Jungkook had a budding suspicion that he had ruined the camaraderie between himself, Elias, and Snow. And spending the last couple of hours trekking through Clarica's slums in silence wasn't the only hint.

Every moment they shared that night was thick with tension: when he and Snow waited for Elias in the gardens, when all three of them sneaked into the slums hidden under Elias's shadows, when they attempted to spark conversation, and—yes—when they walked under the rays of moonlight beaming through the fissures of the gray clouds in complete silence.

It was discomforting, to say the least, and since he was fixed between Elias and Snow, the pressure was even more intense. He was like a wall that separated them, and the only hope he had to break the awkwardness was to find the demon. That didn't happen yet, and from what he could tell, it wasn't going to happen at all.

Elias grumbled, crossing his arms and rolling his shoulders, while Snow remained quiet, clasping her hands behind her. They were becoming impatient, and the thought caused tingles of anxiety to buzz under Jungkook's skin.

When he was younger, he always experienced that same sensation. He remembered when he was isolated, when it was just himself in life. After Lexitem took his mother, his father refused to look him in the eye. And even after four years away from the castle, his father dismissed his existence.

Despondency had overtaken him until Captain Novire introduced Elias and Umbra sent Snow to Lux as an ambassador to negotiate the new trade agreements. They brought happiness to his melancholy, and Jungkook feared he had destroyed their bond with his selfishness.

He unconsciously gripped his pendant and ran his thumb over the smooth emerald to soothe himself. Its warmth seeped into his palm, and Jungkook knew that it was bound to act up again. He didn't know how to control it, but over the five years it was in his possession, he learned to understand it to an extent. And like him, the pendant was distressed.

"Jungkook, are you listening to me?"

Jungkook flinched and snapped his head towards a glowering Elias. From the moment he appeared from the shadows in the gardens, Elias was in a foul mood, and a simmering rage still glinted in his brooding eyes.

"I apologize. I was thinking about something else," Jungkook said.

The corner of Elias's mouth twitched. "We've been walking for hours, yet there is not a single demon. Perhaps you imagined everything? It wouldn't be the first time."

"I didn't imagine it. I know what I saw, and I know we'll run into it eventually."

Elias raised a brow and scoffed before the unpleasant silence pervaded the atmosphere once more. Jungkook was relieved. After their clash in the gardens, Elias was colder and only sent surly scowls in his direction. And if Jungkook didn't know any better, he would assume Elias was hiding something behind the mask he donned. Unfortunately, he was never the one to read a person, especially Elias.

The alleys stretched on and on, and the longer Jungkook stared into the unknown ahead, the more he felt like the buildings were closing in on him, swallowing him slowly so he wouldn't run. It was mesmerizing, and fatigue fogged his mind as he watched the sky churn overhead.

The Gods are agitated, he thought, inspecting the gray clouds when the sharp sound of something shattering resonated behind him. He whirled to catch the sight of stone shingles falling and cracking against the cobblestone as a fleeting shadow on the roofs faded from view. Horror zapped through Jungkook's bones as his knees buckled. It couldn't be true. What he saw wasn't possible. Chills crawled under his skin as he opened his mouth to speak, but Elias beat him to it.

"Rats. They can make a mess." He scanned the roofs and kicked what remained of the shingles with the tip of his boot. "Even kill someone if they are unfortunate."

Jungkook wanted to lean towards the benefit of the doubt, but he couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure? It didn't look like one."

"It certainly wasn't a demon if that is what you are implying," Snow said.

Startled, Jungkook blushed. "I wasn't." Snow and Elias squinted at him with skepticism etched into every pore on their faces, but Jungkook ignored them. "What I am thinking of is impossible. Just forget it."

"Wish you would say the same about this ridiculous hunt," Elias muttered, and they left it at that.

The alleys were deteriorating, the cobblestone degenerating to dirt, and the revolting smell around them grew acrid. Jungkook cringed as the stench drenched his clothes and as rats scurried out from tattered crates and loose bricks, weaving between his legs and chittering as they passed. Piles of rubble and ordure dotted the sides of the alleys, and water from the mock sewage systems dripped into a puddle covered with algae.

As his eyes absorbed every detail, a memory tugged at the back of his mind, nagging him with a sense that he had been here before. His eyes traced the sewage system, and his ears listened to the drips of water. As he breathed the malodorous odor pervading his nostrils, a familiarity blossomed in his heart, and excitement jolted him alive.

