Fog and smoke clouded her mind, her feet seeming to walk on an endless, bottomless abyss of darkness. Her golden eyes looked everywhere, seeming to be trapped in a dark daze she couldn't break out of.

Her senses seemed stronger, her ears twitching as she found herself running, running to something. She couldn't control the sudden pull her body felt and how her legs seemed to have a mind of their own.

All she knew was that she was running, running to something.

Ancient voices whispered words around her, speaking in languages she didn't know. All she knew was that she was running to something important.

This has to be a dream. A purely fictional thing. Maybe this is what hell feels like. A continuous cycle that never ends.

She thought these words over in her mind until she was blinded by a great light that had her stumbling on her own two feet. She stopped short, squinting her eyes and looking forward.

Her hand reached down for her sword but she soon realized it wasn't there, just wisp and mist twirling around her fingers.

A woman appeared in front of her, beautiful and graceful with long dark hair that kissed the curves of her waist and warm golden eyes that seemed to be made out of embers. Her skin was a caramel-honey tone, her face more beautiful than anything the young warrior had ever seen, her dramatic yet soft features blending together to create the face of a goddess.

The woman's head wore a crown made out of crystals and diamonds and rubies, sitting like a fortune on her head. Her ears were pointed, her back bearing beautiful, dark wings that drifted to the floor.

The young warrior couldn't speak, couldn't breathe as the woman gently reached for her, her fingers brushing past her cheeks and down to her chin. Those hypnotizing eyes stared into her soul as the woman gently spoke to her, "It is not your time to die. You have to find out the truth about yourself. You have to embrace your destiny."

The warrior looked into those eyes, such similar eyes as the woman caressed her short hair, graceful fingers whispering past her skin. "My destiny?" the warrior questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

A smile slipped on the woman's lips, simply shrugging as she let her hand reach down and take the warrior's hand in hers. "You will know when you find out the truth" she spoke, her tone turning serious. "There is danger brewing, people around you that you shouldn't trust."

Golden eyes turned darker, a fire dancing within them like a gem to the sun. "Don't trust anyone." The warrior nodded, simply looking down at her hand to see the numerous tattoos that circled her hand. Some were Ruges dancing up her shoulder and back but others were symbols she didn't recognize.

Then her gaze drifted further to the woman's hips and she nearly gasped when she saw her sword, golden and shimmering with a ruby twinkling in the middle strapped to her hips. The blade was sharpened, wisp of fire circling her blade.

"My sword" the warrior whispered to the woman. "Why do you have my sword?" The beautiful woman simply smiled, her hand falling from hers. "It is the key to your destiny. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands."

Suddenly everything began to shake, the dark abyss around them seeming to crumble. The beautiful woman was beginning to fade away, the light once surrounding her now dimming into nothing. "I can't stay much longer."

With her fading figure, she simply whispered in a voice so soft, even the gods couldn't hear it, "Your destiny. It is yours. Don't let it slip out of your hands."

Then with that, she reached out and touched the young warrior's face, a blinding light stunning them both until there was nothing but silence.

The warrior screamed until she felt like she was drowning once again and she suddenly remember what had happened. Desperately, she tried to shake herself out of the dream, opening her mouth for life to breath back into her.

Air breathed its way into her lungs, her mind still bleak yet her heart beating so fast as she tried to process what was going on. The confusion only lasted a second as her eyes opened to the mid-noon sun and green-gray eyes.

With that, Onyx Ashrevion took a big breath, propping herself up on her knees as she realized that she had defeated death once again.

"Onyx, are you okay? Do you need some water?" Alesandria's voice captured her attention, turning her head to her friend who stood over her, her one arm holding her back.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay" the Siphon whispered back to her, breathing in once again. A sharp pain nudged at her ribs, her hands reaching down to lift up her shirt and reveal an open wound sitting at the side of her ribs.

"Damn those witches" she whispered, letting her shirt fall back down. She sat herself up, prompting her friend to get up and walk over to their bags to retrieve some water. Onyx looked down at herself, her soaking hair plastered to her face and her wet clothes sticking to her cold body.

She shivered in the rather cold breeze, wrapping her arms around herself. Her lips were swollen, her forehead cut and her hands suffering some major scars. A headache formed at the back of her head, growing with each second.

Alesandria was back with the bottle of water which the Siphon needed, tearing open the top and indulging in the crisp taste of water running in her system. She drank the bottle dry, tossing it on the floor as she wiped her mouth clean of water.

Her hand touched her face gently, still feeling the relevance of that dream, her mind not able to get rid of that beautiful woman that had spoken to her.

Your destiny. It is yours. Don't let it slip out of your hands.

Those words stuck with her even as she took in the scenery, the roaring waterfall splashing against the rocks below. Her gaze traveled over to Alesandria who was soaking wet, her long dark hair plastered to her face and her clothes clinging to her thin figure.

Everything came rushing back to her, the feeling of suffocating as her lungs filled with water and the relaxing feeling of dying as she gave up on everything for her friend.

