away. Someone cleared their throat, and Lilly turned back to her companions with reddened cheeks.

"Who's this?" Omari stood with his arms crossed, staring down Penny with a deadly glare. The expression didn't quite have the desired effect. He looked more like an angry kitten than the threatening man he was trying to emulate. Saia stood beside him with a bemused expression, and the guards remained utterly baffled. Fen had thankfully ordered them to stand down and not kill Lilly where she stood. Clearing her throat conspicuously, Lilly plastered a watery smile across her face.

"Penny, Fen, meet Omari and Saia."

"Huh, we all thought you were dead." Saia eyed him with mild curiosity. She'd heard a lot about Penny from Lilly during their training sessions. It was strange to put a face to the name. Penny looked between Lilly and her companions with a storm of questions behind his eyes.

"As much as I want to catch up, we're in the middle of a little situation right now." Lilly instantly sobered.

"What's happening?" Penny opened his mouth, but his reply was drowned out by the unearthly roar that shook the castle walls. Waves of sickening vibration went through her and in an instant he stomach dropped.

"Fucking hell!" Hands instinctively flew up to cover their sensitive ears, but Penny was already jumping into action. Eyes panicked, he turned and began sprinting down the hall in the direction of the commotion. "Stay here!" He managed to call over his shoulder. Saia was already in step with her as she took off after Penny. The butterfly knife was in her hand, ready to be wielded against whatever monster awaited. Their boots slapped against the marbled floors furiously as they turned left, then right, into an arched corridor. Lilly skidded to a halt behind Penny and came face to face with a living nightmare.

"Jesus Christ." Penny fumbled frantically with the edge of his sweater. A creature of pure darkness bore down upon them, born from the body of Margo Hanson. Quentin gripped a massive crossbow with both hands as he stumbled away from the creature and its master. He aimed in a futile effort, a steel-tipped arrow pointed straight at Margo's exposed chest. "Penny says, go free!"

Lilly lunged for Quentin, tackling him to the hard ground just as he pulled the trigger. The arrow soared across the hallway. It veered off course mere feet from Margo and embedded itself into a marble column. Lilly grappled with Quentin, and as she looked into the eyes of her best friend, she saw a madman staring back. Her training gave her a significant advantage, and she ripped the crossbow violently from his grip just as a second earth-shattering roar filled the hall.

Darkness plumed from Penny's exposed back, rising to form a second demon-like creature, this one poised to fight the first. Lilly gasped, as Saia pulled her away from the imminent war zone. Quentin advanced with fury filled eyes and reached for the crossbow she'd taken. In one fluid movement, Lilly slammed blunt end up into his jaw and kicked out his feet. His body slammed against the floor with a painful smack and an answering groan.

The creatures screeched their final battle cries and flew at each other. In a spectacular flash of light and smoke, the demons collided. Roars rang in the air even after their shadowy forms had dissipated into nothingness. It was a few moments before silence settled upon the hallway in the aftermath of the fight.

Quentin gripped his jaw in pain as he attempted to pick himself off the floor. Before he could try anything else, Lilly had loaded an arrow into the chamber and aimed directly at him. He narrowed his eyes at her. There was no trace of the familiar warmth she was accustomed to.

"Someone tell me what the fuck is going on!" She shouted, brandishing the weapon in her hands with trained accuracy.

"You just had to let him save ya, huh?" Margo spat across the hall to Quentin, who returned her glare with just as much ire. "You're such a girl."

"You know, I would like to see you dead, regardless of your gender." Quentin crept towards his adversary with a challenge in his eyes.

"Shut up, both of you," Penny ordered. "They're cursed. They're trying to kill each other for the throne." He didn't dare take his eyes off of the others. "I'm gonna take you someplace safe, but if I have to have Lilly shoot you to get you there, I will make sure it hurts."

"Gee, thanks, but I'm enchanted." Margo rolled her eyes and turned to leave. A click sounded, and a whistle sang, then an arrow had buried itself into Margo's backside. She yelled out a stream of obscenities and clutched the spot where she'd been struck.

"Your enchantment's weak." The others gaped at her, all except Saia, who grinned proudly at her protege.

"You shot me, you cock! I thought we were friends."

"Friends don't let friends kill people."

"Why didn't you shoot her in the neck?" Quentin whined. "The carotid is right there?" Lilly didn't respond, simply reloaded her weapon and pointed it straight at Quentin's dick with a look none would dare challenge.

"Fair enough."