The group was silent, and Lexie was more than a little disappointed that they weren't immediately impressed by her genius.

And that's what her plan was...genius.

But maybe they didn't understand it. Maybe they needed further clarification on how clever it was.

"Do you understand?" she repeated. "I'm going to help the dungeon extract itself from Yascyht, and it will soul-link with me instead."

They still stared at her blankly, and Lexie was growing a tad offended.

"Yes, but how?" Cecilia asked finally.

Ah, so she was right. They didn't understand.

"Well, the first thing I must do is discover the nature of their link using Pvilycht's powers," she said. "I'll combine my DECODE card with my soul card and figure out how the link with Yasycht came to be. Then I'll disable that link and create a new link with myself."

"And you believe Yasycht is just going to let you?"

"Of course not. I fully expect him to fight back."

"So you seek to battle against a Great Old One," Ryn's voice was incredulous. "Yasycht of all creatures. That is…madness. He will destroy you."

Lexie's smugness faltered. So it wasn't just that they didn't recognize her genius. They also didn't think she would succeed.

Now she was fully offended.

"I've gotten a lot stronger since you last saw me," she told Ryn. "Especially since Yasycht and I last entangled."

"I doubt you've grown strong enough to defeat a creature that even the First Fae struggled with. They had to make a coalition of Fae and Eldritch just to confine him to the Beyond, and even that isn't enough to entirely contain him. What makes you think that you will be able to defeat him?"

"I'm Lord Lexie," Lexie responded, and Ryn gave a very human-like eyeroll that she'd probably learned from Lexie herself or Cecilia.

Lexie turned to Pvylicht, who was standing aside silently. "You know Yasycht and Naem. Do you think I'll lose?"

He paused. "It's hard to say. You might succeed."

Lexie gave the rest a smug look.

"Or Yasycht might destroy you the second you test his bond with the dungeon. That is the more likely outcome, even given your power level."

Lexie's smile dropped once more. So even Pvilycht thought she would lose, though he'd tasted her power himself.

It seemed that things would have to be more complicated than she thought, but she still believed this was the most solid plan they had. The only other option was to continue fighting monsters for eternity.

"We can simply kill everything here," Pvilycht suggested. "I doubt that this dungeon can absorb more beings than we can destroy between the four of us."

"Did you count me as a part of that?" Cecilia asked.

"Yes. You are human, but I sense that you have great abilities."

She blushed. "Hey, thanks."

"You are welcome."

Lexie glanced at Pvilycht, but he seemed genuine, not as mocking as he was once.

"He has changed since bonding with you," Ryn explained. "He's more...settled. Less antagonistic."

"Really?" Lexie said, then asked Pvilycht. "Do you feel different since bonding with me?"

He nodded.

"In what way?"

"It's hard to describe…" He opened his mouth and closed it several times, searching for the words. "It's not something I have felt before, and it's hard to decipher."

"He's not as destructive," Ryn volunteered. "He is still crazy about his experimentations, but it's not as violent and malicious. Three battles ago, he nearly spared an ogre and let it flee with its life, and not just because he wanted to experiment on it later."

"It felt wasteful to kill it. And I feel less power," Pvilycht said. "Less...drive. Or maybe a different power. It's not as potent...it's not as chaotic a storm."

That didn't necessarily sound like a good thing.

"Do you want it to be more potent and chaotic?" Could Lexie do something about that?

He hesitated, then shook his head. "I do not know what I want at this stage. I would like some more time to observe. It is....It is..." He did not have the word for what he felt.

Lexie wondered if it was because Eldritch normally did not feel such things, and if it was her human side affecting him.

Lexie stared at him and said, "If you ever want me to break our bond so you can return to your former master, let me know. I will do it in a heartbeat."

Pvilycht was surprised. "You would?"

"I don't want a slave," she said. "I want a willing disciple." It was much easier to control something that wanted to be controlled.

"I am willing," Pvilycht said. "For now."

"When you are no longer willing, let me know."

He nodded. "I do not think Neqal will accept me back. He is furious about my breaking our bond, and he will likely be seeking to kill me the next time we meet."

"Why hasn't he done it already?"

"I do not know."

"Hmm." Did it have something to do with Lexie? Was he concerned that Lexie would retaliate against him after losing her disciple? Or was it Naem once more holding his brother back?

Then again, Neqal had never appeared in this dungeon directly. Was it because of the bet he'd placed against Naem? Was he forced to keep things fair by staying away from her, possibly through a stringent soul contract?

The thought brought her to another idea of using a soul bond as a restriction.

Huh. This might work better than her previous plan.

"What if I didn't need to beat Yascyht?" Lexie asked. "What if I only needed to take away his toy for some time. To weaken the dungeon."

