The three stared at the sight before them as the crashing sound of crystal continued to grow stronger.
“Trap,” Jay said, repeating Hathor’s words. “No shit. How do we get through?”
“We go through.” Colt glanced at Amneris. “You wait here.”
Amneris sent him an irritated look. “You see that shield? It’s purple.”
“And?”
“And that means only beings with a power higher than that of Celestials can break it. Ergo, no go, I go.”
Jay whacked the back of her head. “Queen, that’s liquid scarlet budtorite. You know, ‘extremely deadly to Naiu’Idis’. You can’t even touch the stuff without burning. What do you think will happen if—”
“I refuse to leave my daughter here because of some red glowing waterfall,” Amneris growled.
“Crystalfall.”
“Whatever! I’m going after her!”
“He is right.” Colt grabbed Amneris’ hand as she turned away. “I know we need to get her back but there has to be another way. This could do permanent damage to you.”
Amneris glanced between Colt and the trapped Hathor. She quickly kissed Colt’s cheek. “Sorry.” Then, she ran.
Amneris charged forward. Without stopping, she ran straight through the stream of liquid crystal, becoming soaked with it. She shook away the tingling sensation as the crystal begun to burn through her skin and continued on. Amneris didn’t stop for the stream forming around the island, vaulting over it in a single leap. She landed clumsily but recovered quickly, running toward the shield.
Hathor, on the other side of the purple energy, watched on with a mix of shock and awe as her mother approached.
Amneris placed her hands on the shield. “Hey, baby. You okay?”
“Yeah.” She shook the chains. “Could do without these, though.”
“Not a problem.” Amneris rubbed her hands together. “Stand back.” Hathor quickly did so.
Amneris raised her glowing hands then slammed them straight through the shield. With a cry of effort, she pulled her hands apart, opening a hole in the glowing shield. The hole grew bigger and bigger until, with a final cry, the shield tore apart entirely. Amneris ran to Hathor’s chains and snapped them in half.
“You really need to teach me how to do that,” Hathor said.
Amneris pulled the cuffs from her wrists. “I can teach you a few spells later, but you’ll never have the superstrength deal. Comes with the power.”
“Ah, of course.” Hathor wrapped her aching wrists. “How do we get out of here.”
Amneris looked around the room. “That . . . is a very good question.”
Hathor gave her a look of disbelief. “Seriously?”
“Hey, we weren’t expecting the crystal thing. Speaking of . . .” Amneris held up a hand to check the rate the crystal was burning through her. “Oh, boy, we should run for it.”
“Dramatic reunion later,” Hathor said. “Got it.” Her eyes widened as she thought of something. “The Academy! I froze it—”
“Yes, I know. It was very impressive.” Amneris smiled. “Your little time trick saved your wolf friend and a lot of other people.”
Hathor clasped her hands together. “Troy’s okay?”
“Alive, kicking and with a mighty good swing.” Amneris pointed at where Colt and Jay stood. “Time to run.”
Hathor grinned. “Love the running.”
Before they could move, a single gunshot sounded. Hathor slumped forward. Amneris caught her daughter before she reached the ground and cursed and the damage the exit wound had done to her chest. Hathor would be out for hours. Again.
A faint glinting of metal from above. Amneris, keeping her eyes on the metal, reached down, feeling around for a small loose stone. Clutching in her hand, she reeled back, then tossed it with all her might. The stone pierced the lone sniper like a bullet. Amneris nodded to herself.
She scooped her daughter into her arms and made her way back to where Colt and Jay waited. She carefully lowered Hathor to the ground.
Jay whistled at the sight of her. “Yeah, she’ll be out for a while.”
“Thank the Gods for immortality,” Colt said with a shake of the head.
“Agreed.” Amneris crossed her arms. “Though it is inconvenient.”
Jay coughed, “Deflecting.”
Amneris whacked the back of his head. “Shush, you. We have other things to worry about now.”
“Indeed you do,” came a new voice.
The three spun. Nephthys was standing behind them, Aurelia at her side. Several guards stood at the lone entrance to the room.
Amneris asked, “Were you standing at the door waiting for one of us to say something so you could do the cliché villainous entrance thing? Really?”
Nephthys, unfortunately, did not provide an answer. Instead, the woman clapped slowly. “I congratulate you on your attempt at rescue, though I must tell you this is as far as you will go.”
Amneris rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no. We’re totally leaving.”
Nephthys swept a hand behind her. “This is your only way out, and I know your power is weakening.” She pointed at Amneris, at the crystal covering her. “That stuff has never been good for you, dear.”
“She has enough power,” Colt said calmly, though clearly threatening. “As do we.”
Nephthys’ eyes narrowed then widened in surprise. “Is that you, Assar?”
Colt and Amneris couldn’t hide their surprise.
“It is!” Nephthys clapped her hands again, this time with cold glee. “I heard Tara brought you back from an afterlife but was unsure if the story was true.”
