Judah felt sick as he watched Jayden curl up in a ball. He knew that he was blaming himself for what happened in Enflad, but it wasn't his fault. Gowen had his mind made up from the moment that they requested aid when the Plague of Dread came into Encantia.

Judah knew that Jayden was taking it poorly though. Nothing he or anyone else could say would change that. Judah understood too. During fights he often found himself watching as the others used their magic to fight the monsters Gedeon has sent them. He thought back to the gym. All he could do was throw forcefields around the room. Nothing he did could help offensively.

It made him feel out of place at times.

"We need to leave him be," Elle whispered to Judah. He blinked quickly and snapped back into reality. "Mind if we go away and talk?"

Judah nodded and Elle led him to the double doors that led to the Queen's private chambers. Elora and Halayah sat on the center couch that dipped into the floor. They had just finished talking to the leader of the Minotaurs and were planning a way to get the fairy people to them safely.

Elle ducked behind a large door to the side of the main room and pulled Judah into it. She closed the door quietly behind her. When Judah came into the room his jaw dropped. The Queen's bathroom was huge. It was just as big as the main room where she slept. It was a white room that made Judah instantly feel nervous about stepping into it.

There was a large fine stone lined tub that reminded Judah more of a small lap pool than a bathtub in the center of the room. A small white lounging couch sat right next to it. The farthest wall from the door was lined with a vanity that would put any supermodel to shame. Countless beauty and hair care products lined the expensive wood. A closet that stretched across the whole back wall of the room, was right next to the vanity. On the wall closest to them was a mirror that protruded outwards. It was shaped in a diamond formation with four different sides to see your outfit from every angle.

"All of this is going to be gone," Elle said. "It's hard to imagine."

She walked to the center of the room on the white couch and sat down. She patted the seat next to her and Judah walked over. Each step he took he made sure to not scuff the floor with his dirty tennis shoe. Elle giggled as he awkwardly sat down.

"I don't think she's going to care if her bathroom gets a little dirty, Judah," Elle said.

"It's just..." Judah began. "Respectful."

The two sat in an awkward silence after that. The muffled echoes of Elora and Halayah bounced around the silent bathroom. Judah knew what this talk was going to be about. He didn't want to have it. Not yet anyway. Once this conversation was had their relationship would be defined. The truth was, other than when they came for the ball, Judah and Elle hadn't really talked since they hooked up.

There was too much baggage that came with it. Elle was Selena's best friend. Judah was her kind of boyfriend, or at least her entanglement. They should have been simply friend-zoned, but Judah finds himself drawn to Elle. The way she bites her lip when she has to be respectful and quiet. The way her hair smells like strawberries from the shampoo she uses.

Elle was the flame and Judah was the moth that flew dangerously close to her.

"I feel like a shitty person," Elle said breaking the silence. "The more I think about this situation, the more I realize how fucked up it all is. I'm not this girl. Judah, I've always hated this girl. I picked the guy over my friend."

"I cheated on someone," Judah said. "I'm not that guy either."

There was an awkward silence that passed between them. Each knew what needed to be done, but Judah wasn't sure how to word it.

"Then this is no more," Elle said. "For Selena."

"Yes," said Judah. "This is no more. For Selena."

Judah looked at Elle with longing when the door to the bathroom swung open. "Oh," Queen Halayah stood in the door. "Excuse me," she said as if she was intruding on someone else's bathroom. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"Not at all," said Elle. "We apologize for using this to talk."

The Queen nodded and stepped aside in the doorway. "Elora and I wanted to go over logistics of what is going to happen next and the role you guardians will play."

She turned and walked back to the common area of her private chambers. Judah and Elle locked eyes one more time, he knew that this was the last time he got to look at her this way. He knew that this was the right thing to do.

Why did it hurt so badly to do it though?

"We better get going."

They stood and walked into the grand chamber. Asher and Jayden had already joined the two Queens on the lavish couch. Judah and Elle sat on opposite sides, which earned a skeptical look from Jayden. Judah looked at Elle, and when she returned eye contact he instantly shyed away and looked at the Queens.

