#eero darktide

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Young mortal! I have accepted your offering for my dominion. Be wary, for much danger lies in this realm. All-oh, Mr. Darktide! It's you again."

Adam nodded, pointing his glowing ring towards the deity of dreams, Luna, formerly of Crystal Cove.

"Theo dragged me here once, so I thought that I'd return the favour," he explained. "This crystal ties us together. With your permission, I'd like to summon him to this realm and speak with him."

"An interesting request," Luna replied, looking amused. "I'm not usually in the service of star-crossed teens who need a place to meet. My purpose is to govern the realm I've been given, not guide young love."

"Please," Adam begged, trying to look as sad as he possibly could. "I've tried everything to find him, but the only safe thing connecting us seems to be your realm. Even with all the wards and protections of wherever he is, everyone has to sleep. It's biology, not magic. I've risked so much to be here and I gave an offering like the book said. I need to see Theo Bellamy, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Such a Darktide," Luna mused. "Always barging in, demanding to be accommodated. I can see your ancestors in your eyes, like entitled phantoms raging in your blood. My father lost his heart to a Darktide, did you know that?"

Adam shook his head quickly. Luna was rambling on about people he'd never met, and he only had a limited amount of time in this realm. Life and Death seemed to know everyone's true names, so he was willing to bet that the deity of dreams did too and might respond better if he invoked them.

"No, I had no idea. I'm not my ancestors, though. I'm not my parents or my deranged uncle. My name is Adam Sebastian Casper Maricourt Darktide and I demand to see Theodosius Ulysses G Bellamy. Please."

"Alright," Luna teased. "Don't work yourself up about it. I was just sharing some of my vast experiences with you. It's lonely in a realm where everyone sleeps sometimes. Everything isn't always about you, you know."

Adam flushed with embarrassment. This was getting him nowhere and the last thing he wanted was to anger a deity. He didn't need that danger added to his already crazy life.

"Sorry, I didn't realize. It's just that...I haven't seen Theo in months now and this might be my only chance. Please, continue to tell me about your father and the Darktides. I will listen if you'll just let me see Theo."

Luna smiled softly.

"You have a good heart, Mr. Darktide," she said. "You're a bit inconsiderate, considering that you're asking me to help you, but your heart is good. I will open the gate to allow your crystal to call for your love, but be sure to tell him that he must also make an offering upon waking. The Old Ways must still be observed."

"The gate is now open," Luna announced. "I hope that your crystal is strong enough to summon him. Truly. The Ocean is often unfairly rough with your family. Until the next time you cross my path."

Adam's ring began to glow with a blinding light as the deity faded from his vision. It took enormous effort for it to search for the matching crystal in the vast realm of dreams, but Adam wasn't giving up. Not when he'd already come this far.

Pain radiated up his arm, which Adam found intriguing considering that he was asleep at the moment in another realm, likely perfectly fine. It was well within his control to deal with, though, after all he'd practiced.

Demonic magic swirled around Adam and he closed his eyes, trying to follow it back to its source. Following it back to Theo.

"What the hell is happening? Alys, if this is another one of your tough love lessons, I swear to god I'll-"

"Theo?"

The crystal on Theo's hand grew even brighter now that it was near its match. It was this reaction that convinced Adam that this was really Theo, that Luna hadn't tricked him.

"Adam, is that you?" Theo blinked and rubbed his eyes, sincerely hoping that this wasn't just an illusion his teachers were tricking him with.

"It's me," Adam confirmed, staring in awe at the culmination of his plans. Everyone had written off talking to Theo while he was gone, but Adam's plan had actually worked! "I've been trying to find you for months now."

"You have? I saw your spell with my ring. I haven't taken it off since."

"It was the only way to access wherever you are," Adam explained. "We're dreaming now. It was the only realm that wouldn't kill us to walk through."

His gaze dropped to the floor. It was overwhelming to see Theo again. So many emotions rushed to his mind, making it difficult to think straight.

His plan had worked. Theo was beside him. Doing magic still sometimes physically hurt. Theo was dangerous. He might always be dangerous in some way, but that smile still made Adam weak in the knees. It was all so much to process.

"Adam, I'm sorry," Theo began. "I never meant to hurt you. I had no idea how out of control I'd gotten. I'm doing better now, much better. I promise."

Even though seeing Theo again was everything Adam had been working towards for so long, part of him still held back, afraid to get hurt even more. He didn't want to feel like this. He should have processed all these feelings already and moved on and been fine.

"I know it was an accident," Adam replied quietly. "You would never mean to hurt me as badly as you did. And we should have listened to Evren about being careful about...well, you know."

"We don't have to do that again," Theo said quickly, equally embarrassed to be talking about how badly their experiments with sex had gone. "We can wait until we're older. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean...oh, I've gotten ahead of myself."

He paused and gave Adam a tearful look.

"I'm assuming that you want to keep dating me, I'm sorry. 'Being mindful of other people's feelings' is something that I apparently need to work on, according to most of my teachers. I don't blame you if you never want to see me again. I can see the way you're looking at me. As usual, I've completely misread this and you only came here to break up with me. I'm so stupid."

"Theo, I've had a lot of time to think about what happened and my feelings on it. I don't regret what we did. I could never regret it. I just...it's been really difficult without you. I didn't know how I felt about us or if I wanted us to be together or if I'd changed too much for us to be together at all." He paused, trying to put his feelings into words. "Something bad happened to me, Theo. Something I don't know how to fix."

"You're pregnant!" Theo gasped, making Adam roll his eyes.

"God, Theo, your parents really have made you paranoid. No one's pregnant. I...I just...I'm different."

Theo nodded sympathetically, still unsure if Adam truly wanted him to respond to that statement with facts or to just keep apologizing.

"It's called Toyonaga's Trap," he replied, hoping that he was making the correct choice. "What happened between us. It was a textbook presentation of it. A blood connection that ends in the destruction of the person while the demon funnels their power into themselves. It was named for the Lost Queens of Strangetown, two teens who made a blood deal for power and ended up erased from the universe when the deal collected them. I was so worried that you died because of me and they wouldn't let me even talk to you. I did everything I could to shield you from danger, but I still saw you when the paramedics took you away. I couldn't live with myself if i had caused your death. It would destroy me."

"Theo, I-"

Before Theo could even register what was happening, Adam wrapped his arms around the hybrid tightly, leaning in to brush his face near Theo's. It wasn't the same feeling as holding Theo in a physical realm, but it was better than nothing. He hugged Theo as tight as he could to reassure his boyfriend.

"I didn't die; you protected me. You've always protected me no matter what. It took me a while, but I've made my peace with what happened. I'm not right anymore, but I'm alive."

"There are a handful of people who survived Toyonaga's Trap and they all have different symptoms," Theo stated, like he was remembering the writing in his textbook. "Migraines, joint pain, and some other side effects."

"Well, file this under other," Adam said. "I'd say that I fit there."

"I can see that," Theo murmured, stroking the scar on Adam's face gently. "You don't know how sorry I am that this happened. This is on your actual body or just your projection here?"

"The scarring is permanent. My mom and dad tried everything they could to heal it, but they couldn't."

"Oh. So every morning you wake up to see the grisly reminder of my lack of control in the mirror. Shit, Adam, I'm so sorry. You must hate me."

"I could never hate you, Theo," Adam assured his boyfriend. "There were some dark times where I questioned if we were really right for each other, but I could never hate you."

He caught Theo's hand when it was lowered from caressing his face and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I don't blame you," Theo replied earnestly. "I've been thoroughly yelled at by just about every teacher here for triggering a major demonic incident with a partner. Believe me, they've all shouted at me at some point." His face brightened, remembering something important. "But, they do have some comprehensive sex ed classes here that I was strongly recommended. If we ever wanted to be together like that again, once I graduate out of this hell, I should be able to channel our connection properly. But only if you want to. Which you don't have to. I'd understand."

"I'm not sure I want to...be...intimate," Adam confessed, still squeezing Theo's hand reassuringly. "I...I almost died, Theo. I can't just pick up from where we used to be. You've been gone for months and I've tried to put everything behind me. I need to know that you won't let this happen again, and I'm sorry, but I can't trust that you can right now. I need time, probably a lot of time."

Theo tried his best not to look crushed, but he probably failed.

"So, you want to go back to being friends?" Theo asked quietly, avoiding looking at Adam directly. "You keep avoiding the topic. Are you still interested in being my boyfriend? Do you just not hate me, or do you love me?"

Adam smiled coyly.

"I like like you, Theo. According to your Aunt, that's all I should admit to a guy if his parents are broke."

"And even then," Theo agreed, a huge weight lifting from his chest at these words. "I like like you too. A lot."

"We'll figure this out," Adam promised. "Together. I just need to work through my feelings first." His voice began to waver despite the incredible efforts he was making to hide his discomfort. "It's-it's been really hard without you here. Without getting to talk this through with you. I almost died, Theo, and for what? Because my sister keeps flaunting her sex life, and it made us curious? I don't want to die for something as stupid as that."

"Hey. Come here."

Theo pulled his boyfriend to the ground and wrapped his arms around him, just as they did back home. Adam couldn't deny how much he'd missed laying in Theo's arms, watching the clouds move above them and hearing the beating of Theo's heart. This moment was perfect and exactly why he'd fought so hard to see Theo again. There were no expectations between them in this realm. Theo couldn't accidentally hurt him here, and that knowledge made Adam bolder than he would be in the waking realm. He held Theo tightly, trying to commit every detail to memory. It could be several more months of waiting for Theo to come home and even when he did, Adam still couldn't see himself being fully able to relax at Theo's touch.

"What are you learning?" Adam asked curiously. "Tell me about your school. What's life like in demon military school?"

What's your life like without me?

