AUTHOR POV
The rendezvous point Veyra had chosen wasn't the most convenient location.
A stagnant, dark natural pond — half-choked with reeds and moss, its surface slick with algae and rot. The air smelled damp and sour. Everything about it felt decaying and foul.
Veyra stood at the water's edge, arms crossed, irritation etched into every line of her posture.
Caelynn was late.
And now Nivara had disappeared too. And in the meantime, Veyra was losing her mind, wanting to leave, itching to finally get her hands on the Trident of Axis.
Unreliable. Both of them, she thought.
"Why do I keep them around anyway?" Veyra muttered to herself.
Damon, leaning casually against a crooked tree, broke the silence.
"Full disclosure, I sent Nivara away," he said. "Told her my old rib injury was acting up again. Asked her to gather healing herbs."
Veyra turned, frowning.
"Didn't you already heal yourself when you were testing out your new Diviner power earlier?"
Damon smiled.
"I did."
Veyra stared at him for a second — then scoffed.
"So you lied to Nivara."
"I couldn't help it. I needed a break from her," he replied, amusement in his voice mixing with disdain. "And she makes it so easy."
Veyra exhaled sharply, looking away.
"Ridiculous — both of them, everything," she muttered.
"You need to calm yourself," Damon said evenly, stepping closer. "Tension clouds strategic thinking."
He walked over to her and, without saying anything, reached for her hand.
Veyra pulled away instantly, alarmed and cringing.
Damon gave her a gentle look.
"I just want to heal you, Veyra," Damon said smoothly. "After all, you're injured because of me. I mean... I am the one who dragged you into that battle..."
Veyra hesitated.
Reluctantly — suspiciously — she allowed it, the desire to be at her best to hold the Trident overriding her instincts.
White Diviner light glowed from Damon's hands, quickly restoring the wound.
When he finished, he smiled.
"I never thanked you, did I, Veyra?" he said softly. "For backing me during the battle."
"That wasn't for you," she replied coldly. "I need you to acquire the Trident's power."
Damon's smile widened.
"So brutally honest. It's very endearing," he said. "And I'm still grateful."
His three blue claws brushed her fingers — slow, deliberate, intimate.
He leaned in slightly.
"You're extraordinary, you know?" he murmured. "Powerful. Brilliant. Beautiful."
Veyra instantly recoiled in disgust and yanked her hand back, quickly seeing through his flattery.
"Stop flirting with me, jerk face. You're supposed to be with my sister," she snapped. Then, "You ought to be ashamed."
Damon laughed, a moderate amused sound.
"Like you, Veyra, I feel no such thing," he said easily.
Veyra narrowed her eyes at him, studying him.
Damon sighed.
"I like Nivara, okay? Truly. She makes a wonderful puppet," he stared. "But I need more than that in a partner. I need a woman who's like me, possessing an endless appetite for power."
His hand lifted, cupping Veyra's face. "A woman like you."
Veyra tilted her head. "Really?"
"Yes," Damon said.
No sooner did he say that, a gust of wind knocked him against a tree. He let out a yell, pain exploding through his body. With unclear vision, he saw Veyra's eyes ignite — pure white.
Damn, he thought.
"Veyra..." he started to plead but said nothing else as his breath vanished from his lungs. His eyes flew wide in shock, his hand dropping to clutch at his throat. Panic twisted his features as he staggered back, gasping for something that wasn't there.
"I'm sorry, Damon, were you trying to say something?" Veyra asked.
"Stop—" he choked. "Can't—breathe—"
"Tell me again how you like me," she demanded calmly.
Damon's knees hit the ice at that moment. The world around him narrowed to pain and terror and the violent need for air. For a split second, he truly believed he was going to die there at Veyra's feet.
Then the pressure vanished, as suddenly as it came.
Damon's breath was his own again. Veyra's invisible grip had released him, as she yet again reminded herself that she couldn't kill him, even though he was an insolent bastard and she really wanted to.
With relief, Damon collapsed forward, wheezing, dragging air into his lungs in broken, desperate gasps.
Veyra stepped closer to him.
