From where she was seated, Calla could hear the sounds of plates tapping each other from the kitchen. She frowned, wondering if it was common for the others to stick Gwydion with all of the cleaning. Maybe it was due to her good nature or that she actually wanted to spend time with Gwydion, but something made her get to her feet and move to the kitchen.

Inside, the kitchen wasn’t all that special. The countertops were made of nicely patterned wood. A large fireplace rested to the side with metal hangers attached so to boil pots of water. A kettle is currently hung from the metal bar. Just before her was the figure of the tall man with long red hair which he kept in a messy updo as he stood before the sink, cleaning the dishes before a large open window that had a view of a small garden of flowers Calla knew was on that side of the cottage. Gwydion didn’t seem to act as if he knew she was standing there but a small part of her had a feeling that he was very much aware. Though facing away, she could feel the smile the man had on his face. Giving a small sigh, she walked over to him.

“Gwydion, would you like any help with the dishes?” she asked, looking up at him. He opened his eyes, the playful grin she knew he was doing only growing.

“That would be rather kind of you, love,” he answered cheerfully. He took a cloth he had draped on his shoulder and handed it to her. “How about I wash you dry?”

Calla nodded, taking the cloth that was already damp before being handed a dish. The two were oddly quiet for a moment, Calla putting away the dishes once dry. As she did, she heard Gwydion give a small chuckle.

“Forgive me for being so quiet, love. I’m not used to having company while I’m in the kitchen.” he pointed out, smiling warmly in her direction. “The others are not as willing to assist in such things.”

Calla frowned at that, a little curious. “You haven’t ever asked for help before?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. He laughed again at that.

“Oh, I’ve asked in the past. You know how the others are,” he answered, his attention returning to the few dishes he had left. Calla gave him a bit of a look at that.

“I mean, I don’t really know how any of you are.” she pointed out, making him frown as his gray eyes returned to her once she walked back over to dry another dish. A thought seemed to hit him before he smirked.

“Ah, so that is why you offered to help. You want to understand me better, yes?” he asked, making Calla a tad flustered to be called out. He dramatically touched his face, beaming with delight. “To take advantage of the situation and use the moment when I am vulnerable. To think you were such a naughty girl~”

Calla jolted at that, eyeing him, her face bright red as she glared at him. “W-What are you even talking about?! I’m not using you!” she huffed in surprise. However, Gwydion was just giving her an amused look, a wicked grin on his face. She grumbled at the sight. He was making her sound like some kind of master manipulator. Her eyes softened at that thought, Blaise’s words filling her mind.

“I’m only teasing, love,” Gwydion said calmly after a moment before returning to the dishes, he was on the last cup to wash anyway. However, something seemed to catch his attention from just outside the window. He frowned, Calla watching curiously as he reached out to touch a wilted flower from a vine that was climbing the side of the house, framing the open window when the shutters were open.

He seemed to be thinking over something before humming to himself. Carefully, glittery sparks of magic began to dance around his fingertips and over the small flower. To Calla’s amazement, the flower began to perk itself up, becoming filled with brilliance once again as if brought back to life. The sight was one of beauty, even Gwydion’s eyes seemed to hold a warm loving glow as he tenderly touched the plant a moment longer before pulling his hand away and returning to finish washing the last cup. Calla’s expression was soft, watching him for a moment before looking up at the little flower near him.

“Your magic… it’s very pretty.” she found herself saying. She hadn’t meant for her thought to come out but it was true. She hadn’t seen him use that kind of magic before and compared to what she had seen of the others, Gwydion’s magic was beautiful in appearance.

She glanced up at Gwydion after she spoke to see him smiling warmly back, handing her the final cup to dry. “My mother would have been overjoyed to hear such a compliment. I was born with her power over nature and healing, the beauty of my spells come from her,” he said with a gentleness she was not used to hearing from him. In all honesty, this was the first time she had heard him say anything about his parentage before. It made her wonder about the dynamics of the other realm. From what he said, it sounded like all magicals were born into that life. She returned the last cup to where it belonged, turning to ask more about it only to see Gwydion staring at the hem of her dress with a serious look in his eye, his fingers touching his chin. It was a look she had seen him give before. It was one that usually meant he was plotting something and it had to do with her clothing.

