First of all!

This is a SEQUEL!

So, if you hadn't read Beauty in a Cage, I don't know what the hell you are doing here.
Please leave and come back later :)

If you DID read BIAC, I recommend you go reread it before this, because I actually edited it with a few new details so this sequel would make more sense. AND you'll remember some stuff you might have forgotten over the months.

I'm very excited about this, I'm a sucker for the fantasy genre and I loved writing this story the first time, I couldn't help but writing a second part.

It'll also be a three-part story, and if everything works out, you'll have one part per week. Because they're really long ones.

Hopefully, you'll like it as much as I do!

Mag🦋

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬

🍃💧⚡🌱🔥

Part one.
[Louis' POV]

Being a healer was a hard task.
It was a huge responsibility. You could often see death right in the eye. You were the one in charge to avoid it, to prevent it.

Luckily, since the Phoenix was freed, there hadn't been lots of life or death cases. Salvatores were more interested in attacking each other than us.
But still, we healers, took our job seriously. And me, now more than ever.

Being the head director of the healers trainees program, having teenagers learning from me while I did my job, was another reason to remain precise, controlled and quick. Handling all four elements could be very confusing as you start learning. That's why young healers needed to see it in action.
So, after the war ended, Anne put me in charge of them.

And now, since the whole community knew what Harry, Sean and I had done, these teenagers were looking up at me as if I was a hero.

It was both funny and a very huge image to live up to. I was their teacher and their example.
I couldn't afford to make any mistakes now.

"Wow, Mr. Tomlinson!" - Bella exclaimed. - "Can you teach us how to do that?"

I chuckled.

"Sure." - I looked down at the guardian on the examination table, who was sporting a huge injury on her knee. - "Mila here cut her knee. We can see by how much it's bleeding that it's a deep cut." - I said, getting a bucket of clean water next to me. - "We'll clean it up first." - I said, guiding just a thin string of water out of the bucket and running it over the wound. - "As we clean the excess of blood, we're also trying to find the source of it. We need to make sure the cut didn't damage any nerves or bones."

All of them kept looking at me working with wide eyes and nodding along.

"If the nerves are damaged, what do you do?" - Bella asked, always the voice of the group.

"Well, I don't think that's the case." - I said calmly, not wanting to alarm Mila. - "But if it was, I'd probably work with tiny shocks of electricity to give the nerves back their functionality as much as I can. There are medicines, and exercises you can do to help your muscles too." - I explained as I started to close up the wound, welding the edges together with just a tiny flame coming from my fingers. - "But, as I said, it was not Mila's case." - I smiled.

As the teenagers kept their questions coming and I discharged Mila, I noticed Vera resting against the frame door of my examination room for the very first time.

I turned my attention to her.

"Wanna join the class?" - I smirked.

"Ha." - She laughed, shaking her head. - "Just here to tell you your boyfriend is out there waiting for you. Sean is hurt and I'm not healing him. It's your problem, Louis." - She smirked.

"Freaking Sean." - I whispered under my breath. - "Okay, young healers." - I turned to the kids. - "Doctor Martin will be your teacher for the rest of the day, she can answer any questions you may have about the earth element and subelement. You can follow her out." - I said, motioning the group to go over with Vera.

When I reached the door, I spotted Harry and Sean seated in the waiting room.

As soon as they saw me, they stood up, coming quickly to my -now empty- examination room and rushing inside.
Without even having to ask what had happened, I immediately saw Sean's hands all black from a recent burn. Some blisters on his fingers and reddish peeled off skin.

"Again?" - I sighed. - "Sit down, Sean."

Sean sat down on the examination table, extending his hands to me.

"I know." - He pouted. - "Can you heal them?"

"Yes." - I rolled my eyes.

"You're so lucky my boyfriend is the best healer in town." - Harry said, passing by me and kissing my cheek. - "I'm sorry for interrupting your class, babe."

"It's fine."

"Well, If he had taught me how to control electricity without burning myself, then I wouldn't be here." - Sean huffed.

"I tried teaching you, remember?" - I arched my eyebrow, reaching out and grabbing some herbs from the lab.

"And, Louis always told you not to practice if he wasn't around." - Harry said from where he took a seat in the corner.

