The cry that came from the army was more deafening than ever before. Raven followed the lead of those around her and dismounted from her horse. The crowd began to surge forward, taking Raven with it. She caught glimpses of Amethyst's whipping braid and glittering wings from time to time between swaths of gleaming armour. Raven clutched her spear and charged forward.

Halfway through the parking lot the glamour came undone, revealing the army to the facility. There was no time to react, though. They were swiftly upon the front doors and charging through them. Security was bustling, but was not prepared for their arrival. Swords flashed, Ilya struck first, cutting one down. Amethyst was close behind him and did the same, her blade shining red under the fluorescent lights.

Raven was sick to her stomach. She knew they intended to show no mercy, but witnessing the deaths of the ignorant security staff still cut her deeply. Did they deserve to die? Did they even know what was truly going on inside? It wasn't her call. These were a deeply hurt people seeking vengeance from those who had imprisoned their family. They got to decide how to handle things. If Raven didn't like it, she could just march right out those doors.

No, she had made a promise to help, so help she would, even if that meant bearing witness to grizzly murder. She was the only one who knew her way around the facility, the only one who could guide them.

Raven rushed over to the small office just beyond security, where the young lad made key cards for the building. He cowered under his desk as Raven stormed in. Amethyst was close behind her, back turned so she faced the foyer. Raven dragged him out from under the desk with one hand, the other firmly clasping her spear.

"Make me key cards, now. Full clearance."

Raven had never sounded so sure of herself, so confident. There was no arguing with her. The man dropped into his chair and, with trembling hands, got to work printing a clearance card. Raven kept a hand on the back of his neck, holding him steady, the other trembling around her spear.

The printer spit out a shiny new card that Raven took as a battle raged in the foyer. Security was responding. Gunshots joined the din, each shooting dread and terror through Raven's body. She clutched the card as hard as she could and ran to the elevator bay, Amethyst close behind her.

Ilya found them as the elevator arrived. "You have it?"

"Yes. Someone needs to keep hitting this button to summon more elevators," said Raven, pointing to the call button. She passed a handful of cards to him.

Ilya nodded and relayed the instructions to the nearest soldier. Then he joined them in the elevator. Ten more soldiers filed in with them. The long ride was tense, charged. A green pallor overcame many of those inside. Ilya powered through, as did Amethyst. What must it feel like, being surrounded by poison like that? How much did it hurt, how draining was it? Raven could only imagine.

Seconds after their arrival on the second level, another elevator opened and soldiers spilled out into the hallway. At once the space felt crowded as more and more arrived. There was chaos waiting for them. Security opened fire at once, bullets ricocheting off armour and flying in all directions. The army charged and cut down anyone in their way.

"Come, you must open the doors for us," Amethyst said, her hand coming down hard on Raven's shoulder.

Raven gulped back her nausea and nodded. She dashed forward, swiping the card through the first door she saw. She didn't stick around to wait for it to open, instead charging toward the next, and the next, swiping away to allow the recovery teams to access the imprisoned.

Clearing the second level took far too long. Raven had to wait for soldiers to clear the way for her first, lest she be shot dead by security. She felt less terrible about their deaths now that they were fighting back. The army had casualties of their own, too. Raven watched as fey after fey was struck down by well-placed bullets. Such senseless violence. Oh how she wished it would be over soon. It wouldn't be, though. They still had many more floors to clear out.

Amethyst was never far from her side. She guarded her with her life, sword in hand, bow at her back. Her eyes were fierce and cunning as she scanned every nook and cranny for a sign of movement. Her vigil was necessary, and welcome. More than once security came pouring out of a room nearby and Amethyst would cut them down with the ease and grace of a ballerina armed with a sword. Raven would be dead if not for her, many times over.

As Raven rounded the corner back toward the elevator bay, she was rewarded with the fruits of her labour. Droves of fey were carrying or leading the injured and the captive away. Raven commandeered an elevator to descend to the next floor, and a swath of soldiers joined them. Many more groups had gone ahead of them to clear the next floors for her.

One by one, floor by floor, Raven sprinted through, swiping that card until she worried it would swipe no more. There were hundreds of cells to open, far more than she had ever seen or could have imagined being there. The captives, too, were in all sorts of states. Some were so battered they could not carry themselves out of their cells, and had to be lifted out by two or more fey in armour.

Blood painted the hallways, streaked breastplates, dripped from swords. Gore turned the hallway into a hazard to run through. Raven slipped more than once in her progress. Her stomach churned and she did her best not to look at the sight.

