The towers of Cloud Tower ominously rose into the cloudy sky. Lightning flashed through the air and faded again. The dark castle seemed to stretch endlessly high. Icy knew this sight well. It was now the third year that she had attended this school, and the view of Cloud Tower Castle was impressive again each time.

"I could get used to this sight." Stormy looked at the lighting benevolently.

Icy gazed at her youngest sister out of the corner of her eye. Stormy was young and wild and Icy feared that her sister's temper would become a problem for all of them. But she had always been like that. Stormy was as temperamental as Darcy was calm and calculating. Darcy also looked at the dark silhouette of Cloud Tower with an appreciative smile and dreamily twirled a long strand of hair around her finger. In contrast to Stormy, Darcy had already come to the school for witches a year earlier. Now finally their trio was complete again. It seemed strange to Icy to now be at the top herself. A few months ago, the three of them had walked through the halls of this school. Aloof, envied, and feared. The deadly trio. A small elite group with big plans. Icy, Darcy, and… Lilith. But Lilith was no more, and Icy's desire for revenge burned hotter with every moment she gazed at the familiar walls of Cloud Tower. Soon she would get her revenge. And it would be sweet. She could already hear the screams of agony from that damned fairy, begging for mercy. Nothing would be sweeter. The last two years had shaped Icy more than any previous year of her cursed life. She and her sisters had never been blessed with luck, so now they would have to take it for themselves. With violence.

»What are you waiting for? It's about time." Icy clicked her tongue and headed for the large entrance portal. This year everything would be different. This year would be her last year at this school. And Icy herself would be the one to lead her sisters toward a new future.

****************************************
»Brandon! Brandon! Hey, are you listening to me, Brandon?"

It took a while for Sky to realize he was being referred to. Even though they had been keeping up this masquerade for a while now, he still hadn't gotten used to being called by his best friend's name.

And this same best friend now looked at him questioningly.

"Sorry, what did you say, Sky?" God, it just felt so wrong to call Brandon by his own name.

Brandon didn't seem to mind, or he was skillfully covering it up. Admittedly, the role of the prince suited him well and he played it brilliantly. So excellently that Sky felt pale and almost transparent next to it.

Brandon sighed theatrically: "What's the point of being a prince if no one listens to you?" he complained. »I mean, isn't that what makes you a prince? Everyone gives you their full attention? Riven, look at my squire, he doesn't hear a word I say."

Riven turned a page in his book and didn't even look up as he said, "Don't annoy me, Your Highness," and then continued reading.

Brandon pouted and turned to Timmy, who was at the controls of their spaceship, flying them back to Red Fountain School. They just came from a… private mission. Brandon had barely heard his damsel in distress's call before he had gathered them all together and maneuvered them into the spaceship to immediately set course for Earth and rescue Stella. Although Stella could hardly be described as a damsel in distress. Not even in the slightest. She was more the distress, not the damsel.

Since Timmy was just beginning to land and couldn't talk to Brandon, he turned back to Sky. "Dear squire, I asked you if Stella's little ginger friend isn't totally your type?"
No, she wasn't his type at all.

But Sky just shrugged and mumbled something about her being cute. His type was the exact opposite of - what was her name? Bloom? And Brandon knew that very well. And Sky knew just as well that Brandon had made it his mission to distract him from any thoughts of his ice-cold beauty. A mission in which Brandon was inevitably doomed to fail. But Sky was careful not to tell Brandon about this, even if he told him everything else. But this thing was...complicated.

Another banter between Brandon and Riven pulled Sky out of his thoughts. Now Brandon had apparently interrogated Riven and inquired about his interest in Stella's new friend.
"My interest in this fairy couldn't be less than yours in the book I'm reading, Your Highness." Riven still didn't look up from his book.

Sky sat back and enjoyed the show. The only thing he really enjoyed about this role reversal was not being in the spotlight all the time. It was also relieving to see the team not seriously arguing for once. The conversation developed into a harmless bickering between adolescent men.

