Chapter 14

"Are you sure you didn't overdo it on the Faesine?" I asked Seth suspiciously.

He'd brought a serious amount of the extremely flammable liquid with him, and Geraldine was now prancing around, pouring it all over the place like a pixie in the long grass. Max was up in a tree, his arrow aimed out into the FIB compound that surrounded the towering mountain where all the contraband in Solaria was contained.

"I brought just the right amount," Seth insisted. "Trust me."

"Just don't go setting the world on fire," I said with a grin.

"I'll leave that to the Phoenix," he said.

Orion appeared in a blur, casually pushing his hair back into place as he came to an abrupt halt beside me. "I did a full circuit, there's nothing out of place. There's no extra FIB units here, and I heard one of the guards say a bunch of agents are off sick with Fae flu. We picked the perfect night to strike."

"The stars must be favouring us for once," I said, glancing up at the shimmering little assholes, wondering if this was what it was like not to be cursed by a vengeful star called Clyde.

Maybe the other stars were making up for him being a dick, or maybe there were more hidden dangers here that we weren't yet aware of. I was gonna take the optimistic viewpoint. At least until I was proven wrong.

Caleb appeared in a rush of movement, his shoulder brushing Orion's as he stopped. "Fence is breached. Tory and Darius are waiting for you. We'll get the fire cooking here."

"Hell yes," Seth said excitedly.

"Patrol moving this way," Max called.

We had a solid silencing bubble around us all, so I wasn't worried about being overheard, but the loudness of his voice still made me look towards the fence in preparation of a fight.

"Let's get moving," Orion said, taking a step toward me.

"Keep them busy as long as you can," I encouraged.

"It shall be a bosom of a blaze, dear Darcy," Geraldine said as she jogged back over with a jerry can swinging from her fist.

"Good luck," I said, then let Orion sweep me into his arms, and Geraldine saluted me before bowing low.

I watched over Orion's shoulder as Caleb released a blaze of fire from his hands and the grass went up with a whoosh of heat. The flames soared up ten feet and kept climbing, the Faesine catching alight in great blazes. If that didn't draw the FIB's attention, I didn't know what would.

Orion made it to the gap in the fence where Tory and Darius were waiting, using a concealment spell to stay hidden in the shadows.

"Seth went overboard on the Faesine, didn't he?" Darius said, looking out to where the fire was now spinning in a wild vortex.

"I feel like I shouldn't have put him in charge of it," I said thoughtfully.

"Definitely a bad choice," Darius snorted, then moved to climb onto Orion's back while I remained in his arms.

Orion manoeuvred me under one arm and Tory stepped closer with a scowl. "This is the part where I pretend to be your man-bag, isn't it?"

"Come on," Orion goaded. "Get under my arm like a good little purse."

Tory let him tuck her into place and he shot forward with the full propulsion of his speed. I lost sight of everything, the whole world a frantic blur, the red and gold fire becoming a haze.

Orion slowed to a halt, setting us down and Darius jumped off his back, clapping him on the shoulder. "Good boy. I'll give you a sugar lump later."

"And I'll shove it up your ass," Orion said dryly.

We'd arrived in front of a looming silver door in the shape of a triangle that was carved into the base of the mountain. Four more triangles sat in a vertical line on its surface, two facing up and two down, a line striking through two of the points so that each represented an Element. I stepped closer with my hand raised, no tingle of magic caressing my palm. The wards were down and it looked like whatever held this door locked might have shattered too.

"Blue," Orion warned as I stepped even nearer.

"She's got this," Tory said lightly.

"We should assess this door before we go blindly touching it," Orion growled.

"Agreed," Darius said.

"It looks like the House symbols, what if we just need to cast Elemental magic at it?" I suggested and Xavier spoke up in my earpiece for the first time.

"Sounds like a good bet. I think I saw four symbols on the floor too."

I glanced down at the ground, finding he was right, and they were a little worn, showing where Fae had stood in the past.

"I'd bet my ass we need to cast all four at once," Tory said keenly.

I went to lay my palm on the door and Orion shot forward, capturing my wrist and giving me a stern look. "Don't."

I smiled innocently and he looked down, finding my other hand now on it instead.

"Why must you be so reckless?" he sighed, but a smile touched the corner of his lips.

"I guess it's the Savage King's blood in me," I said.

"I don't know. After meeting your mother, I'd say she gives you both the reckless streak," Darius said causally like it was nothing, but Tory and I both turned to him with looks of longing. "I'll tell you more about it when we're done here. Now come on. Let's go claim some treasure."

I moved to stand on the air symbol in front of the door while Tory took earth, Orion stood on water and Darius stood on fire.

We all raised our hands and Xavier ran a countdown in our ears.

"Three, two, one-"

We blasted our chosen Elements at the door, Darius's fire twisting into a tornado as it mixed with my air before Orion's water doused it, and all that remained was a beautiful rose vine crawling up the centre of the door.

