Last night's storm had broken the thick humidity in the air. The afternoon sun was high in the crisp blue sky. A cool breeze cut through the heat. Kismet hurried to keep up with Nyx's skateboard and Angel's long strides.

Nyx assured her there was nothing to be nervous about, but meeting her parents was intimidating none-the-less. Having already met Daisy, Aiden, Julian, and Watcher Liz, they were the only two of the six council members Kismet had yet to be introduced to.

Their house was small, like the others, and painted a soft grey. The flower bed beneath the front window livened up the yard with splashes of pinks, reds, and yellows. Nyx hopped off her skateboard, flipped it up, and caught it. They followed the rock footpath to the veranda. The new, freshly painted pine contrasted with the much older wood of the house.

Nyx let herself in with Angel strolling behind her. Kismet tucked her hands in the front of her hoodie to hide them shaking.

Meeting the others hadn't been so bad. Everyone's been nice so far, well except for Julian. It's silly, but I didn't think the stakes would be so high, but of course there would be some kind of vetting process. What did I expect?

The narrow porch could hardly contain the three of them, competing for space with the staircase and the pile of shoes and boots beside the closet. The sound greeted her first. It was loud in the house in a way that was familiar to her. Kismet had lived in crowded houses before, however, the tone here was much lighter and jovial than the places she had known, where people had argued and elbowed just to carve some space.

The energy was light, though there was a lot of it. She recognized Alistair's voice coming from the living room, laughing with a man and a woman. The scent of baking chocolate-chip cookies wafted from the kitchen at the end of the narrow hall, along with the clanging noises of someone messing about with baking sheets.

Nyx led the way into the living room. The white curtains on the picture window were drawn back to allow sunlight to stream in unimpeded. Three mugs crowded on the coffee table along with a half-eaten spread of snacks. There were plates of chocolate, cheese, and skinny ham rolls.

Alistair sprawled out, taking up the length of the couch, his legs resting on a girl that, if not for her flowing green hair, would have been identical to Nyx. Kismet assumed she must be Cassie. Her aura glimmered a deep green like fresh seaweed and gold glitter speckled through it.

The older man lounged in the arm chair, fully reclined. His blond hair, though short at the sides and slightly longer on top was artfully messy. Thick black framed glasses slid down the bridge of his nose, and he pushed them up to the same green eyes shared between the triplets. His aura glowed the brightest, a brilliant blood-orange. Nyx introduced the man as her father, Jay.

Alistair sat up to make space. Angel and Nyx squeezed in between him and Cassie, and Kismet sat in the empty armchair on the opposite end of the room. She looked at the snacks, but was too shy to take any.

"Kismet," Jay said, greeting her with a warm smile, "Alice told us about you."

"All good things," said Alistair, taking one of the ham rolls.

Kismet flushed, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. She stared at her hands folded in her lap, unsure of what to say. The more her nerves ate her, the louder their thoughts became and she fought to push them down, to keep herself calm.

Maybe I should have a piece of cheese after all?

"Why'd you come to the island after all this time?" Cassie asked. She leaned forward a little to see around the others on the couch.

"I wanted to learn more about my powers," said Kismet. It was the simplest explanation. There was no need to dig into details.

"Why didn't you go to The Academy as a kid or something?" asked Cassie.

"Alright, enough with the interrogation," said Nyx.

"What? I'm just asking," said Cassie with a slight frown. "There's plenty of mutants who live on the mainland, so I wanted to know why the island? Especially after all this time. It's so cruddy here. There's nothing to do."

"It's not cruddy," said Alistair.

"Of course you'd say that," Cassie teased. "You're boring."

"It's difficult to explain," said Kismet. "It seems that abilities are ok if you're useful and quiet about them. There are plenty of mutants who work and live alongside humans that get along alright. Just be productive about it, don't make it overly noticeable, and definitely don't become a problem."

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"What is it that you do, exactly?" Jay asked.

Nyx tensed. Magenta flashed through her aura, her eyes momentarily flicking to Angel, to Kismet, then straight ahead again. Her thoughts were so loud it was a wonder no one else could hear them.

Did Julian speak to him? Did Daisy? Did he know? Is this a test?

Sweat pooled on the back of Kismet's neck. In order to answer, she would have to read Jay's mind. Directly, distinctly, and on purpose.

She wanted to throw up.

Angel's eyes fixed on her, his brow furrowed. He must have sensed her energy shift.

Kismet forced herself to be still.

Her mind's eye clicked, snapping into focus. Out of the humming sea of voices, she found Jay's and zoomed in. She rifled through scene cards of memories like a filing cabinet. No, he did not speak to Julian or Daisy about her abilities.

The center of Kismet's forehead, right behind her skull, began to burn. It was like stretching a stiff, cold muscle. Determining this still didn't tell her what the correct answer should be. Join in Nyx's lie, or tell the truth?

