Cage thought he would black out from the pain of holding Kat. He would surely catch fire and die, his last act in this world being to protect Jazz and Cecile from the woman he loved and whatever had possessed her.

"Let her go!" Cecile ordered. There was a note of fear in her voice, maybe of regret for her actions, which had led them to this point.

He didn't have the strength to argue and refuse. He didn't even have the strength to let Kat go. At least he was dying while holding her in his arms.

"Cage!"

He couldn't tell who was calling out to him. His vision had blurred, and his hearing was fuzzy. The heat was much more than he ever thought he could bear, the flames tearing through his flesh. Until water soothed his burns. Before he could wrap his mind around what happened, Kat slipped out of his hold, but not to step away, but to fly upward. His body hit the deck, and he cried out in pain.

His head spun, and bile rose to his mouth. He tried to move, but his body was heavy and unresponsive. Everything hurt. Tendrils of flame danced before his eyes.

"Say the word," Kat's distorted voice said. "What have you been searching for? What is it which you hope to find?"

Cage knew he had to stop Cecile before she made Kat explode into pieces, but he couldn't even breathe properly, let alone produce coherent words.

A gentle wind soothed his aching burns as Cecile walked past him, her storm-grey dress swirling. Her gaze was fixed on Kat, a mild frown between her eyebrows.

"I am searching for the heir of Endir," she declared.

"And now you found me."

Cage finally managed to push himself to his hands. The effort had his blood rushing to his head and distorting his hearing. It was the only viable reason for imagining such a statement coming from Kat's mouth.

"But how?" Cecile said with mild confusion, as if twenty-three plates had been set for a dinner of twenty-four.

Kat didn't answer, and Cage hoped that he'd imagined everything after all.

"Why are you searching for the heir of Endir?"

The question sailed off different lips as Leila decided now was the perfect time to join the party, her pale skin glittering in the fire still coming from Kat, her washed-up blue eyes glittering. But she was no longer meek and cowering. She walked with a certain step, her chin held high, an unnatural grin on her face. It was like seeing a sheep with the smile of a wolf.

Cecile's eyes widened, and she took half a step back.

Even if he was still broken and barely breathing, he caught the gravity of the situation. Who could make the High Fairy Cecile cower?

As if she too had realized that it just wouldn't do, Cecile frowned, and something happened so fast, Cage couldn't see it. He only felt the whoosh of magic filling the air before it seemed to implode.

"Too slow, as usual," Leila said with the same predatory grin. "Why don't you come clean, Cecile? This isn't about the heir of Endir." She threw Cage a glance, but it lacked all sentiment. "Or the heir of Iride for that matter. You couldn't care less about either kingdom. It has always been about me."

"You always think everything is about you, Lucille," Cecile said, the spite in her voice obvious.

"What?" The word managed to escape Cage's lips, and both fairy and fae turned to him.

"Yes, young king. Your protector has been lying to you. She only wanted to use you against me." Leila's gaze zeroed in on Cecile. "To end my line."

Cecile didn't deny it. She didn't even bother to produce an explanation. The strange energy filled the air again, and this time, the wind was cutting against his face. Leila's high laugh proved that Cecile had failed again at whatever she was trying to do. Which could mean only one thing. The young girl Kat had rescued from Yarik really was Lucille.

There was no way this was going to end well. A million questions swirled inside Cage's head, but he knew he had to get Kat out of there before the fairies obliterated them all. But Kat was still floating in midair, too high up to reach and seemed to be frozen, only her hair swaying as if she were underwater. He couldn't get to her, at least not yet. Gritting his teeth, he focused all his remaining energy on his burns, trying to heal them and get some respite.

"Your line is an abomination," Cecile said between her teeth. "You broke every single rule."

"The rules. Yes, your all important rules." Lucille rolled her eyes. "Those rules are put in place for the comfort of the weak."

Cage took advantage that none of the fairies were paying attention and scurried over to Jazz. He lay knocked over and seemed unconscious, his skin singed in places.

"You broke our laws and interfered where you shouldn't have!"

"Jazz, wake up. Come on." Cage shook him as fast as he could, but the captain stayed down.

"I interfered? It was you who started the war by giving magic to Iride."

"You were already giving it to Endir!"

Cage's heart thumped violently as he tried to swallow his fear. He could sense the magical energy filling the air between the two fairies again, and it would lead to nothing good. Something would happen, and the humans caught in the crossfire would be doomed. He had to figure out a way to get to Kat and bring her down. For now, there was the matter of Jazz.