She followed his gaze to the hem of her skirt to see what he was looking at. To her surprise, she looked to have gotten a little tear in it. As to when that happened, she had no idea. Her eyes went back to Gwydion as he gave an exaggerated sigh and walked over to her. “I just bought that for you and you have already managed to break it,” he stated in disappointment. Before Calla could react, he took her hand and began to lead her toward his room. “Well, we can’t have that. I will need to fix it at once.”

“W-Wait! Gwy!” was all Calla could get out before she found herself through the door of Gwydion’s room, him turning to close the door behind them. Gwydion ignored her protest as he let go of her. He pointed to his bed while he moved to the desk in his room.

“Take a seat.” he nearly ordered as he did. Calla frowned. Oddly enough, the chairs that she knew had been in the room were gone, outside of the one that was at his desk. In her eyes, that was nearly too convenient. Had he planned this? Still, she sighed and did as she was told, walking over to the red satin sheets of Gwydion’s bed and sitting on the edge. He opened a drawer on the table, taking out a small sewing kit before calmly walking back over to her. She folded her arms, giving him a blank stare as he knelt down, inspecting the tear in her skirt.

“Couldn’t I have just sat at the table? I do not see a reason for me to be on your bed,” she asked incredulously, eyes narrowing. Gwydion’s mouth twitched into a slight smirk but he didn’t look up at her.

“My bed is much softer than any chair. I only wanted you to be comfortable,” he said innocently. She didn’t believe it for a moment. However, he said no more about it as he threads the needle and begins to mend the tear in her skirt. She sighed a little at that, watching him for a moment.

As much as she had seen his face close to hers before, Calla had never taken in the features of his face. Gwydion had the look to make any woman swoon and the romantic way of speech he had only added to his charm. His skin was flawless of any mark or scar as if he had never once had poor skin in his life. He had a chiseled jawline which had a small amount of a scruffy red beard on his chin. Sharing some attractive facial features with his brother, Gwydion was a level of handsome that even Calla could not deny. What made it worse was the fact that he knew how attractive he was and used it well.

Blaise’s words hit her again, making her go deep into thought. Sure, Gwydion was handsome and knew it, but then again, Blaise also said the brothers were manipulative. Every once in a while, when Gwydion would touch her, she felt sparks of a strange feeling sweep over her body, making her body warm and sensitive. She wondered what kind of power he had if Blaise felt the need to warn her about being careful around them. It only reminded her of how much she didn’t know about the members of the coven.

Gwydion was focused on mending her skirt, either not noticing she was staring at his face or knowing and choosing not to react to it. Calla’s expression sank, wondering if she could even ask him about it. Would he even bother to tell her the truth? The two were quiet while he worked skillfully on her skirt, nearly finished already. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“Gwydion.” she started with a soft tone, still trying to figure out how she wanted to word her question. He didn’t lookup.

“Yes, love?” he asked, eyes on his task but a smile on his face. She searched his face for a moment, wondering what kind of a reaction he would have.

“Blaise told me that Raven and you are manipulators… is that true?” she asked. To her surprise, Gwydion’s expression didn’t even look slightly upset by her question. In fact, he almost looked amused by it, giving a slight sigh.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he said something. The boy doesn’t seem to have any faith in me,” he replied in amusement. Calla frowned at that.

“That’s not an answer to my question.” she pointed out to which Gwydion’s gray eyes caught her blue ones with a calm stare. He chuckled and tilted his head a little.

“No, I guess it wasn’t,” he replied, a smirk appearing on his lips. He finished up the mend and got to his feet, winking to her before turning to head back to the table to return the kit. He gave a bit of an over-the-top shrug as he did. “I won’t lie, love. My apprentice speaks the truth. I have a special ability that could be classified as manipulative.”

Apprentice? No, Calla needed to focus on the issue at hand. He was openly admitting he was a manipulator. But why? “Special ability?” she asked, her eyes narrowing towards him. He turned to walk back to her, giving a nod to her question.

