"I don't think...I'll be able to stay awake for much longer," I gasped, clutching the stab wound in my stomach. It had been wrapped, quite well, in bedsheets, but far later than it should've been. I had been rescued from the guest room that had been temporarily assigned to me just moments before I would've been whisked away to what was supposed to have been the site of my wedding. I didn't have a chance to note the identities of the two Flames who were doing it, due to the fact that they had been disguised as the Ice Guards in charge of transporting me to the Sanctum.

It definitely hadn't been the most brilliant of plans, but it had worked.

As for the knife that had been embedded in me until just a few moments before, I wasn't sure exactly where that had come from. I had been walking between the two Flames- who, at that moment, I thought were real Ice Guards- contemplating my shameful existence. The pain had come instantly, with absolutely no warning. I had stopped, bending over and seeing, to my absolutely shock and horror, the hilt of a kitchen knife sticking out of my stomach. The most probable culprit was a crazed Iceheart or member of the palace staff who had thrown the knife in my direction while attempting to climb out of one of the nearby windows. It definitely hadn't been someone we would have any chances of finding later.

Seeing me in this condition and the fact that the now flaming halls were mostly empty, the Flames had blown their cover, practically carrying me out into the courtyard and toward the servants' quarters, where they had been staying. I slipped in and out of consciousness during this time, in a delirious state, as I lost more blood than I had in years. For a moment, I was sure I was going to die.

And then, I felt the cot beneath me and the cool rag on my forehead. I had shrieked as the knife was yanked out of me and the wound quickly dressed, but the pain had brought me back to reality. It had reminded me that I was still alive.

"Just hang on for a few more minutes. Please, Princess," Sophie smiled. "We should be ready to get you out of here very, very soon." I had still barely gotten over the fact that Sophie Valior was still alive. Because of her sister's recent death at the hands of the Radicals, her survival meant that the Scientist Clan still had a clear heir.

Not that we were in a position to be thinking about ousting Chief Valior.

"Come on, Tara, don't die on me," Thorel gripped my hand.

"I need- to breathe!" I whispered between heavy breaths. "Please!"

I could practically feel the brown walls of the tiny room closing in on me. The air was warm and stale, and tasted of sweaty clothes. If only I could feel a fresh breeze on my face...how much better I would feel!

"We're working on it, Princess," Sophie nodded.

"What's the matter?" I asked. Any kind of holdup in the Flames' operation was bad not only for me, but for all of the countless other people whose chances of freedom were dependent on their success.

"The situation's looking fairly good outside," Sophie explained. "The Elitia's gone, and the Radicals have taken care of the Lekhone. It's your sister, Aron, and the Queen we're worried about. They're nowhere to be found."

"Vivi?" I gasped. "Is she alright?"

"We don't know," Thorel shrugged. "The last time I saw her was this morning. She was in the Sanctum, with me, Teren, my aunt, and the Queen. My aunt told us to run for it when the Queen was distracted, and that's exactly what we did. She was caught by a couple of Ice Guards just outside the door, and Teren jumped out of a window. I ran here, though. I assumed that Viviana was following me, but when I stopped to look behind me, I couldn't find her anywhere."

"She probably got lost in the flaming mess up in the palace," Sophie added.

"And Aron?" I inquired, focusing on their words in an attempt to distract myself from the horrible pain that was ripping up my gut.

"He was Commander of the mission to burn Glaisse. According to Tamarius, he was supposed to meet his unit somewhere when he was done. Apparently, he saw Viviana in the Sanctum, and went back into the palace to save her, instead."

"Do you mean to tell me that my sister and the leader of the FAWD are alone in the Sanctum with my mother?!" My eyes bulged out of my skull as various gruesome images rose to the front of my mind.

"That's what we think, yes," Thorel shook his head. "I'm sorry. This was a really bad time to have told you that. It'd take a miracle to save them. Anyway, I hope you understand why now, our best option is to leave them behind and get to Pylea. It's what your sister would've wanted us to do."

"No!" I shrieked, the effort sending waves of agony through my body. Yet, I ignored the pain. After all, it was not an unfamiliar sensation. "She risked her life for you and saved thousands of your people by coming to the palace. If you won't do the same for her, you're no friend, much less a rebel! If I wasn't bleeding to death right now, I'd be on my way to the Sanctum already!"

"There's nothing we can do," Sophie sighed. "We're in the servants' building, separated from the palace by nearly a mile of armed Ice Guards and flaming wreckage. Even if we managed to get to Icicle Hall, the bottom floors are all filled with fire. The chances of us making it to the Sanctum in time are minuscule, and if we did, we'd be in no condition to save or even help anyone." 

"I'm not asking you to go there yourselves," I told them. "I'm just asking you to wait. If Aron and Vivi do make it out, the last thing I want is for them to be stranded in the middle of a burning city. We are not leaving. Promise me you won't leave." 

"I promise," Thorel smiled. "If that's what you want." 

"Good," I nodded. "Then, it's settled. We're only going to Pylea either with my sister...or with her body."