So he pulled some of the magic from the air and focused on healing his friend. He twitched, and his eyes fluttered open. The moment he caught sight of Cage, he turned over and retched.

"Oh, no, Cecile," Lucille was saying. "What I was doing is beyond your understanding. It wasn't about giving magic to anyone like you were doing by throwing curses left and right." Her pale eyes moved to Cage and Jazz. "You are apparently still doing that."

"Is it over?" Jazz mumbled, but the moment he realized he was leaning his hands on the deck, his shoulders sagged. "Fuck. We're still on the ship."

"What do you mean still on the ship?" Cage asked, the words coming out desperate.

Jazz didn't answer but raised his eyes to the fairies. He froze, glancing from one to the other, apparently just as shocked to realize who Leila really was.

She'd changed some of her appearance since starting her barbed exchange with Cecile. Her features had roughed, giving her the same ageless feel that Cecile exuded. She also looked less frail, her body growing in size to match the other fairy.

"We need to get Kat down," Cage whispered.

Jazz grabbed his forearm and shook his head.

"What do you mean no? We all need to get out of here."

"You won't succeed with your devious plan," Cecile said, taking a step forward.

"My devious plan?" Lucille seemed to grow in size a little more. "It is you who has been trying your best to hunt me down and destroy me, all because you didn't like the competition. But if I hadn't stepped aside, you would have never been High Fairy."

"Stepped aside? You were banished for breaking our rules!"

"You have always wanted to take everything from me. Do you think that after that Iridian peasant took my Cassie, I would let you have Kat as well?"

Cage's blood froze in his veins as all eyes moved to Kat. She was still floating, but her eyes were shut, and she seemed to be in pain.

"She is not supposed to exist," Cecile retaliated. "Her, or your Cassie or any hybrid. Unions are forbidden for a reason!"

"Wait, does that mean...?" Cage glanced from Kat to Lucille and Cecile, hoping that one of them would deny the obvious.

Cecile pursed her lips, a dangerous frown on her face. Lucille, on the other hand, just grinned at him as if he were a delightful toddler.

"Yes, Cage, Kat is my kin. Her mother was my daughter before they took her away from me and hid her in Iride. She has not been blessed or cursed. Magic runs in her veins as part of her lineage."

"But then... How... And you..." He couldn't get a coherent phrase out as he tried to wrap his mind around the strangeness of everything.

Leila's behavior didn't make any sense. If Lucille wanted to protect her line, then why would he be swooning over her granddaughter having an affair with someone who could lead the enemy kingdom? Unless... His mouth went dry.

"You needed me to activate her magic," he whispered.

Lucille gave him a big, toothy smile. "You picked this one well, Cecile. He is truly intelligent. More intelligent than you, I would say. Yes, I needed your magic to activate hers. And you were the only one who could, seeing that Cecile bonded the two of you together."

"Did you plan everything, then? The sea serpent, the drinking?"

"It's lovely when things fall into place, isn't it?" the fae said.

Should things have been different, maybe Cage would have raged about being used. But everything didn't change the fact that he and Kat had both been played. All he wanted to do was get her away from the madness. There had to be a way.

"Why reveal yourself now?" Cecile asked.

Lucille grinned again. "Ask your little fortune teller."

All eyes turned to Jazz, but he was glaring at the deck, shaking his head.

"It's not me you should be looking at," he said, then he whispered to Cage, "Brace yourself."

Before Cage could ask, Kat spoke again, only that this time, it was in her normal voice.

"No! You will not make me!"

The momentary bout of hope and happiness Cage felt was immediately buried once Kat's entire being seemed to explode. Sharp icicles tore into his skin right before an invisible forced slammed into him, taking his breath away.

One moment, he was crushed against the deck, and the next splintered wood surrounded him, just for water to suddenly fill his lungs. He closed his mouth and held his breath, but the damage had been done, and his body heaved with the need to cough.

Soft hands surrounded him, and brought him back to the surface. His body rested against something that held him up. Before he could draw air, the water in his lungs tore through him. He finally managed to spit it out in a body-wrecking cough. His eyes watered, and he only managed to catch sight of purple and turquoise fins as Alathea dove back into the deep. She'd left him on what appeared to be a door.

Far above the waves, Kat still floated, Lucille and Cecile facing her. The Jolly Marauder was no more.

Jazz surfaced by his side, his breathing coming out in sharp gasps.

"Jinx. Trix," he barely managed to say.

"Shit!" Cage looked around, but there was nothing but floatsome. He had no idea where to dive, where to start looking.

Alathea resurfaced, holding an unconscious Jinx. She passed her to Jazz, and without a word, she dove back into the raging waves. Everything around them seemed to be a storm, the clouds and the water the same shade of furious grey.