“Magicals who are born into magic have an ability that no other magic-user can use,” he explained, stopping as he stood before her, his hands on his hips. “My ability actually assists with my healing ability. My touch can send good feelings through the body of another, almost like a drug. When someone is hurt and requires to be healed, a touch like that takes away the pain and allows for that person to relax.” He seemed to think of something before humming, moving one hand to touch his chin. “I was planning to fully heal you when you first arrived but after washing you up and stopping the bleeding, Blaise started to get all huffy about me having my hands all over you. Then Marick decided it would be best to slowly heal you as being fully healed may have put you in a state of shock for not being used to it.”

Once again, the thought that Gwydion’s hands had been all over her nude body while she was unconscious made her shutter a little, feeling very exposed once again. She folded her arms, looking up at him with a blush on her cheeks. Still, she wasn’t sure if she would call that manipulative. Sure, Gwydion’s power would trick a person into feeling good while being healed but that didn’t sound like something she would need to be worried about. “If that’s all, why did Blaise feel the need to tell me you were a manipulator?” she asked, clearly there had to be more to his power. After all, when he touched her, there was more than just the feeling of feeling good.

Gwydion snickered at that, his playful expression catching her sight again as he lowered his hand. “That would be because my powers have a different reaction when it comes to non-magicals.” he pointed out, before giving a hum as he looked to be trying to figure out how to word it. “You see, when touching a non-magical, wounded or not, I can still send the feeling of feeling good through the body. As I said, my touch can feel like a drug. However, I have discovered that non-magicals gain another emotion in the presence of my touch, still a good feeling, one they find themselves craving more of.” He hummed again before sighing, looking at her with a more serious expression. “I’m afraid I am not very good at explaining it, but if you are willing to trust me, I can give you a demonstration.”

Calla’s eyes widened at that, thinking back to the other times when he had touched her. She frowned, her damned curiosity outweighing the caution she felt. She was a bit too naive to expect him to try anything as her eyes met him again. She offered her hand to him, almost expecting him to take it as a method to touch her. “O...Okay…” she said. However, Gwydion’s wicked grin appeared again as he leaned down to her, moving the hand away. She fell back against the bed as he moved over her. His knee on the bed separated her legs slightly. Calla’s eyes would widen, her heart already racing a little. “W-What are you- nngh!”

Her question was immediately cut off as Gwydion’s fingers slid themselves up her leg slowly and deliberately, pulling her skirt up as he did. Calla’s body shivered and the girl couldn’t suppress a moan from escaping her lips. Her body felt hot almost immediately, her heart racing as her skin seemed to grow sensitive to the new sensation rippling through her. She closed her eyes tightly, covering her mouth with her hand in more of an attempt to stop making noises. She heard Gwydion give a breathy chuckle, her eyes opening to see him looking down at her, his red hair flowing down to touch the sheets. His hand slipped more up her leg but stopped at her side, gingerly tracing her curves as yet another intense wave of this strange feeling washed over her. Her body trembled, her breath quickening slightly. Her face was hot with a blush, eyes staring up at Gwydion with her unknown arousal, much to the amusement of the man. He was leaning right over her, the hand not exploring her body propped himself up while he was slightly pressed against her.

“See what I mean?” he asked her with a low, sensual voice. Calla whimpered slightly, turning her head to look away from him, trying to calm herself unsuccessfully. He smiled lightly, looking over the girl, knowing exactly what he was doing to her. Leaning down, he trailed kisses down her neck, making the girl shiver with another small sound of pleasure. “I can’t quite tell if my touch sends waves of pleasure… or desire. Perhaps a bit of both.”

He rose again, Calla letting out a small moan, moving her hand from her mouth to grip his arm tightly when she felt him press his lower body between her legs. This was too much for her. Her body squirmed with the new feelings of desire rushing through her. Gwydion gave another breathy chuckle as he watched her, his eyes dancing with the look of delight if not his own desire. He leaned down again, pressing his lips against hers to soften the girl’s little squeal as he rocked his hips slowly against her lower body. Oh, how he wished they were not clothed.

Gwydion’s kiss was deep, passionate, the motion making Calla pant softly as she kissed him back eagerly. She wasn’t nearly as skilled at kissing but she felt herself just not wanting him to pull away, to the point that she even whimpered when he did. Her eyes looked up into his, mind fuzzy with the power he was sending through her. He just sighed.

