The hum of power still coursed through my veins as I leaned against the railing, catching my breath. The newly awakened crystals cast dancing shadows across the chamber walls. My skin tingled where the magic had passed through it. For a brief moment, I felt almost peaceful—accomplished even. I had helped save an ancient civilization, and it had been done by using something I had long feared to utilize—the power of the Dark Lord.

Then, the voices started creeping back in.

At first, whispers. It felt like a few stray souls reaching across the veil. I could handle those by shoving them to the back of my mind. But they grew louder with each passing second, multiplying like echoes in a canyon. Soon hundreds of dead voices competed for my attention, begging to be heard, to be restored, to walk again among the living. How had Morthisal dealt with this on a daily basis? The feeling of absolute dread suffused every fiber of my being.

My hand brushed my chest where the Heart of Shadows usually rested. The familiar weight was missing. My fingers clutched at empty air.

"No, no, no..." I patted my pockets, checking each one twice. The voices grew more insistent, drowning out my own thoughts.

My heart began to race as I scanned the metal floor around me. The amulet had to be here somewhere. Without it, I was exposed—my true form revealed. Well, not my true form exactly—Morthisal's.

I dropped to my knees, running my hands along the ground. The cold metal scraped against my gray skin—skin that should have been a healthy pink. My longer fingers dragged across the smooth surface of the floor—fingers that should have been shorter, human.

"Please," I whispered, though I wasn't sure if I was begging the voices to be quiet or pleading with fate to let me find the amulet before-

The voices of the dead reached a fever pitch as my worst fear was suddenly realized. After everything I'd built, after finally finding love and acceptance, one of the most powerful mages who had ever lived was about to see me for what I had been successfully hiding for months—the monster who had terrorized their world.

I had worked so hard to hide the guise, and it had taken me less than five minutes to blow my cover all to hell.

Triolux turned to take in the new arrivals. He put his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side. “Most unusual. A nifty bit of magic, that.”

“Triolux!” I desperately hissed. “They can’t see me like this. You don’t understand!”

He turned his head and regarded me, but his eyes were unreadable.

“Varix!” Seraphina yelled, looking for me. At least they hadn't spotted me yet.

“Varix is here. I can sense the floating stone I gave him." Elixander, still facing toward the center of the city. He turned in a circle, calling my name and looking for me before he spotted Triolux. His eyebrows shot up as he got a look at the proto-dwarf who strode toward them.

“Greetings,” Triolux said brightly.

I pressed myself against the wall, trying to become one with the shadows. Triolux stepped forward to greet my visitors.

Both Seraphina and Elixander seemed at a total loss for words.

"Welcome to the heart of our ancient city," Triolux said, spreading his granite arms wide. "I am Triolux, guardian of the Earthheart. I heard you mention your friend Varix. He has done us a great service today by helping restore power to our systems."

"Of course he has," Seraphina muttered so quietly I barely heard her, and then she looked around the newly illuminated location. "The city is magnificent." Seraphina breathed. "But where is Varix?"

"Ah, yes," Triolux said. "He is nearby."

I saw the exact moment recognition dawned in Elixander's eyes as he found me. His face drained of color as his gaze locked onto mine. The air crackled with the sudden surge of magical energy around him.

"Morthisal," he whispered. "Stay where you are." Elixander's voice cut through the chamber. His hands curled into fists with magical energy crackling around them.

"Father, wait-" Seraphina stepped in front of him, but Elixander held out an arm to block her path.

"That's not Varix." His words trembled with barely contained fury. "That's the Dark Lord Morthisal."

"I can explain," I said, keeping my voice steady despite the chorus of dead voices still clamoring in my head. "I'm not who I was. I swear to you, Elixander." My raspy voice was not helping me to sell this story.

"Not who you were?" Elixander's laugh held no warmth. "You slaughtered thousands. Burned villages. Raised armies of the dead. And now you dare to court my daughter? To trick this…" he looked at Triolux, clearly at a loss for words for what he was. "This friend of the earth."

"Father, please listen-" Seraphina moved to stand between us. "I know about this. I've known for months."

The admission hit Elixander like a physical blow. His shoulders sagged, and he stared at his daughter with a mixture of horror and disbelief. "You knew? You knew what he was and said nothing?"

"Because I saw who he is now," Seraphina's voice cracked with emotion. "The man who runs that tavern, who helps people, who loves me—that's the real person. Not the monster from the past."

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"A monster doesn't change its nature," Elixander snarled, raising his hands as blue energy coalesced around them. "It only wears better masks."

A blast of lightning rippled out. It happened so fast that I had no time to get out of the way. The Earthheart intercepted his burst of power and drew the new source of energy inside. Another of the floating stones lit up and aligned with the others. It shimmered and crackled, sending more power through the other crystals. Elixander tried to draw away, but like me, the huge crystalline Earthheart had other plans. Elixander gasped, but energy continued to be pulled from the elf.

"Release… me…" He groaned, and then gasped and nearly fell as it finally abated.

"Father, are you alright?” Seraphina asked urgently.

Elixander staggered away, hands on his head. His skin was suddenly pale, and he could barely stand. Seraphina put her hand around his waist as he slumped.

"Is he okay?" I called out as I continued to frantically try to locate the Heart of Shadows.

Triolux had barely moved. He shifted his attention to the Earthheart as if he couldn't take his eyes off the massive structure. His lips moved, but no words came out.

Elixander pushed away from Seraphina, his face twisted with rage. He yanked her staff out of her grip.

