Luna momentarily felt stunned by what she’d seen. For all they knew, Zoey and Julia were still on the second floor. Julia might survive the scorching heat, but Zoey wouldn't last long in it. Now the front part of the second story had completely collapsed.

The first story began to make the same noises that the second had just before it collapsed, and a feeling of dread washed over her like a wave over a sandy beach.

Her body moved on instinct, closing the gap between herself and the house. Immediately she let loose Ice Flex several times, reinforcing what looked like it was helping support the second floor. While she doubted it would help much because of the intense heat, it was better than nothing.

All she could do was hope Julia would emerge with their friend somehow, though the odds of the were quickly fading.

Next to her, Iris hadn’t lost hope. In the time that she’d been trying to prevent the house from collapsing, her adoptive sister had taken a pair of mana potions she must have been saving and currently was creating as much water as she could manage, pooling it all in one place with the simultaneous Control Water spell she was running.

A sheen of sweat covered her body, but she carried with her an unrelenting and overpowering air of determination. With elegance, she directed the water towards the flames of the first floor and quickly extinguished most of them. Julia and Zoey were nowhere to be seen.

In front of her, Iris began charging toward the house. Despite much of it still being on fire, her adoptive sister didn’t waver. Luna couldn’t tell if the girl was insane or the sheer desperation to save Zoey was causing her to be suicidal, but she had to draw the line.

Julia would be fine even if Zoey wasn’t but if their circle of friends lost both Zoey and Iris on the same night they’d likely never recover and have to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives.

Grabbing Iris’ wrist, she tightly held onto the girl and prevented her from entering the manor. Despite her adoptive sister’s screaming and pleading, she didn’t let go and instead quietly apologized as she watched the front of the house slowly begin to become consumed by flames once again.

Iris wasn’t just going to leave Zoey behind though, and managed to fight her way out of the elf’s grip. Before she could grab onto her again, Iris was already halfway to the house. Quickly trying to chase her sister down, she watched as the Transmuter stopped in her tracks.

Though she was coughing as if she were hacking out a lung, Julia carried a bleeding and mildly burnt Zoey out of the house. Half of her shirt had been burned away, and if it weren’t for Zoey her bust would be blatantly visible.

Zoey herself faired a little better. Despite all of her ruined clothing, her wounds didn’t appear to be too severe, barring the deep cut on her head.

“Zoey,” Iris shrieked and fumbled a health potion out of her storage ring. Not missing a beat, she tore the cap off and slammed it into the girl’s side. The pain wracking Zoey’s face visibly subsided and her chest once again rose and fell with each breath. In the instant after she slammed and emptied the contents into Zoey, Iris hugged Julia.

“What took you so long?”

Julia’s face was one of guilt and regret.

“I might have gotten a little too careless and accidentally caused the wall to explode, which knocked Zoey out,” Julia sheepishly admitted. “Had to pull away some rubble too to get her out.”

There was a telltale pause of Iris trying to process what had happened. As for Luna herself, she resisted the urge to smack Julia and instead gave her the chance to explain herself. Sometimes it was best for one to control their impulses than act on instinct and cause even more trouble.

“You what,” her adoptive sister stammered.

“It was my fault. I didn’t tell Zoey to get back far enough when I turned into a wyvern. I won’t blame you if you’re mad at me.”

Iris shook her head.

“You’re both alive and that’s what-“

“I’m going to kill both of you,” Nathaniel’s voice sneered across the air.

Behind her, Nathaniel had awoken and was currently leering at the group, especially Luna in particular.

“You god damn freaks. You’ll pay for this.”

Instinctively, Luna made her way to intercept him, but before she could reach the man he’d already sent an Ice Spike flying at her, slicing through her side and sending her reeling to the ground. She wanted to scream, but she knew she had to get back up and try to disable him.

“Catapult.”

