Hi Guys! 

I hope you are all doing well. The video above is the soundtrack I listened to the most while writing this Chapter and in particular for one part, (which I'm sure you'll be able to pick out as you read). 
I am slowly working towards the conclusion of this story, although I'm not super certain as to how I will wrap things up yet. A few of you have been super helpful lately with writers block suggestions and writing prompts and I want to thank you for that!! 

Certainly, this is becoming more difficult to write as it reaches its end, although I think it probably has something to do with me realizing how many plot holes/ flaws it has as I continue and half wishing I could just start all over again!

There are a couple of perspective changes throughout this chapter and I apologize for that! Some things are better written from a different perspective and hey, if it helps me spit the chapter out then I'm sure you wont complain too much ;) 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. 
Love always,

Daisy xox

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COBALT

I tapped my half empty stein on the bar rhythmically, half an ear listening to Nathaniel and Hobbson's conversation, with the other half of my mind swirling in turmoil.
My fist clenched a little tighter as I replayed the look on Circe's face over and over again in my mind. The hurt had been easy to read on her features. Hurt that I had put there.

I gritted my teeth. Jhaer was already causing unrest and she had barely been here one night. Even though Hobbson's welcome had been mostly an act for the benefit of keeping a close eye on her, still the way she had so readily accepted his good will had pissed me off. As if we would welcome her back so easily after her betrayal. For whatever reasons, betrayal was betrayal and if I was this conflicted about her sudden appearance then god only knew how Obsidian was dealing with it.

True, it wouldn't have been difficult for me to give Circe some back story, and even now as I thought over the circumstances surrounding her question, I should have realised something was off. It wasn't like her to ask such an intrusive question, and true she had tried to approach it casually, but there had been an uncertainty in her voice that wasn't normally there and her eyes had been too unwilling to meet my own.
Damn it!
I should have just told her. After my reaction, who knew what kind of conclusions she had drawn?
One assumption in particular came to mind and I swore again, this time aloud.

"Shit!"

"Woah there," Nathaniel laughed, clapping me on the back, "I know that can't be a reaction to anything that I've said at least."

"Sorry," I replied, dragging a hand over my face and finding my smile again, "I wasn't listening."

"It's okay," He shrugged. "It wasn't about anything important anyway. Do you want more beer? You're almost out."

I tried to smile again but it didn't really work. "Nah, I'm pretty tired, I might head to bed."
Circe might not be asleep yet, if I could find her maybe I could offer an explanation as an apology. I downed the rest of the beer and pushed my stool away from the bar.

"Suit your-self," Nathaniel said cheerfully, "Hey old man! Fancy another round?"

"Watch who you're calling 'old', boy," Hobbson grumbled in the background.

I turned away from the pair and it was then that something out the window caught my eye. A figure stood on the rooftop outside, silhouetted by the moon in the sky behind. Seemingly aware that it had been spotted, the figure turned and disappeared over the spine of the rooftop.

I threw a glance over my shoulder but my previous company was now engaged in conversation and paid me no mind as I slipped outside, shutting the door quietly behind me.
I made it up onto the rooftop with ease and sure enough he was there, crouched on the edge of the roof, his eyes searching the coast line.

"Did Jhaer come to talk to you?"

There was a grunt in reply.

"What did she want?"

He snorted. "Forgiveness," He spat the word out like it left a bad taste on his tongue.

I felt my heart clench uncomfortably. "And what did you say?"

He threw a careless glance over his shoulder, his golden eyes piercing me directly. "Idiot Brother. What do you think I said?" He turned back to look out upon the city, our vantage point providing us a spectacular view. "The woman killed half our crew on her way out the door; we haven't heard a hide nor hair from her since that day." He let out a small growl of annoyance. "Any crew member that commits that level of betrayal has no respect for their Captain and a crew that cannot respect their Captain are of no use to me."

I didn't reply although I was sure the relief was clear on my face. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You are a fool for thinking I would have given her any other kind of welcome."

"Well you can't blame me, after all, the two of you-"

"The two of us nothing," He interrupted swiftly, "she was never anything more to me than someone to share a bed with. And with your reputation, you're the last person who should be calling me out on that."

"Hey-" I began, outraged, only to catch the gleam in his eye as he shot a look my way, his lips quirked up into a smile. He was teasing.

I decided to let the subject drop and folded my arms across my chest as I dropped down to sit beside him on the roof tiles.

"What are you looking for?"

"I'm not sure yet," He said, his voice musing. His keen gaze was raking the coastline and I found myself looking in that direction automatically.

There was certainly a different air about my brother now, and it was only in times like these that I could see the clear distinction between who had been before and what he had now become.

My brother had always been a formidable enemy. The wrath he had unleashed upon those who stood against him was akin to a hurricane, a twisted whirlwind of terror, fuelled by hatred and loathing. He had been explosive, unpredictable and in some cases, downright unstable. He had looked down upon the world and everyone in it with an uncompromising eye, his decisions always cold and calculating, choices were made based only on what we would gain in profit.

All of that was still there, I could clearly see it in him. But before, he had worn his anger like a cloak of fire, it had swirled about his person, whipping out suddenly every now and then as though flaring in the wind, threatening to burn anyone who got too close.
Now the fire simmered deep within him, not as wild or unrefined as before, but still just as hot. He was sharper than before, more focused in his intensity. There was purpose behind every action now, behind each word he spoke, where before there had only been bitter hatred.
I wondered what was more deadly.

