Lucy and Tyrian are wandering the halls probably arguing about the color scheme of the palace, but I decided to escape. Just for a moment. I need to clear my head. I can barely see straight.

I wander up to the Twilight Zone and I don't doddle plunging myself into the fountain transporting myself to the Crystal Cave.

When I open my eyes, I feel refreshed. The magic calls out to me and I welcome it with open arms. Only now do I realize how hard it was getting to breathe. A weight has been lifted, not all, but enough. I shiver in the water, a chill running down my spine.

So, this is the Fae Realm? Or, not. Tyrian said it disappeared; I remind myself. But how could a cave just disappear? And if I can still visit it, it must still be somewhere.

Before I aid the magic system, I get out of the pool and walk toward the outer edge of the cave, but I double-take. Maybe it's just because I haven't visited in a while but the crystals seem... dull?

I reach my hand out to the once vibrant sparkling crystal walls which have now turned a lackluster pastel. I brush my fingers against it and a tiny chunk crumbles to the floor, breaking into tiny pieces as it hits the ground. I gasp.

What is happening?

I look around and scavenge for anything that might be different inside the cave. All along the walls are tiny hairline cracks on the crystals and I fear that if I run too hard the vibrations might cause the cave to collapse. I slow my pace and control my racing thoughts.

Think. Damin trained you for moments like these. If something catches you off guard, abort or recalculate.

And as much as I don't want to think about my father, I take his advice and recalculate. The crystal. That's it. My crystal.

Felling a little silly I raise the pendant to my lips and whisper, "Tyrian?"

"Yes."

I jump backward at the shock of his voice. "Um... I have a bit of a... situation with the Crystal Cave."

"What's going on?" he asks and he sounds like a general of an army. "What do you see?"

"Cracks," I say looking above me. "The crystals... they're losing their color and - and the walls are crumbling. They are breaking apart."

I hear a foreign whisper and the noise is too sharp to be Tyrian's. I lower the crystal and listen as hard as I can.

"Zaria, I need you to get out of there. It's not safe."

I take off the necklace. "Shhhh," I whisper yell into it before shoving it into my soggy pockets.

"Zaria!" he yells in my head, but I tune him out. Too bad I'm my father's daughter.

The whispering becomes fiercer and I realize I do recognize it. But that can't be possible. I follow the voice and make it to the far end of the cave where there is a little break in the wall. I had never explored this far into the cave. I had just accepted that it was just more crystals deeper inside.

And that's when I hear it, and there is no denying the cold truth.

"Mistress, you have to know this has gone too far," the poor man cries out.

"How many times must I remind you of your loyalty? Shall I stick you in the chamber again?"

Hearing the voice surrounding me, bouncing off of every crystal is so much different than hearing it from a ghostly mist. It is no longer distorted but sounds as clear as death itself.

"It won't work. I've told you how many times. Magic can only be manipulated. Not created."

"And I've told you that I am just manipulating magic to bend at my will. I am not creating something out of nothing, not yet."

"My lady," he shrieks, and I can only imagine what is happening on the other side. "And what will happen when we are plagued again because of abusing magic?"

"That was my mother's doing and you know it! I had nothing to do with the depression."

"Yes, but you're causing another one," he pleads.

Her voice becomes so quiet I can barely hear it.

"You cannot recreate magic. The cave is lost for a reason."

"And I still haven't been able to find it! You know how mad I've gone not being able to go back to the Cave. Magic is not a blessing it is a curse to one's soul! Without the cave, it will eat at your very being. Magic is unstable!"

"Zaria, you must get out of there, NOW! Do you hear me!" Tyrians screams in my head and this time I want to listen, but if I move, I could get caught and Eden would no doubt throw me in whatever chamber she has with that poor old man.

"Fear will drive people to do anything. Look at how well it's working on little princey and his crew."

And all of a sudden, I am being grabbed around the waist and thrown into a tornado. Tornado?

"Zaria, what the heck!"

I open my eyes and everything sways, but I can see enough to know I am back at the palace with Tyrian standing over me. He must have teleported. I didn't even hear or see him come in.

"The Crystle Cave..." I am able to say. "It was Eden."

"Eden? What do you mean?" he says seriously pacing around the room.

My brain fogs and I just start word vomiting. "I heard her voice. It was right there."

"Okay," he says shaking his head. "So, the walls were cracking? What does that mean?"

