Eve stared at Nimueh, still holding the bloody knife. The knife that had ... the knife that had killed her mother. For Rachel was dead. There was no denying it. The look of insane triumph on Nimueh's face broke Eve's heart, and she started to sob as shock wore away and terrifying grief took its place. Morph wrapped his arms and wings around her, as if to shield her from Nimueh. He cursed the sorceress, but his anger seemed only to amuse her.

The doors slammed open and Emrys, Gwaine, Rampion, Morgana, and Guy rushed in. As Guy took Eve from Morph's embrace, wrapping her in one of his own. She felt his cheek against her hair, dampening it with his own tears. Emrys, Gwaine's hand on his shoulder, marched up to Nimueh, unafraid. "You monster!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the otherwise-silent throne room. "You're a murderer. A murderer and a witch. You have killed too many people, and I'm going to stop you from hurting anyone else."

Nimueh laughed. "With all of you in this room, you can't stop me now." The doors slammed shut and were bolted shut from the outside. She put her hands on her hips, facing the much-shorter Emrys. Gwaine's free hand fell to his sword. "Isn't this just sweet?" she went on. "The brothers get to perish together with their mother. It's a pity your father didn't get that luxury."

With a furious shout, Emrys opened his hands and a blast of wind struck Nimueh, sending her flying backwards. "My father will be avenged!" he shouted.

Nimueh got to her feet, no longer laughing. She considered Emrys with a searching expression. "So ... a difference between the father and the son. One gets stronger with emotions, and one gets weakened by emotions. It seems I miscalculated with you, Arthur Emrys. Be assured ... that it will not happen again."

Emrys attempted another wind spell, but the sorceress easily knocked the spell aside as she approached him slowly. Eve clung to her father, wishing there was something she could do, but knowing this was a contest of magic. Guy's grip on her was powerful, and Morph seemed ready to jump into the fight. Emrys's voice stopped them. "This is my fight. I will deal with the witch myself!"

"That's just going to get you killed," Morph tried, but Emrys wasn't keen on listening to him. He completely ignored the older boy, his attention fixed on Nimueh.

The sorceress smiled as a strange golden light suddenly shone from Rachel's body. "The power of the Guardians!" she declared. Her hands extended toward the light, and it started to move towards her.

Eve pushed away from Guy, stepping between the light and Nimueh. She inhaled sharply as the light surrounded her, entering her skin and giving her a strange crawling sensation. Nimueh shrieked in fury. "How dare you?! You've stolen it! Now you will join your mother in death!"

Before anyone could move to her air, Nimueh had summoned a sword from nowhere and swung it at Eve. As it moved through the remainder of the golden light around her, it morphed into a metal rod and slammed into Eve's chest. She flew backwards, her flight stopped only by the stone her mother's body was chained to. She lay on the ground, too much in pain to even move. More than one bone in her body felt broken.

"Eve!" Emrys cried, sounding horrified. She couldn't muster the strength to respond.

Guy knelt beside her, cradling her to him. Eve wished he wouldn't hold her so tightly. It made the pain even worse.

Nimueh sneered. "You fools think you can defeat me ..."

"My father could have," Emrys said quietly. "But he ruined his chances because of us. I will do what he couldn't." Before Nimueh could finish off Eve and Guy, Emrys and Gwaine stepped between them. Eve noticed through her daze of pain that Gwaine looked incredibly anxious.

A blast of magic from Nimueh took the two brothers by surprise and separated them. Gwaine hit the ground on the other side of the throne room with a cry of pain, and Emrys simply fell backwards, the breath driven from his lungs. "G-Gwaine," he gasped.

Nimueh stood over Emrys, a blade of fire in her hand. "You're weak," she told him. "Can't even fight without your brother hanging on to you. Only weaklings rely on others for help!"

Emrys didn't say anything. He seemed incapable of rising. "Em!" Gwaine yelled, trying to rise himself.

Nimueh shook her head, making a tsking sound with her tongue. "Pity. I would have expected more from Merlin's son," she said, and brought the sword down.

Multiple things happened in a split second. Morph flapped his wings once and slammed into Nimueh, knocking her off balance. The sword missed Emrys by an inch, and the sorcerer grabbed it with his bare hand, wrestling it from Nimueh's grasp. Eve could hear his flesh sizzling from the heat of the flames. It seemed that he couldn't feel pain in that moment.

Emrys turned the sword on Nimueh and stabbed her through the heart.