"I know where we are," Jungkook whispered, his brows knitted. Elias and Snow continued to plod down the alley, covering their mouths and holding in their gags. "I've been here before," Jungkook said a little louder. Elias and Snow halted, and Snow gave him a meaningful look.

"What do you remember?" she asked, but Jungkook was too engrossed in the alley, the horrible state it was in, the dark blotches all over the ground.

Prince Jeon Jungkook? The demon's grating voice. The guard's harrowing wails. Jungkook clutched his pendant. "I entered a guard's memories through Anilium here." He examined the area now void of dead guards, blood, and a demon before pointing to another alley. "And then I ran there."

He was about to retrace his steps when, in his grasp, the pendant began to heat almost to the point where he could barely touch it. He let it go with a yelp, his fingers racing to his ear. The pendant was glowing.

"What are you doing?" Elias asked, his eyes flicking from Jungkook to the gleaming pendant and back. "What's happening?"

"I can't—"

A green light consumed him, and a roaring storm of wind howled in his ears. As the world was drained of sound and color, the doors to Anilium opened.

Once he opened his eyes, he saw monochrome smoke radiating from everything except himself, Elias, and Snow. Colorful waves danced off the three of them, blurring their contours and weaving the illusion that their movements were more dragged out than they actually were.

"Why did you bring us to Anilium?" Elias's eyes were hardened, and his jaw was clenched. Behind his eyes shrouded by fury, there was. . . fear.

Jungkook nibbled on his bottom lip. "The pendant does this on its own sometimes."

Elias frowned. Jungkook didn't want to admit he had no control over his time element, especially to the person teaching him how to control it. However, Jungkook decided to spill the truth now rather than later when he had to reveal his other secret: he had no idea how to exit Anilium.

He pursed his lips as he envisioned Elias's reaction. A scolding would be the least of his concerns if it came to that. May Faestuna have mercy upon his soul.

As Jungkook scoured the alley for anything unusual, Snow twisted her hands in the smoke that brushed over her fingers like water over wax. Elias stood tense beside her, his eyes darting everywhere. Looking beyond them, Jungkook noticed a thin trail of mist leading deeper into the slums.

He gulped, recalling what happened the last time he followed a similar trail, but perhaps the pendant was trying to lead him to what he was searching for. Without even discussing it with Elias and Snow, he mindlessly followed the trail. Elias made a sound of disapproval before he followed. Snow was soundless, only the soft clicks of her heels signaling her pursuit.

The alleys twisted themselves into unfamiliar territory, where the smoke was dark and the path back askew. Before Jungkook knew it, he couldn't recognize where he was anymore, but he trusted the pendant. So he trudged onward, expecting to find the demon at the next corner since the trail was so thin it was nearly nonexistent, but there was nothing.

The trail ended abruptly at a wall, and all of Jungkook's hope whistled away like a deflating balloon. There was nothing at the destination. It was a blind alley, and the silence behind Jungkook was deafening.

"So this was all a waste of time?" Elias said, his tone low, dark. "What do you say we do now?"

Jungkook avoided eye contact with Elias and Snow. The pendant had never failed him, and it wouldn't lead him to a lousy location. There had to be something of significance, something that he was missing, right? There always was, so why. . .

Snow was awfully quiet and calm compared to Elias, who brimmed with impatience and fury. She brushed past Jungkook and placed her hands on the wall, a wave of light gray mist fluttering under her palms. "It is fake—or more like it was built with magic. But I am not sure if we can break it in Anilium."

All eyes were on Jungkook, so he unconsciously curled in on himself. "I-I have something to confess." He opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come out. Before he forced himself to spit the truth, he begged Faestuna for mercy this one time and blurted out, "I don't know how to exit Anilium."

There wasn't a better explanation of what disappointment felt like than the current ambiance that floated around the three of them. Snow remained collected and repressed her anger, if she even had any. On the other hand, Elias's face contorted into an expression displaying the beast that awoke from hibernation the second the cat was out of the bag.

"Then why did you bring us here?" Elias growled, unleashed wrath flashing in his eyes. He pointed at Jungkook's glowing pendant. "You had that thing for—what—six years—"

"Five."

