"Do you understand?!" Uncle Arcturus asked again, his raised voice finally dispersing the fog clouding Astrid's mind.

She looked at Orion, and he looked back at her, nodding. He knew... What did he know? She shook her head, looking at the regent through the flames again.

"No, I don't understand," she replied truthfully. "Angels are not supposed to exist; that's what I was told. And if they do," she added carefully, "then they are good, virtuous beings who would never declare war against humans."

Unless... they are the fallen... Her mind whispered, reminding her what she had read in the Book of Angels, making her recall the mysterious man. And finally, it clicked-- the black-clad army shimmering within the flames were fallen angels, and her mysterious man was one of them...

The regent laughed heartily, dispersing her thoughts, "So you know about angels. Your tutors told me about your love for the old books gathering dust in the library. I'm glad that you found at least something useful in them. These are fallen angels Astrid, wicked and cruel..."

"...and coldhearted. They are the angels punished for their sins. Demons," Astrid finished his line, not wanting to believe it herself.

How could the spellbinding man who used to take her breath away and send her heart racing whenever they met be a demon? He had tried to kill her, but she had had a feeling that deep underneath that cold, dark, and dangerous facade he wasn't... heartless... Since he had vanished from her life, she had started to see him as Heathcliff from her book, a tormented, misunderstood soul...

Orion took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, making her focus on her uncle whose gaze blazed as it pierced through her, forcing her lean closer to Orion as he screamed at her, "You are wrong! Fallen angels are not demons. They are bloodthirsty monsters, they caused the last war, and since then, they have never stopped killing our people!"

While the regent took a few calming breaths, Astrid straightened up, waiting for him to continue. What did she say to make him so angry? She gave Orion a cold sideways look-- she didn't appreciate his knowing more than she did about this. He should have told her.

"One of your predecessors, Queen Starla, made a treaty with them. Stopping the last war was her trial," Uncle Arcturus announced after a while, sounding calmer.

Astrid gulped, taken aback. Would her trial be something as impossibly difficult as trying to prevent another war? She didn't feel like something like that was in her power; she couldn't see herself as a negotiator. But then again, she couldn't see herself as a queen either, or a wife, or... She simply felt entirely unprepared for the life awaiting her beyond the pages of her favourite novels, beyond the walls of the castle's library where she had spent too much time growing up.

"What kind of treaty?" she asked, voice faltering, when she noticed that the regent was waiting for her reaction.

"The treaty which permits the monsters to come out from wherever they are hiding once a month, each Black Night, and kill as many of us as they please."

Astrid could perceive Deimos' feelings at those words as a near physical pain. The unexpected sensation, coupled with the sudden realisation of what those words implied, made her gasp, attracting the sorceress' attention. The flames scattered again momentarily, but the woman collected herself even as Astrid spoke to her uncle, "What... what does it mean? The shuttered windows... The monthly ball... Your guards everywhere... Do we, your court, and a few handpicked guests hide inside this impregnable castle while outside..."

"The guests are chosen from our loyal subjects by lottery, child, they are hardly ever the same people. Those who are not in the castle with us on those nights have to protect themselves."

"What if... one of them, an angel, gets in and kills someone within the walls..." Astrid asked, realisation dawning. The mysterious man dressed in black... had really meant to kill her. He had had a reason and a perfect occasion... why had he left her to live? And... why her? The only thing that made sense at the moment was that no one had seen him. According to her book, angels had all sorts of powers, making themselves invisible to humans was one of them... No, not even that made sense because Astrid wasn't supposed to see him either; he had told her so himself...

"Should that happen, there will be a new war, which you are supposed to prevent. I'm tired of them, the whole world is. This has been going on for too long. It has to change. You must change it. Your trial is to become our ambassador and make a new treaty that will bring real peace. No more Black Nights, no more killings..."

Astrid let her eyes drop from him to Deimos, but the sorceress wasn't looking at her. Neither was Orion; he stared into the flames, mesmerized, lost in his own thoughts. Had he known about this, too?