"Let me make this very clear, Damon," she said quietly. "I despise you — and everything about you. So any idea in that head of yours about me and you..."
She looked down at him with cold finality.
"It's never going to happen."
Looking at her, Damon frowned before quickly masking his disappointment with a chuckle.
"You misunderstand my intentions, Veyra. Nivara is the one I want. I was just being nice to you."
Veyra rolled her eyes and walked away.
"Pathetic."
Still feigning innocence, Damon added, "Don't pass your ridiculous suspicions to Nivara. You'll create unnecessary drama."
Veyra waved him off.
"Relax. I don't want her finding out about this any more than you do. We don't need any more distractions in this mission."
Then, with a sigh:
"And besides — my stupid sister wouldn't believe me anyway."
Damon visibly relaxed at her words, breathing in relief.
Just as he was doing that—
Magic rippled.
Caelynn descended from the sky, landing sharply in front of them.
"I'm back," she announced brightly. "And for all your information, I got the job done."
"Finally," Damon said.
"What took you so long?" Veyra snapped.
"It's not easy going up against Mia, alright?" Caelynn replied.
"It's not if you're an incompetent weakling."
Caelynn stiffened.
"Incompetent weakling? Seriously? Is that the thanks I get for saving your butts? Insults?"
Veyra rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please, what you did was not that big of a deal. Nor that impressive."
"But you couldn't do it," Caelynn shot back. "That's why I had to."
Veyra scoffed at her.
"Don't flatter yourself. I chose not to. After all, I can't be expected to do everything. I can't be both the brain and the muscle."
"Excuse me?" Caelynn echoed. "You — the brains?"
Veyra looked at her with mounting annoyance.
"Caelynn, you're lucky you're my little sister and that I don't have time for this." Then to Damon, "We all need to get to leave for the Temple now."
She turned sharply.
"Speaking of — where is Nivara?"
Caelynn didn't answer.
She just stared at her, thinking. At first, she thought Nivara might be the problem in the group, but seeing Veyra now, she considered that she might have been worried about the wrong person.
Veyra scowled.
"Forget it. We're leaving. Nivara can catch up."
Damon shrugged.
"Works for me."
"I'm staying," Caelynn said firmly.
Veyra froze — then exhaled in frustration.
"Do whatever you want," she said. Then quietly:
"It's not like I need either of you to get my Trident."
She activated a flight spell for herself and Damon.
"We're off."
They lifted into the air and disappeared into the sky.
Caelynn watched them go in silence.
Then softly said:
"They're gone, Nivara. You can come out."
With a flick of magic, Nivara appeared on a tree branch beside her, tears flowing, head bowed.
"How did you know I was here?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
"Because tricks are my thing, remember?" Caelynn replied dryly. Then, looking at Nivara, "Stealing my moves, little sister?"
The other girl nodded.
"Found a Veilroot while gathering herbs to heal Damon," she said, letting out a humorless laugh. "I was trying to use its invisibility effect to play a prank on them. But I ended up... pranking myself."
Caelynn looked at Nivara's heartbroken face, feeling sorry for her, and wondering what she could've learned to say that.
"How long were you watching them?" Caelynn asked carefully.
"Long enough to realize we're being used," Nivara said. "And manipulated."
Caelynn exhaled slowly.
"I didn't think you'd ever see through him."
Nivara smiled sadly through tears.
"Hard not to… after hearing him call me a puppet and watching him flirt with Veyra."
Caelynn placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Well. Now you know. He's two-faced, manipulative, and untrustworthy."
Nivara nodded, wiping her face. Then—
"You know he's not the only one who's like that."
Caelynn stiffened.
"Veyra went for Damon?"
"No. And she can have him for all I care," Nivara said quietly. "I'm more worried about her… and that Trident."
Caelynn went silent.
When she spoke, her voice was tense.
"Veyra is our sister —"
"And she's changing, Caelynn," Nivara said gently. "I know you see it too."
For once, Caelynn had no rebuttal. She just stared at Nivara in tense silence.
*****
REONE
He and the others stood in silence, watching Mickey, who was crawling beneath the jet again, tools scattered around him, his face tight with concentration as he worked on it.
