Zesstra looked down at her hand and shivered. It stung a lot more than she expected when she ran the knife over her palm to activate the spell. The bandage was completely soaked with her blood and streaming down her fingers. She hadn't expected it to have completely healed, but she wasn't expecting it to still be bleeding an hour later.

There was a lot she hadn't expected from the spell. The pleasure she felt from revealing the spell was nothing compared to what she felt the moment her blood dripped onto the pages. She had gone lightheaded and could hear her own moans breaking the silence of the forest. It left her breathless and shaking, and her dragonkin guardian had flushed bright red and had quickly agreed that they would never talk about it.

The spell had directly affected Eos, rather than showing Zesstra exactly where to go. The familiar had grown to the size of a jaguar and her fur tinged to a bright crimson. She had immediately turned onto a dark path and led them through the trees in what they could only hope was towards Zenith.

She could feel the connection between herself and her brother, and she didn't like it. After binding to him, she could feel the madness tugging at the corners of her mind, pushing her to look deeper in the book tucked in the bag slung over her shoulder. More than once she had to stop to close her eyes and breathe deeply to stop her head from spinning and focus herself on the situation.

Zesstra looked up from the wound and found the dragonkin female looking at her with concern lacing her silver eyes. "We should go back." she said quietly.

"No!" Zesstra gasped and looked wildly at Eos. "It is working. We can find him."

The dragonkin looked up to the sky, the worry in her eyes spreading to the rest of her face. "There is something wrong with this place." She muttered. "There are no birds. No wildlife at all."

Zesstra looked around and strained her ears. She was right. The only thing she could hear was her own rapid heartbeat. The air was getting thin too, but they weren't high enough in the mountains for that. It was like some evil presence was sucking the air and warmth out of the area. "Can you sense anyone?" she asked quietly. "Atticus and his shifters? Or... anyone?"

She shook her head and took a few steps back. "I am going to scout the area. Do not wander."

Without another word, she shifted into a beautiful black and silver amphiptere. She coiled her body like a snake before launching herself into the air and spreading her wings. In a second, she broke through the canopy of trees, leaving Zesstra alone with Eos in the silence.

The cat was beginning to circle her, ears twitching in clear irritation. Zesstra pulled the cellphone out of her bag and scrolled to open the contact information Atticus had given her. She held the phone up to her ear and looked at the wound again.

"This is- hold on one second," Atticus answered on the third ring before pulling the phone away and she could hear him shouting; "Mrs. Kincaid, please! We are just trying to help, stop hitting my people." Then back to her; "Atticus Shaw."

"It's me." Zesstra said nervously. "You found Rhia's mother?"

"Hey," his voice immediately brightened, and she felt her face go hot. "Yeah, after we lost the brother, we were able to track her. I've seen shifter females get protective over their cubs, but they've got nothing on Madeline Kincaid. What about you? Could you find anything?"

"I am tracking Zenith now. I think I am close, but there is something wrong."

"Wait," Atticus's voice cracked like a whip, and she flinched. "Tracking him where? Where are you? Are you alone?!"

"Tahoe National Forest." she said meekly. "I am with a dragonkin."

He must have pulled the phone away and she heard him sucking in a deep breath. "Where exactly?" his voice was short and clipped.

"I... I don't know." She stammered. "We came in at Grouse Ridge and have been walking north and east for an hour."

Another deep breath. "Do not move. I'm not too far from you, I'll be there in a few minutes."

He hung up before she could say anything else. Guilt weighed heavily in her stomach as she dropped the phone back in her bag and started to unwrap the soaked bandage from her hand. She hissed in pain as the wound hit the air and blood flooded her palm. Gods... was it supposed to bleed that much?

Eos stopped at her side and hissed threateningly. She looked up and gasped, stumbling back. An elf she could only guess was Zenith stood barely two feet from her. He reached out faster than she could react and grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip. He turned his eyes down to the cut and tsked. Eos continued to yowl but didn't attack. Why wouldn't she attack? Familiars were as much bodyguards as they were companions so why...?

Zenith clicked his tongue disappointingly. "Did the masters teach you nothing?" he scolded gently, almost how their father had chided her for skimming her knee or getting her dress dirty. "Don't you know that you never use your own blood in blood magic? Yes, it makes the magic stronger, but it could kill you."

He released her hand and pulled a knife from his belt. Fear had her frozen to the ground. She knew she should run away from that knife. He could kill her. He would kill her. Instead, he pricked the tip of his finger before replacing the knife and taking her wrist again. Bright red blood beaded up at the cut before a drop fell onto her own wound. He met her eyes again as he pulled a roll of gauze from another pocket and started to wrap it around her hand.

"I always knew our father would find another female to breed with," he said, his voice still disarmingly gentle and free from any sign of the mania she knew afflicted him. "I did not think it would be a human and my own sister would be a half-breed."

She swallowed and bit down on her lip to keep it from trembling too much. She didn't know what to expect from her brother but... it wasn't this. Not this calm, serene, gentle male who bore such a strong resemblance to her father her heart began to ache to see him again. The heavily scared side of his face did not take away from the good looks of their family line, and that milky-white eye stared at her with as much intensity as the one still intact.

