Avelon's eyes widened as she locked gazes with Ernin. His face mirrored her expression—confusion, disbelief, and a flicker of something she could not quite identify. Hope?

"You're Daghlan?" He repeated, his voice low and laced with worry. His head cocked to the left and his gaze narrowed.

Avelon felt a knot twist in her stomach. Elha's sharp intake of breath was barely audible, but it was enough to send a wave of dread crashing over her. Avelon swallowed hard, her throat tightening as though the air itself was thickening with the weight of this truth. Soon enough, Balor would be informed of her lineage—he would know, and once that happened, it was only a matter of time before she was captured. She would be strapped down, unable to resist, and her life would no longer be her own.

"And what if I was?" Avelon's voice cracked slightly, but she forced the words through her clenched teeth, trying to mask the rising tide of panic. She turned her body toward Ernin, forcing herself to appear unfazed as she tapped each finger against her thumb, the rhythmic movement grounding her for the moment. She called to the air, desperate to stifle the overwhelming sense of helplessness that threatened to swallow her whole.

Ernin would not walk away from them without a fight. Avelon would make sure of it.

Ernin's nostrils flared, his eyes fixed on her, as if he could sense her struggle. "If you were... and I heard right, it would mean that you could stop my father."

Avelon hesitated, her brow furrowing as confusion and suspicion danced across her features.

"You are the same as your brother," She whispered through gritted teeth, her voice laced with bitterness and a betrayal she could not hide.

"You think you could distract me. Say just the right words and convince me to let my guard down."

Elha straightened, her spine rigid as she darted glances between Avelon and Ernin.

"You think," Avelon lifts a finger, pointing at Ernin, "That your casual interruption into our conversation was not planned."

Dry, emotionless laughter erupts from Avelon. Ernin patiently watches her. "And you," Avelon spun toward Elha, her eyes narrowing.

"You expect me to fall into your story as well, believing every word." The air thickened with tension, but Avelon refused to let it sway her. Her pulse throbbed in her ears, and the sting of betrayal from Lugh—a sharp, bitter wound—lingered just beneath the surface.

Avelon's fingers clenched at her sides, a strangled laugh escaping her lips, brittle and strained. he felt a tremor in her hands, but she fought it down. She could not afford to lose control—not here, not now.

Dana confirmed the betrayal from those surrounding her, and yet she clung to a speck of hope.

"I'm so sick of- " Avelon's voice broke, and her words threatened to spill into a torrent of emotion. She had no idea what she wanted to say, but the anger, the hurt, the crushing disappointment—everything she had held back suddenly clawed at her.

"Look," Ernin interjected, his tone cutting through her spiralling thoughts. He raised his hand, a simple gesture, but one that seemed to silence her momentarily. Avelon clenched her jaw and turned her head toward him, her breath shallow, her heartbeat quickening.

"I don't know what the hell has been going on around here," Ernin continued, his voice steady but laced with frustration, "But I do know this—I want no part in whatever my father is trying to do."

Avelon arched an eyebrow, a mocking smile curling her lips as she crossed her arms. "Right. Do indulge me, Ernin. What exactly are you going to do about it?"

Ernin sighed, a deep exhale that spoke of weariness and resignation. He cast a glance at Elha, who gave him a small, unreadable shrug. Then he looked back at Avelon, his eyes earnest, though tinged with a shadow of doubt.

"Nothing I say will convince you, I know that. But I do mean it," he said slowly, as if the words themselves weighed more than they seemed. "I think my father needs to be stopped. And Lugh—" He flinched at the mention of Lugh's name, a brief flicker of guilt passing over his face.

"Lugh... He made his choice when he found out about the experiments. You were his greatest source of information, and because you've made it this far, my father made sure that Lugh stayed in your good graces."

Ernin's voice softened as he continued, almost regretfully. "Lugh stood with my father from the start. He agreed to keep you close, because you were invaluable."

Avelon swallowed again, but this time it felt as though something was lodged in her throat. Having someone other than Dana telling her what was happening around her was disconcerting and disheartening. Her heart drummed erratically in her chest, and the tiniest whisper from her subconscious—the one that had been urging her to stay away from Lugh, to trust no one—seemed to echo louder now. It had been there since her arrival in Teine, quiet but persistent, but she had ignored it.

