[per saecula]

Tessa's heartbeats were as loud as her footsteps as she and Imogen tore through the Principia, the immaculate walls and pillars within the building fading to blurs of white and gold. In that moment, Tessa only cared about one thing and one thing only; she just hoped it wasn't too late.

            Imogen glanced around a corner, as if affirming that she was heading in the right direction. She turned, her jade eyes meeting Tessa's turquoise ones. "Are you sure about whatever this is?"

            Tessa took a ragged breath but nodded. "Positive."

            Imogen frowned slightly, but continued on her way. Tessa followed the daughter of Cupid as she approached an iron door, embezzled with runes that seemed to glimmer in the low light of the hallway.

            Imogen barked a command in Latin at the door, and the runes shimmered with a bright light. Then, the door swung open slowly, as if daring Tessa to enter on her own will. A chill leaked from the doorway, and maybe it was Tessa's imagination, but she thought she could hear whispers of faint voices coming from just beyond the threshold.

            Tessa straightened her posture, catching her breath. She dug Tempest out of her pocket, tapping the gem on the end and staring straight ahead as her sword grew in her hands. The leather around Tempest's hilt was a reassuring feeling, and spurred Tessa's focus.

            "Are you coming with?" Tessa eyed Imogen, who was watching her with pursed lips.

            The blonde girl quirked a brow in slight exasperation, digging out her compact mirror. In a similar flash of light to that of Tempest's transformation, Imogen's mirror morphed into her bow, Romeo.           

            "If you really think I'm going to let you be the only witness to whatever the hell it is you want to do down there, you're insane," Imogen responded airily.

            Tessa smirked, but couldn't fight the flicker of relief that had welled up in her chest at Imogen's companionship. There was something about this dungeon that chilled her to the bone, brought back fears she'd long since quelled.

            However, Tessa inhaled sharply, tightening her grip on Tempest. "Lead the way." She told Imogen, who smiled thinly.

            "My pleasure."

~~

            Matthew Baines, it seemed, was used to wallowing in prison cells. When Tessa spotted him, the only prisoner within the Principia's confines, he was reclined on his cot, his forearm over his face as if to block out the minimal rays of light in the dark, stone room. As Tessa and Imogen neared, their echoing footsteps shook the breacher out of his reverie, and he looked up lazily.

            "Oh, it's you," Matthew huffed a breath, but sat up in his cot. "To what do I owe pleasure?"

            Tessa glanced to Imogen for reassurance, but the archer seemed to be just as anticipating as the boy behind bars.

            "You're from the alternate universe," Tessa began, averting her gaze to Matthew, who watched with a slight air of impatience. "You mentioned being a part of a rebel group. Were you able to develop any information on how to defeat the Regiment?"

            Matthew narrowed his eyes at Tessa. "They're half-bloods, not gods. They can be killed just like you and I can."

            Tessa shook her head. "Do they have any weaknesses?"

            A shadowed look filled Matthew's gaze, and he looked down. "There's...well, there's something that's been plaguing the Palace for a while." He glanced up and continued, his words slightly rushed together. "A mysterious sickness is passing through the members of the Regiment, picking them off one by one. They'll go off on missions, and if they come back, they'll be weaker."

            "What kind of missions?" Imogen asked, each word honed as sharp as the arrows in her quiver.

            Matthew ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "I'm not sure, but last I heard, it started to affect Mark Akagi around last summer."

            Tessa's heart panged with her fears realized. She forced herself to remain calm, despite the Oracle's words resurfacing in her head, beckoning for her to accept her darkness. She'd been right. Or at least, her hunches were beginning to connect.

            "Thank you," Tessa nodded to Matthew, her voice strained. She turned on her heel, marching back to the door.

            "Woah, woah, wait, when am I getting out of here?" Matthew exclaimed, and Tessa heard the sudden shuffle as he ran to the bars of his cell.

            Tessa nodded to Imogen, who dug out one of the files she'd carried in. "Funny you should ask."

            And without another word, Tessa fled up the stairs, out of the darkness and into the light. Her heart panged in her chest with each step as one by one, the theories in Tessa's mind connected. However, she felt as if even with these half-answers, these roadmaps to their success, they were still at a stalemate against the Regiment.

