Lewis rubbed his eyes. The sword that Keon had produced just a few hours earlier sat on the desk before him, the cloth they had wrapped it in while bringing it back to the castle open. The blade glinted in the early morning light from the sun as it began to peek over the horizon. If it weren't for the chilly breeze coming through the smashed windows of the office, he was certain he would have fallen asleep by now.

Arthur sat slumped in a chair opposite, still in his nightclothes, his mouth hanging open as he snored. Emily glanced up from the book she was reading. Catching his eye, she rolled her eyes before turning back to the book. 'You should go and get some rest,' she said quietly.

'So should you,' he replied, running a hand through his hair with a yawn.

She paused for a moment. 'It's not going to happen, is it?'

'I imagine not. Everyone else will be awake soon, and they'll all want to know what is happening. Then there's Edmund, who'll probably come charging in about taking the crown back to the tomb.'

'What are you going to do about it? The crown? she asked, giving up on the book she had been scanning through.

Thomas had given them some directions to a couple of books about the leylines that had been in the library before staying behind to help Captain Caldwell and Edward hide the evidence of Koen's arrival the night before. It had been the early hours by the time they had returned to the castle and found the books, although one of the three had been missing.

'I don't know. Arden didn't give me any details on how to destroy the gemstone that is supposed to contain Tristan's soul. Only we, Thomas and Edmund, know how to get into the vault. Anthony is locked up in the dungeons, and from what Clara said, George is in the desert. I'm not too worried right now,' he said.

'Why would George get to the desert now, though? If that's where he's supposed to take the crown, then why go now without it?' Emily asked. 'You don't think he made a copy of the crown, do you? He showed up with it in Porthton at the cave; what if he switched them somehow?'

'I don't know,' Lewis said truthfully after a long pause. 'I never really thought about the crown at the coronation.' Whenever he had been wearing it or been able to examine it since he first recovered it from the tomb, it hadn't changed, at least not as far as he'd been able to tell. Emily's question did have him second-guessing himself now, though. Everything had been so chaotic, first at the tomb and then at the cave outside Porthton. Could George have switched it at some point without him knowing?

'Sorry,' she said, seeing the worried look on his face. 'It's probably nothing.'

'It's okay,' he said, getting to his feet. Giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he rounded the desk, he crossed the room to see where the vault was hidden behind one of the portraits.

He was aware of Emily's eyes following him as he carefully lifted the portrait down. Taking off the leyline pendant with the intent of adding it to the safe until they needed it, he opened the small vault, blinking, stunned for a moment at what he saw inside.

'Lewis?' Emily asked slowly, her chair squeaking slightly as she got up.

'Shit,' he muttered.

Staring back at him was not only a vault devoid of the crown but completely empty, save for a single scrap of paper that looked like it had torn off a page that was stuck in one of the back corners. It was gone. It was all gone. 'Shit,' she echoed his sentiment. 'How is that possible? I checked on it before we left.'

'Who's been in here since?'

'Other than us, Thomas, the emperor, and his son, everyone who was here just after the star fell,' she said. 'We locked the door when we left to go investigate, though. It was still locked when we got back as well.'

'It can't have been Thomas; he's been with us the entire time until we left them at the crater,' Lewis said.

'Edmund,' they both said slowly. He had been getting increasingly frustrated over the last few days when they had been putting off returning the crown to the tomb. Maybe he got fed up with waiting and set off without them. He hadn't thought it was necessary for Lewis to go with them on the return trip to the tomb. Perhaps he had been planning to steal the crown under the guise that he was returning it to the tomb.

'He's not taking it back to the tomb, is he?' Emily said.

'I don't think so. After the star fell, he must have seen an opportunity to take it and leave while everyone was distracted,' he said. 'Go to his room, just in case he's still here. I'll find someone to organise a search and get word to Thomas and Captain Caldwell; he can't have gotten too far.'

'Sure, you know where it is; I'll meet you there.'

