Serena had never thought she would witness people burst into flame due to a wave of golden light, nor had she expected anyone to scream so loudly.

A glowing golden aura surrounded Lucian, trembling with his painful screams. Every few heartbeats there was a pulse of power, which caused the glow to increase.

Those around them were caught in the radiance and were soon engulfed in flames. They collapsed to the ground writhing in agony and screaming. When those closest to him passed out, he finally stopped struggling.

Lucian lay on the grass twitching and moaning softly. His hands moved slowly as if he wasn't aware of anything going on. Then suddenly, he sat bolt upright and threw himself backward, rolling to put distance between him and the altar.

He jumped to his feet, looking frantically about. There were no longer any bodies burning on the ground. Instead, the air glowed faintly gold.

In seconds, the area went black again. Only then did Lucian notice Serena standing behind him.

Her eyes widened as she watched Lucian begin to shake violently. Finally, she stepped forward.

As she approached, Lucian froze and stared blankly at her. He seemed to be waiting for something.

Finally, after several moments of silence, he spoke. "I don't want to die here," he said quietly.

It sounded almost pleading.

Before she could respond, the ground shook once more and a blast of wind blew past her. The entire village was thrown into chaos by the sudden change in weather.

People ran everywhere, trying to find shelter from the storm that was now raging outside their walls. Serena found herself dashing toward where Lucian stood, not even bothering to question why.

This time, he didn't resist as she pulled him back inside.

They both staggered to the nearest hut and slammed the door shut behind them. With all the commotion, nobody noticed the pair stumbling into the building.

Once they were safely within, Serena turned to Lucian.

"What happened?" She demanded.

Lucian blinked rapidly, shaking his head slightly. "You're alive." That much was obvious.

Serena wanted to say something, anything, to lash out at such an obvious statement, but the words died out when she took in his appearance. He was a beautiful man—not just handsome like most men, but truly stunning. His features were perfect, his cheekbones high, his lips full, and his nose straight. His ears were pointed and close to his head, like one of the Fair Folk, and his long lightly golden hair fell like a waterfall over his features as if to shield them.

Across his throat was an elaborate black collar and around his wrists and legs were shackles that were just as fanciful and well-crafted. There didn't seem to be a keyhole so it would be hard to remove.

Yet, what drew the eye first was his eyes: brilliant green orbs flecked with gold. Even though his eyes appeared normal, she knew better than to take them at face value. Those eyes were strange and dangerous for there was no sign of life and were devoid of all emotions.

For some reason, these eyes made Serena feel uncomfortable. Something told her it was best to avoid them entirely.

After a moment of staring, Lucian finally responded. "You are handling this better than I expected."

His voice was soft and deep; it sent shivers down her spine.

Serena forced herself to focus on his words instead of his mesmerizing gaze. "You are just an attractive fae. I've seen a lot of beautiful people in my life so it doesn't affect me as much as it would someone else."

She hoped this explanation came off sounding casual because she had nothing else prepared. If only she hadn't been so preoccupied with her thoughts, maybe things wouldn't have come to this point. But that was neither here nor there.

Lucian traced his features with a puzzled expression. "My features are that common to you. I wonder where you come from for that to be the reaction."

"I'm from someplace very far away," Serena trailed off turning the subject to something else. "What was that light?"

Lucian hesitated before speaking. "That was a painful blessing and the calling in of favor. I am relieved that you were unharmed."

Even though his calm tone, Serena sensed tension. This was not part of his plan.

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"You seem uncaring that your guards were slaughtered before your eyes," Serena noted.

Again, Lucian paused and then continued, "They were merely bought mercenaries hired to take me to Mystras. This was the only stop I could have them make that would have wound up with my death occurring."

Something about those words rang false to her.

It was almost as if he'd known exactly what would happen once they arrived. Still, it was hard to imagine.

As if sensing her skepticism, Lucian said, "I have been gifted by the Divine with insight, dreams, vision, and other methods of seeing the past, present, and potential futures."

"Divination magic," Serena said simply. Veles had been a master with divination methods and had helped build their fortune with his antics. It would make sense that someone else would have some degree of mastery in the complicated magic.

Lucian nodded. "Yes, Divination Magic. As such, I can see many different paths our lives may take. However, even I do not know the future for certain and sometimes cannot tell whether something will occur or not."

