Gwyneth sat in the palace gazebo, overlooking the ocean. She had begun to grow fond of her time here. The prince was incredibly sweet and always eager to show her new sights and include her in his culture. The Water Spirit too was kind, reminding Gwyneth of her own inner beauty as well as training her in magic.

Even Cetri was starting to warm up to Aquariot. Though she would not dip even her pinky toe into the sea, she did enjoy going to the beach to feel the warm sand between her toes.

Perhaps the only one eager to leave was Thea who had to keep quiet save for when Gwyneth and Cetri were alone. She had spent hundreds of years in solitude and was quite skilled at keeping herself unknown, but she was growing tired at the lack of urgency the others displayed. This wasn't some sort of vacation! This was a trip to gain knowledge! No more knowledge could be gained so why hadn't they left yet?

Right, they were waiting on their friends.

Nearly half a moon later, their friends had returned. Since Gwyneth had been watching the sea nearly constantly, she immediately recognized her two friends and summoned Cetri.

"Gwyneth!" Isla reached the others out of breath, Elric trailing behind her. "You have to go back to Aeceria! Now!"

"What's wrong?" Gwyneth frowned, panic growing within her that she fought to keep down.

"We found out what Ares is after. And where the Earth Spirit is!" Isla heaved. Her words were airy with frequent pauses between her sped-up speech.

"Where?" Cetri raised an eyebrow.

"Under Aeceria Castle," Elric answered for Isla whose lungs began to burn too much for her to form a proper sentence. "The Earth Spirit is the only thing holding Aeceria together. Without it, Aeceria would crumble and collapse."

"What are you talking about?" Gwyneth narrowed her eyes.

"The Earth Spirit sacrificed itself to keep Aeceria together."

"And Ares wants to kill them?" Cetri raised an eyebrow again.

"The opposite, actually. The archives detail that he had a close friendship with the Fire and Earth Spirits and became devastated when Earth sacrificed themself."

"What do you think, Thea?" Gwyneth asked the sword that was strapped to her back.

"Yes, this is likely the case. Gwyneth should return to Aeceria Castle while the rest of you ascertain the Fire Spirit's status," Thea answered.

"You won't need to do that," a familiar voice said.

"Aston?! You're back?!" Isla gasped.

He offered her a small smile that quickly turned serious. "Ares has already freed the Fire Spirit. He's after the Earth Spirit next. Our consciouses are starting to... merge. I don't have a lot of time before he takes over me again. And when he does, there's no guarantee I'll ever return."

"Are we too late?" Elric snapped, clenching his fists together.

"Probably. I... I can't be saved anymore." Aston clenched his own fists, his expression deflated as he turned away from the others.

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"Don't say that." Gwyneth took a couple steps forward before slapping Aston across the face. "I'm not giving up on you. If there's a way to save you, we'll find it."

"And if there isn't?"

"Then I'll make one. You are Halcyone's hero. You freed Zetheria, and I know there's so much more you want to accomplish. That's why... That's why I can't let you go just yet." Silent tears streamed down Gwyneth's cheeks.

"Yeah. Sorry about before when I was eager to kill you off," Cetri frowned. "Truth is, I don't want you to go either. You're my friend and I want to help in any way I can. Ares be fried."

"Why don't we keep watch over Aston while Gwyneth returns to Aeceria?" Elric suggested. "The three of us should be able to hold him down. Maybe we can even reason with him and get Aston back."

"I wouldn't count on it, but it should buy Gwyneth some time," Thea concurred.

"I agree. The least we can do is try!" Isla nodded.

"All right. Then all that's left is... Where exactly is this Earth Spirit?" Gwyneth fueled her eyebrows as she clutched her temples. "How could it be sitting under the castle without any of us knowing?"

"I'm not sure," Isla said quietly. "There's a lot of stuff that isn't adding up. When I was kidnapped, the doctor mentioned trading a map to the Fae to some underground tunnels beneath the castle. Could they potentially be the same tunnels you had told me about before?"

"They very well could be. I imagine there are areas my ancestors had never explored. Unfortunately, I'll be navigating them blind. ...It's a good thing I have light magic."

"You should hurry, then," Elric urged.

"The unicorns should allow you to ride them considering your magic," Thea theorized.

"I know. I rode one before." Gwyneth nodded.

After a few final farewells, Gwyneth sprinted back to the forest. While she had made much progress with her magic, she hadn't even bothered with her stamina. She envied Ares' and Aston's teleportation skill. It was a cheap trick that might make her efforts in vain.

She would just have to use her own magic to her advantage.

Once she had made it out of Aquariot, she used her magic to create a similar device to the floating boards in Zetheria. Unlike her first attempt with Cetri, this one ended in success. It seems focusing on stamina would have been a waste after all!

In only two days she had made it to the forest where she had ditched her creation and sought out a unicorn that was much faster. She worried that maybe the unicorn was calmed by Isla's presence and that was the only reason she was allowed upon its back. She shook her head at the thought.

But how was she supposed to find one? Even the Fae had a difficult time taming one, let alone finding one from what she had learned.

"Draw it out with your magic," Thea said as if she could read her mind.

Gwyneth imagined that a burst of light would only scare the creature she was trying to summon and opted for a different approach. She slowed her breathing and held a palm upwards, imagining the faintest of lights. Instead of focusing on its brightness, she imbued it with warmth — with hope.

She glanced up from the light in her palm to a lilac unicorn with a snow-white mane. She couldn't help but smile when she realized she had succeeded with ease. Slowly approaching it, she kept the faint light in her palm as the other hand reached out to stroke its muzzle then its mane.

"I dare say your first attempt went better than mine." Thea's voice radiated from the sword behind Gwyneth.

Gwyneth couldn't help the pride surging within her. "What about Ares?"

"Unicorns take kinder to light than darkness, though that's not to say it's impossible for someone with darkness to ride one. Ares didn't have nearly enough patience, especially with his knack for teleportation."

"Has Ares ever been to the tunnels beneath the castle?"

"Not likely."

"Good." Gwyneth hoisted herself up onto the back of the unicorn before swinging her other leg over. "Then the furthest he can teleport to is my room."

She immediately gripped onto the unicorn's mane as she jolted once the unicorn began trotting. If this was a trot, she didn't want to see what a run was like. Unfortunately, she didn't have that luxury. The moment she was able to keep her balance she would have to push it faster.

In four short days, she was back home.

It was such a difference compared to when she had returned from Zetheria. At the time, she was so relieved and filled with nostalgia and comfort at her castle. Now, something about it didn't seem right, as if it was the very symbolism of corruption and lies. She knew that once she entered, she would be harassed by guards, and probably her own parents as well. She didn't have the energy to waste making herself invisible, not if she wanted to stand a chance against Ares.

So, she allowed the fumbling guards to drag her from the courtyard to her father's office without so much as a protest.

Besides, there were a few questions she wanted to ask him herself.