LYRIAN
A violent burst of frost and steam blasted outward as the frozen shell around Mia gave way completely. The force knocked Lyrian and several others back a step, heat brushing against them.
For a moment, no one moved, stunned.
Mia had gotten free.
Her shoulders rose and fell slowly as she breathed, strands of hair clinging to her face. Heat shimmered around her like a mirage, distorting the air itself.
Her eyes were bright.
"That… was getting really uncomfortable," she said quietly.
Seren stepped forward instinctively.
"Mia!" Seren yelled. "Don't you dare try to—"
Before she could finish, Mia rose into the air and shot forward toward the Temple gates.
"Mia, stop!" Seren yelled.
If Mia had heard her sister, she gave no indication.
Seren would have gone after her, but Mia already had too much of a head start to catch up. Unlike her, Lyrian didn't let that stop her.
She flapped her blue wings and surged into the air after Mia. Lyrian was determined that what she had seen in her nightmare last night wouldn't come true—Mia dying in this Temple, lost to its darkness.
"Mia, stop! You're making a mistake!"
Hearing Lyrian's voice, Mia turned back, a low growl escaping her as she spotted her in pursuit.
"Just give it up already, Lyrian," she said.
Like her, Lyrian didn't listen, didn't stop, staying hot on Mia's trail.
Seeing that Lyrian wasn't going to back off—and could possibly catch up—Mia paused midair, deciding to act.
"Enough of this," she said, frustration breaking through as she stretched her arm toward the ground, eyes closing as she activated her power.
The next moment, a towering wall of fire erupted across the Temple entrance.
Lyrian pulled up sharply as it surged to life, the heat forcing her back.
Shoot, she thought.
"I'm sorry, Lyrian," Mia called from the other side.
Lyrian stared at her form, distorted behind the flames.
"You don't have to do this, Mia!" Lyrian yelled, trying not to cough from the smoke.
"Yes, I do!" Mia shouted back, turning toward the Temple. "More than anything."
She approached the gates, which began to open for her—slowly, mysteriously, and ominously.
Lyrian tried again, her voice breaking with desperation.
"Please, Mia, I'm trying to protect you!"
"I know… but I don't need you to," Mia said.
She then stepped forward and walked through the gates.
They slammed shut behind her.
Lyrian flinched at the sound.
---
Mia's footsteps echoed through the Temple.
She allowed herself a small smile of triumph, pleased that she had finally made it in—and that she had escaped her sister's trap and the extreme protective measures of the rest of her traitorous friends. She didn't blame them, though.
A flicker of guilt surfaced at her recent actions toward them, but she quickly forced that—and any thoughts of them—out of her mind.
She had to focus on finding and eliminating Damon.
She took in her surroundings, and her spirits plummeted.
The place was far creepier and more ominous than she had imagined.
She remembered what Nova had said—that the Temple was filled with traps and other dangers, one of the worst being its notorious echoes.
But maybe Nova had been wrong for once, Mia thought.
After all, she had been inside the Temple for a full minute and… was still standing.
Maybe the Temple, five hundred years old, was no longer as dangerous as it once was. Maybe the traps were worn out.
Defective.
At that moment, she glanced upward—
and froze.
A skeleton hung impaled on a rusted spear, its hollow skull tilted downward as if staring straight at her.
Mia gasped, a sharp, involuntary sound.
Before she had a chance to recover, a whisper brushed through the darkness.
"Mia… Mia…"
She spun toward the sound but saw no one.
"Who's there?" she called. "Lyrian? Is that you?"
Silence answered her—followed only by the faint echo of her own voice.
Mia swallowed hard, a thought creeping in—maybe coming in here alone hadn't been the best idea.
She stopped walking, her breathing growing uneven as her eyes darted through the shadows. A bat suddenly flew past her, and a small, panicked sound escaped her. For a moment, she felt the urge to curl into herself.
Snap out of it, Mia, she told herself quickly, trying to stop herself from spiraling. You're fine. Just focus on what you're here to do. On finding Damon.
She forced her thoughts to Rhys, comatose back at Echian. His grieving mother. The promise she had made.
She couldn't fail them, she reminded herself.
Looking around again, she tried to rationalize what had just happened.
She had probably imagined the voice.
It was a logical explanation—more logical than haunted spirits, she convinced herself.
She let out a slow breath, steadying herself… and her overactive imagination.
Killing Damon.
That was all she should think about.
Mia exhaled again, grounding herself before turning and moving deeper into the Temple—alert, cautious.
Unaware of the menacing presence drifting silently behind her.
---
Seren was in the air, using her Water Affinity to douse the wall of fire Mia had created.
Lyrian watched her—frozen, not even flinching as smoke filled her lungs.
All she could see in her mind was Mia's lifeless body from her nightmare.
Terror gripped her.
Everyone else was just as tense, if not more.
A short distance away, Varal stood with Reone.
"One of your own just went rogue. Are you sure you can handle this, Reone?" Varal asked skeptically.
Reone let out a quiet breath.
"Not really, if I'm being honest," he admitted. "But I still think you and your men should head back to the snowy mountains. It's safer there."
Varal studied him, then sighed.
"Good luck to you, young Legion. We will be awaiting your return."
Reone suddenly stepped forward and pulled him into a brief embrace.
"Thank you, Varal. We wouldn't have gotten this far without you."
"You're welcome," Varal said softly. Then his expression hardened. "But remember—I didn't do this for nothing. You must get justice for my brother."
