June was beginning to grow frustrated with herself. Her eyes were hurting from gazing at so many names. Ivy, Lester, Lillian, Carson, Farrow, Brooke, Cole.

She scanned higher.

Willow, Rose, Isaac, Jasper, Violet, Pepper, Wren.

Nothing. Chase did not belong to this tree. She wondered if he had lied. There was an awful lot of names carved into the tree, surely his would be here too.

"That guy," Chase said, appearing behind her. June forced herself not to jump. "That uni boy you're so desperate to find. What's the go with him?"

June rose from her crouch in a twisting manner to face Chase. She met his golden gaze. "What's the go?" she repeated.

Chase shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his gear. There was an easiness around him, a careless aurora. She told herself he was just making small talk. "I didn't get to physically talk to him considering I was too busy slaying demons and all that, but he seems to have this fixation on you." His eyes blazed. She could tell he was studying her, taking in every detail.

June forced her lips into a smile. "And you gathered all that by your constant angsty staring?"

Chase didn't even look surprised. "No, I gathered that from your little conversation with him in your bedroom."

June felt the smile fall from her lips into a hard frown. She could sense the way her eyes widened. Chase took in her reaction with his easy smile.

"You heard that?"

He gingerly tapped the side of his face. "The soulring enables me to hear better than any uni could. I only put together bits of the conversation from your front yard, but it seemed pretty heated." His face was an open mask of mischief.

"Sebastian doesn't like me that way," June began. "He's just a friend."
Chase whistled. "Ouch, put in the friendzone."

June suddenly had the irrational urge to defend herself and him. Sebastian was only a friend. Nothing would ever happen between them. He was the type of best friend where if you cross the line, there's no coming back.

June had never saw him that way. Of course, she had thought about it before, anyone would. But Sebastian always seemed to be happy where he was with June. Sure he would make the occasional comment, and look at her funny if she spoke about any other guy. And maybe got all flustered if she touched him—

Chase's laugh swept her out of her thoughts. "Are you only just realising that he's been pining over you?"

June felt her eyes narrow. "He isn't pining over me."

Chase arched a mischievous eyebrow. "Oh really?" he drawled. "Didn't seem like that but then again, my assumption may be incorrect." His eyes glinted. "Although that is highly unlikely."
June rolled her eyes and walked in some general direction, hoping Chase would follow so she didn't look stupid. "Why do you even care anyway?"
Chase flicked a blonde curl out of his face. "Well considering I am risking my life for this uni boy, I thought I ought to know how special he was to you. I need to know how devastated you'll be if the guy is already dead."

June shot him a venomous look. "Very funny."
His gaze met hers. "Oh, I wasn't joking."

June swallowed but offered no other comment. She internally prayed Sebastian wasn't dead. She had spent the last few hours telling herself he was curled at home playing one of his many video games. She knew if she even allowed herself to think that he could potentially be dead, she would break.

And once she broke, she couldn't be pieced back together.

"Chase."
He inclined his head as they walked. "June."
She lowered her gaze to her feet. "Why did you train Pearl?"

There was a long moment of silence. June allowed herself to glance over at him again. His eyes were narrow, deep in thought. June could see a muscle jump in his jaw. June wasn't sure why she had suddenly thought of Chase's uncharacteristic compassion towards Pearl. Maybe she just self-consciously wanted to change the subject from Sebastian.

"I knew what it was like being dropped into a place where I didn't belong."

June felt a questioning look fall across her face.

"Pearl was different, even her unifolk parents seemed to realise that. She was already considered an outcast within the uni world, let alone ours," Chase elaborated. "Her mother had an affair with a Soulchaser and claimed that Pearl was her uni partners child. That itself broke many laws within our Code. Pearl was brought up in the uni world, while her mother continued to see the Soulchaser. Her siblings also belonged to the same partner.

But Pearl began seeing things. The Fae, spirits, ghosts. Anything supernatural Pearl could see. Her mother wanted to hide her from Hendra, but her real father argued he wanted her to live with him, as a Soulchaser. The Eco soon heard about the situation." Chase's eyes darkened and a shadow seemed to pass over his face. "Everyone including Pearl's siblings were slaughtered. As a punishment, Pearl's Soulchaser father had to witness the whole thing until he also was killed."

June felt the blood rush from her cheeks, leaving her skin cold. "Why would they do that?"

Chase didn't meet her gaze. "The Eco claim to be fair, but they are only fair when they feel the need to be. In this case, they didn't care about justice or peace. Pearl was forced to be silent and she was dumped by The Eco at our doorstep." Chase's lips declined. "It's safe to say Pearl has despised The Eco and us for that matter since."
June remembered what Pearl had said to her in the library. 'I never got the chance to say goodbye to my siblings.' The sense of hatred towards Pearl ceased slightly. June couldn't imagine how guilty she would feel, how betrayed and alienated Pearl must still be. No wonder why she was so nasty. Anyone with her past has the right to be.