He straightened up slightly then, just a minuscule shift in his body, and I heard his breathing quicken. "Did you see that?"

"No," I said bemused, "As a normal human being, I struggle to see in the dark."

The look he sent me was a filthy one. There was the brother I knew and loved. "Don't jest," he said scathingly. "You know that you are far from a normal human being."
He picked up a piece of cracked tile and threw it in a random direction. My eyes automatically followed the object as it flew, tracking it through the night sky till it came in contact with another roof, half a mile away, clattering loudly as though it had landed right beside me.
"You're senses just take a bit of ... persuasion." My brother's grin was animalistic, his golden eyes gleaming. He had me there. "You can thank our Mother for that."

"Ah yes," I laughed without humor. "How could I forget our sweet Mother? Pity we didn't find out much about her during our trip to the Elven Kingdom, although I didn't really expect them to acknowledge our heritage under those conditions. Being part of the reason for a country's exile certainly puts a damper on any chance of a family reunion, doesn't it?"

Obsidian rolled his eyes at me. "You're bringing that up now, of all times?" He grabbed the front of my shirt and all but tossed me off the roof. "Come on, let's go."

The snow muffled my landing, my boots leaving deep prints behind me as I stepped back to glare in his direction. "That was uncalled for."

"Unlikely," His voice was affronted, his face haughty as he appeared at my side, "you deserve a sprained ankle at the least for putting that expression on her face."

I knew who he was referring to instantly and rubbing the back of my neck ruefully, I trailed after him as he strode off down the street. "You saw that huh? It was unintentional; I was on my way to apologise ..."

"What did she want to know?"

"She wanted to know how you two knew each other," I gave up the information without hesitation.

"What did you say?"

Now it was my turn to send a sharp look his way. "What do you think? I told her nothing of course, although I wasn't exactly tactful. Why do you think I was going to apologise? I probably made her worry more than was necessary-

"She doesn't have anything to worry about."

"Yes, yes, but she doesn't know that does she?"

"Her safety-"

"Idiot," I snapped, "I'm not talking about her safety."

He paused in his advance, ankle deep in the snow. Abruptly, he turned back to face me and I was surprised to see confusion on his face. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, we both heard the sound of crunching snow. Someone was coming.

Stealthily, we slipped into a side alley way, scaling the slide of the wall on slinking up onto the roof as the unsuspecting person passed below. It seemed to just be an ordinary townsperson, a bag of goods clutched in one hand, their cloak held tightly with the other. In a moment, they had disappeared off down the street and it was then that Obsidian turned his attention back to me.

"What are you talking about then?" he hissed in annoyance.

"What are you talking about?" I snapped. "Surely you don't think that Circe came to me, asking questions about you because she was concerned for her safety."
He looked at me and I groaned in frustration as I realised that was exactly what he had been thinking.
"You're an idiot!" I growled, "You might be able to see in the dark but you can't even see what's right in front of your face! She's obviously jealous."

Now he really did look bewildered. "Jealous? Why would she be jealous?"

"Are you actually telling me you're that thick?" I asked incredulously. His brow furrowed and he opened his mouth, no doubt to utter some foul remark, but I continued talking over top of him. "Some mysterious woman shows up from your past, claims to know you, clearly has some kind of history with you that you stubbornly deny and won't tell her about, and you expect her not to feel at least a little bit jealous?"
He had paused in his half developed insult, and now his eyes were looking rather vacant as he tried to process my train of thought. I groaned and dragged a hand through my hair in frustration, trying to think of a way to phrase it so he would understand.

"Let me put it this way. If some man showed up and claimed to know Circe and she wouldn't tell you how, what would you do?"

I could see the shift in his mood almost immediately, his face becoming tighter and more expressionless with each word I spoke.

"Shit," He cussed, his head swinging around to look back the way we came. He then seemed to remember something and his expression grew even darker. "Shit. She walked in on us talking as well, that would have looked bad."

I sighed with relief that what I had been saying had finally gotten through, lying back on the tiles for a moment as he stewed on his own idiocy. "Glad you finally get where I'm going with- wait," Sitting back up I looked at him dubiously, unsure I had heard him correctly. "Did you just say she walked in on you? With Jhaer?"I scrambled forward to grip his shirt, shaking him roughly. "What were you doing?!"

He smacked my hand away, his irritation rising with every passing moment. "Nothing happened; she ambushed me into speaking alone. She asked for forgiveness and I told her to fuck off." He ran his hands through his hair, his eyes burning. "She's so damn persistent though! She just wouldn't leave, seemed like she had something else to say but then Circe arrived – invited her to the bathhouse." He looked sharply at me, "Does that seem like the way a jealous woman would react to you?"

"No," I mused, "no it doesn't" Invited her to the bathhouse? Well it was Circe after all. She never seemed to react in the way I expected.

"Jealous huh ...?"

My brother now seemed to be rather deep in thought. He rubbed his chin and ran his tongue over his teeth. The smirk I caught before he looked back at me suggested that I would rather not know what he was thinking.

"You're terrible," I hissed at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," He said curtly, but there was a gleam in his eyes that hadn't been there before and his previous moment of anger had dissipated.

He took off across the rooftops again before I had a chance to ready myself and I sighed, picking myself up off the tiles and proceeding to silently follow after him.

"Weren't we supposed to be tailing someone?" I asked when I finally caught up to him. The wind whistled in my ears as we leapt simultaneously across a rather large gap in the houses, his jump slightly higher and longer than my own. "With all the time it took to unravel your stupidity, they are probably long gone by now."

