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Chapter Text

Some days the boy wished the flames had destroyed him, that they had granted him a small mercy by killing him off then and there. That they had burnt his body, charring it until he was nothing but ashes. if they had, all the pain would have ended there.

As his mind drifted towards that night, his old burns seared as though they were lit once more. His handsome face, it was almost disfigured by the mark of the inferno. He never wore his old scares openly, if he did.. he would remember him more often. They symbolised his past, they symbolised his old pain, their old passion. And that was not for anyone else to privy too.

Some days, the boy thought back, wishing more than anything that he had made a different choice, not that the universe had provided him one in the first place. If he had been granted one, he could have lived a different life. But, that could have never been, could it? Not with who he was.

He was just another red rat to them, something to be pitied, something to be exterminated, like vermin. Vermin, that's all he could ever hope to be in Norta, not without revealing his true nature.

Some nights, the boy’s dreams would show him his pale face, his screams of despair. The strongarm Guards emotionless eyes, boring into the boys as he dragged him away, the fire burning brighter by the very second. Oh, and his eyes, those were the last thing that the boy saw before the smoke encompassed him whole. That night was played to him each night, over and over.

Those eyes, they were so scared, and so very sad. They were now as callus and cruel as his mothers, they were complimented by the silver that always rested upon his raven curls, marking him a true silver. He was now the direct opposite of the caring boy he once knew, he was a dictator, not a king.

The boy sobbed as he watched the broadcasts, he wept as he heard that voice, laced with a deadly poison, and uncontrollable hatred. Silent tears flooded from his eyes as he realised what his silver had become.

A wayward, warm prince, to a cold monster. And the monster would be slain soon, by his own brother. It was always his fire, it always burnt away inside, slowly killing him.

Now, the man urged his brown and white horse forwards, digging his heels gently into his sides, his face hidden by his cloak’s hood. The cloak covered his scars, it made him no different from the other reds around him. The man drew his lips into a tight line, determination shining in his eyes.

All who he passed always looked away, they were unable to meet his fierce gaze, staring out from the dark foals of his hood. There was always a strange aura swimming around him, he radiated power, strength and danger.

Something about the man was intriguing, danger clamoured to him like a moth a flame, he smirked at the notion. Irony was amusing to him.

Some days, the man would shed a tear for his lost life. For his lost silver, for his lost flames, lost to her ignorance.

Some days, most days to be honest, the man’s rage bubbleed to the surface of his mind. His stubbornness driving him onwards, his will never flattering as he inched closer to his goal, to his reward, to his silver. His horse flicked his silky mane to the side as a fly pestered it, his hands tightened on the reigns.

The man’s eyes locked onto the faint line of Archeon, he would arrive promptly.

The man’s lips curled into a slight smile, “Trebius, run” He whispered to his horse.

__Maven__

Mare stares at me, her eyes blown wide with shock, “Don’t make me do this to you, Maven..” She rasped, her throat was undoubtedly raw. I manage to shrug, forcing my face to display no emotion, “I’m not making you do anything, Lightning girl” My reply is stereotypically villainous, my voice carrying a lost authority. The authority of the King of Norta, all my plans had been thrown out the damn window.

‘Mother taught me well’ I almost smiled at the notion, ‘As though I asked her to do this to me, as though I wanted her to make me into this.. her puppet.. Her Monster..’ “You can stand right there, or even turn around. It makes no difference to me” I hear myself say.

Mare’s breathing is uneven, rugged, ‘She must have noticed the silent stone..’ Her eyes flicked over to it, ‘I must have really broken her..I- I burn everyone I touch, don’t it?’ The irony hits me, ‘Just the sight of the accursed stuff does that to her.. I..’

"Don't make me kill you like this.." Mare’s voice snaps back to reality, my eyes rise to meet hers, “What are you going to do? You have no power here, Mare! Are you going to bore me to death?” The parallel makes her brown eyes narrow. ‘By my colours.’ I curse in my mind as the morbid realisation sets in, ‘I might not make it out of this..’

“I’m utterly terrified of you, Mare” I roll my eyes, the show of false indifference the only thing holding me together. ‘That wasn’t entirely sarcasm either..was it?’

My calm persona is completely forced, and I know that Mare can tell, she knows me too well not to. She knows me too well for both of our goods, all who come close to me burn, and she already has some of the scar’s. I almost chuckle as her eyes narrow further, ‘She already sees through my lie.. Am I really that predictable?’

My brain is overwhelmed by conflict and fear, adrenaline courses through my veins. ‘I feel as though I am going mad- again. We both know that I lost my sanity years ago..’ Mare inches forwards, ‘I need a plan, I have to stop panicking..’ I focus in on her feet, I begin to mimic her movements, though she picks up on my tactics almost instantly. ‘She won’t..’ I look up.

Mare does not tremble as she slowly steps into the room, the thrum of the silent stone echoing all around us, her face showing no terror, “You should be, Maven Calore”

My Colours.

I stumble backwards as a capnohny of buried feelings cloud my mind, ‘I am going to die and Mare is going to be the one to do it. She is going to kill me. All I have worked for my entire life, all that I have done for this, all that I have lost..’ My heart rate spikes, ‘All that I have sacrificed, was for absolutely nothing. I failed my mother, I failed my Father from the moment that I entered this world so I need not add it..’

‘I even failed him.. ’ The mere thought of Thomas makes my eyes threaten to water, my resolved threatening to crack, my suppressed emotions threaten to pour out. I recover quickly, my grip on the makeshift dagger tightening. Mare continues to move forwards, each step spelling out my death sentence.

I swiftly walked backwards, my steps mirroring her every movement, ‘I will run out of room soon..’

‘She is Fatal, Mare Barrow has been crafted into a perfect weapon. I cannot afford even a single error here’ I taste the sickening tang of silver blood in my mouth, what surprises me most is the lack of anger in her eyes..

All I can see in them is sadness and regret, I cannot allow it to distract me, Mother has been right all along.

All I can see in them is sadness, and mild regret for whatever she is about to do. ‘I cannot allow myself to be distracted!’ I breathe out roughly, ‘Reds have always been dangerously good distractions for us silvers, and nothing more than that’ My mother hisses. A part of me abhors her words, I am reminded not to do so as a sharp pain flashes through my skull. ‘She will never truly leave me be..’

“It won’t end here..” I murmur, I know that. ‘Nothing could make her go. She will always be here, in the back of my mind..won’t she?’ She is a part of me now, a part that I cannot extract. “You can drag my corpse across the entire world, and it still won’t end any of this”

“Likewise” Mare replies bitterly, I almost allow myself to smile at her ignorance, I forgive her thought. ‘How could she know?’ Mare draws nearer and nearer by the second, “The Red Dawn won’t stop with my death”

‘KILL HER!’ Mother demands, ‘KILL THE VILE RED RAT, KILL THE VERMIN!’ Her rageful screams echo through my mind, ‘YOU HAVE FAILED ME, MAVEN, YOU ARE PATHETIC!’ She jeers.

“Then we are both dispensable. We don’t matter anymore” The words leave my lips before I can think them through, I am speaking half to Mother, half to Mare. I watch as she purses her lips, a strangled laugh escaping her throat, “I’m used to it by now”

"I like the hair" I blurt out randomly, ‘I say it as a distraction or..do I?’ I’m not certain of the stability of my own mind anymore, ‘I haven't been in a long time..’ My gaze is locked on her brown hair. There are locks of bright and pastel purple mixed in, small white flecks add to them ‘They compliment her lightning..’

Mare is terrifyingly beautiful, she now carries herself with the same aura as Evangaeline, ‘And myself’ My mind whispers, ‘I’m not sure what I think about that..’ “We can still run away from this, all of this! We can be free from all of them” I beg them both. I beg Mare, and I beg my mother.

"Together" It comes out barely more than a whisper.

Mare’s eyes darken slightly as she thought over my words, a tired sigh left her lips, a sense of pain with it, “Maven..” I automatically stiffin, my name feels wrong on her tongue. Mare slowly shakes her head, her dyed locks scraping her shoulders. “The last person in this world who loves you is not standing in this room” She doesn't pause, “He’s out there. And you burned that bridge to nothing but ashes”

My left eye twitches as another screaming match between me and Mother ensues in my mind, this is a daily occurance. ‘SLAUGHTER THEM ALL! REVEL IN THEIR DEATHS, IN THEIR SCARLET BLOOD! REGAIN YOUR STATUS, BE MY SON! EXTERMINATE EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!’ Mother cries.

My face must pale at leats a fraction as I let a scream loose back at the old queen, out conversation happening faster than real time. ‘No!’ I snarl, ‘YOU ARE A DEAD WOMAN. YOU ARE A WHISPER IN MY THOUGHTS, YOU MANIPULATED ME MY ENTIRE LIFE! YOU ABUSED ME. YOU ARE GONE, LONG GONE. AND IT WILL THAT WAY!’

‘YOU WILL NOT DISOBEY ME, BOY! KILL HER NOW!’ Elara sneers at me, ‘NO’ ‘DO IT, SHE WILL PERISH LIKE THE REST OF HER INFERIOR KIND!’

I blink slowly, dragging myself free of her screaming voice, ‘She must be right..right?’ I breathe in, ‘Mother was always correct, how could I be so blind to not see that? She always loved me. No one else cared for me like she did..’ I am confused? ‘I see it now.. the red rats must die. It is their only purpose other than to hinder the throne..’

