“Your Majesty. Hello, Shade.” He bowed before the Prince and nodded to Shade. “Ready to go home?” He looked at her pensively, narrowing his fiery orange eyes, trying to read her thoughts.

“More than ready. Thanks for the ride, Camulus.” She smiled, feeling optimistic for the first time in so long.

He nodded, smiling as he held out his hand towards her. Shade reached out, but before she could envelope her hand in his, a loud boom rang through the castle, followed by another and another.

“What was that?” Shade asked, swinging around and watching the others gather around the grand windows to peer outside.

“Your Majesty! A group of Aveta’s soldiers are attacking the East Gate! They have already shattered the wall and infiltrated the grounds!”

Ursad nodded at the guard, giving him quick directions for countering. Shade stood bewildered and wondered what she should do. She gulped as she glanced out the windows; which happen to face the East Gate, watching the smoke and dirt puff up into a cloud around it.

“Shade stay here. Sary and Stephen said they were going to round with the guards on that side of the castle grounds. I will go and make sure they are fine.” Camulus nodded towards her, but before he could leave, Shade grabbed his arm.

“I’m coming with you. No ifs ands or buts about it. They’re my friends, and they might need me.”

Camulus shook his head, frowning at her persistence. “Very well, Shade, but do try to stay out of the way. They aren’t here to play.” He grasped her hand from his arm as the air around them swirled and shivered. A moment later, they stood staring at the chaos in the East yard.

Guards had just managed to filter in, and were clanging their swords and shields against Aveta’s Lonares soldiers. They whipped around as if dancing with Ursad’s defending fighters. Shields flashed as they struggled, slamming into each other’s ranks with such a force to send some flying onto their backs.

Shade’s eyes widened in terror, but she quickly composed herself, scanning the crowd for her friends. She spotted Sary’s fiery, red, mane, of hair and dashed towards her, yanking her sword from her pack as she readied herself.

“Sary!” Shade jumped at a soldier who was barreling towards her friend with a huge axe, swinging his arm back to widen his momentum. Shade gripped her sword, propelling it forward in a sideswiping arch, slicing the soldier’s abdomen before he could rebound. He dropped the axe in a howl of pain and turned towards her. He grinned under the oxidized metal helmet that framed his face. His teeth flashing at her as she stepped forward again, swinging another blow.

Dodging her aim, he laughed, spitting on the floor before her and pulling out a long dagger from his belt. “That wasn’t very ladylike, girl.” His hissed at her. His eyes wild and crazed behind the nose bridge of the helmet. How he can possibly see well with that hunk of junk on his head is beyond me, thought Shade. She sucked in a breath before plunging forward, faking a left swing in favor of a forward jab. Her blade met its mark, sinking into his upper abdomen, making him spew red blood out of his mouth.

Gurgling, he dropped his dagger, obviously underestimating her from the surprised look in his eyes. She stepped in front of him as he sank to his knees, giving him a push with her foot. He fell to the ground as his breath escaped him.

Shade turned towards Sary, hoping the distraction had not taken too long to help her.

“Stephen!” Sary’s voice echoed in the mass of grunts and screams, making Shade rush towards her wailing. Other soldiers blocked her path, and she took them down with less difficulty than the first, finally reaching Sary as more of Ursad’s soldiers filled the area, beating back the last few Lonares soldiers. She heard Sary’s whimper as she came upon her, finding her bent over Stephen’s splayed out body

“Sary, oh no, what happened?” Shade knelt down to see Stephen’s wounds on his chest gurgling from a stab wound to the left of his chest. It spewed like a fountain. Crimson blood was staining his clothes along with Sary’s hands and arms as she pressed down on the wound. His mouth dripped with trails of red as he choked on the fluid.

“Crap! They got his lung, probably his heart too! Sary, can you heal him?” Shade looked back up at the Warrior Princess, whose own face had paled from the power she had already shunted into Stephen. “Sary?” Shade asked as she fumbled through her pack, yanking out a towel for his wound and a healing potion Braelynn had given her for any injuries.

