Nyxis burst out of the room with June's trail on his periphery. A flickering, gray trail curved in and out of walls, tracing the places June had been. It shot off from the gardens where Jonadrin had found Nyxis before zipping past the chasm and disappearing into the horizon due east.

June was not in the Palace. Not anymore. Had April taken him? What for? Why not just kill him here?

He made it through the patio outside the gardens. The waterfall was a damning roar in his ears. June's trail was somewhere beyond the farthest point Nyxis's eyes could see. He needed something to get him across the city. An idea popped into his mind.

A sharp whistle fought against the water's rumble as Nyxis put two fingers to his lips and blew out the same sound that Jonadrin used. The familiar bird zipped across the sky and landed in its magnificent blaze. Before Ixy could assess Nyxis, his magic flared and he swung his leg over its neck. A bridle made of pure magic strapped itself around the bird's beak.

Ixy cawed as it bucked. Its sharp, dark beak swept past Nyxis but he tightened his hold on the magic upon the bridle. He didn't have time to get mauled by a bird, no matter how majestic it was. His boot found a home in the bird's flank. "Fly!" he yelled. Ixy gave him a withering glare before taking to the air, its wings stirring more than dirt with a mighty flap.

The wind pushed Nyxis's hair off his face as he and Ixy whizzed through the bright, Dwanzeigian sky. Down below, the same canopies peppered the ground in multicolored swaths. The clouds were still purely white. Nothing was wrong except for the fact that Dwanzeig was now Cardovia's ally.

Nyxis kept June's trail in his periphery as Ixy passed the border between Acosa and Komery. The faint gray trail dove through the canopies like it was being taken to the ground. What was going on there? He flicked the reins he placed on the bird and steered it to dive low.

Branches and leaves scratched against his arms and neck as he tore through the canopy and into the undergrowth. The sheer size of the trees in this forest made even a bird as big as a graspel look minute.

Why would Eldan allow Jonadrin to ally Dwanzeig with that vile organization? If only Jonadrin knew what evil Cardovia was capable of, he wouldn't even consider getting a mile near the Heiress.

Nyxis' gut twisted as his heart pounded against his chest. June's trail wove past trees. Most of the time, it was even too faint to see. The Heiress. The events in Cardina flashed back in a series of vivid images in Nyxis's memory. That vile witch snuck into his family's heads and as soon as she was done using them, she killed them off like flicking pheaset off wings.

Such a person that tampers with lives like they're mere playthings shouldn't be allowed to live.

Warmth flooded his veins as more of Nyxis magic surged to the surface. June's trail flickered off for a few seconds before flaring faintly once more. If Nyxis could be certain of anything in this world, it's that June didn't have much time left.

As much as he loathed June for what he did to Xanthy, what the girl said to him that night in Edgerift struck a cord. He was first and foremost a doctor before he was anybody's friend. He should be saving every life he could instead of deciding who has to be killed based on their deeds.

He had already failed Dwanzeig. He wasn't about to fail Xanthy, either.

The bird cawed as it swerved to avoid a web of branches and leaves, scrambling Nyxis's brain in his skull when they spun. Nyxis's fingers tightened around the bridle. When the world righted itself, he squinted at the distance where the flickering tail disappeared to. Beyond this thicket, probably.

A clearing came into view. June's trail flared its brightest before being joined by another bright orange trail that intertwined with it. Bile crawled up Nyxis's throat. April.

Nyxis withdrew his magic from the bridle and let himself tumble sideways. The bird gave him one last caw before te

aring through the canopy, rustling leaves and branches along the way in a stringent ring. He twisted mid-air, his magic flaring to the surface and into the ground, softening his fall as he slammed into it.

A loud crash to his left resounded through the thick undergrowth. Nyxis sidled behind a tree and peeked at the clearing where June and April were locked in a one-sided battle. April growled as she flapped her wings, releasing metallic darts from her wings.. June, with whatever miracle energy he was running on, swerved out of the way. With April armed to the teeth with wings, magic, and weapons and June without even an access to the ability to stand up, how in Umazure had he lasted this long?

The wind shifted beside Nyxis and Marthiaq materialized as the brownie stepped out of his vanishing synnavaim. A yelp tore out of Nyxis's lips as he stumbled back. The back of his foot caught a root and he crashed to his rear. Marthiaq glanced at the fight happening beyond them then back at Nyxis. The brownie put a finger to his lips. Quiet.

"What are you doing here?" Nyxis dropped his voice to a hissing whisper. A ring of bushes surrounding the clearing shielded them from April's sight. "How did June get here?"

"Eldan instructed me to get June somewhere safe knowing the Crown Princess was after him," Marthiaq jerked his chin at the forest. "So now we are here in Komery. April still managed to track us. That girl was a pain in the rear."

"You fought her?" Nyxis blinked.

Marthiaq snorted. "I made sure she does not even remember meeting me."

