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"You will get your audience with the emperor," the guard said before slamming the cell door shut. Krux picked himself off the floor and examined his surroundings; a single torch that did little to illuminate the dungeon, a horrible smell he couldn't identify, nor did he want to, murmuring in the cells around him…

"Was that the Master of Time?"

"Who cares!"

"Keep it down, idiots!"

One of the voices was familiar, though he hadn't heard it in a long time. Was it just because she was a serpentine? Krux went to the bars of his cell and tried to peer through the darkness, but saw no one.

"Aspheera?" he called.

"What? Who?" Her voice was sharp and devoid of the joy she had greeted Wu with so many years ago. "Who are you?"

"Sander," he said. "We met years ago. You… helped me find someone."

"Sander!" Aspheera said. "Yes, I remember you. What a way to meet again, ha! Do you know what happened to my friend?"

Krux guessed she didn't want to mention Wu by name, what with the strangers in the cells around them. "He was injured, yes, but last I saw, he was recovering."

"So he's alive?"

Another serpentine raised their voice. "Have your reunion in the morning!"

"Shut your maw!" Aspheera snapped. "We have important things to discuss! Sander, you're an elemental master, correct?"

"What?" Krux said.

He heard a distinctly human laugh from the cell across from him, though whoever was inside was too far back to see. "So he is the Master of Time!" the voice said. "How the mighty fall!"

"I knew it!" Aspheera said. "Sander, get me out of here!"

"Excuse me?" Krux shook his head. "I can't. My powers–"

"I'm not talking about your powers, idiot." Aspheera lowered her voice to a hiss. "You have an audience with the emperor, and I know enough about the human empire to know that elemental masters are practically royalty."

"Not really."

"Quiet! You tell the emperor to let me go!"

"Aspheera," Krux said, "I am in this dungeon, same as you. While it's true the emperor may not be as harsh on an elemental master, asking him to free you–a serpentine, no less–would be pushing my luck."

Aspheera returned to her previous volume. "You won't even try?"

"How could I?"

"Shut up!" someone shouted. A splash of a foul liquid caught Krux's foot, and he retreated to the back of the cell–nearly tripping over a cold body.

"Fine!" Aspheera shouted. "Accept your death! I won't! My friend–" Her voice wavered. "I will not die like this!"

His heart pounding, Krux felt around in the darkness. When he found the mouth of his cellmate, he learned that the serpentine was still breathing, just barely. It was cold down here, and not all serpentine were acclimated to temperatures this low. Constrictai in particular were a desert species.

"Aspheera," he said.

"Go to sleep, Sander," Aspheera hissed.

"There's a serpentine here. He's cold."

"He's still alive?"

"Barely." Krux put his hand under the serpentine's head. "What do I do?"

"Put him out of his misery?" Aspheera suggested.

Krux snorted. "I'd like to avoid sharing a cell with a corpse."

"You're getting out tomorrow morning, the smell won't get that bad." Aspheera paused. "If you're serious? You're warm blooded. Warm him up."

He figured it was the best answer he would get out of her. With some effort, Krux pulled the serpentine's head into his lap, hoping his body heat would be enough to keep him alive. He leaned against the wall and steeled his mind for a long night.

---

Time passed agonizingly slowly. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours–with no windows, Krux didn't even know if the sun had risen. Had Lilly arrived at the capital? Had Aura completed her mission? Was she safe? Did she know what happened?

Would she come back for him?

Krux shook his head. Aura was a capable woman, from what Arcturus and Chen had told him, and that meant she would be smart enough not to break him out by herself. She would complete her mission, whatever it was, and she would return to Chen's camp. By the time she collected enough allies to break him out, Krux would already be free–the emperor would meet with him in the morning, after all.

At least, by his estimates, the state of the serpentine was improving. Though he hadn't woken up yet, Krux could feel his heartbeat when before it had been too weak. Krux shifted in his seat and found his leg was asleep.

Every so often, a guard walked by. Their lanterns cast flickering shadows across the walls.

Krux continued waiting.

It was impossible to tell how long it had been when a loud clang resonated through the dungeon.

