Harry Skye will survive

"You have to tell me what's going on here." Nherisa said, following Eric to only he knows where.

"Nherisa, the affairs of the castle are far bigger than us." Eric said, coming back out of his room to meet her. "You need to find your child. Get it out of here and never come back."

"I'm sure you don't think I would do that." Nherisa said. "You turned my child into an egg, and you think it's just going to pass. Why did you do this?"

"It wasn't me." Eric said. "It was never me. I fact, nothing that ever happened I this castle was by my will, not even the King's." Eric looked out the window. It was visible from there, the ship. "And she is coming."

"Who, Eric, who?"

"Vane." Eric said.

"Who is Vane?" Nherisa asked.

"Vane is an evil spirit that lived in the rulers' minds for generations and controlled whatever happened in the kingdom." Eric said, running down the hall with Nherisa following close behind him. "She is the reason your people have become slaves to ours."

"Slaves?"

"Yes." Eric continued. "Every month, your people had to bring a sack of gold up to us, and in return... she lets them live."

"Let them live?"

"Until you and your sister came by, we had the power over you. We could either make you stronger...or destroy you."

"And you chose to make us stronger?"

"We build your kingdom, and you made ours the third richest on the planet."

"Then where do me and my sister come in?" Nherisa asked, this time pulling Eric's arm, causing him to stop. "Why are we a part of the equation?"

"The same reason I'm part of the equation." Eric said. "Because Vane couldn't get Roland to do her bidding."

"Roland, the king?"

"The son of Harold. But he was different. Ever since a certain incident, Roland has become different. Cornelia changed him, made him pure so that Vane couldn't control him."

"Then she went to you."

"That part of the story sounds complicated being told by me." Eric said, continuing to make his way down the stairs. "All I can say is that she felt she could gain her dominance back if she used either you or your sister. I guess she chose your sister."

"And what about my child?" Nherisa asked. "Why the egg?"

"Because Vane doesn't want to have to kill you in order to kill your child." Eric said.

"Why would she want to kill my baby?"

"Because of the prophecy."

"What prophecy?"

The cries of soldiers in battle came from outside. Eric looked out the window. She was there. This time, walking gracefully towards the door while the water did all the heavy work for her.

"Find your child and get it out of here, or it's dead!" Eric said before leaving Nherisa to continue down the stairs.

Nherisa watched him pick up a crossbow and point it directly towards the door with himself standing right in front of it. She didn't move from the spot until she saw the door force open by water. Eric pulled the trigger, but the arrow didn't get far. A splash of water pushed the arrow back towards him and sent him flying backwards, the arrow leaving a cut in his arm before passing by him.

Nherisa ran.

That was Cordelia. She knew it was. And Vane was in control again.

No, not my child, Nherisa thought, running around like a mad person. She opened every door and looked through every window, but there was no sign of him. Not on that floor, at least.

But her baby was somewhere in that castle. It was certain.

There was only one way to find her child in time.

She pressed her palm against the wall, then the other. And she begged.

She begged the walls of the castle to tell her what it knew. To reveal its secrets. To help her save her child.

"The sea dweller isn't our only problem." Nherisa heard the voice of a man.

"What else is there?" Another man asked.

"The portal. The one that opens every four years. It has vome again. And this time, it's somewhere in the castle." The conversation went on.

"So what do we do about the egg?"

The egg, Nherisa's baby.

"Our lives are in danger, and you are worried about an egg?"

"So, we leave it here?"

Nherisa had started running by now. She didn't know her way around the castle but the walls told her which way to go. They led her to her child. She ran with quicker pace, turning into a few hallways, ip a few flights of stairs until she was facing a huge door and could hear her baby call out to her from the other side.

When she opened the door, the men had disappeared. It's just an empty laboratory with an egg on the table. The heartless monsters.

Time wasn't on Nherisa's side. Cordelia - nay, Vane - was on her way there and would reach any minute. She had to get out of there and quickly.

She carried the egg up in her arms and ran towards the door. But as soon as she reached the doorway, Cordelia was standing outside, waiting.

"Nherisa, oh, Nherisa." Cordelia said. "I can see that you are strong. You have spirit. Why waste it on a useless child when you can conquer 9 worlds with me?"

"Cordelia, I know this isn't you. Snap out if it is Cordelia. Don't become a slave to Vane's bidding."

"Even if your sister was in her senses, she would still want to kill this illegitimate thing." Cordelia said, walking towards Nherisa.

"My chi..."

"How dare you call my son illegitimate?!"

When Cordelia looked back, she saw that it was Eric who spoke. Not only did he have the guts to speak, but he also dared to send an arrow through her shoulder.

He missed.

He had aimed for her heart.

Cordelia didn't whine, didn't make a sound. Why? Because Vane felt no pain. Instead, she looked back in Nherisa's direction.

"I can't believe you fell for this guy." Cordelia said.

Another arrow came at her from behind. This time, she blocked it with a splash of water before turning around to face her attacker.

"Try that again, and I will end you." She said before turning back to face Nherisa, who was now jumping through the window.

Cordelia, finally having time time for him, turned to Eric. This time, she didn't need her powers. She just ran towards him and set a punch to his nose.

"You work for me." She said. "And don't forget that."

"Not anymore." Eric said. "I can't let you hurt, Nherisa."

"What part of the prophecy don't you understand?!" Cordelia asked.

"There is another vision." Eric said. "She is not the one you have to be worried about right now."

"Then who is?"

"Cornelia." Eric said, almost smirking. "She is in the castle right now. And she is coming your way."

"Impossible! I drowned her in the river." The memory brought satisfaction to Vane. The way she pushed Cornelia and Zephyra into the river inside made it so they couldn't come out.

"You forget that she is a sorceress." Eric said. "How could you have missed such an important detail?"

"What?"

"Touch my third eye and see."

Cordelia placed her hand on Eric's forehead, and when she did, her eyes closed, and she saw. She was standing in front of Cornelia and Cordelia, who were backing away towards the river.

A blast of water pushed them into the river. But now, with the scene being played in slow motion for her, she could see that a splash was made before they fell into the water.

Cordelia took her hand off his head, another vision coming to her, this time from her own power. The image of Cornelia walking into the castle.

"Of course." She said. "An air bubble."

"She is coming here." Eric said.

With a frustrated shout, Cordelia stumped down the hall.

Nherisa, who had been listening through the window from an adjacent hallway, didn't know what to believe anymore. The thought that all that happened in the past few months - nay, all her life - was all part of a big conspiracy, planned by a power obsessed witch of a spirit.

She ran, this time not spcarintpg to look back. She wasn't going to let curiosity kill the cat she held in her arms. Running like a mad woman, she reached a stairs well that led back down. At the moment, getting out of the castle seemed to be the safest option for her baby, so she ran down the stairs into a short hallway.

Nherisa stumbled as he tried to escape from the sounds of battle that she heard behind her. Eventually, she turned left into another hallway that led back into the reception room and ran through it. She was heading to the door when she looked back just in time to see Cordelia fly over the railing to hit the railing at the other end and fall down on to the main floor, being pushed by a wave of water.

Cornelia didn't take long to get back up on her feet. But she had barely gained her balance when Cordelia sent another blast of water towards her.

Stretching her glowing hands forward in a rather graceful manner, she blocked the water from touching her, causing it to splash everywhere else.

Nherisa didn't waste another second there. She pushed the door open and ran through it. But before she could take two steps out the door, a familiar face appeared in front of her.

"I thought you were dead."