｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★ "The rest of the world can wait for once."*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

"How is that possible?" I question, looking down at the reports Andreas sent in front of me. "The war ended 16 years ago, 600."

"Well the different samples Andreas and I got suggested sediment, clay, moss all from over 300 years ago on subject 3 and 650, there was a specific clay in matched to from a magical exploitation at the time, which we know happened in 654 years ago."

So the burned ones are hundreds of years old, not just a few decades like we all suspected.

"And Drea?" I ask as worry for my mentor clouds my mind.

"He's okay, got a few nicks and scratches along the way but nothing he couldn't handle." Bea smiles slightly then her eyes soften. "Says he misses us and sent through a collection of letters for us."

I grin and accept the letters, but frown when I see the names.

"I told him you and Sky had a thing going on and he dug out his old letters he wrote before he fake killed himself." Guilt flickers across her face. "Obviously, after he had me and had the whole insanity period he didn't bother sending them like he planned. But he's sent them through now one letter each for Sky, Irene and Silva."

I take a shaking breath. This is going to complicate things. With all the drama already going off between Sky and I, but I have the gem off now.

You know what they are to you. Little shadows whispers, voice tired. You won't be able to start something solid with them if you don't tell him about this first.

Especially now you have the gem off, what excuse will you have for not telling him.

"What about the Burned One the faculty have locked up, in the mill?" I ask, we'll need it for testing and that gateway ring back. Hopefully the winx girls have forgotten about it and I can just slide it away without their knowledge.

"It's in the Barn, but we should have it moved to the Solarian prison. It will be more secure." Bea begins pulling together the reports, tucking them away.

"Her whispers to me have stopped." She suddenly states, looking at me nervously as fear shines in her eyes. "I'm worried she has gone to someone else because I am taking too long."

I sigh. "What do you need from her again?"

"Answers." She murmurs, eyes sad. "About my birth family, justice for what Silva, Dowling and Harvey did there, maybe with Irene if it turns out she was involved."

"Can we not find that out ourselves, Beatrix. We have more power now-"

"It's not enough." She snaps, shaking slightly. "You know Rosalind can give us more."

Nodding, I straighten up. "I need to go. I have things to discuss with Riven and Sky."

She perks up, quickly rubbing at her watering eyes as she pounces on the distraction.

"About the fact the three of you are clearly into each other."

"Bea." I whine.

"No, no." She grins as we leave the room. "The three of you would be perfect-"

"What were the two of you doing in there?" A specialist asks.

Dolos illium, a Third year you recommended to Lýkos because of the old style Eusebia bond he's formed with Elway.

Helios, I've missed having your answers

"None of your concern." Bea smirks, tilting her condescendingly moving to walk away when Dolos moves to block our path.

"Can we help you?" Bea snarls, irritation rising.

We can't help you right now, still need to recharge. Darkling snarls, clearly annoyed by our apparent vulnerability as he tries to shake the tiredness from his voice.

I'll be fine. I soothe. My own powers grew in your absence

"I need to talk with Octavia." He smiles awkwardly in an attempt to put us at ease. "Riven asked me to find her. He's looking for you in the meeting rooms and Sky is in the fairy hall and I was tasked with the classrooms."

He looks a little perturbed but nonetheless states, "They wanted to talk to you, something about a long awaited conversation and that Riven was going to lock you in a room with Sky if that's what it took."

"Ah." I nod.

I smile at Bea and wave her off.

Was he telling the truth? I ask silently, eyeing him as we both walk out of the abandoned classroom.

Yes and no. Sky and Riven didn't ask, he volunteered. Asmodeus reports. But that's the only difference so it should be okay.

We walk in silence and I quickly text the boys I'm with Dolos going to their dorm on the group chat we made at the start of term. They respond with a thumbs up and a 'okay' from Sky. Better to be safe than sorry, even if I'm a little disappointed by their lack of longer replies, but I suppose we need to have this conversation in person. This Dolos is actually a pretty cool guy, told me I could call him 'Los' like all his friends and then spent the next 10 minutes of the walk talking about his mate, Samuel or 'Sammy'. The two are honestly so adorable. The two of us end up waiting for Sky and Riven to arrive at their dorm.

"No, that is a shocking apartment." I agree with him, looking down at one of the apartments Sam was looking at for when he graduates this year. "The kitchen and laundry room should not be joined together like that. Why is the view so important to him?"

"Exactly." He exclaims, smiling down at me. "That's what I asked him. If he wants me to visit him when he leaves I'm not sleeping on a shitty pullout sofa instead of a bed when he has it as an option in his price range"

"I get it." I nod emphatically. "If you can afford to invest in a nice good place that will last him till you graduate and can stay there too then-"

"Then it's worth the extra money." He nods along but there's a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

"It's not about the apartment is it?" I whisper, quite enjoying dealing with someone else's problems instead of my own. I'm starting to understand Sky's fascination with Bloom now.

