"Please don't tell anyone I did this." Caliath waved an arm over the fallen bodies of Dain, Alston, and Elvenia. "No one must know that I saved you."

Morgana frowned. "But, why?"

A distant shout echoed across the grounds and Morgana turned her head. It sounded like someone calling her name. She turned back to Caliath.

His eyes were wide. "Please, keep it a secret. No one can know that I was here."

She stared at him, dumbfounded.

Caliath gave her one last pleading look, then melted into the castle's shadow. So, that's how he was able to hide and attack Alston. He was a Shadow Walker just like Valerio, the Spy Captain.

"Morgana," Damon's voice drifted over the lawns.

"I'm here!"

A low moan escaped Dain, who sat up and gingerly touched the back of his bloodied head.

"Morgana!" Damon sounded closer.

Dain shook Elvenia's shoulder. "We have to go." She was still unconscious, head lolling as if her neck had snapped. Dain lifted her into the air with his magic. Elvenia's arms and legs dangled and her gown trailed the wet grass.

There were two sets of footsteps pounding down the path. Getting closer.

"Stop!" Morgana ran towards Dain and Elvenia, but Dain blasted her back with a surge of air magic. She tumbled onto the grass.

Elvenia's eyes fluttered open. "We can't leave Alston," she mumbled, barely able to stay awake. Blood dripped through her hair and left a trail on the grass.

Morgana stumbled to her feet, but they'd disappeared around the corner.

Alston groaned and rolled over, getting onto all fours.

"Where are you?" Damon yelled.

"Here!"

Alston sat on his heels, then tried to stand, using his hands on the ground to steady himself.

Morgana watched his pathetic attempt to get to his feet and thought about how close to death she'd been because of him, because of all of them.

She was sick of it.

Sick of being weak.

She stormed over and punched Alston in the jaw. He yelled and dropped back onto the grass like a felled bit of wheat. Her chest heaved, and the raw pain across her knuckles felt good like a prize she'd won.

Damon jogged around the corner, followed by a guard. He halted, eyes round at the sight of Morgana with her torn gown and bloodied stomach.

"Morgana?" He took a step forward, and spotted Alston on the ground who was dabbing his jaw.

Fury swept over Damon like a black cloud from an inferno.

Alston raised his palms, a pleading look on his face. "I can explain, Your Highn—" he screamed, buckling under Damon's earth magic, arms and legs snapping like twigs under a boot. Blood bloomed all over Alston's clothes. Urine tainted the air and grass.

"You broke the decree, you know the consequences," Damon's voice shook with rage.

Morgana's mouth dropped open.

Damon's earth magic grew with his temper and Alston's jaw snapped with a deafening crack, followed by a warbled scream.

The guard behind Damon took a step forward, ready for orders.

"Dispose of him and inform his family that his death was due to treason," Damon said.

"Yes, Your Highness."

With a jerk of his head Damon snapped Alston's neck, and a crack echoed. Alston's eyes went dull. Morgana glanced at Damon and hot fury rippled off him in waves. She'd never seen him so angry. Her gaze went back to the mangled body of her former bully, who now looked like a squashed spider.

Sour vomit sprayed out of her mouth.

The guard knelt and laid a hand on Alston, vanishing with a pop.

"Morgana." Damon rushed over and clasped her shoulders. "What happened? I went to check on you and you were gone. Then I saw them leave the ballroom ... But they vanished by the time I reached the doors. I tried searching for you everywhere. I even went into the maze!" His eyes flashed. "Why didn't you stay in the ballroom where I could protect you?"

"They chased me out." Morgana wiped her mouth, vomit coated the back of her hand.

"What?" Damon ran a hand through his hair. "If something like that happens you need to get one of us."

"I tried that, but no one was there!" Morgana's eyes filled with tears. "I had no option but to run. They cornered me in the ballroom, and no one did anything. Nobody noticed."

"This is my fault." Damon paced. "I should've sent a guard to watch over you ..."

"It's not your fault."

