DEDICATED TO THE BEST AND MOST DAMNED DEDICATED THEORYCRAFTER IN THE WHOLE OF WATTPAD LAND:

KHMaster101

---

Leah didn't know how long it was until the Slayers picked her up.

More specifically, Iyarin, the female Slayer who'd brought Kieran down for Asriel.

"Leah," she said gently, far more gently than Leah had ever expected to hear out of her mouth. "It is almost dawn. In Emrys and Asriel's absences, people will ask questions. We need to be prepared."

Leah nodded. She tried to get to her feet, but she barely had the will. Unsteady, it was Iyarin who kept her standing, making up for Leah's own incompetence. Tir walked over and lifted Kieran up, slinging him over his back with ease.

Leah closed her eyes. "Will he be okay?"

"Yes," said Iyarin. "Becoming a Slayer is... disorienting. You Shatter, yet you are whole. Your mind is in pieces, yet it is held together by Light. It may be a while before he is ready to face reality, but he will return to you. You have not broken him as you feared. Pride would have done far worse."

Eyes on the floor, Leah mumbled, "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"The Command Mark bonds us," said Iyarin. "We are sensitive to your wishes, even if you do not verbalise them."

"And is it because of the Command Mark that you're helping me?" asked Leah.

"Though it may sway our sympathies to you, no," said Iyarin. "For far too long, Asriel was using Pride to tear at us, at the Light between the pieces of our minds. Shattering again would have been far kinder. With the Mark on you, it seems unable to do that."

Curiosity was the only thing keeping Leah moving, back towards the spiral staircase.

"Why is Teridian blood resistant?"

Iyarin shrugged. "I do not know. I am not the oldest Slayer, nor the wisest, but the Teridians were said to be the physical race of the three. You are more grounded. The humans are the race of the mind, of intellect, and the Radiants were the race of the sun. Perhaps it is to do with that."

Leah glanced back at Kieran, draped over Tir's back.

"Perhaps."

Dawn had broken when they reached the surface.

The other three Slayers were waiting at the top of the spiral staircase. Radiants were already milling about the corridors, throwing many curious stares in the Slayer's direction.

"What's the plan?" asked the shorter Slayer in a low voice.

They all seemed to defer to Iyarin, who readjusted her grip on Leah. "We could tell the truth, but I feel that exposing the knowledge of Pride and the Marks would be dangerous. The aftermath of last night is proof enough of that."

Leah didn't miss the sideways glance in her direction. "Asriel and Emrys were the only two who knew about the Command Mark, right?" The Slayers nodded. "There were four others on the council, not including yourselves, Emrys and Asriel, correct? Do you have authority to call a meeting with all Radiants?"

"We do."

Leah nodded slowly. "Then I think I know what we need to do."

*+*+*+*

An hour later, and every Radiant within the League was assembled in the main hall, the same space as Kieran's trial had occurred.

They knew something had happened. There was too much nervous conversation, too many questions that Leah kept hearing over and over. One in particular stood out.

Where is Emrys?

The other four members of the council were more than a little surprised when they were pulled aside to a back room where Leah and Kieran waited with the Slayers. Outraged was one word for their responses to Leah's fabricated story, but none of them seemed willing to argue with the Slayers.

"We need to elect a new leader," said Iyarin to them, cutting off their protests. "You know the chaos that we'll fall into without one. We need to be confident. Prepared. And that includes making decisions now in the few minutes we have."

"None of you are willing to take command?" said the Radiant with the teal hair. He reminded Leah so much of Sef. "Emrys trusted you five far more than he did us."

"You will not be alone," said Iyarin. "You will have our support. You will have the support of the council. Essentially, what we need is a figurehead. A mouthpiece for the council's judgements."

That had been the first part of Leah's plan. Without knowledge of the Mark that controlled them, the Slayers appeared to be fearsome warriors of Light whose loyalties Emrys had commanded. With Emrys absent, Leah had guessed that the other council members wouldn't doubt their motives. Not with the way they stood as a group. A solid entity, not five individuals.

Leah's eyes shifted to Kieran, sitting with Tir in the corner and corrected herself.

Six individuals.

"I understand," said the teal-haired Radiant. He glanced at the other three. "I am willing to take this responsibility if no one else wants it. I will not place myself above you. As Iyarin says, I will simply be the mouthpiece."