‘Good boy..’ Mother purrs happily, her voice the only thing in my mind now ‘Make her death painful..’ “Very well” I mumble. I watch as my hands swing the dagger towards Mare’s throat, my true consciousness tucked away in a stray corner of my brain. She leans back, dodging it with shocking ease, I feel myself lunge forwards, repeating the stabbing motion with all my strength. ‘She will die, like all of the reds. Kill her’ Mother’s voice pierces my thoughts, directing me on what to do, it's like I'm in a dream. And some part of me agrees with mother, Mare must die. I must die

Mare suddenly lashed out, she strikes my throat with her fist, winding me momentarily. I drop to one knee, gasping for air, my lungs burn. Before I can recover from the blow, Mare strikes again. Her foot slams into my chest, sending me tumbling sideways. I slam into the floor, my shoulder screams with pain. Its made of silent stone. ‘I curse it, but it has saved me thus far..’

Tendrils of pain digg into me as I spit, silver blood drips to the floor. By the time I have regained control, Mare has her boot on my chest, pressing me into the floor, holding me down.

I begin to fight back against her. I had a grip on the makeshift dagger before her, meaning I had a slight advantage. Mare tries to rip my fingers from its hilt, unsuccessfully of course, pure silver blood runs through my veins, I have a natural strength that she does not.

‘If I am going to fucking die today, I shall die fighting’ I think. Then, she bites my hand.

I scream.

It feels like my body is moving without me again, my hands wrap around her throat, squeezing down, hard. It's forcing all the air from her lungs, she managed to say my name, though it is little more than a rasp. I find myself staring into her brown eyes. The fear in them makes my Mother coo, “I tried, Mare” My voice breaks, ‘She will never understand what I meant? Will she..’

Mother chuckles in my head, ‘So, you are my son after all, Mavey..’

Tears prickle at the corners of her eyes, silently rolling down her rosy red cheeks. Mare is probably thinking that she will die, by my hand. ‘Who will miss her? Who will have the misfortune of finding the body? Will it be that boy, Kilorn? Cal? Me?’ Its too much to bear, ‘What will the look on his face be? Sadness? Anger?’ I loosen my grip by a fraction.

‘Kill her now! NOW!’ Mother roars. A smile spread across my face as I reply with the words that doomed the last of my heart, the words that were intended to rip Mare’s out.. The same words that Mother once forced from my lips, when she was still alive.

Time seems to slow, Mare grabs the dagger as my grip falls away, and stab stabs it into my shoulder. ‘YOU MUST KILL HER! YOU EITHER KILL HER OR SHE KILLS YOU MAVEN!’ Mother snarls, my smile only brightens at her rage. And I am ready to finally reply, I am ready to repeat those words one last time. ‘I’m not making it out of this? Am i?’

'KILL HER!'.

I close my eyes, ignoring the pain, ‘No Mother, I don’t think I will’

And I let go.

Chapter Text

__Maven__

Surprisingly, it only takes a few minutes for my idiotic brother to come come charging into the room, he resembles a wild animal, a bull perhaps. As always, I have a plan. Its quite simple, I must pretend that Mare finally killed me. She is right next to me on the floor, knocked unconscious.

The warmth rises around Mare and I as Cal rushes forwards, he sounds like he lanicking, just from the unpredictable rate of his footsteps. He always ran weirdly when he was upset. I nearly flinch as he places a burning hand on my chest. ‘He is checking me for life first..before her? What?’

I hold my breathing, keeping myself still as he tries to see if I am still breathing, ‘Of course he forgets to check my pulse, the idiot’ I muse almost fondly, almost. It is hard to not move when he makes a strangled cry, he believes i am dead. It oddly sounded like my childhood nickname.. ‘No I mustn't ponder, I need to focus’

“Maven..” He whispers my name, “No..” He whimpers, shaking my shoulders gently. I make sure that I remain limp. ‘Hes just as ignorant as his father! He still cares for you, even after what you have done to him? He thinks that you care for him too I bet! Pathetic’ Mother cackles, I force my eyes to relax and my face to remain blank as Cal lifts me to his chest, almost cradling what he assumes to be my corpse. ‘This feels..not so bad’ I’m not a big hugger.

Eventually, I feel him lower me to the floor, and his fingers brush a lock of dark hair from my eyes, I feel his heat move away from me and towards Mare, he is still warm even with the silent stone. Cal lets a sigh of relief escape his lips and calls out, to the Warren boy? “KILORN! MARE IS OKAY!”

I hear some rushed footeps, they grow louder by the second, the person must be running. Its the Warren boy from the stilts, of course. “Mare?” He calls out, “Where is she Cal?!” Cal grunts in reponses, “Help me lift her” I hear them drag Mare away, and the door slams shut behind them and we are left alone. Mother and I. ‘Make yours move’ She hisses and for once I willingly agree,

This will be your final mistake, Brother.

__Cal__

I sense them before the smell of smoke hits me.

Fire.

My head turns instinctively towards them, I grit my teeth as I try to feel where they are coming from exactly. ‘Where Maven’s corpse is? Could he…?’ I quickly glance over to Mare, she hasn't awoken yet. Kilron is kneeling beside her, his eyes shining with concern, “Kilorn, take care of her for me” He looks up, confused, “I sense there is a fire, I’m going to put it out”

I practically launch myself from my chair, Kilorn simply nods as I run towards the source of the flames, my heart rate quickening as I draw closer.

My legs begin to burn as I soon reach the hallway, my eyes widen as I spot smoke, sliding out of the room, from underneath the door. I charge towards it, and rip the door open, scanning the room from its door frame. The flames lick at my feet, but I am not yet touching the silent stone, my powers are not hindered. Nothing is here? No, Wait!

Maven;s there, his dead body at least. ‘He is burning, a fallen Calore King..it is fitting..’ I can’t help but notice the irony. The flames keep rising, despite my best efforts but I cannot make out hsi face, but the body is the right size and I can make out his curly raven hair.

Its him alright.

“Sir? Are you alright? There is a fire?” An almost familair voice comes from behind me, I turn on my heel to face them. The person is a man, a few inches shorter than myself. A scarf is wrapped around his lower face, a flat had covering his hair. He is a member of the Scarlet Guard. Splotches of red covering his face and his coat.

Blood. It must be his.

I clench my fists, nearly drawing blood with my nails, “WHAT HAPPENED HERE?” I explode, my sorrow and rage finally boiling over.

The Guard seems shaken by my sudden outburst, I scratch my cheek sheepishly, “I apologise for that..Its just. The dead man in there, he was my brother and I guess..I wanted a proper burial for him…to say goodbye” I glanced down, “You must understand..please tell me what you saw” I run a hand through my hair absentmindedly, ‘Do I know him from somewhere?’

The man pauses, hesitation dripping from his voice, “Uh..I’m not exactly sure what happened in there, Sir. But..” He sucks in a sharp breath, “I saw a fancy looking bracelet on his wrist, and it suddenly sparked? And I think it must have set the room alight. It's kinda similar to yours..” The Guard gestured at my wrist.

My breathing grew shaky, and I looked away, “He is-was a good man..I think. Before she changed him”

The man simply nods and steps backwards, taking this as a sign of dismissal. I turn my head to the raging in inferno that has encompassed Maven. I slowly raise my right hand into the air, terting on the border of the room as the fire extinguishes itself completely.

I feel myself almost collapse to the ground, a sob of anguish leaving my lips as I see his charred body. Because, even after the all the crimes that Maven committed, all the unthinkably evil things that he did.. Even after what he and his mother had forced me to do, to kill my own father. Even though he imprisoned Mare, even though he slaughtered so many Newbloods.

Even after he sentenced Lucas, Mare and I to a painful death in the Bowl of Bones, Even after he relentlessly hunted us down, even after all that he has done.. A part of him, however small will always be my little brother, my little Mavey. And some part of me will always love him.

For that I am eternally ashamed.

I walk away from the room, hot tears rolling down my pale face.

Chapter Text

__Maven__

My plan has worked perfectly, well I have never had any solid reason to doubt my skills. For my brother has proven, yet again, that he lacks in the intelligence category. He should have known better than to think that I could ever let myself die in such an ironic way.

Once I had successfully killed the Scarlet Guard who had been sent to watch over my corpse, it had been a simple matter to swap clothes with him. I quickly pulled my old clothes over his corpse, and set the room alight with a spark from my flamemakers. Unfortunately, I had to fasten them to his wrist, if there were not there, my plan would have never worked out.

It was just pure luck that the man had naturally pale skin and dark hair much like my own, Though, it was a miracle that my brother had not recognised me in the hallway.

A victorious easily smirk plays across my lips as I confidently stride through the corridors of Whitefire, my old palace, my old domain. Within a few minutes, I am standing at the large gate. Two Scarlet Guardsmen stand at the entrance, guarding it of course. I raise a gloved hand to greet them pleasantly, “Hello there” My common Nortian accent is improving.

“I need to move fast!” I exclaimed, “Been’ transferred to guard the river I have” I nodded at them, “They got on short over there” I say to them cherrily, my voice was already muffled by the scarf so the accent is just added insurance. The first man swiftly steps aside, granting me passage from Whitefire.

I manage to make it around three steps outside the palace grounds before the second Guard calls out, his voice low and gravely, “WAIT, A DAMN SECOND!” He growls suspiciously, “I just checked the plan! The river area is being guarded by Montfort’s people, not us!”

Colours.

“And how would a simple Private like you know all the plans of your superiors? Command deems that we need one more person, I have been sent by Commander Farlet to escort him” A soft voice responds for me, I spin around to see a man wrapped in a red cloak. He sits atop a white and brown horse, his face is covered by his cloak’s hood. “Command ordered this, you say?”

