"Caley, oh my Merlin. What the hell are you doing here? When did you get back?" she asked, rushing forward and embracing me in a hug.

"Abbey...what--why are you here?" I asked, pushing her away.

"Caley, I'm fighting. I joined the Order. Trey told me that you were a part of it, too. But you aren't supposed to be back here. Why are you here?" she asked me again.

"I got back an hour ago," I said.

"You should have left," she said.

"I can't," I replied, feeling my heart racing.

"What do you mean? Why not?" she asked.

"Look, Abbey. I need you to get out of here. You're going to get hurt--" I started, reaching forward to grab her arm. She shook me away.

"What do you mean you can't leave, Caley?" she asked me again, her green eyes lit up by the dancing flames around us. 

"I have to find Trey, Abbey. I can't leave without him. I need you to get out of here," I said, feeling desperate. I yanked her out of the way of a flaming orb that was launched towards us. 

"Trey is on the other side of campus, Caley. What are you doing here?" Abbey asked. The flaming orb had hit the ground next to us and had lit the dry grass on fire. I waved my hand and put it out with a stream of water. Just as I did this, though, someone from the Order came charging towards me. My eyes widened when I saw that it was the security guard that I had left alive and conscious in the tower.

"Get her!" the man shouted at Abbey.

"What? No! She's on our side!" Abbey exclaimed, jumping in front of me and waving away an energy ball that he had launched towards me.

"Our side?! She's the one that disabled the security system!" the man yelled. I sent an energy orb at his face, knocking him out cold. But it was too late. He had already done enough damage. I turned to face Abbey, who was staring at me in shock.

"Please tell me he was lying," she said.

"Look, Abbey. I can explain--" I started, going towards her. She backed away, her face contorting in rage and shock.

"I can't believe it. He was right. Blackwell was right. You are the traitor, the one that was leaking information to the dark side the entire time. Just like your mother," Abbey said slowly, staring at me in disbelief.

"Abbey, please. Just hear me out," I said, feeling my eyes well up. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to tell her myself.

"There's no need to explain," Abbey said. "I just can't believe you would do this to us. To your father. To Trey," she spat out. 

"Just, please. Hear me out," I begged her. She shook her head, disappointment and anger etched in her face. 

"You betrayed us, Caley. All of these innocent lives lost--that's all on you," Abbey said, waving her hand around. 

"Abbey, please. I'm so sorry. You have to understand--"

"I understand enough. You were so desperate to be like your mother that you had to betray everyone you loved just to be like her," Abbey said. 

"No, you're getting it all wrong--" I said.

"Save it," she cut me off, putting her hand up. With her other hand, she conjured up a poisonous vine. It dripped venom onto the ground, causing the grass to immediately die where it dripped. "So is this what you were doing every time you mysteriously disappeared for hours at a time? You were playing spy for the enemy?" she asked, whipping the ground beside her, killing whatever was living in its place with the poison from te vine.

"Abbey, you have to hear me out. I wasn't doing it to betray any of you," I said. 

"Then tell me, how do you justify working for the enemy?" she asked.

"I was doing it to find the countercurse. On my elemental line," I said.

"And you thought the best way to do that was to join the enemy?" she asked.

"Yes, because my mother did and all of her research was with them. I had to join them to get access to her information. Otherwise I would have never known where to start to look for the countercurse," I explained.

"Then why didn't you get out after you got what you needed?" she asked, circling around me with her poisonous whip.

"I couldn't! I wanted to, but I was forced to take an oath that would kill me if I tried to leave. So I had to stay," I told her.

"I'd rather die than be a traitor to the ones I love," Abbey seethed. 

"I became a traitor to save the ones I love. That's why I'm here now. I'm trying to prevent as much damage as I can," I told her. However, just as I said this, a body flew towards us, limp and lifeless. When it landed, we saw that it was a member of the Order, as they were wearing a Trinity pin. I stared at it, horrified.

"Oh, really?" Abbey said sarcastically as she bent down to check their pulse. Her face fell and she stood up. The person was dead. "And how are you preventing damage?" she asked, pointing at the dead body. 

Abbey was angry and I was on the defense. I couldn't harm her, not even enough to render her unconscious. She was one of my best friends. All I could do was make her understand and get her to safety. But getting her to understand was difficult. It was Abbey, after all.

