Following behind Lia in silence, Terrene's mind drifts back to the incident. She places her hand gently upon one of her horns, her fingers tracing the unfamiliar curve as she loses herself in thought.
What? Who? Why?
She knows what she saw. It was remarkable—impossible, even. But can she trust it?
With a soft sigh, she presses her palm against her closed eyelid.
He had eyes like mine. Even if it was only for a few seconds. But that doesn't make any sense—the toll of criole is too much for him, isn't it?
"Tema?"
Her call emerges as barely more than a whisper, too quiet to carry beyond her own lips—at least to anyone she does not wish to hear. Yet no response comes. The familiar presence within her remains silent.
Terrene sighs and forces herself to set the worry aside. Now is not the time. She glances towards the unconscious Kushi, suspended beside her, then towards Lia, with Myles resting upon her back.
Lia stops abruptly.
"Hey, Terrene. You have a dragon inside of you, yes?"
She turns to face her sister, her expression expectant.
Terrene rubs her horn absently, her touch lingering on the smooth, hard surface.
"Tema is not responding to me," she says, her voice carrying a sombre weight. "And I feel... strange like this. I do not think I want to try anything until we get back home."
Lia studies her sister for a moment, noticing the unusual depth of emotion bleeding through Terrene's usually flat demeanour. She says nothing, turning quietly and marching onward.
--------------
"If you have time to flirt, surely you have enough to help me sharpen my blade."
Verdure's voice practically hisses the words at the trailing Aethon.
He shrugs, a lazy grin spreading across his face.
"For you? Of course I have the time."
Verdure prides herself on her patience, yet this man is pushing dangerously close to its limits. She rolls her eyes and pushes two towering, mountainous doors open with frightening ease, revealing a spacious, generously lit cavern beyond.
"You may match me in speed and skill," she says, flashing him a smile that is equal parts innocent and deadly, "but one more word from you, and I will rip your limbs off with my bare hands."
She turns and strides into the cave.
"Wow," Aethon murmurs, raising his hands in mock surrender. "What a woman."
The heavy doors slam shut behind them with a resonant boom.
"So... we are alone," Aethon says, wasting no time.
"Yes. We are."
Verdure removes one of her gauntlets, revealing runic ribbons wound tightly around her palm. The gauntlet drops to the ground, and the impact sends tremors through the cave floor. Aethon flinches, taking an unconscious step back.
"You are the second anomaly I have met in my lifetime," Verdure continues, removing the other gauntlet. "You seem more in tune. More controlled. Less raw than the other one."
She works at the buckles of her vambrace, then the remaining pieces of armour covering her arm, until both arms are bare save for the intricate runic ribbons spiralling around them.
Cold sweat beads upon Aethon's forehead as he takes in the terrifying sight of Verdure's criole waves bending the very fabric of space around her. Her face—far cuter than he could ever have imagined—is simultaneously eerily terrifying. He is utterly enthralled.
"Well," he says, his voice carrying a nervous edge as he attempts to diffuse the tension, "not how I imagined I would see it for the first time. But we take what we can get, I suppose."
Verdure's expression remains stoic, yet a faint, jolly glint flickers in her eyes.
"No one but my parents and my eldest sister has ever seen this part of me and lived to tell the tale," she says. "Until now."
She turns to glance at the arm harnesses arranged neatly upon the ground opposite one another.
"These wraps hold my power in check. They were made to help me socialise." The wraps vanish abruptly, then reappear just as swiftly. "My eldest sister made them for me. Yet it was not..." She trails off, shaking her head. "It does not matter. I have a question."
"Why do I like you?"
"What? No."
"Well, I am not guessing."
Verdure sighs, her composure faltering for just a moment.
"I... Why did you let my men capture you?"
"Ah. You caught on, did you?" Aethon offers a rueful smile. "Sorry, but I am a deeply distrustful person—and for good reason. I cannot answer that for you, my lady."
"So there is more to you than your brazen nature and your strength."
Aethon makes a slightly hurt face. "You wound me."
Verdure looks down at her wraps thoughtfully, slowly suppressing the chaotic surge of her criole.
"I did not bring you here to talk. Where we are going is quite dangerous. I need to know the full extent of your strength."
"Where could we possibly be going?"
"If you wish to defeat me, you will need to become far stronger. It would take too long here."
"Someone is eager..."
Verdure flushes. "Shut it."