The first Guard whistles. “Now, would you two be ever so gracious, and let me do my job properly?” The man frames it as an innocent question, but everyone could tell it was a thinly veiled threat.

“Yeah man, I guess if Command says its cool, then its cool with us. Come on, Jay, lay off” The first guard said firmly, trying to diffuse the situation by laying a hand on his partner's shoulder. The second guard -Jay?- nods stiffly and steps backwards, silently accepting the tankard of beer that the other Guard offered him.

The newcomer trots his horse over to me, extending a gloved hand down to me. ‘What other choice do I have other thank to take his hand? Colours, he must have realised who I am’ A series of curses flood through my thoughts as I reach up to take it.

As he pulled me up behind him on the saddle, I caught a glimpse of his arm from under his cloak. I held back a surprised gasp as my eyes ran over old, painful burn marks, they were halfway healed, but I could tell that they would not heal any further without a healer. He had not been burned by normal fire. This man had been scarred by a burner.

‘Great’ I thought ruefully as the horse started to move, ‘I am currently being kidnapped by a man who knows who I am, the fallen King of flames, and this man must despise fire..the irony of it all’

I sigh, ‘This will be very interesting’

__Maven__

I stare out at the luscious countryside of Norta as we move further away from Archeon, my abductor and I have been on horseback non-stop for just over a few hours now. The man has refused to speak a single word to me since he stopped those two pesky guardsmen from discovering who I really was, he prefers to ride in silence apparently.

‘Do not reveal anything to this man, it may be your downfall’ Mother’s whispers cut through my curious thoughts like a sharp dagger. ‘I know Mother, I must find out who this man really is and his true intentions for my capture..’ I reply, my thoughts moving away from her, she cannot hear me now, ‘There are two important variables that I cannot account for now. And if I cannot account for them, this may well be my death’

My eyes trail up to the pink sky, the sun is setting.

All I have been able to do is watch it’s progress as it creeps towards the horizon, I clench my fists in frustration. I finally turned my head towards the man, “Who are you?” My abductor stiffins in the saddle for a second before he shrugs his shoulders carelessly, “You could say I am a lot of this” He muses, “A friend, a lover, a murderer even. I have gone by many names, as have you”

“Who the fuck are you?!” I snarl, my carefully crafted patience falling away from me. The man whistles, I can practically hear the smirk in his voice, “I never knew that a fallen King of Norta could be so persistently annoying! You must have set a record” His reply artfully dodged my question, ‘I can appreciate that, as irritating as it is’ His voice sounds a bit older than my own.

“For all I know, you could be an assassin sent to kill me! Or even a rabid murderer, cacthing his next victim” I say somberly, I have changed my tactics. The man chuckles softly at my words, “For all you know, I could be what you said and worse!” I scowled, “Please, tell me your ex-highness, if I where to be an assassin. Would I not also be rabid murderer?”

‘This conversation is leading me nowhere’ “Where are you taking me?” I question him, he somehow knows just how to get under my skin. I’m not sure how.

“Wherever I wish” He says, I want to scream.

A stray thought enters my mind without my own permission, ‘Mare must have felt something similar to this’ I realise with a sickening jolt, ‘While she was trapped at Whitefire -trapped with me- she always seemed to be grasping for information at every chance she got..’ I gulped, ‘She would always memorise ueless details with the false hope of them leading her to freedom. Sh- She was always wondering what horror she would face next..if she would die by my hands’

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind, ‘No, no she wouldn't. She knew that I would never dare to kill her, I couldn’t..until today’ I almost laughed at the absurdity of my own weaknesses,

‘I feel little remorse for many of the things that I have done’ I could faintly hear a bird chirping somewhere in the background of the path, ‘If I ever have, felt remorse, that is. It would probably be about what I did to both of them..’ I tried not to flinch at the mere thought of him, ‘I held them so close so that they burned with me..’

‘Feel nothing about her’ Mother sneers, a muscle in my neck twitches as I fight to keep my rage silent, ‘She dosen’t know about him, she can’t take him away anymore’ The horse snorts, ‘She was nothing but a vile red rat! A good distraction for innocent princes, she distracted you and you failed..do not dare to fail me again. Sneak away at night, and kill this vermin..’

I hide my nervousness by looking away, even though the man could not have seen it. “It’s getting quite late..” I remark, my voice unusually soft. I see my abudoctor dip his head into a nod, I watch his every move from the corner of my eye. “That is true” He replied, “I am surprised that you noticed. It is a feat hard for those with lower than average intelligence..” I push my anger down.

“We won’t be able to see properly in the dark, so riding would be redundant to whatever you are doing” I say.

"Thats true" He replies nonchalantly.

I feel my patience bending again, “Look, are would going to stop now or not? BY my colours, it is not hard to say yes or no, you dipshit!” When he next speaks, I can hear the smile in his voice, ‘He is enjoying this, the bastard’

“Maybe”

__________

‘Maven Calore is surprisingly easy to irritate, I do not know how many people have been able to exploit this fact’ I smirked, ‘It is nice to do so without the threat of imminent death’ Which applies now, because he somehow has lost his flamemaker bracelets, probably in his daring escape.

I can hear him murmuring to himself as we ride on.

I know better than anyone else to not comment on it, Maven Calore is still deadly even without any access to his fire, or his arven guards. I know I must watch my back tonight, that is when he will try to make his move, ‘Will be just attack me while I sleep? Subdue me? Kill me? It's all under the cover of darkness..anything could happen’ I risk a small glance up at the sky, the last rays of the sun are almost gone, and I can spot a few faint stars.

We will have light for barely half an hour now, and I know that Maven will not run. ‘He wants information, and I can give it to him..I’m just not sure how he will react’

“We stop now” I tell him, I can feel his eyes on my back. I press my heels into Trebius’s flank gently, signaling him that it is time to stop, I run a hand through his silky mane, it seems to shimmer, “This is where we will set up camp for the night” I keep my responses short and concise, some small part of me fears that Maven will recognize me, even after all these years. I slide down the saddle with ease, and once more hold out a hand to the ex-King.

His expression is masked by the growing darkness, but his icy eyes shine through. They are like frozen flames, burning away. He stares down at me for a second, and I feel the cool heat from his gaze.

Slowly, he reaches a gloved hand down and interlocks with my own, those eyes never leaving mine.

Chapter Text

__Maven__

My stiff back wasn;t forgiving me any time soon, being pressed against an oak tree isn’t exactly the most comfortable position to be in for more than an hour. ‘Though, the branches do provide some shelter, I suppose’ That was one of the milder thoughts that had crossed my mind, pain can change a man.

My abductor is sleeping soundly nearby, the sun is now fully gone and the moon shines brightly in its place, casting a soft light over the scenery of Norta. I can make out the outline of his figure, the moon’s cool light makes everything seem alien, strange, almost magical.

My eyes darted towards where his scabbard would be, it rested near his bags. ‘There it is..’ Mother crows, she seems almost too happy to kill this man, ‘Steal the sword, and stab him through the heart’ She growls in my mind. I quietly maneuver myself into a crouching position, tediously stepping towards him.

My heart thumps faster and faster as I manage to slowly reach for the bags, they are right next to him. I grab the scabbard and unsheathe sword, limiting the noise I make as much as possible. I make sure to angle the swords point towards his neck in case he wakes up, ‘Kill him now’ Mother demands, and I pull the sword away, ready to stab him and..

‘I want to know who he is’ I feel an uncontrollable urge to uncover his face, so I gently pry the hood from his head. ‘what’

“Colours..”

The man’s eyes unexpectedly fly open my exclamation, they quickly scan my face. He must have been awake, listening for when I would make my move. His brilliant green eyes stare up into mine, reflecting on the silver blade in my grip. Every last drop of air seems to have left my lungs, my eyes are wide, I gingerly reach a hand to his face, tracing the delicate red stubble that grew along his jaw.

For once, Mother has gone completely silent, it is as though she has finally left me. I have only felt that around one person before…

"Am I seeing ghosts?" I murmur.

And his coy grin lights up my entire world.

This cannot be real

Chapter Text

__Cal__

I can hear Mare approaching before I see her, I barely glance at her as she walks up to me.

We are standing underneath one of the jet's large wings, this is a place where no one with interfere with us, “I’d come with you if I could, Mare.” My voice is suddenly soft, tender, slightly blunt. I turn myself away from her to hide the pale blush creeping over my face, I hear her sigh tiredly.

She is so close to me now, but she will be so far away soon. I know we will both miss each other dearly if this goes ahead, which I am a hundred percent sure that it will.

“I’m not asking you to do any of that, Cal, I never have” Mare replies, her voice as soft as my own. Still, it carries a weight to it, she’s twisting the dagger into both of our hearts so we won't’ have to have this conversation ever again, “We both know this tactic won’t work, Mare” ‘We have had this talk so many times already’

‘She must have known that I would try this again, Mare’ “You have to be here, Cal. To pick up the pieces of North” She gestures around us, “And there is so much work to be done in the west. Ciron, Tiraxes- If we can both actually do something to help..” Mare trails off mid sentence, her brown eyes set on the sky. ‘She sounds so desperate for this conversation to end..’

“Its better this way, I think” Mare says, “For the both of us, Cal”

The familiar urge to make the entire world into my inferno, to burn it all down, rises within me. I am glad that I did not bring my flamemakers for this, “You think this is actually better, Mare?” I spit furiously, intense heat rolls off in waves from my body. Mare doesn't flinch at this, she just lays a cool hand on my wrist.