"Funny," He sneered, "and yes we are, but we won't have lost them. We need to make a quick detour anyway." He said mysteriously.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "And where might we be going?"

"You'll see soon enough."

*

Hobbson exited the bar feeling rather drunk. If he was quite honest with himself, he should have stopped drinking two steins ago, but the night was young and the alcohol soothed his qualms about their sudden visitor.
Jhaer's arrival had been unexpected to say the least, but he had pulled himself together and greeted the girl with familiarity, the only greeting he could ever give her if he wanted to find out why she was here.
To hear that Jack had sent her had been unexpected. Jack had still been on the ship when the whole business had gone down and Hobbson was surprised that Jack would be so willing to clue her in on their location. So either she had given a good enough reason that Jack had been convinced .... or she was lying.
And Hobbson had a pretty good idea of which of two options he was willing to bet on. Jack wasn't one to forgive and forget so easily, even if it involved pretty young women.
Hobbson chuckled.

Setting out for his room, he decided to sleep off the alcohol and deal with the problem in the morning. There wasn't anything too mischievous Jhaer could get up to right away, in fact, she had probably already gone to bed. Although, he thought to himself, he didn't remember ever asking someone to show her to a room.
A trickle of unease ran through his belly and he knew that it wasn't the alcohol disagreeing with him. Alcohol never disagreed with him.
He had all but convinced himself to push it aside and deal with it tomorrow when the patter of wet feet on wooden boards alerted him to the approaching figure that he was able to recognise almost instantly.

Her eyes saw him and then she ducked her head, trying to pass by him discreetly – the option to take another route already too late. He wasn't so inebriated however, that he couldn't reach out to catch her shoulder, jerking her to a standstill.

He wondered for a moment if she would snap at him, but after a moment she turned to look at him, a forced smile on her features.

"Hobbson, I didn't recognise you. I'm just going to bed-"

"Jhaer," he said pleasantly. "Funny you should say that, I was just thinking that no one had shown you to a room yet. Did you find someone to help you?"

Her face was smooth as she replied. "Circe, showed me to one earlier."

A good lie, Hobbson noted. Jhaer had been quick to pick up on the fact that if the Princess was involved, people would rarely question her actions. He nodded, accepting the lie and moved on to his next question.

"Ah I see, that's good. May I ask what you are doing out and about so late then? You're rather thinly dressed and in this weather it would be all too easy to catch a cold. Perhaps you've lost your way?"

She was clutching a towel he realised, his attention only drawn to it because his question had made her tighten her hold on the cloth. Her other arm was hidden under the dark bathrobe she wore, tucked away from the cold. A bead of water, (or was it sweat?) ran down her otherwise expressionless face and he watched her force another smile. "I just got out of the baths.

"Alone?" He asked sharply, noting the flicker of some emotion he couldn't decipher flash across her face. .

"No, I- I was with Circe. I was tired and decided to retire earlier."

He let her shoulder go and nodded. "Good to see you making friends already," he said nonchalantly. "I won't keep you in the cold anymore. Sleep well."

She nodded and in the blink of an eye she was gone, vanishing off around the side of the building.

Hobbson suddenly felt a lot more sober than he had two minutes ago. It was extremely rare to see the female assassin so shaken. In fact, Hobbson could probably count the amount of times he had on one hand. He looked at his hand thoughtfully and then down at the wooden boards beneath his feet.
She certainly had just left the bathhouse that much was true at least. Her hair had been wet, as had been the towel she clutched to her chest. Her skin had been slightly damp too, although that could have been sweat.
After all, it seemed she had left in a hurry, her feet had been bare – not a smart choice in all of this snow. Her footprints were still drying on the wooden decking, a trail leading away from him, from the direction she had come.

He crouched down to look at where she had stood for a moment while she spoke to him, her footprints merging together she had shifted her feet nervously from side to side. She had dripped a rather substantial puddle onto the floor and now he swiped a finger along the floorboard, lifting the appendage up into the moonlight.

A darker colour stained his finger, contrasting the paleness of his skin.
Blood.

Looking up, he felt his hearing sharpen, his eyes looking keenly ahead through the darkness. He saw nothing, but the trickle of water from the hot springs reached his ears accompanied by a sweet voice humming a enchanting tune that he could not place.

Keeping his wits about him, he advanced forward. The voice seemed to lead him back the way Jhaer had come, her wet footprints drying on the wooden planks beneath him as he walked.
Rounding a corner he gazed upon the ornamental courtyard that sat in front of the bath house. The garden was made of white stones and patterns had been raked into the pebbles, although the snow had obstructed most of the detail.
A path of large, flat, tiles led to the centre of the courtyard – to where a small raised pond was positioned and a cherry tree was blooming out of season, its bowing branches laden with thick pink blossoms.
On the edge of the pond sat a girl, her fingers trailing in the water, her long blond hair hanging over one shoulder. Hobbson noticed the way her hair glowed with some more than moonlight and the surface of the water too, seemed to emit a mysterious light.
She was still humming her pretty tune and he noticed the way the lullaby seemed to curl inside his ears, whispering, enticing and teasing the edges of his mind.
He advanced with caution.

"Circe?" It would be best not to startle her, he knew instinctively. "Circe, Dear, are you alright?"

She had paused in her humming for a moment, but now she resumed, her fingers tracing a pattern through the water. He knew she had heard him.

