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  “Dina,” my aunt joins me, whispering in my ear. Her voice a sweet welcome to the darkness of the pit. “The node is calling me, too, but now isn't the time to answer. Have patience, child.”

  ‘I am not a child’ my inner self wanted to shout, although to my aunt, I will always be the little girl who skirted her responsibilities. Without Celeste disrupting life, I imagine that is who I would still be. I am noticing a gradual change taking place. The old me would not have been able to push myself off the earth and crawl back into Trey’s arms. The old me would have embraced the node that was aching to fill my body with energy and attack Celeste head on. Celeste came in with a plan. She knew the High Mystic, and I were in Cargil. Both of us are more powerful than her, yet she wasted no time and attacked, anyway. She has a trick up her sleeve, and we have to be smart. Thrum… Thrum… Thrum… My body convulses with the last thrum. Trey wraps his arms around me squeezing tight.

  “Mystic, she is burning up,” Trey whispers.

  “It's the node reaching for her. She is the strongest conduit it has seen in centuries. Pray the prisoners arrive soon because Dina doesn't have much longer.”

  Silence and darkness again. Time melds together only broken apart by an occasional cough above us. I am close to giving in and releasing some fire working within me. If I release it, my body will cool, but I can’t. Thrum… Thrum… Thrum…

  The sound of metal opening and Celeste’s voice pierce my thoughts. “Release all the mystics! Everyone else can stay.” My aunt said an incantation under her breath as her ward washed over us. She is making us invisible to Celeste’s senses. Thank goodness, I had my aunt with me. I have so much to learn. “All mystics! You have one job, and one job only. Find Dina and the High Mystic!”

  It isn’t long before Cavet soldiers began filling the cells with those loyal to Aster, “Twelve to a cell or we will run out of room! Twelve to a cell!” Guards counting as they shoved our people in. Small skirmishes erupt as someone attempts to fight back. It is over with quickly. The opening and closing of jail cells echoed beneath Cargil. It is loud and fast. A man’s voice boomed through the cells, “You will not be fed! You will sit here until you realize your fight is lost! If you starve, remember it is your choice to do so! Guards, extinguish the torches! No light, no food, no privacy! Cargil belongs to Cavet now!”

  I sense when the guards were in our cell block extinguishing the torches one by one. Thrum… Thrum… Thrum… Soon, I will reignite them. Once the sound of the guards dies down, the jails erupt in the prisoners talking. It would be impossible for the guards to silence them, it also freed us up to use our voices. Although we continued to whisper, “Why didn’t they throw anyone in our cell?” I ask.

  “I am the only one with a key,” Hoda replies.

  “We have little time. As soon as Dina or I tap into the node, Celeste will track us. First, we will have to free everyone in the three cell blocks. Dina, we need light, but you have to do it without tapping into the node. Do not let the node energy in! The moment we create light everyone will erupt in cheers. We have to be smart about this.” Gayla pauses as she tried to work out more details in her head.

  “Vex and I will climb out and throw the ladder down. While you climb out, we will run through the cells in the dark. We will give the prisoners a heads up,” Hoda said then turned to Vex, “Vex? This key goes to east cell block, to your right. Tig, this key goes to the cell block to the left. Quiet. Unlock the cells as soon as the lights turn on. Where do we lead everyone?”

  “To the pit. Dina and I are opening one hell of a portal!” I flash a wicked grin at my aunt. The plan is underway. Hoda and Vex work as a team to climb out of the pit. It takes no time for a ladder to be thrown down. Tig climbs up first because she has a key to one of the cell blocks. My aunt and I moved next, followed by Manu, who has been true to his word and has stayed silent. Trey and Mark are the last to climb the ladder. My part is coming soon. We need to give the key holders more time to work their way to and through the cell blocks

  My turn is coming up. The problem is I still sense the node Thrum… Thrum… Thrum… begging me to use it. I have to close my eyes and focus. I carefully make my way through the cell block hall. Once I make it to the central point, my aunt whispers to me, “Dina, you are up. Remember to deny the node.”