But then an overwhelming sense of fear crashed down upon June, and instantly she stopped. Chase glanced back at her.

"My mother," June whispered. "They'll kill her won't they? They'll punish her for letting me live in the unifolk world." Instantly her world shifted from under her feet. "Then they'll kill me next while she is watching and I—"

Suddenly Chase was in front of her, and instantly June was hit with the smell of dew. "June," he said softly, so softly in face that June barely heard him. "You don't need to worry."

June, temporarily shocked with the closeness of Chase, forget what she was about to say. She gazed up into those cat like eyes, trying not to get lost in the fiery wrath. There was something so foreign about him and yet, she knew that if she put her mind to it, she could trace every curve of his face, every freckle that spotted his nose, every silver fleck in his eyes.

Defiant, she decided. If she were to write a book, she would describe him as defiant.

"Although only three years ago, the Eco has turned to more humanised methods," Chase continued in a near whisper. "No one is going to harm you or your mother, Acacia will see to that."

"And what about Sebastian," June argued. "Will you wipe his memories, or mine for that matter?"
Chase stared at her in a lingering way, searching her face. His lips parted ever so slightly. He hesitatingly shook his head, then with a jerk of his head, beckoned for her to follow him as he began to lead her under a draping chestnut branch.

"Lesson three," he said, lifting a large ivy thread so June could duck under it. He didn't wait for her to say thank you before he continued. "We only wipe memories in very rare occurrences."

June felt her throat dry. "So why threaten me over it multiple times?"
Chase's lips twitched into a half smile. "It gave you an incentive to decide what it is you want most," his eyes danced. "Your old life, or the one that was hidden from you." Chase led her through various twists and turns, delving deeper into the greenhouse. It seemed never ending, and soon June came to realise that without Chase with her, she would be immensely lost.

"The Slayers, up in the mountains, they give us dragon scale and teeth." He tapped a fingers to the breast plate of his obsidian armour. "Our uniform is made from these scales. It was initially to protect us from flames or falls, but it's also so dense that demon essence does not burn us."
June half tripped over a fallen log. Chase didn't even spare her a glance. "But what does that have to do with memories?"
"The Slayers are also our potion brewers. Only majorly lethal or rare potions – we can make our own from our flora. But up in the mountains grows the Draraniumroot. It is quite a rare flower and is the only one that can entirely wipe memories from any being, including us or Warrians."

June felt her eyebrows furrow. "Why would they give it to you?"

Chase gracefully stepped over a dimly glowing log. "Trade," he answered. "How do you uni's say it? The grass is always shadier under the tree?"
June gave him a quizzical look which he did not see.

He shrugged. "The metaphor I believe means people will always fantasise about something they don't have even if they have their own fortunes." His smile slipped off his face. "It's how Draven convinced all the Warrian parties to exchange something valuable to their culture for him to build the Umbrian Staff."

"The Umbrian Staff?" June questioned. She had remembered parts of the story the Soulchasers had told her. Acacia had mentioned Draven bargained with the Warrians to build a weapon. The Umbrian Staff must be its name.

Chase nodded. "A horrific thing indeed. A weapon within itself." Chase stopped suddenly, and June narrowly avoided running headfirst into him. She hadn't noticed their surroundings change until she paused to look around.

Oak trees, not as large as the name tree, but regular sized formed a perfect circle around them, blocking the surrounding light so the central sunlight streamed from the roof. Above them great headstones rose, twisting upwards, upwards, upwards, until June swore they must be through the green house roof, and yet she couldn't see beyond.

The stones formed another ring within the trees and in the rocks centre was a statue, ivy ridden with age. It's white colour was discoloured. June could see the marble cracks from far away.

"What is this place?" she breathed.

Chase didn't argue when she broke through the tree circle, nearing where the enormous headstones protruded from the grass. It reminded her of the human Stone Hedge only this was more spectacular if it were even possible.

There was nothing random about the placements of these stones. Not one of them were out of line, not one was cracked or crumbled. They rose, a relatively large gap between them, just large enough for a person to squeeze through. She entered the ring, conscious of Chase behind her.

She stared, forcing herself to remain silent. Paintings were splathered onto the stones, covering the entire thing. Although the paintings were also weathered, the colour was still as vibrant as if it were freshly created.

She tried to understand the pictures, the language that was also painted among the images, the colouring, the story of the rocks. And then there was the statue, positioned so the rocks all seemed to stare into it.

"The Enactment," Chase said, his voice bouncing off the stones to echo around them. "This is where history is told."
Chase stood in front of one of the stones, craning his neck to stare upwards. June approached him, trying to ignore the way the sunlight brought out the amber lining in his irises.