"He gave up on me. And I still want to learn!" - Sean complained as I mixed an unguent.

"I didn't give up on you. We already had this conversation, Sean." - I sighed. - "You put too much intensity on it, you can't control it, and you're clearly hurting yourself."

"He healed you like five times in the past two weeks, mate. I love you, but you're clearly not made for it."

"Shut up, Harry." - Sean said and I shook my head.

"How about..." - I tried. - "You let go of your obsession of dominating electricity for like... a month? Then, I'll start coaching you again."

"What if I need it like... tomorrow? It could be an emergency. I need to be prepared." - He said as I took his burnt hands in mine, spreading the freshly made unguent and putting some bandages over.

"You won't."

"I find it really unfair, you know?" - Sean huffed. - "Vera taught Gemma animal control, Harry flies, and I can't do electricity? Why?"

"I don't know." - I shrugged. - "But hey, my advice is to focus on something else for a few weeks, heal your hands, because like this you can't even control fire, and then we'll try again." - I said, handing Harry a little jar with more unguent and clean bandages. - "Make sure he changes the bandages in two hours, apply more unguent and put on new bandages. I'll check on him again when I leave here." - I said, leaning up and pecking Harry's lips.

"Noted. Thanks for this." - He smiled.

"You're welcome."

"You're the best. I love you."

"I love you too." - I smiled up at him.

"I love you three!" - Sean added from the table and I snorted.

Harry hugged me close and pecked my forehead.

"Ignore him."

"I always do." - I laughed, as I pushed him away. - "Now, you both get the fuck out of my clinic, I'm working."

Harry chuckled, stealing one more kiss from me and turning to Sean.

"C'mon, idiot. I need to babysit you for the rest of the day."

I smiled, waving at them as they left the room.

🌱

After my shift ended, the group of teenagers were dismissed and I had gone by Sean's place to check on his electrocuted hands, I was finally home.

Harry had waited for me with some delicious pasta and his arms wide open, ready to cuddle me.
We snuggled on the couch as we ate, kissing him softly as a thank you for cooking, and catching up on our day.

I told him about the clinic, about how draining it was to be constantly using my powers to teach others. I told him about how much I missed working side by side with Vera now that I had been promoted and had my own office. I told him that even if I was glad the war was over, I missed the rush of having little to no time to save a person's life.

Because that's how it had been for years. That was my day to day reality back then. And now, all of that is over.
And this new normality wasn't something any of us were used to.

Then, he told me about Sean's accident, about how they were at the Guardians Training Center and he just decided to practice his electricity there, that it was a safe environment. The walls of the building perfectly designed to not let any attack get out of hand.
Thanks to that he was the only one injured, and nothing had happened to the rest of the people inside.

"You know, I was talking to Tristan today..."

"Who is Tristan again?" - I asked, chewing on my food.

"Oh! That refugee I told you the other week? Remember?"

"The one that was in your Salvatore's commission?" - I frowned.

"Yeah, that guy." - Harry said, snuggling me closer. - "Well, I actually bumped into him as we were heading to the clinic with Sean. And Tristan is a firerer, right? So we were talking about how Sean was practicing electricity, and how you taught him and that."

"Mhmm?" - I frowned, fearing where this conversation was heading.

"Well, you know that the whole subelement thing is only a Revolutionary thing."

"For a reason." - I pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's a refugee, love. He didn't know we could develop subelements. Anyways, he's having a hard time, you know. Being out of the land he grew up in, most of his family got killed, I think his girlfriend is still back in that hell and he doesn't know if she is alive or not. Well, he asked me if you could like... teach him electricity too. I think that might cheer him up. Or at least give him something else to focus on, you know?"

"No." - I said, firmly.

"Why not?" - He frowned.

"Because I don't know this guy? Because he's a guardian and subelements are only supposed to be for healers? Because he was a Salvatore? I have a million other reasons."

"But you taught Sean."

"Sean is family." - I frowned now, sitting up and looking at him from a distance. - "You know that I'm not allowed to teach subelements. Your mother let me do it with you and Sean because it's you! Because she trusts you both. Because I trust you. I can't just teach it to anyone who asks for it."

