LYRIAN
She stumbled through the portal and onto cracked stone.
The air here was cold—dead. The walls of the ruined fortress loomed around her like broken teeth. She didn't know where Damon had gone, only that he was here somewhere.
She became alert again.
Lyrian barely took two steps before something slammed into her side—a blast of dark energy.
Pain ripped through her as stumbled and hit the ground hard.
Damon emerged from the dark, eyes burning with malice. "You shouldn't have followed me, Sylph," he hissed.
Then, clutching his bloodied side, he staggered toward a corridor and vanished into it, leaving a trail of blood.
Lyrian groaned, trying to lift herself up—but the world spun and faded.
Moments later, someone else came through the portal.
"Lyrian!" Reone's voice cut through the dark as he dropped beside her.
******
BACK AT THE PALACE
"Where did they go?" Seren asked after the portal closed behind Reone and Lyrian, her voice sharp with worry.
"I don't know," Diamond answered, glancing around in confusion.
Nova's fingers flew over her wrist device. "I'm not detecting their presence anywhere near us," she said. "Wherever they went... it's nowhere close to here."
"We have to find them," Seren insisted. "They might need help taking down Damon."
"Damon..." Diamond whispered, her voice trembling. "That monster."
Their attention shifted to Mia, kneeling beside Rhys's motionless body. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she shook him gently.
"He's not waking up," she cried, her voice breaking.
Rhys's mother,Mala, dropped to her knees beside them, shaking her head in disbelief. "No... no, he couldn't be—"
Dane hurried over, his expression grave. "Move back," he said firmly. "Let me look at him."
The others hesitated, but stepped aside. Dane placed his glowing hands over Rhys's chest, checking his vitals.
"He's still alive," he finally said, and the tension broke for a moment. "But... barely."
Rhys's mother pressed a hand to her heart, letting out a cry of relief.
"Do something—heal him!" she ordered in a queenly voice.
"There's a spell I can try," Dane said, "but I'll need him in a bed first."
Mia wiped her eyes and got up. She then used her magic to lift Rhys gently from the floor, quickly guiding him toward their room.
Once inside, Dane looked at everyone. "All of you, please—leave the room. I need to concentrate."
"No way," Mia protested, voice shaking. "I'm not leaving him!"
"Mia," Dane said softly, glancing to Seren for help.
"Mia," Seren added, "he needs to focus."
"But—"
"The sooner we leave, the sooner he can start helping Rhys," Rhys's mother urged.
Mia's lips trembled. "Save him, Dane. Please."
"I'll try my best," he said without looking up, his hands already glowing brighter over Rhys's still form.
The girls gently guided Mia out of the room. The moment the door closed, Mia broke down again.
"How could this happen,girls, and on our wedding day?" she sobbed.
"I'm so sorry, Mia," Seren whispered, tears welling in her own eyes. She didn't know what else to say.
Mia buried her face in her hands—then suddenly froze, looking up.
"Wait... where's Lyrian? And Reone?"
"They went into the portal," Sire answered grimly. "After Damon."
"Where?" Mia asked, in a panicked voice.
Mikey looked down at his scanner and shook his head in confusion. "That's the problem," he said quietly. "We don't know."
*****
REONE
Panic lined Reone's face as he shook Lyrian's shoulders gently. "Hey—come on, wake up."
Her eyelids fluttered. "Reone?" she murmured weakly.
"Yeah, it's me." Relief flooded his face, and he pulled her into a hug before she could protest. "Are you okay?"
"Just... a little weak," she said, wincing. "Damon got me good."
Reone's jaw tightened. "Where is he?"
"I don't know," she said. "He hit me with a surprise attack—then I blacked out."
"What were you thinking, going after him alone?" Reone's voice cracked, sharp with anger and fear.
"I wasn't about to let him get away—not after what he did to Rhys. Or Mia. And you saw that commander he murdered."
Reone froze, pain flashing through his eyes. "I saw," he said quietly.
"I saw you with him. You knew the guy, didn't you?" Lyrian asked softly.
Reone nodded slowly.
"Varek—he was my mentor. He took me under his wing when I came to Eraklyon. He was like a second father to me."
Lyrian's breath caught. "Reone... I'm so sorry."
He nodded, swallowing hard. Suddenly, his eyes gleamed with something that made her nervous.
