Cecilia stepped away from Kaito's unconscious body and nearer to the ghostly Marowak. No matter how agitated she may be, she knew better than to go on a fiery rampage so close to her Togetic companion. Sera watched her movements closely, her mouth twitching into a barely visible smirk, the sight of which made the Quilava's blood boil.

Hesitating no longer, Cecilia launched herself at her foe, her flames growing rapidly until they practically engulfed her body. Sera's smirk widened and she tightened her grip on her bone club, preparing to counterattack. Waves of heat flowed around Cecilia's body, adding a considerable boost to her running speed. The sudden surge of agility must have caught Sera by surprise because her swing came late, allowing Cecilia to duck under her arm and slam her head into the Marowak's stomach with all the force she could muster.

She half-expected to phase through Sera's body entirely. If the Marowak truly possessed ghostly abilities, that likely included the ability to render herself intangible against standard physical attacks. This was another reason Cecilia had taken the trouble to wreathe herself in flames, but that still left the uncertain question of how effective it might be. To her delight, Cecilia felt herself collide with the reptilian scales of a corporeal Pokemon, and judging by the pained grunt and wheeze that the impact forced from the black Marowak's mouth, it also possessed the standard internal organs, such as lungs.

Sera stumbled backwards, clutching her stomach, and leaned against one of the stone pillars to keep from falling over. Her gray eyes narrowed at Cecilia, and she was gasping for air.

"You're not actually a ghost," Cecilia noted with a growl, her flames blazing intensely as she glared at the masked Pokemon. "You're flesh and blood."

"No one said I was literally a ghost," Sera sneered, using the pillar to right herself, and brandished her bone club in the Quilava's direction. "I'm a Ghost-type, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm composed of ectoplasm."

"Then how'd you make yourself invisible and intangible before?!" Cecilia demanded.

"Dimwit. I wasn't intangible," Sera scoffed. "Why would I have bothered deflecting your attacks if I already couldn't be harmed by them? Like Kaito said, I gave my secret away by doing that."

Cecilia growled and expelled a stream of flames from her mouth directly at the Marowak. Sera's gray eyes lit up with enthusiasm, and she leapt off the ground with surprising agility, nimbly landing on the flat pedestal of the pillar she had been supporting herself against. Cecilia hastily adjusted her aim, but Sera kicked off the pillar moments before the fire would have engulfed her body, executing an acrobatic flip in mid-air, and landing just behind the Quilava.

Knowing she would waste precious time turning around, Cecilia instead redirected her energy to her rear flames, extinguishing the flames on her head in the process. She then expelled the excess heat from her back vents. Heat billowed out from her body, creating a harsh gale of superheated air that assaulted the Pokemon behind her.

She cast a quick look over her shoulder to judge the effectiveness of the tactic, and her eyes widened as she saw the Marowak's bone club swiftly descending towards her skull. Acting entirely on instinct, Cecilia rolled sideways, and Sera's club struck the floor with a loud cracking sound that seemed to echo across the chamber.

"I'm a Fire-type, you dunce," Sera sneered, twirling her club and stalking towards the Quilava, who backpedaled desperately to stay just out of the Marowak's range. She had expended so much energy with those last few attacks that she needed to take a few moments to recharge. "Extreme heat poses far more of a hazard to your friend than it does to me."

Cecilia bristled at the insult, but refused to take the bait. She was pissed as all hell right now, but she wasn't stupid. Lunging at an opponent who was blatantly mocking her would be an amateur mistake the likes of which Lin would never let her live down. Cecilia knew perfectly well that her tendency to use intense battle as a form of stress relief was reckless and sometimes a bit stupid, but nothing else was as effective for diffusing her emotions. Just because she was an emotionally unstable Fire-type did not mean she was that easily provoked.

"Wait, you're a Fire/Ghost-type?" Cecilia demanded incredulously. "How does that make any sense at all? Who are you?!"

Sera snickered, and swiftly rubbed one end of her bone club against the flame-shaped marking on her skull mask, producing green sparks with each impact. After striking the mask three or four times, an eerie green flame erupted from that end of the bone, and Sera swiped the ignited club through the air, scattering wisps of green flame around her body. Cecilia tensed, immediately recognizing the wisps as unnatural fire. Her heat-absorbent fur would be useless against such flames.

