Well, everyone. Are you ready for the cumulation of the final ... thing? The incline of the plot? The beginning of the end?!

Well, Here it is. D: Thank you everyone for reading, and reviewing. I appreciate it. They are still appreciated now. I'm sorry if this chapter is too long for anyone, I've been told some people love the long chapters and some find them difficult to read. I attempted to make this between the two, because I wanted this to be the chapter before the finale. Therefore...

Please enjoy! (And tell me what you think, this is my frist time writing really dramatic things.)

Skin Deep Chapter 29: The Suspecting

“Peryn!” Coredan gasped, running after the white ball of fluff that skipped down the hallway at a leisurely pace just enough where her master could not keep up. “You’re being very unnecessary…” he threatened, stopping to catch his breath. The little pooch had suddenly bolted off into the depths of the castle during their daily wanderings. Looking up, Coredan sighed with disdain. The familiar presence of a split hallway hinted at where they were… again.

“Leave it to me to get lost in the same place twice…” he grumbled, taking the left hallway. “Damn dog… I’m going to lock you up in the room and leave you th-“ he choked, entering the room to find Peryn in the arms of a young person with long blonde hair.

His initial reaction was to demand to know why in the world his sister’s fiancée, Senti, was here in Amedyn. But after a few moments of calming his mind, he realized the person in front of him was a girl, not a boy… and therefore, not Senti.

“Oh, hello!” she beamed at him. “Is this your puppy?”

“Yes,” he murmured, walking forward. “Her name is Peryn. She ran away and I was chasing her…”

“Oh a troublemaker!” the girl laughed, scratching Peryn’s ears. “I’m Medina,” she offered a hand to Coredan. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Medina? Coredan took her hand, shaking it softly. Was this the girl he had heard Onyk and the others talking about? He surveyed her quickly, but the loose clothing she wore covered any possible signs of pregnancy. And was this girl not supposed to be locked up or something?

“I’m Coredan,” he answered. “Nice to meet you.”

“Coredan!?” she sounded shocked. “Oh, I’ve heard so much about you! My brother talked about you a lot when he… uh… ” she stopped, a look crossing her face that she just said something she should not have.

“Senti?” he asked with a smile, venturing on a hunch.

“Oh, you know Senti?” she smiled assuredly. “I wasn’t sure if you knew about him being here or not… But I guess its ok.” She smiled again.

So his sister’s fiancée really was in Amedyn… He must have been the third person talking to Onyk and Baltheon. And Medina was his sister… and she was supposedly pregnant and in confinement, although she had obviously escaped somehow.

“So what are you doing over in this part of the castle?” he asked, smiling back.

“Oh well…” she suddenly looked worried. “I guess I’d get in a lot of trouble if I was found. But I was so tired of being kept in that room.” She sighed. “The guard fell asleep so I snuck out.”

“I see,” Coredan answered. “I just got lost following my dog,” he pointed at the ball of fluff now sleeping in Medina’s arms.

“Oh,” Medina suddenly leaned forward, covering her stomach. “I think I need to sit…” she smiled again. Coredan helped her over to a bench coming from the wall of the large grey room.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “Are you feeling sick?”

“Uh well… sometimes I just get nausea fits…” she smiled again, obviously trying to hide something.

“I see,” Coredan almost whispered. He wondered how far he could tread this game without getting into serious trouble. But she didn’t seem to be very suspicious of him… “Is it… the baby?” he whispered.

Medina looked at him wide-eyed. “Did Senti tell you?” she asked blankly.

“Well… I kinda overheard him once,” he admitted. “But don’t tell him I know. I don’t want you to think he was betraying you or anything…” Coredan’s mind worked fast to cover the situation. “I just wanted to make sure you felt ok. I don’t want you to get sick… We’re practically in-laws you know.”

“Oh right… Senti proposed to your sister in Candeth,” she smiled. “I suppose family has to look out for each other.”

“Of course,” Coredan smiled, patting her shoulder. He decided to stop while he was ahead.

“Sometimes it hurts,” she admitted suddenly. “They cast this stupid spell on me. I’d rather just get it over with. Well… I mean, I hate the circumstances, but I don’t begrudge the baby. It’s not it’s fault it was created, ya know?”

