"A Solomonari. Protector of nature, guardian of the wind and rain. You are gifted dragons and you sew your loyalty to those that murder your flock. Some shepherd of your people, tell me, did they banish you, too, when they realized you laid with wolves?" Adjusting his stance, the man squares off to me, casting his hand to bind Caspian's jaw shut with a chain. 

I refuse to let it get to me, I refuse to allow his words to touch me for I'm more than my faults. My people joined forces with the very Lycans who overthrew our homes for they were crucial in bringing us to victory.

The point of his sword gestures to my arm, I bear the scars of the bite that nearly ended my relationship with the wolf. He mauled me defending Adriam, something I had hardly found the strength to forgive him for. "Do you need more reminders to whom you dawn the flag of?"

Squaring my shoulders, I might not be a demi-god but I was a King, royalty in blood and profession. My foolish faith in my abilities when supercharged by the lycan was unrealistically high, in my head, I could take him. 

"The wolf and the dragon are opposites in balance, some would believe in my culture that they are the same. Loyal to a fault, and the bear of the burden of the malice of the gods for longer than seems fair. 

After the atrocities of my sister, that took Whitewind in the end, I feel I'm owed a moment of your time since your lot so generously stood aside and allowed an enchantress to nearly send the world into the abyss."

With a scoff, Lux readies his sword, considering my proposal as my lycan protectors snarl in threat of his posture. The energy flows through me in droves, I can feel it pulsing like a heartbeat as I tap into an immense power that had allowed me to do the unthinkable before. I would have to be careful, rendering Verando unconscious here from an overdraw might be the end of us. Lux would not hesitate. 

"You are owed nothing, I am not your god. All you've done is proven that it's not a god's place to meddle in the affairs of mortals." Holding up his severed stump, he taps the steel cuff with his sword strongly enough to create sparks, igniting bits of the heavy air to blaze against his dark skin. "My debt to mortals has been paid. It is my kindness that I'm here to do it again." 

"And you die." Verando barks at him, the disembodied voice sounds so familiar. The return of Whitewind brought me more joy than I care to admit, it was a promise of defense, it was a secondary line to keep my husband alive. "If you bring on Ragnarok, if Fenrir gets loose, you do not survive. He consumes you and the entire world."

"If." Lux snaps through gritted teeth.

The sky above swirls, darkening as Caspian struggles to stand. We're running out of time, it would seem the Lux's very presence was enraging the beast within and pulling it to the surface. "A wager! Gods like to wager, don't they?" I demand, earning another scoff. 

"What could you wager? What do you have that I could want?" 

Nothing. Nothing at all. If we failed, it would not just be our lives but the world itself would cease to exist. He seemed to realize this for behind those burning green eyes, I could see the deep strain of his face and the starkness of his reality. Why did he have any reason to trust us, I had to admit to myself that I probably wouldn't trust us either. 

"Faith," I tell him simply, offering a small glance at Gabriel as he joins us. We are on display for the world to see, everyone watching, it was time to stop fighting violence with more violence. This was the moment we had been waiting for, that I had been shown in the vision of how we would unite our forces. It was time to show strength, to guide our people into a unified force against one common enemy. "The promise that when this is all over, you will not return to a life where you are merely a myth but a return to grace." 

Sickened, he wrinkles his nose. "You call to my vanity?" he grumbles, almost appearing hurt. He had been turned away, too. He was broken, just as we were, from fighting for a cause that nobody else saw themselves fit for. Lux had been sent to us for we had struggled in much the same ways, he was the only one who could understand our plight. 

I shake my head, swallowing back my nerves. Speeches had never been my strong suit, even less so when appealing to a higher power.

"I call to your love of humanity. You would not do this if you did not love your subjects, we are the only ones capable of stopping this because we are not intending to fight hatred with greed. We want to reset the cycle, end it, and restore the power to what it had been. We only wish to restore balance. Look into my past if you must, you will see that I know exactly how power corrupts." 

With a quick scan of his eyes, Lux considers this. As Caspian climbs to his feet, he clutches his sword ever tighter, hands trembling. How he wished to kill the beast who looked at him so defiantly. But, as I could see in his eyes, he knew that I spoke the truth. He knew as well as we all did that a fight with Fenrir was too close to the end of days. I didn't want to make promises that I couldn't keep, all I could do was promise him with every fiber of my being that we would try.

