With Rónán's help, it didn't take them long to find the hole. It was covered almost completely by bushes of sorrel, but thanks to Jared's Earth magic, he was able to spot it despite the plants.

"Clever, it almost looks like a puffin burrow," Cam remarked. "The perfect camouflage."

To Macey's disappointment, they'd not spotted any puffins yet. Maybe it was the wrong season. She loved those tiny, comical birds, even though she'd only seen them once before. But the grassy slope they were standing on was covered in burrows where they'd lay their eggs in the summer.

"The cave ceiling was stone, right, not earth?" Jared asked Macey and she nodded.

"Yes, beautiful smooth stone. No stalactites, strangely enough."

"Good, that will make it easier to find where the earth ends and the cave begins. You may all want to step back a little."

They did as he asked, watching curiously as he kneeled on the ground and put his hands on the wet grass. He closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate hard.

The ground began to rumble and shake, but it was only a gentle tremor, nothing as bad as what Macey had experienced down below in the cave. She was a little sad that she wasn't diving into it this time. It had been so beautiful to see the world beneath St Kilda, but she understood that the others had to take the boring route.

Scratch that. Clumps of earth were floating into the air as Jared furrowed his brow. They hung above the ground while the hole slowly expanded.

Macey hadn't seen Jared's magic in action yet, but somehow, she hadn't imagined it to be this strong and impressive. Tiny beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead as he heaved more and more earth into the air. She watched with bated breath as the hole turned into a shaft wide enough to fit even someone Flint's size through.

Finally, Jared let out a sigh of exhaustion and the balls of earth fell to the ground, far away from the hole they once covered.

"How do we get down there?" Rónán asked but Macey shook her head.

"I'm not sure you should come with us. I think this is a Warden thing that we have to do ourselves."

"I could stand guard, in case you drown yourself again?"

Macey cringed. Maybe it was a good idea after all to have another person with them who wasn't directly involved.

"Okay," she admitted. "But try and keep back, no matter what happens once we touch the crystal."

The selkie nodded. "Of course. But again, how do we get down there? I don't fancy jumping."

Cam laughed. "Wind Warden, at your service. Who'd like to be first?"

When nobody volunteered, Macey sighed and stepped forward. "I trust you," she told him with a smile. But please don't let me fall nonetheless."

He chuckled. "Stand by the hole and keep your arms close to your body. Call when you're at the bottom, then I'll send the next person down."

She did as he'd asked. Before she could even say something, she was gently lifted into the air. It was strange; she couldn't feel anything holding her, not even something beneath her feet. She'd expected an air cushion or something like that to stand on, but no, it was as if she was floating weightlessly. It was a strange feeling and she wasn't quite sure if she liked it.

She hovered over to her right until she was straight above the hole. She refused to look down. Not that she was suffering from vertigo, but she didn't want to tempt it either.

Slowly, she sank down into the earth, descending through the dark tunnel Jared had created. It was wide enough that she could have reached out to touch the walls, but she kept Cam's warning in mind and resisted the temptation.

She only looked down once the shaft widened and she entered the cave.

It looked just like it had earlier that day, except that there was slightly less water surrounding the pedestal. The tide had to be out, which was a good omen. No drowning this time, hopefully. Flint would feel more comfortable soon, being surrounded by more air than water. She really didn't understand his aversion to water. Sure, it was the opposite element of fire, but her element was water and she didn't feel uncomfortable around fire.

When she landed softly on the stone slab the pedestal stood on, she called for Cam to lower the next one down into the cave.

Amber arrived with a smile on her face. "It's strange to fly without flying," she said to Macey as they waited for the others. "I think I enjoyed it."

Izban didn't look as happy as her, and neither did Jared. Flint had some trouble squeezing through the final bit of the shaft, but he didn't seem to mind his shirt being a little muddy. Rónán whooped as he was lowered down by Cam, obviously not used to such magic. Macey was wondering whether selkies had any magic of their own, besides the ability to shift into seals. She was going to have to ask him later, once their task was done.

Cam himself flew down fast, almost falling, only stopping when he was inches away from hitting the ground.

They all assembled around the pedestal. The stone slab below was just big enough to let them stand on it without getting wet feet. As promised, Rónán stayed back a little, letting the Wardens form a circle around the crystal. It looked just as it had before: beautiful and glistening in the light coming through the hole in the ceiling.