She looked to where he was studying. A man was painted onto the rock, his eyebrows furrowed in cheek, a haunty smile on his face. He was dressed in the same uniform as what Chase wore. In his hands was a long sword, gleaming silver. Behind him, Soulchasers crowded, their faces all ones of glee and aspiration.

"It began long after Draven became popular. He had convinced the millions just by his work ethic, how much demon blood he'd spilled. He no longer was the outcast, but the leader. Although not in a position of authority at this point, Soulchasers envied him." Chase's words were hoarse. "In a time of neglect and the need for power, having a young Soulchaser with such talent was nothing of the ordinary. His name became heard all over Hendra."

Chase walked to the next stone where Draven was bowing to what looked like a counsel. Higher figures with wings protruding from their backs lined what June thought was a stream. The water billowed at their gowns, rising up to their ankles.

They were all females, she realised.

Draven had his head bowed as he knelt, his fringe just skimming the streams surface. The gowned women's faces were hard to read, but their eyes were soft.

"The Eco saw potential in him. He had slain enough demons to fill a lake with blood. He'd saved hundreds of innocent unifolk, and single handily slaughtered a Euthreal demon, a higher demon that usually takes dozens of Soulchasers to kill."

June stared up at the painting, trying to picture the raven haired boy, barely her age in the painting, arching a blade through a demon. She tried to imagine his pale hands, now dipped into the stream, coated with blood.

It seemed unrealistic that the young boy in front of her could do such a thing. There was strength in his arms, she saw. A certain strain to his shoulders, a reasoning behind the glint in his eye. Whoever had painted on these stones captured every essence, including the hidden malice in him.

"The Eco agreed to upgrade his ranking in his own local institute. He became second in command," Chase said. "At this point, he still hadn't mentioned his true intentions."

June trailed after Chase as he led her around the stone circle.

"But then the current Soulchaser Ambassador grew ill, and The Eco elected Draven to take his place when he died shortly after. Draven appeared to be immensely tame during meetings with Warrian's, and even advocated for them in some scenarios."

In this painting, Draven sat next to figures, his hands clenched into a fist in front of him. There was an easy smile captured across his face as he was in conversation with what looked like a human until June saw the glint of fangs in the young man's mouth. It appeared all the Ambassadors sat respectfully in an assigned arrangement at a giant table, carved out of wood.

Draven was no longer wearing his uniform in the meeting. Instead he wore a white, long sleeved shirt that was unbuttoned at his collarbone. Flowy, beige pants matched his dark boots.

He was beautiful, June thought to herself. His eyes were as green as ebony, a perfect juxtaposition to the paleness of his face. High cheekbones matched with a sharp jawline complemented the shape of his eyes, making them look larger. His smile was as mischievous as Chase's and yet there was an edge to it. A slight downcast to the smirk. It was such a shame his beauty wasn't internal either.

Chase spoke again, breaking June from her thoughts. "However, as peaceful as these meetings seemed, Draven used them to bargain with the Warrians, targeting the vampires first. He would advocate for them one at a time in a situation that seemed quite reasonable. He would then meet with them, gain their trust, try to smooth out their misgivings."

"It took years to gain the trust of every Warrian beside the Slayers. He was a magnificent liar and a perfect manipulator. He made it seem like he would be on their side. He made it seem that he would be their savour, that he would betray all of Soulchaser kind to right the wrongs of the unifolk world and benefit everyone."

Chase's voice seemed to come out as more of a growl. She cast him a look but his attention was on the next stone.

Next, Draven looked slightly older. His dark hair had lengthened to soft curls, forming a draping fringe. He had grown more into his features, his length increasing but his figure was more filled out. June could see his Mark, as clear as day.
A perfect nought.

Just like Chase's.

Just like her mothers.

Draven was wearing his armour again. June could see a gold sword strapped to his back. He was huddled in the shadows, speaking to a figure that was much smaller than him. June drew closer, surprised to find the figure had pointed ears. Minuscule, transparent wings jutted out from its tiny body.

"The Fae are the hardest to gain trust. They cannot lie, but they too can manipulate. Draven would have had his work cut out for him. I do believe he sacrificed something immensely important for the price of their trust," said Chase. "He promised them newborn uni's. He had promised the Fae could pick and choose ideal uni's for their own. They could steal children, including Soulchasers and do what they want with them, in exchange for the last piece he would use to create the Staff."

June shook her head. "How could the Fae believe that? From what I've heard, Warrians always had a sense of mistrust towards Soulchasers. Why would they think that the word of one teenager would allow them the chance to take children? Especially if they hated us so much."