A glob of molten magma blew past her, landing right next to the man, who was currently trying to stagger to his feet. That didn’t seem to deter him though, as he appeared to ready another Ice Spike. She began to lift her hand in an attempt to cast Ice Flex with what dregs of mana she had left, but she felt a sharp pain in her chest as she did so, and her resonator stone temporarily grew hotter for a moment before fading. Just what she needed.

Despite how much pain she was in, Luna attempted to get to her feet even though she knew she was far too slow. Before she could even get on her feet, the words were already coming off Nathaniel’s lips. A barbed pillar of stone burst from the ground between Zoey’s father and the elf followed immediately by the sound of magma hissing on the ground, allowing her a momentary reprieve before she would once again have to face the man. If it wasn’t for the fortunate timing of her benefactor, she’d likely be bleeding to death with a spear of ice in her chest.

“Nathaniel Wynter, after everything that’s happened you dare to think you can lay a finger on another underage girl? You’re certainly not helping your case,” Magus Stone chided as she made her way over from the side of the house with her entourage.

“Mistress Stone,” Julia cheered. “You’re just in time. I didn’t want to risk accidentally killing him.”

“Magus Stone,” Iris acknowledged and then bowed.

After everything was said and done, she’d have to ask Iris about why she’d suddenly had such a change of heart when it came to the Magus. Not only was it wholly unnatural, it was also unlike her to act so demure, especially after being defiant to the woman for so long.

Luna merely nodded back and said, “Magus Stone.”

The Magus paid them no heed as she made her way over to Nathaniel.

“Now then, we can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way. It’s up to you, but I personally believe it would be best for everyone if you surrender. Eriza’s already dispatching your brother as we speak.”

Vincent was here? That would explain why her friend had suddenly darted off when they needed her help. Her friend couldn’t stand Vincent and if she were given an opportunity to maim him, she’d probably take it even though she was horribly outmatched on a magical level.

“You think that little brat can handle my brother. Have you lost your mind? Besides, I’m certain I can bribe the Magister to overlook this. Perhaps I can even convince her to fire you too.”

“Is that so,” a familiar voice inquired.

“M-Magister Ferris.”

From seemingly nowhere, Magister Ferris stepped out into the open, her face grave and stern.

“Why of course. I’ve put a substantial amount of effort into Julia and her safety is a priority. Did you honestly think I wasn’t going to come here to ensure she was safe? That I was simply going to be bribed into forgetting this all happened?”

Nathaniel didn’t respond, but his expression said it all. He really did live up to what most thought of him: a ruthless businessman who saw everything as an asset that could be used to raise himself up or a liability that might cost him. This time, however, he’d underestimated the asset he tried to forcefully acquired and was now going to pay the price for it.

“I must admit, I didn’t believe you were such a cutthroat. Alas I was wrong. So let’s make this easy: you turn yourself over to the Tower and I assure you you’ll avoid Stasis.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then when you are arrested, I’ll ask for fifty years of Stasis. By that point you’ll be lucky to still be kicking, but then again you could surprise me as much as you have just now. To think the handful of favors I’ve done for you mean absolutely nothing. You hadn’t even returned any of them to begin with.”

Upon hearing this, Nathaniel quickly began trying to squirm away from the woman, though Stone and her companions weren’t about to let him just wander off. In the blink of an eye, one was already behind him with her foot on his back.

“Going somewhere,” the woman inquired.

“N-No, I would never think of trying to run away,” the man stammered.

“Like I said, you’ll be answering for your crimes. That includes everything you’ve done to your daughter’s circle of friends. Molesting a cleric, an underage one with potential at that? You’re going to be spending a long time far away from society for that heinous act alone.”

“That girl-“

“-Is a valuable asset, the likes of which doesn’t appear everyday. You’ll make a sterling example for those who’d dare to think of doing something similar in the future, especially those who think they can simply waltz over a Magister.”

Nathan opened his mouth to speak again, but immediately closed it, likely for fear of what he would face should he try to resist any further. Despondently he sighed and sulked.

