A man sat perched on a dark throne, a leg crossed over the other, head resting on his fist. Shoulder length blonde hair shimmered in the torchlight, his gold eyes anything but warm. His slightly pointed ears peeked out from his hair, proving he was an elf. He looked young, mid-twenties, yet Selene knew that he was much older than that.

She could feel the magic power radiating off of him in waves, dark and foreboding. It licked at her as if it wanted nothing more than to suck her dry.

His eyes traveled over her slowly, like a mountain cat stalking a rabbit.

However much she wanted to turn and run, she knew she would not let herself walk away until his blood stained the dark tiled floor. So, she stared him right in the eyes, letting him read the contempt and hatred that seethed inside of her.

A smile spread across his handsome face, he knew exactly why she was here, and he was blissful about it.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to walk through my throne room doors."

She spit on his floor. He would die here, in this room, by her hand. She swore it.

He glanced down and sighed, "You truly were raised in a barn weren't you?"

"Do not speak of my home," she spat back.

He grinned wider; he was egging her on.

"Oh? Is that grief I hear in your voice?" he asked, "Grief for the home where you were tortured and used. Are you not grateful to me for liberating you from the shackles you once wore?"

"Bearing those shackles was a burden I was willing to bear for the lives of all those innocent people."

He laughed, and she despised how beautiful it sounded.

"You would live a life of slavery to protect the people who stared at you as if you were a monster?"

"Not everyone was guilty of that. They led happy lives, and you sent your monsters to destroy them."

"And you destroyed my monsters, so what makes you any better?"

"I did it to avenge all those you slaughtered," she growled.

"Wrong!" he snarled.

Selene took a step away from him, taken aback for a moment by his change in attitude.

"You killed my demon because you had never been allowed to turn a hand on the people that took you in. You were filled with anger weren't you, Selene? And finally, there was a way to release it that didn't involve you finally becoming the villain everyone saw you as. But you know the truth, you wished it had been you that killed all those people."

"Never," she snarled back.

"Answer me this, Selene Wielder of the Dragon's Fire," he spat, "What did you feel as you fled into the forest?"

She took several steps back in horror. Her eyes wide as she stared into his golden ones.

How does he know? Has he been inside of my head this whole time?

Her hands began to shake, the sword barely staying in her grip. She couldn't help as she reached for her dragon dagger out of habit. And then it dawned on her.

She didn't dare look down at it. She knew the dragon would be grinning at her just as the king was now.

No.

She flung the dagger towards the king, her aim perfect. If she was right, then the dagger should...

It froze in mid-air, inches from his eyes.

That dagger... It had belonged to him this whole time. He had been spying on her through it. That's why its eyes always seemed to follow her; that's why Icarus always knew where she was. She felt defiled.

"You felt relief, happiness, complete and utter untamed joy at the fact that they were all dead," he began.

"How dare you," she said, her voice nothing but a seething threat.

"You were no longer bound to a life in that simple town. Now you were free to walk into the forest that had tempted you for so long, only to stumble into my hands."

"Stop--,"

"I didn't want you dead, no. I just needed you broken, I needed you to be so utterly destroyed, that you would have no problem coming here to kill me. For quite a while, I thought you would prove to be more difficult to capture than earlier thought, yet even when you trained and learned to love again a part of you never healed and that part festered inside of you until not even the pleas of those around you could stop you from throwing yourself to your death."

She could no longer speak as she realized the fault in her plan. This is what he wanted. He knew she'd come here to kill him, prepared for it. And that in itself made her realized that she was not going to be able to kill him. Not now and not like this. But she'd already passed the point of no return, and the trap had snapped shut.

"Yield to me," he said, "Bend your knee and become my servant."

Even if she wasn't able to kill him, she'd still give the world what she promised. She'd fight like hell before she fell, and she'd buy her friends time. Time to build and prepare. It was all she could offer them now.

She lifted her head, "I refuse."

"Speak your words carefully, Wielder. If you do not bend the knee, I assure you, your companion will never leave this castle."

"If you or any of your guards lay one hand on him, I promise you I'll rip them from your body," she said in a low growl.

He grinned again, this time much more devious than before.

"I think it's a bit late for that, Weilder," he mused.

Selene whipped out her hand and flung her remaining hunting dagger hidden in her sleeve towards his heart, the aim true. He was faster. In a blur, he had lifted his hand and caught the dagger. Black blood dripped from his palm. With a flick of her fingers, the blade exploded in fire.

He jerked his hands away and dropped the knife, letting it clatter to the ground. His whole hand had been burned, and he held it with his other and looked at it, a smile on his face.

"Amazing," he said.

She flung flames at it in volleys, trying to keep her distance and willing to burn the whole castle to the ground.

Suddenly he vanished. No smoke, no mist, just simply vanished. She couldn't even hear footsteps or breathing, just the sound of her crackling flames and the stone as it slowly began to burn.

A sudden presence appeared behind her and when she spun, her sword flying, it was met with nothing but air. She looked around, waiting for him to appear before her and grab her.

"Show yourself, coward!" she shouted into the empty room.

"So the lion roars," his voice echoed.

