When Ava and Josh arrived, Gregori was staring out the window. He stood next to a polished walnut desk that overlooked the cityscape and evening lights. Shelves full of knick-knacks and old relics lined the walls. They circled the room like the forest surrounding the Capitol building, showcasing the progression of history and how far they’ve evolved.

  In this room, no one was watching, no one was listening. They were all alone.

  Gregori looked at a picture in his wrinkled hand as he swirled a drinking glass with the other. The picture was printed on real paper, one of the few left before the war. This one was pressed between clear, slated glass, trying to keep it safe and secure from time itself.

  He downed the drink, tossed the picture away in a drawer, and roughly set the glass cup on the desk. The ice ball clung around. He had to be stressed if he’d drink this early.

  “Tell me what happened in the foyer,” Gregori ordered.

  Hesitantly, Ava debriefed him, spilling everything that happened from the moment the Black Rabbit arrived to Sam’s wound and treatment. She never once mentioned Mika putting a protection spell on her or her dream about that demon man. He didn’t know about Marc’s curse mark either and she planned to keep it that way.

  The air grew heavy after she finished speaking, along with a hard stare from Josh. Gregori picked a bottle of moonshine whiskey off a vintage cart and poured himself another half glass full. The room filled with its heavy scent and clouded her senses. She fixated on it, throat dried.

  Ava felt caught between two worlds: the UFE and Amaranthine. She wanted to trust Gregori with all her heart, but she knew this man kept more secrets than any living human. If he could have his secrets, so could Ava.

  Her thoughts collided. She couldn't keep track of it all: the Reaper attacking her in her sleep, the Junipea impostor, and how this villain might be a god. It grew hotter by the second, and the only way it’d stop was to ask the inevitable.

  “They told me the gods and reapers are real. Did you know?”

  Josh chuckled in bewilderment, then dragged a hand down his face. “I shoulda never let you spend the night with them. One night, and your head’s already filled with nonsense.”

  Ava clenched her hands into fists, glared up at him through the corner of her sharp eyes. “Then explain why we were attacked by a reaper in the ballroom last night.”

  She still wasn’t a hundred percent sure the demon man was a reaper or not, but twins thought so. They went out of their way to protect her with a spell. This would be the first time Ava picked a side other than her own.

  Gregori touched the glass globe of their world. His fingers made prints where he touched, disappeared each time until he stopped on the North Pole. He pressed in on it.

  “When did Primordial make first contact with Earth?” he asked, staring at the globe, but Ava knew he expected her to answer.

  Ava stood at attention, recalling what she learned in the academy. “In 2083. Exactly two years before World War III began.”

  World War III was the last ground war, which lasted seven years until the UFE conquered or won over those left alive on their dying planet. Gregori, who led the forces, swiftly became their salvation and formed the UFE as the new Chief Commander.

  “And why did they come to Earth?”

  “To conquer us by giving us a fake device to restore our planet. Instead, it wiped out the Pacific Ocean and killed billions around the world.”

  “And this whole time—for eighty years—we’ve been fighting against the mastermind of all their attacks.” He slammed the glass on the globe so hard it cracked the base. “If it wasn’t for Zephyrus, we would have won this Interstellar War by now.”

  Zephyrus was the Primordial’s Head Advisor. His name had been ingrained in Ava’s head since the day she picked up a sword. Although she’d never seen a picture of him—because no picture existed—there was this deep, undeniable hatred in her, mirroring Gregori’s blackened heart.

  “Do you know why it’s said he’s the most brilliant being alive?” Gregori asked, a dark tent to his cold, hard gaze. It chilled Ava to the bone. “Because he’s the god of wisdom.”

  Josh dragged a hand through his mohawk, trying to make sense of Gregori’s confession. Like Ava, he’d always looked up to Gregori. To hear their fearless leader had been keeping such a big secret was Earth shattering. Ava thought about all the reasons why he’d kept this secret, but it was hard. She couldn’t justify his reasoning.

  Ava summoned the Bō. The weight was just as heavy as during her fight. She used to think of this as a tool to help protect her planet, but after today, it felt more like a weapon used to wage war. A weapon that shouldn’t exist, but without it, she wouldn’t exist either.

  “So then you must know I’m using a god’s weapon to fight with.” Ava stepped closer, shoving it towards him. “What exactly am I? Why did you really create me!”

  Gregori took hold of the obsidian metal. His thick fingers squeezed it without mercy under his muscular build like he was trying to break it. “I have searched high and low on this planet for your birth record, but there is no data left. I have no answers for you.”