" Yeah, yeah right." Brandon snapped his fingers. »Our Riven has a preference for the darker side of girls.«

Riven now looked up from his book and grinned. "As a matter of fact. I prefer my girls spicy rather than sweet. Completely unlike you."

"Oh," said Brandon, also grinning, "I'm happy to admit that I think Stella is quite sweet."

"Her or her daddy's treasury?"

"Really, Riven. The one does not exclude the other."

"You damn rich people."

"So, Brandon—hey Brandon! Yes, you! – Did you hear that? Riven has no interest in Bloom. Why don't you grab her? A little fun would do you some good."

»I can only agree with that statement. For a squire, you seem a bit frozen at the moment." Riven's eyes were fixed on Sky's and the familiar competitive pressure was once again between them.

Sky understood Riven's hint straight away. "Be careful what you say, Riven. Otherwise I'll think you're serious." He wanted to slap Riven right now, but that would only confirm that Sky was really frozen at the moment. In multiple ways. And there was only one in this universe who could turn his head, the Prince of Eraklyon (even if hardly anyone knew that now), with her cold eyes. He wished that he could slowly get over her. But with every day that he didn't see her, his longing for her ice-cold grace increased.

"So, are you going with her? Brandon?"

And once again his best friend's voice tore him away from his thoughts.

"Sorry, where am I going and with whom, Prince Sky?"

»With Bloom! To the festival in Alfea in a few days?"

"Yes, yes sure. Whatever you say."

"What enthusiasm," Riven murmured quietly. But Sky ignored the sarcasm in his voice and instead continued to think of icy blue eyes.

****************************************
"Do you think that fire fairy that almost toasted Knut to a crisp could become a problem?" Darcy asked the question almost casually as she put the clothes from her suitcase into the closet, but Icy heard the hint of nervousness in her younger sister's voice. At the end of the day, Darcy would rather be a coward than stupid. She avoided the risk that Stormy, in contrast, seemed to be looking for.

But unlike Darcy, Icy didn't suspect great danger around every corner. So she just shrugged and replied just as casually, "I doubt that a wandering brat from Earth is a threat. It was pure coincidence that Stella from Solaria found her. An unfortunate coincidence for us, but a coincidence."

"I don't understand anyway," Stormy said, "why we entrusted this half-blind fat guy with such an important mission. We should get the ring from this princess ourselves ."

"Everything in good time." Icy sat down on her bed and crossed her legs. "It's no use approaching the matter senseless."

Stormy grumbled something incomprehensible in response and Icy considered the conversation over.

With a furtive glance at her sister, Icy made sure they were both busy unpacking and then reached for her cell phone. The blank screen almost made her sigh, but she suppressed it. No message. Not that she expected one. After all, they weren't what they once were. She and Sky were no longer children growing up. Each of them had their own lives now and no matter how much chemistry there was between them every time they met, no sparks would emerge from it. She had made that clear. And Sky seemed to have seen it. Now she just had to see it for herself. And it was harder for her than she would have liked.

"What is this?"

"Hm?"

Stormy turned around and held a bottle of bright green liquid in her hand.

"It was in the closet here."

Icy's expression darkened. "That belonged to Lilith. Just throw it away."

"But what is it?"

"A tonic for plants," Darcy interjected. She seemed to have noticed Icy's discomfort because she gave her a nervous look.

Stormy didn't seem to notice Icy's change in mood and then asked, "Ah, some kind of fertilizer?"

"Fertilizer would be an understatement," Darcy turned back to her suitcase and then continued, "More like killer fertilizer. That thing could turn a violet into a Venus flytrap, a man-sized one."

"Sounds useful, why don't we keep —"

"Throw-it-away ." Icy forced out every word as if it caused her pain.

Stormy raised her eyebrows but obeyed, dumping the bottle in the next trash bin and muttering, "Fuck seperating trash. Who gives a shit about that anyway."

Lilith had cared a lot about it. But that was over. Forever.

Icy balled her hands into fists. Yes, it was over but Lilith's death would not go unpunished. And it would be a satisfaction to defeat this wretched fairy with her own powers.

The time was near. A smirk came back to Icy's lips. Soon she would get her revenge.