  I close my eyes and am sure to only draw from the well of energy already existing within me. Thanks to Trey, I had a healthy store to tap into. I only hope it is enough to light the torches in three separate cell blocks. I also have to do it without burning anyone. The fire answers me with ease, ready to do my bidding. I push it out, focusing on the torches. I have never tried to hit so many targets at once, but now it is a matter of life and death. My body cools immediately signifying success. I open my eyes to see light coming from all three directions. I notice a torch here and there is not lit. That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I give everyone enough light to work by.

  My aunt grabs my hand and jerks me in a run towards the pit to open the portal. We all are relying on her and her knowledge. The freed prisoners gathered behind us. We have to move fast to stay ahead of the crowd emerging. “The key!” my aunt yells at me. Oh crap, it is still in my boot. I kick my boot off and handed her the key. “Hold my hand and think of Lorcan. Reach for the node… NOW!”

  The node meets me halfway. In that moment, the pit bursts into a pit of flames. My aunt throws the golden key into the air and says a quick incantation. She floats off of the ground as her eyes turned white. I close my eyes and renew my focus on Lorcan's outer gates. When I opened them again, the pit had turned into a pool and through it is Lorcan. My aunt shouts, “It's ready! I will hold the portal!” Releasing my hand, she says, “Dina, tell your mother I love her.”

  Before I can respond, she shoves me over the edge into the portal. It only takes a few seconds as I fall through landing on my back in front of the gates of Lorcan. The ground is hard, and the air is cold. I am followed by Trey and Manu. “Move, Dina! Everyone is coming through!” Trey yells at me.

  Trey and Manu each grab an arm and pull me to the side of the portal. It is an amazing giant hole in the air, and people are falling through it. Manu steps forward taking control of the situation. He pulls people up off the ground and moves them out of the way before the next wave hits. A hundred people, at least, come through before I see Vex, Rhett, and Tig. I run to all three of them and ask if they have seen Bee. To my dismay, they haven’t. The portal pulses and starts to close. “No! Aunt and Bee are still there!”

  I reach my arms out towards the portal and pull from the node in Lorcan, its energy wrapping me in a warm embrace. I focus my energy and intent on holding the portal open. The portal bursts into flames around the edges. People still filter through, some are dead. I can no longer focus on them. My entire focus is to keep the portal open.

  I hear a scream, and a nasty energy tries to push through. I answer it with my flame. The next moment, the portal snaps shut, the forcing slinging me to the ground. Quickly recovering, I jump to my feet and run towards where a crowd is gathered.

  Healers are working on someone. When I close in, I realize it is my aunt. The portal snapped shut upon her legs. Blood soaks the ground as Vex holds her close. Where is Mark? I run towards Aunt Gayla throwing myself on the ground by her side. Two healers are trying to stop the bleeding. My aunt opens her eyes and speaks in soft words. "It’s my time. Train hard and take back Aster. If anyone can do it, you can."

  I reach my hands up, cupping the sides of her face, “No, no, no, Aunt Gayla, I need you. I love you!” My hands push back her loose strands of salt-and-pepper gray hair as her energy exits her body. In that moment, I have nothing left to give. I collapse over her body, sobbing. No one tries to pull me off of her. Every inch of me mourns her loss. My entire body is tired and aching. I never got to know my aunt well, but I loved her, admired her, and needed her. I always wished she was my mother. Trey pulls me from her body and tries to hold me close, but I don't
want comfort. I want to be alone and push him away.

  In that moment, a little mousy brown-haired girl pushes through the crowd. A smile tugs at my face. The tears pick back up as I embrace my best friend. Oh, thank the universe, Bee is still here. I hug her tighter than I had ever hugged anyone in my life. I no longer know which tears are from sadness and defeat, or which are from Bee being safe. I look up once more when I see the crowds parting again.

  A tall raven-haired woman walks through. Everyone bows, and Bee skirts herself off to the side. My mother walks straight through the crowd, not acknowledging anyone else but me. She grabs me, pulling me in for a tight embrace. She says nothing, and she doesn’t need to. My senses go haywire, and I experience every ounce of love and regret she had pouring off of her. Mother loves me more than I ever realized, and she cares about nobody except for me in that moment. “Mother, Aunt Gayla…” I try to find the words, but can’t before tears overtake me once again.