"I don't give a shit!" Elias yelled, his voice echoing through Anilium as it would in a cave, making Jungkook squirm and burrow himself inside his cloak. "You fiddle around the slums, disobeying every order from His Majesty, making me disobey every order from His Majesty, for what? For us to die in Anilium? Didn't you learn anything from the stories of the Oracles?"

"Elias," Snow said, shaking her head, a warning edge behind her words.

Elias continued, disregarding Snow and resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Didn't you hear of the tales of Anilium, the lost dimension? Don't you know what happens when we get trapped or lost or—even worse—forced into this hell because an ignorant child was fooling around?"

"Elias!"

Elias faced Snow, the weight of his enmity shifting in the air. "What have you been teaching him in his lessons? The Conquests? The Black Night? Or was that too unpleasant for him? Listen here, Prince." He directed his attention back at Jungkook. "If you frolic around hunting for danger, you die. It is plain and simple, but do you know what's worse? This is worse: you aren't only killing yourself with your stupidity, but you are dragging others down with you because of your selfishness. That doesn't make you a saint. That doesn't make you a hero. It makes you no better than—"

Snow slapped Elias across the face. The hit reverberated through the air and bought a moment of tense tranquility. A tear streamed down Jungkook's cheeks, tickling his skin. He didn't feel the burn in his throat or the ache in his heart, but he was crying. Pathetic. He thought he had changed because he was older, because he had a voice, but nothing changed. Nothing at all.

"You hypocrite!" Snow shouted, pushing Elias. "Did you forget who the selfish one really is? Curse you and your damn arrogance! How could you—"

Jungkook drowned the argument out and leaned against the wall, wiping his tears. He didn't want to lose himself to his emotions, but desolation devoured his heart. Snow and Elias were head to head, throwing obscenities at each other from left and right, and discomfort boiled in Jungkook's stomach. They reminded him of his father and mother—of his father and uncle.

He clutched his pendant, taking deep breaths to mollify himself, when the wall rumbled behind him, distracting him from the pain in his heart for a moment. The tremor was short-lived and faint, but placing his palm flat against the wall, he felt an unmistakable vibration growing stronger and stronger by the second.

"The wall is shaking," Jungkook said, the sound of the argument crashing into his ears as he pulled himself back into reality. A crack spread from the center of the stone, creating a deep canyon where blinding colors seeped from the crevices. "Listen to me!"

"What!?" Snow and Elias said simultaneously, jerking their heads towards Jungkook.

"The wall is—"

A hand seized his wrist and yanked him away from the wall as an explosion mixed with pressure and sound sent him flying ten feet away from where he stood. High-pitched rings pierced his ears, and when his eyes opened, color blinded him. The clouds were stirring, and the mist exuding from his skin was gone. Massaging his eyelids, he groaned. When his vision adjusted to the new lighting, he found Elias lying unconscious next to him, his glasses cracked, a streak of blood trickling from his head.

Jungkook glimpsed his wrist and noticed Elias's fingers wrapped loosely around it before he pushed himself up. Snow staggered to her feet a distance away, rubbing her head.

"Are you injured?" Jungkook asked.

Snow waved her hand. "I am fine. Elias protected me."

Jungkook spared a glance at Elias before he peered at the wall. A pale hand was sticking out of the cracks. It wiggled and writhed as another arm squeezed through, the gap expanding and the stone crumbling.

A gasp sounded from below. Elias coughed and rolled to his stomach, pushing himself on his knees. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he surveyed the area. "Are you two okay?"

Jungkook and Snow nodded, helping Elias to his feet as the wall finally collapsed. Debris clouded the air, but a burst of wind cleared it. Something stood in the rubble, controlling the wind. The hairs on the back of Jungkook's neck stood tall. Demon.

Low, hoarse laughter. Elias put himself in front of Jungkook and Snow, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. The laughter changed into a chuckle and later morphed into a frenzied cackle. Jungkook didn't know how to explain it, but the sound was dreadful. It sounded almost like a monster from legends, from nightmares.

"I found you." The voice was a whisper that carried itself across the alley. Soft but loud. And horrible. Absolutely horrible. "I sensed you were spying on me, Jeon Jungkook, and waited patiently for your light to guide you here. And here you are! The Prince of Lux is in my presence, and you brought along some esteemed guests." Snow shifted uncomfortably beside him. Elias didn't move. "Such wonderful presents. I hope they are more fun than the last."

