Elianna blinked at the sudden amethyst light that shone brightly in her eyes. She couldn't explain why, but her body tensed, and her skin felt itchy as the light washed over her. When the light died down and her eyes had a chance to adjust, her gaze widened as she observed that a human man was now standing where the raven had been just a moment before. It took her less than a second to realize the raven was never a raven, but this man who was using transformation magic.

  The male himself was tall and looked to be in his late forties or early fifties. He had graying short black hair and a beard to match. His eyes were dark and cold, with his stern gaze locked on Elianna and Nicholas.

  Elianna's celestial blue eyes traveled up and down this man's frame, noting that he wore a uniform. But it was different from the other uniforms she'd previously seen worn by other guards from the various kingdoms. His uniform consisted of a long-sleeved black top with gold trim, black pants, black golden-trimmed gloves, and shin-high boots to match. He wore black metal pauldrons with gold trim, holding his lavish cloak, which was black on the outside and red on the inside. Around his waist was a red sash with a red ornate gem in the center, matching the gem draped around their neck by a golden chain.

  However, despite his opulent apparel, what drew Elianna's attention the most was the wand he held in his right hand. She observed that the wand handle had two gems embedded into it, the first being a white gem, which she recognized as a mana gem. The second one, however, was an amethyst that was situated above the mana gem. Elianna knew the purpose of the mana gem was to amplify a mage's and a knight's magic output, so they used less magic in their attacks. This amyethyst, though, she had no idea what it was for, but for some reason, it sent a shiver down her spine. In fact, the longer she looked at the amethyst, the more a pit grew in her stomach, because it didn't feel right to her.

  The male grinned menacingly, "Good afternoon, Your Highness."

  Elianna's eyes narrowed at the emphasis the male put behind Nicholas' title. The hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up, and she sensed something was incredibly wrong. Looking at the male's core, Elianna's eyes widened, seeing that he was a seventh-circle mage. Her eyes began to dart around, seeing different avenues of escape if she and Nicholas had to run.

  Elianna flinched slightly as she felt Nicholas grab her hand, hard. Her head snapped to look at him, and her brows rose as she saw his jaw locked tight and his expression stern. His sea-green eyes, which were usually full of warmth, now seemed filled with apprehension.

  "That uniform," Nicholas began, his voice sounding focused and low in a way that Elianna hardly recognized as his. "You're with the Infernal Cult."

  Elianna's eyes widened, and her stomach dropped as her head whipped toward the male, who just stood there casually, "What?! You're sure?!"

  Nicholas nodded firmly, "I read the reports about the Cult while helping my father in his study. His uniform matches their description."

  Elianna swallowed hard and whispered, "Nick... He's a seventh circle."

  Nicholas whispered back, his voice tight and shaky, "I know."

  The cultist's lips curled into a smirk as he raised his wand above his head, "This is good. You've saved me the time of explaining who I am." The cultist looked up, and Nicholas and Elianna took a step back as amethyst energy poured out from his wand. "Well, first things first."

  The amethyst energy gathered almost instantly, forming what looked like an amethyst gem before shooting into the air above the buildings and glowing brightly. Amethyst energy then poured out from the gem, stretching out in all directions, before covering the area around the three of them in an amethyst dome.

  Elianna's body itched all over as soon as the amethyst dome formed around her and Nicholas.

  Nicholas hissed through gritted teeth, "Dark magic."

  Elianna shook her head, "What? How? I thought only orcs could use it."

  "Unless they have a dark magic gem," Nicholas said darkly, as his eyes flicked to the cultist's wand. "Which he does."

  "The amethyst gem," Elianna whispered to herself, now knowing what it was for.

  "That's better," The cultist said, before looking back toward Elianna and Nicholas. "Now." He lowered his wand, pointing it at them. He grinned darkly, "Let's make this quick."

  Elianna's eyes widened as fire magic began to swirl in front of the cultist's wand, and she knew they were about to attack. She was about to move when she suddenly felt Nicholas pull her towards him, and she yelped a little as he swiftly picked her up bridal style. Elianna's head snapped to look at Nicholas, seeing concern apparent on his handsome facial features.

  "Hold on!" Nicholas yelled as wind magic burst and swirled around them, hovering them slightly off the ground.

  Elianna instinctively wrapped her arms around Nicholas' neck as they quickly glided toward the right, just as the cultist unleashed his attack. Elianna's breath hitched at the sight of the significantly large wave of fire rushing toward them. Fear gripped her, and her embrace around Nicholas tightened, thinking they were going to be consumed.

