"Rise," the Queen of Solraidas said, standing at the head of the table.

Sorein had been nervously awaiting the evidentiary hearing, and the twisted feeling in his gut only worsened when he read the pensive looks on the faces of the High Court.

Elive appeared the most troubled, biting her lip and quickly releasing it.

Sorein stood next to Levias, also passing uncertain glances around the room. Tension was palpable, though he couldn't be sure it had to do with him. Not when all eyes seemed to settle on Ezre.

"We are here on behalf of the commonwealth of Chiori Faire and the allegations that follow," she continued, lifting a script. "Affiliation with forbidden practices, manslaughter, desecration of a holy temple, and conspiracy for treason."

His jaw locked in frustration, eyes glaring holes into the thin slip of paper.

A low rumbling filled the room for a moment, creating a brief pause before Queen Elive cleared her throat. "For the record, how do you plead?"

Sorein exhaled through his nose.

"Not guilty," he answered softly.

He could be firm. He could assert himself without the callous nature they all anticipated.

If nothing else, so he might be allowed to look Iliya in the face one last time.

Levias nodded and began scribbling in a folder.

"Then let the processions–"

An explosion shook the courtroom.

The Queen of Solraidas collapsed as the floor beneath them quaked, a crevasse peeling open down the center and leading toward the Aphyre.

"Is everyone alright?" Destry asked, tugging at her blouse.

The next shudder rippled through the entire building, a blast sounding beneath them.

Sorein smelled smoke mingling with hellfire bleeding in from the corridor outside.

Then an alarm went off, the shrill sound alerting the Estate that the wards were compromised.

An image struck him. The entrance to Nioreir beneath the Grand Archive sat directly below them. Frozen in shock, he watched as the room broke out into chaos. Several pairs of eyes landed on him.

Here.

Away from the explosion.

"Alert the Guard, secure the perimeter," Ezre snapped, marching to the doors. "The Aphyre has been breached, we must prepare the Infirmary."

Sorein's body betrayed him completely, petrified. Ears still ringing from the blast and feet firmly planted on the floor as he began to panic.

Another battle would be the death of them for sure, and with little access to his mana, he would be a fool to–

Chills ran down his spine when he remembered Iliya had been unprotected in the Infirmary. The High Court had abandoned the courtroom to follow Ezre's instructions, leaving him alone. He forced himself into action.

Sorein had just entered the ballroom when a cloaked figure dashed for the door. His instincts kicked in, and he chased the black trench coat until he noticed the bound auburn hair.

They sprinted through the gardens.

"Iliya!"

Her speed picked up, and she hoisted herself over the railing and cleared the fence.

"Iliya, what have you done!"

Sorein panted as he slammed into the fence. He knew climbing it might use up the last of his energy.

He yelled for her again.

Iliya turned, fear in her eyes as she screamed. "Get back to the Estate!"

He would do no such thing.

Not even as she ducked into the heart of the capital.

Sorein kicked the fence, screaming in frustration. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't the one who set off the alarm. Where was she going?

He jogged past a group of guards preparing for Taqrias and conserved his energy for the straight shot. If she took several side routes, he'd sprint through Heartline Avenue and intercept her.

Calling her name to no avail, Sorein ran down the streets where citizens whispered and pointed in the direction of Torchkye bridge.

Gambling, he chose to follow.

Iliya was about to cross the bridge when he spotted her. She had slowed her pace to look at the sun as it arched downward. Sunset. She was keeping track of time.

Before she could escape, Sorein took the electricity he still felt in his veins and launched it near her.

He needed her attention.

He needed to make her see him.

The lightning dislodged nearby stones and dented the stone guardrails, dispersing at her feet.

Iliya stumbled to face him, shock written into her features as she rallied.

Shock and guilt.

"Iliya..."

Logic won against the raging loyalty in his head. She'd done it. She'd snuck into the Grand Archive.

"Don't do this..."

Torn.

He was so damned torn.

