I grabbed my sides as another burst of radiation ignited beneath my skin, and I bent over until my head met the cot. I hissed, holding back the screech that wanted to break free.

"What are...you...talking...about," I demanded as I recalled the Wielder referring to me by the same nickname. I grinded my teeth as the flames were gradually put out by the ruby ring absorbing the heat on my thumb.

"I'll leave the rest for your old...companion to answer now that I know you're going to live," Shade said, seeming to float over to the door in his floor-length robe.

He ducked out of the room before I could say anything and was replaced by the traitor.

"Aer," Bastion breathed, pausing at the entrance as his eyes roamed every inch of my body in strict examination before he rushed over and occupied Shade's vacant seat.

"What happened to you?" he whispered, pale blue eyes jumping around my face.

"I was bit by a Cursed demon and I'm somehow still alive weeks later to tell you about it."

Bastion took a deep breath and exhaled, blowing his white hair with strawberry blonde tips off his forehead. "I don't even know where to start," he admitted, running a hand through his multicolored hair. His fingers caught on his ivory horns and he dragged his hand down his pale face.

"Maybe explaining how I didn't turn into a Cursed demon like Misty is a good place to begin."

"Misty turned?"

I nodded.

"Shit. Is she..."

"I killed her."

"Shit," he repeated. "The downside to being a pure Draconian is no immunity to the Curse. I didn't turn either."

I narrowed my brows on him. "You're a demon. You were spying on the empire."

Bastion shook his head. "I know you're not going to believe me, but the substance your father used to extract my power also injected me with the Curse as a side effect. I'm not one-hundred percent Draconian."

"I know. You're a demon," I reiterated.

"No, Aer. I'm half-Phoenixian."

It felt like bolt of lightning struck my chest at the confession.

"But they were forbidden from mating with Draconians," I denied, "They do not have any offspring."

"Phoenixians were as strong as they were because they each had two powers. The only demons in this world are the Cursed ones driven by insanity that the Phoenixians defended us against. I have two powers because I gained an essence from my Phoenixian father and one from my Draconian mother whereas pure-blood Draconians receive half of each of their parents' essences," he explained, "You met Talyse, my mother. She exiled her own son knowing what I'd turn into. The abrasive woman never spoke about my father and now I know why."

"That doesn't make any sense. My father banished you for treason."

"He banished me because I discovered the truth with my power to read his lies and discern the reality. I knew too much, and I had two powers. No one can be more powerful than Emperor Nepheus."

My mind whirred with the information, and it felt foggy despite the lack of smoke swirling around. "Are you saying that I'm..." I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence.

"Your mother was Phoenixian. You're half-Draconian and half-Phoenixian, Aeryn. That's why you're still alive. You'll end up looking like me soon, but at least you survived."

"But I don't have two powers," I said, trying to disprove his rationale.

"Not that you know of."

I stared down at my palms to find a faint trace of Zoran's Insignia still visible. Zoran had two powers, too. Bastion hitched a white brow at the Insignia, connecting the dots of my bond to Zoran in silence.

"Does this mean that all the demons aren't really demons at all; they're actually...Phoenixians?"

Bastion nodded and I felt my entire resolve crumble as my world flipped upside down and everything I thought I knew was disputed.

"They're either pure-blooded Phoenixians or half-blooded descendants. King Kristos' mask is the skull of a Phoenixian. It's not a snout; it's a beak."

"Wait a second," I said as the gears clunked and connected in my head, "If the Ravos demons are Phoenixians, then why would they kill their own species with a bomb infused with the Curse?"

"They wouldn't. Think about it, Aeryn. Our entire generation has been lied to our whole lives while the Draconians who have known the truth just blindly follow your father - most likely out of fear of what would happen if they defied him. No one has two powers in the empire. I was exiled and stripped of my essences for having more than one, and because I knew the truth behind what your father was hiding. The emperor saw me as a threat just as he perceived everyone else born with two powers."

"No, no, no, no," I denied in desperation, "My father didn't exterminate the Phoenixians. He didn't bomb Azmar."

The refusal sounded lame to my own ears. All the evidence was sitting right in front of me.

