When Scottie finished telling his story, Misty was quiet. It made him nervous that she didn't speak right away. He almost wished he had left it at a simple apology, as he worried that telling her what happened might have made her angrier. She probably thought he was such a coward for not standing up to his grandfather and protecting her.

In reality, Misty didn't think he was a coward at all. Her pause in speech was not because she was angry with him. She was worried about him and was trying to figure out how to keep him away from Thomas.

"I don't want you going back there," Misty said abruptly and confidently. "You should stay here."

Scottie was pleasantly taken aback by her statement. His worst fear was that she would kick him out and never speak to him again. And there she was doing the complete opposite, taking him in and trying to shield him from more hurt. It truly amazed him how understanding she was being. He definitely didn't feel like he deserved it, but he was grateful nonetheless. There was only one minor problem.

"What about your brother?"

Misty bit her lip and thought about Markos. He wouldn't exactly be happy about it, but if she explained it to him, she was sure he would understand. Well, she hoped he would understand. He said that he wanted to be a team, and if that's what he wanted, he was going to have to trust her. It may have been a bit early to put their recently repaired relationship to the test, but it was a risk she felt she had to take.

"Let me worry about him," she said. "You get some rest."

Scottie was unsure that Misty could change Markos's mind, but he was her brother and she knew him better than Scottie did. If she said she'd take care of it, he was going to believe her. Besides, he didn't really want to leave. The choice between his grandfather and Misty wasn't a difficult one to make. Even if a night with Misty might mean having to deal with Markos in the morning.

"All right," he agreed. "I'll, uh, go sleep on the couch."

Scottie got up to leave, but Misty grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"You don't have to," she said. "That couch is really uncomfortable. It's basically a futon. Plus..."

Misty paused for a second before she continued on. Scottie raised his eyebrows and waited, holding his breath.

"There's enough room for both of us."

"You're sure?"

Misty nodded her head. She was sure. She didn't want him to have to face another lonely night on his own. Carefully, Scottie lowered himself on the bed and crawled under the covers. Misty followed suit and curled up next to him. She took his arm and draped it around herself, signaling to him that it was okay to hold her. Scottie smiled to himself as he felt her warmth. There was nothing more he wanted than to hold her in his arms.

***

The next morning, Misty woke before Scottie. She didn't want to disturb him, but she needed to talk to her brother. She peeled herself away gently, trying not to move him too much. He grumbled as she got up, but rolled over without waking.

Markos was in the kitchen making himself a cup of coffee. He felt Misty's presence, so he turned to face her.

"Good morning!" He said, excited as ever to start the day. "You know what I was thinking, we should head back to the house and see if Millie and Meadow want to go out for breakfast. Get the gang back together officially."

Misty smiled and nodded but Markos could tell something was up. Her smile was uncomfortable. It was almost like a sort of "please forgive me" grimace. She had a huge favor to ask and he already knew exactly what it was.

"Oh no," he said. "You want me to apologize to Scottie, don't you?"

"Yes, please, Markos, it really wasn't his fault. He got so tangled up in it all and his grandfather was involved and -"

Markos could feel the nerves and desperation in her voice. For whatever reason, she clearly liked Scottie. Although Markos didn't exactly trust the guy, if it was important to Misty that he apologize, well he supposed he better swallow his pride and do it.

"I'll do it. I'll apologize."

"You will?" Misty said, both with surprise and excitement.

"Anything for you, sis," he said. "Tell him to meet me on the balcony in 10."

***

Scottie walked out to the balcony to find Markos waiting for him. Markos eyed him as he stood in the doorway, then gestured towards the chair next to him.

"Have a seat."

Without saying a word, Scottie did as he was told.

"So," Markos said. "I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot, here."

Scottie had to stop himself from chuckling at the absurd understatement.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it."

Markos realized that he underplayed the whole thing, but he was having a hard time admitting he was wrong. Especially to Scottie, who at best, he was very much on the fence about. But, he reminded himself that it wasn't for Scottie's sake, it was for Misty's and forced himself to try again.

"Look, man, this isn't easy for me, but, uh, I want to...apologize for last night," Markos said. "I let my anger get the best of me and went out of my way to hurt you when it really wasn't necessary. For that, I'm sorry."

Scottie felt good hearing Markos's apology. Markos was an important part of Misty's life and Scottie wanted his approval. Despite Markos beating the ever-loving shit out of him, Scottie actually kind of admired him. Markos going to teach at a school for experimental magic was the biggest "fuck you" to The Assembly and Scottie could respect that. Markos could be a great ally for him. All he had to do was convince him of that.

"I appreciate it," Scottie said sincerely. "I'm sorry, too. After last night, I wanted to kick my own ass in, so I get it. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her."

Markos nodded his head, obviously skeptical, but willing to accept it as good enough.

