Evernight

[Elle Joyner]

It hadn't escaped her attention, the level of focus that the young duke paid her. His flattering words and mannerisms were kind and resilient, but they held little ground. Even without Thalion, though he was a great factor, they would have meant little to her. She hardly knew Gregian, and he wasn't entirely a far cry from the man she had escaped marrying. While there had been nothing outright wrong with Edmund, she didn't love him... she would never have come to love him. He was wrong for her... and she knew that now.

Making a face at Thalion, nudging him gingerly in the side, she shook her head, "If that is indeed his goal, he'll be sorely disappointed. I've no intention of affording that particular brand of comfort... Not to him, anyway." Glancing over to Gregian, watching as he applied the herb to his hands, she sighed softly. He seemed so lost, so out of place. How long until he came face to face with real danger. How would he survive? Then again... how had she?

"You're sweet..." She finally cooed, as Thalion agreed to a better temperament with the duke. She knew it was only because she had asked, but it was something... and it would help Gregian to have Thalion's encouragement. The same way it had helped her. She knew well enough she wouldn't have lived without him...

Ironic, considering she wasn't sure even know that she could, though for entirely different reasons.

It was a thought quickly shadowed by the sudden shattering sound and pausing, she looked up at Thalion, whose expression took on a look of concern. Frowning at his words, she glanced down at the ground beneath their feet, "You... you don't think..."
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Thalion wanted to smirk at her little 'you're sweet' comment, knowing she was just gently teasing his rather crude nature, but the sound of ice breaking was enough to startle all the thoughts straight out of his mind. The snow was so thick he hadn't even thought to consider that they could be walking on a frozen lake of sorts, but the thinning of the forest hadn't even occurred to him. The rumbling sound caused Gregian to pause too, looking around with a frown as he strained his ears. For a moment, the trio remained completely suspended as if waiting for what was to happen next… if anything.

Thalion had been living in Evernight long enough to know that something always happened in Evernight. Whenever he thought he was finally getting a small break or reprieve, Evernight would remind him that he was never allowed to feel completely safe or comfortable. A shiver coursed up the length of his spinal column, his fingers tightening around Minette's, though he couldn't decide if it was from cold or apprehension. A silence enclosed them until all he could hear was his own steady breathing and the cooing of the wind. Then, without warning, another booming crack, though this one echoed right up from underneath his feet.

"I think—I think we're standing on ice," Thalion glanced down, seeing nothing but his prints in the snow but feeling the gentle rumbling deep in his core. Suddenly, lines began to form in the snow as their weight began to cause the ice below to splinter apart. In surprise, Gregian yelped and leapt closer,

"What should we do?"

"I don't know," Thalion replied without his usual hostility, "My specialty is killing beasts not surviving broken ice." The ground beneath them because to shift and quiver, revealing the pool of unfrozen water beneath as chunks of ice began to break apart in long, wide chunks. Snow splashed as it hit the water below and Thalion scrambled for his balance as the solid ground they had been standing on rather suddenly became a raft of ice, bobbing along in the water. The chunk was balanced by their distributive weight, but wobbled uneasily with every movement any one of them made.
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[Elle Joyner]

It wouldn't be the first time that Evernight had turned against them in an unpredictable sense. The very nature of the place seemed determined at all costs to make their lives miserable - even the weather, as she had discovered when a torrent of rain had very nearly been the death of both of them. It was nothing new, but it was no less terrifying than if it were.

Ice cracked beneath their feet, splintering out leaving shadowy veins in the snow-sodden ground and as he pulled closer to her, Minette wrapped her hands around Thalion's arm, unable to keep the fear from her eyes. Gregian propelled forward and almost called for him not to move, but she could hardly blame him. Her own heart hammered as the ground shifted beneath her feet and struggling to maintain her balance, she looked up to Thalion, his words resonating within her, drawing out a near panic.

He didn't know. Thalion always knew. He was her guide, her guardian and he always knew what to do. But he was right. This wasn't a dragon or a Half Hag. This wasn't any creature they could kill or outsmart or run from. But the danger was no less and their chances weren't looking so great at escaping...