"But Sean and I have known this guy for a while. He was almost like a friend back when we were infiltrates. We used to hang out and stuff." - Harry looked quizzed. - "He's just trying to move on, you know? I feel like we should help him."

"Babe." - I said, as calmly as I could. - "We are helping him enough by giving him a place to stay. A home, a shelter. We're providing him safety and health. Within our community. This man you want to help, he is a guardian, right?" - I asked and he nodded. - "That means he was sent here to kill our people many times in the past. Just like you."

"That's exactly why I want to lend him a hand, you know? I know what it felt like to be on the other side. I know what he went through."

"That doesn't mean you can just offer him some electricity lessons from me." - I said, leaving my plate of pasta aside. - "Subelements are not a joke, Harry. And you know it. It's supposed to be only for healers. It's supposed to be a surviving skill, not used for fighting. Remember?"

"Yes." - He gulped.

"I'm not teaching it to a guardian. Even less a Salvatore."

"Uhm, okay. Yeah, I know babe. I'm sorry for asking." - Harry smiled, embarrassed.

"Just don't go offering people my teaching services as if I'm some sort of... whatever." - I sighed, collapsing back in his arms. - "You know very well I don't like feeling used. I hate feeling like people only want me for my powers."

"I know. I'm so sorry I made you feel like that." - He hugged me, stroking my back. - "I only mentioned you to him because you're the most amazing person I've ever met. And I can't help but brag." - He said and I smiled a little.

"I forgive you." - I leaned closer, in search of his body warmth. - "I'm really tired today. I need warmth and a bed. And you. I need you a freaking lot." - I murmured, hiding my face on his chest. - "My energy is really low."

"Let's go to bed, then." - He whispered, kissing the top of my head. - "I'll hug you all night long."

I smiled to myself.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, my love." - He said, softly wrapping his arms better around me and gently lifting me from the couch.

With a smooth movement of his hands, he elevated us both, me curling up in his arms, as he flew us to our room, tangled in one.

🍃

A few days went by where Harry and I barely saw each other.
My shifts at the clinic rotated, going to work late in the night and finishing before noon.

By the time I was home, getting some rest, Harry was either helping his mum with the refugees and the division of resources, or was with Gemma and Sean training at the Guardians Training Center.
I knew Gemma was the one in charge of the young trainees at the moment, but sometimes Harry and Sean would hop in and help too. Each of them providing their knowledge with their different mother elements.

The truth was, I was tired of not seeing him, I was tired of not getting a good night's sleep due to not having Harry's arms around me. My body was taking longer to recharge and I was yearning for a good rest.

So, without overthinking it, and knowing there weren't any imminent dangers to take care of, I decided to leave the clinic early. Leaving Vera in charge as I went to the Guardians Training Center to find my boyfriend.
It was my very first time in that place, since healers are not actually needed within these walls.

A large hall with tall ceilings welcomed me, my steps reverberating in every black tile and brick wall. No windows were seen and a very bright artificial light guided me to the main desk up front.

The place looked completely soundproofed, and the quietness in the room was slightly intimidating.
Putting up my best confident smile, I asked at the reception where I could find Harry and they were quick to point to the private training room number eight on the third floor.

Each hallway and staircase was just the same as the entrance. Soundproofed, large and quiet. And honestly, it was getting under my nerves.

When I finally found private room number eight, I let myself in without as much as a knock.
I barely was able to put a foot inside, when I was surprised by a fireball coming my way.

"Louis!" - I heard Harry scream.

I quickly reacted, getting my hands in front of my body and stopping the fireball just as it was about to reach my head. My hands tensed, draining the little left of energy I still had after my night shift.

I swiftly controlled the fireball in between my hands, making it smaller and smaller until it was nothing but a flame. Then, I blew on it like a candle, making it disappear completely.

I arched an eyebrow.

"What the fuck was that?" - I looked over at Harry who was looking at me with wide eyes. Then, I noticed he was in front of another man I didn't recognize.

"I'm sorry, babe." - Harry came running to me. - "Are you alright?" - He asked, worriedly looking at my face for any signs of injuries.

"Yes." - I frowned. - "Why am I being attacked?"

Harry smiled, cupping my cheeks.

