I feel warmer than I've felt in days, the familiarity of the natural heater curled up beside me indicated he had kept his promise and I was not alone. For a few moments longer, I burrow ever closer to the body lying beside me, inhaling the familiar scent and welcoming the protection of the large arms encircling me. 

Were I to die today, at least I could say that I was content the morning of. 

Movement brings on a whole new sense of emotions and I can no longer hide my consciousness as a groan slips from my lips. The hard bed, coupled with a twenty-four-hour tour and vigorous lovemaking had made my entire body leagues of sore than I had not been prepared for. Hearing the gentle snicker, I peek up to glare at him as he kisses the top of my head in amusement. 

"Are you alright?"

"I feel like someone has used to me for their carnal desires." I retort dryly, almost accusing but I can't say I hadn't asked for such treatment. At the time, I had been quite appreciative. It would do me well to remember that fake Verando had kicked me with all the intensity of the real deal, coupled with Caspian striking me down for good measure. 

Walking miles through incoming snow after being dealt such a rough hand, I'm surprised I had any stamina to entertain this side of myself in the first place. 

Stretching, I can't help but roll my eyes at the youth and enthusiasm of a young body rolling against the object of my affection. I'd gladly take him again if it weren't for my better judgment. "You're insatiable." He reminds me. "Sit up."

Complaining and grumbling, I squirm away from the warmth to slide to the edge of the bed so that he could sit behind me, wedged between the warm thighs, I squirm as his hands rest on my shoulders and begin to slow, methodical process of kneading out the tension and the impact with warm, strong hands. "What's the plan for today?"

"Is there one?" I sigh, bowing my head to surrender to the ache. "I'd hoped you had come up with something."

With a grunt, I can hear the smirk in his voice. While I wonder if this is another form of torture, the heel of his hands slowly disperses some of the tension. It's a mild bit of relief, I'd take anything at this point. 

"I'm not a magical creature. I'm afraid I'm quite useless to you in the environment, there was a time when I would have wagered I was the scariest thing out there. Now-" The corners of his mouth pull down as his thumbs slide down the width of my spine. I sigh at the discomfort and the relief. "Now I'd say I'm bordering on normal. A lesser man might even feel emasculated." 

His tone is light, teasing, but there is truth there. This was not something he could help me with, his knowledge of battle consisted of wars and cunning, not the freeing of a unicorn from a dark magic trap. 

"How about Caspian?" I knew the answer to that one and I didn't like it in the least. 

"It would appear Fenrir is trapped in his body, Caspian is not the proper vessel so while Fenrir is building his courage to slip out, I think it's why he doesn't like to leave the castle after dark. Caspian values control over all else, he knows he, too, would be consumed. Caspian wants us to kill him, it's the only way to free Fenrir."

Finding my knees with my fingers, I clench my hands into tight fists as I accept the firm palpation of my muscles. I watched the strange tint to my hands, while I had suspected it was the chill, I knew better than to believe it was anything but the dark magic coursing through my body. 

I was similar to Caspian in that I couldn't contain the darkness either. It was a race to which one of us would burn out first. 

Exhaling slowly, I place my elbows on my knees and rest my head in my hands. I had hoped the answers at this point in the journey would be much more obvious, beyond all else I had hoped Caspian would stay away. I could feel the bruising from the impact of multiple fights, coupled with the dull ache of my insides. Why had I decided to punish myself? 

"Could we capture him?"

Verando considers this. "You did it once before, I suppose. If Caspian was not killed, there is no timeline for Fenrir's escape. Ragnarok is occurring due to the situation, I'd not necessarily claim it was a marked calendar. You have Tyr's horn, you might consider summoning him."

Shaking my head, that was the last thing I wanted to do. "And risk him freeing Fenrir to have his final fight?"

"A chain made from dark elves, dwarves I suppose modern-day men would call them, bound him in the legend. Perhaps Tyr might have it or know how to get it. Regardless, Caspian is secondary to Fergus."

"And Caspian will be firmly in our way." I remind him with a heavy sigh. 

Verando falls silent, his hands stilling as they reach my shoulders once more and his thumbs carefully roll against the tight base of my neck. I know this as his thinking silence, where his eyebrows would come together and he'd put on his Alpha face while he calculated the weight of life's problems. 

"Caspian will be firmly in my way. Caspian doesn't want Fergus nearly as bad as he wants me. Leave Caspian to Tonic and me, if you and Gabriel can get this done quickly, then we can figure out the rest later."

My heart slips into my throat and I feel as though I might choke on it as I sit up and spin in his lap to stare at him as if he'd lost his mind. 

"If Caspian captures you, he's going to take you so far away that I will never find you again. Randy, I love you with everything in me but you are not strong enough to beat him. There's something that happens whenever you two are together... I don't like it. I won't do it, we will find another way."

I must amuse him because he flashes my favorite look. "Hmm, doubting me already?" He raises a brow and earns a glare. 

I don't think it's funny when I consider what Caspian is very willing to do to him, once I think of how he still hadn't gotten over their last encounter and I factor in that Verando had an odd way of falling victim to the simplest of tricks from the deranged man.  

