Portum was just as beautiful as the others had alluded to it being. I had figured it would be gorgeous and picturesque from knowing the fact that it was near the Caribbean, but I hadn't exactly been prepared for just how breathtaking it actually was. I could have been in a dream from how unreal it looked and felt.

For some reason, after learning about Morgan being a witch and Paisley being part witch-part Fae (yet another species they had to explain to me), I had expected that their would be some magical way of getting to Portum, but I'd been wrong. Jessica and Liliana had booked the first flight from New Mexico to the Caribbean, and from there, we took a boat that was guided by a sweet water nymph. I'd also learnt that nymph was a type of faerie, and because of it, Paisley had been chatty with him the entire time, Morgan standing resolutely by her girlfriend's side.

The dock we ported at wasn't grubby or dirty like I had been accustomed to when living on the East coast; it was located at a beach with sparkling white sand and a cobblestone street, market stands scattered down the length of the street. The only thing ruining the tranquility of the scene before me were the several large black SUVs parked right at the entrance of the market place.

My brows furrowed together as I accepted Mik's handing as he helped me off the boat and onto the wood dock. "What are those SUVs here for?"

Mik glanced over, as if just now noticing that the cars were there. He frowned for a moment but then his expression smoothed out again into something more familiar: a smile. "Probably Guardians to escort us," he said, wrapping an arm around me. A smile formed, aware that he wasn't doing it because he thought I needed support. After passing out on his shoulder and drooling on it during the plane ride, he had seemingly gotten comfortable with me again, although I couldn't tell you the reason he had gotten distant in the first place. "You know, you're kind of a big deal."

I wanted to argue that fact, but was too busy pondering about the Guardians and the Guard. During the plane ride and boat ride, my friends had taken the time to fill me on some important facts I would need to be made aware of, the first of which being that the city we were going to be taken to was Solis, the capital of Portum where the government was located.

When they mentioned the government, that had resulted in me questioning what exactly the government. The conversation from that point on had gotten a little complex, but somehow, I was still able to follow along, which I was grateful for. There were four main groups of paranormal, at least that was what they had told me, the main groups being the faeries, the vampires, the werewolves, and the witches. The kind of paranormals we most commonly heard about as humans, according to them. The faeries government with was the Court, the vampires were the Cult, the werewolves made up the Council, and the witches were the Coven, which I had already gathered from what I had found out about Morgan.

There was a government for all the species, called the Covenant. They didn't exactly elaborate on them, informing me it wasn't necessarily important in the moment. The last pieces of the government they had filled me in on was Chancellor Mattias and the Guard. Chancellor Mattias was the head of the entire Other Side (that's what they referred to their world and I went with it), and not a single one of them seemed to favor him all that much by the way they warned that I would never be left alone with him. The Guard, on the other hand, had been the one they talked about the most.

The Guard was a group of paranormals that trained and devoted their entire life, immortal or mortal, to protecting the rest of their race. They were called Guardians and were treated with the utmost respect, even more so than their governments, mainly because they were putting their lives on the line daily. After they explained what the Guard was, they shot into their favorite stories about their favorite Guardians and I nodded along until I had passed out on Mik.

Knowing that it was Guardians who had come to pick us up had me in a cold sweat. Mik might have called me a big deal, but the real big deal were the Guardians. From everything I had heard, I was beginning to fear meeting them if only because I was scared of letting anyone down.

Once the entire group had gotten their feet on the ground and our baggage had been dumped beside us, it was clearly time to get into the SUVs and head to Solis, but I was frozen in my spot. The boys, Morgan, Paisley, and Liliana had accompanied, Jessica and Ben needing to prepare the kids for joining us, and in the moment I truly wished that Jessica had come with us instead.

A cold hand pressed against the back of my neck and I sank into the touch. It was pretty warm in Portum, most likely because as we approached fall in America, Portum was just shifting into summer. The humidity and warmth wasn't why I welcomed the cool touch though; it was more so the fact that it was familiar.

"Your aura is such an ugly color," Paisley declared, her voice light but also somewhat firm, as if reminding me that I was a bad ass bitch and if I didn't calm down she would kick me until I remembered that fact. "Calm down. Don't want anyone to get a bad impression of you right off the bat."

"Be nice, Pais," Jase scolded, which was weird coming from him. He slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, and even though it was much too hot for this kind of contact, I leaned into him. "She's nervous. Wouldn't you be?" He paused then grinned teasingly. "And don't forget, you're the one who said you wouldn't leave Nyx alone with Chancellor."

Paisley dropped her hand from the back of my neck and her lips formed an 'O'. Her lips then pulled down into a small frown. "Oh shit," she said, the words accompanied with a dramatic sigh. "I forgot about that."

"Kids." Liliana's voice was a harsh reminder that we weren't a bunch of teenagers on spring break, but rather, powerful political factors in a paranormal world that were about to be introduced to their fate. Perhaps it wasn't really that drastic, but in my head it felt like it was. "We need to leave now if we're going to arrive there by dinner. And we must arrive by then. The Chancellor is expecting us and we can't disappoint."

We all exchanged looks, then in unison, rolled our eyes.

***

The only way to describe the building we were rolling up to was palace like. I sat up straight in my seat, causing Isaiah's arm to fall off my shoulders, and stared out the tinted window, dazed. The architecture was beautiful, the building made up of what looked to be purely steel, glass, and titanium. I nearly pressed my nose against the window, dying to get a closer look at it.

"What is this place?" I breathed out, facing the collection of friends I had acquired in the car with me. I had been lumped with Paisley, Isaiah, Mik, and Jase, Liliana having requested to sequester Landon, Morgan, and Cassius in her car.

