"He's made such a mess!" Emine said. The young girl fussed over Acuzio. The dragon had hunted several stray mutts and dragged the carcasses home with him. Blood, bits of bones, and other things were strewn around the now-slumbering beast. Emine was chattering as she swept and wiped away the blood.

Merin adjusted Alev in the sling as she slowly left the room. Emine was a cute girl but a bit too loud. She was eager to serve and did everything Merin wanted, so it was hard to send her away. The little girl's face would become crushed at the mention of sending her to another room. The only solution was for Merin to slip out when the girl was occupied.

Merin silently walked down the hall. She turned her head to make sure Emine didn't notice and, because of that, nearly ran into Reu.

The other man steadied her, and as she thanked him, Alev started to fuss. Merin started rocking her daughter, and the motion seemed to work its charm as the babe fell back asleep.

"Aren't you meeting Red?" Merin said. Reu shouldn't be here. Reu should be wherever the meeting place was.

"I received notice I was supposed to come here," Reu said.

Merin blinked rapidly as her fear started adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Red left to meet you, he's not here."

Whatever fears Merin was embracing were felt by Reu as well. Before either of them could make a move, Red appeared.

The strong scent of iron hit Merin, but there was a twang she'd come to associate with Inni blood, too. She shoved Reu aside in her haste to grab Red's hands, which were stained.

He flinched and tried to stop her, but she deftly flipped over his palm. There was nothing on his palm but the faded rust of blood. She grabbed his other hand and saw the same thing.

"What happened?" Reu said while Merin looked at Red and tried to spot where he had bled from.

"The Emperor showed up and knew about Hakan and Cem."

There was a long silence as everyone digested his words.

"Did he hurt you?" Merin said.

Red shook his head and quickly explained what happened.

"Your blood can melt things now?" Merin said. And judging from the lack of wounds on his palms, Red figured out how to heal. His abilities were expanding by the day.

"What do you want to do now?" Reu said at the same time as Merin.

Red rubbed a hand over his face as his calm facade cracked for a heartbeat.

As if sensing his pain, Alev stirred awake, and even with Merin trying to soothe the baby, it had no effect. Red slipped the wiggling body out of the sling and held her. Instantly, Alev quieted down and fell back asleep in her father's arms.

The warm feeling that bloomed in Merin's heart was destroyed when she saw the red string attached to her daughter's heart move.

The Emperor needed to be killed, but he couldn't be touched as long as he attached his life to their daughter's life.

Merin did the first genuinely deceitful thing since she met Red. She drugged the tea she fed him so that he would sleep deeply. The dark circles under his eyes and the pallor of his skin showed that he would either snap or crack under the current pressure if he went further with no rest. He refused to rest long enough for his body to recover, and he needed it because his father was getting into his head.

Merin took a moment to stare at the image of Red sound asleep with Alev curled up close by. There were enough pillows and blankets to prop the two so nothing tragic would occur.

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It was time for Merin to do something other than recovering or stalking Zoltan.

Merin held out her hands, and several strings flew out to create a barrier around her two favorite people. Since she couldn't be here with them, she needed to make sure they weren't vulnerable.

When she was done, Merin ran out of the room in her haste. Unfortunately, there was one person she had forgotten about.

"I polished the table that you love, and I was thinking of--"

Merin covered Emine's mouth with her hand and pulled the woman along with her.

"Oh, are we going somewhere fun? Where's the baby? Is she--" Merin squeezed her hand tighter over the chattering bird's mouth.

When the girl was silent, Merin smiled at her, "I need you to run a very special errand for me." She said.

Emine's eyes sparkled at the honor. Poor girl, Merin thought; she doesn't realize she's just being sent on a fool's errand, so I have time to think.

Merin sent Emine off. Then she spent time looking for Acuzio.

She found the dragon eating smoking hot meat from a small fire on the marble floor.

"Did you start that fire?" Merin said, stepping closer to inspect the flames.