“Your body is experiencing lust, love,” he explained, rubbing her side as he looked her over. He smiled a little. “As I said, my touch becomes a drug, you want more, need more… eager for me to do anything for that pleasurable feeling.” He was silent for a while, eyeing her before his smile became lustful. He leaned down to hold her full attention. “Calla, would you let me have it? Your first time with a man.”

She shivered at him calling her name in such a tone of lust. Her body quivered, begging for him. She bit her lip, her eyes on his lips, wanting him to press them against any part of her again. It was maddening. “G-Gwydion..” she begged before she saw him shake his head no, biting his own lip a little as if mentally stopping himself from doing any more.

“No. Don’t offer it,” he said, giving a staggered sigh before looking down at her. “Just answer my question, love. At this moment, would you let me take it?”

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She looked up at him for a moment before nodding her head. “...Yes… I...I would.” she admitted. She nearly wanted to cry as she felt him move his hand away from her skin.

He sighed looking at the hand he had against her body before back down at her. “And that my dear… is why my power is manipulative,” he stated calmly. Calla’s heart was racing, wanting his touch again. However, he just smiled down at her softly. “... I have never hidden my intentions to bed you, love. In fact, I have been rather open to you about my desire since you arrived. However, I find it unfair to use my ability to get what I want. It should be something you offer to me willingly.” He chuckled slightly. “I am highly experienced in this area, even without my powers I can make your first time incredible. If I were to use my ability, it would only be enough to make you feel good, so you will feel no discomfort or pain… after that, you would enjoy every moment of your time with me without the use of my ability… and that is not me being overconfident about my experience with sex.”

Even though his hand was off her, her body was still hot with desire. She trembled, wanting nothing more than to give in, let him have his way with her. However, her mind was becoming less cloudy with the end of the surging energy in her body.

She looked up at him, her eyes becoming slightly sad but still filled with desire. “...So I would… be nothing but another conquest for you?” she asked, her lips trembling. That was the first time she had seen it, the look of surprise on Gwydion’s face as if the comment had taken him off guard. No, there was more to that. It looked as if the comment hit the very core of his being. He remained still, looking down at her before he gave her a sad smile. He moved off of her, laying down on his bed at her side.

Gwydion sighed, covering his eyes with his arm as he lay on his back. “It wears off eventually but before you do something you will regret later, go to the washroom and wash your face with some warm water. We can talk more when you return,” he said calmly. Calla watched him a moment before she nodded. It took every bit of her willpower to climb out of the bed away from him. Sighing, she hugged herself as she walked to the door before slowly leaving the room.

Gwydion remained still as he listened to her leave the room. He let out a staggered breath, before moving his arm away from his eyes. “Her saying my name like that nearly made me lose it. And here I thought I was the one who drove people wild,” he muttered before running his fingers into the long red hair that spilled over his sheet. He looked disappointed, mostly in himself. “...Just another conquest…”

He sighed again, sitting up and fixing his hair. “Gwydion, you shatterer of hearts, what are you doing…” he muttered to himself before getting to his feet and moving over to his desk and taking a seat.

To Calla’s surprise, she saw Gwydion had moved while she was gone, now seated at his desk with another chair having magically appeared next to it. He had been right about the water, her head feeling clear and body back to normal now. She frowned, closing the door behind her as she looked him over. He was smiling cheerily again but something seemed off. She couldn’t quite determine what was wrong though.

“You know, love.” Gwydion started, breaking her out of her thoughts. “For the one who claimed she didn’t trust being left alone with me, you seem all too comfortable being here in my room with me.” He gave her a wink, making her give a blush but huff at him. She walked over to the chair he had provided and took a seat.

“And you did exactly what I worry about when I am alone with you,” she muttered, folding her arms, a small blush on her cheeks. “Is sex all you think about?”

Gwydion let out a laugh at that before smiling playfully at her. “Naturally.” he teased with a wink before shaking his head. “No, love, I wish I had all day to think about sex, however, I do have other things to do outside of my daydreaming.”

She just gave him a bit of a blank stare at that before sighing, her hand moving to her side where his hand had been. She stared off in thought as she did.