  However, Nicholas reached the wall just as the fire closed in on them, and the wind spell swirling around them clung to it, allowing them to scale it out of the flames' path. But that didn't prevent Elianna from wincing from the intense heat from the flames as they passed underneath her.

  A small sense of relief washed over Elianna as Nicholas glided across the wall, seeming to move diagonally to go higher and to get behind the cultist. But the higher they got, the closer they got to the barrier. She observed as the outer parts of Nicholas' wind spell grazed across the amethyst barrier. The barrier glowed in response to the touch of Nicholas' spell, preventing the wind from escaping.

  "Damn it," Nicholas cursed under his breath.

  Elianna's eyes flicked to Nicholas, seeing his frustrated and worried expression. But then he went wide-eyed, and his head snapped to the side. Elianna's head whirled, following his gaze just in time to see a giant ball of fire flying toward them. Elianna's body jerked as Nicholas quickly glided to the side, seeming to try to avoid the giant fire blast. The ball of fire was fast, though, and it struck the wall beside them, erupting in a massive explosion.

  Elianna and Nicholas yelled as the shockwave from the explosion hit them, knocking away Nicholas' wind spell like it was nothing. They both went flying through the air, quickly descending toward the ground. Elianna felt Nicholas' strong arms wrap around her in an instant, with him holding her tightly against him, just before a sudden impact knocked the wind out of her. Nicholas seemed to lose his grip around her as she rolled across the ground a few times before coming to a stop.

  Groaning, Elianna felt less hurt than she expected before she quickly rolled onto her stomach, raising her head. Her gaze immediately flicked to Nicholas, seeing him lying beside her, slowly sitting up. She immediately noticed he had several scratches on his face and arms, and his shirt was slightly torn and singed. That's when it registered to her that Nicholas had used his body to soften her fall.

  "Nick?" Elianna whispered to him, her voice shaky and full of concern.

  "I'm fine," Nicholas groaned out, before he narrowed his eyes.

  Following Nicholas' gaze, Elianna noticed Nicholas was staring at the cultist, who just casually stood there, with his wrists clasped to his front.

  "Nice evasive maneuvers," The cultist said, eyeing Nicholas. "But I'm afraid it's in vain, as there is no escape for you." His dark eyes flicked to the amethyst barrier overhead. "The barrier prevents anything from getting in or out."

  Nicholas grunted as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, and Elianna followed suit, noticing how he kept his left arm tucked in.

  "And how long do you think it'll be before the guards show up?" Nicholas questioned, his voice firm, as he glared darkly at the cultist. "There is a high amount of them currently out looking for me, so it won't be long before they discover the barrier."

  The cultist chuckled, "It'll be longer than you think, Prince. The barrier also has an illusion, so it is invisible to the naked eye. It's undetectable, unless you know to look for it." They grinned as they pointed to the amethyst gem overhead, "The only way you're escaping here is if you break my spell stone." He scoffed, "And, good luck with that. You're only third circle, while I am a seventh. You can't hope to destroy it, or take me on." His eyes flicked to Elianna, "Though, I will admit I'm impressed a girl as young as you has reached the fourth star."

  Elianna narrowed her gaze on the male and scoffed, "Thanks."

  "Anyway," The cultist sighed and pointed his wand toward Nicholas and Elianna. "I've wasted enough time. Let's finish this so I may go home."

  Elianna tensed, preparing to dodge whatever attack this cultist sent her way.

  "Wait," Nicholas said firmly, raising his hand toward the cultist.

  Elianna's eyes flicked to Nicholas, and the cultist raised a brow.

  "You haven't done anything irreversible yet," Nicholas continued. "If you leave now, I will pardon your crime of an attempted assassination against a member of the Gavarian royal family. No one will look for you, I swear."

  The cultist's brows raised, looking genuinely surprised, "Wait. I just tried to kill you, and you would pardon me if I just left?"

  Nicholas nodded, "Like I said. You haven't done anything that can't be forgiven or undone."

  The cultist blinked before his head flew back, and he burst into laughter. Shaking their head, they looked at Nicholas, "Oh, man. You're a good kid and might've made a great king if you'd been named crown prince. However, you're in the way of our plans." He shrugged, "It isn't personal."

  Elianna's brows furrowed, and Nicholas looked just as confused as she was.