"No one move!" She cried, as another crack splintered the chunk of ice beneath them, sending her careening into Thalion's side, "The more we move, the more it breaks. If we can keep it balanced and stay still, maybe we can stop it from splitting... Listen... does it sound like the water is moving? Maybe it's a river. If we can stay on this chunk, maybe we can get to land..."
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Thalion hadn't been afraid in a long time. Not really, anyways. Monsters, beasts, creatures… they stopped being scary some number of years ago, but mother nature always knew how best to rattle his nerves. The ice groaned beneath his feet and as Minette wrapped herself around his arm, he clenched her hip with almost a sense of clinging. Gregian stood opposite of them, balancing out the chunk of ice and distributing their weight. Every instinct in him was telling him to move because moving was what had always kept him alive in Evernight before—but Minette shouted on a distinct warning and Thalion remained deathly still.

There was definitely water beneath them, as Minette pointed out, but it was bound to be near freezing temperature. One plunge and they wouldn't survive. Even if they managed to make it out of the water itself, the cold would grip them so fervently that they were likely to succumb to it sooner than later. Again, the ice groaned and small veins webbed through the solid chunk of ice that were standing on, shaking off the snow into the water below them as they jostled and bumped against other pieces of ice nearby. Thalion's hand tightened around her waist and he hissed in discomfort.

"I don't know what's out this way," he reminded her in a quiet voice, "I don't know how far this go—" his voice was cut off as the ice below them wobbled, shifting over rapids that bubbled up now that the water beneath had met air. Gregian yelped and scrambled to keep his balance, his shoes sliding against the slick surface.

"Minette—" Thalion's voice was uncharacteristically small, hobbled in the fear that was quickly growing in his chest. Death hadn't scared him before and he had always chosen to live more as a way to stick it to his mother than any interest in actually experiencing life around him, but suddenly death seemed more terrifying that ever before—darker, bigger, scarier. "I'm really not ready to lose you… especially after we've come this far," he murmured, his voice becoming so quiet it was nearly lost in the sound of the water sloshing beneath them.
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[Elle Joyner]

One thing that was clear, whether they knew what they were doing or not, there was a conscious thread of thought among them that they had to do something quickly, but find a way to do it without panicking... without sudden movements, if they could help it... without moving at all. It was a terrifying notion that at any moment they could be plunged into beyond freezing waters, that this could be the last minutes of their lives...

Thalion spoke, his voice painfully soft and tears burning in her eyes, she turned to face him, meeting his gaze. What they had been through... all that they had been through... It couldn't have possibly been for nothing. This couldn't be the end. She utterly refused to accept that. Not after the Watchcrew and dragons, not after the desert and near starvation. Blinking hard against the tears, determined not to fall to pieces, she shook her head.

"You won't. No... Thal. We can't think that way. Darling, we have been through too much. It's not ending here. It won't." Fingers weaving through his, she gave his hand a firm squeeze, "We need to focus. We need to figure this out. We can do this... I know we can. The things that we have gotten past, we will get past this. And then you and I... we're going to find a way to stop your mother. We're going to find a way out of this nightmare."

With her free hand, she trailed her fingers up along the stem of his neckline, rested them against his jaw, "So let's do this. Let's get off this damnable ice and have another story to tell... right?"
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Thalion was not the same man he was a few months ago when Minette first fell into his life.

He was still very much the same in many ways: he was still brisk and a soldier. He was damaged and broken in parts, and always carried himself like he had a chip on his shoulder. He still demoralized himself and brushed off compliments with grunts or vehement denials, but there was a new warmth in him that was hard to put a finger on. Somehow, someway, Minette had wiggled herself into all of the cracks in his armor and walls. There was still so much about him she didn't know, and even more she did know, but none of it seemed to ever faze her.

No matter what he told her—no matter how desperately he had tried to convince her that he was just a soulless, violent monster, she always stayed. She always stayed at his side, she always looked at him like he was some kind of noble knight worth commemorating, and she took his lessons seriously and applied them. She stayed—she stayed when no one else had ever stayed for Thalion Tel'Naire before.

