Axis was far different than Ixis expected.

After the endless alleyways that had twisted and turned ending up in a large plot of craggy, dusty land was kind of disappointing. It was like someone had scooped out a plot of land only to reconsider at the last minute and shoddily put all of the earth back. Seeing it as a fully fledged, bustling city was difficult. Seeing it as a prison for a dragon was almost impossible.

"How am I supposed to...do this, exactly?"

Ixis hadn't spoken up much throughout the entire trek but she was frustrated. They had walked all this way, risked being discovered by demons and even her own clan to arrive...at nothing. She kicked the dirt and gestured wildly at the barren landscape as if her Fire Trait would magically terraform it.

Rider rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, leaning on her cane despite only walking a short distance and continued to stand resolutely at her side. Ixis' mouth tweaked upwards, comparing the Shadow Traited to a soldier unaware of her own limits.

"Axis used to be known as the Living City. It was built by Tinker Moles before we Traited populated what surrounded it in Beggar's End. I believe it was made by a single leader's Craft to imbue the entire underground with shapeshifting abilities. But that was before the demons-"

"No, no, no. You're completely wrong."

Rider stretched and cracked her joints in preparation to punt the obnoxious Tinker Mole several metres away.

"It wasn't just built by us, it was alive, sentient until you Traited decided to enslave our people and bury it for good measure. Besides, Lady Leaffa was the first Guildmaster to develop her Charger Craft to not only match but surpass anything your poxy Lightning Traited could do." Gizmo explained, his haughty tone grating Ixis nerves.

"Don't tell that to Sky-"

One of the twins, Ixis, couldn't tell which, elbowed his brother in the stomach and he doubled over in pain. She couldn't help but roll his eyes, the boys still partaking in childish bouts of competition either to impress her or just pass the time. Ixis didn't have the heart to tell them she wasn't interested in men.

"Well, then. Lead the way, Gizmo. This is what you're here for. Give Ixis a starting point, Crafter."

"Not so loud." Gizmo hissed, darting around the empty area as if expecting to be arrested at any moment.

Rider rifled through a small notebook no bigger than her hand and ignored him. Ixis tried to read over her shoulder but didn't recognise the language, making a wild guess the notes were in Nocturian. It wasn't until they disappeared into thin air did Ixis realise. That miniscule thing was Rider's grimoire.

She smiled evenly at Ixis' spying but the warmth didn't reach her eyes. Rider's expression was melancholic, longing to have an ornate grimoire normally seen in Traited. But her gaze was fixated on Axis, clearly bothered by its current state. This was what Beggar's End could have been, her family buried and lost to time. All that progress only to be crushed by an earthquake.

"Are you ready for this, Ixis?"

She flinched, half expecting the Throneholder behind her and resisted the urge to salute. Rider acted so much like a Regent it scared her but strangely, Ixis felt calm at her side.

"I...I don't know."

She could've lied. She could've clamped her feelings down like normal and moved ahead. But something made her stop. Rider guided her away from the group for a little privacy. She slumped down onto the dusty ground without a care, using her hat as a fan the moment she got a moment's rest.

"What happened?"

Rider patted the ground, the gesture reminiscent of Ixis' father just before reading her a story. Once, Ixis would've wrinkled her nose at the thought of sitting on the dirty ground but she was exhausted. Rider silently offered Ixis some food, a bread roll already split in half and the two began to eat side by side. She would've never dreamed of sitting down like this with Aria.

Ixis didn't know where to begin.

The food made Ixis think of her parents, the look in her mother's eyes, little Hawkins without his stuffed toy and her father. The thought of returning to Opalis without seeing them again made her throat ache, the roll getting stuck and is difficult to swallow.

"I just...I wanted to make a difference. Whether it was with my Trait or my standing as Regent, I just wanted to prove myself. I don't care if it's fighting demons, rallying people together or just being given the option to lead a group in training. I thought being in the Excelliars would let me do that."

"You want freedom. Freedom to act and make decisions based on what you want. Just like anyone else."

The answer was so simple.

Rider's quiet concern meant more than any fancy pep talk any could. Ixis swallowed the last of the bread roll, her chest tight from more than just the food. Her emotions rushed through without warning. She couldn't breathe.

Her mind was blank but the words came out in a frenzy. Just as it did with her parents.

"But all I did, all I've ever done is make things worse. Instead of supporting the Undercity I segregated it. Instead of protecting people I destroyed Scholar's Keep. Instead of being with my family, I injured myself and then squandered their hospitality by lying to them.Maybe I shouldn't be Regent. Maybe..."

"Maybe you shouldn't. I'm not."

Her mind crawled back from the edge of an anxiety attack, Rider's gentle hand against her back soothing her like a warm bath after a cold Bitrfall night.