“Good. I suggest you don’t resist any further lest you wish to provoke the ire of the Magus currently watching you. I know if I were in your position I wouldn’t want that,” Magister Ferris said before turning to face Julia.

With all that just played out before her, she’d nearly forgotten that Julia was still carrying Zoey. Given she and the Magma Transmuter had similar physiques and sizes, Luna summoned a coat from her storage ring and quickly made her way over to the girl, coughing.

“Julia you might want to let me hold onto Zoey for a moment so you can… ah…,” she said.

“What do you-,” the girl said before looking down and pausing for a moment, “-…oh.”

Julia carefully passed Zoey over to her before quickly taking the coat and covering up her immodesty. Behind them, the Magister seemed patient to wait for them to finish.

When Luna turned around, she found herself once again staring at an unexpected sight. Iris was deeply bowing to Magister Ferris, who was studying her with an analytical gaze. The two currently were engaged in a quiet conversation, and Iris’ face was full of guilt.

“I take full responsibility for all of this ma’am. Please don’t punish the others because of my actions,” Iris pleaded.

She wanted to speak up and tell Ferris that Iris meant no harm, but at the same time she knew that if she spoke up, she’d have Ferris’ full attention. If that happened, there was a chance she would be forced to take off her cloak, and then the secret would be out in the open that she was an elf.

“Magus Stone gave me a brief summary of what happened, but I want to hear it from you. Leave nothing unsaid.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Iris began to recant the day’s events and what led her to make the decisions she’d made as best she could, even covering the individual fights.

Fortunately, when Eriza finally joined them from wherever she’d gone off to, she gave the two their space and instead stood with her and Julia, offering another healing potion for Zoey which seemed to stabilize her further, as well as forcefully inject one into the elf herself. She’d been so consumed in what was currently going on that she hadn’t realized she was still bleeding from her side wound, an occurrence which was strange given how alert she normally was.

Three squads of Tower Mages had arrived just after Iris finished speaking. Her adoptive sisters’ face was one of shame, and she looked like she was on verge of tears. It seemed that despite having apparently ‘cleaned’ up their mess, the Magister still intended to punish her adoptive sister. If anyone should be punished, it was Julia as she was the one who set the house on fire.

“Ma’am,” Julia spoke up, garnering Magister Ferris’ attention. “I take full responsibility for what happened. You and Mistress Stone told me to always be careful and I wasn’t. I should have known better and Messaged Mistress Stone to make certain that she was indeed the person at my door.”

There was a long pause as Ferris glanced over at the Tower mages and nodded to them. Some of them immediately set about extinguishing the house, while others began organizing the bodies of the dead Mages and guards.

Luna studied them to determine if there was a cleric among them, as Zoey’s injuries required immediate treatment lest she want to suffer permanent damage.

While she was searching for the possible cleric, the Magister let out a long sigh then spoke.

“Iris, why don’t you be honest since we’re all here. Are you bitter with Magus Stone because she ‘stole’ Julia from you?”

“No,” Iris quietly replied like a piece of paper that was quickly crumpling.

“Then why are you so fussy about her? You act like she’s mistreating her, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Eriza grabbed Luna’s shoulder and gently squeezed it reassuringly.

“Luna, take Zoey and go get your wounds checked. I’ll handle this for Zoey,” Eriza assured as she left her side and stepped up next to Julia.

Though she would rather ensure Iris didn’t get punished for something she couldn’t control, she also couldn’t argue that Eriza was wrong. At the moment Zoey definitely needed her wounds looked at, and that healing potion likely didn’t fully heal her body, given those kicks from earlier probably broke a rib or two.

Reluctantly, Luna obliged, and left the group to go find the cleric.

When Eriza finally reunited with her friends, the scene she saw wasn’t welcome. Magister Ferris appeared to be chewing out Iris, who appeared completely downhearted, almost as if she were an injured animal. It was a sickening sight, but there was little she could do about the situation. She couldn’t just chase Ferris off because she was a Magister, and she also couldn’t Blink Iris out of this either.

