Cress tossed and turned, the sheets that covered her turned with her and fell on the ground abandoning her to face the cold. She shivered but her eyes didn't open, instead they seemed to shut more tightly as if she was afraid to open them.

She slept on the floor, the pillow she had stolen from the bed had been thrown away hours ago and her arm was bent at the elbow for it was being used as a makeshift pillow.

Her breathing was erratic and in her dreams, she was in a long and dark tunnel. She walked along the tunnel, feeling her heart rate increase with each step she took. With each step she took, she became aware of the fact that she was getting dangerously close to something terrible but she couldn't stop.

Her body refused to listen to the commands her mind screamed at it and continued its way on. Cress's fists clenched as she reached the end. A wall stood in front of her, stopping her from going any further. An uneasy feeling swept over as she waited, the image in her dreams dimmed until all Cress could see was darkness.

Footsteps sounded in her ears causing her to tremble as she gazed into pure black. The footsteps stopped and fingers wrapped itself around her throat before they squeezed. Pain caused her eyes to flutter open and for a moment Cress gazed at the figure of the man whose fingers were wrapped around her throat.

Her mind struggled to comprehend the situation as it juggled between reality and fiction. As the fingers tightened Cress realised that whatever that was happening wasn't a dream, it was real.

Panic spread through her as the oxygen supply began to diminish causing her head to swim. Her hands grasp the man's arms and begin to pull at them, urging to let her go and his grip tightens in response. Her lungs feel as if they are on fire, they beg her for air but she can't find any to give them. Her lips release startled and choking gasps as the man tried to tighten his grip further.

Cress flailed her arms trying to loosen his grip but he didn't budge. Her vision blurred as she looked at the man, his coal-black and strangely familiar eyes staring at her with no emotion as she struggled to breathe.

Before Cress could fall into darkness, she reached for something to grab onto and finds it. Calmness settles over her as she grips the light in the palm of her hands. The small flames in her room fall prey to the darkness and for a second nothing happens then white light explodes from her, causing the man to yell in agony and loosen his grip on her.

Cress breathes in, her body shuddering as in took in huge gulps of air, the air was released with a slight stutter as if her lungs were afraid to let go of it. She looks at the man who is still screaming in pain, his face burnt with flesh marks.

Did she cause that?

Her eyes slowly move downwards to gaze at her hands and widen, she was greeted by her fingers which pulsed with a strange white light. As she stared at them, they changed colours from white to a light blue which became deeper and turned into a light yellow before it darkened and finally changed to red.

The colours of a flame.

Cress curls her fingers into fists, causing her nails to dig into her palms but that doesn't stop the red glow that seemed to emerge from her fingers. Her gaze drifts to the man, who is lying on the floor, propped up against her bed.

"Ciana?" He questioned as he stared at her glowing fingertips.

Memories of hearing the same words drift through her thoughts causing her to stumble her with shock. Zagan was dead then who was the one intent of having her killed?

The way the man gazed at her with empty lifeless eyes sent a shiver down her spine. Cress could see that the man was in pain, his hand clutched one side of his charred face but other than that he didn't show any signs of discomfort. He looked too inhumane.

"Who sent you?" Cress questioned, her breaths still not returning to normal.

The man didn't reply and continued to stare at her.

"I asked, who sent you here?" Cress said, her voice becoming louder with each word.

"Ciana?" He repeated his voice blank.

"Is that a code word?" Cress asked, her voice turning helpless. "What is that? Who is Ciana?"

The man removed the hand that covered one side of his face and Cress felt nauseated as he looked at his half-burnt face, she turned her gaze away to his finger which pointed at her.

"I am Ciana?" Cress asked and the man nodded, his burnt fleshy skin seemed to move as he did cause bile to rise up Cress's throat. "What is Ciana? What does it mean?"

The man didn't reply and instead began to get up. Cress watched as he staggered before he finally managed to stand up. Cress couldn't help but grab her silver dagger which lay on the table beside her and slip it inside her kaftan.

Even though the man was hurt and had burn marks all over his arms, he kept moving towards her.

There was no way that man was physically capable of harming her but yet, Cress couldn't help but feel wary of him. There was just something off about him. He staggered towards her and while Cress became more on edge, she didn't say anything. She needed answers and for now, he was all she got.

Her eyes swept over him, disregarding his features and instead focusing on knowing about him. He looked like and was dressed like a commoner, a man she would have seen but not remembered. His body was built but it neither held the bulk of a weight lifter nor the thinness many assassins had, which came handy when they were forced to hide or creep through narrow places.

He didn't look like a hit-man, he looked like a normal man. One with a normal job and normal quaint little family.

Looks can be deceiving. Cress thought sourly changing the train of her thoughts before it could land on the betrayal-by-sister station.

The man stopped in front of her and instead reached out to grab her arm. Cress stepped back smoothly trying not to let discomfort show on her face.

"Don't touch me." Her voice was quiet but held a dangerous threat to it.

The man didn't seem to hear her as he moved to grab her again. Cress stepped back easily and stared at him with slight bafflement. From the way he staggered, she knew that he was in no position to fight, then why was he so intent on trying to hit her? Why wasn't he giving up?