“Mare, you really think that walking away is better than us staying together here?” Mare stays silent, “Why then? I’m not a prince anymore-let a fucking King, colours, I’m not even a royal Mare! I’m noth-” “Don’t you dare say that you are nothing without the crown, Cal. You have never been nothing and never will be, Calore” Mare cuts my rant on, her grip on my wrist tightening. I glance up to meet her eyes.

They are filled with determination, I almost smile at it, “I’m whatever you want me to be, Mare” I find myself hissing at her, my voice sounds odd, forced, “And..he’s not here anyone..I- I wasn’t ready..” My voice almost breaks. Mare looks so small as she looks up at me, “He is gone, Cal. And no amount of anger” She brushed her cool fingers over my wrist, “And no amount of fire, will ever bring him back”

The air around us shimmers slightly, the heat only expanding around us, it displays my emotions all to well. Mare seems to search my eyes, her lips drawing into a thin line, “I was there Mare” I admit, “I saw the flames take what was left of him away. I saw his corpse burn to nothing but ash” I sound strangely cold for a Calore, for a prince of fire.

Mare’s breathing hitches as he processes my admission, “Cal..” She whispers, “You didn’t tell me, why th-” My shoulders tense as I pull my wrist away from her grasp,“Goodbye Mare Barrow” My voice is stiled, much like his, “We will meet again some day” It is a statement not a question, “I wish you well in life” My words sound final, they mark an end. In a way, it is one. And Mare senses it too.

She touches my shoulder, lingering for a second longer than she should have, “Goodbye Cal”

I can only nod, numbly watching as she disappears into the dark night, a bitter chuckle building up in my throat. If there are gods, gods such as the one the Lake Landers worship. They never looked upon me kindly. As my uncle always said, I can almost hear his voice..Mare knows them as well as I by now, Julian always seemed to be ahead of all of us.

‘We are not a God’s chosen, but a God’s cursed’

I find myself smiling out at the dark world around me, a series of thoughts cross my mind while tears pool in my eyes. Everyone that I have ever cared for, everyone that I have ever loved is gone. Father, Mare, and even Maven.

I am the last Calore, doomed to eternal misery.

And because of that, I smile.

__Maven__

“Thomas..” The name tastes bittersweet on my lips, its around the fourth time that I’ve said it in the last however many minutes its been. Time seems to stop,“Yes, Mavey?” Thomas responds calmly yet again, raising an eyebrow at the sword still held to his throat, “I would really appreciate it, if you refrained from stabbing my neck in, you know? Just a preference really”

For the third time in my entire life, I find myself completely speechless. I feel the sword pull away from my hand as I stare into his bright green eyes, they are utterly mesmerising. I hear the sword land in the grass with a small clang, “I- I saw you die..?” My voice quivers with emotion, but Thomas just grins impishly at me, rubbing his throat as he begins to answer.

“Firstly, that is incorrect. You saw the flames encompass the area around me right?” I nodded slowly, “You heard me scream in pain, and assumed that the fire was killing me” Thomas’s smile faded slightly, “It wasn’t fully of pain though, some of it was surprise, Maven” Confusion laced my every thought, I frowned at him, “Did you ever see my corpse? No, I don’t think you did”

“But..the fire?” I said weakly, collapsing to my knees.

Thomas tilted his head to the side, “Yet, I still escaped it didn’t I? It was like a fucking miracle..” His eyes shone in the light, “I screamed as the flames grew all around me, and then I felt this..rush? Yes, it felt like a rush, I pushed my hands out to try to bat them away or something..and suddenly, a green shield appeared in front of me” Thomas paused, “I was saved”

His combed a hand through his curly red hair, “I’m what you would call..a new-blood, I believe” My eyes traced the scar that ran across his cheek and neck, an old scar, it had been created by my fire. “This.. this can’t be real..” I mumbled for the second time this night.

“But, it is” Thomas says simply, sitting up, “I am here, and so are you..” He gently cups my face in his scarred hands,I can’t stop looking at him, I feel as though he were going to disappear at any second. ‘I can’t comprehend this just yet..’ I see my reflection in his emerald eyes, and I'm..smiling.

Smiling at him.

“It's been so long since I last saw you, but..I’m still alive, Mavey. And so are you, somehow” Thomas smiles down at me, “The Gods look upon us kindly today..”

“We are alive, Maven” He whispers into the night, “We are alive” I hear my voice say.

We are alive

Chapter Text

__Thomas__

Now he sees me again, after so fucking long. After so many years of solitude, my silver sees me again, my Mavey.

He knows me all too well. I have been waiting years for him to finally see me again, to hear his soft laugh at my ridiculous jokes. To hold him close once more, though, I have doubts on whether he remembers what we almost were. His mother could have taken some part of me away from him.. and I didn’t stop her, ‘Thats one of my biggest regrets..’

We set off from our campsite at dawn, Trebius enjoyed the warmth of the sun. We passed dew covered meadows, filled with hundreds of types wildflowers, making Trebius sneeze, “Of course I got the horse with a pollen allergy” I commented, making Maven chuckle.

After a while of riding, Maven speaks again, “Last night, you mentioned that you were a new-blood? And that a green shield saved you, what did you mean?”

I breathe in the fresh air, resisting the urge to hide under my cloak as I began to speak..

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

“This way, Thomas! Come on!” Mavey calls, I race after him, my legs already sore from all the running. He had no right to be this fast, silver prince or otherwise. “Don’t slip!” I mutter to myself as I run after the boy prince, almost cursing as I skidded forwards. The oil on the floor will be a big pain to get out of my new army-issue boots.

Ma will kill me if I die out here. Well, she will kill me anyway when she finds out that I faked my age to get into the army.

“PRINCE CALORE!” A man’s voice cuts through the air like a dagger, I decide that it must be one of Mavey’s Fathers’s guards. We both turn around to see a silver strongarm, charging towards Mavey and I. “By my colours, your majesty! Lets get going, and I mean now, my prince. This is getting to dangerous for you to be present”

He wraps his hands under Mavey’s arms and begins to drag my best friend away from me. I start to follow them down the hallway, but the guard glares at me, “You will stay back, Red Rat” He sneers, Mavey starts to straggle in his grip at this. "No! He comes with us! I am a Prince, you have to do what I say!" Mavey growls back at the silver.

The silver guard just smirks down at the young prince, his must be a strongarm since Mavey's wild struggling is doing nothing to hinder his grip.

“No, your majesty. Your mothers has made it quite clear, you do not stoop down to associate with vermin like the reds” He glowers at me and tries to pull Mavey further away from me, I flinch back slightly as a sudden coldness enters the air, swarming all around Mavey. The guard and I watch in fear as his intricate flamemaker sparks.

Mavey’s spark sets the oil alight.

"THOMAS! NO! I WON’T LEAVE HIM!”Mavey screams, I see desperate in his bright blue eyes as the flames start to rise around me, blocking all my exits. Mavey’s protests do nothing to hinder the guard from dragging him away. If anything, the guard is working faster to get the prince to safety. Safety from his own uncontrollable flames.

I glance around me, hoping for some sort of savior. The oil turns out to be the perfect thing for Mavey’s fire to grow. “MAVEY! I’M COMING!” I scream back at him, my heart racing as I began to run. ‘I might die if I don’t run now..’ I remember thinking, “Think, Thomas, Think!” I tell myself as I move faster.

The blue flames advance towards me, flickering around in a deadly dance as they cut me off from Mavey. ‘I’m not going to make it’ Tears form in my eyes as the smoke surrounds me, choking on the contaminated air. My lungs beg for air, the fire is closing in a round me, like a predator on the hunt. Unfortunately, I’m the prey. “Nonononnononno..”

The wall of flames is nearly finished closing in around me as I collapse to my knees, the last thing that I can make out before it fully closes are Mavey’s blue eyes, blown wide with fear and regret. A scream escapes my lips as the fire creeps up my body, burning my skin.

Every vein on my body burns along with me, I am on fire. Literally.

Tears roll down my cheeks as a strange tingling starts in my chest, I gasp for air as the feeling spreads all throughout my body. A powerful rush of adrenaline seeps through my hands as I throw them out in front of myself. I watch in awe as the cold fire is thrown back a light green glow. I fall backwards, hitting the floor with a thud, the pain nearly knocking me out.

I force my eyes to stay open as I gasp for air, right in front of me is a neon green shield, ‘How could this be?!! I’m not a silver, my blood is red as normal fire..I can’t be red then either, can I? What the actual fuc-’

And then everything goes black

__Maven__

“I..I never thought that you could even be alive..let alone a new-blood. Thomas” I stared at the back of his head, my mind now racing at about a thousands miles per second. “Could..you show me them?” I asked, uncertainty filling my voice.

Thomas just nodded, and a few seconds later, a small neon green heart appeared above his head. I gasped in mild awe, “I have heard of no other silver, or new-blood’s with an ability like this. Other than Dane Davidson, the new-blood Premier of Montfort '' The name left a bitter taste on my tongue.

When Thomas does not outwardly respond to my words, I frown, “Well, where are you taking us anyway, Thomas?” I am genuinely curious about our destination. Thomas does not look back at me as he talks, “Somewhere where both of us will be safe, Maven” His voice is smooth, carefree, his eyes facing the rising sun, “A place where no one will ever hurt us again”

‘Safety..’ That is something that someone like me never dares to imagine themself in. Safety has always been something of a rarity, I have never felt anything close to it without Mare or Thomas nearby. They ground me, they made her go away, “Thomas..” I chewed the inside of my cheek, “I need to tell you something, its a confession..of sorts” He swivels around in the saddle to face me also immediately, ‘He is not riding this fucking horse backwards is he?! ’

“Yes, what is Maven?" He breathes.

