Sorry for the long, long delay! Hopefully there will be more updates soon!

Summary: The seven are going to Lilitua again to defeat Damius and "The Boss". Whisperers attack Amarie to turn her into a monster. Damius just attacked the school and they're in pretty bad shape. Audrey and Sierra had a fight.

~~~~~

I curled up tighter, though my arm was aching from pressing into the wood for so long. My eyes squeezed shut, I resisted the urge to wipe the dried tears from my cheeks. I maintained the illusion of being asleep.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed since my fight with Audrey. It felt like an hour, but I couldn't be sure. Words I had said drifted back to me like a tormented dream. What I accused her of...what she had said to me...

What have I done?

I suddenly felt a presence on the bench next to me and immediately tensed up. Was it Audrey? I needed to apologize, but I wasn't ready yet. I wouldn't know what to say.

"Hey."

Oh. It was Ravi.

"I know you're awake, Sierra. Sleeping people are a lot more relaxed."

I cracked one eye open. "Guess I'm not very good at pretending, huh?"

He laughed softly. "No, not really."

I sighed and slowly sat up, my limbs aching. I took a furtive glance around the boat. Isaac, Amarie, and Sophie were sitting in a circle by the flagpole, not speaking. Ore seemed to have brought them food at one point, but no one was really eating. Deynan sat on the other side, staring at the water.

Audrey was still on the bow, as far away from me as possible. My heart lurched.

"Hey," Ravi said softly. "Don't feel bad."

I looked at him in disbelief. "How? How am I not supposed to feel bad? I yelled at one of my best friends!" I closed my eyes, a slightly queasy feeling building in my stomach. "I feel horrible."

Ravi looked a little uncomfortable. He shrugged. "I mean, I'm not good at the whole friend thing, but fights are normal from time to time. I'm pretty sure."

I smiled weakly. "I guess." I sighed. "I don't know. I did kind of attack her entire view on life."

"Well, she attacked yours first," he pointed out.

I waved a dismissive hand. "That's not the point. I engaged, and I hate fighting with people and I just..." I sighed again. "I shouldn't have said anything. I just made everything worse."

Ravi frowned. "I don't think so. You stood up for what you believed in. You defended yourself. Maybe you shouldn't have lashed out after that, but you shouldn't let people walk over you."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess."

There was a pause. I tucked some hair behind my ear, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my puffy eyes and red cheeks.

"Do you want to talk about something else?" Ravi asked suddenly.

I looked up guiltily. "Yes, please."

He smiled, the brilliant kind of smile you only see on someone who really, truly cares. "Alright. What's your favorite color?"

I blinked. I hadn't been expecting that. "Oh. Um, I'm not really sure. I went through a pink phase, that's for sure. But I always feel bad about picking a favorite color. Makes the other ones feel left out, you know?"

Ravi laughed and I smiled. It was kind of silly.

"I like it," he declared. "I usually go with red for my favorite, but maybe I should change my narrow-minded ways."

I grinned. "Nah, I don't think so. Red needs to feel special sometimes."

"Fair enough," he agreed. "Okay, how about...what's your favorite animal? Or, one of your favorite animals."

I giggled. "You're putting me through quite the interrogation today. I don't know. Dolphins are definitely up there."

"How come?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. They're pretty, fast, intelligent, and play with each other. How adorable is that?"

Ravi nodded. "Can't argue with that."

"What about you?"

"I was a bit of a lizard guy," he chuckled. "I wanted a bearded dragon for years."

The image of Ravi with a lizard made me laugh. "I hate scaly things. Snakes freak me out."

"Snakes are awesome," Ravi argued. "Have you ever seen a corn snake? They're adorable!"

"Hm," I teased, "I don't know. They're like little ropes of danger."

"Corn snakes aren't dangerous," Ravi said. "But besides, things can be dangerous and still be cute."

"Like you?" I suggested.

There was a beat. I realized what I had said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," I said quickly, my face turning red, "that was probably weird, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, it just kinda slipped out, I—"

"No," Ravi interrupted, "it's, ah, it's okay." He looked down and scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks."

I looked down and fiddled with my hands, trying not to look at him. I was scared that if I did, my brain would start waxing poetic about his eyes again. He had the most beautiful eyes of anyone I had ever seen.