"I'm not sure what is going to happen once we all touch it," Macey warned as she put her hands on the crystal. "Maybe we'll all be in the same place, maybe we'll each have to fight Self-Doubt on our own. Don't forget that you're strong. We all are. We don't have any reason to doubt ourselves. There's a reason we were chosen as Wardens, so let's prove that we can defeat this evil thing."

"Well said," Cam smiled and placed his hands next to Macey's. "Let's show that if you mess with one of us, you will feel the wrath of all seven Wardens."

The others didn't seem interested in doing heroic speeches, and simply touched the crystal.

"What now?" Jared asked, but a second later, Macey was pulled by her navel and pushed into darkness.

Seven stone thrones... she knew this place! Macey got up from the floor where she had landed and looked around for the others. All of them were here, by her side, either on the ground or in the process of getting up while swaying slightly. Izban seemed close to throwing up.

"Is this the place you were dreaming of?" Amber asked in wonder, walking to the nearest stone throne and running a finger over the smooth surface.

"Yes, but back then, there were people here."

This time, the thrones were empty. They were alone.

"Do you think we need to sit on them?" Flint asked, walking to the one next to Amber's.

Macey shrugged. "I don't see why not. Maybe something will happen then? This isn't what I experienced earlier. It was all very different then, shinier and less dark. No room but a tunnel. Well, it wasn't at all like this."

"I'll take the biggest one," Jared shouted and ran over to the one furthest away from where they had landed. Macey laughed when she saw his enthusiasm. It was good to have some humour in this strange place.

She took one on Amber's right. It was made from black marble, the dark stone interlaced with silver-grey strands. She hesitantly sat down on it, but in the end, it was just a chair. A very fancy, stone chair that was in a throne room. She ignored that bit, it was too strange.

Hadn't the former Warden in her vision said that one day, this throne room would appear for them all? She just hadn't expected it to be this soon. And why did they need thrones?

Cam was the last to sit down, looking down at his seat in bewilderment. "It says Camdan on the headrest," he told the others. "But it appeared out of nowhere."

Macey turned around, looking at her own backrest. True, her name was suddenly engraved in a golden, swirly font. How very weird.

"My name is here, too," Amber confirmed.

"And mine," Izban added. "What does it mean?"

"I think these thrones are now permanently ours," Macey said slowly. "Maybe we've taken over from the previous Wardens officially?"

"Yes, you have," a new, sad voice suddenly said. Luch.

The woman appeared out of thin air in the centre of the throne room, first translucent, then slowly becoming more flesh and blood until she looked fully human.

"Luch? What are you doing here?" Izban asked sharply. "What's going on?"

He sounded slightly panicked, which was exactly what Macey was experiencing. She had a bad feeling about this.

"A new beginning means the ending of something old," Luch replied, her voice missing its usual spark. "To have the full power of the Wardens, which you need to defeat this evil, it needs to be taken from the last ones. And the very first."

"No way!" Macey shouted, jumping up from her throne. "You've co-existed with the other sets of Wardens, just continue doing that. We don't mind!"

"It's time that I join my husband on the other side. He's had to wait for me for far too long. And now that I've got to meet the six of you, I know that the Wardens' legacy is in safe hands." She smiled again, but it couldn't hide her sadness. "Please make it worth it. Defeat the parasite clinging onto the Staran, defeat Mahoun, defeat all of these evil beings affecting the world. Although with the first one, Self-Doubt, I may still be able to help you."

"Is there no other way?" Amber asked, tears making her eyes look large and bright.

"No, little beithir, there isn't. So don't cry. I've lived a long time and I've not been able to touch my husband for most of it. You should be happy for me."

A tear ran down Macey's cheek. "Then why are you so sad?" she asked Luch, who looked at her in surprise.

"I'm not sad about my death. I'm sad to leave you alone, without my help." She stood up tall, turning around until she'd looked at every Warden. "Are you ready to take your first big step as the Seven Wardens? Are you ready to make a decision over life and death?"

Despite her tears, Macey nodded and saw that the others did the same. They were united in grief for a woman they hardly knew, but who was going to sacrifice herself for the future of this world.

"Luch... thank you," Macey whispered, her voice breaking.

The woman smiled. "You're very welcome. Now, on to business. I'm going to summon Self-Doubt and will try to fight it. It will see me as the most delicious meal it's ever seen. I have a long life of memories for it to feed from, so hopefully, it'll be distracted. Kill it while it's not paying you any attention."

"How do we do that?" Cam asked. "From what Macey said, that thing didn't have a real shape while it was in the Staran, just a blob."

Luch grimaced. "It will take on my form. A sludge-Luch, as Macey would call it." She gave the kelpie a wink. "While it's in that shape, you will be able to kill it like you would any other being. But be quick before it notices and changes back."