            Because what if they knew every move they were making? What if the General was waiting for Tessa to waltz in with what she thought was the right answer, if only to shatter all hopes of success? What now? What then?

~~

            Tessa had stood on countless battlefields before. She'd stared down her enemies, laughed in the face of danger, and somehow managed to come out on top. However, all of those victories, with their light and prominence in Tessa's mind, seemed to disintegrate to nothing as she stood in the Principia's headquarters, practically shipping her friends off to war.

            All around her, her comrades were preparing for what was to come. Sophia stood with Jett and Imogen, armed for their positions on border control. Kaya and Kaden debriefed Matthew on what was to come, all three donning black uniforms with ski masks stuffed into their pockets. Eli darted around the room, handing the tiny gadgets he'd been fiddling with to everyone around him. Reese stood nearby, his arms folded across his chest as he stared helplessly atop the platform that would hold the portal. He was dressed in the black of the Regiment, his glimmering gold bow strung across his back.

            The son of Apollo must have felt Tessa's gaze, because he turned towards her, every muscle in his body tense. "Hey." He managed.

            Tessa walked towards Reese, scanning him from head to toe. "Are you ready?"

            Reese inhaled slowly, a blank look in his sapphire eyes. "I'm ready to save Flynn, if that's what you mean."

            "You know that it isn't," Tessa chided, watching the son of Apollo sadly.

            At that, Reese reached up to drag a hand through his blond hair but refrained; apparently, the Reese on the other side never had a hair out of its gelled back place. "Then you know I'm not." He retorted. "I'm not ready to see what's over there, or what we—they—do to people. I'm not ready to see the monster hiding under my skin, even though I have to assume its habits if I don't want to die."

            Tessa reached up and rested a hand on Reese's shoulder. Suddenly, she wasn't seeing the awkward boy she'd practically grown up with; the one who pulled off bad dance moves at all of Camp Half-Blood's dance moves and ate peanut butter sandwiches each meal for a week because he lost a bet. She didn't see the laughs, his signature frowns, the blazing lion's heart within him.

            No, in that moment, Tessa recognized the warrior that Reese had morphed himself into being. It was the same role Tessa had forced herself into playing all those years ago until it had become her first nature. She saw arrow-heads and blood, scars and bandages, bursts of heavenly fire and flickering embers of blue.

            In that moment, Reese Hale wasn't the dorky son of Apollo she knew and loved. He was a soldier cut from stone, the dark side of the moon, and would see this mission through to whatever end happened to be written into his fate.

            You did this to him, the voice in the back of Tessa's mind whispered. You turned him into this.

            Before Tessa could tell herself to shut up, a flicker of movement snagged her attention. Her friends were gathering atop the central platform of the room, ringed by computer monitors. At Tessa's side, Reese gathered his composure and walked towards them. Tessa had no choice but to follow.

            "I spoke to Amelie earlier today," Kaden announced, scanning the faces of those before him. "She said that she'd be able to sustain the portal from Camp Half-Blood, so we don't have to worry about her being late. Now, you all have your assignments, and you are to follow those assignments despite what happens on the other side of the portal."

            "I'm all for following protocol, but how are we supposed to stay in contact with you guys when you cross over?" Sophia questioned, her arms folded across her chest.

            "I believe Eli has a plan for that," Kaden chimed, averting his attention to the son of Ahklys standing nearby. "Take it away, kid."

            "Why, thank you," Eli bowed before turning on his heel and walking back towards his work-table. "I've been working on just that, Sophia, so have no fear. I developed a series of trackers that will be able to monitor your vitals, pinpoint your location, and give us communication access."

            The platinum-haired boy swept his hand over his table, and Tessa eyed the gadgets lying atop it. There were four small earpieces, about the size of an earbud, and thin black cuffs that reminded Tessa comically of Fit-Bits.

