"Marin, the word is contain!" Xanthy yelled. Footsteps other than theirs echoed behind them. The dark, if possible, went deeper. "Aim behind us and cast!"

"Contain!" Marin shouted. A blast of white light sheared a path through the darkness until it slammed into something. Grunts and curses ensued. Xanthy leaned against the wall with her chest heaving. Her forehead was slick with sweat. Her world spun. She wasn't thinking straight.

They deviated from the path Xanthy remembered. Xanthy didn't know where they were or how would they ever get out of the tunnels. Doomed. They're so doomed.

How did their pursuants find them?

"Give us some light, Marin," Xanthy rested her head against the wall. June was dead weight beside her.

Marin nodded. "Call," the girl chanted. An array of bright orbs formed from Marin's open palm and floated into the air. Xanthy's temples throbbed at the explosion of light even though it was soft enough to not blind her. She blinked.

Xanthy glanced to her right to see Marin's containment spell had formed a transparent box of barriers around two more men clad in black. Who were these people? Why would they bother chasing three children across dark, dusty tunnels?

Unless...

Vikara's words flashed back into head. People are going to be coming after you and your power. The human mentioned the rival of Synketros. Could it be that these people were from...

Cardovia? Heiress?

It couldn't be.

"What do we do with them?" Marin asked, jerking her chin at the men pounding against her spell. Muffled voices of aggression rang from the inside.

Xanthy sighed, pushing herself off the wall and wincing when pain bit at her ankle again. She fixed her hold of June. He groaned against her neck. "Leave them," she began limping forward. "Come on."

Marin pursed her lips and followed. Xanthy's heartbeat had been on her throat since the moment they entered that surprise doorway. Now, not only didn't she know where they were but she got two dudes on her tail who might be working for Vikara's enemy organization and a friend who could bleed to death any time. Not to mention a busted ankle and the fact that she couldn't access her magic.

Xanthy chewed the inside of her cheek. As they walked, as the pain tormented her every step, she summoned her magic again. Like all the other times she tried, she was met with cold and a dark void in her soul.

Queen's britches.

A groan rang from behind Xanthy. She turned just in time to see Marin clutching her head. In the soft light, Xanthy noted the girl's pale lips and sweaty neck.

"I could not hold the containment spell longer," Marin shook her head and wiped at her sweat. Her chest heaved, taking in huge breaths. "Reserves too low."

Xanthy nodded. Inwardly, she cursed. She made Marin use magic when she didn't even ask how much reserves the girl had. Way to go, Xanthy. "Let go," she turned behind her expecting to find the black-clad men. They were alone for a whole corridor and a corner. Perhaps, they manage to lose them. "It is alright."

Marin exhaled. "Release containment," she whispered. Nothing noteworthy happened. Then, June's legs buckled underneath him. Xanthy's heart stopped.

"Hey, June," Xanthy called. She set him down on the ground and pried his tunic up. Blood continued to flow from a seep, swollen cut along his ribs. Oh, gods.

"Marin," Xanthy swallowed against the lump growing on her throat. "The word is rectify."

Marin scoffed. "I am out of magic—"

"Now!" Xanthy screamed. Marin flinched.

Oh.

Xanthy averted her gaze and pressed her hands against June's wound. It didn't matter if his blood stained her fingers. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Tears stung her eyes and she didn't wipe them away. "Just...help me. Please."

Marin crouched and laid her hand against Xanthy's. "Rectify," the girl whispered. Xanthy exhaled in relief as light poured from Marin's fingers and wrapped around June's skin.

Then, Marin withdrew her hand and the wound was still there. If anything, it started bleeding faster. Xanthy's eyes widened. "I don't understand. Why..."

"You can't heal this," came June's sputtering reply. He curled into a fetal position with a groan. "Dwarven metal. It resists magic."

"Don't talk," Xanthy snapped. "Save your strength."

June snorted. "I won't make it out," he shook his head against the ground. "Leave me."

A stone dropped in Xanthy's gut. She scowled. "Not a chance," she hissed. "You'll come with me."

June's eyelids fluttered shut. He chuckled softly. "Thought so."

His body fell limp.

Xanthy called his name. Once. Twice. He didn't move.

"Xanthy, where to?" Marin asked, glancing behind them. Shadows bearing the likeness of the men chasing them edged from the corner they just turned.

"Kill the lights," Xanthy ordered. She hefted June and herself up, ignoring the flare of pain shooting up her ankle. "Come on."

The footsteps behind them came alive.

It dawned on Nyxis why no one had used spells until now.

Spells rained in a torrent at the Knights surrounding them, a bald woman named Nadia at the lead. From the corner of Nyxis's vision, one of the twins grunted as he pulled his brother out of the battlefield. The Knights scattered, most cowering under the hail of unexpected spells.

Nadia touched down on the grass, followed by at least a hundred spellcasters dressed in red cloaks. All had their heads shaved. Reeca growled and drew a sword from who knows where. She lunged at the nearest Knight and tackled him to the ground.

Horns resounded from inside the walls. Red cloaks cheered. Sparks of magic casted turned the sky into a light show and the air into an electric sphere. Nyxis ducked as counterspells from the Civil Knights whizzed and hit the ground. Explosions rang across the field. Grass hissed as they burned. Screams peppered the plain.

One mage crashed against Nyxis. His world spun as his chest hit the compact soil. He pushed the body off him. Then. his heart stopped. He might have yelped, too.

