A gasping Serena shot straight up from her covers and the moment that she had stopped, she knew that she had made an agonizing mistake. Tremors of pain echoed through her skull until she was almost certain that the vibration would tear flesh and bone apart. Hot tears rimmed her olive green eyes, but were no condolence to her pounding head which she was sure would explode in matter of seconds. She continued to cradle her head, the pain becoming so intense that her vision was blinded. Lying helplessly in a ball, she waited to die an excruciating death, wondering who could've done this to her. "I'm sorry", she whispered to her fallen sisters and the world in general. She smiled at the thought of Jimena, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before they would meet again. "In Caeli", she whispered softly. In heaven.

"I'm afraid not". She almost flinched as a hand took her by gently by the shoulder. The clouds of darkness over her eyes, parted for a few seconds and behind blonde curtains, she could make out sincere sapphire eyes. Then as if releasing a rushing river or a raging volcano, her emotions began to spill out all at once. He took her into his arms and, wrapping her arms around his neck, she began to sob into his chest. She didn't care about how silly it looked or how much damage it did to her throbbing head. She felt safe now. He bent down to kiss a tear- stained cheek and ran his fingers through her tangled hair. "It's okay now", his whispered a soothing breeze on a moonless night. "I'm here". They sat cradled in each others arms until the steady motion of him rocking her back and forth, silenced her cries and they just sat thoughtless, but as one. Speechless but inseparable.

"Serena?" A perplexed Vanessa stumbled into the room, barely able to hold her balance. Her eyes were on Serena, but deep-set and gaunt, Serena felt as if she were staring right through her. Reluctantly, she let Stanton go and he rose to assist the wayward Vanessa. Serena's eyebrows furrowed when she realized that her sight had been regained and the throbbing pain in her forehead had dimmed a little. She stared as Stanton caught Vanessa by the waist before she stumbled into a nearby cabinet. Was it possible that Vanessa has awoken to the same mind- numbing pain? Now able to think and interpret better, she took in the room around her. The walls were all painted a deep black and various surreal paintings lined them, some of which she had seen before. And then there were those that she had never witnessed, let alone imagined in her life. Shadows dancing upon a dark canvas. Another held thousands of beings bowing to a darker God, namely Hades the God of the Underworld. Furniture was very few in this room aside from the King- sized bed that she now rested in and the few cabinets and chairs, anything but neatly scattered through out the room. No doubt they were in Stanton's lair, a place he had never took her for the fear that she would be put in some sort of danger. "I thought royalty was supposed to live in castles", she muttered more to herself than anything. Stanton replied nevertheless.

"Castles are for medieval times and fairytale princes", he explained as he steadied Vanessa into a nearby armchair. "This is the reality of the Atrox".

Serena started to speak, but was interrupted by a low moan from Vanessa who was now grasping her head as if it would float away if she didn't. "What happened?" She groaned, close to tears. "I've got a splitting headache".

"So did I", Serena added before turning to Stanton, anxious for an answer. He nodded in response.

"I've been meaning to get to that. Remember how your friend Morgan was after she lost her soul to the Atrox?"

Serena nodded. Vanessa, however, stiffened a little and gave an uneasy look at Stanton before nodding for him to go on. She no doubt still held him accountable for the death of her friend as she knew her.

"Well", he continued before giving a half smile to Vanessa. "Can you imagine what it takes to gain that hope back? You were both almost damaged beyond repair when I found you". He stopped for a while, his fists shaking in rage, no doubt frustrated with Karyl.

They exchanged nervous glances, still not endowed with the full knowledge of just how close they had come to death. Or worse. They may have followed the path of a follower. Cold. Dark. Lonely. Almost nonexistent. Serena doubted that she could ever walk such a path and was sure that she would take a knife to her heart before she ever considered such a lifestyle.

"Any normal human would have let the darkness prevail, but you knew at what cost, and all the while you were sleeping, your soul fought an endless battle against the looming power of the Atrox. It took a lot out of you".

Serena sighed in relief. She thought for sure that she was going to die. She could tell that Vanessa had felt the same from the distant, almost mad, look in her eyes. Serena started to stand from the bed, but to her surprise, she stumbled to her knees, similar to Vanessa's awkward steps. She cursed and let Stanton lift her gently back onto the bed. "You're body isn't done healing yet". He put a finger to her lips before she could protest and smiled down on her. "Relax".

She nodded and fell back onto the covers, her arms raised over head. The material smelled of light- scented cologne that she had bought for him last Christmas. He claimed that he never wore it, but obviously that had been a white lie. What was meant to be a soft smile came out as a small grimace. She sighed a little, restless from just lying around. "Well, if you won't let me walk around, at least tell me what's happened".

Vanessa nodded from the opposite wall. Her head was bowed now, making it impossible to make out her eyes. Her voice was soft and wiry, her hair in disarray over her head, making her appearance seem older than it should have been. Serena's eyes clouded with felt pain. After hanging out with Jimena for the past years as well as being a daughter she had learned how to master her emotions so that they didn't get the best of her. Vanessa, however, was less tolerable than all of her sisters and mirrored death itself.

Stanton gave a heavy sigh and put his head in his hands. "I'm not really sure how myself".

"You couldn't stop it?" Serena asked.

"I would have been destroyed, regardless of my title. And I couldn't risk leaving you to fend for yourself. Not here", he whispered.

"Are you saying that it's indestructible?" Serena asked, now fully concerned. "How is that possible?"

Stanton hesitated for a long while before continuing. "The Atrox is using Selene's power".

Vanessa's head shot up at this. "But that would mean…"

"That one of the daughters would have to betray her", Serena finished for her. "But that's impossible. We all fought the Atrox together. Some of us…" She trailed off at the recollection of Jimena and Catty. She looked up and almost flinched at the stare that she was receiving from Vanessa. Cold and calculating. Almost cruel. Was she accusing her? Serena dove into her mind, only to stagger back from a mix of unchained events, overlapping each other at the speed of light. Emotion after emotion crossed and collided, creating an internal chaos. Serena gasped in sympathy. Her blue eyes mellowing out, Vanessa sighed again and laid her head back against the chair.

"How can we stop it?"

Stanton raised his blue eyes to hers, his expression pained. "The only answer right now is another group of daughters to be summoned before it's too late".

"But that couldn't happen unless the former group has passed", Serena argued.

"Exactly", Stanton spoke frailly, almost a whisper. "In order to save the world as you know it, you'll have to sacrifice yourself, just as your sisters did".