Each triangle illuminated at once, red for fire, green for earth, white for air and blue for water.

"Now the last bit, quickly," Xavier urged, and Orion took Francesca's ring from his pocket.

He held it up just as a blast of light emitted from the door, scanning us from head to toe and making Francesca's ring illuminate. The light faded away and we held our breaths while we waited to see if we might be granted access.

Xavier whistled low in my ear as the huge triangular door lowered inward like a drawbridge, revealing a cavernous passage beyond, and relief scattered through me. Shit, we'd really done it.

A deep groaning noise rumbled from somewhere deep within the belly of the mountain and a shiver rolled down my spine.

"It's just the wind," Tory said, walking confidently inside.

I jogged to catch up, taking in the gleaming minerals running through the towering walls either side of us. The roof of this cavern was so high that the ceiling was lost to shadow.

"Or a monster," Darius said, drawing his Phoenix fire axe and striding after us with Orion.

The door slammed shut at our backs with a deafening boom that set my heart pounding. I expected darkness to consume us, but the minerals in the walls glittered with a mysterious blue glow, allowing enough light that we didn't need to cast any more.

"Turn right at the end of this tunnel," Xavier directed.

When we reached the fork in the path, we followed his direction, heading down a narrower path with equally high walls either side of us. It was cold in here, the chill biting my exposed skin and I willed fire into my veins to chase it away.

Even though we trod with care, our footsteps were painfully loud, every sound amplified in the empty space.

A continuous roaring noise was growing up ahead, like the rush of an immense amount of water.

"There should be a stairway at the end of this passage and your first security barrier," Xavier said.

It wasn't long before we made it there and I stared up in awe at the colossal waterfall tumbling down through the centre of a spiralling staircase that twisted up around the walls like a coiled python. It was wide enough for a giant to walk comfortably up it, but for us it was going to be one hell of a climb. At least the steps were of a normal size.

A wide bubbling pool of dark water sat far below us where the falling water crashed into it, and I could barely hear anything over the cacophony of noise.

Orion waved his hand and a silencing bubble spread out around the waterfall, stealing away the sound of it in an instant.

"Francesca had clearance for this area but there's a security barrier by the first step," Xavier said.

Tory and I moved forward to assess it and one shared glance with her told me she was thinking exactly what I was. I stepped forward and Phoenix fire burst to life in my palm, the red and blue flames twisting together in a hypnotic dance. The sense of magic buzzed right in front of me and I let my power break free in a fiery inferno.

My flames scored right through the barrier, dissolving it in a crackle of sparks, leaving the way forward wide open.

"Too easy," Tory said.

"It's almost like they want us to walk in and steal all their treasure," I said, the two of us sharing a smile before we started up the stone stairs.

"You do realise you just cut through some of the most powerful wards the FIB are capable of conjuring?" Orion called.

"And it was likely reinforced by the top FIB officers' magic," Darius added.

"They should really work on that," I replied. "Anyone could come walking in here."

"No, there are only two Fae who could manage that," Orion said, and I glanced back at him, finding him close on my heels.

We forged on, and my legs burned as we climbed ever higher, the stairway seemingly endless, twisting away up into the highest regions of the mountain.

"How high are we going, Xavier?" Darius asked. "This is taking too long."

"Erm, like, fifty floors?" Xavier said, and Tory cursed.

"Fuck that." Darius tossed his axe to Orion and started stripping, bundling his clothes up into a ball and handing them over too. He threw himself off the side of the stairway and we hurried to the edge to watch as he shifted into his stunning golden Dragon form, beating his wings and doing a circuit of the waterfall before flying up beside us, letting out a growl that was a clear command for us to jump on.

Orion grabbed Tory and I, flinging us toward him with a burst of speed followed by a blast of air at our backs, and I let out a whoop as we landed on Darius's back.

Tory sat in front of me, and I gripped her waist while Orion held me from behind, all of us sliding back an inch as Darius flew upwards.

My stomach lurched and adrenaline pounded through me as he spiralled up around the waterfall, his wings reflecting the pale blue light that emitted from the walls.

"Almost there," Xavier called, and Darius's wings beat slower.

Wide archways led off to endless passages along the stairway, and Xavier guided us toward one with a glittering raven symbol above it.

Darius flew straight through it, his wingtips just grazing the walls either side of us, but the passage was growing rapidly narrower, and he was soon forced to land.

We dismounted quickly then Darius shifted back, dressing in the clothes Orion handed him. We continued on through the cavern, the floor sloping down beneath our feet and leading us to a fork in the path, one passage on the left and one on the right, both as dark as the other.

"Xavier?" I asked.

"Hang on," he said in our ears. "This doesn't seem right. Maybe you took the wrong passage."

"We're just following your orders," Darius said.

"Are you sure it had the raven symbol above it?"

"Pretty sure," Darius said.

"Pretty sure or one hundred percent sure?" Xavier said, both of them getting annoyed with the other.

"Pretty sure. Like I said," Darius grunted.

