A/N: So, I am hoping to finish this book by the end of November and I really hope I would be able to do that. And then, this book will undergo so major editing. I thought, after that, I will enter my books into awards and stuff like that.... because when looking back at some chapters... I find many of them poorly written. 

I personally would hate to read a book like that.. .and I don't want my readers also to read it cuz they are forced. I want you guys to get hooked to the book. Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!!

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Karen's POV

I slash my sword across the platoons of guards charging at each of us. Multiple parts of my body, work simultaneously as I work on taking the guards out. I sprint in between them, tackling them when they least expect me and knock them out from behind.

One grabs my abdomen from behind but before I can turn around, a transparent pointed object impales him. His eyes go wide as he looks down at his abdomen, now stabbed with the glass-like object. 

What is this?

Coolness radiates from it and the guard stumbles back and with a thud, falls on the ground, dead.

I raise my head.

And Iris stands before me, immense rage washed on her face as I realize what just happened. She seems to have been submerged in her rage as she turns around and away from me, her arms spread in the air as if she is summoning something. And she is.

The water from the fountain far, far away from us, rises into the air in giant bubbles, moving towards her outstretched arms. They begin splitting apart into smaller bubbles and then take the shape of spikes. Sharp spikes. She twists her hands bringing them together as the spikes of water begin to freeze mid-air into ice and she turns around to me.

Her eyes are bright white balls of light, glowing so bright that it pierces my eyes. Her entire body gleams like gemstones. That's when I see that her body is covered with gems, much like when she is transformed, except that this time, she doesn't have the fishtail but instead from her breasts to the tip of her toes is covered in gleaming gems. She looks like she is wearing a diamond skintight, jumpsuit.

"Duck, Karen!" she orders and I quickly crouch down. The icicles fly above my head and into the group of guards behind me that I didn't even see coming. Each one strikes each guard perfectly in the heart, them dropping down with dull thuds as they die.

Iris turns around with the rest of the icicles floating mid-air, and perfectly, nails the guards attacking Kevin, Caspian, and Darius. An arrow comes flying in her direction, intended to injure her but is quickly trapped inside a bubble of water she generated and sent back in the direction it came from. Right into the forehead of a guard.

She'll handle the guards. I am sure of it. And I will take my chance to handle the arrogant king. I sprint across the collision of water, ice, metal, flesh, and blood, to the where the king seems to be calmly watching his guards lose their life in our hands. 

What a sadist?

Now, just so you know, what I mean by sprinting is the way vampires do.

Knowing nothing about who truly am, Aziman's eyes widen when he sees me in front of his nose within the blink of a second. And before he can move, I press the blade of my sword onto his throat.

"You know, taking out the ever rival King Aziman, would be my first and second-greatest achievement besides finding the Borat, as a queen. Given the fact that you are the sole reason that my father punished himself, I would be more than glad to take you out." I threaten.

His jaw hangs open in fear and shock. "What sort of Eponian are you? You're eyes-"

"Yes, keep going old man! My eyes aren't the ordinary blue or green. Tell me what you see!" I shout.

"They're gold. How?" he breathes out. I press the blade harder to his wrinkled neck.

"Why do you think?"

He searches my eyes for his answer and its only seconds before his eyes widen even more.

"The Prophecy of Erad!" he breathes out in realization.

"Yeah, that's right, oldie! Now let us leave in peace or watch your kingdom demolish in front of your eyes. Neither me nor my friends will have no remorse." 

That line wasn't entirely true, but he didn't need to know that.

"What will I get from that?" he asks.

"The mere fact that I am not driving this blade through your neck trades for our release. Not that we want your permission to leave but if it works that way, Almine will be left without a king. Now, we wouldn't want that would we?"

"No..." he whispers in defeat.

"Good. Now ask your handful of remaining guards to stop." I command and Aziman raises a weak hand.

"Cease!" he orders weakly and they stop.

