Standing in one of the secure buildings in the village, Binx tosses a tunic, trousers, and undergarments into my hands. Surprisingly, with Tesha holding on so tightly to the chains in one hand and a dagger in the other, I manage to catch the fabrics.

"Here, change into this and clean yourself off," he orders.

I mumble an insult underneath my breath as he leaves, earn a warning glare from him but nothing more, and the door slams as he wills it. That leaves just the two of us, standing alone in what appears to be someone's living room. At least it was before the prince came in here and ruined everything.

Parts of the walls are burnt, the sofa is charred, but the rest of the home remains intact. Even the second floor, while others have collapsed in on themselves, is completely standing. Someone, an innocent witch, had to leave this home and try to find something else—if they're still alive. They killed so many that night, as many as they could, and my people didn't stand a chance.

It makes my stomach sick to think of the destruction that happened here. The innocent witches didn't receive a chance to survive after they'd done nothing wrong. All they wanted was a chance to escape the king's cruel reign, and by ending here, their doom was just the same as it would have been if they resided in the capital. We weren't able to do anything for them, all because of my useless power.

I'll never allow that guilt off my shoulders. It wasn't my parents' fault, or Celestine's, or Bren's. The blame belongs to me, and no one else. I was supposed to protect these people, and standing in this empty house reminds me I did no such thing. My parents told me to flee, to run, so the prince didn't catch me, but I still ended up in his grasp as if I was meant to be there. Even the ocean spit me back out to give my life away. Ever since that day, nothing has gone my way.

The prince is completely to blame for that.

"Are you going to get dressed or am I going to do it for you?" Tesha snaps. She yanks on the chains enough for the shackles to poke the sore flesh on the insides of my wrist and I snap back to attention to grip the clothes tighter in my hands.

She hands me over a bucket of warm water with a cloth to clean off everything I've gathered myself in over recent days. I strip down to my undergarments and clean myself off while Tesha still holds onto the chains, monitoring anything else in the room so she doesn't have to look at me.

"You're getting yourself into trouble, you know," I remind her.

"I don't need you to tell me what is right and what is wrong. The last time I checked, you were killing innocent humans for fun."

I had expected for word to get around by now about those human refugees attempting to escape the war. The same way Tesha had come, she was also in their shoes but had chosen a wiser path. No one dumb enough to come to the king, not noticing witches are stronger than them, has the right to live. It was coming from the moment they stepped inside the castle or pitched up their tents in the woods and made that land their home.

They were lying; about being here, about caring for witches, about fleeing the war. And they did so with a smile on their faces. I was more than ready to end them. They're one less flea on the king's back.

"The king will kill each and every last one of you," I say, tugging on the dark trousers. I keep a close eye on the dagger in her grasp. With each word I say, she tightens her grip. Her knuckles turn an angered shade of white, and I realize her rage will be what gets me out of here. "Once I get out of here, I'll warn him that a human, weak and frail, is invading his kingdom."

She clicks her tongue in disappointment. Damn. Nothing is getting through to her.

"He'll fillet you alive, and stake your heads on the gates so no one thinks of doing what you've tried, and failed to do." I shake my head in fake discontent. "It's a pity most humans have to die that way."

Tesha releases a sarcastic laugh from her throat. "They don't have to die that way; you witcheschoose to diminish their worth."

Now that I'm completely dressed in new undergarments, clean trousers, and a comfortable tunic, I feel ready enough to take on the human in the room. She stands before me; her back turned and her attention towards the window. One quick kick to the back of the knee and she'll be—

The door opens, revealing more faces than one. Binx leads the charge, the banished prince behind him, Bren, and then another witch I don't recognize. His silver hair and citrine eyes aren't anything I recognize; my mind tells me he's a stranger so that's what I believe. Whether it's my true conscience or the king's power still flowing through me, I'll listen to either one.

"Let's get this over with," Binx sighs.

"No," I growl, already shaking on the chains to get them out of Tesha's grasp. She holds on tight until Bren steps forward, taking them for her, but maintains a strong distance so I don't try to snap his neck. I'm already thinking about it.

The prince remains in the corner of the room, watching with a sorrow look in his eye. What are they going to do? What does Binx have planned?

"If you kill me, you ruin your entire operation," I say, still yanking. Blood drips onto the wooden floorboards of this empty home.