"Boring. I mostly talk to teachers and tutors, there's not really a huge class size here. I get bi-weekly passes out to this weird country that has a strong culty vibe. I met a guy at the movies and we talked a bit before my parole officers dragged me back to school."

Adam bristled at the mention of another guy with Theo at a movie theater, a timeless place for teen hookups. Theo seemed to just be rambling about the boringness of his life, which calmed Adam slightly. Theo was usually pretty easy to read when he wanted something or had a crush and Adam could see none of the telltale signs on Theo's face.

Adam beamed at his boyfriend as Theo continued rambling about the quality of the food at school. Adam felt jealous of this random boy. After feeling nothing for the last few months, he finally had a Theo related emotion, even if it was jealousy. He wanted Theo to himself, he could feel that feeling spread across his body, waking it up from its long depression. After months of being unsure of his feelings for Theo, the threat of another person being interested in him ignited Adam's heart.

"You've told people that you have a boyfriend, right?"

Theo shrugged.

"I'm supposed to say you're a girl," he scoffed. "This place is weird and homophobic and I can't even mention my dads. There's something wrong with this place. Everything here is so weird."

"Oh, should I be thinking up a girl version of Adam?" the warlock teased. "Adama? Admina?"

"I just said that I was dating Remy Darktide. It's close enough and they can check and see that I'm not making her up."

Adam scowled at the thought of people thinking Theo was dating Remy. If she ever found out, she would never let that go.

"Don't tell Remy that," he pleaded.

"I've met Remy before, Adam, I know how she is. I think I can keep a secret from her."

Adam squeezed Theo tightly, hoping that this moment would last forever. It wouldn't. There were limitations on how long mortals could travel in other realms and Adam could already feel the pull back to the waking world begin.

"I don't think I'm allowed to repeat this visit to see you," Adam sighed. "It was hard enough getting here this time."

"I miss you. I don't want to leave," Theo insisted. "I don't know when I'll see you again." The demon hybrid pouted, wrapping himself around Adam tighter. "Stay with me."

"I can't. I physically can't. It's not how the world works. People would start entering people's dreams whenever they wanted to, and the balance of the realms would warp. Have you figured out where you're living? Maybe I could send you a postcard."

"No, but it's somewhere strange. I don't know if it is part of the universe or just tacked on or whatever in the grand scheme of things. Only women are able to get pregnant here and they treat demons like they did back in the Demon Wars. No wonder it's so hard for people to get into this school. It's a nightmare." He paused for a moment. "Well, the stuff I'm working on is even more advanced than our class work at the academy. When I do get to go back there, I'll pass every magical exam they throw at me."

"Do they ever say how you're doing?" Adam asked hopefully. "You're leaving soon, right?"

Theo shook his head sadly.

"They keep talking about what to do with the curse I was born with. I can't cast much magic as long as it's there, festering inside me, but it's still a part of me. There's some ritual I have to prepare for and a ceremony before I can leave here. They've forced me to have several incidents back to back, and I'm getting better at controlling them. I just need the curse to either disappear entirely or re-absorb into a more controllable part of my magical essence. But they think that eliminating the curse entirely will have 'dangerous repercussions' for me, so I'm hoping that the re-absorb option is the one that works."

"Will there be any impact on me? We're connected loosely, so it's possible that I could have something impact my magic too." Adam paused. "The scar isn't the only new thing to happen to me, Theo. I can sense the Void now and open portals to it. Maybe even a little more; I've been afraid to experiment with it."

"What?!"

Theo listened with concern as Adam detailed his new abilities. A non-demonic warlock able to display mild demonic abilities? His teachers would have a fit when he asked whether Adam's new abilities impacted his studies. But still...this development gave Theo an idea.

"So neither of us can be in the Void for long periods of time, right? There's no harm that can happen just by opening a rift. You and I can both open rifts and portals now, so we can pass messages through it if we want. Think about it! We could write a message and leave it in a portal in one of the top layers of the Void where there's not much danger. The Void is connected to both of our locations, even wherever the hell I am. My teachers can open a portal to home, so it's possible."

"We could use a crystal to help pierce through the Void, so our portals have more strength," Adam agreed, thinking about what he knew of magical theory. "If you and I use the crystal in our rings at the same time to access the same area in the Void, we might have enough combined strength to pull it off. It wouldn't be powerful enough to let a person through, but a note? I could see that working."

"We could be penpals! Just...don't write anything dirty just in case another demon comes across it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Clearly after months of isolation, Theo's mind had remained in the gutter. Adam was a teenage boy with raging hormones, sure, but every time he thought of those stolen moments wrapped up in Theo's bedsheets, fear washed over him, drowning his desires completely. Theo wasn't safe outside of a dream. Adam had nearly died. He could die any time at any moment if Theo slipped and lost control. The mere memory of the pain of demonic magic tearing him slowly apart still made him bolt awake at night. His brush with death had been devastating, and Theo's magic cult school had a clean, clinical name for what had happened. It was even textbook apparently.

It was nice to be held by Theo and it was nice to pretend that nothing between them had changed. It was nice, but it wasn't true.

"Okay, here's what we'll need. Probably at least one locked box, preferably silver if we can get our hands on it. Definitely write in pen, just in case pencil is too weak to read. Oh! Do you think we'd need notebooks or would a single piece of paper be more effective? No, definitely go with the notebooks. You'll have to get all of this though, sorry. I can't exactly run to the store here."

Adam held Theo as he rambled on about how they'd pull off the Great Penpal Trick, trying to nod when appropriate.

"Theo? I think we're out of time," he announced, watching his hand and arm begin to fade on Theo's chest. "I'm waking up."

"Don't forget about the holy water. That will keep demons out of our letters."

"Theo, you're a demon and I'm a mess of demonic magic, we would probably only hurt ourselves with that. Besides, what demon wants to read about your boring school or my insane family? They have better things to do."

Theo pouted at this dose of reality. He'd spent so long thinking of what he'd say to Adam and longing to hold Adam and staring at the occasionally glowing ring he'd gotten from Adam, that he'd forgotten that he and Adam had spent so much time apart, and they were no longer in sync with each other.

"I'll wait for you to put the box in the agreed upon spot then. It won’t be too much longer that I'm here...I hope so anyway. Keep away from Simon down the hall. He has a massive crush on you and might try to hit on you while I'm gone."

Adam rolled his eyes at the very idea of running off with the guy Remy chose for him after he'd spent all of this time trying to reach his boyfriend.

"Yeah, well, you make sure that movie theater boy keeps his hands off you," he countered.

"Brion? I'm sure his weird ass homophobic country would be okay with that. Absolutely."

Adam's entire right arm vanished as the dream realm began ejecting him from it.

"Theo, I-"

"Oh thank god! I was starting to worry about you. Did it work? Did you see Theo?"

Adam groaned, holding his throbbing head while he regained control of his senses. He was back just where he'd started this endeavor: at school, looking over the vast landscape of Lower Pleasantview.

"Yeah, it worked," he confirmed. "He was right there. I could even touch him. We weren't just apparitions without form."

"Oh, so it was that kind of dream? With touching?" Travis teased, earning a scowl from his friend.

"No, somehow we contained ourselves. We had other things to discuss."

"And? Are you still dating? Remy might back off her scheming if she knew that you were happily in a relationship with your boyfriend. The school gossip mill might die down too."

"Like Remy isn't involved with the gossip mill too? She's my twin sister, she needs to calm down. Tell her whatever you think will keep her from trying to spring more blind dates on me, but yeah, Theo and I are still dating."

He looked over his shoulder to see his two lookouts too consumed by hormones to see that Adam had woken up. A quick stab of jealousy shot through him as he saw how easily they moved together. They trusted each other. Neither boy knew enough about magic to be a threat to the other. It must be nice.

"We did it!" Travis exclaimed, high fiving Adam happily. "Plus, you're alive and in one piece! Tell me all about it! I'm dying to know everything that happened. Was he in his pajamas or was he projecting his own self-image? What did the deity look like? Did they threaten you?"

Adam picked up the borrowed staff he'd used earlier, inspecting it for damage.

"I'll tell you all about it, but we'd better get this back to the storage room before my dad finds us and wants to know why we needed it."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Okay, so we're ready to put our plan in motion. I know we can pull this off guys."

Adam beamed proudly at his co-conspirators. Everything had been put in place and they were now ready to try to reach Theo across the realm of dreams. Adam had made the crystal ring that paired to Theo's and Travis had learned the offering to present Luna with. Apparently dream deities would grant someone passage in their realm if they were presented two gold coins and a cup of sugar. None of the boys knew why this would be appealing to a god, but they chalked it up to cultural differences. Maybe millennia ago, sugar had been a luxury item. Unfortunately, it looked like the school kitchen was low on sugar, so they improvised with half a cup of sugar and half a cup of sugar substitute. The gold coins had been easier, since Adam had received Strangetown coin collectors sets for just about every birthday from the king of Strangetown. They had all the tools they needed to try their scheme, now they just had to decide where to attempt this realm crossing.

"So, I was thinking about the balconies outside," Adam began. "Theo used to hang out there and it should be secluded enough to avoid teachers asking questions."

"I have the incantations written down, but the spell needs two people to operate it. One person travels and the other one stays behind to anchor the traveler to their proper realm," Travis replied. "It goes without saying that I'm the best person for the job."

He gave Eero a wary look as Eero proved Travis right. Eero and Aatu were barely paying attention to the conversation, shooting not so discreet amorous looks at each other.

"Agreed. You and I will head to the balconies with our offering, while Eero and Aatu keep watch. I don't know how long this will take and the last thing we need is my dad finding out that we 'borrowed' a restricted book and are performing magic outside of our curriculum."