"I told the people under my control to kill only as a last resort. Their orders are to take people as prisoners, but keep them alive," I said. "I'm trying to prevent death as much as I can. You have to understand, Abbey. I'm not the evil one here." 

"No, but you're working for that side and that's just as bad," she said, standing up. I was starting to grow frustrated with her. I was wasting time. Behind me, the fire in the dorms grew higher, the bricks burning to the ground. The longer it was lit, the more people were in danger of dying due to falling rubble. 

"Look, just help me put out the fires in the dorms. I'll explain it as we go," I said. She glanced behind me at the falling bricks and pursed her lips.

"Fine. Let's go," she said, disintegrating the whip in her hands. I sighed in relief and we took off towards the buildings. "How do you plan on putting out a fire that big?" she asked.

"It's going to take a lot of energy, but I have an idea. I just need you to get as many people out of here as possible. Get them away from the base of the building. I can't focus if there are spells flying in every direction," I told her. 

"Ok," she said, nodding. She turned towards a group of people.

"And Abbey?" I said before she left. She turned her head towards me. "I promise, I'm not the enemy here. I have a reason for doing what I did. You just need to trust me," I said. I saw her gaze flicker slightly as she considered forgiving me. But then they widened as a blast of fire from the building behind us rose up.

"We'll see," she said, and then turned and ran away. As she took off, I fought my way towards the base of the building, trying to get close. I pushed people out of the way, deflecting spells and energy balls and knocking people backwards so that they flew away from the building. When I got to a clearing, I stood with my hands up.

There was too much fire for me to conjure up water by myself and put the fire out. I was going to have to try to manipulate the air around the building and take out the oxygen so that the fire died itself. But I had spent the least amount of time in Aerya and air was the one element I hadn't completely mastered. I glanced down at the grey swirling designs of the Trinity crest on my forearm and then back up at the building.

"Come on, Caley, you can do this," I whispered to myself. Putting my hands up and closing my eyes, I created a forcefield to contain the fire first. I felt my energy reserves depleting quickly. I needed to work quickly before I killed myself. I had never simulatenously used a forcefield and other magic at the same time. Doing so required a lot of energy and power and concentration. But I had to try. There were too many bodies on the ground already. I couldn't let anymore innocent people die.

"Oxy-non," I whispered, trying to focus both on keeping the forcefield up and the air molecules around the building. I could still hear the crackling of the fire. "Oxy-non," I hissed, feeling sweat trickle down my face. 

"Need some help?" I heard. I opened my eyes to see Gerrard and Isobel standing on either side of me.

"I have never been happier to see you," I said. Isobel smirked and put her hands up. Gerrard did the same on the other side of me.

"Oxy-non," we said together. "Oxy-non," we repeated. 

I was feeling light-headed, but just as I felt like I was about to pass out, the sky darkened a little. When I opened my eyes again and looked up, I smiled. The fire was out. I immediately took down the forcefield, breathing heavily.

"You ok?" Gerrard asked me.

"I probably would've died if you two hadn't shown up," I gasped, holding onto his arm.

"Here, drink some of this," Isobel said, grabbing my other arm and handing me a vial of electric blue liquid. It was the energy elixir that Mikael had given me when we first met. I put the vial to my lips and shivered as the cool liquid went down my throat. Instantly, I felt my energy reserves replenish. 

"Thank you," I said. 

"No need. We should get the other two before they topple over," Isobel told me, pointing at the other two dorm buildings. With that, the three of us ran towards the other two buildings. 

"Have you seen the others?" I asked.

"I saw Dom a while ago," Isobel said. "He's safe," she added.

"I saw your friend Lance. He's also safe," Gerrard told me. 

"Thank Merlin," I muttered, stopping in the middle of the two buildings. I saw Abbey shouting at people to get away from the buildings. When she saw me, she gave me a thumbs up. But just as she did this, a large chunk of the wall above her broke off, catching fire. 

"Abbey!" I shouted, shooting forward so fast my legs ached. In my state of panic, I couldn't react fast enough and she didn't look up in time. The piece of the wall was too heavy and it was falling too fast.

"ABBEY!" I shouted, my voice cracking.

