“Poe.”

Hearing my name brought me to a halt. Perhaps it was the tone. So cold.

I turned.

“That’s better.” She looked at me. The wind picked up, whipping at her black hair. I stayed on my feet.

“So that’s how you want to play it, huh?” She smiled. It wasn’t nice. “Fine.”

“I’m tired of having to continually keep you focused. The babysitting ends now.” She held out her hand. My dwarven flask appeared in it. “This won’t be the death of you,” she smirked. “But it will certainly make your beloved’s death much more…shall we say lingering?”

Screams shattered the stillness. I gasped. Alia…

“Should be a simple choice,” She continued smiling sweetly as she dumped the contents of the flask onto the ground. “Assuming you really do mean all that lovey dovey crap you’re always writing in that silly journal of yours, of course.”

She tossed the empty flask at me. It clanged off my chest and bounced on the frozen ground at my feet.

“Well, on to my real business, shall we?” She stepped closer to me.

“The heroes will soon be facing challenges unlike anything you’ve seen before. I need you to be ready…”

I stared, frozen in place. Her wings enfolded us. She grabbed my chin in Her hand, pulling me close. Her eyes narrowed. “What’s this?”, She hissed.

Her grip tightened. She scrutinized me carefully before finally speaking again. “Well, no matter. Perhaps a little extra incentive is just what you need. And her bit of light may prove useful. Oh, she will be punished of course. So you’d best make her sacrifice worthwhile.”

Screams erupted in the distance again.

She ignored them. I struggled against her grip, but couldn’t free myself.

“Oh please,” She sighed. “This will only take a minute and believe me, you’ll need every bit of power I can spare you…”