"See? The plan is working. I knew Adam can't resist an overly complicated operation to fix a problem. It's cute that he thinks he's hiding this all from us."

Remy beamed with smug pride beside her father as both of them watched Adam in secret.

"Dream magic is risky," Ewan stated. "I'm not sure that I approve of your brother attempting this while he's still so young."

Remy just shrugged in reply.

"I suppose that Travis is strong enough to help Adam should something go wrong. I just hope that Theo is in a state where he doesn't make things worse. I should be stopping this."

Remy gave her father a pointed look and continued to spy on her twin.

"We're Maricourts," she assured him. "Darktides, too. Doing risky magic is what makes us so powerful and makes us stand out from the crowd. Adam can do this, and if he's stealing power from Theo, then this will be a piece of cake. Would you stop now if you were our age? Weren't you doing impressively dangerous magic to win over the coven when you were a teenage?"

Ewan shook his head.

"Then stop him," Remy challenged. "Go in there and keep him from exploring new ways to use magic. Make sure that he goes back to being depressed when he's proven that he can summon the Maricourt wand already. Go tell Mom and have her freak out about magic that Adam can easily do that will cheer him up."

"Yes, but I was more educated and my mother personally taught me some of the more difficult spells. I certainly didn't have the ghost of your uncle looming over me. Your mother's brother and coven will colour how other witches see you two. Elowen, too. Your brother and his relationship with Theo make some very powerful people incredibly nervous."

Ewan frowned at his daughter's words. She had a point, but then again, she was a teenager. She hadn't been studying magic for decades like he had. She didn't have an adult's perspective on the situation like he did. He was the parent here, but Remy was frustratingly making sense. All of Adam's recent confidence and enthusiasm would be ruined if he put a stop to this plan. It would be equally crushing to have his dad show up to hold his hand through the spell. Either way, Ewan would be causing Adam to suffer a setback, one that he might not recover from.

"I'll continue to supervise this endeavor," Ewan decided. "Your brother has proven himself repeatedly by now, but I'm still your parent. The two of you are my responsibility, no matter how old you may be. I may not be able to bring Theo back here without meeting certain conditions first, so I feel that this is an appropriate experiment for your brother to test his abilities." He turned his attention to his smirking daughter.

"You, on the other hand, had better head inside and study for your test on Friday. If you spent just half the time you spend manipulating the lives of your peers on studying, you'd be at the top of your class."

Adam tried to hold the ancient staff upright while Travis began reciting Latin. They had found the staff in the magical accessories room, where practice wands and staffs were kept for the students to use. The spell to enter the realm of dreams was ancient, and it highly suggested using the "Lordes stæf of the castel" and Adam was pretty sure that his new wand didn't meet the requirements. Instead, they borrowed the ceremonial staff the coven carried when it convened for formal occasions or for graduation ceremonies.

"It's starting to make my hands tingle a bit," Adam announced to his group. Travis continued to chant Latin, while Eero gave his cousin an excited thumbs up from his lookout.

To Adam's amazement, the two gold coins he'd placed on the ground began to melt, the golden gel seeming to melt into the earth, never to return. A strong wind scooped the sugar from its bowl and scattered it across the sky. The small grains of sugar seemed to sparkle as they disappeared from sight, filling Adam with an eerie excitement. Something old and magical was stirring and he'd done it all with limited help.

"Something's definitely happening!" Adam called out. "It feels weird, like I-"

Without warning, Adam collapsed unconscious on the ground, his body appearing to be in a deep sleep.

"I hope that was supposed to happen," Travis remarked, wringing his hands nervously. "Master Maricourt is going to expel me if I accidentally kill his son."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Thank you all for coming to my brainstorming tea," Adam announced as he took his place at the table.

With Josh gone, and Remy deliberately ghosting him whenever the subject of brainstorming ways to talk to Theo came up, Adam was desperate. Despina had run off with Remy when Adam asked her for help, so he was pretty sure that meant that his sister was up to something.

Fortunately, Adam still had the help of Travis Maricourt, his cousin Eero, and Eero's boyfriend Aatu, who both claimed to be competent warlocks in the Arkhelios coven. Adam would have rather had Despina, who had proven how skilled she was to join him in Pleasantview, but he couldn't be picky. He needed ideas about how to reach Theo and he was having trouble coming up with his own.

"It didn't really seem like it was optional," Eero replied. "Your sister may have threatened me if I didn't. It's hard to tell with her sometimes."

Okay, so Remy definitely was up to something. It was nice to have that confirmation, so Adam could try to avoid Remy's usual tactics. Despina was likely in on this plan too, though he couldn't read her as well as he could his twin.

"Well, let's get started," Adam continued. "These are the basics: Theo shares a connection to me that tethers our magic together, he is locked behind a supernatural shield that I can't physically pass through and I can now open a rift to the Void, but it's not safe for me to travel through. With this in mind, how do we get in contact with Theo? I can only follow his energy so far before it's lost behind that barrier, so long range spells won't be accurate."

"Theo is the cute demon boy, right?" Aatu asked.

"Yeah, the one who nearly explodes every few years," Eero confirmed. "The one I was telling you about."

Adam tried to repress a frustrated groan. This was what he had to work with? Four heads might be better than one, but not by much. Aatu came from Pleasantview, but had been selected as part of the student exchange program the coven had with Wanda in Arkhelios. Clearly, Pleasantview hadn't considered him to be worth keeping in the coven.

Adam tried not to despair as his cousin tried to catch his boyfriend up on why they were meeting today. This wasn't going as planned at all. At this rate, Adam would never talk to Theo until whenever this school decided to release him.

"If you can't physically pass the barrier or travel the Void, what about another realm?"

Adam smiled as Travis Maricourt found his voice. Travis was hopelessly introverted and shy, but he was something of a prodigy when it came to magic. Both of his mothers were terrifyingly powerful witches, and he was being raised by reapers. If anyone could think outside the box, it was him.

"What do you mean, Travis? Like an out of body experience?"

"No," Travis replied, sipping his tea nervously. "The spirit is still tied to the body and the body is unable to pass through the barrier uninvited. Astral projection is just another form of magic, and magic can't pass either. You need to connect to something universal. Something that everyone experiences, like death. Every living creature dies and is thus connected to the realm of the dead, where everyone must travel. Nothing can escape that inevitability."

"So we need to die to talk to Theo?" Eero asked, looking horrified. "You can just wait the semester or whenever until Theo comes home, Adam. You don't need to kill yourself to talk to a guy."

"And wouldn't Theo need to be dead too?" Aatu added. "This plan is getting dark, Adam."

"No one is dying!" Adam snapped. He refilled Aatu's cup, hoping that if Aatu had more to drink, the less he'd use his mouth to be unhelpful.

"No, no, no one is dying," Travis explained. "It's just one of the connected realms that are universal. The reapers use it sometimes to patrol for lost spirits from the afterlife. Dad says Death uses it to hide from his spouse when he needs to. We couldn't travel safely through that realm either. There are still alternatives though. We can't access Life’s private channels unless we work for them, like their Champions do. So life and death's realms are beyond our reach, what else is universal?"

Adam could see that Travis already had a plan in place, he was just hoping that someone could guess it too.

"Umm, we all live and die," he began hesitantly. "There's no realm of taxes or anything like that. Theo always talked to a warlock with time magic, but I think that's not possible for us either."

Travis nodded, still staring at Adam expectantly. That tracked with what Adam understood about reapers. All the stories that involved them, usually had them returning questions with questions of their own. Travis would probably tell him regardless, but not without making Adam admit he couldn't think as strategically as he could.

A sudden thought hit Adam like lightning. He knew the answer to this puzzle. He'd personally met the ruler of that realm not too long ago.

"You want to walk the realm of dreams!" he exclaimed. "Everyone has to sleep and there's no magic involved with sleeping. Anyone can do it."

"It's a natural process, you just have to pacify the guardians of the realm," Travis replied. "I read about it once in the archives, but I'm not sure how to do it. We'd need that book again."

"Luna seemed nice enough, she might let us in for free," Adam said. "She knew my great-great grandsomething."

"No, it has to be an offering," Travis insisted. "There are ancient laws that don't make much sense to us now, but they're very real. It's a transgression against the normal workings of the realm; there needs to be an offering made."

"I'm pretty sure that any books that deal with dangerous realm crossings are in the council room. My dad keeps anything even slightly dangerous away from the school library."

Eero grinned and gave his cousin an excited grin.

"It looks like we're planning a heist then!" he declared. "A magical heist!"

Aatu and Eero kept watch outside the council chambers. They didn't have the magical skill to assist breaking into the council room, but they could keep watch just fine. It surprised Adam how Despina could be so dedicated to learning magic while her brother couldn't care less to develop his innate skills. Though, maybe it was just a Darktide family trait. He studied magic in his free time, while Remy had made it very clear that she wanted no part in a coven after graduation.

Adam paused at the council chamber door, checking for any witnesses. With his recent depression, Adam was sure that his father wouldn't yell at him if they got caught, but it was better to be careful.

"All clear?"

Travis nodded, pretending to be engrossed by the portraits in the hall.

"I don't see anyone. Go ahead and start the heist."

Adam looked again at the far door and rolled his eyes at what he saw. Eero and Aatu were at least causing a distraction that would deter people from entering the hallway.

Before he could rethink his plan, Adam bolted into the council chambers and started grabbing important looking sheets of paper. He wasn't sure just what he was looking for, so he couldn't be picky about what he grabbed. Hopefully, the council wouldn't meet anytime soon so Adam had enough time to comb through his stolen papers.

"I'm coming out, are we still clear?" he called. When Travis called out the 'okay' signal in reply, Adam ran out quickly.

"Okay! Let's get somewhere quiet and start reading."

