There had to be a better, more efficient way of finding Jade! The further Drake was dragged through Damien's history the more he lost hope not only for her, but for himself as well. Now Damien was seventeen and Lyra fourteen. It seemed that within just one year of pretending to be falling head over heels for Damien, Lyra had actually formed feelings for him although she was quite skilled at hiding them. Well, that or Damien just didn't pay her enough attention to notice.

"So," Amon smiled at her as they all sat together eating at the table, "how's the high life been treating you?"

Lyra glanced at him disdainfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear casually. She clearly didn't like him. The last time they had been together they had argued themselves into a screaming match. Needless to say the tension was still tight between them. "Couldn't be better," she stated simply. Then as a gentle sneer wrapped around her face she added, "How's life in the mud?"

"You're a bitch, you know that?" Amon snapped, eyes flashing with rage.

"And you started it," she sighed as if bored. Rolling her eyes to her left, she glanced down the table at Damien, who wasn't even listening to their conversation, but was rather having his own with Dane. She seemed disappointed, but far from shocked.

"You cannot keep doing these things for the king!" Dane snapped at Damien.

"Do I really have a choice though?" Damien smiled, examining the fork that he was twirling in his hand.

"Unless you want to endanger everyone around you, no," Malik hissed. Drake flinched, knowing that the man was only interested in the income that he stole from Damien. "But of course, who am I to think that you actually care about such trivial things."

Damien's smile grew into a grin as he rolled his eyes, ignoring his father. "Well, in any case, I got this for you," he tossed a small bag of something towards Dane.

Raising his eyes to Damien's with a funny look, Dane slowly untied the small purple pouch. Damien leaned back in his chair, his grin only curling further out. "You aren't supposed to transfer things between worlds," Dane scolded him as he pulled the last string, completely undoing the knot. A faint smile slipped onto his face as he peered inside the bag.

"Well, what is it then?" Malik barked before taking a long swig of his drink.

Lyra seemed to be just as curious, "Come on Dane."

Dane's smile dimmed a bit as he rolled his eyes in annoyance at their nosiness. "Thank you."

Damien gave a small nod, letting his laughing eyes glance at the steaming Malik. "I swear," he began to hiss through his red face.

"Oh, calm down father!" Dane snapped at him, reaching into the shallow cave of the pouch to pull out a heavy golden ring. "It's merely a ring."

"Rings are never just rings," Lyra spoke out coldly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, aren't you becoming quite the know it all," Damien finally gave her his attention making her blush a deep pink. "You are correct though. It's a power controlling ring."

"I didn't think that they wor-" she began to say.

"Yes, my darling dearest," Damien snapped angrily, almost as if he were frustrated to just hear her voice, "they don't work on all powers, but they will for Dane's and they just so happen to only be crafted in Monorail. I broke his old one by mistake. Really all of you are so fucking nosy."

"Why, doesn't she know though?" Dane asked calmly as he slowly slipped the ring onto his pointer finger, holding out his hand to examine it. "I thought that she could hear your every thought."

"Not if I don't want her to," Damien smiled, "and it's good to have privacy isn't it? Besides I don't really want to hear the every thought of a fourteen year old girl," he glanced at her cruelly, "especially when half of them are ever so passionately about me."

Drake pursed his lips from where he sat in the corner with Jordan, who had fallen asleep.

"That wasn't necessary Damien," Blair scolded him from across the table, giving Lyra a pitying look.

"I don't need nor do I want your sympathy," Lyra smiled angrily, leaning deeper into her chair, glancing back at Damien as he had her. So Damien was still playing her game of pretend. He was oblivious to her real feelings still. "I can read his thoughts if I want to," she laughed to herself, "although I believe he might find it harder than ever to get into my head."

Damien turned his head back to her, peering at her through narrowed eyes. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she smiled at him, "for instance you are worrying about Petra De'Vore right now. She's the one who got you the ring for Dane and you feel indebted to her."

"Not quite, know it all," Damien tilted his head in amusement, "I worry for her because we are closer to one another than we will ever get to another person in our lives. If something happened to her I'd be more than devastated, but good try my love."

"Damien stop picking on the poor girl!" Victoria snapped at him, wringing her hands in the air frantically, "she's just a child and one of an important figure head at that."

"Oh, all right just for you," he grinned as he rolled his eyes sarcastically, muttering under his breath, "stupid bitch. Ouch!"

