Martha's POV:

"Cypress, what do we do?" I asked worriedly, the sun slowly setting behind me. "Everyone scattered."

"I don't know," he confessed, a slight shiver running through his body. "Why did everyone start panicking suddenly?"

I bit my lip nervously. "Someone went to go get the people working at the visitation center, and I couldn't hear what they said when they returned. All I know is that someone screamed, and everyone went in different directions. I don't even know where to start looking."

"Head toward the restaurants and see if there's anyone there," Cypress told me. "I'll go down by the laboratory. Maybe someone went to get a leader?"

I shrugged, and began to jog in the direction of the shops and restaurants. The streets were empty, since the work day was ending. People were either going home or going to eat. The only sound was the steady slap of my shoes against the stone paths, although I strained my ears desperately to try and hear someone else approaching. Why did everyone split up?

Finally, I turned a corner, and ran straight into Jeriah. He looked almost paralyzed with terror, and seemed speechless when he bumped into me. "What's going on?" I demanded. "Why did everyone scatter?"

"We're trying to find someone who can help," he answered after a second of just staring at me. "I was trying to find the restaurant where Ambrosia's group is, but I have no clue where it is."

"Help with what?" My voice was practically a yell at this point, but Jeriah didn't seem bothered. 

"Apparently, something happened in the visitation center," he said, pain in his eyes. 

"Where Andor and Alyssa are?" I felt my fingernails digging into the brick wall next to me, trying to keep myself from screaming. Not the two of them, anyone but them. Andor was the only family I had left, and well... I couldn't imagine Mot's reaction...

Jeriah nodded, and I remembered just how much Alyssa meant to him. "They said Malachai was dead, or, at the least, unconscious. The two of them are nowhere to be found, and we can only hope that they went to get help."

I felt almost dizzy, unable to take it in. "Doesn't Malachai carry a weapon with him?"

Jeriah nodded again. "Apparently the weapon was wedged into the wall behind the counter, as if someone had just hurled it at whoever was back there. But there's no blood around it, so it looks like only Malachai was hurt during whatever happened."

I stood still for a minute, unsure of what to do next. "We need to... I don't know. Alert the leaders, I guess?"

"I think someone's already doing that, but I guess it wouldn't hurt." He took one last glance at the restaurants, and I heard him mutter something that sounded like "Poor Mot."

We ran down the streets of Galena, a fierce wind blowing on each of us. I tied my long purple hair back to keep it out of my face as we hurried toward the laboratory, but it still went everywhere as the wind pushed it from side to side. 

When we finally arrived, we came to a halt directly in front of the door to the laboratory. "Should we go in?" Jeriah wondered. "I don't think people who don't work here are supposed to go in, but I guess this qualifies as an emergency."

"Yeah." I stepped forward to open the door, but it was flung open before I could touch the handle. "Sorry... hey, wait a second!"

I was faced with a couple of guards, who were glaring down at me. Behind them, Mianite, Ianite, and Dianite all stood, looking at me with exhausted faces. "Move it, you two," one of the guards grumbled. "This is for leaders only. Work day is over." They started to walk away. 

"This is an emergency!" I protested. "The visitation center..." 

"We're not the people to talk to," the other answered. "Go find someone else."

Jeriah stepped inside of the laboratory, but the guard stopped him once more. "Again, you can't go in there."

"We need to find a leader!" I cried, furious. 

The guard shrugged, leading the three gods away. "Not our job."

Alyssa's POV:

"I have a few friends in each city," Safire answered, walking quickly through the streets of Chrysoberyl. "I don't live here, but a lady named Isara lets me stay with her while I visit Iolite. I'll take you to her first, then we'll go talk about the mission."

I was shaking with both nervousness and thrill, and I couldn't keep my eyes off the beautiful buildings around us. They weren't as tall and magnificent as the ones in Galena, but it was understandable considering the massive population difference. These buildings were small and cozy, but each structure seemed to be insanely detailed. Intricate art was carved into the sides of shops, and small lights hung from thin poles. The light reflected off of the shiny streets, making the city seem ten times as bright. 