That had opened up dangerous realizations as survival in Evernight had always meant looking out for his own best interests and protecting himself, but suddenly it wasn't about any of that. Suddenly, it was about her. It was always about her as she became his sun, his moons (as Evernight had two moons, he'd point out), and all of his stars.

She was slicked up against him and his arm was secure around her shoulders as they balanced precariously, depending on Gregian not to move or lose his balance. As it were, Thalion was struggling to keep his own balance. It frustrated him beyond all belief that he felt so damn useless… but he didn't know what to do. He didn't even have any ideas.

"Let's not even discuss my Mother," he said, "Let's just get out of this, first." The thought of his mother shook him even more deeply, his fingers tingling with apprehension. The magic burned deep within his bone marrow—uncomfortable and hot, yet suddenly smoothed by a cool touch. His eyes shifted from the hardened, far off space they had wandered and looked down to Minette as her hand came to his face and the terrible thoughts were vanquished. Once, he had believed the churning in his stomach to be mere hunger, and maybe it was in a way… but not a hunger that could be sated with any amount of food. Her touch caused the familiar butterflies to work up through his stomach and into his chest.

He didn't know what to do, but Gregian was already setting things into motion. Forgetting about his balance as he watched, with annoyance, the affection between Thalion and Minette, the ice block they floated on began to rock. It quivered at first, but as Gregian seemed unable to regain his balance, the rocking grew considerably worse.

Thalion's boots began to slide against the ice and he loosened his grip on Minette almost immediately, "We're just going to have to run for it…"

The blocks had drifted apart, but were close enough that with a big bound, one should be able to cross. Already, Gregian had scrambled so badly he had fallen off the ice block and scrambled up on to another, causing the one Thalion and Minette were on to begin to rock over on itself.

"Minette… I say this all the time but… run."

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[Elle Joyner]

She didn't need to hear it twice. Staying put would field no results but doom. Their only chance for survival was to run and run fast. So when Thalion released her and she felt that rocking of the ice block, Minette did exactly that. She ran. As if a dragon were breathing down the back of her neck, the heat of his flames licking her skin, she ran. Leaping, grateful that she had left her skirts with the Antropoes, she jumped from one block to the next, skidding, before taking off again.

She could feel the ground creaking, rocking, splitting apart, but she didn't stop, she didn't give even a moment's thought to stopping. She wanted to look, to see if Thalion was still behind her, to listen for his footfall, for the swish of his cloak, but apart from the swishing of the water beneath the ice and the blood, pounding in her ears, she could hear nothing and she didn't dare turn around. Gregian was a bit ahead of her, stumbling, but still on his feet. If he could make it, Thalion had to... and that, she supposed was all she could rely on.

Finally, graciously, Minette leaped across one more slippery, wobbly flow and this time, the ground she landed upon had no give. She hit hard, tumbling and rolling over, a pang on pain shooting through her elbow, her shoulder, but the ground stood still, silent... whole. Pushing upright, she looked first for Gregian, finding him a short distance away, then allowed herself to search for Thalion.
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Thalion was usually like a cat on his feet—swift, silent, always ever-agile, but ice seemed to throw him for an unfamiliar loop. He struggled more than usual, his boots sliding against the slick surface as he scrambled for every step, nearly taking several dunks in the water. The chunks were wobbling and widening, making the distances harder to cross. The cold, evening air shocked his throat and his lungs as he inhaled deeper, faster. With each footfall, a jarring pain shot ankle to knee, ankle to knee. With haste, he shot across another block—two more. He planned his route, his eyes narrowing as he searched for every opportunity.

Again, he made a leap, and again… his boot just catching the edge of the water, allowing the cold water to ooze between the stitching on his boots as he raced up the block as it began to tip. With one last leap, he made it to solid ground, the snow squishing below his boots with familiar traction. Glancing back, he took in the sight of the river. It was wide and fast moving, cracking apart the ice that had tamed it as it shook itself free and poured in violent torrents. The cold water continued to seep into his boots, stealing the heat from his soles just as fast as the wind stole it from his face. He had gotten splashed at some point, the drops coming down his cheeks and running together to drip from his chin.