"How did I...why are you wet?" Onyx asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled herself off the ground and walked over to the waterfall, taking in just how far she had dropped down. She couldn't even make out where the bottom was.

"You were going to die and the thought of you giving up your life to save me was something I couldn't deal with" Alesandria explained as her friend turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. "I had to dive in to save you."

"What? Alesandria, you could have been killed!" the Siphon explained, shaking her head. "My one mission is to protect you and I would be to blame if anything happened to you."

She sighed, rubbing her arms back and forth as she averted her gaze from the Siphon's hard stare. "I know but I didn't" she continued, shaking her head. The Siphon scoffed. "Fate was lucky to you."

"Listen, my powers saved me" she hissed in a tone that was rather deadly for her. Onyx stopped herself, crossing her hands over her shoulder. "Your powers are the reason why we are stranded on this mountain."

"Yes, I know but when I dived in to save you, all the anger, pain, suffering inside of me just released out of my system. The thought of you dying just so I could see another day was all too much for me to bear and my powers just burst free from my soul. It created a shield around me that would protect me when I hit the water."

The Mind Siphon stared at her friend in disbelief, choosing to believe everything she said was the truth yet her mind couldn't process what had just been uttered.

A defensive power? It was something even the greatest of magical beings didn't possess.

"I saw your body lying drifting underwater and I reached for you as fastly as I could" Alesandria uttered to her, rubbing her arm gently. "My powers...magic...whatever you call it then transported me back to the top of the cliff."

Casting her gaze down to the arm that bore her Ruges, Onyx simply nodded, licking her lips as her eyes traced the delicate curves of each design on her arm. She knew Alesandria couldn't see it but her mind strayed to Rheynoak, if he was still there, silently watching her.

"How long was I out?" she asked, covering her arm with her right hand. "A few hours maybe. I was getting worried that I was too late" her friend whispered back to her, sweeping her dark hair away.

Mustering up a smile, the Mind Siphon simply walked up to her friend, touching her arm in comfort. "Thank you" she simply uttered to her. "Thank you for saving my life."

The girl simply shrugged. "You would have done the same if it was me."

Smiling, the Siphon raised her hand to run her fingers through her hair, a pain shaking her body when her fingers grazed past an open wound. "Shit" she whispered, letting her fingers fall from her head.

She looked down, seeing the blood that stained her fingers. "I am guessing my head split open on one of the rocks" she muttered to herself, stomping away over to the tiny secluded corner where they kept their bags.

"I tried to fix it but it seemed as if it was healing itself" Alesandria explained, following the Siphon from several feet behind. Onyx nodded, removing one of the bags over to reveal her sword.

"The perks of being a Mind Siphon" she informed her friend, grasping her sword gently in her hand. "We heal as quick as daylight."

Ignoring everything around her, admired her sword with her golden eyes, letting her fingers run down the gold crafted head of her sword to the sharpened blade that caught the dying sunlight. It has been her only companion since the day she was born, a thousand souls intertwined at the tip of its blade for each life that she took.

The sword has been her friend, her companion, her fellow assassin and it has stayed with her through everything. It had never lied to her, never disobeyed her.

Onyx's fingers stroked the ruby in the middle of the sword, a bright jewel that winked at her and remembered the words that the women had whispered to her.

"It is the key to your destiny. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands."

Her mind wandered back to King Ferdin, the words the King of Aysein had uttered to her just before she had taken his life with the very sword she held in her hand.

"I know that sword anywhere."

Her gaze hardened on the weapon in her hand, taking a closer look at it. Could her closest friend really be the key to her past?

Her mind was wandering off in so many different directions that she didn't even realize it when Alesandria tapped her shoulder lightly, capturing her attention.

"Maybe we should take a break for today. Continue tomorrow" she suggested, looking out into the sun that was beginning to lose its light as late noon descended upon the sky.

"Of course" Onyx simply responded, standing up with her sword tucked in her hand. She looked over her shoulder to her friend, nodding gently. "I'll get a fire started."

Alesandria smiled back at her. "No, allow me to start a fire. You have been through enough." With no argument, she turned around and headed towards the little outskirts of the woods to gather some sticks.

Tucking her sword near her hips and securing it firmly by her side, the young Mind Siphon simply looked up at the sky and said her words so boldly, even the gods could hear her, "Gods, stars. Being dead would have been a much more precious gift."

A/N: And that is the end of another chapter!

I'm sorry. I know this was a bit of a short chapter but I had a little EUREKA! moment where I just figured out what to do and what to write for the rest of the book and the adrenaline coursing through my body was begging my fingers to write!

Okay, that just sounds creepy. This chapter was one of the shorter chapters in the books but it definitely gave an insight into Alesandria and her powers and an insight into Onyx's past.

Who do you think that woman was and why is her sword such a symbol! Tell me down below in the comments!

Thank you guys for all your constant support. It means so much to me that you enjoy this book. I enjoy writing it and to hear your feedback always makes my day!

So tell me what your thoughts are on this chapter and don't forget to comment down below and vote if you liked it.

Until next time Lovelies!

With love, May