"Shut up," she said as she spun her head every which way.

She took a deep breath to keep herself calm. The last thing she needed was to panic.

A figure materialized to her left and she turned to see something large stumble into view.

It was a wolf, standing three feet taller than her, perhaps even larger than the Ursidae. Its body had begun to decompose, flesh hanging from its exposed ribs. It glared at her with a half face, snarling. In its empty socket, as well as within the bones she could see, was a bright blue light. As if this creature had been brought back from the dead. It was an Akiri.

It swung its head to face her, its tongue hanging out of the barren side of its mouth, saliva dripping and falling to the floor.

"This, my dear Daughter, is a beast risen from the coldest place on Earth. It will not succumb to your flames, for it has already perished from the cold. So what will you do?" the King's voice said.

Should she reveal her raw magic now, or wait to use it against him?

She placed her blade on her wrist and waited for the wolf to charge her. It did so quickly.

Its paws pounded against the marble floor, claws leaving marks on its surface. It broke through the rising flames as if they were nothing, and she felt her stomach drop. It opened its maw wide as it lunged for her, hoping to snap her in half and devour her. Just before it reached her, she began running toward it, meeting it halfway. Before she could think about how crazy she was, she jumped as high as she could, pushing herself onto its back as it flew underneath her.

It slid to a stop, turning to try and get her with its teeth. It only succeeded in biting off its own tongue. She plunged her sword down into its rib cage, into the strange glowing light. By itself her sword was useless. The wolf was already dead. So pushed a bit of raw magic into its body, to tear it apart.

Not enough. The wolf rolled over onto its back to throw her and she had to jump in order to not get crushed. She retreated to the other side of the room while the wolf got up.

Just then, Icarus materialized right behind her, his chest pressed against her back. His hand slid into hers and, before she even realized he was there, he pulled her sword away from her and vanished again.

"You--," she started her curse but was quickly cut off by the wolf's frustrated growl. It sounded wet, like the book within him hadn't already dried up.

She was defenseless against the beast as it charged her again. The small throwing dagger in her boot would be useless against such a monster. She had no choice but to completely rely on her raw magic.

The room was covered in a veil of blue smoke as her tattoo woke and pulsed along with the beating of her heart. She swore she saw the flames rise higher, their tips turning red.

Planting her feet, she held her hands out in front of her, directing all the energy she had left out toward the wolf. She hoped to throw it into the air with a blast, hopefully crushing it against the walls. But something strange happened.

Her hands glowed yellow, then a familiar red, then a blinding white.

A giant eruption of white fire erupted from her, completely engulfing the wolf. Its agonizing screams filled the room as it was burned alive in a flame so hot, the ground beneath the flames began to melt. Just as quickly as it had come, the fire died.

As the wolf fell lifelessly to the ground, Selen stared at her hands. They suddenly felt so foreign to her. That was not Moonfire. That was something else, something none of them had ever expected.

None of them, save for the King.

He appeared in front of her suddenly, a crazed smile spread across his face. Grabbing her by the throat, he lifted her off the ground.

She struggled against him, her hands grabbing his wrists as she attempted to pull them away. His grip was steel. There was no way she would be able to get away. She tried summoning her Moonfire to finally release herself and kill him once and for all, but for the first time in a year, nothing came. She had failed.

He pulled her close, until he was whispering in her ear and said, "You will die in this castle, but not until you are broken beyond repair. Not until we make the Angels regret ever sending you to kill us. By the time your death comes, you will welcome it."

He tossed her like a ragdoll across the room, past the burning Akiri's carcass. She landed with a thud and rolled several feet before stopping. She held her throat and coughed as the air filled her lungs.

She wasn't done yet. She couldn't let it end like this. Time. She had to buy them time.

She pulled the throwing dagger from her boot and stood on shaky knees. Whatever that strange fire magic was, it had completely drained her. She had nothing. Nothing except this small dagger.

But that wasn't true. A few feet away from her, laid her dragon dagger. The gem glistened in the firelight, as she looked through her still swimming vision. Suddenly, it began to whisper again.

It wasn't words, but she could hear it talking to her. She looked back at Icarus, who made his way towards her. Every step as graceful as a predator, and the look in his eyes was enough to send shivers down her back. She feigned crawling away, hoping he would think she was trying to escape when in reality, she was reaching for that dagger.

Just when he curled his fingers into her hair, she wrapped her burnt palm around the hilt. He yanked her to her feet, her scalp screaming in pain. But she wasted no time. She reached back and plunged that dagger into his ribs. She felt the bones snap under her blow, his black blood gushing out of the wound and over her hands.

Icarus lept away from her, his roar of pain like nothing she'd ever heard before. It was piercing like a devil, and so guttural that she wanted to cover her ears.

She turned to face him and grabbed her last dagger, continuing to reach that magic that was not answering her.

The King ripped the dagger from his side, letting it clatter to the floor as he pressed a hand to the wound. She expected to see him fall to his knees. She'd struck his heart, she knew she had. But he wasn't dying. When he turned his gaze on her, it took everything in her not to gasp.

His eyes were black. So black they looked empty.

