At the tree line, dark eyes shined back at us, the sunlight glimmering off them like gemstones. The echoes of strangled voices filled my ears, inhuman and wild sounding like feral animals. The very air of the forest seemed to have changed, fragile and broken when Nocen and I had walked through it but now insidious and brooding as it concealed its warriors.

The wind blew, shaking the leaves as I felt the power of my meraki readying itself for release. It too was stirring, springing to life at all the darkness that hung around us in its attempt to strangle the sun. I took a breath in, electricity inside my veins as I stepped forward.

A loud war cry sung out like the final note of a symphony, making goosebumps rise on my skin. The ground began to shake as feet stamped the earth, figures composed of shadow rushing out from the trees like an army.

I turned to look behind me, my meraki sparking to life as I sent it out of my body. A wave of gold bubbled out of the earth, rising up along the slope of the hill. It grew like a tsunami as I coaxed it on, my eyes watching as it began to grow to the height of a skyscraper. I held it, raising my trembling hands as my meraki kissed the top of Secta's dome to separate the guardians from the demonic troops.

My body burned as though it were a flame itself, spreading and strengthening with each breath of air I took in. Keeping my hands up to hold back my mighty wave, I looked to the approaching demons.

They ran towards us without hesitation, the lower breeds like the ones from the Mimic rushing across the grass like hounds after a fox. They wouldn't stop their charge until I ended them. My meraki exploded inside me; it beckoned me to let the waters fall. It was time for the seas to open on Gabrian, it told me, to cleanse the forest and to free it from evil; I listened.

"Don't be afraid, Nocen. It won't hurt you. " I said, moving my fingers. I could practically feel the surface of the wave against my palms, energy rippling back and forth along its surface. With a deep breath, I pushed my hands forward, the ground groaning underneath our feet.

The wave shuddered before in a single instance it was leaning towards us. I turned, looking over my shoulder as the top of its arch began to break. It sprayed like an ocean wave, foam as white as angel's wings at its crest. Energy surged inside it, crashing onto itself as it began its plummet to the ground. When the first of its wave hit the ground, the impact made Nocen wince as he clamped his hands over his ears, the roar so deafening that windows all through Gabrian began to shatter.

I held up my hands, directing my energy towards the demons as the waters ate everything in its path. As soon as it reached Nocen and I, it split in two coursing around us like a rock in a stream before slowly devouring up every demon in its path. They tried to run, but the tsunami was faster, falling over the forest like a golden blanket as its waters swirled and churned.

In my body I could feel the demons, a darkness in my chest that slowly was dying away with every life my meraki took. It only needed to touch one of the night children to send them to the grave, its electricity so intense that it fried them on impact. One by one every demon died, all except one who stood next to me with eyes full of awe.

I let the waters still around us, opening up my palms as I guided my meraki back towards me. The golden ocean seemed to evaporate, retreating back into my body as though the water returned back to its dam before it was split open. I sucked in a breath as the final energy of my power returned to my core, my hand rising to my chest.

Electricity burned there inside me, and I looked to Nocen before dropping my hand. He stared at me in wonder before I had to turn away. I shifted, looking up to the guardians on the hill top. They were silent before all at once they burst into a deafening roar. Screams and applause echoed in my ears, clapping and the pounding of wings filling the space around us.

I couldn't help but smile as Nocen patted my shoulder. "You are something, Kate. Really something."

Guardians began to rush down the hill towards us, running and flying altogether as they raced towards us. My meraki swirled inside me, glowing with approval as I walked towards them without fear. I let my power glow, for the first time feeling as though I could let my veins shine their true colors without shame for what I was. Even now, I didn't know who I was or why I had my power. But I didn't care; Fate had made me who I was supposed to be.

A loud screech shot through the air like an arrow, making me stop short as I turned my head. Nocen was running towards me from where he stood, a dark shadow running across the ground behind him.

"Get down!" He shouted at me, dissolving into silver dust as I looked up into the sun. A figure was outlined in the aurora of the sun, winged and shining with the light. It let out a cry before out of its beak fire even mightier than anything Tiffany could ever create flew through the air.

I lifted my hands, my meraki shooting from my palms as I shielded myself. Fire exploded all around me, the impact of it making my arms quiver as the bird swirled in the air. It turned its body, circling me like a bird of prey.

"Come on!" Nocen appeared behind me, grabbing a hold of my arm before we were pulled into his silver vortex.

"What the hell is that?" I shouted.

"The Phoenix!" He said in reply, the world fading back into vision as we were racing through the trees. I ran after Nocen, who ducked under tree branches faster than I could follow. The bird's shriek were as loud as thunder, and I knew that it was after us even now.

"How'd it get in here?"