It was a last-ditch effort to get the jet airborne.
Hope hung in the air — thin, fragile, desperate.
An hour passed like this.
Then Mickey finally straightened up.
He wiped grease from his hands and exhaled slowly.
"Well, I'm calling it," he said quietly. "This jet isn't going anywhere."
The words landed like a death sentence.
A silent disappointment rippled through the group.
Reone let out a sharp, bitter smile — then turned and slammed his fist into a tree.
"Of course," he snapped. "Why am I not surprised?"
Lyrian rushed to him.
"Reone, calm down," she said gently. "We can fix this. There's always a way out, right?"
Reone wasn't placated.
"Not this time," he snapped, turning to her.
He gestured harshly at their surroundings.
"Just look around. We're freezing in the middle of nowhere. Our jet is broken. We can't fix it. Mia is also gone. And the Sisterhood are probably already at the Temple, getting the Trident which they're going to use to destroy us."
"Don't you get it yet? It's over."
His voice dropped.
"We failed."
Lyrian didn't respond.
Because deep down — she suspected he was right.
Primi, newly healed, spoke quietly.
"Forgive me," he said, confused, "but I don't understand something. The wizard and the Dark Sylphs don't have a jet either. How are they going to reach the Temple before us?"
Nova answered calmly.
"The use of the Dark Sylph Arts allows travel at a velocity far beyond normal Sylph flight — nearly as fast as a standard jet."
She paused.
"Around six hundred kilometers per hour."
Primi blinked.
"Damn..."
"Yeah, Primi," Diamond muttered.
Nova dropped onto a rock, shoulders heavy. "Reone's right. It's over."
"I can't believe I came all this way and I don't even get the Trident for my people," Anika muttered.
"I'm sorry, Princess Anika," Reone said.
Looking at them, Lyrian tried again.
"Guys, there has to be a solution. I know it. We just have to think. Put our heads together and—"
"Lyrian, we're done," Reone insisted. "The mission's failed."
His voice was calm — too calm.
"All of Ruminia is done. Rhys. His mother. Varek. It's over."
"You guys don't mean that," Lyrian said quietly.
She searched their faces.
And knew they did.
Everyone else's faces mirrored Reone and Nova's — exhaustion, defeat, resignation.
Lyrian felt frustration rise inside her. Since when were her friends a bunch of quitters?
"So that's it?" she said, her voice breaking. "We're just going to let them win? After everything they've done to us? After everything we've suffered?"
Reone, already frustrated, became even more so at Lyrian's pointless stubbornness. He looked at her, his voice dropping.
"I really don't understand why you're so disappointed about this, Lyrian. I mean, you weren't even that interested in making Damon pay for what he did to us."
Lyrian paused, surprised by this sudden attack. She looked at Reone, raising an eyebrow at him.
Reone met her stare without flinching. However, he hadn't really meant to say that last part; it had just come out. But he was standing his ground since that was his take on the situation.
Lyrian crossed her arms at Reone.
"Are we really going there again?" she asked.
"Why not?" he answered. "We've got plenty of time."
Lyrian shook her head in disbelief. But she decided to rise to his challenge, to express her dissatisfaction with the position they'd taken on how to handle the Damon situation.
"Fine, Reone. Since you brought it up, you're right, I don't, in fact, want to kill Damon or the Sisterhood. It's wrong and we all know it."
"All I know is that those people are monsters who killed my mentor and put my friend in a coma."
His voice sharpened.
"You don't understand because you haven't lost anything important at their hands."
Lyrian's head snapped up.
"Nothing important?" Lyrian started in a slow, indignant tone. "I literally died, Reone!"
The moment those words left Lyrian's mouth, she froze, immediately regretting it. Reone inhaled audibly. Anika and Primi looked at each other, eyes wide. Everyone else just looked confused.
"Come again?" Diamond said to Lyrian, sounding perplexed.
Lyrian bit her lip, glancing at Reone. He didn't help her. So she just said to Diamond, "Huh?"
"What was that last part... about you dying?"