Racing out of the office, they separated, Lewis heading left towards the stairs and Emily disappearing to the right in the direction of the private bedrooms of the Vandemark family. Lewis' mind was spinning. In the last twelve hours or so, it felt as though the whole world had been turned upside down. He had been looking forward to the end of the trade negotiations and being able to relax for a while, maybe taking a trip out to Fir Forest with Emily before the wedding.

Now, he was tearing around the castle with a sense of urgency far beyond that of when they had been pursuing George to Porthton. Could it really be that Arden's warning sent decades ago had been the opportunity that set the terrible wheels in motion rather than potentially preventing Tristan's return to the world of the living? Before he could really contemplate an answer, he turned the corner, crashing headlong into Captain Caldwell, who let out a surprised shout.

Shaking himself out of a daze, Lewis stepped back. Captain Caldwell's look of surprise turned to one of worry when he saw Lewis' face. 'Lewis, what's going on?'

'It's Edmund; he's taken the crown!'

'What? When?' Thomas asked, stepping out from behind Captain Caldwell.

'I don't know; it must have been at some point while we were out at the crater. We just realised it was missing,' he said quickly, trying to catch his breath, the leyline pendant he had been going to put in the vault still swinging in his hand. 'Emily's on her way to his room in case he's still there.'

Thomas looked at Captain Caldwell. 'Lock down the castle and get guards on the streets looking for him. He can't have gotten too far, but we need people outside the city in every direction. He's likely gone south, but we can't be too careful; he could be anywhere,' Thomas instructed, taking charge in a moment where he would usually have deferred to Lewis. 'We need to get to Emily now. If he's taken the crown, then there's no knowing what he might have left behind for us when we went looking for him.'

Captain Caldwell nodded, turning on his heel and running down the hallway to the stairs, the sound of his armour clanking in his wake. Grabbing Lewis' arm, Thomas swung him around, dragging him back the way he had come. It took him a moment to register before he sped up, struggling to keep up with Thomas, to his surprise.

'What's going on?' Arthur asked as he emerged from the office, yawning and stretching, to see the pair of them running towards him.

'Emily's in danger!' Lewis shouted.

'Edmund stole the crown!' Thomas added as they both raced past him.

'What?' Arthur muttered, his question left in Lewis and Thomas' wake.

'Emily!' Thomas shouted.

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Lewis had never heard him shout like that, the concoction of fear and desperation echoing down the corridor.

They turned the corner to Edmund's room to find the door already open and Emily on the other side of the room rifling through his desk. Behind them, he heard footsteps and the heavy panting of Arthur as other doors began to open, curious about the commotion outside. 'Don't touch anything! Thomas shouted as he passed Lewis just before they got to the door.

She looked up at the sound of his voice, and just as her finger clicked open one of the compartments at the back of the desk, a thick purple cloud burst out. 'Get back! he shouted, pushing Lewis away with one hand as he threw the other up, burying his mouth and nose in his elbow as he dove into the room. Grabbing a hand over her mouth and nose, he pulled her away, stumbling out the doorway. 'Shut it!'

It took Lewis a moment to respond before he jumped forward, slamming the door behind them. 'What's going on?' Emily asked, looking between the two of them and Arthur, who was just catching up. 'I don't feel too good,' she muttered.

With no warning, she collapsed, with Thomas half catching her as he tumbled to the floor as well. 'Emily?' Lewis shouted, dropping to his knees and trying to shake her awake.

'Someone get the matron; it's the essence of nightshade,' Thomas said desperately, trying to squeeze out from under Emily. 'We need to get her to the infirmary now!' Throwing his hands up, Emily's body jerked, lifting a few inches off the floor. "Lewis, help me!'

He looked around for help instinctively. Arthur stood frozen in place, a look of horror on his face. Lillian's mother was the first of the onlookers to react, her dressing gown flapping behind her as she took off down the hallway. He didn't know what to do. Thomas was looking at him desperately, but all he could see was the veins beneath Emily's skin turning darker by the second.

'Lewis, focus!' Thomas said desperately, stirring him from his shock. Slowly he lifted his hands, willing Emily's body to lift higher, begging for it to work.

