Gavin noticed when they reached their destination immediately. The submarine pushed through a spatial membrane that bent before snapping back over it accompanied by a popping of the ears. The hatches all over the ship opened onto various gangways and docks filled by dozens of ready workers who swarmed in to carry out the cargo to waiting pallets.

The underground cavern they stopped in was more than a quarter of a kilometer deep, with 2 other multi-leveled hydraulic docks for submarines like the one that had lifted them out of the water. The room smelled of salt and sweat that poked its way into your nose, the only freshness in the room coming from the dark green carpet of thick seaweed that hung low to the walls and massive metal vents set into the ceiling.

Carlos led Gavin across the cave into one of several industrial-sized elevators set into the wall. That was when everything finally clicked. "You're coming with me to meet the heirs, right?"

"I am."

"Hmm. Why'd you lie about who you are?"

"Huh?" Carlos laughed with just the right amount of baffled awkwardness and confusion. It was that habit- that perfectly balanced and expected reaction that felt too natural to be real- that tipped Gavin off, in the end. No one reacted exactly like how you expected. Everyone had their own little idiosyncrasies, strange little quirks that defined them. And yet every interaction Gavin had with Carlos was easy, flowing smoothly towards whatever point he was trying to make.

Carlos had been the perfect mob character, the idea someone whose only exposure to it came through popular media would have in their heads. "What are you talking about?"

Gavin rolled his eyes, growing more confident as he spoke. "Your acting was too good. You oversold it by playing your character perfectly. You were- what's the word? Archetypal. You were the archetypal mob character, down to the smooth charisma, capacity for violence, and even a gratuitous cigar. Nobody fits a stereotype that perfectly."

Carlos frowned, "Gavin, what the hell are you talking about."

"See? Right there." Gavin gestured vaguely at Carlos' expression. It was confused, but not the right kind of confused. When people felt they were getting called out for things they weren't doing, even if they didn't understand what you were accusing them of they got defensive not just confused. "You're not used to getting called on it, are you? You have no idea how you're supposed to react, and it's kind of obvious."

Carlos's real reaction started to bleed through, showing a defensiveness that hadn't been there before, the character of the endlessly cool mafia guy slipping away just enough that, ironically, made his character more believable. "I-" he shook his head slowly. "You're right. I've never been called like that before. Did you inherit a power that helped you do that? Maybe something of Fae origin?"

"Nope," Gavin said, relishing the way he popped the p on the end with full honesty. "It just made sense."

Not that Gavin could explain exactly how he'd been able to figure it out, when an important piece of the information he needed came from the small briefing he was given. The briefing had stated in Fieravanti Heir Marco's profile that it was likely that him or someone close to him could shapeshift or impersonate others.

So when Gavin realized Carlos wasn't who they said they were, he started thinking. A Spiritbind is a valuable artifact. So valuable that someone had already tried to steal it for themselves. If you were a mafia heir wanting to ensure that the Spiritbind fell into your hands one way or another, then you had to have someone you could trust there to ensure it made its way back to you. And who could you trust more than yourself?

"I mean come on, you were there waiting with me for the sub to arrive. In hindsight that should've tipped me off. If you can afford to travel there ahead of the first ship, then you could've just teleported me." Gavin stopped in place, trailing off as he realized what that meant. "Unless you wanted me on the ship. Did you plan that attack?!"

Carlos let out an explosive sigh, closing his eyes and looking down, out of frustration or a "Not exactly. I suspected something similar could happen, but I didn't plan it."

"So you lied. You could've stopped everything that happened."

"If I brought in more help or guarded you myself, yes. But that would have been counterproductive."

"Then why didn't you? And be honest."

Carlos raised his head. His lips and jaw were set tight as he swiped a hand over his face, his features melting away and being replaced by those of another, younger man, with slightly curly brown hair and tanned skin. "I'm Marco Fieravanti. Third heir of the Fieravanti Family. I didn't do that because I needed to see if you had potential."

"You threw away someone's life for a chance at a test? A test?!"

"I left you in that area because most of those men were spies for another faction. They would have been killed anyways."

"That doesn't make it okay, not in the slightest."

"You're going to need to lose that self-righteousness quickly."

"Self-righteousness is a hell of a way to put thinking murder is wrong."

Marco clasped his hands together absentmindedly, squeezing them together tightly. "I don't care what you want to call it. If you're not going to get your act together let me know now, hand over your Spiritbind be done with all this. You won't have to deal with tough decisions if you give it up. I won't even kill you to keep my shapeshifting a secret!"

Gavin scoffed. "That's not happening."

"Get over yourself. That's far from the worst thing you're going to have to deal with. If you want to live, other people are going to have to die."

