A sense of worry overcame Dante as he flew besides all three of his brothers. It was not long until a familiar voice snuck into his mind and warmed his heart. Every time Kendra's soul connected with his, he felt truly at home. Her worry soon latched onto him and became his own.

It's Catherine again. Something's really wrong with her, Kendra said, her voice full of concern for her friend.

A small fraction of that worry, Dante had to admit, came from himself.

What happened?

We just kind of lost her. She was physically here, but not mentally. And when she finally came back, she started to slip away again. She could barely talk... I don't know, Dante. We don't know what to do. She said it was different to how the cramps started. This may be related to something else.

Dante sent his promised confirmation that he understood and quickly broke off the contact to her, to alert his brother.

"Reagan, we need to get down there," Dante said aloud, already pulling his wings towards his back.

"I know. Something's not right," he answered with a clipped voice.

Dante had planned to fly down semi-quickly, but once he saw Reagan completely lay his wings against his back and take a steep dive, Dante didn't take long to follow his lead.

"Catherine. Emergency." And as soon as those two words left Dante's mouth, informing his other two brothers when they gave him questioning looks, he took the plunge and dove down, down, down.

The air rushed past his face with such a speed, his eyes began to water. Dante gained so much velocity in such little time, for a split second his heart stopped as the ground came dangerously close.

Bracing for the impact in his joints, Dante tore his wings open and his body catapulted upwards. He nearly roared as the pain electrocuted through him.

He hated nosediving. It always left him sore for days.

As his weight hit the ground only seconds later, the earth shook beneath him. Then Tyrion landed. Above, Ryker circled around them to see if the area was safe. His descent was much slower since he was holding the traitors within his talons.

Once he too finally landed, the earth-quakes stopped and the wolves could stand still.

With another wave of worry washing through him, Dante watched as Reagan changed his skin.

The usual glow of white light surrounded his entire body and Dante saw his dragonic form shrink and form into that of a human. His skin was covered in black scales, mimicking clothes. He walked towards Catherine, who was also in her human skin, and kneeled beside her unconscious body.

"How long has she been feeling like this?" Reagan asked. Catherine's younger brother held her as the other kneeled next to Reagan.

It was the younger one that answered. "She said it didn't feel like the cramps she had because of the traitors." Emmet, if Dante could recall his name correctly, shook his shaggy hair and looked up into the sky as if he would find his answers there. "I have an assumption, though."

His voice sounded defeated, though Dante couldn't tell why.

"Which would be?" Dante asked, feeling impatience arise as the young one didn't elaborate further. He remained quiet for a few strainful moments in which Dante had to keep himself from snapping at him.

Dante hated these kinds of situations. Especially when he knew there was suffering involved. And as much as he wanted to hate the little She-Devil, her apology and subsequent explanation had touched something inside of him.

Maybe it was also Kendra's influence. He suspected both. Though forgiveness wasn't something he gave away easily and it would take time to truly forgive her for what she'd risked.

"I've seen her... act strange after using her gifts. I think this might be related to that."

Though Dante didn't know the kid, he sensed an intelligence in him that he barely knew even amongst his own kind. Dante remembered them talking about gifts in general and wondered if Emmet had one too.

"You're right. Catherine told me that she loses her eyesight when she over-exhausts herself," Reagan added.

The two brothers seemed taken aback by that, their foreheads creased in wrinkles. The older one with the shoulder-length, black hair huffed.

"Another thing she hasn't told me."

Albeit Dante couldn't control emotions or feelings or whatever, like Catherine could, he did think that the alpha seemed annoyed and disappointed upon realizing that.

Dante took the moment to scan his surroundings and noticed that they were close to one of the settlements along the coastline, west of Everett Valley. He estimated another few days of traveling until they would reach the gate to Polla'Nisia.

Excitement rushed through him at the thought of finally returning home. Though their journey to Everett Valley had been more or less fruitless, he had a few books to cross-check with those he'd read from the Council Archives. Dante had found a few pieces of information that he'd found suspicious but weren't complete. And now that both he and Reagan were promised to shifters who happened to have gifts, Catherine's especially strong, they needed some answers.

Besides, maybe one of them had information they hadn't shared yet. Hope was not yet lost. And if the fates willed it, then they would at least aid in the war that was coming.

Dante steered his attention back to Catherine. Her blonde hair clung to her face, most of it drenched in sweat. Her cheeks were red and dark circles spread underneath her closed eyes. "She looks like she's got a fever," he thought aloud.

Snapping his attention to Dante, Emmet looked up at him. "You're right. She's really hot, too. We need some Kinsai berries to get the temperature down. Cora, will you see if there are any Kinsai bushes around?"

Just as a female wolf with red-streaked fur was about to turn around, Dante interjected. "Kinsai bushes are native in Everett Valley. There won't be anything familiar in the forests here except for Samin flowers. Most of your healing-plants are native only to Everett Valley." It was what made Everett Valley so special so many centuries ago. It was why the town was still one of the most important places in Espheros. The reason why it was hidden behind the Denhid forest, away from the rest of the world.

But Dante left that part out.

