My mother and I sat perplexed. 

I wasn’t too worried about myself. I should be okay. I had already been publicly announced as a Gold EyE thanks to my father, and my necklace had kept anyone from questioning it, but…

I looked at my mother. She was a well-known mixed EyE from the Purple District. My grandmother was a Gold EyE, and my grandfather was a Purple EyE.

My mother wasn’t initially announced as mixed. She was announced as a Purple EyE at birth.

It wasn’t until her eighteenth birthday that she and my grandparents discovered she was actually a mixed EyE.

Unlike single EyEs, mixed EyEs could inherit abilities from more than one EyE type.

Suddenly, we both saw my father zoom out from the roof of the Concourse building, electric waves trailing behind him before he made a sharp turn and instantly spotted us.

He landed hard on the ground.

“Let’s go,” he said.

I nodded at him before spotting Lion and Hezron coming down from the area where Space King and Queen Naytra once sat. Hezron was trying to wave me over.

“I’ll catch up. You guys go home,” I said to my parents.

I could tell my mother had things she might need to talk to my father about alone, and I wasn’t ready to go home.

By the look on my father's face, I could tell he was thinking about putting me back on lockdown. From the moment I was born, my father kept me hidden even before Space King started putting his plans into motion. What did he know that made all those years of hiding me worth it? At this point, if he wouldn’t tell me why he was keeping me away, then I no longer wanted to abide by how he wanted me to move.

My father looked at me sternly. “Don’t be too far behind.”

I nodded at him as he scooped up my mother and took off.

What the hell is going on right now? I thought to myself.

I approached Lion and Hezron, distracted while thinking about my father.

“Hey Euphoria. Um… do you know if Bambi came?”

I smirked and tilted my head suspiciously at Hezron. “No, she stayed home…” My expression softened. “She’s really going through it right now.”

Hezron didn’t respond, but his face flashed with a hint of sadness.

I smiled. “Oh… I see…”

Hezron looked up at me suddenly. “Ain’t nothing to see… chill.”

Lion laughed.

Suddenly, a flashing gold light caught my eye from the direction of the tower.

My father was already home. He was rushing me.

I looked at Lion. I wanted to get more information from him about the mixed EyEs. My father wasn’t going to tell me anything, and Lion didn’t seem to know much more than I did. But realistically, even if he did know more… why would he tell me?

I sighed and changed my mind, looking the other way.

“You cool?” Lion asked, giving me a questioning look.

“I’m fine…” I lied. I was distracted because the flashing light started getting more aggressive and hard to ignore. “I gotta go…”

I turned, leaving behind a puzzled Lion and Hezron.

I started making my way out of the Concourse. Luckily, at the bottom, I could see there were still a couple of large Albatrosses for me to choose from, mainly for walkers like myself. I hurried down the steps and stepped toward the nearest mount.

Just as my foot touched the platform, the metallic scent of blood hit my nose.

Before I could react, my body slammed into the nearby wall.

My eyes blurred as I tried to regain my balance. Through my hazy vision, I could see someone’s silhouette, but my sight was still recovering from my head hitting the wall so hard. Someone was cackling in a high-pitched voice that sounded eerily familiar.

“Looks like even Space King is underestimating how strong I am! Those fucking guards couldn’t hold me… ahhh, and let fate have it, it’s the bitch that started it all!”

No way, I thought to myself in realization.

My eyes started to focus, and sure enough, Cid stood in front of me, covered in blood that clearly was not his, and looking at me with the pure intention of making me next.

Cid cackled loudly again. The seldom look I had seen on his face last night was gone; he looked deranged once more.

I shook the ringing out of my head and dropped into a fighting stance, prepared to fight for my life.

He cracked his neck.

Then he lunged toward me.

Instinct threw me sideways just before his fist tore through the space where my head had been.

His face burned with anger before he lunged toward me again, this time extending his arm in the opposite direction as well, so when I dodged, he was able to quickly grab me.

I gasped and used my feet to climb up his frame, forcefully pushing him off me just as his hands were making their way to my neck.

I landed hand-and-knee on the ground and quickly rolled to dodge again as he threw a forceful kick my way. As I scrambled to get up, he managed to stomp down on my metal glove, pinning me in place.

I grimaced in pain before yanking my hand out of the glove and immediately blasted flames his way. His eyes widened as he barely dodged the fire.

He was stronger than me…

But I was quicker.

As long as I didn’t let him catch me… I should be okay.

I smiled to myself, panting.

“Don’t get too cocky, bitch!” he yelled, punching the ground and digging his hands far into the soil.

Before I realized what was happening, it was too late. Thorns suddenly rose from the ground, wrapping around my legs and arms, leaving me unable to move. I tried blasting through them, but they rapidly regrew.

Cid smiled.

Slowly… he walked toward me.

One step. Two. Three.

Every thorn tightened around my arms. I struggled harder.

Nothing.

He stopped inches away. Then… he pulled his arm back, the exact same way he did before he killed Naroh.

“CID! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

Lion’s voice boomed from afar.

Cid turned his head slowly, sighing deeply with annoyance.

“What’s up, bro?” Cid said, sticking his hands in his pockets casually.