"I just have to make sure he doesn't catch me, I've been running from that man since I was a lad, I'm quite capable."

The vision flashed before my eyes and I stared vacantly at the splatter of red but it was vague. I didn't know whose blood it was, there was no context, the chain around my neck must be canceling out the influence of the dragon realm on my mental state. When I glance up, I see Envari standing beside the bed, causing me to startle. Clutching him tightly catches him off guard as well. 

"What?" He demands, glowering around the room. 

Resting my hand over my mouth, I shut my eyes tightly to reel it back in and finally meet his gaze. "Nothing. Nothing. I- I need to get dressed and think this over. Can you go make sure Tonic and Gabriel are alright? Maybe a bit of breakfast..?" 

It was unlike me to ask him for something, his desire to please me mixes with his confusion at my sudden shift in behavior. 

"Fruit and veg of some sort, I'd assume?" He was concerned but he knew better than to pry at me, I'd been strange lately, I could admit. 

It might be something he didn't want to know or something he wasn't sure I'd answer. I nod, offering an apologetic smile as he slips out from behind and steps into his pants, pulling on a shirt over his head. 

"Don't take too long, yeah?" Cupping my face in his hands, he brushes his thumb over the scuff on my cheek and bends to kiss me. 

I savor it, though his mother watching us put me undoubtedly on edge. Brushing his nose against mine, he kisses my forehead and slips out of the room. 

I quickly leap up to slip into some pants and save my shame from his mother's prying eyes. "I told you not to scare me like that!" I hissed at her, keeping my voice low. "He already thinks I'm going mad."

"He's not wrong." Her eyes are gentle as she watches the door longingly, "I haven't thanked you for taking such good care of him. I've never forgiven myself for..."

"Dying?" I frown, slipping into my shirt and tucking the hem into the snug-fitting leggings. "You died in childbirth. I don't think he blames you."

With a soft laugh, she runs her hand through her hair, taking a piece of leather to tie it back into a messy ponytail as she paces the room. "A mother should do more to protect her children, I gave away the only thing that could have protected all of us. If I had kept Malka-" With a hard sigh, she shakes her head at herself. "I see this life you two have built together, I'd always thought the wolf was a curse, maybe it's not. It's given me a lot to think about. Not that I can change it now." 

Grabbing my belt, I thread it, fastening it around my narrow hips and stealing a glance in the mirror. It was the most like myself I'd felt, I couldn't help but wish modern-day clothes held the same appeal for me. "You did what you had to do. If you'd kept Malka, your children might not even exist." 

With the phrase, I catch a glimpse of that hereditary darkness. 

Envari might have considered it, given the option, if it meant ending all of this. She'd give up their existence for the greater good, just as I'm sure my husband would. Pushing the thought out of my head, I clear my throat. "Did you have a purpose for stopping in?"

Blinking, she turns back towards me. "You had a vision but you blocked it? I was, admittedly, eavesdropping. I think you should let Verando lead Caspian, we still have plenty of our forces outside, if nothing else we can distract Caspian enough to keep him safe. While we can't touch him, he doesn't necessarily know that."

"I didn't block it, it stopped. I'm wearing a necklace that blocks out dark magic." 

Squinting her eyes, she nears me to tilt her head and examine it more closely. 

"Also, I don't like the idea of using my husband as bait. "

The gold eyes track upward to watch mine, checking my tone for the implication that she did. I slip into the vest, more detailed than I might like but beggars can't be choosers in this aged home. Next, I pull the heavier pants on over my leggings and sit on the bed to work on stepping into the knee-high boots, grumbling at the copious laces. 

Where was the simplicity of modern-day wear when I needed them? Perhaps zippers and buckles weren't so bad.

"Nicolas, I'd love to pretend that we had the luxury to take measure of all this but we don't. You have missed your deadline as to what it would take for Tyr to try and stop this, at this point, it is entirely on your head if we win or lose this. I'm here because the gods dictate there is still a strand of time in which you win this. We can't afford to care if someone gets hurt or not. You must be willing to do whatever is necessary-"

I stopped her as I stood up abruptly, it always came back to the same thing, older people telling me what I must do and that usually involved sacrificing someone I had grown attached to. "I've given up enough, I don't need to give anything else."

Envari's hands grip into fists. "There will be nothing to have if Fenrir gets out. We don't get happy endings, Nicolas. We don't get to ride off into the sunset, we are heroes and the heroes don't often get to fairy tale endings." Pursing her lips, she shuts her eyes tightly before finally taking a breath. "We.. are not prepared to let you fail because of matters of the heart."

"We?" I spit, tying the top lace. "You are all dead, you don't get a say in what I do as a living being. Look, I am grateful for everyone's help but my family wouldn't put a disclaimer on their aid. If you want something in exchange, then the answer is no. I'm not going to sacrifice the man I love for a maybe. We will find another way." 

The door clicks as it locks and I run over to grab the handle, jerking on it and then firmly banging my fist against the door. "Let me out!" I seeth, banging on the door once more. "Randy!"