Travis turned another page in the ancient book he'd started reading. This book spoke about realms, but he wasn't sure if there was any actual information about crossing them. There was a diagram at least, so his hopes were high.

"I know how to find Theo once we're in the dream realm," Adam announced excitedly. "This book here says that I need something physical that we both have access to, preferably something magic. That ring I gave Theo last year is magically enhanced and I only used half of the crystal to make it. I can use the remains of that crystal to make a matching ring for myself."

"That would work," Travis agreed. "Especially since using crystals seems to be your strongest talent. The only question is, did he take the ring with him?"

"Of course. He never leaves it at home. If he's not wearing it, it's usually in his pocket or backpack. Plus, I didn't find it in our room after he left. If I can make a matching ring, it would draw him to me when we're both asleep."

"Give me a day to look over this book. Nothing's popping out at me now just skimming it, but the answer's in here, I know it."

Adam nodded, scooping up the majority of unrelated papers in his arms.

"That will give me time to make the matching ring. We can't rush this and screw everything up. I'll return this pile of papers so no one notices that some are missing."

When everyone else was studying in the study hall for their upcoming exams, Adam snuck into the potions room to design a ring. He had had more time to work on Theo's ring a year ago, but he'd had a bit of practice at crystal jewelry since then.

He grabbed the leftover crystal from his room earlier. All that really needed to be done now was enchanting the crystal and binding it to the ring.

Smoke from the cauldron rose up, engulfing the ring and crystal. Both were sealed together in perfect harmony with Theo's crystal. Wherever he was, Adam could magically trigger a response in Theo's ring, alerting him to Adam's location and his desire to see him. They may not be able to speak in words, but at least Theo would know that his boyfriend wanted to speak with him.

"Here goes nothing," Adam murmured to himself, placing the new ring on his finger and whispering an incantation. He wasn't sure if he would feel if Theo responded, but he was crossing his fingers anyway.

Theo was deep in thought (and schoolwork) when he was annoyed by a faint humming coming from across the room. It was hard enough studying advanced demonic energy theory. Having something humming while reading the mind numbing texts was going to be impossible.

To his surprise, Theo could see the source of the humming, along with a dazzling light that shone from his backpack.

"Weird," he said to himself, as he walked over to the bag to investigate.

Underneath two packs of gum, headphones that went with his confiscated phone, his wallet and a pile of loose candy, Theo found the ring that Adam had given him last year, gleaming like a star in the night. After a moment of confusion, Theo placed the ring on his finger, where it immediately lost its unnatural shine.

"Adam! You want me to know you're thinking about me! Oh thank god."

Theo let go of the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This could have only come from one person. Adam's parents hadn't studied crystal magic, and Shadowvale had never seen him wear the ring before. Theo's own parents could never figure out a spell like this, and it was too obvious to be Evren. Evren always went for subtlety with his magic, like quietly enchanting Theo's day planner. It only made sense that it was Adam calling to him.

Sudden relief washed over Theo. Adam was reaching out to him! Adam was thinking about him!

What did it mean though? Was Adam simply trying to get in contact with him to tell him how much he hated Theo? Was this him giving Theo a heads up that when Theo returned, Adam would be dating someone else?

No, Theo refused to believe that. Adam was shy enough to just keep ghosting Theo if he wanted to break up. This had to mean something positive.

With no way to respond to this sudden magic, Theo resigned himself to finishing the chapter he'd been working on. Though suddenly, it didn't seem too difficult to concentrate. Adam was trying to send him a message and Theo would never take his ring off until he and Adam were reunited.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Ah, finally. Arkhelios. It's smaller than I imagined."

A woman and her two teenage children surveyed the land critically. For all the talk about Arkhelios on the international stage, actually stepping foot in it was underwhelming. There were a few large estates, some factories and what could questionably be defined as a small strip mall. There was lodging available at least, until the trio could find whatever magical community was always being promoted.

"Alright, children. You know the plan. We'll check into the hotel tonight and start fresh in the morning."

"Yes, Mom," the two chimed in unison.

The trio walked silently into the doors of the hotel, eyeing their surroundings with suspicion.

"Adam! Adam, over here!"

Eero and Despina Darktide waved frantically at their cousin, as if there was any chance that Adam could miss the giant coven building they were standing in front of. After some tension at Theo's house, Adam Darktide promised to at least visit with his cousins at the Arkhelios coven where they lived. It wasn't as old or fancy as Pleasantview's, but it seemed okay to Adam. Smaller covens needed smaller spaces after all.

"We can hang out by the pool," Despina said. "It's pretty quiet back here. No one really comes out here at night."

"I do have to get back soon though," Adam insisted. "My mom will be pissed if I'm late again. The last thing I need is to be grounded."

"Yeah, she's always intense when our report cards get sent home," Eero complained. "One semester we had to clean up after everyone's familars until our spellwork improved. She's not even a part of the coven here, and she still found a way to get what she wants."

"No thanks," Despina laughed. "The only expectations we have are to pass our coursework and not follow down the path of 'dark magic". Whatever that means."

"You're not wrong," Adam laughed. "Try being her son. You two are the only thing she has left of her brother, but I'm her legacy apparently. I'm willing to trade if you are."

"Oh, I learned a dark magic trick," Adam exclaimed excitedly. "My boyfriend taught me it. He's working off the blood magic textbooks that were banned centuries ago. He knows a lot of magic that used to be forbidden."

Adam beamed with pride as he snapped his fingers and a brilliant flame appeared, confined to his hand. The twins watched enviously. There was something off about the flames that they couldn't quite put their finger on.

"It's hellfire," Adam explained. "Demons supposedly use it to disable their enemies. The flames are freezing cold, like a shard of the Void flickering in their hands. Feel it, I can't make it freeze, but you can at least touch it."

Eero boldly extended his hand, completely trusting his cousin. Truthfully, Adam probably wouldn't do the same in that position; there wasn't a certainty that the flames weren't just a trick. When Eero removed his hand completely uninjured, Despina shoved her hand in the flames too.

"That's so cool," she breathed. "They teach him this stuff in school? We never learn anything like this here."

"Well, they only teach Theo," Adam stammered. "The demon sovereign sponsored him so he learns all the dangerous stuff. I'm just supposed to be memorizing chemical properties and how to summon a wand I've already summoned. It's stupid."

"You summoned that dumb wand in the textbook?" Depina gasped. "You're not old enough! Even Wanda has only produced it for a few seconds! I want to go to your school, you at least learn something there."

"Maybe you could talk to your mom?" Eero asked. "She'd listen to you, wouldn't she? We could apply for a scholarship if she doesn't have the money or...or we could get jobs at the restaurant downtown. Please, please can you ask her?"

Adam shrugged helplessly.

"I can try. She really doesn't listen to me much either. Or my dad. Or my stepdad. Last week, she called the king of Crystal Cove a 'pompous asshole' to his face. There's no reasoning with her."

"Damn. Well, hey, we're having a mixer at the academy this weekend, if you want to come," Eero offered. "It's nowhere near as fancy as your Pleasantview parties, but maybe if she drops you off, your mom can see how useless this place really is. I mean, the classes suck, but we do have a lot of fun outside of class. You'd probably like some of our friends."

"Can I bring Theo? He loves parties."

And can save me from meeting a room full of strangers on my own.

"Yeah, sure. Bring whoever you want."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"It's nice to actually see you in Arkhelios. You're always off at school when I come by."

Melvin Jr Hydes smiled at Theo. It really was nice to see the Bellamy child closest to his own age. Melvin was going to college in a few weeks, so he wasn't sure when the next time he'd see Theo would be. Arkhelios certainly talked about Theo often, and Melvin couldn't resist seeing the infamous demon hybrid for himself.

Of course, Theo had come home with his boyfriend, Adam, who never seemed to be far from his side, as well as Adam's cousin Eero. The three of them joked about magic and Pleasantview and demons, all things that Melvin knew very little about but was interested in learning more about. Soon, he'd be leaving for adventures of his own in the world beyond Arkhelios.

"You're lucky that you get to go to school in Pleasantview," Eero grumbled. "Aunt Edana says we can't transfer from the Arkhelios coven's 'classes' until next year. We're 'helping her keep an eye on them' or something."

"Well, you are," Adam insisted. "She always has a plan for everything. You're there for a reason."

"And that reason is because she can't stand looking at us," Eero shot back. "We're practically the same age, Adam. She raised you and your sister and half-siblings, but when she was given custody of me and Despina, we were the ones who were raised by the coven, not you."

"She was young and just lost your dad," Adam protested. "How many kids could you raise by yourself? It's not like she abandoned you. She's paid for everything you and Despina need and you guys were always at the house."

"Geez, you're overly defensive. She's your mom, not your girlfriend."

"You wouldn't know what having a mom is like, considering yours died in a cult that was trying to sacrifice you to the Grim Reaper!" Adam snapped, only to regret his words when he saw the look on his cousin's face. "Shit, I'm sorry, Eero. That was uncalled for. I don't know why i said that. My mom did the best she could for you guys, that's all I meant."

"So, the kids are behaving, Theo hasn't said anything snarky since he got home, and dinner was great. I think we should celebrate."

Abe took his husband in his arms, swaying to the music of the stereo that the teens were blasting to muffle their conversations.

"I agree," Abe murmured, spinning his husband around when the song sped up. "Things may finally be settling down. At this rate, we may be able to go on a date if we wanted. Imagine leaving the house for something other than groceries, work and pediatric check ups. It's unthinkable."

"That sounds wonderful," Roman agreed, nuzzling into Abe's shoulder. "A real date, for grown-ups only. A bar maybe. It's been ages since I've been drunk in public, staggering my way back home."

"You're only twenty-nine once. You have to live a little before you hit thirty."