Krux snapped out of his doze. Light danced through the bars as a guard ran past the cells. He tried to move to get a better look, but the serpentine on his lap shifted and weakly pressed his claws into Krux's leg.

"Someone's in trouble," remarked the person in the cell across from him.

"I thought you went to sleep," Aspheera snapped.

"And miss what's about to happen?"

The serpentine moved again. Slowly, he lifted his head off Krux's lap and stared at him.

"Good morning," Krux said gruffly.

"Who…?" the serpentine croaked.

"Just someone in the same cell as you," Krux said, though, this soon after waking up from near-death, he didn't know how much the serpentine would understand. "Who are you?"

The serpentine stared at him for a long moment. "Tezrus," he said. Then, "You're human."

"An astute observation." Krux reached down to pry Tezrus' claws out of his leg, grimacing in pain. That would definitely leave a mark. "We could say there's someone close to me who's part of the serpentine."

"What?"

"Oh, no," Aspheera said. "You found Aura, didn't you?"

Krux jerked his head up. "Yes?" he snapped. "What's with that tone? Did you know she was the one I was looking for?"

"Not until after she threw me in here!"

Krux's jaw dropped. When he said nothing, Aspheera continued speaking. "She showed up with a bunch of other traitors, interrupting what ought to have been a very nice chat, and dragged me to the capital to get in good with the emperor!"

"A nice chat?" said the person in the other cell. "You said your friend was in danger."

"And I was right!"

"Listen, I–" Krux ran a hand over his face. "I'm sure there's more to it than that."

Aspheera snorted. "You were so sure your twin was a boy, too!"

He heard a small "hm" from the cell across from him. Krux groaned. "Can we not announce the circumstances of my birth to the entire dungeon?"

"Oh, sure," she said. "What was your plan, Master of Time? Find your twin and stay in hiding forever? You could only meet in secret, since whoever saw you together would know in an instant who you were. Is that the kind of family you want?"

Krux bit back a retort and looked down at Tezrus, who was unconscious again. He still had a heartbeat, so Krux decided not to worry.

"Furthermore," Aspheera said, and whatever she meant to follow up with was forgotten when another clang sounded, closer this time.

Krux flinched. He managed to move Tezrus off his lap, and, after a moment's thought, took off his jacket to place under the serpentine's head before standing up.

"Intruder!" someone shouted. Krux made his way to the cell door and squinted through the bars. He didn't see anyone in the hall, but lantern light danced just around the corner. He heard another shout, a thud, and–

With a flash of green light and a shift in the atmosphere, a human stumbled out of thin air, running a few steps and skidding to a stop in front of Krux's cell. She doubled over, breathing hard, then straightened up to look at him.

"Krux," she said. "That's–that's you?"

Krux could only stare. She was dressed in simple, formal wear, most likely belonging to the Master of Earth, though her outfit was in disarray. Her hair was done in locs that fell around her shoulders. She put one hand on the bars as Krux stared, and as he met her eyes–

Oh, Krux thought. They really did have the same face.

Aura nodded and held up a ring of keys. "One of these should get you out," she said as she started trying them, one by one. "They're not marked, but…"

"Why are you here?" Krux asked.

"To get you out," Aura repeated. "You risked your life for me. I wasn't going to leave you here."

"But–"

"Oh, sure," Aspheera called from the other cell. "Not like you left me here, Aura?"

Aura paused to turn towards Aspheera's cage–and kept staring, her eyes wide in horror. "What did they do?" she whispered. "I didn't think…"

"Didn't think what? After all I do to help your damned brother–"

Aura met Krux's eyes while Aspheera raged. "You know her?" she asked.

"She's a close friend to one of my friends," Krux said. "She said… you were the one who brought her here."

"I did. Master Chen said it would convince the emperor I was on his side." She looked back down. "I didn't like it then, and I regret it now. We should have found another way."

The next key she tried opened the cell. Krux didn't leave right away, glancing back at Tezrus. "Aura," he said, and stopped when he saw Aura had moved to Aspheera's cell and was fumbling with the lock.

Krux managed to drag Tezrus' unconscious body to the door by the time Aura opened the second door. "She's going to need help," she said to Krux. "Who is that?"

"He said his name was Tezrus," Krux said. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"No." Aura paused. "Can you carry him?"