"I already told you," Sera whispered dramatically, and her gray eyes lit up with enthusiasm as she shamelessly indulged in Cecilia's nervous expression. "I am Seraphina, champion of vengeful souls. I've had an affinity with restless spirits since my birth."

The black Marowak spun the ignited bone in her paws, closing her eyes in the process. As more wisps of green flame scattered around them, Cecilia felt the air grow colder, as if the ghostly embers were sucking the warmth out of the air. She reignited her flames, but found their comfort lacking.

"It's useless," Sera murmured, and she spun the burning bone faster, until purple flames erupted from the opposite end of the bone, and an ominous purple aura simultaneously engulfed the Marowak's body. "Without a Cleanse Tag, you can't break my connection with the wayward dead," Sera continued softly. "I've inherited their wills, and fight to ease their regrets..."

The Marowak's eyes flew open, and Cecilia flinched upon seeing the gray irises now tinted with a subtle purple glow. Sera snickered at her expression, and without another word, she lunged at Cecilia, and spun on her heel, using the momentum of her twirl to bring the bone baton around and deliver a fierce uppercut to the fire weasel's chin. Stars exploded in front of Cecilia's vision, and she stumbled backwards, blinded by pain. Sera pressed her assault, delivering a second blow to the Quilava's side, followed by a sharp jab to her chest. Each blow sent a wave of fresh pain across Cecilia's nerves, but it was the burning sensation following in the wake of each strike that prompted her agonized whimpers.

Cecilia felt as though her very skin had been set aflame, and tears of pain spilled freely from her eyes, blurring her vision more severely than the previous blow to her face had accomplished. She flailed blindly, trying to decipher the spots of light and color, but the Marowak's black body blended in too well with the dull coloration of their surroundings, and even the flashes of green and purple came too abruptly to serve as a proper warning before another blow was delivered to her body.

The bright blurs of ghostly flame lingered before the Quilava's vision, and Cecilia cringed, knowing the colorful dance of light signaled another impending blow, and while she made a valiant effort to repel her foe with a burst of fire, she knew it would be in vain. However, the blow never came, and she heard Sera utter a startled cry, followed a moment later by the sound of an impact against the stone wall.

Cecilia blinked rapidly in an effort to clear her vision, and through her blurry tears, she saw a black shape approaching her. She immediately growled and tensed, certain that it was Sera winding up for another assault. If that bitch Marowak thought she was going to just curl up and let herself be beaten to a pulp, then she clearly didn't know who she was dealing with.

"Are you okay, Cece?"

The Quilava's heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her throat at the sound of a familiar male voice. She wiped her eyes with her paw, hardly daring to believe what she had just heard. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but sure enough, a familiar Espeon was standing in front of her. Shadow looked almost exactly as he had the last time she had seen him. Black fur covered the majority of his body, and a distinct, silver gem glowed faintly from his forehead, perfectly matching the shade of his eyes. His forked tail twitched behind him, and he glanced to the side, drawing Cecilia's attention to the ghostly Marowak climbing back to her feet, now looking a bit disgruntled.

"Cece, is it?" Sera sneered, wiping a trace of dirt from her skull mask with her paw. "Does that make him your knight in shining armor, then? Bah...Circe will have a field day with him. She is your better in every way, 'Cece'," she snickered, adding a mocking emphasis to the nickname.

Cecilia bristled, but Shadow was faster. His silver eyes flashed, and this time, Cecilia sensed the faint psychic energy that sped through the air and shoved Sera forcefully against the stone wall. The Marowak's skull mask took the brunt of the impact, producing a loud cracking sound, but the skull mask itself seemed undamaged, and the ghostly Marowak merely dazed. Shadow seemed to consider the lack of serious injury to be of no loss, because he promptly returned his attention to Cecilia, who found herself, for just a moment, genuinely intimidated by him.

The control he wielded over his psychic abilities seemed to have grown exponentially in just the short month since they had gone their separate ways, and he carried himself with considerably more confidence and purpose. His shyness when they had met had been adorable, but she realized, now more than ever before, that once he had enough time to fully mature, both physically and mentally, he would be an incredible catch for whatever female happened to win his affections. It was just a pity that Cecilia knew she could never truly be that female.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted blankly.