"No, it's not." He sighs. "He found some old photos of when Michelle and I were dating, the two of us have a Eusebia bond now but-"

"But you see each other every day and he's going to be leaving you all alone with her next year." I sigh in understanding.

"He's my mate." He murmurs, "He's it for me. There's no one else after that."

"Octavia?" Riven calls, frowning at Los at my side who has drifted closer in his attempt to keep our conversation private.

"Riv." Los does that weird bro goodbye nod and name thing.

Riv gives him a nod in response before smiling down gently at me, exhaustion lining his face. We don't speak but I link my pinkie through his as he unlocks the door and leads me towards the living room.

"Have you eaten?" He asks

I nod mutely, staring up at him in apprehension.

"Please stop looking at me like I've just killed your puppy." I open my mouth in shock but quickly snap it closed at his look. Okay, so maybe I was pouting a little. "Sky should be here soon."

Apprehension crawls up my spine at Riven's words. This is not going to end well.

If you play your cards right you could get laid. Asmodeus trills but his voice sounds exhausted.

I playful glare down at the shadow resting in my palm, unable to express my true irritation at the pesky creature when I've been missing them for so long.

"Hush." I murmur lovingly as I narrow my eyes. "I didn't know it was possible for you to look sleepy and lethargic."

Humph. Belial grumbles. We can still report and watch and listen-

And I think I want to take a nap for a week or two. Darkling interrupts through a surprising yawn. I'm afraid you're going to feel lethargic as a result of us Tavi. We'll end up drawing from your power to heal our own like we did when we first bonded.

"That's fine." I state, smiling down at them gently as more and more shadows come to rest gently on my arms. "Take as much as you need."

Sky is here. Belial reports with an attempt at a stoic voice. He's settled onto the chair next to you.

He and Riven are sharing concern looks, Tavi. Little shadow worries sounding like a scolded child. You're pretty zoned out.

"Don't care." I shrug their words off. "Missed you too much."

I bring my arms up onto the counter gently laying the shadows down, their forms more corporeal now, and I see a flash of little amber eyes staring out at me.

"When did you grow so much?" I frown in worry for them, wondering what happened to my shadows while we kept apart.

We had time to manifest and grow while we were pinned down. But now we need more power to survive. We should be fine on our own soon.

And then we can finally be the soldiers we promised.

"I was fourteen, Asmodeus." I roll my eyes. "I didn't want soldiers, I wanted friends."

Stille. We keep our promises and we swore fealty to you.

"I know." I soothe. "And you have been loyal for many years, I have not forgotten that."

Their worry grows, Mistress.

"I'm not ready for that yet." I murmur, tracing a finger down Darkling's body, feeling the way the coldness of the shadow melds and reforms around me.

You cannot stay in your own little bubble of power forever.

"Can't I?" I huff, why must they make everything so difficult.

The shadows don't answer. I can't bring myself to look away from their dark forms though, disbelief that I have them back has me stunned. I thought that hell would never end.

"Pixie?" Riven murmurs and I feel a hand brush hair from my face. "You feeling okay there."

I slowly, too slowly, turn to face him on my right. Scanning every feature of his face as the toll of my power begins to take over. Feeling returns to my body as I feel something linked with my pinkie, I slowly drag my gaze down to look at the hand linking to mine, following it back up to see Riven's concerned eyes.

"I think I'm going to have a bad day tomorrow." I murmur sadly to him and he sighs in response.

"I know." He nods gently and lifts me into his arms. "Like you did when you lost the shadows."

"Like when I lost the shadows." I answer, though I don't think it was a question.

"We need to talk." I mutter as Riven carries me through to Sky's room, or at least I assume it's his room considering he didn't take me to his room like last time.

"We do." He agrees. "But for now, we're just going to stay together, all three of us, until we can face what happened today."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

I watch silently from my place on the counter as Riven makes some kind of curry for dinner, Sky stands by his side making pitta bread and my heart clenches at how domestic it is.

"Are you staring at me or the food with such desire in your eyes?" Riven smirks playfully at me.

"I can want more than one thing." I grin and Riven arches an eyebrow in question.

I drift into silence as I notice Sky's tense form. This is too fast for him. Anyone can see that, but at the same time we have taken a month and half to reach the stage we were at on day 3. I think we've taken enough time.

"How are the horses?" I ask, turning to Riv when the silence gets too loud.

"They're good. It was strange being around them again after the whole-"

"Trampled thing?" Sky drawls, attempting to sound normal and relaxed even as that cold expression of his hardly thaws.

Giggles escape me as Riv points the wooden spoon he was using to stir the curry at Sky threateningly. The pair pauses at the sound and I quickly silence myself in embarrassment, even as I see the adoration shining in both of their eyes before Sky clears his throat and puts the bread in the oven.

"Sky-"

"Don't" he cuts me off as he shakes his head. "Just... give me some time."

"Sky-"

"It's about your father, Sky." I interrupt Riven, heartbreaking when Sky looks at me in shock. "I had some contacts search through his files for you, it was common among soldiers to write letters in case- in case something happened to them."

