"So, you can heal people?" Ashton asked as the Dark Lord, his friends and I were seated once again in the dining hall for breakfast.

I nodded. Guessing that perhaps the Prince told him about my Gift. Or that he was nearby, eavesdropping on the day Hunter died.

He winked at me. Then smirked. Ashton was too pretty for his own good "only healing?" he said.

I paused. Wanting to lie. And say, yes, I only heal. But instead, I chose to be partially truthful "I have visions too" I said "though I can't control it".

As the visions come to me irregularly. And quite sadly, I never see visions about anything related to me else, I'd have loved to have warned my country about Randall's attack.

"Visions and healing. Fantastic" Nadia said "two impressive Gifts".

Three. I wanted to say. Three Gifts. But, kept shut. Healing and seeing visions were one part, but my most formidable Gift was, that I was a Feeder. A secret that I don't enjoy sharing. A secret I hid from Randall and Eleanor (so, they don't take advantage of it). And it was the secret weapon I intend to use against the Dark Lord, when his six months was up. The six months to repay him for saving me from the wraiths and from drowning. The six months deadline to save my people.

Feeders, like sorcerers, were rare and considered to be dangerous even by their fellow Gifted. Why? We could feed on the Gifts of others. Absorbing it as our own.

Sometimes, when we feed in excess (absorbing another Gifted's magic in excess), it could weaken or even kill the Gifted.

So, although, Gifteds liked to support one another, since already, non-Gifted tend to fear them, many Gifted stayed stayed far far away from Feeders.

I looked at the green-eyed shifter. His eyes were on Nadia again. Did she know he enjoyed staring at her?

"Forgive Brayton, my lady" Ashton joked "sometimes the way he looks at Nadia, as though he wants to eat her, makes me want to puke".

Oh. No. Ash. I laughed inwardly.

"If we were at the camp. And the other soldiers noticed his constant stare. They'd think he was the homosexual one here" Ash said. Since everyone besides us on this table, thought Nadia was a male.

And I couldn't resist laughing at Ashton's jab.

The striking green-eyed shifter, whom, I now knew was Brayton, picked the piece of bread on his plate and flung it at Ashton. Ashton dodged.

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"You can't even throw properly" Ashton jested "no wonder Nadia still hasn't picked you".

The sip of tea Brayton had gulped, spat out of his mouth, in shock "and no wonder, no matter the number of times every homosexual male says you look good, the one man you want, won't ever fancy you" Brayton said. Then placed his hand on his chest, as if in pain "that must hurt, Ash. Really really hu..."

Ashton snatched his own slice of bread and threw it back at Brayton. Brayton picked another of his to throw back.

"Oh please! Stop! Stop!" Nadia yelled.

Both men glared at each other. For like twenty seconds. And then, burst into laughter.

"Cederic" Nadia looked at me "he's the one Ashton likes".

"Oh. No. Not again" Ashton rolled his eyes.

"She needs to know. She's one of us now. So, we hide nothing from her".

"And he is one of us. One of the elite personal guards" she added.

While we talked, the Dark Lord remained calm. And quiet. I was starting to think that He wasn't much of a talker.

"You're Gifted?" I said to Ashton.

He nodded "we're all Gifted".

I looked round the table. Wow. A group of Gifted trusting each other and keeping one another safe. I liked that.

"I can make several giant clones of myself" Ashton said. "Brayton is a shifter" he continued "king of shifters" he explained.

I turned to Brayton. Looking at him with a different set of eyes. A king shifter? Wow! Shifters tended to love showcasing their Gifts, like Eleanor did. With their Gifts, that gave them superstrength, they felt like they could bully anyone, and they did, most often.

More so, the shifters I've met, before you even spoke five sentences to them. They've already told you that they were shifters.

A king shifter was born once in every hundred years. Their Gift could not be fed on. I may Feed on him and Transform to a wolf or another beast, but I wouldn't gain that Gift that made him Alpha. Alpha of all beasts.

For with a howl alone he could call every wolf / beast nearby, except a dragon of course. And most importantly, the other shifters couldn't resist his Call. And lastly, unlike other shifters, who could only Transform to just one particular type of animal, Brayton, the king of shifters could Transform to all types of animals - both small or large animals (except a dragon).

"Nadia" Ashton said "is a weather mage. She controls storm. And that's our Gifts" he concluded.

He didn't need to add the Dark Lord's Gift. Every soul in Armalith has heard of it.

And then, I thought to myself. My husband, I didn't know his name. Everyone in the Capital called him the Dark Lord. While his friends simply said, "the Prince" though I think they did that on purpose. You shouldn't share a Prince's name, unless, He gives you permission to.

At that moment, Brayton whispered into the Prince's ears. They spoke in low tones. And then, He stood up "time to go".

To return to the military camp.

Before He could take another step, I held his gloved hand and said, "my name is Xemein".

His eyes moved from where our hands were joined, right up to my neck. My lips. And then, my eyes.

"Regalis" He said. Then, a hint of a smile appeared on his cheeks "call me, Regalis".

My heart skipped. To address Him without his title? His humility, made me want to like him more.

And as I followed them out, to watch them mount Shalott and fly to the border. What I thought of was this. Regalis.

He had powerful friends who loved Him.

That meant, if I killed him in six months time, I'd be haunted for the rest of my life, by his Gifted friends.

But, I told myself this, for Marjol, my life and the life of the man I was starting to care about, was simply nothing.