We silently trekked through the forest. As we got farther and farther from the palace, I began to wonder if I was doing the right thing. I knew I had to leave Acacia for my own sanity, but was it the right choice to go with Eris into the most dangerous part of the realm? I don't understand why she was so eager to take me herself. I thought she would've highly encouraged me to journey alone, so I was surprised when she offered to travel with me.

"I feel like you're trying to kill me." I ducked under a branch.

"Why do you say that?" She spoke over her shoulder.

"Based on your track record, I don't have high hopes for you." I admitted.

"My track record?" Eris turned around. "Who are the biased people?" She hummed.

"Well, your family for starters." She nodded. "And then my family... and my friends... and the angels." She began laughing. "The reviews aren't high for you."

"I'll defend myself and say they didn't know my motivations." She turned around and continued walking.

"What were your intentions?"

"The betterment of my people..." She faced me. "Is that so wrong?" I shook my head. "It may be selfish of me, but I know they are all looking out for their kind's best interest. It's only fair for me to do the same." She shrugged.

"So betraying Nyx and Ken was for your kind's survival?" I quirked a brow.

"That was a a personal vendetta." She laughed. "Don't tell me they're seriously upset about being thrust into Helvegen?" She laughed at my stoic expression. "Did you know that some fairies live in the light realm?"

"No, but I don't see how that's-"

"I don't know if you ever walked around, but the people who are the beggars and street vendors tend to be fairies. They're treated as second class citizens while the angels take the most desirable positions. They claim I adversely worked against them in the council, but I was looking at things that benefited the fairies. I pushed back and didn't passively go along with their wishes, like they previously thought. I was originally brought on as a facade for the fairies. The angel's intentions were to have a fairy on the council so their citizens thought their voices would be heard when in actuality they had no interest in doing any fairy reform." Her mouth formed a thin line. "Light angels aren't as glamorous when you know the politics behind everything, huh?"

"Seems like neither of you guys were working together, but for the interest of your own species."

"Yes, I made decisions that would benefit my race." She made a step towards me.

"Seems like you believe your race to be superior." I raised a brow.

"At least you get it now." She took a step back and turned around.

"And what about betraying Ken and Nyx?"

"You call it betraying while I call it giving an encouraging shove." She glanced at me. "The barrier had changed to a demon realm and the Queen wanted to explore it. She was looking to give the order to her soldiers rather than have her child or herself actually go on this dangerous trip. Because of that, I pushed Kennedy and Soleil into the realm. I didn't calculate or know that the realm would disappear after they entered it. I knew the light angels would think I meant to kill the two, so I left since I knew they wouldn't listen to me." She looked away. "It was meant to scare them, not trap them."

"If you're so innocent, why not try and tell them instead of running away?"

"I already told you! They won't listen to me. That ship has sailed." I noticed she looked regretful about her actions.

"Wait, did you runaway to the human realm?" She turned and grinned at me. "The time I first met you..." She smugly nodded. "They were trapped in Helvegen for that long?!" She laughed at the fact. "That's insane!"

"They survived, so it's no big deal." She rolled her eyes. "We're almost there by the way." She shushed me and motioned for me to be even quieter. "The dark elves often hire banished moonshadow elves to stand guard." She whispered. "They're dangerous since they're able to use spells to make them invisible." We stopped behind a tree.

"How can we see them?"

"Trying to figure that part out." She whispered back.

"Have you never done this before?" She gave me a sheepish smile. "Seriously?!" I quietly yelled. "I thought this was something you did all the time!" I hissed.

"Normally, we'd cross between the human realm to visit other worlds, but the angels fucked that up." She whispered back. "This is strictly forbidden due to safety concerns. Dark elves wouldn't hesitate to hold me captive and force my parents to do whatever they want."

"You're unbelievable."

I moved over her lap since I heard a sound. I ignored the smirk on her lips and focused on the sound. My sight followed the soft crunch, but I couldn't see anyone. They must be invisible to my human eyes. I wonder... I nervously glanced at Eris, but what the hell.

I closed my eyes and opened them to reveal my wolf eyes. Eris nearly yelled in surprise, so I slammed my hand over her mouth. My yellow eyes were able to detect the heat signature of the moonshadow elf surveying the surroundings. He hadn't picked up our presence, so we were in the clear. I watched as he jumped onto the tree and quickly climbed it. It was impressive to see how fluid elves were in climbing and walking along branches.

