｡･:*:･ﾟ★,"Come quickly, I think Beatrix killed him."･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,"And she's going to get bored of the new, shiny toy and discard you like the piece of trash you are."･:*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

"This is serious." Dowling snaps. "This is more important than this petty relationship drama."

The Headmistress's voice drops down low to the end as she notices the people staring at us and I shift uncomfortably. This is not going to end well. Especially with a pissed off Irene and Andreas. Both of them have zero regard for public opinion. They'll play politics if needs be but when it comes to relationships? The two of them have no shame and will air their own dirty fucking laundry out in the open.

"This isn't the place for this discussion. We are still teachers, still members of the faculty here." Dowling states and annoyingly for once she makes sense.

"No I think it is." Irene counters I fight the urge to groan in irritation. "Beatrix, why don't you take the others to a fighting pit."

Bea mercifully listens to the command, leading Stel and Brandon away while Sky waits for Silva's nod before dragging Riven away by the arm. I wait, looking to Andreas for approval while Dowling makes an irritated noise but then Drea nods and I walk away.

"Did you seriously just divide the children among the three of you." I hear Dowling hiss as I walk away.

Why must we leave?!?!?!?! One of the shadows demands and I ignore them in favour of jogging to my mates' side. It was just getting interesting.

"Brandon." Bea's voice is like a death sentence. "I hear you're a fairly good sparring partner. Shall we have a round or two in the ring."

We all freeze and Brodie looks between us all in confused hesitation. Even Kat steps away from her place on the raised training mat.

I take it back, this is going to be so much more interesting.

"Sure why not." Bradey agrees with an easy smile, shrugging off his jacket as he walks towards one of the rings with Beatrix leading the way. "Do you want to take off your heels or..."

He trails off as Beatrix jumps up onto the platform with zero hesitation and begins prowling around the edge, lightning crackling at her fingertips and the family sight has my blood thrumming with anticipation.

"After this, you and I should have a few matches." I call up to her with a grin, letting my darkness curl around me in tendrils like swaths of silk. "I could do with taking the edge off my power."

"You know there are other ways we could take off the edge for you." Riven whispers to me and my toes curl at his words. "Especially considering you're not supposed to be fighting in this event."

I roll my eyes and go back to concentrating on Beatrix who raises her brows at me, while Brielle uses her distraction to send an easily blocked punch to Bea's head. Beatrix wastes no time in twisting Braxton's arm around dragging him in a swift semi circle before using a flicker of her power to help send him flipping over her shoulder. Only for the fucker to land on his feet before lunging at her with a powerful kick that despite catching in her hands sends Bea stumbling back a few steps.

Areshole. One of the shadows hisses and I quickly shush them.

The two work each other up into a frenzy, a burst of speed having them trading blows and dancing around the circle. I see various opportunities for Bea to make a finishing move but she makes no attempts. My sister is content to hunt the poor male it seems. To his credit he's clearly caught on and his aggression amps up to a hundred when he realises that she's going easy on him. That everyone knows she's going easy on him.

I gasp in delight when Bea flips herself up until she wraps her legs around his neck and sends him tumbling onto the mat. She doesn't let go. I watch with morbid satisfaction as Brandon is slowly choked until he manages to twist round and get his knees under him before slamming Beatrix onto her back.

"If you wanted to get me in this position you should have just said so." Beatrix drawls and indeed he does look like a rather good soldier ready to go down on his meal. "Granted I would have said no but it would have been amusing to see you beg."

"Why would I beg for a fairy like you?" He questions and flips them again to slam her back down in an attempt to dislodge her grip on his throat. "In fact, I would have thought you would be begging for me."

"Oh I don't beg darling."

"But I have something you want." He mocks, voice hoarse as he sits back on his heels, Bea rising to sit on his shoulders. "I have the one thing you're never going to have."

I see the second it registers what he's referring to in Bea's head. It was an easy tell to see considering she rams her elbows down onto his head over and over again until he does a back flick that has her landing awkwardly on her shoulder. I swear I hear something crack but they're separating and Beatrix send one last parting knee to Brandon's stomach that has him stumbling.

The utter calmness in the movement has me on edge, they were so brutal seconds ago but now. Now they look ready to draw blood. Betty Boy spits out a mouthful of blood onto the mat, which is rude as fuck considering he's not the one who's going to clean the equipment later.

"That's what this fight is about." Brandon drawls and I step closer to the mat. "Not about this farce of the game and its little points. No, this is about settling a score. Or perhaps proving something."

"Is there a point to this or did you just want to hear yourself talk?" Beatrix grips as she circles the mat, a predator prowling in its cage.

"Quite the contrary, I'm waiting for your answer."

Bea crosses her arms across her chest before flinging them down to her sides, batons of pure electricity extending from her palms as she glares at the male across from her.

Good answer.

