"Years of love have been forgot in the hatred of a minute."

― Edgar Allen Poe

The first thing Lin had to take care of was her hair. Her mother did a better job than anyone at cutting it, but the brown had to go. She tugged at the smoothed ends of it as she walked, toying with the new length.

It just barely passed her shoulders, but at least nothing was burned or ragged. Lin stared daggers at the hunters who stopped and did a double take at her.

She was the only woman on the entire island -- that was assuming that Yelena had left. Lin hadn't seen the woman since the Mara meeting.

And then there was the issue of Shabina. Lin tapped her thumb against her belt and pressed her back into her door. It swung open behind her.

Immediately, she knew something was off.

Lin froze and inhaled deeply. It was a familiar smell, but not something she was completely used to. A person. She relaxed and slung a hand over the doorknob.

"You have your own room, you know."

A fluffy black bob of hair peered over the edge of her futon. She met his eyes with as cool a gaze as she could summon on such short notice.

"Sorry."

"Don't say sorry, just get out."

Hadrian nodded and stood up.

Damn. Lin gritted her teeth once she saw his face. "Shit, who did that to you?"

"Nobody."

The door cracked behind her, her boot leaving a golden footprint on the wood. Her stride was too swift to be reassuring, but she really didn't care.

His nose wasn't broken, but it was badly bruised. His upper lip was split and painted a blackish red, and smeared blood covered most of his lower face. His eyes were red from crying.

"I might have believed you if you'd washed up first," she tilted her head and squinted at his face, "or not. I've hit a lot of people in the face, so I know what it looks like. What'd he do, whack you with a brick?"

"Just a punch."

"'Just a punch,' my ass. Who did that? Pierce? One of the other hunters?"

Hadrian gave an attempt at a smile, but stopped when his lip broke again and blood pearled. He licked it off with an oddly unperturbed air. "It's nothing."

Rolling her eyes, Lin grabbed his hand. Not caring about the flinch he gave, she dragged him towards the washroom, unlocking it with a push.

Her seared blonde hair was still littered across the tile. Washcloth. She needed a washcloth. There should have been a few under the sink, last she checked. A quick investigation brought her to the conclusion that the stock of cloths had migrated to behind the cabinet.

The faucet creaked and complained as she turned it as cold as it went and ran the cloth under it. She practically threw it at Hadrian.

"Clean up."

He caught it -- barely -- and hesitated before dabbing at his cut lip, avoiding his nose.

Lin grabbed a bottle of peroxide and set at mixing the ingredients together. The smell filled the room quickly, probably irritating Hadrian's nose more. She mixed faster and combed her fingers through her hair quickly.

"Why'd you dye it?"

She gave a non-committal hum, grabbing her rubber gloves and bleach brush. A few practiced motions let her section off her hair.

"You were going to see your parents. They don't know you're a hunter, do they?"

"No."

"Why don't you tell them?"

Lin sighed, inhaling the fumes to clear her mind a little as she brushed the peroxide mix onto her hair. Hopefully the henna hadn't quite absorbed yet. "They're good. Normal. They think I'm one of Razo's runners."

"Will you ever tell them?"

"No."

"You've got this thought out."

"No, I really don't." Lin worked the white mix into her hair, feeling it tingle against her scalp as she missed. "I'm just damn good at avoiding my problems."

"Yeah," there was something wistful in his voice, "you run a lot."

Strange thing to say, but Lin really wasn't in a position to judge. "Do you want to run?"

His eyes shot up, meeting hers in one of Lin's many mirrors. The bathroom was cramped enough that Hadrian had moved to sit on the bathtub.

"From what?"

"Your dad. That's the one that clocked you, right? Wilson."

His silence meant yes.

Lin finished quickly and twisted her coated hair up. She wrapped a white waxed cloth over it.

"I'll help if it makes it any easier."

Why? Lin wasn't sure. Just the image of Hadrian hiding in her room, blood and tears on his face, made the back of her head pound. She hoped he didn't ask why, that would just make everything more complicated.

"How?" Extra complicated. It seemed he had a hobby of making her life complicated and she'd known him for less than a day.