Jase smirked. "Welcome to Illumine Castle."

"It's an actual castle?" I practically screeched out, my voice reaching a new pitch I hadn't even been aware I could hit. Isaiah scowled, rubbing at his ear, obviously displeased that I had nearly ruptured his eardrum. I bit my lip to contain a smile, and leaned over, gracing him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Only the best for Portum's best," Paisley muttered, as if it was a line she had recited many a times. The light disappearing from her eyes made it clear that Illumine was a not place that held good memories, as well as the fact that the atmosphere of the car changed drastically. I slumped against my seat, anxiety forming in the pit of my stomach again.

It was easy to pretend when we didn't talk about the truth, but when reality became present and clear again, dreamland dissipating, we became morose.

"Do you think they'll take me away again?" I asked quietly, the question hanging heavy in the air and lingering like deadly gas. No one responded, and dread twisted in my chest like barb wire around my heart, cutting deep.

Isaiah noticed my unease and wrapped his arm around me again as the car came to a full stop. My entire body trembled as the door jerked open, filtering in sunlight that momentarily blinded me and prevented me from seeing what I was up against. I couldn't breathe, terror claiming ownership of the productivity of my organs. Fight or flight kicked in for reasons unbeknownst to me, and flight was winning out.

"Miss Blakely," a voice cut from steel and ice washed over me, dragging me away from my intense emotions. I focused on the man standing outside my door, regarding with me with a cold smile. His eyes were a dull slate color, nowhere near as lovely to look at like Cassius' and his hair was a deep black that he was brushed away from his face. I swallowed hard as it became clear that the man I was facing was not only Chancellor Mattias, but merely a few years older than me, perhaps in his early twenties. "May I help you out of the car?"

I wanted to tell him I didn't need any help, but the words got stuck somewhere between the back of my throat and my teeth. I forced myself to nod and bare my teeth in a smile, then unbuckled and took his hand. Paisley's hands were a pleasant kind of cold to the touch, but the Chancellor's were freezing. The jolt that went through my body at the sensation was hidden as I stepped down onto the ground.

"Just as lovely as your mother." The Chancellor said and a chill swept through my body. If he had known my mother, then how old was he truly and why did he look so young? I bit down on my tongue to keep from asking such a potentially offensive and troublesome question and shot a thankful smile.

"She's just as much trouble as her mother, as well, Chancellor," Liliana grumbled as she joined us. The air in my lungs did a magic trick and disappeared in the presence of these two.

"Now now, Mrs. Shaw," the Chancellor's coo had me wincing straight into Landon who slipped his hand into my own, squeezing it reassuringly. "You barely know Miss Blakely. No need to judge her just yet."

Liliana didn't respond but it was clear by the look on her face that his words wouldn't change her feelings towards me one bit. It was also becoming rather clear to me, that Chancellor was far from an ally. Every bone in my body screamed at me to run, but I was afraid that if I did, I would lose the only family I had left. My fear won out, and I continued to smile though the actually physically hurt.

"Why don't we go inside so we can eat and discuss how to proceed now that you're home, yes?" His statement was directed towards me, but I was in no state to reply, leaving it up to Cassius to do so. Cassius' fingers brushed against my back as he passed by, and told the Chancellor that it was an excellent idea.

The entire walk through Illiumne, my head spun and my muscles seized, preparing for the moment I would need to ride. I clung to Landon, almost certain that my grip on his hand was bordering painful, but he was my only anchor in the moment. My friends shot me concerned looks and I pretended to ignore them and be engrossed in what the Chancellor and Liliana were saying.

Dinner passed in a daze. I was barely able to concentrate when the conversation settled on me and what was to happen. I nodded and acted engaged when they informed me there would be a press conference to minimize damage and that I would stay in Portum until things settled down and I had gotten a grip on 'their world'. I wanted to scream at the fact that no one apologized for tearing me away from my mother or the fact they were the reason she had killed herself, but instead I gritted my teeth and it passed as a somewhat polite smile.

The moment dinner ended, I bolted. I didn't know my way around, all I really knew was that I had a bundle of excess adrenaline and if I didn't do something with it something bad would happen. Before I could make it out into the open, a hand caught my arm and I let out a hiss, my skin feeling as if it was literally burning.

"Fuck, Onyx!" The exclamation brought me some clarity and sanity, and I focused on the person standing before me. Cassius was shaking out his hand, letting out an array of curse words that would leave a sailor impressed. At first I was confused, but then, I realized the welts on his hand; the same hand he had grabbed me with.

My eyes widened and at the same time, tears gathered in them. "Did I did do that?" My voice turned squeaky at the end, fear consuming me and constricting my throat. "Cass? Did I hurt you?"

Arms went around me and I turned into the touch, recognizing the feel of Mik and Landon, a comforting group hug. A hand rubbed my back, though I wasn't sure who it belonged to; I was still grateful for the comfort. I could feel myself quivering, the shock and terror of everything that was occurring finally hitting me.

"It's okay," Morgan soothed, but even her voice was shot with concern and uncertainty. "It's going to be okay, doll."

A hellfire burned in me and I knew as soon as it consumed me, it would consume everything around me as well. For the first time since I found who and what I really was, I wanted to someone else, I wanted to be crazy rather than this.

Because the truth was this was dangerous, and I could already see my impending doom heading my way.

a/n: stuff got intense, but I hope you enjoy it!! Thoughts on the Chancellor and Liliana?

And yes, more romance coming your way soon.

Also, I slammed my head on the wall and now I'm in painnnnn.

xoxo,

ry.