Resting my hands on the Lycan's shoulders, I murmur at them to be quiet. 

Lux's eyes roll to land on me, tired, he exhales. In an immense leap, he jumps into the air and swings his sword. My hand extends, magic ready to stop him, only to see him crack Caspian over the head with the hilt of his blade. 

"Take your leader and be gone. The battle for today is over." His voice booms as the war party collects their leader and disperses quickly into the badlands. With another swing of his blade, the fires dissipate from the incredible gust. Scanning our devoured city, he approaches now with a more thoughtful expression. 

"Do you see what consumption can cause?" He demands, gesturing around with his maimed limb. "Do you see what awaits this realm if you can not do what you say?" Glancing at Verando, it almost sickens him to be so close. "Why are you tied to this beast?"

"He saved my life," I tell him firmly, unashamed. "Whitewind gifted me a piece of himself so that I might live." 

Exhaling down, I chill the smoldering streets. Lux was supposed to be the one who brought us all together, who united us. Would it be wrong to ask him to do that now? We're surrounded by every walk of life.

Magic users and humans stare inward with wonder that a leader such as me could speak to a being such as this. I was their advocate, I was the one trying to protect them. Perhaps this was what united us. "I'm well aware of what evil can do." 

"You're surrounded by it." He warns, turning to glower at Gabriel now. "You can not do this on your own, much as you are a symbol of the life of this planet. I admire that in a mortal. There was a time when my people greatly enjoyed watching your homeland." He begins to shrink down, until he is closer to his real height. 

I became painfully aware that I was completely prepared to murder Landon if it meant protecting my family from Lux. A boy I had promised to protect, a young man who had helped us so much, he was a worthy sacrifice at the moment and it horrified me. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, I would have to keep a sharp eye on my abilities.

The god regarded us, sheathing his sword. I step away from my guard dogs, warning them to stay back as I attempt to show good faith. If Lux decided to kill me now, there would be nothing either of them could do about it anyway. It was their kind that he was so determined to destroy. "We will bring the neutral being in with the representation of light and dark, in unison, they will defeat Caspian and there will be no one left for Fenrir to jump into. With balance, the cycle will end." 

Lux doesn't appear to be so convinced. His gaze lands solely on Verando now. "A mortal can not have all the answers. You rely on a creature that is as ancient as I am and has been proven time and time again to be untrustworthy."

"All I can do is try," I assure him, earning a small nod as he takes in the world once more. It was as if he were trying to memorize it; as if he would be seeing it for the last time. Looking longingly off into the distance and then scanning each face of those who had circled us, finally, he looks resigned to his departure. 

Turning to face me, he nods once more and produces a horn from his belt. "The first of the year is the end of days. Change fate, change history, or blow this horn and then I will come but rest assured by then it will be too late. You seem gifted in knowledge beyond my own, you have outside tales of the histories that aren't shared with me. I trust that will be enough, I only know Fenrir as a foe.. not of his progeny." A shudder racks through him as I accept the horn, tucking it into my jacket to protect it from wandering eyes.

 I murmur a concealing spell as it melts into the jacket's fabric. 

"Next time we see each other, it'll be a different world," I assure him, as best as I can. I had all of his same concerns, I just didn't have the luxury of wearing them so plainly on my face. Lux was used to being disappointed by humans, else he wouldn't regard me with such disappointment in his lack of restraint to believe my intentions to be pure. 

Taking a deep breath, he exhales as the blue mist expels into the air. The clouds begin to recede, the sky begins to darken from the red of a god's wrath. "I've called for you a friend, those loyal to the religion. Don't make me regret it, speak my name and they will follow. Restore balance." His eyes dim back to their forest color and Helen lurches to capture him on her shoulder as Landon faints. 

A friend? I quickly move to clutch Landon's face in my hands, looking him over before deciding that he would be okay. I shove him onto Helen's back, jumping slightly as Kestrel appears at her side. "Let me help you, Helen..." his voice is low, restrained. For a split second, he regards Gabriel and my son nods in greeting. 

Suspicious, I swallow it back for Fadri is arriving with reinforcements. I can't afford to sew mistrust now. 

