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As Cedric followed the small, winged cat with shimmering pale blue fur through the halls, the structure of meticulously crafted and enchanted roots seemed to close in on him. Though, it seemed that they also expanded, so his panic fluctuated with the walls.

They passed numerous amber pods, with various experiments in them. Cedric very, very carefully minded himself around them. He knew what they did. If they found him in there... the queen would not be happy to find him there, as convenient as his recapture would be. It would mean that someone had let him out, and the first suspect would be—

"Cedric!" 

The familiar voice gave him pause, and he turned, hope fluttering momentarily in his chest.

The blue cat hissed from in front of him, "Cedric, we must hurry if you want to leave this place."

"Maple?" Cedric called. Even in this place, he could not blame her for her inaction. She came from this lab, after all. She hardly ever came down here willingly.

A humanoid rushed through the hallway, silhouetted at first, but the amber pods that she passed gave off some light, revealing her unnatural hybridity. She was clearly feline, in addition to the humanoid shape, with orange striped fur, whiskers, and feline ears set in a position between human and feline. Her hands, though covered in a thinner layer of fur, still had five fingers, with sharp nails – almost claws, though not quite curved as cruelly – at the end. "I want to help you."

"Azure Star has it taken care of," he told her, with a strange terseness to his voice. "The only thing you can do now is come with us."

Maple looked back where she came from, then at Cedric. She hesitated.

"If we leave, she won't find us," he said. "I'm going to Weylide. You should come, too."

Maple took a small step forward. "I can't. She— she knew. She knows. She doesn't know how you're escaping, but she knew about it."

Cedric felt himself go cold. You're trying to keep me here, the familiar thought whispered. "You're not..."

Maple couldn't meet his eyes. "Please, stay. I can't leave, and I can't bare to be away from you. But I can talk to Her Majesty—."

"But you can leave," Cedric insisted. "We are!" He gestured to the blue cat, Azure Star.

She wasn't there. "A– Azure?" He looked, but not a wing or tail or whisker of Azure Star was anywhere to be seen, "Fine," he started, fighting the fear and desperation as they settled in, "we can find a way out, just the two of us—" He turned back to Maple, only she wasn't there, either.

Queen Tahl’drí was.

She was in her Hybrid form, which was unusual for her. The cheetah ears, in the same position as Maples, were smaller. Her black-and-blond stripes of hair, which usually hung loose, were tied back, like she was planning on doing something hands-on. Her emerald-green eyes almost glowed, despite the amber lighting.

After a moment of shock, Cedric's face settled into a snarl, once-feline fangs lengthening into lupine canines. "How can you do this to us?" he demanded, growled, on his and Maple's behalf. "Your loyal Shaljí?"

The Cí’mehia queen said nothing, her expression blank, but still harsh. She rushed at him.

Cedric woke up with a start, disoriented. Where am I? It took him a moment to remember that he was at the Ziixi Academy, away from the lab underneath Mion Isle, and a few years from his experiences there. A few years from his successful escape.

He got out of bed, and left his room to walk along the empty stone halls. It was a full moon that night, he could feel it. The memories were always more invasive around the full moon.

The center of the Ziixi Academy had a small patch of grass and flowers that opened up to the sky, and the second level. He'd be able to see the moon from there, if it was around midnight. But he knew it was. A reminder to my unnatural being.

Someone was already sitting in the grass, playing with the flowers absent-mindedly. The moon shone on her, revealing the hint of orange fur and a feline-humanoid silhouette. 

Using old magic that he hadn't thought about since he left Mion Isle, he silently made his way toward the feline figure. Both products of the lab. But you remain, while I left.

He rushed at her, concealing his approach with the illusion magic he had once known so well. Even though she noticed, she wasn't quick enough to avoid the hand – or, rather, the claw – that reached for her neck and pinned her to the ground. Your opponent can't do anything if you have their neck or head, the old combat instructions surfaced.

In his anger, he felt himself shift – the half-lupine, half-feline form that he hated.

She didn't struggle. She just looked up at him – her eyes reflected the moonlight, like she was tearing up. Then he noticed the tear tracks on the fur on her face.

"Did you have the nightmare, too?" she asked, her voice small.

He had imagined her saying so many things – I'm sorry, Cedric, or Her Majesty wants you to come back, you don't have to be in the lab anymore. Any of the lies to get Cedric to step foot on Mion Isle, to entice him home, into his old life. He didn't imagine her asking about the nightmare.

When he didn't respond, she went on, "Where you left— you escaped the lab? With that blue-winged cat?"

Cedric slowly backed off of Maple, and she cautiously sat up. "Azure Star is the first and current Crystal of Ysamaldri."

Maple nodded. "The Queen knew her. They were once friends, or at least allies."

"I didn't know that."

"She didn't know," Maple blurted. "The Queen. She didn't know you escaped with her help."

"Well, she will now, won't she?" Cedric said, his voice bitter and biting.

Maple shook her head, caressing a flower and not meeting Cedric's eyes. "It's not my assignment to find how you escaped. You aren't my current mission."

"What is?" Cedric growled.

"No one we know," Maple assured, still looking away. "She didn't even grow up on the Isle."

She is lucky for the years she didn't spend there, he thought. "So that means a stranger to the Isle is Tahl’drí's target?"

Maple shrugged. "I'm just glad it's not you."

"Why her?"

Maple shrugged again. "I don't know. The Queen seems anxious about the quick completion of this assignment."

"What's her name? If it's so inconsequential to us."

Maple, finally meeting Cedric's eyes, gave him a pained look. "I can't."

Cedric sighed. I think I know, anyway. "It's Myrkr, isn't it?"

Maple stared at him in surprise.

"I'm roommates with her adoptive brother. Don't try it. It won't end well."

"You know I don't have a choice in the matter."

Cedric shook his head, his anger returning. "You made your choice to not make one. If Tahl’drí makes you do things you won't want to do, then don't. Leave Myrkr alone, or you'll live to regret it."

Cedric remembered the nights he spent in the lab, the numerous tests. He couldn't imagine that Maple had forgotten her own, since she spent more years in there than he did. He stood up. "Think about why Tahl’drí wants Myrkr. Decide if you want to condemn her to that fate, or let her live her life in peace with the dragons. If you continue, I will never forgive you. I might forgive you for leaving me in the lab – but I won't if you condemn Myrkr to something similar. She better not end up as another of Tahl’drí's test subjects, and if she does, it better not be because of you."