"You got me." Lilly held up her hands in mock surrender.

"B-but how did...where...the basement?" Victoria stammered, barely able to form the words she sought. "Why are you here?"

"Calm down and breathe." Lilly said calmly. "I promise, I'll explain later. Right now there are other, more pressing matters to tend to." She waved to the captain of the elven escort, speaking in a foreign tongue and turning to leave them on the ground where they sat.

They stayed on the ground several moments longer, watching as half the soldiers ran past in the direction they had fled from, and the other half fanned out to form a wide perimeter around them. Soren stood shakily, pulling Victoria to stand with him, keeping his arms wrapped protectively around her.

"You know that woman?" Soren asked.

"Yeah." Victoria replied absentmindedly, thoughts turning inward. "I don't know how or why she's here...How would she know I was here?" Her head began to throb, and she sighed as she closed her eyes and laid her head on Soren's chest, listening to the calming sound of his heartbeat.

Before long the others rounded the bend, shouting to them as they came into view. They gave the bear's body a wide berth as they passed, increasing their speed as they came closer. Jasper and Astrid ran to them, embracing one another as tears of relief streamed down their faces.

"I'm so glad you're both okay." Astrid said as she squeezed them each in turn.

"We thought we'd lost you as soon as that bastard started running." Jasper embraced Soren tightly, grateful that his oldest son was unharmed.

Ozan, Captain Bechard, and the remaining guards continued past them, approaching Lilly and the elf captain.

"Madame Lillaine." Ozan said bowing slightly. "Your timing couldn't be better. Tell me, what brings you so far from your island?"

"Lillaine?" Victoria asked, turning and approaching her slowly. "You're Lillaine? The witch we're looking for? The witch who knows about this?" She yanked the pendent from her shirt, thrusting it toward Lilly. "You know about this?" She shook the chain for emphasis.

"You know one another?" Ozan pointed between the two of them, not bothering to hide his confusion.

"Yep, that's me." Lilly smiled, ignoring Ozan. "Looks like the freshman rumors were true, eh?" She winked as she laugh like nothing had changed. "I promised you I'd explain things, and I will, we just need to take care of some other things first."

An angry caw rang down from above the trees as the one-eyed raven circled once and quickly flew out of sight.

"That is a good example of 'other things.'" Lilly said as she watched the sky with a serious look. "With that feathery bastard watching, she'll always know where to find you. Now she'll know I'm here." She turned to address the two captains. "If at any point anyone sees that bird and thinks they've got a shot, take it. That's how she's been watching, and that's how she'll keep watching unless we bring it down."

The sun was making its way toward the western horizon, and soon the light would begin to fade. The elf captain gave the order for the Elyrians, Victoria included, to mount up with the elf soldiers, who extended their hands down to pull up their extra riders. They turned and rode quickly back to the border fortress, keeping their eyes and ears open for any more surprises. To their relief, there were none and they arrived at the sturdy stone fortress just as the sky was turning a beautiful pale orange.

Once they dismounted, the elf soldiers took charge of the horses while their foreign guests were ushered inside, and they were gathered in what looked to be the soldiers' common room. The room was divided, with several tables and chairs along one side, and couches and chairs on the other. A small kitchen took up the back area.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable while we arrange beds for you all. Elberos, Merryth, see them all fed. Garreck, find the physician." The elf captain, Pellas Gilmeare, said in a lightly accented shared tongue.

The eight remaining travelers found themselves places among the couches and chairs, stretching their aching limbs, and feeling the weight of exhaustion and the losses they suffered weigh heavy on their tired minds and bodies. Victoria curled up next to Soren, burying her face in his shoulder, trying to process how she'd managed to escape death twice in as many days. This time people were dead. It was bad enough last time with Louis and Remy being injured by the wolves, they would at least go home and live the rest of their lives. Three people that she had become comfortable with in this place were now dead. She breathed deeply, struggling hard against the tears that threatened her stinging eyes. Soren pulled her closer, laying his head on hers and rocking slightly.

The elf soldiers began circulating with water skins and bowls of stew. Given the most recent events, most of them didn't have much of an appetite, and several asked instead for strong spirits. The elves understood; these people had seen three of their companions slain. The soldier named Merryth disappeared into the pantry at the back of the kitchen, reappearing with a smaller skin of a drink they called fuísce, a strong concoction of fermented wheat and honey.

"To your men, Captain." Merryth raised the skin before tipping a portion into his mouth. "May their souls find peace." He said as he handed the skin to Captain Bechard.

He raised the skin and took a swig, passing it among the rest of them, who gave the same salute to their fallen comrades. Victoria took a small sip when it was passed to her, trying not to make a face as the dark amber-colored liquid burned a fiery trail down her throat. She suppressed the urge to cough as she handed the bottle to Astrid. Unflinching, she took a long swig, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before passing the skin to Jasper.