He proceeded to move slowly down the path, stopping about halfway and calling out to her again.

"Circe, it's too cold for you to be out here dressed like that. You'll get ill."

She declined him a response yet again and now he was standing almost directly behind her, her back to him. He couldn't see her face and there was something about her posture that told him something was off. He reached out a hand and laid it on her shoulder. Her skin was ice cold. Her humming cut off abruptly, her hand pausing in it's path through the water. He tensed, in preparation for her attack.

Over her shoulder he could see that the pond was filled with koi fish. Obviously the water came from a natural spring and it was just warm enough to melt the ice that threatened to freeze around the edges, sustaining the life inside. The soft light he had noticed before was emitting from her hand, illuminating the pool and allowing him a better view of the inside.
The fish were large and glistened like jewels in shades of white, orange and red, their tails as delicate as tissue, their scaled bodies plump and sleek. They gathered around Circe's hand, their mouths opening and closing as they appeared to nibble at her finger tips.
She moved her hand suddenly, the movement smooth enough that the creatures did not startle, and traced a figure of eight through the water, the fish following her hand the entire time as though entranced by her presence.

"Circe," He said quietly, "it's time to sleep." He had had his suspicions before, but now he was certain.

Now she turned to face him.
Her eyes were round and slightly vacant, although when she finally met his gaze, her stare became so abruptly focused that he felt as though her eyes were a vice, tightening around his heart. She shrugged his hand from her shoulder and her eyes narrowed slightly, gleaming in the moonlight as she considered him carefully. Her fingers still traced a pattern through the water, but he could see now how long her nails were as they cut through the liquid, missing the plump fishes by millimetres as they swam around her talons in a deadly dance.
Her face was pale, save for a darker colour scattered across her lips.
She lifted her unoccupied hand to her mouth, her gaze slipping away from him, a coy smile poorly hidden behind her fingertips.

"Have you come to berate us?" She jested, letting out a light laugh. "We only meant to frighten her a little. After all, she was asking for it." Her tone suddenly became darker and Hobbson glimpsed the tip of a fang as she licked the blood from her lips.

She looked back at him, waiting for his reply. Impatience flickered behind her blue eyes and he spoke quickly and with absolute certainty.

"It's time for you to sleep." He said firmly. "You are not yourself."

She little out a breath of air that sounded like a hiss of dissapointment. She had been hoping for something else, he could tell. She looked away from him, boredom apparent in her features. "You cannot tell us what to do."

"And you are too young to disregard me," He said stoutly.

Too late she turned back to face him. He had already acted and in a move betraying of his size his hands had flicked out to press inward and upward at a certain point at the top of her jaw, just under her ear. Her face was startled, but she had already lost consciousness as she began to fall backwards from her position on the edge of the pond.
He caught her with little effort and shook his head as he looked down at her now calm face.

Tucking her robe around her more firmly, he hoisted her up into his arms and headed back the way he had come. If his memory served him correct, her room was beside Lacy's. He would take her there to sleep it off, doubtful that she would have anything to remember in the morning. Jhaer on the other hand, well it was unlikely that she would forget her own experience so readily.

Their journey was a short one, the girl was not heavy after all. Hobbson managed to slide open her door, excusing himself as he intruded upon her room. He laid her down in her bed, pleased to find it warm from the hot pan that had been placed there earlier. Slipping thick slippers onto her feet, he added another blanket to the pile that already covered her, making sure her fingers were tucked away. He checked her pulse, pleased to find it beating steadily despite all of the excitement.

Sighing, he seated himself on the floor by the door. He would feel better if he spent the night keeping watch, it had been a while since she had had an episode like this and he found himself lost in thought as he puzzled over reasoning.

It was clear that her Siren heritage still posed a problem to the girl. Earlier on in her training, he had thought that it was just a matter of getting Circe used to that particular part of her-self, that eventually she would learn to embrace the siren fully and the two halves, that had seemed almost to be separate beings after Circe's first transformation, would merge back into one.

It was not normal for a person to be separated in such a way. Such a scenario was certainly not the case for him. He did not share his body with another, he was simply a merman. He had been born that way, grown up on the ocean floor and never thought of himself as anything remotely close to human.

He had contemplated before, the idea that Circe, brought up as a human with her Siren instincts forced upon her, might never fully be able to accept that part of her as her true nature. Now, with this recent episode staring him in the face, he was beginning to feel certainty behind the theory.

A Siren was a fierce predator that employed a daunting skillset when it came to taking down her prey. They were creatures of strong emotion and excelled in forcing their emotions onto others. They were not, by nature, placid, temperate creatures.

Hobbson had thought that he could see a flicker of her Siren in Circe's fierceness when it came to protecting what she loved, but that could be credited just as much to the girls' character as her heritage.
If anything, she took more after her gentle Sprite side. Both Water and Air Sprites were naturally calm beings. The ability to manipulate an element, to tune the energy in one's body until both flowed at the same pace, took a lot of concentration, and harmony within the mind. There was no room for the discord that the emotions of a Siren would bring.

Hobbson sighed. He supposed it was natural favour one half of yourself when the prospect of trying to control the other half seemed too terrifying to face.
The only problem there was the fact that it couldn't be ignored forever. Whether or not she wished otherwise, she was also a Siren, and although the gifts of Water and Air raged within her too, a Siren was a predator and it would only be so long before she dominated them all.