There was a small discussion, but ultimately, the other three agreed.

Leah let relief sag her shoulders.

Iyarin nodded. "Good. Then we will proceed with the meeting. Remember, remain strong. We need to show no weakness. If you have any questions about my statements, save them for after, and I will explain until you are satisfied. Are we agreed?"

"We are agreed."

"Then let us proceed." Iyarin's gaze caught Leah's. "Leah, I would wish for you to observe the proceedings. Tir will stay and watch over Kieran."

Leah hesitated. This hadn't been part of her plan. That had been for her to remain out of sight with Kieran as Iyarin delivered the story, but in front of the councilmembers, she couldn't decline.

She followed Iyarin and the other three Slayers out into the main hall, well aware of the two spots of Light remaining in the back room. As the Mark sank in, she was becoming more accustomed, more attuned. Kieran's shock reverberated through it, so lost and agonised that she didn't see how he was ever supposed to recover.

Silence overcame the hall as they entered, Iyarin with Leah at the head of the group, two Slayers close behind her, and the third leading the lagging councilmembers. Every pair of eyes was on them as they took their places at the head of the room, the councilmembers on one side, the Slayers on the other, divided by the painfully obvious absences of Emrys and Asriel between them. Leah stayed behind Iyarin, keeping her eyes trained at the floor.

Iyarin stepped forward. "Radiants!"

A pause. Leah squeezed her eyes shut as Iyarin continued.

"Thank you for your attendance. I will not waste words. Last night, a tragedy occurred within the walls of the League. For reasons we are not entirely sure of yet, Asriel betrayed us. We believe that he had intentions to create new Slayers with no loyalties to Emrys via use of the ritual. He abducted two Radiants, Kieran and Leah, and took them to the temple, where he was successfully able to turn Kieran into a Slayer."

There was no sound from the crowd as Iyarin spoke. Not one Radiant broke the fragile silence as her voice wove the story

Iyarin took a moment, steadying herself, Leah could tell, and when she spoke again, there was a waver to her voice. Leah was no longer sure whose pain she was feeling--her own, or the Slayers through the bond.

"Emrys went down to the temple to confront Asriel. They fought. In the end, Emrys was able to Shatter Asriel and kill him, but it cost him far too much Light. Emrys ran out of Light a few minutes after I arrived, and he Shattered."

Iyarin collected herself. "Though I could not save him, Emrys was able to warn me. He said that Asriel had been able to manipulate Light in a way we have never seen before, using it to get inside the very heart of a Radiant to influence and control them." She paused. "He also said that the Lightless parasite is not real."

Whatever silence had been holding the room snapped under the weight of a thousand voices.

Iyarin struggled to speak over it. "Further evidence to support his claim will be released in the following days, but for now, any and all experiments on the Lightless will be stopped for eventual rehabilitation and release. They are not to be treated as infected or dirty, and for now, all investigations into the Enlightening ritual will be halted. Research will be redirected to the study of Light and its capabilities so we may better understand it.

"As for leadership, the council has elected a new leader. Councilman Sairil, please step forward."

The teal-haired Radiant stood and stepped forward.

Iyarin called to the crowd. "Are there any objections to the council's decision?" For the slightest moment, the voice of the masses hushed. "Then it is decided! Sairil, take your place!"

Leah watched as Saisil stood and moved to the chair where Emrys had once stood. The one beside him was still empty, and it was then that she realised: they hadn't elected a second to take Asriel's position.

Sairil remained standing when he reached Emrys's previous place, spreading his arms.

"The position of second much also be filled," he said with the smallest sideways glance at Iyarin. "For my second, I would choose Leahlai Iridila."

At the sound of her full name, Leah went still. The murmurs of the crowd were loud in her ears. She barely felt Iyarin's nudge as the Slayer moved over, the slightest jerk of her head towards Asriel's chair.

Iyarin's words to not question anything until after--to remain strong despite doubts in front of the crowd--they hadn't been for the council. They'd been for her.

Leah looked to Iyarin. "I can't--"

"You can, and you will," said Iyarin quietly. "Now move."

With Iyarin's help, Leah ended up at Asriel's chair, feeling completely and utterly exposed as Sairil continued speaking.

