Author's Note: Dedicated to my good friend Julie (aka JulianneTomczak) who has become one of my biggest supporters and a huge source of encouragement. Thank you for all your great feedback and advice :)

Eva was just lacing up her second boot after finding the pair discarded in the corner when heavy footfalls alerted her that someone was approaching. Darting to the entrance, she flattened herself up against the wall and silently drew her dagger. The jewel-encrusted hilt pressed deep into the flesh of her palm as she tightened her grip and evened out her breathing in anticipation of a fight. The more logical part of her brain told her that it was likely just Emmerich returning and that there was no reason to fear, but the other part warned her that it could be anyone. That prospect was what had her heart drumming such a frantic beat.

In her mind, she counted down the seconds until the unknown person would reach her location. Four… Three… Two… One!

Eva tensed, ready to spring the attack, but then a familiar, lean figure sprinted into the room, passing right by her and then skidding to a halt. She let out her breath in a whoosh. “Emmerich!” she hissed. “You nearly caused my heart to stop!”

Whirling around in surprise, Emmerich’s eyes fell on the blade she held at the ready and instinctively took a cautious step back. “Eva what are you doing?”

“Protecting myself. What does it look like?” she retorted while shoving the dagger back into its sheath.

“I told you I would return shortly,” he pointed out with the beginnings of a smile.

“Yes, but that didn’t guarantee you would be the only one to happen by, now did it?” she countered.

He let out an easy chuckle. “It’s good to see you’ve got your mettle back. I knew you would be a force to be reckoned with when at your prime.”

“All the more reason not to tempt my ill favor,” she remarked with a gentler tone and a teasing wink.

“Duly noted, but I think this should keep me in your good graces for a little while longer.” With one eyebrow cocked and a proud smirk turning up the corner of his mouth, Emmerich looked mighty pleased with himself as he pulled out a set of iron-wrought keys for her to see.

Eva’s eyes widened slightly and danced with eagerness as her lips curved into an excited smile. “I believe you may be right, my friend.”

“Thought so. Now come over here so we can get you out of those things.”

Not needing a second invitation, Eva hastened to take the few steps needed to close the distance between them and held up her left wrist expectantly. Emmerich rifled through several of the keys on the ring before he at last found one that fit the slot in her shackles. With a resounding click, the manacle encasing her wrist snapped open and then clattered noisily to the earthen floor.

As soon as the first band fell, an unexpected wooziness swept over her, forcing her to reach a hand out to steady herself against the stone slab at her side. She could feel it now—the gift that was her birthright. It quivered within her, aching to be called forth and released, but Eva still couldn’t quite reach it. An invisible force still held it locked away from her control.

“Are you all right?” Emmerich asked after placing a hand on her upper arm for support.

“Y-yes, I’m fine,” she replied quickly. Offering him a thin smile, she tried to conceal the worry building in the back of her mind. “Why don’t you free Adiel and give me a moment to recover before we remove the second band?”

“Of course.” Searching through the keys once more, Emmerich located the proper one for Adiel’s cage and slipped it into the lock. After a quick twist, the latch lifted and the barred door swung open. “Can you fly?” he asked when the faerie made no move to exit her container.

“No… I don’t think so.”

“What’s wrong?” Eva asked, the higher pitch in her voice giving away her concern.

“I’m just tired, child,” Adiel answered while climbing into Emmerich’s outstretched hand. “Healing you these two times has taken quite a bit out of me, and without the sunlight to restore my energy, I’m just too weak to fly.”

Eva’s heart constricted in guilt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry yourself about it, dear. I’ll be right as rain as soon as we get above ground.”

“Which we need to do quickly,” Emmerich reminded them as he placed Adiel on his shoulder and moved back to Eva. “Are you sufficiently recovered?”

“I believe so, but…” she gently took the keys from his hands and stepped back a bit, “I think perhaps it would be best if you two waited outside the room while I removed the last shackle myself.”

“What? Why—”

“Eva is right,” Adiel said with her brows furrowed in thought, stopping his questions. “We don’t know what may happen when her magic is finally released. We’ll wait outside.”

With a sudden spark of understanding, Emmerich’s eyes widened considerably. “Oh… right. Outside then.”

Nodding her thanks, Eva waited until her friends had safely left the room before slipping the key into the slot. Then after taking one last, stabilizing breath, she closed her eyes and twisted the lock. In the next instant, her head was thrown back and her arms flung wide as a blast of fire and wind exploded from within her. Almost simultaneously, the heavy stone slab to her right was hurled against the wall where it fractured in a spider web pattern and then crumbled into pieces. Lastly, any moisture in the air not consumed by the fire then crystallized into shards of ice before launching outward in all directions like miniature arrows and imbedding themselves into the walls.