Serena frowned. That didn't sound like a good thing.

"You were bought by someone then," Serena said, her mind churning at the possibilities. If he was that experienced with divination he would be valuable, but she doubted it was for his talent and skills.

"Someone did indeed buy me, yes," Lucian replied. "The queen of this fair country to be exact. Of course, she waited until her doddering old fool of a husband passed away to begin collecting men more to her taste and apparent age."

This did not sound like something she should be hearing about. Especially since it sounded as though he knew how the story ended already.

But then again, she supposed it made perfect sense. Someone must have paid handsomely to bring him here.

"And you wanted to die for some reason."

Lucian smiled slightly. "If we're being honest, I wasn't particularly interested in living out another day. And now that I have a chance to live freely...well, let us say I am not overly eager to return." He shrugged. "Besides, I doubt the priests back at that crowded and filthy temple would care if I died or not."

She didn't like that he was telling her such personal details either. It screamed a trap to her. But still, there seemed little choice in the matter. She needed information from him.

"How much money did she offer?"

That smile grew wider. "A great deal."

Serena sighed and shook her head. There was no way around this. They both stood to gain too much.

"So why don't you want to stay alive?"

His smile faded somewhat, replaced by a look of deep thought. "Ah, well..." His face took on an odd expression; perhaps the closest description was 'haunted'. "My life so far has been nothing but misery. Why should I not long for rest and peace that I have never known? Perhaps the grave would give me affection and acceptance?"

Serena tilted her head in thought, wondering about him. He was broken, mentally and emotionally, and was suicidal and homicidal. Despite that, he was talented and seemed highly intelligent. She wouldn't be able to get much physical support from him, so she would need to adapt to use and better him.

In truth, Lucian seemed like an ideal candidate to mold into what she wanted and needed. Veles had taught her what to look for and how best to approach such people for the best results, but this would have been the first time she attempted it without his support or presence.

The first step was the most crucial.

Before she could even begin to assess him and his potential, Lucian spoke once more. "Who are you, Lady Serena?"

It was the first time he called her Lady, and Serena couldn't help but notice there was wary and reluctant respect to it.

She narrowed her eyes at him, suddenly suspicious. "I'm sorry, but I find myself confused. Are you asking because of how I arrived at this village, or is there some other reason?"

"Both," he answered simply.

Well, those certainly complicated things for her.

"I don't think it's the best time to have this discussion. We could be attacked at any time."

"Look outside," Lucian calmly said, waving a hand toward the shut door.

Serena decided to humor him and opened it once more. What she saw ground her mind to a halt and even Ravana who had been quietly complaining this entire time grew silent.

The village was engulfed in the wrath of nature. Strong winds blew through the streets and buildings, causing them to shake violently. Large branches were ripped off trees and slammed against homes while leaves flew everywhere. Thunder rumbled across the sky followed closely by lightning. Rain poured out of the clouds, soaking everything within sight.

This wasn't natural, not according to anything they knew. This was something else entirely. It looked as if someone had torn open the earth and let loose its fury upon the land as buildings sunk below the earth with their inhabitants. Even the air itself was charged with electricity, crackling along the ground where rainwater pooled.

This storm was unnatural. And yet, she'd seen worse. So, instead of panicking, she carefully closed the door again.

"Did you do this?"

As she asked the question, she glanced back at Lucian, noticing he had moved to a table in front of a stone fireplace. With care, he was going through the motions to start a fire. Now and then, he would glance at her, watching her every move.

"I called in several favors I had to get rid of this village. Such filth needs to be eradicated."

Serena paled at the declaration, her mind drifting to Mint. "But Mint..."

"He will be unharmed, as will we," Lucian said, his voice distant. He continued moving about until he stood before the fire, which began to burn. The flames shot upwards and illuminated the room. "The storm will disappear with the coming of dawn. Until then we can rest and you can answer some questions I have for you."

"And if I refuse?" she asked softly.

"Then you won't like what happens when the sun rises tomorrow morning. Do you want me to show you?"

A chill ran down her spine, making her shiver despite herself. "No."

"Then please sit down. We have much to discuss."

Serena had the feeling she would have likely had better odds out in the storm than dealing with Lucian