“It’s an intense ability, isn’t it,” Gwydion said softly, turning her attention back to him. He was giving a warm smile before he sighed a little, leaning back in his chair. “I might have overdone it.”

Calla frowned, but her eyes were gentle as she watched him. “And you’ve been doing that to me since I arrived?” she questioned. His smile returned.

“Well… not to that level.” he pointed out before he messed with his hair. His smile turned slightly worried. “If you would be so kind, love, could you not mention the extent I used my power earlier? Between being lectured by my underling and mocked by my brother, it wouldn’t be a fun time.”

There it was again. He referred to Blaise as his underling. What did he mean by that? She tilted her head a little, eyeing him in her confusion. “What do you mean by that? You’re underlying…” she asked curiously.

Gwydion raised a brow at the question, almost confused by her words before he paused, thinking it over before smiling. “Sorry, I tend to forget you are new to this world,” he said calmly before sitting forward. “As far as the life of a warlock goes, Blaise is fairly young. You see, he wasn’t born magical.”

Calla looked surprised at that. She had assumed all of them had been born into magic. Could that mean she could become like them? “He was like me?” she asked, to which Gwydion nodded a little.

“Kind of,” he admitted, looking off as if thinking things over. “Magicals are normally born into magical families. Marick, Raven, and I are classified as magical born. However, every once in a while, a non-magical person is born with a sensitivity to our world, either through sensing things others cannot, or seeing things others cannot. Blaise is one of those types. He was a non-magical with sensitivity to magic, meaning he could make a bond with a magical being to unlock the power that was dormant in him.”

She looked off, taking in all he said. It seemed a bit complex to her but as she thought it over, it made sense. She looked back up when she understood. “And he made a bond with you?” she questioned. Once again, Gwydion nodded.

“As far as I know, Blaise heard about our coven and sought us out to gain answers about his abilities. He wanted the ability to heal others, for whatever reason he didn’t specify to me. As I am a warlock with mastery in that type of magic, I agreed to take him on as my apprentice.” he explained with a smile. “Blaise may be a bit moody but he has a lot of potential in him to be a great sorcerer. He needs to work on his emotional control though.”

Calla nodded at that before sighing. A thought hit her and she hummed in thought. “Does he have some kind of strange ability too?” she asked. It was a fair question, given what she knew about them.

Gwydion gave a chuckle though, making her feel as if it was a dumb question. He shook his head. “No, love. Only those born into magic have a unique power like I have,” he answered before frowning and scanning her face a little. He actually had a small look of concern in his eyes. “What do you know about the powers of others?”

She seemed confused by the question, frowning before shrugging. “I only know that you and Raven have some kind of manipulation power. Blaise didn’t say anything about Marick’s ability,” she admitted, making Gwydion seem a bit tense. However, he relaxed slightly, his expression serious.

“Calla, I want you to let me know if Marick ever does anything to you. Could you do that?” he asked suddenly, making her seem a bit nervous.

“What… do you mean?” she asked, shrinking back in the chair. Gwydion took notice that he seemed to frighten her and frowned.

“Marick… Marick is a bit of a mystery to the rest of us,” he admitted softly, resting his arms on the table. “Raven found him when we were looking for warlocks that were not already in a coven. Marick’s reputation was one of a powerful being of magic who has been around for an indeterminate amount of time. His power… allows him to leech life from others.” The look of horror on Calla’s face made his own expression soften. “However, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would take life without reason. I don’t know… I trust him as the head of this coven, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit his ability worries me a little.”

The room was quiet for a moment as Calla looked off to process what was said. She only looked back up when she heard Gwydion speak again. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything about it. I don’t wish for you to become afraid of us,” he noted with a soft tone. He smiled at her warmly. “You are a part of this coven, magical or not. Rest assured that none of us would deliberately do any harm to you.”

It was odd for her to hear him say something so comforting to her. However, it wasn’t something to last as his mouth twitched into a wicked grin.

“And for something of equal value, I might be willing to make a deal to not use my powers on you from now on~” he purred playfully. Calla jolted at that, her eyes glaring at him.

“Y-You were planning on continuing to do that?!” the blushing girl exclaimed to which Gwydion gave a coy grin.