"This isn't helping," Orion stepped in. "I'll shoot back and check the symbol."

"Wait, we shouldn't split up," I said.

"I'll be back in less than five seconds, beautiful," he said with a roguish grin, then ran forward several steps, awkwardly slowing to a halt when he didn't really go anywhere. "Fuck." He twisted around, his eyes snapping to a place above my head.

We followed his line of sight to a vent and Darius swore.

"Order suppressant gas," I said in frustration, trying to call on my Phoenix, but it was dormant inside me.

"And a camera." Tory pointed out the tiny little black device above the vent, offering it her middle finger. "They're watching, and they're trying to trap us."

"Let's go back," I said urgently, but as the words passed my lips, a tremor ran through the floor, rumbling right through my bones.

A flash of movement in my periphery made me wheel around, and my breath hitched at the sight of five giant globs of pulsing liquid speeding toward us from the direction we'd come.

I cast a wall of solid earth across the passage and Tory solidified it with a blast of heat, baking it in place. But it wasn't enough. The strange globs slammed through it, sending dirt flying everywhere as they wheeled along on a collision course with us.

"They're aqueous Faetraps," Orion gasped in realisation, then blasted air at them to try and hold them back.

Me and Tory joined him while Darius targeted one with a tumult of ferocious flames, but nothing worked. They didn't slow at all. We turned to run, but it was already too late and the first of the Faetraps collided with Tory, the entire thing encasing her, whipping her away down the tunnel to the left.

"Tory!" I screamed, but another one slammed into me and I just caught sight of Orion and Darius snared in their own traps as I was carried along at a tremendous pace.

The sticky substance was so thick, I could hardly move, wheeling end over end as the trap sped along. I suddenly collided with Orion's trap and mine went spinning off course, darting down the right passage instead of the left. I began fighting with everything I had to get free. I couldn't breathe, and I could hardly see anything as the suffocating trap pressed against my skin.

Magic burned at my palms as I fought to get out, but it was being absorbed by the liquid like a sponge, no scrap of it making any difference.

My gut dropped suddenly and I sensed I'd just plummeted over a ledge, bright lights wheeling around me. Fear captured my heart, and I desperately tried to cast air, certain I was about to hit the ground.

The Faetrap slammed into a hard stone floor and exploded around me in a spray of thick gloop. It had taken so much of the impact that my knees hit the ground without even breaking the skin, and I found myself surrounded by twelve FIB officers, the biggest of them all aiming a sparking stun gun right at me.

I raised my hands to show my surrender, putting on an innocent expression, and a thick glob of the Faetrap slid from my hair, landing wetly at the feet of the closest officer. He was a brute of a man, twice my size with eyes as hard as granite. "Hands above your head. Make one wrong move and I'll fry you." He held the stun gun close to my face, the crackle of electricity making my cheek tingle.

I lifted my hands higher, taking in the circular chamber I was in, one large silver door to my left and another to my right. There were shelves climbing the walls, and gleaming items filled them, each one sitting above a number.

The big guy stepped closer, taking a pair of magic blocking cuffs from his hip. "Don't make a single move, Princess."

"Queen, actually," I corrected, not breaking eye contact.

He scoffed, but a few of the agents shared glances, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

"Careful, Captain," one man warned the big guy. "You saw what they did to that Nebula Inquisition Centre."

"That wasn't us," I hissed.

"Who was it then?" the captain goaded. "Two other Phoenix twins? I didn't realise the kingdom had such an infestation." He lunged for my left wrist, but I was faster, a whip of air plucking the stun gun from his other hand and ramming it straight into his dick.

He screamed as the electricity poured into him, his legs giving out so that he crashed to the floor, twitching and jerking.

I was on my feet before a single other officer could make a move toward me, but the few seconds of time I'd bought myself evaporated. A strong-looking woman came at me next, striking a vine at me like a whip. It latched around my arm, but fire bloomed along my skin, blasting out from me in all directions, forcing all the agents to shield or dive for cover.

"Grab her!" the woman barked as she came at me again, and two more assholes raced for me from behind, air magic tearing from them and trying to pull my arms behind my back.

"For the Dragon King!" a man cried behind me, and I snatched one arm free from his air, blasting ice at him and freezing him on the spot. I whirled around, throwing fire out in a swirl that forced the line of FIB agents there to run for cover.

The woman slammed into me from behind, opting for brute force as she grabbed my wrists and shouted at the others to help her.

I willed my skin to become so hot that it scalded her and she leapt back with a yelp, not quick enough to dodge as I twisted around, my fire-coated fist coming up and slamming straight between her eyes. She stumbled backwards with a cry and I pressed my advantage, binding her in vines, gagging her with leaves and sending her flying up towards the ceiling to hang there kicking and thrashing.

A copper haired man came at me next, blades of ice cast in his fists which he slashed at me with terrifying precision. I cast a silver shield against my arm, taking the brunt of the strikes, but with a wild slash, he slit open my cheek. I growled, casting a plain metal sword in my grip and using the training Queen Avalon had taught me at the Palace of Flames to get him on the back foot.

