Casian had gotten Izzy up the stairs and away from Elijah’s dead body before she could even try to sneak a glance at him. He had no idea of knowing the horrors she might or might not have faced in her life so far, but he did know he wouldn’t let her face any new ones for as long as he could help it. She had followed him without protest, silent tears gathered in her eyes. His arm was placed protectively around her and she latched to his side.

Once up the stairs, Casian wasn’t quite sure where to go. He needed some place where he could talk to Izzy. Before he had a chance to dwell on the thought too long, she started tugging him in the direction of Andreas’ many libraries. The whole time they remained silent until they entered the first library to their left.

“How come I don’t remember you? Or Andreas, or Dylan?” Izzy demanded, her arms crossed as she positioned herself in front of him.

Casian released a heavy sigh, but smiled slightly at her. “I don’t know. You were very young, Izabeth…. You were taught that Elijah was your brother and that his mother was yours. You were only four at the time of my death. At that age, we can still forget people when they leave our lives.”

One traitorous tear slipped down Izzy’s cheek. “But you were my brother! I shouldn’t have forgotten you completely! What kind of person does it make me to forget you just because you died when I was little? Weren’t we close?”

He reached out and wiped the tear from her cheek. “We were. And I should’ve recognized you the moment I laid eyes on you, but I didn’t. Izabeth… or do you prefer if I call you Izzy instead?”

She shook her head. “Either is fine.”

“Izzy… you can’t blame yourself for forgetting me. No one reminded you. You had no one to miss me with, and at the age you were when I died, it would be impossible for you to remember me. You might have remembered my face… glimpses of memories that you didn’t know what to do with. If anything, I’m the terrible brother for not having realized that Izzy was short for Izabeth.”

Izzy scoffed at that. “You’ve been here less than a day. Given more time you’d probably have figured it out without Elijah’s help.”

“Probably.”

“What about Andreas? Why didn’t he recognize me?”

Casian ruffled his hair, the exact same shade as Izzy’s. “Andreas… well, he’s complicated. He probably did subconsciously recognize you, but didn’t realize who you were. He was most likely blocking all memories of his little brother, including the ones you were involved in because they are too painful for him to process.”

A few more tears fell down her cheeks. “He must really miss him…. I’ve never seen Andreas act that way…. How did Dylan die?”

“He was killed by a knight before I could save him,” Andreas said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Both Izzy and Casian jumped at his sudden manifestation.

Izzy ran to him and threw her arms around Andreas. He remained perfectly still, his hands in the air as if he didn’t really know how to react to a hug. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to let go anytime soon, Andreas put his arms around her as well, and hugged her back, holding him to her protectively.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, crying into his chest.

Andreas petted her hair. “It’s not your fault.”

He shifted his attention back to Casian, letting out a humorless chuckle as he shook his head. “When Lana and Kalen first brought her to my doorstep, I had no idea who she was. The pieces didn’t click into place, but I felt a strange fondness for her even before I got to know her. I couldn’t explain it, but no it all makes sense.”

Casian smiled. “I guess we can be very glad Lana and Kalen found her then.”

Andreas’ expression went more somber. “If I had known about your parents, Casian, I would’ve searched her out and protected her.”

“I know.”

Izzy pulled back from Andreas and glared at the two of them. “I can take care of myself,” she said with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“No one is denying that, sweetheart. But you are still only a child, and there are cruel people on this planet that you cannot protect yourself from,” Andreas said, ruffling her hair.

She stepped out from under his hand and headed for Casian, her eyes searching him from top to bottom. “So, I have a badass dragon lord for a brother?” she asked.

Casian started laughing, pulling Izzy in for another hug. “I am so not going to deny the badass comment.”

“He won’t but I will,” Andreas added with a smirk.

“You just say that because you are jealous that she called me a badass and not you.”

“I don’t need someone to stroke my ego the way you do.”

“That’s because your ego has already reached maximum capacity.”

“Well, when you know you’re awesome, you don’t need anyone to confirm it.”

Izzy stepped away from Casian, her eyes darting between the two friends. “Both of you could use a dosage of modesty.”

Casian messed up her hair even more. “Nah, it’s part of our charm.”

The tree of them moved to the lounge area where they spent the rest of the morning catching up on lost time. Casian’s heart swelled as he watched Izzy’s animated gestures and reactions. But what caught his attention the most, and what made him happier than knowing his baby sister was alive and well, was seeing a small piece of the darkness Andreas so preferred to carry with him lift away as he smiled at Izzy’s comments. Izzy bounced around, firing questions at the both of them, about what they were like before, and how they were in the time in between. Andreas always carefully diverted the subject from himself, instead focusing on keeping the conversation light and cheerful. Perhaps there was a chance Casian, with the help of Izzy, could actually save Andreas from the darkness that had consumed him for so long.

***

Andreas found himself in his study late into the afternoon. He was surveying the damage he had caused only the previous night and felt a twinge of regret at having hurt the books he was usually so careful with. As much as he wanted to blame Lana for his lack of self-control, he knew this was all his fault. He had made the mistakes that led to this. He sighed and began straightening out the room.

The books picked themselves up from the ground and straightened out before going into the shelves that were repairing themselves at the same time. Andreas couldn’t fix the books he had torn pages out from, but he could at least make them look neat. The room seemed to rewind as everything fell back into place. Deeming his efforts enough, he walked over to the area that was still stained in red. It was about time he cleaned that up.

He knelt down and placed his hand on the stain. Energy pulsed from him and the dried blood started evaporating into thin air. Several seconds later it was as if it had never even existed. His study now appeared untouched, as I nothing out of the ordinary had happened inside it. The study now showed the façade of being perfectly normal, concealing all the damage that had been done to it. Hiding all the pain it had seen. Sometimes Andreas wished he could erase memories as easily as he could erase their evidence; it surely would’ve made his life easier.