            "The earpieces work like any sort of PDA. We'll be able to hear you, and you'll be able to hear us. The bracelets settle over your pulse point in your wrist, so we'll be able to keep track of your vital signs in case of an emergency. They've also got tracking chips within them so we can make sure you're...y'know, still alive." Eli explained as the four breachers picked up their gadgets.

            "And you're sure these will function on the other side?" Matthew asked, picking up his set of trinkets. The son of Ares had been granted his wish of leaving his cell, but didn't seem thrilled about going back to the universe that had declared him a public enemy. Even if his only purpose was to lead them through the Palace, he still didn't look amused.

            "Positive," Eli affirmed. He walked over to the central monitor on the platform, plugging in a flash-drive. Instantly, all of the screens ignited, showing the faces of Reese, Kaden, Matthew, and Kaya, followed by their heartbeats once they put on their bracelets.

            "We'll be able to keep track of the data sent back to us through here," Eli elaborated, turning on his heel to face the crowd.

            "Looks like you thought of everything," Tessa noted, nodding at the blue-eyed boy.

            Eli smiled, but before he could revel in the appraisal, a chime rippled through the air. Kaya swept forward at that, a grave look on her tan face. "Time to go."

            Tessa felt the weight of anxiety weigh down in her gut as she watched Kaya begin to form the portal. She'd be able to sustain it until she crossed over, where the link would be picked up by Amelie. However, as the portal unfurled with each ray of light, Tessa wanted to grab her friends and run for the hills.

            But they had to do this. They needed to rescue Flynn, and they needed the intel on the Regiment. Even if Tessa's hunch was correct, they needed valid evidence to support it.

            "Remember, you guys will have twenty minutes to do what you need to do and get back. Quick recap: Reese, you'll have to find your doppelganger and disable him for the time being. Then, under the guise of returning Matthew to the prisons, Reese, Kaya, and Kaden—who both will be masked—will head to the dungeons and rescue Flynn. Get in, get out, and try not to get yourselves killed," Tessa explained, doing her part. She sounded more confident than she felt, but that began to wither away as she watched Imogen and Reese share a kiss, before the former took off with Sophia and Jett to assume their duties.

            When she turned around, Tessa found Kaden standing before her, the portal glimmering behind him. The son of Venus gripped his black ski mask in one hand, and reached for Tessa with the other.

            "Don't say it," Tessa warned, eyes locked on Kaden's.

            Kaden smiled sadly. "Is it a crime to want to profess my love for my girlfriend under circumstances such as these?"

            Tessa fought the smile tugging at her lips. "Yes, because of those circumstances."

            Kaden brushed a strand of hair behind Tessa's ear. "I promise you that I'll be okay. Keep an eye on things for me while I'm gone?"

            "Of course," Tessa nodded, her breath catching a bit. She hated goodbyes, hated everything about them, and there was nothing about this situation that could appease her fears.

            Kaden smiled through the shadows in his eyes, and when he leant forward and kissed Tessa, she wanted nothing more than to grasp onto that feeling of home and familiarity so it could never escape her.

            "I'll be right back," Kaden assured her. "I swear on the Styx."

            Tessa pressed her lips to his one last time, immersing herself in the passion and love and happiness that could just so simply be stamped out like a torch in the night.

            Kaden pulled away from his embrace with Tessa and pulled his mask over his head. He met up with Reese, Kaya, and Matthew, who'd been hand-cuffed to fit the part. The four of them surveyed the room around them, shrouded in silence, before leaping through the portal.

            And just like that, they were gone, on the other side of a world they knew nothing of.

            Tessa would have let the realization sink in, but the glow of another portal erupting into existence on the opposite side of the room shook her out of her reverie. She and Eli drew their weapons, watching in astonishment as the portal opened up and three figures stepped through.

            So when Mark, Dale, and Amelie stepped through the light, Tessa wasn't sure whether or not to sob or scream in relief.

            "Where are they?" Mark surged forward, absolute worry in his almond eyes.

            "Who?" Eli croaked, eyes bugging out of his head a bit. Apparently, the son of Ahklys still wasn't used to seeing his former lieutenant in such a state.

            "Kaden, Kaya, and Reese!" Mark exclaimed. He swept towards Tessa. "Tessa, please don't tell me we're too late."