"I could ask you the same thing, and I fully intend to," the Espeon answered gravely, and he paused to glance around the chamber. Looking past him, Cecilia saw, with an uncomfortable jolt, that Shadow was not the only other Pokemon to have entered the room. Lingering near the stairs leading back to the upper floors was a familiar quadruped covered in tan fur, with a number of green sprouts protruding from his body, and a larger sprout growing upon its forehead. Its ears and tail each ended in a leafy appearance, and soft brown eyes blinked nervously around the chamber, although once he realized the Quilava was safely across the room from himself, the Leafeon visibly relaxed.

The other new arrival was a Pokemon Cecilia had never met before. It was a quadruped, mammalian Pokemon almost entirely covered in white fur. Its face had dark-colored skin, and a distinct, scythe-like horn extended from one side of its head. Each paw was equipped with vicious claws, and even the shape of its tail vaguely resembled a blade. If those traits alone hadn't been enough to confidently label it as a predator, the Pokemon's intense green eyes put those doubts to rest.

Quiet groaning from across the chamber caught Cecilia's notice, and she looked over to see that Kaito was stirring. The sound seemed to likewise draw the attention of Shadow and the Absol, and Cecilia's heart began to beat very fast.

"Excuse me, I have to check on Kaito," she told the Espeon, already hurrying past him. She half-expected him to try to stop her, because she recognized in the back of her mind that she was technically dodging his question of what she was doing at the Ruins. To her relief, Shadow made no attempt to block her path, instead turning his attention back to the ghostly Marowak, who had already recovered from being pitched against the wall, but was passively watching them through narrowed eyes.

Cecilia reached the Togetic's side and spoke to him quietly, testing to see if he was conscious enough to register her voice. His eyes fluttered slightly, but when he attempted to lift his head, he cringed in obvious pain.

"Don't try to move yet," Cecilia insisted anxiously. She wasn't a doctor, but she knew that head injuries were one of the more serious battle injuries one could incur. Kaito was not as experienced in battle as the other members of the group, with the possible exception of Iris, and so his body was unlikely to be as resilient to injury as her own. Togetic also had a frailer body than most Pokemon, with small limbs and a dependency on hovering to get around, so Kaito also lacked the advantage of muscles or bones accustomed to holding the rest of his body up.

This realization caused another surge of rage to flood through her body, but she forced the emotions from her mind, and swallowed the growl that threatened to rip free of her throat. She hadn't even realized at first how Kaito's body structure might affect the severity of potential injuries, instead just focusing on how much she hated to see her friends get hurt. That anger wouldn't do her a damn bit of good right now, though, because it wouldn't aid in getting Kaito medical attention if he needed it.

"Is he okay?" Leaf wondered, tentatively approaching the Quilava. Cecilia instinctively glared in his direction, causing the Leafeon to flinch, but he then growled at her. "I'm trying to be nice!"

"Just stay away from him!" the Fire-type snapped back, flaring up her flames briefly. Leaf recoiled from the fire, and fixed her with a dirty look as he moved away from them. Cecilia might have felt guilty over the outburst if her greater concern hadn't been on Kaito's well-being. That, and she vividly recalled what Force and Iris had said about the conflict in Eterna Forest, and how the Leafeon had nearly killed the possessed Riolu. No matter how innocent Leaf appeared to be, Cecilia wasn't going to risk the lives of any of her companions by allowing him to get within striking distance when they were helpless to defend themselves, and if that meant exploiting his pyrophobia, then so be it.

"Oh?" Sera's voice carried across the room, that one word containing a mixture of amusement and intrigue. Glancing over, Cecilia saw that the Marowak's bone club was glowing again with a faint purple aura, but the bone Pokemon's gaze was fixed upon the Absol, rather than Shadow. "Astrid, is it?"

"You know my name?" the Absol asked, her tail wagging with amusement far exceeding what was appropriate for learning that a strange Pokemon knew her name. Cecilia had only not questioned Sera's foreknowledge of their identities on the basis that she and Kaito had used one another's names several times when examining the room, and the timing of Sera's ambush had implied she had been present the whole time they were there, simply concealed with a ghostly illusion.

"I do," Sera confirmed with a smirk. "The Sigilyph guardian once stationed within these Ruins...its life was taken by you."

"Yeah," Astrid confirmed with a nonchalant shrug that Cecilia found a bit alarming under the circumstances. Sera blinked, and while her expression was difficult to read due to the skull mask covering the majority of her face, she looked a bit like the wind had been taken out of her sails. Astrid definitely noticed, because she stifled a giggle. "Oh, sorry, did I ruin the drama of the moment?"