"How what?"

"How would you help me?"

Lin shrugged, already knowing what she intended to do. "I don't know. I can make you disappear. You could live out your life without anyone knowing where you are. Or I could kill your dad. I really want to kill your dad, actually, can I do that one?"

"I don't want you to get in trouble," was all Hadrian said.

Lin would mock him if he weren't so damn pathetic. "Cute. So you're undecided, then?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Awesome. That's just great." Lin muttered, feeling the edge of her hairline. It should be about done, she didn't intend to completely fry her hair. "Move, I need the tub."

His face was mostly clean, so she grabbed the cloth from him and chucked it at the bathtub drain. She turned on the faucet there and rinsed the cloth before unwinding her hair and bending over.

The peroxide from her hair washed down onto the bloody cloth, cleaning it slightly better than Lin would have otherwise.

Hadrian didn't say anything, reverting to the statuesque stillness he'd displayed in Greymark's office.

When Lin finally resurfaced and wrapped a towel around her hair, Hadrian stood against the wall. Wonderful. "I can take you as my apprentice."

"What?"

"Like Alekhine meant to. If you're mine, that supersedes any parental right. And I can go wherever I want with you if I pretend I'm training you."

"But then if I go missing, that falls on you."

Lin shrugged. "Nobody would have trouble believing I offed my own apprentice. Or that I lost him. I lose a lot of things."

If that bothered him, it didn't show.

"My father's a King. You'd be betraying him."

"I'm a hunter. We're in short order and Greymark has more power than all the Kings combined." Lin poked at her hair. It looked a little dark, she may have underestimated how much time it needed. "Nobody can stop me from doing what I want."

Hadrian nodded, watching her carefully as she stood up. "Okay."

"Okay, you're cool with being my apprentice?"

"I guess."

"That's not definitive."

"Fine, yes. Is that good enough?"

Lin smiled with all her teeth, patting the top of his head. As irritation flitted across his face, Lin found her throat tightening.

Bone-white walls, darkened tunnels, and splashes of Alekhine's blood. Red, red blood like a gun in her mouth when she cut into him. He didn't have a neck to scream with, that's what she took first. She didn't want to listen to him beg.

She blinked the image away.

He looked up at her, brow furrowed for a different emotion. His mouth turned downwards slightly, heedless of the cut and bruising.

"Nothing," she said. He hadn't asked her anything. "Stay here, I'll lock the doors and go talk to Greymark. Uh - there's vodka here somewhere, put that on the cut."

Lin spun on her heel and closed the bathroom door behind her. Her heart pounded in her chest, making her vision shake. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit."

She swallowed and sucked in a deep breath. She ripped the towel from her hair, the wet locks slapping her neck as they fell.

What the hell was that? She choked on a breath and forced herself to relax. Her sigils were oddly silent, as if afraid to trigger her wrath. They'd never been afraid. It was nearly impossible for them to be afraid.

Trauma. It was just trauma coming back because she'd spoken to her parents about Alekhine earlier. Because Hadrian was Alekhine's friend and she was fulfilling his promise. She needed to stop caring about this. When had she started caring?

Lin shook her head. Greymark. She needed to talk to Greymark for Hadrian. Then Razo for herself.

Maybe Shabina, after.

Her pride smarted at the thought of turning to Shabina so soon after rebuffing her, but she'd extended protection for anyone Lin brought to her. An abstract plan solidified in her mind.

"Okay," she whispered to herself. She patted around her eyes, feeling for swelling and heat. Her sigils hummed softly and wicked both away.

She set her shoulders and left her room.

Her old gun was still on her belt. She undid the button. Redid it. Again and again as she walked. Slowly but surely, the shaking in her hands abated.

Long stride, head up. Remember, you're invincible.

The crux of being a hunter was confidence. The reveal, the panache. You had to look like you knew what you were doing and nothing could stop you. Otherwise someone actually would stop you.

Lin wished for her jacket, if only to put another layer between herself and everyone else. But no, she'd left it on her bedroom floor like an idiot. Or somewhere. She wasn't actually sure where the vast majority of her belongings were, as they tended to get a bit scattered across the Manor island.