“I- I hear my Mothers voice in my mind, I know that she is dead and its really her but..she was a Mendarus. A whisper” My voice is hoarse, emotional, “Whatever she did to me all those years, a piece of her will always be lurking in there. I..I don’t what parts of me are even me anymore” I look down, ashamed, “I heard her alot before you kidnapped me..and…ever since I found out who you were, she went away..you make her go away” The last words come out as a whisper, ‘Ironic’, I glance up at him and gently pull the hood from his face.

My icy eyes clash with his sparkling green ones, the sun casting warm light onto us, sharpening his every feature. ‘Colours, he is handsome..’ I feel my face burn with a blush at that thought,The lazy grin fits him, I resist the urge to run my hands through his mop of scarlet hair. The light freckles on his nose and cheeks have faded slightly since that night, "Glad I could help then" My face grows redder.

My cold eyes widen in surprise as he leans closer to me, our noses nearly brushing, “Thomas..?” I mumble his name, he just smirks and brings our lips together. His lips melt into mine as he kisses me, my eyes shut as I return it. ‘He tastes like strawberry jam..’ I have missed Thomas so much, so mycg more than I can express to anyone.

He breaks the kiss first pulling away slightly, his cheeks burning. I just smile serenely as he seems to realise what he just did, I pull him into a hug, “I love you..” He whispers into my ear as I lean into the hug further, “Likewise”

Chapter Text

__Cal__

I carefully roll a golden coin over my knuckles and drop it into my other hand, I have been perfecting this movement in my spare time, which isn’t much. And there's only so much procrastination left in my soul, “Colours this is horrid” I lean back in my leather chair, yawning as I stretch my arms behind my head. The coin dropped to the floor.

“You’re not looking so hot for a Burner, Calore” Evangleine’s smug voice cuts through the air, disturbing the peace as she fades into existence right in front of my desk. Her right arm was wrapped around thin air, ‘That can only mean that..’ “Elane..I know you are there” I growl halfheartedly at the couple, pinching the bridge of my nose as I lean over my oak desk once again.

After a few seconds, I recovered from the shock well enough to look up at the pair now standing there. Elane looks like an angel, ‘Her light manipulation must have something to do with that, I don’t blame Evangeline for loving her. Though, I know it is much more than physical attraction. You often don’t see that much emotional connection between royal Silvers..’

“What could you possibly want, Evangeline? You certainly don’t pay dear old Tiberius visits for fun. We don’t see eye to eye most of the time” I groan, smoothing down imaginary creases on my new uniform.

“That's true” The silver princess snorts, “Just thought it might be worthwhile to watch you jump out of your skin, Officer Calore” ‘Does she really have to mock my new rank this much?’ My fists clench under the desk, ‘Of course she chooses any chance she can to mess with me’ I struggle to keep the heat under control, but she must sense a small change, a grin briefly flashing across her lips, “Really? Why do you subject yourself to my presence then? Go pick on someone else”

Elane seems indifferent to the conversation, though she surprisingly seems tense when Evangeline talks, ‘Is something going on with them?’ “Barrow said something of the same vein to me while she was with your dearest brother at Whitefire” I grit my teeth.

“What. Do. You. Want, Evangeline?” I stand up, glaring into her charcoal grey eyes. “You seriously cannot expect me to sit calmly as you talk ill about my brother and..Mare. Yes, I was not there in time to rescue her” I growled, “Yes, you saved her. Good job on that, but you did it for a price, not out of the goodness of your own heart. So cut the shit”

I collapse back onto my chair, running a hand through my dark hair, it touches my shoulders now. ‘It needs a good cut..’ “Davidson wants you to attend some meeting, Calore. He says its important apparently” Elane replies for her girlfriend, yawning like a bored cat. ‘I can see the resemblance now’

“Do you know if..” My voice trails off. Evangaline Samos raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow and smiles, she actually smiles, ‘Colours, that is fucking terrifying’ She gives Elane a knowing look, but her girlfriend only glares slightly, ‘I was right, somethings wrong here..’ “You want to know if your girlfriend Miss Barrow will be attending? Seriously, Calore, you are so easy to predict. If you really are burning to know, go find out for yourself” Elane coughs to hide her laugh at the pun, though she still seems slightly colder than usual.

Evageline looks at Elane and nods, both of them vanishing into thin air a moment later. A heavy sigh leaves my throat as I heat the door open and close with a soft thud. ‘Its almost as if those two were made to get on my nerves..’ In reality, I had good reason to fear Evangeline.

Evangeline, no matter how much I can trust her, knows too much. We were engaged once. ‘She knows my weaknesses… I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the notion. I tie it up into a stylish ponytail, it fits my face.

‘What jacket should I wear?’

Chapter Text

__Thomas__

Maven gingerly brushes a lock of hair from my eyes, his voice impossibly tender, “I have one question..” I hum in acknowledgment, “Is all of this real?” He murmurs, gazing into my eyes. ‘He sounds unsure, like a small child almost’ His cold blue eyes were shining a few seconds before, but they darkened as he spoke.

I nod simply, “Yes, this is real, Maven '' Turning in the saddle I face the road ahead of us. I gently press my heels into Trebius’s spotted flank, making him speed up into a gallop. After a little while longer of riding in silence, Maven speaks up, half-joking half-serious, “Seriously, where are going Thomas?”

“As I told you earlier, where we are going will be safe. By nightfall we will reach a small encampment, once we arrive we leave Trebius there, and then we will be transported to another place” I tell him, my eyes sweeping over the radiant landscape laid out before us. I can hear the faint sound of Trebius’s hooves plodding into the path.

“I see..” Maven remarks slowly, he is undoubtedly trying to piece together what my plan could be. ‘He can try, but he’ll fail’ I pull the hood over my face, its a familiar motion. “Not just yet, you don’t” I whisper to myself, I’m not sure if he heard me.

__Dane__

Tiberius Calore is early to a meeting for once, this has become a treasured rarity in Montfort. My husband and I have managed to make it our little inside joke. Since Mare Barrow left, a lot has been weighing on his mind. I have come to regard the ex-prince as a ‘You wait for me’ type.

Evangeline must have said something interesting to lure the fallen royal from his little office. She claimed that it would take a while for ‘Sparky’ to be fully snapped out of his ‘ big-boy sulk’. I was drawn from my thoughts as Caramdon yawns, our fingers intertwined as per usual. A small smile graces my lips as I reassuringly squeeze his hand, ‘My love has never been fond of these meetings, has he?’

I promise to make this one far more exciting than its predecessors, he clearly assumes that I lied.

“Officer Calore, it is a pleasure to see you again” I greet him formally, my husband just nods his approval as the burner approaches us, his coal black eyes burning brightly. ‘A unique condition for his family’ I vaguely remember Carm telling me that. “Mr Caramdon, Premier. An honors, as always” He dips his head into a nod in return, ‘His etiquette is impeccable, all those years in his fathers court must have finally paid off;

Tiberius swiftly pulls out a chair from under the table, siting down, his palms resting on its cool surface. “I was unfortunately unable to find a schedule for this meeting soo..” He trails of awkwardly, glancing around the room, his bright eyes seem to be searching for something. ‘No, Dane someone’ Then it clicks. That’s how Evangeline lured him from his quarters, she must have hinted to the arrival of Mare Barrow.

‘I underestimate her talents’ “I see, that must be remedied” Cardamom raises a dark eyebrow at the young man as he speaks, “Well, I have been informed that this meeting is very important, Officer Calore. Dane told me that ‘Concerns matters of the utmost secrecy’” My husband's impression of myself is unsettlingly uncanny. Tiberius lips twitch slightly. ‘Ah, emotion, I thought it evaded all royals..’

“My husband's impression of me did raise a good point. This meeting must be kept confidential to the rest of Montfort and the Scarlet Guard” I kick Carm’s leg under the table as he grins coyly at me, “I hope our visitors arrival will give you some insight on the matter”

Tiberius nods hesitantly, his wild hair now somewhat tied back into a short ponytail. “I see that you are growing your hair out longer, it suits you, Officer '' I sneaked a suspicious glance at Carmadon as he attempted to engage in the allusive art of small talk. He sees my look and shrugs. Tiberius flinches back as the doors are suddenly swung open, a shock gasp leaving his throat.

"Quite an entrance" I smirk.

__Maven__

A few days earlier..

Thomas has been silent, too silent for my own comfortability, ‘He may be deep in thought’ I try to reason with myself, ‘Or he could be leading you to your death..’ A small part of whispers, I shove the thoughts away, ‘He wouldn’t’ I squint as we come into the range of a small campsite, plumes of smoke float around the sky, ‘Must be from campfires’

We will reach the campsite soon

__Thomas__

I jump down from the saddle first, landing on the grass, wobbling slightly as I straighten up. My legs are stiff from lack of use.

Holding out my hand to him has become somewhat of our ‘signature’ movement, Maven looks exasperated as he reaches down to clasp my hand in his own. I pull him down from Trebius, but it would have been hilarious if he had dismounted without my assistance. Trebius is a large horse and Maven is..somewhat lacking in stature for a royal.

‘I might have to take up Joshens offer on making a tier list’ The thought makes me smile. Maven takes a second to glance over the camp, his icy gaze locks in on the people strewn all around the fire pits. “So, this is the place, isn’t it, Thomas?” He asks questly, he has neglected to pull his hand from my grip just yet. My smile indicates my answer.

