Excitement coursed through my veins. It may not have been a message from Brae, but it was help and Vincent was the best Helian ally I could hope for.

I rushed over to my wardrobe and flung the doors open. There were two rucksacks at the bottom, the first was my survival bag, which I had used during my Protector training and was mandatory to keep close by now that I was qualified, in case of an emergency. Next to it was a smaller, brighter, fashion rucksack.

My hand stretched out automatically to the survival pack, only to freeze halfway. I still had to get out of the palace and the survival pack was extremely recognisable. If I bumped into anyone on my way out it would raise questions. The other bag though... it would be less apt while I was on the run, but far less conspicuous during my escape.

I grabbed both bags and carried them over to my bed, where I quickly set about transferring the contents of the survival pack into the other: rations, water packs, emergency medical supplies and a basic tool kit. I filled up the remaining space at the top with clothes, my practical Protector gear rather than my everyday stuff. I changed what I was wearing too, putting on a pair of heavy duty combats, which I wouldn't look too out of place in, since I had worn them around the palace before. A plain black vest top went on top and I put a pair of worn black boots on my feet. I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail, so that it was out of my way. Once I had swung the bag onto my back, I was ready to go.

But when I unlocked the door to my room, I walked straight into my mother.

"Roxanne?" She looked at me closely, taking in my clothes and the bag on my shoulder. I was relieved that I hadn't gone with the survival pack. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out," I said, playing the petulant child.

"Out where?"

"Only across to Ave's room," I replied, lying smoothly. "I'm taking some of my clothes across to her—she's grown out of hers and wants to try some of mine on for size before she orders more."

My excuse made no sense, but it didn't matter what I said. I knew that her interest switched off at the word 'clothes'; I'm not sure that my mother ever was a teenage girl... To perfect my part, I swung the bag off my shoulder and opened it. The top half was rammed with clothing.

She peered in, confirming my story, but snapped anyway. "I don't want you walking around the palace unsupervised. You and Avery can discuss clothes at some other point. I want you in your room tonight, where I know you can't get up to anything. Go back inside and stay there. If I see you out here again, I'll get Cin to Control you into staying put. Got it?" She hissed the last part, checking from side to side for witnesses before confessing her crime.

"Whatever." I pretended to sulk, before going back into my room and slamming the door in her face.

Glittering fragments of glass still coated much of the floor, so I locked the door just in case my mother decided to come in and interrogate me further. To kill time, I started to clean up.

When I was done, I crept back to the door. All seemed quiet, so I put my hand on the handle, ready to try again. Then I heard a cough; she was still out there—standing guard to make sure that I didn't try to leave. She and Cin seemed unusually twitchy tonight, which put me even more on edge. I needed to get out of the palace soon.

I wanted to burn something. Instead I had to settle for pacing up and down my room, listening at the door every few minutes to confirm that she was still there.

Twenty minutes passed and I knew that I needed to find another solution. I wasn't sure how long Vincent was going to wait around for me. I needed to get out.

Surveying the room, my eyes fell on the balcony. I opened the doors silently and crept outside. At three floors up, jumping wasn't going to be an option. I needed to think my way out of the room...

At the training camp, we had done a lot of exercises like this. I peered over the edge and was confronted with a straight drop. To the left, on the other hand, was a stone column which would get me down to the top of the first floor. I could work out the rest from there. Opening my bag, I grabbed the first bit of kit I was going to need to use for real—a pair of grippy black gloves. Pulling them on to my hands, I put my bag on my back, checked to make sure that no one was watching, then climbed over the edge of the balcony and gripped the column. As quickly as I dared, I shimmied down until I reached the lip that went around the front of the building. From there, I could jump with relative safety. I crouched on the edge, ready to go for it.

Before I had the chance, a familiar voice froze me in position: Cin.

He had stepped outside from the door beneath me, talking to someone on his phone. I felt stone against my back as I pushed myself against the wall.

For now, I was out of sight, but if he walked any further forwards and looked up, I was done for. If I tried to sidestep away, he would catch me in his peripheral vision. I was stuck. I couldn't go anywhere until he was back inside. My heart beat frantically against my chest. He couldn't catch me now!

Dusk was beginning to fall and I could see the glow of the lights inside. This, at least, was to my advantage. If Cin did look back, he might be too blinded to see anything. Once he was back inside, I would be able to jump down without worry. The two-way glass which Helian buildings were made from would create a mirror effect. I would be able to see in, but Cin would only see his own reflection when he looked out.