"So," Aethon says, his grin returning, "what is the game plan?"
"Start with hitting me."
Aethon's gaze flickers towards her breastplate, then the remaining armour, then himself.
Suddenly, he feels a delicate touch upon his chin, guiding his gaze forward.
"Believe me," Verdure murmurs, her voice low, "these are not for my protection."
Aethon's smile widens.
"The day will come when I take all of it off," he whispers back.
Verdure opens the distance between them, one hand flying to her now-bleeding nose. Confused and flustered, she shoots a deadly glare at the grinning red-haired man.
"Enough. Focus."
"Roger that."
Aethon gathers his criole within himself and across the surface of his body, the energy coiling like a serpent preparing to strike.
Verdure smiles.
"I really hope there are more of you out there."
Aethon laughs.
"The universe is big. But not that big."
--------------------
"Lia!"
Myles jolts upright, her name tearing from his throat.
"Yeah?"
Lia responds uncharacteristically, her voice flat and nonchalant as she turns to face him sideways.
Myles scrambles to sit up properly, moving closer to her.
"Are you all right?"
Lia flinches and pulls back.
"Think about yourself. Your wounds are healing slowly. Well... slower than usual."
Myles glances down at his arm, where small, weak black flames flicker across the skin. The cuts have closed, but the bruises remain, their presence a dull ache beneath the surface.
"Please," he says quietly, "do not be mad at me."
Suddenly, Terrene's hand closes around his shoulder, her grip firm enough to make him grimace.
"Shut it."
She pulls him back and throws him onto the bed.
"Wow," he remarks, wincing. "So gentle."
Terrene huffs, turning away.
Kushi suddenly walks in, carrying a tray laden with food for everyone. The moment her eyes land upon Myles, she pushes the tray into Terrene's hands and rushes to embrace him.
"Ow, ow—this is new," he winces, though there is no real protest in his voice.
Kushi pulls away slowly, her hands still resting on his shoulders as if reassuring herself that he is real. Myles steals a glance towards Lia.
"No," Kushi says, her voice trembling slightly. "You were lost. I thought you would be gone forever—that thing replacing you entirely. It was like you were..."
"Completely taken over," Lia finishes quietly, her voice flat but carrying an undercurrent of something darker.
Myles looks between them, his brow furrowing.
Lia steps forward, her expression shifting into something more serious.
"Myles, we need to talk about something."
He sits up with renewed enthusiasm, relief flickering across his face. This is the tone he loves—Lia's voice, full of unbridled emotion and passion in every word.
"I have what you have."
The words land like a blow. Beads of sweat run down Myles's neck. Flashes of Lia's charred body tear through his mind unbidden.
"What?"
"She did not feel alien," Lia continues, her gaze drifting to the side. "She felt part of me. Like an extension of myself. Unlike you, I know who she is, what she is, and why she is with me. What's more, I see and hear everything she does when she takes over."
She pauses, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that makes him sweat.
"Did you hear that, Devinr?"
The name hangs in the air between them. Myles's breath catches. Lia holds his gaze for a long moment, her eyes searching his, before she finally pulls away and turns towards Kushi.
"Anyway, she told me everything that happened between you two. I think I understand. But of course, it will take time for me to..."
Kushi places a gentle hand on Lia's arm, her familiar warm smile softening the edges of the tension.
Terrene huffs, her hand flying to her horn as she storms towards the door.
"Terrene?" Myles calls after her, but she does not answer. She disappears behind the closing door without a backward glance.
Kushi sighs, her shoulders sagging slightly.
"I will go after her. You two have much to discuss."
She follows Terrene out, the door clicking shut behind her.
The silence that follows is thick, weighted with everything left unsaid. Lia opens the distance between herself and Myles considerably. He gives her a confused, almost wounded look.
"I am not going to let you anywhere near me after..." Lia trails off, her gaze dropping to the side. She takes a steadying breath before continuing. "Myles, listen to me. When I was on Cerve's ship, his servants spoke of two brothers."
"Guman and Ubum," Myles says gravely.
"Oh! Do not tell me you met them!"
"No."
Lia exhales in visible relief.
"Those two are looking for humans, yes. But many have heard talk of people searching for black flames—or at least anyone who could wield them."
Myles's eyes widen.
"What? What could they possibly want with me?"
Lia turns towards the window, her gaze drifting across the landscape beyond the lodge.
"I do not know.