I urged my body to move against the phantom restraints that had appeared around me, but it was no use. It was a struggle to even breathe as an invisible force pushed me. All I could do was watch as Sabre was secured with several pieces of rope, thrashing and kicking in an attempt to break free.

We were all stuck.

"Axel!" Mace called another one of his lackeys over. "Send word to the generals at the border to send a battalion of soldiers through and take over the nearest villages they can. Don't harm any civilians yet unless they fight back, just secure their homes."

The figure set off without wasting any time, heading further up the main path that led to Icrodeia if you travelled for long enough.

"So, that's it?" Lorella managed to get out while trapped in her own frozen state. "Racaea doesn't have this damned shard and you're sending out your forces anyway."

Mace shrugged, his burst of anger from before having cooled down. "I was always going to send them out no matter if I got the shard or not. The only difference was whether or not I got what I needed out of it."

"Leave Sabre out of it!" Auron retorted, attempting to break free from the phantom force Mace was holding him with. "She's done nothing more than the rest of us. If you let her go, we can continue looking for your stone."

"But the Sephirans left the Idaphite for her, she is the next and only other lead I have. You three are an unnecessary weight. Truly, you're lucky that I'm planning to let you keep your lives." Mace motioned his hand for more cloaked figures to approach. "Sabre won't be too cooperative in giving me information if you're all dead."

Sabre cried out in anger as her head was pulled back and a thick piece of rope was secured around her mouth. Her brows furrowed as she glared at Mace and tears of fury built in her eyes.

I couldn't allow them to do this to her. Sabre wouldn't give them information freely, I knew that for sure, so Mace would have to be a little creative in the ways he got it out of her. Rage built beneath my skin at the thought of what he would do. I couldn't let them hurt her.

But we were stuck. Even if we weren't trapped by Mace's power, we were outnumbered. If we tried to fight back, we wouldn't be any better off than we were at the ball. It would result in injuries we wouldn't be able to treat. We were days from the castle and heading back to Bellgrave Village sounded like a death sentence with all the warnings we received about what lurked in the forest.

We were beaten. There was nothing we could do except watch as they tied Sabre up tighter.

Mace chuckled as he turned back to his captive. "Any final words?"

Sabre only glowered at him, breathing heavily against the rope around her mouth.

"Good." The miscreant brought out his dagger and used the pommel to hit her on the back of her head, dragging unconsciousness to greet her. One of the cloaked figures then threw her over their shoulder, heading towards the path that led to Icrodeia.

"Sabre!" I yelled, struggling against the confines I was trapped in. "Don't touch her!"

This couldn't be happening. Today, we were supposed to find the shard and bring it to Mace. We were supposed to bring peace between our kingdoms, to stop war from breaking out. Now, I was watching the person I cared most about being hauled away by our enemy and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Sabre!" I called out again, my voice breaking as I continued to struggle against the barrier that had been placed on us. What was a fae's strength worth when I couldn't set myself free?

"They're gone, Kayne," Lorella stated in defeat. "She's gone."

"And I'll get her back." My gaze turned towards the sky instead of the figures walking away in the distance. Soon, we wouldn't be able to see them anymore. "How long until sunset?"

"Too long," Auron admitted. "At least a few hours." The fight had fled out of him the moment Sabre had been knocked out. "They've got Sabre and Icrodeia will be invading Racaea as soon as they're notified."

"We need to get back to the castle and inform everyone of what has happened. They need to prepare for battle." Panic laced Lorella's voice. "My father can send his soldiers to the border, they aren't stationed too far from it."

"Not without Sabre." The figures of Mace and his lackeys were now nothing but small dots on the horizon, blending in with the trees around them. They didn't have horses. As soon as I was set free, I could just use a horse to catch up with them. It would be simple.

Auron caught me eyeing down my horse. "And how are you going to get her back? Even if we do catch up to them, we're three against who knows how many." His tone softened. "Sabre isn't useless, she can handle herself until we can get some help to bring her back."

He was right. Sabre was tough. She'd be able to handle what was thrown her way if we got to her quick enough. We just had no clue where she'd be taken.

"Someone's coming!" Lorella dragged me out of my thoughts, sending hope jolting into my heart.

As I stilled my racing breaths, I heard the hooves of a horse making its way down the path, heading towards us. What were the odds that a random passerby knew how to free us from the barrier cast on us? Or perhaps they were skilled and willing enough to take down Mace and his friends to save Sabre for us? Both seemed unlikely.

"Help!" Lorella called out. "If someone's there, please help us!" The pounding hooves sped up in response.

"As the Prince of Racaea, I order you to halt! We are in need of your assistance." I couldn't turn my head to see who was approaching, so I had to hope it was someone who at least looked trustworthy.

The horse slowed as it neared, the sound of its hooves coming to a complete stop. "How did I know you kids would be out here?" A familiar, deep voice remarked.

"Trik!" Auron cried in relief. "Please, help. We're stuck and the Icrodeians have taken Sabre."

Of all the people that could have approached us, despite the awkward and hostile conversation we'd had, I was glad it was Trik who had found us. It was someone who already knew a little bit of the trouble we had gotten ourselves into, not just a random stranger.

"Taken her? Where?" He questioned as he leapt off his horse to rush over to us.

"We don't know, they started walking towards Icrodeia on the main path though, so they might be easy to catch up to," I explained as the blacksmith came into view. I didn't know if he could take on a dozen or so of Mace's lackeys by himself, but he had to try. He couldn't leave Sabre — his daughter — out there to be captured.

Trik was more dishevelled than usual. Dark circles settled underneath his eyes, pockets of shadow that bore the stress he was feeling. His beard and hair were scruffed from the journey to the cottage, the wind having tousled it from its neat state. All he wore was his normal blacksmith attire with a jacket thrown on top. He had no satchels or belongings with him, not even on the horse.

He shook his head, an angered frown appearing on his mouth. "It won't be easy. They couldn't have travelled all the way here without some sort of horse. How long ago did they leave?"

"Not too long. Please, at least try," Lorella begged.

"They'll be long gone by now, I'm sure of it. Even if I could, I don't want to leave you three here alone and I'd never be able to take them down, especially if they're using their magic stone." Trik ran a hand over his face, pain and guilt emerging in his features.

"They're going to send forces into Racaea as soon as they can, Trik." Auron dragged the blacksmith's attire back to him. "Mace told them to take control of the villages nearest to the border. We need to do something."

"I knew this would happen." Trik breathed deeply, pulling his thoughts together. "Lady Lorella, your father and a squadron of his men are on their way over here. War and battles are not my strong suit, so once they arrive, they will deal with the threat of Icrodeia. For now," he prodded Auron in the chest with a finger, "I'll figure out how to set you free."

"But what about Sabre?" I asked, confusion and irritation building in me. How could he act so calm when his child had been kidnapped? Was he not concerned that she was going to get hurt?

"They won't hurt her, they wouldn't dare think of it. She'll be fine until we rescue her." He took his finger away from Auron and rubbed it against his palm, as if feeling a texture that it had created. "Interesting," Trik murmured, still audible enough for us to hear. "A sun barrier."

"And how can you be so sure of that?" If I wasn't trapped by Mace's barrier, I would have pulled him by the shirt to demand he helped Sabre.

Auron's brow furrowed. "How do you know it's a sun barrier?" He brought up a good point. Surely the only people who knew about this sort of magic were Icrodeians and those mixed up into the mess of the Idaphite shard.

"Sabre is the only hope that Icrodeia has left." He met each of our eyes and sighed. "There's a lot of untold secrets you need to know about."