In the midst of this, Eva still stood. Her breathing had turned into laborious gasps while she worked to bring the magic back under submission, and it was several moments after the chaos had subsided before she felt it was fully in her control again and at last safe enough for her to relax her guard. Slowly lifting her lids, she opened her eyes to observe the damage. Not much was left recognizable in the small room. A pile of rubble lay to her right where the stone slab had once been. The wooden table had collapsed and was now nothing more than a charred, smoking skeleton. The metal tools and instruments had even melted, leaving behind only unidentifiable, misshapen masses. All in all, the place had been ruined.

A small smile of satisfaction turned up the corners of Eva’s mouth as she viewed the results of the outburst. Well, I couldn’t have chosen a more fitting place to unleash such destruction, that’s for certain.

The sound of someone clapping forced her from her musings and directed her attention to the doorway where Emmerich stood with eyebrows raised and mouth parted in admiration. “Well done, Evie,” he commented before the mischievous sparkle returned to his gaze, “but you may want to see about learning to control that temper in the future.”

Eva lifted her eyes to the ceiling and shook her head, much like she was prone to do with Marissa. “Creator give me strength,” she muttered under her breath. “Come on, Emmerich. We’ve lingered long enough. It’s high time we leave this place.”

“I won’t argue with you there.” As the gravity of the situation once again befell him, the impish smile that usually illuminated his features vanished. Sticking his head back out the entrance, he craned his neck this way and that to be sure no one was coming before glancing over his shoulder to Eva. “Follow me.”

With Emmerich in the lead, they stepped into the hallway, which was really little more than a tunnel carved through the rock, and started running. They hadn’t traveled very far, though, before the sound of voices and hurried footsteps echoed to them from up ahead. Instinctively, Emmerich threw out a hand and forced Eva to a stop, pressing her against the stone wall behind him. The steps continued drawing nearer until at last two men emerged from around the bend. From the looks of them, they appeared to be Wielders.

Emmerich’s posture visibly relaxed. “Darin, Jael!” he called with familiarity. “We were just coming to you.”

“We felt the tremors and thought you might have gotten things started without us,” a broad man said with a joking smile. Eva assumed him to be Darin. “We’ve brought the other prisoners.” Gesturing over his shoulder, Darin shifted to the side so that they could see the handful of women trailing behind him and Jael.

At the sight of an elderly woman being supported between two younger ones, Emmerich’s brow creased in concern, and he immediately handed Adiel off to Eva so he could rush forward and take the old woman’s weight onto his own shoulders. Once he had wrapped her in a half-embrace, he looked up at Eva with a smile. “Eva, meet my mother, Amelyn.”

“It’s good to meet you,” she said sincerely, her eyes softening as they took in the frail woman’s condition. A dirty bandage only partially covered the empty socket where an eye used to reside; parts of several fingers were missing; and one leg bowed outward as though it had been broken and never properly set. Despite all that this woman had obviously endured, the steady gaze she lifted to Eva still held enough spirit and resolve to make any foe blanch.

“Honor and devotion to the throne,” the old woman called in a voice full of strength.

At first, Eva was taken aback by her words. Fresh moisture sprung to her eyes at witnessing her zeal despite countless years of imprisonment and suffering, but she quickly recovered by placing a fist over her heart and firmly voicing the response. “Strength and integrity to the people.” Looking past the old woman to the other female captives of varying ages, she found that they too had placed a fist over their hearts in salutation to the creed, each one burning with hope and determination. Eva couldn’t help the sly smile that grew on her face or the fiery passion that arose within her stare. “And so the reckoning begins.”

Her fellow captives offered up a single cry of agreement and then they were moving once more. Darin and Jael took the lead through the maze of passages while Emmerich and Amelyn brought up the rear. In very little time, the shouts and rumbles of fighting became clear, growing louder and louder the closer they came. Then, all at once, the tunnel they had been following opened up into a large cavern, the ceiling of which rose several stories high before ending in an array of hanging mineral deposits the length of two grown men. All around the vast room, people were fighting. Shovels and picks struck against swords and knives while a dozen or so Wielders called upon their magic to take down scores of the Base at a time.

