-72-

My first instinct was picking up Nix and kicking my staff in the air before kicking the door open.

I instantly spun around as extremely hot air washed in to keep Nix from it.

All was flaming blue, the hottest of flames a human mage could make.

I let go of Nix gently, satisfied to find her claws deep in my corset so I could use my hand.

I blasted ice over the area but to my surprise it melted soon so I grabbed Nix against to keep her from accidentally falling or running from me in this inferno.

Looking out the window more flames.

"Mystery!" I looked up to see Em in the same trouble, simply in pants, his chained daggers wrapped around his wrists.

"What the hell?!" I coughed out, leaning my staff against my shoulder, just like how I had done with flames before but I let my magic spark free and cover the room ice as the others soon escaped their room and we just bolted as the ice melted.

"What the fuck?!" Leo exclaimed when we were all out off the blazing building, coughing from the smoke as I stroked Nix's fur, gripping the skin on her nape, not wanting her to run under any condition as I held the staff tightly in the other.

I whipped around at screams and saw many of the servants homes going up in flames and the guards on the wall of the castle ringing the alarm for an attack.

"No..." I whispered.

"Mystery no!" But I already ran towards the castle without even thinking of giving Nix to someone.

"Audrey!!" I yelled but no answer came from her room. "Audrey!!!!"

I bite down on my staff as hard as I could and with a stomp froze the wall into a slope and blasted air from my free hand to send me sliding up it and gabbed the sill and pulled myself up before grabbing the staff.

I screamed when I felt something grab me but it was just Em.

"The others are saving the horses and people just fine by themselves, don't think I will let you do something stupid and not follow Mysty." I sighed and nodded as I looked around.

"We need to find them!"

"On it!"

It was a constant fight to freeze the flames long enough to pass through them, someone or several strong mages must be doing this to keep the flames coming back.

I almost dropped my staff when Em called that he found them in what was once Ethan's room, it was mostly made of stone while the rest had wooden flooring.

"Oh my gods are you alright?" I asked Audrey, looking her over fast.

"Yes yes and now even better."

"Okay." I turned to the queen. "We mages think this is the darkness prophesied, Belladonna says an army dressed in black is attacking the town and the gates on the wall won't hold for much long we need to go now."

"Wait let me hold her, must be limiting." Audrey said before I could step away from her, I gently pulled Nix's claws from me and handed her over with a last pat to the head as she dug her clothes in Audrey's corset as like me she hadn't changed in her night clothes, I could bet my hand she hadn't even fallen asleep like I had.

"Em!" I called and he nodded as I stepped to the window and with a stomp on the sill froze the wall of the castle down to the ground and jumped, rolling as the flames came back.

I planted my feet and waited for his signal.

He would freeze the building around the window as much as he could just as a member of the royal family would jump and my job was to somehow catch them.

A whip of water was the easiest and most gentle option along with the most flexible one so they were wet where the water touched but unscathed.

Em came last and he was the heaviest of all to catch so he had a bit of a rougher ending.

I flung my staff in the elm's garden as we ran by in search of the other mages as the elm wasn't on fire nor was the garden, the flames almost repelled from it.

"Belladonna!!" Em yelled when we found her looking up at the castle in worry.

"We need to get her Majesty and the children out." She said with relief we were out of the inferno but tried to remain professional.

Em shoved me and brought up a shield of magic, green unlike the red hue mine had, a torrent of black colored magic hitting it and would have gotten me if nothing had been done.

"Stay behind!" I yelled as I saw black armored soldiers rushing over.

I cracked my neck and whipped my arms out in front of me, fire sweeping the ground in front of me before blasting ice at the man attacking Em.

The soldiers would have been easy to deal with if there wasn't a mage somewhere else.

I fell on my knees screaming, hands covering my ears as a deafening shriek plagued them, getting louder and louder.

I saw Em trying to talk to me but I heard nothing, blood on the gloves.

I saw him scream out something, roots rising from the ground and lashing out, he could never do that before....

And then suddenly all froze, literally.

A dark, almost black ice covered my body to my neck and was literally sapping at my magic, this is an extremely advanced spell.

Em had his legs and arms frozen immobile and Belladonna was frozen solid like me while the royal family was not, how can there be mages so strong?!

My hearing soon came back with a high pitched whistling sound in my ears.