"I'm not sure I believe you, but Misty does, so that's all that matters."

Scottie supposed he should have been happy to hear that. But, Scottie didn't want apathetic acceptance, he wanted Markos on his team. Scottie needed to earn Markos's trust and he knew the best way to do that was to be vulnerable. He had to reveal something about himself that no one else knew.

"I want you to be able to believe me and trust what I say. Not just about Misty, but about anything. So, I'm going to be honest with you, man. There's something I need to tell you. You may not like hearing it, but it needs to be said."

Markos furrowed his brows at Scottie and his weird cryptic message.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I know it was you that attacked Raina, not your parents."

Markos's stomach dropped and the blood drained from his face. All his life, he thought no one else knew that except him and Misty. It scared him to think where he might've gotten his information from.

"How?"

"I was there when it happened. I knew Raina well. She was a...family friend, I guess you could say. My parents and my grandfather were always busy with meetings and I was a lonely kid. I didn't have many people in my life that cared about me. Raina looked after me and offered me guidance. Every day after school I'd go to her house and she'd make me a snack. She'd go out into her garden to find something for me. I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted. She'd wander around in there for a bit. Sometimes she didn't come back for a while, but that was her. She lived in her own little world of sunshine and rainbows. I didn't think much when she didn't come back right away. But, then I heard her scream. I ran out to check on her, but I was too late. I saw her laying on the ground, and you running off."

Markos stayed silent, unsure of what to say. He didn't like to think about how there were people who cared about Raina and missed her. It was easier to believe she was a nameless girl who was easily forgotten.

"You know, she was the sweetest person in the world. If you had asked, there's no doubt in my mind that she would have done anything to help. She was a lot like you actually. She never bought into all that Assembly bullshit. She didn't care about the arbitrary rules around magic. To her, magic was a form of self-expression and she wanted to do it her own way. She was smart, too. She would have found a way to save your sister, I'm sure of it."

"Shit, I'm sorry, man," was all Markos could say. "I didn't know that."

"Not many people did."

"Why didn't you tell anyone? Why'd you let me get away with it?"

"I thought the pain of losing your parents, the guilt you'd feel, was worse than any punishment they would have given you. So, I kept my mouth shut."

"Yeah, well, you were right about that," Markos said.

He almost had to laugh at how right he was. Scottie was a lot of things, but he sure wasn't dumb.

"I'm sorry, man. Your parents didn't deserve that. My grandfather, The Assembly, they took it too far. They always take it too far. I mean, I understand punishing your parents. They thought they committed a crime. But they didn't stop at your parents. They went after your sisters and condemned them for something they didn't do. They were innocent little girls. And as far as they knew, you were innocent, too. It wasn't right what they did and it made me realize that they didn't care about getting justice for Raina. Raina wasn't a hateful person. As crazy as it sounds, she would have understood. She would have forgiven you. She would have never wanted your family to suffer like that. Everything they did was completely self-serving and it had nothing to do with justice."

Listening to Scottie, Markos started to get angry all over again. The confirmation that even someone on the "inside" found their treatment unfair, was enough for him to justify his need for revenge. Scottie saw the spark of vengeance in Markos's eyes and he quickly latched on.

"We can do something about it," Scottie said. "We can make it right. I can help you free your parents. I've been under my grandfather's thumb my whole life. I know where he keeps his prisoners locked up and all the safeguards he puts in place. It won't be easy, but if we work together, we can do it. We can save them."

Markos's ears perked at the proposition. It was certainly a nearly irresistible offer. He'd been dreaming of rescuing his parents for years, but he never had the means or the know-how. Scottie was handing the opportunity to him on a silver platter. As good as it all seemed, it was incredibly risky and he feared for his sisters' safety if something went wrong. Even if it all went right, freeing their parents would put them in a lot of danger. The Assembly would chase after them like dogs.

"Okay, so say we pulled it off. Then what? We'd be public enemy number one. They'd kill us all."

"I've thought of that and I've got a plan. Rescuing your parents is step one. Step two is weakening them and bringing them to their knees. If it works the way I think it will, they'll be at our mercy."

Markos thought it over. He didn't fully trust Scottie, but he was tempted to take that leap of faith. He almost felt like he didn't have a choice. Scottie's knowledge of The Assembly was invaluable and he felt he needed to take advantage of it.

"So, what do you say? Are you with me?"

Scottie extended his hand to Markos and let it hang in the balance, hoping Markos would join him. Markos stared at Scottie's outstretched hand, his heart beating fast. His mind was going back and forth, but in a final decision, he took his hand and gave it a hearty shake. They had a deal.

***

A Markos/Scottie alliance? That's one dynamic duo I bet you thought you'd never see.

Do you think it'll last?

What evil plot do you think Scottie has planned?