If nightmares were real, Calder would have traded everything to know that this was a dream. The scene before him was something he would have given anything to unsee. But it was very real, and his blood boiled and every fiber of his being became electrified with rage. The first thing he noticed was the Earth Sorcerer's body on the ground, his throat cut, eyes lifeless. Next to him stood the blonde Water Witch, Cordelia. Her eyes were wide, but with fear or excitement, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that they were locked on something that was happening at the edge of the clearing, and that something was what made him lose all rational thought. Against one of the trees, a naked figure loomed over the bound and limp body of a woman, a woman with deep red hair. Her dress was shredded and a large cut gaped over her right breast. There were slashes across her body and legs, as if claws had been raked across them, and blood, there was blood everywhere. Her face though. Calder knew tha

Tasha. Her name was the last thing Calder had thought before slipping into an endless, dreamless, nothingness, and it was the first as his thoughts returned. It was like a thick blanket was being pulled from his mind. It had muffled everything, but now, he felt vulnerable and exposed. He tried to remember what had happened before the vast emptiness, but everything was fuzzy. Tasha. That was the one thing he knew. Her name brought an ache to his heart. But why? That word was the one thing that had brought him joy, had comforted him in times of despair. Why now did it feel as if despair and her name were synonymous with each other? He needed to open his eyes. Once he was awake it would all make more sense. He didn't remember falling asleep though. In fact, his memories all seemed jumbled and confused. What had happened? He knew he had spent the night making love to her, and then he had had to leave her. But that wasn't why he felt so hopeless. He had for a time, but Errant h

Recounting the events in the clearing was one of the most difficult things Astasha had ever done. But she fueled the rage and hate inside her to get through it, and when she came to the demon’s assault, Helia had stepped in, insisting there was no need for her to re-live such things. Tasha was grateful for her mercy, though there wouldn’t have been much that would have aided them had she continued. All that had happened once the demon had descended upon her seemed fragmented and blurred in her mind. She had expected her story to be difficult to tell, but what she hadn’t expected was how difficult it was to listen to Calder's. The pain in his eyes when he looked at her, remembering what he had had to witness, what he had endured to try to save her; he was a stronger man than most. His fingers had remained laced with hers the entire time. Even when they had laid him down to treat his wounds, his hand stayed firmly linked with her own. No one said anything about it, either because the

Astasha knew these trees. She had been here before, but when, she couldn't remember. The forest was cold and dead. She found her feet moving slowly across the hard earth, but the sound of leaves crunching and breaking beneath them was absent. The only noise was an eerie breeze that surrounded her, whispering through the woods. Slowly, she made her way through the branches until her eyes fell upon a sight that made her breath catch. A dark stone castle stood before her, parts of it crumbling away, other parts overrun and overcrowded with ivy and plants void of life. It looked to have been abandoned long ago. A chill ran down her spine as if someone was watching her. 'Astasha.' That voice. It came from everywhere and nowhere. She had heard it before, and again it made her heart pound in her chest. 'It has begun. Everything that was shall burn. A new world will rise from the ashes. Seek for your answers here. Embrace the truth, Astasha. Set the darkness free.’ Her breath was labo

As much as Astasha wanted to believe the Water Witch’s little trick would work, she knew better than to hope. But Cal had been so relieved at the notion that she might not have to face the terror of the Ritual Stone again, she couldn’t bring herself to be the bearer of reality. Instead, she had put her focus on determining the location of the dead forest and stone palace she had seen, but Calder insisted she needed more rest first. Errant had agreed, though he assured her he would personally see to it that every map available in the palace was brought to his study. There had been a tense moment upon their return to the Healing Ward, in which the Prince and Grand Sorcerer had come to a heated disagreement about where exactly Astasha was to rest, Errant insisting she stay there, Calder convinced a proper bed was what she needed. But Tasha was desperate to leave the ward, and upon Sorcerer Terrin’s inspection of her wounds, the Grand Sorcerer had at last seceded. Cal left immediately