"Kestrel, you stay. Fadri, go back with Helen-" 

My words are interrupted by Verando as he limps over, followed by a few of our men to gather Landon. "Actually, Helen is the Alpha now. So, Helen, you will stay with Kestrel. I will take Landon home."

I try not to gape, composing my face. I had missed so much and yet I feel like I'm in sensory overload. Helen bumps me with her muzzle as Verando begins to trek back towards the city. "We've got a lot of cleanup to do. Why do you take Gabriel and head back, as well? It's not really safe for you to be exposed and I'm sure Bet will want you to make a statement for... well.. the world."

She was right. We had been on display for everyone to see, in today's time, there was no more hiding when things like this happened. It was us against an entity that was putting his chips in someone else's hat and that was the man who wished to devour the planet. 

Would it be enough? Could it be enough to persuade those on the edge to join our cause?

 Motioning to Gabriel, I wrap my arms tightly around Helen's neck to hug her. "You and I are going to have a discussion later," I warn her. 

Delighted, she nods, wagging her tail. "Thanks for worrying about me." And she meant every word. Glowering at Kestrel, I blast his feet with ice, making him dive out of the way as I march after Verando with Gabriel and Landon in tow. 

Crafting an ice sled, I step onto it and gesture for him to do the same. "Need a ride?" I ask, feeling crowded as Gabriel steps on as well. Happy for the break, Verando cautiously steps onto the ice, two of our men kneel down at our feet with Landon, calculating vitals and conversing lowly about his condition. "Can I ask what the hell you were thinking?" 

His gaze flickers to Gabriel and I sigh heavily, I know he doesn't want to do this here, and neither do I. 

"I was thinking that I don't want to be shot by a bullet," Gabriel responds, absently as he watches the world drift by. His tone caught me off guard, he hadn't even realized I wasn't talking to him. 

Verando shrugs, dismissing it as a strange thing that I should expect from the undersocialized man. 

We arrived at the small house and I deposited Landon with Bet, feeling she was more than capable of waiting for the medical team. In my hurry, my broken husband seemed hard-pressed to keep up with me. I opted to leave Verando in her care to tend to his wounds while I took the opportunity to drag Gabriel to the back of the house. 

I close the door, locking it as if that would keep him from leaving or keep lycans from hearing. It was a human gesture that could convey a serious intent to anyone who wasn't a mystical being who siphoned life off the universe. 

Where did I begin? What could I even say? I could only stare at him as he stared back at me with an almost level of happiness that cracked my careful facade. "What gives you any right to look at me that way?" I can't even sound upset, I'm more so defeated. 

Could he be a good person after all he had done?

"A son should look at his father with respect, or so I've read." His tone is even, I wonder if he's taken a sedation pill. Would he go feral at a moment's notice? "I have questions."

Cautiously, I gesture to one of the chairs and slowly move to sit in a swiveling office chair. I didn't know how to do this, my own father hardly spoke a word to me beyond a command for my attendance. It wasn't until he was dead that I truly got to know him. "You can ask them." I allowed, relinquishing control as I had nothing productive to say to the ender of our world. 

"Do you have more children?" He sounds almost hopeful.

I shake my head. "No. I am a lover of men, your mother and I made an agreement. She was supposed to rule with me before this happened."

Taking this in, he processes as he stares at me. I resisted the urge to squirm under his gaze for I wanted to stare at him too. We can only assess each other in the tiny space, two beings beyond compare crammed into such a real situation to only speak to each other about familiar things.

 "Your lover is Verando." He summarizes.

I nod. "He is."

With a nod, he takes this much more simply. "I can accept that. I like him. He appears to be an honest man, with strong beliefs. I've read that that is a desirable trait." 

Much as I wasn't asking for his approval, it does please me. 

I offer the smallest hint of a small as I lightly cross my arms over my chest. "He likes you, too. He convinced me to give you a chance."

"Did you grow up in the school, too?" The abrupt question brings me to pause, an answer for his upbringing. 

Frowning, I shake my head. "No. I grew up in a family with a mother and a father, four siblings."

"Their names?" He asks, his voice soft.