"My father sent me to the other continents, to arrange another Monthly meeting. It's happening in two days. Care for some insight as to what those meetings entail?" Ernin's voice sliced through the heavy silence, pulling Avelon from the whirlwind of her thoughts.

There was no point in wallowing in self-pity. She would deal with Lugh another time. Her face twisted in disgust at the thought of him. He probably was not even being held back by the guards anymore. Nausea surged within her chest, a visceral reaction to how gullible and naïve she had been.

"Out with it." Elha spat, her voice thick with anticipation. Avelon frowned as her gaze flickering to Elha, Her eyes glimmered with curiosity, dread looming behind them. Did she not know? She wondered.

"The monthly meetings are held to ensure the entire Vexar stays in line with my father's plans." Ernin sneered, his lip curling in distaste. Avelon did not offer him any resolve- she had no reason to trust his words. She could not afford to.

Ernin shook his head, clearly irritated at the lack of belief in Avelon's eyes, but he continued. "It's speculated that Anam and Talamh do not agree with his visions, and have blocked him from their continents. But they still attend the monthly meetings. They pretend to share his values, act like loyal subjects. He doesn't know about their betrayal."

Avelon scoffed in disbelief, rolling her shoulders to release some of the tension that had settled there. There was no way that Balor was unaware of such a betrayal. He is not that blind, is he? Her mind raced, struggling to grasp the weight of the situation.

"I didn't just go to inform the continents of the next meeting," Ernin added, standing straighter now. There was pride in his posture, his chest puffing out ever so slightly. "I sought out the lords and ladies willing to stand against him. Especially those in Anam and Talamh."

"Avelon's gaze sharpened, her brows furrowing in suspicion. "That doesn't entirely explain anything," she countered, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Balor said everyone in Vexar was being poisoned. I thought it was through a spice, but now I'm being led to believe otherwise. Also..." Her voice dropped, her eyes narrowing as she stepped closer to him, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"There's no way you visited all those continents in such a short amount of time."

Ernin's eyes met hers, his expression narrowing in a challenge she wasn't sure she wanted to accept. "Someone with a wind affinity tends to get by quicker," he said, his gaze hardening, as if daring her to question him further. She had momentarily forgotten about his affinity. Her mouth pressed into a hard line.

"Balor controls the air in all of the continents." Ernin said, his words hanging in the air like a dead weight.

Both Avelon and Elha took a step back at his revelation, the breath caught in their throats. The very air around them seemed to thicken with the implication, as though they could taste the difference in the air.

"How's that even possible?" Elha spat, her voice mirroring her disbelief and horror

Ernin's eyes darkened, his lips pressed tightly together as if he had grown weary of explaining the truth. "The meetings aren't just for entertainment purposes or trade talk," he continued, his voice dropping lower, more menacing.

"They're held to ensure his blood is infused with an air-affinity fae in each continent. And that it stays that way. He forms a bond with each fae and he controls them through that bond—he poisons the air through them. He controls it and makes sure it seeps into the lungs of those who breathe it."

Avelon's breath caught in her throat, her body freezing as the weight of his words sank in. She could hear Elha gasp beside her, but the sound was muffled, distant, as if she were underwater again. Avelon's world began to tilt as she tried to digest the enormity of what Ernin was telling them.

Poisoning the air? The very atmosphere they were breathing, manipulated by someone they thought they understood? It could not be true. It could not.

Her legs felt like they were giving out from under her. She swayed slightly, barely managing to stay upright, her vision blurry for a moment.

"Before a ritual, an antidote is given to both the Fae and the one who survives—Awakens." Ernin's fingers fluttered in the air, as if the word itself were charged with some mystical force, alive with meaning. His voice dropped with an unsettling finality.

Avelon's knees wobbled, and she barely managed to lean against the cold stone wall for support. Her breathing grew shallow as her mind spun. The world around her seemed to blur at the edges, and for a moment, she was swallowed by her own thoughts. What the hell?

The rituals meant nothing. Murder. It was murder.

Her mind yelled and clawed itself as she processed the information. She had been right.

"What?" Elha's voice broke through Avelon's spiralling thoughts. She spoke with a breathless urgency, her face as pale as that of a dead Fae, as if the information itself had stolen the color from her skin.

Avelon's mouth ran dry as her gaze unfocused. How had Elha not known? Had Balor kept her in the dark entirely?

