"What happened here?" I asked.

I heard Sorin sigh. 'I don't know,' he replied.

Through my dæmon's eyes, I could see the barren wasteland over a hundred kilometres away. It used to be dense green forests filled with all kinds of mysterious creatures, but now there was nothing.

The trees were gone, all that was left was dirt and small flecks of ash—somehow it had all been burned to the ground without anyone even seeing a flame or trail of smoke. It was just gone.

Nothing moved in the vast sea of gray and as far as I could tell, Sorin was the only soul in the sky or on the ground.

The air shifted as we came to the edge of the grey. It felt charged with an energy that was far from good; it set my nerves on fire and filled me with dread.

It was angel territory.

"Has it really been right here? All this time it was right here?" I asked, my voice cracking with frustration.

My dæmon sighed. 'It has, you would never have been able to find it Jada, it's hidden using magic far beyond your own abilities.'

"My mother's magic," I mumbled.

He growls in agreement. The tiniest of gasps escaped my lips as the sun finally peaked over the horizon and lit up the wall.

Sure enough, it was cerulean just as Sorin had said. It was far from what I had imagined though. The wall ebbed and pulsed not unlike a wave; it seemed almost fluid but I couldn't see through it at all.

"It's stronger than before," my dæmon murmured.

I felt panic stir deep in my stomach. My mother was still alive then. I wasn't sure if she did it by choice or not, and I wasn't sure which I'd rather believe.

I let my eyes wander over the wall, searching for a potential weak point, an area where the wall was thinner maybe. My heart fluttered a bit; I swore I could see through the veil in that spot.

I heard a harsh hiss and realized Sorin was looking high above the wall now.

"What's going on?"

There was a figure moving near the top. I waited for it to turn away but it stared directly at Sorin.

"Can it see us?" I asked, my heart pounding inside my chest.

It fell from the wall and my stomach flipped. It didn't drop to the ground like I had hoped, instead it spread its wings and sped through the air towards my dæmon.

It was made of shadow but it was the same color as the wall, I had no doubt my mother had created this guardian too.

Sorin starts to move but the winged creature raised its arm and sent a spear hurdling straight at him. It struck his chest and I could feel it pierce my own heart.

I am jolted back into my own mind with a gasp as a scorching pain sears up my spine and into my head.

******

"We could still try!"

I grit my teeth. "I said no," I spit.

Fara growls and spins sharply on her heel and smashes her fist through the stone pillar. It doesn't go all the way through and I watch with a grimace as she eases it back out, bloody and covered in dust.

"Feel better?"

She growls again, her eyes flaring red as she glares at me. "I'd feel better if we could look for my kings," she retorts.

"Fara I already told you, there's no use! The magic that is protecting it is more powerful than me and Syrra combined. Not to mention the angels have us outnumbered by the hundreds if not thousands and they have more years of experience than you or I will probably even live."

"It's just not fair. We finally figured out where they are but now we have no way to actually get them or see if they're even still alive. It's not fair," she mumbles.

My frustration ebbs as I watch her anger turn to despair. She looks so broken and helpless—she looks exactly how I feel. "You should get your hand checked out," I sigh.

She looks down at it, flexing her fingers then wincing immediately. "Yeah maybe." She turns away but only makes it a few steps. She glances back at me. "Is there any chance you can fix this? I don't really want to go to the healer."

I frown. "I can, the healer can probably do a better job though."

"That's alright, that place just reminds me of what happened so I'd rather not," she murmurs.

"Okay," I say, my lip quirked up a little. I wait for her to sit down in front of me then take her hand in mine. I let my eyes roll back and whisper the incantation that comes to mind. Right before I finish, she yanks her hand away.

My eyes snap open. "What are you—" My words stop dead in my throat.

There are guards everywhere, urgency in their movements and concern on their faces. Fara leaps to her feet and I am quick to follow.

The guards form a line in front of the gates but I can't see around them or get through.

I flinch into my mate at the sound of a thundering snarl. "Move!" The guards part for Lyza and I watch her walk by me, her eyes blazing red and her presence absolutely dripping with power that I recognize as Mitalonys'.

I step behind her so I can get through the wall of warriors and I stop dead in my tracks. There are three figures approaching the black rock pillars that mark the entrance to dragon territory, with them is a horse dragging a rickety wooden cart.

I can feel their energy the moment they cross the border. One is all-too familiar—I recognize it immediately. And the others—the others scare the absolute hell out of me.

"Zari," I whisper, my face going cold and my hands going numb. I reach out to her, my entire body shaking.

"Who are they Jada?" she growls.

I try to explain but my voice is stuck in my throat. I feel paralyzed; I can't move, I can't speak.

Lyza starts to walk down to meet the group but my feet feel like lead. My mate gives me a push and I am vaguely aware of my legs moving.

Lyza demands to know who they are but they don't respond. Instead, everyone watches as they move the horse so that the cart is directly in front of the Queen.

I know exactly what's in that cart but I can't make the words leave my tongue. Two of the figures yank away the sheet that covers the cart and all I hear is a growl before Lyza has one of them pinned to the ground by their throat.

"What are you doing with my son?" She snarls.

My mate squeezes my arm. With them by my side and Lyza holding one of the figures down, my fear dies down.

Lyza growls again and yanks the figure's hood down but the woman just smirks. "What are you doing with my son?" She demands again.

I step forward, glancing down at the woman and then up at the other two. "She's one of the angels that took him."