Because of his proximity, I heard Cin's half of the call with ease. "I'll be home within a week, I think." He paused, listening to the other end of the call. "Yes she'll be coming with me." Did he mean me? "Well it's not as though I can leave her here!" He paused again and lit a flame between his fingertips, putting it into his mouth and inhaling deeply before breathing out a cloud of smoke and continuing. "I know you don't want her around, but you don't need to worry. I've got a way of keeping her, shall we say, under control. She's not going to be a problem for us."

Who the flames was he talking to? Did he have some other girl back in Kalme?

There was no way I was going anywhere with Cinaer. My resolve to escape doubled, but I forced myself to stay still while he finished the call and returned inside.

Once he was gone, I counted to twenty to make sure that he wasn't about to step back out. Then I crouched at the edge and jumped down, keeping my actions as silent as possible and landed softly on the ground.

I glanced back over my shoulder, in case any one had seen me, but the doorway and the room behind it—lit up like a shop window—were empty. I grinned and started the walk to the guardhouse.

Since the escape, security in the palace had become pretty strict, but I assumed I'd be able to talk myself out; the guards knew who I was.

There were two of them on duty tonight, low ranking Protectors from minor families. I approached them openly, making my presence known. There was nothing wrong with me leaving the palace at dusk.

"Can you open the gates?" I asked in a bored voice.

The guard shook his head. "No one leaves after sundown, Princess."

"Since when?"

"The escape. Your mother's orders."

"Well if my mother gave the order you must realise that she didn't include me in it. Why would she want to stop me from leaving?"

The guards looked at each other, unsure what to do, so I decided to be more forceful.

"Come on, guys!" I simpered, twirling my hair around my fingers innocently and smiling. "Give a girl a break? I'll remember it." I flashed them my most winning grin. The younger of the two was almost convinced, I could see it in the way his eyes lingered on my body. He didn't want to upset me.

The other was more resolved though. "Princess Seraphina said—"

"I could call her," I suggested, cutting him off. "But I know she's really busy tonight. She won't like being disturbed." My mother's tempers were legendary.

The guards were uneasy now, but they remained resolute.

"With her permission, in person, you can go through."

"So you're going to turn me away? You do know who I am, don't you, what I'm capable of?" I lowered my voice to a menacing level. "Don't make me force my way through."

Of course, with the manacles on, I couldn't use my powers. I would still rate my odds in hand-to-hand combat though—I never lost a fight at the camp. The flames would hurt though...

However, our standoff was interrupted by footsteps on the other side. We looked round to see my father approaching the gate.

"Dad!" I said, adopting my best smile.

"Roxy? What are you doing out here?"

I rolled my eyes at the guards. "Well I'm trying to leave, but these two don't seem to want to let me."

"Who said that she couldn't come through?"

"Your wife... She said that no one was allowed through."

"Well she hardly meant her own family! Let her through, I'll see her to where she needs to go; she won't get into any trouble." He winked at me.

The guards still looked uneasy, but they weren't about to refuse my father, so they opened the gates and let me out.

I smiled at my victory and joined my father outside the palace gates.

We walked quite a way in silence before he spoke. "What's going on, Roxy? You haven't left the palace in weeks, why the urgency now?"

I looked at my father intently; his forehead was creased in concern, his warm brown eyes comforting.

I knew that I had to trust him.

"I'm leaving. Cin, Mum, I can't cope with them any more. Not with what they've got planned for me."

"Roxy you don't have to do anything you don't want to—I'll speak to your mother."

"It has gone too far for that, Dad. I—I really messed up. I've done some things they'll never forgive me for—things the Realm will never forgive me for. It will be easier all round if I leave."

"Roxy, please, tell me what's going on."

It was that word that did it, so un-Helian. It reminded me of Brae. And then it was all pouring out of me in a barely coherent torrent: Brae; the escape plan; Cinaer; the Control; the torture. He stood there impassively, letting me go on, telling him all the horrible, traitorous crimes I had committed. But he didn't judge me. He didn't scream and curse me like my mother had, or hurt me like Cinaer. He watched me, with eyes full of hurt, until I finished.

"Where will you go?" His question surprised me. Wasn't he even a little angry or disappointed? Or was he sending me away?

"I'm not sure yet, but Vincent is helping me. I'll be safe."

He shrugged his faded military jacket from his shoulders, the same one he had been wearing when he returned from the Brizan Realm, which he only ever took off for state occasions. He wrapped it round my shoulders before embracing me in a fierce hug. "I know I don't need to tell you to take care of yourself, because you already do that so well, but I want you to take this. I have a feeling you're going to need something a bit warmer where you're going." He released me and stood back, watching as I thread my arms through the fabric of the coat.

"Thanks, Dad."