  “I know, child, I know. I saw her come through the portal from the tower.”

  My instinct is to counter her by saying I am not a child, but now isn’t the time. I realize I may be a bit of a spoiled princess. I have so much to learn, if we will take back Aster. For now, Lorcan is the only stronghold left. King Maddox will take any major port between Cargil and Lorcan with ease. Heartache strikes me again as my mother loosens her grip.

  I know in my heart the things that need to be done. I need to be strong and move on quickly from the blow Celeste dealt Aster, but part of me isn’t coping. So much has happened so fast, and I no longer know who I am, or if I am worth the lives that were lost for me today. It is not fair that I am here standing safe at the foot of Lorcan and not the High Mystic. I pause to look around as my heart begins to beat out of my chest. I realize that Hoda didn’t make it through the gate, either. The world spins, and I am having a hard time breathing.

  “Come, Dina,” Mother pulls me out of my brief panic by taking my hand and leading me through the gates into the mountain of Lorcan. This will be my new home for the foreseeable future. I can feel Trey, Bee, and Vex close on my heels. It is then I realize that Mark also never came through the portal causing another wave of despair to wash over me. They sacrificed themselves to get us safely through the portal. I will never forget them.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I am filthy, covered in the blood of my aunt, exhausted from the use of my magic, and numb from the day's events. There is a flurry of people around me talking, many talking to me, but I don’t hear any of their words. They are busy bees trying to come up with a plan following a tragedy. I want no part in it and find myself staring at a wall mindlessly. I never expected to shoulder this kind of responsibility at nineteen cycles.

  My mind isn't able to comprehend all the events that have happened in such a short time. All I can think about is the last few moments I had with my aunt and how she saved us all. I didn't know how to use that key. I didn't have the ability to hide doors or to camouflage a group of people inside a pit full of bones. If she had not been there, everyone would have died, or, at least, still be locked away in a jail cell.

  Trey places his hand on my shoulder, causing me to turn and stare at him. His mouth moves, but, once again, I cannot process the words. I shake my head at him to let him know I do not understand.

  Mother steps in front of me. She looks worried about me. I am here, I am alive. She should worry about Aster, instead. She leans in and places her cheek upon my cheek causing me to flinch in response. I'm not used to gestures like that, and when she pulls away her expression changes into sadness mixed in worry. Why can I sense her emotions, but not hear what she is saying? It doesn’t matter, does it?

  I'm a useless mystic. I should have been the one to hold the gate for my aunt to go through. Aster benefits more from her presence than mine. Now Aster is without a replacement. The only ones who are qualified are her daughters who joined Celeste’s side. One of them will be her High Mystic, and Lorcan will be without theirs.

  I choke on a sob. It is the first bit of emotion I have released since entering Lorcan. It is then that my mother takes my hand and leads me to the door. Right, I need to get changed; I look awful, and that is not very proper of me. She says something to my friend Bee and then hands me off to her. Bee takes my hand and leads me down the hall.

  My beautiful and perfect little Bee brings me a tinge of happiness while I look at her. I am not sure I deserve such a devoted friend. Paying no mind where we are going, my feet thump one after the other. I'm not sure I can walk much farther. As soon as that thought passes through my head, I trip. It is slow motion.

  I am certain that my face is about to plant into the carpet when two big arms swoop in to grab me. He rolls me over onto my back and lifts me into his arms. Trey. His big comforting brown eyes stare down at me. If I had not cried out all the tears I had stored, I would cry again as little sobs wrack my body. I buried my face in Trey, breathing in his scent. I don’t deserve this man either, but I am grateful he is mine.

  I vaguely remember that my rooms in Lorcan are downstairs not up. I don't know where I was going, but it doesn’t matter, anyway. Nothing does anymore. I am expected to be someone I'm not. I am expected to train, to rise up, and take back Aster. The only reason I survived the first battle was because Aunt Gayla saved us all. The battle was more of a sneak attack than battle. Celeste came in and took Cargil from under my nose.