"A little bit, yes," Sera admitted grudgingly. She twirled the bone club in her paw, and purple flames ignited from both ends, with the ominous aura again engulfing her body. "No matter...its hatred prevents its soul from crossing over properly...you robbed it of its life, and prevented it from completing its assigned task of retrieving what it once guarded."

"That sucks," Astrid replied with a shrug, and Shadow stifled a snort of laughter, and even Cecilia's mouth twitched. She honestly couldn't tell whether the Absol was the most socially oblivious Pokemon she had ever met, or if her casual and insensitive remarks were deliberate, to highlight the absurdity of Sera's dramatic posturing.

Sera seemed to interpret it as the latter, because her eyes narrowed with contempt, and she set her jaw. "Is that all you have to say on the matter?" she sneered, but Cecilia could hear her voice shaking with anger.

"Kind of," Astrid answered, shrugging again. "I dunno why you'd take it so personally that you're challenging me to a fight, though. I know Marowak are scrappy or whatever, but me killing a Sigilyph three weeks ago seems like a weird thing to latch onto as justification."

"You aren't required to understand my motives," Sera snapped, spinning the blazing bone club aggressively. "I, Seraphina-"

"Seraphina?" Astrid repeated, cutting the Marowak off mid-sentence. Sera's eye twitched, and she propelled herself at the Absol, raising her club and bringing it down upon the Absol's head. Astrid casually shifted to one side, bringing her scythe horn up to intercept the Marowak's bone, like a fencer meeting its opponent's sword. Tendrils of vicious black energy traveled along the Absol's horn as she pushed back against the Marowak's bone weapon, forcing Sera to push back to keep from being overpowered, but after just a moment of having their weapons locked, Astrid abruptly pulled away from her. With the sudden absence of an opposing force, Sera's momentum carried forward, and she struck the stone floor with her bone club, producing a solid clunking sound. The vibration of the impact traveled up to Sera's arm and she yelped in pain, releasing the bone baton and clutching her arm.

Astrid swiftly placed a forepaw on the dropped bone and flicked it behind her. The bone skidded across the uneven stone floor with a gentle clattering sound, coming to a rest at Leaf's feet. The Leafeon draped his forepaws over the bone possessively, moving low to the ground to more effectively guard the weapon, although Cecilia thought for a moment that he was about to go full Houndoom and start chewing on it.

Sera just stared, slack-jawed, scarcely able to fathom how quickly the situation had been turned against her. The Marowak's gray eyes darted from Astrid, to Cecilia, to Shadow, and her mouth twisted into a scowl, even as her shoulders sagged in resignation, a wordless acknowledgement that she was outnumbered and had been bested.

"Ooh, I remember where I've heard your name before!" Astrid said brightly, ignoring the glare Sera shot her way. "I think Renard met you a few months ago, near Hearthome City."

"What of it?" Sera retorted, folding her arms defiantly. Astrid giggled, unfazed by the Marowak's attitude.

"Aren't you a mercenary for Neo-Galactic or whatever?" she pressed.

"No," Sera answered bluntly.

"Oh, then maybe I'm just misremembering what Renard said," Astrid murmured, losing interest in the Marowak and gazing around the rest of the chamber again, her attention drawn to the various Unown sigils that patterned the walls.

Kaito again stirred from beside Cecilia, but the Quilava gently insisted that he lay still for now. The Togetic twitched at the request, but whatever pain was wracking his body with each attempted movement seemed to convince him to comply.

"I'm getting that scent again," Kaito murmured. Cecilia blinked, and sniffed the air cautiously. When she and Kaito had first started to explore the Ruins, they had taken note of a peculiar scent lingering in the air, an aroma that was very different from the usual mustiness that clung to the atmosphere within ancient sites. Cecilia had readily identified the smell as being similar to the pheromone incense used by professional breeders, only significantly more potent, and as her nose picked up the trace of the scent again, her initial impression still held true. It was sweet, yet simultaneously bitter. Alluring, but mixed with a taste of smoke, like a rose cooking on a charcoal grill.

"Does anyone else smell something?" she wondered aloud. With the exception of Sera, the other Pokemon paused to sniff the air. Astrid and Shadow seemed to catch the trail almost immediately, whereas Leaf took a little longer to do the same.