"Magic or physical power?" Flint asked, stretching his arms so his strong muscles showed.

Luch tsked. "Why do you think the Wardens aren't human this time? Any human could run a knife through me. No, it has to be magic. As we don't know what will affect it the most, how about you all fire whatever you have at it?"

"But what if we hit you?" Amber asked, worry creasing her face.

"Then you hit me," Luch replied calmly. "I'm going to die today no matter what. At least if it's lightning, it will be over quick. Don't worry about me. Worry about being fast so you can kill Self-Doubt before it becomes immaterial again."

"We'll make you proud," Jared announced, surprising Macey. She hadn't realised he was attached to Luch. Maybe their time waiting together outside the sìth queendom had turned them into friends without her noticing.

"Good. Are you ready?"

Macey summoned some water and wrapped it around her wrists, ready to throw it at her enemy. Lightning began to flash around Amber, while flames licked at Flint’s fingers. A tiny whirlwind formed on Cam's side and both Izban and Jared stretched out their hands towards the centre of the room where Luch was standing, proud and calm.

"Thank you, Luch," Macey said once again. "We're ready."

The woman nodded and sat down on the floor, cross-legged as if she was meditating. She closed her eyes while the Wardens looked at her, everyone ready to strike at a moment's notice.

A dark mist began to rise from the ground where Luch sat, enveloping her slowly. What started as grey wafts became thick fog, and Macey was wondering if it would stay that way. They'd have no chance attacking mist. There was nothing to focus their magic on.

Luckily, the fog thickened even further until it formed a shape. Moments later, a second Luch was sitting on the floor, facing the real one. Just like sludge-Macey, Luch's doppelganger was black without detailed features and seemed to be made from tar or black oil. It leaned over to Luch as if it was sniffing the air, before stretching out a hand to touch the woman. Luch was keeping her eyes closed and Macey knew she would have done the same. It was one thing looking death into the eye, but quite another to see yourself about to kill you.

She tightened her grip on her magic. This was their only chance to kill Self-Doubt. It had to work.

Macey did a quick survey of the others. They were all ready and looking at her. She took a deep breath and nodded, giving the signal to strike.

What followed next was chaos. Lightning, water, fire, wind and ice flew at Luch and her clone, meeting in one giant explosion of light. Macey was thrown back by the shock wave, but luckily, she'd been standing in front of her throne and was now slumped on the seat. She got back up as fast as she could and threw more water into the middle of the room. She couldn't see Luch anymore, there was too much magic happening around her. The ground was rumbling and suddenly, sharp shards of earth flew at the point where Luch had been sitting. They looked as piercing as spears and were surely able to kill a human. But was it all enough to kill the evil that had copied Luch?

She formed a giant ball of water and had it hover above the centre of the room.

"Amber!" she shouted. "Give me some lightning!"

The beithir immediately grasped what Macey was planning and nodded. "Three... two... one... now!"

Lightning crashed into the water at the same time as Macey released it. Sparks flew and hot steam rose to the ceiling.

A sharp scream came from their target, but it wasn't Luch's voice. It was someone else, someone in a lot of pain. Hopefully, it was the sound of Self-Doubt dying.

"Again!" Macey shouted and conjured another ball of water. "Now!"

Even quicker than before, Amber's lightning entered the water, and more steam filled the room.

The cries disappeared, but the Wardens continued to throw their elements at it. They were taking no chances. Macey dared a quick glance around. Flint was covered in soot but seemed elated at being able to create so much fire. Cam was breathing heavily, sending whirlwinds towards Flint who infused them with fire before Cam directed them into the middle of the room. Izban was throwing icicles while Jared threw similarly shaped earth lances.

Everyone was giving all they could. Was it enough?

When Macey tried to create yet another water ball and failed to even get a drop of water, she knew they had to stop. They'd be defenseless if the evil being wasn't dead yet.

"Stop!" she shouted as loud as she could and immediately, the others ceased their attack. It took a moment for the smoke and dust to clear. Carefully, Macey approached the place where Luch had been sitting.

There was nothing left of the woman and her doppelganger but a pile of ashes, one of them white, one dark.

She sank to her knees, grief overwhelming her. She'd not met Luch long ago, and yet she felt as if they'd known each other for a long time. Maybe it was because Luch had been a Warden like herself. Maybe they were kindred spirits.

Amber kneeled down by Macey's side, her tears flowing freely.

"Thank you, Luch," the beithir whispered. "Rest in peace."