“Uh… right…” Coredan agreed, unsure what he was agreeing to. “But you and Senti seem to be strong people, I’m sure it will be healthy and probably beautiful.”

“Well it won’t be all Amedian,” she laughed. “So maybe not.”

“What is the father then?” he was curious.

She smiled sadly, “Just… a horrible person.”

Coredan was taken aback by such a statement. A terrible theory rose in the back of his mind that he tried to push away.

“Anyway,” she smiled more happily. “I don’t like to talk about depressing things. Have you been here before? To the Hall of History, I mean?”

“Once, but I got lost then too,” he laughed.

“You know the statue of Senti the Last is in the final room?” she whispered. “I snuck all the way in there once. It was so beautiful… I’ve been wanting to see it again but this is the first time I’ve been able to get out in a while!”

“The… real statue?” he asked, somewhat shocked and somewhat doubtful.

Medina nodded. “My mother used to tell me the legend before I went to sleep every night, because she named my brother after it. It’s so sad, but beautiful. Just like the statue. It’s almost impossible to see it, cause no one knows its here!”

“That’s amazing…” he murmured.

“Want to go see?” she giggled, standing again. “I feel better now.”

Coredan stood and offered her his arm. They talked more, mostly Medina going on about how good it was to walk around feely, as they walked through the large rooms.

“I don’t see Senti much,” she admitted as they entered the red room. “And when I do he’s always mad about something. They’re all always mad, or worried, or stressed out. I’m glad you’re normal, at least,” she laughed.

“Yeah,” Coredan agreed. “But they probably wouldn’t like it if they found out you ran into me…”

“Oh you’re right,” she said, thinking. “Don’t worry, it’ll be our secret. Besides, I like you. No matter what some of them say,” she laughed again.

“My infamousness precedes me,” he sighed.

“Uh oh…” she stopped suddenly. “Uh oh, uh oh… Coredan! You have to make me a promise ok?”

“Ok?” he looked confused in reply to her sudden worry.

“You have to hide, and no matter what happens you cannot, can NOT, come out ok?”

“Why?” he asked as she pushed him behind the curtain.

“Just trust me… just be quiet. Or keep going and you’ll reach the final room with the statue…” She smiled again. “I’m glad we met though…” She pushed him further behind the curtain, quickly turning and trotting back towards the other curtain they had just came through.

“MEDINA,” a furious voice bellowed suddenly. Coredan dared to move closer to the edge of the curtain, trying to see what was going on.

“I- I’m ok,” Medina answered with a nervous laugh. “I was just-“ A loud slap echoed through the room, followed by the sound of Medina’s body crumpling to the floor.

“I don’t care if you’re ok, stupid bitch!” Onyk yelled. “How dare you try to leave? How DARE you?”

Medina pushed herself off the floor, holding her bruised cheek. “I was just…”

“I don’t care!” Onyk grabbed Medina’s arm, roughly pulling her towards the exit. “What if Doriten had found you? What I’m going to do to you will be lenient compared to what he would!”

Medina pulled her arm away from the taller woman. “Do you think he’d really care?” she yelled back. “I hate you!”

“I don’t care!” Onyk grabbed the girl around the neck, pushing her into the exit before her. “You need to learn your place…” she was saying as they disappeared from Coredan’s hearing range.

He stood still, afraid to move. He wanted to help Medina, but he knew he was no match against a high mage of the realm. And why were they talking about Doriten? Was he helping Onyk and Baltheon too? He had been studying in the university here for years, there was no way he didn’t know them in some way.

“What is going on?” he grumbled. Well, we can’t go back out the exit, he thought. Onyk may have brought the others. They would have to wait until there was time for anyone lingering to have left. He decided to move into the Gold Room.

The shinning room was the same as he remembered it. He walked through it quickly, moving into an extremely dark room. After a few moments of letting his eyes adjust, he realized everything in the room was black. Small white spheres let off just enough glow to make out shapes of various statues throughout the room. The pathway through the center towards the next curtain was straight and clear. He quickly passed, attempting to ignore the gruesome shapes of the statues around him.

Emerging from the next curtain, he stopped. The room in front of him was large and circular. Everything was white or crystal clear. See-through stairs led up to a balcony that hung over the edges of the room. The walls beneath the crystal balcony shimmered, as if they moved. In the very center of the room was a life-sized statue.

