Chapter Twenty-Three.

Cameron woke to the smell of bacon frying, and groggily got out of bed, before narrowing his gaze and looking down. He was wearing blue silk pajamas, which meant that Eden had changed him after he passed out.

Sighing, he made his way down to the kitchen, where Eden was preparing breakfast. Grabbing a glass, Cameron opened the fridge and pulled out the orange juice, before taking a seat the dining room table and filling his glass, draining it before looking at Eden.

"I passed out?"

"Yeah," Eden looked at him. "You used a school of magic you weren't in, and one that wasn't linked to yours at all – a lone school of magic. Just like mind magic. After all of your mind magic usage and running around, I don't think anyone was surprised you passed out."

"Shouldn't you be training with Adam right now?" Cameron realized as he saw the kitchen clock.

"He suggested I come with you for yours," Eden shook his head. "If you don't mind, that is. Rather than doing our usual training, he wants us both to focus on short-range teleporting today. With how much power you have, he estimates you'll probably be able to do it around twenty to twenty-five times before passing out, which is about the same amount as me."

"Okay," Cameron yawned. "If we're doing the same thing, I don't mind. Are you going to teach me martial arts before then? If the offer's still open. I know a bit, but it's been over a year, and only a few months of practice, and you probably know different stuff."

The revelation that Cameron actually knew some martial arts surprised Eden, especially the fact that it was from before Cameron had met Blake and Greyson. Someone else had taught him, and it was implied it was while on the street.

"Sure," Eden told Cameron, deciding not to push how and where he learned. "We can do that if you want, after we eat and stuff."

"Okay," Cameron said. "I'm changing myself, though."

"Sorry," Eden apologized. "I was removing the gloves, hoodie, mask, pelt, pants, and emptying your pockets, and thought I'd just go the rest of the way for you and change you into your pajamas. I didn't touch your underwear, though."

"Good."

Eden finished making breakfast, and the boys ate in silence, mostly due to Cameron still recovering from his exhaustion. After breakfast, Cameron went to his room to change, then joined Eden in the exercise room, where Eden taught him a few martial arts moves.

Cameron took a shower after that, then they ate a light lunch before Eden teleported Cameron and himself to Adam's, unaware that Eden's apartment was about to receive another unexpected guest.

Silviar looked around the apartment, sensing the teleportation magic that had occurred moments before he'd picked the lock. Like all fairies, he lacked the ability to do such a spell himself, and nor could he track it. The magic of the fairies was deeply rooted in the elements and nature, though they did have some silkspeech power.

Walking around the apartment, he examined several various objects, including the clothing in both of the bedrooms he could sense the targets in. Not one, but two. The others had claimed there was only one mage living there, but he could tell two did.

Which meant they'd either been lied to, or something had changed. Somehow, the spatial mage living there managed to kill every fae that had been sent so far, no matter how much stronger than the last it had been.

Silviar wasn't a normal fae, however. He was a Fairy Lord, making him far, far more powerful than any that had come before. Dealing with two strong mages wouldn't be a problem, even if one of them had god-level magic.

Based on the reports, he knew who the other one was, and it was a mere child as well. A mind mage, sure, but not something he couldn't overcome. He'd dealt with them before. If his observation from the night before had been correct, the boy had figured out teleportation magics, too.

The amulet hanging around his neck vibrated as he began placing strips of paper around the apartment. A sealing enchantment, to prevent spatial magics the moment he activated the spell with just a touch of his magic.

Silviar ran his fingers through his silver hair, then touched the amulet.

"Silviar," the silky voice of one of the Fae Queens projected from the amulet.

"Tabiris," Silviar said. "I wasn't expecting one of our Monarchs to contact me."

"This mission is too important," she said. "The spatial mage must be captured, and the other child he's befriended. The nephilim can be ignored for now, he's not as powerful as those two."

The Fairy Lord immediately understood that the other target he was to pick up likely lived in the apartment as well. It didn't matter to him, though, as he would be able to grab both of them. He wasn't a Fairy Lord for nothing.

"I understand," Silviar said. "I've no plan on failing, like the others. King Rilmari coerced some mortals into creating an enchantment to stop him from leaving once they arrive. With Eden's teleportation neutralized, and his ability to warp space negated, grabbing the two boys won't be difficult. Will the gate be ready?"

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"Yes," she responded. "As soon as as pulse your magic into the ring, the gate will open. It will lead you directly to the Forest. I'm waiting here personally for your return with them. The two of them alone will generate more magic than half the Forest currently does. That one boy, the younger one, could easily make up for half the forest, and if he's as powerful as he smells, he'll live for thousands of years. He'll easily be our most powerful grab. The teleporter isn't bad, either. To be able to obtain them before they reach maturity and true effectiveness in combat is a boon. Make sure you don't fail."

"I won't, Your Majesty," Silviar bowed his head a little, even though he knew the Queen couldn't see the gesture. "If, however, something comes up, can the ring be used multiple times?"

He twisted the ring around his right middle finger, a dark brown, wooden object carved to resemble intertwining vines and leaves, touched with gold and green.

"Yes," she responded. "The elf who crafted it assured me that it could create the gate to the Forest dozens of times. All it needs is a touch of magic pushed into it, and it'll link back to the power of the Forest and open it. Did you make sure you weren't detected?"