"Admiring our buildings?" Safire laughed, looking at both of us. I blushed, but Andor wouldn't take his eyes off of them.

"They're beautiful," he breathed, turning his head to get a full glimpse of it. "Everything seems so cozy and warm. Every city I've been to has had kind of a tall, intimidating feeling, but I don't get that from this one."

"It reminds me of my old home," I said quietly. I didn't expect anyone to hear or take notice of my words, but Andor immediately turned his attention to me. 

"The Realm of Mianite, you mean?" 

I shook my head. "Katsir, when I was really young. It had this same warm and cozy feeling, as if every building was my home and every citizen was my family." 

Sadness swept over Andor's face, and he looked away. "Oh." After a long pause, he continued, "Dagrun kind of felt like that to me at first... with the exception of the small part. I guess being so young, I thought that everyone was a good person, and would bring comfort to me. And I guess I always associated my father with Dagrun, so when my impression of him was ruined, my look on the entire city changed with it."

"Do you miss your father?" I asked quietly. "I heard that he did some... bad things in the past."

He shrugged. "Helgrind's gone, so it doesn't matter." He didn't say anything else, so I figured it was best to just drop the topic. 

"We're at Isara's house," Safire told us. We stood awkwardly behind her as she climbed the steps of a tiny brick home and knocked on the wooden door. After a few seconds, it creaked open, and one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen stepped onto the porch with us. 

"Safire, is that you in disguise?" the lady, Isara, gasped. She moved closer to her, allowing me to get a full glimpse of her. She had long, dark blue hair that blew gently in the breeze, and golden brown eyes that reflected the setting sun. A small smile began to form on her thin lips until she noticed me and Andor. 

"Yes, it's me. I think the disguise is beginning to fade away, but it fooled the people at the visitation center for a good amount of time," Safire answered. Diverting my attention from Isara, I noticed that Safire's hair was beginning to turn blond again. 

"But these two... I thought..." Isara was staring at us in a mix of fascination and horror. 

"I knew you and Iolite weren't going to be impressed," she laughed. "But they're actually part of the group of people who came from Ruxomar. They're going to help me get the others and complete our mission."

"It's not that," Isara answered, shaking her head slowly. "There was a news report aired just now, saying that you broke into the visitation center. It said that you took Malachai's weapon, knocked him out, murdered two kids named Alyssa and Andor, and disposed of their bodies."

"They think I killed them?" Safire's smile was gone, and her (now slightly blue) eyes were enormous with shock. "Does all of Chrysoberyl and Zincite think I murdered these two?"

"Pretty much," Isara sighed. "I'll have to take you to Iolite now, and clear up what happened. Speaking of which," she added, looking at me and Andor again, "what did happen? You knocked their friend out and then persuaded them to come stay with you?"

"After she almost killed us, we decided the best thing to do was become friends with her," I said. Isara grinned, a genuine smile this time, and I smiled back. 

Safire shrugged. "I have my ways. Anyway, we better get going to Iolite. Do you know where we can find her?"

"Yeah, I think she's near the center of town. She's in a bit of distress due to you," Isara told her, raising her eyebrows pointedly. Closing the door behind her, she began to quickly walk through the streets. Andor followed directly behind her, but Safire and I stayed a few strides behind. 

"Isara's completely trustworthy, it's okay," she reassured me. 

"When you said that you lived with her, I assumed that she wasn't all that bad," I answered, letting out a short laugh. 

"Oh, and one more thing about Isara." I turned to look at Safire, and saw that she looked faintly amused. "She's too old for you."

Shoutout to @PrettyMewGirl2 for giving me the character Isara! Decided to make someone have a bit of a crush on her ;)

Also, the issue where my story isn't showing up in the search results came back, because it decided to set it to French. It's fixed again, but it's kind of annoying that this keeps happening. Wattpad pls