He looks like his heart is breaking. Guilt crashes through me at the thought and I swallow heavily to hide my discomfort.

"He wrote a letter for you Sky." I say gently, feeling my eyes tear up. "Right before the mission he-... I have it here, if you want it."

Silence.

Pulling out the old yellowing letter, I can finally see the exhaustion on Sky's face and my heart breaks all over again. He stares and stares at the letter, eyes brimming with tears.

"Yeah." He croaks. "I want to read it."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Sky

I stared down at the letter in my hands and my chest tightened in anticipation. Beside me, Riven and Octavi are murmuring away quietly to give me some sense of privacy as I stare down at the one thing I've always wanted; my father's advice. My eyes brim with tears as I glance over at a tired Octavia who is leaning against Riven's side as he dishes up the food. My throat tightens with an unknown emotion as I watch the pair, relief; Gratitude;... Love?

After everything that happened today, to still be here; together, just the three of us. Like we were at the start of this whole fucking mess. I look back down at the letter, I wonder if I actually want to open it. If I want to know what his last words were. What do I want them to be?

Silva always described him as a soldier, someone who put duty before all else. What if the letter is only about that? Or, he could have written something for me, just me. Something that I could hold onto as I grew up. I might be getting the letter over a decade late but... these words were still meant for me.

"Sky?" Riv murmurs as he places down a plate of food in front of me. "You okay?"

Swallowing heavily, I quickly nod in answer as I place the letter down.

"You going to read it?" He asks, not a single ounce of judgement in voice.

"No." My voice is hoarse and quieter than I would have liked. "Not right now."

Octavia is looking at me with an unreadable expression but I can see the way worry shines beneath her eyes. I quickly clear my throat.

"Tomorrow. This evening is for us." I state with a clarity I don't feel. "The rest of the world can wait for once."

They smile and nod in agreement as the conversation peters off in favour of eating. Damn. I forgot Riven was actually good at cooking. For several long moments the only sound is cutlery scraping until Octavia puts hers down and looks at Riven.

"We can search for your sister, if you would like." Her voice is gentle, soothing in a way that has every instinct in me straightening up.

Riv swallows heavily and I fight the urge to hide him away, to keep him safe from all the problems in the world.

"No." His voice is hoarse. "I need to do this. I need to find her."

He needs something to hold onto, a mission of sorts.

"Just for a little while longer, I'm not- not ready to-"

Admit defeat. Ask for help. Share what happened with the wider world. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's how I'm starting to feel about the letter. Octavia nods in understanding, smiling at Riven reassuringly as she continues to eat.

Something eases in my chest at how relaxed this feels, at how easy it is to breathe while I'm with them. Before, it was like I was consumed by their problems. Like there was no escape, but now, now I see.There was never any pressure to take on everything, it wasn't like that, it was the mate bond trying to force us closer. Making me feel more protective of them. Now I know what it was; it's easier, easier to separate the emotions. To understand what I'm feeling.

The meal passes in silence and I can't help but dwell on what happened today. Being with them, my mates, its like all the problems I've had with them finally seem easier. They're still there but not as consuming. But all the truths that were revealed today, all the shit that went down with Riven's grandparents.

I sigh and lean back in my chair, having finished eating. Helios, it's been a long day. I wonder how Riv feels, about everything that happened. He looks calm, tired, but calm. As if he can feel my gaze on him Riven looks up in confusion, frowning at me.

"What?" He mumbles as he finishes the last of his curry and swipes the remaining pitta bread from Octavia's plate. "You have the 'worried look'... again."

Tavi snorts.

I glare at her.

"Just worried for you."

He sighs and I wait for his dismissal, his protests of being fine or perhaps for him to lash out.

"I'm doing shit but I have you two, so it'll be fine in the end."

My shock must show on my face because Riv rolls his eyes at me, sighing in annoyance as though I'm the one who has suddenly changed mindsets.

"Helios, don't look so shocked." he moans and I smile when Tavi giggles at the both of us. "I'm trying to be more open and relationship-y and sharing and-"

"A simp?"

I grin at Tavi's little smile as we share a conspiratorial grin

"Oh, ha ha." Riv rolls his eyes and leans back to playfully glare at us. "At least, I'm trying to be more open. You two..."

He wave dramatically in the air and makes such a face or pure frustration and annoyance, that I can't help but feel guilty for causing him such-

"Oh quit looking so guilty." He snaps and I look up to see Tavi looking guilty as well. "We're all together now aren't we? We can start working through this shit now we all know what's vaguely on."

"Yeah." Octavia's voice is hoarse as she glances between us. "I think we have been long overdue a chat."

A/N: This is not properly edited and a bit of a filler chapter before all the fun discussions and confessions next chapter.

What would you like to see them talk about? And for those of you who want Sky to get yelled at for his actions there is an upcoming training session after their chat where things get hashed out (non-angsty)

FYI, I have started writing my own book so Updates will be a bit slower.