Heavy rain began to pour, causing bitter winds to settle, but this wasn't the reason I was on edge. I had not only wasted my time going after Emma, but I happened to be rescued by the man I loathed most. There had always been something about Jake since the day I met him, something that was so unnerving.

By the time we made it to the castle, darkness had flooded the sky, only to be lit by a crescent moon. Vex landed right in front of the entrance and I took no time, as soon as I dismounted him, to take in my surroundings. Instead, I tore past the gates and threw my way across the Great Hall until I reached the throne room.

I don't know why, but I had a gut feeling she'd be here instead of rested in bed like she should have been. And unfortunately, I was right. There Emma was, lain on the ground in front of a priest, beyond her perching on their grand seats, the king and queen.

"Why isn't she in the hospital wing?" I shouted without any formality. "She should be resting properly and being tended to on a bed, not the stone cold ground."

"Dylan," the king addressed me after my abrupt entrance. "I'm sure Guard Jake already told you the news. If not, it's right in front of you. Princess Emma has been... she was bitten by a vampire."

Hot anger rose, and before I could contain it, that anger turned into words that overflowed their share, "You decide now to start caring about her? What kind of noble father disregards his daughter then shows sympathy once she's on the verge of possible death?"

"Excuse me?" the king choked back a confused squeal. "You have no place to insult my parenting."

"You call this parenting?" I waved a hand at Emma's lump figure. "She is dying, King Richard! And the most you can do is sit there and wait and hope she lives? You should be scrounging for a cure, praying she lives another day! You only want her alive for her knowledge of the prophecy, isn't that right? Her ability to assist me is really all that matters?"

"I never--" the king spluttered. "Dylan, this is uncalled for. How dare you so churlishly attack me?"

"Oh, you mean the same way you churlishly attacked Emma the night of our returning?" I spat. "Had I been you, I would've thanked the gods she was alive. Instead, you screamed your head off at her and then left her sobbing until she ran away. That must feel horrible, King Richard. To know your job as a parental figure to Emma has failed already. How shameful!"

"Guards!" the king called. "Please remove this man from the vicinity. I'm afraid he's disrupting the peace."

"You call this peace?" I pointed in disbelief at Emma.

The Guards came striding after me, but I used magic to knock them to the ground, then I darted out of the room, huffing breaths of scorching anger. How could the king be so remiss, especially when it came to his own daughter? All he cared about was his family honor, nothing more.

"Unbelievable," I muttered to myself.

"What is?" said a voice.

Startled, I spun around and laid my eyes upon a ruffled Jackson Scorch.

"Oh," I said. "It's you."

"Indeed," said Jackson. "What's a fellow like you doing wandering the castle halls? Shan't you be with the princess?"

"You mean the same princess lying on the ground in the throne room, instead of being rested and tended to?" Utter rage poured from my mouth. "The same princess who is dealing with a vampire bite and all her mindless father can do is shrug and pray?"

"Someone's upset," said Jackson. "Calling the king mindless in his own region--it's madness! Now what are you on about? Speak clearly to a man so such words can be understood."

"There's nothing to be understood," I mumbled testily. "Emma should be in the hospital wing. So why the hell is she stowed like a cod caught by net, a priest hovering over her while he watches her die!"

"You mean to say--the princess isn't hospitalized currently?" Jackson spoke incredulously.

"Worth every trinket, she isn't!" I said.

"But that's practically murder," said Jackson. "We have to help her."

"How?" I asked.

"Follow me." Jackson beckoned with a shriveled hand. "And follow closely."

"Right," I said suspiciously, creeping past walls along with the man, scrunching my eyebrows in question as I searched for what any of this silly tiptoeing was worth.

Jackson stopped in front of the side doors of the throne room.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"We're getting your princess," said Jackson.

"But..." I stuttered. "You mean to say... we'll kidnap her?"

"It's not kidnapping, it's..." Jackson paused, then finished with a mischievous smirk, "...It's simply borrowing."

"Uhuh. Borrowing," I repeated.

•••

So the plan was: while Jackson distracted the king and queen, I was to "borrow" Emma and escape through the side doors—the same way we had entered.

Jackson Scorch could have been the best at everything else, but he certainly was not a master in diversions.