A woman lunged at me from behind, locking her arms around my neck along with several vines binding her arms in place as she worked to choke me.

I struck at the copper-haired man time and again as I fought for breath, the agent casting a shield of ice to protect him, but my blade cracked it once, twice, then shattered it.

My vision was clouding and I snarled, setting a fire blazing along the arms of the woman trying to choke me. She screamed wildly, her vines burned to ash as she fell to the ground. I lunged forward, holding my sword to the throat of the copper-haired man before he could strike at me again, and he gasped, raising his hands in surrender. I bound him in vines along with the woman I'd knocked off my back, sending them both sailing up to the ceiling with their comrade.

A shriek alerted me to my next attacker and a woman collided with me from the side, slashing two ice blades at me with precision. I lurched away, hardening my skin with a layer of metal just as those sharp blades struck against my flesh, and they shattered on impact.

I grabbed her wrist before she could get away, fire blazing from my palm and spiralling up her arm, making her scream bloody murder. Water slammed into my chest, throwing me off her and making me stagger back so violently that I had to use air to right myself. I wheeled around as she retreated to heal the burn on her arm, and suddenly the rest of the agents all ran for me as one.

In a burst of decision, I stole all the oxygen from the room, lifting a hand to my mouth to cast a bubble of air there just for me.

Everyone except the air Elementals panicked, their hands flying to their throats, while the three with air created breathing bubbles like mine. I didn't give them a second to help the others, engaging all three of them by blasting fireballs their way, forcing them to defend themselves while their friends slowly passed out.

One of them cast a fist from air that slammed into me from every direction and my lip split as I caught a bash to the face. I cursed as I tasted blood, sending a barrage of my own air their way and pinning the man to the wall, my Element far superior to his. He winced under my onslaught but couldn't get free, and I sent him flying up to the ceiling, bound and gagged with the others.

I snared another of the Air Elementals, casting her skyward as well while the others all lost consciousness. Then I prowled toward the final man still standing who had grey hair and a small frame, the bubble of air around his mouth still intact. His hands dropped as he stared at me with terror in his eyes and he suddenly fell to his knees, flattening himself to the ground at my feet in a bow. "All hail the True Queens! I'll serve you from now until my dying breath. My allegiance is yours."

My eyebrows arched in surprise, and I glanced around at the unconscious officers on the floor, to the captain who was twitching under the onslaught of the stun gun still pinned to his dick by my air magic.

"Blue!" Orion's voice carried from beyond the left door.

"Darcy?!" Tory yelled, and relief filled me at knowing they were alright.

"If you're mine to command, then open that door," I ordered the FIB agent.

He scurried over to it on his hands and knees, fumbling with some keys on his belt, dropping them twice before he managed to get one into the keyhole, then pressed his hand to a magical signature detector on it too. The door slid open and Orion shot into the room, his fangs bared and a look of manic rage about him. He took in the carnage with a sweeping glance, then grabbed hold of the grey-haired man on the floor, lifting him up and pinning him to the wall.

"Did this one draw that blood on you, beautiful?" he growled as Tory stepped into the room, taking in the agents with a grin.

"No, p-please!" the agent wailed as Orion snarled at him.

"He didn't do anything to me. And he bowed," I said, but Orion didn't drop him. "Where's Darius?"

"There's a huge gold nugget back there. He's trying to carry it," Tory said in amusement.

"How did you get free of those Faetraps?" I asked, wiping more of the gloop out of my hair.

"We fell into a pit," Tory said with a grimace. "We got out just as the FIB made it there, and Orion and I pushed them all down there with air. Darius cast flames across the top to keep them nice and warm until someone comes to get them."

"Good." My gaze slid to Orion who still looked like he was considering ripping the agent's throat out. "Lance," I said, moving to grip his arm where he still had the man pinned to the wall. "Drop him."

He reluctantly released him, and the man hit the floor, flopping down into another dramatic bow and remaining there at my feet.

Orion lifted his hand, capturing my cheek with a growl in his throat, his thumb gently running along the cut to heal it before touching my lip to heal that too. "Which one did this?"

"I dealt with it," I said, though he didn't seem satisfied with that, looking from one fallen officer to another as if he might find some clue as to who had hurt me. "We need to move. They'll send reinforcements soon." I tapped the earpiece in my ear. "Anyone heard from Xavier?"

"I don't think the earpieces work this deep in the mountain," Tory said with a frown, tapping her own.

The sound of Darius grunting and huffing came from beyond the door and he stepped through it, trying to pull a gigantic golden nugget after him, but there was no way it was going to squeeze through the doorway.

Tory took his hand, forcing him to look at her. "That isn't going to fit through, Darius. You need to leave it."

"She's right, man," Orion said. "You've gotta let it go."

Darius looked between them in anger like he was trying to find a way to refute their logic. "But it's mine."