"We are planning an invasion of Coventry," said Elora matter of factly. "This is what you were being trained for as children, and what we desperately hoped would come later. Your powers are still growing, your magic is returning, and unfortunately time is no longer a luxury that we have. We are walking into this battle blind. No one living has set foot into Coventry that wasn't initially from there. We know nothing of the land or the weapons and traps they've set."

Elora continued to go over battle specific plans and Judah thought back to his power. He hadn't really used it since the battle at Glorianna. His power wasn't exactly offensive. He could produce a forcefield, and he could mind control, but he wasn't sure how that could be effective in a battle. Jayden could summon armies of the undead, Asher could do his cool water whip and puddle drowning thing,  Elle could open up the earth and make rock fortresses during battle, and Selena could literally shoot lightning out of her hands.

Judah had a moment of projecting himself to Gedeon's mind after they first met, but Gedeon saw him, and since then he's been scared to do anything of that sort.

Judah you're an idiot!

"Wait," Judah interrupted. "Elora, do you remember when I traveled to Gedeon's mind?"

"Yes," said Elora. She looked annoyed that he interrupted her. "What about it?"

"What if I could try and connect with Selena? What if I could communicate with her and get information from inside the castle?"

Elora looked at Halayah and bit her lower lip. "That is a risky move, Judah. The last time you did that Gedeon tried to attack you and you almost didn't make it back-"

"I can do it," Judah assured her. "I have you here to help me channel and figure it out. Isn't that why we were charged to you in the first place? To help master our power? I'm not the most useful on the battle field, but I can help lay the ground work for the people with more offensive abilities."

Halayah shrugged her shoulders. "It's a good plan," she said. "You could pull him back easily, and if we played our cards right, Gedeon wouldn't have to know a thing. He could be in and out easily."

"What if Gedeon has safeguards up to prevent this from happening?" Elora asked. "What if he has magical borders that guard against this exact thing."

"Then we go back to the drawing board." Halayah answered.

"I got into his castle before," Judah whispered. "I got in and I wasn't even trying. How hard could it be to intentionally do it this time?"

Elora leaned her head back on one of the cushions and closed her eyes. Judah could see the fear on her face as she thought over ever possibility of this plan. "Okay," she said. "This time we're taking all the safety precautions we can. Everyone get in a circle. Judah, in the center."

Everyone gathered in the circle and Judah took his spot in the center. "I want you all to focus on the bind your powers give you," Elora instructed Elle, Asher, and Jayden. "You'll be Judah's magical anchor. If things start to overwhelm him you'll be the ones that need to pull him back. Close your eyes and focus on the unity you have with each other."

Judah glanced at Elle one more time and a hint of fear grew in his belly. Could there be unity still where they just agreed to part? Elle smiled softly and closed her eyes. "Okay, Judah," Elora said. Judah snapped back into attention. His stomach instantly started to turn and he took a deep breath to help settle it. "You're going to repeat this over and over until you're with Selena. Invenire Selena. When you're ready to start the spell close your eyes and say it."

Judah nodded and closed his eyes. "Invenire Selena," Judah whispered. "Invenire Selena."

Judah was no longer sitting in the Fairy Queen's private bed chamber. Instead, he was walking in nothingness. It was completely black. It wasn't dark, Judah could see himself clearly, but there was nothing around him.

He squinted his eyes and looked around confused. Surely, he did something wrong? This couldn't be how he was going to find Selena. "Hello?" he called.

A square appeared in front of Judah. It was an old lady eating alone at a large dinner table. He looked confused before it blinked away. Rapidly, more square scenes began to appear around him. Everything flashed in glimpses of scenes. Squares of people eating dinner, celebrating and dancing, and watching television circled around him. He began to feel overwhelmed as he realized that these were real people in real situations. The square pictures just continued to come toward him. He braced himself as they shifted around his body.

"Eddie! You can't cut your sister's hair!" A mother yelled in one scene. That scene quickly rolled away, and another appeared in front of Judah. "I can't do this anymore, Jeremy!" a man screamed. "You constantly pick them over me and we're done!"