"You were not being attacked." - He leaned down to kiss my lips. - "I was." - He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the center of the room. - "This is Tristan. We were training together."

I looked at the man now in front of me.
Dark eyes, dark hair and a lanky figure.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Louis." - I said, waving awkwardly.

"Oh, it's my pleasure to finally meet the wonderful Louis. This guy doesn't shut up about you!" - Tristan laughed, pointing at Harry. - "People always say, behind every good Guardian there's a great healer, am I right?"

I frowned.

"I guess?" - I turned to look at Harry and he chuckled, shrugging. - "Uhmm, so you're a firerer, huh?" - I asked Tristan, looking back at him.

"Yes. And so are you! I'm sorry by the way. That was a great catch, Louis. I'm impressed."

"It was that or I'd be burnt."

Harry pulled me back in his arms, his chest pressed against my back, and kissed my temple.

"Louis is just amazing at everything. I mean, he's a great healer, we all know I'd be dead without him. Literally. But he is also great in the field."

"I'd love to see that." - Tristan said, smiling at me.

"Too bad I don't fight." - I chuckled. - "Anyways." - I turned around in Harry's arms, facing him. - "When do you think you'll be done here? I kinda..." - I shrugged, whispering so Tristan wouldn't hear. - "Need you."

Harry frowned and then nodded in understanding.

"Can you wait for me for like half an hour? Or are you too tired?"

"I can wait." - I nodded.

"Okay." - Harry rested his forehead against mine. - "I'll be all yours as soon as we finish this, okay? I know you wouldn't have come here if it wasn't really urgent."

"It's not urgent. I just need you." - I whispered and he smiled.

"Let me just finish this, and we'll head home. Does that work?" - He whispered and I nodded, Harry kissing the corner of my mouth. - "Sean is over there." - He took some distance, pointing at the corner where I just realized Sean was seated and watching the entire interaction. - "You can wait with him."

Sean waved at me with his bandaged hands, I chuckled.

"Okay." - I smiled back at Harry, leaning up and stealing a kiss from him.

Harry let me go, not before kissing me again, and I returned Sean's wave, making my way towards him.

But, as I moved from the center of the training room to the far corner, and found a chair next to Sean, I felt a weird ache in my chest.

I closed my eyes and tried to breathe slowly to make it go away.
In the back of my head, a strange voice said something.

Almost indecipherable.

The pain in my chest intensified, interrupting my breathing. And suddenly, it was all gone.

"Hey." - Sean said, bumping my shoulder.

"Hey." - I opened my eyes, shaking the feeling away and focusing back on my surroundings. Right. Training room. Harry, Sean and Tristan. - "How are your hands?"

"Better." - He shrugged. - "How long do you think I should keep them bandaged?"

"Do you still have exposed flesh?"

"Yes."

"Then until that skin regenerates."

Sean sighed.

"I can't train with them. It sucks."

I hummed.

"I'm sorry, mate." - Sean shook his head and turned to focus again on Harry and Tristan attacking each other. - "He's not really skilled, is he?" - I asked, watching carefully as Tristan did some pretty bad moves and attacks that Harry avoided easily.

"I don't think he's with his head on it." - Sean said. - "He was better when he was back in the field. Maybe he's just going easy on Harry?"

"Maybe. But why is he training then? He's not truly attacking, so he's not learning anything, and going easy with stupid fireballs doesn't help Harry's training either."

"I have no idea, Lou." - Sean shrugged. - "I think Harry has just been trying to cheer him up, you know? I think he invited him here to train and get his mind out of things for a bit." - He said and I hummed.

As Harry threw a blast of air at Tristan, the guy just fell backwards on the floor, not even countering the attack. He wasn't putting up a fight.
As he fell, they both laughed.

Harry handed him a hand to pull him back in his feet.

"Hey Sean!" - Harry screamed. - "Do you remember that time I flipped both of you over with a tornado?" - He chuckled.

Sean rolled his eyes.

"Do you remember when after that I burned your eyebrows?" - Sean smirked and Tristan cackled.

"Oh my God! It was the best revenge ever." - He continued laughing as Harry shrugged.

"I think I pulled them off."