"Maybe the reason you are asking so many questions is because you already know the answer." Bea taunts as she slowly, so slowly stalks forward. "Maybe, the answer isn't what you want and you are praying to Helios that I'm going to give you a different one."

Brandon's eyes narrow and he pulls the twin swords from his back.

"Because we both know the answer, don't we." Bea whispers and Stella shifts nervously by Riven's side. "We both know that you're nothing more than an experiment."

I pause at her words, at the memories they bring up and the truth she voices. Because she's not talking about Brandon, no matter what everyone else thinks, she's talking about herself. About us. What Rosalind did to us.

"You're just a trial, a test, something new and shiny." She pauses in front of him, maybe three paces away. "And she's going to get bored of the new, shiny toy and discard you like the piece of trash you are."

I freeze as the killing calm flickers across Beatrix's face at the sight of Brady lunging towards her, sword drawn. We flinch back at the sound of metal being electrified, every enhanced fae wincing and some cover their ears as the noise becomes too much for their senses. Mothers lead their crying children away from the fight, seeking a quieter shelter and Beatrix and Brandon rip into each other.

Sparks fly and the smell of burning flesh permeates the air as Bea lands a hit on Brandon's side. Beatrix is losing it, her old fears of being nothing more than Rosalind's pet have apparently resurfaced thanks to whatever claim Brand- oh.

Oh.

He went there.

That's low, even for him.

Bradley loses a low laugh, the sound mocking and chilling. I can see that territorialism flicker in his eyes as he lunges forward, moving to strike Beatrix. She spins, gripping his arm over the tattooed black band and using his momentum against him to bring him to his knees, lighting pinning his arms in chains to the floor.

"That's not very fair." Brandon drawls and in a shocking move he manages to rip his arms free from her bindings.

I didn't know he had fairy ancestry

But he has Dumaris blood

"This needs to end." Riven murmurs as the two trade blows. "We're drawing too much of a crowd and they're both losing it."

"What are we supposed to do?" Sky hisses from my other side. "We can't just interrupt their fight and neither of them are going to tap out-"

A scream of pure agony rips through the air as a dagger of pure lightning flies into Brandon's chest.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Irene (you're welcome)

"This is ridiculous." My mate snaps as he watches Andreas pace the length of the room. "You think our son did this."

He gestures widely to the glimmering corpse of Calum the secretary on the floor, the magic projection flickering and waving as it replays his last moments.

"No, of course not." Farrah snaps. "Sky is not capable of doing this."

Well fuck her. I trained my son to be a capable killer should he need to be and considering his motive would be love I'm damn proud of him for killing the bastard. I hide my wince at the thought.

Though I may have trained Sky to have the skills I never taught him how to handle death, how to handle killing. It's not something you want your children to learn and it's not something you can just teach. But she is right, Sky isn't a killer. He hasn't got the mindset of one at least. Not yet.

"I think his sister did it."

...

That makes a lot more sense.

"Beatrix?" Andreas snaps in shock, unfolding his arms as he steps away from his post leant against the wall. "You think my daughter did this."

I think I'm the only one to see the pride shining in his eyes.

"Why would she do this though." Harvey questions as he looks at us all for answers. "I thought she was training with Irene and not Rosalind now."

I level him a sharp glare for bringing me into the fold, I'm quite content to just observe as of now.

"Because apparently, Riven and Calum dated for sometime." That worthless fucker, how dare he go after my son. "Beatrix and Sky are both close to Riven, they may have sought revenge."

"If revenge is your claimed motive." I drawl, officially tired with their bullshit detective work. "Then I would argue Ocatvia to be the killer, but we all know she would have done it far more effectively than this. And considering the mate bond between herself and Riven there is far to little - in fact no signs of torture for her to have done."

I relish in their silence. Their pause as they take in the implications they wished to avoid,

"And I can guarantee my daughter wouldn't have been naive enough to kill in such an obvious way as to leave a magical trace." Andreas states, crossing an arm over his chest as he scratches at his beard in thought. "And Sky would have no doubt invited Tavi along for the kill if he had done it."

"So it's decided then." Harvey whispers. "He was killed to get to Rosalind."

"We can't legally sign this off as-" Farrah ignores all of our sighs of irritation and annoyance.

"Enough." She screams. Trembling with rage as her gaze darts between us all. "Do you think I am really that naive? Just because unlike the rest of you I have been considering the impacts on both the school, solaria and the upcoming war should we go about this the wrong way?"

She has been doing an admirable job at that if we're being honest. Sharing enough details with the queen to keep her happy but not enough to lose our edge. Not to mention keeping Octavia's mate bonds to Riven and Sky a secret when they were too naive to do so themselves. It's dangerous to have more than one mate. There have been witch hunts after those rare few. Some Omadas even dedicated their sole purpose in life to eradicating them.