Eris' eyes were wide in shock. I held a finger up to symbolize that he was in the tree. She slowly turned and looked in my direction. I watched as the elf removed the bow from his back and fashioned an arrow. He aimed it in the distance and then fired the shot. I then heard the shallow breaths of a small animal. He jumped down and picked up the dead squirrel before walking off.

"He's gone now." I allowed my eyes to return to normal.

"You're a wolf." I ignored her and got up, but she yanked me back down. "And a witch and a vampire." She pointed a finger at me.

"Would you like a gold star?"

"You're a-a I don't even know." She shook her head in disbelief. "Y-You're Lara's daughter." Her voice shook.

"I'll be frank with you." I turned to her. "I was under the impression that you knew who I really was the entire time." She shook her head no. "That's honestly surprising." I sighed. "Yes, I'm Lara's daughter and no I'm not gonna kill you or the people at the school." I stood up. "Can we go now?"

"Does Acacia know?" I looked away. "Omg! She doesn't!" She laughed. "Why have you been keeping that secret from her?" She teased.

"You know why." I stated, but she wanted me to say it. "She'd be scared shitless and it'd change everything between us." I sighed. "Please don't tell her."

"You owe me." She grinned.

"I'm not dumb enough to make that wager. Let's go-"

"I won't show you the place until you agree to my demands." She smirked.

"Okay, this is how it's gonna go." I was getting annoyed. "Either you come or you don't." I knelt down, so I was eye level with her. "You show me where the portal is and that'll be dandy. You can refuse and I'll walk into their realm and tear them to pieces until I find the damn portal. I don't care how many elves I need to slaughter in order to get home. It's your choice." I allowed my eyes to turn black. Eris gulped at my demon. "I'm gonna go now." I stood up and began walking.

"Wait up!" She ran to my side. "I figure it wouldn't be diplomatic if you wiped out an entire race." I smirked since I figured she would fold under my threat.

I had to use my wolf eyes to find any moonshadow elves on duty. Everything was different when we were at the border between the lush forest and the barren lands. There wouldn't be many places to hide since the trees were bare and there wasn't any vegetation on the ground. Eris and I crouched down to find any hidden places the elves were hiding.

We were staring at the stone huts that had orange light shining out the windows. There had to be others that weren't in the huts. Eris and I slowly walked along the perimeter so we could get an idea where the portal was hidden. Eris suddenly stopped and patted my chest. I followed her finger and saw the portal standing in the middle of the campsite.

I just know they had traps to keep people from using their portal. Eris thought the same since she asked if I could see any invisible traps. I was also searching for any magical aura in the air. I used my hand to wipe away the invisibility cloak over the town.

Eris gasped when the town came into view. It was totally different from the stony huts the illusion showed. The town had a more industrial and rustic vibe. The buildings were metal and black, with black smoke rising from the chimneys. There was also an evil aura surrounding the place.

Eris shook my arm and pointed at the large Komodo dragons that were chained. They were absolutely massive and happened to be guarding the portal. We ducked when we saw moonshadow elves walking near us.

"Won't they realize that you took the veil down?" Eris whispered to me.

"No because all the people who live and guard the area are able to see inside. It's just outsiders like us who see the illusion." I whispered back. "Now, how are we going to get inside? It's heavily guarded."

"Great question... any ideas?" I rolled my eyes at Eris' question.

"Think so but I'll need to distract the Komodo dragons." I stood up.

I began to think of what to do that would cause the guard lizards to go into a frenzy. I smirked and allowed my eyes to darken. I then began to perform a spell that ignited fire around the lizards. They quickly stood up and made a guttural noise. I had to clamp my hands over my ears since it was an ugly sound. The fire intensified and so did the panic in the lizards. They pulled against the chains and broke them.

Some elves immediately tried to corral them, but the lizards shot their tongues at the guards. I watched as the tongue would curl around the elf and then drag them into the lizard's awaiting mouth. I gagged when I saw the lizards munch away on elf flesh. I honestly thought the lizards were more domesticated, so I'm a bit shocked right now.

I then did several illusion spells that would make it look like Komodo dragons were chasing the citizens. There was a stampede throughout the village. One of the elves approached the portal and tried to shut it off, so no lizards could escape.

"Hell no!" Eris cried out.

She revealed a hidden blade in her boot. She then turned and slashed me across the chest. I groaned and clutched my bleeding chest. She then kicked me down before making a beeline for the portal.

I was about to follow her, but I heard her shout and point at me. My eyes widened as elven guards pointed their weapons at me. Eris smirked before pushing the elf out the way and jumping through the portal. She played me!

Are we really surprised that Eris tricked Z? Though their short adventure was fun.