"Then how are we supposed to get her temperature down? I need something with antipyretic abilities. I don't know if she'll even wake up if we don't have anything! Shifters don't normally get sick at all!"

Emmet, as Dante had come to know him, wasn't one to lose his composure. He was a very quiet and controlled kid, barely lost it even when his friend died. Now, with his sister in life-threatening state, he seemed to be displaying emotions not typical for him.

That was what Kendra let Dante feel, anyways, since Dante could barely remember the guy's name. Kendra felt taken aback by his behavior, slight shock ran through Dante, but it stayed at that. It was quickly clouded by more worry.

"We have to do something," Kendra added.

"If this is really connected to her gift, I'm not sure we can," Dante said gravely, steering his attention to his brother who held Catherine's hand in between his palms.

Alpha Reece won't like this suggestion but... Shyla might know something. I have an inkling that she just might... a female wolf's voice rang in Dante's mind. He wondered which one of the two that stood aside the male wolf it had been.

He could barely tell, especially since he had no idea who they were.

Can you translate this to Alpha Reece, please? The same female voice asked when no answer came.

Dante did as the female voice instructed and said aloud what he'd heard in his mind. Apparently, the telepathic thoughts of shifters were only shared when shifters were in their animal skins. Interesting.

Reece, the alpha, shook his head and glanced over at his beta. "I don't think that's a good idea. What do you think, Beta Jarred?"

The beta replied through their connection, but said it too quietly for Dante to have heard it. He couldn't translate, but the necessity of it ceased once Reece got his answer through a strange grunt the blonde wolf gave from himself. The wolf shook his head from right to left.

Judging by the sigh that ran through Reece, his answer was clear however. "Is there any way you can bind the traitors without any chance of them being able to escape?" Reece directed his question to Dante's leader, Reagan, who's attention was barely with them at all.

He was solely focused on his dying promised.

"There might be one," Ryker said as Reagan did nothing to answer. Dante wondered at first what his twin meant, since they didn't have any weeds that they could have stuffed down the traitors throats which would have physically immobilized them without influencing their mental capacity.

When Ryker stared at Reagan, Dante knew what he'd meant. But since neither Dante nor Ryker ever really knew what they were allowed to share and what not, he needed Reagan's permission to even voice his suggestion. With Reagan so out of it, Dante wondered if they would even solve this problem. Reagan sure complicated things unnecessarily, it began to piss him off.

"Onar, there might be a way to get answers out of the traitors. I'm sure you know what Ryker suggests." Dante let a feral growl escape, one that wasn't harmless but not threatening enough.

It finally caught Reagan's attention.

"No. I won't do that, there is no guarantee they haven't found a way to bypass it."

Ryker took a step forward, causing the ground to rumble. "Where else would you like to start finding some answers that might help your promised?"

Dante nearly let out a whiff of smoke, shocked that his brother had spoken in that manner.

The gray dragon huffed impatiently. "I can feel her dying. And Emmet is correct, it is related to her powers. It's not coming from any outside sources or influences."

Of course Ryker was agitated. Where Dante spoke to animals, Ryker had an affiliation for health, sicknesses and everything that concerned biological life. He could even physically feel the same, especially if someone was suffering.

"Have you tried helping her?" Dante asked then, not having thought of it earlier.

Ryker nodded his head without looking his way. "How else do you think I'd know it's her own doing..."

His snappy tone wasn't one Dante was used to, but ignored anyway.

"What are you even talking about?" Reece wondered, his eyes darting from Dante to Ryker.

Sighing, Ryker explained. "We all have special abilities, quite like Catherine does."

In that moment, Reece and Emmet stared at each other with a questioning look that conveyed more than Dante could assume. Something about those gifts had stirred up something, though Dante couldn't tell what it was.

He knew Catherine had a gift, and Kendra had one too, though Catherine's was much more powerful. Dante never heard of shifters possessing gifts. The ordinary ones didn't... But what was different about them?

Dante couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"And what gifts do you have?" Emmet inquired, his sight wandering to Ryker.

"My speciality is health. I'm like a healer, just... well, more efficient because I see into any organism." Ryker's scaled head turned to the brown, bulky dragon who'd been preoccupied with erecting and guarding the little prison of stones.

"Tyrion's good with art. He's an Arturian, amongst our kind. He sings, makes music that enchants, literally, and draws." When Ryker turned to Reagan, silently asking for permission, it was declined with silence.

Dante could have told Ryker that he should have known that Reagan disliked speaking about his gift. Dante shook his head as Ryker's eyes connected with his.

One of the few things Dante and Reagan had in common—they both disliked speaking about their gifts. Thankfully, Emmet didn't seem to be one to push things, as he refrained from replying. His sight wandered back to his brother Reece, who's eyes connected with Dante's for a split second.

Dante could have sworn he felt a foreign presence touch his mind.

And that got him thinking.

Did Catherine's siblings have gifts too? And if they did, were they connected to who her father was?

Dante also wondered if Ryker could scan Catherine's siblings' biology to figure out if Dante's assumption was far fetched or closer to the truth than expected.