            Tessa couldn't form words, but she pushed through her shock until she could. "What's wrong?"

            Dale darted to Eli's side, surveying the screens. Amelie cast her hands in magic, sustaining the portal's energy. Both girls locked eyes at the exact same time, and when they met Mark's gaze, the son of Iris withered at Tessa's side.

            "Mark," Tessa demanded. "What's—wrong?"

            Mark met Tessa's eyes sadly. "They just went on a suicide mission."

~~
             [Kaden Gray's Perspective]

            The Palace of the Regiment embodied just about everything that Kaden thought a mix of an evil lair and beautiful castle would be. The hallways were carved of obsidian, catching beams of light and refracting them off their sleek surfaces. Plush rugs lined the floor, and everywhere Kaden looked, he saw glass cases of weaponry, jewels being carted around, and paintings lining each wall.

            However, darkness permeated the air like the foul smell of blood that Kaden wasn't sure he was imagining or not. This truly was the home of shadows, the base of demons...the monster's cave.

            Their plan kicked into initiation faster than Kaden had originally thought. As soon as they stepped on the opposite side of the portal, Matthew jerked his head forward and they were off. Reese shoved the son of Ares forward, forcing him to walk down the obsidian halls. Kaya and Kaden fell into step behind them.

            "So this is where our doppelgangers live, huh?" Kaya noted under her breath.

            "Being evil must pay," Kaden responded, eyeing the crystalline chandelier hanging above them.

            "Oy, peanut gallery, shut your traps," Reese hissed, turning to glare at them. "One wrong move and we're dead."

            Kaden wanted nothing more than to mess around with this mission on Reese's behalf, flashing back to all the times he'd done so back at camp. However, the gravity of the situation maintained his demeanor, and he continued forward.

            Before long, two Regiment soldiers emerged into view and immediately stopped in their tracks at seeing Reese.

            "Captain Hale," They both chorused, looking up but not meeting his gaze. One soldier's gaze caught on Matthew, and he gasped. "You caught him?"

            "Damn right I did," Reese grunted. "And I suggest you hurry off before you join him in the dungeon."

            The soldiers sped off at that. Reese shoved Matthew forward a little harder, so hard that he fell.

            "Take it easy, Jethro," The son of Ares grumbled from where his face met the carpet.

            Kaden knit his eyebrows at his best friend as Reese slipped ever so slightly from the role he'd been tasked to play, helping Matthew back up.

            "Where are the dungeons?" Kaya asked from Kaden's side.

            Matthew cast an eye around the hall to get his bearings. "Not too far. We've gotta hurry."

            However, before they could move, the sound of a door being opened froze them in place. Two figures emerged; one in dark armor with shaggy black hair, and the other in an armored jumpsuit, a golden belt around her waist.

            Kaden's heart twisted.

            Kaya made a sound like a cat's screech in her throat.

            The four of them watched as Alexander Devan and Tessa Brennan, General of the Regiment's forces walked towards them, evil glints in their eyes.

~~

            [Tessa Brennan's Perspective]

            "What the hell do you mean by a suicide mission?" Tessa barked at Mark, panic fueling her words.

            The son of Iris dragged a hand through his hair, looking around frantically as if their friends would pop back out at any second. "They don't know how to defeat the Regiment. They'll be killed if something goes wrong, they won't stand a chance."

            "And you know how?" Tessa asked. "Mark! Use your words."       

            Dale sighed from her place on the platform, darting down to where Mark and Tessa stood. She gripped Mark's shoulders, forcing the Japanese boy to stand still and focus.

            And just like that, Mark's words became whitewater rapids, rushing past Tessa at unfathomable speed. He explained his visions, his dreams, the feelings of animosity he would randomly harbor. He elaborated on how Adhara Wren had helped him discover the source of these episodes, and that at the end of it all, had realized how to defeat the version of himself that he'd wanted to keep chained up.

            "And if we know how to defeat them, they probably know how to defeat us," Mark concluded, exhaling raggedly. "We represent the good, they represent the darkness. If they're in control, we aren't, and vice versa. Do you understand?"       