Is there a reason Julian may not want a telepath on the island? Would Jay agree?

Summoned by this question, she was dragged through a flash of memory clips, flying past at lightning speed. Kismet willed herself to hit the breaks, but something came loose. She couldn't gain any traction. With what little awareness she still had of her body, she felt her heart beat a rapid tattoo under her ribs.

The images ground to a halt and she found herself standing in Julian's living room. She was much taller than her usual height, seeing through Jay's eyes. It was night outside, the curtains tightly drawn. Only the lamp on the nightstand lit the room. The house was newer then, and not as full of furniture and clutter, but the structure was more dilapidated as it had yet to be repaired.

Ivy stood in the archway between the living room and the hall. Her skin was porcelain white, as was her long straight hair that fell beyond her waist. Even her eyelashes were white, framing eyes that were narrow and cold - a pale silver like diamonds, so sharp they impaled her.

A much younger Julian stood his ground. Electricity sizzled around him, crackling the air.

"No," Julian said through gritted teeth, glaring at Ivy. "Take him back."

"I promised Ember," said Ivy. Her voice was clear as ice.

"He might be better off with you." Jay suggested. "Who better to protect him?"

"While I'm at war?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"What about all those kids at The Academy you just obliterated? Can't he go wherever they're headed?" Julian asked.

"Until I've erected a new academy, that would be here," Ivy said, keeping her voice firm and even. "Some of the older Watchers, and Watchers without abilities suitable to combat are going to raise them on the island. Then, when I've built my academy, those willing can join me there."

Julian crossed his arms. "Then give him to one of them."

"This was Ember's dying wish," said Ivy. "She wanted him here with you. That's all she'd speak about."

The lilt of begging in her voice and desperation in her eyes seemed so strange to Kismet. This was not the formidable woman she had come to know through the television, or haunted the boogey-man stories of her childhood.

Jay's heart clenched, his chest tightening. "Julian, maybe you should? If it's what Ember wanted -"

"She didn't give a damn about what I wanted when she went and got caught, did she?" Julian snapped.

"It's not like she did it on purpose," Jay pleaded. "It was an accident."

"She was impatient," Julian growled. "We were so close to getting to the island, but she just had to go flying -"

"Enough," Ivy snapped.

Both men stopped and looked at her. It was clear why some had already begun to worship her. The wrath of a god blazed in her eyes. She seemed to float into the room rather than walk, her black cloak trailing behind as she approached Julian.

Jay had to give him credit. He did not flinch.

"You did not deserve her, not even for a minute. I am offering you a gift, and you are spitting in my eye. This is the last piece of her on Earth and you would turn him away? She died trying to get him here."

"She died because of you," Julian snarled. "If not for you and this war -"

Ivy's eyes ignited blue fire. Electricity sizzled in the air between them, crackling in tiny lightning bolts around Julian's clenched fists.

Jay's heart raced. Kismet watched from behind his eyes as he stepped between them. Fire formed in his palms. He didn't want to fight. It would not end well for either of them to oppose her.

"Cool it, both of you," he said, then turned to Ivy. "Fine. Leave him, but you need to go."

Kismet awoke, gasping and choking on air. A cold wash cloth was pressed to her forehead. She was in a strange room on the bottom bunk of someone else's bed. She took a moment to catch her breath, taking in her surroundings. The salmon pink walls were plastered with Polaroids arranged artfully, clustered with thematic stickers. Mostly stars or flowers. It was like a scrapbook taking up the entire stretch of the wall. A white desk pressed in the corner next to a matching dresser.

A knock came at the door before a woman let herself in. She carried in a tray with milk and fresh cookies, her deep brown eyes soft with sympathy. In the liminal space between consciousness, Kismet gathered that this was Nyx's mother Molly. Her aura shone an egg-shell white, almost matching her cream coloured sweater.

Kismet went to apologize, but the woman shushed her. "It's alright," she said. "I brought you something to eat. That usually helped Daisy when she got overwhelmed." Molly waited for Kismet to get situated and gently placed the tray on her lap once she was sitting up. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better now," said Kismet. Though that was only relative to not being unconscious anymore. Chills rippled through her body and she struggled to keep her teeth from chattering. Flashes of her vision lingered in her mind, churning through her stomach.

"Nyx tells us you're an empath?" said Molly. "That must be difficult to deal with, especially on your own all this time."

"It certainly has its moments," said Kismet. She took a bite of the cookie, gradually coming back to her senses. Her hands trembled.

What do I tell Angel? Anything?

"Are you ok dear?" Molly asked, furrowing her brow. "You're looking a little green."

Guilt twisted a nauseating heat through her guts. She tried to push the vision from her mind but it was there every time she blinked.

"I'll be fine," Kismet said.