Groaning, Roman straightened up and held his aching ribs. It was difficult for him to breathe. That's why he suspected that at least one or two of his ribs were broken. But he didn't care. All that mattered now was getting Xenia back. And that had to happen before she did something she would regret forever.

Only he didn't have the slightest idea how to find her now. Or how he could free her from the clutches of evil. She was so much stronger than he was. Roman saw no possibility to defend himself against her powers.

His gaze wandered to the corpse of the king. If only he could have prevented it... Now Xenia had also lost her father. The only one she had left of her family. No mother, no brother and now no father.

Maybe that was the reason why he could pull her so easily on his side. The pain was so great that it was easier to bear it if one surrendered.

Roman knew from Xenia that her mother died giving birth to her little brother. That alone had been tragic and unbearably painful for little Xenia and also for the king. But to lose the baby a few days later... that was so cruel. How could fate do that to this family that had already endured so much?

With a sad sigh, Roman turned to leave. There was nothing more for him to do here. He could not help him anymore. The only thing he could do was to make sure that Xenia would not meet the same fate.

He dragged himself out of the castle with heavy steps. He hardly noticed the screams and the chaos. People would find out soon enough what had happened. Now it was important that she got her true queen back as soon as possible.

As quickly as he could, Roman made his way to Zela. Maybe she could help him find Xenia. As far as he knew, the connection to the keeper was based on them sensing where the subject of the protection was physically. This went beyond the feelings that Roman could now no longer detect.

That's why he knew it wouldn't be long before Dean found out he was hurt. Or he already knew and was on his way to him. And it was just like that. When he arrived at the edge of the forest, Dean was already running towards him.

"What happened?" he immediately wanted to know.

"Hold on a minute. Come with me." gasped Roman and continued his way to the cottage.

"Roman... I have to heal you first." objected Dean as he tried to stop him.

"That can wait another five minutes. There's something more important I need to do first. Come on," Roman replied through clenched teeth.

It wasn't long before the two reached the cottage. But before they could even open the door, Zela yanked it open. Wide-eyed, she stared first at Roman and then at Dean.

"Where is Xenia?" she asked immediately.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Roman said strained as he entered and sat down on the bed.

Dean followed him and set about healing Roman. Meanwhile, Roman explained to the two keepers what had happened. Zela was shocked while Dean, with a furrowed brow, tried to find a way to manage the situation.

"So... please tell me you can locate her," Roman said then, looking pleadingly at Zela.

She closed her eyes and focused completely on the prin... the queen. It took a while, but eventually she found her. But it was weak. Zela didn't know why the signal was so weak and it scared her.

"I've got it... Something is wrong. Maybe she's fighting back against evil, but is getting weaker." she finally said.

"Let's go." said Roman as he rose from the bed.

"Wait." said Dean suddenly.

"I don't have time to wait, Dean. I can't wait for her to do something she doesn't want to do. We don't have time to wait for her to do harm or even hurt anyone," Roman replied angrily.

"I know that. But you need a plan. The way it looks now, she's going to attack you again right away. How are you going to stop that?" he asked.

"I don't know. I have to make her feel again. If I can feel her emotions again then I can save her." said Roman.

"Your highness... you are an empath, right?" asked Zela after a few moments of silence.

"Yes I am." replied the prince.

"Xenia controls her powers through her emotions.... That means she has to have feelings to use them." she said.

"So what? I could barely feel anything, maybe just a hint." he replied.

"That's something, after all. And if you can feel her emotions, then you can feel how she uses her powers." explained Zela.

"Yes... yes I can... what are you getting at?" he wanted to know.

"I think... I'm hoping that maybe you could block or even reflect her attacks. Like a mirror. And then... then you have to force her to remember. That's something only you can do, Roman. You are the only one who can save our kingdom." she replied.