The demon's pale hand beckoned behind it towards a massacre. About ten guards were mutilated and butchered like pigs in a slaughterhouse. Snow inhaled a sharp breath, and Elias drew his sword, the black blade barely shining in the dull moonlight. Shadows around the alley inched near Elias, forming a circle around him.

"Hasty, hasty. I love it," the demon said, snarling. "Impatient and ill-tempered. My favorite kind." Miasma permeated the air. "I promise to make it quick."

The demon lunged forward, and Jungkook shouted, "Close your eyes!"

A ball of light materialized in his palm, and when he clapped his hands, it popped. A bright flash of light flooded the alley.

The demon screeched and stumbled. "Eyes! My eyes!"

Elias scraped his sword against the ground as he swung at the demon, an arch of shadow sprouting from the tip and slicing the demon's chest. Snow drew two metal fans from her cloak and flicked her wrists to open them. She thrust the fans in the air, and metal needles raced towards the demon, stabbing its abdomen.

Elias charged, shadows enveloping his sword. Raising his weapon, he plunged his blade through the demon's chest. Blood gushed from its mouth as its body went limp. The demon was dead.

Heavy pants filled the air, and Jungkook was about to smile at Snow and Elias with an I-told-you-so look when a voice rasped, "You put up a decent fight."

Hands clapped, and the demon's body, along with the bodies of the dead guards, dissipated into tenebrous smoke. The ruined wall rebuilt itself as if time was rewinding, and dumbfounded, Jungkook inched closer to Elias and Snow.

A glob of darkness floated in the air and twisted itself into the shape of a body. "I know the bony arms and lanky physique fits the picture you humans fabricated for us demons, but I am a little offended." The demon stood before them, wearing gray robes over a white tunic that hung loosely off its form, and it looked so much like a human that it was uncanny. "You need to stop rationalizing everything before these poor people in the slums get branded as demons, too."

Jungkook couldn't move or speak—was too appalled to. His brain couldn't wrap around what was happening, and based on Snow's and Elias's reactions, they were in the same boat.

The demon brushed the dust off its tunic and said, "I know demons may seem scary to you humans, but just because some of us kill you, that doesn't mean we all need to be persecuted. The actions of a few shouldn't punish the rest. And I know I am one of those few, but it's an obligation. Some of your guards don't deserve the powers granted to them, and that gives me all the more right to end their worthless lives.

"As for you three, I am surprised how quickly you finished off my mirage. It was an excellent show, but despite that, you tried to cheat, tried to sneak up on me using Anilium. That's not fair. Where's the fun in that?" The demon cocked its head, its gaze darkening. "But you don't enjoy fun. You enjoy being safe. That makes you all boring, no different from the weak night watch. That's why there's no point in sparing you, either."

The demon disappeared, and Snow screamed as a crack reverberated through the alley. Her metal fans clattered against the ground, and Jungkook only captured a tiny glimpse of her bent arm as she was dragged into the darkness.

"Snow!" Elias shouted, sprinting towards her and grabbing her hands. A blast of wind sent Elias and Snow flying towards Jungkook, who couldn't dodge them and got trampled.

The demon clapped from somewhere in the shadows. "Come on. Get up! Get up! This is the entertainment I wanted." Strings of miasma wrapped around Jungkook's limbs and controlled him like a marionette. "Prince of Lux, don't just stand there. Do something productive. Draw your sword."

The miasma made Jungkook obey and draw his sword, metal scratching against metal. An arm draped over his shoulders, and a warm breath tickled his neck. "So who should we eliminate first? Glasses?"

Jungkook's body swayed towards Elias.

"Or winter?"

Jungkook pointed his sword at Snow.

"Or both?"

Jungkook lifted his sword over his head.

The demon hummed. "Or what about yourself?"

Struggling against the strings of miasma, Jungkook trembled as he turned the sword towards his abdomen, the tip less than an inch away from impaling him.

"You bastard!" Elias sprang to his feet only to be restrained by miasma.

The demon cackled beside Jungkook. "Look at the mighty Prince of Lux! He has finally lost his mind. Oh, what a tragedy this is! The bright future of Lux has dimmed, but let's save His Highness from his misery." The demon wrenched the sword from Jungkook's grip and rested the blade against Elias's neck. "Let's begin by eliminating those who burden him, starting with you, Brigadier General."

