Alründ:

Alründ peered up at the sun gleaming through the trees, unable to believe it was midday already. When he'd arrived on the planet Lumirion three hours before, Lücan had dropped Alründ into the wilderness and fled back to Earth. Alründ might have been on a mission to find three rare flowers, but he was in no hurry. Traipsing through the forest, Lumirion was like stepping into a memory of the planet he'd lost years before, and his heart ached at its beauty.

He breathed in the rainforest air, watching bird-like creatures soar overhead like oversized fireflies. Green forest was everywhere, and thin rivers crisscrossed the land like veins stemming from its heart. No matter which direction Alründ walked, his gaze was held captive by the largest, most vibrant flowers imaginable, and flowers so small that he'd spent most of the morning squinting, just so he could admire their unusual patterns.

The Lumirions guarded their flowers like treasures and, until today, Lücan was the only outsider granted access to the most precious flowers in the universe. In exchange, he had been protecting Lumirion with a golden net over their planet for millions of years. They owed him big time. Alründ wasn't sure why he'd now been set the task. A final punishment to end his three-month banishment? Not that it felt like a punishment. Lücan had encouraged Alründ to form an alliance with the Lumirions, and that if he could earn their trust by day's end he would be passed the responsibility of collecting the flowers in times to come. Maybe it was as simple as Lücan being tired. Chasing two reapers back and forth across the universe had to be exhausting.

Then he saw it...a peoré rose nestled in the hollow of a tree. The rose was as large as his palm and as soft as crushed silk, each white petal dusted with a lilac edge. Alründ knelt to the ground and gathered some of the surrounding dirt in one hand, then wrapped his fingers around the stem. He thought of Ash. When she wasn't on Earth her blonde ringlets transformed into these very same flowers, but vines of them. As for her red ringlets that became tiny red blossoms, he'd never seen such flowers in the wild. The peoré rose looked as innocent as the girl he knew, and he couldn't bring himself to take it.

Alründ bowed his head in respect to the flower, then whispered, "Forgive me." He snapped the rose from its stem. As he cupped it in his hand, a light energy spread though his palm and moved like water through his fingers, flowing up his arm and through every cell of his body. Any ache he had from training yesterday vanished. He had more energy than he knew what to do with, but he rose slowly, careful not to hurt a single petal. Opening his satchel, he retrieved a carved box. Following Lücan's instructions, Alründ sprinkled some of the dirt inside and laid the flower upon it. Just as he was closing the lid, he sensed Lücan's presence on the outskirts of his mind.

Lücan's voice sounded strained, Alründ, return to Lyssian's castle at once.

But I have only acquired the peoré rose. Your list requests two more—

The other flowers can wait. Be steadfast in your flight. I will be waiting.

Alründ wasted no time in releasing his wings. He pushed off from the forest floor, beating his wings hard as he weaved through vines and branches. As he broke above the canopy of leaves and into the sunlight, he flew east. It wasn't long before the forest was pocketed with small villages of gleaming stone houses that reflected the sun like mirrors. Blurs of colored light moved through the streets, and Alründ realized he was seeing the inhabitants of the village. Lumirions were strange beings. They were human in shape, but formed of light, easily mistaken as ghosts trapped between life and death. Alründ had been corrected of that fact upon his arrival this morning. The queen of Lumirion had sensed Alründ's skepticism the second he'd set foot onto the steps of her dais.

Looking back on it now, his smile had been too arrogant, but it had been hard to take the lady on the throne seriously. She was ageless, her face a blur of pale light and penetrating blue eyes. She'd looked like a heavenly ghost with her blond hair threaded around her crown and her gown flowing like water over the steps. At the time, Alründ couldn't see how she could be classified as alive. Queen Lyssian's smile had twisted sourly and she'd skipped the introductions, demanding that Alründ tune into her heartbeat that very moment. The Queen was most definitely alive, and displeased with her guest.