"No, you did not." - Sean laughed.

"Louis wouldn't have given you the time of day without your eyebrows, mate." - Tristan added and I frowned.

"Yes, he would have." - Harry turned to look at me. - "Right, babe?" - He pouted and I quickly changed my facial expression into a fond one.

"Of course, love."

Harry smiled at me, and a moment later, he was being attacked by a fireball right towards his stomach. I almost jumped in my seat, ready to heal and protect Harry from the attack, when Sean put a hand on my arm, stopping me.

"No attack will hurt him inside these four walls." - Sean calmed me.

"Focus, Styles." - Tristan laughed as Harry stumbled backwards, the fireball dissolving in the air before it caused any damage. Right. The walls.

"Oh, it's on." - Harry challenged him, attacking Tristan with a new blast of air.

I turned to Sean again.

"What's his background?"

"What?"

"Tristan. What's his deal?"

"Oh. Uhmm... Well, he grew up as a Salvatore. His family lived there, he trained with us as we grew up as well, we were put in the same Salvatore commission when we turned fourteen with seven other guardians, and for what I gathered since we found him here, he had a wife, or a girlfriend, I don't remember, who stayed behind."

"He was always part of your commission? So, you've known him for a long time, right?"

"I mean." - Sean shrugged. - "Harry and I never bonded with any Salvatore much, because we knew they were actually our enemies, you know. But when you have a group where you belong, in this case our commission, it's impossible not to learn a thing or two about them. You know? We had our heart here, but we also needed to fit in there. So, we used to hang out with Tristan and the others."

"What do you think about him now?"

"Now?" - He asked and I nodded. - "Why?"

"Because Harry has been hanging out with him quite a lot lately. Hasn't he? I just... I guess I just want to know he's safe."

"Oh." - Sean frowned. - "Well, I don't think Tristan is of any threat. I mean, back in the day he was very loyal to Him but then again, every Salvatore was. So, maybe this guy is having a rough time adapting to be around Revolutionaries, and more being that he lost everyone he loved. But I don't think he's a threat. Didn't you see his fireballs?" - Sean said and I chuckled.

"Very unimpressive ones to be honest."

"I know, right. Yours are better and you're shit with fire." - Sean said and I snorted.

"Excuse me, how's it going with your electricity practice?" - I looked down at his hands, smirking.

"Touche, Tomlinson." - He said and I laughed.

And then, the ache in my chest returned, oppressing my lungs and making me gasp for air, forcing me to bend down with my head between my knees.

A voice in the back of my head was pleading, begging me to be released.

They, whatever it was, were in pain too.
The voice was a cry for help.

When I finally opened my eyes again, once the ache and the voice were gone, Harry was there, knelt in front of me.

"Lou? What happened? Are you okay?" - Harry looked worried. - "Baby, please. Do I need to take you to the clinic? I don't know... Fuck, what should I do?" - He looked to both sides at Sean and Tristan for help. Then, he looked back at me. - "Tell me something."

I gasped for air, reaching out and grabbing Harry's hand. Squeezing it tightly.
Once my breathing normalized, I spoke.

"I think I'm okay... I just need..." - I mumbled, looking at nothing but Harry's eyes in search of answers, in search of his understanding. - "To get out of here."

He nodded.

"Let's go home." - He whispered.

I nodded, letting him help me stand up from the chair and leaning most of my weight onto him.
I felt almost drained, as if something else was now sucking energy from me.

"Anything I can help with?" - Tristan asked, but as I felt more and more tired by the second, I only shook my head, not even having the strength to say no. - "I could help you carry him home, Harry." - He insisted.

I closed my eyes, recharging my energy for a second, as I did my best to stand up on my own and take a few steps. Harry never leaving my side.

I looked into Harry's eyes and shook my head no again.

"I think we're fine, mate. Thank you though." - He smiled politely, resting a guiding hand in my back and walking along me towards the door.

"Okay! I'll go by your place later and check on you guys, just in case! If you need anything, I'm your guy!" - I heard him say from behind us.

I sighed, stopping as we reached the door and turning to look at Tristan from a distance.

With a flicker of my fingers, and just the little remaining energy I had left, I shot a large fireball right to his face.