"Everyone okay?" he asked, his tone as frigid as the snow and air around them. He took a quick count, noting Minette seemed to be doing well… Gregian seemed shaken, but dry and alive. "Let's keep going. We can follow the river." The river had been so impossible to see when they had first stepped foot on it, but now it was obvious—the bright blue a sore thumb against the otherwise grey and white backdrop. Stepping up alongside Minette, rustling against the snow, he slipped his hand down her elbow to join their fingers together. "We'll look for somewhere to camp soon, before it gets dark."

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[Elle Joyner]

They'd made it. They'd all made it, somehow. Across the flow and on to the solid ground, but that didn't mean that the danger was over. Not in Evernight. Not ever.

His fingers slipped around her own and Minette closed the gap to throw her arms around his shoulders, tugging him closer. Her heart was hammering still, despite their apparent success, her mind involuntarily rolling through all the possible outcomes they had barely managed to avoid. It was becoming a habit, barely surviving... scraping through, and she was none too eager to continue tempting fate the way they had been. But that was Evernight for you. There was no way around it, it seemed.

Releasing all but his hand, Minette nodded upon his suggestion and starting forward, she turned to glance at Gregian, "Nicely done, getting across." She offered, with a warm smile, "I'm afraid that's not the worst of Evernight, but you handled that marvelously." And he had, indeed, but then, the Duke struck her as someone who wasn't going to lay down his life easily - though she imagined it had a little to do with the sense of self-importance he carried.

Her eyes turned up to Thalion and lingered for a moment on his profile and with a shake of her head, she leaned against his arm, her voice lowering again, her tone soft, a little shaky even, and devoid of the confidence she had tried to show Gregian, "I'm growing quite weary of feeling like any moment might be the last we have together, Thal... I don't wanna lose you, either... But we've got to change something if we're going to get through this."
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His arm slung around her waist as she pulled herself against him, her arm cradling around her neck and erasing the space between them. The embrace was welcomed, but there was something in the air that burned in him better than a branding iron. There were no sounds around them, yet everyone was moving, moving and not talking for a split second. Minette offered Gregian some encouraging praise and he beamed below it, completely ignorant to whatever sensation was causing the little hairs on the back of Thalions' neck to bristle. He walked knee deep in his own thoughts, Gregian and Minette's conversation reverberating around his head like a cymbal, yet he didn't blink or move to stop it despite the fact that the noise was causing him pain.

The air was so brittle in his lungs it could snap and if it didn't, Thalion thought he might. He could feel a sudden fear in his chest waiting to take over; perhaps it only wanted to protect him, but there wasn't any obvious signs of danger. It sat there like an angry ball propelling him towards an anxiety he just didn't need. The weather is cold, but complacent. There wasn't a single breeze or cloud in the sky. Aside from the chill, it seemed like there was a complete absence of weather, really.

"Huh?" he snapped back into attention with a few hard blinks and a shake of his head, realizing Minette was talking to him almost a beat too late. He looked down at her, startled by the sudden hush of her voice. "Do you feel that?" he asked. It was an unusual feeling, like electricity was causing every neuron in his body to quiver and every hair to prickle on end below a goose bump, and not from the cold. Thalion looked genuinely panicked—more so than he had facing death at the jaws of a dragon, even. Something was rattling him, something bad, and he absentmindedly found himself walking faster than before.

"She's close."
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[Elle Joyner]

They'd made it past the danger, yet there was something to Thalion's reaction that rolled through Minette with a discomfort - a prickly sort of chill that set her on edge. The quicker they moved, the deeper the feeling etched into her, until Thalion spoke and she nearly jumped at the words. It was a sensation like nothing she'd felt before... a terror in her gut that couldn't quite be explained. That couldn't quite be understood.

He continued, before she had a chance to speak and her heart caught on what he said. There was no mistaking it. No questioning it. She knew exactly what... who he meant, and there was no way in Evernight or beyond that it was a good thing. If Thalia was coming, if she was making her presence known, there was little left for them to do but run, and pray that they would be fast enough to stay ahead of her. The trouble in that was, Evernight was her world, and there would never be escape... not really.