Gavin looked at Marco, taking in his annoyed frustration, and put on his brightest smile. "I choose option one, then."

Gavin watched a quick burst of greenish-brown living Aether run beneath Marco's skin and drain the anger and frustration out of his body. "That's fine." He wiped a hand over his face, his features morphing back into Carlos' older ones. "We'll work with that."

----------------------------------------

We took one of those tall black cars to meet his sister, one of those behemoths of metal and tinted windows that looked like it would knock over a concrete wall if it crashed into it. The meeting place was a gorgeous Italian villa, with sweeping banisters and marbled floors that spun into artistic balustrades that sat beneath sweeping light gray aches. Carefully cut shrubs formed neat barriers on the path up to the house and outlined walking paths through the garden.

Alessia Fieravanti greeted them in the entryway with quick hugs. She wore her hair long silvery blonde hair in a severe ponytail and dressed in a blue formal suit that emphasized her broad shoulders. Carlos removed his disguise once again, causing her to pause, mouth opening into a small 'o' of surprise.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"He saw through my disguise, somehow," he complained.

She clapped her hands together in delight. "That's rather impressive. You're normally better than that."

Marco rolled his eyes, but didn't seem to take it personally. "Yeah yeah."

"So, Gavin," she turned to him, "Have you made your decision yet?"

"I have."

"...and?"

"He's going to try and fly under the radar," cut in Marco.

She recoiled slightly, drawing back and looking puzzled. "What?"

Gavin really felt like this should have been the obvious choice, but he'd spell it out for her if he must. "I've already had one attempt on my life, I'd like to avoid another one."

"Marco, you did explain to him that trying to fly under the radar would be less safe, right?"

He wiggled his hand back and forth. "Ehh. Kind of? He wasn't really interested in listening. He was still stuck on the part where I set up those moles."

"And so you just forgot to explain everything? Oddio Marco, what is wrong with you?"

"Look, I was trying to be dramatic okay? Maintaining your cover is an important part of tradecraft!"

"A cover that he saw through?"

"That's- a very good point, actually. Do you want to explain it?"

"Well no, but since you didn't think to do it on the way over I'll do it anyways."

Gavin watched the back and forth with a strange amusement that tumbled into an odder disconnect. They were obviously siblings, if nothing else. They both responded too fast to not already know how the other person was going to respond. It also reminded him that these mafia heirs were around his age, the brother was a bit older, the sister slightly younger than him.

Carlos laughed lightly and easily, turning to Gavin with a wink as his sister explained. "If you want to learn magic quickly you'll need tutors, places to practice, sparring partners and more. If you excel, we can justify giving you more of those resources and earn you a reputation that will help protect you from our factional rivals. People know better than to risk the golden goose."

"And what do you get out of this?"

"Excuse me?"

"You want me to choose that route. Why?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alessia started but Marco laid a hand on her arm.

"It's fine. I'll handle it."

"But-"

He gestured for her to wait with his hand and she begrudgingly fell silent. "It's because having a powerful asset to the family visibly in our camp, brought in by our people, will earn us extra clout amongst certain more headstrong neutral power blocs. Our eldest sister currently holds the most influence as she's supported by most of our grandparent's generation. Lorenzo, Matteo and Silvia are the most popular with younger, more radical crowds. The biggest portion of support is sitting neutrally, waiting to see where the wind blows. Recruiting powerful members to our own faction will do a lot for us."

Gavin nodded in thanks. Alessia rounded on her brother. "Seriously Marco?"

"A dozen people, Alessia. That's how many people, to my knowledge, that have managed to see through my disguises. Gavin is the third youngest to do so. He's not going to buy a line of bullshit forever, and the whole point is keeping him on our side for his potential. Alienating him now by withholding information would be idiotic."

"You should still consult me on these things before hand."

Marco looked a little sheepish. "Well like you said. I forgot. Can I handle the rest of this for you?"

Alessia uncrossed her arms. "Alright. Go ahead."

Marco turned to me. "Sorry, where are my manners? Let's head inside. Can I get you anything to drink? Wine? Beer?"

The group retired to a parlor to continue their conversation. The place was arranged around a rectangular table carved from some expensive-looking white petrified wood shot through with streaks of gray that looked almost like marble. A small array of plush white seats were arranged around it, and Alessia took the one at the head of the table.

"No thanks. I'm not fond of alcohol."

"How about a soda, then? I can also handle a mean mocktail. I did a stint as a bartender for a while, picked up a few tricks on the job." Marco said, walking behind the dark stone bar top that took up one wall to pick out some orange-ish alcoholic beverage that Gavin had no hope of recognizing.

Gavin blew out a bit of air. "Do you have sprite?"