It seemed like the next few seconds went by in excruciatingly slow motion.

The brick wall fell and Abbey was standing right underneath it, too slow to react. I was speeding forwad, thinking of the best spell to use. If I put out the fire, the wall would still crush her. If I destroyed the wall, the fire would consume her. I had to get her out of there. 

I transported at the last minute right next to her and pushed her out of the way, using an air force to project her a couple hundred feet away. But then the brick wall was right above me. I felt my heart drop, but at the last moment, the fire disappeared and the wall was destroyed. In its place, I felt a shower of water over my head, drenching me slightly. I looked over and my eyes widened.

"Zayll?!" I exclaimed, spotting the handsome prince. He looked tired and weary, but his blue eyes were bright, burning with the magic that he had just used to save my life. I ran towards him, throwing my arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?!" I asked, incredulous.

"I wasn't going to let you fight this battle on your own," he said.

"But the Queen--" I began and his eyes darkened. I felt my heart drop. "No, she's not--" 

He put his hands over mine.

"It happened yesterday afternoon," he said. I pulled away from him, my eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh my God, Zayll," I whispered.

"There wasn't anything you could do, Caley. This isn't your fault," he said, stepping forward.

"Are you insane?! This is all my fault! I was too slow! Just a few more hours. Merlin..." I cried.

"She's in a better place now. At least she isn't in pain anymore. But her dying request was to make sure that you succeeded so that no more of our people have to suffer the way my family is right now. And I couldn't sit around in Atlantis because being there kept reminding me of how much it hurt, so I came here. I came to help you," Zayll said. 

"I don't know what to say," I said, shaking my head.

"Don't say anything. Just let me help you," he told me, his voice soft.

His eyes were dark and there were dark circles around them. He was in pain and I knew that he was like me. He was passionate and he cared about the people he loved too much. To see them get hurt only drove him to do something, even if it meant risking his own life. 

"Okay. You can help. But for Merlin's sake, please take care of yourself," I pleaded. He gave me a weak smile.

"Of course," he said. "You take care, too, Caley. I will...see you later," he added with a peculiar look on his face. As he turned, I saw a sad look in his eyes that made me want to run after him. But he disappeared into the crowd too quickly and I needed to go check on Abbey. I turned my attention to where Abbey had landed. Gerrard and Isobel were crouching over her a few dozen feet away. I ran up to them.

"What happened?" I asked. They moved over so that I could see. Gerrard had a slightly perplexed look on his face. Isobel seemed unphased. 

"I think she broke her leg," Gerrard told me. 

"What?" I asked, crouching down. Abbey was moaning in pain, clutching her shin. 

"When you pushed her aside, she landed on the ground, but then that chunk of wall over there fell on her leg," Gerrard said, pointing to a smoking bit of rock that was a few feet away. "I think it broke her leg," he told me.

"Let me see," I said, reaching towards her leg. She shot my hand away, sending me a glare. "Quit being a baby; let me see if I can fix it," I said. When she moved her hand, however, I gasped, covering my mouth. Her bone was sticking out in a way that it should not have been sticking out, a dark stain of blood seeping through her jeans. It made me feel sick to my stomach. Instantly, I felt a wave of panic spread through me.

"Shit," Isobel hissed. "It's a clean break. This isn't something we can take care of. We have to send her to a hospital," Isobel said. We heard a crash come from next to us. The building was still on fire, slowly burning to the ground.

"Elijah has all of the hospitals for magic taken over. If we send someone from the Order there, he'll have her killed," Gerrard said.

"Then she's not a part of the Order," I replied, ripping the Trinity crest pin from her shirt with shaking hands. It wasn't the best way to get her away from the battle, but at least now that Abbey was injured, she'd be safe.

"What-what are you doing?" Abbey asked, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"Look, Abbey. Your leg is broken and you can't keep fighting. We need to get you to a hospital so they can take care of this," I told her, trying my best not to look at her distorted leg. Every time I did, it made my stomach churn. 

"But what about the war? What about Lance? I can't-I can't-" she stammered.

"You won't be able to help, Abbey. You can't even stand. We're going to send you to one of the hospitals. When this is all over, I'm going to come find you, ok? But I need you to lie when you get there. I need you to tell them that you're fighting for Elijah Lucia," I said.