"My brothers were Ionut and Luca. My sister's names were Corina and Relia. Corina caused a lot of damage, she poisoned my father with her dark magic. You've met my father, Lord Darrius. My mother was Elaina." As I speak them, he mouths them over, testing them and committing them to memory as if it somehow helped him to know them better. "They were all murdered, save for Corina, when I was twenty-three." 

Accepting this, he exhales. "How long did you go to school?"

I refused to allow myself to get irritated with him, he must have questions, and it was only fair. Even so, I hate talking about myself. "Five years." 

"Hmm..." He muses, "You must have been good, that's fast. None of the others left so quickly."

Wishing that to be true, I can only run my hand through my hair. "I cheated."

Surprise crosses his face, only to crack that stoney expression and produce a small chuckle though it sounded foreign on his lips.

"I like that. I always wondered what you would be like." Searching the ground, he finally meets my gaze once more, a hint of desperation to keep the conversation going. "Did you have a good childhood?" 

I didn't know where this could possibly lead, surely there were more important topics at hand.

 "Were you happy?"

These felt like questions a father should be asking a son, not the other way around. Squirming, I clear my throat. 

"Well, I was a young prince and nearly the youngest of my siblings save for Corina. There was the court, parties with other royal families... it could be quite interesting but it was a very structured life. We didn't play as normal children, we learned instruments and attended dance lessons and foreign language courses." A smile pulls at the corners of my mouth, looking back it doesn't seem so horrid now. 

"I remember my brothers and I got into the pantry and ate all the pastries right before one of Father's parties. We were covered in jelly from head to toe, the servants about skinned us alive for that... they were more upset than father was though we attended sewing classes for girls for a month afterward as punishment." 

My words mistify him just as they do for me, I remember it as if it were someone else's life. I had never fit into that world, thinking back even on that moment it was my brothers who had drug me along on their misdeeds. 

"Frankly... I quite enjoyed the sewing." Small in my voice, I sigh.

 Had I been happy? I can't say.

 "I'm sorry Gabriel, I'm not the best at talking about myself. I'm sure anyone else would have been thrilled to have such a life." I expect him to reveal something about his expectations, to put upon me as everyone else did, the reality that I was everything that they had wondered. 

Would he tell me he thought I was spoiled, privileged even? Saying it out loud, I surely felt it. But, in truth, I had never felt as if I belonged. Extra, the odd one out, it was only my mother who truly made my existence pleasant. "When I learned that Fillipa had been killed- when we came to this time, I figured that you perished with her, or else I would have found a way to go back in time once more and prevented this from happening to you."

Standing, he moves over to me, getting on his knees before me to press his fingers to my throat. I hold my breath, wondering if this is when he reveals he'd always intended to kill me. "Irregular..." he murmurs. "I've dissected many and studied many hearts, a fascination of mine since I learned of you and how perished."

Pursing his lips, he sighs, crossing his legs to sit before me much like a child even if he were four hundred years my senior. 

"You died of a heart attack long before Helen went back in time to save you. I did my research on you and saved the transcripts written before you were taken from history when Red informed me of your original death. You would have died with or without involvement from this time, though I'm glad that I've gotten to meet you, even if it's taken a few lifetimes and some miscalculations."

Pushing his hand away, I check my pulse and regard him with a guarded expression. I'd been seen by multiple doctors, why had nobody said anything about this before? Perhaps they assumed I already knew, though it seemed like something Tonya would have brought up when we first arrived. 

"What're you saying?"

He looks at me once more as a father does, instead of a son, a true hint of ache hidden in those dark eyes. "You're stunted, smaller.. weaker... you are the shortest of all your siblings. Your father is as tall as me, I'm over six feet tall. Your hands are chilled, your history has given more than enough reasons to have cause for concern about what it's done to your mortal body."

I push back, away from him, I don't want to hear any more of this. 

"Why're you saying this to me?" It was something I had suspected for a long time, something I'd been too concerned to put into words to anyone but Helen. My body wouldn't hold up to the constant abuse, a normal man might have faired better, but I was already working with a defective product.

"Your heart was weak from the start, your body wasn't built to do what it's done and you've cut your life span significantly. I know your plan, I've been hunting you for quite some time now, and you won't be able to revive Fergus before it kills you from the effort." Standing once more, Gabriel dusts off his clothes, resigned. "But... perhaps there is something that I can do."