A crossbow beam sprouted from the mage's forehead. Blood caked and pooled. The mage's face was forever frozen mid-scream. Nyxis glimpsed the fear reflected in the mage's dilated pupils. Nausea gripped his senses. Oh, he would hurl.

"Nyxis! A little help!" Reeca shouted from a distance. Nyxis looked up just as the varichria parried a beam aimed for her.

Atop the walls, crossbows grunted, swinging in all directions as the marksmen manning them reloaded and fired. Over again. Nyxis glanced back at the fallen mage. His fists clenched. This has to stop.

"I will handle the walls!" Nyxis yelled at no one. He dashed towards the gates being manned by a group of armored Knights.

"Hey, remember me?" Nyxis clapped his hands together and out came forks of magical energy. The spell burned in his mind as his magic struck the Knights. They went rigid. Their bodies dropped to the ground like stone dolls. One even slumped against the winch mounted on the ground. Awesome. This spell would be Nyxis's new favorite.

A flash of silver came too late to Nyxis. He bit down on his tongue and squeezed his eyes shut. Someone yanked him backward. Metal clanged as two weapons clashed above Nyxis's head. Oh, gods.

"Do not close your eyes in battle, boy," one of the twins hissed. This must be Viktir. Rough fingers bunched Nyxis's collar. Vikrtir growled and pushed a Civil Knight back. "Get us through that gate. I will cover you."

Nyxis nodded, mum. His heart didn't stop pounding.

Together, they ran through the gate leading through the first wall. Nyxis unleashed a bolt of magic against the chains, snapping it. The gate gave a grating hiss as it slammed into the ground without the pulleys holding it up. Nyxis extended his hands forward.

"Ketaran tuhotrefo!" He yelled.

His magic flared off his palms. The curse slammed into the gate and exploded in a shower of splinters. Nyxis nodded at Vikrtir. Together, they leaped over melted metal alloys and fallen chunks of rocks from the Palace walls.

Inside, a line of Civil Guards trained flintlocks at them. Nyxis swiped his arm in a wide arc. The wind howled, following his magic. It rammed into the Knights, driving them off their feet. Nyxis slid backward and his back slammed against the wall. Metal crunched as Nyxis slid down, wheezing.

"Up," Viktir yanked Nyxis up using his collar again. Nyxis scowled. He wished Viktir to stop doing that. It's annoying.

Nyxis braced the wall and staggered forward. He should never touch elemental escuira until he died. It consumed way too much of his reserves.

Just as quickly, the felled Civil Knights snapped to their feet and charged. Viktir pushed nYxis behind him. "Do your thing," Viktir grunted, swinging his sword against a barrel pointed at him. "I will handle it here."

Nyxis nodded and onward, he sped. His legs pumped against the grass. The leftmost tower loomed closer.

A spell whizzed for his head. He ducked and rolled aside. The spot of grass where he had just been erupted in a geyser of soil and light. His breath hitched. Get up.

Viktir's defiant screams and the ring of his sword faded behind Nyxis only to be replaced by new sounds. Reeca whizzed past him, locked in battle with a Civil Knight while trading blows and parries. Nadia's shrill, commanding voice rang through the battlefield. "Come on, you mongrels! Those Knights will not fry themselves!"

Great.

Nyxis reached the base of the tower and was met by two Civil Guards. Not Knights. Huh. He ducked the first swing of a sword and tackled the other on his way forward. Magic flared off his palms and both guards dropped to the ground, their armor charred and smoking.

Ketaran Karkazistis. Beats the oshella brew.

Nyxis yanked the tower's door open. Stairs swirled up, lining the walls of the tower in a neat array. A smile crept to Nyxis's lips as he moved to tackle the stairs. There was once a time when he would hide from his tutors by climbing towers. Ah, good times, those were.

As if in a flash, Nyxis was pushing open the door to the highest point of the tower. The walls' walkway greeted him along with about two dozen marksmen dressed in light armor. Nyxis's heart leaped to his throat, propelling him forward.

"Ketaran Parivartala!" he screamed. Curses were harder to embody with just thoughts. That's why Nyxis preferred them. The other reason was that they were stronger.

His magic rippled into the air in waves and slammed into every marksman visible to Nyxis. Blue plumes erupted in the air in a loud puff. When the right afternoon breeze blew past, the fog cleared to reveal two dozen clerets scampering in panic.

Nyxis grinned and stepped forward. The world spun and his knees buckled. He collapsed against a crenelation as his vision sharpened and blurred. His chest constricted, forcing him to gasp for air and wheeze like a dying man. Well, given how spent his reserves were, perhaps, he's bound to die soon, too.

He gritted his teeth and sidestepped the clerets gnashing their twin frontal teeth at him. He slammed his hand against the first crossbow aimed at the ongoing battle below. "Fasilez Rukea Lismero!"

The crossbow crumpled into itself with a grating noise. Wood snapped, wires twanged, and metal snapped. WIth a swipe of his arm, he sent the spell forward, to carry on doing the same thing until it ran out of crossbows to destroy.

Explosions faded in his ears as he slumped against the cold stone of the battlement. Was the sun dimming? He wasn't sure. His arms turned to steel. He couldn't feel his legs.

Oh, he used too much.

Then, his senses snapped awake when a loud roar echoed from the east. It was a sound he had grown up accustomed to but would never be less terrifying for him. Adresin has lost his brains. Why was he bringing it out now?

Rudik's buttcheeks.