"Diran, take the left!" Vikara yelled, jarring Nyxis from the battlements.

He clung to the stone as he heaved himself up. His vision spun as he peered down the battle. Vikara yelled in defiance, running to meet the Sugrarsask head on. The woman, with the painter alongside her, slammed into the animal. Black blood spewed. A piercing roar shook the walls.

The creature buckled and rowed. Vikara and Diran shouted, drawing the creature's attention away from something. Two figures in red cloaks ran towards another person lying on the ground where the Sugrarsask had just been.

Nyxis squinted at the splash of color and bark being hauled away. Was that...Reeca?

From high up, he watched the mages lay the varichria against the wall. Her forehead shone slick with blood, red mixing with the black covering her from the neck down. Hmm. Fairy blood mixed with Sugrarsask's? That's an area of exploration. Nyxis couldn't wait to try to brew that. Someday.

A cleret sank its teeth into Nyxis's boots. He kicked it away. Transformed animals always carry a bit of a grudge. Perhaps, Nyxis would turn them back later or if they're lucky, the spell would wear off on its own.

Vikara's scream followed by a whizzing sword rang through the battlefield. The Sugrarsask's head tore from its neck in a spray of black blood and landed with a roll on the grass. Tons of fur and headless flesh staggered with the wind before tumbling to the ground with a resounding thud. Silence.

The rebels cheered. Civil Knights edged away from the wall, no doubt relieved. Vikara moved to sheath her sword. Then, she tensed.

Nyxis whirled to the direction he observed the woman did. Adresin strode from behind a line of Civil Knights.

Nyxis's throat closed up. No. No one would harm his brother.

WIth a grunt, Nyxis jumped from the battlements and dashed to the ground. Wind drove his hair away from his forehead and stung his eyes. Grass drew closer. He extended his arms. His magic came in weak sputters. That would do.

"Hasten!" he screamed, the maxia spell biting his lips. Magic wrapped around his body and he sped forward, hovering a few distance from the ground. He tore through Knights and Rebels alike, keeping his eyes on Vikara and Diran stalking towards his brother from the opposite direction.

Adresin bellowed something to his Knights. He hadn't spotted Vikara weaving from the crowd. Nyxis gritted his teeth. Faster.

Vikara emerged from the haze of bodies and lunged. Nyxis slammed into his brother.

"What the—" Vikara cursed. Nyxis and Adresin tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs and golden armor.

Adresin shoved Nyxis off him just as Nyxis pushed his brother behind. Nyxis spread his arm as if to guard Adresin. His brother sputtered behind him.

"No harm comes to him," Nyxis glared at Vikara, doing his best to stay conscious. His magic had ebbed from his veins. How would he defend himself and save his brother? He didn't know. What mattered was that Nyxis had to save Adresin, the only family he had left, at whatever cost.

Perhaps, that's why he had stayed in the battlefield for as long as he did.

Vikara angled her sword towards Nyxis's chest. "Move aside, boy," she spat. "Or perish with him."

A feminine laugh echoed behind Nyxis. He whirled to find his brother standing with a grace fit for a Queen. His eyebrows met. Adresin acted like a barbarian. Not this...thing. A lazy smile spread through his brother's features.

"It is nice to watch brats prance around like minute clerets," the gentle, feminine voice pouring from Adresin's lips no longer his own. Nyxis edged back.

"Adresin?"

"Step away, now," Vikara hissed at Nyxis. "He has been possessed."

Possessed? Spirits?

Vikara faced Adresin. "Who are you?"

Adresin's blank, humorless eyes flicked to Nyxis before settling on Vikara. "Som gol fe Peredeira," he said in a tongue that Nyxis didn't recognize. Then, he put his hand over his chest. "Or in your tongue, I am the Heiress."

Vikara inhaled sharply. Nyxis whirled to her with a question thick in his lips. What was the Heiress? An Heiress to what?

"Are you in this boy all along?" Vikara snarled.

Adresin-slash-the-Heiress snorted. "This body is merely a vessel. This fool unwittingly gave it to me when he pledged his soul to Cardovia," they cleared their throat. "As much as I want to talk to you, this weak body's time is limited. Forgive me, but haste is essential."

Before Nyxis could open his mouth, the Heiress spread Adresin's hands. "Viante fe chistatel sekrate!"

Nobody bothered translating.

The air howled and dropped notches colder. Dark swirls blinked in the sky, tinging it into a hue closer to night. From the swirls, hands, feet and heads stepped through. Five. Twenty. A hundred.