Sary’s silence along with Stephen’s struggles ceasing stopped Shade. She looked up from her pack and dropped it, peering over to Stephen. His eyes stared blankly up into the sky above, glazing over into a distant stare. His gurgling had stopped, and his body was still. There was not even any movement to show his breath. Shade grabbed him, shaking his shoulders and yelling his name. Sary fell over his body, wailing in a deafening cry that made Shade want to run away, far into the forest and never look back.

Shade grabbed the potion, dumping some into his mouth and directing him to swallow. His still face made her want to scream at him. Her despair raged through her into anger as the flood of tears spilled down her cheeks, splashing onto his face.

“No Stephen, no! Swallow the potion. Please, you can’t die! No!” Shade’s sobs echoed Sary’s as they both shook with grief. The battle had finished as the last Lonares soldiers were shackled and shuffled away with iron chains. Shade tried to breathe in an effort to calm herself as she took in the scene. Bodies lay strewed across the grounds, blood staining the emerald grasses into dark rusty red smears. The gate was now being mended, and no more soldiers poured in.

Why would she send such a small group instead of a battalion to a castle? What is Aveta doing? Shade thought. It doesn’t make sense at all.

Sary’s screams had turned into quieter sobs as she gripped Stephen’s body. His facial tattoos stood out dark and stark against his now sallow skin. Shade breathed in hard as she stood up, giving Sary some privacy. Her whole body shook as she stood, feeling lost and somehow confused.

“Shade, let’s go inside. Ursad’s people will help Sary.” Soap had made it out for the last part of the battle. Blood streaked his shirt and hands, but none seemed to be from him. At least, not from any wound Shade could see.

“I have to help Sary.” Her voice quivered out quietly as she shook her head, still in shock.

“It’s ok, Shade. They got her. They will help her with Stephen. Don’t worry. You’re in shock too, and you need to rest now. Come on.” Soap’s voice gently coaxed her along, until he just gave up and picked her up. He carried her into the safety of the castle, her sobs quieting down to a whimper.

Inside the castle, he returned her to her room, instructing her to drink some water and clean up. He waited as she entered the bathroom, stripping off her blood soaked clothes. They pulled off sticky and cold, making her want to throw them away. She stepped into the warm shower and let the water rinse Stephen’s dark blood away. She must have stood there for a long time until Soap’s banging on the door pulled her back from her catatonic stare.

Finishing in the bathroom, she slipped on a fresh pair of jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. She opened the door of the bathroom to find Soap waiting patiently on one of the chairs. He remained in his blood-streaked garments, but looked relieved to see her emerge. He held her pack, retrieved from the battle. He stood up and came to her, pushing her loose wet strands from her face.

“How is Sary?” Shade felt a pain shoot through her chest at the mention of her friend. Sary had lost her one and only mate. Shade could bet that Sary was still with Stephen’s body, probably quite reluctant to let go.

“She’s quite in shock. Hysterical at times, but she won’t leave Stephen. Quite understandable. I think it might take days before she emerges out of it.” He sighed as he rubbed his head. Soap glanced back at her and gave her a weak smile. Hugging her as the tears threatened to pour out again.

“It’s ok, Shade. It was a surprise attack. There’s nothing we could have done. It’s alright.” He stroked her hair as she cried into his shirt, leaving wet spots scattered across the front. She pulled away after a while and nodded at him. She wanted to go home now more than ever.

“I need to get out of here, Soap. I need to go home.”

He nodded back to her, shushing her quietly. “I’ll get Camulus. Get all your stuff together. You’ll feel better at home.” His voice masked the reluctance in his voice of seeing her go, but Shade barely registered it. She nodded back to him, turning to get her pack together.

Camulus entered her room soon after as Soap returned. The Elven-Pixie’s face remained as blank as it could be. He gave her a nod, holding his hand out towards her again. She cracked a weak grin at him, relieved he had come so fast.

“Soap?” Shade paused, turning back towards the Changeling Teleen Warrior.

“Yes, Shade?” Soap looked up at her expectantly.

“Please tell Sary I’m sorry.” She sighed as she walked closer to Camulus.

