The valley was up ahead. The ground had begun sloping steeply, too steep for the horses to safely climb. They'd begun the journey on foot, Roche leading the horses beside them.

The object of power seemed heavy against her hip, tucked into Roche's satchel. The maid had tried tying some of their remaining amenities to the horses, but she'd still been stuck carrying a large stack of their things. The girl struggled under their weight as they climbed the cliff.

When they reached the top of the hills, they stared out into the valley. It was large and deep, with long knolls of grassland contrasting the deep, earthen greens of the forest.

"So, this is it." Finn sounded relieved. He pushed his glasses up his nose, a small smile gracing his lips, "We just throw the object in there and let it explode?"

"Not quite." Tigris walked to the very edge of the valley. "The object won't detonate until someone holds it and wills it to."

She watched the realisation hit her brothers. Aodh grabbed her wrist.

"Tigris, don't." he warned, voice gravelly from disuse. Roche glanced between them all, confused.

"Don't what?"

"Tigris is going to go down there and detonate it." Finn explained, his eyes rounded with horror, "She's going to will the object of power to explode while holding it!"

"It's the only way." Tigris argued, trying to extricate herself from Aodh's grip. "This is my mission, I must do it."

"You can't!" Finn snapped, "Think about father! He'll be devastated."

"I'm thinking about the kingdom!" Tigris shot back, yanking her hand away. "Someone needs to go and detonate it for the plague to end. My knights have lost their lives over this curse. I can't let this go on any longer."

Aodh grabbed Tigris' shoulder before she could launch herself away. His nails bit into her skin. His blue eyes were crystalline and wild. "I'll do it. Give me the object."

Despair clutched her heart like a vise. Tigris leaned forward, patting his shoulder firmly. "You've always been the heir this kingdom deserves, brother. You must live."

"What about me?" Finn asked desperately. He looped his arms around her waist, the warmth of his skin bleeding through her clothes. His distress was so potent that Tigris nearly choked on it. "Tigris, please, you can't go. Let me do it!"

"You nearly died once, Finn!" Tigris exclaimed, eyes burning. Her brothers were begging to die in her stead. This was not how this was supposed to go!

As if things couldn't get any worse, it was at that moment that Roche spun towards the edge of the forest. Her eyes scanned the trees.

"Uh... guys? Does something seem off to you?" Roche asked hesitantly.

The royals immediately untangled themselves. Tigris tensed. Roche was right. Not a single bird sang from the trees. The grass didn't rustle with the breeze. It was far too quiet.

The world came undone.

A hiss split the air. Finn yelped, vaulting backwards. An arrow stuck out of the ground at his feet. The horses reared as they startled. Roche's arm got tangled in the reins and she was dragged away towards the forest.

Aodh shouted in alarm as bandits poured out of the forest. Tigris' hand darted to her weapon's belt, but her fingers only found ash.

Right. That damned librarian had turned all her weapons to dust.

Aodh and Finn had similarly helpless looks. The bandits were coming closer. They were utterly defenseless.

Tigris raised her voice over the jeers of the bandits. "Back to back. Now!" she ordered. Finn and Aodh quickly obeyed. Roche had disappeared among the trees.

"Tigris, what do we do?" Finn whispered.

"I don't know," she admitted. The bandits were close now, pushing them to the edge of the hill. Their blades gleamed brightly. "Tell me one of you has a weapon."

"We don't." Aodh murmured. His pale cheeks were flushed a brilliant red as he pinned her with a desperate look. "But you do."

"Me?" Tigris repeated, dumbfounded, "What weapon do I-" Then it hit her.

The object of power.

Tigris nearly tumbled off the edge of the cliff. "No. We can't use it this way, it's wrong!"

"Tigris!" Finn shouted, pressing his back against her arm. His toes were pointed off the edge of the cliff. "Just do it!"

"NO!" Tigris shouted, "We'll all die if there is even a single errant thought-"

"We have no other choice." Aodh insisted. A bandit got close enough to swipe a blade at him. His leg faltered as he dodged, half falling off the hill's edge before he could right himself. Rocks skittered down into oblivion. The bandit tumbled over, his shouts echoing all the way down until they were snuffed out by the impact. Tigris balked at the sudden silence.

The distraction cost her. A bandit got close, swiping at her with a rusty dagger. Tigris instinctively darted back, crashing into Finn. Her youngest brother yelped, stumbling towards another bandit. His eyes widened as he saw the waiting sword ready to skewer his chest.