My four friends are breathing heavy and I see that Kevin is the most injured. He clutches his obliques as I see crimson blood flow out of his body. Iris is still in her state of high that she doesn't notice the love of her life bleeding out. Kevin begins to sway and I am quick to slide my sword into my scabbard and sprint to him before he falls.

When I catch him and that Caspian has done so too.

"What do we do?" I ask him, helplessly.

"Heal him! Now and here, amare!" he tells. 

Again, he calls me that. Amare. The one nickname that sends shivers down my spine. He didn't use that for a long time but now it has come back again. Not even Darius has this effect on me, I realize.

"Katarina..." he snaps me out of my trace. "Quick! Act now."

We lie down a very weak Kevin onto the carpeted floor dirtied with water, ice, blood, and sweat. He breathes heavy and only then, does Iris notice what is happening. I don't know what is happening to her, but this is not the way a hybrid is supposed to act according to the information Delmar had given us. Again, Delmar had barely given her any legitimate information.

"Oh my god!" Iris gasps. The rage-filled goddess I just saw seconds ago has disappeared and she is back to my normal Iris.

"Iris, Karen both of you need to work in healing him. Iris washes off the debris and Karen, heal him." instructs Caspian.

"I..I...okay!" Iris stutters and I tear off his shirt to reveal an ugly sound. I cringe at the sight but Iris the rest of them seems to be unbothered. And now I am recalling the stuff I studied in school. 

Biology. How does healing flesh work?

I dig deeper inside my brain as I try to remember the stuff I learned. 

The cells, fibrins.....Jeez, I forgot everything!

Iris shoots water out of her hands, rinsing out the initial blood and other dirt that could hinder his healing. She is struggling hard to work but yet does a great job, rinsing out the debris from his wounds.

Kevin hisses and moans when the water flows against his wound.

"I'm so s-sorry, baby....i-it'll be okay! I'm here!" she soothes him, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Iris, how does Hemo....what was the word? How does....healing of the skin work?" I ask. I'm sure she'll know. She should know because I can't remember one bit of it.

"Hemostasis?" she asks.

"Yeah..."

"Umm...I...Why are you asking me this now?!" she fumes.

"Because my healing works by speeding up and strengthening the natural process of body healing," I answer.

She ponders for a while.

"Umm....the blood vessel constricts itself to slow the flow of blood and then the thrombocytes in the blood gather at the site of the injury. And then.....then what happens? Umm.....Yeah, and then the collagen fibers in the endothelial cells react with the platelets...to turn them sticky-like."

"Jesus Christ!" I breathe.

"And then...the fibrin strands join together to this group of cells to form a clot. And then eventually, these fibrins pull together the walls of the vessel and close them." she completes.

She literally remembered all that after all this time. 

Hats off to my friend!

Now, I have to heal Kevin.

"That's how I remember it, Karen. I think there is more to it.....some hormone secretion for the fibrins to come-"

"What you explained is more than enough, Iris. You're a genius!" I say. "Kevin, you ready?"

He nods, wincing.

I place my hand right above his wound. First, constrict the hundreds of venules and arterioles to slow the blood....draw the platelets into the cut...I can feel it! I can feel it working!

Then activate the collagen fibers....glue the platelets together. The energy is flowing from my fingertips and into the air between the skin of my hand and Kevin's wounded one. It sizzles beneath my fingers.

Now summoning the fibrins....and drawing them to the platelets...react....clot. I feel the energy draining out of me as well. It won't be long before I start feeling weak. I have never cursed that bloody law in which energy is always conserved. So much for being a high schooler.

I stop the healing to look at my progress.

The once ugly wound now looks...fine.

"Kevin...how are you feeling?" I ask.

"I still have the pain." he groans. I forgot to numb the pain receptors. A quick touch at that and Kevin tells me that the rest of the wound will heal itself.

"You scared me!" Iris sobs, engulfing him in a sloppy hug.

"Well, you know what gave me strength? You standing there, shooting those ice bullets out. Dang girl, you're a badass!" he tells her and she giggles.

I turn to Aziman and say just one word.

"Thank you." 

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A/N: Yeah, I'm a science student and hence the biology!