Her eyes moved to Gregian. Poor Gregian, who had been dropped into the world with ruthless abandon. Gregian, who stood little to no chance of surviving on his own. And Minette had no doubt in her mind that Thalia would let him live. She'd let him live because it would please the horrible woman to see him suffer. But not Minette. Min posed a deeper threat now, than Thalia had likely ever imagined, and there was no way that she would make it through a confrontation.

And there was no way, Min knew, that Thalion would be able to deal with that without reverting to the cold, heartless creature he was when first they had met.

Her fingers tightened around his and nodded, Minette quickened her own pace, "...I feel it. What do we do?"


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It felt impossible to miss. The sensation seeped down through his skin into the marrow of his bones and settled there with more unease than he had ever felt before. Evil, he had decided, was more terrible than it had ever been before. His skin puckered in goose bumps, but not from the cold. The wind picked up and whistled through the surroundings trees that shook with a shiver. Even the river seemed to pick up in current. A scowl formed along Thalion's face.

"Nothing," he replied earnestly. "There isn't anything we can do."

There was nothing more they could do. They had already run as far as they could run. They had already fled as fast as they could flee. There wasn't really anywhere left to hide in the snowy white tundra, not anywhere Thalia wouldn't find them. The snow picked up, swirling into vortexes all around with enough power to whisk Thalion's hair across his face. He stopped rather abruptly. She was close. Closer, of course, than he had been anticipating. The skies parted and began to dose the earth below in snow. In the blizzard, there was no way to know which direction to go, all landmarks hidden behind the white that swirled so densely.

Up ahead, a figure was little more than a crude outline of a human mostly erased by the storm. "You have runn farther than you ever have before, my blood." The woman's voice managed to be even colder than the air battering his cheeks and lining his eyelashes in frost.

"Hello, Thalia," Thalion remarked.

Gregian, who had been several paces ahead, tilted his head back in wonder at the woman who somehow managed to tower over him. If she even noticed him at all, she didn't show it. She seemed immune to the cold: her arms and throat were bare, but a blush didn't tinge her cheeks. In fact, even the snow seemed hesitant to touch her and hastily blustered as far away from her form as each flake could manage.

"It's time we put an end to this, Thalion… once and for all."

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[Elle Joyner]

His reaction might have come as a surprise to Minette, has she not known Evernight so well at this point. Thalia controlled everything. Literally, everything. Even the weather. It was little wonder then that almost as soon as the danger was felt, as soon as it was palpable, Thalia stepped out of nowhere.

The snow picked up and Thalion stopped, Minette pressing closer to him to keep out the chill that had settled into her bones, her heart racing. Her eyes stung as the frigid air whipped against her face, but squinting, she made out the dark haired figure moving through the white cyclone. Then she spoke, her voice so like ice itself and Min reached down to squeeze Thalion's hand, to afford him even the slightest bit of comfort in what was probably the most terrifying moment since her arrival...

Yet despite her fear, or perhaps in spite of it Minette refused to cower. The woman had taken everything from her, but she wasn't going down without a fight. If this was it... if these were the last moments of her life she was going to die with courage, grace and dignity. And she was going to let it be known that despite what might seem a victory, Thalia had not won. She had not broken her...

Straightening her back, she stood as tall as she was able, her eyes narrowing down on the woman, who, for all her beauty was a little bit like a dragon herself. Enough so, that Minette half expected a curl of smoke to follow the words from her mouth, or the curve of a forked tongue, "Your fight is with me... Your Majesty. Not Thalion."
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Her hair flowed down the sides of her cheeks like black ink and a tilted piece of parchment. Her eyes were fox-like and had an icy greyish green hue, like the first sprouts of plants in the snow but not nearly as welcoming as spring. Instead, one look from her caused Thalion to hiss and recoil like he had just been burned with acid.

"On the contrary, princess Elian," Thalia replied, her voice harsh like a cold wind with no trees to break it. She spoke to Minette, but her eyes were on Thalion. A smouldering stare held onto her son. He could feel his thoughts all gnarl together as the temptation to thrash out violently towards her poisoned his bloodstream. He had no weapon, aside from a small dagger… and nothing of the sort would slay a woman like Thalia. "My business with you directly is quite done. From you, I've gotten everything I want. I have your crown, remember," she reminded her almost gently, "I have your kingdom. Anyone you ever loved in Green Reach is already dead, my dear. No, the last fight I have left to fight is not with you… it's with my son."