Nyxis frowned. Eldan was proficient in both kaviste and elika Listris. Now Marthiaq was both a thyminka and a vanisher? What's up with these people and why were they this powerful? "You should see Airese if you are wondering about that," Marthiaq said almost as if it's a response to Nyxis's thoughts. "She is free and she is in Synketros all this time."

Airese. Xanthy mentioned that name to him once. "Who is Airese?"

"None of your concern as of the moment," Marthiaq waved his hand in the air. "I need to get back to Eldan so we could plan his eventual exit from the Grand Monarch's services. We need to prepare to deal with something far more important than staying in Dwanzeig."

Nyxis opened his mouth but Marthiaq's fingers pressed against his temples. Bright, orange light flared in his vision, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut. Another bout of metal clanging and footsteps crunching jarred Nyxis back to the present.

All he knew was that he needed to stop April from killing June. Was he talking to someone after he disembarked from Jonadrin's bird? He shook his head. No matter. He has a fight to stop.

Magic flared in Nyxis's veins and coated his tongue as he burst through the bushes and ran towards June. April unleashed another bout of metallic feathers at the same time Nyxis's arm shot forward. "Cover!"

A thin shield blazed to life around June. The metal feathers slammed into it and shattered. Nyxis stepped towards June when his world spun. His back slapped the forest's soil. He was pinned to the ground with Vulkraine Girl bearing on top of him. A sword tip pressed against his neck. "Do not add to my vexation," April said. "My brother is enough."

Nyxis smirked. The bluish-green grass tickled his ears. "Took you long enough to figure that out?" he cocked his head and tried to forget that it was a real sword pressed against his throat. "Too bad, killing your kin is prohibited. Is that why you simply could not drive this beautiful thing into him like a fancy roast?"

He made a show of running a finger down the blade's flat side, keeping his smirk. April growled and pressed the point harder against his neck, enough to draw blood but not pierce skin. "Why do I not roast you instead?" her eyes narrowed into deadly slits. "My brother's time is limited anyway."

His magic was a deafening roar in his ears now. "Ah," he smacked his lips, preparing for the spell he was about to cast. "I cannot be killed that easily," he clamped his fingers hard on the blade and shouted, "Asmurkata!"

The sword shattered into a thousand metallic shards. Nyxis barked another spell, driving the sprite away from him with a gust of wind. How nice it was to have one's own poison flicked back at them.

Nyxis flexed his fingers, another heavy spell already working its way out of his tongue. April lunged. A dagger flashed in the air just as Nyxis swept his arm in a wide arc, aiming it towards April. "Teinensescus!" he chanted.

April screamed as all the metal in her person sizzled against her skin. She clawed at her armor and shook the metal feathers off her wings. Gods, what a pile she had made. Nyxis turned to June who had perched against a tree. Right. He still had to get June out of here.

How was he able to move in that condition?

Nyxis shrugged. It's beyond his job description to find the answer to that question. He crossed the distance between him and the half-blood with April still dancing in frantic swipes and growls from the effects of Nyxis's spell. He made it to five meters towards June when he was slapped aside by a pillar of wind, shoving him westward.

His shoulder slammed hard ground. Something twisted as he rolled to a stop. Let him hope that it wasn't his neck. Pain shot up from his ankle. A dry laugh escaped his lips. Oh, ankle. That's pretty durable. His chest rattled as he carefully pushed himself up. Relax. Think.

A hand gripped his collar and hoisted him a few inches off the ground. A knuckle kissed his cheek. His vision righted just in time to see April's frown. She hit his face.

HIS face.

A deep growl rose from his throat as magic blazed hotter on his skin. He gripped her wrist and barked a curse—the strongest one on his list. Gashes resembling those from a huge sword snaked up the air sprite's arm in a lovely shower of blood. April's scream tore through the clearing as she stumbled away from him, dropping him back to the ground. Nyxis drew his hand back and returned a punch. April slapped the ground with her face.

Silence.

"I never thought you would be able to hit a woman, boy," a light laugh rang from April's lips as she massaged her jaw. "But you are forgetting..." she smiled through bloodied teeth as she extended her arm at him. "That I hold the key to your breath."

Nyxis's throat constricted. His hands clutched his chest as he choked and gagged. He gasped for air but nothing doused his lungs. He fell to his knees, clawing at his throat as his mouth opened and flapped like fish out of water. April laughed as she flapped her wings and sent another pillar of wind through him. He flew backwards before crashing against a tree. Something cracked inside him.

He slammed into the ground, against a tree, then back to the ground again. Not a single drop of air made it to his lungs. He couldn't feel his legs anymore. His magic blazed against April's hold on his throat and the air sprite answered by making it tighter.

Darkness ate him. The leash tightened...and tightened.

Not yet. Not...

The coil around his neck disappeared and the pain slammed in. Nyxis retched, hurling blood out of his stomach almost like a drawback. With more than bones broken inside him, his magic worked in frantic flares to keep him from dying. His limbs refused to obey him and he lay there like a pathetic leech, waiting for retribution.

