(POV Aileen)
Seeing Fayrin here beside me, listening to our story with that kind of absolute focus… it feels like slipping back into another life.
My eyes sting.
Mom… Dad… I wonder if…
I don't even know how to put into words how much I miss what I had before.
"We need to find your friend and bring him here. Now," Fayrin says, firm, decisive.
I feel her tension—
it feeds mine.
"Do you think he's in danger?" I ask, my voice tight.
She doesn't hesitate. Not even for a second.
"Most likely. You said his eyes keep changing color. That's not a good sign. It means Dorcha's soul doesn't have a stable identity. It's as if something bound it… and being away from the Orcs, he was slowly reclaiming himself. But here—" her voice darkens, "—here, where darkness reigns… that bond has grown strong again."
My stomach drops.
"He must not cross paths with the Blood Knight. It could destroy him. It might even kill him."
"If that's the case, then we don't have a second to waaaste," Grogher mutters.
A loud, frantic knocking cuts through the air.
We all turn toward the door.
"Help! Help! Fairy Fayrin, please—help!"
A young voice. A girl's. Muffled through the wood.
Fayrin moves instantly, rushing to the door like she already knows who it is.
I follow, heart racing—maybe I can help.
The door flies open.
And my world stops.
Dorcha.
He's slumped over Hercules' back, barely held in place.
Blood everywhere.
He's unconscious.
"By all the clouds—Grogher, help me! We need to get him inside, now!"
"It's him?" Fayrin asks.
Grogher nods and runs out without another word. He reaches Dorcha, lifts him carefully into his arms like he's made of glass.
"Come. This way," Fayrin says, already moving.
We hurry inside.
She leads us into a room with soft lilac walls. A bed sits in the center—simple, but clearly meant for moments like this.
Emergencies.
I freeze.
I don't know what to do.
There's so much blood.
Too much.
"What… what happened…?"
The words slip out before I can stop them. Maybe I'm hoping someone—anyone—will give me an answer.
I feel dizzy. Disoriented.
Grogher lays Dorcha down gently.
Fayrin is already leaning over him, inspecting the wounds.
It takes her seconds.
Her fingers brush one of the deep cuts—
she stills.
"…Dark magic," she whispers.
Dark… magic.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"It means exactly what I feared. Something dark attacked him. He tried to fight it off… but something inside him stopped him."
"I don't understand," Grogher says, shaking his head. "He's strong, he's—"
Fayrin looks at him the way a mother would.
"I'll explain later. For now—go. Let Dorcha's horse rest. Give him enchanted water and hay. He needs it too. Gaithy, go to the kitchen. Prepare a good herbal infusion for everyone. Aileen—sit. I need you here."
She waits until they leave.
Then she looks at me.
"We have to stop the bleeding. If we don't, he'll be drained dry within a few hours."
A pause.
"Maybe sooner."
The air leaves my lungs.
"Do you love him?" she asks softly.
"Yes."
My voice trembles. I can hear it.
"That's good," she says.
Good?
"Think about what you feel for him. The happiest moments you've shared. Hold on to them. Now—give me your hands. And don't let go. Not for a second. Understood?"
I nod.
Our hands meet.
And everything changes.
A deep violet light bursts around Dorcha, wrapping him from head to toe.
"Focus."
I breathe in.
Slow.
Deep.
And close my eyes.
Memories crash into me.
Our first meeting…
him teasing me for eating those abro berries…
training together…
our first kiss…
us, wrapped in each other's arms by the fire, before leaving for the Gnomes…
us—mermaid and merman…
us, becoming one for the first time…
and then—
him looking at me like I'm a stranger.
Pushing me away.
Riding off.
My chest tightens.
I want to cry.
"Aileen? Aileen…"
Fayrin's voice pulls me back.
"We're done."
Slowly, I open my eyes.
It feels like I've been gone for hours.
It's hard to come back. To be here again.
The memories swallowed me whole.
I look at Dorcha.
The bleeding has stopped.
His skin has color again.
He's breathing… peaceful. As if he's only sleeping.
Fayrin smiles at me, proud.
"You did well."
"I don't understand. I didn't do anything."
"You did more than you think. Only True Love could counter the magic that was draining him. And you gave it to him."
My heart stumbles.
"So… now… he's out of danger?!"
"Yes. He just needs to rest now. Come—we should join the others. Gaithy has quite a lot to tell us."
It feels like a weight the size of the world has just been lifted off my chest.
I can breathe again.
Lighter, I follow her.
(POV Richard — Blood Knight)
Teallach paces the clearing.
Back and forth.
Long strides.
Relentless.
I've never seen a fairy like her—so tall, so statuesque it feels unreal.
Her hair is black as a raven's wing, sleek, lightless.
Massive eagle wings twitch at her back—
her eyes flash.
I'm afraid.
She forced me to my knees. Tore the armor off my body like it meant nothing.
Now I'm left in nothing but a thin underlayer—
exposed. Bare.
Sometimes I wonder if I made the wrong choice.
If I should have stayed on Earth…
I'm only twenty.