Lion and Hezron quickly reached us. Lion stepped in front of me so he and Cid were face-to-face.

Lion looked Cid over and grimaced. “Take her out… now.”

Cid just smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Lion, you know we go way back… but I need you to mind your damn business. 

Get out of my way.

And let me kill this bitch!! She’s the fucking reason Naroh’s dead!”

The reason? I fumed through the pain. He literally ripped Naroh apart with his own hands, and he’s trying to pin his own monstrous guilt on me?!

“Naroh is dead because you killed him,” Lion said flatly. “Everyone saw it.”

Cid flexed. “Nah! If this bitch wasn’t with Bambi, Bambi wouldn’t have been acting like that for that to happen… This bitch started all of this!” Cid started getting riled up again, staring me down. 

Lion stared at Cid for a long moment, then looked back at me. He chuckled, and quickly punched Cid, making him fly straight into the stairs of the Concourse.

Hezron immediately rushed over to me. He raised his hand, and a glowing blade formed in his palm. He quickly sliced through one thorn and it immediately regrew.

He tried again.

“Shit!” he yelled in frustration. “They’re regenerating!”

He slashed through another vine. Before it even hit the ground, two more erupted from the wound and cinched tighter around my arm.

Hezron froze. “…Fuck.”

He stopped and looked at me. If he kept cutting, they would just continue coming back tighter than before.

“Lion! I can’t get her out!” Hezron yelled.

Before Cid could react, Lion punched him into the stairs once again.

“Release her…” Lion said calmly.

Cid’s chest heaved up and down. He looked at me, smiling with bloody teeth, before jamming his hand back into the ground.

The thorns suddenly turned purple and constricted.

I screamed.

Every thorn buried itself deeper into my arms and legs. It felt like my skin was being peeled apart.

Lion’s eyes widened, and he quickly ripped Cid’s hand out of the ground with enough force to break Cid’s hand.

I couldn’t bear the pain anymore, and suddenly, everything went black.

--—————————————————————

My eyes… I can’t open my eyes, I thought to myself.

I forced my eyes open. Through blurry vision, I could make out that I was in my bed, in my room. But the space was filled with monitors, and healing herbs hung all around.

The last image of the thorns tightening around my body flashed through my mind.

I gasped.

The memories came rushing back.

I threw my legs over the bed and stood-

Pain exploded through my body the instant my feet touched the floor.

I held on to the wall for a second to catch my breath before I continued. 

“No… what happened?” I muttered, opening my door. My bare feet slapped against the solid wood as I limped toward where my mother and father would be.

As I reached the doors, I heard a gasp behind me. I turned around to see my mother rushing toward me.

“You’re awake! My baby’s awake! Let’s go back to your room; I’ll call the healer back to look over you!”

My mother’s eyes welled with tears as she checked over me. I tried to speak, but my voice was so hoarse it came out as a quiet wheeze.

“Oh my, yes, let’s get you laid back down,” she said, guiding me back toward my room. She called out for my father as we walked. “You must stay down. We have to be sure all the poison is drained from your body.”

My father rushed into the room with the healer right behind him. The healer immediately started poking and probing my skin, checking my eyes, and drawing a blood sample before handing it to my father. 

“Give me a second to test this; I’ll be right back,” my Father said.

My father kissed my forehead and rushed out after him while the healer lingered to start his healing process,

Within a couple of minutes he was in a deep healing trance hovering above me. I started to feel a cooling sensation that made me deeply relaxed.

I motioned to my mother for something to write with. She quickly handed me a paper and pen.

I wrote down: What happened?

She looked at me and sighed. “Well… from what Lion explained to us, shortly after you passed out, reinforcements arrived. This time, the strongest force in the Royal Quarters showed up, and they were able to drain his ability long enough for the thorns to retract. If they hadn’t come when they did, you would have been the second death.” My mother fought back tears.

“When you’re able to speak again, we can talk more. But for now, please just continue to rest. We don’t want to risk that poison moving around and spreading again. The healers said they’ve never seen poison this potent from an EyE before…it’s extremely dangerous, and… you’re just very lucky to be alive, dear. Keeping the poison out was a twenty-four-hour job; your father hasn’t slept all week.”

A week?

My heart dropped.

Seven days…

What happened while I was asleep?

My mom just nodded at me, her eyes soft as if she were reading my thoughts. Then, she smiled slightly. “Lion has surprisingly been very supportive. I never expected Space King’s son to be so sweet.”

I rolled my eyes and offered a slight smile.

“Since you’ve been out, he’s been stopping by just about every day to see if you’re awake, I think he feels awful that it happened under his watch, but I don’t think your father wants him arou-

She glanced over at the healer, who was in a deep healing trance, hovering above me.

“We’ll talk later,” she said, rubbing my hand gently.

My father burst back into the room, making us both jump.

“The poison is almost completely gone…
There’s just a little bit left in the chest and throat area, so Healer Faj, change your focus to those areas, please!”

he said loudly, making sure his words got through the healer's trance.

My father sat beside my mother and took both of our hands into his.

“I’m just so grateful,” he whispered, kissing our hands and resting his head on my bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Tears welled in both my mother's eyes and mine as we looked down at my father, who was already snoring peacefully.