"I've had enough," Icarus waved his hand, "Seize her."

She looked around, expecting guards to appear from the doorway or another Akiri with his strange shadow magic, yet nothing came.

Now was her chance.

Then suddenly, a blade pressed against her throat hard enough that if she moved an inch, she would die. The figure that pulled her up and pressed against her back was too familiar.

No.

"I was wondering when you'd come down from the rafters, your highness."

Aiden said nothing as he held her in place.

Your Highness?

"You should have run," Selene said to Aiden, her voice hoarse and her throat already bleeding from his blade, "What are you doing?"

The King kept a hand to his side as he walked towards her, his smile back on his face. Yet this one was one she'd never forget.

"You have no allies in this room, Daughter," he laughed.

From the look on her face, he continued. "You remember the story of the royal family of your home country, yes?"

"They all died. None of them survived," she responded, praying that fact remained true.

"All perished, but one. And without mercy, that one man slaughtered his entire family, not even sparing his dear younger siblings. And that sister... She was quite the fighter. Though she perished as well after taking his eye."

"Not possible. That was years ago! Aiden would be much older if that were true!"

"After being witness to a fraction of this world's magic, do you really believe there was no way to preserve him at the age when his physical capabilities were at their peak? Face the truth, my dear, the man behind you is none other than Aiden Thenorin, Crown Prince of Radëgon."

This isn't happening, she thought, her mind going completely blank.

There was no way that Aiden would betray her. After everything they had been through together, after all he had said to her, he was working for the vile king in front of them. And he was a prince. It had all been a lie.

"From the look on your face, Wielder, I can see that you've finally realized your fate."

Selene's eyes began to well with tears, "Aiden. You were against me this whole time?"

He said nothing.

Selene realized she was completely alone.

The King closed the distance between them as if he were relishing each step. She had been the prize he wanted, and she walked right into his trap.

She should kill them both, end this war right here and now.

Even if her Moonfire would answer her call, she wouldn't be able to do it. Despite when he had done, Selene still could not bring herself to kill Aiden in that room with the king. She had lost too many people, and losing him would be the end of her.

She was defeated.

The king stopped in front of her. When he straightened himself, he towered over her by at least a foot, his long hair framing his face as he stared down at her. He smiled to show his elongated canines, longer than Cyan's. Reaching out, he grasped a strand of her charcoal-stained hair in his hands, letting it fall through his fingers.

"Why don't you use that flimsy dagger of yours I wonder. Sink it into his gut and run," he said.

He looked from her hair to her eyes, searching for his answer. She stared back with a cold fury.

"Ah, I see," he smiled and leaned closer, "It's him, isn't it? You've fallen in love with my favorite toy."

He let out a hearty laugh as if he were enjoying every bit of this and pulled away, turning to walk back to his throne and seeming to have recovered from her blow.

"Take her to the dungeon. Let Enico have his fun."

Immediately, Aiden dragged her back toward the entrance of the throne room.

The last thing she saw before those black doors slammed shut was the king grinning on his throne, his eyes locked with hers.

Aiden led her down halls, through twists and turns, up and down staircases. He was trying to confuse her and make escape impossible. He was succeeding.

"Please," she begged.

He did not respond. As if the man she had known was gone. The person that held her hostage was a stranger.

Soon they reached a staircase that led them down, farther down than any other had taken them. The heat grew more intense as well. As if they had designed this place just for her. They very well might have. Everything she feared and hated, the king had placed in her head. And he was going to use it to his advantage.

Then she heard the noises, the roars, and the shrieks. There were no demons wandering about because they were all kept down in the depths of the castle, right where they were bringing her.

Selene tried to break free from Aiden's grasp, yet he held firm.

"Let me go, Aiden."

He didn't even glance at her.

"Did I mean nothing to you this whole time? Was everything a lie?"

"Stop speaking," he growled at her. He was cold, his dark eyes sinister. It was as if he was born of the same evil as Icarus' demons.

"I know that you're good. There must be some part of you that loves me, some part that will escape here with me."

He snorted, "So now you finally listen to reason."

"Aiden..." despite herself, she felt tears well in her eyes, "Please."

He stopped walking for a moment, his grip on her arm tighter than before. She stared at him as he stared at the floor. Was she persuading him?

Just like that, it was gone. He shook his head, the dark look in his eye returned. He pulled her harder and walked faster.

As the heat grew more intense, she felt her panic rise. No matter what she had done, she was never able to forget the feeling of the heat and the ashes during Lily's death. And now she had nowhere to go but down into it.

If she went down there, she would go mad.

She began struggling again, fighting with everything she had to get away. Seeing that she'd never free herself with her hands, she took the dagger he had yet to confiscate and drove it into his bicep.

He screamed in agony and let go of her arm. Seizing the moment of freedom, she made a dash back up the stairs, knowing that was the only way out. She could eventually find a window or something that led to the outside world. And then she'd be free. Aiden's screams faded into the distance and finally, she reached flat ground, leaving the stairs behind.

That's when she felt the presence.

Something sprinted past her in between the darkness of the torches. It was following her. She pushed herself to run faster, praying to the Angels to get her out of here.