Jay looked between the three, jaw hanging wide. “Did she just call you—”
“Not now!” Amneris snapped.
Nephthys clicked her tongue. “So nice to see you treat your underlings so well.”
“I’m not an underling!” Jay cried.
Amneris ignored him, her attention entirely on her mother. “You’re one to talk. Your golden girl is yet to step into the light.”
“Clever girl.” Nephthys’ smile turned to a distasteful from. “I always hated that about you.”
Amneris begun counting points off on her fingers. “Along with my looks, my personality, my powers, my choice of friends, my interaction with the ‘common folk’, the fact I was chose by Naiu—”
“Enough!”
Aurelia finally stepped forward, golden lightning zapping between her fingertips. “I do agree. That is enough talking.”
The golden-haired woman held out her pal. Golden lighting shot from it, straight toward Amneris. Amneris tried to move but couldn’t. Something was holding her in place, so she did the only thing she could. Amneris raised her arms, a blue-white shield surrounding her form. It wasn’t enough.
The red crystal having weakened her energy, Aurelia’s lightning shattered the shield with ease. Amneris was sent flying straight into the red crystal stream. She vanished below the surface.
“Well,” Nephthys said, patting down the few hairs standing on end, “that takes care of that problem.” Her dark eyes landed on Colt. “Aren’t you going to rescue her, Assar?”
Colt roared and ran forward, raising his fist to strike down the woman—
Only for Jay to tackle him to the side as a giant black dragon crashed through the ceiling.
Minutes earlier, Xix and Ema were on their way back to the castle after wrestling with the dragon. They had to hike a long way, the dragon having inconveniently thrown them from its back on the other side of the hills surrounding the castle. The strange thing was that the dragon appeared to be following them. At first the pair had dismissed it as paranoia, but then the dragon had shown itself once again.
It landed right in front of them. Ema instantly drew her sword but Xix stopped her. The dragon watched the pair curiously, its head titled to the side. It showed no signs of attacking but growled at the sight of Ema’s sword. She allowed it to vanish. The dragon calmed.
“This is too weird,” Ema murmured.
“I know.”
“Why would it follow us?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do we do now?”
“Shush!” Xix approached the dragon and spoke quietly. “What are you doing here, hey? I thought you were attacking us but you were just doing your job, weren’t you.”
The dragon crouched down to have a better look at the woman approaching it.
“It’s your job to protect the castle and the King, right?” Xix was saying. “But there’s no longer a King. You don’t know that the people there aren’t the true heirs of the castle.”
As Xix stood before the dragon, it leaned in closer to give her a good sniff. Cautiously, slowly, Xix held out her hand. The dragon touched it with its nose, then moved closer, allowing her hand to move across its head. Xix laughed and gave the dragon a good scratch. It grinned, tail wagging like a happy puppy’s would.
Ema was gaping. “Oh. My Gods. How are you doing that?”
“I don’t know.” Xix scratched under its chin and the dragon nuzzled her side. “Aw, you’re just a little cutie, aren’t you? Yes, you are!”
The dragon roared happily. Ema raised a hand to her head and sighed. This could be problematic.
The dragon landed in the room with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust. It roared, white lightning zapping around its form and spread wings. The dragon turned its furious gaze on the surprised Nephthys and Aurelia.
Jay and Colt pushed themselves to their feet, having safely managed to avoid the roof’s collapse, and were now staring at the newcomer.
“Hey!” called a familiar voice. “Thought you’d need a hand!”
Jay gaped. “Ema?”
The Fae female waved from the dragon’s back. “Long time, no see!”
She wasn’t alone. Ema was holding onto a white-haired, dark-skinned, red-eyed woman’s waist to stop herself falling from the dragon. The woman seemed to be the one controlling the dragon. At least, she held the red glowing reigns.
“Who is your friend?” Jay asked, pointing to her.
Ema blinked, pointing to the other woman. “Oh! This is Xix.”
“I would say ‘hello’,” Xix said through gritted teeth, “but this one if feisty.”
“Woah, woah, woah!” Jay was staring. “You found Xix? The Xix? Enliatu’s daughter Xix?”
“The one and the same!” Ema exclaimed with a triumphant grin. “It’s actually a funny story—”
“Later, Ema,” Xix said.
“Right, right.” The Fae looked around. “Hey, where’s Amneris?”
Those words snapped Colt out of his awe. “Tali!” He dove into the red stream.
Jay made to go after him when Xix called, “Don’t. He is Terpolite. He will be fine. If you go after him, the crystal will greatly harm you.”
Ema jumped from the dragon’s back and walked to where Hathor lay. “Best to listen to her,” she said to Jay. “Got me out of more trouble than I’d ever admit.” She lifted Hathor’s wrist to see her mark before recoiling at the sight of her wounded chest. “Wow, that’s bad.”
