~Serena's POV~

All of us start cleaning up the mess of the school that was made. Once they learned that Amber was killed, Hazelwood Academy fled. No one has seen Zinnia since the battle, while Samuel just sat with his dragon in the stables. Emmy was still determined for the dance to go on in a few days, even though the school was in shambles. Melody and Drew spent every minute looking for Zinnia. I'm worried about her as well, but she needs time to deal with all of this. Eddie and Philip were guarding Jeremiah's room, making sure that he doesn't leave or try anything. But Jeremiah has been unresponsive to our questions. Apparently, losing a soulmate causes someone to enter a dreamlike coma. They're awake, but not there. I walk into the stables to find Samuel. If he is her soulmate, then they need to be near each other. He looks up at me from the floor next to Verilia.
"Come on Sam. We need to find her." I tell him. He shrugs.
"She doesn't want me near her....she hates me." His voice cracks.
"Why did you work for them?" I question.
"They threatened to kill Verilia and my family. But then I started to fall in love with Zinnia and I regretted it. But it was too late..." He murmurs. Samuel stands up and we begin to walk to the front of the school, when we see some commotion. We race over there and see several police officers with Zinnia in handcuffs.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"We found her going on a rampage on the other side of town. Our boss told us to bring her here and speak to the headmaster, but it appears that this girl killed her as well." One officer answers gruffly.
"We go to Strike Academy down south. I'll contact our headmaster." I reply. He nods and I send a dove with a note to the Academy. Meanwhile, I lead them all inside to the office. Students were staring at us. I was very careful to make sure I never looked at Zinnia.
"Samuel, go get Melody and the others." I command. He nods and rushes off. We enter the office, and I open the window. The dove flies in after a few moments of stony silence. I untie the note from the bird and send it on its way. Opening the letter, I read aloud.

~Dear Serena,

Thank you for contacting me. I had no idea what had happened over at Wisteria academy. I will send over our guard to retrieve Zinnia and deal her punishment as I see fit. Tell the police not to worry, everything will be handled.~

I conclude the message and the police leave Zinnia with me. The rest of our group races in.
"Z what happened!?" Melody questions.
"I don't remember." Zinnia murmurs.
"Bullshit." I growl. "You have put all of us in danger. You decided that you had enough control over your powers and then they turned you against the people of the city!"
"I-I'm sorry..." Tears spring to her face. I shake my head.
"All you do is hurt everyone! Just because you are supposedly the subject of a prophecy, you think that you can do anything! Well you can't! You're a child!" I scream. A guard appears with the Strike insignia and I hand over Zinnia. They disappear and Melody walks over to me.
"What the hell was that?! Yeah I'm pissed at her too but I wouldn't go that far! That was really mean." She exclaims.
"Yeah well she needs to get over herself." I growl. Melody slaps me, then storms off. Drew quickly runs after her with Phillip. Eddie walks over to me.
"Are you alright?" He murmurs. I shake my head. He pulls me into his arms and tears pour down my face. This isn't right. What has happened to everyone...

~Zinnia's POV~

I'm escorted into the Headmaster's office, and take a seat. The guard stays by the door at all times, as if I would try to escape. I didn't care anymore. There's nothing they can do to me that could be any worse. The Headmaster walks in and sits across from me.
"How are you Zinnia?" He inquires. I drag on the silence, then finally decide to answer.
"The guy I loved is dead, my true soulmate betrayed me, and one of my best friends just screamed at me. I'm fucking perfect!" I let the sarcasm drip from my voice like venom.
"Language. Well I'm sorry to hear that. But you have broken a main rule that is required by every wielder to follow. We do not hurt the people of the towns. They are not a part of our world. So, now I have no other choice. You will be stripped of your powers tomorrow morning." His gravelly voice echoed through my head.
"You mean...I won't....have my powers?" I stammer.
"Yes. You will be another normal teenager. And once you lose your powers, you can never get them back. The guard will escort you to a holding cell so that you don't get any ideas. You will be guarded at all hours, by Jeremiah. I know of what happened at Wisteria, and I see it fitting. There will be another guard of course, so that Jeremiah can't do anything. Now go." His powers whisk the guard and I outside of his office. I'm led down to the basement, and locked in a cell, sealed with elements that I didn't know existed. I lie down on the cot and tears pour down my face.

~Sam, Melody, everyone.... I'm so sorry. You guys deserved a better friend. I won't forget any of you. Thanks for being there for me.~

I send the thought out to my friends, and fall asleep with tears flowing.
Im woken up by a loud bang. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I see my cell door opening and Jeremiah walks in. Jeremiah yanks me off of the cot and onto the floor.
"You took my soulmate from me." He snarls and starts kicking me. The handcuffs I'm forced to wear make it hard for me to protect myself.
"I-I'm sorry....." I whisper as his kicks get stronger. I cough up blood and he pulls me to my feet.
"You deserve worse than just being stripped of your powers. You deserve to feel the pain of losing someone you love." His voice cracks. Hearing this, I burst out laughing.
"You think I don't know how that feels? MY STEPMOM MURDERED THE GUY I LOVED! KIRBY IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR SOULMATE!" I scream, hoping someone hears me. Jeremiah releases his grip on me and I collapse. Footsteps can be heard running down the halls, and I look at Jeremiah, but he is gone. Guards race in and look around with amusing looks of confusion on their faces.
"I'm sorry. Nightmares." I murmur. They roll their eyes and lock the cell door. I lay back on the cot, and try to sleep. I don't know why I protected him, but I did. I close my eyes, and wait for sleep.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~***~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

My cell door opens, and I'm led up through the school to the gardens. They were using me as an example. My friends were no where to be found, and I was grateful. I'm led up onto the makeshift stage, and everyone became quiet.
"This student of Strike Academy, has broken several major rules. She attacked the people of the town she was staying in. She killed another student, and used her powers to take over the body of the different student. And so, she will have her powers removed. Once they are gone, you can never get them back. We will now begin." The Headmaster booms over the area. Wielders surround me and begin draining my power, the pain is agonizing. I cry out, and it continues.
"ZINNIA!" A voice shouts. The area is covered in a shadow, and I look up. A dragon was descending upon the area. Students scream and run, while Samuel and Melody jump down. The ones around me up their power and I scream. My vision blurs, and my head feels like it's splitting open. I collapse, and the pain stops. One of the wielders smirks at me.
"It is done." He says, then vanishes.