  She wasn’t expecting to get an answer, but she was disappointed, regardless. “Then get me inside that laboratory. Maybe there’s information in there that you missed. I have to at least try looking for myself.”

  He didn’t waver from her hard gaze, and the longer they stared at each other, an unspoken challenge settled between them. She refused to back down any longer, not when she was this close to uncovering the truth.

  Josh’s cell phone rang, cutting their conversation short. The hard rock tune blared against the shelves in an encore of shouts. He picked it up, silently listened to the caller until the line disconnected.

  “They spotted Gio and Mika. And it looks like Mika is severely wounded.” His heavy boots slapped the concrete floor in hurried strides, mimicking Ava’s heart. “They’re heading back home.”

  He placed a hand on her shoulder, eager to leave, which was unusual for him.

  “This conversation does not leave this room. Is that understood? We can’t lose the public’s trust during this critical time,” Gregori said.

  Josh and Ava saluted. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good, you are dismissed.” He gave back the Bō, but wouldn’t let it out of his tight grip just yet. “And, Avalyn. I created you from the idea of giving our people hope, and you have excelled passed my expectations. You have become your own person. But if you keep chasing the stars… you will find yourself at the end of a sword.”

  Ava practically yanked the Bō out of his grip before he let go. He gave them one final order. “If anything suspicious arises with our new guests, report back to me.”

  This time they didn’t respond.

  In an instant, Josh and Ava arrived back at Caterina’s bedroom door. The whiskey disappeared under Josh’s cheap cologne. Ava could breathe easy now and focused on her surroundings. More voices murmured from the living room: Mika complained and Darious told him to deal with it. Ava sighed. She never thought she’d be thankful to hear Mika’s voice.

  Gio walked out of his room behind them, changed in a new pair of sweats and shirt. He hugged Ava and squeezed her tight, wrapping her in his lilac scent. It was comforting and smelled like their mom.

  As Josh left for the living room, Gio whispered in her ear, “I was just about to see you. How are you doing?”

  Ava grasped his shirt and unraveled. “I almost lost control, Gio. I told everyone else it was the Black Rabbit that made the mess in the foyer, but it was me. I cracked all the marble and the window—”

  He roughly grasped her face, his words came out fierce. “It’s not your fault. This wasn’t your doing. It was his. I will find the Black Rabbit and kill him myself. I will never let him harm you again.”

  Her lips trembled. “But what if that’s Junipea? What if he came back?”

  “He died, Ava! No one ever comes back from the dead!”

  “But he knew my fighting style! He knew my abilities! No one but my teammates know all of my abilities. You know this.” Ava grabbed his arms. “It’s been drilled into our heads since day one to never reveal our true identities.”

  He looked away, wrinkles formed across his forehead in irritation, but she wouldn't stop. He had to understand. “The god and reapers exist. They are real, not just some myth. Gregori just confirmed it. So it’s possible Junipea came back from the dead.”

  “If what you say is true, then wouldn’t he have Junipea’s memories?” Gio whispered.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Ava paled. Oh my god. This wasn’t good. They had to talk to Marc.

  She quickly entered the living room with Gio hot on her trail. Sam perked up, color tinted his cheeks. He looked more awake, sitting straighter on the couch, while Marc looked like he had a million questions.

  Leo sutured the last wound on Mika’s arm. Mika groaned and dropped his head back against the couch cushion. His wavy black hair was a tangled mess of dirt. Fresh blood from his wound dyed the forest green upholstery into a shade of brown.

  His shirt had clean cuts like someone took a knife to it. There was hardly any left between his grip and the extra shirt hiding beneath. The wound on his arm was not as severe as Sam’s were, but with too many the medicine would harm the skin.

  Ava’s heart ached as he squirmed around. She clenched the medallion through her shirt. At least he made it back in one piece and alive, she kept reminding herself. He was alive and in a talkative mood.

  Mika glared at Darious who stood behind the couch. “He got a numbing shot. Why can’t I have one?” he whined, voice scratchy like he’d been yelling a lot.

  Darious shook his head, while fingers touched his forehead. “Unbelievable. Sam almost died and you are only worried about your own pain.”

  “I’d worry if he looked like he was dying. He’s clearly fine and in good health—ow!”

  Mika shot Leo a rigid glare, but it didn’t deter Leo from continuing. “If you stopped moving, this would go faster,” he plainly stated.