Between the ringing in his ears and the darkness swelling into his thoughts, Sorein could barely breathe.

"What in Heilos name do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry..."

Sorry? She'd committed treason and she was sorry?

He just needed to reach her, to understand.

Sorein lost himself in his thoughts as the golden bands of her Raesa tethered him to the ground. The Mana was static, supercharged and flourishing with strength.

"Iliya!"

He writhed against the restraints to no avail.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured. "We'll make it out the other side."

His heart stopped for a moment as he realized she'd heard him. Iliya fled, disappearing into the tumultuous streets of Hollow Point and leaving him behind.

She'd done it.

Iliya had broken the wards.

He didn't understand why she would sacrifice everything unless something greater was on the line. Something he didn't know about.

Sorein concentrated on the creature roaming beneath his flesh, stroking the feral beast that lurked within his soul.

Hurt, confusion, and betrayal flooded his senses.

Before he knew it, the world was a monochromatic landscape unfolding before him and the only color he could see was the light of their Erietii.

The scent of autumn rain and crisp citrus filled the nostrils of his wolf form, and Sorein chased the cord between them. He sprinted past the sailors and thugs, nearly plowing over a scandalously clothed waitress.

He snarled and barked at pedestrians, sending anyone who got too close scuttling to the side.

His deep growls echoed off the stone buildings.

As he weaved along the city streets and chased the string of Mana around, Sorein realized he'd been led full circle.

Sniffing at the air, his head lowered.

She was watching him.

Potentially setting a trap for him.

Sorein barked at the empty sky, glaring in each direction until he caught her scent again.

Iliya was heading for the docks.

He hadn't known what to expect when he found her standing there, waiting, her head craning from side to side. Was she searching for a ship off the coastline?

Sorein charged for the dock, blindsided by the searing blast that slammed into his flank. He tried to move and failed, his limbs shaking uncontrollably.

"Go. Back!" Iliya yelled.

She pulled her arms up into a fighting stance, shifting on her feet as a molten aura wrapped around her fists. Pure, unfiltered Mana emanated from her hands.

He wouldn't.

He couldn't.

Sorein crawled back onto all fours, gritting his teeth under the strain of her magic.

"Iliya!" he raged, digging his claws into the wood beneath them. "Stop this!"

Sorein lunged forward and was thrown back again.

"I can't," she said. Her voice was laced with grief. "This is the only way, Rein... The odds were always stacked against us, I've just bought us more time."

"More time?"

Iliya frowned, glancing out to sea and back again.

"Remember."

He shook his head. "Remember what?"

Iliya didn't respond as she stepped toward one of the cargo rigs.

His body transformed to Fae as his strength waned. Sorein's knees dug into the deck, cutting his skin. The pain grounded him as he arched back and stared across the dock toward the Princess. Slowly retracing her steps, Iliya hesitated again.

Her hair mopped together by sea brine, she stood in her cloaked attire and watched him.

"I need you to remember."

Her words were foreign to him.

Iliya was no longer hiding from this country.

This world.

She stood in the whipping winds, determination shining in her eyes.

"Why?" he asked.

Pleaded with her, really.

"They cannot kill you," she answered. "Not while they hunt for me."

The world went quiet.

"For you?"

Iliya nodded, gaze softening.

Sorein's heart calcified, stopping before the sensation turned to a cleaving pain.

Seconds passed as the realization hit him.

His lips parted to speak, but Iliya shook her head. She fired a wave of liquid flame into his chest, sending him flying backward.

He caught himself, tumbling against the paved stone, then launched upward again as he rushed for the dock.

Only Iliya was gone.

Her figure dropping onto the cargo ship and looking back across the Yinae.

She was leaving.

Chiori's Princess was disappearing into the dusk lit night.

His closest confidant.

Gone.

A scream lodged in his throat and Sorein growled, fighting the ache in his chest.

The only thought he had echoing over and over again managed to escape him.

"I'll find you!"

He would.

Even if it took her entire lifetime

"I WILL FIND YOU!!!"