Acuzio was still obviously sulking because the dragon turned his head away and chewed faster.

"You have yourself to blame. You know that Red doesn't keep snacks around. He's too efficient for that."

Acuzio snorted smoke out of his nostrils but still said nothing.

"I've never asked for anything," Merin said.

Her words were rewarded with another snort.

"I need help, Acuzio. Please." Merin all but begged the dragon as she knelt on the ground in front of him. The cold marble floor was harsh on her delicate skin, but this pain was nothing she couldn't bear. This might be the only solution she could bank on. Red would snap if they had to wait much longer.

"Tell me, child, what do you want." The deep, gravelly voice tickled the top of her head, and when Merin peaked, a glowing red dragon was staring down at her.

"I need an audience with Mordecai." She said. Mordecai said he would be back when she had more kids, but that would never happen at the rate they were going. The Emperor was too powerful, and she needed help.

Smoke erupted from Acuzio's nostrils and covered Merin as her breath was stolen.

Small, painful things smacked Merin in the face and woke her up. She tried to open her eyes, but she was assaulted further for her efforts.

"Hey, numbnuts, what do you want from me?"

The masculine voice she'd recognized anywhere forced Merin to steel himself through the pain to look.

"Mordecai." She said after she'd managed to open her eyes and see the man in question. She glanced around and saw they were in a strange dark room. There was weird furniture that she couldn't recognize or understand, as well as the man she'd been seeking.

He was wearing a purple outfit that looked strange. She'd never seen the like before. The fabric sparkled and looked like tiny flamed jewels were embedded in it to make it weirder.

"Merindah," Mordecai said as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, we both know each other. What do you want?"

"You're my uncle, aren't you?" Merin said over a dry mouth. It was conjecture she built using her mother's journals, but saying it made her feel embarrassed. What if she was wrong? What if this insanely powerful being wasn't the Mordecai in her mother's books?

"That's what you wanted? You're such a dumb fuck. Yes, Caelestis was my older sister. You're related to me after several hundred removed generations. What of it?"

"You hate her because she betrayed you and gave you up to your mother," Merin said. She could feel her courage waver after those words left her mouth. Mordecai's eyes weren't the only thing on fire now. The man's skin rippled and cracked as sparks ruptured from his flesh.

Merin wet her lips and said, "I know your mother cursed you. She cursed all of her children, but she was the cruelest to you. You became the phoenix because she wanted to take death from you so she could prolong your suffering, which is why you can never retake your true form or name. Caelestis abandoned you, which is why you hate her. Since she's dead and you can't hurt her, you'll go after the ones with her blood. At least that's what you wanted me to believe."

The ground underneath Mordecai was on fire now, but the man said nothing.

"You've never wanted me to suffer, or else my life wouldn't have a touch of joy."

"Maybe I wanted to burn your found happiness before you?" Mordecai said. His voice sounded rough, as if the fire eating his outfit was also burning him from the inside out.

"You gave me Red," Merin said. "You created Habrin to make me move on from my mother's vision."

There was a brief pregnant pause in which Mordecai broke. "You are the last piece of my sister." He said. The fire on his flesh banked, and he sat down in a weird chair. This was the first time the man looked exhausted. "You're not allowed to erase her presence because your mummy killed your brothers. Shit, there goes my nice three-piece suit."

"I'm more than that now; I'm going to become a Goddess and take her place," Merin said.

Mordecai let out a dark chuckle, "So you finally recall everything, Merindah."

Merin gave a shaky nod. "I can't ascend while my daughter's life is attached to a psychopath."

"Your Rutilus is a big softie around her; I wouldn't worry," Mordecai said as he stood up and walked over to her.

"You know who I mean," Merin said.

"That's not my mess to clean up. It's yours." Mordecai said. He smacked Merin in the face before she could argue with him some more. The lights went out for her, and darkness greeted her one more.