I look to Lucy and she gives me an encouraging nod. She's always done that when I get flustered. Just like her mother.

My breath is shaky as I say, "I don't know. I was hoping you might know something about it. Tyrian, I have to go back. I didn't even get to help the magic system."

"No! Are you insane?! There is no way you are going to the cave when Eden is somehow able to access the cave," he yells.

"Why have I never heard her before? The cave was a safe haven." I blurt trying to put the pieces together. "What has changed?"

"She's growing stronger. Eden may not have found the cave, but she's close," Lucy says gravely.

Tyrian paces even more. Back and forth. Back and forth. "What did she say?" he asks finally.

"Umm," I squint my eyes and try to recall the frightening conversation between her and the poor man. "She's trying to conjure her own magic. The man we saw in the mist... I heard him. He said that she could very well be starting another depression."

Another depression, I think. Will history just repeat itself? Who else will have to die at the hands of Eden?

"She's not growing stronger," Tyrian says looking at Lucy. But there is no smirk in his lips or pride in his speech. "Quite the opposite. She's growing weaker. She's on her last stretch. She's running off adrenaline."

"What? Do you mean she's dying?" Lucy asks.

"Not necessarily. Her magic is turning against her. So, what does that leave her? Making her own magic where she's the boss."

"But you can't just make your own magic. Even for the Fae, it's a gift that was bestowed upon you at birth. No mortal can possess the power to create their own magic," Lucy states. She sits on her bed and it's only now that I realize we are gathered in her room. "It's just not possible. And the Crystal Cave... what is happening to it?"

"I don't know," I say. "It didn't feel as powerful. It felt like the same place... only something was off, enough to make you aware of a change."

"Crystals crack only under extreme pressure, such as heat," Tyrian says and he looks as though he is reciting from a book he read ages ago.

"It wasn't hot," I say and I remember the chill I had gotten when I first arrived. "It was cold, actually."

He shakes his head and his eyes glaze over. I can tell he's not seeing anything. He's just thinking everything through.

"I think Eden may have found a way to reach the cave. Not find it, but feel it. She may be affecting it in some way."

I rub my face and sigh. "I didn't think you could just take magic. Like Lucy said, it's a gift. The crystals charge the magic and the magic flows through the water to the whole Earth. What is there to take?"

Tyrian glares at me. "Forgive me, Zaria. But I think you are going to have to return to the cave. Not today," he says hastily. "But soon. I need to research." He looks up at Lucy. "I'm guessing somewhere in your castle you have a library."

"Yes," she says nodding. "I'll walk you."

I lay down and sink into the soft cushions of Lucy's bed and close my eyes.

I hear the door close and am surprised when I feel Lucy's cool skin touch my arm. "Take a rest. You need it," she says before softly opening and closing the door again, escorting Tyrian to the library. I wait until they would be out of earshot for a normal human being... and wait a little longer for their Fae ears before hauling myself up and walking back to my own room.

I lay on my bed and sigh as I grab 'Everything You Need to Know to Brew the Perfect Tattoo.'

I read, chapter after chapter trying to find anything. He had to have given me this book for a reason. There must have been something to drive him to hand it over.

But before I know it my eyelids are heavy and it's hard to stay awake.

"Weak little girl," I hear Eden whisper before I doze off to sleep.

***

It's been two days and I've been alone. Axil and Crista are still nowhere to be found, Tyrian and Lucy are in the library all day and the queen and Mika are both trying to keep themselves busy with mundane activities. If I hear one of them say, "Pleasant day for a walk" one more time I think I might lose my mind.

I've read through the whole book Mr. Griffin gave me cover to cover and... nothing. I've read and reread. I've looked up definitions and looked for any hidden meanings, but it's just a book for apprentice tattoo artists. That's it.

I guess if there is ever a time where I must return to Flesherg I could have a good career in tattooing.

I shimmy out of bed and walk over to my wardrobe which is unimpressively empty. The light blue blouse Axil had picked out for me when I first moved here catches my eye. I hold the shirt between my hands feeling its soft fabric.

"Please come home," I whisper holding it up to my face before slipping it over my head.

I spend another ten minutes getting ready and replaying all of what Eden said over and over in my mind. There is one thing I forgot to mention to Tyrian. I have no idea what it means.

"Fear will drive people to do anything. Look at how well it's working on little princey and his crew."

