Dinner that night was held on the center quadrant. Rations were distributed consisting of one fairy potion each. Those who couldn't survive on potions alone were offered fruits and preserved meat that their foragers managed to bring back.

Xanthy sat beside June to her left and Nyxis to her right. On Nyxis's right sat someone she didn't know.

The girl has dark blue hair bobbed up to her chin. Her sharp, dark orange eyes darted around the camp. Tan arms and legs were tensed as if she couldn't find herself at home in the fortress. Her bare feet touched the soil without hesitation as if her soles and the earth were one and comfortable with each other. Her armor lay discarded at the back of the bench so she wore only a tight tunic and riding trousers which showed off her...curves.

Xanthy had yet to ask Nyxis who the girl was, where she was from, and why she was with him. But, upon arriving at Penleth, she studied the girl and her trail. It only got more interesting from there. From the battle, Xanthy caught a glimpse of the girl summoning at least four elements with control meant only for the sprites. No sprite could control elements outside their own synnavaim so how come this girl could do it without much effort?

Around them, soldiers and other workers mingled like old friends. Some talked about the battle earlier with hushed tones. Some mourned for their fallen friends. Others talked animatedly about the flying island and the explosions. Xanthy smiled even though there's a guilty pit gnawing at her stomach.

If only she had arrived earlier, they wouldn't even be needing to cut a space off the inner quadrant for makeshift Temples to honor the dead. Moreover, the way April and the Heiress's army slaughtered them in cold blood...

Speaking of April, the Lantegian heir was tied to a tree trunk Eldan grew in the middle of the center quadrant. Even if April tried uprooting it with her magic, as June could witness to, she would still have to figure out how to escape the bonds Xanthy placed upon her magic. In the outside world, one wouldn't survive a day without it.

April was offered a fairy potion and a slice of bread but the air sprite snarled at the poor server. Everyone shrugged and let her be. It's not like the Heiress would mount a rescue operation against Penleth for the Imperial princess. That's just how the Heiress worked. If one finishes being useful, she discards them.

Like what happened to Kymalin, who now sat beside the Peltran heir, Canelis, both quiet and looking everywhere but at each other. Xanthy found the Carleon heir in Brittlewood awaiting a death sentence. Xanthy didn't need to assume the Heiress tossed the banshee there after the consequent "failures" with her missions.

Xanthy did stop Reeca from lunging at the banshee the moment they saw each other. The varichria still hasn't forgiven Xanthy for stopping her nor Kymalin from deceiving her.

Not that Xanthy had forgiven Reeca for all she did, either. They still haven't talked about what happened in terms of the trailcloaker incident in Lanteglos. The one that not only exposed all the thrones' locations but also endangered Xanthy, June, and Nyxis while they're fleeing the Junction City with the whole Seelie Court after them.

Xanthy understood Reeca's reasons for doing that but what she couldn't accept was that the varichria had to lie to her about the trailcloaker. Xanthy hated being lied to the most so it's...difficult. Their rift was noticeable by everyone. It's either that or the people were favoring Xanthy just because she's tamer compared to Reeca.

Not that she was entirely tame.

Either way, Xanthy had never spoken to Reeca aside from discussing details to turn this war into their favor. The varichria was now seated beside her brother, Rhys, along with Elred and her mother, Anahel.

Geradine and her old friends consisting of Eldan, Airese, and Airene stood in a hazy circle at one corner of the quadrant, deep in discussion. They didn't look like they're arguing but judging from the frowns, the set tones, and the grim expressions, it didn't look like they're discussing what's for dinner tomorrow either.

The sprites, Nelnifa, Seravel, and Ariden, were talking to Jonadrin as they took small swigs from their potion vials like they're in a tavern. As soon as Seravel and Ariden saw Nelnifa, their eyes softened and they couldn't have gone faster to embrace the Desaran heir. Then, they started talking about the things that happened to them from the last time they met. It's...heartwarming and something she hasn't seen in a long, long time.

When they all go their separate ways after the war, who among these would go back to check up on Xanthy? She never knew nor spared a thought about it until now.

Around her, chatter rose and fell. Laughter rippled in the air and relief was so heavy around the camp Xanthy could almost feel it upon her shoulders. It's as if the collective thought of everyone around her was, I can't believe we survived another day.

Xanthy thought so, as well. If not for the curious turn of events, Xanthy wouldn't even find herself to be in here much less be at her friends' side, leading a war against two of the most powerful individuals currently terrorizing the island.