The army surrounding us and threw a frozen over Calypso down, only her face uncovered while Leo had a huge gash in his side and had his hands frozen to his side, Amalia unconscious so so left as is.

How were we taken out so easily?! Never seen it coming....

"I gotta say I an disappointed how easy this was." The man I was supposed to fight tomorrow said as he stepped forwards, his human features melting away leaving a body made of pure shadows with a sinister grin glowing white, this isn't a Shade.... But what is it. "I thought more would come from a fake silver dragon." He laughed in my face and shoved my body over with his foot.

"What do you want?!" The queen and family was trapped between a burning castle and an army I wish I could do something, I heard Nix hissing at them loudly.

"What I want? Simple! Vengeance! Vengeance for what was done to me so long ago, all because of someone like....You~." He pointed his clawed finger directly at Audrey who looked terrified. "I've always hated purple!"

"Don't touch her!" I yelled as he stepped towards them, blowing fire from my mouth, the soldiers screamed as they burnt as the shadow man almost like shrugged it of.

"Ah yeah this annoying trick of yours." He growled like a rabid dog. "I've hated purple for so long but despised dragon for even longer!"

I felt ice creep up my neck more, he was doing this?!

Nix tried to swipe at him when he grabbed Audrey before she was dropped and ran between the enemy, disappearing.

"Let her go!!" I yelled, being one of the many pleading as her siblings were forced on their knees and mother grabbed, Belladonna and Em promising them hell.

Suddenly ice struck the man making him let go of her.

"You should have remained frozen like the good little boy you are!!" He yelled as we all looked at Em and at his really badly burnt hands.

"I learnt from someone special burning ourselves can be useful at times." He said with a grin and sent icicles at the man as ice reached my chin.

"Insolent brat, you trembling in fear~. You think you can win?! I'll kill you!" But he stood in place almost waiting.

"Even if I die I don't wanna live as an untold story, rather go out in a blaze of glory! I don't fear you!" And dragging magic from I don't know he blasted the biggest jet of fire I saw him ever produce.

(I'd say this is good theme song for Em)

"You're done playing?"

"EMERSME!!" I yelled as ice bit my ears, the shadow man materializing in front of him and stabbing his forearm through his stomach and out his back.

Em blasted him point blank which sent him crashing down but didn't hurt the man.

"Leave them alone!!" I yelled unable to puff out more fire.

I was crying as he kicked Em in the side over and over before turning back to Audrey when Em couldn't move anymore, eyes barely open.

I wanted to scream as ice covered my face as she yelled for me to help her.

"And now~" He smirked. "You will watch the end of the purple eyes!"

Only my eyes were uncovered now and I wanted to scream as he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and into the blazing building.

I froze over completely as I was screaming on the inside while my consciousness was fading with the lake of oxygen but anger rising.

A piercing scream ran through the air, coming from the fire.

I saw pure anger directed at the man, some burning rage riding from inside, magic lashing out despite it being almost completely sucked away by the ice, seeping out of my body as I saw red.

And then I only remember spinets.

A jet of fire.

The clouds.

Screaming.

Blue fire.

Roaring.

Tremendous amount of magic just lashing out at my enemies.

Tree roots.

Hateful shadow man.

Soldiers fleeing.

Darkness.

And unconsciousness.

I jerked awake panting and looked around to see I was in the chamber under the elm.

"Oh my god Audrey!" I jumped up, reaching for her as she sat nearby, not believing my eyes.

I froze as she scooted away from me.

I looked around and saw my fellow mages and the royals all look at me with the same look of confusion and a bit of fear.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not dead."

"Now I know why you were so strong." Belladonna whispered. "I never thought I'd live to see anything like this."

"What? What did I do?!" I yelled.

"What do you mean? Mystery that was.... Oh my gods that was...."

"Belladonna what are you talking about?! I remember being so angry at Audrey being thrown in the fire that my magic blazed up and then I remember almost nothing!"

"You truly don't remember what you did?"

"No! Please you are scaring me! What happened? Why are we here? Where are the enemy? The shadow man? What's going on?"

"Mystery...." She whispered. "You became something.... Something of legends."

"What?.... What?!?!"

There was a tense silence as if she couldn't believe I couldn't remember when they all seemed to have seen me do.

"Mystery..... You turned into a silver dragon."