Scanning the sea of people before her, Eva quickly picked out the Wielders scattered throughout the room and pointed them out for her companions to see. “The Wielders are our first priority. Otherwise, the rebels won’t stand a chance.”

Without delay, Darin and Jael jumped into the fray with swords swinging, cutting down any who got in the way as they carved a path to the nearest targets. In their wake, the two youngest captives of the group scooped up weapons from the fallen enemy and took off in pursuit of their own marks.

Next, Eva turned to the remaining women and sized up their options. “You two,” she gestured to the ones who appeared to have seen thirty or more summers, “stay here with Amelyn and keep her safe.” After noticing that their wrists had been freed from the enchanted shackles, she added, “If you can, use your magic to aid in the fight.”

The two women gave a nod of consent and took up posts on either side of the elderly woman near the tunnel entrance, drawing forth short knives that Darin and Jael must have provided. They were both malnourished and one even appeared to be with child, but that didn’t seem to be of any consequence to them. With the rage that thundered through their veins, they would prove a challenge to any who would dare oppose them. Of that, Eva was sure.

“Leave me with Amelyn,” the weary faerie spoke up from Eva’s shoulder. “I don’t want any part in the slaying of lives, deserving though they may be.”

“Of course, Adiel,” Eva replied while scooping her up and placing her on the aging woman’s shoulder. “You’ve already done your part.” When she straightened, Eva turned and found herself face to face with a smirking Emmerich.

“How about I take the left side and you take the right?” he suggested with one eyebrow cocked. His eyes sparkled with eager anticipation, and Eva found herself smiling right along with him.

“Deal.”

Freeing her dagger and switching it to an under-handed grip better used for slashing and tearing, Eva spun on her heel and sprinted to the nearest combatant. Her first victim didn’t even see her coming until it was too late. Her blade whispered through the air as she brought it in a downward arc across his throat, and before he could yet hit the ground, she caught hold of his wrist and rotated it around so that the sword he held was forcibly twisted free of his grasp. With a second weapon now in hand, Eva kept on running.

Through a tangle of weapons and limbs, Eva ducked, dodged, and parried her way in a deadly dance to the other side of the room where a flurry of magic had drawn her eye. After striking down another foe as she passed, Eva at last reached the one she sought and brought her stolen sword down in what should have been a killing blow, but the Wielder she had chosen whirled around in the space of a single heartbeat and brought her own sword up to deflect the strike. Sparks flew as their blades connected, and in that flash, the Wielder’s features were brought to light, revealing someone all too familiar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caden tightened his grip on his straight sword until his knuckles were white with the effort. The sounds and cries of battle were drawing nearer with every step, but that was not what most concerned him in that moment. Instead, it was the softer thud of running feet that had his muscles tensing and pulse pounding.

Fane had been the first to alert him of the person’s approach. His head had snapped up and ears had flattened against his skull as a menacing growl rumbled from deep within his throat. Soon after, Caden could hear the stumbling steps as well. On impulse, he had extinguished the flame in his hand, casting their forms into total darkness.

Now, the two of them waited silently in obscurity as the unknown person stumbled closer at a rapid clip. Caden held his breath and closed his eyes, forcing himself to rely solely on his hearing. Almost… he told himself. Not yet… Now!

In a flash of blinding light, Caden summoned a new burst of flame that sprung to life and instantly lit up the surrounding gloom. A pale-faced woman froze in the sudden glare with an infant clutched to her chest. She opened her mouth to scream, but Caden was quicker. Springing forward, he left the ball of flame hovering in the air and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Shh, shh,” he soothed while simultaneously trying to calm his racing heart. “I promise, I mean you no harm. Just don’t scream, agreed?”

The frightened woman nodded rapidly.

“All right. I’m going to let go of you now, but remember, don’t scream.”

She gave one more nod of consent; so, he gradually removed the pressure from her mouth and took a half step back. With his hand no longer obstructing her breathing, the woman sucked in a gasp and let it back out in a puff. “Who are you?” she questioned in a whisper.

“That’s not important,” he dismissed offhandedly. “I need to know what’s going on back there. What are you running from?”

“The others are revolting,” she supplied in answer, “but the Wielders are too strong. I knew we’d never be able to overpower them so I ran.”

“Wielders?”

“People with magic like you.” She gestured to his ball of flame, which still hovered in the air.

Caden’s expression darkened considerably, but before he could ask the next question forming in his mind, the infant she held began to fuss. Afraid the baby would draw unwanted attention, he decided it best to let the woman go her way. “I won’t keep you any longer. Just continue following this tunnel; it will lead you to the surface.”