How on earth was she supposed to make peace with dangerous creatures, which she had been brought up to believe to be fiction?

"I... You'll have to tell me more. I don't understand. Why me? As you said, the entire world is suffering from this..."

"As it was our Queen Starla in the past, who made the first treaty, the world leaders feel it is fair that the soon-to-be queen of Eurovea will improve it now."

"I... It's an enormous responsibility, Uncle. I don't feel I could take it upon myself..."

The regent chuckled. "Becoming an ambassador of Eurovea is the simplest of trials a future queen can hope for. Find the monsters, talk to them, and return victorious with a new treaty. That's it. The moment you are back, you will be crowned and married to your fiancé. Unless you fail, of course, and there will be a new war." A ghost of a smile lingered on his lips as he said that, making Astrid shudder and stare at him incredulously.

She opened her mouth to protest, to tell him that this was impossible. Her knowledge about angels was insufficient, she knew nothing about the reasons behind their behaviour. How could she deal with them, even if she found them? She searched her uncle's eyes beyond the flames again, and the strange flicker in his irises made her feel that... another war was what he was hoping for. He wanted her to fail.

What he told her next, confirmed her thoughts. Uncle Arcturus, seeing her confusion, sighed in a deeply exaggerated manner before he spoke.

"To give you the courage you seem to be lacking, princess, let me add this. The angels killed both of your parents."

He put his hand on Deimos' shoulder, and the flames that were still offering glimpses of the last war and the following devastation morphed. Now they showed a man on horseback crossing the drawbridge spanning over Comete, about to reach the castle's gate, when an arrow appearing out of thin air pierced his back, making him precipitate into the waterfall.

"Your father, Astrid, my older brother, died a few months before you were born. Your mother was shot on one of the castle's balconies several months later."

An image of a woman's body crumpled against a marble balustrade followed his words. Astrid didn't recognise her face; the shimmering image wasn't clear enough for that, but she recognised the balcony-- it was the same one where she had spoken to the mysterious man. A strange, cold feeling started to creep through her heart as she watched the body of her mother whom she had never met. Hatred. She hated the angels for taking away her parents.

Hot tears pricked the corners of her eyes as her uncle explained. "An arrow through her heart killed her when she walked outside one Black Night for some reason. We didn't find her body until the following evening."

He knew well what he was doing to her. Astrid hadn't known her parents, but a seed of a will of revenge was starting to grow in her heart. She would not find those who had killed them by sitting in her uncle's chamber.

"I will go," she announced, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her gown. She would avenge their murders.

You mustn't create a new conflict, Astrid, the world, your country, would only suffer more. You must make peace. Revenge is not wise. Listen to the angels and forgive them, make your world a better place.

Astrid's breath caught. She had no doubts now; she was certain that Deimos spoke in her mind. The sorceress looked at her intently even as the fire screen fell apart, but this time, she let the flames burn down, leaving only glowing embers looking like great chunks of amber in the brazier.

Find Michael.

The last thought reaching Astrid's mind before Deimos turned away from her to smile at her uncle as if to seek the regent's approval of her performance was the most mysterious. Just... what was she doing...?

Astrid shook her head even as Orion squeezed her hand again, making her look at him, a question clear in his eyes.

She nodded, and her fiancé spoke to her uncle this time, "We will go. Astrid will make a new treaty."

"Wonderful," Uncle Arcturus said. "You can leave whenever you feel ready. I'll give you horses, some food and money, and five men of my guard. You can pack whatever you think you'll need, of course."

Speechless, her eyes intent on Deimos who allowed Uncle Arcturus to caress her cheek, Astrid sprang to her feet. There was something... odd about her uncle and Deimos. Seeing them together like this was making her feel sick.

Accepting Orion's arm, she tugged him from the room without another word to her uncle, without a backwards glance at his sorceress.

She couldn't wait for the moment to be out of the castle.