"It's the protector of Gabrian. Right now it wants to eat me and you since you are preventing it from feasting on demon! I have to stay away from that thing, Kate, because I do not stand a chance against it. That thing's job is to pick off demons; it's the Goddess Fate's pet bird!"

My eyes widened, "it's been here the whole time!"

"From the start of Gabrian, yes. The Phoenix protects this place and listens to the command of Gabrian's head. "

"Secta? We can get him to call it off!"

"Are you stupid?" Nocen roared.

He stopped in his path, taking a hold of my shoulder just as fire connected with a tree to our right. We were pulled into the silver world all over again, and in the next second we were standing on top of the hill in the center quad of Gabrian. The dining hall and dormitories circled around us, sending an odd sense of deja vu through me.

"Secta is allowing this!" He shouted, gripping both my shoulders to give me a shake.

"He can't be!"

"Well, he fucking is right at this moment!" Again our world was spun into silver before we were spit out at the base of the hill. Guardians were swarming at the top of the hill now, retreating back into the buildings as the Phoenix twisted in the air.

A ball of fire the size of a moon hurtled towards us, and with both hands I pushed up a shield of meraki, watching it deflect off back up into the air. The bird ducked and spiraled, avoiding its own cannonball as it shot down towards us.

I searched inside its body for power, looking for its smoking fire that brewed deep inside its chest. When I found it, I clamped my hands around it. The Phoenix let out a strangled cry, its wings locking as it fell to the earth in front of us with a loud crunch.

My hands were on fire, and a scream rang out of my throat, the pain inside my body so acute that I fell to my knees. I held my hands over the flames, keeping the bird's power smothered. Its orange and red wings thrashed, its long talons digging in the earth as it flailed for air screeching as loudly as I was.

"Kate, stop!" Nocen was shouting at me, but I could barely hear him. The flame was escaping my hands, each time I snuffed it out only returning to build up again. The smoke was making my lungs ache, blood running from my nose. The flame exploded inside the Phoenix, forcing me to let go.

I collapsed onto my back, my palms feeling as though they'd melted as I clamped them to my chest. My body shuddered, everything on fire as I let out a sob. A long shadow stretched over my body as I looked up into the yellow eyes of the Phoenix. Its body burned with the fire, strong beak leaking with flames as it let out a screech right into my face. Snapping its beak, it eyed me curiously, its eyes glowing with fire.

A black figure leapt onto the bird, throwing it off from me. Coughing from the smoke, I managed to roll over onto my stomach, lifting my head. Nocen in his wolf form snarled and snapped at the bird's wings, ignoring the flames that burned him.

He and Phoenix tumbled about on the ground, claws slashing at one another. It struck Nocen across the chest before its beak came down to strike the demon through the shoulder. The wolf cried out before he was thrown to the ground, the Phoenix flexing its talons before slicing the demon again just for good measure.

"Nocen!" I shouted, pulling myself up onto my knees. My meraki flooded out from my chest, light exploding around us in a thick burst like a bomb had gone off as the air around me sang with static electricity. The bird shrieked, fanning out its wings before it shot up into the air to avoid my power.

With its absence, I crawled forward on my hands and knees. Nocen was on his back, one arm spread and the other across his chest. He was twitching, eyes shut as he shuddered. His chest was torn open, his flesh burnt as he let out a groan.

"Nocen!" I placed my hands on either side of his face. "You shouldn't have done that! It's going to be ok."

"Tell her... I love her..." He panted, his green eyes shooting open as he sucked in a breath. "I can't..." His eyes rolled back, fear running through my veins as I held him tighter. I had to help him. What could I do...

"Just let him die." A deep voice said, making me tense as I lifted my head. Secta's cold eyes met mine as he stood in front of us. The Phoenix landed on the ground beside him, the two watching me with the same expression. I was prey. "You don't care about him."

"Secta, don't do this." I said, feeling how his meraki was shifting and swirling inside him as it began to build.

"Dad!" Cybele cried out, making us all turn our heads. She and Finn were hurrying towards us, but she fell short as she realized whose head I was holding in my hands. Cybele nearly collapsed, her face white. "Nocen!"

She went to rush forward but Secta held up his hand. "Stay back!" A surge of of his meraki locked her legs to the ground just as he did the same to Finn. Then he turned to look at me, "I warned you what I'd do to you if you turned into Penelope."

"I am not Penelope." I hissed.

"Look at yourself. You brought demons into my home, and now you're her spitting image!" He hissed.

I rested Nocen's head on the ground, feeling my meraki stir. "Secta, let's discuss this rationally."

"Kill him and I won't do the same to you."

"No!" Cybele screamed, "Dad, please don't do this! Please!"

"I told you that I'd kill you myself, Kate, if I thought you'd gotten out of hand. Well, look at yourself now. My patience is up, and right now you're better dead than alive."