I am taken by surprise as Maven’s head snaps to the left, and he steps slightly behind me. I frown, looking over at what startled him. A few seconds later, I realised that it was a whom instead. A stock man is striding down from where the tents are pitched, whiskers of golden stubble poked out from his cheeks and his usually long hair had been shaved into a messy buzz cut.

“Joshen!” I breathe stepping forwards, my hand falling from Mavens as I went, Joshen raised an eyebrow before he gave Maven a once over, “Hey”

I can’t resist an eye roll as I sigh dramatically, “Hey??” I mock his Nortian accent, “That’s all you say to me after five fucking months, Josh?!!! I launch a halfhearted swing at his head, which he swiftly ducks and steps forwards, a mischievous grin lighting up his face, “Of course, anything for my favorite brother” I pull Joshen close and hug him tightly for a second before turning back to Maven, who is awkwardly standing away from us.

“Well, this is Joshen, or Josh for short. We met a couple years back, he managed to drag my sorry ass away from some stuck up silver noblemen who got pissy over a bet” I introduce them, “He is a new-blood too, a magnetron. In other words, he’s going to be our ticket to safety” I inform Maven who simply nods, his brows furrowed.

“Thomas? What even is this ‘safety’ supposed to be? Why are you always so vagu-” Maven gasps, clutching his head as he fell to his knees. I turn to Josh. He now stands over Maven, a rusty pipe in his hands, its now stained with silver blood. I feel slightly guilty as Maven stares up at me, his eyes frozen in shock and horror, “What..?” He mumbles. I wink at him, “All part of the job, Mavey'' I say in a singsong voice.

“Thomas..wh..” Maven slurs, slumping to the grass, unconscious.

I glance over at Josh, “It's time to roll”

Chapter Text

__Cal__

My world falters as I see who the Montfortian guards are carrying towards the meeting table, my throat suddenly feels dry. “MAVEN!” His name bursts from my mouth and before I can stop myself, I’m on my feet and running towards his limp figure. I practically rip him from their arms and lie him down on the floor, worry and disbelief cloud my mind as I kneel down next to him.

My eyes darken as I noticed the injury to his head, I think back to the extensive medical classes I had to take, ‘The wound doesn't appear to be to serve, from what I understand, it will not disfigure his face’

I am sure of it.

My fingers brushed over the wound, the small amount of blood has already dried. ‘He must have been injured a few days ago… it must have reopened up..’ My throat tightens as my emotions mix together, almost blocking all the air from reaching my lungs, “This..this cannot be real..? Am I fucking dreaming?” I would have never sworn in front of the Montfortian leaders this morning, but this, this changes everything.

‘My brother was dead’ I clench my fists, ‘He was declared dead! I watched his body burn away to nothing a few days ago..’ Nothing seems to make sense, so I do the only thing I can think off, I stand up. “What the fuck is this supposed to be, Davidson you bastard?!” I snarl, my thick Nortian accent returning in my anger. Davidson glances to his husband before he begins to talk. “One of our allies found him, most of the transportation here was willing”

“Willing?!” I exclaim, that was the last thing I was expecting to hear from the man. My head aches, my arms are shaking, ‘Why would Maven go willing with someone working for Montfort? He hates the place!’

“Yes, he was willing as the Premier said” A new voice rings out from the right side of the room. I turn my gaze to see a person clad in a cloak as red as Davidsons blood leaning against the doorway. I watch passively as he steps into the light, the door closes behind him, “Though, he was unaware of his final destination, of course. There would have been no way to convince him without first incapacitating him

The man pulls the hood from his face, and I am met with bright emerald green eyes, boring into my own. My jaw must have the floor as I started to laugh, my eyes wide, “You?” I spat, “You are actually real?!” He tilted his head to one side, his expression neutral, “Of course I am, Office Calore. Why shouldn’t I be? You look like you have seen a ghost..”

__Thomas__

Tiberius Calore seems to be genuinely confused, almost subdued for a second after my response. “Did you know that my brother used to have a passion for artwork?” He pauses, his fiery gaze lingering on my face, “After he returned from the war fronts, I would frequently catch him writing in a small leather notebook.. I assumed it was his diary” Tiberius smiles fondly at the memorie, “How is this relevant, Officer?”

Tiberius shrugs, “I thought he was writing about his time there and decided to respect that. The war was quite hard on him when he was younger” His strict posture is far too tense for him to just be telling a story, my eyes narrow, ‘Something is going on..’ “One night, I found him asleep on a window sill, and his diary was wide open..I couldn’t resist and took a glimpse, and do you know what I found?”

I shake my head, ‘No?’ “He was drawing, he was quite talented at it. His pictures managed to grow extremely lifelike..” Tiberius traces a finger along the smooth table top, “Then a few years ago, he stopped. I assume that it was because of his mother, but I managed to find a few of his old sketches and I still look at them from time to time..” I shift uncomfortably, “But, the interesting thing here is..”

“All of the drawings I saw, they were of you” Maven’s brother says, carefully watching my reaction.

My mind blanks at those words, I say nothing for a few minutes. Tiberius takes an uncertain step towards me, “On a few of those pictures, there was a name repeatedly written at the bottom. My only question, is it yours?” We both already knew the answer, but I think he wanted it to be fully confirmed.

“Tell me the name”

Tiberius nods, his voice barely above a whisper, “The name he wrote was..Thomas” A knot forms in the back of my throat as my eyes flit over to Maven, “My name is Thomas” The admission leaves my lips as quickly as my thoughts, I steel myself as I turn to Davidson, “Premier, we have a deal, do we not?”

Davidson nods with a empty smile, “We do, please be seated”

__Maven__

When I open my eyes, my entire body has gone numb. I try to keep myself calm as my eyes darted all around me, scanning the dark voice that I seem to be stuck in. ‘Thankfully my eyes are still able to work..’

That’s when I saw the first drop of blood racing across the grass that I lay on, the bright green stained red with their own blood. I already knew who it belonged to. The knowledge made me fight even harder to move, to do something, to save them, ‘Somehow..’ The blood began to pool all around me, ‘THOMAS!’ I screamed his name, yet my lips refused to make sound, ‘MARE!’

My voice wouldn’t respond to any commands that my mind made, my arms were carved from stone, weighing me down. ‘Sleep would just be so easy now..to give into eternal bliss..’

No. The scene changed.

I am lying on my side, staring into Mare’s glassy eyes. They were once full of so much life, now they were cold, empty, dead. Her mouth hung open, frozen in a long silent scream. My heart plummets downwards as I noticed who was lying next to her, his face hidden in the cowls of his cloak, the hilt of a knife sticking out of his chest.

My lips twitch, I can see no blood on him..acidic bile rises in the back of my throat as he realised that it was the same colour as his cloak. I can just about make out his bright red hair as it hangs limply, droplets of his own blood sewn into its strands. ‘I NEED TO SAVE THEM!’ My mind roars, ‘ANYONE, ANYTHING SOMEONE. HELP ME’

I almost throw up, ‘As if I could in the first place, I am imobile..’ when i hear the first echoes of cruel laughter. Chills race down my spine as I realise who it belongs to, “Really? This is all your own doing Maven” Mother cackles. Her voice seems to echo from all around me, a sense of ice accompanying it.

A shadowed figure whips past me, and Mare and Thomas’s corpses are gone. Icy eyes peer down at me as Samson steps from the darkness, a smirk fresh on his lips, “Your mother was right! This is all your fault, baby cousin” He sneers spitefully, ‘He is here too? House Mendarus was more close knit that I was led to believe..’ They are made from the same cloth as I after all, deception runs through their veins as it does with mine.

‘They are dead’ I repeat the phrase over and over in my mind, ‘They are dead, they cannot hurt you’ But, even I cannot deny that they have never seemed so real to me before. They never felt this powerful, this close to me. This alive.

Samson’s smirk widens into a smile as he presses a finger to my chest, a cold tingling sensation spreading from the touch as my cousin’s form was torn into nothing but darkness. My eyes widen as something seems to cling to my, spreading across my entire body. I risk a glance down and my jaw tightens, an inky blackness is consuming me. It looks like the night sky, almost.

The sky has stars at least, and this dark sea flows over me, threatening to pull me under with every second that passes. The darkness is dragging my motionless body down, and I can’t do a single thing about it. Death. Death is inevitable, for us all. Red, Newblood and even Silver, Death is always lurking around the next corner.

But it will not claim me today.

Chapter Text

__Thomas__

Davidson leans back in his leather chair, lifting an elegant crystal glass up to his lips. He savored the taste of the expensive wine, it was one of the perks of being the Premier of Montfort, some kind of luxury was almost always a given. The new-blood watches as Tiberius runs a hand over his clean shaven face. “So, why have you brought my brother here, alive?” His voice is harsh, confused, “You surely harbor no love for him, so why have you spared him this far, Premier?” I shift in my seat, ‘I don’t think that Tiberius will like what we have planned as much as before..’

Davidson pauses once more, before he begins to talk again, sipping more and more of his wine. I can tell that he is carefully considering his next words, using the wine in his grip as a mild stalling measure. “I have to admit that I have a certain..likeness to your brother, Officer Calore” My fingers drum a steady rhythm on my upper leg, Tiberius scowls, “We both share some of the same qualities, and an ideology in fact. We are both men of our word, though our meaning varies greatly at points”

“And what does that mean?” Tiberius’s eyes narrow as he glances over to me, “What type of ‘deal’ would force you to spare Maven’s life? Why the hell would you give Thomas your word if it's so important?!” My name on his tongue sounds odd, forced, wrong. I do no blame him, this must be quite a strange experience. His golden eyes dart over to meet my own, I do not flinch. He is so much like Maven.

