The world pulsed around him as he struggled to come back into focus. Hazy voices swarmed around him, most hushed and frantic, quickly tumbling out of the people that surrounded him.

"She is a monster."

"She will punish us. That is what she is here to do. They sent her."

"Kill it. Kill it now!"

The voices muddled together, and he swam in the black. Outside, he could feel the warmth enveloping his skin. His heart raced, it pounded in his chest, threatening to break through the chasm of his ribs. It thudded harder and harder, drowning him in the hammering, until it all disappeared.

Gasping, he lurched awake, back curling over as his chest heaved and his body trembled. The bond was eerily silent. Panic shot through him, thick and hot. Where was she? What had they done to her?

He casted the covers from his body, scrambling to his feet, and allowing his eyes to dart throughout the room, noting that it wasn't their quarters, or even the elder's building. It was his room, his dwelling. He frowned and paused. Had it all been a dream?

He paced in circles, eyes shooting through the room. It had the same patterns etched across the walls, and his blade gleamed beneath his bed, the light capturing it at just the right angle. He crouched down and picked it up, wincing as the blade sliced his skin in his carelessness. He wiped his hand on his pants and examined the runes carved into its hilt. It was his knife, of course, but how he had managed to end up back at his house, his items suspiciously still in place, baffled him.

Always the opportunity seeker, he gripped the blade with one hand and gripped a fistful of long hair at the nape of his neck with the other. He jerked his wrist across, felt the hair fall down his spine and to the ground. Repeating the process, he grasped at random bits of long locks, slicing them as he went. Satisfied when it no longer ran down to his neck and ears, felt approximately even, he tucked the blade into the waist of his leather pants and crept out of the room, knowing that if his had hair still been that long, that what had happened the past few weeks had to have still happened.

He maneuvered through the halls with the skill and stealth of a predator, his lethal beauty dragging him into the dark of night. He crept through to his door, ears tuned to every shift in the environment, one hand resting on the hilt of his blade at all times. He paused for a moment, listening and anticipating, before he pulled open the door.

His eyes scoured Community. He saw no people hustling about, but he heard the pitch of whispered voices in the distance. He slinked through the streets, through the narrow alleys he had memorized upon its construction. He remained in the shadows, concealed by the gloom, and comforted by its secrets.

Coming upon the meeting hall, he was struck with a sense of déjà vu as he remembered when he had first been instructed to carry her into the building, and everyone had flocked to see her. They had been set on determining her fate, several willing to kill her, and because of him that had been forbidden. It still was, unless they had come to the executive decision that his life was to be sacrificed for the sake of Community. But he would have to consent to the death. If it came down to it, it would be his choice. Just how far was he willing to go for Community?

Shaking his head in order to concentrate, he skulked nearer. The doors were cracked open, welcome to anyone who sought entrance. He could hear the voice of Raygen swelling above the others. Shouts and cries of furry and terror echoed throughout the building, forming one large incoherently jumbled mess. Unable to discern the voices, he stalked inside, sliding behind the outer rows of the assembled crowd. He used them as a buffer between him and the force he was about to encounter, shielding his magyk and presence from being sensed as they grew over woven with his own.

He politely murmured apologies as he slipped into the crowd, slithering through people and creeping towards the front until he could see past the backs of heads that lined before the three elders amassed on their chairs, and the girl who kneeled in front of them, hands and feet shackled by invisible forces.

The braids that Elder Edmund had wound her hair into so tenderly had fallen loose. Her silvery locks tumbled across her shoulders and back, concealing part of her face as her head remained slightly bowed, and the sight of her so weak and pathetic before the imposing forces of the elders cause an unconquerable ferocity to bulge within him.

He felt Elder Raygen's eyes sweep across the crowd, dark and penetrating. He was careful to keep his heart in check as her eyes skidded to a halt in his vicinity. Seconds ticked by for what seemed to stretch on for hours before they moved past him and surveyed the rest of the crowd.

He tried to awaken the bond, to sense her, to grasp at what had to be racing through her troubled mind, but it remained still, she remained still, and he worried that they had somehow muted it and her. What had they done to her?