"The war was between the Draconians and the Phoenixians because Emperor Nepheus felt threatened by their significant power difference. The Phoenixians who survived the blast mutated into 'demons' and their essences were drained and replaced by the Curse from the explosion that twisted their powers into the malevolent version. I used to be able to tell when someone was bluffing and could delineate the truth, but now the lies I speak become the truth."

This was all too much for me to handle. The only believable explanation was that I was still unconscious and having irrational delusions.

But I couldn't help Edge's words as they came back to me. Your friend hears the truth in lies. His lie will be the truth, he'd predicted.

"Racquel had the Curse infused in his weapon," I recalled. "After you were exiled, he used it on Zoran."

Bastion rubbed his chin. "Hm, we both know his mother is an apothecary, and it only makes sense that they had access to the Curse that blew up Azmar. Racquel must've stolen the poison from her."

"That's what I'd always thought, but now I'm wondering if he was on to something," I said.

"But why would he use it on Zoran of all Draconians? That dude is terrifying."

"Because he's not just Draconian; he's half-Phoenixian. Remember that glove he always wore so he 'wouldn't kill anyone'? Well, he wore it to cover his second Insignia."

"No shit," Bastion gasped. "I knew there was no way he could've killed sixty-two demons that night. His second power explains how he was able to do that on his own. Did Racquel ever – "

"He's dead," I interrupted, "he was killed in the ambush you led to the academy."

Bastion's face blanched, turning ghostly white. "That was King Kristos' doing. You know I had to do it to protect Penn. Even though Kristos is a Phoenixian, you must not trust him. Despite what they've told you, Armaeda is still in Ravos territory, and he will do anything to get revenge on the empire even if that means assassinating you – that still rings true."

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know, Aer. I really don't."

"Is the Curse going to kill us?"

"I'm not sure about that either. It seems to have elongated the lifespan of the Ravos with Phoenixian blood, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing."

"It's not," I said, recalling Shade's openness about his undesirable power.

"I know this is a lot to take in, and I'm sure you have questions that I don't have the answers to. Try to lay low until we figure out a plan."

"Just to reiterate," I said, holding up a finger, "You're not a traitor?"

Bastion moved his head from side to side.

I threw my arms around him, and he froze as tears sprung in my eyes.

"Hug me back, you idiot," I demanded.

Bastion enveloped me in a tight embrace and sighed against me.

"It's good to have you back," he whispered. "Not necessarily in these circumstances, but I missed your quick comebacks and witty smirks."

I pulled back just enough to look in his eyes. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes and he was much thinner than the stocky build he'd grown into while at the academy, but my best friend wasn't a spy; he hadn't betrayed me.

"I missed you, too, Bastion," I said, giving him a watery grin.

His arms pulled me against him for another tight squeeze. Holding me at arm's length with his hands on my shoulders, he said, "You're only a few weeks into the transformation. It's going to be hell for a bit longer until your body starts to adjust to the venom, but at least you won't develop a new, darker power since yours was never extracted like mine."

Maybe it wasn't too late for me to use an antidote to reverse the Curse.

I didn't know if I should alert Bastion to what Zoran had shown me in the cave in Garrenth with the potential cure among the endangered Dracnae. I decided it would be best to keep it a secret for now. Just because what Bastion had said made sense, I still had to be cautious.

"So, mind control, huh?" he asked, flicking his head at my Insignia.

I showed him my palm, saying, "Yeah, I'm not very good at it yet. There's a high chance I either cook my brain or that of whoever I'm trying to control."

"That's pretty badass. I wonder what your second power is."

I shrugged, closing my fingers over my palm. "I almost don't want to know."

Bastion got up and clasped my shoulder, saying, "I wish I had Edge's power to see everyone's fate. Then I'd know how this all plays out."

"Oh, that's his power! He always sounds so cryptic and vague."

"Yeah, that's one of his powers. He's an interesting guy, to say the least. I'm still not sure how I feel about him, but his powers could be useful."

"Hm," I muttered, getting lost in thought.

"I'll let you get some rest," Bastion said. "I'll visit when I can."

I let him leave me alone in the otherwise empty infirmary. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Penn was dead. It felt wrong after everything he'd suffered through to guard her safety.

I added Penn's name to the list of deaths I'd avenge, and laid back on the cot.

-------------

Wow, a lot just went down! Should Aeryn trust Bastion?