The second floor housed more exotic fey. She saw women wrapped in vines, men made of pure water, inky black horses with dripping wet fur, things she couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams. A couple of times Amethyst stopped and embraced one of the freed captives. Her joy was so pure, so delicate that it almost made what they were doing palatable.

That feeling quickly subsided. Streams of researchers in white lab coats were being led down the hall into a large, empty cell. Raven gave Amethyst a solemn look and gestured to follow. Amethyst nodded. Darkness shrouded her eyes.

The cell was crowded with lab coats and a handful of fey in blood-spattered armour. At the front, facing the lab coats, was Ilya. Blood streaked his perfect hair and smeared across his cheek. His or someone else's, it was hard to tell. Amethyst called to him, and he turned. His perfect features were stony, resolute.

"What are you doing?" she asked as they drew near.

Ilya surveyed the crowd, then turned back to her. "I said, 'take no prisoners.'"

"But they're unarmed."

"They tortured our people for decades!" he hissed.

"I know that, but they're unarmed," Amethyst repeated as though it held any weight to him.

"Think about how much suffering they have caused."

"We could use them instead, new servants for the castle, new entertainment."

Raven blanched. What was she saying? Turning these people into slaves? Could they do that? More importantly, would they?

"You can't, it's not right." Raven wasn't hopeful of her words holding any importance here, but she said them anyway.

Ilya stared between them in utter disbelief. Slowly, though, that mask melted into a facade of acceptance. "It would be dishonourable ..." he muttered at last.

"Yes, please, let's take them with us. Think of the things the queen could do with them."

Ilya's head dipped in an uncertain nod. "Take them," he shouted.

Some of them started to cry, others screamed. One began to pray up front. Small groups began to file in and take handfulls of researchers back toward the elevators. What fate awaited them? Who would end up a jester, who a latrine cleaner? How many would have false feelings of enjoyment for doing those tasks? What Hell would they be put through?

"Please, don't do this," Raven said, turning her hands out.

Neither acknowledged her. The way Amethyst gazed at everything except for her really hit it home. Raven would never forget this moment, she could already tell.

The last of the researchers were led out by darkly happy soldiers and a heavy silence filled the cell. Raven wanted to protest more but couldn't bear their silence again. Couldn't, but would anyway.

"Please," was all she could get out.

Amethyst's eyes flicked to hers for just a second, but besides that, no one reacted to her speaking. She might as well have said it to the stone walls for all the good it did. She and Amethyst would be having a conversation later. Love or not, Raven was pissed.

"Come, we have more floors to clear and very little time."

Ilya led the way out of the room, leaving Raven to scramble to catch up.

Security, it seemed, had spread out across each of the levels when they realized what was going on. The third level was much like the last, though better prepared. Desks had been dragged out into the halls to act as makeshift barriers between them.

Raven danced around stupidly between soldiers as they swung, slashed, and stabbed. Shots rang out in steady intervals, followed frequently by pings as the bullets ricocheted off their armour. Amethyst reached her next target and stabbed him clean through before he could finish aiming. Her form was fluid, and deadly quick. In seconds she had felled another.

Meanwhile, Raven was about ready to vomit. Gore and corpses littered the hallway and stained armour on all sides. It didn't get any easier the more she saw it, and she couldn't seem to find a safe place to stare. Right about then, she began very seriously considering why she had agreed to do this. When she saw the weapons, she should have seen this coming. For some reason, she had it in her head that this would be a 14A Lord of the Rings fight sequence—still violent, but much less gory. This was nothing like that.

What felt like a year later, the fighting ceased, and Raven doubled back to begin swiping cells open. Again came the roundup of researchers and the gradual freeing of captives. Raven was exhausted from all the running, her heart hammering harder than it had in a long time. She was really slacking on her cardio lately. No more, though, not after this.

Her whole life was up in the air. She had no place to live, to call home. She couldn't go back to life in the mortal world. Be it for her safety or her inability to give up the wonders she had come to know, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she needed to stay with Amethyst, even if she didn't want her. She just had to.

When all this was said and done, would she be allowed to return to the castle? Would she be given a place to live? Or would she be sent back to the mortal world to fend for herself? Could she handle that reality?

One way or another, Raven had to find a way to convince them to keep her around. Whether that meant as a friend, or as a pet, she didn't know. How much did she really matter to the fey? Sure, she had come with news of their loved ones, was instrumental in setting them free, but did that matter to them? Was she anything more than a glorified jester? The very thought sickened her.

If Raven had learned one thing from this war, it was that she needed Amethyst more than she needed air, more than a fish needed water. Amethyst had become the very air she breathed, vital to her survival. There was no hope for her to leave now. None whatsoever.