She rested her head against Rider's shoulder, her breaths slowly began to match Rider's, aware of their closeness but Ixis didn't care. It seemed after being interrogated, attacked, injured and isolated Ixis had reached her breaking point.

"Yet here I am. Doing exactly the opposite. My goals right now are merely for selfish reasons. They always have been. Whether you are Regent or not, you always, always have a choice. I can't answer what you should do, Ix. Only you can. But I can help ease the pain a little. If you'll let me."

Ixis looked up at the Shadow Traited, her face mere inches away from hers. Jolting away in shock, she pretended it was in response to her comment. Rider smiled, instantly reading her mind.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to put a curse on you. Most curses are hereditary, so unless you were planning on having kids any time soon..."

Ixis went bright red, Rider's cheeky smile made her thwack her on the shoulder with her good arm. The slight movement seemed to jostle her wrist but it was worth it. Rider fell about laughing, her eyes a bright blue with happiness. Ixis had never seen eyes that blue before.

Rider gently turned her wrist to try and analyse what she could, her fingers tracing over the coin sized burn on the side of her hand. Her expression became murderous for a second, Ixis trying to decipher it but before she could the pain was gone.

"I didn't know you could heal."

Rider rubbed her hands together, Ixis' beady eyes catching the same, eerily identical burn mark on her own wrist. She hadn't used her Shadow Trait. Rider had done something else.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me." Rider joked, the same cheeky tone but it was slightly off.

She was hiding something.

Before she could even ask, Rider clapped her hands together to break the tension, brushing down what little dust and crumbs had clung to her jacket and took it off. Rider's arms were covered in too many scars to count, hidden with all manner of tattoos and strange sigils.

Ixis couldn't begin to decipher them, the two dragon's inked on her neck to hide the more gruesome wounds. They stretched down to her collarbone while the smaller scars that littered her arms and hands couldn't be covered no matter how hard she tried. Ixis couldn't help but stare. No wonder Rider rarely took her jacket off.

"How do you do it?" Ixis blurted out, Rider's eyes barely meeting her own.

Her raised eyebrow was enough of an indication she needed to elaborate, not knowing how exactly to breach the subject.

"I mean, go from the strongest person I know to..."

"Crippled?"

Ixis didn't know how to reply to that. The word hung in the air like a bad word. Rider stuck to her blunt explanation because to her there was no other way to describe it. Her pensive expression hid how conflicted she was in having no choice but to accept it.

"When you go from being able to do your job, what feels like your purpose in life only to barely last a few minutes standing up it's..."

Rider struggled to find the words, Rider shifted around in her pockets no doubt to look for a smoke. Ixis didn't need to be asked, her flame already lit the cigarette.

"Frustrating? Annoying?" Ixis supplied, relating to how exhausted she had felt in the last few days.

"It's soul destroying."

Ixis' smile faltered.

"But you are strong. You deal with this every day-"

"Not where it counts. You damn well know that. You're Trait knows it too. Even if I get my Oathed back I'm still...broken."

It felt like a wall had been built the moment Ixis had asked about her scars. She couldn't blame her. Rider's situation was different to any Traited she had seen before. Even those who lost their legs and arms soon faded to ash. But Rider wasn't treated as a survivor or a miracle. She was a demon.

"Well, whoever told you that is a load of dragon dung."

"You sure you want to badmouth your boss like that?"

Ixis gaped at her. Rider always had the last word.

"Aria...said that?"

Rider gave her a look.

"You know her better than I do. Would she?"

Ixis had no words.

She would've defended Aria without a doubt before the Undercity. But the riots had ripped through her family, her friends and everyone involved. Ixis understood her mother a little more once she heard the demons were near Beggar's End. At the edge of the world they had been forgotten and still Aria wanted a war. Ixis wasn't sure what side she was on anymore.

"I think he's just about done."

Ixis barely heard Rider's comment, still lost in thought but she quickly prepared to stand up and assist the Shadow Traited wherever she could. But Rider let out a stubborn grunt and stood up on her own, her cane at her side digging into the dirt. Somehow it gave her enough of an anchor to get to her feet.

Sweeping her hair away from her eyes, the fiercely independent Traited steadied herself and grabbed her signature hat to place on her head. She looked back at Ixis, the same, confident grin on her face despite everything they had discussed and offered a hand to help her up. A choice. To make herself.

Ixis' heart stopped for a moment.

The thought of betraying Rider made her stomach lurch. The questions she had asked still filled her with fear. But the moment she took Rider's hand, her fatigue lifted and the fog in her brain cleared for one, frightening, thrilling thought she hadn't realised was true until now.

She was in love with Rider.