"Oh, trust me, I've lived plenty," Roman laughed. "Having a kid at sixteen and murderous mother will do that to you. I'm so glad that you're still here beside me after all these years."

"Me too."

"So, uh, Melvin. What are you taking in college?" Adam asked, awkwardly changing the subject.

Melvin shrugged.

"My dad wants me to take police foundations and follow the family business," he replied. "I'm not so sure that that's for me though. I'll see what I like when I get there. I applied for philosophy. Whatever I end up studying, I'm sure it will be something that I'm just as passionate about as he is policing."

"Hey, the kids are asleep, and Theo seems to be pretty distracted with his friends. I might, uh, retire to the bedroom for a bit, if you wanted to come with me," Roman offered, kissing his husband passionately.

Abe smiled against Roman's lips and nodded.

"That sounds like a great idea."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Hey, Eero. Did you want to dance? I don't see anyone else worth dancing with here."

"Uh, thanks, but I can do better than some consolation dance from a newbie," Eero shot back, still eyeing the newcomer. He was fairly handsome, if you ignored his attitude.

The Arkhelios Academy of Magic's mixer was more of a success than the students had hoped. With new arrivals settling in Arkhelios and signing up for school, Eero and Despina Darktide finally had enough classmates to be picky about their dance partners.

"You are cute though, I guess I could give you another chance."

Eero smiled flirtatiously at the boy in front of him. There were only so many people in Arkhelios and the guy was pretty easy on the eyes.

"What's your name?"

"Malik," the boy replied.

He was casual about his answer and confident in himself, which Eero found irresistible. Too many students here lacked confidence or were just trying to coast through school to get it over with. This Malik guy was different. Eero didn't even know him, but he could feel something different about this guy.

"Well, Malik, let's dance."

"This was such a nice thing to do for your cousin," Theo gushed, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and smothering him with kisses. "Aunt Wanda's probably thrilled about the turnout too. Bringing our friends to this lame dance gives your cousins and their classmates a chance to meet cool people."

"That's surprisingly elitist of you, Theo. You're sounding like a Bellamy with that kind of talk. It's not flattering."

Adam detached himself from Theo's grasp and shot his boyfriend a nasty look.

"Just because we go to an expensive school doesn't mean that my cousins are any different than I am. It's not their fault their parents died and my mom can't pay for their tuition for our school."

"Sounding like a Bellamy?" Theo repeated, utterly confused at what prompted the words. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Just your family's attitude. Eero says that Wanda is a tyrant about the Bellamy name and how powerful it is in Arkhelios. Same with your dad. It's no secret that he boasted about his family when he went to school in Pleasantview. People remember things like that. Plus those kids over there haven't shut up about the Bellamy family since we got here. It's getting annoying."

"Kids?" Theo turned around, looking for the alleged kids, but only saw the familiar faces they'd brought from their own school. There was no one else that he recognized as Bellamys. "I don't know who you're talking about and Wanda's always like that. You've seen the mausoleum she built for our family, right? The thing that blocks most of the sunlight from my parents' lawn? I don't sound anything like Wanda. If you don't like my family, Adam, then I don't have to be here. It's not like your family is any better. At least mine hasn't dragged you in for a formal confrontation about joining bloodlines."

"Theo, that's not what I meant! I just wanted you to be nicer to my cousins. They're more sensitive about things than they sometimes show to people. All everyone talks about here is how great the Bellamys are and it's not fair. They don't have anyone else here."

"And that's my fault, how exactly?"

Bronwen watched Theo argue with his boyfriend with interest. Those two hardly ever fought, at least not in public. The party was too loud to hear what they were arguing over, but it was intense enough for Theo to storm off.

"Theo! Over here! Do you want to dance?" she called, but received no reply. Theo simply kept walking, completely unaware of his friend's offer.

"Theo! You came."

Despina waved at her cousin's boyfriend like he was the only person in the room. Theo shot an annoyed look in Adam's direction and headed over to talk to one of the cousins they'd been fighting over.

"Excuse me," she said, quickly brushing across the crowded room to greet the demon hybrid. "I didn't think you'd actually come. I appreciate it."

Theo shrugged, suddenly wary of Despina's interest in him. Clearly this invitation had been given with some kind of agenda, but he was determined to be as supportive as he could just to show Adam how wrong he was.

"It was Adam's idea," he replied cautiously. "I'm just his date. It's quite a party, you've got here."

"You don't have to lie to me, I know it's nothing like your school's parties. Wanda tries her best, but building a reputation takes time and probably more money than she has access to. We don't have a lot left over for parties. Eero's happy here, I think," Despina sighed. "He probably the only person who loves the weather in Arkhelios. He says it reminds him of Strangetown."

She paused for a moment, trying to choose her next words carefully.

"Look Theo, I'm miserable here. I know my aunt is doing her best for us, but her best isn't fair. Why do her kids get to go to the best schools in the area, while Eero and I have to stay here, far away from her sight? I know she hates my parents, but she can't be mad at us for being their kids. I never asked to be born into this messed up family and I know I can do better given the right resources. Can you please help me get into your school? Maybe I could get sponsored by someone so my aunt doesn't have to worry about the tuition either. Please. You don't know what it's like to have a dream of doing better, only to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. I know I can pass the entrance exam. I can do the work if I get the chance."

"I know all about being stuck here," Theo replied sympathetically. "I didn't think I'd ever get out of Arkhelios and learn real magic when I was younger, but I was lucky. My parents and grandma pay for my schooling even though it costs them a lot of money, probably more than they're comfortable with. I can try to see if there are scholarships or something, but there weren't any when I applied. Sorry."

Despina nodded, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Of course, that would be amazing if you could. Excuse me, I'm going to grab some more punch."

The girl walked dejectedly towards the refreshments and Theo felt terribly for her. He did know what it was like for money to stand in the way of one's dreams. What would his life be without his education? He'd probably be dead and he'd definitely not have Adam in his life. He was a completely different person with extremely different prospects in this reality than any other reality where he stayed enrolled in Arkhelios.

Well this was just the opportunity to prove to Adam that he was wrong about Theo's perceived family entitlement. Despina had come to him, a fellow scholarship student without the means to pay for his education, and not Adam, who was born into a rich, powerful family. Adam could talk all about these so called Bellamys at the party until the end of time; Adam's own cousin had turned to him for help. Now that he had proof that Adam's worries about his cousins feeling offended was completely unfounded, Theo practically skipped back to Adam's side so that he could gloat about winning their argument.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"This place is even more beautiful than I thought," Despina gushed, looking in awe at the grounds of Pleasantview's Academy of Magic. "It's amazing!"

"Try saying those words to Master Ewan Maricourt and he might just lower your tuition," Adrian laughed.

Despina beamed at her cousin and the responsible adult he'd found to help her. Theo had gone to Adam after the Arkhelios mixer with her request to apply for subsidized enrollment at their prestigious school. Both boys had turned to Adrian for help, as he was currently helping Theo's father pay for Theo's enrollment. Unfortunately, Adrian wasn't able to cover the costs himself, as he only managed a fraction of Theo's tuition himself, but his partner, Evren, had had some ideas. He knew the Pleasantview coven extensively and what loopholes might be exploited in a case like Despina's. Evren couldn't turn down a student that might add to the coven's greatness or disappoint the partner who had a heart bigger than his checkbook. As an added bonus, he would be taking away talent from the Arkhelios coven and away from Wanda's inept hands.

The only catch was that Despina had to have enough potential to even be considered as a candidate. Both she and Eero had to pass the entrance exam before they could even be considered as students, let alone subsidized students. Eero had never cared much for formal magic and had failed his entrance exam. Magic didn't call to him the same way it called to his sister.

Despina had thrown everything she had into her exam, desperate to get out of Arkhelios and find her place in the wider world. Her parents were talented magic users from what anyone would tell her and she could follow along with some of the spells in the study guide Adam had lent her. She knew very little about her mother, but Despina could almost picture her father whenever her aunt spoke of him. He was smart and gifted, ambitious and fearless. If there was a challenge that arose, he usually fought tooth and nail to beat his sister to the answer. Despina could relate to this. She, too, was ambitious and driven, willing to chance everything on getting a place in her cousin's school.

She not only passed the exam, she nearly aced it. Her score was high enough for both admittance and for the financial considerations to be raised with the school. Despina had stared at the letter congratulating her on her results for what seemed like ages. After a lifetime of being ignored and underestimated, finally, she had proof that she belonged with the strongest students.

Evren had presented the Pleasantview coven with Despina's test scores, asking that she be sponsored by the coven on the condition that she joined them when she was of age. It had been a common enough request in his own time and Pleasantview rarely bothered to change rules and practices after several centuries. Very little changed in the coven over time, and that was how the coven liked it.

Over the years, Despina had come to the rather obvious conclusion that her parents were part of the reason she was held back from her potential. There were people who held her parents' choices against her, others who feared what their daughter would do with a proper education. And of course, her aunt and guardian, Edana, who barely acknowledged her niece and nephew. Edana had had several children all within a few years of each other at a young age and reasonably couldn't take care of additional twin infants with her resources. Now that the twins were older, and Despina had proved she had the ability to learn what her cousins were learning, it became harder to rationalize why a slacker like Remy was admitted to the academy and someone like Despina wasn't. True, her cousins had Maricourt blood in them, but the Darktides were also a powerful family, something her aunt boasted of constantly. So why did her legal guardian ignore her?

That was the cornerstone of Evren's presentation to the coven- the irresponsible neglect of talent due to prejudice. He couldn't fault Edana for struggling with the burden of caring for her brother's kids with everything she had been through, but the Pleasantview coven was a different matter. Was Master Ewan Maricourt denying a talented student entry simply because she made his ex-wife uncomfortable?