Nyxis's throat closed up as people dressed in black from head to toe touched down on the grass. They gathered around the Heiress and drew their weapons. The glints that reflected the sunlight told Nyxis enough. Dwarven metal.

"Arms!" Vikara raised her sword to the air. "To me!"

The battle renewed.

Bodies pushed Nyxis away from his brother as both sides clashed. Swordsmen from Vikara's army clashed with blank-faced Knights. Mages traded magical blows against the black-clad warriors. Blood drained from Nyxis's face. Adresin. He had to save his brother.

Just one soul would be enough. Please.

Someone plowed straight through him. Nyxis's cheek hit the ground as he stumbled. He rolled away before feet trampled him over. His legs shook but he forced himself to run. Clouds hung on his vision, creeping and threatening to fog over his thoughts. He shook his head.

He ran. Past hissing spells, slashing swords, and aggressive grunts. Where was Adresin? There. At the foot of the eastern tower by the first wall. Locked in battle with Vikara.

Nyxis's throat closed up. No. This wasn't how it's supposed to be.

"Adresin!" Nyxis called.

His brother turned to him. Recognition passed in the green eyes that they shared. "Help me..." he mouthed to Nyxis. Fear flashed in his features. Nyxis has to help him.

Then, Adresin's face seized. His neck twisted in a grotesque way before settling back to their usual, cocked stance. Nyxis narrowed his eyes. Adresin's face was frozen in a lazy smile.

"Fighting is futile," Adresin sneered. The Heiress's voice tingled in Nyxis's ears like parasitic chimes. He raised his hand towards Nyxis. The action took Nyxis back to a similar time. Somewhere in this Palace. His muscles tensed and locked. Not again...

The air turned notches colder. Magic sparked in his brother's palms. "Time is up, boy."

"Not yet, you hag!"

Nyxis was thrown backwards as shards of glass erupted in a ring around Adresin. He skidded against the grass, his shoulder taking the brunt of the impact. What—? Diran's face popped up on the edge of Nyxis's vision. He felt his body getting dragged back.

Up ahead, Adresin stood in the midst of the shards, red blood dripping from numerous cuts on his face and neck. His gold armor bore several metal-deep scratches. He was panting.

Nyxis dragged his eyes towards a figure encased with a ring of faint light floating on the air using transparent wings that tinkled like glass with every flap. White, billowy dress flew with the wind as the figure moved her arms in a series of movements.

Glass formed in huge blocks out of thin air and the figure lunged. Adresin raised his hand and from the ground rose icicles made from ice. Shattering noises ensued as ice slammed with glass.

Diran dropped Nyxis to where Reeca was leaning against the wall. "Stay here," Diran ordered before turning away and jogging back to the battlefield. Grunts, metal clashing, and animals braying filled Nyxis's ears as he turned to Reeca beside him.

"Nice day for a slice, eh?" Reeca grinned. Her eyes were half-closed.

Nyxis could only nod.

Glass and ice slammed into each other. The winged figure wove through icicles spearing for them. Some icicles hit Knights, Mages, and Shadowers alike. Adresin cackled as he raised his arms again and again, the ice dancing to his whim.

Then, one of the sharp icicles slammed into the winged figure. Red sprayed as the figure tumbled to the ground. Pale blond hair spilled from the dying light around the figure. Nyxis's eyes widened. It's a woman. A woman who looked oddly familiar.

Adresin grinned and lunged at the fallen woman.

Nadia's voice echoed through the grounds. "The Queen is dead!"

Adresin paused and the woman sprang forward. Nyxis sucked in a breath as the woman slammed Adresin to the ground and began drawing a sword. He stood shakily. No.

The Heiress's laugh filled his ears.

"I admit defeat, General," the Heiress addressed the woman choking Adresin. "This is only the beginning. We will meet again."

Ice crumbled. Shadowers—as Nyxis preferred to call them—spread their hands in the air, summoning the dark swirls in the air once more. Nyxis watched them step through it like a portal. Soon, they were gone the same way they appeared.

The blond woman stood up. Nyxis squinted against the throbbing in his temples. Adresin wasn't moving. His heart sank when the woman turned to him and shook her head.

Nyxis fell against the wall. Tears stung his eyes. No.

Adresin was gone.

"Knights," the woman called in a commanding voice. "Surrender or die!"

A sea of gold swam in his vision as Knights clamored to throw their weapons and armor down. The clang of metal added into the growing weight in Nyxis's chest.

He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. A single tear broke through and slid down his cheek. He let it drop to the grass in a quiet thump.

It's over.

He was alone. Truly.