            "Let me get this straight," Eli held his hands up in a 'time-out' signal. "If we don't learn to literally control our dark sides, we're basically going to hell in a handbasket?"

            "That's one way of putting it but yes," Mark motioned to Eli before looking back to Amelie. "Is there any way you can get them back here?"

            "Not until they're close enough to the portal on their side," Amelie chimed from where she stood in the room.

            Tessa took a shaky breath, trying to wrap her head around all that Mark told her. She'd been right, then. They needed to learn to control their dark sides in order to defeat them, before their dark sides learned to control them.

            She found herself staring at the central monitor on the platform, the one bearing the faces of the four breachers on the other side. She watched their steady heartbeats, and prayed that they'd make it back in time before their demons realized the key to defeating them.

~~

            [Kaden Gray's Perspective]

            "Well, what do we have here?" Alex grinned a sinister smile as he beheld the four people before him. "Nice to see you, brother."

            "Good to see you too, asshat," Matthew spat, mirroring the son of Mars' smile.

            Instantly, Alex's demeanor changed. He started his warpath, but froze as Tessa—no, not Tessa, the General—held up a hand.

            "Alex," She mused. "Enough."

            Alex didn't look happy about it, but he remained put, his face set in a snarl.

            The General gazed at the four figures before her, and when her sea-green eyes locked on Kaden's, Kaden felt his heart twist. This was Tessa, but it wasn't. His Tessa was power, but beauty and kindness and sincerity. His Tessa was the sea on a sunny day, when you were fully aware of how inferior you were to the waves, yet dove into them anyway.

            This Tessa, on the other hand, was the bottom of the darkest ocean trenches. She was the hurricane that battered coastlines, the rip currents that dragged you out to sea. She was darkness and feral strength, no amount of light that Kaden loved about her to be seen.

            But is there a difference? A small voice whispered to Kaden.

            Because staring at the General now, Kaden couldn't see one. This was the Tessa of this universe, the embodiment of the darkness his Tessa tried so desperately to contain.

            Kaden was shaken out of his reverie when Reese spoke to the enemy before him.

            "I found this traitor on the outskirts of our territory," Reese explained, a cocky tone in his voice. "I was taking him to the dungeons."

            The General arched an eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest. "Who gave you that order?"

            Kaden's eyes widened ever so slightly. Uh-oh.

            "I did," Reese retorted, a tired look in his eyes. "Problem with that, General?"

            The General's gaze sharpened, as if realizing something. However, a smile stretched across her lips. "None at all, Hale. Be on your way."

            Reese rolled his eyes, grabbing Matthew's collar and shoving him forward. Kaden and Kaya followed, and as soon as they were out of earshot from Alex and Tessa, Kaya let out a sob.

            Reese whirled around, his eyes flicking back and forth. "What? What's wrong?"

            Kaya pulled her mask off, her dark eyes watery. "You know damn well what's wrong."

            Realization dawned on Reese's face, but Kaden knew his co-praetor enough to know what she was thinking. She was heartbroken at seeing Alex again, alive and well but oh so evil, where he was dead back in their world. Seeing him ripped open the stitches she'd been forced to apply to her broken heart, but Kaya wouldn't let that disrupt the mission.

            "Let's go," Kaya sniffled, pulling her mask back over her head.

            Kaden and Reese locked eyes, but at Kaya's request, continued forward.

            Before long, they reached an ornate door marked with shrines and friezes of punishment and agony. Two guards stood outside the door, but stood attention when Reese came near. The doors opened, and Kaden took a deep breath as they headed inside.

            Each cell was filled with the damned, those that the Regiment deemed traitorous and a danger to their cause. Some were silent, some were screaming, some looked so sickly and absent that Kaden wondered if the Regiment let them die down here.

            "The high security cells are down there," Matthew nodded, his voice hardly heard above the screams of the incarcerated.

            The group continued forward and down a set of stairs, Past another door, and they were there.

            Two of the four cells were filled, opposite one another. In one, a girl with ratty brown hair and crystal blue eyes that eyed Kaden and the others absently when they entered. She was covered in scars, dirt, and blood, but she made no cry for help or scream of panic.