"Um," I stuttered, desperate to salvage the conversation, "so, um, what do you want to be when you grow up?" That was a good, stereotypical question.

"Huh," he said thoughtfully. "I hadn't really considered that ever since this whole...magic thing."

Oh. "Me neither. I guess it's hard to think about the future right about now."

"I mean, I guess being a teacher is one option," he said. "But I don't know. I'm not great with emotions. I don't know if I could teach other Legends."

"You're great with emotions," I assured him. "But if you don't want to teach, I get that."

"Before this, I wanted to be a scientist," he said. "Not sure what type, but I wanted to research. I love figuring out how the world works."

"You can still do that," I suggested. "A magical scientist."

He considered this. "Fivendor did something like that. He was an elf we found in Meri's village."

"Maybe you can work with him!" I said.

He nodded. "What about you?"

I shrugged. "I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do before magic, much less now."

"You'd make a good teacher," he said. "You're good with emotions."

I laughed. "I guess. I don't know. I don't really like the system we have right now. We have...emotional warfare of sorts, and it's so exhausting. We need a way to recover from that. And the teachers seem so distant sometimes."

Ravi nodded in agreement. "And you want to fix that?"

"I'm not sure how. But yeah."

We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. I closed my eyes briefly and listened to the sound of the waves. The knot of anxiety in my stomach had loosened. I took a deep breath and felt a sudden surge of affection for Ravi, who had not only comforted me, but distracted me after that.

"You know," I said suddenly, "you always talk about how bad you are with people, but it feels like you always know just what to say to make me feel better."

Ravi laughed softly. "Well, thanks. But I'm pretty sure that's just you." He shook his head in disbelief. "Wow, I used to be so nervous around you. But now, I feel more comfortable with you than almost anyone else." His expression suddenly turned nervous. "Um, sorry if that's...weird."

My heart warmed and I smiled. "It's not weird. I'm glad." Then I laughed. "Gee, you were nervous around me? What for?"

Ravi raised an eyebrow. "What for? You're Sierra Claget, champion of the magical world, personification of a literal ray of sunshine. Plus you're smart and kind and pretty. So yeah, I was kind of terrified I'd make a fool of myself."

My mouth parted in surprise, and heat rushed to my cheeks. Then I looked away quickly. "Oh."

I was suddenly aware of how very close he was sitting.

"But it's fine now," he said quickly. "I mean you're still wonderful and stuff, don't get me wrong, but you're very...approachable. And kind, and welcoming, and...yeah, I'm gonna stop talking now." He smiled sheepishly.

I smiled back. "Thanks. You're not too bad yourself, once you actually trust yourself to speak."

He laughed, and part of my brain swelled on what a wonderful, rich sound it was.

Suddenly, Audrey stood up on the other side of the boat. I tensed, my earlier guilt beginning to seep back into the pit of my stomach.

"We're approaching the island," she said shortly, looking down. "So prep the bags and stuff."

Amarie stood up slowly, terror etched on her face. "We've reached Lilitua?"

"We call it Lilituana," Audrey explained with an apathetic shrug. "That's what the princesses renamed it. But yeah. We're here."

The breeze rattled the sail.

"Alright," Deynan said with forced bravado, "let's get off this stupid boat!"

~~~

It didn't take us long to unload the boat. The hold had leather bags with food, and we didn't have many more possessions.

"Do we have to tie up the boat?" Amarie asked timidly.

"Um," Ravi said, looking around, "I mean...we haven't in the past? It always just kinda...makes its way back."

Amarie tilted her head. "How do you get back though?"

"Both times we've been here, Abigail brought us back," Sophie said softly.

The was a moment of silence. I felt a lurch in my stomach at the mention of Abigail. Isaac suddenly looked as if he were in pain.

"Oh," Amarie said.

Audrey sighed, her bad mood evident. "Well, let's get started walking. Who knows how much longer we have until sundown? The times on this island are weird." She turned towards the forest. I glanced back at the Lady Beatrice.

That's when I saw it. My blood ran cold.

"Audrey, wait..." I murmured.

"Oh?" she said tightly. "Do you have something to say, Sierra?"

My stomach flipped at her bitter tone, but I pushed it away with a shaky breath. Then I raised my hand to point. "Whisperer."

~~~

Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I'm sure you guys are used to it by now. Yay for happy Sierravi content! New chapter coming soon, I PROMISE this time.

<3
Margot