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Draco had been eradicated. Hellfire was no longer supposed to exist on this plane.

His sword had even been returned to the Celestial Plane by Cornelius Martel following his demise.

So that was why Ariana had unleashed such power. There had been an eruption of that devil’s flame that only she had the ability to contain.

An accidental outburst, or her unleashing to practice before coming to me had been bad enough when I’d believed that had been the case, that it had been an act of lack of forethought. But this… her unleashing in response to a threat of this magnitude… it complicated things to an enormous degree.

I located a hole through the Compound and I was able to lay eyes on Ariana herself.

There she was, holding up a containment field with impressive control as an eruption of Hellfire swirled within it.

“You are not needed,” a voice sounded, just as I felt a lick of power similar to my own.

I tilted my head up to see the Fallen, Cornelius Martel, sweeping down, his wings that he’d somehow been allowed to keep, carrying him rapidly toward Ariana. He held up three feathers in his grip. I grunted at him possessing what I read as True Celestial feathers.

He reached Ariana and then they were working together to fuse the feathers into a spell to extinguish the Hellfire entirely.

He guided her through it, and I watched her take his instructions well. She was conscientious about it, her eyes sparking with the will to learn and improve.

That most definitely boded well.

He looked out at a time while she was distracted focusing on the task at hand, not aware of my presence, his eyes narrowing, willing me to take my leave.

I stepped back and turned away.

Let them believe I was intending to leave.

She needed to focus on the task ahead of her, a task which would be more beneficial for her to complete, rather than I.

I was nearby should complications occur, or should she fail.

But I would not leave.

Nor could I after this eruption of her power.

I had to control the narrative, after all.

As I moved away out of sight, I took in the areas of devastation around me.

A scream caught my attention and I turned to see the glint of a jeweled dagger being plunged into the abdomen of a young woman, her ombre hair plastered to her face, as blood and sweat slicked her skin.

As she fell to her knees, the being who had their back to me grasped her throat viciously. “Sorin sends his regards,tainted one. He wanted you to suffer as you perish.”

He twisted the blade, and she shrieked, collapsing onto her back.

“Long livePuritas.”

I found myself experiencing the urge to intervene, even though it was written that I should not, that it wasn’t my place.

An explosion of vibrant-green light tore through the area, blasting the assailant hundreds of feet into the distance.

I watched as the sorcerer whom I knew to be Ryker Morgan came into view a moment before he teleported out, following the path of the assailant.

As I tracked his teleportation path, another caught my eye in the form of blue magic joining his deep in the forest in the distance.

My attention went to the young woman not far from me, over by a willow tree.

Her fingers shook, emanating with her purple power, as she raised her hand to the wound.