Avelon could barely respond. "How... how is one Fae capable of such power?" Her voice trembled, her chest constricting and heavy with dread.

The idea of Balor wielding power over entire Fae, bending them to his will—through his own blood—sent a chill down her spine. His blood... runs through me. The thought hit her with the force of a blow to the gut. Her hands trembled as she instinctively touched the hollow of her throat, the pulse under her skin a stark reminder of the connection between them. Could he control her too?

Ernin chuckled bitterly, though there was no humour in the sound. His brows furrowed in something like disbelief, as if surprised they had not connected the dots sooner. "He's not a normal Fae."

Avelon, still struggling to steady her breathing, pressed her back harder against the wall. Her head ached as information knocked on each thread of her brain. Too much, too fast. It was all too much for her.

"Obviously not," Elha snapped, throwing her hand up in frustration, her voice strained. But as the words left her mouth, something shifted. Her eyes widened, and her entire body straightened, as if the realization had struck her like a thunderclap.

"Oh Gods..." Avelon's pulse quickened at the change in Elha's demeanor. Her heart raced in sync with the sudden sense of foreboding that flooded the room.

What more could there be? Her inner voice snapped sarcastically.

Her eyes widen as she feels the threads in her head knit together. Dana ha.d warned her that Gods walked amongst them.

"No." Avelon's voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper. "Not Gods. A God."

The weight of her own words hung in the air. She could feel the panic starting to crawl its way up her spine, but before she could regain her bearings, Ernin's voice cut through the rising storm inside the hallway.

"The God of Chaos," he finished with a finality that crushed the air between them.

Avelon's head snapped toward him so fast that she felt her neck strain at the sudden movement, a sharp pain shooting through the muscles. The world felt as though it had shifted on its axis, and for a long, disorienting moment, she could not breathe in.

Time stilled as she tilted her head, her hands trembling at her sides, the words sinking in. She was not sure she had heard him correctly.

"What?" She asked again, her voice merely above a whisper. "What did you just say?"

She cupped her ear, trying to hold onto the words as if they might slip through her fingers. The God of Chaos?

She had always thought of Balor as a tyrant, a cruel, calculating ruler. But a God? More so, the God of chaos? The very idea was beyond anything she had ever considered. She stared at Ernin, searching his face for some sign of jest or deception. But there was none. Only an unflinching seriousness in his eyes.

"Does that make you and Lugh Demi Gods? Demi Fae?" She was careering from the point of the conversation.

"Definitely not a Demi God, Demi Fae or whatever the fuck Balor is." Ernin shakes his head, breathing in deeply.

"You think..." Avelon's voice was quieter now, almost a whisper, her words a fragile attempt to make sense of what was happening. "You think I can stop him?"

Elha stood silent, covering her mouth as though she would retch at any moment.

Ernin's eyes softened with an odd mixture of sorrow and determination. "I know the idea of obtaining the blood of a Daghlan used to drive him insane. Hence, his experiments. He wanted to recreate the strongest bloodline and feed from that. You have not died, and he cannot control you. He still thinks he is rebuilding the bloodline."

Ernin sigs, "But apart from that I know we have to try. Because if we don't, he'll find out about you and force every single Fae to bend to his will. Even those who silently oppose him."

Avelon's hands trembled as she wiped the cold sweat from her brow. "Then what do we do?" she asked, her voice raw, desperate for direction.

Ernin did not hesitate. "We fight. We figure out what we can do to stop him by going to those who have conspired to. We need allies—and we need to expose him for what he is."

Avelon swallowed hard, her throat dry. "The meeting is coming up. We need to escape with one of those who oppose him."

Ernin nodded, agreeing with her. "I can arrange that, but in the meantime, you have to pretend you are unaware of what has been happening."

Avelon's stomach tightened. She knew another experiment was waiting for her. She squared her shoulders, calling onto air once more to give her the strength she needed.

"I have one request, before I follow Elha into what promises to be buckets of pain." Avelon casts a glance toward Elha, who watches them with widened eyes.

"What's your request?" Ernin brows raise with wariness, and he shoots Avelon a look filled with caution.

"Fallon needs to come with." Ernin's eyes softened.

"Deal." Avelon's shoulders dropped.

Ernin knew where she was.