"It can be yours. But it has to stay here." Tory tiptoed up to kiss him and he gripped her waist, distracted from the gold by the girl who was far more precious to him than it. When they parted, he turned away from it, but tension still lined his arms.

I nudged the bowing agent with my boot. "Hey, we need to find something in here. Can you help us?"

"What are you looking for, my Queen?" he asked, his voice muffled by the stone floor.

"It's either an amethyst or aquamarine stone," I said.

Orion crouched down, fisting his hand in the guy's hair and tugging to force his neck back at an awkward angle so he could look him in the eye. "It would be the most perfect stone of its kind. Polished in an oval shape."

The man swallowed hard. "Rathmaron," he whispered in terror.

"What does that mean?" Orion demanded.

"Rathmaron took it," he whispered, his lower lip quivering. "He took all the gemstones."

"Who is that?" Tory pushed. "And took them where?"

"We call it the Void," he choked out. "A place under the mountain, buried so deep that no sunlight has ever seen the inside of it. Rathmaron came from there one day, many years back now. He's a monster of the earth, a creature long thought extinct that creeps between the crevices of the under land. We had to seal it off after he started feasting on the officers." He shuddered. "Rathmaron's venom paralyses you, but you stay awake through it all." He whimpered. "The only thing you can do is scream, and oh how they screamed. For days, it went on. We tried to rescue them but more were taken. So the captain ordered us to seal it off while the beast was…feeding."

"Well Rathmaron sounds like a fucking delight." Orion dropped the man's head and it cracked against the stone.

"Ow," he whispered.

"Take us to him," I commanded.

"No!" he cried, gazing up at me in terror then looking to Tory. "I must insist you stay away from there. You cannot go to the Void, or you will never come back."

"We'll take our chances," Tory said. "Now get moving, we're running out of time."

He scrambled to his feet, hanging his head in submission.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Bertie Betchino," he said, glancing up at me with a shy smile. "I always was a fan of you both. But when the Dragon King took over…well, we didn't have much choice."

"Forget the life story," Darius snapped. "Move."

Bertie nodded, hurrying to the other door and opening it quickly.

"Wait, you'll want these." He rummaged in his pocket, producing a sheath of leather and rolling it open to unveil a row of syringes. "It will cure you of the Order suppressant."

I eyed the syringes suspiciously. "How do we know you're not trying to trick us?"

Orion plucked one out of the sheath, flicked off the lid and stabbed Bertie in the neck with it, pressing his thumb down on the plunger.

"Ah!" Bertie cried in alarm, but it was too late and we all waited to see what would happen. "S-see?"

"Well at least it's not poison," Orion said, grabbing one for himself and injecting his arm.

I cursed under my breath as we waited to see what would happen. A beat later, he bared his fangs at us in a satisfied smile, and we all took a syringe, injecting ourselves with the serum.

My Phoenix came to life again with a flourish of heat racing through my skin and a tingle down my spine saying my wings would come at my call.

"This way then," Bertie said ominously before stepping into the dark.

Orion shot after him, keeping close as if he expected the guy to betray us – which was entirely possible to be fair.

We followed him through a few winding passages before we arrived on the edge of a yawning chasm of sheer grey rock. A bronze platform hung from thick chains before us, a winch high above telling me that this was the way down.

"I will operate the winch," Bertie said. "This will take you all the way down. You'll have to break the seal if you truly mean to go into the Void."

Orion gripped the guy by the back of the neck, launching him onto the platform straight ahead of us and he went rolling across it with a yell of fright, the whole thing swaying precariously beneath him.

"You're taking us all the way there, Bertie," Orion warned. "You wanna serve your queens? Then get serving them."

My mate turned to me, offering me his hand like he was some gentleman from a period drama, not a heathen who'd just thrown a man ten feet. I took it, letting him guide me over the gap onto the platform even though we both knew I didn't need the help. His intense gaze followed me, the silver rings in his irises burning bright and bringing a smile to my lips.

Tory joined me on the platform, releasing her wings as she gazed over the platform's edge, and Darius followed.

Bertie flicked a finger, casting air to get the winch moving and the platform jolted ominously before starting its descent.

There were gaps in the metal at my feet, giving me a view deep down into the pit beneath us, the sheer walls either side of us dropping away endlessly. If I hadn't had faith in my magic and wings, I might have been freaking out right now. No mortal in their right mind would step on this thing.

The chains clinked and the contraption groaned, the sounds all too loud, and I quickly cast a silencing bubble around us in case Rathmaron was listening.

"Good thinking," Bertie said thickly. "We think that thing hunts by sound. It's got no eyes."

"The Vegas destroyed a hoard of monsters attacking the academy just days ago, one more will hardly pose a challenge, especially with me here to help them," Darius said, and Bertie turned to him, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

"Hang on… I recognise you," he said, stepping closer in disbelief.

"Not likely," Darius said, even though he was pretty damn recognisable considering his size, his connection to a certain lizard king and the fact that his face had been all over the media for years.