"He can't hear you. Victor should be down there, anyway. Victor will lead him and Tonic to do the right thing, to do what must be done."

Spinning around, I shove my hand to send her out the window yet her body doesn't move. With the power of the dark forest, she no longer needed my mental connection to exist. "If you think I'm ever letting you back in, you are sadly mistaken! Verando would not leave me here, unattended, to follow what may or may not be Victor!"

Envari frowns, wrapping her arms around herself. "He would if Tomas and Adriam were with him, assuring him that this was the correct thing to do. Verando knows what has to be done, Nic! And this... isn't... entirely about Verando. A mother does whatever she must for her children, I had to put him in danger because, well, while you might not be a mother- you are a father."

Disgusted, I grit my teeth at her and send a blast of wind into the door to open it. "Randy!" I plead, shaking the handle to the point that it glassed over from the ice leaching out of my hands. "Xavier? You think I won't do this for Xavier?"

Shaking her head, Envari moves to sit on the bed, folding her hands in her lap. "Gabriel."

"Fuck Gabriel!" I snarl, pressing my hands to the door to ice it over. I would destroy it, then I could get out.

It's her turn to go on the defensive, insisting upon me that it was Gabriel whose life she considered a forfeit. "In every version of these events, you save him. You must be willing to let everyone play their part, Nicolas. No matter what that means, no matter how it might hurt. To assure you did that, I had to put someone you loved in danger, to make sure that you would do the right thing."

Laughing at the reasoning, I feel the door beginning to crack under my hands. "If you think I'd ever let anything happen to Verando-"

With a deep breath, she moves her hand and the door shatters, crashing to the floor with me following behind it. "I'm counting on it, Nic. It's going to take all of your strength to do this, it's going to test you to your limits. Play your part and do what you must to free the unicorn, if you dare stray, if you try to make the wrong decisions, we will be there to stop you." She appears before me in the doorway, if I could vaporize her here, I would. "I'm sorry it came to this." 

With all my strength, I push my palm toward her and she vanishes. Leaping to my feet, I scramble down the stairs and Gabriel sips coffee as he stands at the kitchen island. With the set of his shoulders, he seemed to understand exactly what I had been going through upstairs. 

"Why didn't you help me?" I shout at him, running for the door. 

Throwing it open, I trudge through the snow onto the front steps, any trace of the two men was long gone in the steady snowfall. The biting cold drives me back into the house and I slam the door and hit my fists against it with a cry of frustration. 

"Gabriel, what the hell?! Why did you let them leave?"

"It was a good plan. I agree with them, I'm preparing myself for the likelihood that situation kills us all and we fail." He speaks as if it should be obvious to me; as if he was surprised I hadn't already done this. Gesturing to the plate of food on the counter, he hands me a note and I snatch it from his hands. 

A simple card from Verando. 

I'm going ahead to lure Caspian out, it was easier without you with us to prevent him from catching your scent. Eat your breakfast. I eagerly await your reprimand. 

All my love, V.

I must read it over and over again for Gabriel appears unsure of my stillness. Finally, I shove the card in my pocket and stare at the plate of freshly cut fruit. "We need to go."

Gabriel taps the counter with one finger. "Note says to eat your breakfast, we must follow the directions."

Scowling at him, I'd like to throw the plate if it weren't so childish. "You might not have noticed, given that you seem to think my husband is God's gift to earth, but he's often just an asshole who does what he wants and I'm not much for following his instructions considering he's about to sacrifice himself to the consumer of worlds!"

Tilting his head, my sarcasm seems to underwhelm him. "I suppose he could be a gift from the gods if one were to consider his lineage. What an odd thing to say, I certainly don't think that though now I'm curious about the technicality-"

"Gabriel!" I groan and run a hand through my hair. Snagging a piece of fruit, I shove it in my mouth and chew pointedly before going to get my jacket. "Come on. We have to go. If this is how it's going to be then we have a very small window to get Fergus out."

"How are we going to capture Caspian?" Of course, the entourage of masculine musketeers hadn't considered that far ahead. Gabriel straightens, smoothening out his cloak. "I am loyal to him, if he appears, I must do his bidding. I will help as much as I can for as long as I can. Until he is under your control, I'm just as much of a threat to you as he is."

If not more so. 

This must be what Envari was warning me about, would Gabriel turn on me and I wouldn't be able to kill him, for wanting to save him? Would this result in all of our deaths as Caspian would undoubtedly command Gabriel to kill us all? He had already proven he had no issues with doing so, by putting Verando directly in harm's way, it might just force me to make a decision. 

Shrugging deeper into my coat, I clip the buttons and pull a cloak on over my shoulders. "Well, we will address that when we get to it." When it came to it, I was sure I could make the correct decision, though thinking of the reality of it now caused my stomach to tighten. I had been so focused on my family, that I'd forgotten about the closest thing I had to my biological family, a son. 

Could I, his father, kill Gabriel? 

Leading him out the door, I spare one last look at the aged house and nod. "Come on. Let's go free a unicorn."