The statue showed a particularly beautiful man kneeling, holding what seemed to be a dead body. His eyes were filled anguish and despair, trails of tears covering his smeared face. So much detail was etched into this creation, down to the very pores of the skin and individual strands of hair. The crying man cradled the lifeless one, holding one of his hands against his face. The dead held a soft smile.

Coredan took a step back, overcome by the awful presence that pervaded the room. Something screamed desperation and fear, suffering and regret. Once the worst of it passed, the influence seemed to change to calm and cherishing. Coredan blinked as Peryn licked his nose to snap him out of the trance he had come under.

“A very powerful impression isn’t it?” a voice suddenly said behind him. Coredan jumped, started not only by the sudden voice but also by the presence of the Queen of Amedyn next to him.

“Y-your… highness,” he breathed, catching his breath. “I’m sorry… I was just…”

“It is alright,” she smiled calmly. Coredan wondered how she could be so calm in the same room with this presence. “There is no rule about coming here. It is just not common knowledge. What do you think of our greatest legend?”

“I… don’t know,” Coredan answered honestly.

The queen giggled. “It is somewhat difficult to handle in a first encounter. It is the personification of our greatest legend – Senti the Last. The man who changed the history of magic and war. It is what is left of him, and it is very important to our Amedian heritage.”

“I would assume so,” Coredan agreed.

“Although… I am worried,” the queen admitted with a sigh. “While I would immediately assume that nothing could affect something as great as the remnant of Senti the Last, there seems to be something interfering with the statue lately.”

“How… so?” Coredan asked, unable to look away from the statue again.

“Would it make sense if I said it seemed… agitated?” she sighed. “Senti the Last Singer… he was like a god. But still brought down by being human… But here is the encompassment of his being. A statue warm to the touch, holding in it the life force of the greatest human to live. Mayhap the great legend still can be effected by his surroundings, even as a statue?” She sighed softly, and smiled again. “I come here often. Perhaps I just think I could understand something as great as the Last Singer.”

“I don’t know,” Coredan sighed, tearing his eyes away from it. Looking at his feet, he found odd markings on the floor. The black lines encircled the entire room around the statue, all with gold lining. “What is this?”

“I am unsure,” the queen tilted her head. “Decoration perhaps?” she smiled, a look of interest entering her eyes.

It doesn’t look like decoration, Coredan thought to himself. It looks like magic.

“Dear Coredan,” the queen laid a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, pulling away without thinking. She looked mildly surprised, but continued smiling. “Perhaps you need to rest after seeing the remnant statue?” she asked.

“Yes your highness…” he answered, bowing. “If you may allow me leave then…”

She nodded, watching Coredan as he exited through the large thick curtain, her smile never fading though her eyes changed.

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Having found his way back to their guest rooms, Coredan quickly fell asleep unawares on the couch from exhaustion. After what he thought was moments, he awoke suddenly to find the sun peering into the room from an odd angle. He looked around, finding a note on the table next to him.

Coredan-

I attempted to wake you, but you seemed determined to be unmoved. As today is the 30th, I will be stuck in more useless meetings all day. I will see you tonight.

Londel

Coredan sighed, crumpling the note. How had he fallen asleep for so long? He wanted to tell Londel everything he had found. Medina, Doriten’s possible involvement, the remnant statue of Senti the Last… Coredan sighed again, rubbing his head.

Deciding he needed food, he left on his own, without Peryn, to find his way to the kitchen. Once had sat with his bowl of odd soup that was apparently popular in Amedyn, he started thinking about the information surrounding everything. Deciding he would only get a headache by thinking too much, he focused on his food. After a few minutes, he heard the heated whispering of two men sitting behind him.

Glancing over his shoulder, he recognized two mages that served as bodyguards for one of the other royalty here for the peace talks.

“I don’t like it,” one of them said, scratching at his arm. “Something is off in this place…”

“There does seem to be some kind of major disturbance in the equity of the magic presence here,” the other one agreed. “But we can’t do anything with these damn things on.”

The first one sighed. “I can’t wait to leave this godforsaken country. There’s a reason most of the magic that originated here has been lost or forsaken…”

“Well the final signings are supposed to be tomorrow night for the New Year celebration,” the second one answered. “Assuming we’re here for actual peace agreements.”

