Sun followed him through the manor before he took her into the room she recognised as his office from yesterday. He took a seat at his desk and gestured for her to take the other one opposite. She warily did so, her eyes never leaving him.

He'd brought her somewhere private to punish her.

"You handled yourself well at dinner," he told her, his voice slightly softer than she was accustomed to hearing. "You didn't sink to the level some of our relatives seemed so insistent on dragging you down to."

A compliment? On her behaviour no less. He didn't look drunk, and she hadn't seen him drink any alcohol...

He placed the forms she'd filled out in the barrister's office on the desk between them, and her stomach sank.

"Don't do it again," he told her.

"I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions about my life without yours or Perditions input," she retorted.

"Technically, you're still a minor."

She gave him a flat look. Barely, and he damn well knew it.

"A minor with a very dangerous, very volatile ability," he pointed out.

She bit the inside of her cheek; she couldn't exactly refute that after the incident from her childhood and the difficulty she'd had learning to control it since.

"And this ability is because of my eye?"

What had that man called it? The Ravens Eye?

"I don't know if it causes it or if it's merely a sign one has it."

"What do you know about it?" She asked.

He tapped the papers between them. "Agree not to do this again, and I will explain everything I know. And I will train you."

"You know how to use it?"

"No, but people with your ability tend to struggle with the elemental side of their power; I will train you in that."

She bit her lip, debating. It was an incredibly tempting offer. She had looked through the library at the academy for anything pertaining to her ability and found nothing. But it was clear the Illusens knew something about it, and she didn't miss the connection between their crest and the name of it.

Besides, even if she did attempt this again, she likely wouldn't get away with it. Was she really giving anything up if she agreed?

She steeled herself and nodded. "All right. I won't."

He weighed her words, or maybe the sincerity in them, before finally nodding to himself.

"The Illusen bloodline has always had an affinity with Ravens," he began. "You're familiar with their connection to death and the Traverse?"

She nodded; she did know they were considered guides to the other side or portents of death, a bad omen, and in some cases predictors of death. Whether it was true or not, she didn't know.

"The history of our clan spans thousands of years, but early in it, we died out. The story is that it was a raven or ravens who brought our last ancestor back to life and led him home from the other side. But a piece of death came back with him. He called it the Raven's Eye, and we've continued to do so as well. It very rarely manifests, but it is only our bloodline that has ever possessed it. Since then, there have been little more than a few dozen or so people who have had it. Cold and death are in our blood, Sun."

He opened the top drawer of his desk and removed an elaborately carved box. It wasn't much smaller than the drawer it was pulled from and breathtakingly beautiful. She couldn't see a keyhole though; instead, he moved tiles she hadn't even noticed into a different pattern, and the lid clicked open. He pulled out a nondescript but extremely thick tome—a journal from the look of it. The cover was just plain leather, hardly in keeping with the complex design of the box.

She leaned forward curiously; nothing about this book screamed of the opulence and luxury of its owner, or even the box it had been housed in.

He placed the journal in front of her. "This book contains the first-hand accounts of the last twenty-two of you. From what I was told, it's supposed to serve as something of a guide for those who come after."

"You haven't read it?" She asked.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"No, it's not for me to read, only to safeguard until I must pass it on. It goes into your care now, to add your own experiences to it. What you've learnt and how you did it."

"You don't want to read it?"

This was a piece of his family's history; why wouldn't he want to?

"It doesn't matter; it is not for me to read," he repeated. "No one can read this but you. This power you possess was never meant to leave the confines of our family. And even then, it's rarely shared beyond the Clan Head and the wielder's immediate family."

She opened the first page of the journal, her eyes skimming the handwriting. It was messy, obviously scrawled quickly.

"The last person to write in this journal was our father," Kalys told her softly.

He had the eye too?

Curiously, she flipped through until she found the last entry, catching on to a few different writing styles between. His handwriting was beautiful. For the first time since finding out about her heritage, she wondered about her father.

Looking over at her brother, she wondered how much he looked like him. Was Nero Illusen as cold and unapproachable as his son?

"What was he like?" She asked, a little hesitantly since he didn't seem the type to share. She braced herself to be shot down.

"He... had a softer touch than our grandfather and I," he replied, his voice still soft. He seemed far less intimidating when he took the ice from his tone. "But he led the family with honour and fulfilled his duties admirably."

His eyes bored into her.