Marco paused from where he'd been mixing a sugar cube with some reddish-brown liquid. "I don't know. Let me check."

He crouched beneath the bar, opening and closing fridge doors for a moment before coming up a moment later with a can of Sprite. He pulled out a tall glass, sliding it across the bar top to rest next to the two stouter glasses he already had out. He flipped the can of Sprite upside down in the air, letting it hang there with a burst of hydromantic Aether as he poured the amber liquid. Another flick of the wrist materialized three ice spheres that floated down into each of the glasses.

"I still don't understand why you want to try and fly under the radar. Is it spite?" He cracked the still-floating can of Sprite open with one hand, letting the sprite flow out through the opening and into the tall glass as he withdrew an orange and peeled it with deft motions. "Sure you will inconvenience us, but dying to get one over on us doesn't seem wise. It will almost certainly be more dangerous for you. Tons of people will go after you, thinking you're an easy target, and even if we put pressure on the other factions to keep their stronger people in line they may decide to go for you anyways."

He finished off the drinks by adding three cherries to one of old fashioneds, staining the top of the ice cube pink. Gavin accepted his sprite with a nod, taking a sip as Alessia received her cherry-topped drink. "Making myself stand out more just seems dangerous."

Alessia grabbed one of the cherries, biting it off and setting the stem on a small napkin Marco laid out for her, causing Gavin to finally clock the power dynamic here. Marco was smart and competent, and while Alessia clearly trusted him to advise her she was the one in charge. Marco subtly deferred to her in every action.

"Well you're wrong," said Alessia, "You've got a treasure in that Spiritbind. The only reason you're not being killed for it is because it's not certain that you'll leave it behind when you die, and that would be a waste. Suppose you show enough potential to make other people believe you're more valuable alive, as a potential future asset. In that case, you're less likely to get your soul extracted and experimented on in the hopes that whoever kidnapped you can increase the chances of claiming your Spiritbind."

"What my sister's saying is that your intuitions aren't always going to be right. There's a logic to how things work in our world, and you don't know it yet."

Alessia opened her mouth to speak, but a barely perceptible manipulation of Aether flitted over to her from Marco, causing her to quiet. Neither of them gave any other indication of the act- presumably some type of secret communication- away, other than Alessia stopping herself from talking. Gavin was very sure he was not supposed to see that. Interesting. If they could communicate secretly this whole time, then that means they wanted me to hear everything up to this point.

Gavin still wanted to avoid attention as much as possible. He had good reason for avoiding attention, as well. He was willing to bet that magical tutoring wouldn't be as necessary for him as it was for others. While Ser's memories didn't have many spells at the moment, they were rich with the theory and knowledge he'd need to digest to bolster his foundations.

But maybe that wasn't the best solution here. Adrian would absolutely want him to take the second option as well in order to support these two, and seems like he would enjoy doing so in Gavin's place.

"Will the second option really be less dangerous?"

"There will probably be fewer assassination attempts. And the ones that do happen will likely be less dangerous as well, as the stronger members won't try to kill you to take the Spiritbind for yourself."

Gavin paused for a moment and was left to think by the two heirs. He set down his glass, wiping the condensation on his palms on his pant leg. "What if we made a compromise?" Marco gestured for him to go on, and he did. "I'm okay to make myself stand out if it really will keep me safer, but I don't want to reveal everything. What we could do instead is figure out what level of talent puts me slightly above the point where I'll get all those benefits and put myself right there."

Alessia looked unimpressed, raising an eyebrow from where she sat with legs crossed. "You're awfully confident in yourself."

"I am."

Alessia looked to Marco. "Do you think this could work?"

"I could draft up a set of targets for him to hit, but the problem is we won't be able to set up the right level of instruction for Gavin without giving the game away."

"I won't need them."

Alessia scoffed at him. "That's ridiculous. Magical education has been iterated on for millennia. All you're going to do is slow or stunt your potential growth when you stumble around in the dark, not taking advantage of perfectly capable teachers."

Marco's narrowed eyes relaxed suddenly and he smiled widely. Another pulse of Aether shot between them, seeming to communicate whatever Alessia needed to hear. "We can work with that." He stood up, draining the last few sips in his glass and leaving it on the table. "I'll set up a schedule paced for a potential magical prodigy that will be the standard you're expected to keep up with, and I'll schedule some unsupervised time in shielded training rooms that you can use. Unstructured time to experiment will be expected, and won't bring extra suspicion."

Alessia stood as well, reaching her hand out to Gavin to shake. "Is that acceptable?"

Gavin took her hand, feeling her overwhelming strength clearly when his hand was forced to move with hers. "Works for me."