"The mind mage didn't notice me," Silviar informed her. "My mental barrier is among the best, outside of Your Majesties. It didn't surprise me he couldn't sense me when he wasn't trying to find a hidden mind. He seems to have moved in, so I can grab both at once, rather than separately."

"Good," she said. "Be careful, Silviar. The boy lived on the streets for two years from when he was ten, and if our reports have been accurate, he may be able to hear the aether voices through his mind magic."

"Is that why I have the other ring?" Silviar asked.

The other ring was a silver ordeal, another slender, graceful ring, worn on his right index finger. This one had no jewels within it, though it did possess touches of violet and pink runes on the inside of it and a gentle, graceful violet pattern around it.

"Yes," she responded. "The reason we didn't go after the boy before was because we suspected he could hear them, and they'd have warned him in advance if he were being targeted by fae and not mortals. It's taken us two years to craft that ring. It should make the aether blind to you, rendering its voices unable to aid him in the fight and unable to forewarn him of your presence."

Silviar frowned, looking around. He'd heard the elder boy had a dog, but couldn't find it. Reaching out with his senses, he determined it was cowering under its master's bed. Not unexpected, considering the sheer power within the fairy.

"Understood," Silviar said. "How are the vampires faring?"

"Quite well," she responded. "Our distraction has already begun, though we won't truly move in-force until the boys are supposed to return to the apartment. Piramis, that one is ugly."

Silviar snorted. Piramis was who he had expected to contact him if any had, not Tabiris, and from the sounds of it, the other Fairy Queen was attempting to hook Silviar into whatever she was doing. Probably seducing a mortal, as that was the Queen's usual leisure activity. She derived a sick pleasure from it.

Not that Silviar didn't sometimes do that, though he wasn't as blatant with it as Piramis was.

"With the vampires distracted," Silviar said. "And the agents who come to interfere in the fights, we should be cloaked."

"Yes," Tabiris said. "Our only other concern in that city are the angels and Leosvar. However, from what we can tell, the angels aren't interested in either of the boys, and Leosvar likely won't realize something is going on until it's too late. His familiar will only check in if the boy goes out of control or if Leosvar contacts it, so it won't alert him to the trouble. Even then, you should be powerful enough to take on Leosvar."

"Yes," Silviar frowned. "My only concern with him is that if he interferes, the boys may be able to escape."

"We have a contingency for that," Tabiris told him. "Melphori and Nairumi will move to intercept him. Worry about nothing else, Silviar, we've thought of everything. Those two boys are too great an opportunity to pass up. I'd rather we got all three of them, but we can worry about the Nephilim once things calm down from these two."

"Alright," Silviar said. "I need to finish setting this up, Your Majesty. See you in a couple of hours."

"May the Fae Gods ensure your success," she said, then the magic in the amulet returned to its dormant state.

Silviar continued to set up the barrier. Once he finished it, he made his way into the bathroom and sat on the counter. If the reports were to be believed, Eden always teleported into either his bedroom or his room's attached bathroom.

He also had a younger brother, and Silviar had spent the morning watching the younger boy. He was powerful, too, though not as powerful as the teen. Maybe half as powerful as the nephilim, which was still pretty powerful.

The parents themselves were nothing special, at least, not at a first glance. Except that Silviar had looked a bit deeper. They were both children of nephilim. The children of nephilim and mortals were mortal, but they still held strong power. As with all things, it would dilute in every generation, unless another angel or god entered the mix.

Like the Thorntons ensured happened. Every generation was either a nephilim or a demigod. Those were true monsters, and attempting to grab one of them was the same as committing suicide. They'd attempted it several years ago with one of the Fae Kings, and he had nearly died. And he'd gone with six Fairy Lords who did die.

Eight living generations of nephilim and demigods, each stronger than the last. The mind mage, Silviar guessed, would be equal to twenty or so more generations of them in terms of his raw, untrained power.

They'd learned not to go after the Thorntons. Thirteen of them were enough to take out some of the strongest fairies to ever live. Five hundred powerful fae, slaughtered in minutes. Friday night's massacre came pretty close to it, though the reason it failed was different.

The mind mage's sudden bout of grief caused him to use his mental magic on everyone around in a way he hadn't done before, and very few fae could guard against such a thing.

Silviar closed his eyes, thinking back to that battle. Not Friday's but the one two centuries ago, when the fairies forged their alliance with the Thorntons. After that fight, they made a deal with the patriarch of the family that had forged alliances with some of the darker gods.

The Thorntons now ran one of the most powerful mage trafficking rings, and part of it was to give the mages to the fairies. Most mages only lasted a few years as trees. They also cast out their unwanted spawn to the fae. Some of the biggest Fairy Trees were Thorntons who had been raised to puberty, to allow their magic to flourish. Those trees would last for three or four decades, though they had one that was nearly six.

The air shifted, and Silviar knew the boys had returned. Triggering the barriers, he slid off the bathroom vanity and made his way into the living room, delighting in their stunned faces, especially when his barriers reacted, informing him that Eden had attempted to warp space.

"Hello, boys," he smiled. "Your little fun ends now."