            In the cell opposite her, however, sat Flynn Hale.

            Reese's twin brother looked up at the movement, and hatred only twisted on his face. However, Kaden spotted the flicker of hope in his eyes, as miniscule as it was. Here was Flynn's brother, the face of the imposter he'd been forced to suffer punishment from.

            "What do you want?" Flynn's voice was hoarse as he spoke, each word loaded with venom.

            Reese took a breath. "Flynn...it's me. It's Reese."

            "Yeah, I can see that," Flynn deadpanned. "Now what do you want? Does the General want to beat me some more?"

            Kaden felt his stomach twist, and he noticed how the back of Flynn's black t-shirt had been shredded. He was covered in bruises, in blood, but he didn't seem to care.

            "No, Flynn, it's me! It's Reese!" Reese knelt down and gripped the bars of his cell. "We're here to rescue you."

            Flynn still looked skeptical. "Good one."

            Kaden huffed a breath, taking off his mask. "Quit the skepticism and throw us a bone here, Flynnigan."

            The use of the nickname from years past snagged the son of Apollo's attention. His eyes widened at seeing Kaden, and even more when he recognized Kaya's visage when she too pulled off her mask.

            "Holy crap," Flynn breathed. "I knew it."

            "We're here to rescue you, man," Reese reached through the bars to grip his brother's hand. Flynn took it willingly, and maybe it was Kaden's imagination, but as both brothers beheld one another with tears in their eyes, the dungeon brightened just a bit.

            Reese and Kaden backed away from Flynn's cell as Kaya stepped forward. With a sweep of her hands, the bars disappeared, and Flynn ever so hesitantly emerged from his prison.

            "You guys have to help Kiara too," Flynn beseeched. "I can't leave her here."

            "Kiara?" Reese asked, but when Flynn pointed to the girl in the opposite cell, he bit his lip. "I'm not sure we can—"

            "You'll do it," Flynn snapped, a fury in his eyes unlike anything Kaden ever recognized in the sunny boy's personality. "Or I'm staying here."

            Reese knit his eyebrows together, but Kaya took the initiative. She repeated the spell, and the bars on Kiara's cell disappeared. The girl inside stepped out carefully, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

            "Okay, now we really need to go," Kaden said, dragging a hand through his hair. "We've only got a few minutes left."

            "Left until what?" Flynn asked.

            The sound of an alarm blaring in the distance became his answer. The light in the dungeon turned red with each blare of the alarm, and Matthew cursed under his breath.

            "Until things go to shit, kid, like that." The son of Ares responded. "Now let's go."

~~

            Kaden didn't know what went wrong. The mission had gone by seamlessly, and yet something had happened that blew their cover.

            The six heroes dashed down the obsidian hallways, all pretenses of disguise gone as the sound of a mobilizing army intensified in the distance. They'd been caught, they'd been found out, and they needed to get out, out, out—

            "Going somewhere?" Tessa's voice made Kaden stop in his tracks. Sure enough, the General stood in the open foyer of the room they'd teleported to, her sword drawn.

            "My, my, what a surprise," She drawled. Her eyes fell upon Kaden, and he cursed himself mentally for not masking himself. "Good to know you're still hot as hell in any dimension."

            "Sorry, miss," Kaden tried for a sheepish smile. "I'm spoken for."

            The General smiled wryly. "I'm sure you are, but you won't see her for a while. You're not going anywhere, I'm afraid."

            Reese opened his mouth to speak, but the General cut him off with a look. "Say one word and I'll cut your damn lips off. What the hell do you think you're doing, parading around as one of my Elite? You should have studied more, because you made just about the biggest slip-up that you could make."

            "Oh, really? And what was that?" Reese asked in exasperation.

            The General smiled like the Cheshire. "My Reese never addresses me by my title Never has, and never will."

            "Does he call you bitch? Because that's the vibe I'm getting from you right now," Kaya spat.

            The General chuckled. "That's cute, you think that's an insult. Ah, well, I'd love to stay and chat but I've got more important business to attend to." She snapped her fingers and as if made of smoke, a vanguard of Regiment soldiers materialized from the shadows.

