I stared down at the phone. At the top, it read 'Call Ended', and it took several long moments for me to process what had happened. He'd hung up on me. To save me, he'd hung up on me.

As if someone had flipped a switch, I suddenly felt so many emotions. Fear, sadness, and anger all flowed through me and came out as hot tears as I immediately began to sob. I threw the phone onto the bed and hugged myself as I cried.

Lisa came over and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Chrystal, you know he only did that to-"

"I don't care why!" I screeched at her. "All of them are in danger!"

"Chrystal, if you don't calm down-"

The rest of her sentence never came. The world was beginning to spin around me. My fear overcame my other emotions as I latched onto Lisa's arm.

"No, Chrystal, you have to stop!" she yelled, but I barely heard her. When she got no response, she held my hand tightly. I closed my eyes.

The world felt as if it had fallen out from under me. I wanted to scream but didn't dare open my mouth. I didn't even breathe until I felt a solid surface beneath me again.

A moment later, I was surrounded by gasps.

I slowly opened my eyes. The first person I saw was Lisa, who was holding me tightly to her. "Are you alright?" she asked quickly and quietly.

I took a moment to steady myself before I slowly nodded. She let out a sigh of relief, then turned her gaze to the space around us.

"Chrystal?" asked a familiarly timid voice.

I followed the sound to its source and felt tears form in my eyes again. Jasmine was staring at me. All of my friends were watching me. I wanted to jump up and hug all of them, but their confused and frightened stares kept me from moving.

Jasmine took a step forward, but was stopped by Sarah, who shook her head to her and approached me herself. We stared at each other as she kneeled on the floor in front of me. After a long moment, she gave me a small smile.

"I'm glad you're alright," she said, reaching out her hand and placing it on my head, just like she had so many times before.

My tears overflowed, and I broke free from Lisa's grasp and hugged her tight. She hugged me back, and the others took it as a sign that they could also approach.

Sarah pulled back suddenly, curiosity and confusion in her eyes. "Chrystal, as excited as we are to see you, how did you get here?"

As much as I wanted to answer, I found that I couldn't. My energy vanished yet again, and Lisa pulled me back into her arms.

"What happened?" I heard Jasmine ask, alarmed. "Is she okay?"

"It's a long story," Lisa told them. "Now if I were you, I would stop saying her name so loudly. The person out there is clearly looking for her."

Everyone nodded, and I felt my eyes close. The others talked in hushed voices, but I couldn't even comprehend what they were saying anymore.

After what felt like an eternity, I heard the door to the room creak open. I pried my eyes open enough to see Sebastian close the door behind him and turn to face me. He didn't seem surprised; he'd probably been able to sense when I arrived. Even still, he walked over and sat on the ground beside me, then ran a gentle hand over my forehead.

"You shouldn't have come here," he said gently.

Lisa answered for me, "You act like she can control it."

"Um, excuse me. Sebastian? Miss police officer? What's going on?" I heard Jasmine ask. "How did she get here?"

I tried to sit up, but Sebastian stopped me. "With your permission, My Lady, Lisa and I will explain everything to them. You need to rest."

I wanted to object. I felt that I needed to be the one to tell them. It was my destiny, after all. But Sebastian was right. I needed to sleep, and he and Lisa would be able to explain things to them probably much better than I could. I reluctantly nodded.

Sebastian smiled, and Lisa stood and lifted me up from the floor. Immediately, there was commotion as my friends began to clean off the closest bed. Lisa lay me down gently, then sat beside me and covered me with the blanket. A moment later, Jasmine sat on my other side and took my hand. I smiled up at her as I finally succumbed and fell asleep, only slightly aware that she was staring at the black marking on my wrist.

There were people everywhere. They filled the hotel lobby and were running up the stairs, pushing past and killing anyone in their way. The staff in the lobby were all dead behind the front desk, blood soaking through their clothes.

They were ruthless as they searched the hotel. They barged into every room and killed anyone who would not cooperate with them. Suddenly, I saw all of us, cowering in a corner of the room. Lisa and Sebastian stood before us, and I was in front of my friends despite their protests. I tightened my grip on my swords.

After a few moments of sitting in terrified silence, the door to our room came crashing down. Jasmine screamed from behind me, and I stood to protect her and the others. Lisa narrowed her eyes at one of the men in particular. I followed her gaze and saw a man with silver hair and red eyes staring past Lisa and directly at me. I felt the familiar tug of the trance so many had put on me before, and I fought it, staring hard back at him.

"You've grown quite powerful, I see," he said with a smirk. He then laughed suddenly, and called in a loud and demanding voice, "Here I am, You're Majesty! Your final trial! Let's see how you and your love fair in this one last test."