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 takes two steps before something slammed into her side—a blast of dark energy.
Pain ripped through her as she hit the ground hard.
Damon emerged from the dark, eyes burning with fury. "You shouldn't have followed me, Sylph," he hissed.
Then, clutching his side where her earlier strike had burned through, 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 asks, after the portal closes after Reone and Lyrian, her voice sharp with worry.
"I don't know," Diamond answers, glancing around in confusion.
Nova's fingers fly over her wrist device. "I'm not detecting their presence anywhere near us," she says. "Wherever they went... it's nowhere close to here."
"We have to find them," Seren insists. "They might need help taking down Damon."
"Damon..." Diamond whispers, her voice trembling. "That monster."
Their attention shifts to Mia, kneeling beside Rhys's motionless body. Tears stream down her cheeks as she shakes him gently.
"He's not waking up," she cries, her voice breaking.
Rhys's mother drops to her knees beside them, shaking her head in disbelief. "No... no, he couldn't be—"
Dane hurries over, his expression grave. "Move back," he says firmly. "Let me look at him."
The others hesitate, but step aside. Dane places his glowing hands over Rhys's chest, checking his vitals.
"He's still alive," he finally says, and the tension breaks for a moment. "But... barely."
Rhys's mother presses a hand to her heart, letting out a cry of relief.
"Do something—heal him!" she orders in a queenly voice.
"There's a spell I can try," Dane says, "but I'll need him in a bed first."
Mia wipes her eyes and gets up. She then uses her magic to lift Rhys gently from the floor, quickly guiding him toward their room.
Once inside, Dane looks at everyone. "All of you, please—leave the room. I need to concentrate."
"No way," Mia protests, voice shaking. "I'm not leaving him!"
"Mia," Dane says softly, glancing to Seren for help.
"Mia," Seren adds, "he needs to focus."
"But—"
"The sooner we leave, the sooner he can start helping Rhys," Rhys's mother urges.
Mia's lips tremble. "Save him, Dane. Please."
"I'll try my best," he says without looking up, his hands already glowing brighter over Rhys's still form.
The girls gently guide Mia out of the room. The moment the door closes, Mia breaks down again.
"How could this happen, and on our wedding day?" she sobs.
"I'm so sorry, Mia," Seren whispers, tears welling in her own eyes. She doesn't know what else to say.
Mia buries her face in her hands—then suddenly freezes, looking up.
"Wait... where's Lyrian? And Reone?"
"They went into the portal," Sire answers grimly. "After Damon."
"Where?" Mia asks, in a panicked voice.
Mikey looks down at his scanner and shakes his head in confusion. "That's the problem," he says 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 holding him when he went down.You knew him, didn't you?" Lyrian asked in a quiet voice.
Reone nodded slowly.
"Varek—he was my mentor. He took me under his wing when I came to Echian. 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 tells her.
His tone made her flinch. It was the old Reone again—the anguished one who liked to spread his hurt. But she stayed silent; grief had a way of sharpening old edges.
She touched his arm gently. "So what now?"
"We find Damon," he said, voice rough. "And we make him pay."
"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 didn't either," she shot back.
His smirk softened. "Fair point." He then gets up and offers 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. "Veyra. Nivara. Caelynn. Hear me."
The air around him shimmered faintly.
******
THE SISTERHOOD
"Someone's calling," Veyra said, twirling a strand of hair.
The three dark Sylphs stood in the dim expanse of a close wasteland—an ancient stronghold where their ancestors,the founding spirits of Dark Sylph Arts--the Matrons of Destruction whispered like wind.
"Someone's calling,"Nivara says,twisting her curly hair.
"Let me guess," Veyra said coldly. "Our impatient little ally."
Veyra 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 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. "He did bring us back from the dead."
"Are you sure it's not that you're developing a little crush on him, sister?" Caelynn asks accusingly.
"No. But you have to admit that he's a little cute," Nivara says defensively. "And the fact that he's wants to be King makes him more attractive."
"It wont when he's dead," Veyra says.
"Did you forget what the Matrons said we needed to take over the entire magic dimension? We can't do it without him," Nivara says.
Veyra groaned, but after a beat, nodded. "All right. But after this, he and us are even," she says, starting to float. Her sisters followed suit and together, they headed towards Damon's fortress at max speed.