"If he'd known about you, he would have done the right thing. He would have married your mother, protected her, protected you. I don't know why your life turned out as it did. It shouldn't have."

"It wasn't so bad," she lied, uncomfortable with where this conversation had gone.

Her childhood had been filled with terror, anxiety, and uncertainty; every day had been a battle for survival. But she had gotten Nick and Zen out of it, and the other kids before they'd... died. Scattered in between the horror, there were some good moments, ones she wouldn't trade.

"What was his favourite colour?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Yellow."

That was surprising, both the colour and his being so forthcoming.

"What's your favourite colour?" She asked, deciding to push her luck.

"...Turquoise."

"Huh. I would have thought black..."

-

Kalys joined his grandfather in his solar where tea was already being set on the table. He had sent Sun off to bed though he suspected she would be up much of the night reading the journal.

The talk they'd had had been sorely needed, and he felt they'd come away from it with a better understanding of each other. The moment he'd decided to take her in, he had promised himself he would answer any questions she had about their father honestly. Aside from having a right to the information, he hoped to foster a connection between her and this family so she would be less opposed to being part of it.

"Dinner was interesting," Jinn commented as his grandson sat down.

He had to agree. Sun had carried herself well; she looked every inch an Illusen.

"It went much better than I expected. I thought she would lose her calm and start yelling and cursing at them. It seems she has reserved that treatment for me alone."

Jinn allowed a small smile to grace his features. "She did do well."

"I hope this will at least quell some of the complaints."

"They are very opposed to your taking the girl in," he told the young man.

"I know."

"I myself don't fully understand why you did it."

Truly? He couldn't? She was his grandchild. Kalys had been raised blood and duty before all else, they all had. Not to mention she had the Ravens Eye; all children born with it came under the care and protection of the Clan Head; he assumed their bastardy was irrelevant. It clearly didn't matter to whatever force bestowed the gift.

"She is family who has done no wrong; I would not have her killed," he stated simply.

Jinn nodded. "I agree completely. But what about sending her far away as so many others have done?"

"Because her life is here, and she's stubborn. She would have fought me tooth and nail. As she does practically everything else."

Jinn smirked. "Has something happened?"

"She called me an arse, to my face." He didn't like how pouty that sounded. He was the head of the Winter Clan, he did not pout. "She also tried to hire a barrister to terminate the guardianship orders."

He watched his grandfather's brows rise. Only around each other were they slightly more expressive and open. Jinn had lost a son, Kalys a father, and both understood the pressures of leading their family. Their shared burdens fostered a closer bond. And after Nero had died, Jinn had practically raised Kalys.

"She has no desire to be a noble?"

"No. She wanted us to pretend the blood witches proved we weren't related, and we just both go back to our lives as if nothing ever happened. As if her eye isn't a dead giveaway."

"Well, not everyone wants to be noble," Jinn said, leaning back into his chair. "But I am proud of how you have chosen to handle this. She is a part of Nero. I can see much of him in her." He smiled fondly. "I imagine you'll be receiving a fair few offers of marriage once she's presented. Regardless of her bastardy. She's a beautiful young woman from a great family."

Kalys had thought about that briefly; her marriage status wasn't exactly a priority. While some families wouldn't care—a connection to the Illusens would be worth it - there were other families who would consider her beneath them. He couldn't guess at what kind of response he would get once she was presented.

"You will have to take good care of the girl though; as I said, many are outraged by this, especially naming her your heir," Jinn warned. "And not just within our family either. This sets a precedent that flies in the face of tradition."

"I know. Her handmaid is a former assassin and spy. She performs all those duties as well as protecting her. She is an expert in poisons and their antidotes, and I have given her access to the hidden passages so she can keep an eye on Sun at all times."

"Do you trust her?"

"I trust her desire for gold."

"I take it Sun knows nothing of this?"

"No. But she seems to have taken a liking to the woman which will make it easier for Mika to keep an eye on her."

Jinn nodded thoughtfully. "At least the elders will be leaving tomorrow."

"I am eager to see the back of them." Kalys agreed.

"Both you and Sun have the day off from Perdition, yes?"

Kalys nodded.

"I would like to join you both for breakfast and then take tea privately with my new granddaughter."

"Of course, papa Jinn."

Jinn smiled at the affectionate name; it was very rare to hear it come from his stoic grandsons mouth.

"Good. Now, tell me what you know about this disappearing village in the borderlands."