"You…you're dead," Bertie gasped, confusion skewing his features.

"And I'd like to stay dead a while longer. Never speak my name, never refer to me, never tell anyone you saw me alive," Darius's Coercion slammed into Bertie, and he stumbled back, clearly not ready to shield himself or perhaps not strong enough to stop him.

Bertie frowned, thumbing a wedding band on his hand. "Bob wouldn't believe this."

"Who's Bob?" I asked, feeling a bit bad for the guy who we were leading into a place that clearly terrified him.

"My husband. He died many, many years ago. We were only married a year before the accident." He cleared his throat. "I never really got over that."

"I'm sorry," I said, offering him a sympathetic pat on the arm.

"She's not your therapist," Orion growled, glaring at Bertie.

Bertie hung his head with a nod, and I shot Orion a stare that told him not to be a dick.

"I think I can see the bottom," Tory called, stepping right up to the edge and balancing on her tiptoes, her wings beating a little to hold her there.

She glanced back at me over her shoulder, and I grinned as I read what she wanted in her expression. I let my wings fly loose then ran straight for her, pushing her so the two of us went tumbling over the edge of the platform.

We free-fell in a spiral, and I kept a silencing bubble tight around us as laughter bubbled up from our throats. Our wings spread wide and we released each other's hands, chasing each other in circles as we descended the final hundred feet to the bottom of the pit.

We landed lightly, still smiling as we looked up at the platform above.

"Come on, baby, let's go flying," Orion said, then he threw himself at Darius, locking his arms around him before the two of them plummeted off the edge.

Orion let them fall like a damn stone, tumbling towards certain death at a wild speed. My fingers tingled, my own magic ready to save them if he failed, but Orion cast air at the last second, stopping them abruptly. Darius cursed him as he stepped out of his hold, but a grin twisted the corner of his mouth as if he'd secretly enjoyed it.

We moved to the edge of the cavern where a passage led away into the dark, the crackle of magic against my skin telling me there was a seriously powerful ward cast there.

The platform descended and Bertie crept off of it, pale with terror as he eyed the passage. "I'll just, um, wait here for you to return."

"Don't go running for backup, Bertie," Tory warned, casting a chain from earth magic and tethering the platform to the ground.

"I meant it when I bowed," Bertie said, lifting his chin. "I will serve you well, my Queens."

"Yeah, we're not gonna take any chances on that though," I said, then raised my hand, urging the Shadow Beast to come out of the ring and silvery grey smoke coiled from it before he materialised. The giant, bear-like creature grunted happily at me and I smiled, tickling him under the chin in greeting.

"What in the hundred realms is that?!" Bertie cried.

"Can you keep an eye on our friend," I asked the beast, and he seemingly understood, trotting over to sit on the platform, the whole thing groaning under his weight.

Bertie ran to the opposite side of it, staring at the Shadow Beast in horror.

"He won't hurt you if you don't hurt him," I said, and Bertie's wide eyes turned on me, but he seemed unable to form a sentence, so I left him to it.

Tory and I stood in front of the wards, taking each other's hands and letting the roar of our Phoenix flames burn between us. The power of it all gave me a headrush and I let the fire wind around my free hand as I prepared to burn down the seal with my twin. At a squeeze of our clasped fingers, we both unleashed hell upon the magical barrier, ripping through it like it was paper, the immensity of the magic setting the hairs rising along my arms.

I released a breath when it was done, letting the flames die but keeping my wings out as we walked into the cave with Orion and Darius on our heels.

The passage opened up and revealed a network of large tunnels heading off in multiple direction. Above us, the cavern arched up to a sloped ceiling and I could just make out strange shapes in the gloom. I cast a Faelight, sending it up there to see better, and my heart stuttered as an enormous web was revealed, and hanging from it were glistening cocoons.

"I guess that's where the FIB agents ended up," I said thickly, noticing a boot poking out of one of the cocoons.

Tory shuddered. "That shit's freaky."

"So we're dealing with a blind spider that hunts by sound," I said with a grimace. "How hard can that be to kill?"

"Judging by the amount of dead FIB up there, beautiful?" Orion said lightly. "I'm guessing pretty fucking hard. You know, come to think of it, I think Francesca mentioned this creature a while back…"

My heart tugged at the mention of her name, the memory of Lionel viciously killing her making me shut my eyes to try and force the image away. But with my eyes shut, the darkness deepened, flashes of blood and shadow striking a blade through my skull. My breaths came quicker, and it was only the touch of Tory's hand to mine that jolted me back to the present.

"You good?" she whispered, and I nodded, grounding myself in her company.

"Let's kill this monster and find the stone," I said determinedly, refusing to let those memories get their claws in me.

"I found it," Darius called.

We turned to find him scaling the freaking wall, climbing toward the web above with a Faelight hovering beside him. I followed his unblinking gaze to a cocoon hanging from the ceiling that glittered as the light touched it, the thing lumpy and misshapen like it might not hold a body at all.

