I stared at the soldiers approaching the village. Finnick could take them out in a heartbeat.

With me and Mari here they didn't stand a chance.

Eres stared at them in horror. "If they see me I'll be arrested for treason."

I laughed. "They aren't going to make it back to Kalheim."

He shook his head. "Some of them have to."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

"You see the one in front, with the white horse and red armor?"

He pointed to the soldier. The red armor stood out from the gold and silvers, and the soldier rode the only stark white horse.

I nodded.

"That's my father." His jaw tensed.

My brows shot up. That meant this was the elite squad.

Not that it meant much to me, I just found it funny that they sent another elite squad into magi territory. Especially considering how last time went.

"Do you want us to leave people to send a message?" I heard Finnick say from behind me.

Eres shook his head. "You need to leave him."

Finnick laughed. "And why would we do that?"

Mari looked him over. "Alright."

Finnick shot her a confused look.

"If the king dies, Eres needs to take the throne. We're not ready for that yet." Mari spoke quickly and turned away.

"Finnick, bring him to the temple and hide him with the artifacts. Try not to argue." Mari barked out orders as she studied the incoming soldiers.

"Why me? Veya is supposed to be the-"

Mari cut him off before he could call me the word I had been avoiding. "You're older, she may have more magic mastered but I trust you more when it comes to defense. And she's not the Kavensi yet. Until she is, I make the rules."

I cringed internally at the sacred word. The word reserved for a magi more powerful than the founders.

Yet. I smiled slightly at Mari's confidence. She was the oldest and wisest council member.

And she swore every one of us in. The Map before her had died suddenly, he didn't fight in the battle that killed Javus' father and the others.

Mari was only sixteen when the battle started, but she still fought. She was the only one who survived.

She buried all of her teachers just a few years after meeting them. She was why Cassius and Irina trained together. She was why Javus guarded the borders with his life. She was the reason I learned Map magic so quickly.

She should've been the Kavensi.

But she was one of the only people who believed in me from the beginning.

I gave Eres a warm smile before we parted ways. I was sure he would be drilling Finnick until we got back.

"His mind is like a less-horny Caspian." Mari smiled.

"Oh?" I stepped forward so we were walking beside each other.

She nodded. "He's either thinking about you or a million unanswered questions. You should've seen his eyes light up when he heard the word Kavensi."

"He's always eager to learn." I smiled. "I suppose that's why I was interested in him." It was more of a note to myself, but Mari would figure it out anyway so I didn't mind saying it aloud.

She nodded. "I'm just glad someone managed to melt the ice surrounding your heart. You were becoming lonely."

I took the opportunity to drive the conversation away from me. "Speaking of which, is it still just you?"

She sighed. "I think it will always just be me."

I frowned. "Why? You're a wonderful person Mari. I'm sure there are so many people-"

She shook her head. "It's not that, Veya. I have a habit of digging around in minds, many people don't like that. I mean, you went out of your way to learn blocks just so I couldn't see certain things."

"Mari, all Maps do that. So your partner won't be able to keep any secrets from you, is that such a bad thing? And you don't want to see those things anyway."

She patted my shoulder. "I'm not asking for love advice, I wouldn't come to you for that."

Ouch.

"Don't take it like that, you know love isn't your strong suit." She playfully hit my arm.

I held my hands up in surrender. "Alright, fine. But who will you go to?"

She shrugged. "Chena, she's the only one of us who's had a lasting relationship."

I nodded. Her last relationship hadn't ended well, but that was hardly her fault.

"Anyway, you good if I take control? I think I can take them all out, I just need you in case I thought wrong."

I nodded. "I'm good with backup."

She moved forward a few feet and waited. As soon as all of the soldiers were close enough to see, she stumbled back. "Impossible."

I took a step forward, she held her hand out to stop me from doing anything.

The man who I thought was the king slid down from his horse. "I know it's been a while, but I expected a better greeting than this."

He threw off the armor on his arms as he walked towards us. Dark Map marks covered his arms.

Darker than mine.

The marks on a magi's forearms were the only sign of the magic they wielded. The marks also showed a magi's power and clan.

The darker the mark, the more powerful the magi.

My marks went just above my elbows now, the marks covered more arm space each time I learned something new.

Whoever this mysterious man was, he was powerful. Not nearly as powerful as Mari, but far too powerful to be an ordinary magi.

Mari smiled at him. "Where have you been?"