  Josh harshly grabbed Ava, his fingers dug into her shoulder blade, but not out of anger. They trembled in their wake, fear prominent on his face. “Think twice about whatever you’re gonna say because I’m at the end of my rope. And I could use a fucking drink.”

  “We need to leave,” Ava told him. “We need to leave. Now.”

  She closed in on Marc, he met her halfway at the coffee table. “The Black Rabbit might have Junipea’s memories. And with the barrier down, we’re not safe here anymore.”

  “Who cares if he has Junipea’s memories. We know it’s not him.” Mika rubbed at his healed arm.

  “Because he’s been all over the city. He’s been in this room. In all our homes. He could teleport in here right now and there’s nothing we can do to stop him.”

  Josh cursed under his breath multiple times as Marc ran fingers through his hair and paced the living room. He was stressed out. Ava was stressed out. There was too much going through her head she couldn't think straight. At this rate, I might join Josh at the bar.

  “There must be one place he's never been to,” Darious coolly said, bringing calm to the wave of chaos. “It's impossible for one individual to have traveled all over this globe.”

  Except Junipea was Ava’s guardian. He had access to places the public couldn't go, and to all the lodges they stayed at when they traveled.

  Marc stopped by the dining table and swiped out his phone. His thumbs moved quickly, tapping away on the screen. “There's one place he's never been. It was built after he died and isn't registered on the maps,” he said, then paused. “We have to go to no-man's-land.”

  He kept his gaze focused on the phone’s screen as the walls felt like they closed in around Ava. The Council built that place to confine her, to keep her caged. Marc knew if she went there, she’d lose all the freedom she had left, which meant she’d have a hard time searching for her birth record.

  Marc told them it was a go and started dishing out orders. “Leo, I need you to transport and set up Caterina’s medical equipment. Darious can you pack for the twins?”

  Sam stood, using the couch arm for leverage. “I can pack for myself. I’m feeling better than before.”

  “You can barely stand. I’ll pack for him and myself. Let Darious help with their mom,” Mika said, standing with a steady balance. There were more cuts on his shirt, an ace bandage across his torso.

  “I could use the extra hands,” Leo added.

  “Okay,” Marc said. “Meet back here in fifteen minutes and pack what you consider valuable. We’ll have the movers send everything else over later.”

  He left the home to make a call. The bodies were gone, the marble floor was clean and the toxic bleach seeped in through the cracks. The cleanup crew was as quick as always. The same couldn’t be said about Ava’s home.

  They left the living room in a disorderly state: couch pillows and the tile floor were stained with dark blood, the wastebasket was stuffed full of opened packages and used sterile gloves, few scattered on the mahogany coffee table. The dishes on the dining table held a cold breakfast.

  Ava regretted not coming home as soon as she woke up. Then maybe her mom wouldn’t be as sick as she was. Maybe things would’ve played out differently. Maybe Gio could’ve helped her fight.

  Darious followed Leo to Caterina’s room, passing Ava without so much as a glance. She still didn’t trust him and with Caterina asleep in a vulnerable state, it made her anxious. She should supervise.

  Mika caught Ava’s wrist before she passed her room. His touch was gentle and light, fingers easily wrapped around her skin. She was getting used to his touch and she hated it.

  His mouth opened, then pressed into a straight line. Whatever he had to say, he was taking too long to spit it out. “About earlier,” he mumbled under his breath. “Thanks.”

  This guy kept surprising Ava. She never expected gratitude from him, the one who confessed he didn't like her. Maybe this was a trick, his way of pulling a fast one.

  Ava snapped her arm from his hold and rubbed his warmth out of her skin. “Just watch your surroundings next time. I don’t wanna have to keep saving you every time we go out and fight.”

  Mika’s gaze dropped to the floor, jaw clenched, displacing his usual arrogance. She didn’t mean to hurt him. Stupid crap came out of her mouth when she was overstressed, and when she thought too much, but she refused to apologize. Her pride always got in the way.

  “Sam. Hey, Sam, what’s wrong?” Gio shouted.

  He shook Sam by the shoulders, but Sam could hardly keep his eyes open. His whole body slumped further into the couch until a lucid peace overcame him. Is he having a side effect from the healing shot?

  Mika gasped, twisted his shirt like he was in pain. Maroon blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. “What's happening to…”

  He took one last deep breath and slumped back.

  Ava grabbed his arm, but it was Darious who caught him. There was shock in Darious’ eyes. His cool demeanor vanished, replaced with anxious movements. He took Mika into his arms without a moment’s thought.