Tigris roared, stretching out her hands uselessly.

ClANG!

The bandit fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Roche stood over him, one of her ridiculously large pans in her hands. Finn scooped up the bandit's sword, tossing it to Aodh who easily disarmed another bandit and tossed another sword to Finn. She raced closer, the horses forgotten by the tree line, swarmed by the bandits.

"Here! Use this!" Roche frantically shoved the pan into Tigris' hands. Tigris shook her head.

"There's still too many of them."

Roche smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I know," the maid said softly, "And you can't use that object of power, can you? It'll go off if you don't do it right."

Tigris hesitated. "Yeah. But maybe I can kill the bandits first before it detonates."

Aodh and Finn were busy dodging and ducking, using stolen weapons. There were still no guns in sight, nothing that could fight off a crowd of this calibre. Aodh and Finn fought valiantly, keeping the bandits away from Tigris. Her heart panged.

She couldn't let her brothers die.

She dipped her hand into the satchel, pulling out the object of power. It thrummed under her touch, buzzing like a bee. Tigris hoisted it and the surface ripplied. Warmth bled from the molten cracks, clawing up Tigris' arms. She cried out, her knees giving way. Roche was there, pressing her hand against Tigris' back so that she didn't fall off the edge of the cliff.

Tigris' mind raced as the heady power filled her. Every thought felt like a match. Her mind spun. Roche's voice broke through the carnival style madness.

"Easy now, princess. Focus on the bandits."

Bandits. Right. It took just the thought, and suddenly the men stopped right in their tracks. Finn and Aodh lowered their newly acquired weapons in confusion as the bandits went as still as living statues for one glorious moment.

Then they crumbled into grey ash.

Tigris' breath came out in a panicked wheeze. She'd done it again. She'd killed them. It had been purposeful, but it was reminiscent of her test.

You've failed the test, Princess Tigris.

"This isn't right." Tigris murmured, watching her brothers approach her like she was a cornered wild animal. Her limbs trembled with exertion as she tried to keep her mind clear. Sweat beaded on her forehead. She felt drunk, her thoughts blurring together. "It needs to be destroyed."

"That's right. Give it here, Tigris." Aodh said softly, holding out his hands placatingly. His eyes were tender. "I'll destroy it."

Tigris clenched her jaw, her will wavering. Her thoughts flickered to Aodh, and for a moment she feared he too would crumble to ash. She barely managed to drag her thoughts away from him before that happened.

"Don't... distract... me." she managed to grit out. She clambered to her feet, pressing herself against Roche's arm to heave herself up. "I need to... I need to go."

Her mind was fuzzy now, the odd, choking power from the egg in her hands whittling her thoughts away to nothing. She distantly realised it was destroying her. It would make her a mindless shell if she didn't act soon.

A hand landed on her forearm. A warm brown hand, connected to a face with a lovely shade of brown eyes. Roche's eyes bored into hers.

"Princess, it is not your destiny to die here." Roche insisted. Tigris smiled ruefully.

"I won't let my brothers die. I won't let my kingdom fall." she swore fervently, the thought becoming her anchor to this world. Roche held out a hand, stopping Aodh and Finn from approaching.

"Then detonate it. And throw it into the valley."

Finn and Aodh bellowed in disagreement. Aodh lunged for her.

It was the reminder Tigris so desperately needed. She spooled her thoughts together, one last gathering of her sane mind. She infused her will into the command, letting the power of the egg absorb it.

Destroy.

The object of power glowed in her hands. Golden goo poured out through the cracks, tacky against her skin. Tigris tried to throw it, but the strange substance seemed to sink into her limbs, stilling her movement. She didn't have the strength or willpower to resist.

Then suddenly, there was nothing between her palms. The fog was ripped away from Tigris' mind.

It took her a moment to realise why she could think clearly and another to feel the horror that dawned. Tigris drew her gaze up to find Roche staring at her guiltily, holding the glowing object of power aloft.

The girl smiled.

"Sorry, princess." Roche murmured, "It's my job to take care of you."

Tigris lunged forward, but her hands only reached empty air as Roche stepped off the ledge of the hill and plunged towards the rocks below.

A/N: The end.

Just kidding, LOL! I was tempted to end the book like that just for the fun of it, but I guess Roche deserves a better ending than that. That said, I make no promises for a happy ending ;)

How did you like the chapter? What do you think will happen next? As always, I love any comments and criticism you can offer. Happy reading everyone!