Fires lit up the night as the mountain erupted. Stones rained from the sky. A glowing molten river rushed towards them. Screams filled the air as people ran for the hills and the docks to escape. She tried to follow them but couldn't move. She was chained to the stone ground, unable to save herself. She tugged desperately at the chains, the heat burning her hands. Nothing happened. Her restraints were too strong.

She called out to those fleeing, yelling; crying; begging to be heard. Some part of her knew no one was coming. She had been abandoned once again. She could feel the head of the approaching river burning her skin. It was becoming unbearable. Yet, something compelled her to look up. There was a man with a dark grin on his features. She could never forget that face. The merciless red eyes and long white hair haunted her nightmares. She screamed as the lava reached her, swirling around her ankles and slowly rising to her hips -

********

Her eyes shot open. She frantically scanned the dark room, panting. Hands appeared on each side of her face. Her eyes fixed on a face in front of her. "Colt?" she rasped. Her voice was hoarse. I must have been screaming again.

He sat beside her and pulled a blanket over her shoulders. "You were screaming." He brushed her hair off her face. "Screaming like you were being murdered. You woke me up." He huffed a laugh at that.

She sat up properly and, to her surprise, Colt put an arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Melted, not murdered," she said after a while. He looked down at her and she told him her nightmare. After she finished, he pushed down on her shoulders. She lay back down and he did the same, carefully pulling the cover over them. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. She closed her eyes as a faint smile danced on her lips.

********

Amneris awoke, finding herself still in Colt's arms. She unwrapped herself from his grip, stood, and poked her tongue out at him. She walked out to the lounge and grabbed her phone from where it was charging, pressing a particular contact.

A half asleep face appeared on screen. She gave Leo a small wave. He looked like he was about to throw a pillow at her. "It's nine in the morning, Topanga. Let me sleep."

General indeed, she thought with a smile. "Sorry, Le, but I have a friend of Tara's who is willing to help us in our cause."

That got his attention. He sat up, running a hand through his long obsidian hair and rubbed his eyes. "You got who to do what?" he asked dumbly.

Amneris raised her hand to her head. "Go and have your coffee, then call me back," she said sweetly. He muttered something in Latin which she decided to ignore and hung up.

She made he way into the kitchen, finding what she needed to make sahlab. That was when Colt waltzed in. "Morning, gorgeous." She rolled her eyes. "Sleep well?" She nodded. He came up behind her and whispered into her ear. "Did you dream about me?"

"I wouldn't dream about you even if you were the last guy in the multiverse."

He clasped his hands over his heart, and she laughed. "This is no laughing matter!" She only laughed harder. He smirked, taking her hands. "Stop laughing, Amnsy," he said with a smile. She shook her head. He pulled her closer. "Shall I make you stop?" His breath was hot on her lips.

They jumped apart when her phone rang. "I-I should get that," she stuttered, attempting to regain her composure. She answered it. "Feeling better?" she cooed teasingly.

"Of course, majesty," Leo said with a mock bow.

She rubbed her hands together. "Got a plan?"

"I say we meet on Aylesbury so I can meet your new friend." Clearly, he was not thrilled about the idea of teaming up with a Terpolite. "After I determine his motives, we will meet with the others."

Overbearing mother hen. "And where would that be?"

Leo made an irritated noise. "Why should I-"

"Is that Amnsy?" a female voice interrupted. A golden beige face framed by collarbone-length black curls with indigo streaks appeared on the screen. Her lime eyes lit up. "It is!"

Leo put his hand on the woman's face and pushed her away. "Piss off, Nikki. You're supposed to be getting ready to go."

Nikki squealed, dashing from the room she and Leo were in. Amneris shook her head with a smile. "I'm guessing that when you said 'I', you were referring to yourself and Nikki?"

He nodded, suddenly looking behind him. "No, Jay. Jay, you don't need to -" He turned back to her. "Gotta run, baby sis."

Amneris blew her friend a kiss before hanging up. She spotted Colt on her lounge and rolled her eyes, storming towards him. She took the book he was reading out of his hand, read the title, and sighed. "No more stealing."

Colt leaned back, hands resting behind his head. "Were those friends of yours?"

She nodded. "You could say that. We're meeting them on Aylesbury."

"When?"

"Now." Amneris snapped her fingers. Her clothes changed in a flash. She wore all black: black sleeveless top, black jeans, black heeled-combat boots. The tattoo going down the left side of her face, neck, arm, and body seemed to melt into it. She looked over him and frowned. "You’re wearing that?”

He gave her a sideways smile. Her heart, were it beating, would have stopped at how familiar it looked. Where have I seen that smile? She looked over him once again now that he had changed into something more appropriate for travel: block long-sleeve black pants, black combat boots, and a scarlet-patterned black jacket. “Now people can think that we planned this.”

“Now people can think that we planned this,” she mimicked, grabbing her leather jacket and pulling it on. She surveyed the house around them before clapping her hands. Everything vanished, leaving it a blank room. "I won't be needing this place anymore.”

"Does this mean everything you stole will be returned, too?" he muttered.

Amneris placed her hand briefly on his shoulder. "You. Wish."

A silver bracelet appeared on her tattooed arm. She pulled off a charm: the ankh she had used to open the door, only much smaller. It grew to its full size once in her hand. She shortened the chain and clipped it around her right upper arm. Next, she pulled off the diamond she had taken out of the box a few days before. She extended the chain and placed it around her neck. Finally, she pulled off a stick-like charm. She extended it and it became a two-metre long hickory staff covered with gilded markings. It had a sphere-shaped tip underneath two golden arches, one over the other. A single silver diamond hug off the tips of each arch. Underneath the arches, embedded into the tip, was a large cyan crystal. Amneris winked at Colt, having caught him staring at it. "I say, Aylesbury."

Amneris slammed the staff into the ground. A bright white light flashed, and they vanished.