I woke up in my bed, groaning from the pounding headache beating inside my forehead. My muscles ached as I winced trying to stretch my arm. A shiver ran through my spine as I forced my eyes open, the world fuzzy and bright before my eyes adjusted.

"Fates, you're up." I sat up, looking Finn in the eyes. He was the one trying to speak to me I realized.

"Where am I? What time is it?" I grimaced at the acute pricks inside my brain. "Is this what a hangover is like?"

He smiled before shaking his head. "Not quite but a good guess. I'm going to get Secta and Cybele. Stay put, Kate. Alright?" He raised an eyebrow in question and I nodded in agreement, resting my head back down into the pillows.

"I don't remember much..."

"They'll be in to help you." He said softly, stepping closer to the side of the bed. "Can I get you anything? Besides Cybele and Secta obviously." Finn cleared his throat, making me smile.

"No thank you." I sighed, "I..."

The door opened, making me jump as I sat up. Finn turned around, greeted by Secta and Cybele. The God of Light looked more tense than usual, picking up a chair and setting it beside my bed as if it were a mission of life or death. Hell, maybe it was.

Cybele hovered near the wall after she closed the door before stepping behind her father, offering me a small smile. Finn came back to stand close next to her, the two exchanging a glance.

"She doesn't remember." Finn said, looking to me before back to Cybele.

"You don't remember?" Secta prompted, his voice like ice. I shook my head, gripping the sheets tighter in my fists. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes before looking at me. They glowed a soft gold as he stretched out his hand towards me. "Take it."

I stared at his hand before back up to him. Reluctantly, I reached out, our fingers clasping together. His eyes glowed a deeper gold as I jumped in surprise.

Ice. Darkness. Fire. Death. Screaming. Bells. The nightmare man and the ballerina. My wails. Pain. Light mixing with darkness. A grey sky. A black pit. Splintering, cracking, exploding, floating. Then white hot pain ripping my mind apart.

Yanking my hand back, I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I was going to panic as my fear and anxiety rose inside my chest. "No, no, no..." I shook my head.

"Unfortunately, it happened." Secta shook his head. "She's been searching for me all this time, and now she's located me."

"Why?" I snapped, digging my hands in my hair. "What does she want from you and why did she attack me?"

"Noxia can access the meraki dimension as easily as we can, and our meraki are interwoven, light and darkness." He swallowed, "I didn't think it was possible for her to jump into our connection, but she's been keeping tabs on me and my meraki usage as it seems. I apologize for putting you at risk through our journey."

"You're sorry?" I broke into laughter, shaking my head. "She was inside my mind, picking through it. I felt her... rip into it." I couldn't speak as I shuddered. "This is too crazy. I don't have a meraki or whatever magical powers you people have. I'm not a guardian. I am a normal girl and I can't do this! I just want to go home!"

They were silent as I closed my eyes, trying to calm my breathing. My entire body ached and she'd only touched me. She was powerful; Noxia, the queen of darkness. I couldn't face her because I didn't have powers. It was all fake, a dillusion. None of this was real.

"Except, Kate, you do possess meraki." Secta replied softly. "You used it when we were in the other realm to ward off that demon. You need to realize that this is real and something that isn't as rare as you think. You can live with this and you are strong. Your position as the Prodigy isn't determined yet, but from the evidence of your meraki that I've heard and witnessed, you have a deep root of spirit and it's powerful."

"It isn't real." I protested, opening my eyes as I shook my head. "This is all one long bad dream with magic, villians, and bird people!"

"You told me there was a fire, didn't you?" Secta scooted closer, eyeing me with curiosity. "For me, it's a type of hurricane that swirls deeply inside my core, a little fuzzy and difficult to touch if I don't focus hard enough. But, when I need it, I seem to take out a little ball of wind, and it's as easy as plucking a flower from a field."

I narrowed my eyes. "Regular people have a fire inside sometimes too. I might just be fooling you."

Secta clenched his jaw before letting out a deep breath. He stood up, cracking his knuckles as he stared down at me. "Are you alright to stand and walk?"

"Yes." I said and he pointed to me, using his finger to beckon me up out of bed. With caution, I bit my lip before pushing back the sheets, sliding onto my feet.

"Grab some shoes, Kate. We're going to try something new today." Secta replied, turning on his heels as he marched out the door.

I watched him go before glancing down at a soft pang in my arm. I lifted up both wrists, noticing the marks that ran down my arms. Cybele stepped forward to touch my hand, glancing up to me. "I know you're scared, but it's going to be alright."

"It's not." I shook my head, looking past her to Finn's concerned face before back to Cybele. "You didn't see her."

"I have many times before."

"She was inside my head. She said she wanted to... wanted to keep me." I felt tears start to rise in the corners of my eyes.

Cybele's face darkened as she squeezed my hand. "I promise that we won't let that happen to you, and if you work with us to explore your meraki, you will be able to stop her on your own with us by your side. We keep our promises."

I let out a small smile, glancing to Finn. "I know you do."

