I looked at my hand and turned it. It was my hand but wasn't. It turned as I expected but it was all wrong. My nails had somehow grown, my fingers were now long and slender, my skin now flawless. A scar that I had on my hand from a childhood injury was gone and I couldn't understand why.

I looked from my hand to Robyn. He somehow had something to do with it.

The tension in the room was palpable, it could be cut with a knife. I could barely breathe.

"My dear," Robyn's cold voice cut through me like a knife. "I do believe it is time to dismiss my nephew's Court. Would you mind?"

I watched him, questioning his words.

"Get rid of them, Emylin."

He raised then snapped his fingers.

At once, my hand shot out in front of me palm raised. My hand closed suddenly into a fist and all of the finely dressed guests in the room disappeared leaving just us and the Guard in the room.

I watched my shaking hand. How?

How did that happen? Did I do that?

I looked at Robyn.

The bastard was smiling.

Kymra let me go and placed herself between us, the sword that decorated her hips before was in her hands in front of her. The sword ignited in flames. The red embers shone brightly along the where the metal would be. She was in a fighter's stance, poised, ready to attack.

Robyn smiled. "Silly woman, you will stand between myself and my intended?"

Kymra's voice was venomous. "You will not have her."

I watched Damien over Kymra's shoulder. He was seething, the air around him finding that familiar electrical charge.

I watched Leah standing next to him. She was furious. The beautiful smile she had earlier was gone replaced by a face of pure fury. A man carefully walked up to her and grabbed her arm, disappearing from the room as soon as they touched.

Robyn smirked as he watched me. "Come here, darling."

My feet started to move on their own, carefully navigating away from Kymra.

Kymra placed a hand on my arm and instantly it was over. She looked at me, her eyes beginning to take the obsidian color Damien's did when he was using a lot of power. "Fight it, Emylin."

Robyn laughed then snapped his fingers.

Time stopped.

Everyone around me froze in their stance and an intense pain started to overwhelm me again. My chest suddenly hurt - a sharp pain began to grow inside of it. I gripped my middle and fell to my knees again. The emptiness was creeping. It was like a hand crawling it's way from my core to the rest of me. All I felt was emptiness - like a great gaping hole was replacing my heart. It was like everything that made me, me was being sucked into a great vacuum in the middle of my chest.

I was losing.

I watched everyone around me. They were all frozen in time in the stance they had been previously. Robyn with his eyes on me and a cruel smile. Damien who had previously been standing next to Leah had shifted walking towards me. The guards, even Oren, were charging toward Robyn, their swords held high.

That was what triggered the pain again. The large gaping hole in my chest was even bigger now, swallowing me whole.

I was losing myself ...

Spinning in darkness ...

I was screaming? Crying?

Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

My hand moved on its own then, pushing my body off the ground without me willing it to.

I wasn't moving my body.

It was moving on its own.

Everyone began to move again as I stepped in front of Robyn. My hand raised and the crowd of guards that had been mid-jump were stopped and thrown across the room far away.

I couldn't control it. Somehow I had protected Robyn from the oncoming blow of Damien's guards.

Robyn laughed in giddy delight as he stood next to me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and planted a large kiss on my cheek.

It made me sick to my stomach.

On the outside, I didn't move. I was a completely immovable statue.

Damien appeared next to me grabbing me by the arm and pulling me away as he began to build up a bolt of energy to throw at Robyn.

My body moved without me controlling it again. Instead of following his lead, I ducked and missed his arm taking another step and moving back to my original position in front of Robyn.

Damien couldn't stop his attack as he let out his full rage.

My hands placed themselves in front of me, completely deflecting the attack sending the energy full on around the room. The walls and ceiling cracked making it rain plaster and stone around us.

Damien stared in astonishment as my hands placed themselves on his chest.

I felt a rush of energy course through me in preparation.

No! I fought my hands and was able to somewhat diminish the power that was about to be sent through them. A bolt of energy escaped my hands and sent him flying to the other side of the room where he landed on his feet.

I felt intense energy behind me, making me turn. As soon as I was fully turned, my hand instinctively reach out and caught a bolt of power in my hand.

The man from before that had watched me with disgust had thrown it. His body was extended as if he had put all his energy behind it.

I closed my palm and the energy dispersed.

Robyn cackled.

The room jumped into action.

The entire Guard began a full-on attack, charging towards Robyn and I in the middle of the room.

They really were no match.

The energy I was feeling locked on to their swords and shields. With a flick of the wrist, they lost it all. The metal converged creating a pool of hot, melting steel in the middle of the room.