Judah blinked and once again a new scene was before him. With each new scene Judah felt what the people were feeling. He didn't remember this part when he first saw Gedeon.

"Judah," Elora called. He looked up in the darkness. He couldn't see her face, but he could still feel her presence. "You need to focus on the others while continuing to say the spell. Focus on the unity of your powers."

Judah closed his eyes. The square scenes vanished behind his eyelids as he thought back to the maze they had to travel through. He remembered the way the knot tied and cemented their powers and made them a team. When he opened his eyes the square scenes were still traveling around him, but this time Jayden, Asher, and Elle were there.

"This is really cool," Asher said. "You could spy on celebrities and shit, dude!"

"Not the time, Asher," Jayden mumbled.

"Invenire Selena," Judah whispered again.

The squares started to shift, and slowly, one by one, a square would completely blink out his sight. The squares began blinking away at a rapid pace, and the more Judah focused on finding Selena, the quicker the scenes disappeared. The chaos that surrounded his mind and his emotions cleared and Judah was staring at a singular scene.

Selena was sitting on a cot in a small dark room. It looked dank, and she looked miserable. Her eyes were closed as she leaned her head against the back of the wall. She looked like she had been crying.

"I see her," Judah called out.

"Walk toward her," Elora said. "The others won't let you go where you shouldn't."

Judah walked toward the scene, and the black that he was surrounded by faded away. He was bombarded by the smell of the cell that Selena was in.It was as if the football, soccer, and basketball team all left their dirty gym clothes in a pile and then left it there for a year. He scrunched his nose as he looked around the sad the place that she had been kept for weeks. A single cot was all that she had for decoration, and a torch was the only light source that barely cast enough glow to see.

"This is awful," he whispered.

Selena's eyes shot open. A gasp escaped her mouth when she saw him staring at her. Tears welled in her eyes, and Judah felt peace as she ran up and hugged him. She pulled away and touched his arm again. Judah could feel her presence, but when she hugged him he didn't feel the usual embrace. He had read an article once about when amputees could feel their body part that was amputated again called Phantom limb. Judah wondered if that's what this felt like.

"I can see you, but I can't feel you like you're here," she whispered. "You're not a trick? Is this Gedeon?"

"No," Judah said, "Elora is helping me reach out to you with my magic. We didn't think it would be possible but I'm here," he whispered feeling emotional.

It was in that moment that guilt filled his chest. How could he ever hurt this girl? She cared for him so deeply, and he turned his back on her. He turned his back when she needed him most. He doesn't deserve either Selena or Elle.

"I cannot believe you're here," Selena said as she ran her hand across his face. "I feel like I'm about to wake up from a dream." When she stroked his face Judah felt a fire roar in his belly. It wasn't the same as what he felt with Elle, but it welcomed. It felt right to have her do this.

"I don't have long," Judah said placing his hand where hers is. "We are about to make a move."

Judah watched Selena's face light up. She smiled and instantly clenched her fist. "You mean-"

"We got the help of the Minotaurs, Fairies, Aquins, and Dwarves."

Selena's face contorted. "I'm sorry, you got the help of what?"

"There's a whole magical-" Judah shook his head. "I'll explain when we get you out. For now, we need your help. Is there someone in here that can slide you information about the castle? We need to know what defences it has, what the land surrounding it looks like, and what we need to expect in an invasion."

"I can figure something out," Selena said as she glanced at the window of her cell. "When do you need me to know it by?"

"I'll come back tomorrow," Judah said.

Keys jangled and Judah's eyes turned toward the bars of her cell. "You need to go," she whispered. "Hurry." She ran to the bars and turned back to Judah one last time. A look of longing across her face. "Come back to me."

"I'll be back soon," Judah said as he closed his eyes and envisioned the dark nothingness he came from moments before. He wanted to freeze time and allow this moment to be longer. His heart ached as he opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in her cell, but back in the room with Elora and the others.

"Well?" Elora asked.

"I gave her until tomorrow to get the information we need. We need to get the fairies out of here in the meantime."