"Though it is a tragic loss, Emrys has given us all we need to move forward together," said Sairil. "This is a new dawn for all Radiants--not just the purebloods, but all who share our blood. No more will we be decieved by lies. No more will we persecute the Lightless. Together, we will move forward. We will learn more about our Light than even the Ancients knew, and we will survive!"

Leah tuned out the rest. She trapped her trembling hands between her knees and stayed like that until the meeting was adjourned. The councilmembers remained behind with two of the Slayers to answer questions, and when Iyarin went to help Leah stand, Leah shook her off.

Only once she was in the back room, out of the eyes of the crowd, did Leah let herself crack.

"How dare you put that on me!" said Leah, slapping a hand away. "Why didn't you tell me? I know it wasn't their idea, so why?"

"Because we knew you wouldn't agree beforehand, or that you'd find a way out of it," said Iyarin. "But you need to be on the council. With the Command Mark, you are the one we follow. What if the council were to become corrupted like Asriel? You don't think it would look suspicious if the Slayers were suddenly following a girl who had nothing to do with the council?"

"I don't want the Command Mark!" said Leah. "Give it to Saisil!"

Iyarin gave her a hard look. "Even if you don't want to admit it, you know as well as we do that we can't do that. Emrys was only immune to Pride's influence because he had mastered his Light. There is no one else we can trust with this responsibility. If there was, you would have suggested and yielded it already."

She knew they were right. She'd already known it. She just hadn't wanted to admit it.

Leah just shook her head and buried her face in her hands. "I can't--I need air. I need sunlight."

None of the Slayers stopped her as she ran out of the door and headed for the courtyard garden, but she didn't get far before someone else did.

"Leah!" called Illiya. "Leah, hey, wait up!"

Leah didn't turn, but Illiya caught up and grabbed her arm. Most of the Radiants hadn't left the hall yet, leaving them in relative privacy. But as Illiya grabbed Leah's other arm and pressed her back into the wall, Leah knew something was wrong.

"Okay," said Illiya, a strange glint in her eyes. "So what in the Light was that all about? Why are you the second?"

The hairs on the back of Leah's neck prickled. "Because they picked me?"

"Oh, really?" said Illiya, snarling. "So what about what really happened in the temple?" Leah blinked, panic rising that she'd forgotten some small detail, a hole in the story. "I know that Slayer was lying. I know my uncle. He told me things, and he never would have done anything like that. If anything, it would have been Emrys that betrayed him!"

"Your... uncle?" It clicked. "Asriel?"

"Yes, Asriel!" said Illiya, her fingers tightening on Leah's arms. "So how about you start telling the truth about what really happened? He turned Kieran into a Slayer?" She snorted. "Are you kidding? And how about you, why would Asriel take you down there with him? Were you the one behind it, and when you got caught, you blamed it all on Asriel?"

"I didn't--Asriel thought I knew too much, he--"

"Dirty, Teridian brat," spat Illiya. "You aren't good enough for this League, let alone be a second. I was going to be Asriel's second, did you know that? He never, in a million years, would have chosen you. The least you can do is tell the truth!"

Leah felt Illiya's Light burning into her skin as she superheated it. Leah couldn't find her voice to cry out. Her legs weren't holding her up. Illiya's grip was. There was no mercy on Illiya's face, no pity. Just pure, utter hatred.

And then, shock.

Leah slid down the wall as Illiya's grip slackened, wrapping her knees against her chest with her arms. Everything was fuzzy. Everything except the sixth bright point of Light a few metres to her right.

"You're going to back off right now," said Kieran, his form haloed in Light. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll leave the League before I make you."

Illiya staggered a few steps back as Kieran took her ground.

"I'm going to find out what happened," said Illiya. Footsteps followed her retreating voice. "And when you do, you're all going to regret it. All of you!"

Kieran's halo faded. He moved forward, crouching before her. Leah winced as Kieran placed his hands over the skin Illiya had blistered, the pain subsiding as a soft, amber glow radiated from his fingertips. Her mind sharpened as her skin around the injury crystallised, somewhat like a scab.

Silent, Kieran moved on to the gash across her bicep, the one she'd dropped her Mark with.

Leah couldn't take the silence. She could feel him through the Mark, but she couldn't understand it. She didn't know what to make of it. The shock, she'd understood. This gentle warmth spiked by icy shards she couldn't read.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as Kieran tended to her arm, the thin line disappearing under hardened Light. "I should have thought of something else."