Alründ had been flying for almost an hour when his wings began to beat tiredly. His spirit spun uncomfortably when he spied the enormous stone steps that surrounded Queen Lyssian's castle. The stone slabs and pillars of the castle were so shiny they looked like silver, and Alründ was forced to shield his eyes as he flew closer. At the pinnacle of the castle, light streamed out from a large glass dome, while a second glass dome drew streams of light from all corners of the planet. Alründ was still trying to puzzle out the mystery of the light when he flew through the pillared entrance of the castle. He landed running and was only a minute inside the domed hallways when he felt a pure spirit he knew all too well.

Ash is here.

His hearts accelerated and he chased after her spirit, letting it lead him. He barely gave pause to the glass ceilings or the statues of the twelve Fates that lined the rooms, or the gold painted engravings that lined the hallways as he ran. It was a thankless task anyway—he'd tried reading those particular Lumirion symbols when he'd arrived and had only deciphered the first five. From what he had worked out, it was an origin story of the war between The Fates, and he doubted this version would enlighten him further.

Out of breath, Alründ rounded hallway after hallway until he burst into a darkened room of mossy walls overrun with vines and wild flowers. Sunlight peered through the glassless windows, and the wind captured the scent of the gardens outside. In the middle of the room was Ash, resting on a stone slab that was engraved with Lumirion symbols. If Alründ hadn't felt her spirit he would have thought she was dead. Running to her side, he traced the curve of her face. She was so pale, so still. Tearing his gaze from her, he startled when Lücan stepped from a shadowy corner.

"What has happened?" Alründ asked.

"Keenan happened. He tried to communicate with Ash during school today. The shock of his voice, along with her true name, proved too much. She collapsed. Will brought her straight to me, but there was nothing I could do except study her mind. I discovered that moments before she lost consciousness she remembered everything—her entire life in a few short seconds. Her mind is still trying to make sense of it all, and while she is in this state she has become impervious to any telepathic adjustments on my part."

"You're saying there is nothing we can do?" Alründ asked. "I don't believe that."

Lücan sighed. "And I believe we must wait."

"For what?" Alründ asked, close to shouting. "A miracle? What if she never wakes?"

Lücan spun Alründ from Ash, his eyes glowing a golden-brown he was so angry. "Let us hope for a miracle. It's all I have, all you have. That, and the peoré rose you retrieved earlier."

Alründ's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't understand what the rose had to do with anything, but he pulled the box from his satchel and passed it to Lücan. The Head Sepheri's spirit began to calm as he removed the peoré rose and laid it upon Ash's heart.

Alründ stared down at her properly for the first time. She was in a gown of dusty pink that showed her pale arms. Her lips were slightly parted, her eyelids soft, and her heart-shaped face was all too angelic, making this tragedy all the more gut-wrenching. He was about to look away when beads of golden light glistened within her skin and began moving ceaselessly over her face and body. Some of the ringlets draped around her face began to twist and change texture. Ringlets that had been golden-white transformed into vines of peoré, and the red ringlets rippled into tiny red blossoms over her silky brown hair. He could smell the perfume of her hair from where he stood and he breathed it in.

This is how Ash is meant to smell. It brought back memories of when they were children, when the flowers in their hair were on full display. Then later, when he'd held her in his arms. That had been two years ago now.

"I need you to keep watch over her," Lücan said. "I will be paying a visit to Keenan, and I cannot say how long it will be until my return."

Alründ nodded, knowing a meeting with the reaper could last days, or weeks. "I will not leave her side."

"Good, as you will be her only guard."

Alründ frowned. "I think it would be wise to bring Will or one of the Elders."

"The Elders are needed elsewhere. As for Will and Sasha, they are making memory adjustments to Ash's classmates and the teachers as we speak. In the days to come, their assignments will be to keep watch over Marianne and David."

"Isn't that Jasper's task?"

Lücan shook his head. "Jasper will be returning to Lyrethan  tomorrow. For a few days, at least. He needs to be close to his family now that all attempts to retrieve his father have failed."

Alründ might not have always seen eye-to-eye with Jasper, but he was glad that Jasper would be going home. The singer had been unusually quiet since his father had been taken. Will hadn't been faring much better. Now this... "How is Will taking Ash's collapse?"