"Not much of a drinker, are you?" Astrid teased.

"No." Victoria croaked, making them both giggle quietly.

The physician, who was really no more than another soldier with a physician's training, appeared through a door at the back of the room. He began moving among them, checking their cuts and scrapes and bruises; according to him, they were very lucky that was the extent of their injuries. Captain Gilmeare and Lilly returned a short time after. Victoria moved to approach her, but Lilly quickly put up a hand, bidding her to remain where she was for now. She sat obediently as the elf captain began to speak.

"We've prepared a wing of the barracks for you all, and you are welcome to anything we can offer. When you are ready, Garreck will escort you." Captain Gilmeare said, indicating the soldier that had entered the room behind him. "Tomorrow we will make for the town of Kannoris, two days north of here on the river. From there we will sail upriver to the port village of Arhenor, less than a day outside of Astheas. Master Agarus, Captain Bechard?" He turned to address them both. "Do you suppose you might join me to discuss our plan of action before you retire for the evening?"

Captain Bechard sighed heavily, a tired expression on his face. "Better to do it now." He said, taking one more swig from the skin of fuísce before standing to follow Captain Gilmeare from the room, with Ozan only a few steps behind.

The others remained where they were seated, either making themselves eat or drinking to their fallen friends, they weren't quite ready to be ushered off to bed just yet. Lilly approached the little group of couches Victoria sat in, taking a seat in a chair across from her.

"You three may stay if you wish, but I think Victoria and I need to have a chat." She addressed Soren, Astrid, and Jasper. When none of them moved to leave, she turned back to Victoria. "Well." Lilly held her hands open in front of her. "Where should we start? You want the long version or the short one?"

Victoria took a deep breath before replying, grateful for Soren's arm around her shoulder, steadying her. "Well, for the sake of my ability to process and handle the answer, let's just go with the short version for now."

"Alright." Lilly settled herself more comfortably in the chair. "My name is Lillaine Izvóra, known here as the Witch of Half-Moon Island. I was one of the first beings created by the First Magic. He has been in my possession for nearly three hundred years." She pointed to the stone. "I've held him in a state of dormancy, far from the hands and hearts of those who would use him to cause death and chaos, like so many others before. I managed to get my hands on him, and made the decision to hide him in your world as a possession of whoever I am when I'm there."

"Who you are when you're there." Victoria repeated to herself. "So 'Lilly Guthrie,' the librarian I've known for the last four years, is what...just an alias?"

"I guess you could call it that. Many centuries ago, when I discovered the way to travel between our worlds, your world intrigued me and I decided I wanted to stay for a while. Eventually I just developed a habit of staying in your world for a few decades at a time every hundred years or so. Normally by then no one would be left who would remember me, and I'd just pick a new place to live each time I'd go back. I'm getting older, so my visits are getting shorter." She shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal. "My 'vacation' will be over in a few years, then I'll come back home for another century or so."

"So...what? In a few years you'll just disappear and no one will ever wonder where you went?" Victoria asked.

"No, I'm going to 'retire' and move to Washington with my daughter, where I will sadly pass away within a year. A few people will receive a sad letter informing them of my passing, then that will be that. At my age, or what they perceive to be my age, it wouldn't be an unreasonable course of action." Lilly said matter-of-factly.

"Wait, if you know how to get back, can't you just send me home?" Victoria asked. A thread of desperation could be heard in her voice.

"Unfortunately for you, no I can't. For one, I'm old. My power may be something to fear in the right circumstance, but I can't just throw it around like I used to. Bigger stuff takes a lot out of an old bat like me. The little stunt I pulled earlier with the bear? That kind of thing really takes it out of you at my age." Lilly chuckled. "Besides that, magic even older than mine brought you here, and only that magic can send you back."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Victoria hung her head, sighing. "Home's just gonna have to wait a little longer, I guess."

"Hey that reminds me." Lilly snapped her fingers. "Have you been able to use it?"

"The stone?" Victoria's head popped back up. "Um, yeah, once I think. A wolf came after me and I killed it with a fireball from my hand. But it wasn't on purpose, it just kind of happened."

"Interesting." Lilly mused. "Well, we'll have to work on that." She leaned forward, lacing her fingers together. "Victoria, I need to ask you some things that might be...uncomfortable for you to answer in company." She looked around at the other three seated with them.

Knowing when to take a hint, the three exchanged a glance before rising to allow them some privacy. Jasper stood first, stretching and yawning as he did. "Alright then, come on you two, let's give them some space." He motioned for Astrid and Soren to follow him.

