*****

Kisoka, Grendel, and Dominick take Dom's car and start off for the Harpy city. It isn't far, but security at the
human city walls would surely notice them carrying a half-dead Harpy prince away, so they stop near the border
and Grendel leads them through an underground tunnel that will surface near Harpy territory. As a half-Harpy,
Grendel is not welcome in the city, though his family is one that traditionally serves the royal family, and so has
some favour with them, if no one else. When they arrive, Grendel is turned away by the guards, and the others
give him the task of returning and watching over Caine, Az, and company.

Dominick is immediately detained by the Harpies. Holden is taken away for medical treatment and Kisoka
goes to see the King, leaving Dom in the dungeons alone. After a few hours, Kisoka visits him, perplexed.
She explains that the Harpies are hesitant to release him, because they are able to sense Elf-magic around him.
If Dom does not explain himself, she adds, he could be executed. After two days of silence, they start to torture him.

The torture is slow and lasts for a few days, but is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Yoshiki.
His wings are still weak and oddly skeletal, though feathers are starting to show, and his back still healing,
but he's healthier. His human disguise has started to wear off -- his hair has turned from grey back to gold,
and he somehow looks less boyish. The violence he displayed toward Dom in his apartment seems to have
disappeared. Yoshiki informs the guards that Dom will never tell them anything of his connection to the Elves --
because he is unable to. He says the Elf magic is concentrated in the scar on his face, and Yoshiki had
witnessed a man placing that scar on him years ago -- the necessary conclusion was that Tobias, actually an elf,
was using magic to control Dominick. His spoken commands compelled Dom to carry them out. Dom was a victim,
not a threat. The guards are still unconvinced that Dominick should be allowed to be free, so Yoshiki orders
them to release him, as this human is his mate.

Dominick is grateful to escape execution, and so doesn't dispute the highly important role of a Harpy's mate.
He is taken before King Mordecai before he can see Yoshiki alone, however. Deeply ashamed of his secret,
he confesses that he had been involved in Arcana's disappearance since Tobias had adopted him. He does
not know why Tobias is holding Arcana captive, as the Elves don't seem to have any interest in the affairs of the
outside world. Dominick explains that, when human soldiers sent to investigate reports of demons gathering
around the church started showing up, Tobias would unleash Arcana's power onto him, using him to kill the men.
However, Holden interrupted one such killing, and that started the road that led them to where they were.
Possessed by Arcana, Dom recognized Holden as Yoshiki, and sealed some of her power away in Holden.
They were protective powers, meant to guard her young son. One reflected physical pain, and the other eased
animosity toward him, even caused some to love him. Tobias began to realize Holden was not human, but he
didn't know that he had received part of Arcana's power (he'd assumed it went to the dead soldier, and then
back to Arcana) -- so he sent the demi-cerberus, one of many demons keeping near to the church, to chase
Holden away for good. Over time, Tobias thought to use his control to force Dominick to explain what had
happened, and thus Dom gave away that some of Arcana's power had found its way to Holden. Once they'd
met up again, years later, Tobias used an Elvish messenger bird to follow him around, and later explicitly ordered
Dominick to watch him closely. Dom was ordered to use him, to get close to him if necessary, and discover
more about his powers and who he really was. Unable to disobey, Dominick had to struggle with his orders
and his feelings for Holden.

Kisoka and Yoshiki tell their father all they know about Arcana's location, and leave the Harpies to decide
on a plan of action. Dominick stays close to Yoshiki during their stay, uneasy while defenseless and surrounded
by such powerful creatures, though Yoshiki's presence isn't very comforting. He resembles Holden still,
but his personality is very different -- Yoshiki is somehow untouchable, distant, and in control. Dominick has to
remind him of obvious things from his other life, like that he loved a vampire, and he has a brother and friends
who could still be in danger. He is, however, very gentle toward Dominick, and appreciates how hard it was
for Dom to resist Tobias' commands and not cause him harm. They sleep together, platonically, as
Yoshiki wants to ensure Dom isn't attacked (and because he is still formally engaged ^^; ) This
engagement stands in the way of any relationship they might have (as well as the fact that he had not
yet properly grieved the death of his last mate).

Yoshiki's arranged fiancée is Rahven, the blind magician. She was chosen despite her handicap in order to
bring stronger magic into the royal family, and to move her own servant-family up the social scale. She gives
Dom treatment for his curse, and though she can't fully remove it, she helps him to learn how to resist Tobias'
commands. They are not rivals for Yoshiki's limited affection, however. Rahven points out that neither one of
them can ever have him -- as long as the goal is to restore Arcana to power, then that means all holders of the
pieces of her power must die so it will return to her, including the prince.

*******

Dominick returns home within a few days, so as to minimize Tobias' suspicion of his sudden disappearance.
He receives a call from Tobias telling him to stay where he is -- he's been out hunting people and animals,
collecting some of the last pieces of Arcana's power. She's almost returned to full strength, and there are only
two people left -- he's just finished killing Julie, and it's now down to Coral Shaw and Yoshiki. Dominick
immediately hangs up and searches for Az's phone number, calling to check on Coral, but Az's mother informs
him that Caine has taken her to the hospital to visit Azriel. Dominick hangs up on her too and races to the hospital.