Reone pulled back, his face serious.
"I will."
Varal squeezed his shoulder, then turned and walked away to join Anarom and the rest of the Watch.
Reone watched him go in with relief, then sighed before heading back to Lyrian.
He came up behind her.
"Lyrian… are you okay?"
She turned to him, her expression serious.
The others gathered behind him.
"We need to go after Mia. Right now," Lyrian said.
"Lyrian's right," Diamond added. "This Temple is dangerous enough on its own—but with Damon and the Sisterhood inside…"
"That's all true, but we can't just rush in without a plan," Primi said, strategic as ever.
"The plan is we go in and save Mia," Lyrian snapped. "What more do you need?"
"Calm down, Lyrian," Reone said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We will go after Mia. But Primi has a point. We need a plan. And we can't forget—we still have to stop Damon and the Sisterhood and get the Trident."
"We need to get Mia," Lyrian insisted, shrugging him off. "Who cares about the stupid Trident?"
"I do, actually," Anika said firmly. "And so do my people."
Lyrian froze, then looked at her guiltily.
"I'm sorry, Anika. I didn't mean that. I just… I'm worried about Mia."
Anika didn't respond, her expression grim.
At that moment, Seren landed beside them.
"Alright. I put the fire out. Let's go get Mia," she said.
Everyone looked at her, tense.
"What is it?" Seren asked.
"Nothing. Just getting our priorities straight," Diamond said lightly.
Seren frowned, confused.
"Our biggest priority is Mia, obviously," Seren said.
Lyrian started to nod when Reone spoke.
"Wrong, Seren," he said, making her frown. "You have to understand—Damon and the Sisterhood are already inside the Temple. We need to focus all of our efforts on stopping them and getting the Trident of Axis."
"Exactly," Anika added.
"What about Mia?" Seren pushed, livid.
"She's probably looking for them," Reone said. "We find them—we find her."
"Or we don't," Lyrian cut in. "It's a huge Temple. What if she's heading in another direction?"
"She's right," Nova said. "And we should also consider that the Temple is full of dangers—traps, echoes… Mia could be in serious trouble."
"And if Damon gets the Trident, it's over for all of us." Reone shot back. "That's also worth thinking about."
"We can't just abandon my sister!" Seren said sharply.
"Your sister put herself in this situation," Primi replied.
The girls turned on him instantly.
"Excuse me?" Diamond said.
"I'm just stating facts."
The girls were about to respond angrily when Lyrian cut in.
"Stop it, guys," she snapped.
Silence fell.
"There's no time for fighting. We need to act right now."
"Fine, but we're not going with your plan, just to be clear," Reone said.
Lyrian shot him an angry look. "I actually had something different in mind."
She took a breath.
"There's only one course of action left to us: we split up."
Everyone stiffened, uncertainty flickering across their faces.
"Split up?" Seren said.
"Yes. Seren, you, me, Nova, and Diamond will go after Mia. Anika, Reone, and the rest of you go after Damon, the Sisterhood, and the Trident."
"Wait—what happened to 'we're stronger together'?" Reone asked.
"I think we're a little past that," Diamond said.
"It's the only way to do both things," Lyrian explained.
"Why do you want to leave us, Lyrian? Me?" Reone asked, hurt slipping into his voice.
"It isn't like that, Reone," Lyrian said quickly. "This is just more logical. And you know it."
"Lyrian, I need you with me during this," he said, his voice low.
She hesitated, lips pressing together.
"I'm sorry… Reone."
Reone's expression darkened.
"Why am I not surprised?" he said bitterly. "Of course you want to split up."
Lyrian frowned.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Don't act like you don't know," he said, anger rising. "This is just an excuse so you don't have to come with us and take down Damon and the Sisterhood,the same people by the way, who hurt us and our friends."
"What?" Lyrian said, stunned. "Reone, I'm just trying to save my friend."
"The same friend you were ready to leave in ice a few minutes ago?"
Lyrian went still. The air turned sharp with tension.
"That was a low blow, Reone," she said quietly.
"It's the truth."
"I was trying to protect Mia," Lyrian shot back. "You know that. But you're right about one thing—I don't want to follow your plan to commit murder."
Her voice steadied.
"I'd rather save my friend. At least that's something I actually believe in."
Frustration crossed Reone's face before it hardened completely.
"You know what? Fine, Lyrian. Do whatever you want."
"Fine," Lyrian said firmly.
Mickey tried to step in.
"Guys—maybe we should take a minute and calm—"
"Mickey, Anika, Primi, Sire—let's start heading for the Temple," Reone ordered.
Mickey didn't move, uncertain. The rest of the group looked the same.
"If we don't do this, we're definitely get destroyed,along with everyone we care about," Reone reminded them.
"Lead the way," Anika said in a determined tone, not looking at the Sylph girls.
The four immediately began heading toward the Temple, Reone among them—without even a glance back.
Lyrian watched him go, then called out:
"Reone!"
He paused in his step.
But he didn't turn.
"You told me you've changed," she said, her voice breaking. "But that's not what I'm seeing."
Reone's jaw tightened in anger.
It took effort for him to not react further and resume walking towards the Temple.
The doors creaked open again.
Several of them hesitated, too nervous to enter.
Reone didn't.
He walked inside, leading by example. The others followed.
The doors slammed shut behind them.
Seeing it happen again, Lyrian's lips trembled.
Diamond stepped beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I guess it's our turn," she said softly.
Lyrian wiped the tears from her face.
"Let's go."