  Nicholas shook his head, "In the way of your plans? What plans? What are you talking about?"

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The male smirked, "I'm afraid I said too much already." They raised their wand toward Nicholas and Elianna, "This ends here."

  Nicholas and Elianna gritted their teeth as Nicholas drew his staff and Elianna took out her sword. Elianna glared at the cultist, her hand shaking with a mix of fear and adrenaline. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Nicholas step closer to her.

  "At least let Lia go," Nicholas stated.

  Elianna's eyes flared as her head whipped to look at Nicholas, and her jaw clenched, "I'm not leaving you."

  The cultist chuckled, shaking his head, "Nope. No witnesses." He smirked as fire magic began to swirl all around him. "Don't worry. I'll make this quick."

  Nicholas gritted his teeth, "Lia! Channel!!"

  Elianna didn't hesitate to place her hand on Nicholas' shoulder and push her mana into him. She would do anything she could to protect Nicholas, and she knew he would do the same for her. Which is why she knew the reason Nicholas asked the cultist to let her go was so that she wouldn't get hurt.

  They both took a deep breath as their cores connected, and a white flame of mana enveloped them both, just as the cultist unleashed their attack. Nicholas slammed his staff in front of him as a tsunami of fire raced toward him, and just as it closed in, a heavy amount of water magic swirled and burst around them, before surrounding them in a water vortex.

  The vortex of water glowed brightly with orange light and fluctuated as the flames collided with it, creating a loud hissing sound. Elianna's head snapped to Nicholas, seeing his face was tight, and his eyes were narrowed.

  "You okay?" Elianna asked worriedly.

  Nicholas nodded, "The strain from the attack..." He shook his head and his lips curled into a smirk, "I can barely feel it." He looked toward Elianna, "We got this. Together."

  Elianna smiled slightly and nodded, "Together."

  Looking straight ahead, Nicholas' expression became serious as he tilted his staff forward. The water vortex suddenly burst forth and surged toward the cultist. The glow from the flames suddenly intensified before there was a massive fiery explosion. The explosion knocked away the water, creating an enormous cloud of steam that burst out in all directions.

  Nicholas waved his staff, creating a dome of wind around him and Elianna that kept the steam from touching them. Then a blast of wind erupted where the cultist had been standing, blowing the cloud of steam away.

  Elianna's eyes narrowed on the cultist as they came into view, seeing him standing there with a bewildered expression.

  The cultist shook his head, "Impossible. Water spell or not, there is no way you could've blocked or survived that attack. With channeling, you're as strong as a fifth circle, at most." The cultist looked between them, "How?"

  Nicholas smirked, "What can I say? Lia is special." Elianna's eyes flicked to Nicholas, and her cheeks reddened slightly. Nicholas raised his chin, "I wouldn't underestimate us."

  The cultist's expression darkened, "Don't get fucking cocky, kid."

  The cultist pointed his wand toward Nicholas and Elianna, and dark magic began to swirl around it. Nicholas pointed his staff at the cultist in response, and nature magic began to swirl in front of it. Then, beams of nature and dark magic shot out from their staff and wand, and collided between them. Lightning bolts of emerald and amethyst energy discharged from where the two beams collided, striking the cobblestone road and brick walls, ripping apart the bricks like they were butter being sliced by a knife.

  Elianna grunted and leaned toward Nicholas from the enormous pressure emitting from the collision of the attacks, which continued to wash over her like ocean waves crashing into a cliff. She stared at the cultist, seeing his cloak flap behind him from the pressure blowing over him. His expression was dark, but also full of shock as he glared at Nicholas and Elianna. But then, his brows raised in what looked like disbelief as Nicholas' emerald beam of nature energy began to push back the cultists' attack.

  The cultist gritted their teeth, grasping their wand with both hands. However, Nicholas' attack continued to close in on them. When Elianna looked at Nicholas, she observed how intent he looked as he stared down the cultist, with his lips pressed tightly into a thin white line.

  Elianna's head snapped toward the cultist when she noticed the amethyst energy from the cultist's attack began to glow brightly and swirl around him. Then, the dark magic burst out from him like a dome, heading directly toward Nicholas and Elianna.