"What? Elijah what?!" she exclaimed, her eyes bulging, her face paling. Gerrard pursed his lips at me. We heard another crash.

"I'm going to go put that fire out," Isobel said, getting up.

"Not by yourself you're not!" Gerrard exclaimed.

"I'll find someone to help me," Isobel replied, turning around and running off. He frowned after her.

"You go. I can handle this," I told Gerrard when he looked at me. He looked uneasy, but then nodded.

"Send her to the one in Trinity Hollow. Their morals are less questionable there," he told me. I nodded and he squeezed my shoulder, taking off after his girlfriend. I turned my attention back to Abbey. 

"I promise I'll explain everything when this is all over. I need to get you out of here," I said, feeling my heart racing in my chest as her face continued to lose color. "Abbey, you're my best friend. I can't let anything happen to you," I told her, grabbing onto her shoulder to transport her. I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes and I wasn't sure if it was because of all of the smoke or because I was afraid my best friend would bleed out on the battlefield.

"What did you just say?" she asked. I blinked.

"I said you're my best friend--" I began and she let out a small whimper, her eyes welling up.

"What happened?!" I exclaimed in alarm, pulling my hand back, afraid I had hurt her.

"You finally said it out loud," she said in a quiet voice. "You finally admitted that I was your best friend."

"Merlin's balls, Abbey. Now is not the time to be all sappy," I said in exasperation. She smiled slightly at me. She was really pale and I could have only imagined the amount of pain she was in. It hurt me just to look at her leg.

"Do you trust me to send you somewhere safe?" I asked. She nodded, wincing as she grabbed my arm.

"I trust you," she breathed out. I forced a smile at her and then imagined the Trinity Hollow Clinic in my mind's eye. Then I transported Abbey's body to that location and hoped that they would take care of her. Now that she was gone, it was time to find my father.

Gerrard and Isobel had successfully put out the building fires, so that danger was out of the way. The atmosphere was filled with smoke and the campus smelled like burning grass. Coughing and sputtering, I ran off to look for my father.

The fighting seemed to have moved from the dorms on the South and East side of campus to the center of campus. The battling witches and wizards were slowly moving North, towards where Trey's army was. I delved into the midst of the fighting, dodging spells when I could and deflecting them when I couldn't. I looked around me, searching for any signs of my father. But there were so many bodies, I couldn't see anyone. Giving up, I emerged from the crowd, deciding to go back to what I had originally been doing--sending people to safety.

When I emerged from the crowd, I was immediately hit with a wave of fire and energy and sent flying forward. I put the fire out and stood, shaking from the impact. Turning to see who had hit me, I was surprised when I saw none other than Oralie. Her amber eyes were lit up brightly, the flickering of the small brushes of fire reflecting in them.

"Oralie?" I gasped as she approached me.

"What are you doing here?" she asked me, putting out the fire energy balls in her hands.

"I-I-" I stammered. It was getting harder and harder for me to lie. "I'm fighting. Just like you," I said. 

"Where's your pin?" she asked, nodding at my shirt.

"It fell off," I lied.

"It can't have fallen off. The pins were all sealed magically onto us. Unless your shirt ripped, which it didn't," Oralie said, her eyes narrowing at me. I glanced down at my shirt, which, besides a tear in the sleeve, was still intact for the most part.

"Oh--I--ummm..." I mumbled, unsure of what to say. She had caught me. No one else that I had encountered had noticed that I wasn't wearing a pin. But Oralie was sly and more intelligent than everyone else.

"I got here...a few hours ago..." I said, trying to make up for my lie. She raised an eyebrow at me quizzically, stepping towards me. I took a step backwards, preparing myself in case she attacked.

"Why didn't you say that in the beginning?" she asked.

"Oh, I didn't know what to say," I said. 

"You know, Caley. I'm really good at telling whether or not people are lying. And I think you are lying to me right now," she said.

"What makes you say that?" I asked. 

"You're sweating for one thing," she said, taking another step towards me.

"It's the heat. I've been running around," I countered, stepping back again.

"And your story doesn't line up," she added.

"You caught me off-guard. I'm a little distracted right now," I said.