"But this still about you. You see, Minette, you made my son into something I am ashamed of," she cooed, almost like a mother would to soothe a crying baby. When she looked to Thalion, her eyes almost softened, but not in a way that was comforting or warm. It was like she was looking at the last obstacle standing in her way towards her ultimate goal in life, like she was contemplating how far she had come and he represented the last obstacle. "Look at him now—he is holding your hand and cowering before me. You have taken him from me, now I shall take him from you."

"You're the witch who sent me here, are you?" Gregian seemed to have had a spur of bravery, his voice confident as he stepped forward, between Thalion and Thalia like some kind of barrier. Her eyes shifted to him, her brows arching up in mild surprise and annoyance. From the sleeve of her winter cape, a sword began to slide forward, as if from thin air, as it slipped through her fingers as the hilt solidified in her palm. "I have a thing or two I'd like to discuss with you," he continued, seeming blissfully unaware. He grabbed Minette by the arm and pulled her forward.

"The princess and I demand to be taken home."
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[Elle Joyner]

Everyone you know is dead.

Minette would have been lying had she said those words bore no effect. In truth, they were terrifying. Her family, while perhaps not so empathetic to her desires was still her family, and the idea that she had harmed them...But the simple truth was there was nothing she could do about it, either way, unless they were able to free themselves from Thalia's grasp. It was a ploy to break Minette, and she was all too tired of that particular trick.

"I've made him into nothing…" She responded as coolly as she could, her fingers tightening around Thalion's, "He's found himself, and broken free of you… of your turmoil. And if that shames you, good. I would never desire he please you, in any fashion."

Gregian interrupted, and as he grabbed her arm, Minette frowned, tugging herself free as she glared at the duke, "Enough! Make your demands as you must, but I've already told you I won't leave without him! You will not speak for me, again…"

Turning to Thalion, the frown softened into an expression akin to pleading, gentle and warm, but determined, "You can fight her, Thal… I know you can. And so do you. Don't be afraid, Love… You don't have to be afraid anymore."
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There were moments when everything fell away. When voices grew into muffled noises and nothing sounded crisp except for his own breathing. He breathed out, the sounds of his lungs collapsing in his chest whistling loudly in his ears. He blinked a few times, the world beginning to spin and go hazy. Every doubt Thalion had ever doubted, every fear Thalion had ever feared, every self-loathing Thalion had ever loathed rushed back into his head.

Minette had done a lot of good for him—she gave him confidence, she encouraged him, trusted him, believed him, but everything she had helped him build felt like it was falling away. He was scared despite her words he barely managed to make out. He shook his head. "No, I can't. I'm sorry, but I-I can't fight her."

His eyes snapped up keenly and fell on Gregian as he stumbled with more bravery than Thalion possessed through the snow towards the witch. He seemed fearless, despite the fact that Thalia had raised her chin and was smirking a little. "You want to go home, do you?" she mused aloud, light gathering in the palm of her hand as her fingers spread and curled like she was poised to scratch. "I was being generous sending you to Evernight, but seeing as you can't seem to be grateful, I suppose I'll have to send you somewhere much worse." The light continued to grow, the intensity of its heat beginning to melt the snow around her feet. Wind blustered from the power, enough to cause Gregian to stumble back.

"God—" Thalion cursed. He didn't even think because he was too afraid to think. Instead, he just gripped Minette's hand, plunged forward and grabbed Gregian by the shoulder, yanking him back and off his feet. Truthfully, Thalion had no control over what was happening, which seemed to be the theme of his magic use over all, but the heat built up into him and he clenched his eyes closed when light smacked him in the face with enough intensity to temporarily blind him. Next, he felt warm air on his skin and a cool breeze. He could hear water giggling over rocks. His eyes opened and he looked at the Ethereal Falls that stretched out before them.

At once, he opened his hand and dropped Gregian to the ground with a 'thump.'