It wouldn't have to take much, Hobbson supposed. Perhaps an emotion felt too strongly, coupled with doubt. It was always the bitter feelings that held the most power, he thought sadly. Feelings like jealousy, rage, insecurity, anguish, suspicion ... all were delectable food for a Siren.

His thoughts trailed off as he watched Circe shift in her sleep. Come morning, the girl would probably not remember any of what had happened, her mind would most likely suppress the memory.
Hobbson rested a hand on his chin and mused on how dangerous this could become if he neglected to act on it. But the problem he now faced was the fact that he simply had no idea of how to act on it.
No idea at all.

*

COBALT

My bare feet made no noise on the rocks as I raced around the coastline, hot on my brother's heels. Only slightly ahead of me, he was even more soundless than I, each of his steps calculated and surefooted.

We had discarded our shoes and heavy outer layers a while ago, the items hidden under an unassuming rock that Obsidian had reassured me would be easy to find later when we traced our way back.

I had a vague idea of where we were heading, but my suspicions were confirmed as we approached a large crag of rock that jutted out horizontally from the cliff face. Drawing closer, the rock grew larger, looming above us and Obsidian's direction changed as he headed towards it, leaping lightly up from one boulder to another.
As we climbed higher the waves continued to crash below, the sound hiding any noise that might have been made by our ascent.

Obsidian disappeared in one final bound, up over the top of the rock and I followed him, jumping to catch the edge of it and then hauling myself over.

Now lying on my back on the stony platform, a cave was revealed, one that had originally been concealed by the angle of those looking up from below.
Obsidian was standing a little ways from me, his head turned in the direction of the mouth of the cave. I sat up and sighed.

"Couldn't you just have told me this was where we were going instead of being all mysterious? It's not exactly a secret you know."

He ignored me and I was about to speak again when the ground below my fingers trembled as something shifted in the darkness beyond, alerted to our presence. Seemingly from nowhere, an eye blinked into existence, staring down at us impassively.

It is unusual for the two of you to come here.

Anthemin's voice resonated inside my head, the words issued as an observation. The white eye blinked shut and then opened again, this time a little closer to us than before. An outline of a shape was beginning to form around the eye, just a lighter shade of black against the absolute darkness of the cave.

Obsidian spoke abruptly. "Have you seen anyone suspicious coming and going from your position here?"

The eye that had previously been focused on me swivelled to stare at Obsidian, the words that were uttered next completely ignoring his question.

Where is Vanima?

"We come alone," Obsidian's voice was impatient. "Well?"

Blinking again, the eye settled a little closer down to the ground as the dragon shifted its position. I thought I heard slight amusement in his tone as Anthemin spoke again.

If Vanima is not with you, I have no interest in answering your questions.

The eye closed, effectively ending the conversation as the shape merged back into the shadows of the cave. I could see Obsidian losing his cool and sighing I stood, brushing myself off. If I had learnt anything from my brief interactions with the dragon, it was that he didn't like having things demanded of him. I thought for a moment and then spoke cautiously.

"Anthemin, I believe my brother has the Princess's safety in mind when he asks this question of you. Won't you reconsider sharing what you know?"

There was a pause and then the cave shifted again, small stones from the roof dislodging and clattering around us. When the eye opened again, it was right in front of me and the rest of the body emerged almost immediately afterwards, the white scales shining so brightly in the gloom of the cave that I couldn't even imagine how I hadn't seen them before.

The dragon had grown again, his head almost scraping the top of the cave, even as his long neck snaked down so that his face was even with my own and he breathed on me, his breath smelling like dead fish. I resisted the urge to grimace.

"You've gotten bigger," I flattered, "much larger than the last time I saw you."

The Dragon's gaze was cool, but his inner voice had a preening tone to it when he spoke.

There are large fish in these waters. They are easy to catch and simply delicious. He offered, by way of explanation for his increase in size.

A large tongue licked out over sharp teeth that were at least the length of my forearm, a string of saliva hanging from the side of the massive jaws.

Delicious, he repeated.

"If you have been out hunting so often, perhaps you might be quite acquainted with the comings and goings from the shore," I suggested.

Perhaps, he agreed.

"And maybe you might have noticed a suspicious person or two," I continued.

I might have, he pondered.

"One person in particular perchance," I wondered aloud.

There was one person, he mused, a woman in fact.

"And being so attentive, I don't suppose you followed her to find out her intentions?"

He looked at me squarely. I did.

I bowed low at the waist. "It would benefit us greatly if you would share your knowledge. My brother and I wish to deal with this woman without Circe finding out." I looked up and smiled slightly. "It is a matter we would rather she not be involved in."

I could feel Obsidian growing impatient behind me as Anthemin sized me up. The dragon was not unreasonable, I knew this. After all, he had saved my life once before. It was just that when it came to dealing with him when Circe wasn't involved, well he just required a little persuading.

Suddenly he yawned, showing off rows and rows of long pointed teeth. The stink of fish threatened to over-power me again but I stood still.

I suppose that I could show you, he mused, but it is beyond the reach of the shore and I have no desire to carry either of you.

In the background, Obsidian snorted derisively. "About time," He snapped. "Cobalt, get over here. I will carry you."

You cannot change into your full form, Anthemin uttered nonchalantly. You are too large and will be spotted.

I approached my brother as he snarled from between gritted teeth. "Fine, have it your way. Can we go now?"

