Alright, please tell me who you think Torah should end up with! The choices are Zamar, Rikash, Jakkin, or Jassikam. Please, please send in a review and tell me! If you don't review, I will be very sad and not post another chapter! (Okay, I probably will because I love writing about Torah. She's really interesting!) If you don't review, I will cry and get very mad!

By the way, I really am Tamora Pierce. (If you actually think that I'm serious, then you have problems!)

Okay, here's the next chapter! Fanfare!

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They had been following the wind for two days before the wind stopped. Torah asked it why. We are here. The human is in that wind-shelter. We have led you to him.

"Thank you." Torah whispered. "I shall remember this when I am the Lightning Queen someday, when I actually learn what that is!"

Toma had heard. "Stop it, Queen. You are always the Queen and always have been. Are you really going to make the lightning your advisors?"

Torah shrugged. "Sure." Toma gave a sharp whistle. Torah frowned at her. "Be quiet, Toma. You're going to get us caught."

"Of course, your majesty!" The dragon said wickedly. "I was only trying to tell you that I thought that it was a good move on your part to make the lightning your advisors."

Torah raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, of course you'd say that. You are lightning!"

Toma sighed. "I'm not lightning anymore. I am now the Queen's Companion. When a part of a storm breaks away to take a more 'human' form, we become companions to our human. I am the Queen's Companion. I am a lightning dragon, not a bolt of lightning. Do you understand?"

Torah shook her head to clear it. "How about you lecture me after we save my brother? I want to know that he's safe. Mel, have our scouts arrived yet?"

Mel took a mirror from her pocket. They had sent Lani and Jakkin, the two swiftest riders, ahead in advance. They would attack after they were back. Mel looked into her scrying mirror and nodded. "They'll be here in another ten minutes, I think. They say that there aren't any men outside or surrounding the building."

Rikash came to stand behind Torah. She smiled at him and looked back out to where her brother was being held. Lila came to stand at her other side and put an arm around Torah's shoulders.

Ten minutes later, Lani and Jakkin returned. Torah ran up to them. Jakkin nodded to her and began preparing the weapons that the squires would use. Lani went over to tell the others the news.

"There are hardly any men, but the one's who are there are all powerful mages or very good knights. I don't know who they are. We couldn't get close enough for a good look."

Torah nodded absently. She strode over to where Jakkin stood with Ani, both reading the weapons. "Jakkin, around how many men where there."

He looked up at her and grinned. "Twenty, your majesty of lightning."

Torah scowled at him. "Now is not the time to be fooling around." Despite herself, a smile played at her lips. Jakkin grinned back and continued sharpening his sword and dagger.

Ani handed Torah six daggers. Torah thanked her and put one in her obi, two in her sleeves, one on a cord, hanging from her neck, and one in her boot. Her aunt Alianne had taught her how to use daggers. They were quite useful, even for a mage.

After they were all armed up, Torah nodded to Ani and the princess. Both of them held swords. Torah smiled at Toma who was beside her. "Lead us, Companion." She said queenly.

Toma gave a bow and took off through the air. Torah and the others ran after her. They reached the small building in no time at all. Torah called on her magic to open the door. The magic locking it gave way without a problem.

It took Torah's eyes a second to get used to the darker lighting. She squinted and was able to make out a small figure tied to a chair in the corner. A man stood over him, whip in one hand, knife in the other. Torah called out. The man looked up and grinned.

"We got company, boys." Ten other people came into the room. The man walked closer to the mages and squires, still grinning. "I had hoped you were coming, Toralina. I won't lie; you certainly had us fooled."

Any of Torah's friends would have called her proud. She was. She held herself up haughtily and glanced coldly at the man. "You underestimate me, then. If you thought that I couldn't sense a mere listening spell, then you're dead. You should surrender."

The man laughed. "Try to blast me then." Before Torah could move, Mel gasped and collapsed to the ground. Torah didn't move. She signaled for Gavi to take care of her. Once she was positive that Mel was fine, she panicked.

What could they do? Magic was the one thing that they had been counting on. Well, there was nothing else to do, but fight their way out of this with weapons. Torah gave the signal to Ani. Ani held up her hand. She dropped it and they all charged.