“Thank you!” she sighed in relief before scurrying away.

But Caden barely acknowledged her. His mind had already turned its focus to the battle that awaited him and, most importantly, to finding Eva.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With eyes widening in surprise and jaw hanging slack at the hinges, Eva’s mind labored to comprehend what she was seeing. “Netta?”

“Ah, the lovely and ever stubborn Eva,” the woman replied while spinning her sword tauntingly. “I see someone let you out of your cage. I had heard you were dead, but it appears that information was faulty.”

The two Warriors circled each other with swords held aloft, ready to be used at a moment’s notice if necessary. “What are you doing, Netta? You should be fighting with the others so they can escape not against them! Have you so easily forgotten that you are a prisoner here?”

“You’re such a child, Eva,” she remarked scornfully. “You still see the world as black and white. Haven’t you figured it out yet? This world is cruel, and if you want to get anything out of it, you have to take it for yourself. So that’s what I’m doing. When Severin returns and sees how I’ve helped defeat the rebellion, he will have to show favor on me. He may even learn to love me.”

“Love cannot be earned!” Eva scoffed, her voice rising in pitch. “If it could, then it would be cheap and worthless. And what of your people? Your family, king, and country? Would you turn your back on them for this?”

“I have no family,” she spat. “And what good have my king and country done for me? They did not come to my aid when I was captured. Nigh on twenty years have I waited. No one came! Besides that, there soon won’t be a king or country once Severin and his army are through with them. So, I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands and forge my own destiny, and I won’t let you or anyone else get in my way.”

With those words, she struck, thrusting her blade forward at Eva’s abdomen, but Eva was ready. She brought her own sword across herself with the blade angled downward and managed to safely deflect the blow to the side. Continuing the momentum, Eva rotated her sword up over her head and then brought it back down in a sweeping arc towards Netta’s neck. The other woman was unable to recover fast enough from her own failed strike to block Eva’s and so was forced to simply spin out of the blade’s path instead. The two continued trading blows in a similar fashion with each one thrusting and parrying then sweeping and dodging by turns. However, after Netta nearly failed to block several attacks and was a split-second too slow in offering a counter strike, Eva realized that she had the upper hand—Netta’s combat skills had grown rusty. So, when the other woman stumbled once again from a poorly eluded blow, Eva acted.

Summoning her magic, she caused the stones beneath the older woman’s feet to shift, forcing her weight further off balance, while at the same time hurling a sphere of compact air into her face. Just as intended, Netta was knocked backward, and she fell. Hard. The impact drove the wind from her lungs in a whoosh, and her head bounced off the rocky cavern floor with a thud. Stunned, her eyes stared unfocused at the world above her, lungs wheezing short, painful gasps.

Eva raised her blade high, intent on putting an end to the threat, but at the last second, she hesitated. Netta’s eyes had suddenly regained their focused and had fallen on Eva’s poised form, and within their hazel depths, Eva could find no fear or concern, only resignation.

Netta’s words from days ago then echoed in her mind. “Everyone has a breaking point, Eva. Even you.”

The fire that had previously been surging through Eva’s veins, flickered and went out, leaving her feeling hollow and ashamed. What am I doing? She asked herself in disbelief. Her blue-green orbs grew wide with horror, and she immediately lowered her weapon and took a step back.

“What’s wrong, Eva?” the defeated woman jeered from her prone position. “Too afraid to take a life? Or perhaps you’ve finally realized that you’re no better than me. After all, no one has come for you either. Surely if anyone actually cared they would have rescued you by now.”

Eva opened her mouth to speak, but no sound would come. The truth in Netta’s words had seared to the core of her being like a hot knife, the pain of which blurred her sight with moisture and constricted her voice with emotion.

“You see? You are no different than me. You spoke so valiantly of love, but yet no one you love has bothered to look for you. You have no one. We have no one.”

“That’s not true,” Eva argued weakly as the tears spilled down her cheeks. Her soul felt as though it had been split open and left raw and exposed. Despite all of Severin’s attempts to break her, never had she felt so utterly alone and lost as she did in that moment.

“No? Then tell me, Eva,” Netta began while pushing herself up onto her elbows, “who do you have left? In all of your naivety, who do you think still cares for you?”

Tearing her gaze away from the other woman’s, Eva sucked in a ragged breath to keep herself from sobbing. She wanted to tell her that she was wrong, to scream it even. She knew that she was loved, that people cared for her, but where were they? Who had come to save her from this nightmare?

