LYRIAN AND REONE
The pair stayed hidden in the shadows, watching the Sisterhood from a distance.
Nivara knelt beside Damon, her hands glowing faintly with unstable resonance as she tried to heal him.
"Come on, Nivara. Hurry it up—we don't have time for this," Caelynn snapped impatiently.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Nivara answered, annoyed.
"That's not good enough," Veyra added urgently. "We may have slowed down Lyrian and Reone, but it won't last forever. We have to go."
Nivara glared up at her sisters. "We can't leave with him like this. He's barely breathing. Just one more moment."
"Fine," Caelynn huffed, folding her arms.
Veyra rolled her eyes. Then she looked at Damon's pale face.
"He's becoming more trouble than he's worth. First he disobeys orders, attacks Rhys, risking all of us—and then he doesn't even finish the job."
"We don't know that he didn't," Nivara said.
"I do. He's as incompetent as they come."
"Damon also brought us back to life," Nivara reminded Veyra. "Don't forget that part."
Reone and Lyrian exchanged a stunned look when they heard this.
Caelynn scoffed at her sister. "Who cares about that, Nivara? He's a liability."
She paused.
" I only hope he's strong enough to pull his weight at the Temple of Echoes."
Nivara let out a weary sigh. She was already drained from healing Damon, and her sisters' rants weren't helping.
"He will be," she insisted, her voice trembling with exhaustion. "He just needs a little time to heal."
"How much time?" Veyra asked sharply.
"Two nights at least," Nivara answered in a matter-of-fact voice.
Veyra's eyes widened before she growled out her dissatisfaction.
"Great," Caelynn muttered, equally irritated.
"Don't shoot the messenger, ladies," Nivara told them dryly.
A moment later, her shoulders slumped as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"He's good to go."
"But you don't look good, Nivara," Caelynn said, concern slipping through despite her irritation with Nivara's recent behavior.
"I'm fine," Nivara lied, swaying slightly.
Caelynn moved to support her.
"You burned up most of your strength healing him," Veyra warned.
"I couldn't just let him die," Nivara murmured. "He's essential to our plan to take over the magic dimension."
From their hiding place, Lyrian and Reone exchanged a tense glance.
"Temple of Echoes?" Lyrian whispered to Reone. "And taking over the entire magic dimension?"
Reone's jaw tightened. "Looks like they're back to their old ways."
They turned their attention back to the trio.
"Let's just get going," Veyra said sharply. "Before Reone and Lyrian find us."
Caelynn nodded, and they moved toward the weakened pair, ready to act as their support.
Lyrian and Reone nodded their agreement to each other before stepping out of the shadows.
"Not so fast, Sisterhood." Lyrian's voice rang out—steady and cutting.
Veyra and Caelynn spun around in shock.
"Lyrian and Reone," Veyra sneered. "Persistent little pests, aren't you?"
"How did you escape my illusions?" Caelynn demanded, narrowing her eyes.
"Because we're tougher than we look," Reone said, drawing his spiral. "As you're about to find out."
Lyrian didn't wait. Her hands shimmered with blue resonance, and she shouted,
"Sound Crush!"
The air rippled violently as her attack slammed into Veyra, hurling her backward into a stone wall.
Caelynn retaliated, splitting into three identical illusions that fired dark blasts at Reone. He blocked them, then slashed through two of the illusions—finding the real Caelynn.
She ducked his blade, but he caught her with a swift kick to the head. She hit the ground hard.
"You should've stayed dead," Reone growled.
Caelynn smirked, coughing. "I'm sensing that you're still angry about your mentor. What was his name—Varek?"
Reone's fury ignited.
"Don't you dare say his name!" he shouted, lunging again.
"Reone, don't hurt me," Caelynn said suddenly, transforming herself into Varek.
Reone couldn't help himself—he paused mid-attack.
"Varek?"
Caelynn smirked.
That moment of hesitation was all she needed.