"My Majesty—" he began with formalities. "I mean Your Majesty—'scuze me. Both of Your Majesties. I—erm—wanted to ask whether or not I could see you both in the library. It's about a message—an important message. I think you'll both want to hear this—and hear it privately, if you will."

I had to suppress groaning from embarrassment as I crept through the side doors unnoticed. The guards were all the way across the room, by the doors, posing as watchdogs with their backs turned. The king and queen were preoccupied with Jackson, and the priest was too busy with his head down in prayer to catch sight of me.

"What sort of message are you talking about, you madman?" the king snapped ferociously, clearly irritated by the sudden interruption. "What could be so important that you must intervene with this... er, important happening."

I scoffed silently: nothing about the "happening" taking place in this room was important, but simply murderous.

"It happens to be about my coma," said Jackson.

This seemed to have piqued their interest, for now they were rather attentive and sat upright, awaiting a continued response.

"Go on," the king waved his hand.

While this plan was going brilliantly so far, I couldn't see how Jackson would lure the king and queen out of the throne room. Furthermore, how was I to sidetrack the priest from his prayers when all his focus was on Emma and solely Emma? As "brilliant" as this borrowing was, it was flawed.

"I was hoping I could speak to the both of you confidentially. Would that be all right?" Jackson asked with a hint of noticeable hesitation in his voice. He might as well have been on his hands and knees, begging them to agree.

Queen Charlotte turned to the king. "Richard?" she asked. "This may very well be worth hearing."

"My question is why the man can't tell us right here and now?" To no one's surprise, the king seemed be pushing back from the offer of information. "What's so personal about coma memories?"

"Richard!" said the queen. "Show some dignity."

"Dignity towards a man who looks the equivalent of an underfed rat?" rasped the king. "Come on, Charlotte. Look at the state of him. For all we know, he could very well be leading us into a trap. What if he plans to slaughter us?"

"I trust you respect the family motto," said the queen firmly. "All Are Worthy. Have you forgotten what that means? We must treat every soul with two things: esteem and a chance."

"But of course," the king fumed. "Lead the way, then, Johnson."

"Erm—my name is Jackson."

"Ah, yes. I forgot—you're Jackson Scratch," said the king.

•••

After they were gone and out of earshot, I readied my hands for magic to appear. When it did, I controlled the Light and made it wrap itself around the priest. I felt kind of unjust doing this to an innocent man, but reminded myself that it was to save an innocent princess.

The man tried yelping for help, but the magic squeezed the voice out of him.

I scooped Emma's limp body and ran for the side doors. By the time the guards noticed something strange, I had released the priest and ran off with Emma.

I had to be quick—find someplace hidden and heal the princess. I ran without purpose, turning corners and tearing through corridors, hoping against hope that I would find some kind of hideaway.

Places in the castle I had never explored came into view. Then a large statue appeared like a god sent it to me—one big enough to fit me and Emma behind it, so tall it obscured any sort of vision from others.

I made sure we hadn't been followed. Then, carefully, I removed Emma's hand from her bite so I could see the damage.

It was horrifying—nasty shades of violet crept from her nape to her chin. Small ugly wounds blemished her skin as she dripped purple blood. Her eyes were white as clouds, her hair slowly turning gray.

"Des mal," I cursed in Harken, Emma's native language that she taught me months ago. "Poor Emma."

Though my energy felt depleted from my usage of magic on the priest, and even earlier when I chained Umbra and his minions, I utilized what was left inside of me to heal Emma's injuries.

It wasn't very effective, but it was something. Then I remembered a book Emma read to me—a book on Azure Falls.

"The water of the Falls is said to possess magical healing abilities," she'd told me. "One drink of it and maladies of any sort can be cured."

The Falls, I thought to myself. That's it! I'll trek to Azure Falls and have Emma drink its water.

Though I knew such was easier said than done. It would be a journey and a half—but it would all be worth it if I could save Emma. Time was running out, and if her bite wasn't rectified soon, she would surely die.

"Don't worry," I said, more to myself than to her, partly because she was unconscious, also partly because I needed a confidence boost. "I'm going to set you free of this horrid curse, Emma. I promise you that."