Eric's heart plummeted as he stared at the mousy haired, gangly girl in front of him. He'd avoided both of the Knight offspring since arriving, not ready to face them. Now he wished he'd knocked, but Marietta Finny had said to enter when her time for an interrogation came.

"Eric?" Laina stood. Her lank brown locks tucked behind her ears, and she was as tall as ever, almost as tall as he was, but something in her face seemed different - leaner, somehow. Sharper.

He didn't meet her gaze as she stared at him, but focused on her nose. "What are you doing here?" Behind him, he heard Samson shift, as though his Second considered leaving.

Laina opened her mouth to respond, but Finny grabbed her by the arm, moving surprisingly fast for someone of her age. "She's been learning from me. In case your eyes aren't as good as they ought to be, I'm an old woman. I need a replacement to teach the children once I'm gone. Miss Knight has shown an interest in teaching."

Though he kept his focus on Finny, Eric saw Laina wince at the old woman's words. Something stirred inside him, and narrowed his gaze.

"Is that so?"

"Do you dare question me?" Finny lifted her chin. "What reason have I to lie?"

Eric dropped his weight onto one leg, considering her. "I've found people often have many reasons to lie. Especially when it comes to loyalty to the crown."

Finny rolled her eyes. "Whether or not I'm loyal to the crown has very little to do with trying to find a replacement."

Not finding any fault in her statement, and not seeing any reaction from Laina, he turned his attention to the girl. "You look well."

A muscle in her jaw clenched. "I thought you were dead. Did you know? They sent a letter saying you'd been executed for your treason against the crown."

Stunned, Eric's brows arched. "I hadn't heard. I hope you aren't too disappointed to find me alive and well..."

Laina snorted, folding her arms across her chest. "What I find disappointing is your completely ignoring both Mav and me ever since your arrival."

It was Eric's turn to scoff. "Yes, because the first thing I'm going to do after returning to the place that landed me in so much trouble is go right back to the two people who led me astray."

"Led you astray?" Laina let out a bark of laughter. "If I recall, you were the one itching to leave the Army. You said it wasn't what you expected. You said they wanted more from you than you're willing to give."

"I let my youth and you and your brother's twisted deceptions sway me into going against my--my king. I won't be swayed again. The last thing I need is your lies in my ears."

"You know I can't lie!" Laina shouted, pointing to herself.

"You believe your lies. That's the worst kind of deception." Eric stared down at her, having stepped closer. She glared up at him with fire in her eyes. "Grow up, Little Dove."

"Wake up, Commander." Laina stepped past him and he watched her as she shot Samson a glare and marched out of Finny's front door.

"Well that wasn't in the least dramatic," the old woman said, clasping her hands in front of her. "Shall you interrogate me now."

Eric didn't bother responding, marching out the door with no intention of following Laina.

###

Back at camp, Eric knelt in the middle of his tent and tried to calm his mind. Narissa had taught him how meditation could help him triumph over his anger and fear, but now all he had was a headache.

"What do you want to do about the mayor's daughter?" Samson's voice jolted Eric out of his vain attempt to imagine a calming location as his Second entered the tent.

"You're trying to take my mind off of this evening's failure." Eric opened one eye and saw the ghost of a smirk on Samson's face. The square jawed man, one of the tallest Eric had ever met, folded his arms and leaned against the pole of the tent.

"Is it working?"

"No." Eric clenched his jaw. We cannot be friends any longer. I don't have a choice. "I'm not sure what to do about the mayor's daughter. It's obvious Aundreya is harming her, but her gift of deception has kept most from seeing it."

"I, too, noticed her bruising." Samson bit down on his lip. "Would it be possible to convince her father of what we've seen?"

"How long before Aundreya changes his mind?" Eric sighed and pushed to his feet. "Love blinds. He loves his daughters so much, he can't see what one does to the other."

"Perhaps we could remove her somehow."

"Oh maybe we just tell Maverick and Litt--Laina and let them spirit her away the same as they did with me."