The voices continued to expand, and Elder Raygen continued to attempt to quell them, but no words offered comfort or assurance. Nothing could suppress the mounting hysteria that soared through the crowd, its erratic rhythm dizzying him.

He felt the elders' power increase to a feverish height, felt the air seem to thrum as it crackled. He felt his hair stand on end, and looked around to see if anyone sensed it too, but they were too lost in their wrath to acknowledge the chaos about to ensue. In the blink of an eye, the coiled power sprung loose and seized every person in the room, every person but him. They fell abruptly quiet and still and Alias struggled to remain unmoving as the rest of them to blend in with the masses.

Elder Raygen's voice finally echoed over the crowd. "I understand your fear and need to terminate the recently discovered threat, and as you can see we have it quieted for now, but we must discuss what is to take place. We must remember that one of our own is tied to this atrocity, and that allowing fear to control your decisions will only lead to chaos. We are strong people, and we will remain strong, so long as we do not let our fear control us."

Elder Amit sneered at her words, but remained silent. For one elder to disrespect another would be unfathomable. For who and what were they, what would they have left, if they did not hold honor?

Clearing her throat, Elder Raygen maintained her tightly lined lips, and indecipherable gaze. "With that being said, we will be accepting your thoughts and conjecture. Please remember to control yourself, or action will have to be taken."

"Where is the traitor?" A voice bellowed.

Alias clenched his teeth.

"He has been place in another location until we decide it is proper for him to be here. We cannot risk her drawing on him for assistance." Elder Raygen responded.

"The gods abandoned us, and I say we return the favor. Destroy it. Make it feel the same misery that they inflicted upon us."

Alias fisted his hands.

Elder Raygen paused. "If we harm her, we harm the boy."

"He has aligned himself with a monster! He is no longer one of us."

"What was done to him was involuntary. We cannot blame him for the curse he is forced to endure," Elder Raygen sighed.

"How is it subdued? Can it speak and hear us?"

She paused. "Yes, she – it can, hear us. We will not permit it to speak."

"It was sent here to punish us. We must eradicate her before she can carry out the deed. Who knows how long you will be able to suppress her?" A voice yelled.

Holding steady, Elder Raygen replied. "That is up for discussion, while she is tied to the boy, nothing can be done."

But a steady whisper began to rumble through the crowd, their desire for blood and retribution unified, and a chant began to roar from its heart. "Kill it, kill it, kill it!" They screamed.

Alias hissed, he pushed through the crowd, to the front row and stood strong as he braced himself to be recognized, but surprisingly none of the elders took note of him over the barbaric shouts. He felt the elders' hesitation as their power once more buzzed, and he waited as it crashed out at the crowd once more, drowning them in a shell of composure.

"Stop it!" Elder Amit jeered.

Elder Raygen nodded in his direction and focused on the crowd, her words beginning away, but that fell deaf against Alias' ears. He was entranced by the translucent eyes that drifted up from the ground and locked upon his face, shock radiating through their depths. Though the bond was still silent, he was tuned to her expression, the twitch in her face as she struggled to express herself, but found it futile.

An unsuspected voice shook Alias out of his daze.

"She healed me. A monster who intended us harm would not heal us, and they wouldn't posses such a gift. Let her speak." Raygha yelled.

Her eyes met Elder Raygen's and the two sisters dueled silently, the tension cutting thick through the air, so thick that Alias could've sliced through it with his blade. It took time, but Elder Raygen conceded to her sister, and with the flick of her hand, Acacia was liberated, if only a smidge.

She gasped, and the crowd grew silent upon the sharp intake of air.

She managed to sit up, a weight lifted from her shoulders, and her eyes drifted from Alias and to the crowd of people parched for the sight of her blood and ravenous for the sounds of her screams. She shuddered slightly, a movement only Alias noticed and waited with each passing beat of his heart for her voice.

"I am Acacia. I never intended to hurt any of you. I did not even know why I was here until I was unleashed. I am peaceful by nature, and my only intentions here are to help you." She gushed, eyes desperately seeking belief from someone in the crowd.