"She'll find us again," Thalion mentioned, "And soon, but I figured if something was going to happen to us, it might as well happen in a place where we're not frozen through and half-starved." Magic was controlled by memories, and his time in the Ethereal Falls had been very powerful, indeed.
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[Elle Joyner]

It all happened fairly quickly… One moment there, staring certain death in the face, the next, transported… sent reeling across time and space until they arrived, of all places, at the Falls. The beautiful, majestic falls.

He'd done it. Whether intentionally or not, he had done it. She'd heard his words, quite plainly, seen the self-doubt etched in lines across his face, but somehow, he had pulled them to safety, and that was enough.

Arns thrown round his shoulders, Min pressed up onto her toes and with little reservation, she kissed him. It wasn't a long kiss, by any means, but searing, the amalgamation of stress and relief, poured through a sieve of undeniable affection.

Pulling back, despite her earthshaking nerves, she smiled, her thumb brushing tenderly along his jaw, "You keep saving my life, Thal, I'm gonna start to think I'm important…"
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The ambient light spilled off the surface of the waters, basking Minette's form in a halo of electric blue. It was evening still, but Thalion was quick to shed his heaviest layer when the warm air swirled against his face. It felt nice, but he couldn't relax. The tension could be practically seen palpitating off his shoulders but he forced all his muscles to ease, even if he didn't feel an ounce of safety. Rather suddenly, his body was flush with the heat of warmth and for the first time, he did relax.

His arm swung around Minette's waist, huddling her in closer as she pressed a searing kiss to his lips. It could have been just enough to send him to a whole different universe, and it practically did. His hands came up into her hair, working through the long tresses. "I don't think I saved anyone this time," he murmured listlessly, "She'll find us… she'll find us soon and we won't be able to run like this forever."

He didn't know how she did it, but his mother always found him… found them… so effortlessly. She had made it clear there was nowhere they could run where they'd be safe, not even the Falls, but it was where Thalion felt happiest. He returned the kiss, more gently this time, and rested his forehead to hers. "Whatever will happen, will happen here."

"I was just about to reason with her!" Gregian interjected, "You both seem quite obsessed with running, for all you boast about bravery, I would reckon you have none! Your highness, it seems you have been possessed by this man. Running, dying… you are a queen for God's sake! This is not where you belong and this is certainly not with whom you belong!" he tossed back Thalion's cloak off his shoulders, "I think it's best I go for a walk. Minette, think about what you want, will you? This is ludicrous."
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[Elle Joyner]

It was inescapable, the reality they faced. At potentially any moment, Thalia could return, find them… and the next time they might not be so lucky. Inevitably, they would need to face her, fight her. They couldn't run forever. But in that brief moment, caught between fear and elation, Minette needed to see the daylight.. the brightness. She needed to believe that hope was possible… believe that freedom was attainable. She needed to trust in Thalion, and believe he trusted in himself.

"Shh… Don't think about that now. We got away… that's all that matters. Every bit of defiance, every small victory… that, Thal, is what will wear her down. That is how we'll win…"

Though she didn't so much as glance in his direction, she could feel the heat of Gregian's stare and knew the tirade that would follow, but even after he had sauntered off, she did not remove her eyes from Thalion.

After he'd gone, however, his last few words hovered in her mind, revolving around her consciousness.

Think about what you want…

"I already have... " She murmured, leaning back to meet Thalion's deep gaze, "There's nothing but you, Thal. Whatever happens, I need you to know that. You will always be my choice…" ​

 

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"I love you, Minette," Thalion hummed thoughtfully, innocently, as if trying to rationalize those feelings in his own head. He wasn't sure what was the source of the intensity of his emotion for her, as he hadn't a clue where they could have stemmed from without a soul, but he knew he did. Somewhere, somehow, he did. He smiled gently, something he didn't do very often, a smile with a twist in it—like a child who was determined not to weep. He curled his arms around her and cradled her head into his chest.

Meanwhile, Gregian just huffed at the lack of response and turned off, kicking a small rock into the nearby woods and following it. The woods were dark, but somehow welcoming all the same. He failed to heed the warnings given to him about the dangers of Evernight and to him, it felt like the woods outside his childhood home all over again. Crickets buzzed, leaves sang in the breeze, the small kindling and dead underbrush crackled below his weight as he moved. All the while, he fumed. His brain worked a million miles a minute over every annoyance and angry thought swirling in his head.

