The guards doing the interrogations brought her some disturbing news the next afternoon.

"My Queen, do you want us to...?" Bernard asked.

She shook her head, her mind numb. "Let me talk to Gliss," she said quietly.

Clarion's heart broke as she looked out her window over Pixie Hollow an hour later. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, bees were buzzing-it was the perfect day. However, inside her heart, everything was crumbling. Tears built in her eyes. "Queens do not cry," she whispered to herself, fighting to put up her walls.

She walked over to her desk and pulled out a paper.

Milori,

I need you to meet me at the spring border. We've found the traitor.

She waited at the border, her hands clasped before her to stop their shaking. Milori came flying over and stopped at the edge. Sled, Milori's constant companion while Milori continued to regain his strength, stopped back a bit.

"You found who it is?" Milori asked quickly.

She gave a slow nod, her eyes full of sorrow.

"What's wrong? Who is it?" he frowned.

"Milori," she said softly and stepped closer. "I beg you to tell me why you had to go to the North Woods." He ran a hand over his face. "Clarion, I've already told you."

"You said you can't tell me. Please, Milori," she begged with tears in her eyes and set a hand on his broad chest. She looked up at him with a broken heart. "Please," she whispered.

He closed his eyes, struggling to resist her. He shook his head.

Her heart began to bleed as she stared up at him. Slowly, she dropped her hand and took a step back. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to be alive. She whispered, "Arrest them."

Bernard and three other guards stepped forward in winter clothes and grabbed Milori and Sled.

"Clarion?" Milori asked in confusion as two guards roughly shackled his wrists behind his back and bound his wings down. His wide eyes searched hers in fear.

"Lord Milori!" Sled cried as he was arrested too.

Her lip quivered and tears fell down her face as she turned her eyes to Sled. With an unsteady voice she croaked, "Fairy Sled, you're hereby under arrest for murder and treason. A witness testified to seeing you start the fire, and guards are searching your home at this moment for evidence."

She forced herself to look at Milori, who looked completely bewildered.

"Lord of Winter, you're hereby under arrest..." Her voice broke. "As an accomplice for murder and treason. We have a witness testifying you willingly offering refuge to a fugitive." She drew a deep breath to try to stop the tears. "You will both be imprisoned until the exile date is set," she hiccuped.

"Clarion, please, you have to talk to me tonight," Milori begged as the guards shoved him to his knees.

"Do you deny the charges?" she asked softly, hoping there had been an egregious mistake. Her eyes begged him. Her chest hurt, and breath did not come easily past her lips. She despised herself as a ruler in that instant because she knew that if he lied to her, she would look the other way and believe him.

He closed his eyes, a tear escaping and dropping into a crystal in the snow. "I cannot lie to you," he whispered.

Tears ran down her face as she touched his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"No! Please, Clarion! You must-" A scream ripped out of his throat as she drew all of his talents from his body so he could not free himself. His light faded to a dim glow with his body already being weak.

She wept as she felt his powers absorb through her and back into the Pixie Tree.

"Clarion," he panted weakly, barely able to lift his head up to look at her. His eyes were no longer vibrant but a dull blue. "I beg you to let me say goodbye. I know you don't believe me, but I love you. Every risk I have taken for you I would take again."

Bernard and two other arrived on owls at that moment with Gliss, their guide, landing beside them with tears on her face.

"These, my Queen, were found in the tunnels of Lord Milori's home," Bernard said. He held out a large wooden stick with a red end at the tip. "They make fire when struck," he said quietly.

"Take him away to the winter cells Gliss made," she whispered to Milori's guards, fighting so hard to not die of a broken heart. Then she drew Sled's talents out, only causing him to gasp in pain being he had so fewer talents than Milori. "Take him away," she whispered, swallowing down the bile in her throat.

As soon as she was alone, she fell to her hands and knees and got ill. She felt weak and dizzy, so she crawled across the rock into the grass of spring. It was the spot where Milori had discovered grass. She curled up on her side even though clouds gathered overhead. And she sobbed. Great drops of rain splashed down on her, plastering her dress and hair to her and making her wings sag, but she didn't notice. All she knew was her heart was dying.