As she stared off across the room full of people still engaged in combat, her thoughts churned with doubts and unanswered questions, but soon, those thoughts were interrupted as her eyes were drawn to the glint of metal hiding amongst the shadows. Blinking rapidly to clear her vision, she focused more intently on the object until she was able to make out an armor-clad figure hovering near the entrance of a darkened tunnel.

“Cade?” she whispered hesitantly.

“Who?” Netta asked in confusion, thinking that Eva had spoken in answer to her question.

The person hiding in the shadows shifted further into the room, and as his eyes swept across the sea of people, a shaft of light illuminated his face, making his features plain.

“Caden!” Eva shrieked with exhilaration.

Her voice must have carried far enough, because his head instantly swiveled in her direction, and when his gaze locked with hers, she saw surprise flash in his eyes, followed closely by relief—pure, immeasurable relief. His shoulders sagged as though a great weight had been lifted from them, and his feet began moving toward her of their own accord. Before he could take even two steps, however, something changed in his expression. With eyes widening in alarm, Caden froze.

“Eva! Behind you!” he shouted in warning, but it was too late.

Pain exploded in Eva’s back and traveled all the way to her front before receding as quickly as it had come. Glancing down in confusion, she was stunned to find the tip of a sword protruding from her chest, and before she had time to consider what had happened, the blade was viciously wrenched free. Warmth oozed down her front as blood spilled freely from the wound, but surprisingly, Eva still felt no pain. Sinking to her knees, her mouth worked open and closed in an effort to breathe, but her muscles wouldn’t respond, no air would come.

Suddenly, Caden was there, a feral scream ripping from his throat as he swung his blade in fury. A sickening crunch told her that his aim had been true, but the significance of that wouldn’t register in her mind. Sound became distorted to her ears, and sight became blurred. Vaguely, she realized that she was falling, but instead of colliding with the hard earth, strong arms caught her up and wrapped her in a powerful embrace.

“No! Don’t you dare,” someone was saying. “Eva, don’t you dare die! Not now. Not after I finally found you.”

Rolling her eyes upward, Caden’s face wavered and then came into focus above her. He looked to be on the verge of tears, but she couldn't understand why. A smile grew on her lips, and with great effort, she managed to pull in a breath so she could speak. “You came.”

“Of course I came.” His voice faltered as he spoke.

“Evie?” Another voice joined the mix, and then Emmerich was there, staring down at her as well. She winced at the vulgar curses that tumbled from his mouth.

“Em—”

Knowing she was about to scold him for his language, he cut her off. “Save it. I'll apologize later.” Then, turning away, he shouted, “Adiel! We need you!”

Eva's gurgled cough punctuated the urgency in his voice as she struggled to keep her airway clear. “Cade...”

“I'm right here,” he answered while brushing a few strands of hair away from her mouth.

“You have to warn the king... An army is coming.”

“Don't worry about that right now. Just stay with me, okay? Come on, open your eyes. Hey!” He shook her gently to get her attention. “Open your eyes!”

Eva's lids fluttered and then lifted partially. Now there were several people standing around her with concern-ridden expressions, but although she knew they all looked familiar, she couldn't place a name with the faces. A faerie was brought forward, her tiny form looking more like a doll in Emmerich's hands than a living being. Her translucent wings were drooped in fatigue, but still she extended a hand and placed it on Eva's chest.

A subtle, azure glow encompassed the faerie's form for a few seconds before it faded and was snuffed out. “I... I cannot heal her,” Adiel said after collapsing back onto Emmerich's palm. Her bright orbs shimmered with moisture. “I am still too weak from the last time. I'm sorry...”

“No!” Caden roared in anger. “Try again. You have to heal her!”

“It's... all right,” Eva whispered feebly.

“No, it's not all right,” he argued. “You promised you wouldn't leave me. Do you remember? You promised.”

Something wet rolled down her cheek. “I remember.”

“Then stay,” he begged softly. “Please.”

Using the last of her strength, Eva lifted a trembling hand to cup his cheek. “Forgive me.”

Caden's larger hand enveloped her own as he pressed it more firmly to his skin. “Don't...”

She offered him one last, sad smile before the blackness that had been hovering at the edges of her vision closed in, slowly removing him from her sight. In the final glimpse she was allowed of him, she saw that the tears he had been so strictly holding at bay at last broke free of their bounds and streamed down his face, leaving wet trails of grief in their wake. And then, she saw nothing.

Author's Note: Don't kill me!