He tied the ends of the bandage before moving his hand to touch the rune directly under her collar bone identifying her clan. "I see. He left you in the hands of the Tenebrarum. A shame. Even a half-breed Shadowblade deserves better than that group of cowards." He sighed heavily and withdrew his hands. "Is that why you sought me out, dear sister? So you can learn the true ways of the dark elves?"

She didn't know what to say. Her throat was dry. Her lungs felt tight. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. She was just supposed to find where he was and then let the dragonkin, or the shifters, or the vampires deal with him. She had not been expecting to actually meet him!

His eyes slid down to the bag over her shoulder. "It has been a long time since I've seen that book. May I?"

His hand twitched towards it, and Zesstra finally jerked back, taking a step away and gripping the bag protectively. His whole face went stony and dark. Eos stepped between them hissing and yowling. Zesstra wanted to command her to attack. To claw at him and give her some more distance.

"She can't." he said, clearly reading her thoughts from the way she looked at the familiar. "By using your own blood, dear sister, you have made it temporarily impossible for us to harm one another."

The wave of relief was temporary and cut abruptly short as two huge canines erupted from the trees to attack Eos, and another female dark elf suddenly appeared behind Zesstra to wrap an arm around her throat and cut off her air. In a panic, she reached up to try to free herself and the female's second arm trapped her hands around her body.

Zenith tsked again, ignoring the trio of familiars snarling and clawing at each other. "Your foolish use of blood magic will not protect you from any other dark elves or their magic." He opened the bag and lifted the book out of it, letting out a breath of awe. "To think he left this in your care. It is wasted in the hands of the Tenebrarum. This book is..."

He trailed off into silence, looking up sharply and around the area. Silent as a shadow, a massive form burst from the trees and straight into Zenith, sending them both crashing into a tree. The book fell to the forest floor a few feet away. Summoning all her strength, Zesstra expanded her radiance in a protective bubble around her and shoving the female away in a sizzle of power and burning flesh. She dove for the book, protecting it with her body in time for the other female to counter and lash out with a whip. Pain ripped across her body as the barbs tore into her skin.

She spun, clutching the book to her chest in one hand and lifting the other to create another barrier. The female laughed maniacally and brought the triple-tailed whip against her radiance, making it flicker and Zesstra gasped. More cuts tore across her back, even though the whip wasn't touching her. Why? What was happening?

The female cackled and raised the whip again. It started to glow from the infusion of her own magic before she brought it down on the barrier. It shattered, and Zesstra screamed in so much pain she curled into herself around the book. Her blood pooled on the cover and called out to her. Terrified and desperate, Zesstra ripped open the book, slammed her bloodied hand on the pages and let go of every single facet of control she had been taught.

"NO!"

She didn't know who yelled. Her body had become nothing more than a shell for her radiance to use. Jagged beams of light erupted from her, ripping through the female and tearing her apart. The maniacal smile was still on her face as the life in her eyes went out.

The magic tore violently at the very reality around her, but Zesstra felt it as a lover's caress. She could feel its comforting heat fill her to the last strand of hair on her head. The word that came to mind was pleasure, but that didn't even begin to explain how it made her feel. She felt like the air. All her responsibilities and expectations as princess to the Tenebrarum were gone. All her anxieties were gone. Her head felt light and clear of any doubt or rational thought. All she knew was this magic and that she suddenly had the power to just... not... care.

The light turned downwards to the very ground, ripping it apart and creating a whirlwind of splintered trees, roots, and dirt. Her eyes turned to Zenith. Her brother. Her enemy. Spears of magic, so dim compared to her own radiant light, surrounded him as he fought off a fifteen-foot polar bear. She didn't need to wonder who the bear was. She could feel Atticus's heart in the roaring beast and the soul in his black eyes.

He moved so fast for a creature his size, dodging the spears expertly, moving steadily closer and closer. Zenith's aim suddenly hit home, striking him in the side and creating a bright light through his perfect white coat. Atticus responded by swiping out with his enormous paw and colliding with Zenith's torso.

Something akin to genuine fear crossed the elf's face and a barrier of his own wrapped around him in a perfect sphere, resembling a massive luminescent pearl.

No.

He wasn't getting away that easily.

Zesstra's power stilled for a moment before gathering and swirling over the barrier, lashing out and striking at his shield. With every hit, she could feel a bit more of Zenith's power strip away. Yes. Yes! She could hear her own laughter over everything. Deranged. Maniacal. She understood now. Why he was like this. She could make every spell feel like this! She could destroy him! Destroy the dark elves! Protect her family! She could be strong enough to be with-

The magic was ripped away from her as someone appeared in front of her and kicked the book out of her hands. Freezing cold suddenly surrounded her and her gasps came out in puffs of fog in front of her face. The ground around her turned white as it frosted over. She looked up slowly to see a small woman standing in front of her, perfectly straight white hair falling around her waist and piercing silver eyes glowing with power.