It was when the Magister asked about Julia that she knew she had her chance to save her friend’s skin. In Iris’ current state she might do anything to keep them from sharing the blame with her for this situation, even if that meant spending a short amount of time in Stasis. After all, even though Nathaniel had antagonized them into this, someone still had to take responsibility for the mess they’d all created, and even though Julia was the one to set the building on fire, it was possible the Magister wouldn’t hold her accountable.

What’s more, Eriza knew from what she’d seen previously seen that Iris wasn’t forthcoming with the Magister, but it also seemed like the Magister wasn’t forthcoming with her friend either, and thus neither were willing to be honest with the other.

Though she’d rather be a fiery tempest, she knew that right now the best thing she could do was to channel her inner Iris and resolve this matter, difficult as that may be. So she interrupted the two and sent Luna to get Zoey help because she knew Luna would try to intervene and protect her adoptive sister, which would ruin her plan before it had a chance to succeed.

Then she began trying to reason with the Magister.

“Magister Ferris, are you not concerned about Julia’s wyvern spirit being too much for her?”

“There’s nothing to worry about. There haven’t been any issues so far, and Julia has said she has the Spirit under control” Magister Ferris insisted, much to the Lightning Sorceress’ disappointment.

That wouldn’t deter her though. She couldn’t let Iris be walked over like this. If Iris wouldn’t stand up for herself, then she would stand up for her.

“You haven’t noticed the subtle changes in her behavior? Iris has, and though I wasn’t worried about it myself Julia just accidentally burned down a building and nearly killed someone she calls a friend while doing it. You’re turning a blind eye to what’s happening. If that’s not proof that Julia’s beginning to show draconic behavior then I don’t know what is.”

Ferris seemed irked by her insistence but held her composure.

“Julia is a shining example of how a proper young woman should behave. She is respectful, courteous and polite, all of which a dragon is not. How can Julia act like a dragon when she is so well mannered?”

Eriza bit her tongue. Ferris had her there, but she also knew dragons were destructive creatures that believed might made right. Furthermore, from what she’d heard from Iris, who’d made her bestiary knowledge one of her specialties, dragons could also be impulsive creatures.

“As for the other aspects? What about how quickly she gets angry? Be honest, is that just her Magma affinity affecting her or is more than that? And don’t act like Iris is the only one who’s possessive here. Julia’s become incredibly possessive herself.”

Fortunately, she’d caught the Magister on the backfoot this time, as the woman winced upon hearing her words. By now Magus Stone had rejoined them and didn’t seem to be so easy to catch off-guard as her Master.

“Yes Julia has lost her temper a few times but you’re exaggerating. There’s nothing to worry about. Julia, do you feel as though the wyvern’s Spirit is trying to wrest your mind from you?”

Eriza glanced over at Julia, who was now staring at the ground. Her face had flushed with scarlet, and she looked disappointed.

“I thought I was holding it together well enough, that I could control it and keep it from affecting me but they’re right Master. I’m haven’t fully been able to control it since I first received and melded it with my Astral Soul.”

For the first time since she’d met Stone, she saw the Magus’s stern face become one of surprise. Likewise, Magister Ferris seemed caught off guard as well, as if she hadn’t been expecting to hear what her Grand Apprentice had said.

“Julia, I thought you said you couldn’t it feel it resisting you,” Stone asked while stuttering, still trying to recover from the shock.

“I’m so sorry Master. I didn’t want to disappoint you and think you wasted such an irreplaceable gift on someone who was unable to control it, so I lied and said that I had it under control even though I didn’t,” Julia apologized as she bowed deeply. “Please don’t take it out on them. They were right to be concerned and I was wrong to hide it.”