"I didn't think they'd dare. Especially not in a crowd."

"They don't care about that sort of thing Damon. It's not the first time they've tried to kill me with witnesses around."

"But after last time, their families promised they wouldn't do this. I told them that if those three harmed you again then they would be sentenced to death."

Morgana's breath caught in her throat, and she stared at Damon for a long moment. "I didn't know you did that."

"It's also why I was so sure they wouldn't harm you," Damon sighed. "I won't make that mistake again."

Morgana bit her lip and looked at the floor. It wasn't Damon's fault. The only ones at fault were her bullies.

"You're hurt." Damon pointed to her stomach. "What did they do?"

"It's nothing."

"Show me." His eyes narrowed.

She took the handkerchief away from her stomach. "Alston was going to kill me."

A horrible silence passed where Damon clenched his fists. "Where are the other two?"

"They ran away as soon as they heard you coming."

"They'll pay for this."

Morgana nodded, placing Caliath's handkerchief back over her wound, it had his initials embroidered on it. The edge of her hand covered the letter C for Caliath.

Damon eyed the handkerchief. "Where'd you get that from?"

Morgana followed Damon's gaze; alarm clanged through her when she saw the letter A for Aeperos dangling in the breeze like a flag. "It was Alston's, I stole it after I punched him," she lied.

"Really? At least some of the training has paid off."

Morgana nodded, not having the heart to tell him that her training would never be enough. She'd never been weaker in her entire life. If it weren't for Caliath she'd probably be dead by now.

"Also, fire leaked out of my hands. I don't know why that happened."

Damon froze. "Tell me exactly what happened." Once Morgana was done, he frowned. "It seems like the elements are getting stronger. It might've been residual magic from the ceremony."

"Does that mean I'm going to die?" Morgana's voice was high.

"No, but we'll keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get any worse. If anything like that happens again you must tell me."

Morgana nodded, fear making her heart race. She knew it had been a stupid idea to go to the ball and to the ceremony. But no, she was forced into it for customs' sake and now she'd been exposed to too much magic.

"Come on, let's get you back inside." Damon put an arm around her and guided her to an entrance at the back of the castle.

Damon and Morgana slipped through darkened corridors, avoiding the servants and stragglers from the ball. Once they were inside Morgana's bedroom, she asked Damon to keep the attack a secret from the rest of the family.

"I just don't want mother to worry," Morgana said.

"How am I going to keep it a secret when I have to execute Dain and Elvenia too?" Damon crossed his arms.

"I don't know. Maybe you can punish them instead?"

Damon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"They'll probably back off now that Alston's dead."

"But I always keep my word."

Morgana nodded and looked at the floor.

After a moment Damon noticed the droop in Morgana's shoulders and he rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll let them live. But I'll let them know that the only reason they're breathing is because you requested it. They still need to be punished for what they did, so I'll have them whipped instead."

"Okay."

Damon walked out of the room and kept the door ajar. He spoke to a guard and their soft murmurs drifted into Morgana's bedroom. After a while he came back in. "I've sent a message to mother, saying you've gone to bed early because you've drunk too much wine."

"Thanks."

"Anytime." He flopped onto Morgana's bed, and she went into her bathroom to bandage her stomach and change into fresh clothes. She came out in a cotton nightgown and found Damon flipping through a romance novel about a fae and a pixie.

"I can't believe you still read these." He chuckled, placing it on her bedside table.

She shrugged, stomach hollow after the attack, not in the mood for jokes. Damon's eyes softened and she lay down next to him and curled into a ball.

"Perhaps you should have an extra dose of the elixir today? The ceremony was enough but the attack you endured afterwards put you over the threshold for what a human can handle ..."

"You don't have to tell me. I already know I'm too weak and can't handle magic."

Damon sighed, "That's not what I'm saying."