"How?" Ryn asked.

"Once I activate my soul card, I think I can calm the chaos storm of the dungeon, as Pvilycht put it, and weaken it. Right?" She directed the last question to Pvilycht, and he shrugged.

"I am not sure. I've never heard it done before, but you, Lord Lexie, have done a lot of things that haven't been done before."

"Yes," Lexie said. "If Yasycht will not let me make the dungeon my disciple, then I should still be able to suppress the dungeon with my soul card. That will give Yasycht less power to work with, and it will affect the doors he has in this dungeon and its connection with others, since this is the dungeon he uses to access and control them. It might affect even more than that, and the more I suppress, the less Yasycht and Neqal will have to work with."

"I'm sorry, I'm confused," Cecilia said. "I thought…I mean, if you suppress the dungeon, doesn't that give Yasycht more proportion of the influence in the dungeon? So he gets more control?"

Lexie thought about it. "Maybe more influence but less power. Less chaos, less mana. Yasycht's power is still mostly locked up in the Beyond, which can only be accessed through a doorway. So, for everything else, he can only use the power the dungeon already has, thanks to the access that Neqal has given him. So if I take away the dungeon's power, the only power he has is through the doors, and if I eliminate those..." Lexie shrugged. "Then I win."

"I fail to see how this is demonstrably different from what you were planning to do before," Ryn pointed out. "You are still challenging Yasycht and hoping to win."

"Yes, but I am not directly challenging his authority or his link with the dungeon. I'm not encroaching on his territory. I'm simply weakening the dungeon that has become my enemy. The dungeon can either choose to link with me and throw off Yasycht, if that's possible, or I can weaken the dungeon enough to inconvenience Yasycht."

"But Neqal has this dungeon as part of his soul line," Pvilycht said. "And he will also be against you. He might punish you for this."

Lexie shook her head. "I'm not sure he can. And even if he tries to stop what I'm doing, he might not be able to. Unstable dungeons like this one must be hard to control, even those in your soul line. They are denatured chaos with enough power to create things from the ether." Creation magic was the highest form of magic. "Neqal and Yasycht have been struggling to control this dungeon the whole time, and it has been fighting their influence. I will not do the same as they do. I will not wrangle it into submission. I will calm its storm and woo it until it chooses me. I can convince the dungeon that I'm the better master, the way I convinced Pvilycht."

They all looked at her silently with varying expressions. Pvilycht, of course, looked curious and like he wanted to look into Lexie's brain and dismantle it. Ryn looked worried still, and so did Cecilia.

"It still sounds risky," Cecilia voiced out, and Ryn nodded her agreement.

"It is," Lexie said. "Messing with the chaotic components of the dungeon is certainly a risk, and no one can predict what will happen at the end. My actions might shut the entire dungeon down and denature us as a result. Which is why I will get all of you out before I make my first attempt. And I will also try to get as many other creatures out as I can, those who want to go back to their planets, that is. It will be good practice for me to do so, to train my teleportation skill. Then, when I feel like I've gotten enough people out, I will bond with the dungeon."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I wasn't speaking about the risk for us," Cecilia said. "I was talking about the risk for you."

Lexie shrugged. "It's riskier for Yasycht and Neqal to let me take control of this dungeon. The only way he can stop me is by bringing me to the Mountain and letting me win. I think they might take that option. Either way, I get what I want."

Cecilia heaved a sigh. "Well, if I can't change your mind, then don't bother sending me out of here. I'll stay."

Lexie frowned. "But you just admitted that it's dangerous."

"It is, but you're here, and I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you while I was back on Earth. I'll stay with you till the end. That's final. And don't try with me what you tried with Max either, because I'll just find the nearest dungeon I can get into and ship myself back here."

Drat.

Lexie knew she should have gotten rid of Cecilia with Max.

She should have pushed them both through the portals when she had the chance.

Lexie narrowed her eyes and felt like rubbing her temples even though her head didn't hurt. Having Cecilia stay wasn't ideal, and she didn't even know why the other woman would want to remain anyway. But it didn't look like she had a choice.

"I'm staying too," Ryn said. "Just in case Yasycht splits your brain into two again, you'll need me to put you back together again."

"That's morbid," Cecilia commented wryly.

"I can weave," Lexie argued.

"Not well," Ryn responded.

"What about Little Fae?" Lexie asked.

"We can send her through the portal. I will send her to my home, with strict instructions for her to be taken to the nearest Light embassy so she can be given back to her parents. But I, myself, will remain."

"If you die," Pvilycht said to Lexie. "I am as good as dead, too. So I will also remain and help you."