Luna. The dragon queen. Curling around her feet was the amphiptere, making purring, cooing sounds that did not sound like they belonged to a dragonkin.

Atticus appeared behind Zesstra, placing his two front paws on either side of her body and lowering his head both protectively and in greeting of the woman before them.

Zesstra looked wildly around at the still shimmering white pearl. "Wha- what have you done?!" she stammered, unable to hide the shaking in her voice. "I could have... I was..."

"He's gone." Luna said sharply. As if to demonstrate, ice speared through the orb, splitting it open and revealing the empty shell.

Zesstra slumped back on her knees. She was shaking. The weight of failure and guilt hung heavily on her heart. For a brief moment, she had the strength to kill Zenith. But at what cost? She used magic that her father forbade her to use. The Tenebrarum would see this as a violation of their greatest law. If the other elven clans found out, they would demand her executed for wielding the same magic that made her kind so devastating.

Luna huffed and braced her fists on her hips, looking up at the night's sky. "I don't suppose either of you have seen my brother?" There was petty irritation lacing her voice. "How did he learn to fly faster when he's been underground this whole time? He left me and Quin behind. Can you believe that? So rude!"

A heavily muscled arm wrapped protectively around Zesstra's shoulders, and she jumped. She hadn't realized that Atticus had shifted while standing behind her. "We haven't seen him, great one." he told her. "But these mountains are filled with agents of the organization that is responsible for his disappearance. We believe they have Rhiannon here somewhere as well."

Luna looked around at him and the air grew colder. "You let them take her?" she hissed.

"We did not let them do anything." Atticus growled back. "We protected her to the best of our abilities. More than you can say. We were at least there."

Luna blinked and little flecks of snow and ice swirled around her. She turned on her heel and stormed away. A second later she shifted into her dragon skin and took off, the amphiptere following closely behind.

Silence fell between them. Atticus's arm moved so his fingers could pull aside the remains of her shirt to look at the cuts on her back. She trembled against his touch. "Why did you come?" he whispered. "Why didn't you call me first?"

Her lip trembled. "I just... wanted to help..."

"You idiot. You could have gotten yourself killed."

He scowled, scooped her up in his arms and carefully walked through the debris before breaking into an even jog. Eos chased after them, her fur still that unsettling red and picking up the book in her mouth on the way. The two canine familiars had vanished the moment the female had been torn to pieces.

After a few minutes they broke the line of trees to a service road, and he slowed to a walk again. "I can walk on my own." She muttered, looking at her hands.

He said nothing but his grip tightened around her. He didn't release her until they reached a line of black S.U.V.s parked along the road. He let her down long enough to open the back hatch of one of them and reached for a first aid kit. "Sit down and take off your shirt." He snapped. "I need to treat your wounds."

She felt her face go hot and she took quick step back. "No, Atticus, I am alright. I can-"

"Sit down!" he roared. "Christ, Zesstra, I don't have time for this! My people are out there waiting for me!"

He gripped her arm, dragged her back to the car, and shoved her down onto the bumper. He ripped away the rest of her shirt and started to clean the wounds with alcohol pads that stung. She clutched the rags to her chest, trying to protect whatever dignity she had left, and bit hard into her lip to try and stop herself from crying. He worked quickly and efficiently, wiping wounds as clear of blood as possible and applying adhesive bandages to cover them.

He pulled a spare shirt from another bag and handed it to her. He then turned away to give her a chance to cover herself. "Stay here." He snapped and started to walk away.

"I... I am sorry..." her voice was barely a whisper. "I just..."

"I know!" he whirled around and stormed back towards the car. "I know you just wanted to help! But you're not a soldier! You have no idea what you're doing out here! You should have left it us!"

"He is my brother. He is not your responsibility."

"Don't you remember anything from our meetings? I am your Counsel representative, which makes me responsible for you and your people. That makes Zenith my fucking problem!" She tried to look away from the intensity of his anger, but he gripped the sides of her face and dragged her eyes back up to his. He loomed over her, a pillar of rage and pure muscle. "What was I supposed to do if I lost you?"

And then his lips were on hers in a bruising kiss. This was nothing like tender, romantic moment they shared before. This was brutal. Passionate. A thousand emotions were betrayed in his kiss. An arm twisted around her waist, dragging her against him and almost crushing her. He was desperate to feel her. He needed to assure himself that she was safe. Alive.

But it wasn't enough.

She tried to push him away, gasping for air. He twisted his hand into her soft hair and pulled her back, plunging his tongue into her mouth to taste her. She let out a tiny squeak that plucked at something strange in his heart. The need to possess her. To claim her as his. His woman. His mate.

Thinking like this was dangerous.

So why couldn't he stop? Why did the very idea of stopping make him want to kiss her more? Do more than just kiss her? Claim this tiny creature in his arms?

A screaming roar sang over the mountains and forest, followed by a much deeper, louder one. Atticus finally pulled away, breathing hard and stared into her fluttering eyes. "I have to find my shifters." He said quietly. "Please... stay here. I will come back for you."

She nodded silently. Ripping his arms off would have been less painful than letting her go and walking away.

~