The first and second days of the Festival of Lumys passed without much event. Unless you counted Fawn's sudden face plant into a cake and Mel's nonexistent dancing skills, of course. My mother had doubled the palace's security after the disastrous Pre-Festival Banquet- secretly, of course, to avoid criticism and possible ridicule from her fellow Icehearts. I personally found it hilarious that she had done it because of Teren, of all people. He had been the opposite of threatening as he hung desperately from the chandelier. In fact, if we had been on Earth, his face at that moment could've easily become a viral meme. 

Yet, as Fawn put some finishing touches on my elaborate outfit at the break of dawn on the third day, I was anything but at ease. Despite the marvelous ease with which the previous two Festival days had passed, I couldn't help but be nervous as the time of what was to be one of the most crucial events in Lessaenite history approached. 

"There you are!" Fawn beamed, stepping away from me to admire her work. As horribly uncomfortable as the dress was, I couldn't deny the fact that she had done a wonderful job. 

My gown was royal purple, with a smooth bodice and flowing folds of silk. Thankfully, due to my age, I was not yet required to wear an elaborate headpiece. My mother had told me that a simple diamond tiara would suffice.

"Thank you," I smiled. "It's beautiful." During my days celebrating with them, I had lost all of my anger toward Fawn, Ylessa, Trellina, and Mel. Holding a grudge against them was like hating an innocent child. It was utterly pointless, and rather insensitive, too. They were so sheltered, so confined to their own, protected little bubbles that they had never had a chance to form their own opinions. Their actions simply mirrored those of their parents and close friends. Nothing that took place in Glaisse or the rest of the Empire was their fault. 

"I knew you'd like it," Fawn grinned. "The Queen had all this pinkie silk imported from Kilaenas, just for you! However, there was way too much. Would you like to see what I did with the leftovers?"

"Sure," I shrugged, still a little sleepy. Being woken up at six o'clock for your sister's wedding to a rat after staying up past midnight partying with crazy immortals definitely messed with your sleep schedule. 

My cousin ran over to my closet, her hands trembling with excitement as she opened the door. I gasped as Kelly walked out, spreading her wings in a grand stretch. She wore a vest that was nearly identical to my gown, with a jeweled collar and two perfectly cut holes for her wings. 

"It's adorable!" I exclaimed, stepping forward to stroke my Nyvus' muzzle. "Does this mean she can come to the wedding?" 

"Of course she can!" Fawn smiled. "She's going to make history, as the first Mountain Nyvus to attend an Imperial event." 

"That's great," I nodded. 

"We should probably get to the Sanctum," she added. "The ceremony starts in less than an hour."

"You're right," I nodded. "I will come back to get Kelly before the dance. Thanks to the fact that she's nearly doubled in size over the past few weeks, there's no possible way she'd be able to fit in the Sanctum."

Fawn drew her lips together in understanding as she made a move to approach my door. Running my hand over Kelly's smooth scales once more, I followed Fawn out of my suite for the millionth time that week. Thankfully, due to the early hour, most of the palace was empty and we found our way to the top floor quite easily. 

The Sanctum, too, was currently occupied by only one other person. Thorel sat in the center of the front row of seats, as close as possible to where Tara would stand in just thirty minutes. His hands were clasped together, and he wore an expression of pure terror. 

"Good morning, Thorel. Is everything ready?" I asked, trying to be as vague as possible due to Fawn's presence beside me. 

"Viviana, don't," he warned, his teeth clenched together. 

"What happened?" 

"It's a trap!" he screamed. Just as the words left his mouth, a wall of Aura behind him, which I had previously assumed was his own, began to ripple, before condensing into the form of the Ice Queen herself, holding a knife to Thorel's throat. 

"You stupid kids," she laughed, roughly releasing Thorel from her grasp. "You thought you had me fooled, didn't you? I'll have to admit, I am fairly impressed with your plan. It beats Tara's, that's for sure. Especially that kid on the chandelier and the hovercraft- that was pure genius! I still can't figure out how you managed to get him up there! Who knows? If I hadn't had that camera in the dungeon, maybe I might've even fallen for it. What was that you said? The Icehearts were supposed to fall today, weren't we? Well, someone's going to fall before the day's over, that's for sure." 

"You knew," I spat, hatred filling me. "All this time, you knew! You were playing with us." 

"That is correct, my dear girl," the Queen smirked. 

"You monster!" I screamed. 

"Now, shush, my child. You wouldn't want to wake the servants. After all, they have had such a long night cleaning up after the Second Day Ball. Why don't you sit down and prepare yourself for the wedding? It's an important milestone in your sister's life, after all. You wouldn't want to disrespect her by paying it anything less than your full attention."

I remained standing, my hands glued to my sides in shock. 

"I said, sit down!" the Queen fumed. An invisible force lifted me up in the air, shoving me down in the seat beside Thorel. 

"Now, when is your little friend with the Flameheart Serum scheduled to arrive?" my mother asked, shifting to the right so that she stood before me. 

"You destroyed the Flameheart Serum," I narrowed my eyes in confusion. 

"Nice try," the Queen chuckled. "But it's going to take more than that to fool me. Now, I'm going to ask you this question one more time. When is your Flame friend going to arrive with the Serum?" 

"I told you!" I repeated. "You destroyed it! And if it somehow still exists, I have no idea where it is or who's planning to use it!" 

The Queen's pupils began to grow a bright blue, and she stepped closer to me, gritting her teeth. "I asked you a question. When is-" 

She was interrupted by the Commander of the Ice Guard, Ilsa Veren, who burst through the doors of the Sanctum with a frantic look in her eye, looking like she had just run a very long way. This was surprising indeed. Ordinary Ice Guards were most commonly used as messengers between the Warrior Clan and the Royal family. The Commander herself wouldn't have come unless the news she carried was either of extreme urgency or highly confidential. 

"Your Majesty," she heaved, her hands on her knees. "Princess Tara is no longer in her cell, and-" she paused, out of breath. 

"And what?!" the Queen pressed on, instantly forgetting me. 

"The Lekhone...it just exploded."