Serena's POV:

I stared in horror at the weapon pointed in our direction and the bond twisted painfully in my fear. I stopped my hum and held my breath as I tensed up to try and jump out of the way when he fired. Saphira shrieked a warning cry and her skin darkened to a rich blue as he finished all of his preparations and began reaching for the firing mechanism.

The wooden door on the other side of the room exploded as Darien plowed through it. The relief of seeing him was almost physical. His eyes swiftly located us on the raised platform. Mitchell sneered down at him, "Stop right there, or else I fire."

Darien slid to a stop with a deadly snarl. His eyes were nearly black as he glared at the demented Councillor. Darien looked livid, "Leave her out of this."

"Just how far do you think you will go for your mate? I find it most curious that your strength and speed still haven't settled. I can think of quite a few uses for your abilities." He took a step towards Darien while tapped his chin with a finger in thought.

Darien snarled at him in wordless outrage and threat.

Mitchell frowned, "But... You never did take suggestions well, so I can't see any point in keeping these two around."

"Touch one hair on her head and I will kill you!" Darien's loud threat echoed around the room in its intensity.

Mitchell huffed, "You aren't exactly in a spot to negotiate. You would kill me anyways."

Mitchell stepped back as he reached for the release mechanism once more. My heart hammered in my chest while Saphira tensed up and braced herself to try and deflect the deadly projectile.

"Serena!" Darien desperately shouted as he started running towards the chains that raised the lift, but even he couldn't jump all the way up to this platform. There was no way he was going to make it in time, even with his enhanced speed.

A flicker of red light in the rafters above Mitchell made me glance up just in time to see a dark shape drop down. The four-legged black reptile dropped onto the crossbow, causing it to spin slightly and point away from us. It was one of the red-eyed black creatures from the forest, one of the Queen's people.

Its unexpected appearance seriously rattled the Councillor, and he backed away rapidly with wide eyes. The creature bared its teeth with a deep hiss as it took a few slow steps forward on top of the crossbow. Its red eyes were fixated on Mitchell.

Its voice was low and angry, yet clear and resolute, "The time for the purge has come."

Mitchell stumbled backwards in terror. He was so distracted by the creature's threat that he backed right off of the platform. Through the metal grating of the platform, I saw several arrows strike him even before he hit the floor. Startled, I glanced at the doorway to see several Dranek, Alex, Fiona, and Lucas running in our direction. Our reinforcements had arrived.

One Dranek raced over to dispatch the injured Councillor even as Darien reached the top of the platform and headed towards the cage. I came forward to the bars and reached a hand out to him, which he took the second he got close. The pain from the bond subsided as we were reunited, but it was still unsettled.

Darien glanced at the black creature before testing the bars. He braced one hand against one bar before taking a deep breath and yanking on another. Metal had a bad track record if Darien objected to it, and with a squeal, it gave way. He bent the bar down before ripping several other bars in a similar manner.

It was only a matter of seconds before Darien had opened up the cage enough for both Saphira and me to get out. I hugged Darien tightly and he wrapped his arms around me as he held me close in evident relief. After a while, I let go and peered around Darien.

Most of the Dranek were on the platform now and nervously watching the black creature. It surprised me to see the normally composed and competent fighters uneasy about one animal. I took a closer look at it as Darien also turned slightly to watch it.

The black creature didn't seem at all bothered by the fighters or their weapons as it sat on its haunches, still on top of the oversized crossbow. It was looking at me with an unblinking red gaze, and I was certain that it recognized me. The scuffed up scales on the shoulders made me smile in recognition.

I took a step away from Darien towards him, "Schlach, thank you so much. I don't think your timing could have been any better."

Saphira glanced back at me with wide incredulous eyes, as if in disbelief that I knew the creature by name. In fact, everyone in the room, other than Schlach, was giving me a similar look. Schlach gave a deep chuckle as he jumped down from the crossbow and walked slowly towards us, "My pleasure, although your timing was just as good with the Princess."

I took a few more eager steps forward, with Darien hot on my heels, "How are the Queen and the Princess faring?"

Saphira kept pace beside me, her hand on her dagger hilt, although she hadn't drawn it yet. She was clearly on edge about approaching the black creature that was large enough to easily look me right in the face.

Schlach took several slow dignified steps forward, "They are both doing very well."

"Please pass along my regards." I stopped as I got close to him, a comfortable distance for acquaintances to speak. He also stopped as well. Darien was so close behind me that I could feel the heat from his body.

"I will," Schlach turned his head to regard Darien, "So this is your soulmate." Schlach tilted his head as he examined Darien before looking back at me, "Perhaps a bit short-tempered, but I suspect that you will mellow him over time."

I glanced up at Darien, "Darien, this is Schlach. Schlach, please meet Darien."

Schlach nodded in greeting, and Darien cautiously nodded in return. It was one of the strangest introductions I had ever seen. Schlach turned his attention back to me, "You should bring him when you come back to visit the colony. I am sure the King and Queen would be intrigued to meet him."

I smiled at the generous invitation, "Thank you, although I am sure that Darien wouldn't let me go alone anyways."

Schlach hissed faintly in obvious amusement, "Indeed. I must go now, but call when you wish to visit. Those scrat are gone as well, so you need not worry about them. Farewell."

"Thank you so much, Schlach. Safe travels to you."

He nodded before turning and jumping towards the wall, his sharp claws found purchase and he easily scaled the wooden boards before disappearing into the blackness among the rafters.

Darien spoke slowly as if trying to understand what he just saw, "You have met that sviper previously?"

I realized that everyone was staring at me in surprise, with occasional glances upward. I blushed slightly at the attention and Darien sensed my discomfort, he turned his head to faintly growl a reprimand at the others.

I answered Darien, "I am not sure what their race is called, but I met Schlach shortly after I got out of the scrat tunnels. He chased off some big dinosaur thing before taking me to their place. In the morning, he dropped me off near the Dranek camp, although I am not sure he knew he left me by the wrong camp."

Alex was on top of the platform by now as well, with Fiona right behind him. He glanced up to the rafters, although I was pretty sure that Schlach was long gone, "They are called svipers. Rarely seen, but, supposedly, nothing can fight one and come out on top. Rumor has it that they have some sort of magic as well, but nothing has ever been confirmed. I wasn't aware that they were intelligent and could talk."

Saphira muttered, "Well, that explains why it made me so uneasy. Only the most deadly creatures have ever had that effect on me, and nothing like what I felt with this one."

I looked around and a headcount showed that all of our group was here. I sighed in relief when I only saw a few very minor injuries, "Thank you so much for coming for Saphira and me."

Lucas chuckled before gently slapping Darien on the back, "I couldn't stand to see Darien losing his mate, especially when I haven't told you about all of the trouble he got us into as kids."

Darien sent a mild glare his way, "You forget about those lies. Did you at least manage to avoid cutting yourself with that sword of yours?"

Lucas drew himself up indignantly, "I know how to use a sword."

Saphira snorted in clear disagreement. She looked at Darien, "Where are we and what is our current plan?"

Alex made a face as he answered her, "We managed to lock up most of the Councillors, so now we should go and discover which ones were in league with Councillor Mitchell."

Saphira considered it, "I see no reason for the Dranek to hide at this point, since too many would have seen the other Dranek during the attack. Perhaps we can be of some use during the interrogations. We are quite good at detecting lies."

Darien nodded with a grim expression, "Let's get this over with, once and for all."