"It's exactly what you're saying." Morgana sat up and poured herself another dose of elixir. She gulped it down, hating the sour berry taste and the way it stung her mouth like wasp venom. The familiar cramp began in her stomach, and she lay back down, furious that even though her bullies hadn't successfully killed her today they'd shortened her life with their magic anyway.

"I'm just making sure you're taking care of yourself. It's not that you're weak, it's just that over time magic is too much for a human."

"Then shouldn't I live in the Mortal Realm for a while so that the magic from the land won't kill me?"

"You don't have to live in the Mortal Realm because we have the elixir. And how would you fare over there? You don't know anybody in the Mortal Realm. You'd probably starve to death."

"But over time the elixir won't work."

"Don't say—"

"But that's what the healer said. First, I'll lose my mind and then the elements will wreak havoc over my body until I'm torn apart."

Damon rolled onto his back, lips thinning. "If we see the symptoms, then we'll figure something out."

Morgana hugged her pillow.

"I'll protect you," Damon murmured.

"I don't want you to protect me, I want to protect myself."

"You can't fight Elysia's magic."

"I know, it's why I couldn't really fight them tonight," Morgana's voice cracked.

"Then I'll give you more advanced training."

Morgana sighed. It was no good arguing with Damon, he was somehow under the impression that she had a fighting chance against the fae. The only reason Morgana had survived today was because Prince Caliath had checked on her.

Which was unusual for a fae.

He was unusual for a fae.

Most of them viewed her as if she were nothing more than a speck of dirt. So, why did he save her, and why did he want it kept secret? Was the enmity between the courts too much? Or was he ashamed that he saved a human? Morgana's cheeks heated with embarrassment. Shame seemed like the most logical explanation for why Caliath wanted to keep their interaction a secret.

"You should get back to the ball. Everyone will be wondering where you are," she murmured.

"Are you sure? I can stay here with you."

"I just ... feel like being on my own right now."

"Alright." Damon got up, drifting the smell of dianthus and honeysuckle. "Try to get some rest." Then he left, shutting the door.

Morgana burst into tears and soon her pillow was drenched. Disappointment spread through her like a flood. Disappointment with herself, and that she was a human in a land full of monsters.

She shouldn't need protection.

She shouldn't be so weak.

If only she were as powerful as the fae, then no one would harm her. She wouldn't need to watch her back or get training lessons from Damon. She wouldn't need to fear the magic in the land. She wouldn't need to wonder if every day was the beginning of the end, the beginning of her losing her mind and body to Elysia's magic.

With that last thought Morgana slipped away into an uneasy sleep and a dream took shape. Smoke hovered over a battlefield and swords clanged off shields and armor. Plumes of fire roared into the sky and the screams of soldiers ripped through the air. On one side of the battlefield were the Golight fae wearing silver erudium armor. They were an incandescent force against the Aeperians and witches, who were a wall of midnight in their erudium and zircesium armor. The whole battlefield looked like two waves − one light and one dark − crashing into each other. The voices of the dying bled into a constant roar. Witches splattered with mud, sent curse after curse towards the Golight fae. Their curses struck the killing field, electric blue, violet, and red lightning flashed over the soldier's faces as fae exploded into bloody mists and limbs. The fae that were gifted with elemental abilities killed their opponents ruthlessly. Air users suffocated their opponents. Whilst earth users crushed their enemies as if they were mere ants. Water users drowned their attackers. And fire users sent raging infernos across the battlefield that charred their enemies to ash.

The battle raged on till Morgana found a vast crater, in the middle of the battlefield, empty except for two witches. One witch was on her knees, with her back facing Morgana. She had olive skin and black hair, and her dark armor was sprayed with blood. Her shoulders shook with each sob.

The other witch was on her back, staring blankly at the sky. Dead. Her skin was pale, with hair as dark as a raven's wing. Mud flecked her cheeks and armor, and blood trailed out of her mouth.

The sobbing witch gave a wail that brought goosebumps to Morgana's arms.

The dead witch's head lolled to the side. She stared at Morgana with piercing emerald eyes as blood trickled down the side of her face. "Find us."