  Leo hurried down the hall, his bag slapping against his side. Mika’s head lolled back against Darious’ shoulder, legs were lifeless over his arm, eyes closed off to the world. Darious hurried to the couch and set Mika next to Sam. Their heads instantly rested against one another on the pillow as if a magnet kept them connected. They were the picture-perfect scene of two princes being swept away into a never-ending dream.

  Leo opened each eyelid and flashed a light into their pupils, then checked their pulse and listened to their breathing. He even used the CAT Scan across each body. All the while Darious tapped his foot, and just kept staring at Mika’s sleeping face.

  When the CAT Scan beeped, Leo read through the results. It felt like seconds turned into minutes into hours. This was taking forever. “What’s wrong with them?” Ava asked.

  Leo pursed his lips, giving Darious a grim expression. “They're transitioning.”

  “I thought you said their birthday wasn’t for another two days,” Darious snapped.

  “The time difference equation between Amaranthine and Earth has always been a bit questionable. So the calculations should always be taken as hypothetical,” Leo stated.

  “That's right. When Marc turned twenty-one, he didn’t transition until seven days after his birthday,” Ava said, more so to herself.

  Darious went rigid, his white hair seemed to poof up, and turned his anger onto Marc. “You should have told me this kind of information beforehand.”

  “I thought they would transition later like I did. This was never supposed to be a problem,” Marc said, but Darious wasn’t having it.

  He stepped close to Marc, anger seethed through his eyes and clenched fists, and Marc welcomed it. Ava stepped between them and put a hand on both of their firm chests. Their hot and cold temperatures rose with an impending fight. Her actions calmed them, but not enough to stop the friction. We don’t have time for this.

  Ava shoved them back, far enough Marc was near the front door and Darious stood at the coffee table, but no matter how far apart they were, they still glared at each other.

  “You guys are making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. There is no problem. All we have to do is take them with us,” Ava said.

  No one responded. A stylus could drop and the tension would still be here.

  Marc ran a hand through his black hair. There were smudges on his glasses from touching his hair so frequently today. Whenever he did this, Ava never liked what came out of his mouth.

  “We can't take them with us. We'll have to leave them here for now,” Marc said. “Let’s take them to their rooms and surround them in a koto barrier.”

  “I assume there will be aids coming in and out of the rooms, but just in case, Marcoussis and I will take shifts watching over them until they wake up,” Darious said. They both agreed as if this was the only option, like they weren’t about to duke it out a second ago, but Ava wouldn’t have it.

  When Darious approached Mika, she blocked his path. “Wait. You can't be serious. The Black Rabbit might come back and kill them in their sleep.”

  For the second time today, Darious was shocked, and he didn’t say a word. Marc spoke, “We can't teleport them while they're unconscious. It might scramble their brains and ruin their transition. And it’ll take hours to fly them… We can’t risk it.”

  Ava refused to move. Sure, she might have had ulterior motives for staying, but she was worried about the twins. The Black Rabbit was so quick on his actions, he’d kill them before anyone could stop him. So she’d protect them herself.

  Marc pursed his lips. “Believe me. I want nothing more than for them to be safe, but with the state they're in now, it's worse to move them.”

  “Then I'm not leaving here until they're awake. It only took you five days to wake up. That’s not very long,” Ava pleaded. “I can help if you’d just let me.”

  He took her arm before she could react. She pulled and twisted, tried to free herself from his iron grip, but it was useless. “Let me go!”

  The room changed in an instant. She now stood in a hollow house.

  The dusk of an evening sun filtered in through large straight windows reaching up to the ceiling. Its light cascaded on the livid tinted cabinets of a stark kitchen and the modest chandelier hung above the dining room table—identical to the one back home.

  Marc let her go and stepped back, creaking the stressed wood floor with each quick press. “I'm sorry, but I can't risk losing you, too.”

  Ava reached out for him, but her hand swiped the air. He was gone, left her alone in this house with her frantic thoughts. She had to leave. She had to find a way home.

  There was a living room next to the kitchen, and another one that led through two-panel doors, sunlight beamed from the skylight above. A hallway was to her left and stairs to the right, leading down against the far-off wall—to a basement.

  She whipped around and found the front door right behind her. In seconds, she flung it open and ran outside without caution.

  Her pants pushed into snow, socks froze to her skin as they soaked in the winter ice. It covered the ground in layers of soft pillows, reaching as high as her knees. Spruce trees surrounded them like a barrier from the world, stretching on for miles long into the mountain range.

  They were nowhere close to home.