  I turn my head enough to see that Trey has carried me through a large wooden door. Whereever we were headed, we have arrived. I make no motion to move, because why. Why should I move? Am I being overdramatic? Yes, I'm aware enough to recognize that's a possibility, but the nagging voice in my head keeps reminding me how I have failed.

  The image of my aunt cut in half and dying does nothing to help. She was a beautiful soul. Aster needs her. It wasn't her time. It wasn't Claire’s time either. Claire would have handled this all better than me. She was a natural.

  I take a deep breath as Trey releases me onto a bed. I want to fall backward, but Bee is behind me holding me up. Trey uses shears to remove my dress, what is left of it anyways. They are right, I'm filthy. If only I have the strength and resolve to help them. I don't have the resolve to do anything right now. Once naked, Trey lifts me back into his arms and walks into a new room full of steam, warming my aching bones.

  They should've left me alone on the bed. I don’t deserve this kind of care. Trey uses a soft cloth to wash me clean, starting at my bare feet. I had to take off my boots at the portal to retrieve the key for my aunt. Bee combs through my hair. I catch myself drifting off, but every time my eyes close, someone smacks me to keep me awake. Why won’t they let me go? I don’t want to be a part of this world anymore.

  When Bee and Trey finish, they bring me back to the bed. I hear multiple people in the room, but I have no idea where or who they are. The sounds all blur together with the surroundings. Why won’t they leave me alone? I open my eyes one last time to see my mother over me, her mouth moving with the rhythm of an incantation. Green energy blankets my body just before everything goes dark, giving me the peace I desired.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Trey

  Two healers and the Queen surround Dina with their hands stretched out over her body. I take a step forward when Dina moans and wriggles beneath their energy. Bee grabs my arm and jerks me backward with more force than I expected a small girl like her to possess.

  "Shh, Trey! You can't interrupt mystics when they are in a trance!" She whispers as close to my ear as she can get.

  "But, what are they doing? What is that light?" Green tendrils of light are sparking off of a gold energy that is wrapped around Dina. She looks like death as the energies wars with each other.

  "What light?" Bee asks prompting me to realize that only I could see it.

  Dina arches her back and moans in pain, and that is all it takes for me to rush through, dropping to my knees along the side of her bed between two of the mystic healers. Neithe
r healer loses focus, but the Queen looks up and gives me a single nod of her head as the chanting continues flawlessly out of her mouth.

  The energy continues to swirl around her sparking at the green tendrils that are trying to help her. I carefully insert my hand into the chaos and feel absolutely nothing. I am able to see the energy, but for some reason I cannot feel it. All I know, is that Dina needs me, even though I have no clue how I am going to help. I wiggle my fingers in the energy one last time before lowering my hand to hers.

  Dina's hand opens and takes mine as nature intended. There is no question Dina has chosen me as a life partner. Her energy rushes through me, warm and caressing, pulling me to her. I lean forward trying to get closer, when a hand lands on my shoulder in warning. I look up to the small blonde healer with curly hair who says nothing to me, but shakes her head no.

  My body begins to ache with need. Dina needs me to heal her! I try to climb onto the bed again. This time, a small vicious person jumps on my back and wraps her arms around my neck. I hear voices screaming, but I can't focus on that. I can't focus on anything but giving Dina what she needs, and that is all of me.

  I continue to fight, when I felt a searing pain hot like a branding iron in my hand. Screaming in agony, I tried to pull away from her but she tightens her grip. The pain breaks my trance pushing me back into reality. Everyone in the room is in a panic. I have three people on me trying to jerk me off of Dina, but she is refusing to let go.

  Finally, Queen Maris is able to cloud Dina's hand in the green energy long enough for her grip to loosen and for the others to pull me free. As soon as I drop to the ground, the two healers and the queen turn their attention back to Dina. I can't even bring myself to stand, so I scoot backwards on the floor until my back hits the wall.