If not for Vikara, rather, Elred, finding her and telling her everything about herself, she wouldn't have had the adventures and memories she had. Moreover, if not for June crashing into her house that day...she wouldn't have known the world with him.

"Hey, you're smiling like crazy. It scares me," Nyxis elbowed her.

Her line of thought snapped and scattered like a thousand freed butterflies. She rolled her eyes. "What, I can't smile anymore?"

Nyxis snorted. "Did I say that?" he tapped his chin and acted like he's thinking. "No, I didn't."

Xanthy scoffed. "You basically implied—" her eyes widened. "Wait, you're speaking Keijula?"

"Yeah, why?" Nyxis's eyebrows met. Even June leaned over with a curious look. "What's so bad about it?"

Xanthy's jaw fell. "H-how are you doing that?" she wagged a finger in his face. "Is that a spell o-or a...?"

Nyxis smiled and pulled his hair lower to his face. Since when did he start doing that? He always liked to show his marvelous face every chance he got. Something's changed. "What?" he asked in an amused tone when he saw Xanthy looking at him in expectation. Finally, he sighed. "Denara and I are bonded."

Something struck inside Xanthy at the term. "Bonded? I don't get it."

"That's what Eldan was saying to me back then," Nyxis jerked his chin at her father's direction. "There's a way to unlock a human's synnavaim."

When did that talk even happen? Why didn't Xanthy know about this?. "And that's...bonding?"

"With another member of the fallen race, yes," Nyxis jabbed his thumb in Denara's direction. "Only then will we unlock our synnavaimis and be what we could have been had our race not fallen."

Xanthy blinked. Her mind whirled as questions popped here and there. "You didn't even tell me how you survived that fall," she said. "You told me you were just lucky."

The girl, Denara, snorted. Xanthy leaned to the side to stare at the girl. Denara ducked her head. "You have something to say?" Xanthy prodded.

Denara raised her head and pursed her lips to hide her amusement. "That's what he told you?" Her voice was deep and not at all something Xanthy heard from somewhere. Even her accent was something Xanthy didn't recognize. "Nyxis, I'm hurt."

Nyxis's ears reddened. He braced his hands on his knees. "I just didn't want to alarm everyone about the fact that there's a hidden race of nymphs living in caves who happened to be very pretty and nursed people who fell to their deaths," he turned to Xanthy. "Besides, she was kind of just coming to from being trapped in that chalice so I had to take it easy. There's not much room to talk about the past when you've got the future to worry about, you know?"

"So, not only did you stray from your mission, but you actually went back to the cave?" Xanthy asked and Nyxis bobbed his head. She bit her lip. "And you...uh, did that."

"Did what?" Nyxis raised both his eyebrows.

Heat fanned Xanthy's face. Nyxis chuckled as he shrugged and spread his arms. "So now, here I am."

"What did you two even turn out to be?" June asked. His tone was a little bit hesitant and clipped.

Xanthy glanced at Nyxis and sensed the tension between the two boys. What had happened when she was gone for it to be like this? Then, Nyxis just laughed and opened his palm. A single snowflake formed seemingly from out of nowhere.

Xanthy raised an eyebrow. "An ice sprite? Wow." She glanced at a group of ice sprites in light blue armor chatting about the Heiress by the gates. "And you, Denara?"

"Sprite," Denara took a swig from her vial. "All of them, it turns out."

Oh. No wonder she was so confused when she peered at Denara's trail and when Xanthy saw her channeling all four sprite elements like it's nothing. In fact, after everything she had learned, she figured out she has one reaction to everything—Oh.

What should she react with other than that, anyway? This was a world of magic and wonder. Of course, anything was possible and she shouldn't expect anything less. "In that case," Xanthy cleared her throat. "Congratulations."

Nyxis hummed and cocked his head at her. "Congratulations to you, too."

Blood rose to Xanthy's cheeks. "How did you—"

"It's written all over your trail, genius," Nyxis rolled his eyes before laughing. "I'm sure lover boy over there is doing all he can to keep from bursting into tears and dancing like a Festival mascot."

Nyxis jutted his chin towards June. Xanthy snorted and turned to the half-blood. "Are you really contemplating doing that?"

"Don't believe everything Nyxis says," June cast a cautious look at Nyxis who just shrugged. Then, he smiled for real. "He's just jealous."

This time, Nyxis was the one who blushed. Like crazy. Denara turned to Nyxis with narrowed eyes. "Care to explain?"

"Oh, uh..." Nyxis gulped while scratching the back of his neck. "I, uh..."