How could she be so dumb? So blinded by a man like… that? It was irraitional. Absolutely irrational.

All the while, he didn't seem to note how far he had gone or exactly what path he had taken. He was too lost in his own thoughts until a small movement caught the corner of his eye. She appeared next to him with the last of the Northern winter snow billowing around her skirt. "You're the witch…" he mumbled out, his hands closing into fists at his side, "I'm glad you've arrived, I wish to speak with you."

He had failed to notice her beauty before. She had skin that was like marble and eyes the shade of a winter sky fading into spring greens with obsidian hair. The way her long lashes framed her eyes, he could have sworn she could have turned anyone to stone just by looking at them, and her lips turned into a mischievous grin when she did so. It was inevitable that once he looked at her, he couldn't look away. She was a succubus, beautiful and dangerous.

"Then speak," she replied idly, already seeming bored with the conversation, "But before you do, give me an opportunity to speak first. You love her, yes? Princess Minette? I could tell from the moment you arrived. I cannot offer you her kingdom back, but I can offer you too the opportunity to escape this place, this Evernight, to go live a quiet life somewhere else… far, far away from your kingdoms and Evernight."

"G…" Gregian was wrestling with himself, his brows knitting as his conscience and his desires tangled violently, "Go on."

"All you need to do is break this." From below her cloak, she revealed a small orb. It was the strangest little thing he had ever seen—swirling with dark, iridescent lights, yet when he reached out to touch it, it felt like glass, though it wobbled away from his fingers like jam.

"Break it? What is it?"
"It is Thalion's link between Evernight and your world."

"I can't… I won't kill him!" Gregian's hand snapped back, "I won't do it. I'm not a killer."

"It won't kill him," she assured him thoughtfully, sounding sincere, "It will just send him away, which will end both of our problems."

"Why don't you just do it then?"

"I created it, I cannot. Magic works in mysterious ways." She took his hand and opened his palm, resting the orb there. "I promise, everyone will be happier this way."

Gregian walked back towards the Falls slowly, rolling the small orb back and forth in his palms and considering the options though he knew in his heart his mind was already made up. He stepped back into the clearing, fixing his eyes on the couple.

Gregian remerged but Thalion heard him long before he had appeared. He didn't expect much, but the small flash of light caught his attention. His head tilted a little, "Gregian… what is that?" his tone was edged with nervousness. He had never seen anything like it before, but every alarm bell in his body began to ring as he gave Minette a gentle nudge to the side. Gregian shook his head.

"Gregian! What is that? Tell me now."

"I am so sorry," was all he managed to whisper out, "But you'll thank me for this someday, Minette. It won't hurt him, I promise." as he let the orb slide between his fingers and shatter into hundreds of shards on the grassy knoll.

The life that once burned like fire had faded away into an icy numbness. Black filled the edges of his vision and the only thing he could hear was the beating of his own heartbeat. His breath suddenly came in ragged, shallow gasps as he stumbled back a stride, trying to keep his balance but ultimately being unable to and falling back against the grass. His head hit the dirt and he found himself looking up at the stars above him. There wasn't any blood or violence and it wasn't the death Thalion had expected he'd have in Evernight—ripped apart and eaten by wild animals. It was almost peaceful and tame, like he was about to drift off to sleep, but he wouldn't wake up. He knew that immediately.

"You said it wouldn't kill him!" Gregian snapped around just in time to see Thalia emerge from the brush, dusting a speck of dust from her skirt.

"I lied," she admitted, smiling tenderly, like a mother should have, "I also lied about the fact that I would send you home. You and Minette are stuck here until the day you both die, which reckoning that you don't have Thalion anymore, I imagine will be quite soon. What a shame. What a waste. Enjoy your time here, children. Farewell."

Thalia departed in a swirl of dust and cloud, vanishing and easing the burden on Thalion's conscious as he wrangled for his last few breaths. His fragile, human heart beat one last time and he fell away from Evernight, from Green Reach, from life.
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