The two men left, and Coredan followed soon after with his food finished. He turned at a blind corner, almost running directly into the body of someone standing in his way. “Excuse me,” he said, looking up to find Baltheon staring down at him.

“You are the servant with the Candeth party, named Coredan, correct?” Baltheon’s face was serious.

“Does it matter?” Coredan took a step back.

Baltheon grabbed his arm, holding him in place. “What is your interest in my mother, the Queen of Amedyn?”

“I don’t have any interest,” Coredan snapped his hand back with a twist. “What is yours?”

Baltheon’s eyes narrowed. He reached a hand forward, glowing with green power, barely missing Coredan’s head as the boy ducked.

“Why isn’t your inhibitor bracelet activated?” Coredan accused, hopping back a few steps. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against an experienced mage like Baltheon. If the Amedian prince actually wanted to get rid of him...

“Baltheon!” a young voice cried out. Resten ran up from seemingly nowhere, standing in front of Coredan. “You dare hurt my and Miss Adelia’s friend, Coredan?”

The prince snarled, clenching his hand as if he wished for nothing more than a good enough reason to exterminate them both. “Out of my way, pet…” he reached his hand forward again.

Resten’s movement was quick and unprecedented, as he ducked and spun to kick Baltheon’s feet from under him, a stream of light blue following the shadow of his leg and wrapping Baltheon’s.

Baltheon struck at the magical wrapping on his leg, snapping it as it dissolved. “You little,” he growled, standing.

“I will report you to Miss Adelia,” Resten said, a small ball of light blue appearing in his palm. “Remove yourself, now!”

Baltheon glanced at Coredan, and back at Resten. “You’re not even worth it,” he said, suddenly calm again. “You’ll be out of the way soon enough…” he turned and stomped down the hall, disappearing.

After a few moments of silence, Coredan looked at Resten who was staring at him. “Are you allowed to defy the prince?” he asked. “He is Queen Adelia’s son.”

“Miss Adelia says she likes me better, anyway,” Resten smiled. “Baltheon is a bad son. Miss Adelia says he is not trustworthy. But I protected you!” he smiled at Coredan.

“Quite impressively too,” Coredan commended the boy. “I didn’t know you were a mage.”

“Miss Adelia says to try to keep it a secret, so that not many people will know,” Resten smiled. “She says it is better for surprises to be in your hand, not the enemy’s. I don’t know what that means though…”

“Well thank you,” Coredan clapped the boy’s shoulder. “I appreciate it…”

“You are welcome, friend Coredan,” Resten smiled. “I have to find Miss Adelia now. She has to prepare for the final peace signing tomorrow night! And I get to help her!”

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Finally getting back to the room in one piece, Coredan opened the door tiredly. He was surprised to find Londel lying on the huge mattress in bedroom area, sleeping soundly. It had barely become evening, why was he sleeping? There was still so much information he needed to tell him… He lightly shook Londel’s shoulder.

Londel merely groaned, and turned over onto his side. “Londel…” Coredan said, shaking his shoulder harder. He was greeted with a snore.

Coredan sighed, attempting to shake his prince one more time. Londel merely fell back onto his back, his mask falling away. Coredan stared… there were no marks. There were none of the familiar veins or discoloration that had been appearing lately.

Shocked, Coredan pulled down the collar of Londel’s shirt to find smooth skin. “Wh-what…” Coredan stuttered in shock. He timidly pressed a finger against Londel’s collar bone, only to be dismayed when familiar scales began to cut his finger. A groan accompanied Londel’s apparent consciousness, as the prince opened his eyes to find Coredan standing over him with his shirt in his hands.

“Uhm. Coredan… what are you doing?”

“You’re better… kind of,” was Coredan’s bewildered and depressed answer.

Londel raised a hand to his face, surprised to feel nothing. He looked at Coredan. “You still change when I touch you,” the boy answered simply, sitting on the mattress next to him.

“I’m so tired…” Londel said groggily, trying to distract Coredan from being depressed. “I feel like all I can do is sleep… my body feels heavy…”

“Maybe you’re just exhausted from-“ Coredan was interrupted again by a snore as the prince fell asleep. With a sigh, Coredan moved into the chair near the bed, watching Londel as he slept… Something was wrong.