"Better hurry up, brother." Orion cast air beneath himself, gliding smoothly up to the cocoon and making Darius growl as he heaved himself higher at a faster pace.

Tory and I watched as Orion made it there first, then severed the silky threads which held it aloft. Darius swung for it as he made it high enough, but the cocoon plummeted to the ground, crashing in front of us and exploding in a shower of gemstones.

"Holy shit." I crouched down, sifting through them one after the other, searching for one that fit the description of a Guild Stone.

"Get off those," Darius barked. "I'll do it. You wouldn't know a gemstone from a grape, little shrew."

"Don't you call me a shrew," I clipped, continuing my hunt while Tory dropped down to help. Though I secretly kinda liked the shrew nickname, but not when he was calling me incompetent in the same sentence.

When Darius was low enough, he leapt to the ground and came striding over to us, dropping to his knees and gathering the gemstones away from us in great armfuls.

"We'll find it quicker if we work together," I insisted.

"You're going full Dragon, Darius," Tory teased.

I glanced up to look for Orion, frowning when I didn't spot him by the web and pushing to my feet.

"Lance?" I called, my wings beating as I flew up to find him.

My skin prickled as I came close to the web, careful not to touch any of the sticky strands. More tunnels were carved into the walls up here, and my pulse ticked a little faster as I sought out Orion in the gloom.

"Lance,"I hissed more urgently.

Scuffling, thudding noises carried from one of the tunnels and I flew toward it fast, sending a Faelight out ahead of me.

"Did you find him?" Darius called, but all words fell still on my lips as the light sailed deeper into the tunnel.

A monstrous spider had Lance in its pincers, his mouth gagged with thick, silky threads, his hands bound by them too, his magic clearly immobilised by the web. His fists slammed into the beast instead, his powerful blows cracking hard against the spider, but each punch seemed to grow less fierce, his limbs weakening by the second.

A bloody welt on his neck showed the place where the spider had bitten him, and a scream of purest fury left me as I unleashed my Phoenix fire, making it dagger along the tunnel roof and slam down into the spider's head.

It shrieked in agony, releasing Lance and retreating into the tunnels with a scuttling noise made by its feet.

I flew forward, hearing the others yelling far behind me as I dropped down beside Lance and pressed my hand to the wound on his neck. It healed over fast, but he was growing stiller by the second, his limbs going rigid under the power of the spider's venom.

"I've got you," I promised, drawing a dagger and working to cut the silken strands from his mouth. They were so tough, each thread had to be cut individually and I cursed as I worked to free him as fast as possible.

"Darcy!" Tory's voice made me turn and I saw her hovering below the web beyond the passage.

A shadow loomed above her and I cried out as the giant spider leapt from a tunnel above, slamming into her and knocking her out of sight.

My heart roared in fright, and I gave up on freeing Lance, wrapping him in a dome of air and making him fly after me as I raced out of the tunnel to help my twin. I leapt from the edge, my wings wide and Lance at my back as we swept towards the ground.

Tory was fighting furiously, up on her feet with her right arm raised and fire blazing from her fingers, but a welt on her left arm said she hadn't avoided a bite.

Darius was moving to intercept it too, ice shards tearing from him and ripping into the creature's side. It shrieked, blocking some of them with its huge pincers, but blackish blood oozed from its wounds.

I released a rain of hellfire myself, the red and blue flames forging a Phoenix bird that swooped down beneath me and struck the spider's hideous face.

Tory dropped to one knee, her teeth gritted and her flames still joining mine, but I could see the venom taking root in her, and fear dashed against my heart.

I cast a spear in my hand just as I landed on the spider's back and slammed it straight through its head, the impact reverberating through my limbs. Tory's flames licked my boots, consuming the beast and making sure the job was well and truly finished.

I leapt onto the ground in front of her, laying Lance down at her side, my pulse thrashing with terror.

Darius caught Tory's arm before she collapsed completely, lifting her into his arms. I hurried to heal the bite mark and met Darius's gaze.

"We need antivenom," I said urgently.

"Bryan will know." He took off out of the passage in the direction Bertie was waiting for us and I raced after him, carrying Orion after me on a gust of air.

We made it back to the FIB agent and the Shadow Beast came bounding forward, licking my cheek in greeting. I darted past him and Bertie gasped as he spotted Tory and Lance.

"Antivenom," Darius boomed.

Bertie nodded frantically. "It's not far. I'll take you to it. Hurry now."

I jumped onto the platform with the others and the Shadow Beast bounded after us, his weight making the metal creak. I cast air beneath us, not waiting for Bertie to sort the pully system and making us ascend at a terrifying speed.

The moment we made it to the top of the chasm, Darius kicked Bertie in the ass to get him moving and we raced after him into the passage with the Shadow Beast rushing along behind us.

Bertie led us through the maze of tunnels before finally opening a door and leading us into what looked like a break room, the only hint that we were still in the mountain the glittering cave walls around it. There were cosy armchairs, thick rugs, a coffee machine, and even a couple of bunk beds.