            "These imposters are to be killed," The General commanded. "And if they escape, whoever allows them to will share their sentence."

            The dark-haired girl retreated down the hall, and the vanguard approached. Kaden and his friends were backed into a wall, weapons drawn.

            "We can't fight, Flynn and Kiara are too weak," Kaden noted, scanning their opponents.

            "Then we'll run," Kaya decided.

            "Uh, where?!" Reese demanded, his voice up an octave.

            Kaden could feel the look that Kaya gave him. Then, with a sweep of light, a hallway materialized out of the wall they'd been backed against.

            "Come on!" Kaya commanded, dashing down the hall of mist she'd created.

            Kaden and the others followed, the army on their heels. They ran for their lives, halls and doors becoming blurs as Kaya manipulated the Mist to her command. They were practically running through nothing, but if Kaya timed it all correctly, they'd make it back to the portal in time.

            A beep sounded as they ran, and Kaden's gaze averted to his wristband. A countdown had begun, with three minutes to spare. He felt his heart twist in panic, his feet gaining speed.

            "Kaya," He began, his voice hedging on worry.

            "I know!" Kaya snapped. She waved her hands and the hall took a sharp turn, and they weaved down it.

            The foyer came into view, the portal just beyond it. They were almost there, almost safe, almost—

            "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Flynn bellowed as the hallway ended. Another squadron of soldiers stood in the room, waiting for them.

            Reese cursed under his breath, turning to Kaya and Kaden as he drew an arrow. "Take Flynn and Kiara and get through the portal. I'll be right behind you."

            Kaden felt like he'd been slapped. "If you think I'm leaving you here—"

            "You aren't thinking, you know that you're going to leave me here! Now, go!" Reese roared. "I'll be right behind you!"

            Kaden wanted to slap some sense into his best friend, but as the army approached, Reese fired away into the pulpit. He was buying them time to get Flynn and Kiara to safety. He'd be able to follow with Matthew, and it would all be okay. Kaden wouldn't lose someone else.

            Right?

            "Kaden, come on!" Kaya tugged on his arm, and Kaden found himself running towards the portal.            

            And in the midst of the battle's haze and the separation of realities, Kaden wasn't sure what to do as he leapt through the portal, Reese's battle cry as he unleashed his power of light into the universe of darkness behind them.

~~

            The first thing that Tessa noticed was the figures leaping through the portal, quelling her worries.

            The second thing she noticed was the number that was lower than what it should have been.

            Kaden staggered through the portal, a grave look on his face. Tessa darted forward, right into his arms.

            "Thank the gods," She muttered. "Are you okay?"

            "Reese," Kaden croaked. "Reese is still over there, we have to go get him."

            Tessa's eyes widened. He was kidding, right? Reese would leapt out of the portal at any second, prepared to tell a bad joke as he saved the day.

            But as Kaya, Flynn, and a girl that Tessa didn't recognize staggered after Kaden, Tessa noticed the portal begin to dissipate.

            "Flynn!" Amelie exclaimed, abandoning her post near the portal. She ran forward to where Flynn knelt on the floor. "Flynn?"

            The son of Apollo looked up at his girlfriend, and relief flooded his crystalline eyes. "You're okay. Oh my gods, you're okay." His voice cracked and he pulled Amelie into a hug tighter than Tessa had ever seen.

            "Where's Reese?" Mark asked, his almond eyes wide.

            Kaya darted around the room, trying to sustain the portal as it began to disappear.

            "NO!" Tessa and Kaden yelled in unison as the portal dissolved before them, the sounds of a battle being waged behind it suddenly cut off.

            And just like that, the world fell into slow motion as Kaden and Tessa skidded to a stop into thin air, where the portal had just been. Each move felt labored, each scream and shriek muted as the demigods in the room watched with heavy hearts.

            And as Tessa stared at where the portal had once been, where her friend was moments away from being saved, she felt that coil of darkness in her heart awaken. She felt it hum, she felt it purr, its power surging through her veins.

            And in cold blood, Tessa allowed it to have full reign.