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All through the night, Coredan had kept watch over his prince. Nothing had changed, not even Londel himself. He had merely stayed plainly human all night, and slept soundly. Coredan found himself nodding off, and slept into the midday. When he awoke, he found Londel sitting on the edge of the bed, deep in thought.

“Londel…” Coredan rubbed his eyes.

The prince smiled. “We have a free day before the final signings tonight,” he answered. “A new realm peace with the new year is the Queen’s idea.”

“Londel…” Coredan straightened. “I have so much to tell you…” He proceeded to tell his prince everything he had found within the last few days. The remnant statue, the magical markings, Medina, Senti, magic mixing, Resten, Doriten…

When Coredan took a break from spilling all the information he had accumulated, Londel sighed. “Things seem very complicated. San-Kuat, Sivi, and I have had our hands full with the peace talks as is. I’m not even sure half the realm is willing to cooperate. And here you are going off on your own little adventures. I’d rather you just stay in the room where its safe…”

“I thought nowhere in the Fortress was safe,” Coredan argued, just to argue.

“Baltheon hasn’t been attending the meetings either,” Londel mused. “Something doesn’t feel right,” he added after a few moments.

“You mean… the curse?” Coredan asked, noticing the still present lack of scars.

“I feel better than I have in years,” Londel said, staring at his hands. “Which is what is not right.”

“You still change… around me,” Coredan added, depressed and trying not to sound like it.

“Which only means it is still here,” Londel argued. “I’m worried. Something is wrong, but I can’t tell what …”

“Well you need to get dressed soon,” Coredan said tiredly. “Just attend this final signing or whatever, then we’ll go back to Candeth.” Where you’ll succeed your father as King and I’ll be separated from you for good, Coredan thought. He hit his head against the wall, annoyed at how depressed he was getting. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Coredan,” Londel turned him to face each other. “Please stop worrying.”

“How can I not?” Coredan argued. “Your curse is acting weird, disappearing except for me, you say the peace talks aren’t even working, I’ve been getting threats from two very powerful mages, and there is obviously some kind of secret plan in the works. That and the air just feels… wrong. Everything feels wrong.”

“I know,” Londel petted Coredan’s head with a gloved hand. “But the best we can do is stay together, right?”

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Coredan stared determinedly at his prince. “I won’t.”

“Likewise,” Londel smiled, tapping Coredan’s nose with a finger. “Now help me get the special clothes set my mother insisted I bring.”

Coredan laid out his prince’s clothes, then returned to his chair. He stared at the clock facing him from the dresser. It now read midnight.

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Coredan paced impatiently in the hallway outside of the large ballroom. The gathering of all the royalty of the realm was supposed to come into this ballroom once they were done with dinner. The stomping of guards’ feet signaled the arrival of some of the attendees. Coredan quickly jogged back towards the servant room so as not to get in trouble and removed by force by any guards.

He apparently missed his turn as he found himself at something of a dead end. Annoyed with himself, he turned around, almost running into a column. Hearing footsteps, he ducked behind the column he was already near. He watched from the shadows as a tall figure with long blonde hair passed him hurriedly, pressing a brick on the wall for many more to move aside.

Coredan watched his sister’s fiancée, whom he had last seen in Candeth, peer about suspiciously before waving a hand into the new hole in the wall. Onyk stepped out.

“Well?” she asked impatiently.

“I’m here,” Baltheon answered from behind Coredan, almost making him gasp. Baltheon walked up to the others. “Are you ready?”

“It’s now or never…” Onyk answered. “We have to get rid of it. And the others.”

“What about the boy?” Senti asked.

“If he gets in the way kill him,” Baltheon barked.

“But he’s only a child,” Senti said calmly. “You want to murder a child that was brought into this by mere coincidence?”

“If you show weakness, we’ll fail,” Baltheon spat back. “Child or no, the problem has to be dealt with. And he is part of the problem. His choice to serve her isn’t a coincidence either.”

“Enough,” Onyk sighed. “What about the others?”

“Everyone is to gather in the main ballroom, and there will be plenty of guards to keep them there I think,” Baltheon replied.

“I doubt Doriten and Marta will get stuck in there,” Senti added. “We can plan to see them.”

“Any… others?” Onyk asked.

“I doubt most of the other royalty care enough to do anything, as long as they can get back to their own land and continue being fat pigs. I suppose we could just let nature take care of that for us…” Baltheon sighed. “If the one you’re talking about shows up for some reason, and changes for some reason, take him down.”

