“Leave him alone!” Lily shouted and scrambled to her feet. She ran at Cifer, jumping at his back, even though it revolted her to touch his peeling flesh. He knocked her off with ease and kicked her back with one of his hooved feet.

“Lily!” Aeterna yelled. He made a move to help her, but Beeze grabbed onto his injured wing, yanking it back. Aeterna cried out in pain and collapsed to his knees. “Lily! Stop! This is my time. I’ve made peace with that. You need to save yourself.”

Lily lay on the ground, surrounded by the remains of others who had tried but failed to escape. She looked over at Aeterna. Beeze was behind him, and he threw a noose around Aeterna’s neck. He tightened it, and Aeterna grimaced but didn’t fight it.

“Get up!” Beeze told him, yanking on the rope so the irin would get to his feet. Beeze meant to take him away like that, walking him on the noose like a dog on a leash.

A great and glorious irin would be dragged around by a cackling sonneillon. The very thought of it broke Lily’s heart.

As Aeterna struggled to his feet, hampered by the rope around his neck and his broken wing, Cifer continued fighting with the unicorn. Addonexus would not calm, and Cifer wouldn’t move closer until he did.

“Everything will be alright, Lily.” Aeterna tried to comfort Lily as Beeze pulled him toward the door. The irin’s dark eyes were pleading with her, begging Lily to do nothing so she could save herself. “Just remember what I told you.”

She looked away from him with tears in her eyes and turned back to Addonexus and Cifer. The unicorn was so terrified, and Lily had no idea how to help it.

“Cifer!” Beeze yelled. He waited just outside the gate with Aeterna. “Hurry up and get the beast! The master is waiting!”

“I am trying!” Cifer snapped. He stepped toward Addonexus, but when the unicorn stomped its hooves, Cifer stepped back again.

That’s when Lily realized the sonneillon was afraid of the unicorn. She sat up, her eyes locked on the unicorn’s.

“Addonexus,” Lily said, keeping her voice as calm and even as she could. She wasn’t even sure unicorns could understand her, or if Addonexus would listen to her if he did. But she had to try. “Addonexus, listen to me. He has no power over you. You are stronger than him. You can stop him.”

“Shut up, you wench!” Cifer yelled and kicked a broken skull at her.

But Addonexus’s black eyes stayed on hers, and he stopped moving. He stood still and snorted once, but that was all.

“Get the horse, you fool!” Beeze told Cifer. “She has him calmed!”

Cifer moved toward the unicorn, and Addonexus didn’t move. He seemed transfixed by Lily. Cifer raised up his rope, preparing to toss it over the unicorn’s head. Just as he did, Addonexus suddenly turned to look at him. Before Cifer could do anything more, Addonexus charged at him and ran him straight through with his horn.

“Vile wench!” Beeze shouted as Cifer’s bloody corpse slid off the unicorn’s horn and onto the ground.

Addonexus turned his attention to Beeze, who slammed the door shut before the unicorn could get him. Lily jumped to her feet. An irin skull glinted near her feet, intact despite Addonexus stomping it. She grabbed it quickly and ran towards the gate.

Aeterna saw that they might have a chance to escape, so he unfurled his good wing and batted Beeze with it. It didn’t hurt him really, but it knocked him off guard for a moment. That was all the time Lily needed.

She threw open the gate, and Beeze turned to face her. He hissed in anger, opening his mouth wide, and grabbed onto her. His long, bony fingers squeezed around her waist, and he lifted her up. Before he could toss her aside or snap her in half, or whatever it was he meant to do with her, Lily raised her arms over her head. His yellow eyes glimmered with surprise as she brought the irin skull down onto his head with all her might.

They both fell to the ground, the sonneillon landing on top of her. The blood from his head wound spilled out into her, and Lily pushed him off her as quickly as she could.

“Did she kill him?” Edgar asked from the cage.

“No, I don’t think so,” Aeterna said, peering down at Beeze. “I think he’s only unconscious.”

“Are you alright?” Lily asked Aeterna as she got up.

“Yes,” he nodded. “Are you?”

“Yes, but we must hurry.” Lily ran over to the gate and pulled the key from the lock.

Edgar’s cage hung from the ceiling by a rope attached to the wall. The irin key was cut with jagged ridges, making it almost like a serrated knife. Lily went over to the rope and started sawing through it.

“You don’t have time to worry about me,” Edgar said. “It won’t be long before more sonneillons come looking or Beeze wakes up. You need to get out while you have a chance.”

“I’m not leaving anyone behind,” Lily said, gritting her teeth as she struggled to cut through the rope.

Aeterna stood by the door, watching for anyone to come. Addonexus shook his head, trying to get the blood off his horn. He stomped one of his feet, but he appeared much calmer than he had before.

Lily finally got through the rope enough, and Edgar’s cage clattered to the floor.

“Edgar!” Lily exclaimed and knelt down next to it. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just a bit shaken.”

The cage was on its side but Edgar stood up in it easily. Lily took the irin key and opened the cage, and he ran out. Edgar ran right to her nd threw his arms around her, tears in his emerald eyes.

“Thank you freeing me.”

“No thanks is necessary.” Lily hugged him back, but only for a second before she got to her feet.

“I owe you an apology,” Aeterna said. “I’m sorry I underestimated you. I’ve just never seen a castimonia fight like that, or any virtu for that matter.”

“Well, I’m not the castimonia yet,” Lily pointed out. “And we have to hurry if we hope to get out of here.”

Lily stepped out of the cell and looked both ways down the hall. It looked exactly the same either way – long, narrow, and dimly lit with a few torches.

“Which way do we go?” Edgar asked, standing beside her and looking around.

“I’m not sure,” Lily admitted, and turned back to Aeterna. “Do you know?”

“I was unconscious when they brought me down here,” Aeterna shook his head sadly.