They made their way along the beach, the sun beating down on them. It was warmer here than it had been in Paris, so much so that the breeze from the ocean was a welcome reprieve from the sun. Or perhaps Sophia just wasn't used to heat; she had grown up in the Kingdom of Ice after all.

They hadn't walked far before a woman came up to them from the right. She was old, wrinkles etched into the skin on her face that seemed darkened from the sun. Her hair was gray, threaded through with the last strands of black.

"Are you Elementales?" she asked, her voice rasping as if scratched with sandpaper.

Valentino eyed her warily, though his hand had not yet drifted to his sword. "Who are you?"

The woman turned to look at him. "I am a mortal, but my mother had Elementale blood in her. I can see the monsters, the wolves that look like they came straight from the pits of Hell." Her voice was harsh, and spitted the last word out with a forcefulness that made Sophia take a step back, which she immediately felt silly for.

"Can you tell us what you've seen?" Sophia asked, taking a step forward.

The woman eyed her. "I can show you, but not all of you. Only one."

The three of them glanced at each other, wariness etched in each their faces. "I'll go," said James at last, mouth set in a thin line. "You guys keep investigating."

"It might be a trap, James," warned Valentino.

James shook his head. "I'll be fine." He turned to the woman. "Show me." Sophia wasn't sure if the woman nodded, but she turned and began to walk the other way, James trailing behind her. She didn't like this, but James could take care of himself.

She could see the unease in Valentino's eyes as the two of them turned away, continuing down the beach. "We should find a good vantage point for tonight, make sure we can spot the Viperi."

Sophia nodded, tugging at the sleeve of her lightsuit. They had only walked for a few minutes before Valentino stopped suddenly, holding out a hand. "Something's wrong." He glanced around them, eyes narrowed. Tension was evident in the lines of his body.

"What is it?" Sophia asked in an urgent whisper. "James?"

He shook his head, and then the wall seemed to explode, Valentino throwing himself over her as huge chunks of cement and debris seemed to rain down on them from above. They were on the ground, Sophia's head against his shoulder, so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body and the scent of rosewood on his skin.

He rose to his feet cautiously as the dust began to clear, slowing drawing Hellfire from its sheath. Sophia picked herself up, dusting off her clothes while scanning the debris for movement. A streak of black and silver seemed to rush at her, and she barely had time to leap out of the way, rolling several feet in the sand. Pieces of cement poked her back and her arms, leaving scratches on her face. She knew what it was even without turning to look. Viperi.

As she jumped to her feet, she heard the clang of metal against metal behind her, turning to see Valentino blocking a huge Viperus with his blade as it slashed at him, metal claw glinting in the light of the sun. The sun. How was it even here? Viperi hated daylight.

Rising to her feet and drawing the Armouri blades, Sophia narrowed her eyes against the dust. The skin on her cheek stung where the cement had cut it, and her arm throbbed. Her heart slammed in her chest, the beat pulsing through her entire body. There was anxiety and panic lodged in her throat and deep at the base of her stomach; the last time she had fought Viperi, she had been practically helpless.

A movement through the clouds of dust caught her eyes, a shifting black against the sand. She raised a sword, leaning into a crouch. The Viperus burst through the dust like a demon from Hell, yellow eyes burning even in the daylight. The look of it brought back memories she had tried so hard to bury. Images of the shifting sea of hellbeasts and her mother's body flashed through her mind. She remembered the fear, panic, and horror she had felt that night, all of the emotions rushing back at her like a wave, crashing into the base of a cliff. She felt as if she couldn't move, her feet stuck to the ground as if glued there. She was aware of the Viperi coming towards her, teeth bared and lips curled back in a snarl, but there was nothing she could do.

"Sophia, watch out!" Valentino's shout tore her from her memories, the images ripped away from her vision. The Viperus was almost on her, but she managed to dodge it, diving into the sand and rolling to her feet. She saw the spark of sunlight first, reflecting off the metal of the hellbeast's claws as it swiped at her, teeth bared but she blocked it with her sword, driving the other one into its eye. The Viperus let out a roar, but it didn't stop, lowering its head so that its horns were pointed at her.

She tried to sidestep, but she still felt as if she was in a daze, moving through honey. The Viperus's horn caught the sleeve of her lightsuit, leaving a gash in her upper arm. Sophia felt a sharp throb of pain and wet blood stream out, soaking the material of her lightsuit. The pain seemed to fuel a sort of anger within her, burning deep in her stomach.