"Barely."

"You help Aspheera, then. She won't trust me."

"With good reason!" Aspheera shouted.

Krux handed Tezrus off to Aura and went to Aspheera's cell.

When he saw the state she was in, he froze.

Aspheera was blindfolded with her hands tied behind her back, and even in the dim light, Krux could see the blindfold was crusted with dried blood. She hissed at him as he stared, her ragged hood flaring out. "You think I want to come with you and her?" she snarled.

Krux snapped out of it. "Will you be any better off here?" he said, and stepped into the cell. "I'm going to untie you, now. How bad are your injuries?"

Aspheera said nothing, but didn't lash out, either.

She spoke when Krux was crouched behind her and working to untie her hands. "Just the eyes," she said. "Standard for hypnobrai prisoners. One of them should heal. I'm not certain about the other."

Once Krux freed her hands, Aspheera rubbed her wrists and took off her blindfold. Krux stood up. "Can you see?" he asked.

Aspheera didn't answer. Krux moved to look at her eyes and she turned her head away. "I don't need your pity," she said. "I'll find my own way out."

Krux shook his head. "I can't make you trust me," he said, "and you certainly have enough reason to distrust Aura, but your friend showed me a great deal of kindness. I can never repay him for the years he helped me, but if I can help you escape–"

"Ugh," Aspheera said. "Fine. If only for his sake."

She tied the blindfold back around her head and flicked her tongue in and out. "If your sister pulls any other tricks, I'm leaving," she said.

Despite the situation, Krux felt a rush at Aspheera's words. His sister.

"We have to leave your cellmate here."

Krux looked up. Aura stood just outside the cage. "I can't carry him," she said. "If he stays in the cell, no one will harm him, and we can return for him later."

"He's half dead from cold," Krux said. "Will he last that long?"

Aura pursed her lips. "I don't know," she admitted, "but we're may have to fight our way out, and we can't do that if we're dragging him around. He has a better chance of survival if he stays here."

She had a point. Krux nodded. "Then we will come back for him," he said.

"A traitor to her own kind, it seems!"

Aura spun around to face the voice and slammed her hand on the bars of their cell. "Who are you?" she snarled. "You have no idea what I've done for my kind!"

They laughed. "Human or serpentine?"

Krux helped Aspheera to the hall and went to Aura's side. "Don't listen," he said. "We need to leave."

Aura pulled herself away. "Right," she said. "I have a mission to complete."

Krux put a hand on Aspheera's arm. She pulled away. "I'm not that blind," she said. "I'll keep up."

"Fine," he said. "Aura, which way do we go?"

---

At the exit to the dungeon, Aura pressed herself against the wall and listened. Krux stayed as quiet as he could, hyperaware of his and Aspheera's breathing. Finally, Aura nodded, and the three of them stepped out into the palace hallway.

Aura stopped by another door. "This will lead you to the courtyard," she said. You get Aspheera to safety. I will join you later."

"Where are you going?" Krux asked.

"To complete the mission."

He frowned. "And what is that?"

Aura glanced at him in confusion. "You don't know?"

"I am not in Master Chen's circles. He almost refused to send me to help you." Krux took a step closer. "Aura, what is your mission?"

She opened her mouth, closed it, hesitated. "To stop the war," she finally said. "The human emperor despises the serpentine. The fault of the war lies with him, not us, and not the humans, either. We will never have peace while he's alive."

The highest form of treason, Krux realized. "You're going to kill him," he said.

Aura nodded.

Krux's stomach churned. "I'm coming with you."

"You are helping Aspheera," Aura said firmly. "She'll be killed if she's caught alone."

"And I'm leaving," Aspheera commented. "I'm not dying for this."

"Aura, I can't–" He felt lightheaded. Krux put a hand on his forehead and found it damp with sweat. "I only just found you. What if something happens? You're the only family I have."

Aura put a hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me, brother," she said. "I'll make it back."

Krux stared into her eyes. Gold, he thought. Just like his own.

"Very well," he said. "Good luck, sister."

Aura managed a wide smile, then turned and disappeared in a flash of green light. Krux dragged his eyes away from where she had been and followed Aspheera to the courtyard.