Anthemin did not reply and instead moved his massive body towards the mouth of the cave as we moved aside to allow him room to pass. He really had grown a lot bigger since we had arrived on the island. He wouldn't fit on the deck of the ship anymore certainly. His powerful hind legs bunched as he sat back a little before suddenly launching out of the cave and into the sky, with enough power to crack the stone below. Once he was in the open, his wings spread wide, catching the air currents and keeping him airborne.

"Hurry up," Obsidian said shortly. "Otherwise he will leave us behind."

I looked at him in bemusement. "And how exactly do you propose we go about this? Because I'm telling you right now that I'm not letting you carry me in your arms. I don't care if it's dark."

With a roll of his eyes he grabbed me and once again I found myself flying through the air. A yell of surprise caught in my throat as I stared in horror at the rapidly approaching rocks. It was all very well to be shoved off a roof into the snow, but rocks and the ocean that raged upon them were a different story entirely.
I had all but accepted the broken bones I was going to receive upon landing, when a dark shape flew beneath me, snatching me out of the air, the impact from the collision stealing the breath from my chest.

The wind was rushing in my ears and I blinked furiously, trying to orientate myself as I saw the rocks below growing smaller with each passing second.

"Get a grip would you?" My brother grumbled from somewhere in front of me. "It's hard to fly when you are wobbling all over the place."

There were smooth scales beneath my fingertips and as my eyes focused, I noticed the large expanse of wing stretched out to either side of me. The wings were as black as night and beat powerfully through the air, the muscles moving beneath my hands a tribute to their realness.

"Holy shit," I whispered, suddenly feeling as though I was losing my grip on reality. It was all very well to see the transformation, but to be this close, to actually come into contact with it ... I looked straight ahead to see Obsidian focused on what I assumed was the shape of Anthemin, flying in front of us. His face was mostly human, save for the golden eyes that shone brighter and more yellow than before, the pupils thinned into reptilian slits. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Didn't I tell you to hold on?" He snapped. "It's difficult to carry someone in this form. You need to move further up onto my shoulders; otherwise you'll throw me off balance. And I don't have time to fish you out of the ocean tonight, not when that blasted dragon is going so fast. I can barely keep up as it is."

I hastened to do as he asked, still too stunned to argue. Shuffling higher up his back, I found that I could grip his shoulders and bring my legs up so that they rested on the join of his wing to his back. I felt his body shift in the air and looking over my shoulder quickly, revealed a glimpse of a long black tail, trailing through the air behind us.

I sniggered nervously. "You have a tail."

He growled. "Shut your mouth. I need it to balance."

His legs had appeared to morphe somewhat as well, the direction of the joint in the knee was bent in an unnatural angle, giving it the appearance of an animal's hind leg, rather than a human one. The feet were larger, the toes curled up as he flew, sharp claws at the end of each one.

"He's slowing," Obsidian noted, bringing my attention back to our mission.

Sure enough, up ahead, the large white form of Anthemin seemed to slow, hovering almost lazily in the sky as he all but disappeared into the thick snow clouds that lurked above us.

Obsidian cursed. "Hold on, we are going higher."

The angle changed abruptly and I gripped his shoulders tightly as we flew upwards, the clouds suddenly collapsing around us, the absolute colour slightly disconcerting. There was no sound up this high, the silence only broken by the powerful beating from the wings on either side of me and my chest felt tight, as though I was being starved of oxygen, even as I sucked air in through my nose.
Breaking through the cloud cover almost felt like breaching the surface of the ocean and unconsciously I breathed in deeply, the tightness in my chest dissipating.

Anthemin floated in the sky in front of us, his colour under the moonlight almost making him seem like a cloud that had broken free from the larger mass. I couldn't see the ocean below us now and as I peered over the side of Obsidian's body, a wave of vertigo hit me.
Below those deceptively solid looking clouds was a drop that I would not survive if I fell. My brothers body below me, suddenly seemed far too small and far too human to support both of our weights, even as I could see the wings grew out of his back, beating consistently in the air.

Anthemin was considering us from a distance and I felt Obsidian tsk under his breath.

I had a moment of irrational panic as I felt the form beneath my fingers changing shape, the shoulders broadening until there was nothing to hold on to and I scrabbled for purchase, terrified of falling off when I suddenly found myself lying flat on a large expanse of back, the edges of my brothers body suddenly a lot further away than they had been before.

I thought I told you not to use that form, Anthemin's voice was irate as it echoed through my head, but I barely noticed his words as I tried to calm my beating heart, aware now that the mass beneath me had stopped changing.

No-one will see us from up here, Obsidian dismissed. The cloud cover is too thick. I cannot fly for long distances in that form when I need to carry another. This will have to do.

Breathing quickly, I lifted myself off my stomach, looking around cautiously.

You can stop panicking now, Obsidian's voice was so familiar, that it took another moment for me to realise that he was no longer speaking aloud. Honestly, he continued, you really are pathetic. I wouldn't have brought you along if I thought you were going to get scared.

"I'm not scared," The retort flew to my lips before I even had a chance to think and I found myself forgetting about my current situation as I glared at the back of his head. "I was just caught off guard."

He tsked again and now we were flying forward at a much faster pace than before. We drew up alongside Anthemin's smaller body with ease and the young dragon eyeballed Obsidian with something I thought to be similar to displeasure.

He didn't say anything however and merely pulled forward slightly so that he was leading. I was surprised to find that Obsidian let him, slowing his pace slightly and dropping down a little lower. Almost unconsciously one of his claws relaxed to hang a little lower than the other so that it could rake the surface of the clouds, the white mist swirling upwards with unrest in our wake. The tendrils stretched into the sky behind us like steam rising up from the surface of the ocean.