It dissolved before it hit him, but still, I was very satisfied with myself when he didn't react to stop it.
Sean laughed, Tristan was frozen and slightly shocked, and Harry looked like he wanted to apologize on my behalf.

Harry turned to me.

"Why did you do that?" - He whispered.

"Because I'm tired and he was being very annoying." - I said, opening the door and walking out of the room. - "He deserved it."

Harry chuckled, slipping his arm around my waist and letting me lean all my body weight on him again as we left the building.

"I'm honestly scared I'll piss you off one day and you'll electrocute me."

"Not electrocute you. But now that I know Sean burnt your eyebrows..." - I smirked. - "You better watch out, Styles."

Harry laughed and leaned down to kiss my hair.

"I promise to never piss you off, then."

🔥

Not a week later, Harry and I walked into Anne's office hand in hand, preoccupied and rushed for the urgent early morning meeting she called us to.

Inside, everyone was already there, waiting for us and dead silent. Vera and Gemma seated on the armchairs, Anne in her desk chair and Sean standing by the window.

"Sorry we couldn't make it sooner." - I said, quickly pulling Harry with me towards the empty loveseat.

"Too busy?" - Gemma raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm..." - I turned to her, chuckling.

"Shut up, Gemma." - Harry grunted as we sat down, his thigh pressed against mine. - "Let's get to the point." - He turned to his mother.

"Yeah, why are we here?" - Sean asked, leaning back on the windowsill, crossing his arms on his chest, and just then I noticed he didn't have the bandages in his hands anymore. I briefly smiled at him, he nodded in return.

Anne stood from her chair, looked around the room and held eye contact with each of us as a demonstration of trust. Everyone stood quiet.
She had called all of us with a purpose. This wasn't a family reunion, this was important. Something had happened.

She nodded to herself, speaking clearly for everyone to hear.

"They are attacking again." - She said and I gasped.

"What?" - Harry frowned.

"I just finished my shift." - Vera said, looking down at the floor and shaking her head. - "I haven't seen so many injuries in one night in a long time." - She looked up and locked eyes with me. - "It wasn't like anything we've seen before."

"They attacked last night?!" - Harry exclaimed. - "How didn't we know?"

"That's not the question you should be asking, Harry. The question is, why? What else could they possibly want from us?" - Gemma said, turning to look at Anne.

Anne looked at Gemma, then at Harry.

"They attacked the north frontier, only two guardians were there. They moved past them just enough to attack a few civilians and let us know they were back and it was the first warning." - Then she looked at Gemma again. - "They weren't looking for anything. Not last night at least. They think we have the Phoenix here."

"What?" - I asked now.

"But we don't!" - Harry said.

I softly rested my hand on his leg, squeezing his thigh.

"We're the ones that stole it from them. They think we kept it." - Anne explained, still shockingly solemn and calm. - "You're the only people I trust fully. And I need all of you to work together."

"For what? What are we doing?" - Sean asked.

Anne nodded to herself.

"We know they had been experimenting with the Phoenix for years to improve their powers. And now they want it back to keep doing it. That's my best assumption."

"Anne, with all due respect." - Vera interrupted. - "What I saw at the clinic last night, they weren't normal injuries made with the natural elements."

Anne frowned, letting her worries show for the first time.

"What do you mean?"

Vera looked down again, as if she was trying to find the words to explain what she saw.

"It was like..." - She sighed. - "As if they had their heads burnt from the inside. I know it doesn't make any sense." - She shook her head. - "We didn't know how to proceed. One of the guardians died at our table..." - She took a deep breath. - "The other one, it's like they went crazy. Like they were hallucinating. And they were hurting themselves, using their powers to cause even more injuries to themselves." - She locked her eyes with me yet again. - "They were turned against themselves somehow."

"But how?" - I asked, almost in a whisper.

"I don't know."

"So, they do have new powers then." - Gemma said.

"That's what I'm afraid of." - Anne continued. - "At least a part of them."

With a movement of her hands, she raised a wall of water in front of us, carving figures on it and using it as a screen.

That was the very first time I saw Anne using her powers in front of me. And she was splendid.

She was elegant, and practical. It was beautiful to see.