“Dear you don’t understand how dangerous what you were doing was. If you’d lost your ability to control your Spirit it would have overcome you,” Ferris chided. “I can understand your sentiment but don’t you realize just how dangerous what you were doing was?”

“Yes ma’am. I’m terribly sorry for all of the trouble I’ve caused.”

Ferris sighed and looked to Stone, who nodded back to her. The two appeared to engage in a silent Message spell. They were likely deciding what to do next about the situation since Julia had admitted that Iris’ concerns weren’t unfounded.

There had to be something she could do. Anything that could make what was to come hurt a little less would be welcome.

Nothing came to mind though. They’d dug themselves this deep, and now they were going to have to live with the consequences of their actions.

“Go be with your friends, and once they’re treated, go home. We’ll be discussing this tomorrow, but for now I need to clean up this mess,” Magister Ferris said as she waved her hand in a shooing manner.

“Allow me to do so. I alone decided to give Iris the chance to clean up her mess while retrieving my Apprentice, and it really wasn’t her fault that the building was set ablaze,” Magus Stone interjected. “It’s best to be honest with that man. That way Julia doesn’t end up getting in trouble for this. Speaking of which, I’ll have someone bring you home Julia. Do not let your guard down this time.”

“Yes Mistress Stone,” Julia replied before deeply bowing.

“Thank you Magus Stone,” Eriza said following suit along with Iris. She then straightened out and wrapped an arm around the Transmuter-Abjurer before quickly leading her away. “We promise not to cause you any more trouble. Especially not tonight.”

With those words, Eriza quickly made her way out of the presence of the trio, with Iris in tow.

Fortunately Zoey’s wounds weren’t too severe. Aside from the blow she took to the head, everything else could easily be healed with a single Minor Restoration.

After their wounds were healed, Zoey still remained asleep. Eriza had called a cab to take them home, and they walked down a couple blocks to get away from all of the chaos. Now they rode in silence on the way home to Lilith’s. Not even the cabbie was speaking, likely because of the tension in the air.

Whereas they’d initially been expecting to celebrate the safe return of Zoey, they now had a Magister looming over them and what’s worse, the Paladin might be getting involved now. What was she going to do if he knew she was an elf? Would she be thrown out of Sydney, or possibly even worse?

No, that couldn’t be the case. Someone with connections had to have known she was an elf, as Burke knew she was an elf and nothing had happened yet. So perhaps it wouldn’t be all that bad?

Luna turned to Iris to ask for her opinion. Her adoptive sister currently had her head buried In Zoey’s shoulder. While it was understandable given Iris was a bit clingy, when coupled with the day’s prior events, it was obvious something was wrong.

“Is everything alright Iris,” Luna carefully asked. “You don’t seem to be your normal self.”

Iris removed herself from Zoey and turned to look at her. Her eyes were red as if she’d been crying earlier, and she appeared exhausted.

“I made a mistake Luna, I went too far. And now I’ve created a mess and gotten everyone into trouble when I’m solely to blame,” she choked.

Reaching out, the elf reassuringly rubbed her sister’s shoulder. She wouldn’t blame her if she’d lashed out at the Magister earlier, and now she honestly didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t seen her sister so dejected before. Even when Felicity was forced to go with her parents, she kept her head held high.

“Oh Iris you did nothing wrong. We’ll get through this together, alright?”

Iris’ smiled, but it didn’t convey anything. Though she tried to reassure her sister, she could tell the girl thought her words were hollow, and that she was locked deep in her self-hatred.

“It really isn’t your fault Iris. If anything, it’s mine. I egged you on and encouraged you to seek vengeance. Your plan was flawless. I’m the one that blew it all,” Eriza spoke up.

Iris bit her lip and then nuzzled herself back into Zoey’s shoulder.

Luna again rubbed her sister’s shoulder reassuringly. She couldn’t promise her that everything was going to be alright tomorrow, but she could at least support her as best she could and hope things would turn out alright. Whatever happened next, they would face it together.

That was something she was sure of.