And so infinitely different. I suck in a deep breath,

“I found Maven escaping from Whitefire” My voice cuts through the tense air like a sword, Tiberius turns his body to face me, “I had already made a deal with the Premier, I worked for him for quite a few years so we had built up some trust” I motion to Davidson, “It turns out that my theory was correct, Maven did try to fake his death..and it seems he successfully fooled you, Officer Calore” The burner bristles, his gaze sharpening ever so slightly.

“The conditions were that if I was right, and I could bring Maven to the Premier, without serious incident then he could be brought into the custody of Montfort. And if after we explained, he willingly accepted the terms of his arrest.. he would be provided a private property in Montfort” I raise my head so I can meet his gaze, “He would be under the protection of Montfort also”

“From what?” Tiberius asks, quickly clarifying even though we all already knew the answer, “Protection from what, Thomas?” Carmadon smiled thinly, “Not from what, Officer, if you don’t mind my interruption. It is a whom” A flash of rageful recognition seeps through Tiberius’s dim eyes, turning them a brilliant gold, flecks of fire danced at his fingertips as he slammed his fists onto the table. Luckily, it did not catch alight, “You mean Mare” He growled.

“He does” I state, “Maven and myself with be provided with effective protection and a safe house. That is what I meant when I spoke about the private property” I explained softly, “Armed Montfortian Guards will be guardian the house, for our own protection” I tap my foot against the floor at an unsteady pace, “Miss Barrow could prove to be extremely dangerous if she finds out that Maven still lives. They wouldn’t attack her for no reason..”

Tiberus takes a few deep breaths, scratching his chin as he thinks over our proposition, “Why would you tell me this then? Mare is a..close friend”

“We were obliged to inform you for a few reasons, Officer” Davidson graciously answered for me, I shot him a weak gratitude filled grin, “Firstly, you are his only next of kin, an older member of his family. The legality of this situation is questionable, especially as he has only turned 18 recently… And secondly, you are the only person who may have a chance of convincing Miss Barrow not to kill your brother” The Premier spread his hands across the table, resting his palms on the cool wood.

Tiberius raised an eyebrow, “Miss Barrow is very unlikely to listen to yours truly on a matter like this, my husband or even Thomas. If one day she were to find out of Maven’s survival and she had not healed enough by then, then..she will most likely go on an unfortunate adventure”

“By any chance, do you mean the sort of ‘unfortunate adventure’ that involves murdering a lot of innocent people?” Carmadon unsuccessfully attempts to bite back a chuckle at my words, disgusting it with a cough. Tiberius on the other hand seems slightly unamused, as he replies in a dry tone, “Probably, knowing her as well as I do. I wouldn’t blame her for killing him in his sleep” Tiberius sighs, “Knowing him too…” He mutters.

“And you know him better than any of us in this room, Officer Calore” A muscle in my neck subconsciously twitches at Carmadon’s words, ‘ Do you so easily forget that I know him too?’ “Though, my Dane and I will need your absolute secrecy on this, Officer. This must be kept confidential especially from Mare Barrow and her family” Tiberus flinches at the sudden mention of Mare

A soft voice makes my head snap around, my eyes lock onto Maven as he lies on a small sofa. His lips are moving as he begins to repeat the same words over and over.

"Brother.. help me..." Maven Calore slurs.

Chapter Text

__Maven__

I can almost hear his breathing, Cal, he is close. I am almost sure that that fact is not another figment of my imagination. I just sense his presence near me. And I try to reach out to him, but I can’t. My body is still not responding to anything, leaving my helpless in this nightmarish place.

My lips burned as I managed to force some sound from them, “Brother..” I croak out, “Help me” It takes all the willpower that I have left in me, I clench my teeth and speak again, “Brother..help me” Mother scoffs at my feeble attempt to call for help, ‘He won’t spare a single second to help you, boy!’ She jeers, ‘He hates you with every fiber of his being!’

I force myself to ignore her and try again, ‘This is the only way’ I remind myself. There is an extremely small chance that if he is there, that he will think to help me. My brother has been weak like that since he was a child, family was always important to him. It's odd to think that something I always regarded as one of his many weaknesses, may very well be my salvation. ‘What can I say? Irony loves me’

My voice grows weaker and weaker with each repetition, if he decides to ignore my calls for much longer, I will die. ‘This is my last chance..’

So, I say it again. And again.

AND AGAIN

__Cal__

I am sure that everyone can see the clear confusion on my face as I stare at Maven, shock coating every thought that passes through my mind. ‘My brother, Maven fucking Calore, is calling for my help out of everyone in the kingdom?! My Maven would never do that! Something must be seriously wrong with him’

A few seconds later and my surprise evaporates into a fear that relentlessly gnaws at my stomach, I choke out a breath as I launch myself to my feet, my eyes turning to the Premier. “Summon a healer, Davidson, now!” I hear myself demand as I rush over to Maven, kneeling down beside the couch, I run my hair through his soft hair. A sense of horror impales my heart as I realise that my hand is wet, I glance down at it as I retract it from his hair.

‘Silver..?’ My heart stops beating.

“I SAID SUMMON A HEALER!” I roar, almost unable to stop myself as I rise to my feet. ‘Why am I doing this? Am I that pathetic, that weak? He is a monster, I shouldn’t be scared for him! He tortured Mare!’ I growl in frustration, ‘He’s still my brother..after everything, blood never changes does it, Cal?’ A small part of me whispers.

I curse under my breath.

__Gisa__

A few days earlier..

My sister lounges on a plush armchair, her brown eyes stare out the window without actually seeing, again. She does this each and every day, casting empty looks out at the sandy beach, her eyes forever locked on the blue waves that crash against the shoreline. I sigh softly, my fingers brushing over her shoulder, shaking her slightly

“Mare” I whisper, “Cal’s just arrived, he came from Montfort” My sister turns her head to me, her brown eyes unfocused, confused, “What did you say?” She murmurs. I brush the hair from her eyes, she doesn't make a move to stop me, “He is here for Maven’s burial, Mare” Mare flinches back when she hears his name, and I don’t blame her one bit. “We have to go” I tell her, Mare nods, a few minutes pass in silence, “I’m sorry”

When I hold out a hand, she takes it.

Chapter Text

__Cal__

I cleared my throat, my strength almost leaving me as the first word of my speech fell from my tongue, “Maven Calore was a troubled soul” The cold air whips past me, “He was deeply hurt, from his childhood even. I grew up right next to him, and I didn’t notice what was happening to him until it was too late..” My voice is slightly bitter, remorseful, “And that is my biggest regret. His mother, she was a powerful whisper, she turned him into what he died as. A sadistic and cruel man. A monster”

“Still, his recent passing brings me pain” The air is cold, my flamemakers are gone from my wrists, ‘In case you get a bit emotional’ Farley had said to me as she had pried them from my overheating hands. “I often think back to those fleeting days we shared, before his mother fully corrupted what he was” I drew in a shaky breath, “She changed him.. No one can dispute that. I remember when he made me take him fishing when we were on a holiday. Maven was nine at the time, I was eleven”

“He found an old fishing rod near an abandoned house, he was so excited to go fishing for the first time.. I remember how happy he looked” I hold back a sob, my heart does such funny little things to me. “He managed to catch a fish, a cod, and leaned over the railing, desperately trying to pull it up. He somehow fell into the river and I had to jump in and save him..the river was freezing” I shudder at the memory of the icy water. Maven had always hated the cold.

“When we finally made it to the shore, he clung to me like I was his only lifeline” The air brushed over my bare wrists, the air brushes over my body. Barren. A figure head. ‘Powerless..’

“Afterwards, I would tease him about it for years..I..I try to remember him as a constantly smiling, happy boy. He was my little brother once upon a time” I tap my foot against the ground, a nervous habit. Silver’s aren’t supposed to have those. “And a part of me will always loved who he was, before he was changed.. I will always miss Maven..” I dip my head into a small bow as I step into the few people gathered around his grave, “Goodbye Mavey..” I murmur, tears springing to my eyes. “Goodbye brother”

I stand right next to Mare, her best friend Kilorn on her left, their hands held together. I reach for her free hand and she intertwines her fingers with mine. And it is then, I stop to gaze out at the people there. Nanabel stands a few metres away to support me, a guard by her side. Premier Davidson is seated on the grass, his husband dons an indifferent expression.

Mare does not leave until long after the sun has fallen beyond the horizon, and the ceremony has ended. Neither do I.

I stand with her, her head resting on my shoulder. Its a familiar gesture, a gesture that shouldn’t have felt so fleeting. My heart does such funny things to me and I know hers is much the same. “I have to leave tonight, Mare. I have to go back to Montfort, I am sorry” I whisper in her ear. Mare just nods numbly, her tears long since fallen. She does not want to leave, that would make his death final.

As I gaze at the simple gravestone, a blue flower in my hand, the colour of the fire that had burned in his eyes. Thats when I understand something. Mare does not want to leave..

‘I don’t want to either’

Chapter Text

__Maven__

‘Just GIVE IN!’ My ears ring from the sound, ‘You cannot win against me! AGAINST US ALONE, COUSIN’ Samson’s rage filled roars seem to come from everywhere around me, the tendrils of darkness ripple around me at his words, they continue to drag me down. They pull me further down, further towards the bottomless abyss of my own mind. I attempt to shout back, to call out through the void that consumes me. Through the void that has haunted me since I was a small child. NO! I WILL NOT!!

