Ladislaya returned back to the Academy two days later. She arrived as a dragon, looking pink and breathless from flying so many miles. Wren kept forgetting her ability was shapeshifting. Wren and Jake accompanied her up to the common-room as she related her Christmas to them.

'How was your Christmas here?' Ladislaya said promptly.

'Interesting,' said Wren.

'How interesting?' wheedled Ladislaya. 'How was everyone? Did you get any decent presents? Is Lucian still in the hospital-wing?' she giggled. 'Did he miss the Christmas feast?'

Wren and Jake glanced at each other. 'Yeah, he wasn't there to ruin everything,' said Jake, walking on.

Apparently, Ladislaya had sensed something was off. She stopped in her tracks suddenly. Wren would consider both she and Jake good liars, but around Ladislaya? Huge no.

The two of them had agreed that they would tell Ladislaya all about Lucian once she had settled back into the Academy properly. Wren had seen, in her mind's eye, that the three of them were all huddled around the fireplace and then they would relate all of Chrsitmas's happenings.

But instead, there the three of them were, standing in the Entrance of the Academy, both Wren and Jake looking awkward.

'Let's go to the common-room,' said Jake quickly.

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'She's trying to erase her memory?'

Wren and Jake had just finished telling Ladislaya what had happened the day they strangled - ahem, talked with Lucian. Ladislaya was staring at them in aghast.

'But - that requires a lot of dark magic -'

'Funnily enough, we figured that ourselves,' said Jake sarcastically. Ladislaya took no notice. She was now pacing up and down the room.

'I was doing some reading at home in the Christmas holidays!' she cried. 'It was an interesting book -'

'Ladislaya, all books are interesting to you,' said Wren, her eyelids drooping lower and lower with each blink. She ignored her.

'- and there was a chapter containing information about erasing memories! How you banish them from yourself ...'

'Did the book say how?' said Jake eagerly. Ladislaya frowned.

'No. That stuff's illegal. So illegal I can't believe Nicaea wants to do it -'

'Since when did the Faerie Queen give a damn for laws?' demanded Jake. 'She does what she wants, I thought it was always that way around people like her!'

'I'm honestly so stupid to not bring the book back,' said Ladislaya fiercely, 'if I had, then - then -'

'Alright, alright, enough ifs,' said Wren loudly. 'Point is, why does Nicaea want this memeory to be erased?'

'Why didn't you ask Lucian?'

'He claims he doesn't know.'

'Or so he says.'

'And what does his father have anything to do with Nicaea Valdis?' pounced Ladislaya at once.

'Oh well, this is ridiculous,' said Wren. 'Seems like our dear Lucian is a little twitchy about his father ... he said his father was talking to someone in the dungeons of his house -'

'Yes, but who?' said Ladislaya exasperatedly.

'We told you, we don't know!' roared Wren and Jake.

'You don't reckon his father's working for her?' said Jake in a trouble voice.

'Maybe it's a coincidence his father knows something about it,' said Ladislaya thoughtfully.

'Rubbish,' said Wren, apparently unable to help herself, 'all rubbish. Coincidences and villains - they don't work together.'

Ladislaya sighed, plopping down on a beanbag. Jake was plucking the fur off the furry carpet.

'Maybe Nicaea wasn't stupid enough to barge into the Academy and plant all sorts of ideas in our heads. Maybe she's out there ... doing something.'

'Yeah, what about the fire?' said Wren.

'No idea ... it could and couldn't have been her ...'

'Let's say it wasn't her,' said Wren decidedly, 'who would it be, then?'

Jake was now staring at the furry carpet moodily.

'I can hardly think of anyone who wants to hurt you as bad as Nicaea does ... maybe Tyler, I s'pose; you always finish the last of the pudding before he can smuggle one up to bed.'

Wren let out a hearty laugh. Jake's eyelids drooped lower with each blink.

'What about your nightmares? They might want to hunt you down too...hey, maybe Nicaea' using them! Or we could talk about that day you almost got murdered in the West Wing! Or maybe ...' Jake tapped on his chin thoughtfully, 'plot twist: Lucian's father wants to kill you because he's jealous that you're the heir of the throne, not his son ...'

But Wren wasn't listening. Her thoughts had drifted off to somewhere when Jake mentioned the West Wing. She was breathless. She had almost got murdered in the West Wing that night ... and whoever was with her was not Nicaea Valdis. It had been ... The Perilous.