"It's vaguely familiar, but I still don't recognize it," Astrid admitted. "Sweet and alluring, but has a strange aftertaste."

"It still reminds me of fire somehow," Shadow intoned.

"Oh, is this what you guys were smelling earlier?" Leaf wondered, his nose twitching. He purred quietly, and his eyes glazed over slightly. "It's so weird...I like it, but kind of hate it at the same time. But it's not so bad that I want to stop smelling it."

Shadow glanced sideways at his brother, and a frown creased his face. "It must be much closer now, if you're actually able to pick up the scent," he commented.

"I dunno, I still can't shake the similarities to breeding incense," Astrid mused, and Cecilia bit back a grin, delighted that she wasn't the only one to make such a connection. "But it's still unfamiliar, so I think the source is something I've rarely ever come into contact with, like a dragoness in heat."

"A dragoness?" Cecilia repeated thoughtfully. That actually wasn't a terrible guess, because off-hand, she couldn't remember the last time she had actually encountered a Dragon-type Pokemon during a fertile period. Dragons in general had a much smaller breeding window than the average species, which greatly contributed to their scarcity, and played a part in why the females tended to be so aggressive and selective when it came to choosing their mates.

That said, she didn't think there were any dragonesses within the Solaceon Ruins. Ember probably came the closest, due to having dragon lineage, but Ember was upstairs, and the scent the group was detecting was coming from somewhere nearby. For that matter, the only reptilian Pokemon in the vicinity was the ghostly Marowak. Cecilia glanced towards Sera, but realized her folly almost at once. She had just been fighting against the bone Pokemon in close proximity mere minutes ago, and certainly would have noticed the addictive scent clinging to the air around her if Sera was the source. Unfortunately, it was too late to take back the glance before the Marowak noticed.

"I'm not in heat, you stupid bitch," Sera sneered. "How dense are you?"

"I only looked at you, that doesn't mean I thought-" Cecilia began, bristling defensively, but Sera snickered and cut her off with a sharp wave of her paw.

"Good grief, you're hopeless," Sera murmured, and her gray eyes shone with enthusiasm. It took Cecilia a moment to realize that the Marowak was not looking at her, but instead focusing upon the staircase leading down into the hidden passageway below. "Circe must be done here."

Cecilia blinked and turned her attention to the hole in the floor, sniffing the air tentatively. At once, her nostrils were bombarded with the poisonously sweet scent, causing her to sputter and stumble away from the stairs. Kaito attempted to lift his head, only to cringe as pain wracked his skull. The Quilava reignited her flames, intent on protecting the Togetic if the incoming creature turned out to be as hostile as Sera had been.

"Circe, we have a number of unexpected guests," Sera announced to the air, her mouth curling into a smug smirk. It was faint, but Cecilia could definitely hear the sound of feet climbing the stairs, and knew it would only be a moment longer before the Pokemon appeared before their eyes.

A powerful burst of flame erupted from the stairwell, prompting almost everyone to recoil from the stairs in alarm. A plume of smoke rose out of the dark pit, obscuring the stairs for several seconds. Then, as the smoke faded away, every male in the room took in a sharp breath, and even Cecilia was not entirely immune to this reaction.

Standing before them was a tall, lithe, bipedal lizard Pokemon with dark gray scales. It had pale purple-gray eyes with slit pupils, and a distinct snout with several toothy protrusions along its lower jaw. Its underside had pale purple scales matching the color of its eyes, but what stood out more prominently was the trio of pink markings doodled upon its belly. The largest of the markings was upon the lizard's chest, forming a U-shaped emblem-like design. The remaining two markings were lower upon its abdomen, drawn in a vaguely flame-like pattern that further accentuated the incredible curves of the lizard Pokemon. What unnerved Cecilia the most was how these markings seemed almost purposefully positioned to draw the eye towards the creature's nether regions, although she could not imagine what evolutionary function this might have served. The lizard's curvy figure and demeanor already oozed so much sex appeal that even without those markings, Cecilia expected that most males checked the biped's gender within moments of first setting eyes on it. There was simply no chance to ever mistake this Pokemon as anything other than a female.

A long tail trailed behind the unknown Pokemon, and she stood with a confident, wide-legged stance that allowed Cecilia to see that the tail had a pink underside, the same color as the markings along its front, but the rest of the tail was the same dark gray that covered most of its body. The creature's tail lashed briefly, and the movement caused Cecilia to notice a pair of small, whip-like protrusions upon the reptilian Pokemon's back, flanking the base of its tail. Each of its feet and paws consisted of five spindly digits.