She flicked her fingers at the two men standing - sitting - guard at Greymark's office door. They jerked and pulled away, practically scrambling as she mimed stepping on their legs.

"Thanks, kids."

They didn't get the chance to answer, because she barged in without knocking.

Greymark glared up at her from over his desk. His glasses were propped up on top of his head, the lenses almost lost in his overlong hair.

He set a sheet of paper down. "Where were you?"

"Having sex."

He gave a quick sniff. "No you weren't."

Lin splayed her fingers across her collarbone. "Did you just smell for my -- "

"Yes. Shut up."

With a snort, she sauntered over to his desk and folded her arms across it, squatting down to rest her chin against the top.

"Did you need me?"

Greymark gave her a short glare before pulling his glasses back down to his face and returning his attention to the paper. "No."

"Then why're you pissy I left?"

"Because I couldn't see you. When I can't see things that belong to me, I get nervous." His words went clipped towards the end, tension radiating from him.

Greymark couldn't see his hunters as he saw her now. But he usually had a general awareness of where they were. And what they were doing. As far as Lin knew, it got weaker with distance, though that could be a lie too.

The last time a hunter was completely out of his range, Lin had to go kill her boyfriend.

She supposed that was reason to be nervous.

"I visited my parents."

"I know, it's what you did after that has me concerned."

"Aw, Grey! You're worried about me."

"I'm worried I'll have to get someone to kill you," he said. He flipped the page over, found it blank, and picked up another.

"What? Too weak to do it yourself?"

His eyes flashed up at her, something just on the edge between irate and angry simmering. "I have my reasons."

Cowardice, was Lin's bet. He couldn't handle killing his own hunters, even when they plotted to kill him. In fact, Lin was fairly certain he'd never killed anyone in her lifetime.

"Did you have something to say?" he grit out.

"Yep. I want to take on an apprentice."

A sigh, then Greymark took off his glasses again. He tossed them onto his desk, ignoring the way it clattered dangerously across the wood. "Apprentices are serious, Lin. Please don't joke about them."

Was she just that difficult to take seriously? "Not kidding. I found a kid I like."

"'Like' is not 'apprentice.' As I said; serious."

"I am serious. Sometimes," Lin smiled, "like now. He'd be good. He's smart, capable, charming. Pretty good looking, too."

"Does he hate witches?"

"No more than me." Which is to say, total indifference. Sure, they were a nuisance, but witches were animals just as humans were. They all had a drive. Humans to reproduce, witches to kill.

Greymark pursed his lips. "He agrees?"

Lin nodded. "Explicitly and informed."

Well, maybe not informed. But he did say yes.

"Who is it?" he sounded as though he may dread it.

"Wilson's kid. Hadrian."

Greymark glowered at her. He seemed to consider how to verbalize how bad an idea it was.

"This is - that's - no."

"Why?"

"He's the son of a King. The son of a witch." Right, she'd forgotten. All of Wilson's wives were witches.

"So what? He's a guy, guys can't be witches."

"Not the point. His loyalties are questionable and I don't want to put Wilson's loyalty in peril."

Time to pull out the big guns. "If you don't let me take Hadrian, I'm gonna put Wilson's life in peril."

Eyebrows raised, he considered that for much longer than he did her previous demand.

"You care about the boy."

"Yes. Whatever."

He folded his hands in front of his face, pressing his lips against his fingers. "This is why I didn't want a female hunter."

"Among many reasons, I'm sure."

"Fine. You get the apprentice. But I want you both off island for his training. I don't want him confronting you over this."

Lin cocked her head. "Didn't you want me for Mara?"

"Janus is being stubborn. He has moral qualms. I've sent King Yelena over but it may be some weeks before she can work him down. I'll send word if we get orders."

The way he said 'moral qualms' made it seem he was saying 'rotting insects' instead.

She pushed out her lips in a pout and stood up. Greymark seemed more distracted than usual, enraptured by the papers as soon as his irritation faded.

"That it?"

He hummed in response. Good enough. Lin nodded, carefully walking backwards and out the door.

Dumbass hadn't even asked about Shabina.