He ran his fingers through my hair and for a moment, I thought he was going to tell me something else, or maybe even offer to come with me. But all he said was, "I'll take care of your mother and Cinaer. They won't follow you."

And then he was heading back towards the gate, leaving me alone in the growing darkness. I stood for a moment, watching him leave, before turning and continuing towards the shore.

I hugged my father's jacket against me as I walked down on to the beach; not for warmth, but for the feeling of protection it gave me, like flames licking at my fingertips.

Vincent was waiting in the shadows by the water. He was still wearing his formal Protector cloak and I wondered if he had been home at all since the escape.

As I drew closer, his dishevelled appearance and drawn features confirmed that this was unlikely.

"Hey, Vincent. Long time no see," I said, to break the tension.

"You made it." He sounded immensely relieved. "I wasn't sure you would—you took your time."

"I got delayed by both parents, as it so happened." I forced a smile and rubbed my fingers against the worn fabric of the jacket. Vincent noticed and nodded, as though confirming a personal suspicion.

"Where have you been, Vince? No one has seen you for weeks."

He shrugged. "Here and there. I've been in and out of the palace without anyone noticing—the guards are far too easy to Control. So I've been keeping an eye on you, trying to figure out a way to get you out."

He looked down into the water and I noticed the boat. It was small, yet sturdy, presumably made with expert Brizan craftsmanship, since Helians didn't use boats.

"Where did you get it?" I asked, eyes wide.

"It was left behind after the escape—there was such a rush, I guess some of the smaller boats were abandoned in favour of speed."

"We must be going some way then, if we need a boat."

He shook his head. "Not 'we'. You. I'm staying here."

"But, Vincent! What will you do? You can't turn back up now—questions will be asked, they'll realise you helped me."

"Don't worry about me, Firefly. I've got everything worked out. There's nothing out there for me—I will live and die on Helian soil. But you... You've got another option. If you can get to Brae... Well, if he's in any way worthy of you, he'll take you in at once. You need to get in the boat and go."

So he was sending me across to the Arcan Realm. Alone. Fear coursed through my veins, but I forced myself to stay calm. Life in the Arcan Realm couldn't be any worse than here at the moment. I knew that I couldn't let Cin take me back to Kalme. It was now or never.

"Thank you, Vincent," I said, throwing my arms around him and holding tight. He had been my family, my mentor and my brother for so long. The thought of leaving him was almost unbearable. But the life I was leaving behind with him was much worse. I had to get to Brae, to give my feelings for him a chance.

"Don't mention it, Firefly. I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Vincent. But before I go, could I ask you for one more favour?" I pulled up the jacket sleeves, revealing the manacles. "I don't really want to row off into the unknown with these on. Could you give me a hand?"

He smiled. "I had that one covered too—I've been planning for weeks, remember? They're not going to come off easily though; there's a trick—"

He cut off as we both heard the sound.

Voices: loud, aggressive, coming this way. One voice in particular stood out.

"No one sleeps until we find her." Cinaer. He was coming.

"Quick! Get in!" Vincent hissed, bundling me towards the boat.

"But the cuffs!" I started to protest.

"There's no time, Firefly. It would take too long. You're going to have to sort it out when you get there."

As Vincent prepared to push me and my little boat out into the water, I suddenly felt silly.

"Vincent. I don't even know how to work this thing, or which direction to head in!"

He smiled. "You use the oars—the two wooden poles—to propel yourself through the water. You should be strong enough to make the journey with relative ease. The Arcan Realm is west, so head away from the second sun, in the direction the Realm sun sets. It will be the first land you hit. At night, head in the direction of that star." He pointed to a particularly bright star just over my shoulder. It twinkled in an unnerving violet colour, making me think of Jasmine.

"Good luck, Firefly," Vincent said as he launched the little boat out to sea. A few clumsy strokes of the oars sent me further away from the shore and soon Vincent was no more than a small murky figure in the distance.

But just as he was vanishing from sight, disappearing in the inky darkness of the night, the shoreline was suddenly lit up by vibrant orange torches. I heard shouts as a small crowd converged on the sand and my hands paused for a second as I wondered if I ought to return and help Vincent.

But I was too far away—by the time I returned, he would have either escaped or been overpowered, and I would be rowing straight into Cinaer's open arms. No. Vincent has risked himself to help me escape; going back there would be a terrible way to repay him. The best thing I could do for now would be to keep going; maybe there would be some way I could help him once I had my powers back. Although, knowing Vincent, he probably would have escaped by that point.

I resumed my rowing, eager to slip out of sight before the Helians on the shore noticed me.

For the first time in my life, I was completely alone.