Was he enjoying himself in this form? The idea had never really occurred to me. If I was honest with myself, I still struggled to comprehend the idea that my brother could really transform himself into a dragon. But yet here he was, and I was the closest I had ever been to him in this form. His muscles worked tirelessly beneath my hands to keep us both airborne, his reptilian head on the end of the long scaled neck swaying side to side as he powered through the sky. Every now and then his wings would skip a beat as we glided on invisible air currents before the motion would pick up again seamlessly.

The crisp, artic air had begun to settle deep into my bones by the time we began our decent. I had shifted higher up Obsidian's neck, into the dip between his shoulders and the base of his spine, where his massive body was the warmest and I found the most shelter from the wind.

I internally cursed him for insisting that we discard our coats before coming. I wasn't exactly seeing the benefit of such a choice right at this moment. Gripping onto one of his large neck spines, I slid so that I was wedged between two of them, feeling more secure with the mass at my back and something to hold onto at the front.

We are going down, Anthemin spoke abruptly, disappearing below the cloud cover not a moment later, his voice still echoing behind him. Be prepared to land in the ocean.

Obsidian cussed and followed after him, the sharp decline making me appreciate my seating choice as I felt myself being pushed backwards. The clouds rushed around us again, Obsidian's head disappearing and reappearing front view. I half expect him to begin to change back but his form stayed the same as we broke through the clouds and faced the ocean below.

It was dark below the cloud cover and I had not realised how much the moon had illuminated the night sky above until it was gone. With no light to illuminate the blackness, the ocean roared below, infinite in its width and depth. I caught a flash of white as Anthemin's tail disappeared below the surface and before I had a chance to protest we were plunging in after him.

The water was glacial and I was ripped from Obsidian's body in an instant, a mass of bubbles billowing out around us. My breath hammered in my chest, seeking a way out and I clenched my lips together determinedly. With no light from above, it was impossible to tell which way was up and which way lead down to the ocean floor.

I squinted through the water and thought I caught a glimpse of white, but it was abruptly obscured by the mass of black that was suddenly shifting the water around me. Something was pushing me upwards and upwards until cold air was assaulting my skin and I couldn't decide if it was warmer submerged or exposed.

The wind roared around me, waves threatening to collapse from either side, but I was being lifted again, the surface below me warm and wet, a steady heart beat thrumming beneath my fingers.

Obsidian, still in his dragon form, lifted his head out of the ocean like a sea serpent, his body steady, despite the ocean raging around him. I could tell that his attention had been caught by something and I panted, trying to catch my breath.
This excursion was too much for me. After all, I was only human.

Half-human, Obsidian corrected curtly.

I started, not realising I had spoken aloud. "Still," I managed to wheeze out. "If I survive tonight, this is the last time I'm coming out with you. This hasn't been enjoyable at all."

Well I think I've found something that might make you change your mind, Obsidian said grimly. I doubt you would have believed me if you hadn't seen this for yourself.

"What are you talking about?" I panted, trying to wipe the hair out of my eyes.
We rose and fell with the ocean, the motion of the waves oddly comforting. I felt my heart slow a little as I caught my breath back. Anthemin had surfaced to the left of us, his white scales a shining beacon in the darkness. He too appeared to be looking at something and blearily, I swung my head around in the same direction, squinting to find something to look at through the blackness.

This is where she went when I followed her, Anthemin said gravely, I don't know what that place is, but I feel a dark energy coming from it. I would advise against venturing further than this point.

"I don't see-"

Look further into the distance, Obsidian said impatiently, nearer the horizon.

Unexpectedly, the sky burst into flame.

I let out a cry of shock, bringing a hand up automatically to shield against the heat, even as I realised the danger was an immense distance away. The flames twisted high up into the sky, disappearing into the clouds and giving the illusion that the sea and sky were suddenly joined by a pillar of fire. My heart, which had only just slowed back to a regular pace, was now thumping in my chest again as a burst of adrenaline rocketed through my body.

Now I could see what Obsidian and Anthemin had been looking at. There on the horizon, silhouetted under the orange light from the flames, sat what looked to be an island of some sort, although the longer I looked the more it seemed to be less an island and more just two sheets of rock, rising directly out of the ocean, the tips leaning towards each other to create a slightly triangular shape.

There was something ominous about it that had nothing to do with the sudden explosion. I shivered and resisted the urge to look away.

Look there! Anthemin's voice was suddenly urgent, as he needlessly drew our attention to what we could already see.

Something was shifting between the two rock faces, a black shape, shadowed by the pillar of fire. As it broke free from the bulk of the rock, rearing up into the sky with wings spread wide, I realised it for what it was.

The silhouette of a dragon.

*

"Well that solved nothing," I grumbled, sinking slowly into the steaming hot spring. The water was warm and soothing and slowly I felt my body thaw out. I groaned and leaned my head back on the side of the pool, sinking down even lower so that my shoulders were submerged. Already I could feel the aching throb of strained muscles spreading throughout my limbs. I was by no means unfit, but tonight's excursion had asked a little more of me than usual.

The trip back had felt longer than the journey there, although it had probably had something to do with the deep seated coldness that had settled into my bones as we flew back towards Balgar. By the time we had landed in Anthemin's cave, my muscles were stiff with exhaustion, my throat raw from cold and the seawater that I must have swallowed at some point.

