Lorei Lascari quickened her pace, passing through numerous corridors of the Fasma Sanctuary and nervously clicking her fingers. Brushing a strand of her auburn hair away from her face, she wondered if long years spent among time-masters had made her anxious and superstitious. Why was she nervous, if she had succeeded? Soon, she'd have everything she had been dreaming of.

Lorei entered a room with long windows and dusty bookshelves, lifting her dark-blue eyes to meet Calimachi's yellowish stare. Rares Calimachi kissed her before she could greet him: he still remembered. Of course he did. How could anyone forget Lorei Lascari? She bought people's hearts with illusions, but Rares had always seen through her disguises and never stopped admiring her, nonetheless.

"You are back," he whispered, falling to his knees and pressing his lips to her hands. "Everything went as planned."

"Rares..." Lorei's smile was sweet, but a dark flame ignited her eyes. "Have you ever given up on me? Have you ever thought that I would allow someone to separate us?"

Carefully, Rares brushed her long auburn hair, as if afraid that she'd melt away at the slightest touch. Then he planted a kiss on the strand, lifting it with two fingers.

"I have done everything you have asked of me, Lorei," he uttered softly, grabbing her shoulders. "I have kept Arta and her people by my side. I have plotted, and I have twisted the minds of others." He paused. "I have done everything to free you from those time freaks. All I have ever wanted was... to bring you back."

She believed his words, but rarely trusted his actions. She caressed his cheek, a gentle grin appearing on her full lips.

"I am here now." Lorei's fingertips rubbed his ear and she stepped away. She knew Rares could read the unspoken words in her face. "I am here with you, Rares. And I will not leave. I am here to stay." She remembered now what it was about that yellow-eyed man that she had always found so fascinating. He was so much like her. Yet, he genuinely believed himself to be righteous. A perfect contradiction of a man.

"No one must know. About you. About me," he whispered. "Especially Leudora Galbur. I have saved her once. Once only... I let her live, I let her go."

He smelled of roses and fallen leaves, he radiated warmth, and his yellowish eyes mirrored Lorei's own ambition. He was so different from Aladár with his visions, constant nagging, his sister's shadow behind him and that feeling of guilt that accompanied his every step.

"Do you even know how much I missed you, Rares?" she asked, biting her lip. Rares cupped her hands and squeezed them.

"Your niece Amaltheia is dangerous, Lorei," he said, making Lorei smile. He hadn't changed one bit: Rares had always been a political animal like Lorei herself. "She must not inherit the legacy of your family. You must. And you will." She heard no doubt in his voice. Lorei bowed courteously.

"Should I agree with Arta's idea to make me a new Councilor? After all, who can be a better replacement for the sickly and frail Antal Varga?"

"I see nobody but you." He stared at her with admiration, making her wonder if it had always been their passion for politics that ignited their passion for each other.

"Rinari is a curious woman. The only way to curry favors with her is to entertain her," she said.

Rares snickered, pulling her into his embrace and burying his nose in her wavy hair.

"That we can do."

"That we can do, Rares. Together we can lead our kin to greatness. We will be a better choice than all those light moths, greeners, time freaks and magnetic leeches."

He nodded and kissed her, biting Lorei's lower lip until it bled.

"We are destined to rule, Lorei."

She smiled.

"Could you love me more than anything else in this world?"