And yet—since I bound myself to her, I feel ancient.
Weak.
My skin has gone gray. I barely sleep.
Dark circles, bruised lips—nothing inside me moves the way it should anymore.
It was all a trap.
And now… there's no way out.
Phéist—my dragon, the only good thing left in this life—
is on edge.
He's watching me. Closely.
I catch the subtle shift of his pupil.
That's why—
Teallach stops.
I feel her gaze slice through me.
"You're an idiot. A complete idiot, Richard," she snaps.
"I—I—"
"Silence."
The slap explodes across my face.
My cheek burns. My lip splits open.
Blood.
Her expression changes.
Her eyes go flat. Empty.
A frozen calm settles over her.
Her claws—long, black, almost talons—hook under my throat and force my head up.
She locks onto my eyes.
"You still don't understand what you've done, do you?"
Her voice is low. Controlled.
"You could have killed him. Instead—you let him go. A dangerous enemy. Extremely powerful."
A beat.
"Free."
She drags the word out, slow.
I swallow.
I have to defend myself.
"He wasn't! How can someone be dangerous or powerful if he couldn't even resist my power for a second?"
She doesn't blink.
"Did you read his mind?"
The way she speaks—slow, deliberate—
is terrifying.
Don't panic. Think.
Did I?
"…N-no."
A pause.
"Then isn't that proof… that he resisted you perfectly well?"
She turns away, pacing again.
Faster now.
Angrier.
My blood turns to ice.
"Let's review," she says. "Did I—or did I not—grant you the ability to hypnotize anyone you choose?"
Sweat slides down my neck.
"Yes…"
This is bad.
"To read the deepest layers of the mind…?"
"Yes…"
"To freeze will and energy—to the point where no one can recall a spell or take a single step?"
"Yes."
God… where is this going?
"And yet," she continues, "this knight you call powerless resisted you—at least at first. He caught your magic with his bare hands. He blocked your access to his thoughts."
I nod. What else can I do?
In front of me stands Teallach—Empress of the Parallel Great Realm, undisputed Queen of Evil—on the verge of losing control.
I can feel it.
"Why," she whispers—then snaps, "did you spare him?! WHY?!"
Even her shouting is composed.
Low. Hollow. Muffled.
Roche.
I try to gather what little courage I have left.
My body is shaking.
"Because… I've never faced someone like that before. He wasn't at full strength and—I thought he'd bleed out anyway. And if he didn't…" My voice falters. "…I wanted him to have another chance. To fight."
Silence.
Then—
she laughs.
And there is nothing beautiful about it.
"You… wanted… what?" Her voice turns sharp. "Pathetic. Stupid. Worthless human."
Her eyes blaze.
"You do not have the right to think. To decide. You do as I say. Nothing more."
Her voice cracks—first time.
"You should have taken advantage of his confusion and killed him. Not given him another chance!"
She turns away.
Too calm.
Way too calm.
"Do you have even the faintest idea what it cost me to cross into this world?" she says quietly. "I tried for millennia. Millennia. And now that the gates have weakened… now that I am here…"
A bitter breath.
"Why am I even explaining this? You wouldn't understand."
Her tone hardens.
"Your carelessness has endangered everything. My entire plan. And that…"
a pause
"…I will not forgive."
She flicks her hand.
No—
no, no, no—
My body is hurled across the clearing.
Impact.
Tree. Ground. Stone.
Again.
And again.
The pain is so violent I can't even scream.
The more I suffer, the more her face tightens with fury.
"Regretting your devotion to darkness?" she murmurs. "How tragic."
Her voice reaches me like it's underwater.
Everything blurs.
I can't answer.
My body stops midair—
then starts spinning.
Weightless.
Empty.
I slam—
into the ground… into trunks… into rock.
My bones—
all of them—
broken.
I feel Phéist's breath—hot, desperate—against me.
He's trying to catch me. Save me.
But I'm moving too fast.
He growls, low and furious. Fire gathers in his throat.
A warning.
He's about to lose control.
Teallach glances at him—and something shifts.
"Easy, Phéist," she says, almost gently. "Don't make me feel guilty. This is the least he deserves."
A pause.
"Fine."
She lowers her arm.
I drop.
Hard.
No air. No strength.
"You should have thought of that before, Richard," she says coolly. "Every choice has a price. You exhaust me. I'm beginning to find you… useless."
A beat.
"But for now, I still need you alive. Find that knight. Kill him. You have until tomorrow."
And just like that—
she's gone.
Gone, as if she was never there.
I try to stand.
I can't.
God—
I can't.
Everything hurts.
The world spins.
Not a single limb left intact.
Doesn't matter.
Soon… my body will start healing itself from the inside.
The only advantage of my pact with that creature.
There—
it's starting.
It hurts.
So much.
Not a single inch of me isn't shaking. Burning. Fevered.
Mom… Dad…
I wish I hadn't betrayed you.
She made promises. I thought I was doing the right thing.
If I had just listened to you… I would've never left Earth.
I'd still be there.
With you.
Tears slide hot across my face.
Right now—
I wish I were dead.