Samson scowled. "Stop blaming them for your choices. You were young, you wanted freedom. You saw the error of your ways and now you're commanding the King's Army. It's in the past. We don't live there. Move. On."

For a long moment no one said anything, Eric staring at Samson. The Second didn't back down, nor did he appear sorry for what he said. If anything, he seemed taller, more intimidating than ever.

"You're right." Eric let out a huff of breath. "Maybe that's why I struggle with it so much. Seeing her - it was like everything came back to me. Spending time in Fangralee, talking about what we'd do when we all ran away. It wasn't just me - Maverick wanted to get away from his responsibilities, too. Though why he found becoming a blacksmith so horrible, I don't know."

"You know we'll have to meet with the Knights, right? All of them."

Eric nodded. "I know. Just not...not yet."

###

Phoenix fumed, pacing back and forth in Maverick's room while he watched her, sitting cross-legged on his bed.

"He had the nerve to blame us for what happened. Can you believe that?"

"For the sixth time, yes I can." Mav rested his elbow on his knee and dropped his chin onto his fist. "We were the ones who told him to defect."

"That's not the point. He wanted to."

"And I didn't want to be in line for the throne. You didn't want to be a Guardian. It wasn't a good time for any of us."

"Thank Adonai we never told him that much. That's all you, you know. I'd have told him."

"I'm smarter than you are. I can't help it."

Phoenix rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Yeah yeah."

"I'm glad though."

She frowned, cocking her head to the side. "About what?"

"That he's alive. It's disappointing that he's not our friend anymore, but I'd rather he be alive and not our friend than dead."

Leaning against the wall, Phoenix shrugged. "Me too. I just - erg! If you could have seen him! His stupid, arrogant face!"

"You used to say you wished Mom and Dad would adopt him so we could be a family. Now he's stupid and arrogant?"

"Stop being all mature about this."

"I'm just so adult, I can't help myself." Maverick grinned, but sobered at once. "At least you returned those books. Hopefully they don't ask about that when they come knocking on our door for our turn."

"About that..."

"What? Laina," Maverick's brows furrowed. "You did return those books, didn't you?"

"I did. I just--something really bizarre happened. Do you remember Aundreya's twin? Noelle?"

"The little girl who died when you were four or five? Sure. Why?"

"She didn't die. She's very much alive. Either that or I met a ghost."

At Maverick's shock, Phoenix told him everything she'd seen in the basement of the Leyera home. When she finished, his mouth hung open in stupefaction.

"I think I have to go back. I don't know how, and I don't know when. But I need to get back in there. There has to be a reason they'd lie about that for all these years."

"Maybe she's sickly," Maverick suggested. "Or has a dangerous gift."

"Or maybe her sister is Aundreya and there's absolutely nothing wrong with her."

"Fair point." Maverick nodded, leaning back to glance out his window into the dark night. "I think they're home."

Claire and Norman went weekly to some sort of meeting in town. They had for as long as Phoenix could remember, but they'd never tell them what happened or why they went. They'd speculated over the years, but when your mother was a secret princess and the sister to the king, there wasn't much to speculate that didn't sound mundane in comparison.

"They said they'd let you come soon." Phoenix hopped onto his bed. "When will that be?"

"With the Army here? Probably not until they leave. It's too dangerous to do anything outside the ordinary."

"I wish they'd tell us what goes on."

"You know you're the reason they won't, right?" Maverick snorted with laughter at her look of incredulity. "Oh come on. They can't tell you anything they don't want everyone else to know."

"It's not my fault I have this stupid gift." Phoenix smacked him. "Maybe I'll learn to control it when I've fully transformed. Neither Elyo or Selene seems to have trouble spinning the truth to their favor."

"Which one of them can't lie?" Mav asked.

"Elyo. And Selene can tell when you're lying. Lucky me, I got both."

Eric and Phoenix faced off, and it didn't go the way either of them wanted. Who thinks this friendship is dead forever and who still has hope for the pals to come to terms with their differences?

Also, how about that Samson? Cool guy, right?

So talk it out. We'll see more about all the goings on on Thursday!