Wren was so excited that she didn't realise she was holding her breath. She stood up suddenly, her knees wobbling. If there was someone else who wanted her as badly as Nicaea did ... it could've been anyone who set the fire, who was creating a diversion ...

'God, I've been stupid,' she said quietly, looking into the fire but her mind was in a different world.

Ladislaya looked quite scared. 'Carrots, are you alright -'

As Wren dug harder into her thoughts, the more she wanted to kick herself. 'I've been stupid,' she said hollowly. She turned to face them both. 'So stupid! Nicaea's on the run for me - but I've forgotten who else is! The West Wing!'

'The West Wing's on the run for you?' said Jake, utterly amazed but Wren was paying no attention.

'Of course - why didn't I think of this sooner? Jake you're a genius!'

'I am?' said Jake, bewildered.

'First-class genius! The West Wing, I've forgotten all about that! Thing is, the Perilous, remember him? He used his stupid black ribbons and everything to strangle me - he said he knew me, I bet he's something like Nicaea but I bet - I bet on Lucian's ring that he's working for Nicaea!'

Wren ended her speech with a huge intake of breath. Jake gawked.

'Carrots -' began Ladislaya, but Wren had begun pacing up and down.

'Why didn't I think of that sooner? Why? Why? Everything makes sense now - he could be a servant for Nicaea Valdis and - and ...'

She sunk into a green beanbag at the other end of the room. Ladislaya and Jake were looking at her tensely.

'Or it could be the other way around,' Wren said hoarsely. 'Nicaea could be working for him.'

There was an uproar from Jake at once. 'What! Nicaea Valdis work for someone! I dunno, Wren ... she flies solo, you know? She -'

'What if she doesn't?' said Wren excitedly. 'What if all this tosh about her working alone is just what she wants everyone to believe? Maybe she wants to steer everyone in the wrong direction ...'

Jake smacked his knee. 'Brilliant,' he said vaguely. 'Really brillaint! Now Lucian's ring's a goner ...'

Ladislaya snapped her book shut. 'There might be a slight chance,' she said tersely.

'The chance is there, it really is,' said Wren breathlessly.

Then Ladislaya frowned again. 'But Wren, does it all fit?'

'What do you mean, does it all fit?' said Wren impatiently. 'Ladislaya, it fits on its own accord!'

'Nicaea and the Perilous, yes, they fit,' said Ladislaya, getting up. 'But do you think the Shadow Angels have got something to do with ... all this?'

'The Shadow Angels ... oh my God, Ladislaya, I have been so damn stupid,' said Wren, pressing her face into her hands. 'The images I saw on the night in the West Wing, they weren't my imagination. They were the Shadow Angels.'

Ladislaya whipped around. 'Carrots -'

'I know what you're going to say,' said Wren promptly. 'You're going to say "it could be anything". I'm not stupid, Ladislaya. Well, maybe I am for not figuring all this out earlier but -'

'Get to the point!' said Jake, who was glaring at Wren intensely. 'Hurry, we haven't got much time!'

'It's five in the evening, Jake -' began Ladislaya but Jake cut her off.

'So what? What's supper then, the ice cream that melts off your cone when the sun's too hot? Huh?'

'Alright, calm down,' said Ladislaya. Wren wasn't paying attention to either of them. She was lost in her own thoughts, if the Perilous really worked for Nicaea or vice versa ... but there was a slight chance: what if they were working together? What if the Perilious was working with her, not for her? And then for one thrilling milisecond, Wren knew the answer, knew why she was here, knew what Nicaea was about to do - and then all her knowledge exploded and she was left in her own thoughts. It was as if a bubble with all her excitement and answers had burst. She exhaled hopelessly, about to give up when she heard a faint gurgling noise.

She stopped to a halt, staring around the room suspiciously. Apparently, Jake and Ladislaya had heard it too.

'What's that?' said Jake in a petrified whisper. 'What's that?'

The common-room door opened and in walked Matteo and Tyler. Tyler was pumping the air with his fist. 'Tricked Haldes with our homework - just had to put him under a spell to make him think our blank homework contained of the right answers -'

Wren glanced at them as they chortled and sank down on the couch. 'What're you three up to?' Tyler asked, grabbing a cookie from the cookie bowl.

'Uh -'

'Homework,' Jake prompted.

'Standing up?' Tyler said, raising his eyebrows so that they were on the verge of disappearing in his hair.

'Helps focus,' grinned Jake, shooting him a thumbs-up. 'Study tip from Ladislaya.'