"We are going to access the part of your soul that harbors your meraki." Secta explained as he stood across from me, Cybele and Finn standing by his side. We were inside the house still and after walking through many hallways and down a flight of mahogany stairs, he'd opened a big glass door into a giant room covered in mats.

Different weapons were in glass cabinets, padded helmets and gloves in the drawers. A few punching bags hung from the high ceilings as weights were stacked along the walls. I was in a grade A gym, an indoor sparring field similar to the one outside.

I spun around, taking in the vaulted ceiling and the huge glass windows floor to ceiling on one side of the room while mirrors covered the other three. An expansive balcony was just outside through the glass, a perfect view looking over the guardian settlement down the hill. He must spend a lot of time in here.

"Look for the fire, Kate." Secta's voice boomed, making me bite my lip. "Find it inside and pull a piece out for me." He pointed to the punching bag handing on the wall beside us. "If you're going to shoot something, hit that instead of me. No matter how much you're tempted."

I narrowed my eyes, making him give me a particular look that seemed to say 'I'm no mind reader, but I'm no idiot either'. I guess it was obvious we didn't really have a repore.

"It is fundamental to control your thoughts and feelings in order for your meraki to bend at your will." He said, raising his own hand. Suddenly, twinkling balls of light swirling in slow circles in the air around his hand as he moved a finger back and forth. They looked like stars, soaring around the both of us like gigantic fireflies. "You'll be able to do this after some practice." The balls dissolved into the air.

"How am I supposed to control it?" I asked. "You're sending me off to find something I can't use!"

"Just try to imagine it for me, please. You'll know what to do when you find it." Secta asked and I nodded, giving in as I closed my eyes.

"Think small, Kate." Cybele added. "Just a little bit is plenty. We don't want to strain your mind."

"Especially after it was was sliced like a tomatoe." I said through gritted teeth. With a breath, I focussed in deep, reflecting inside. It was dark, a blur of colors that were warm and swirled about, but no fire was to be found.

Hell, the colors were probably just from the sunlight.

"Kate, I want you to try and envision a little picture for me, alright?" Cybele said again, this time her voice much closer. "I understand that meraki is hard to tap into in the beginning, and this always worked for me."

I heard her footsteps as she came closer, accompanied by two others as well.

"Imagine for me that you're in a field. I know outside your city there are a lot of lovely grass fields, so place yourself there."

I nodded, reflecting back to what the fields looked like at home. I could imagine the tall grass brushing against my legs and the soil under my feet with the warm breeze, the city shadow looming on top of the rocky summit.

Standing still, I touched the tops of the grass and wildflowers, feeling their smooth surfaces against my fingertips. The birds chirped around me and I breathed in deeply, taking in the sweet spring breeze tinted with the scent of dew.

"Now, you've found a clearing in the grass. Walk there."

A clearing in the field parted with the wind and I stepped closer to it out of interest, stepping onto the freshly cut circle.

"There's a basket sitting in the center, and I want you to kneel in front of it. Look inside, Kate."

There was a wicker basket with a long handle resting in the middle of the grass circle, a big blue bow tied around it. I walked closer, dropping to my knees as I went to open the lid. With ease it opened up to me, filled with a variety of glimmering orange fruit.

I picked up one, its outer surface smooth like glass as I held it up to inspect. Inside, something moved and fluttered, the glass warm to the touch. Fire.

Stroking the orb, I turned it about in my fingers to look at it more closely.

"Crush it."

The fruit rested in my palms as I stood, closing the basket with the sole orange. I had to break it. With a shaky breath, I wrapped both hands around the orb, closing my eyes. Slowly, I started to squeeze, adding more and more pressure.

It hardly budged and I bit my lip, clamping down on it harder. I couldn't hear the glass even threaten to splinter as I stopped to stare at the surface. It was still perfectly clear, strong with the fire blazing inside.

'It's dangerous to play with fire, little rose' a new voice echoed inside my head, an odd feeling sinking into my skin. It was present, but at the same time, it was a thought and experience that wasn't my own. It was a man's voice, deep and steady. I felt like I'd heard it before, but there was something about its features that were foreign. 'I don't want to see you get burned.'

I opened my eyes with a gasp, stepping back from Cybele. She'd taken my hand in her own and I pulled it away, looking down from my fingers to her.

"Kate?" She asked.

"I couldn't break it." I breathed, glancing from her to the two men at either of her sides. "The orange wouldn't crack."

"Orange?" Secta asked.

"An orb with fire in it. It glowed orange." I answered, glancing at my feet before back up to Cybele. "Did you feel anything... odd?"

Her head turned slightly, "no, not at all. Did you experience... something?"

"Maybe I did, but I might just be making it up. I couldn't break the orb so maybe it was trying to tell me something."

"What did you see?" Secta asked with interest.

"It was only a voice." I replied, "a man's. He was saying something about roses."

"Roses?" Cybele asked, biting her lip hard as she stared me in the eyes. She'd perked with interest, a slight shade of ivory to her features as her cheeks turned pink. "You heard something about roses?"

I nodded before shrugging my shoulders. "Not important."

"You're right. Not important in the least."