"From now on, you five are going to be a commission." - She wrote in the air with water drops 'commission 28'. - "We know they have new powers now. We know we have a fair amount of their people inside our territory as refugees, and they could have these new powers too. We know someone must have let them know from the inside that our north frontier was fairly unprotected last night. We know they are searching for the Phoenix." - She said while carved the map of our territory and Salvatore's territory in the water screen. I was hypnotized by her power. - "I'm going to send more guardians each night from now on. Vera and Louis, I need you two to pick the most qualified healers to send, at least two for each frontier. Only people you trust. Our guardians need to be with someone we trust." - She locked eyes with me and I nodded. - "Then, Louis. I need you to choose who's going to be in charge of the clinic. Because for the time being, neither of you will be there." - I nodded again in response. - "Great." - She turned to the map again. - "We need to make sure they don't find the Phoenix, because if they do, it could be terrible. So, while I put my technicians to work in finding it, your job, commission 28, is going to be, first, finding out what these powers are. Talk to every refugee in our territory, help me think of a way to beat Salvatores, to beat Him once and for all. We need to get our land, our people, and also their innocent people free. This is our chance. For as long as they think we have the Phoenix, we have to use that to our advantage. We have to distract them while we can. Every guardian in the frontiers will have the order to not kill, but to imprison any Salvatore that comes to our territory from the outside. It could be a risk, I know. We don't know what kind of powers we're dealing with yet, but it's our best shot to get some information. Then, inevitably, you'll be on the field. The second we gather the information we need about their new powers, that's when you five will have to attack. Most likely, I'll send you to Salvatore territory, to take Him down. But we'll see that part of the plan better in a few days. I trust all of you with this. Nobody else will know until we know for a fact who's with us and who's not." - She quickly evaporated the water screen and we all fell into silence. - "Any questions?"

"Boss." - Vera said. -"I hate to break it out to you, but I don't fight."

"For this, we clearly need way more than fighters and guardians, Vera." - Sean said.

"Yes." - Harry added. - "With you and Louis in our team..." - He squeezed my hand that rested on his leg. - "We could have a chance at this."

"This is already not a fair fight. They have something new to attack us with." - Gemma addded. - "We need as many resources as we can. And you two... fuck, every single revolutionary healer should be fighting, they are masters of the elements!"

"It goes against our morals, Gem." - I said, smiling sadly. - "Don't get me wrong, I'm in. We need to take this motherfucker down, he'd hurt us for too long. But I understand if other healers wouldn't. And we'll still need them here if our people get hurt. We need healers to heal, not to fight."

"Agreed." - Anne said, then turned to Vera. - "But I do believe you have a fighter in you, Vera. And a team like this..." - She pointed to all of us in the room. - "This is as good as it gets." - She smiled. - "They will protect you, and you will protect them. They will need you out there, not just as a healer, but as a pair."

Vera turned to look at me.

"Damn, she's good."

I laughed.

"I know, right?" - I whispered, chuckling. - "Also, I can heal these three if needed to, but who the hell is going to heal me if I die out there?"

Harry grunted.

"Don't even joke about it." - He shook his head.

I looked up at him with a smile, leaning and pecking his cheek.

"I won't die. Promise."

Harry sighed and looked at Vera with pleading eyes.

"We need you."

Vera laughed.

"Okay, I'm in."

💧

That same evening, Vera and I started with our part of the task at hand.

We reunited the best healers we knew and trusted, and sent them to Anne, knowing she'd be the one convincing them to be part of the frontiers' commissions. She'd then assign them to the guardians she thought best fitting.

For my part, I needed to figure out who was going to run the young healers' classes the moment Vera and I left.
It pained me to leave the trainees with another healer in charge of their formation, even more knowing what was coming.

All the best healers would be on duty, either at the field or at the clinic covering the shifts of the others out there.
And those teenagers needed to be prepared and ready to take over in case something big happened.

I decided I would give them one last class myself, putting emphasis on every survival skill they needed to know by heart. I'd made it my priority to get these kids to be the best young healers here, because with the imminent threat our community was under, we needed as many fighters and healers available.

