Patrik came by for a third time, as he’d accepted my offer to help him break Azazel’s spell. He’d already made it quite far; it caused him tremendous amounts of pain to slither into my room and work with me to regain his Druid form. We’d been at it for a couple of days, and it helped keep my mind busy while waiting for Bijarki.

Azazel kept his distance, though I didn’t know why, and neither did Patrik, until Damion had let slip that he’d seen very little of the self-titled Prince of Destroyers lately. Apparently, he’d been focused on finding and squashing the alliance rising against him. The idea made me smile, given that I knew my friends were moving ahead and the rebel armies were already sneaking through the thick jungles of Antara, circling in on the castle.

“Are you ready?” I asked Patrik as he locked the double doors and turned to look at me.

He ran a hand through his curly black hair, then nodded and advanced to the middle of the room. He grasped the pillars of the four-poster bed, his knuckles white.

“Like we’ve done before,” I encouraged him, then held my breath.

He inhaled and exhaled several times, his yellow snake eyes flickering green before he grunted from the pain shooting through his entire body. His skin took on a gooseflesh quality, his carved muscles nervously twitching beneath.

“Think of Kyana,” I said. “She’s out there somewhere. She’s free. You want to be with her again, don’t you?”

Patrik nodded again, then hissed as he took the fight deeper. The bedposts creaked under his tightening grip as he hung his head, heaving. Beads of sweat formed on his bare back and arms, trickling down. I heard bones cracking.

I moved around to get a better look at his face. Pain marred his beautiful features, his lips peeled back to reveal his white teeth, complete with long, clear, extended snake fangs coming out of the protective sheath of his pink gums.

“You once fought to protect this world, and now you’re helping destroy it. You’re helping kill innocent creatures. You’re helping kill Kyana, too,” I added.

He glared at me, his eyes blazing green. His large snake-tail lower body twitched and cracked, as if bones were breaking and rearranging themselves underneath. He grunted from the pain, but kept at it.

“Do you want to see her captured again?” I was surprised by my own cruelty, but it was something I hadn’t tried before. I had to do everything I could to get him into the right mindset to finally break free. “Because that’s what will happen, Patrik. She’ll get caught again, and Azazel won’t let her live this time. He’ll be happy to set an example for the others. He doesn’t need her as leverage against you anymore. You’re already under his control.”

“No, he wouldn’t. He knows I’m strong,” Patrik growled, doubling over while hanging onto the bedposts.

“Strong? Look at you!” I shot back. I’d found a nerve and decided to poke it. “You’re still struggling to break free, after all these years!”

“You know it hasn’t been easy,” he gasped, his snake tail taking on a different form, with sharp corners, as if mangled.

“Is that your excuse? Is that why you’ve been slithering around here while Kyana spent decades rotting in that cage? I thought you loved her!”

“I do!” he roared.

“Then prove it! Break free! Save her! Save us all! Save yourself!”

He grunted and snarled and hissed as he looked up. His whole body trembled, covered in sweat. His veins were swollen, throbbing across his face, his neck, his shoulders and arms, and I feared he’d pop one in the process.

He cried out as his tail split in two with a horrendous fleshy sound, and I gasped.

“Break free, Patrik! For Kyana! She’ll die if you don’t fight!”

He suddenly stilled, looking up with flaring green eyes. His bones kept breaking and resetting on the inside. A bright green light flashed out of him, like a flame burning out, and then he collapsed to the floor.

“Patrik?” I whispered, taking a few steps toward him.

He groaned, lying on his side, obscured by the bed. I moved closer and saw his body had returned to its original form. His long legs were back, muscles twitching as the black scales gradually retreated beneath his pale skin.

“Patrik…”

He looked up at me. The green flames in his eyes were gone. I was met with a steely blue gaze that I’d never seen before. A deep shade that spoke of a midsummer sky and endless oceans. His black hair framed his face with big curls, stuck to his forehead from all the sweat.

“I… I think,” he said slowly, his breathing ragged. “I think I did it…”

He sat up, and stared at his legs for a few moments.

