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Inside the silent ice cave, time seemed to crawl slowly.

Drayce told Seren to rest as there was still roughly less than an hour till midnight. He wanted her to remain relaxed as her emotional state would play an important role in her own safety.

Seren tried to sleep, but at most, she could only close her eyes with her head resting against his chest. With his arms wrapped around her, the tense muscles on her shoulders loosened. His warm concern seemed to seep through their clothes, allowing her to put her anxiety at bay.

She was nervous about what was to come, a mix of frustration and fear brewing inside her. However, listening to her husband\'s steady heartbeats somehow kept all those negative emotions at bay.

Seren had never thought waiting could be this agonizing.

Nothing had truly started, yet she was growing more physically and mentally tired with each passing second.

She could not wait to leave the ice cave and go back to her tower—no, to leave Abetha and go back to Megaris.

Evanthe had half of her attention on their surroundings, half on Seren. She had her senses extended outside the cave, and a hint of worry could be seen on her brows.

\'Sierra ought to have arrived at the appointed location. I hope she can manage to divert them long enough until those two powers inside Seren are successfully suppressed,\' Evanthe thought.

She continued to sit quietly in meditation but inwardly sighed at the sight of the young couple who were both obviously on edge.

\'These poor children. They are paying the price of being born to mothers like us.\'

As midnight  approached, Evanthe stood up from her place and went to the couple.

"Can you feel anything?" she asked Drayce.

"Nothing for now. She had fallen asleep, fortunately," he answered. "It\'s time?"

"It is almost midnight. Her powers should begin showing signs of surfacing," she replied and turned to look at the barrier she had set. "I will take a final look at the runes. If you feel any change in her body, call for me."

Drayce nodded and watched his mother move along the walls of the large ice cave, sometimes touching the frost in order to modify or strengthen the spells around.

Minutes later, Drayce felt Seren stir restlessly in his arms.

"Seren, you awake?" he asked as he rubbed her arms to comfort her.

"It feels too hot," she murmured as she opened her eyes, and Drayce noticed the lines of sweat appearing on her forehead.

He touched her forehead and she felt hot, like she was having a fever.

"I want to remove this coat," Seren said. She pulled away from him as she could not wait to get rid of the thick garment.

Drayce helped remove the winter coat and realized her entire body was covered in sweat. He could even see the lines of sweat trailing down on her neck.

"Why am…? I need water…so thirsty…" she said, and just then, Evanthe appeared beside them holding a crystal goblet filled with water.

Seren hurried to accept it. The thirst was unbearable. She drank the entire goblet of water and felt like water never tasted this refreshingly good.

"Can I have more?"

Evanthe waved a hand, and the goblet was filled to the brim again.

"Are you feeling better now?" Evanthe asked after the young woman finished the second cup. It was a mystical water gathered from a spiritual mountain, blessed by the fairies and purified by Evanthe\'s own powers. As the thirst Seren was feeling was not normal, ordinary water would not help her quench her thirst.

Seren lowered her veil. "I feel better now but… my body feels too hot…"

Drayce and Evanthe shared a knowing look as they knew they should begin suppressing her power.  They heard Seren ask, "Is this because of that fire elemental power inside me?"

"Yes," Evanthe answered. "As the moment of your birth is almost upon us, it is beginning to surface."

"And what about my real power, the earth magic?"

"It is also surfacing but its existence won\'t trouble you in any way as it is your innate attribute."

"Will I continue to feel like this? It doesn\'t feel good at all. As if, as if something foreign is spreading around my body. I…I don\'t like it."

"Just bear for a while, Queen Seren. We will take care of it. Everything will be fine. We are here to help you, but in the end, you yourself also have the strength to suppress them as long as you believe in yourself. Trust yourself just like we trust you."

Though she found it difficult to believe, Seren could only nod.

Drayce offered her a comforting smile. "Don\'t worry. We are here for you."

Seren nodded once more, but as minutes went by, her discomfort grew. Earlier, if her feeling was similar to her basking under the midday sun in the middle of a desert, then now, it was as if she was standing in the middle of a burning house.

Drinking the mystical water was no longer effective. She was starting to feel pain.

It was so intense that even Drayce, who was holding her in his arms, felt the scorching heat from her body.

Evanthe reached out to touch Seren\'s wrist and said, "It\'s time. Bring her with you."

The blond woman led the way towards the center of the cave, where blue light suddenly bloomed at the wave of her hand. The temperature inside the cave further dropped, and a layer of frost appeared over Evanthe\'s and Drayce\'s bodies.

However, it evaporated the moment it reached Seren— it did not even have a chance to form, much less melt.

Drayce held Seren, not minding his own discomfort. "Can you walk?"

She nodded. "I can."

Just as she said that, intense pain racked her body once more. Drayce did not let go of her as the couple slowly walked towards the center of the cave.

Seren saw that what Evanthe had activated was a blue magic circle emitting visible white light. Concentric rings and squares were inscribed within it, and at the corners of each ring were small abstract symbols similar to the ones she had seen from her husband\'s old books.

"Make her sit in the center," Evanthe told Drayce as Seren didn\'t look like she could even stand properly. Her entire body was sweating badly and her muscles were trembling; it was obvious in their eyes that Seren was trying her best to hide her pain.

Drayce did as his mother said. He had Seren sit cross-legged in the center of that huge magic circle.

The moment Drayce stepped out of the largest circle, the blue lines on the floor deepened in color, and Seren felt a refreshingly cold energy invade her body, surrounding her comfortably, alleviating the pain brought by the growing fire magic inside her. She could feel this  energy that belongs to Evanthe.

Her water magic was strong but gentle at the same time.

She heard Evanthe speak from the side, "Take a long, deep breath and let yourself relax. You will not be in danger. Do not resist my water magic. Allow your body to absorb the energy from the magic circle."

Seren did as she was told. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be immersed in the refreshing chill brought by Evanthe\'s water-attribute magic. She soaked in it, relished it, but as time went by, she realized that the hellfire inside her was slowly gaining dominance. Evanthe\'s magic circle was still not enough.

\'Maybe I need to focus more.\'