“But of course! I find the flustered look of arousal on your face to be amusing!” he chuckled, making Calla growl a little in annoyance. She folded her arms with a huff.

“And what would be something of equal value to you that you would be willing to put an end to that?” she begrudgingly asked. Between her tone, and the look on her face, Gwydion’s face lit up with amusement. He tapped his chin a moment before leaning closer to her.

“How about, you let me teach you how to kiss, and I will stop using my powers?” he offered, making Calla blush even harder. The comment made the memory of his lips against hers fill her mind again, and a slight twinge of the desire to kiss him remained in her pounding heart.

“W-What do you mean, teach me?” she questioned, eyes narrowing. “How do you know I need teaching?”

Gwydion just laughed at that, leaning back. “Because you are terrible at it, love,” he said bluntly, his tone still full of amusement. She huffed at the comment but Gwydion just smiled back. “Do not be ashamed, love. I was aware it was your first kiss. With practice, you can get better at it.” He gave a coy grin to her. “And I am a wonderful teacher on the subject~”

She pouted at him, her glare holding. He seemed to hold himself in high regard when it came to sexual contact. She wondered how many people he had been with to give him such an ego. However, upon thinking that, her heart gave a small sad beat, being reminded of the idea that this was probably just a game to him.

“You’re such a lecher…” she mumbled to which Gwydion gave a dramatic hurt expression and a pout. The over-the-top reaction made her roll her eyes as she got to her feet and started for the door.

“Calla,” Gwydion’s low sensual voice purred to her. Calla stopped immediately upon hearing him call her name. Her heart thumped hard in her chest, making her blush as she looked down. She couldn’t understand how he could make her feel so giddy and weak in the knees just by calling her name. Her heart seemed to quicken as she heard his chair being pushed out and he stepped toward her. She could feel how close he was without looking back at him, and before he wrapped his arms around her.

She nearly melted when she felt his hot breath on her ear, making her close her eyes tightly, a shiver running down her neck. She could tell he wasn’t using his power at the moment, which almost made the situation worse, knowing he had such power without the use of magic. “Calla,” he whispered in her ear, making her shutter. “I am a man of my word. If you agree to this deal, I will never use my ability on you unwillingly. I promise.”

Calla felt her whole body growing warm with his body so close to her. What made it worse was that she believed what he was saying. She had every ounce of faith that he would hold up his side of the deal if she agreed. He wasn’t asking for much from her. She bit her lip for a moment.

“F-Fine…” she said in defeat. She heard Gwydion give a breathy chuckle before he pulled away. She turned back to pout at him as he stood tall. He had a triumphant grin on his face, which made her scowl. “You’re mean...”

Gwydion laughed at that, moving to sit down at the table again. This time, he moved to take a red-clothed bag out of the drawer. “No, love. If I were mean, I would have asked for your virginity in exchange.” he teased with a wink. She ignored his comment, more curious about what he was doing. He took notice and smiled at her as he opened the bag.

“I do find it amusing to see how curious you get with our powers.” he pointed out, making Calla grow flustered again. He pointed to the chair that she had just been in. “Come sit down and I can show you what I do for my job in the coven.”

Calla frowned at that, hesitating slightly before giving in and walking back over to sit down. As she did, she noticed him remove a large glimmering crystal from the bag, his eyes looking over it as if inspecting the quality. After he did that, he nodded before his hand began to glow again with the shimmering sparks he had in the kitchen. The sparks swirled around the crystal before a brilliant glow radiated from it. Calla couldn’t help but look on in amazement, Gwydion glanced over to see her watching wide-eyed before giving an amused smile. Soon enough, the glow would fade but the crystal seemed to have its own small glow about it. Gwydion smiled and offered it to Calla.

She blinked in surprise as he did, looking up at him to make sure it was okay. He silently nodded, as if understanding her wariness before she took the crystal into her hand. To her surprise, it had a little bit of weight to it and pulsed with energy that even she could feel. “What did you…” she started before looking up to see Gwydion smiling knowingly at her.

“I enchanted it,” he said calmly before moving to take another from the bag to do the same to it. “When we go to the other realm, I collect crystals that people wish to have enchanted with high-level magic. Once they are enchanted, I bring them back and they are made into jewelry that will offer different abilities to the wearer.”