There was nothing more powerful than public derision and Evren's presentation had swayed quite a few members. He might have had support, but even a subsidized tuition needed to be paid from somewhere. Adam Darktide had left a small estate that his sister had used over the years to care for his children. There wasn't enough left for four years of tuition and then college for both twins.

That was where Adam came back into play. He was close to the magic users of Crystal Cove and Master Josh Toyonaga in particular. Without his help, Adam would have struggled to complete the crystal ring he made for Theo, along with several other projects for school. It was Master Toyonaga who had been bullied for months by Adam and Edana Darktide and who currently lived with the king of Strangetown. When his favourite nephew in law came to him with a proposition that would benefit his beloved Edana's talented niece, King Charley had been all too happy to create a fund to pay for the educational needs of Despina. The Strangetown coven had been decimated on his watch and it was only fair that the crown pay to compensate one of the victims of that coven.

Despina wished that she could be a fly on the wall when her aunt was told about the fund. Edana wasn't a bad person, but her distant, disinterested management of her brother's children had to end. Now Despina had the chance to prove that Edana had been wrong to be so dismissive of her.

With a grateful hug with Adrian and her cousin, Despina went in search of the girl's dorms and her new bedroom. There was a dress code that she needed to comply with and her very own schedule and textbooks to look over.

Everywhere she looked, something spectacular appeared. Old portraits in golden frames were fascinating. The view she'd briefly seen outside was a breathtaking glimpse of all of Pleasantview. The school library had huge, leather bound books that looked as old as the school itself. Despina was absolutely going to love it here.

As she made her way toward her assigned room, Despina couldn't help noticing a boy who looked just as lost as her. He wasn't in his uniform either and was currently staring intently at a row of houseplants.

"Um, hi. I'm a bit turned around," she called out, catching the boy's attention. "Do you know where the girls' dorms are? I think I've taken the wrong staircase by mistake."

"Sorry, I'm new here," the boy replied. "I just started yesterday and I barely know where my own dorm is. I'm Jasper."

"Despina."

"This is my first day," Despina said excitedly. "I didn't know anyone else was starting halfway through the semester like I am."

"Yeah, well, my mother had to be convinced to let me come," the boy replied. "We don't have a school for magic anymore, but she thinks Pleasantview is too pretentious. The sheer cost of studying here is nuts."

"Yeah, it really is," Despina agreed. "I don't know why it's so expensive. Surely, the magical community here has enough money to get by without gouging everyone."

"It's the Maricourt name, I think," Jasper said. "People go crazy to study with them even though half the family has been caught murdering people or breaking the natural laws over the centuries. My grandfather is paying though, so my mom was overruled. He wants me to learn from the best."

"They really are the best magical teachers, it seems, even if they suck as people. My cousins go here and they learn so much cool stuff that I can't wait to learn about."

"Well, maybe we can study together," Jasper offered shyly. "I know I have a bunch of work that was assigned to keep up with the class, I'm sure you have the same."

"I'd like that."

"Your piano skills are amazing, Adam," Bronwen complimented. Both she and Theo had been dancing for half an hour already, with no signs of stopping.

"I know, right?" Theo agreed. "I keep telling him that we need to start a band. With my guitar, we'll be unstoppable."

Adam rolled his eyes but kept playing.

"Theo, when is the last time that you even practiced your guitar scales? You need to have a solid foundation to grow from if you want to play an instrument. I haven't seen you play it in weeks."

"Because I'm too busy for scales," Theo scoffed. "Between homework and studying my textbooks, I don't have time. Besides, you don't exactly make it easy to focus when you're distracting me. If there was less kissing, there might be more time to practice dumb scales."

Adam flushed slightly, but laughed.

"Well then, I guess you'll never succeed as a guitar prodigy because I don't plan on stopping those distractions."

Bronwen wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ew, guys, get a room already. Some of us here aren't being controlled by our hormones and would like to get back to dancing."

"Only because you're single," Adam pointed out, changing from the song he was playing to a difficult scale to impress Theo. "If you were dating someone, you'd be doing the same thing."

"Yeah, don't you have a crush on anyone?" Theo asked, eager for gossip. "Remy's dating Malika, but she has a crush on a new person every week and Elowen has a huge crush that she keeps denying. Isn't there anyone that you're interested in?"

"No," Bronwen insisted, despite her face turning a deep red. "I haven't met anyone yet that I like. I'm only fourteen, there's tons of time."

"I'm fourteen, and Theo's turning fourteen soon," Adam pointed out. "We're already looking at ideas for when we get married at nineteen, so it goes by fast. You never know who'll you meet."

"You're getting married at nineteen?" Bronwen exclaimed. "Isn't that a little young?"

She tried not to gag when the two boys stared lovingly at each other.

"No, eighteen is too young," Theo replied. "We're being mature and waiting until we're older and pursuing magic degrees in college."

Adam nodded proudly, twisting Bronwen's stomach when she thought of attending their wedding in just a few years. She didn't want to be the girl whose entire life revolved around a boy who wasn't available to her, but she couldn't control the jealous feeling burning in her chest. She needed a distraction and fast.

"Who cares about relationships?" she lied. "Let's have more music before an adult comes and finds us having fun. I'm missing second period for this, we might as well keep dancing."

"Totally!" Theo exclaimed, playfully spinning his friend around with ease. "I have class soon, so we need to hurry up. If I'm late again, I'm going to lose marks in potions, and then they'll call my dads. That cannot happen; they'll murder me for sure."

"Hey, Travis! Wait up!"

Elowen chased after the reclusive student. What did she have to lose? Her sister had told her a million times to tell him her feelings, and it might as well be today.

"Hey, Elowen," he replied quietly, looking desperately for an escape from this social encounter.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later?" Elowen began quickly, before her target could escape. "You look like you know how to have some fun."

Travis looked at books spilling out of his backpack and then back at the pretty girl standing before him.

"Me? Are you sure you're not thinking of someone else?"

"Ummm, yeah, I'm pretty sure," Elowen confirmed. "I see you around the halls sometimes, and wanted to hang out with you. Is there something wrong with that?"

Travis stared in disbelief at the words.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked with horror.

He definitely didn't seem to be asking arrogantly. He had the same dejected tone as her sister Bronwen did when people made fun of her vampirism.

"Yeah, you're the guy in my English class who actually writes his own papers instead of trying to find a spell to do it for them," Elowen answered truthfully. "You helped Adam study for the ancient runes final after he spent all his study time making out with his boyfriend."

Travis scoffed, his cheeks flushing despite his best effort to hide it.

"I mean, who I am genetically," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "My mothers were terrible witches who only acted selfishly, even with each other. They led the cult that decimated the Strangetown coven. They only made me to use my life-force as bait for the Grim Reaper. If they hadn't been stopped, I'd probably be dead."

Travis braced himself for the rejection he knew was coming. No one ever saw him for the person he was, just who his bio parents had been. On top of that, he was being raised by reapers, which also didn't buy him a lot of social points. He was being raised by his biological uncle, a man who was only dead because Travis' mother killed him as an infant. His adopted sister was queen of Pleasantview, which only added to his anxiety. Would people hate him for his parents? Would they only try to use him to get to Claudia? As if being a teenager wasn't hard enough already.

Elowen just stared back at him, cocking her head slightly like he'd said something in a foreign language.

"Why would any of that matter?" she laughed. "Dude, I only exist because my dad was a massive slut and my mom was sad at the time he picked her up at a bar. Who cares how you were born or why? My mom does weird shit all the time and you know what? My dad brings her coffee every morning and sits down with her to help with that weird shit. Why are you any different?"

Travis blinked, unable to understand if Elowen was being sincere. No one paid attention to him, and here was the daughter of one of the most accomplished witches alive telling him that she saw him for who he was inside.

"Ah, shit, the rain wasn't supposed to start til this afternoon," Elowen groaned. Here she was, pouring her heart out and not only was Travis staring at her like she had a wart on her face, but she was about to be soaked while he did.

Without warning, Elowen felt arms wrap around her, gripping her tight as the rain began to pour.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" Travis asked quickly, still looking as if he were waiting for this to all turn out to be a joke. When Elowen nodded, all thoughts of getting to class evaporated.

Elowen shot the shy boy a devious look.

"You know, we're getting soaked out here. We should go inside and change into dryer clothes."

All the air seemingly evaporated from Travis' lungs at the thought.

"Y-yes. I think we should."

"Despina looks like she's going to fit in great here. It's so rewarding to see the younger generation find their paths in life."

Evren smiled politely at his partner's words while trying to gauge Edana's reaction. The witch had been uncharacteristically quiet for the few minutes that they'd been discussing her niece's admittance to the school Edana had done nothing to help with, and that made Evren nervous. Edana spoke her mind on any topic quite often, and to see her lost for words was unnerving.

"I hope you don't think we overstepped," he said cautiously. Beside him, Adrian looked confused at the civility of his words, but Adrian underestimating magic users was something of an ongoing trend. Evren was fairly certain that going to the Pleasantview coven and painting her as a neglectful guardian would have consequences for him and he wanted to know what those would be before they snuck up on him. "Your niece came to us in confidence and it goes against the values of our coven to waste potential."

"Yes, yes, of course. Ewan notified me as a courtesy earlier. Her test scores were quite remarkable."

Evren waited for the conversation to escalate to anger, but nothing happened. It almost looked as if Edana wasn't even paying attention to them in favour of something she was mulling over in her mind.

"The sponsorship from the Strangetown king was extraordinarily kind," Adrian said, seeing if that statement would be ignored as well.

"He owes it to her. His Majesty did nothing to reign in his coven, and people suffered," Edana murmured. "I tried to stop it, but I couldn't. I failed. He failed."