Bertie ran to the fridge, yanking it open and taking out a handful of syringes. I grabbed them from him, and he directed me as I gently slid the needle into Tory's arm and gave her the antivenom. I laid Orion on a nearby couch, doing the same for him before cutting away the rest of the silk over his mouth and hands.

"Spider," he whispered, but it looked like it took a lot of effort to form the word.

"Yup. Big ass spider," I agreed, kissing him on the cheek in relief.

"Darcy?" Xavier's frantic voice burst into my ear.

"We're here," I said.

"By the stars, what happened?" he asked.

"Spider," Orion repeated in a rasp.

"What was that?" Xavier asked.

"Don't worry." I looked to Darius. "We have to go back for the stone."

"No need. It's in my pocket. Aquamarine for Pisces." He grinned, then looked down at Tory in his arms as she whispered, "Spider."

"We got it, baby. Gwen skewered it and you barbequed the motherfucker," Darius explained.

Tory's fingers flexed, and my shoulders dropped in relief at seeing her regain some movement.

"Woah, your cameras kept recording," Xavier said. "I can access it now. I'm gonna capture the moment you killed that spider thing because it's badass. Tyler will post it publicly soon."

"He's a pro," Sofia said brightly. "We'll be able to send a notification to every FIB agent contact I got from Gus about this if we want to. That guy doesn't stop talking, he'll give us anything he can to save his own ass."

"Hey, Vegas!" Leon Night shouted across the earpieces, and I winced from the loudness of his voice.

"Give me that back," Xavier hissed, and the sound of a struggle broke out, ending in a furious whinny and Leon speaking again.

"I popped back to the academy to pick up Gabe's favourite Tarot deck, and you went on a heist without me?" he said in anger. "I'm the greatest thief in Solaria. How dare you!"

"I guess that makes you the second greatest thief in Solaria now," I teased, and he gasped in offence.

"You realise I'm going to have to do a heist now that tops your heist. You can't go stealing my glory," Leon growled. "It's my glory."

"Leon," Xavier snapped. "You're getting Cheeto dust on my keyboard."

"What are you gonna do about it, pony boy?" The sound of Leon aggressively eating a Cheeto carried to me, and I took my earpiece out, shoving it in my pocket.

"Let's get out of here," I said.

"We're close to an exit," Bertie said. "This way."

He headed back to the door we'd entered through, finding his way blocked by the Shadow Beast's head, his bulk too large to let him pass through.

Orion groaned and sat up, his right arm dragging along the couch as he did so. "I feel like a zombie. Rahhh." He pushed to his feet, his left foot scraping along the floor as he tried to get control of it, and he startled chuckling manically.

"You good?" I asked, bracing him as he stepped forward and nearly crashed into the fridge.

"Never better, bootiful – bewtiful – bluetiful," he laughed, staggering sideways and crashing into Darius.

"Awoooo." Tory raised her hands in the air, cupping Darius's cheeks. "Look, it's a full moon."

"What's the matter with them?" Darius demanded, holding Tory tighter and hounding after Bertie.

"Well, um, the antivenom has a few side effects." Bertie gave him a guilty look. "Nothing that will last more than a few minutes."

"You'd better be right about that," Darius snapped, and Bertie flinched.

"The moon is shouting." Tory looked over at me then gasped. "Hey – it's me! Hi, me!" She waved and I waved back with a snort of laughter.

I willed the Shadow Beast back into the ring and he slid away into smoke, spiralling into the clear stone.

Bertie hurried out the door and we all followed, though I kept a close eye on Orion as he seemed to only have half of his body back under control, the other half still fully asleep.

Bertie led us outside at last, opening another triangular door in the mountain's base and the cold air rushed around us as we exited.

My heart stalled as I found a huge crowd of FIB agents waiting outside. I raised my hands, ready to fight my way out of here at the side of my family.

"That's a whole lot of cows," Orion murmured as he took in the rows of agents, stumbling into me and I caught his arm. "I've got a lot of milking to do. It's gonna take me all night."

"Wait," Darius murmured as I stepped forward, fire twisting around my fingers. "They're not attacking."

I frowned, realising not a single glimmer of magic could be seen among the agents and confusion crashed through me.

A woman with dark braids and a gleaming badge on her chest suddenly dropped to her knees and cried. "All hail the True Queens!"

"That's the High Commander of the FIB," Darius said in disbelief.

"She'll take quite some milking," Orion murmured.

Tory shoved out of Darius's arms, taking my hand, and I drew her close as we stared out at the sea of FIB, the two of us united as one.

The rest of the agents followed suit with their commander, dropping down to bow and crying out to hail us. Joy rushed through my chest and victory surrounded us as I realised we'd just claimed another huge win from Lionel. A whole section of the FIB was no longer under his command. It was under ours. We'd just struck a blow against the Dragon King that would echo across the kingdom and right into the depths of his cowardly heart.