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“Stop this, Ethera!” yelled the Recondite. He was bloody, bruised, and clearly losing, “I know what they did to you. We can help you!”

Lucien came up beside me. “He’s lying to you,” he said.

“I know,” I said.

“How do you know?”

“I may be reckless sometimes, but I’m not stupid. Let’s finish this before the rest of the temple falls on top of us.”

Lucien’s eyes flashed red again, and the demon ceased battering the Recondite further into the wall. When Lucien next spoke, it was in that whispered, two-toned voice I couldn’t understand. The demon suddenly whooshed past us and went lumbering further up the hallway.

Then the screams began.

The Recondite slumped to the floor, breaths coming quickly and raggedly. Despite the beating he had just taken, he slowly pulled himself upright to face us.

“He’s using you!” he yelled. Though he had dropped his blue shield, he still had the glowing blue sword made of pure light in his hand. “Don’t you see that?!”

“Give us the crown,” I said.

“Is that really what you want, Ethera? Have you truly aligned yourself with that evil family?”

I shook my head. “All of our families are fucking awful. I’m just trying to survive.”

“Stop what you’re doing right now, Diaboli, or you will reignite the Shadow War tonight.”

Lucien took a deep breath. “You have something that belongs to my family, and we’re here to return it to its rightful owner.”

“Then you have sealed your fate… you have sealed all our fates.”

“Let us leave here with the crown, and nobody has to get hurt.”

“Do you really think I would let you take that thing back to your father?”

“If you want to spare your people, you will.”

“If I let you take it back to him, many more will die! Or do you not understand just what a powermonger your father is?”

“I know what my father is.”

“And you condone his actions?!”

“I don’t… I’m not doing this for him.”

“Who are you risking war for, then?”

My heart skipped. Lucien hadn’t looked at me, but I could sense something from him—a ripple of warmth, and comfort, and care in a sea of anxiety and tension. Me? He hadn’t said it, but I had felt it. I’d felt his intention.

“I’m giving you a chance,” Lucien continued. “Surrender the crown… and let us leave.”

“You’ll have to pry it from my corpse,” said the Recondite.

Lucien shook his head. “I don’t think so. I know exactly where it is; all you have to do is lay down your weapons.”

The Recondite snarled and lunged, raising his glowing sword. Lucien was about to form his own phantom blade to protect himself, but I leapt past him and threw myself at the Recondite. When he swung his sword at me, I ducked, grabbed his arm, pulled him into the Ether with me and threw him into the nearest wall.

I didn’t stop to think about whether he’d made it out the other side.

“Run!” I yelled.