"You know, Blackwell was adament that you were the traitor that was leaking information to the dark side. I'm starting to think that he may have been right," she told me, lighting her hands on fire. I swallowed, stepping back again. I felt the sweat trickle down the side of my face as I started to panic.

"Blackwell hated me because of my mother. I was studying abroad this whole time. How could I have been the traitor?" I pointed out.

"The information was leaked long before you left for Italy. In fact, we had no problems after you left. Which only further reinforces my case," she said. 

"That's quite a wild accusation for you to throw," I said.

"Is it, though? Is it really?" she asked. 

"Caley! Watch out!" I heard someone call out from behind me. I saw a flash of light as an orb of energy dissipated above my head. I turned my head to see Dom running towards me. He skidded, lowering his body to the ground as another figure came rushing towards him. It was Matt.

"I thought we took care of you!" Oralie screeched, her eyes flashing in anger. Dom and Matt were engaged in quick combat, throwing punches and kicks infused with magic at each other. "Wait a second, how did he know what your name was? He's one of them," Oralie said, her attention back on me.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," I whispered.

"I didn't take you for a liar, Caley. But I guess you are your mother's daughter," Oralie seethed. She threw a fire ball at me, which I sent away with a flick of my wrist.

"My mother was not a liar," I hissed.

"She was a traitor and therefore a liar," Oralie replied. 

"She was not a traitor," I yelled.

"And how do you define traitor?" she asked me tauntingly. I glared at her.

"I did what I did because I had to. I don't owe you an explanation," I said.

"So you betrayed your friends and family because you 'had' to? What does Trey think about all of this?" she asked. When I didn't say anything, her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, he doesn't know? Well, I guess I need to have a little chat with him, then," she said, her eyes flashing in anger.

"Like hell you are," I replied.

"And are you going to be the one to stop me?" she asked.

"I wouldn't underestimate me if I were you," I said, cocking an eyebrow.

"You don't scare me, newbie," she replied. I squared my jaw and then summoned an energy spell. I infused the energy ball with air and brought my hands together and launched it at her. She shot back with a fire energy ball, causing a small explosion in front of us. Beside us, Dom and Matt were still going at it.

"I am not a newbie," I said.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," she taunted.

"You asked for it," I muttered.

I added speed to my fist so that when I punched the ground, a force vibrated through the ground and knocked Oralie off her feet. Once she was down, I raised her up using the air around her and then punched the air in front of me to send her flying. She landed on her back, but jumped up just in time to shoot several balls of fire at me. I put out each one by conjuring up ice balls and letting them collide with the fire ones.

She threw an energy orb at me and infused it with electricity. I brought up the earth to create a wall and the transported out from behind it so that I was behind her. I elbowed her in the back and before she fell, I lifted her up again. I used a force spell to launch her backwards and she landed on her back once more. 

"Oralie!" Matt yelled, his attention diverted for just a second. Dom was about to overpower him, but then he transported next to his friend. Oralie was lying limp on the ground, breathing hard. Matt looked up at me and glared. "How could you do this to her? She was your friend!" he shouted at me.

"She was trying to kill me! I'm just trying to defend myself!" I yelled back.

"I never took you to be a traitor, Caley," Matt said, pulling Oralie up with him. She was still breathing heavily, but she wasn't down from the fight just yet. Dom stood next to me, sweat drenching the front of his shirt.

"She's not a traitor. She's one of the strongest witches I know. You'd do well to speak to her with some respect," Dom said.

"Oh yeah? Well excuse me if I don't respect people that betray everyone they love," Matt spat back. Dom opened his mouth to defend, but I stopped him by resting my hand on his arm.

"You're right, Matt. And you too, Oralie. I did betray everyone I love. I risked my friendships and my relationships. But did you ever stop to think why? Did you ever stop to think why I would do something like this? Was the Caley you knew at school so terrible that you believe that I did what I did because I'm evil?" I asked. Matt glared at me and I felt a slight sadness fill me. 

Everyone that I had considered a friend only saw the worst when they figured out that I was working for the dark side. I could only imagine what Trey would think when he found out.

