My breathing grew quicker as the princess' movements slowed, before coming to a jarring halt. I sat in my seat, motionless and unable to comprehend the horror that had just unfolded before my eyes. Tara lay slumped in her seat, the front of her white dress stained crimson. A drop of fresh blood marred the pale flesh at the corner of her lifeless lips. 

"Her Imperial Highness, Princess Tara Arystenn of Lessaenes, has passed." 

The finality of the proclamation chilled me to the bone. 

No, it couldn't be! Everything we had done, everything we would've done...it couldn't have all been for this! Memories of the Flame's work, both at the base and after its destruction, filled my mind as I shook my head in a vain attempt to convince myself that this was all just a nightmare. 

Yet, I knew that it was not. If Viviana had been the spark that started the fire in our hearts, Tara was the kindling that kept it going. She was an example of perseverance and purity...an example who had just been crushed right before the eyes of the very people she was supposed to inspire. 

I kept my eyes fixed on the screen, watching the royal family for any sign, any hope that the Chief of the Mystic Clan had been mistaken. Viviana's head was buried in her lap, rendering her almost invisible through the Aurascreen, and the Queen sat in her seat, perfectly at ease, as she ate her dinner. 

And then, I saw it. Princess Tara's limp hand had twitched. 

I blinked, convinced that I must've simply been imagining things in my delirious, grief-stricken state. Yet, there it was again. This time, it was both of her hands, and then her spine, in rapid succession. It was as if she was trying to sit up against the back of her chair, but lacked the energy to do so. 

She was alive! 

"Your Highness!" the Scientist Chief called urgently, raising her hand to get the Queen's attention. "The Princess is alive!" 

The Ice Queen's gaze lifted for a moment, as a cruel smirk crossed over her face. "Let's fix that, shall we?" 

She raised her arm, ready to kill her daughter, this time for real. Her hand, imbued with Aura, grew closer to Tara's throat. The princess' purple eyes fluttered open, and she looked up, watching with surprising calm as the Queen's burning hot Aura approached her neck. The look on her face was unmistakable. It was a look that told her mother that, even in her last moments, she would not bow down to her. 

I closed my eyes, no longer able to watch the Ice Queen commit the sickening deed as the crackling sound of burning flesh filled the courtyard. 

And then, I heard the voice. 

"Hey, Ice Queen! Up here!" 

Slowly, I forced my eyelids to separate as I turned my attention, once again, to the screen. 

It was my brother. 

On the chandelier. 

Teren stood, his feet six inches apart, each balanced precariously on a decorative light. He gripped the stem of the chandelier with both hands, clearly holding on for dear life. 

"What under the Moons...?" Saralee's jaw dropped and she instantly released her grip on Tara, who heaved gratefully as she desperately sucked air into her oxygen-deprived lungs. 

My brother had been the first person in history to successfully surprise the Ice Queen of Lessaenes. You had to give him that. 

"Yeah, that's right!" Teren yelled, waving his arms around like a total idiot. "Guess what? Eleanna Myers is in the palace! And if you keep obsessing over a stupid Diffraction like a total idiot, you're gonna miss her!" 

"Apprehend him!" the Queen ordered.

Several panels in the wall behind her slid open, revealing long, hidden passageways that led out into the darkness. Rows of armed Ice Guards marched out of them, pouring into the hall like ants out of an ant hill. 

Some surrounded the Queen, training their Aural guns on Teren, while the rest used their Auras to begin climbing up the walls in an effort to reach him. For a moment, I was certain that he would be caught. There was absolutely no way that one boy hanging from a chandelier could outrun at least fifty trained soldiers. 

That was when something around his neck seemed to catch the light from the tall window beside him, illuminating itself in a momentary flash. 

The vial of Flameheart Serum. He still had it. 

An uncontrollable grin came over my face, as I found myself rooting for my idiotic brother for the first time in my life. 

The first row of Ice Guards was now level with the chandelier. One of the Guards who was close to the middle of the line reached into his backpack, retrieving an Aura-imbued grappling hook. Just before he could throw it, I heard the distinct whirr of a hovercraft behind me. Whipping around, I watched the craft sail forward, straight into the gigantic Aurascreen in front of me. 

The screen instantly went dead, and the wall behind it groaned from the impact before finally giving in. Many of the Lessaenites in the courtyard had already fled the scene, leaving my sister and I relatively exposed. 

I took Rory's hand, and we stepped closer to the smoldering hole that the hovercraft had formed in the side of the palace, peering inside. 

The craft was now circling the chandelier, and had deflected the Ice Guard's grappling hook. 

"So long, suckers!" Teren yelled victoriously as he leaped onto the small hovercraft, holding tightly to its sides as it zoomed back out the way it had come. 

It was only then that I realized what had happened. My brother had just saved a princess' life. 

The Queen rose from her seat for the second time that night, with a deep sigh. The Icehearts' expressions had now progressed from confused to downright angry. 

"It is with great regret that I announce the early termination of tonight's banquet. Due to two shocking and mildly disconcerting intrusions on our lovely evening, I feel that it would be most beneficial to all of us to have the rest of this day to ourselves, in order to be well-rested and prepared for what is to come tomorrow. I promise that the identities of both the boy on the chandelier and the operator of the hovercraft that rescued him will be unearthed, and that they will be punished for the vandalism they have committed. Thank you, and I hope you all enjoy the rest of your night."

A few disappointed groans filled the room, but most of the Lessaenites wore expressions of relief. Viviana, in particular, rushed to her sister's side the moment the end of the banquet was announced, pulling Tara into a firm embrace. 

I smiled softly. At least the princesses were safe, now. 

"Aron! Did you see that?" Rory whispered, nudging me as we began to make our way off of the palace grounds. 

"What?" 

"The Flameheart Serum!" she grinned. "Teren has it! All we've got to do is get it to Lady Myers, and we're set!" 

"We're on a mission, Rory," I sighed. "The Order wouldn't be very pleased if we suddenly decided to go on a mad dash after our power-crazed brother."

"It's the Flameheart Serum," Rory pleaded. "This is the future of the Empire we're talking about. It's our one and only chance to defeat the Queen! This is above the Order. It's above all of us!"

I sighed, looking back at the last line of people still trickling out of the courtyard. Lady Myers walked among them, her lips pressed together and her hands in her pockets. Her expression showed no signs that she had seen us. 

"Very well then," I smiled grimly. "We have a Radical to catch."