Torah went straight for the man. He was just as good as she was. She managed to cut him several times. She realized that he was using magic.

"You cheater!" Torah glared up at him. He was tem inches taller than her. He laughed back down at her.

"Do you think that I would really let you go again? I captured your little fool of a brother, hoping that you would come and save him! You're too noble, my dear. Once we're married and you have taken a blood oath not to use your magic against me, I will let you sit embroidering in our room. You won't have time to be noble."

Torah yelped as an invisible force threw her back against the stone wall. She winced as her head smacked into it. Blood poured out of her mouth. Torah stood back up and threw a dagger at him. He defended himself. Torah was given time to look around her.

Gavi, Ani, Lani, and the prince were the only one's still fighting. Torah knew that they would tire soon. The rest of Torah's group lay on the ground, bleeding to death. Torah walked daintily to where her attacker stood. She slapped him hard and was thrown back again. This time, the wind gathered her into its arms. She was set back down harmlessly.

Torah smiled at the man. "Who are you anyways?"

The man smirked. "My name is Lucion Balagre. We have met in Carthak. I asked you to dance at Midwinter two years ago. You flirted with me and kissed me. You said that you liked me. I saw you the next day. I was going to yell out to you, but I saw our young crown prince taking you into his arms. You broke my heart." He was still smirking.

Torah stood to her full height. She heard a gasp as Lani fell. It was now or never. She glared at the man coldly. "I found out that you had had four wives. You killed each of them when they failed to produce you heirs. The last one was sixteen and pregnant. I refuse to marry you. You have once again underestimated me."

Lucion laughed. It was a heartless, high-pitched, less-than-human laugh. Torah laughed back at him. She loved making people feel nervous. She summoned the winds and the lightning to her. She sent a strong wind at Lucion. He glanced around, frowning slightly.

Torah smiled as Toma landed on her shoulder. "I am the Lightning Queen, the Promised One. I am Toralina of Conte and Olua. I am the mage of weather. You don't deserve to live any longer, Lucion. You have killed too many. My lightning friends?"

The lightning crept closer to him. He gasped. "That's impossible!" He screamed. Torah turned away seconds before the lightning burned him. The rest of his men were bound in lightning ropes. Torah wiped a tear off of her cheek and went to the figure tied to the chair.

Thomath had become unbound by the lightning. He pushed his dark curls out of his eyes. He looked down at his shoes when he saw Torah's intense stare. Torah only hesitated for a second before running towards him and wrapping her arms around him tight. Only then did her tears fall.

The two siblings stood there hugging each other until Ani called out, "Torah, this is all very sweet and all, but seeing as you're the only Healer conscious, I think that you should help the others. Thom, come here."

They both obeyed. Torah fixed Lila, Gavi, and Jakkin quickly. She laid them down outside. All of the clouds volunteered to provide as blankets for them. Torah picked three fluffy clouds from the sky, and they settled down as blankets and pillows. The wind brought Ani and the prince food. Torah turned to Lani.

Soon enough, she felt herself getting tired. Luckily, she only had her brother and Rikash left to do. Lila and Jakkin had both woken up and, to Torah's amusement, were flirting. She rolled her eyes at Ani. Ani followed her gaze and groaned, causing Torah to laugh out loud.

She was soon quiet, however. She had just finished looking at the extent of his injuries. They were bad. Torah refused to let her tears fall, though. She rushed back to where Lila and Gavi were.

"I need your help! Rikash is really bad!" Lila and Gavi jumped up immediately and rushed to where he stood. "I know you're tired, but could you at least try to pour some of your strength into him?"

They had no success. Torah glared up at the sky, begging the wind to help him. It sadly responded that it was unable to. Torah cursed herself for being so stupid. Finally, Mel came up to Torah, clutching a cloud blanket around her and smiling sadly.

"Torah, I know you can do it. You two love each other. I see the way you look at him when you think that no one's looking. He's told me of his feeling for you. Torah, I know that you won't let him die."