The commotion was attracting the attention of those outside of the room. Men began to charge to the open door in full armor. My head turned towards the doors and they all shut around us, with a deafening slam as they did so. Energy buzzed around me then struck the doors making it so no one could transport in or out.

Somehow my body instinctively knew how to use magic to keep everyone from attacking and defend itself and Robyn.

One guard directed his magic at us. My eyes locked on to the blue-haired man as he sent a pulse of power at us - he suddenly fell back as his own power was pushed back against him.

They continued their attack, trying to overwhelm me. Somehow I was able to block anything they directed at me, my body moving on its own.

One was able to sneak up behind me, grabbing my hand.

"Stop!" Kymra yelled somewhere in the room. "Don't touch her!"

My eyes locked onto his hand and before my body could move, the man was cut down spraying blood everywhere.

At this, Robyn guffawed.

The man stared at me in horror as he fell to the floor, letting my arm go. The light was leaving his eyes.

My heart pained. What just happened? Did I do that?

Shocked, I stepped back and placed my hands over my mouth. A familiar blur of color appeared in my line of vision.

The Tattooed Man was there, grabbing whatever weapons he could, injuring or killing anyone that was close enough to touch.

My hand reached out. "STOP!"

He watched me as he was on top of one of the men, twisting his arm at an impossible angle.

My chest was heaving with panic as I watched him. "Please, stop."

He let his hand go and stepped back obeying my command.

"Em."

I recognized Damien's voice and turned to it. He was on the floor watching me in astonishment. Had he been one of the ones I'd deflected their power back towards?

"Oh, my," Robyn finally said. "You are strong, aren't you?"

He snapped his fingers again, effectively making me lose control of my body again. It stood perfectly still, keeping Damien in its sights.

Robyn chuckled. "I wouldn't attack her if I were you. You see, Azazeal is very protective of his Queen."

Damien stood and nodded towards the Guard. "Stand down."

The Guard around him nodded and obeyed.

Kymra came into view watching me, her sword still ignited in her hand. "Her eyes, Alteazor, they're completely black again. It's the Mark, he's controlling her, she's gone."

No! I wanted to shout. I'm right here!

Damien crossed his arms. "Is this the welcome you were expecting, Uncle?"

Robyn laughed. "I was prepared. You see, I knew what Emylin was the moment I set eyes on her. Your father too. Didn't he tell you?"

Damien clenched his jaw. No. He didn't know.

"It's why he bound her magic even further than before. He wanted to protect her from anyone still willing to work for me. Why do you think he gave her the highest title in the kingdom? Elendil, brightest star? It's no coincidence."

He placed a hand on my shoulder making Damien tense and inch forward without meaning to do so.

The Tattooed Man suddenly appeared between myself and Damien. He didn't move but he made his intentions known.

Robyn continued. "It's why your Father wanted you two to become friends. The most powerful of Dark Magic to protect the Light. Poetic, I suppose?" He took a strand of hair and brushed it back. "She thinks the world of you, you know. She has the most beautiful memories of you two together as children."

Damien took a step back. "You're supposed to be dead."

"King Warren the Righteous," he almost spat the words. "Couldn't take my life. He kept me hidden away. I escaped just in time to see my baby nephew ascend the throne. My throne."

I fought again, straining. I had to stop him. I had to stop him in any way...

I watched Damien's eyes. Silently begging, I yelled out to him as loud as I could. I'm right here, Damien. I'm RIGHT here!

As he spoke to Robyn, Damien's eyes flickered to me.

Yes! I thought. Yes, I'm right here!

Damien's eyes again turned to me, longer this time.

Could he hear me? Could he somehow hear me within this shell?

I reached within myself and felt something there. A small light flickered like a candle about to extinguish. I reached towards it, firmly placing it in my hand ...

I gasped loudly, finally able to control my body again. The magic energy I felt around us fizzled and disappeared. Not hesitating, I stepped on Robyn's boot with the heel of my foot then drove my elbow back straight into his face.

He caught it, inches from where it was going to collide with his nose. It wasn't that he did catch it, it was how. His hand was not his hand. His entire arm was made of black smoke but it was solid, capable of holding my own arm in place.

I watched horrified as a smile slowly spread. "My dear, it will be fun teaching you manners."

The room began to spin and my stomach lurched. I knew what it meant, having done it with Damien through the years. Robyn was transporting us.

I turned to Damien and watched as he lunged for us, arm outstretched. "I'll find you!" He screamed over the howling wind around me. "Em, I'll find you!"

We were no longer in the ballroom, we were in a large empty, dark room.

And it was just me and Robyn.