He wanted to kick himself for not recognizing Izzy earlier. His head leaned against the wall, his arm resting on his one raised knee. He understood perfectly why any memory of her had been blocked; there had just been too much going on for him to recall the tiny four year old that used to play with his brother every time Casian would come over. The two toddlers would run around the house, chasing each other and generally annoying everyone in their wake. Andreas had mostly found it amusing, while Casian took every opportunity to complain about how kids never ran out of energy.

It certainly explained Andreas’ protectiveness over the girl. His soul had recognized her even when he hadn’t. And she did remind him of Dylan, but not just because she was young. Andreas took a deep breath, trying to push down the rising surge of memories that he knew would hurt too much to relive now. It had been bad enough to be bombarded with them before he was visited by Dylan’s ghost in the cove, he didn’t think he’d be able to remain sane if he had to go through them again.

He was spared from his thoughts when a soft knock sounded at the door. Without getting up, he called for whoever was at the door to come in.

The door swung open and Kalen walked in. “It’s been a while since you and I have had a chance to talk alone,” he remarked, walking over to Andreas’ desk and leaning against it.

Andreas smirked. “That’s because they last time we attempted it we almost killed each other.”

“Think there’s a chance that this time we can be civil?”

“We can attempt it.”

Kalen grinned. “How are you doing? All of this must be a lot for you to take in.”

“It is a lot, but nothing I can’t manage.”

“I noticed how much the mere memory of Dylan affected you, Andreas. You need to talk to someone about him.”

Andreas’ gaze went cold suddenly. “Talking about him will not make anything better. He’d still be dead.”

“And you are not the only one who misses him. He was like a brother to me as well. How quickly you seem to forget that I had to watch him die too. That I was right there next to you when it happened. I know how you feel, Andreas.”

“No. You don’t know how I feel. Kalen, I’m his big brother. He was my responsibility. I was supposed to protect him, and I failed. You cannot possibly know how that feels because while he might have been like a brother to you, he wasn’t your brother. He was mine and I let him down. Talking about my feelings, isn’t going to do anything but make me feel more like shit about myself.”

Kalen sighed. “After all this time you still aren’t ready to talk about him. That’s what keeps you weighed down, Andreas. It what causes your inability to move on. You pushed Lana away because you can’t let go of Dylan.”

Andreas scoffed. “You have me all figured out, don’t you?”

“I’m trying to help you, Andreas. You just won’t accept it.”

“I appreciate what you are trying to do, Kalen, but you cannot help me. I’m past the point of help.”

“You need to let it go. You need to move on. Staying trapped in the past isn’t going to help you.”

Andreas pinched the bridge of his nose. “Have you figured out who the girl in the prophecy is yet?”

Kalen rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You can’t change the subject so easily.”

“I can and I will. The prophecy is slightly more important than my psyche, is it not?”

Kalen sighed, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. “I haven’t found out yet, but I do know for sure that it isn’t Lana. I spoke with Raphael and he confirmed that the seer told him that Lana had a different destiny.”

“What destiny would that be?”

“According to Raphael, his payment to Almahalc for receiving the prophecy was to get Lana to hate you. He claims that’s why he kept her from everyone after he saved her from the stake.”

“And also why he dumped me in the Crystal Cove. Why does Almahalc want her to hate me?”

Kalen rubbed his chin absentmindedly. “It has something to do with a future the seer had seen. Only in a future in which she hates you would she be able to restore him a normal state. Cure him if you will.”

Andreas’ expression turned thoughtful. There had to be more to the story than that. No spells required of the caster to love or hate anyone, which meant if it was simply a spell Almahalc was after, he could simply get any sorcerer with enough power to perform it. There was another reason he must want her to hate him, but what reason could there be? Andreas had never even interacted with the seer before, what vendetta could there possibly be between the two? He didn’t raise his suspicions though, choosing to dwell on them himself instead.

“Has Raphael succeeded?”

“Do you really think Lana would be here if he had?”

So she didn’t hate him. Andreas was relieved to hear that. Even though he hadn’t thought before that she despised him, he still couldn’t help but worry that he might’ve pushed her too far. If she didn’t hate him, there was still a chance he could earn her forgiveness, was there not? All he had to do was grovel. The one thing he did not know how to do. This was going to be fun.

“I’ve never actually been in contact with a seer myself before, but I do know they punish those who do not repay them. What will Almahalc do to him for failing?”

“He will be infected with the blood curse.”

Andreas started laughing. “The blood curse? Really? The seer must not be very powerful.”

Kalen looked confused. “Almahalc is widely revered and feared….”

“Yes, so I have heard.”

“The blood curse is not something I would wish upon my greatest enemy,” Kalen added, his eyebrows still furrowed.

Andreas grinned. “That is because you don’t know that there is a very simple cure for it. One that will make you laugh as well when you find out. It’s a weak curse, one that doesn’t require must effort to cast, nor much effort – depending on your point of view – to cure.”

“Are you going to help Raphael?”

“He doesn’t deserve my help. Letting him live through the curse might even be better than killing him myself.”

“If we have any hope of fighting the dragons, we are going to need at least one more powerful sorcerer. We need him.”

They were interrupted by yelling coming from downstairs. Both sorcerers walked out of the room and toward the anxious voices. They came to the stairs as Mallory started running up them. She stopped in front of them, grasping on to Kalen. “We need your help!” she yelled, her eyes frantic.

“What’s going on?” Kalen asked.

“We are being attacked. By a dragon!”