“Screwing up this country is fine, it’s never been stable,” Onyk sighed. “But screwing up another seems… potentially problematic.”

“If it is a threat, you kill it. Be it child, monster, legend, prince, or… whatever,” Baltheon grumbled, rubbing his head tiredly. “If you don’t, we will-“

“We will fail, got it,” Onyk sniped.

“We don’t know what will be waiting…” Senti turned to walk back into the wall. “I’m sure it’ll be in the White Room. We meet there, before the spell starts.”

“That may be easier said than done,” Onyk sighed.

“No kidding,” Baltheon agreed.

“You’re ready to kill your own blood?” Senti asked.

“Are you?” Baltheon challenged back.

The three looked at each other silently for a moment. With some sort of silent agreement, the three went their separate ways, moving off into the castle. Coredan waited as long as he could allow himself, so as not to be caught, before dashing back towards the hall where he knew everyone was gathering. He had to get Londel before he went into that Ballroom.

Turning a corner, Coredan ran full force into the prince he was looking for. “Londel!” he whispered heatedly. “Londel… I just heard them…” he proceeded to inform his prince of the confusing but worrisome discussion he had just heard.

“If they’re going after something in the White Room… well there’s only one thing they could really go after, isn’t there?” Coredan asked.

“Come with me,” Londel grabbed his hand, towing him down the hallway. When they reached the area with the ballroom, they both stopped at the sound of screaming.

“Coredan!” Sivi cried, running from a separate hall. San-Kuat followed her, shadowed by Mat-Kanl and Minet. “Thank goodness you and Londel weren’t in there,” she hugged Coredan fiercely around the neck.

“What happened?” Londel asked.

“We left to go back to our rooms for a moment,” San-Kuat answered. “When we came back just now we saw the doors to the ballroom being barred by the guards. Then the others…”

“I don’t know whats going on,” Sivi said seriously. “But… it sounds terrible. No one has seen the Queen, Onyk, or Baltheon since the dinner…”

“The white room…” Londel mused. “I think there may be some kind of coup attempting to rise.”

“During the middle of the peace conference?” Sivi sighed. “They couldn’t wait till it was over?”

“I think the conference was just an excuse,” Londel replied.

Peryn came dashing out of nowhere, running into Coredan’s leg, barking crazily. She ran back down the hall, looking at Coredan.

“I think Peryn knows where to go,” Coredan said. “She’s good at sensing power… and stuff…”

“Gods allow we don’t find anything too horrible,” Mat-Kanl sighed.

The group of them set off at a run, following Peryn who took numerous curves and turns, leading them downward. They quickly reached a familiar split area that Coredan knew would lead them to the Hall of History. As the rest of the group ran down the right hall, Coredan was taken aback as something grabbed his arm. He turned to find Londel holding on to his elbow, staring at the floor.

“You won’t listen to me if I ask you to stay here will you?”

“No,” Coredan answered bluntly.

“I thought not,” Londel sighed. His hand moved to hold Coredan’s face, as he moved forward capturing Coredan’s mouth. The kiss was deep, but almost desperate. Londel’s free arm wrapped around Coredan, bringing him closer. He returned the kiss, suddenly afraid.

Londel moved away, staring at Coredan, both of them understanding the unease filling the air around them.

“Please try to stay safe,” Londel implored his younger half.

“Speak for yourself… you’re in more danger here,” Coredan argued halfheartedly.

Londel released Coredan from his tight grip, only to grab his hand as they ran together. Coredan’s breath grew shallower and shallower with each step, as the rooms of blue, red, gold, and black passed his vision. As they passed through the curtain into the final area, Coredan attempted to prepare himself for whatever they were presented with.

At the presence of the White Room, shock, fear and confusion cumulated to leave Coredan and the other’s minds blank, unsure how to process the scene before them. Onyk and Baltheon both sat on their knees, clutching their heads in pain as blood dripped from their fingers. The living Senti barely stood, clutching his side with heaving breaths. Resten was tied in chains and drooping white ropes, hovering over the floor beneath him, unconscious. Before the remnant statue of Senti the Last, lie the body of the Queen of Amedyn, a sword pinning her to the ground through her chest.

A cold, lifeless laugh filled the air.