Certain that Alathea would rescue Trix, Cage returned his attention to Kat. Something has changed about her, her blonde hair now more silver than gold. Her eyes were open, and the blue in them was like ice.

"You will not make me burn down the world," she said again, her voice echoing in the emptiness.

A wave of cold accompanied her breath and frost coated the edges of the door Cage was hanging on to.

Into the madness, Lucille just laughed. "Now isn't this a twist?"

Kat rose higher into the night air, and Cage felt a tug in his chest, much like the one which indicated he was too far away from her and their bond was beginning to strain.

Cecile seemed to fire something towards Kat, but she deflected it without difficulty. Her frozen gaze moved to the fairy, and she reached out a hand, palm facing forward. A giant icicle shot out. Cecile diverted it with her magic but didn't try to attack again.

"This is marvelous," Lucille said. "You wanted a game, sister? You have it!" And she wrapped an arm around Kat, pulling her away.

"No!"

The pain inside Cage's chest seemed to be tearing him apart as he realized that Lucille was going to disappear with Kat. In the blink of an eye, the two of them were gone, and he could no longer breathe. He clawed at the slab of wood, as if climbing higher on it would bring him solace. Everything inside him hurt. He felt as if someone was squeezing his heart, just waiting for it to burst and leave him dead.

His vision tunneled, and he could no longer discern what the voices around him were saying. There were screams, desperate calls, a calming whisper. It didn't matter. He had been living on borrowed time, and it was now over.

Until it wasn't.

The next breath he struggled to take went through, and his lungs filled with much needed air. His heartbeat steadied as the pain inside his chest dimmed, and his vision cleared.

He was still hanging on to the door in the middle of the sea. Next to him, Jazz was holding Jinx, all the while hanging on to another piece of floating wood. Alathea was next to them, holding Trix, who was still unconscious.

They were all alive. And Kat was gone.

"Kat... What happened?" As the feeling returned to his body, he tried to focus on their link. There was nothing but a black hole in his chest, empty and painful. "What happened to Kat? Our bond..."

"I severed your bond." Cecile's voice was like a monotone as she floated a few inches above the surface of the water.

"You... What?" Anger came so fast and powerful it made him dizzy. "What the fuck did you do? How am I still alive?"

"I tied your magic to mine instead," Cecile answered, her gaze still fixed on the spot where Lucille and Kat had been.

"As you should have to begin with," Jazz mumbled. "Do you realize the mess you've made?"

"I didn't know," Cecile said. Her eyes turned to Jazz. "Did you?"

Jazz shook his head. "I couldn't see who Kat was because she didn't know herself. It was impossible to connect the dots."

Cage shut his eyes, trying to process everything. It was impossible through the grief taking over him. The bond being gone didn't feel like relief or freedom. It only turned the warmth of her presence into a cold, dark hole inside his chest. Even without the magic tying them together, his heart ached for Kat.

"I hope you're happy," Jazz said, his tone clipped. "You found the heir of Endir. Can you leave us alone now?"

Cecile let out a hallow laugh. "Do you simpletons realize what this means? Lucille is taking her to Endir to put her on the throne."

"So what?" Jazz asked. "They could do a lot worse than Kat."

Cage agreed. This made no sense and Cecile had lied to them long enough. He was done playing her games. They'd destroyed his life in any way possible.

"That's not the Kat you know anymore. I thought that much was obvious the moment she destroyed your ship and left without a backward glance."

"She was kidnapped!" Cage said.

"Trust me, she wasn't. If it hasn't happened already under your watch, Lucille will poison her mind. She will take over Endir and charge over the mountains to raise Iride to the ground."

The fairy's words made Cage sick to his stomach. It burned through the tiny shred of a purpose he still had, namely to find Kat again and make sure she was safe. He turned to Jazz, silently begging him to scoff and disagree. But the look on the captain's face proved that Cecile was right.

"No..." This couldn't be true.

When and how had it come to this? A mere hour ago, he was holding Kat, planning to run off with her and live the rest of their days together. He still wanted that.

But beyond his pain and the agony inside him, his deep sheathed sense of duty was fighting to come out. He didn't have the energy for it. He felt like he should have died the moment he'd plunged the knife into his heart inside his castle, and this entire adventure had been nothing but borrowed time. He didn't need it anymore. He wanted to give it back.

"You can't have a pity party now," Cecile said, sounding annoyed. "There is much to do and no time."

