"Why did I have to listen to Mother when I knew something was wrong with this mission even before we stepped foot into this forest," Lord Eternus Sunbeam said, scanning the forest cautiously, which he rarely did back home.

"Because you have mommy issues," Bellaluna said harshly. "My lord."

Eternus looked at Bellaluna Ravaroris, his best friend and the only person who dared talk to him so sarcastically besides his father and grandma, who were literally wiping his nose when he was a child and couldn't really see the almighty Lord that everyone else saw. That was why he liked Bellaluna, because she always spoke her mind, whether it was to her superiors or friends. It was refreshing.

"True enough," Eternus said, sighing as he tried to figure out what was amiss.

They both had the feeling of something being off, of lurking danger, but neither could tell what exactly was wrong. It didn't help that they couldn't properly use their elven powers to check the situation, as magic in the human realm barely functioned. It was as if a thick veil separated them from their powers. Eternus could still use them, but not to their full potential. Furthermore, from the frustrated look on Bellaluna's face, he could tell she was having the same issues.

"What should we do, my lord?" A fidgety member of Eternus' elite team that he had gathered to penetrate the hidden forest in search of the missing Fey prince, who disappeared while exploring the human realm, asked. "Should we abort the mission?"

"And leave Prince Midnight Airtwirl to die?" Eternus asked reproachingly. "Never."

He didn't know Prince Midnight that well, but the fact that one of his men would suggest abandoning him just because it was hard made him furious. His eyes turned red as his phoenix side fought to come out even in this magically limited world.

However, he pushed it down, making a note to replace Drake, who had suggested such a horrible thing, and take someone else into his team. After all, it was his one rule that no one got left behind, and everyone knew that. The fact that Drake even suggested it was disrespectful, to say the least.

"Can you talk to the plants? See what's going on? What's stalking us?" Bellaluna asked, voicing the cause of their discomfort no one else was willing to talk about.

"No. I tried," Eternus said, lowering his eyes to the ground. "These trees, these plants, they are just shells of who they were, of who they're supposed to be. Their spirit is completely gone. All that's left is the physical representation of who they once were."

"Did the humans do that to them?" Bellaluna asked, her voice shaking.

"Probably," Eternus said, barely controlling his voice. "I think all the damage they have done to the environment, to the forest itself, made it die in the true sense of the word."

A few hot tears dripped from Bellaluna's eyes into the lush greenery she could feel was lacking life and vibrancy no matter how beautiful it looked on the surface.

"Then what do we do?" Drake asked, looking around quickly, his eyes bouncing around the dense forest, scanning for danger.

"We stand our ground," Eternus said determinedly. "Wait to be attacked and then deal with the threat. After that, we find Prince Midnight and leave this wretched place."

The loud snarling followed his words as if the lurking predators were only waiting for the invitation to attack, thirsty for blood.

"Werewolves!" Bellaluna exclaimed, her hand reaching for the two swords she always had at her sides.

Eternus, however, already had his majestic sword out, jumping out of the way of an approaching werewolf and onto a nearby tree branch, taking a moment to judge their situation from that strategic point of view while also cutting through a werewolf on his way up.

It seemed they were surrounded, and since they were dealing with werewolves, it was no wonder their stealth skills didn't work. Werewolves hunted by smell, and it wasn't something they thought of masking.

"Use the weapons. Magic is fickle here," Eternus exclaimed, jumping down the tree as quickly as he had climbed it and onto the back of a werewolf attacking Bellaluna, when he noticed his attempt to use elemental magic failed miserably.

He cut through the werewolf's neck quickly, barely having enough time to move away from an approaching claw from another half-turned werewolf. Luckily, he managed to whirl out of its claws' path and put his sword up just in time to stop the second werewolf who tried to bite him.

It was like a bloody choreographed dance he hoped they were winning, but he was only sure about it once all the werewolves were down. When the forest floor was covered with blood and their unmoving bodies.

"It's a trap!" A voice hollered as a person ran into the bloody clearing seconds after it was all over, blood-stained and ruffled up but utterly beautiful nevertheless.

"Yes, we know," Eternus said bitingly, even before he turned around to see who it was.

When he did see, he hurried towards the person, stumbling over a body and falling into the man's arms. The man whose name suited him more than Eternus realized, with hair as dark as midnight and eyes reminiscent of a full moon shining brightly to light Eternus' way.

"Prince Midnight, it's a relief to see you're well," Eternus said, straightening himself up.

He wanted to stay in Midnight's strong arms for as long as possible but knew he had to move.

"I will be once we get out of here," Midnight said tiredly.

"Does that mean you know a way out?" Eternus asked as he could no longer tell which way was which with his magic being so weak and the human world so confusing.

"Follow me," Midnight said as they gathered up the wounded.

"Always," Eternus mumbled, smiling brightly, which was in quite a contrast with his blood-covered face.