Kalys's teeth clenched in irritation as a particularly loud smash came from the next room. His office was in the middle of being repaired. It overlooked the training yard so he could keep an eye on those training while he worked. A poorly aimed cast had decimated half his office, including the entire outer wall.

Until the repairs were complete, he was forced to share an office with his lieutenant. Kalys had no complaints about the man. Logan Reeves had been his lieutenant for the past five years now, a harder worker than his predecessor and far more efficient. The first five years of Kalys's time as Commander, the previous lieutenant would often disappear for hours at a time, arrive drunk when he did show up, and his reports were written in an illegible scrawl. Kalys had been glad to see the back of him and would have fired him would it not upset the morale of his division. The man had been well loved. While Reeves wasn't quite as beloved, he did get on well with the rest of the Division, and no one could find fault with his work or the way he dealt with anyone else.

Today, however, Reeves was late. Kalys could count on one hand how many times that had happened since Reeves took up the position.

Speak of the devil, Reeves suddenly burst into the room with a bit more force than usual.

"Sir," he said, holding a piece of paper. "There's been an incident at the Academy involving your sister."

Kalys was up in a second, taking the paper from his hand and skimming the message. A physical altercation involving Sun and some other students—minor injuries—all involved were being held awaiting his presence.

Good. Given the words he'd had with the Headmaster after Sun's discovery, he expected nothing less.

"Lieutenant, I'm stepping out," he told Reeves.

The man would keep everything under control in his absence.

It didn't take long to get to the Academy, but it was long enough for several scenarios to run through his head.

When he'd read Sun's file, there had been a few incidents of fighting, usually with the same couple of boys. Sun and her friends had started there at an early age and had been students longer than most. The fighting didn't start until this boy started attending. Sephas Belzar, from a lesser noble house. Each reported incident didn't have a lot of details to it, so he didn't know who initiated the fights. He couldn't say with complete confidence it wasn't Sun.

He made it to the headmaster's office, stalking into the room. His eyes immediately fixed on the students all sitting in chairs. They were all sporting a few minor injuries—black eyes, bruises, bleeding knuckles. Zen had a cloth over his bleeding nose, and so did Belzar. His eyes found Sun; she was holding a cloth of ice over her lip; there was a lengthy cut on her cheek and a bruise forming just below it. She glanced up at him a second before lowering her eyes to the ground once again.

Kalys looked to the headmaster. "What happened?"

"They were all caught fighting in the halls; none of them will say what happened or who started it," he replied.

That he had been called in for this somewhat mollified him over their neglecting to tell him of Sun's existence. They still had a long way to go, though. The fact that this dispute had occurred between two nobles was another reason he had been informed before any punishment had been dispensed, as the higher-ranking family and guardian of one involved.

"Sun."

It was an order, and she knew it; she just stared up at him stiffly a moment before looking down again. An absolute refusal to answer the silent question.

"As I'm receiving no answers about the fight, I'm suspending them from classes for the next week," the headmaster said.

"There were no witnesses?" Kalys asked.

"We know it was this one—" he whacked the sour-looking brunette boy over the back of the head. "—who drew the knife."

A knife had been involved? His eyes flitted to the cut on Sun's cheek, long and clean. The little shit had cut her? As far as Kalys was aware, only Sephas Belzar was nobility. If Kalys deemed this offense great enough, he could execute the boy with minimal fuss from any but the boy's family. The move would be frowned upon, but given his status, it was at his discretion, and none would gainsay.

"I'll be taking Sun with me," Kalys said. "If any more information comes to light, I expect it to be passed on."

The headmaster nodded, and Kalys gestured for Sun to follow him. He didn't miss the look she cast towards her friends or the worried ones they sent back.

They left the Academy and took the lift up to the main part of Perdition, where the Divisions were housed. Perdition was a massive compound, a town within a town. Each division comprised a few buildings to house members, training grounds, offices in which they worked, an armoury, a conference room or two, stables, and a couple of hangars for the dirigibles. The third and the sixth had a few minor differences to accommodate their divisions work, but overall they were similar.

There were Revenants from various divisions out in the streets going about their business, many of them slowing down or blatantly turning to stare at the pair. Sun trailed sullenly behind him, the cold cloth still pressed to her bloodstained face.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

When they reached the Seventh, he held the door open for her and ushered her inside. His people were either working or training, but once again people not too subtly watched the pair. He was aware he and his sister had been gossip fodder for a while—he for the unorthodox decision he'd made in taking her in and formally acknowledging her, and her because people were just curious. Noble bastards made public weren't commonplace.

He took her into the office and gestured for her to take a seat. The only available chair was his own. His lieutenant looked up from his work, his eyes widening a second as he realised who his Commander had brought in with him. He rose from his own chair, bowing stiffly.

"Lieutenant; my sister, Sun," Kalys introduced. "Sun; Lieutenant Reeves."

She gave him a little wave and small smile, half hidden by the cloth. He returned it with a nod.

Kalys crouched in front of Sun so they would be eye level. Turning the chair to face him, the heavy wooden beast seemed to weigh nothing at all for him, even with his sister sitting in it.