Lexie stared at all of them incredulously. Were they all mad? Why were they risking their lives for her?

Well, Pvilycht, she understood, but the rest? Did they forget she was Eldritch? A murderous, power-hungry creature who was also all grown-up and could very much take care of herself?

Why were they treating her like a child?

"Leave," Lexie said.

"No," Cecilia responded. Ryn shook her head.

"I said leave."

"And we said no."

Lexie resisted the urge to stomp her feet.

She was frustrated. She didn't want them all here while she connected to the dungeon. They would be in danger!

This was supposed to be a journey she made alone. She was supposed to go to the Mountain, enter the Other, and find whatever power she was supposed to find there.

She was supposed to then meet Naem and make him explain to her why he did what he did.

That was going to be the end of her human life. She'd chosen this.

So why did they insist on tagging along with her, even to the detriment of themselves?

"Why?" Lexie asked them. "Why do you remain?"

"Because," Ryn answered first. "We are a team."

"I tried to kill you when we first met."

"Yes, and you have saved my life numerous times after that."

"You also threatened to enslave me. You said that because I was an Eldritch, my wants didn't matter."

Ryn at least had the decency to look chagrined. "In my defense, I had never met an Eldritch like you before. I did not think that Eldritch could…"

"Could what?"

Ryn shook her head. "I'm not leaving you behind while you sacrifice your life for us."

"I'm not sacrificing my life for you. Where did you get that strange idea?" Lexie tutted. "I am sacrificing my life for myself. To achieve my goals. All I am doing is getting you out of the way while I engage in risky behavior so that it doesn't backfire on you."

"Because you care about us."

No." She said. "Because you are useful to me, and it would be wasteful to lose you."

"How will I be useful to you when I'm sent home?" Ryn asked.

"I'll find you. Our bond bears your essence, does it not? So I can find you anywhere using that, and you will teach me more ancient Fae techniques."

Ryn was not convinced. "I do know you care about us, Lord Lexie, as much as you do not want to admit it to yourself. You're an odd sort of Eldritch, one I've never seen anything like before. Perhaps it's because I do not have that much experience with the Eldritch, but I always assumed they were simple creatures. But you are anything but simple."

"Even if they were simple creatures," Lexie challenged. "Does that mean that they deserve enslavement?"

"No," Ryn said silently. "I do not think they do. But without that, they wreak havoc."

Lexie could not argue against that. She sighed and got back to the topic at hand.

"This is all going to be a lot more difficult with you here."

"How?"

It means that I can't be as risky as I want.

Cecilia's smile hinted that she sensed what Lexie was trying not to say. She wondered if one of the other women's skills wasn't reading thoughts.

"Fine," Lexie said, seeing that they were being stubborn. "Let's begin."

***

Max had showered and changed clothes, but he didn't look that much different from when they found him. His eyes were wild, his hair overgrown and tangled around his face. His eyepatch was pink.

Lexie had given him that, Aiden thought, but he didn't want to bring it up yet. He didn't want Max to know about Lexie's disappearance so soon after he got back. It would break his heart.

He was due to be interrogated by Vacek, who would be arriving any minute now. There was also a bunch of press heading this way, and that meant imminent disaster.

Max hated press on a good day.

Right now, that he was half feral...he might quite literally bite someone's head off. Or shoot them.

Luke had gone to do his job of keeping them at bay for now, but even he wasn't enough to stop the coming onslaught. Max's escape from the dungeon was unprecedented, and everyone would want to know how he did it.

Right now, Max was hiding out at Aiden's home. Luke would be coming over later when he was done getting everything in place.

Aiden watched as Max sauntered into the living room. He was happy to see Max back. It was a stunning miracle.

He just wished Lexie had been here to see it.

"Do you want some tea?" Aiden asked as Max sat, eyes darting around the room like he was looking for suspicious shadows.

"God, I forgot how this place looked," he said. "How much time has passed?"

"About eight months," Aiden said.

"It feels like more than that. A lot more. Like five years at least."

"Yes." Is he going to ask about Lexie? Aiden was hoping not to have to lie so soon, but he would tell him that Lexie was still at school. Or something. At least until Max read the news for himself.

But Max surprised him by saying instantly, "Lexie's in the dungeon. Did you know?"

Aiden gaped.

"Of course I know," Aiden asked. "How did you know?"

"Because I saw her."

Aiden's shock was maximized. "You...saw her?"

"Yeah." Max suddenly looked furious. "If you knew she was in a dungeon, how come you're not doing anything about it?"

"Do you really think I'm not doing anything about it?" Aiden hissed back

"Tell me what you're doing." His eyes were urgent, hungry. "I don't want tea, Aiden. What I really want is to go back into the dungeon and save Lexie."

"Me too," Aiden said, finally admitting the raw emotion that had been plaguing him. "Me too."

Max exhaled. "She's unhurt for now. But...she's different. She's Eldritch."

Max said the words plainly, without much emotion, but they triggered a barrage anyway.

Aiden jerked and gripped his hands together. Pressure built at the base of his stomach.

The very thing he'd tried so hard to avoid, that Lexie had fought so hard not to be...

Now, she was it.

He'd failed her.

Aiden was dismayed but not shocked. Being Eldritch might be the only way Lexie could have survived in the dungeon for so long.

He told himself it was fine. He could deal with that. An Eldrich daughter. There was always a possibility that she would become fully Eldritch, although Aiden had thought he had more time to finish working on a solution.

But now that he'd failed...

No, he hadn't failed.

She was still his Lexie. He still loved her. And she was alive, which was what mattered.

They'd work out everything else later.

"She's surprisingly very similar to how she was before," Max continued, and his face softened. "Still stubborn and thinks she knows everything. She sent me back here even though I told her I didn't want to come back."

"How did you get back?"

"Teleport," he said it so easily, like it wasn't one of the most shocking things anyone could have said. "She tricked me into entering her portal."

"She teleported you...out of the dungeon?"

Max nodded.

Aiden's heart beat faster, but he continued to speak slowly. "So...she can also teleport herself out of the dungeon?"

"Probably, but she didn't want to. She wanted to go to the Other."

"Why?"

"Because she's looking for Naem. Speaking of which, there's something I have to tell you about him."

"What is it?"

Max didn't hesitate. He told Aiden everything Lexie had told him, about how Naem had left her trapped in the dungeon. Aiden listened quietly, soberly, not interrupting until he was done.

He remained quiet for seconds after.

"Well," he said, examining his fingers that were reddened from just how hard he'd gripped them. The backs of his hands also had cuts from where his nails had gouged in rage. "I guess I now know why Naem has been avoiding me."

"Are you pissed?" Max asked.

"Yes, but being angry at Naem is useless. I should be mad at myself. Naem is an Eldritch, after all. He can only consider his own self-interest. I should have worked harder to look for any blind spots." Aiden cracked his neck and let his head hang back.

"So. Even you, of all people, can get tricked by an Eldritch Lord," Max joked to bring some levity to the dour atmosphere.

Aiden arched an eyebrow. "You got tricked by a little girl into getting in that portal."

"Hey, don't be too hard on me. I was distracted."

"By what?"

"Cece kissed me."

Aiden choked on air. His head snapped back to frown at Max. "Are you talking about our Cecilia? Cecilia Horan? Lara's friend?"

"That's the only Cece I know."

"You found her?

"Yup, in the dungeon. She came there with Lexie. She told me she'd actually been there for a while, growing her teleportation skill. She uses Alchemy now, did you know? Anyway, she wanted to use that to save Lara."

"I see. That's...wow." So much was running through Aiden's mind, he didn't even know where to start.

"You know I'm kind of disappointed that you're not more shocked that she kissed me," Max said.

"Why would I be shocked by that?" Aiden said. "I remember her having a crush on you when we were young."

"Seriously?" Max's eyes were like saucers. "And no one told me?"

"I thought you knew."

"How the hell would I have known? She ran off like a mouse every time I came close."

"Yeah, that should have been your first clue."

Max looked so disgruntled that Aiden laughed.

He shot Aiden the middle finger. Aiden laughed harder.

It felt good.

But it also felt weird and surreal to be laughing and joking around in front of Max like this. Max, who'd been gone for almost a year. Max, whom Aiden had been pretty sure was dead.

He'd let him die to protect Lexie.

"I'm sorry," Aiden said, suddenly, soberly. "Sorry that I didn't try harder to save you."

"Could you have?" Max.

Aiden nodded. "Yes, but it would have put Lexie in danger."

"Then I'm glad you didn't." There was not a single trace of bitterness in his voice. Just understanding. "I would have done the same if I were in your shoes. I mean, I like you and everything, but I would have dropkicked you into that dungeon myself if it meant sparing my goddaughter."

Aiden smirked. "Good to know."

The door opened, and in a flash, Max had a gun in his hand and was pointing it at the door.

A very spooked Tate stood there, with his hands up.

"Who the devil are you?" Max demanded. "Wait...you look familiar..."

"This is my new apprentice," Aiden introduced. "Tate, you remember Uncle Max, don't you?"

"Yeah?" Tate said, still apprehensive.

"Don't worry, his bark is worse than his bite." Aiden transmitted the rest of the message through his mind link with Tate.

Thanks to Max, there has been a slight change in plans.

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