"I risked everything for love and even then, I'm still trying to undo my mistake. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to break the curse on my elemental line. I just wanted to be able to marry Trey and be happy with him like any person would deserve. But to do that, I had to risk everything. And it was so important to me that I did. I risked it all. And if my punishment for fighting for what I love is to be condemned by everyone I care about, then so be it. But I know what my true intentions were. I just wish you all had more faith in me to realize that, too," I said, my voice tender at the end.

I saw Matt and Oralie's expressions soften slightly. But before either of them could say anything, I saw a flash of light whiz past me and the next thing I knew, the two of them were on the ground, lifeless and still.

I stared horrified and turned around to see Isaac, a manic look on his face.

"What did you just do?!" I shouted at him, looking back at my two friends lying dead on the ground in front of me. Dom held me back, also staring at the lifeless bodies with a horrified expression.

"I just saved your life," Isaac said.

"Saved my life?! I was just talking to them!" I shouted at him, fighting Dom off. He held onto me tightly.

"Don't provoke him, Caley," Dom hissed in my ear.

"They would have attacked you the first chance they got," Isaac said.

"They were my friends! How could you do this?!" I shrieked. Isaac moved so quickly I didn't see it happen. In an instant, he was right in front of me, his warm breath tickling my face.

"They ceased to be your friends the moment you joined Elijah's army. You will do well to remember where your loyalties lie, Caley Lucia," he threatened me. And then in the blink of an eye, he was gone. 

I felt my knees grow weak and I staggered. Dom held onto me, but I lurched forward towards Oralie and Matt. Both of them were lying on their backs, their eyes glassy, the expressions of forgiveness they had had just moments before still on their faces. I felt a cry escape my throat as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Oh my God. Oh my God," I said over and over again. "I can't believe he did this," I whispered, reaching a shaking hand towards the two. "Oh my God..." 

In the distance, I could hear a voice talking, but I couldn't make out the words.

"Caley. We have to get out of here. Elijah, he's calling for a temporary ceasefire. Caley. Come on," Dom said, pulling me.

"No! Leave me alone!" I shouted at him, pushing him away and lunging towards the two on the ground. 

"Caley! We have to go! Come on!" Dom said.

"No," I cried. "No. No. No. No. This is my fault. This is all my fault. First Abbey and her leg. And now... now Oralie and Matt are dead. They never even...they never--" I stammered, reaching a shaking hand out and closing both their eyes. Tears streamed down my face. They were just starting to understand. I didn't even know if they had forgiven me or not. 

Dom pulled me up and he dragged me away. The fighting had stopped for the moment. Dom was right; Elijah had called for a temporary ceasefire.

We retreated back to the center of campus. There were two large crowds of people, although the number of people was significantly less than the night had begun with. I kept my face down, dragging my feet along, the tears still wet on my face. Dom had his arm around my shoulders as he maneuvered us towards Elijah's army. I hadn't heard why he had called the ceasefire. I didn't really care.

When we got to our army, I saw Gerrard run up towards me. He had black dust on his face and his shirt was torn at the arm. He had a long gash across one of his biceps and he was covered in sweat and dirt. It looked like he had been in the rough of the fighting.

"What happened to her?" Gerrard demanded when he saw the tears on my face.

"Isaac killed two of her friends right in front of her," Dom said. Gerrard's expression turned icy.

"What? Why?" he asked. 

"When does Isaac ever do anything for a reason? He's insane," Dom said. Gerrard shook his head and then pulled me in for a hug. I just stood limply, still in shock. 

"He'll get what he deserves when this is all over," Gerrard whispered to me.

"It doesn't matter. It won't bring them back," I replied. He frowned and pulled away. Just then, we heard a commotion from the other side. When we looked up, our eyes widened in shock. 

There in the middle of the two armies, was Elijah himself.

_______________________________________________________

A/N: I can't believe I'm updating twice in one day. But I already had half of this chapter written. I just had to finish it.

I am so excited that this story is almost over. I've been working on it for over 4 years now. I have imagined the scenes that are going to take place in the next couple chapters since I was in high school, when I first came up with the idea for this story. I'm so excited to finally write them and share them with you. These last few chapters were the first scenes that I came up with when I first thought of this story. I've waited a long time to write them, so please be patient with me. I have to do them justice because these scenes have literally haunted my dreams for the past 6 or 7 years. 

The end is near!

Until next time...

XOXO