Metal shrieked, the sound grating to his ears like a severe nausea. Nyxis craned his neck to where April fished out daggers from the pile of weapons Nyxis made her remove. With Nyxis too weak to maintain curses, she could wield metal now.

Three daggers glinted in the midday sun. One lodged deep in his arm, causing him to suck a deep breath and squeeze his eyes shut. Then, April lunged towards June. No!

An explosion. A grunt. Nyxis's eyes flew open to find April slumped against a tree. Her boots had etched a small trench almost like she was pushed by a strong force. Nyxis knitted his eyebrows as he braced an arm against the ground and lay on his stomach. His magic burned through his skin as it tried to patch him up.

What could have...

Nyxis's gaze landed on June who had his arms stretched. Smoke curled from his shaking hands. How...?

Then, June's knees gave out. He collapsed against a tree, hacking like a plagued man. Bright red blood shone through June's hand as he coughed into it. Gods of Calaris, this wasn't going well.

Nyxis's magic fizzled out, leaving him half-healed. His heart sank. He closed his eyes and tried summoning his magic back. Nothing came except the cold that now gripped his system. Oh, gods. Not now. He couldn't be having a burnout. Not now.

"You insolent witch," April's growl tore Nyxis' attention from his magic back to the real event. The air sprite stalked towards June who leaned against the tree, evidently fighting an oncoming seizure.

April grabbed her brother by the neck and slammed him into the ground. A crack. The Crown Princess chuckled. "I don't even need a blade to kill you, brother," she said. The Keijula rang in Nyxis's ears as soon as he understood what it meant.

Nyxis gritted his teeth. Move, he told his limbs. Move, despite the pain and bouts of darkness it brought to his vision. April hefted June again before hurling him across the clearing with such strength that a tree snapped as June slammed into it. June slid down without much sound. Blood covered one side of his face. He didn't move. Nyxis squinted. Was June still breathing?

April brandished a silver knife. "Oh, I wasn't even planning on just stabbing you to end it," she clicked her tongue. "I planned something far, far worse."

Nyxis crawled to a nearby tree and closed his fingers around the nearest branch he could reach. His arm screamed in protest but he gritted his teeth against it. Focus. Stand up.

April chuckled as she crouched and ran the tip of the knife on June's arm. She slashed at his sleeves, exposing the pale, lifeless skin beneath it. "Skinning you alive would be such fun with the drawback involved," she said.

June lifted his head to say something but April slammed her fist at the side of his head, forcing him down. "No one's going to save you now, brother."

Nyxis clenched his jaw so hard he might have broken it. He leaned against his own tree and limped forward. His fingers closed around the hilt of the dagger protruding from his arm. "I will...save him."

April whipped to his direction just as he lunged. The dagger squelched out of his flesh as he pulled it out. A boot slammed into his windpipe, then another at his knees. April's fingers closed around the dagger's hilt. Nyxis screamed when she stabbed it down his shoulder and twisted it.

"Don't you go ruining my fun, vermin," April hissed in his ear. She turned away from him and towards the half-blood. "I changed my mind," she said to herself. "He dies now."

Nyxis breath hitched as April hefted a dagger with the unmistakable sheen of dwarven metal and stabbed down. His vision darkened when he tried to clamber towards June to protect him. Wait—

A clang followed by a string of cussing tore through the silence of the doom surrounding him.

"Get your hands off my friends," a familiar voice echoed in Nyxis's sluggish brain. That couldn't be...maybe he's hallucinating. Maybe he's dead and it's just his subconscious calling out to her. That shouldn't be possible. They were nowhere. They were in the middle of a vast forest. She couldn't...

He gasped as some of the pain leeched off his body. Foreign magic wrapped around his limbs, stitching him back up until he could at least crack his eyes open. When had he even shut them?

A familiar face formed through the haze of colors the forest canopies over them provided. He registered the messy khaki hair, the big, round eyes, the shape of her face...

"Get up," Xanthy's voice was clipped tight as her boots scratched against the dirt. "Get June far away from here."

Nyxis nodded before pushing himself up. His world swayed a little but he could manage. He clutched his bleeding arm and shoulder and gritted his teeth against the pain. Good thing these wounds were on the same side, though. It would save him a lot of trouble during recovery. He turned towards Xanthy who eyed April from a few paces away. "She is too strong," he shook his head.

Xanthy's grip tightened around the hilt of a...was that a dwarven sword? Where did she get that? "We will see about that," Xanthy said so quietly that it drove a new pike of fear through Nyxis's gut.

"What are you going to do?" Nyxis resisted the urge to pull Xanthy back.

Xanthy pursed her lips as her eyes followed April's form. The air sprite had skidded away after whatever Xanthy did and was now starting to come to. "What I have to," she jerked her chin at June then glanced back at Nyxis. "Take June. Help him survive until this is over."

April staggered up and retrieved her sword. Xanthy spared Nyxis a pleading glance. "Go."

He nodded and dipped down to throw the half-blood's limp arm over his shoulders. He barely got out of the way when the two women clashed with the roar magic and metal thundering across the forest.