Tobias gets there ahead of him. He's sent a pack of demi-cerberus ((... plural? O_O Cerberi? XD)) to corner
Caine, Az, Coral, and Grendel (who is taking his task of protecting them quite seriously) in Az's room,
while chasing everyone else away. Dom picks up a gun from a mangled security guard and manages to find them.
Caine is near-hyperventilating with his phobia, but is still trying to place himself between the canine demons and
the girls. Grendel has uncoiled some monofilament wire from the backs of his gloves and is trying to defend them all.
Dominick shoots down three of the six demons before they can react to his presence. The other three pounce on
Caine, Az, and Grendel, who were taken aback by Dom's sudden appearance, leaving Coral unprotected.

Shoving the gun against Tobias' temple, Dominick orders him not to move. It is a tense moment.
Dom remembers clearly seeing his mother dead, and still despises violence and killing, but he has to
save the others. Tobias just smiles and says he expected that Dominick would show up sooner or later.
He starts to question Dominick about where he'd been for the last few days, but abruptly changes
subjects in mid-sentence: he briskly orders Dom to shoot Coral. Caught offguard by the command,
Dominick has no time to catch himself, and he turns and shoots her. Tobias overpowers him a second
later and knocks him out with a spell, allowing him to escape with Dom. The demi-cerberus holding
Grendel down is distracted by the gunshot, and Grendel manages to slice through its throats with the
razor-sharp wire. He makes short work of the other two, and gathers Coral in his arms, telling Caine and
Az that he can get her help, then disappears.

******

When he wakes up, Dominick finds himself on the floor of the bedroom he and Holden had shared while
living at the church. Tobias is sitting nearby, holding the gun, saying that Dominick's betrayal wasn't entirely
unexpected, that he had warned Dom not to get attached to Holden. Now he'd gone too far, and killed an
innocent child. Dominick is horrified at his own actions, and can only stare blankly when Tobias gives him
the gun, instructing him to pray to God and then to 'end his own misery' as his father did. Tobias leaves as
Dom obediently puts the gun to his own head.

Tobias goes down to where Arcana is hidden, and stands just beyond her containment field, which is
weakening as she is gaining strength. She has already broken all the chains binding her, and is coming
close to being able to tear down the barrier. He watches as she claws at the column of light, the barrier
separating them, and tells her that this is no less than she deserves. He says that as a warlord who decimated
demon populations, Arcana's power would now be harnessed by himself. After the death of his wife,
Tobias grew tired of the Elves' policy of non-involvement, and at last saw fit to intervene in the petty squabbling
of the human and demon races. Their wars were destroying the earth and civilization, and they needed to be
taught a severe lesson. He says he's going to kill her son, as Harpies had tortured and killed his wife decades
ago. The Elves and the remaining factions of humans and demons would be able to live in relative peace
without their deep hatred of one another, which would be lessened greatly by the elimination of the aggressive Harpies.

Arcana suddenly looks up, behind Tobias. He realizes who is there too late, and is shot by Dominick.
Triggered by the mention of his father, Dominick had finally pieced together that his father had not killed
himself at all -- it was not coincidence that Tobias just happened to show up when they were both dead
and adopted Dominick out of the goodness of his heart, despite the lack thereof. Before dying, Tobias
admits he needed help to find and kill the holders of Arcana's power -- Dominick's father had been one
of them -- and that he took Dom because a child would be easy to control. Dominick shoots him again,
before he can say any more, emptying the gun, and breaks down crying.

*****

Yoshiki and Kisoka are surprised by the appearance of Grendel, who has Coral with him. The Harpies
don't want Grendel there, but he manages to get Coral to Rahven to be healed before he's kicked out of
the city. She heals her even though she's a human, because she holds some of Arcana's power, and also
because she's only a child. Aware that the brother and friends Dom reminded him he had are in very real
danger, Yoshiki asks his father that the Harpies' imminent attack on the Elves be held off until he is given a
chance to retrieve his mother without incident. He is granted permission, and leaves immediately.

Once he arrives (easily and carelessly tearing through the defenses at the walls of the human city),
Yoshiki faces the scene of Dominick sitting on the ground, still beside Tobias' body. He passes through
the containment field and faces his mother for the first time in years. She embraces him, and tells him to
help her escape her prison, that the Elves and the humans will know no mercy for causing so much
suffering. Yoshiki is doubting that this is the right course of action. No matter how hard he tries to shake
it, he still feels concern for Caine, their mother, Azriel, Sloane, Dominick, and all his human friends.
He tells her it would be better to hide away for a while, that the Harpies sorely needed her leadership,
and that this continued aggression against every other race would only serve to kill them all off.