"Lieutenant, will you please get us some tea?" Kalys requested.

The man nodded before quickly leaving the siblings alone.

"What happened, Sun?" Kalys asked.

"Just a fight," she muttered. "It's not a big deal."

Kalys lowered her hand to get a look at what was under the cloth. Her lip was split, and the whole area was swollen and coming out in a bruise.

"Who started it?"

She gave a one-shouldered shrug and avoided his eyes.

"Was it you?"

She appeared to think on it a moment before nodding.

"You're lying," he said flatly. "I take it to protect one of your friends."

This time she didn't respond at all. He stifled a sigh as he reached up to touch her face, pausing when she flinched.

"I'm going to heal these," he told her softly.

If he allowed his fingertips to linger longer than necessary, well, no one need know about it.

Logan returned with a tray of tea to find his Commander healing the wounds on his sister's face. The resemblance between them was striking. The Illusen bloodline produced attractive children.

While Logan knew Commander Illusen was accomplished in every aspect of being a Revenant, he had never seen him heal anyone before. Healing casts were among the hardest to learn and master, but the man in front of him made it look so effortless. He was also displaying a gentleness Logan wouldn't have thought him capable of were he not seeing it with his own eyes.

The gossip that had been spreading about them came to mind—there were so many rumours it was difficult to parse truth from fiction. Incest had been one. Another had been that the previous heir was an incompetent, whoring drunk, and Kalys preferred his sister to take the title in the event of his death. Another had been that his father had known of her the entire time, that she had been lost to them and they'd been searching for her ever since. And yet another was that she was completely unrelated, and he'd brought her in as his sister to hide the fact she was his mistress. But looking at them, it was impossible to deny they were related. She was a pretty little thing, despite how disheveled she was after that fight, her sleek black hair in disarray with her flowery ribbon falling out of it. The Commander even made an attempt to fix it, wrapping it around her hair.

Logan tried not to pay much mind to the rumours, though he did defend his Commander against the particularly salacious ones. The man was above reproach and didn't deserve what was being said about him. Seeing them together now, he could understand why rumours like that may have gotten started.

Kalys's finger slowly traced the cut on her cheek, sealing it and repairing the damage as it went. The swelling reduced, and the bruise cleared up. Then he did the same on her lip and chin.

"Any other injuries?" He asked.

She took too long to answer.

"Where?" He demanded.

She lifted her skirt slightly, where there was what looked like a couple of scratches on the top of her thigh. He rested his hand over it, that soft glow emanating from him, and in seconds the injury was gone.

Reeves placed the tea on Kalys's desk, and he nodded his thanks. He poured a cup for Sun, adding a generous amount of honey. He had learned she preferred sweet things.

Kalys rose to his feet, and Reeves realised he didn't have a chair. He brought over his own; he could get another from the next room.

Kalys sat down, pouring his own tea before fixing his gaze on her.

"The boy who drew the knife—"

"Vaan," she interrupted.

"I assume he was the one who cut you?"

She nodded. "He wasn't trying to."

"He could have done far more damage than he did. Should it matter whether he was trying to or not?"

"I think intent should be taken into account in some instances," she replied.

"You fight with these boys often; was this the first time weapons have been involved?"

She nodded. "Usually it's just fists and feet. We don't even use our powers."

"What changed today?"

Another reluctant shrug from her.

"You were injured, Sun, and I'm entitled to extract my pound of flesh for the offense. I want more details."

"You can't just go around punishing people for hurting me. I'm going to become a Revenant; I'm going to get hurt at some point."

He went silent, and for a moment she was worried he was going to change his mind about letting her stay in the Academy. Why couldn't she keep her damn mouth shut?

"And the severity of your injuries will dictate their punishment," he said eventually. "What do you think I should do with this boy then? Bear in mind, if I wanted him executed, I could."

Did he want her to pick that option?

"Nothing should happen to him. It was just a stupid fight. There'll probably be more."

"That's not very reassuring," he said dryly, taking a sip of his tea.

"I wasn't trying to be. We argue, we fight, it cools down for a while; that's just how it is. I don't need you to interfere."

He leaned towards her. "It is my job to protect you, and when I fail, it is my job to get justice for you."

"Death for a scratch doesn't sound like justice."

"But it will certainly deter the next fool tempted to hurt you."

"You want to make an example of him..."

Kalys nodded.

"Can you not? We've all been suspended; isn't that punishment enough?"

"No."

Sun couldn't fault Vaan exactly; he was an idiot for pulling out the knife, but he was fighting for his friends. She'd done the same plenty of times in the past—granted, without the use of a knife. Still, she would rather they all just move on from it.

"What are you going to do then?"

"I suppose we'll have to find a solution somewhere between death and nothing."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Whether he would actually have Vaan killed, she didn't know, but she wouldn't be surprised. This could be one of those matters of honour for him, and she knew how far he went for those.

"Should I go back to the manor now?" She asked.

"No, you'll stay here for the day where I can keep an eye on you. You can spend the day practicing," he told her, pouring another cup of water.

Damn. She still felt drained from yesterday and from the fight. But best not to disobey right now.