But it doesn't appear to be phasing anyone, not even the silver-haired witch standing with his arms crossed in front of the door. They're focusing on Binx and what he might say next once he's done readying his power.

Tesha is the one to speak. "If we planned on killing you, we would have done it at the castle," she barks. "Although I definitely wanted to—"

"Tesha, stop it." Bren dodges out of the way of my flying leg, aiming for his knee, but he's too fast.

The chains aren't long enough, and slowly, with each drop of blood on the wood, I'm losing more and more of my sanity. My ability to stand without wobbling is becoming a nuisance, especially when trying to defend myself.

"Whatever it is, it's not going to work. The king's power is too strong and—"

A searing pain like I've never felt before erupts inside my skull. I clamp my hands onto the sides of my head and wince, trying to get that pain out, but it presses farther and farther to the inside. I can't hear anymore; my ears are full. I can't see for my eyes are blacking out, spotting with white, from the pain.

But I hold on. The king's power grips hold over my soul, and it's at that moment I realize what they're trying to do. Binx is trying to use his power, the ability of illusion, to take over what is left of the king's influence inside my skull. It's a powerful force, one he won't be able to defeat, and I'll make sure of that by holding onto the leader of Esaria. He will be my freedom.

I can't tell whether I'm screaming or if that's merely ringing in my head. I stumble, and hands catch me, only to allow me to fall. My knees slam against the floor, and the entire world spins. Something is being ripped away from me and shoved so far deep into my body I won't be able to find it, no matter what I do. Like the reserve, lost to me except for during a Drainage, they're trying to hide the king's power until further notice.

To stop their efforts, I shove it front and center and allow that magic to take over. I've had it sitting idle for months now, but this time, I'll unleash it. The dark power, swirling smoke, takes hold of Binx's illusion and throws it out. The world comes back to me, I can see through the tears, and I look up to find we lost one member of the group.

Renit isn't standing there anymore. In the back of my mind, I hear his voice. It was lost to me during Binx's invasion, but I hear it now. I can't watch this. Let me know when it's done. I'll be at the cliffsides.

The banished prince's disappearance isn't the only change. Alaric is bracing his hands against Binx's shoulders to keep him upright as blood streams from his nose, over his lips, and down his chin. It drips onto his leather armor, but he keeps going.

"Roux, you need to cooperate," he demands.

I shake my head despite the ache in my neck. "You're never going to get through. No matter what, the king's power is stronger than you."

I'm hit with another blast, this one stronger than the last. I grit my teeth, slamming my fist against the floorboards to keep from screaming. My back arches, my entire body convulsing, and I finally allow that scream loose. It unleashes a snaking, predatory like calm in the king's power, and it circles Binx's invasion, waiting to strike.

Binx strikes first, aiming directly for that dark power, and he manages a secure hold. A rupture, like someone just stuck a knife into my skull, sends a shock wave of pain throughout my entire being. Tears flow down my cheeks from the pressure. They're fighting within me, two dark powers taking claim, and I allow it. The king's power will never bow down to someone as weak and young as Binx—an ancient royal is too durable to hold such a meaningless fate.

There's a flash of red light through the darkness, and smoke fills my lungs. I choke and wheeze, grappling for air and nothing comes. They've changed tactic. Now, not only is Binx attempting to dull the king's power, but Bren is trying to take me down to make it easier. His flame suffocates my being, crackling heat through my guts and lungs, and I see this as being the end.

I'm not going to stop. If they pull this off, I'll find where Binx is hiding the king's power and I'll unleash hell upon them all.

Slowly, like chipping away at stone, the king's power begins to give up. No, I scream inside my head. This can't be happening.

Binx grabs hold, so tight I feel myself suffocating along with the dark power, and something in my heart snaps. Bren's fire recedes and a weight like I've never understood before lifts itself off my shoulders and the smell of the king, of iron and blood, disappears like a phantom wave.

I open my eyes, breathing heavily, blood dripping from my nose, and find Binx, the king's guard, kneeling before me. He braces both hands against the wooden floorboards, his back arching in pain, blood streaming down onto the surface. There are others in the room, Tesha and Bren. I release a shaken sob from my throat upon seeing my childhood best friend, and whirl myself to him, attempting to throw my arms around his neck in an embrace.

I'm yanked back, slammed against the floorboards. Tesha hovers over me, a dagger pressed against my throat, and I wince from the onset of pain. What is happening?