Torah watched her as she left the room. Suddenly, Torah knew that she wasn't going to let him die. She called on the last burst of magic from herself and gave it to him. She saw him move. Torah grinned to herself before fainting.

She woke up to Toma's shouting. "Do you know how stupid that was?! You tapped your own life source, you idiot! What would have happened if the Lightning Queen had died?! You shouldn't have tried it!"

Torah grinned at Toma. "Oh stop it. What kind of queen would I be if I saved myself instead of my subjects?"

Toma groaned. "I hate it when you make sense." Torah giggled and suddenly remembered what she wanted to ask.

"Why are even the clouds serving me now? And is Rikash okay?"

"The clouds are just big arses that needed proof that you were the Promised One. They need everything shoved in front of their noses. That boy hasn't woken up yet, but he'll be fine. Hey, where do you think you're going? He doesn't need you hovering over him, and you need to rest!" Toma said as Torah bolted out of her clouds and rushed to Rikash's side.

"Are you sure that he's all right?" Torah asked. She was given a sharp blow on the head. "Ouch! Okay, I know! Stupid question! How's everyone else?"

"Fine, fine. Why don't you greet your arse of a brother?" It was Torah's turn to whack the dragon's head. "What was that for?"

"You know." Torah smiled impishly. She walked across the clearing to where Ani and the others had been playing with three small bolts of lightning. Torah heard some thunder and rain there too.

Torah walked up to them. The lightning and rain bowed immediately. The clouds followed suit. The thunder made a loud sound. Even Torah's friends were kneeling. Torah smiled at them.

"Don't kneel before me, my friends. I have only come to greet you. A very smart, annoying, sarcastic advisor of mine told me that it would be wise to come and talk to you. Thomath, I would be delighted if you would join me on a walk right now." She stalked off with her nose in the air.

Thom looked at Mel, clearly scared. She smiled back. "Don't worry. She wouldn't save you from those men just to have you killed."

Thom smiled a little. "I wouldn't put it past her. She didn't even smile at me!"

Mel giggled. "She's in one of her imperious moods. She's a queen, and Rikash and I think that she may even be a Great God someday. The Lightning Queen is very rare, and a powerful one is even rarer yet. She is very, very powerful. Go on; you don't want to keep the queen waiting!"

Thomath nodded and scurried off to where his sister stood. She glanced at him before turning to walk along the wildflowers. Thom scurried to catch up to her as she bent down to smell a rose. He bowed.

She glanced at him in surprise. To Thom's surprise, she laughed. It was a real laugh, one that Thom hadn't heard for three years. She motioned for him to stand up. She shook her head and smiled. For the first time, Torah seemed to drop her Queen Toralina of the Lightning act. She was her normal self again.

"Thomath, I missed you all those months. When I got that letter, I thought that someone was joking around with me. I take it you weren't."

Thom smiled. "I wrote you a lot of letters. I never sent any of them. I thought that you might get angry. I'll never forget that day that you threw me out of the house. That was a little scary. You looked like–like– like lightning! I guess that you being the queen of lightning makes sense!"

Torah laughed. Suddenly, a little pink dragon (imagine Mushu from Mulan, but pink!) flew out and landed on top of Torah's head. She sighed.

"I'll talk to you later, Thom. I'm really glad that you're okay!" She hugged him and rushed away.

Thom looked after her, a small smile on his face. It widened and he rn back to where Mel and her friends where.

Torah rushed down to where a lightning bolt was fighting with a cloud. She cleared her throat and they stopped immediately. They gave excuses. Torah listened to them like a proper queen was supposed to, before sending them away. She heard a chuckle behind her. She spun around. Rikash stood there.

He smiled at her. She ran into his arms and hugged him tight. Before he could say anything, she kissed him. She laughed at Rikash's surprised expression, but it was cut short by another kiss.

After a couple minutes of this, they broke apart. Torah scowled at him. "You're supposed to be resting!" She said loudly.

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This has got to be my favorite chapter so far! I think it's one of my longest too. Sorry if the battle scene was crap! I suck at writing them! Yes, Torah is with Rikash for now. It could change, but it would take a lot of convincing because I'm in love with him! Review please!