“I… I don’t feel it anymore. The spell. It’s… It’s gone.” He looked up at me, and I instantly looked away, my cheeks on fire. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re naked, Patrik.”

“Oh…”

I heard him stand and wrap something around his waist. I looked back at him and noticed he’d taken the bedspread to cover himself. He then sat down on the bed, watching his toes move with childish curiosity, as he regained his normal breathing rhythm.

“I can’t believe it,” he whispered. “I haven’t seen my legs in so long. I’d forgotten what they felt like…”

“You really did it!”

“Yes,” he said, and gave me a warm smile. “All I can think of now are ways to rip Azazel’s head off, along with his spine, and it feels so damn good…”

He stood up again, holding the bedspread around his waist, getting reacquainted with his legs as he grinned at me.

“There aren’t enough words to thank you, Vita…”

I beamed, feeling overwhelmed with joy. I’d helped free a Destroyer from Azazel’s spell. Patrik was back to his old Druid self. This was an incredible milestone, and, had it not been for the pressing urgency of finding the little Daughter’s location, it would have called for a proper celebration. If Patrik had succeeded in freeing himself, so could other Destroyers, if we could find the right triggers. They’d all believed in something and loved someone once.

“My legs are weak,” he chuckled, and looked down at his trembling knees.

“I’m guessing it’ll take a while to get used to them again, right?”

“Mhm.” He nodded, then looked up at me. “Vita, I can try to get you out of here. I know all the passages, where Destroyers and incubi are patrolling, where the green fires burn.”

“Thank you, Patrik.” I shook my head. “But Bijarki is on his way here with an invisibility spell. It’s the safest way to get out of here, since I’m not exactly inconspicuous.”

He raised his eyebrows with surprise.

“Invisibility spell?” he asked.

“Yes, we got a hold of the swamp witches’ lost spell books and found it there. He should be here soon, actually.”

“You do have a point.” He scratched the stubble on his chin. “Walking out of here without anyone seeing you is far more sensible than sneaking out and hoping not to run into a Destroyer. Even my knowledge of the castle isn’t infallible. But still, I want to help you, Vita. Tell me what can I do.”

I raised my shackled wrists for him to see, and pursed my lips.

“Done.” He smirked. “I know exactly where that lazy bastard is right now—I’ll swipe the key from him.”

He picked the keys to my room from the leather belt that was now far too big for him to wear, and moved toward the doors, then glanced at me over his shoulder.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait, Patrik. You obviously can’t walk out like this. You know that, right?”

“I can still turn into a snake.” He grinned.

“Yeah, but your snake tail was huge. Won’t you draw attention as a full snake when everyone else is stuck in between?”

“Ah… There’s something you don’t know about me. I’m a bit of an anomaly among my Druid folk. I can take the form of any serpent I want. Most Druids discover their snake form during the First Circle ceremony, and stick with it for the rest of their lives. Mine never came as a single form, though. My serpent form changes, from big to small, from harmless to deadly poisonous. So don’t worry about me—I can morph into something small that these oafs won’t even notice.”

I smiled, fascinated. Patrik truly was an interesting character, and combined with his military training and experience, it was no wonder Azazel had taken a liking to him. Oh, the look on that snake’s face when he realized he’d lost one of his best lieutenants!

“Can you find out where the little Daughter is being kept?” I asked, thinking we might be able to shoot two birds with one stone, as my time in Luceria was running out.

“Absolutely.” He smiled confidently. “Stay here, Vita. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

“Be safe, Patrik.”

He unlocked the doors, then tossed me the keys.

“Keep these for now. Damion has a copy,” he said, then instantly morphed into a small black viper as the bedspread fell to the floor. He slithered out and vanished down the hallway.

I locked the doors and put the bedspread on the chair next to them, for Patrik to have upon his return. My heart was filled with hope and joy, as I’d managed to help restore a powerful Druid’s freedom. I could only imagine his torture over the past few centuries, his inability to help those he loved as he watched his world quiver and burn under Azazel.

All I had to do now was wait for Bijarki and Patrik to come through. I had to get the little Daughter out of here. I had to do everything I could to destroy Azazel from the inside.