"He used to like Xanthy," June interjected rather jovially, shattering the illusion. Denara turned to Nyxis with an apprehensive glare. Xanthy, herself, wanted to wilt then and there. Yes, Nyxis liked her but after they talked about it, they decided they'd be nothing more than friends.

Yes. Friends. That's more than what Xanthy needed from him, anyway. Her heart already belonged to someone else. Someone who just happened to get there first and didn't seem to be going away any time soon. Besides, even Xanthy couldn't explain it but somehow, she knew June was the one and Nyxis...wasn't.

Nyxis was fine with that.

"...and I was fine with it, really," Nyxis was explaining to Denara. "You don't have to worry about that."

The sprite rolled her shoulders and finished her potion. "Okay."

"Let me just ask, uh, Denara," Xanthy put her hands together. "Where are you from?"

Denara's gaze became unfocused. "Ganapora," she said after a while. "But in the past years I lived in a cave."

"Ganapora? Where was that?" Xanthy racked her mind for a place with such a name.

"It got washed out of the harbor when I was about three hundred," Denara waved her hand. "Then I got rooted to a cave after the War."

"I'm sorry," Xanthy leaned closer that she was almost halfway through Nyxis's lap. "What war?"

"The war," Denara blinked. "Or at least you aboveground dwellers call it the hundred years' war."

That statement alone proved a lot of things about Denara and Nyxis. The Hundred Years' War. If Denara was alive from that time period, that would make her...a thousand years old. More than. Xanthy couldn't grasp that concept for now so she drew back and squeaked out, "Oh."

Nyxis chuckled. "It's a lot to take in, I know," he splayed his hands in the air. "I'm just the same as you when we first met."

Xanthy could imagine so. "Did you at least get the thrones?"

At the mention of the thrones, they were immediately pulled out from the jovial mood and were dumped into a pile of smoking grim. "Yeah, we did," Nyxis glanced to where the Alkaran heir was now talking to Trix the mechanic. "Cyrdel had it in his belt."

Cyrdel...

Xanthy hadn't talked to him the past three months and rightly so. After all, it's because of Xanthy that Ravalee, his one and only love, had to sacrifice her soul just to get Xanthy's back from the chalice. Xanthy didn't expect the brownie to forgive her that fast, not when she hadn't even apologized.

She hoped that bringing his memories which Ravalee ridiculously erased back would fix it but Cyrdel stopped talking to her after that. Even if they've spent time in the same quadrant, Cyrdel seemed miles away, perhaps with his Ravalee, wherever she was.

She felt someone squeeze her hand and she raised her eyes towards Nyxis. His green eyes held that softness Xanthy hadn't seen for such a long time. June and Denara fell silent beside them, both pretending the soil or their feet were such amazing sights.

"It's not your fault, Xanthy," Nyxis whispered.

"So everyone keeps telling me," Xanthy squeezed Nyxis's hand in return. "I don't know, Nyxis."

Nyxis pressed his lips in a thin, hard line. "I understood why you did it. You told me and I listened. I don't blame you or anyone that things turned out like this. Mostly, I blame myself."

Xanthy whipped towards him in shock. "What? You didn't do anything."

"I should have tried harder to stop you," Nyxis tapped his foot against the compact earth. "But knowing you, I guess I wouldn't have even made a dent."

Xanthy chuckled. "Yeah. You wouldn't have. I'm stubborn as a dagrine."

Nyxis snorted. "More than a dagrine."

"Okay, okay," Xanthy tucked her hair behind her ear. "More than a dagrine."

Xanthy sighed and eyed the people around her. Finally, the heirs were complete and the thrones were all in one place. She just needed to bid the right time to present her plan.

Her eyes landed on Rutoria. The oracle's hood covered her face and the lamp rested on the earth beside her leg. Its fire quietly burned against the dark night. Rutoria was talking to Kennen, the ice sprite heir. Beside him was Cirasa, looking glum and tired even though Xanthy rarely saw him leave his tent during their brief time together in the center quadrant.

Cirasa was the one who accompanied her when she was looking for the chalice, hopping around the island with nothing but a sirtya and a bow with a quiver of arrows. It took Xanthy at least a week to realize Cirasa and Elred were siblings right after Anahel once exclaimed that the whole family was there for a reunion and Airese told her through a mind message.

Of course, her reaction at that time was...oh.

Such a small island, it seemed.

Rutoria locked eyes with Xanthy all of a sudden and the message was clear. Xanthy must do it now.