"Stop!" Jungkook cried as the demon prepared to strike, but Snow blocked the blade with a folded metal fan and twisted the weapon from the demon's grasp. The sword dropped to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, the demon's hand was around Snow's neck. It threw her against the wall, where her head smacked against it, a line of blood painting the stone red as she slowly slipped to the ground.

"I will kill you!" Elias wriggled in his confines. "I will kill you, goddammit!"

The demon snapped its fingers. The miasma constraining Elias faded. "I would like to see you try."

Shadows enveloped Elias's arms and chained the demon in place. Elias stormed towards the demon, his shadows lifting his sword into his hands. When he was about to slash his sword down, the demon vanished. It reappeared behind Elias and dealt about five consecutive blows to his spine. Elias went limp and fell face-first onto the ground, croaking, "What did you do to me?"

"Don't even try. You can't move." The demon lifted Elias by his collar and slammed him against the wall. "I really like you, though. You have the spirit." A smile tugged at its lips. "Greed blooming in your heart."

"What the hell—"

Elias screamed. The demon bit him on the neck, and only when the light faded from Elias's eyes did it let go and let Elias rest against the wall. Trying to hide the fear rattling his bones, Jungkook glared at the demon as it sauntered towards him.

"So, what do you want to do now, Prince of Lux?" the demon asked as if Jungkook didn't see it nearly beat his friends to death. "Do you want to dance? Talk? Fight?" Jungkook didn't answer. The demon clicked its tongue. "Stop glaring at me like that. You know, I am actually helping you."

Jungkook gritted his teeth. "You beat my friends to near death, you monster! How is that helping me in any way!?"

The demon smirked mischievously like a child who knew a secret. It approached Jungkook, and the miasma forced him to look it in the eyes.

"Do you think they are your friends?" the demon asked. Jungkook's eyes twitched. "Do you think they care for you as you do for them?" Jungkook didn't know what to say, but the demon continued without care, pity lacing its words. "I heard you were naive, but this is beyond that. You're ignorant of the things right in front of you. You can't see—or perhaps you refuse to see—the truth. It is already written in all of your eyes. All of you have faced hardship and experienced the darkness in this world, but you, unlike them, still maintain that innocence in your heart."

Jungkook wanted to shout at the demon, tell it to shut its filthy mouth, but he couldn't. His body refused to listen. The demon patted him on his shoulder. "I will save you the heartbreak and tell you the truth: they are sycophants like every other noble of Lux."

"No, they are not."

The demon pouted. "The absolute truth is always painful, but you'll soon learn what I mean."

That was enough. Jungkook was done listening to this gibberish. Pushing all doubts aside, he said, "Get to the point. What do you want with me?"

The demon stared blankly at him. "You're so loyal. That will be your demise, but until then"—the miasma loosened and let Jungkook go—"enjoy what little time you have to the fullest."

Jungkook dove for his sword and aimed it at the demon, who didn't move. His hands quivered, so he tightened his grip around the hilt until his knuckles blanched.

"It wasn't supposed to end like this," the demon said. "Someone else was supposed to kill you, but that someone is getting intoxicated and indulging in Umbran wine. I don't understand why you have to die. Perhaps it's to retrieve that thing"—a finger pointed at Jungkook's pendant—"but either way, this was quite enjoyable."

"Who sent you to kill me?" Jungkook thought of the assassin. "Was it the Dark Lotus? Was—" Jungkook hesitated. "Was it Daetunos? Is he back? Did he break his seal?"

The demon frowned. "It is a shame. You were one of the good ones, too."

"Answer me!"

"I am sorry, Jungkook, but I think our game ends here," the demon said as miasma encompassed Jungkook, and before he could react, it entered his nose, mouth, ears, and eyes. All he heard was a wind rushing in his ears as everything around him turned to pitch black. He couldn't breathe, and the insides of his body felt unnaturally cold. He was undulating as wave after wave of miasma forced its way into his body. It felt as if his blood was flowing backward, as if his bones were being splintered one by one.

He fell on his back and lost hold of his sword. Drool dribbled out the corner of his lips, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He could feel the life being sucked out of his very being, and just when he was about to give up and accept his fate, everything stopped. He laid on his back, unmoving, as a faraway squeal reached his deaf ears. The world was still dark. After blinking a few times, he discerned two blurry figures.