She hit him with a blast, point-blank, and he slammed to the floor.
"Reone!" Lyrian gasped, racing to him.
Caelynn raised her hand for another strike, but Lyrian unleashed a screeching sound that disoriented Caelynn. She stumbled back, clutching her head.
Lyrian stood protectively in front of Reone.
"If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through me first."
"That can be arranged," Caelynn said, clearly angry.
"So much for us not exerting ourselves, Caelynn," Veyra said, moving to stand beside her, recovered from Lyrian's earlier attack.
She looked at Lyrian.
"You think you can take us both?"
"That's exactly what I think," Lyrian shot back, though she wasn't sure.
"Big words," Veyra sneered. "Let's see you prove it."
They attacked together—wind blades and dark blasts cutting through the air—but Lyrian outstretched her hands and shifted her sound frequency, her quiet but effective move that shattered both attacks midair. The explosion blew harmlessly apart.
Lyrian then let out another sonic burst, sending both dark sylphs crashing into the walls.
Lyrian was a little surprised that she was able to take them down, but she didn't stop to celebrate, dropping beside Reone.
Nivara watched it all unfold from a corner, anxiety rising in her chest.
They were losing, she realized.
Her gaze drifted to Damon's pale face, and her heart clenched.
"I have to do something," she whispered to herself. "I won't lose you."
She pressed her lips to his forehead.
"I'll be right back."
Her body trembled, her raw resonance unstable now—but love drove her forward. She rose, eyes blazing with wild light.
"Enough!" she shouted.
Her hands surged with chaotic energy. The air warped, resonance sparking in violent bursts.
Caelynn gasped when she saw her sister.
"Nivara, you're too unstable. Stop! Stop!" Caelynn yelled.
But it was too late.
Nivara released the blast.
Lyrian, who had helped Reone up, barely had time to drag them behind the nearest wall before the explosion shook the entire fortress, sending debris crashing down.
Lyrian clutched Reone, who regained consciousness due to the blast.
When the dust settled, Nivara was on her knees, trembling.
Veyra and Caelynn peeked out from behind a shattered pillar, coughing.
"Nivara!" Veyra marched toward her. "Are you insane? You almost killed us!"
Nivara blinked weakly.
"D-Damon... is he all right?"
"He's fine," Veyra said, sparing Damon a glance. "The guy got lucky. You fried everything except him."
Caelynn hesitated, quietly realizing that it wasn't so much luck as it was Nivara's feelings that had unconsciously shielded him from her attack.
"We're leaving," Veyra ordered. "Now."
Caelynn nodded, slinging Damon's arm over her shoulder while Veyra hauled Nivara to her feet.
But before they could fly out the window—
"Where do you think you're going?" Reone's voice cut through the smoke, rough but steady. Lyrian was beside him, backing him up.
"We're done here," Veyra announced. "Caelynn?"
Nodding, Caelynn snapped her fingers, conjuring a thick emerald fog that swallowed the room.
"Not this," Lyrian groaned as the mist blinded them.
When it cleared—the Sisterhood and Damon were gone.
"Where did they go?" Reone asked, scanning the wreckage, breathing heavily.
"They escaped," Lyrian said, frustrated.
Reone cursed under his breath, clutching his ribs.
"Reone!" Lyrian caught him before he fell.
"I'm fine," he muttered. "We have to go after them—"
"You're in no shape to fight," Lyrian said firmly. "And we don't know where they went."
Reone clenched his fists.
"I can't believe Damon slipped away again."
"This isn't on you," Lyrian said softly. "We both let them get away." She hesitated. "But at least we know where they're heading."
Reone looked up.
"We do? Where?"
"Remember that Caelynn mentioned a location—the Temple of Echoes. I think that's where they're headed next," she said.
Reone nodded, grim determination flickering through the pain.
"Then that's where we're going too."
But then he dropped on one knee, groaning in pain.