"Across the sea, I made a few friends." He motioned to the 'soldiers' behind him.

"What did you do?" Mari pulled the question straight from my mind.

"Broke into the palace." He shrugged. "I was a bit concerned when my magic vanished. We intended to break you and the Stone out, but a certain prince had already done that by the time we arrived."

"So did you kill the king?" I raised my eyebrows at him. I internally scolded myself. I had no idea who this man was, I should not be asking him accusatory questions. He probably outranked me in so many ways.

He held his hand out to me. "Issev Amara, no I did not, just stole some armor."

I shook his hand. "Amara?"

"Older brother." Mari smiled at me. "He definitely doesn't outrank you."

"I didn't realize you had a brother." I crossed my arms, slightly offended.

"Are you going to lecture me about secrets right now?" Mari gave me a pointed look.

I gave her a sheepish smile. "If there's no danger here, I'm going to go let Finnick and Eres know."

Mari rolled her eyes but let me leave.

Is your brother single? Irina.

For the love of Celeste, this is why I didn't tell you about him. Mari.

So, yes? Irina.

No, he's married and has two kids. Mari.

I glanced back, a woman had appeared where I had been standing. Mari probably wasn't lying.

Damn, he's old. Javus.

He's only two years older than me? Mari.

No comment. Javus.

Do they have an open marriage? Irina.

Stop trying to get with my brother. Mari.

What if I wanted to get with the sister-in-law, she's pretty hot too. Irina.

She doesn't like Flames. Mari.

I think I could change that. Irina.

Mari is never going to share anything with us ever again. Caspian.

Says you. Still have the same girl?

I am trying to have an important conversation right now, can you please shut up? Her name is Bea, and yes. Mari.

Mari, I am going to slit your throat. Caspian.

I didn't respond. Mari would kill me.

I thought over the name. Bea. I knew the name, but I couldn't put a face to it.

I gasped as I remembered.

Casp, are you still in Sifa?

Maybe. Caspian.

Are you sleeping with the village Cure?

For fucks sake Caspian. Mari.

Veya is the one who started talking when you told her not to. Caspian.

And you are the one who put images of a naked woman in my head, can you not control your mind? Mari.

Truthfully, no. I cannot. I am sorry for any damage I may have caused. Caspian.

No, you're not. Mari.

I am not, but you can pretend I am. Caspian.

You know she's not going to leave Sifa, right?

Why do you think I'm still here? Caspian.

Finnick was already standing outside the temple by the time I got there. "No danger, I assume?"

I nodded. "Friends with stolen armor. Where's Eres?"

"Still inside, I couldn't deal with him anymore but I wasn't positive it was safe."

I rolled my eyes and walked into the temple. "No soldiers."

He nodded. "That's what Finnick thought."

He took a step towards me.

I shook my head as soon as his hands found the small of my back. "I'm not kissing you in here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is there a specific reason?"

"It's a little disrespectful, you're only supposed to kiss in temples during weddings." I rested my head against his chest. "Plus, since I haven't healed the cut on our hands yet, I could accidentally add you to the Spirit clan."

"Accidentally?"

I nodded. "There are two ways to be added to a clan. Being born into a magi family or marrying into one."

"Is that what you did to Kovi?" He wrapped his arms around me.

The feeling of safety washed over me again. "Yes, that's why she became a magi. If you had magic in your blood or the founders deemed you worthy, you'd become a magi once you joined a clan. You can't be added to a clan until you're fifteen, Vorneya's Scythe allowed me to bypass that rule for Kovi."

I shook my head at the memory. "I'm a terrible person."

Eres grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. "You're not a terrible person."

I reached for his hand to pull it down, then I caught sight of the burn scars. I moved his hand in front of his face. "Look what I did to you. After you saved my life."

He pushed my hand away and tucked me back into his chest. " That was an accident, and you healed it."

"Still."

"No, you apologized and made it right, even though it wasn't your fault."

I wanted to push back. It was my fault.

But the warmth of his arms made my brain fog up.

I wasn't sure why.

Maybe it was because I had spent so many nights cold and afraid in Sifa. Maybe it was because he had given me the touch I'd been deprived of my whole life.

Or maybe it was something else.

I let the thoughts drift away. He made me feel safe and appreciated, did it really matter why?

...
This chapter was going in a very different direction at first, then I decided I didn't like it and rewrote the whole thing.

<3