Not to mention the political ramification. The future of Solaria's blood line and their claim on the Eraklyon throne. Though Solaria has control of Eraklyon now it may not stay that way. Especially with the growing dissent over the war. And now Sky has come into the fold with his relationship to Ocatvia. The rebels may love him for his ability to have a royal Eraklyon back on the throne and the Solarian government may kill him for the same reason.

The queen was right to keep their relationship a secret, even if it pains my children to do so.

"Rosalind will use this war to her advantage, we all know this. But she is also the best equipped to deal with the Burned Ones."

"Are you suggesting that we set her free?" Saul asks incredulously and Farrah looks at him in offence.

"No, Helios no." She shakes her head, shoulders sagging and for the first time I see the weight on her shoulders. "But the Queen is searching for ways to end this war before significant numbers of lives are lost."

"It still wouldn't be Beatrix." I state in full confidence. "She has been excelling in her studies under my tutelage. Our work mapping and tracing the Burned Ones has been a great success. She's passionate about it and though she mourned the lost of what she could have had under Rosalind's tutelage she does not regret her decision."

"So she got her claws into someone else in the school." I shiver at Andreas gruff tone, the reminder of many nights of our you spent planning in a similar fashion to as we are now. Farrah pacing the room as Silva and I pour over reports or maps laid on a table between us, Harvey tinkering with something in the background while Andreas dramatically leans against a wall while offering his sage advice. "You said you could feel her magic growing over the years, floating through the school so to speak."

Farrah and Ben share a look before nodding, heads hanging low as they face the reality of being too late to stop Rosalind's control. Her escape is inevitable, we always knew this, the sooner they accept that the sooner we can make solid contingency plans.

"What of your new secretary? Aisha." I ask tilting my head up to look at Farrah as she paces the length of her office. "Get rid of the previous secretary and take his place."

"Unnecessary." Andreas huffs and scratches at the side of his head, thumbing snagging beneath his brow. His tell. That guilty little signal of his.

"What did you do?" My eyes narrow, voice low.

"What makes you think I-" he clears his throat awkwardly at my glare. "Calum was sent to work here under my command on behalf of Rosalind as a spy. In one of our many efforts to recover Rosalind from your clutches."

And to keep track of Sky in later years apparently. What did Andreas think? That Saul and I wouldn't have our son's records and file sealed and flagged so we would know if anyone went snooping after him.

"There is a way we can trace the magic used." Ben states and I recognise the passionate glint in his eyes as he begins to ramble. "There is a magical crystal, enchanted by our forebears to help trace and detect a wielder's magic. We give it the signature we seek and it glows and heats slightly to indicate when the wielder is in our presence. It's a fascinating artifact really, forged in the late 14th century and-"

"Ben." We all interrupt and freeze at our synchronised interruption. This is far too much to handle in one day. "Right, sorry. The queen has it."

I sigh in annoyance, leaning back against the cushions on the sofa as I cradle my stomach. 5 months. Yet it feels as though I have been pregnant for years with the toll my lack of magic is taking on me. Fairie pregnancies are longer than most due to our children becoming solely dependent on out magic but Helios above, another six months?

Granted, I didn't know for the first three. No mothers do. That's when our magic builds up reservoirs and forms our baby's magical signature and then the pregnancy continues on in the development timeline similar to a humans. Although Saul fears that due to his Dumaris blood we will have a shorter pregnancy since there's only takes around 7 months in comparison to my long suffering 11.

"Are you okay?" A gentle hand on mine has my attention brought back to the male in question, a worried frown adorning Sauls face as he looks to me in concern. "You spaced out there."

"I'm fine mon Guierre, just thinking." I soothe, resting a hand on his cheek. "You worry too much."

"He worries an adequate amount." Andreas retorts and I shoot him a glare as he sits down heavily on the sofa opposite us. "You should take more care of yourself."

"Between the two of you I am resting plenty."

"They're right." Farrah gives me a soft smile and for a moment I have my friend back. "Our pregnancies are dangerous, you should not feel any guilt in prioritising yourself and the babe."

"Especially with the war." Ben adds on, playfully pointing a tool at me as he looks up from whatever contraption he is tinkering on.

"Saul and I have things covered." Farrah tries to reassure me but her words have the opposite effect. "And now we have Andreas as well to take over when you wish to go on maternity leave-"

I am mercifully saved from this somewhat presumptuous and irritating conversation by Bloom flinging the door open and racing in, her face ashen with worry and over animated fear.

"Come quickly, I think Beatrix killed him."

"Killed who." I demand, rising to my feet with Andreas and Saul falling into step behind me.

"That lord's son. The one Stella is dating." Bloom's eyes dart around the room, her body shaking with panic and a flicker of worry shudders down my spine for my daughter and what she may have done. "Brandon I think."

Fuck Bea. We spoke about this.

You can't win Stella's heart by destroying Brandon's.

A/N: Would you like to see more of Irene's POV and if so, is there anything in particular you would like to see between her and other characters.

Dowling

Saul

Andreas

Sky

Riven

Beatrix