Damien glared angrily at Dane, who had just kicked his shin from under the table. "Your temper," Dane mumbled.

"I can handle it," Damien hissed, his hands tightening into two fists.

Drake frowned. So Damien had had issues with his anger in his late teens as well. That was not reassuring at all. Was Drake truly destined to become Damien? It grated on him, slowly shredding his confidence in himself away. Who was he?

Jordan who had woken up with the shouting, now looked at him. "What is it?" He frowned. "Look don't worry we'll find Jade soon enough."

Drake nodded. He didn't feel like talking about his real issues at the moment.

"Hmm," Lyra smiled at Damien's anger. "I hate to ask this, but do you possibly have any other food?"

She scowled at the food on her plate that she hadn't even touched. It didn't look bad Drake thought, but it definitely wasn't up to her refined pallet. That was the only difference between her and Jade. Lyra was naturally a little brat and Drake couldn't understand how Damien saw a pure resemblance as Lyra was spoiled from her luxurious life and Jade had little to no interest in riches. Lyra wasn't as bad as she could be, but at times her irritating manners definitely shone through.

"Eat it all now and don't complain," Damien barked at her, rolling his eyes. He was probably, thinking the exact same ideas that Drake was. "Honestly, you're such a brat."

Her eyes widened as she watched her own hand take hold of the fork on her right and scoop up some of the earthy food. The way she eyed that fork you'd have thought that she was commanded to stab it between her breast. "Damien," she began begging him, "please stop-" Slowly she raised it up to her open mouth, finally stuffing it down her throat. Drake watched intensely. Something was wrong. The attitude she was displaying was more than disgust for the food. Her eyes began to water and her throat and face quickly began to swell, turning red as she coughed and sputtered, but was forced to swallow.

"You're an idiot!" Dane snapped at Damien, scrambling out of his chair, nearly tripping, and rushing over to Lyra. Drake watched his once uncle closely. He seemed out of his mind with panic as he took her from the chair and laid her onto the floor, where she writhed as she began to be suffocated.

Damien smiled. He even laughed until the paired effect began to work and his own throat began to swell with her's. Neither could breathe. Damien fell out of his chair, scratching at his throat. Drake had never seen him so frightened or vulnerable. Dane hastily fished through Lyra's pockets until he found some sort of needle, which he stabbed into her thigh. The swelling came down as both Lyra and Damien gasped for air.

"Damien, quick tell her to stop!" Dane hissed as Lyra was forced to stand and reach up onto her plate once more. She was sobbing and screaming.

"Quit it!" Damien screamed at her louder, completely loosing it as he silenced the entire room. Everyone's eyes fell onto him. "I am so tired of this! I am so tired of you! Why don't you just die and leave me alone? Why are you always there? Always in my head and outside of it? I cannot take it anymore! You're a pathetic waste of space."

She shook her head, the tears running down her cheeks as she coughed, "And do you honestly think that I enjoy a moment of your torture? If you even gave me an ounce of your attention you'd know that I'm allergic to nuts. If you even gave a damn about anyone other than yourself-"

He reached over and slapped her back to the ground furiously, but was soon on the floor himself as Dane slapped him back harder. "Get a hold of yourself, Damien!"

Damien stared up at his older brother furiously, despite having deserved it. "You have absolutely no idea the-"

"I know I don't, Damien," Dane responded calmly, "but this is the life that has been given to you. You have to accept it one way or another!"

There was a soft knock on the door and a messenger rushed in. He glanced at the couple on the floor nervously, but nevertheless spoke out, "My Lord Damien, the king requests your pres-"

"Oh shut up, Loui!" Damien snapped, standing up, his hands in tight fists, "I know what he wants. Tell him to go to hell! Tell them all to go to hell!"

Immediately, Dane's hand shot out grabbing hold of Damien's. Drake looked closer. The ring had been taken off. A wave of calm seemed to rush over Damien. The red in his face faded and the furious burning rage in his eyes died out as his expression relaxed. He took a long and deep breath, before holding out a hand to Lyra who was still on the stone floor. "I'm sorry, my dear," he apologized, "I let my anger get the best of me."

However, she slapped it away and stood on her own, leaving the room without another word, but most definitely with an infinite amount of thoughts. Damien's eyes followed her, sympathetically as Malik's watched him closely.

 "I'm sorry," he sighed to the messenger, "let's go."