  Nicholas promptly raised his staff, creating a barrier of nature magic around himself and Elianna. The wave of dark magic struck Nicholas' barrier, which fluctuated slightly from the impact, but held fast. Once the wave of dark magic subsided, Nicholas waved his staff, and the barrier broke apart into several bolts of nature magic. Swinging his staff down, Nicholas shot the bolts of nature magic toward the cultist, who created a shield of dark magic in front of him. The barrage of nature bolts struck the cultist's shield, who was heard grunting from the impact, and his shield cracked from the attack, but he managed to hold it.

  Nicholas narrowed his eyes on the cultist, as swirls of fire magic began to form above him, "You should've taken my offer when you had the chance."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, seeing his dark, stern expression. She studied him with her eyes as she saw a completely different side of him. It didn't scare her, but it intrigued her. Looking back toward the cultist, she watched as his eyes darted between her and Nicholas. Then, her brows furrowed as his lips curled into a smirk.

  "I told you not to get cocky, kid," The cultist said, raising his wand. "You have one obvious weakness."

  The swirls of fire magic above Nicholas formed into several spears of fire, aimed at the cultist. Nicholas narrowed his eyes, "Yeah? What's that?"

  The cultist flicked his wand, and a sudden, sharpened pillar of earth shot up between Nicholas and Elianna. Elianna gasped and stepped back, taking her hand off Nicholas and snapping her arm to her side, before the pillar could pierce her arm.

  Nicholas sidestepped from the sudden pillar, his eyes going wide as the fire spears above him dissolved, and the white flame that was surrounding him and Elianna disappeared.

  The cultist laughed darkly as he waved his wand, "You don't stand a chance when you're separated!!"

  A sudden, powerful blast of wind erupted from the cultist, and Elianna quickly activated her mana guard, while Nicholas conjured a wall of ice in front of him. The blast of wind struck Elianna, and she yelped as she was flung back and rolled across the ground. She hit the side of the wall with significant impact, which was softened a little by her mana guard, and Elianna quickly looked at Nicholas.

  The force of the wind blasted away Nicholas' ice wall into pieces, hitting him, and he wobbled backwards just as the wind stopped. The cultist waved his wand again, and the ground behind Nicholas glowed with teal energy right before four thick vines shot out.

  Elianna's stomach dropped, her eyes bulging with fear, "Nick!" She quickly moved to her feet, but was too late as the vines pierced both of Nicholas' shoulders and both his legs.

  Nicholas' head flung back, and he let out a blood-curdling yell as he dropped his staff to the ground. Blood flowed from his shoulders and legs, soaking his shirt and pants, as the vines lifted him into the air.

  The cultist grinned murderously as he stared at Nicholas, "This is where you die, Prince!!"

  Elianna's body shook, watching as more vines began to appear from the ground, preparing to strike Nicholas. Her eyes became watery, seeing Nicholas writing in pain, with his blood flowing down his body. Thoughts of losing Nicholas, watching him die in front of her, flooded her mind, and her body began to feel incredibly hot, her mind pulsing.

  "NO!!!" Elianna yelled at the top of her lungs, and an immense pressure erupted from her.

  The cultist grunted as a sudden wave of pressure washed over him. His eyes snapped to Elianna and widened, seeing she was now fully enveloped in a white flame of pure mana that seemed to have golden specs of energy dancing along with it.

  The cultist stepped back, "What the fuck?!"

  A heavy coat of ice magic formed along Elianna's sword before she plunged it into the ground. Then a massive amount of ice magic erupted from Elianna, shooting directly at the cultist in a path of spikes.

  The cultist went pale at the enormous attack and quickly canceled his plant attack while surrounding himself in a heavy amount of fire magic. The fire magic swirled around him, and he shot into the air, barely dodging the ice spikes as they passed under him.

  Elianna's eyes snapped to Nicholas, watching as the vines dissolved, and Nicholas fell to the ground. His face was pale, and he gritted his bloody teeth from being in obvious pain.

  Elianna's murderous gaze snapped back to the cultist, and she lifted her sword, getting into a fighting stance.

  The cultist stared at Elianna in disbelief, wondering where this sudden wellspring of strength and power came from. Then, there was the white flame that surrounded her, which also had golden specs in it. He had never seen anything like it.

  Elianna stared at the cultist, her vision filled with anger, as she burst toward them with a speed the cultist could barely comprehend. The cultist waved his wand, and blasts of fire shot out from the flames surrounding him, shooting directly toward Elianna.

  Elianna swiftly coated her blade in ice magic before moving and swinging her blade with elegance, shooting large ice shards at the fireballs. The fireballs and ice shards collided mid-air, exploding with a hiss of steam.