He glanced back to the crystal she held and hummed a little in thought. “The crystal you are holding now will most likely end up as jewelry that wards off evil intent,” he explained. Calla glanced at the crystal before giving him a blank stare.

“It’s not working. You’re still here.” she shot at him. Once again, Gwydion placed a hand over his heart dramatically with an exaggerated look of betrayal.

“Wounded again!” he exclaimed, making Calla roll her eyes before looking back down at the crystal. Gwydion calmed down with a smile as he watched her.

“If I find the right crystal. I can make you a piece of jewelry that would protect you from dangers in the other realm,” he said calmly before his eyes returned to what he was doing. “Even impure non-magicals entering the other realm can still be in danger. Though I don’t ever see you wandering off alone while you are there with us, it is best to be cautious.”

Calla couldn’t help but think about what to expect from the other realm. Every time it was discussed, she was told of the dangers there. However, Gwydion also said he grew up there. Her eyes scanned Gwydion a little before she frowned. “Every time I hear about the other realm, all of you say how dangerous it is… is it really that terrible?” she asked. Gwydion raised a brow at that, his eyes falling to her again. He frowned, pausing to think about something for a moment.

“The other realm is a beautiful place. Outside of the grand bazaar and the main city, the countryside holds a wide range of the most lovely flowers. There are dark areas run by the creatures of the night, but even those areas have their excitement.” he explained, his eyes distant as he thought over things. He gave her a smile. “Once you are able to go to the other realm, I have a list of locations I want to show you. But it would be unwise to ignore the dangers for you there.”

She hummed, her mind filled with the ideas of the lovely sights she would see but soon frowned. “Do all magical born people grow up there?” she asked. To that Gwydion chuckled with a warm smile to her.

“It is actually uncommon for a magical to live in a non-magical world. Most would not risk exposing their family to any dangers of non-magical fears.” he pointed out before leaning back in his chair a little. “Witch trials have made many wary of non-magicals. I know my mother feared the day Raven and I went out on our own. I was in my late teens when I first came into contact with non-magicals. For a long time, all I knew of your world were the stories I was told as a boy.” She blinked in surprise at that. It had never crossed her mind that there was a fear on both sides. He continued, “However, I think my mother would have adored you. She was always one for a pretty face.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that?” she asked, trying to hide the blush on her face for him calling her pretty with a huff. He chuckled at that.

“I’m just saying you are cute, love,” he said with a smile. Her blush deepened, making him smile more in amusement. She sighed at that, her eyes moving back to watch him enchant more crystals. After a moment, a thought hit her as she looked up at him again.

“You know, you never actually told me what kind of power your brother has.” she pointed out. Gwydion gave a sigh, pouting as he looked her way.

“Spending time with me and asking questions about my brother. You’re going to make me jealous,” he said, a coy grin appearing on his face. Calla huffed at that, folding her arms.

“Stop with that fake pout. It’s just a question.” she huffed with a glare at him. Gwydion’s expression warmed up with a smile, waving his hand to make the chair she was in move to be set right next to him. She let out a surprised gasp when that happened before feeling him put an arm around her, leaning in to kiss her head gently.

“You really need to learn when I am teasing, love,” he said to her before giving a small chuckle. She blushed at that but frowned as she looked up into his gray eyes. He gave her a wink. “My brother has an ability to control emotions. However, I think he will back off now.”

She didn’t quite understand what that last part meant but a sudden commotion from the hall changed the subject as both looked towards the door to the hall. Gwydion frowned before sighing.

“Speaking of the devil. It sounds like Raven is messing with Blaise again.” he sighed again, shaking his head. “The boy will never get over his anger issues.”

Calla looked up at Gwydion with a frown. “Should we stop them?” she asked. She got the answer when Gwydion gave a wicked smirk, taking up the crystal he first enchanted.

“We could throw this at them and see what it does~” he sang. To be honest, Calla was so taken aback by the comment that she couldn’t help but let out a laugh, closing her eyes and missing the gentle expression on Gwydion’s face as she did.

Calla’s relationship with Gwydion has increased.

Continue the story by going to Chapter 7