Chase frowned. "No one really knows how he gained their entire trust. We all know he had a way with words," he sighed. "My guess is his bargain was too good to refuse. The Fae are like that. People thought he bargained twenty years off his life for their allyship, but I don't think that would've been enough for them to trust him."

Twenty years. June swallowed.

"And so with the bargain and Draven's word, the Fae gave up the last piece for the Staff. Of course, his word meant nothing in the end. When Draven began to create the perfect unifolk army, he didn't intend on stopping there."
The next painting caught her attention. Draven towered over what looked like an entire civilisation, a long, golden staff in his hand. His smile was stretched into manic laughter, and his eyes were no longer the soft, green June had seen moments before.

No, they were as dark as his uniform.

The cobblestone streets below Draven looked like the ones June had grown up with, only in the painting they dripped with blood. Bodies lay on the ground, hanging from buildings, people lay crumbled in a heap. The remaining unifolk stood, bloodless and faceless. They wore black gowns.

The perfect unifolk, June wanted to say. The only thing perfect about them was the state of their clothing. As June gazed closer she could see the twisting black veins woven within the unifolk army.

"As Draven controlled the demons, they started to steal the ideal souls, and slaughtered the ones who did not meet his expectation. Soon, hundreds of demons had stolen enough souls to be considered 'perfect.'"

Chase's words were as pointed as a dagger.

"The vampires were the first to demand Draven to give up his side of the bargain. He had agreed to let the vampires feed off any unifolk, including those in his perfect army. But he refused. The werewolves were next. He had agreed to let them start their own society, entirely made up of werewolves. He said they could own New York city and create a pack of millions from his army." Chase's frown hardened. "He refused when they asked him to uphold his end of the agreement. He denied everyone, until the Fae were the last to approach him. By then he had a perfect army of the thousands. Demons had a higher population than unifolk.

The Fae demanded his side of the bargain. He downright refused. The Fae challenged him, announcing a war between him and them if he didn't do as he had promised."
June didn't realise her teeth were biting into her lip until she tasted blood. In the following painting she could see The Fae crowded by the thousands. They formed an entire circle around Draven, wearing looks of hostility. Draven, staff in hand, still wore his famous smile.

"And so Draven took the opportunity to release his army on the Fae. He had tricked them, all of them. Every promise he made to every Warrian wasn't upheld. They were betrayed.

The war began, The Fae at the frontline and Draven with his demon bred uni's. All the Warrians joined forces with the Fae – a sight that was never before seen."

June stared, circling to the second last stone. Draven was amongst millions of faceless shadows, his Staff risen in battle. Around him swarmed the masses. Werewolves, vampires, fae, ghost looking creatures. They were all there. Blood coated the entire painting.

"Most of the Soulchasers had been lost to Dravens army, but those who were left joined the Warrians." Chase voice seemed to boom around them. "They fought, Soulchasers and Warrians against Draven. It was a traumatic battle, one that lasted two days and two nights. Many lives were lost from all sides. The Warrians and Soulchasers were losing. Dravens army was designed to be perfect, not just appearances but also power.

They were minutes away from suicide when the Slayers came."

June imagined them. The mountain people, she remembered. The ones who bred dragons. "They were on our side, and it was because of them that Draven finally fell. He was said to have been struck by an arrow, but the body was never discovered. His Staff had been snapped in half and then disappeared. Still, Warrians and Soulchasers rejoiced. The War was over. Those left of Dravens army were killed. They were no longer unifolk. They had minds of demons."

June whirled to the last stone where two hands clasped one another. On one hand, a soulring gleamed, on another, a leaf was tattooed in between the thumb and forefinger.

Chase explained. "The remaining Soulchasers made a peace agreement with The Slayers, and the rest of the Warrians for that matter. There would be no more allyship, no more bargaining or misleading. Every faction would be isolated from one another to ensure power was of the equal. And so the Warrians were separated from us, and we too kept to ourselves in hopes of eliminating any chance of another war," Chase continued. "But the Warrians still felt cheated. They were never given their side of the bargain, and many of their own lives were lost from Draven. Thus a hatred was built towards the Soulchasers on behalf of the Warrians. In their eyes, us as a culture owed them, even if Draven was no longer apart of our society. We do not often speak or even associate with Warrians anymore for that matter. Draven is still indebted to them, and thus we are too."

June stared at the stones, and then at him. He met her gaze solemnly, his face stricken but carved with defiance. "But if Draven is back that only means one thing."

"The Warrians will want him to uphold his end of the bargain," June breathed, her heart rising to pound in her throat.

Chase nodded, his blonde curls falling over his face. "Which means something very bad is about to happen June." He cast her a long, sad look. "We are about to enter another War. But this time the Warrians will not be on our side."

June knew the hidden meaning in his eyes, the weight behind his words.

Without the Warrians, The Soulchasers would lose this war.

There would be no hope for them at all.