"Damon's the one who'll be sorry," he told her.
His tone made her flinch. It was the old Reone again—the anguished one who liked to be vindictive. But she stayed silent.She knew that this wasnt him; grief had a way of sharpening old edges.
"Rhys… do you think Rhys is okay,Lyrian?" Reone's voice cracked as he spoke.
He'd been trying to push the thought away, to stay focused—but it kept forcing its way back into his mind no matter how hard he fought it.
Reone was worried and guilt ridden. Rhys was hurt and he had left him.
Lyrian's chest tightened. She could see the terror in Reone's violet eyes—the raw fear of losing someone else he loved.
"He's fine,Reone," she said softly, trying to convince him as much as herself. "Mia won't let anything happen to him."
She prayed that she was right. The idea of Mia losing her husband on her wedding day was a tragedy she couldn't even let herself imagine.
Reone swallowed hard and nodded. Like her, he clung to the belief that Rhys was still alive and refused to even consider another possibility.
Gently, Lyrian touched his arm, grounding him. "So… what now?"
His jaw tightened. When he answered, his voice was rough, grief sharpening into resolve.
"We find Damon," he said, voice rough. "And we make him pay."
"Ok.And then what?" she asked. "Unlike Damon, I can't make portals. We've got no way back."
Reone gave a humorless smile. "Guess you didn't think this through, huh?"
"You did the exact same thing," she shot back.
His smirk softened. "Fair point." He then got up and offered her his hand. "Come on. We'll figure out the exit strategy after we catch him."
Lyrian took it, nearly stumbling. Reone caught her instantly, hands steadying her at the waist. Their faces were inches apart.
"Thanks," she breathed.
"Yeah," he said awkwardly, stepping back and clearing his throat. "Let's move. And remember, he's injured—but that might make him more dangerous. Are you sure you're up to this?"
Lyrian's eyes glowed faint blue. "Oh, yeah."
*****
DAMON
Every step burned.
Damon pressed a trembling hand to his side, feeling the warmth of his own blood through the torn fabric. The fortress walls tilted and twisted in the dark.
He reached the heart of the ruin, collapsed against a pillar, and exhaled shakily. "No," he hissed. "Not yet. Not like this."
He reached inward—into the black coil of energy that bound him to his resurrected allies—and sent his thoughts through it.
"Nivara. Veyra. Caelynn. Hear me."
*****
THE SISTERHOOD
"Someone's calling," Nivara said, twirling a strand of hair.
The three dark Sylphs stood in the dim expanse of a closed wasteland—an ancient stronghold where their ancestors, the founding spirits of Dark Sylph Arts—the Matrons Of Destruction—whispered like wind.
Dead animals and shriveled plants littered the ground around them—every last one drained of resonance just to feed their strength.
"Let me guess," Veyra said coldly. "Our impatient little ally."
Nivara grinned. "Hey, handsome," she purred, voice echoing through the void. "Miss us?"
On the other end of the connection, Damon's voice trembled with pain.
"I need you. I'm injured—the Sylphs and the Legion are closing in. I need an exit. Now."
Veyra rolled her eyes. "We're in the middle of something important."
"This is important!" Damon snapped. "You owe me your lives. Now come get me before I bleed out."
Caelynn crossed her arms. "You should've listened when we told you not to attack Rhys during his wedding. The timing was terrible."
Veyra nodded. "We told you to atleast wait until after we regained our full strength. But no—Damon wanted his grand revenge moment."
"Enough!" Damon's voice roared through the link. "I didn't raise you from the grave to hear you lecture me. You owe me!"
Nivara sighed. "We'll come."
Veyra shot her a look. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah," Nivara said. "Damon makes a solid point.We owe him."
"Are you sure it's not that you're developing a little crush on him, sister?" Caelynn asked accusingly.
"No. But you have to admit that he's a little cute," Nivara said defensively. "And the fact that he wants to be King makes him more attractive."
"I wonder if you'll still feel that way when he's dead," Veyra said coldly.
"Did you forget what the Matrons said we needed to take over the entire magic dimension? We can't do it without him," Nivara said.
Veyra groaned, but after a beat, nodded. "All right. But after this, he and us are even,"she said,starting to float.
Her sisters followed suit, and together, they headed toward Damon's fortress at max speed.