Evren and Adrian gave each other baffled looks. This certainly wasn't the way they had anticipated the conversation going. Edana barely looked like she was present in the room.

"You couldn't stop an entire coven on your own, you know that, right?" Evren asked, his eyes full of concern. "There was nothing that you could have done. You survived to keep the coven alive. It can't have been easy to juggle everything in your life while also grieving the loss of your coven, your family. Losing mine was devastating too, but I keep their memory alive every day."

"Despina has her father's talent and his eyes. I'm sure he'd be proud of her," Edana lied.

Her brother had been willing to sacrifice his children to pursue dark magic. He'd broken another natural law trying to speak to his sister beyond the grave and only mentioned his kids as an afterthought. Adam didn't give a damn about Despina or what she did, and yet, every time Edana looked at the girl, all she could see was his reflection.

Showing up to the school today wasn't important though. For all her experience and education, Edana was struggling to understand what her dead brother had been trying to warn her about before being escorted out of the world of the living. None of it made sense. There was next to nothing published about reapers, especially ancient ones. He'd mentioned Josh Toyonaga's husband knowing something about the explosion in Twikkii Island, but what did that even mean? The two men were hardly ever in the islands unless they were visiting Edana and her husband, and she'd never believe that either of them had the ability to pull an attack like that off even if they confessed.

As her mind wandered off trying to piece together the clues her brother had clawed his way back from death to give her, a thought came to Edana. Duke Siew was nothing special, but his partner was something of a mystery himself. Where had Evren come from and what might he know about her mysterious puzzle?

"Master Thorne, have you studied much about reapers in your training?" she asked. "Was your alternate version of old Strangetown aware of their movements or history?"

Evren stood baffled for a moment, as he was prepared to discuss Despina, while her guardian apparently had different ideas.

"My Strangetown was likely very similar to yours," he answered. "I spent most of my time in Pleasantview, though. They didn't need an architect hanging around, I'm afraid. From what I can remember though, Master Casper Maricourt and his daughter did write about some controversial topics. There were whispers about him researching death and immortality, but I don't know what came of it."

"His daughter led our coven to their deaths, that's what became of it," Edana replied angrily. "Charlotte carried on his work to its conclusion, but she didn't exactly like sharing with those beneath her. If there's a stash of secret documents from her hidden away somewhere, I can't find it."

"Charlotte was centuries old?" Adrian gasped, honestly surprised by the information. Would Evren live to be 300, long after he was dead? Would their children? This was a subject that was going to be addressed when they got home.

"The more you throw yourself into magic, the more magic throws itself into you," Edana shrugged. "That bitch was ancient and powerful, but she didn't have much of a life outside of her schemes."

"Try the royal archives," Evren suggested, ignoring the look of despair Adrian was giving him. "If the coven's affairs were settled, they would be in the royal archives. If Charlotte laid a finger on anything, it would be archived there. Have you tried appealing to the Queen of Pleasantview? She's descended from reapers, they may be able to answer your questions."

Edana scowled at the thought.

"No, His Majesty would be offended to have me meet with her," she lied. The last thing she needed in her life was dealing with Pleasantview or its monarch. That path only led to danger. "Besides, I need to know about ancient reapers and there's no chance of the queen revealing ancient secrets even if she did know them. Have you ever heard of a reaper named Atem? He's apparently the Grim Reaper's son if that helps."

From Adrian's blank stare, Edana ruled him out as a source of help. Evren, on the other hand, looked as if he was thinking.

"I've heard of the Grim Reaper in the stories of the destruction of Old Strangetown," he murmured. "I faintly remember a confrontation between the son of the Grim Reaper and Alpheus, the ruler of Strangetown at the time. Maybe that time period would be a good place to start. The archives have been burned and rebuilt in a nearly endless cycle since then, though. They may not be complete."

"That was the time of the Demon Wars in Viper Isle?" she asked, quickly writing a note to herself in pen on her arm. "If I summoned a lesser demon from then, they may be able to enlighten me on the subject."

"No! No. Start with the archives," Evren insisted. "That can't be an option. Those demons were insanely powerful. You don't want to risk a Great Demon or a Blood Demon escaping. Do you not know what Alpheus was?"

Edana's only response was a muffled grunt of acknowledgment, while Adrian watched the conversation with interest. Evren knew so much about magic and history. Adrian didn't even understand all the things Evren rambled on about to other warlocks, but Evren knew them well. He was a constant source of knowledge and power, and Adrian loved him for it. He may not know what Evren was saying half the time, but seeing the awe on everyone's face when Evren began talking was incredible. The man was a walking encyclopedia and he was all Adrian's.

"What was Alpheus?" Adrian asked curiously. "I don't know if we ever covered Strangetown in school. It doesn't sound familiar."

"He was a yellow eyed blood demon," Evren replied, watching as a look of recognition passed over his partner's face.

"Oh, like Theo?"

Adrian watched Edana and Evren trade careful looks. Neither of them seemed to be eager to answer the question.

"Sort of," Evren decided at last. "He was very old. One of the originals. Theo doesn't have his...temperament."

"The instant he shows that temperament, he's never seeing my son again," Edana stated, her personality seemingly returning now that she had a clue to chase down. "Alpheus fought Death itself, his kind should never return. Adam will see when the time comes."

"Hey, great. We'll see you around. Nice catching up with you, Edana," Evren called, steering Adrian away from the witch before one of them exploded. He could already see the vein above Adrian's eye begin to twitch, just as it did whenever one of the kids disobeyed them on an epic scale. "Message me if you want an archive research partner, I haven't been to the archives in ages."

"What are you doing?" Adrian hissed as his partner pulled him into the hallway. "That woman! I never know whether to hate her or feel sorry for her, but I don't care what happened to her coven if she's going to hurt Theo like that. You know Adam is his whole world and if she thinks that she can push him around or try another Maricourt reunion to control him, I-"

"Breathe, my love. You know that I'd do anything for the children, but tact is what is needed here, not rash anger. Theo has proven surprisingly capable of getting what he wants, despite what Adam's parents say. I have a feeling that whatever happens between him and Adam, none of us parents have much of a say in the matter. I love that you're so protective, but fighting a council member in a Pleasantview school isn't going to change anything."

"You're right," Adrian sighed. "As always. It's just...the way she looked at me when I mentioned Theo...it was like I was talking about a monster. With his family history, the last thing he needs is his boyfriend's mother calling him monstrous or dangerous."

"Hmmm." Evren paused for a moment, trying to phrase his next words compassionately. "You mentioned Theo, you brought him up. I was just trying to prevent a desperate Strangetown witch from messing with forces she cannot control for no reason. There's something of a history of bad ideas in her family, so i thought that some intervention might be needed. The demons she was thinking of summoning were monsters, without question. The Demon War ended only with the intervention of reapers and Life and Death. Blood demons were terrible, twisted things-at least when they roamed the earth. I'm not even sure if summoning one is actually possible these days, but it would be suicide to try. Then you brought up Theo as one of their brethren and understandably, Edana's mind drew comparisons."

"Well, he's studying blood magic, what else am I supposed to think? The Sovereign calls him a blood demon herself!"

"A hybrid version of one, yes. Nowhere near the level of cruelty and malice of the original demons. It's of no help to Theo to make comparisons, no matter how good your intentions are. A lot of magic users whisper about his education and wonder if it's going to become a problem in the future."

"I see. You work with a lot of small-minded people if they think Theo's capable of becoming some monster."

"I do, absolutely," Evren agreed. He smiled playfully, hoping to change the tone of their conversation. "They're all better than dealing with Wanda."

A small smile tugged at Adrian's mouth despite his indignation.

"They are not," he replied. "She's trying her best. You've been to Arkhelios, you know what she's up against. One of these days, she's going to catch you off guard and hex you. You're ridiculous."

Evren wrapped his arms around his partner playfully, glad to see his mood improve.

"Come on, let's find Despina and say our goodbyes. We both have work to get back to."

"As much as I want to stay here forever, I have class soon," Elowen declared, continuing to kiss Travis despite her words. "Plus, I think the coven is meeting here later on, so it's probably for the best we leave."

It would be just her luck to have her mother walk in on them. That was the last thing Elowen wanted. If her mother got over finding Elowen in various states of undress in the coven meeting room, then finding out who she was spending all her time kissing would absolutely ensure she was grounded until she was thirty-five. There was no way in hell that Edana Darktide's daughter could ever be with Charlotte Maricourt's son. If she hated Theo for dating Adam, Elowen could only imagine what her mom would do if she knew she'd seen Travis Goldman in his boxers.

"Yeah, my mom would kill me if we were caught in here," Travis agreed. "She would probably like you if you wanted to come over for dinner on the weekend, though. If you don't mind her making a scene, that is. Oliver's not dating anyone and Miruna's not over very often, so she might be a bit...much if I bring someone home."

Elowen smiled.

"I know all about over the top moms, trust me," she laughed. "That sounds like fun, just, maybe let's wait a few weeks to see how things go. I really like you, Travis, but I just need time to tell my parents about us. You've seen how well they reacted when Adam started dating, I just want to avoid a scene or an elaborate Maricourt family meeting."

"Yeah, I get it. We don't have to tell anyone until we want," Travis agreed. "Seriously, my family is a lot. I don't want to scare you away, but, if I don't warn you, you'll probably run anyway and I don't want that."

"You have met my family in passing, haven't you? Seriously, you'll be the one running away."

"Challenge accepted," Travis laughed.

Someone in the hallway passed by the door and both teens froze in terror. When the footsteps carried on down the hall, the relieved teens quickly reached for their clothes.

"We'd better get out of here quick."

"No arguments here!"

"Yes! This is the best thing to ever happen to me!"