What part of her messing with us is fake? Which part is just a game?

"Magic is not a blessing it is a curse to one's soul! Without the cave, it will eat at your very being. Magic is unstable!"

She has to be wrong, I think to myself. There is no way our magic is a curse to us. As mixed as my emotions are with the Fae, they are a perfect example of how harmonious magic can be with the land and its people, and they aren't using the cave every day. Because someone made it go into hiding.

Magic is unstable... and so am I. I'm trusting science on this one that two negatives will make a positive.

I finish tying up my hair in a ponytail and open my bedroom door. Perhaps I'll go visit Mr. Griffin today and see if he was able to find anything. Stella could use some exercise as well and a morning in Senwain doesn't seem like a bad place to visit.

I pass by the library and see Tyrian and Lucy sitting together with open books sprawled all around. I guess it didn't take long for them to cozy up with each other.

I can't help but smile as I recall all the little fusses they got into, and now look at them. I peek in and knock on the door. They both startle, and the dark circles under their eyes look like bruises. Tyrian smiles lightly and Lucy gets up and walks over to me.

"How are you doing?" she asks softly and I can hear the strain in her voice. She hasn't gotten a proper sleep in days.

I shrug. "How are you doing?"

She shrugs.

"I'm doing great," Tyrian says sarcastically from the lounge chair.

"I'm so glad to hear that," I play along with him.

He gets up and walks to the door. His height is still a little startling but having a Fae in the castle is getting more and more normal. "Seriously though," he says and he clears his throat. We need to talk about the cave. I'm just finishing up my last calculations and I would like to go in there with you."

"Right," I say nodding, my stomach twisting. "I was planning on visiting Mr. Griffin. Wanted to see if he has found anything." I look back to Lucy. "Do you want to come?"

She all of a sudden, looks very awkward and glances back and forth between Tyrian and me.

"It's cool," I tell her holding in a laugh as a blush creeps over her face.

Shut up, she mouths so only I can see and this time I can't contain my laughter.

"It's cool?" Tyrian says with a puzzled look on his face. Lucy and I look back and forth between each other and this time she laughs along as well.

"It's just a saying," I tell him through giggles as I watch his face go from confused to annoyed.

"Not a very funny joke," he spits out. "What with the cave and all."

I clear my throat and avoid looking at Lucy so I won't start laughing again. "Well," I say clapping my hands together. "I'll see you guys later."

Lucy waves her hand as I step away from the library and I can hear a faint whisper shout from Lucy and what sounds like a pillow hitting something and I think I have a good idea it was Tyrian.

"Bye!" Tyrian shouts after a couple of seconds.

I chuckle to myself and leave the castle welcoming the spring air. Cherry blossom petals rain down as the gentle breeze swirls.

"Oh, I hope they are safe," I whisper out loud as I stroll over to the stable.

"Hello, Stella," I say opening the stable door and she whinnies in response. I get her all saddled up and off to Senwain I go.

I ride all the way to the other side of Senwain and only slow down when I can see the rubble of the burned buildings. What a shame. I can't help but shake my head.

I take a carrot out of my pocket that I had slipped from the stable and give it to Stella once I tie her up and my footsteps creak just like they always do on the steps to Griffin's Art Livin.

I knock on the door and when it's opened I almost faint because the person who stands on the opposite side is not Mr. Griffin but—

"AXIL!"

I run into his arms and squeeze the living day out of him. He fumbles back a bit and it takes him a moment to regain his balance. I feel his warm arms wrap around me and at this very moment I can breathe again.

The rumble of his laughter vibrates through me and tears pool in my eyes. I want to look at him, make sure he is okay but I can't bear to let go. I hug him ever tighter and let out my cries.

"It's okay," he whispers and strokes my head. "I'm so glad you're alright."

I finally look up at his ocean blue eyes and I know I look a wreck. Little flecks of dirt and paper-thin cuts cover his face, but he smiles like there is no tomorrow.

All of a sudden, I hear a whisper in my left ear, like a sister.

"Yeah, um... hey. I also haven't seen you in ages."

I laugh hysterically. "Crista."

I broaden my arms and hold her too. I've never felt Crista be so tense when I hugged her, and I realize that we were all living on a prayer just hoping the other was alive. She breathes out and her body falls limp.

"Thank you," I whisper and I don't care how crazy I sound.