Cage didn't care. He leaned his cheek against the door, his fingers tracing the remainder of ice. This was all he had left of Kat now, and it would soon melt. The hole inside his chest seemed to devour him. This was worse than the beast, than the magical bond between them that had slowly poisoned their love. Nothing could even come close to the pain the emptiness inside him brought.

"Cage," Jazz whispered.

He didn't answer. He didn't want to. What more could happen? What else could he lose? Being stranded in the middle of the sea felt like the perfect conclusion to a disastrous life.

"You can't lose hope," Jazz added.

"Hope?" He let out a hallow laugh. "Hope for what, Jazz? I don't want to live like this. I failed to save Ferdinand, and now I've lost Kat. Everything that mattered in my life is gone. I have no past and no future. I am nothing but a thorn in the side of my kingdom, a disruptor of peace."

"You are the only chance your kingdom has for survival," Cecile snapped.

Cage let out a huff. "Iride has a king."

"You know better than anyone what kind of king he is," the fairy insisted. "Ferdinand was a viable option to save the realm. Fherras is not. You can no longer escape who you are."

"That's what you don't get. I am no one. I am nothing. Fherras made sure of that." And he'd come to terms with it.

"Fherras was wrong," Jazz said. "And I'm sorry to tell you this, but you will make a much better king than Ferdinand. At least for what's about to happen."

Jazz's words sent a very unpleasant weight to Cage's stomach. He remembered his own traitorous thoughts when he'd seen what Wolfbane had done to his brother. Not that it mattered when Ferdinand was no more and couldn't prove he would be a better king.

"Ferdinand had legitimacy to the throne."

"For fuck's sake, Cage!" Jazz sounded angrier than Cage had ever heard him. "How brainwashed are you? I thought you'd be the person least likely to swallow Fherras' shit."

Cage cringed because Jazz had a point, but it still didn't resolve the main issue. "Being king implies having the loyalty of the people. What kind of loyalty could I have when everyone thinks I'm a bastard cousin and dead on top of everything?"

"Then maybe it's time to tell the world the truth."

"And you think political unrest is what Iride needs now, on the brink of war?"

Jazz groaned. "If you could only see what I can see..."

"He can."

Cecile floated down until her feet touched the surface of the door. A crystal glass materialized in her hands, and she filled it with a flick of a wrist.

"Drink this," she instructed.

Cage squinted at her. "Why? What's it going to do to me?"

"It will set you straight."

"I don't want to be set straight! I just want you all to stop interfering in my life and let me live it the way I see fit." The way he still could.

"Cage, trust me, you'll want to live it differently once you see this," Jazz said.

Maybe it was true, but he'd had enough of magic, and all he wanted was to find Kat. He could solve all this without Iride's politics being involved.

"I've had enough of your sketchy magic."

"You need this for Kat, too," Cecile said as if reading his mind. "You need to realize what this will do to her as well."

"This..."

"Just drink the water!" Cecile shoved the glass between his numb fingers.

Cage glanced at it, his first impulse demanding that he throw it in the sea. But he knew Cecile would conjure another, and the last thing he needed was to get tortured by magic some more. When Jazz nodded at him, he took in a deep breath and downed the water.

It was ice cold, tearing his throat. He sucked air through his teeth, ready to yell at Cecile for her tricks. The words died on his lips as the reality around him shifted.

Arid ground covered by frost stretched out as far as the eye could see. Then there were buildings on fire. The Grand Castle in Valona. His own castle. Kat's house. The icy ground was strewn with piles of burning corpses. Emaciated men dragged the bones of other humans and threw them in the pires, their eyes devoid of any life.

Everything was fire and ice at the same time, and above it all, on a throne made of icicles, sat Kat, her features lacking any emotion. She seemed to be made out of stone, overlooking the slaughter of thousands.

Cage took in a sharp breath and he was back in the water, holding on to what was left of the door, his heart running a marathon.

"That's what happens if you ignore your destiny and sit this one out," Jazz said, his voice low. "That's what happens if you don't assemble Iride's army and fight Endir."

Cage shook his head, trying to drive the images back and calm his heart. "But Kat..."

"Don't worry about Kat. Your heart will heal." Cecile rose above the waves again. "But now you have no time. You must hurry."

And with a snap of her fingers, the world dissolved around them.

🌟🌟🌟

Climax? Yes please. 

Now you have the truth. I know some of you suspected, but it is now confirmed. Is Kat not only the heir of Endir, but a hybrid as well. This certainly won't end well. And Cage has to be done running. He needs to face his own destiny and heritage.

I hope you're enjoying the story! Three chapters left to go!

Don't forget to vote and comment for support. All thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated.