• Asmara’s heart hammered heavily in her chest as they flew down the river at momentous speed. Nathaniel wasn’t nearly as gentle as Ezekiel and she felt the sudden need to be in Ezekiel’s arms instead of his. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. What was she thinking? She wanted to be in the arms of the enemy and worse she was, and she was comfortable there. Nathaniel was speeding them down a river that if “accidentally” dropped, she would surely die. But the urgency of the situation brought her to believe that this wasn’t the case.
    Nathaniel’s voice broke into her thoughts and she realized that he had been speaking to her for sometime now. “Water sprites are clever creatures. They may be secluded to stay near water, but they’ve learned to bring their prey to them. Did you know that they use the skin of their prey to lure other victims to them? They entice the prey with their flawless skin. The skin doesn’t last long though, their scales are too sharp. So once they have their prey in their clutches they force it to drink this potion that clouds the victim’s judgment.” Nathaniel shook his head. “I never thought Ezekiel would fall for such a thing.”
    “Do you know the prince well?”
    He nodded. “We were childhood friends, but our duties pulled us away. He was put in training and I enrolled in military drills.” He sighed and looked down at her. “This war has taken over our lives. Not just us but your people as well. Surely you’ve noticed?”
    Asmara averted his gaze, squirming uncomfortably in his arms. She hadn’t. She had been so caught up in her own problems that she hadn’t thought to think about everyone else in her kingdom. All the warriors that had sacrificed themselves in battle and given up the rest in their training for those battles, she had taken that for granted, not ever really thinking about what kind of toll that would take on the warrior’s family. Boys were without fathers and gave up their childhood soon after to take the same rolls as their fathers, giving up their childhood in service of her family and their kingdom. All she did was sit on her balcony and watch the battles unfold. She thought of Balifstar, her favorite castle guard, how he was always so nervous. She had never thought to think why. He was always putting himself on the line. She thought of his smiling face, whenever she came around. She felt her stomach twist with guilt. She felt filthy.
    “How does it feel up there on your pedestal?” He asked almost too coldly.
    Anger flashed through her. “How dare you address me like that?”
    Nathaniel drifted to a stop ignoring her. “We’re here.” He said with a smirk.
    He tilted his wings at an angle, swerving at a wide ark landing on the opposite bank. Asmara shivered as she took in the water sprite’s appearance. The sprite had pinned her scaled body against Ezekiel purring something in his ear. He was smiling like a proud husband that just found out that his wife was pregnant with a healthy baby boy. Asmara felt like tearing the little wench in half. How dare she make him feel that way about her, she thought.
    Ezekiel looked up then, catching eye contact. His usually smothering gold eyes stared blankly into hers. There was no love in them for her. The sprite smirked, caressing his cheek. She pulled her snake-like thin body closer to him, her pointed tongue flicking in and out of her mouth across his cheek, in what Asmara guessed was a kiss on the cheek to Ezekiel. The sprite reached up a scaly arm, something in her hand. It was a blue cup formed from aqua sand. She put it up to his lips, encouraging him to drink.
    “Don’t drink it!” Asmara yelled, throwing herself at him.
    Nathaniel latched his arm firmly around her waist, holding her back. She squirmed in his grip.
    “Just look.” He whispered in her ear.
    She stopped fighting his steely hold on her and looked. He was staring right at her, his eyes their natural color. He smiled at her and started to come forward, but the sprite’s body latched to his and dragged him down into the water.

    * * *

    Ezekiel followed kind of in a fog. Idreara had hesitated in front of him, coming to a stop. She turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her teeth sparkled as she danced in place, her auburn curly hair bouncing around her shoulders. He put his hands around her waist moving to their own private little jig. Maybe she was dancing to the sound of water trickling on rocks, the rush of the waterfall or crash of waves.
    He wasn’t sure but for some weird fancy, he loved her. Her very presence made his mind fuzzy. He remembered his heart contracting in pain right before he started to drown. From what Idreara told him she had observed the heart shattering break up. He had proclaimed his love for Asmara and she had just walked off. Just like Asmara had said, he lost his love for her, just like she had to him.
    Idreara pressed her body against his, head tossing from side to side to music he couldn’t hear. He marveled at her beauty, water glistening on skin. She whispered in his ear as she did so. But then she stopped and looked up at him smiling, unraveling her arms from his neck. She presented a cup with the same beverage she had presented to him before. He smiled as she brought it up to his lips.
    “Don’t drink it!” He swore he heard Asmara’s voice.
    Confused, he looked up. Asmara was flailing, trying to get free of another dark angel’s grasp. Jealousy and anger flashed behind his eyes and he wanted to do anything to get the traitor away from her. But then he realized who it was. How could he have not recognized Nathaniel’s shaggy raven colored hair that always hung messily over his eyes? Nathaniel leaned in to whisper something in Asmara’s ear and Ezekiel felt something break inside him. His mind seemed to have cleansed itself, the fog clearing from his thoughts. He could see Asmara clearly now, her face pleading. He smiled warmly at her to try and sooth her pain and stepped forward, but a scaly hand pulled his feet from underneath him before he could get the chance.
    He twisted himself around to look at her and gasped in surprise. Instead of a beautiful mermaid, a sprite’s green hands were wrapped around his ankles. She smiled at him and yanked him down into the water, the air knocked from his lungs. The sprite’s smile broadened revealing needle-like teeth and she clamped down hard onto his leg. He opened his mouth in a silent scream as her teeth sank deep into his leg, venom spreading rapidly into his veins spreading rapidly through his bloodstream.
    The sprite pulled her teeth out slowly to marvel at the taste of his blood and then her head snapped up toward the surface and her eyes widened in silent surprise before a clawed hand knocked her 30 feet away. Her surprised face was one of the last things he saw before blacking out.

    * * *

    Asmara watched in fear and relief as Nathaniel pulled a bewildered Ezekiel out if the water. He smiled once at Nathaniel as if to say ‘finally, I am reunited with my childhood friend,’ before blacking out completely.
    Nathaniel frowned, glancing down at his cataleptic old friend. “He was bitten,” he said paling. “We need to get the venom out soon or he will die.”