"Not well. If it were up to Will, he would be here guarding Ashala."

"Then why isn't he?"

"As you know, Will still has difficulties protecting his mind." He sent Alründ a harsh look. Alründ knew exactly what Lücan was referring to—the moment when Keenan had learned Ash's true name and Alründ had also revealed her face.

"It won't happen again," Alründ bit out.

"No one must know Ashala's location," Lücan insisted. "Not our fellow Sepheri, not a soul. I cannot risk Keenan pulling that kind of information from their thoughts. If Keenan were to touch Ash's mind in this state, the damage might be irreparable."

"Might I ask where the other Sepheri think she is?"

"On Lyrethan —in a hidden location. The only other beings in the universe who know Ashala's whereabouts are the Lumirions in this castle and The Fates themselves. Let us keep it that way. Yes?"

Alründ bowed his head, accepting the task before him.

Lücan placed a hand on Alründ's shoulder. "Work on Ashala's mind and protect it from Keenan at all costs. Bring her back to us if you can."

Looking down at the unmoving form of Ash, Alründ almost laughed at the impossible request. "And why do you think I can achieve such a feat?"

"I thought that would have been obvious, despite my feelings on the matter." Lücan released Alründ's shoulder and was gone a second later.

Alründ knelt on the floor beside Ash, not daring to enter her mind. He had a different plan to Lücan's, one that would cost him greatly. Picking up Ash's hand, he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. The silver gildé beads within his skin began to rush and tingle, some racing across her skin, moving in an uneven dance with her gildé beads of gold.

Feeling her familiar tingles of sunlight across his skin, he pulled his lips from her hand at once, praying he was wrong. Gildé beads were travelling back and forth across their hands. He'd only meant to impart his gildé, but he was taking some of Ash's life beads in the process. She needed them now more than anything.

Focusing his mind, he let his gildé flow across her skin while pushing hers away. There was no change. Spirit waning, he rested his forehead against her shoulder. Alründ didn't know how long he stayed like that. Nor did he know when the first gildé crossed from his forehead to her shoulder, or when his hand went numb in hers. But he never moved, never shut his eyes, even as the sanctuary grew dark and dawn rose again. When Lücan returned Alründ was slumped against the stone slab, blinking away sleep, his head still resting on Ash's shoulder, her hand clasped in his.

Lücan pulled the young Sepheri to his feet, steadying him. "What have you done?"

Alründ was about to protest about being separated from Ash when the room whooshed before his eyes. Stumbling, he fell to the ground and collapsed onto his back. His vision shifted in and out of focus. "As you instructed," he murmured. "I was trying to bring her back."

"Not like this! I never said this! You could have died!"

Sitting up, Alründ laughed. It sounded a bit hysterical even to his own ears, but he was in no mind to care on such things.

"Do you not know it is impossible to heal a starkeeper with gildé beads unless you are bound to them?" Lücan shouted.

"Then why is she healing all of a sudden? Check her spirit, her mind, Lücan, and tell me if I'm lying?"

Lücan closed his eyes to read Ash's mind. His gaze flew to Alründ the next second. "I don't know whether to thank you or punish you. Honestly!" He paced the room, raking back his hair. "Were you aware that you and Ash had formed a starbond?"

Alründ smiled tightly. "I suspected. Only recently."

"Now she is bound to two boys! That shouldn't be possible. I'm guessing that the more her spirit separates into these partial bonds, the weaker she becomes. At this rate, she will never be as strong as Keenan."

"Then let Ash and I finish the bond. Let us be together."

"No. Will's bond with Ash is the stronger of the two."

How could my bond with Ash not be enough? And shouldn't she be able to choose?

Crawling over to her, Alründ used the edge of the slab to push himself to his feet. That's when he saw her eyelids tense, as if caught in a bad dream. Hearing her whimper, Alründ and Lücan delved into her mind, then looked at each other in fear. It seemed that no amount of protection could stop Keenan, not when she knew her real name.