It would have been almost instantaneous, but to him, watching her rise further from the ground felt like a lifetime. 'No one goes near that room, understand!' Thomas called to the onlookers as he guided Emily's unmoving body down the corridor, picking up the pace until they reached a run once more. Somewhere behind them, Arthur followed; the rest were unsure what they should do.

The run to the infirmary seemed to take forever and yet pass within a flash. Lewis couldn't take his eyes off Emily's unmoving form the entire way. The only change was the darkness of her veins, which deepened with each passing moment. Raised voices filled the corridor with several crashes as they rounded the corner to find the doors standing wide open for them. Inside, a woman was on her knees in front of a cupboard, her black hair pulled into a messy bun. From out of sight, a man shouted at her about needing peace, a voice that sounded awfully familiar to that of Emperor El-Farha.

'If you do not silence yourself this instant, then I will happily relieve you of that bed you are occupying for no good reason!' the woman shouted, rifling through a box of vials before casting it aside and pulling the next one towards her. She must have heard them coming as she looked up. 'Emily!' Her hand shot to cover her mouth. 'Quickly, bring her in, the bed closest to the window.'

With a nod, Thomas directed her over to the bed, lowering her down gently without sparing the emperor a glance. Out of the corner of his eye, Lewis saw him sitting up agitatedly, watching what was going on. 'Matron Henare, tell me you have something,’ Thomas said.

'I usually do. Nightshade essence is so rare, but I always keep powdered Abineva extract just in case. I can't find it anywhere, though,' she said, shoving boxes of vials aside.

'There must be something else that can help her,’ Lewis said. 'What does it look like? I'll help you look.'

'It's a fine, light red powder; it looks pink in some lights. I don't know where it could have gone; it was here when I last did my inventory a couple of weeks ago,' she said, her hands shaking visibly as she got more and more flustered.

'Would something with Abineva extract in it work or does it have to be on its own?' A voice interrupted. Lewis looked up to see Robyn standing in the doorway.

'I don't know,' Matron Henare said quickly. She glanced at Lewis. 'I can try; it won't make the situation any worse, but if there's enough of it in there, it could do it.'

'There's Abineva extract in Conner's medicine; I'll go and get it,' she said, dashing out the door again.

'How much time do we have, Waiara?' Thomas asked from beside the bed.

'Hard to say. Nightshade essence is very fast acting normally; how much was there and how long was she exposed?'

'Quite a bit. For maybe five seconds up close, I managed to cover her mouth and nose and get her out of the room as quickly as I could,' Thomas said.

'Let me take a closer look,' she said, abandoning the vials on the floor. She ran to Emily's bed, running a hand over the side of her face. 'It's spreading through the bloodstream. I apologise for this,' she said with a glance at the three of them as she pulled a large pair of scissors out.

In one smooth motion, she slid the blade through the shirt and jumper that Emily was wearing, cutting them from the bottom to the neck and ripping them open. Out of the corner of his eye, Lewis saw Arthur cast his eyes down at the ground. Nothing could have prepared Lewis for seeing what looked like every vein on Emily's pale torso was black and throbbing. The moment of stunned silence was shattered as her body jerked uncontrollably, one arm knocking the scissors from Matron Henare's hand, sending them clattering to the floor.

She looked at the door that led out of the infirmary as if she were thinking hard. Lewis knew what she was trying to work out without saying a word. 'Do something, please,' he begged, Emily's seizing hand striking him as he tried to take it.

'Alright, we don't have much time. You,' she said, pointing at Arthur. 'Get me that dagger over there and the thin copper tube from the middle drawer of my desk.' Arthur didn't need to be told twice. Before Emperor El-Farha could react, Arthur had grabbed the gilded dagger from his bedside table.

'Hey! You bring that back here at once, peasant boy!' Emperor El-Farha shouted, trying to get up from the bed.

Matron Henare rounded on him. If looks could kill, Lewis was sure the emperor would have died a dozen times before his foot had even touched the floor. 'Out! Now! This is my infirmary, and you are nothing but a whining pain in my arse!'