Anthemin had watched our retreating backs impassively and it was impossible to know what the other Dragon had taken away from our excursion. I had asked him not to mention any of it to Circe, but he had simply blinked coolly at me and declined to answer, apparently done with conversation for the night.

The rocky shore had been harder to navigate than at the start of the night, the snowy streets less welcoming in their pristine whiteness. By the time I collapsed through the doors of the inn, I was all but ready to pass out.

That was when my brother had dragged me to the baths, and dumped me unceremoniously into the hot spring, muttering curses the whole way.

Said brother was now seated across from me, his arms slung out of the side of the pool, apparently not cold or fatigued in the slightest. He paid no mind to my complaining, instead his brow was furrowed, his eyes distant as he appeared lost in thought.

"All that did was create more questions," I moaned, "What even is that place? Anthemin made it sound like there was someone actually staying there, but it looked uninhabitable from what I could tell."

"And yet you saw just as well as I," My Brother mused aloud, "there was a Dragon there. And where there are Dragons there is surely-"

"An Air Sprite," I concluded abruptly, seeing where he was heading now. Our eyes met and I ventured forward hesitantly. "You don't think, not ... Zalas?"

Obsidian shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he pushed it back from his face. "No. It wasn't them. It didn't ... feel the same." He paused for a moment, chewing on a train of thought. "Or rather, it was similar ... but not the same."

"The Rat Princess?" I interjected sharply. "She went missing didn't she? After ... after ..." After you died. The sentence trailed off lamely but I could see from the look in his eyes that he knew what I had been trying to say.

"I don't know what happened to her," Obsidian said curtly. "I've heard a little from Circe, but I don't think she knows a whole lot either. Only that the Rat was the one who framed me."

"I heard that too." I frowned. "If she framed you for stealing the egg, does that mean that she was the one who took it?"

"Could be," Obsidian deliberated, his expression growing darker. "Even if that is the case, we still don't know why she would be out on a rock in the middle of an ocean. It could have nothing to do with us at all."

Even as he spoke those words, the look we sent each other was the same. The chances of it having nothing to do with us were slim. Very slim indeed.

*

OBSIDIAN

It was an hour or so later, as the night crept into the early hours of the morning, that I left my brother griping in the hot springs and ventured back into the inn with one destination in mind. Contrary to what Cobalt thought, a deep ache had settled into my bones also, although this was an ache that no amount of hot water would cure.

Steam rolled off me as I walked around the verandas, my body temperature slightly higher than normal due to our little excursion. I rubbed at my hair with a towel as I went, a black silk dressing gown fastened loosely around my frame.

I paused for a moment, rubbing my hair more vigorously before continuing. It really was growing annoyingly long. I supposed that I should cut it, but every time I came close to considering it, Circe would run her fingers through it and make some passing flattering remark that would make me willing to put up with long hair for the rest of my life, if only to hear her voice her admiration once again.

I chuckled to myself, the towel obscuring my vision momentarily. The girl really did make me incredibly vain.

Her room came into sight and I noticed instantly that the door was slightly ajar. Heart beat quickening, I hastened towards the room, catching the edge of the door frame as I peered inside and breathing a quiet sigh of relief as I noticed the old man seated on the floor to my right, his back against the wall, eyes closed in sleep.

Circe was no more than a bundle under a large pile of blankets, one golden curl peeking out from the covers. I wondered what scenario had come about to warrant the current arrangement as I leant down to shake the old man awake.

He came to life sluggishly, groaning as he shifted in his uncomfortable position on the floor.

"You can go to bed," I whispered, "I'll stay with her now."

Hobbson offered no explanation, but nor did he protest as he stumbled to his feet, patting me on the shoulder while his other hand stifled a yawn. "Jolly good," He mumbled, "see you in the morning."

He ambled out the door, smelling slightly of stale alcohol and I heard him bump into the veranda railing before I shut the door and the sound of him faded away.

Deciding that my hair was as dry as it was going to get, I threw my towel into the corner of the room and knelt at the edge of her bed. I peeled back the covers and slid under the sheets smoothly, chuckling to myself. She was so small that it was almost hard to find her under the mass of bedding, but almost instantly her form curled towards mine and I sighed as one of her hands grasped the material of my dressing gown for a moment before her fingers smoothed out across my chest.

A mass of blond hair tickled my nose and I petted it away, attempting to uncover her face. I rolled slightly, propped on one elbow so that I could see her properly, a hand cupping her face, my fingers desperate for the feel of her skin. Her lashes fluttered as she dreamed, her lips parting to breathe out a nonsensical babble of sleep talk.

I felt the ache in my bones dissipate as I watched her sleep and slowly, the warmth that I had been missing returned. The day had been a long one, and I knew that beneath her currently tranquil exterior, she was still angry at me.

I mused over what Cobalt had told me and had to admit that my idiotic brother sometimes had his uses. The idea that Circe could be jealous had never occurred to me and I found myself quite fond of the thought. As though she could sense what I was thinking she frowned in her sleep and I snickered quietly, smoothing the crease away with my thumb.

Unable to resist, I dipped my head down to nuzzle at her cheek, capturing the shell of her ear between my lips in a kiss.

"Jealous little Kitten," I crooned softly into her hair, "whatever will you do?"

Smirking I gathered her up against me and shifted until she lay comfortably against my chest. I pulled the covers back over us and bid goodnight to all of the troubles from the night's activities. It could wait until tomorrow.

*