The newcomer seemed unbothered by how everyone's gaze was fixed exclusively upon her, nor did she seem to mind that quite a lot of the attention was primarily directed at features located below her face. If anything, she seemed to delight in the attention, and her mouth curled into a wicked, yet somehow seductive, smile.

"Alola, everyone," the lizard stated, waving its paws in an odd, circular gesture that presumably was intended as a greeting, because it certainly didn't appear hostile. Her tone was eerily pleasant, and unmistakably feminine, just like the rest of her body. "I am Circe, a Salazzle, for those unversed with the world outside Sinnoh."

A quick glance around the room informed Cecilia that literally no one apart from Sera had known what species Circe was. Even Astrid, who seemed the most experienced of the group, had a blank expression at the mention of the species.

The Salazzle snorted softly, producing a wisp of purple smoke from her nostrils as she stepped away from the stairs. Cecilia's senses were almost immediately bombarded by the elusive scent, her proximity to the Salazzle making it seem infinitely more potent than before.

"What the hell is that?" Cecilia demanded, shaking herself in an effort to dispel the overwhelming potency of the perfumed scent.

Circe smirked and flicked her tongue like a snake tasting the air. "My toxins contain potent pheromones. Very useful for summoning servants, but why waste my potential by having gremlins serve me, when I can make use of my finer talents elsewhere in the world?"

"K-kuro," Kaito coughed, recovering enough to lift his head slightly. Circe's eyes flicked down to where the Togetic lay, and she frowned.

"Oh dear. Seraphina, love, you've done a number on this fairy's fragile little head," she crooned, crouching before the Togetic and lightly trailing a digit along the gash. Kaito cried out in agony at the Salazzle's touch, and Cecilia snarled dangerously. "He seems to be mistaking me for my reverse counterpart, the male illusionist assembling the harem of Fire-type lizards."

"Don't touch him," Cecilia growled, taking an aggressive step towards the Salazzle, her eyes blazing with barely restrained emotion.

"Have it your way, fool," Circe retorted, standing up and expelling another wisp of poison from her nostrils. "Are there not humans exploring these Ruins? I could lure them here with my pheromones, and direct them to utilize the healing potions they doubtlessly possess. Failing that, they could hasten his delivery to a medical center. But I see you must have everything under control."

The Salazzle flashed Cecilia a wicked smile and stepped away from Kaito, causing the Quilava to flounder awkwardly, unsure if it would do any good to backpedal in a desperate bid to get assistance, or if that bridge had already been burned.

Astrid and Shadow both tensed as the poisonous lizard turned their way, but Circe's attention lingered the longest on Shadow, blatantly admiring him, like most females doubtlessly did when seeing him for the first time. Cecilia's stomach squirmed, and it took everything she had not to try to interject herself between the two of them. Circe stepped nearer to Shadow, but Astrid growled loudly, drawing the Salazzle's attention, but after a moment, it became clear that Circe was not looking at Astrid herself, but instead at a black loop of metal attached to one of her forelegs.

"Oh? That's one of mine, is it not?" Circe purred, stepping nearer to the Absol. "Yes...that is definitely my handiwork...are you satisfied with the quality of the metal craftsmanship?"

"...what?" Astrid blurted, her green eyes widening in bewilderment.

"Your Absolite bracer, dear," Circe clarified, extending her paw and tapping the metal loop, where a small, semi-transparent white gemstone was set. "It's one of mine. I fashioned it very recently...see the adjustable clasp? That's a trademark of mine I try to implement into every metal apparel piece I create. Are you satisfied with the results?"

"Um...I guess so," Astrid answered, frowning slightly.

"That sort of non-committal answer doesn't appease me, love," Circe crooned, her purple eyes glittering. "I want you to show me. Battle me, and demonstrate that you can draw out the stone's power."

"What? No," Astrid argued bluntly.

"It'd be in your best interest to cooperate," Sera drawled from the side of the room. "You took the life of the Sigilyph guardian, and Circe fashioned your bracer. This is your chance to repay both debts in battle. Or you could just hand over your Absolite to replace what was stolen, while returning what Circe made for you."

"This is stupid," Astrid noted, yet her tail was wagging. "But you're not really giving me a choice, are you?"