Stunned into silence, Emperor El-Farha sat motionless on the edge of the bed. Lewis suspected that he had never been spoken to like that in his entire life. He didn't so much as twitch when Arthur ripped open the drawer of Matron Henare's desk, grabbing the copper tube from within and running back to the bed.

'Hold her left leg still,' she said, glancing up at Lewis. 'Thomas, get me that jug of water, the bowl and cloth, and a candle.'

Lewis scrambled around the bed, dodging past Thomas as he went the other way. 'What are you doing?' he asked as he pinned Emily's kicking leg to the bed with all his strength.

'Trying,' she whispered, tears in her eyes.

As Emily's hips bucked upward, she grabbed the waistband of her trousers, pulling them down in one swift motion before grabbing the dagger from Arthur. She muttered something under her breath that Lewis didn't catch before drawing the dagger across Emily's thigh twice in quick succession, crimson, almost black blood spurting over them both.

'Tube,' she said quickly, a surprising calm filling her voice despite the urgency as she dropped the dagger, holding out her hand. 'Thomas, wet the cloth and get it over both the cuts; keep it under pressure.'

The copper tube appeared in her hand, and just before Thomas smothered the cut, she slipped both ends of the copper tube beneath the skin, bending it upwards. Tiny droplets of blood appeared along the top edge from a dozen pinprick-sized holes. She snapped her fingers, and the candle in Thomas' hand burst into life. 'Hold that under the tube, nice and close. Cover your mouth and nose as well!'

'What are you doing?' Lewis asked, watching as Thomas began to heat the tube.

'Nightshade essence has a low boiling point. If we can heat the blood passing through the tube enough, we can evaporate it and separate the two. Hopefully it will buy us a little bit more time.'

The four of them stood over the bed in silence, watching and waiting. Slowly, the spasms raking Emily's body began to subside until she fell still once more. 'Does that mean it's working?' Arthur asked.

'We can only hope so,' Matron Henare said quietly as she watched the veins across Emily's skin closely, her blood-covered hands holding the tubing firm.

'Why aren't the veins on her stomach changed like the others?' Thomas asked.

In his haste to help her, Lewis hadn't noticed that the veins on her abdomen had all remained the same as usual, while all the others after six inches or so had. 'That is curious. I wonder...’ she trailed off at the sound of footsteps.

Robyn raced around the corner, a brown bottle in one hand. With a crash, she ran straight through the boxes of discarded medicine that Lewis and Matron Henare had left on the floor. She paid no mind as several of the bottles broke as they scattered. 'Will this do it?'

'Feed it to her slowly,' Matron Henare said. 'About half the bottle. If it's going to work, then that should be enough.'

Moving Arthur aside, Robyn lifted Emily's head carefully, offering the uncorked bottle to her lips and tipping it back slowly. They all watched, waiting to see what happened. For what felt like an eternity, nothing did. And then, ever so slowly, from where her heart was, the darkness in her veins began to fade. Where they had become raised to the surface of the skin, they slowly subsided.

'It's working,' Lewis breathed. He looked across at Matron Henare's tear-stained face. 'Isn't it?'

'It is.' She kept her hands firmly on the copper tube, but he saw the tension in her shoulders release slowly.

Thomas coughed. As he placed his hand on the cloth, there was a speckling of black blood on the skin. 'I'm okay,' he said quietly.

Matron Henare raised her eyebrows at him. 'Drink the rest of it. If you've been exposed as well, then we'd better be safe than sorry.

'Is she going to be alright?' Lewis asked, taking Emily's hand with his own now that he no longer needed to hold her leg steady.

'Only a fool makes promises where Nightshade essence is concerned,' she replied. 'But I think that she’s through the worst of it. Time will tell if there are any lingering effects, but she's strong; she'll be okay.'

Lewis breathed a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. Dropping to his knees, he held on to Emily's hand, watching and waiting. Silently praying for her to open her eyes again.