Arcana asks about Dominick. Yoshiki informs her that he considers Dominick his mate, and that
he is not to be harmed. At that, Arcana then turns on her son. She viciously grabs him by the throat
and pins him to the wall, saying that Rahven is meant to be Yoshiki's mate; therefore, this human was
fair game. She tells him she was afraid that his disguise as a human would expose him to their needlessly
sentimental way of life. His first duty, once he helped Arcana out of her prison, would be to assist
her in killing Dominick.

Yoshiki does lead her out of the containment field, and kneels before Dom, taking his face in his hands
and kissing his forehead. Dominick is too overwhelmed by his murder of Tobias and the current situation
to give much of a reaction. Yoshiki thanks him for his loyalty, and tells him not to worry. He then turns to
his mother and tells her to kill Dom, to flex her powers after having lost them for so long. This grabs
Dominick's attention -- his heart sinks to his stomach, as he tries to comprehend how easily Yoshiki
could give his life away. Hadn't they cared for each other? Dominick tries to protest, but he is interrupted
by Yoshiki speaking, and walking around him in slow circles. The prince tells his mother that he agrees
with her, that the relationships he formed while in his human disguise needed to be eradicated if he were
to assume his rightful position as a future Harpy leader. Such sentimentality simply didn't belong to a
Harpy's personality. Yoshiki keeps walking, talking in this manner, but when he reaches a point in his
walking, so that he is facing Dom and his back is to Arcana, he smiles at Dominick. Dom understands
instantly, and is even more terrified. He cries out for Yoshiki to stop, and starts to get up Yoshiki
takes the opportunity to grab him from behind, and they both turn to face Arcana.

Arcana has been concentrating during all this time, and has gathered enough energy for a spell. Dominick
is screaming and thrashing to be let free, knowing what the prince is trying to do. In another few seconds,
Arcana releases the spell and a blast of searing energy travels toward them -- smashing into Yoshiki,
who shoves Dominick to the ground at the last minute.

Yoshiki staggers back and falls to his knees, severely wounded in the chest, spilling and coughing blood.
Just as Arcana is about to turn to attack Dominick, however, she stops. An identical wound appears in
her chest, and she falls backward into the containment field again, shocked and now trapped once more
behind the barrier. Her son's betrayal inspires fury in her, and she starts blasting away at the barrier.
Spells riccochet off it and into the walls of the tunnel cavern, and the ceiling starts to crumble. Without the
power that Yoshiki (and Coral) still has, she can't get out of the field again.

Dominick drags Yoshiki up to the surface and outside, where they collapse on the stairs together,
unable to move any further. Dominick is still crying, panicking, cursing himself that he's just a human and
can't do anything to heal Yoshiki's wound. The ground is collapsing somewhere behind the church, burying
Arcana alive. Dominick can only hold him protectively and wait for help.

********

Dominick is not allowed to visit Yoshiki while he is healing. Kisoka has been taking care of Coral,
and Grendel brings Caine and Azriel to the Harpy city, upon Yoshiki's request. They are informed
of the entire long story of what's been happening to the person they knew as Holden, and to the
Harpy Queen. At last, they are allowed to see Yoshiki.

Caine and Azriel don't notice a difference in him, as they had not seen him since he'd attacked Az,
but Kisoka and Dominick notice instantly -- Yoshiki has changed his appearance again. His wings
are still intact, but his hair and body have changed, noticably yet insubstantially at the same time.
His human disguise is in place again. After a reunion with his friends, 'Holden' tells Dominick that he's
made the decision to leave with them. His confrontation with Arcana would have been disastrous for
him if the Harpies found out he'd actually provoked the attack -- though they still mourned her death,
they were under the impression for now that she had attacked her son unreasonably, confused after
being held captive in a weakened state for so long. He had already discussed it with his father,
and both thought it was best for him to leave. Now that it was revealed that Kisoka was another heir
to their father's position, she could stay and very well become the next ruler if she chose. (Her first order
of business is to declare that her mate should be allowed into the city, much to the embarrassment of
the guards who had repeatedly tossed Grendel out in the past. :D)

With the Harpies backing off from their habit of making war with just about everybody, the others go
their separate ways from Kisoka and Grendel. Holden and Caine return home rather than going back
to school, and Azriel takes some time off as well. Sloane goes back to school though, he's a trooper. ~_^
Dominick returns to his old home, in an attempt to sort out what he now knows about his parents' deaths.
Holden and Dom don't see each other for a while, while Holden tries to get back to the life he used to live.
The scarring on his right arm has disappeared. He no longer has the powers that Arcana gave him, and he's
mourning Vincent's death, but his is made a bit difficult as Holden doesn't clearly remember Vincent dying.
Having found out earlier from Kisoka where she had buried Vincent -- a graveyard near his home, where
his family had placed a memorial marker, as his body was technically still walking around -- Dom meets
up with Holden again, and takes him there. They'll have to start over, but Dom still wants to be with
Holden after everything, and closure for Vincent's death is the last step for Holden to finally move on.

******

(*admits* And they all lived happily ever after, except for Adonis, who is left in limbo because I still don't know what
to do with him. The end. Told you it wasn't perfect. XD;)