"Nix vis!" she shouted, her knuckles white where it gripped her sword. Immediately, white fog seemed to erupt from the blade of her swords, solidifying until she felt as if she was in the middle of a blizzard. She had learned this mystik watching one of her mother's personal assassins fight once- premiers, they were called, sent by the Queen on missions she entrusted to no one else. Sophia had been thirteen or fourteen, and had followed one of them out of the palace one day- of course, Bayleigh hadn't noticed. The premier had been surrounded by Viperi, and she had used the whiteout mystik to blind them. Only the caster could see anything in a whiteout.

Sophia squinted, looking around. She could see the Viperus clearly, lithe like a wolf but drawn in harsher lines. It's eyes were darting back and forth, but it wouldn't be able to see her. She wished then that she knew more mystiks so she wouldn't have to come close to the hellbeast- but she didn't. Racing forward before the whiteout faded, Sophia leapt up and stabbed the Armouri blade into the Viperus's chest. Blood, dark red like a human's, spurted out, spilling over her hand and darkening the cuff of her lightsuit. Immediately, it began to burn, and she swore, wiping the blood off her hand.

Behind her, she heard Valentino call out "Incendium nox!" and the unmistakable roar of fire erupted. She turned just in time to see a black fire blaze up, engulfing the hellbeast trapped within it. With a keening cry, the Viperus vanished into dust and the fire subsided, burning down to embers.

Valentino, looking disgusted, sheathed his sword and turned to look at her. There was blood on his face, a spattering of it that didn't seem to come from any cut or injury. He wiped it away. "It's not mine." Giving her a quick once-over, he said, "Your arm is bleeding. Come here." She did, still feeling as though she was in a daze. She had thought she was ready, ready to face and take on the Viperi again, but she wasn't. No where close.

Valentino touched the tip of his blade gently to her arm. "Percuro." Immediately, the blood stopped flowing as the gash closed up, leaving a raw, pinkish scar behind. He regarded her with apprehensive eyes. "You're not going to faint on me, are you? I'd rather not drag you through the rest of the town. The people might think I'm trying to kidnap you."

She shook herself out of the daze, sheathing her shortswords. "No, I'm fine." Valentino didn't look convinced, but he shrugged and began walking. Sophia followed, pressing her hands to her sides to keep them from shaking. She had been taught, from a young age, not to show weakness. People preyed on weakness. Weakness bred more weakness.

Beside her, Valentino made an annoyed sound in his throat. He was holding something in his hand- his phone, Sophia realized. "Can you call James?" he asked. "My phone's dead."

Sophia cleared her throat. "Yeah." She pulled her phone out of her pocket- miraculously, there wasn't even a scratch on it. Any new scratch, at least. The line seemed to ring for forever, and she was beginning to think James wasn't going to pick up when his voice sounded on the other end. "Sophia? What's going on?"

"Are you okay?" she asked first. "Did anything happen?" Valentino gestured at her to hand him the phone, but she ignored him.

"No." James sounded confused. "Why?"

"We were attacked. Two Viperi." At James's sharp inhale, she added, "We're both fine."

"Thank god. Do you need me? I can leave."

"No, stay there," she said quickly. "Just meet us back at the car at nightfall."

"Okay," James said, sounding unconvinced. Sophia hung up, stuffing her phone into the inside pocket of her lightsuit.

"He's fine," she said to Valentino. He nodded, though the worry in his eyes didn't dissolve.

"They shouldn't have been here," he said darkly. There was unease etched in the lines of his face. "Viperi don't go out in the daylight. They burn." There was dust on his lightgear- from the falling debris or the Viperus- she didn't know. It was on his hair, too, blanketing the dark strands with a sheen of gray.

"They sensed we were here," said Sophia, turning away to scan their surroundings. The town looked peaceful as ever, but now the peacefulness seemed to hold something sinister in its folds. She wanted to say I was right to be worried but she was fairly certain and "I told you so" wasn't too welcome at the moment.

"None of this makes sense," Valentino muttered and Sophia murmured her agreement.

In the end, they found a small cliff overhang that seemed to look over the town. Down below, Sophia could make out Aurore's cobblestone streets and the quaint shops that lined them. Everything seemed to be colored in pastel: pastel pinks, and yellows, and oranges. The colors of dawn.

Aurore itself meant dawn in French, Kaly had told them. Fitting-or ironic, depending on the way you saw it- since it seemed to be the beginning of the end of the world. Or perhaps "end of the world" was too dramatic. Either way, it was the beginning of something wicked.

Chaos.

A/N: hi guys! as i promised, we are back to regular posting schedule! if you enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to leave a vote and comment! thank you xx

dedication: @JustMiah17 your comments LITERALLY make my day and these dedications are not enough of a thank you! (please check out BOTH of her stories- yes, she posted a new one! - because her writing is so enthralling <33)