  Then, Elianna swiftly moved to the side and jumped onto the wall. From there, she pushed herself up diagonally to the other wall, then hopped back and forth, moving higher toward the cultist from wall to wall. Once she reached the top of the wall, she pushed mana into her leg and burst high into the air toward the cultist.

  Letting out a menacing scream, Elianna gripped her sword with both hands, raised it above her head, and coated it with ice magic as she closed in on the cultist.

  The cultist gritted his teeth and waved his arms out, shooting the fire surrounding him outward in a powerful dome-like blast. The fire hit Elianna with great force, and she could feel the heat of the flames through her mana guard. The power from the explosion knocked her back, and she plummeted downward, colliding with the ground with great force before rolling away, losing her sword in the process.

  Once she stopped rolling, Elianna grunted as she rolled onto her stomach, noticing patches of skin on her arms were red from the flames, like a sunburn. She looked up as she slowly pushed herself up, watching as the cultist descended to the ground, canceling the flames around him.

  The cultist glared at Elianna and pointed his wand at her. Elianna moved to get up when suddenly amethyst energy shot out from the cultist's wand and wrapped around her. Before she could react, the cultist lifted Elianna into the air, before slamming her into the ground, cracking the stone beneath her. He raised her again, before slamming her into the stone once more, and her mana guard cracked, while she coughed violently from the impact. The dark magic around Elianna tightened as the cultist raised her into the air again, before slamming her to the ground for a third time, breaking her mana guard, which burst apart.

  Elianna coughed as her body shook, still surrounded by the white flame. She shot the cultist a glare, who just stared at her as he raised her into the air again. The cultist flicked his wand down, slamming Elianna to the ground. Elianna coughed violently, having the air knocked out of her from the impact, and her vision blurred as she hit her head. Without her mana guard to protect her, she felt the full impact of the blow.

  The white flame that surrounded Elianna died down, and she coughed up blood. The dark magic binding her dispersed, and the cultist slowly began to walk toward her.

  Lying there, feeling pain radiate through her entire body as she shook, Elianna watched through her blurry eyes as the cultist slowly approached her. The ground beneath her became wet, and she thought she was lying in water. But then she noticed blood out of the corner of her eye from underneath her, and she knew she was lying in her own blood.

  "What exactly are you, girl?" The cultist hummed. "My lord might take an interest in you if I bring you to him alive."

  Elianna wanted to respond, to move, but she just coughed, feeling weak. Then, an ice wall suddenly appeared between her and the cultist, blocking him. She stared at her reflection in the ice, seeing that her silverly-white hair was now red with blood from a head wound, and her left arm was bent at an unnatural angle. Then, wind magic swirled around Elianna, raising her in the air, and she was glided across the ground, over to Nicholas. Nicholas was pale as he shakily grabbed her hand.

  "Lia," Nicholas said weakly. "Channel."

  Elianna stared into Nicholas' eyes as he lay beside her. Her vision was blurry, but she thought his eyes were beautiful nonetheless. She put all the strength she had into gripping Nicholas' hand and pushed her mana into him. The ice wall exploded with a fire blast just as their cores connected, and Nicholas yelled in tremendous pain as he raised his arm into the air, shooting a lightning bolt.

  The lightning bolt struck the dark magic gem, destroying it with an explosion of lightning magic. The amethyst dome around them shuddered before dissolving away.

  Nicholas' arm fell limp, with his eyes flicking to Elianna, "Lia..." His voice was tired, weak. "I'm sorry."

  Elianna wanted to respond, but her vision was growing darker as her head hurt more and more. Her eyes flicked to the cultist, seeing him approaching.

  "You took down the barrier," The cultist said, raising his wand. "No matter. We're finished here anyway."

  Fire magic began to swirl around his wand, and Elianna looked toward Nicholas, seeing that he was looking back at her.

  "Goodbye, Prince Nicholas," The cultist said.

  There was a sudden blast of lightning, followed by an explosion, then another. Then, a figure landed in front of her and Nicholas, wearing a blue cloak. They yelled with a female voice, "Get the Prince and Lady Elianna out of here!! Now!!!"

  A figure in sleeveless blue armor was by Nicholas in an instant, grabbing and lifting him. Then, Elianna felt arms around her, and she felt herself being raised into the air, before she closed her eyes, and darkness took her.