"Father, no!" Seraphina reached for the staff, but he shoved her aside.

My heart lurched at the sight. I wanted to race to her side, but I had to back away from Elixander as he advanced, the staff crackling with power. The crystals around us pulsed with an answering light, creating shadows that danced across his face.

I raised my hands. "This isn't what you think. Stop and let us explain!"

"Us? There is no us!"

He gathered power via the staff. I knew this because my body reacted without my volition. Voices howled all around me. Dark tendrils of powers lurked just under the ground, begging me to take hold.

Triolux faced the elf and shouted, "Wait! Let me just-" He cut himself off with a gasp and darted toward me. Upon reaching the dais, he stooped down and snatched up the Heart of Shadows from where it had fallen, just below the level I stood on.

Triolux tossed me the Heart of Shadows. I caught the pendant with one hand and quickly slung it around my neck. The effect was immediate. My skin lost its ashen hue, my limbs shrank, and my face returned to its familiar form. More importantly, the voices receded.

"You. Varix. I trusted you. I was even beginning to like you. You’ve tricked my daughter, and me." Elixander’s eyes blazed with anger, and power crackled from the Star of Luminas atop Seraphina's staff.

“I’m not from this world!” I yelled as I rushed to Seraphina’s side to back her up. “Morthisal trapped me here, in this body. I didn’t ask for this. Any of this! He was facing defeat and somehow transmigrated between worlds. I swear to you. You've seen me at the Shadow's Respite. Does Varix seem anything like an evil dark lord? I can't even control his stupid powers. All I hear are the voices of the dead. If I was really the dark lord, would I have faced you without using his power? Please, Elixander. Your anger is making you irrational."

Triolux stepped between us, his crystalline form catching the light. "Archmage. Your daughter speaks truth. I've touched his mind—seen his memories. This one carries the weight of only one soul. The dark lord's vessel, yes, but filled with a different spirit. The other is long gone from this world. Whatever this Morthisal did, he is no longer a threat to your world."

Elixander swayed on his feet, the staff trembling in his grip. The power drain from the Earthheart had taken its toll. His face was ashen, and sweat beaded on his brow.

"The Earthheart does not lie," Triolux continued, gesturing to the pulsing crystals around us. "It reads the essence of all who touch it. Your friend here helped restore our city's heart not through dark magic, but through the pure intent of his spirit."

Seraphina touched her father's arm. The staff lowered slightly as exhaustion crept across his features. "You need to rest, father. Let's sit and talk about this." She guided him to a nearby bench carved from the same strange metal as the rest of the city. He didn't resist, sinking into it with a weary sigh. The anger in his eyes gave way to confusion as he looked between me and his daughter.

"I don't understand," he whispered. "How is this possible?"

Trilux extended his hand toward Elixander. "May I?"

Elixander cocked his head to one side, then grudgingly held out his own hand. Triolux took hold, and his skin briefly glowed.

Elixander suddenly went still, and his eyes glazed over. Triolux maintained the contact for only a few seconds before letting him go. The tall elf's shoulders dipped. He leaned heavily on the staff. The blazing gem dimmed and returned to its normal color.

"He knows," Triolux turned his head and told me.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief and cautiously approached. Seraphina was back on her feet. She carefully put her hand on the staff and pried it from Elixander's hand. He gave it up grudgingly and stared at me.

A thought lingered in the back of my mind. Had I inadvertently revealed Seraphina's secret as well? I hoped not, because it was not mine to share.

"It's me. Varix, also known as Vince Logan on another world. I didn't ask for this, but I've tried to make the best of it. To be a good person and to do good in this world. I met Seraphina, and I fell in love with her. She knows my secret, Elixander, and she trusts me," I said in a rush. "I hate everything he stood for. Everything he did. But that wasn't me."

"Only with his help was the city again brought to life. I swear this to you as a ferrokin," Triolux added.

Elixander blinked rapidly. "There is much to process here. But, did you say ferrokin?"

Triolux nodded.

"But they were… they died out."

Trilux put his hands on his hips of his broad body and grinned at Elixander. "It was not a demise but a slumber. Too long of a slumber. Perhaps we can go above ground and talk. Clear up a few things about Mr. Varix here as well. I must be honest. I would so love to see what changes the millennia have brought to the upper world. I find I have been in the deeps for far too long."

Elixander lowered his head and said. "Much here has occurred. There are many things I do not understand. However, the draining of my powers has left me weak. I do not possess the considerable amount of energy it requires to bring us back home."

"What about the Star of Luminas, Father?"

Elixander shook his head. "I need time to recover. Hours, perhaps days. It may be longer. I confess the Earthheart has practically drained me. My last show of power was all that remained."

"The city also needs time to recover. You are all welcome to stay. We have many comforts but lack the nutrition you need. However, the deep has many surprises. I'm certain we can accommodate-"

Triolux's words fell off as a deep rumble shook the ancient city. The sound built like an avalanche, starting as a low vibration that rattled my teeth and crescendoed into a deafening roar.

In the distance, the collapsed building that had imprisoned the dragon shifted. Chunks of stone and metal lifted into the air, defying gravity. The debris spun and whirled, reassembling itself piece by piece into walls and archways.

"Ah. She awakes," Triolux said.

"She?" Seraphina asked, her eyes taking in the massive beast.

"Yes. That would be Frostfire. Frostfire Aetherwing."

"It's a dragon," I added.

The look on their faces would have been a perfect Kodak moment. I hoped it wouldn't be the last we shared together.