“I will. I’m sure she knows it.” Soap smiled at her, sadness remaining in his stormy, green eyes. Shade turned back towards Camulus, taking his soft, green hands in hers and let the jaunt take her away. She only wished it would take away the pain Sary felt right now.

Chapter Eleven

THE DAYS WENT by without any word from Andraste or Dylan. Shade hadn’t realized how excruciating the hours would feel as they ticked by painstakingly slow. At least when Dylan had been around, she could bug him about anything, and she was never alone. But now, with Brisa gone at college, the house was so uncharacteristically silent, it bore into her like an asylum to a crazy person. She missed Sary, and hoped that her friend would be okay.

Shade spent the days sitting on the back porch staring off into the woods, hoping she might catch a glimpse of Dylan’s jet-black hair, or a wisp of blue fire hovering in the darkened forest. Nothing came, and no one showed up to take her to her grandmother. It seemed that finding her was going to prove harder to do than said. Shade was starting to doubt that they would even find her at all now.

She also doubted that Dylan was ever going to return, even with the blood bind in place. She found herself filling her own head with morbid thoughts like: What if Dylan had found a way to break the bond. Would I even know he did it? Then he would never return for sure. What scared her even more was what he would say if he did return. Would he still love her, or would he turn away from her, cold as ice? She found that she didn’t really want to find out.

What of the Teleen suitors from the caverns? Shade knew from what Dylan had told her that sooner or later, some of the males would come after her and bid for her hand. She cringed at the thought. There wasn’t anyone but Dylan or Soap that she would choose. She hoped the Teleen suitors would never come. The drama of it all would be far too much to deal with right now. Supposedly, they would not leave her alone until she chose a mate. That was something she really didn’t want to do or even think about.

One evening, Shade sat on the porch watching the sun sink over the horizon. Its brilliant orange-reds warmed her face in the cool evening. Shade had Dylan’s blanket around her shoulders; keeping it close comforted her, making it seem like Dylan was not so far away. She supposed he was still pretty angry. She didn’t blame him at all. Soap was probably upset too. She couldn’t make anyone happy, no matter what she did. She liked both of them, was fairly sure they both liked her back, even though at the moment, she didn’t feel worthy of either one of them. She’d have to think up a way to repair the damage she had done.

“What are you waiting for?” Benton’s voice startled her out of her reverie. Shade turned and stared up at her brother. She rolled her eyes and resumed staring at the sunset’s streaks across the horizon.

“Nothing.”

Benton sat down next to her and handed her a can of coke. He was loudly slurping his own can, and paid no attention to her as she glared back. His invasion of her space was something she did not tolerate.

“What do you want?” Shade grumbled as she opened her soda without thanking him, and chugged down a swallow.

“Most people say thank you, you know. I’m just wondering what it is you’re waiting for out here every freakin’ day? The sunset doesn’t change that much.” He spit out a sunflower seed that he had been chewing on, dumping a few more in his mouth as he waited for her to answer.

“None of your business,” Shade sighed. She knew she should attempt to get along better with Benton, but his paranoid nosy ways drove her insane. She continued to sit in silence, listening to him crunch on the husks.

“Alright, fine. Don’t tell me. I knew something is going on with you since right before graduation. I’m not stupid you know. I know it has something to do with that Dylan guy too. I swear there is something not normal ‘bout him. I’m going to figure out what it is. Where is Dylan anyways? He finally decided to go back to his family?” Benton turned and watched her. His dark eyes studied his sister. He wished she didn’t keep so many secrets from him. Since their dad died, he had assumed the ‘man of the house’ position, which put off Shade, but their sister Anna and brother James didn’t seem to mind it at all. Since Dylan had been living with them, Benton had felt pushed aside as Dylan drove everyone around instead. Benton was 17 and graduating this coming year. He was somewhat relieved to see that Dylan hadn’t been around much lately.

Shade sighed. She wished she could confide in her brother, but being a part Fey wasn’t exactly going to sound logical to a regular kid. She contemplated telling Benton, but hadn’t found a good way of explaining anything about her powers without sounding crazy. She hoped he wouldn’t ever find out.