During that last class, I made them take over. No more watching me act and ask questions, this time they were in charge.
I let them heal and cure wounds under my supervision. Easy fixing wounds were the best way to start. Yes, I know I was pushing them, I know they were young, but it was the best way to do it. And if any healer ended up needing help during the upcoming war, they were going to be there.

With that in mind, I decided to assign one young healer to each of the remaining professional healers on duty. They would be of assistance to them, working one on one instead of having group classes. I ran the decision through Anne before telling the kids, but she was on board.

And, when I told them it was our last class and they were going to start working individually with other healers, all of them were thrilled.
And I smiled, knowing it was the best decision.

As the day was ending, I felt drained. Exhaustion running through my veins. I knew it wasn't a good sign, and the fact that it had been happening every day for a few weeks now, was worrisome.
I needed some answers and, if possible, a cure.

I almost crawled all the way to Vera's examination room, not even able to stand still for more than a minute.

It was like nothing I've ever felt before. And it was worrying me to no end.

"V, I need your help." - I said, collapsing on her examination table as I knew she was about to end her shift too.

"What happened?" - She frowned, already looking for injuries in my body.

I sighed.

"I'm very tired."

She frowned even more.

"How many people did you heal today?"

"Not a single one." - I whispered, not even finding strength to answer. I dropped my head back on the table and closed my eyes. - "The kids did everything on their own."

"But you helped? You used your elements, I figure."

"Just a bit. I don't understand why I'm so drained."

"You slept okay last night?" - I could tell by the tone of her voice, she was worried.

"Yes. Harry has been forcing me to sleep eight hours each night. He's with me, controlling it." - I nodded and felt how she took my hands in hers. - "I ate well, my powers were fine this morning, I haven't flown in weeks just to save energy, so that's not either. I don't know what's happening to me." - I whispered, Vera holding my hands tightly.

"Should I call Harry?"

I forced myself to open my eyes and look at her.

"No. It's... this is not just me with low energy, this doesn't feel like when I'm drained from lack of sleep or because I used the elements till exhaustion. I've been feeling it for weeks. This feels... like someone is stealing my energy from me, V."

She frowned even harder.

"Can I run some tests on you?"

"Yes, please." - I closed my eyes again.

But the second I closed them, the strong ache on my chest returned, not allowing me to breathe or even move. I felt paralyzed.
I choked, and even with my eyes closed, I saw colors projecting in my eyelids. Red, orange and yellow. Fire.

Then, all went gray.
The smell of something burning hit my nose, and suddenly, I saw ashes everywhere.

A voice shot through my mind. It was a cry.
But this time, it was one of relief.

I recovered my breath and sat up on the table, Vera looking at me without knowing what to do.

"What just happened?" - She had wide eyes.

"That was..." - I ran my hands on my face. - "Whatever it is that's been draining my energy. It's like... like I can hear them inside my head. Vera, I need you to help me figure this out."

"Wow, you're fucked, Lou."

"I know." - I sighed, collapsing back on the table. - "Do whatever you have to do for me to be able to fight. I need my elements; I need to be at my best."

She looked unsure, but still, she nodded.

"Okay. I'll run some tests."

"And don't you dare tell Harry about this. He's worried already about me dying on the field. I can't let him know."

"Noted." - She nodded again. - "I'll do everything I can. You can sleep if you need to. I'll get everything ready." - She hummed.

"Thanks, V." - I hummed.

She chuckled, squeezing my hand in reassurance.

"What are best friends for?"

⚡

It's not that I didn't trust Harry.

But after telling Vera everything that's been happening to me in detail, about the screams, the pain, the colors and the ashes; she took notes and ran tests on my body. Made me use my powers until I actually drained them to see how much energy this mysterious entity was taking from me, how much I had left.

So, by the time she walked me home just to make sure I got there safely and not faded out in the middle of the street, I crawled into bed, slipped under the covers and hugged Harry with all the strength I had left.

"You're finally home, baby." - Harry sighed happily.

"Baby." - I hummed, giving into the warmth of him. - "Missed you."

"Missed you too."

The last thing I remember before falling completely asleep was Harry's arms circling around me and a soft kiss on my forehead. His heartbeat syncing with my breathing and some faded 'I love you' I didn't get to return.

I was already out.