Jay crossed his arms. “That’s nothing compared to how Queenie will look.”
Ema hummed then called, “Xix, how much room do we have on—” She hesitated as the dragon’s black eyes met her gaze— “That?”
“Plenty of room,” the Terpolite answered. She placed a soothing hand on the dragon’s head. Its attention turned back to Nephthys and Aurelia, keeping them at bay.
Even so, it was not the dragon who held Aurelia’s attention. “You, girl, what is your name?”
“Xix,” she answered. “Xix Acheron.”
The name made something flash across her golden eyes, but it was gone just as fast. “Do you have the power?”
Xix hesitated before answering. “No. My father did.”
Aurelia nodded slowly. “It will be yours next.”
Xix huffed. “I don’t want it. He can keep it for all I care.”
What almost looked like a genuine smile crossed Aurelia’s features. “Naka wills it. You are strong. It will come to you soon.”
“Enough of this!” Nephthys pointed at the dragon. “Kill—”
A blast of cyan energy send her flying out of the room. Everyone turned to see where it came from. Beside the crimson stream, Colt caught Amneris as she collapsed, having used the last of her strength in the attack. Colt looked harmed. Amneris, however . . .
Even Jay recoiled at the sight of her, placing a hand over his mouth and forcing myself to keep down the rising bile. “Okay, we need to get her into one of those chambers and Hathy to the hospital.” He grimaced as Colt walked forward. “How can you carry her when she’s like that?”
Colt smiled darkly. Suddenly, Jay didn’t want to know the answer. Besides, he had enough questions about the Terpolite man as it was.
Ema had already turned away. “Is the dragon good with that red stuff?” she called up to Xix. “Those two are covered.”
“Yes, it’s immune,” came the response.
“I swear that woman is a walking library,” Ema said with a shake of the head. “Very useful but hella embarrassing sometimes.”
“She sounds fun at parties.” Jay gathered Hathor in his arms. “Now can we leave, please?”
The three carried their two injured members onto the dragon. The dragon shifted at the weight but did nothing to stop them. Xix pet its head proudly. Aurelia watched, her arms folded against her chest. She made no move to stop them from leaving. Xix met the gaze of the golden woman once more.
Aurelia said, “Come find me when the power is yours.”
Xix shook her head. “It would not happen.” She leaned down to say to the dragon, “Same way out we came in, please.”
The dragon spread its wings and took to the sky.
Aurelia watched on from below, a slight smile on her lips.
Nephthys, having recovered from Amneris’ blasted, stomped to Aurelia’s side, her voice shrill. “Why aren’t you stopping them?”
“Now is not the right time,” was all the golden woman said.
“Not the right time? NOT THE RIGHT TIME?!”
Aurelia turned and walked away.
Nephthys sent a bolt of energy toward the dragon. The dragon spun in the air, sending an attack of its own toward her. The two attacks cancelled each other out. Before the explosion cleared, the dragon was well out of range.
“So,” Jay started once they were safely back on the ground. “Dragon.”
Ema passed the still-unconscious Hathor down to him then jumped from the beast’s back. “Yup. Dragon.”
“Where in the worlds did you get it?”
“Here, and it tried to eat us.”
“It tried to eat you?”
“Yup!”
“So you made it your pet.” He nodded over to where Xix was feeding the dragon something that looked an awful lot like a dead cow. “Bit weird.”
“It seems to like her,” Ema said. “We lost it, then it followed us, then it decided it liked Xix and she said she was keeping it.”
Speaking of Xix,” Jay started slowly, “where did you find her?”
Ema braced her hands on her hips and glanced toward her friend. “We ran into each other a little over a year ago. Been travelling together ever since.”
“Did you know she’s . . . you know.”
“Yup. She has the eyes.” Ema smiled. “She’s pretty cool, though. Powerful, smart, clearly a natural leader. Sure, a few people are scared of her, but that’s to be expected.”
“Like how some people are scared of this one,” Jay murmured, looking down at Hathor.
“Family ties,” Ema agreed.
“Speaking of family ties.” Jay turned to Colt. “Is there something you and Queenie have been meaning to tell us like, oh, I don’t know, the fact you’re her dead mate from five thousand years ago?”
Colt flinched. “It would be best to discuss that later.”
“I’d be happy to discuss it now.”
“And I would rather have it after my mate and daughter have recovered.”
Ema interrupted the growing argument. “How do we get back to Lyriumia. None of us can open direct portals . . .” Her voice trailed off as Xix joined the group.
The Terpolite woman sighed. “Yes, I can do that. Where would you like to go?”
“You know where Lapide is?” Jay asked. Xix nodded. “Just outside the Palace.”
Xix snapped her fingers. A swirling portal appeared beside the group. Xix said to Jay, “You should go first. I would rather not be thrown in prison.”
“Again,” Ema muttered.