He limped as he moved around and this time Cress caught the side of blood flowing from a huge gash on his leg. She hadn't caused that, who had?

Cress lifted her gaze to focus on his shirt and realised that a large brown stain covered it and it didn't look like it was his blood.

"Jarnek" Cress whispered the name of the guard who had been standing outside her door. While she couldn't say that they were close friends, he was someone she knew and liked. When she spoke her voice was angered. "Did you hurt him?"

The man didn't reply but as Cress watched his lips seemed to tun up into a satisfied smirk.

Rage boiled inside her and before he could move, she had pulled his legs from below him and pushed him back pulling her dagger out and placing it on his neck. The man showed no emotion other than slight surprise at her actions.

"Who sent you here?" Cress said, her grip on the dagger tightening as she did so.

He didn't reply and instead stared at her with those horrific black eyes, Cress fought off the shivers that were sent slithering down her spine and instead pressed the dagger closer to his neck.

"This is the last time, I am asking." A drop of blood trickled down his neck as she spoke. "Who sent you here?"

The man stared at her for a second before he spoke and this time Cress caught the slight accent that flowed with it. She frowned as she realised that it did not belong to Celestia.

"The Lord of Darkness." The man spoke his voice hushed and holding something that sounded like pride and for a second Cress felt a splitting headache arise inside her.

The name filled her with familiarity as if she had heard about him before. She frowned as the feeling began to disappear.

"The Lord of Darkness?" Cress questioned, her grip on the knife loosening."Is that a code name? Does he do business in Vilehelm?"

Cress had heard of crooks in Vilehelm being giving names. She had been unofficially assigned to the name a Quick Kill, an asset in the Forsaken that no one really knew about. Pied piper had been given to Dmitri, Cress had thought that it wasn't too bad until she had heard the original version of the Pied Piper of Vilehelm. Felix had been marked with the name, Inventor of Death and sadness mixed with guilt always appeared on his face when he heard that.

Azazel didn't have a name. His name was enough to send his enemies into a frenzy but he was also known to go with the names monster and devil.

The man laughed at her words and Cress resisted the urge to back away. It wasn't the laughter that you experienced, the one with tears in your eyes and smile on your face, it was a cackle, a cold cackle that reminded Cress of the legends she had heard of the monster under the bed.

"Why are you here?" Cress demanded, reminding herself that she was the one who had the control, that she was the one who needed to be feared.

But one look in his pitch-black eyes made her realise that he didn't fear her at all. She pushed the knife the closer and yet his expression didn't change. Uneasiness gathered in the pits of her stomach as she realised that he did not care.

He didn't care if he lived or died, he was simply not afraid of death. How could that be possible?

"Why are you here?" She repeated as the feelings of rage, anxiousness and fear inside her battled for dominance.

"To take you." The man said his lips twisting to form a grin that looked grotesque on his burnt face.

"Take me where?" Cress asked, a note of impatience appearing in her voice. She gritted her teeth as he grinned at her.

He didn't reply and before Cress could comprehend her actions, she reached back and punched him. For a second nothing happened but then he began to scream.

At first, Cress thought that he was screaming because of the injury she might have inflected due to the punch but then she noticed the burning flesh.

Her gaze drifted to her fingertips which were aglow with the light but this time it wasn't only them which were alight. Her whole body was alight and she felt alive. It felt as if she was breathing the air for the first time as if her world was flooded with colours.

And she was burning.

The pain swept over her, swallowing her whole. Her whole body ached and suddenly the feeling of elation disappeared and the light stopped. Cress let out a whimper as her skin burned, her stomach clenched as she saw the burnt marks appearing on her skin, one by one each one seemingly more painful than the last.

Her gaze settled on the man, or what used to be a man. His skin had been charred completely, so horribly that he was beyond recognizable but that wasn't the worst thing.

The worst thing was that he was still alive.

Small, tortured sounds escaped from his lips and Cress couldn't help but think of her father. Was this how he looked like when he had been surrounded by flames?

Broken sounds emerged from his lips and with a start, Cress realised that they were words. She leaned closer to listen.

"Take you home," The man rasped, his voice hoarse.

"Why?" Cress whispered, stunned by what had occurred.

"Fulfill your destiny." The man spoke, each word dragged out with a gasp of pain.

"My destiny?" Cress asked her voice barely a whisper.

The man did not reply as Cress looked at him, taking in his still form, realising that he would never speak again.

***

"Home." He said, his voice full of surety. "You must go home."

"This is my home." Cress said, her tone baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"Come with me." The man said, his legs struggling as he pushed himself up. "I will take you home."

"I am not going anywhere with you!" Cress spoke, her voice holding a dangerous tone. "You will tell me who sent you here and you will tell me now."

The man didn't respond and instead his hand shot out to grab her but before it could, Cress grabbed it.

"Why are you here? Tell me! Or I will break your wrist." Cress said gripping the wrist in her palm.

"Home. I will take you home. He told me to take you home." The man muttered and his other hand shot out to hold her.

"Who sent you here?!" Cress yelled, anger at