Samson’s vicious laughter sends a chill up my spine, shadows swim all around me, glowing eyes peer out at me from the pitch black void. He is dead, he was reported dead. Why is he here?

‘Your dear cousin has made a few good points’ Mother chimes in right on time, I grit my teeth at the sound of her voice, ‘I was a surgeon with minds, carefully nitpicking every single detail, Maven’ I know that fact more than most, I know that fact down to my very being. Mother pauses, the silence ear splitting. ‘And Samson?’ I cannot move, I cannot breathe. ‘Well, Samson, he is a butcher’

Mother’s voice pierces through my mind, head splitting pain following it, ‘Just give up, you foolish child. This is your fate, your mind was always mine’

no.. No.. NO

Suddenly, a light plunges through the abyss, brightness streaks through the non-sky, breaking through the layers of the abyss. It locks onto the collar of my shirt and begins to pull me towards the surface, I swear I can hear a voice..I swear the light has pale blue eyes..

An angel? Have I been rescued, colours, what is happening?

My fingers latch onto it, clinging on for dear life. I won’t let go, not this time. The light brings me further and further away from them, towards what I can assume to be safety.

Mother howls, her voice consumed by rage, distorting as it echoes all around me. And Samson responds with roars of hatred and anger. They sound inhuman, like pieces of a soul torn apart. ‘MAVEN!’

I gasp as my eyes flutter open, the light all around me is blinding in its intensity. The first thing that I can make out as my vision adjusts, are a pair of pale blue eyes staring down at me. Her face displays a look of concentration, her blonde hair falls in front of her eyes,’She is red. No..a new-blood maybe?’

I feel weird, I feel like there is a weight that has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel as though I have plunged over the side of a great cliff, my fingertips skimming the water. I feel.. Seasick. What?

She turns away from me and says something that I can’t make out, her lips move and yet the sound seems to merge all together into something completely indecipherable. I follow her gaze, and I see him. Knelt right next to her as she moves away.

Cal. My older brother, he’s here. And he knows I faked my death.

Colours. “Maven? Are you with us now? Can you hear me?” He whispers, his coal black eyes sparking with fire, ‘He is..concerned? For me?’

I manage to glance around me, I seem to be lying on a beige couch in what seems to be a hastily cleaned up office, or possible quarters? “You really need to hire a new cleaner brother..” I mumble to him, my words slightly slurring as they leave my throat, “The old one isn’t..isn’t doing their job that well..”

Cal’s face pales as I stumble over my mish-mash of words, “Alyss!” He calls out worriedly, “Do you know what is happening to his voice? Is he going to be ok?” The red woman who I now assume to be Alyss stares at him. Her voice sounds like it was made from pure silk, it distracts me for a few moments as my vision blurs in and out of focus. She sounds calm, yet thoughrilly unamused, “Well, Fireboy, his brain is currently trying to process what is happening right now, and where he is. More importantly, who he is with. He seems to be quite disorientated”

Cal nods along with her words, my mind feels as though it is in a daze. The girl sighs, running a hand through her hair. “My best guess.. Is that I unintentionally managed to heal part of the damage caused by the Mendarus Queen, and his body is reacting in shock since the wounds have been scarred over for so long” The girl, Alyss, says. “He’s in mental and physical whiplash”

Cal looks almost conflicted as he turns his head back to me, I weakly reach out and clasp his hand in my own, my eyes locking onto his. I feel a rush of something that has been barred from my mind for years, when I look at him.. I feel.. I feel warm? “Alyss.. the red- the girl” I bit out her name, my lips clumsily obeying me, “What..is she?” She is not normal, there is something about her. She did this, she brought me back.

I can only manage short sentences. A flash of shame tears though my body, my face whitening.

Cal shares a glance with Alyss before replying, “Alyss is quite unique, Maven” My brother says, his voice unusually gentle, his fingers intertwined with my own. “She is half new-blood, half silver..” Cal says. I blink. “Alyss’s silver heritage is unknown, but suspected to be from House Mendarus. And her new-blood parent had a healing ability. Alyss luckily inherited a mix of both of them”

“Two..? She has two?” I murmur, mulling over the new information. This is dangerous, I would say so but my mind is blurred. “Impossible.. She- she has double the power” I croak out. Alyss gently pushes Cal to the side, his hand falling away from my own. The cushions of the couch are soft, I like that. “Well..” Alyss remarks, a mischievous grin lighting up her features. “I can say that I’ve been hearing that a lot lately, Calore 2.0”

I groan. This is going to be a long day by my colours.

__Thomas_

It is quite easy to become lost in the winding halls of Montfort, luckily, I was provided with somewhat accurate directions, this time. I remember a few years back, when I got lost for over two hours., courtesy of amazing Carmadon, Dane was not impressed with his spouse for that one. ‘He always loved to mess with me,’ I shake my head fondly, ‘Ah, There it is!’ I stride over to Tiberus’s office. “Open up Tibes!” I grinned at the door, “I have a shit tone of home grown paperwork for you, buddy!”

"Well, if it's so important, come on in then! The doors unlocked" I hear him huff.

My grin widens as I push the door open with my leg, ‘Oh, how I do love annoying him. Brings the simple joys in life’ My arms scream for help at the sheer weight of the paper, ‘Sparks will have to deal with that later, Evagenline has the best nicknames’ I glance up, hoping to see Tiberus sitting at his desk but my eyes widen as I take in the scene.

Alyss, the half-new-blood with the double abilities, is kneeling over a conscious Maven. Tiberus crouches next to her, I feel the paperwork slip from my hands and slam into the wooden flooring with an airy thud, carefully organised papers spreading out everywhere. ‘Gonna regret that one later..’ "Is he awake now?" I hear myself say.

“Obviously, you imbecile” I hear Maven mutter spitefully, he is undoubtedly rolling his eyes right now. His attempt at humour earned a genuine chuckle from Alyss, ‘She enjoys sarcasm’ I note that down in my mind for later. ‘I have heard her say that it was the lowest form of wit, in a sarcastic tone of course. I don’t expect less than that from her’

I almost immediately rushed over and dropped to one knee beside the couch he rested on, searching for any serious injuries, “Thomas..?” He whispers my name. I smile warmly, as warmly as I can while guilt burns away in my gut.“ Yes,?” I say to him. ‘Ask me anything, ask me if I would plunge a dagger through my heart for you, ask me to fight the Lakelanders, ask me to kiss you. I won’t refuse’

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by his voice. “Colours, what the hell did you do?” Maven spits, “What did you do?” The anger in his voice makes me recoil slightly, a frown spreading across my face. I should have expected such a reaction.

Tiberus flinches at the sound and Alyss pretends to be busy with some bandages, rolling them up absentmindedly. “I brought you to safety like I said, Mavey, I keep my word” My voice doesn't falter, “I always keep my word” I say, not giving him time to respond. Do I even want to know what he will say to me? We aren't children anymore, we aren’t naive. “I’m sorry that you got hurt.. Joshen acted out of turn and I am so sorry, it was an accident.. I- I swear on my life it was an accident” I hang my head slightly, before fixing my gaze on him once again, “But, Premier Davidson will protect us! From her and rest of them.. He.. he understands that you were the product of your mother”

“Product of my mother? Don’t bullshit me, Thomas.. Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy seeing me in pain.. I committed the worst atrocities I could have” Maven snaps. ‘Oh my darling, you look so angry. I wish I could hold you close’ My hands don’t move, “The Premier is a kind man, Maven.. You get immunity, fully. The whispers tampered with you mind” I implore him.

Maven stares at me for a second, his icy eyes scrutinising every part of me. He’s looking for the lie in my eyes, but won’t find it. “Are you..” Maven starts, then stops. “Really?” He asks, disbelief coating his words. “Yeah, really.. bro” Tiberius reaches down and ruffles Maven’s hair.

Maven’s features scrunch up, “You have never called me ‘bro’ before, what is this re- this common lingo?!” He speaks, catching himself at the last second. A shard of hope rises in my heart, hes correcting himself, hes.. Hes not using my blood as an insult?

“What does it mean, Cal?!” Maven demands. I’ll never get used to being around him, around being the incarnation of my heart.

“We get a residence, a house, in the country side of Montfort” I smile weakly, hoping the don’t see the false joy in my gaze. Hoping that they don’t see the love that I’ve tucked behind a shield almost as formidable as the ones summon. “Its.. uh, free real estate” I say. Maven rolls his eyes, my heart flutters. I kissed him once, that should be enough..

Its not. I want to kiss him until my lips bleed raw. And red.

“Sorry.. I don’t mean to butt into this heartwarming moment” Alyss drawls, drawing his attention away from me and to her. I try to ignore the pang of jealousy that pools in my heart. “I will be working with you, Maven” Alyss says. Shes a doctor, a healer. “It’s a condition for the protection Monfort will provide. Davidson want’s to undo some of the damage dear-dead Elara elicited to your mind” She taps his temple lightly. He doesn't flinch at her touch, I want to be able to reach for him like that and in so many other ways. I cast my gaze away from him.

Maven Calore stares up at all of his, slowly meeting each of our eyes. Alyss, Tiberius and then.. me.

Emerald meet sapphire. One by one, he pauses.

His lips twitch and morph into a small, bright smile. Maven smiles at us, its genuine and makes my heart sing. As my eyes gaze into his, I find myself returning the gesture.

__Alyss__

All of this is getting too sappy for my taste, he seems content, if not still slightly pissed with Thomas. Which was valid.

‘Might check that one out..’ I flick his ear.

“Colours- what was that for?!”

Yep, he's still pissed.