Despina took a moment to celebrate in the empty kitchen. Her life had changed overnight beyond her wildest dreams. She was attending the most prestigious school for magic and she'd already made an acquaintance with similar interests even before her first class. Her troubled parentage for once in her life wasn't holding her back; it had been the reason for her scholarship. Things in her life couldn't possibly get any better.

"Nice dance moves."

Despina stopped her private celebration when Adam appeared from down the hall.

"Adam! Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It's my job to escort you to your first class," Adam announced formally. "I'm sorry Theo couldn't also be here to help, but he has detention. Just a piece of advice, try to arrive on time for class if you want to stay out of trouble."

"Got it."

"Despina! Just who I was hoping to see. You look incredibly studious," Evren greeted, embracing the teen warmly. "We're about to leave, is there anything else you need before we go? Do you have your schedule?"

Despina nodded.

"Yes, and my very own guide," she said, pointing to Adam. "Apparently Theo's too busy with detention."

"Again? Roman's going to hit the roof," Adrian sighed. "Despina, try to keep an eye on those two for me, will you? Don't let them talk you into skipping class, especially since those classes are incredibly expensive. Right, Mr. Darktide?"

"Right, sir," Adam answered guiltily. It wasn't as if he hated his classes, he just could think of a million things he'd rather be doing instead. "Let's get going, Despina. You don't want to be late for your first class."

"We did a good thing here, Ev. That talented witch is getting the education she needs because of you. All of our kids are going to do well because of what you give them. You have a genuine talent, and I love that about you."

The two teens quickly exited the area, now that the adults were getting sentimental and gross.

"I love you too," Evren replied, pulling his partner in for a quick kiss. "But I noticed something earlier that I want to discuss. You looked really uncomfortable when we were discussing Charlotte earlier with Edana. I'd know that brooding look anywhere."

"It's nothing. It's just that...well, I'm probably going to die for the second time somewhere under a century from now. I don't think getting kicked out of the demonic void is going to save me again. But you-"

"This is about witch lifespans?" Evren exclaimed, looking instantly relieved. "I thought you might have objected to my recommendations for research or something like that. My love, witch lifespans vary greatly. The truly powerful ones can live centuries, just like demons, but very few live past a normal lifespan for a non magical person. The effort it takes to extend a life is intense, and often filled with difficult or immoral choices. The leader of my coven in this reality died quite young and he was immensely powerful. Don't worry, I'm not planning to start over with a younger magic user when you die of extreme old age, surrounded by our family."

"I wasn't worried about that," Adrian lied, failing to hide his relief. "It's just four hundred years alone, watching your family die as they all get older...it sounds incredibly lonely."

"It does. Roman's starting to rub off on you, I think. You two worry to death about things that will never happen. Speaking of, we should probably get home before the school calls the Bellamys with news of Theo's detention. Roman's going to be livid."

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

“I hate it here.”

“I hate it here even more.”

The two teens stared at the sunny Arkhelios sky and cringed. When you came from a castle, living in a small home in the middle of nowhere was more like a punishment than an opportunity.

And the adults had tried to frame it as an opportunity. Theodora rolled her eyes watching the weird adult witches excitedly babble about their mission. Her mother was the future Queen Theodosia of Crystal Cove, a place where witches were scarce and Pleasantview was always hovering beside their shared border, looking for a reason to invade. As the illegitimate daughter of Princess Theodosia, Theodora was just important enough to represent her family in public, but not enough to escape the worst assignments. Her grandfather wanted witches to strengthen their position with Pleasantview and some crazy desert witch had offered him exactly that, so it was up to Theodora to pretend to look interested in whatever these backwater witches said. She had taken magical lessons since she was a small child, so she was more than capable to accept the mission, but leaving home and the palace was a huge adjustment. The house the witches provided for the new immigrants was large by the standards of the neighbourhood, but was like a shoe box compared to what she was used to.

At least she had someone her own age to commiserate with. Lexy was officially a Strangetown princess, though her father was last in line to the throne and had been assured by his father that he would never see any political power for himself. Her grandfather hated her mother with a passion and as long as she was married to his son, the entire family would keep them from piercing the inner circle of power in Strangetown. So when a call for educated witches went out, Lexy’s mother, Alicia, had leapt at the chance to make her father in law regret not trusting her. She was formally trained in Pleasantview and had spent her entire life trying to get a seat on the council with no success. If the established covens wouldn’t take her seriously and her father in law refused to see what she brought to their family, then it only made sense for her to try her luck somewhere else. Unfortunately, that meant that Lexy had to come with them to an empty desert where the big attraction was a strip mall. Her brother had been accepted at the witch academy in Pleasantview, where he would live in a dorm with interesting people and modern marvels of magic. He only had to live in this dump when school was out.

Both teenagers were princesses and yet still expendable. If they were going to survive the culture shock of moving to the middle of nowhere, they would have to rely on each other.

“You’d better not screw this up for me.”

Wanda stared into the eyes of her biological father and tried to express just how much she’d make him regret letting her down. This was her big moment and it had to go perfectly.

It had been hard to convince witches to relocate to Arkhelios, but Wanda had been persistent. She and Hunter spent hours on the phone, picking off the rebellious or unhappy witches from established covens. If no one abandoned their promise to relocate after seeing Arkhelios, then Wanda had enough support to really get a true Arkhelios coven going. If someone was a warm body who knew how to hold a wand, Wanda had petitioned them to come. Beggars couldn’t be choosers after all.

Fitz Cowden didn’t have a lot of political power in Arkhelios, but he was at least dedicated to helping his home improve. Ever since the awkward day that Melvin had introduced them as father and daughter, Wanda had done her best to ignore the man and he didn’t seem to mind. It was far too late for them to connect as a parent and child, and neither one seemed to be interested in thinking about the woman who had connected them in the first place. The less Wanda thought about her mother, the happier she was. She was going to be a great mom to her unborn child just by doing the opposite of whatever her own mom would have done.

Still, Fitz wasn’t without valuable connections. Wanda needed educated witches coming to teach in Arkhelios, and little potential witches to be educated. Arkhelios didn’t have a large pool of students, let alone ones capable of magic, so Wanda had to be a little more creative to solve her problem. Fitz had adopted his own non-biological children from an agency that had since closed, but he’d volunteered with several other adoption agencies since then to improve his dismal election numbers.

The biggest adoption service in the area was in Strangetown, where Roman had briefly worked. Hunter had filled out paperwork years ago to see if he had been left there as a child before learning of his true parentage. There was an adoption service in Crystal Cove as well, though it didn’t have the same finances as Strangetown.

At her urging, Fitz had contacted anyone he could think of to help get students in Arkhelios. As a result, there were three magical candidates sent to live and learn in Arkhelios, with the promise of more if the program was a success. The orphaned daughter of Lexy’s aunt and uncle was also was promised to participate, despite her residing in the castle with her remaining family when school was over. It was a huge gamble that could blow up in a million ways, but Wanda remained confident. As long as Fitz didn’t say or do anything terrible, she could handle the witches...probably.

Evren Thorne lingered as close to the crowd as he could, hoping to blend in. Once Pleasantview had been convinced that he was not planning some kind of demonic revolution in this barren desert, he had been free to go. The only problem was that he had nowhere to go. His home had been far away and lost over the centuries he’d missed. Everyone he knew was probably dead, if he was even in the same reality he’d left at all. There had been squabbles among the witches about whether he had merely been displaced in time, or in time and dimension. The details didn’t matter to Evren; they all came to the same sad conclusion. All that he had known was now gone. He would never see his friends or family again. The coven he had left either didn’t have an equivalent in this reality, or it had been lost to the centuries, buried by time.

When they had seen the “merely adequate” skills he possessed, the council had volunteered Evren to supervise the Arkhelios project. He was an orphan of time and a trained Pleasantview warlock, so he could relate to both groups of newcomers. He tried to explain to them that he was really just an architect with a magical background, but he’d been overruled. Now, when he wasn’t curled up on the bed thinking of all he’d lost, he spent his days just trying to stay out of that Wanda lady’s way.

“Hello, Princess Toyonaga,” Wanda called out to her new partner, bowing in the formal address of Twikkii Island by mistake.

“It’s Master Maricourt or Master Toyonaga if you forget the correct one,” Alicia snapped, making Wanda recoil slightly. “I don’t acknowledge the titles that prick in a crown had to give me. That should have been in the files you were sent by my office.”

Wanda nodded politely. Dealing with other formally taught witches was usually a challenge, and this woman seemed to already have a chip on her shoulder.

“Of course, Your Highness,” Wanda replied, sneering the last word so that it was obvious how accommodating she would be to this woman’s demands in the future. “I look forward to our afternoon meeting once everyone is settled in their quarters.”

Before she could even process what was happening, Ginevra had pushed past her, wearing the worst outfit Wanda had ever seen.

“Hi! I’m here to volunteer!” she exclaimed wildly, waving her arms. “I got Fitz’s simstagram call for volunteers a few days ago. I’m here to help. I love Strangetown, and I can welcome newcomers from there.”

“The posting was for qualified volunteers,” Fitz replied angrily. “Do you even know magic? Do you know how to teach children? What the hell are you wearing anyway?”

“I came straight from work,” Ginevra said defensively. “I did a show at the orphanage last year for charity. I’m always in Strangetown.”

“Did you perform as a clown?”

Wanda gently pushed her father aside and smiled at Ginevra.

“I’m glad you want to help out,” she said kindly. “I’m sure we can find something for you to do. Everyone is welcome here. Who knows, maybe you’ll pick up some magical skill that you can build with us. The more witches we have here, the better Arkhelios will become.”

The orphaned children looked wearily at the adults passive aggressively attacking each other. They were incredibly grateful for the opportunity to leave the orphanage and learn magic, but things in Arkhelios appeared to be just as chaotic as Strangetown had been.