They were moving, and as his vision cleared, he recognized the demon but not the other person. It wasn't Elias or Snow. They were still unconscious. He clenched his eyes shut and opened them again a couple of times until his sight cleared. Even though the angle was tilted, he saw the fight between the demon and—bloody bones of Caeluros.

It was the assassin.

He couldn't believe it. The assassin who strangled him the day he found the dead guards was fighting the demon, was protecting him. Why? He thought she wanted him dead.

The demon was wounded, clutching its bloodied right arm. Its eyes were wide, and its easy-going persona was gone. "What the hell are you?"

The assassin was silent. She raised her hand, and the ground quaked, pillars of earth—no, sand—emerging and swirling around her. The sandstorm made Jungkook's vision grainy, but he could still see blood spray as the grains of sand punctured the demon's skin over and over again. The demon plucked Elias's sword off the ground and hurled it at the assassin, but she sidestepped it.

She evaporated into thin air, and the demon was being hit again and again by something invisible. It spat out blood, and the assassin appeared, lighting zapping across her skin. Cursing, the demon stretched its arm out, and miasma twisted around the assassin's right arm. The coils of miasma squeezed and tore into the assassin's skin, spilling her blood.

The sandstorm thickened, and the miasma retreated. Scars marred the assassin's arm, but they mended themselves back together. She suddenly grabbed the demon's arm, and it howled as lighting shocked it. The sandstorm diminished, and piles of sand littered the alleys like dunes in a desert. The demon was spasming, its miasma gathering and dispersing, its body clouding into smoke only to reform again.

It was ridiculous how easy the assassin made it seem, towering over the demon with lightning sparking all around her and not a single wound scarring her. And Jungkook almost couldn't believe his eyes when glowing sand gathered in her palm, and in a flash of molten red, she was holding a glass sword. He had never seen such mastery of so many elements in his life.

She beheaded the demon in one blow, swift and smooth. The cut was clean, but just before the head detached from the body, a mass of miasma exited the demon's mouth and escaped into the night.

The assassin didn't seem bothered, though, and Jungkook was relieved that the demon was gone until the assassin directed her attention to him. She stalked towards him, her footsteps silent as the glass sword glowed and shattered into shards that joined the disappearing desert below. She drew a sword. Standing over Jungkook, she rested the blade against his neck.

She didn't speak or move. All she did was stare into Jungkook's eyes. It felt like time stopped as he gazed at her, his heart buzzing because it was beating so fast, and when she finally moved, Jungkook closed his eyes. Nothing happened. The only thing he knew was that the assassin was gone, and before him, there was a sword with a cracked pommel resting in the disappearing sands.

* * *

She couldn't do it. She couldn't kill the prince.

Two's heart was pounding inside her chest as she dashed on the roofs, jumping at the ledges and landing on the next one ahead. From her hiding spot in a tree behind the castle's gardens to the slums, she had convinced herself she could do it. But in the end, after one look at those hazel eyes, she couldn't because the visions, the memories, returned. And the prince was the key to uncovering them, to opening the door in her head that kept the answer to the question she had asked herself for her entire life: who am I?

For nine years in the Dark Lotus, she lived without memories of her past and declined when Lucius offered to tell her. So why was it that the moment she saw hills and green and sun and happiness, she wavered? What made the prince so special that he broke down the barrier she had crafted?

She didn't know. All she knew was that the witness was the Prince of Lux, a light elemental, and some kind of time elemental. There was nothing abnormal about him except for the fact that he could access Anilium and—

She paused. And he reminded Two of her, of her first failure. All she saw when she looked at him were those violet eyes hiding at the end of the crimson hall. That night was supposedly a mistake, but Two knew it was the right decision. No matter what Lucius or Adrian or anyone argued, what Two did that night, saving that girl, was the right choice. In the minds of her comrades, she was currently betraying the Dark Lotus, but if that night seven years ago was the right path, then saving the prince just now was, as well. It had to be.

Gods, she was doomed. Sentiment was clouding her judgment, but it was too late. She already had her mind set. She didn't know what fate held in store for her, what the Gods planned for her, but she couldn't kill the prince because, after all these years, she wanted to know who she was.

You're becoming a dog to sentiment, Lucius's voice said in her head.

Lucius. Adrian. They were also troublesome. She shook her head at her stupidity and thought up a lie, hoping it would suffice.

"Gods," she mumbled, veering towards the path to Lumina. "I hope I don't regret this."