Lyrian was about to tell Diamond she had misheard, or that she herself had misspoken, when at that same moment Primi looked at Lyrian and said, "So Reone told you?"
Reone and Lyrian said nothing. It was all the answer Primi needed. Once he realized, he gazed at Reone with new respect.
"What do you mean, Primi? Reone told her what?" Seren asked, looking between them.
Lyrian sighed after this, realizing that the cat was out of the bag.
Damn it, she thought.
She really hadn't meant to say anything about her death. It was a particularly sore subject for her and Reone, and she knew her friends would make a fuss.
"What is going on, guys?" Diamond demanded, as if to prove her point.
"It's nothing," Lyrian said, belatedly trying to diffuse the situation again.
"It sure didn't sound like nothing. You said that you died," Mickey said.
Lyrian went quiet again.
"Lyrian?" Nova demanded.
"I can explain, guys. It's actually very different from what you think. You see... I, uh, I..." she stuttered, unable to come up with a good lie.
"She died. It's true."
Everyone looked at Reone, stunned at his words.
Lyrian gave him a look.
"What?" Diamond exclaimed, shocked.
"They deserve to know, Lyrian," Reone began to her. "And I know it's not my fault, if that's what you're worried about."
Lyrian just nodded, sighing. She then looked at the others.
"It was the Nullborn Extractors. They drained out my resonance and without it, I ended up... you know. Reone then took me to the Diviners, to Anika, who restored me," Lyrian explained.
"I am sorry I didn't tell you, Lyrian," Anika started, coming forward. "I wanted to, but..."
"I understand. You wanted to spare me the horror. Just like I want the rest of you to understand that Reone and I were trying to do the same thing," she said, looking at them hopefully.
Anika looked relieved at this, Primi too. The expressions of the others were a bit more... clouded.
"You two should have told us," Sire said, sounding uncharacteristically serious.
"Yes. We definitely should have. Sorry, everyone," Reone said.
Lyrian nodded in agreement.
"You're okay now, right?" Diamond asked, unable to help herself.
"I am," Lyrian said, bobbing her head.
"Good," Diamond said.
Seren walked over and hugged Lyrian. "I can't believe we almost lost you."
Lyrian hugged her back, understanding her completely.
Seren then pulled away and looked from her to Reone.
"You guys shouldn't fight. More than ever we need to be on the same page," she told them.
"She's right," Reone said.
Lyrian nodded her agreement. Though she knew they were still divided on the matter of how to handle Damon and the Sisterhood, the issue remained unaddressed. But she knew Seren was right.
Now was not the time.
"We still have to find a way to get to the Temple. I mean it, guys, we can't just give up."
"It's not that we want to give up, Lyrian," Seren said softly. "There's just… nothing we can do."
"I refuse to accept that," Lyrian said, looking at her fiercely.
"If you have an idea, Lyrian, then we're all ears," Nova said dryly.
"I've got nothing," Lyrian admitted after a moment, biting her lip.
No one sounded surprised.
Looking around at the snowy place, Lyrian felt the fight drain out of her.
She slumped against a tree.
"I guess that's it then," she whispered. "It's over."
A voice spoke behind them.
"Maybe don't give up just yet, young Sylph."
Everyone turned sharply.
A group of elderly men approached through the snow, wearing worn blue uniforms — old, weathered, marked by time and service.
And beside them—
Mia.
She stepped forward with a slightly arrogant smile.
"Hey, guys."
Lyrian and the others immediately tensed, becoming wary of this new development and the unfamiliar people.
"Mia," Lyrian said carefully, eyes flicking to the strangers behind her, "who are these people?"
Mia lifted her chin proudly.
"Well, If I'm right," she said, her voice excited and hopeful, "they're our ticket to the Temple of Echoes."
Confusion rippled through the group.
Mia, enjoying this, didn't elaborate, simply turned to the elderly men in blue.
"Everyone," she said, "meet the members of the Temple of Echoes Watch and their leader…"
"Varek?" Reone interrupted.
He was looking at the man in front, at the facial features beneath his snow hat.
The one face shocked everyone into stillness.