Instead she was met with contempt. "Your kind does not save humans. You maim and destroy them. Do not filthy us with your lies."

She frowned at them. "If I had meant you harm, then why did I not attack by now? Why would I allow myself to be captured and shackled? Does that sound like the grace of a god to you? I am not a god. I told you, I am daughter of the gods."

She turned her head, eyes casted towards her sweet Elder Edmund. "Edmund," she said softly. "Edmund, you have spent more time with me than anyone else, you know me better than anyone. Please tell them what you know to be true in your heart."

Elder Edmund, who had not spoken before this moment, looked down at her with anguish. His face was contorted in pain and perplexity. "Acacia..." He whispered. He shook his head, blinked his eyes and looked to his peers sitting in matching thrones and out to the crowd of his people. "I know that whatever I knew about you does not encompass who you truly are, therefore I cannot vouch for what kneels before me. You are of a kind that destroyed my people. You are from the same tree that almost caused humanity to fall distinct, and when that failed, sent them to a world of torture. And yet you tell me you are here to help? What logic does that present?"

She gaped at him, her eyes wide as her stabbed at her bared heart. Her jaw locked as something snapped in her eyes. She looked from Elder Edmund to Alias, and in that moment the others became aware of the outsider in their midst.

Elder Raygen waved her hand, wrapping him in a fist of power that locked his body. He could not control himself as he was pulled forward, until he stood feet from Acacia, and too endured the judgment of the elders and derision of his people.

"How are you here, child?" Elder Amit demanded.

Alias flashed a smile. "Easy. I woke up and walked here."

Elder Amit frowned. "Impossible."

"Do not forget that she had bound him. Through the link she can use her power to free him of us, to save him if she wishes it, unless he chooses otherwise. She respects him, worries for him, and does what is best for him whatever he decides." Elder Raygen explained. She looked down at Alias warily. "That leaves the decision up to you boy. Community has spoken, no one supports it, and so you are all that stands in the way of us exterminating the problem. Do you consent—"

"You dare to call her an 'it', after all that she has allowed you to do to her and done for you. She gave you your sister, and you want to 'exterminate' her!" Alias yelled.

An astonished silence fell across the crowd and the elders. Elder Amit was strangely composed, Elder Edmund appeared horrified, and Elder Raygen was bewildered, never have been spoken to in such a manner before. His rebellion was unseen, and this troubled her greatly, but she knew this was not the matter at hand.

Elder Raygen spoke, her voice grave. "This is larger than me, Alias, and much larger than you. You are part of Community, and upon joining you declared a vow that you would protect all of your kind, no matter what it took, that you would never let harm befall Community. It is a part of your larger duty that you do not let her taint your head, and yield to the benefit of the majority."

Alias sneered at his leader. "She has done nothing! She is not one of those who punished us, so why punish her? Why?"

"Alias..." Elder Raygen pleaded.

Elder Amit interjected. "That is enough," he barked. "It comes down to one answer, Alias. None of this useless insolence. Do you consent to allow us to sacrifice your life for the sake of Community, to do whatever is necessary to save our people?"

Alias' heart didn't sputter out of control when the words he knew would come were said. He didn't drown in fear or panic. He didn't try to run or beg. He stood there simply, and looked to the terrified faces of his people, of Community, the very place that had offered him sanctuary and he had fought to keep safe and protected. He looked to the elders, his fearless leaders who had sacrificed much themselves to be in those positions and only sought what they believed was best for their people. He held no resentment towards them or regret at forming Community. He cherished the place, despite its shadows that smothered him. It had been his home for the longest time.

He looked lastly to Acacia, at her tormented eyes and parted lips, at her silvery hair and white flowing gown, at her bound hands and knees digging into the sandy red rock. He felt nothing through her from the bond. She did not stop time to plead to him to save her and his people. She did not beg for her life this time. She left the option open to him and stared back silently, eyes seeming to pierce his soul.

It was hard to tear his eyes away from her, for him to look back up to Elder Amit. He held the same miserably solemn expression he always did. Alias had always possessed a strange respect for the sullen man. Meeting his eyes, he could tell immediately the he already knew what he was about to say.

"No."