While Astrid stood to follow her father, Soren hesitated. "You going to be alright?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, I'll be fine." Victoria smiled.

He stood, placing a kiss on her forehead before moving away to join his father and sister.

"Interesting indeed." Lilly said quietly.

Victoria whipped her head back to face Lilly. "Huh? What's interesting?"

"You think I couldn't see that?" She cocked her eyebrow. "The spark. The fire in your heart that reaches for the one in his."

"You can see it?" Victoria asked, wide-eyed.

"How long have you felt it pulling at you?" Lilly asked, ignoring her question.

"Um, a...day or two after I got here, I guess. How did you know about that?" Victoria's brows furrowed in confusion.

"When you've lived as long as I have, you learn things about things." Lilly said. "You dear, have been brought here by destiny. Your fate lies here, and that young man is destined to be a part of it." She nodded discreetly in the direction Soren had gone. "I'm afraid I can't tell you why you, but you it is, and Xareig felt the connection between the two of you and he saw in it his chance to leave this world."

Victoria sat back, trying to process what she had just been told. "So...it's my destiny to stay here? To never see my parents or my friends again?" She was conflicted, and made no effort to disguise it.

"Who knows?" Lilly shrugged. "Who knows what will have changed by the end of all this? Maybe he's meant to go back with you? We have no way of knowing yet which way your paths will turn." She flashed her old familiar smile. "Don't think about that right now, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Okay, so tell me about this fire. The one you say you see in my heart." Victoria said.

"The fires of passion burn brightest in the hearts of those guided by destiny." She paused, searching for the right words. "That fire is the only thing powerful enough to subdue him, to seize full control of his power and assume his form. Nurturing the flame will make it stronger. The stronger the fire, the stronger the hold over him."

"Assume his form? Assume his form? Like, turn into a dragon?!" Victoria sat bolt upright, eyes wide.

"You got it." Lilly smiled, pointing at her. "It's the only way to get inside the Dragon's Maw."

"What the hell's the Dragon's Maw?!" Panic rose to crack her voice, causing several of the others to look their way.

"A volcano at the center of the island known as Feuerinsel. The Island of Dragons." Lilly stated calmly.

Victoria paled, swallowing back a threatening wave of nausea. "Okay, um. I think I'd like to lie down now. That escalated quickly and I think I'm at capacity for what I can handle at the moment."

"Alright." Lilly rose slowly from the chair. "It's only going to feel crazier from here, darlin'. Easiest thing you can do is just go with it. We're not in Missouri anymore, and some things are very different here." She helped Victoria to stand and walked with her toward where Jasper, Astrid, and Soren now sat.

"Soren, be a dear and hang on to Victoria. Garreck, a lantern please, I'm going to take Miss Ross to her room."

Soren jumped up quickly from the chair he occupied, hastening to Victoria's side. She leaned into him as he slid his arm around her waist and they followed Lilly through the door at the back of the room. She led them a short way along a dark hallway until they reached a small cluster of doors; one led to the captain's quarters, the other two on the opposite side of the hall were guest rooms. One room was Lilly's, the other had been prepared for Victoria and Astrid to use.

Lilly opened the second door, taking a step back into the hall to allow Soren and Victoria to enter. It was a very small room, furnished only with two simple beds and a tiny table, upon which sat a simple oil lamp. Soren walked Victoria slowly to one of the beds, sitting her gently on the edge and began removing her boots. He pulled them off and set them aside, sitting on the bed next to her.

"You're sure you're going to be alright?" He asked softly.

Victoria smiled, laying a hand over his. "Yes, I'll be fine."

He smiled back at her, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss against her warm skin. "If you insist. Astrid will likely be in shortly, so you won't be alone for long." He stood, releasing her hand as he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She whispered as he turned to leave the room. Her heart burned, and the butterflies in her stomach had returned unexpectedly.

Lilly poked her head into the room. "You want my advice? Nurture the flame. Don't fight fate." She winked as she closed the door.

* * *

"What the hell is she doing there?!" Assyria gnashed her teeth, angrily swiping her hand through the remaining vision in the scrying basin, sending water splattering across the floor. She paced the room like an angry cat, considering her next move. "There's no doubt she'll teach the girl to use the stone. But she won't have the time to learn to wield it effectively." She muttered to herself as she paced, thinking. "You'll either stay on the road, or take the river at Kannoris. Some interesting things live in that river, interesting beasts on the land as well." The fury in her steps slowed. Her pacing ceased abruptly as she reached a conclusion. "Alright then." She strode purposefully back to the scrying basin, waving her hands and conjuring the red glow. "Consider this your last chance to surrender or die. By land or by water, I'll be waiting. No matter which way you go, you'll not set foot in Astheas."