"Get off of me," I say. She only digs the blade in further when I try to move the dagger away. I wince upon feeling wounds in my wrists; how did that happen?

"Wait," Bren says. He moves Tesha aside, but she remains as close as she can. Is she trying to protect him...from me? "Roux, how do you feel?"

Everything comes back to me in one swift wave. The king's potion, killing Akeno, the rush of the king's power, killing, murdering, creating an army. The war, winning, Draining, the reserve, everything. I'm hit with a rush of information so fast I can hardly keep up with every single memory sliding into my brain like arrows into a wooden target. Slam. One right after the other. Slam.

The last thing I see is Renit in the throne room, kneeling over my dying body. The truth comes back. Binx got me out of the castle, Renit as well, by faking my death. Ignoring Bren's question, I turn back to the king's guard and find him already staring at me.

Tears run down my cheeks as I rush to him, tugging his weak body in for a bone-crushing embrace. He stumbles back, nearly tumbling onto the floorboards if it's not for the silver-haired man helping him remain kneeling. Binx digs his face into my neck, breathing heavy, and chuckles against my skin.

"You did it," I whisper. "You got rid of the king's control."

The entire room is silent. No one moves, no one breathes, not until Bren fishes a key from his pocket and unlocks the shackles around my wrist, but clamps a titanium band against my skin seconds later.

"For precaution," he tells me. I couldn't care less.

I pull away from Binx, and with my sleeve, smear away the blood streaming from his nose. He looks so tired, his eyes are heavy, his entire face appears to have aged quickly in a matter of minutes. If I'm not mistaken, he appears to be close to a Drainage. He's likely been teetering on the edge of one for weeks now, he's controlled so many soldiers into believing the king is their only shot at having a true, honest life.

I press a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," I whisper.

The corner of Binx's mouth turns up into a small smile. "I'm sorry for starting this."

Even if what he did was terrible, I can't hate him for it. Through it all, he was trying to keep himself alive, but also, he protected me from anything terrible happening beyond what I was forced to do. The ache of killing, so many faces I'll never see again, makes my stomach churn with bile, but I have to live with those souls now.

Renit. The name appears in my mind like a slap to the face, and I whirl, trying to find him. But he's not here. The last thing I remember is him in the throne room and the wagon; where is he? I need to see him; I need to let him know I'm all right.

"He's at the cliffsides," Bren tells me. I don't have the time to embrace him for helping me out of that dark place because I'm running out the door, breaking out onto the empty streets of Arego, and dodging right to aim for the cliffsides.

I leap over heaps of crushed stone, cracked and reduced to nothing but rubble. The wind catches in my hair as I break out away from the village and scan, finding his figure heading towards the cliffsides. Renit's shoulders are hunched as he walks, his head down is disappointment. This is the same track we took that night when he tried to kill me.

Now I'm the one running after him.

My feet can't move fast enough, my body isn't quick enough, and I can hardly see through the tears. The wind kicks at my heels, rocks flipping into the air and grass tearing from its roots. Everything I've done...it leads to this. Embracing him, finally seeing him as the witch I fell in love with and not the enemy.

Renit stops at the cliffsides and stares down at the ocean waters. A sob breaks loose from my throat and his head turns, ever so slightly, as his power detects what is approaching. Even underneath the titanium band, mine leaps in excitement upon being so close, so near to finally seeing him again.

He whirls to me, eyes wide, and a smile like I've never seen before spreads onto his cheeks. The tears blur my vision, but he's running in my direction and stops as I finally reach him, bending low to wrap his arms around my waist and tug me into the air. I can't stop myself from sobbing into his neck as I throw my arms around his shoulders and squeeze tight.

The rush of his scent hits me like a wave, smelling of the sweetest summer rain. Renit can't hold on tight enough as he buries his face in my neck and grips so tight onto my waist that I can't get out a full breath. But I don't care. My legs wrap around him to grip tight, the entirety of us shaking with tears.

I pull away and take his face in my hands.

"I'm so sorry," he blurts. "I'm so, so sorry."

"I don't care," I sob, and smile through the tears. I pull Renit's face towards mine and kiss him, finally, after these months. However long it's been, the king's control could have taken my sense of time away, too.

None of that matters now. Our powers dance in answer. Our relationship is as it should be. Nothing and no one will ever take us away from each other again.