"Like what?"

His voice caught her off guard. It sounded so normal. So... Kieran.

"I don't know."

Kieran's fingers lingered on her arm, sliding down to her wrist where they caressed it like it was an impossibly thin piece of Light that the slightest breath would break.

"There was nothing else you could have done," said Kieran, his eyes still on her wrist. "I need you to understand that."

"But--"

"But there is something you can do now," said Kieran. "You have to keep the Command Mark, Leah. You know you have to."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't want to. I can't be Emrys. I can't lead."

"You won't have to," said Kieran. "The council will do that. You just have to make sure the Slayers are safe."

"Safe?" said Leah. The idea seemed ridiculous. "Kieran, if they aren't safe, no one is."

"Not in a physical sense," said Kieran. "Physically, in their Light, they are strong. Nearly unbeatable. But having your will tied to someone elses? Knowing that, if they want, they can take complete and utter control of them? Can you imagine what that's like? Because honestly, it's terrifying."

His fingers slipped down to her hand, twining with her own. "The others are scared. They're probably a lot better at hiding it than I am, but they're scared. They trusted Emrys, but every time a new leader comes along, they get understandably anxious, but they trust you. They believe in you. Did you know that every time the Mark is passed on, the Slayers have the chance to end their own lives?"

Leah lifted her eyes to study Kieran's face. She understood the ice now. "But you're the Preserver. You won't have that option."

Kieran shook his head. "I won't." He breathed. "I'm scared, Leah. The idea of eternity doesn't sit well with me. I need you to have the Mark, if only for my own sanity."

Leah sighed. "I don't think I was going to yield it anyway. I didn't like the idea of anyone else being able to control you. But you're strong, Kieran. Even Pride said it. You could use Light without Pride's help, and apparently that used to Shatter most Ancients. Maybe we could work on it. See if there's a way to make you more resistant to the Command Mark."

Kieran shuddered. "Maybe. After Pride being in my mind for so long, I can't say I'm keen on the idea of something else controlling me again." He sighed. "And just because I know you want to ask, I asked Tir. He said the ritual was indeed to 'cure' the Lightless, and that it's possible to imbue Light in other Radiants though. Pride probably got to someone designing the ritual and altered it to suit its purpose. The high priests of the Ancients likely assumed the changes in the Radiant they cured was the Sun's 'enlightenment'."

Leah couldn't help her smile. "Thanks for asking."

"No problem."

A pause. "What do we do now?"

Kieran was silent for a long minute. "I think we've earned a break for at least a day. Would you like to go to the gardens with me? Apparently you can get to them without using the sun tunnels."

It sounded so much like the old Kieran that Leah couldn't stop herself.

She followed her instinct, squeezing Kieran's hand with her own, watching his face as he glanced up for the first time and met her eyes.

She still had so many questions. So many things that needed answers--her Teridian blood, what would happen to the Lightless, where Pride had come from, if there was any way to unbind it from Radiant blood, if that was even a good idea at all--but right now, this was enough.

Leah leaned forward and kissed him.

She pulled their entwined fingers to her chest, right over her heart, holding him to her. A frozen moment later and Kieran's arm was around her waist, pulling her against him, his hand on the back of her neck, cradling her head. His skin was so much warmer, his touch so different despite being the same fingers Pride had used.

Even after they broke away, their breaths still mingled. The ice was gone from Kieran's end of the bond. The soft warmth of happiness melted it away. Through his eyes, she was strong. She was smart.

She wasn't going to let him down.

Leah smiled at him. "I hope that you know that just because you're a Slayer now, it doesn't mean you're excused from expedition duty," she said. "Now we've got the ancient's code downpat, we're going to find all the secret doors you missed the first time around."

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? You aren't going to be busy on the research team?"

"As the second, I'm excusing myself from that duty," said Leah. "Though you're going to have to teach me to deal with Shattered. And filter Light. And--"

"Okay, okay," said Kieran, holding up his free hand. "But you're not allowed to complain about the running."

Leah slapped him on the arm. Kieran smirked, but it dropped a second later.

"What is it?"

He frowned. "Maybe I should have detained Illiya. I mean, she just attempted to torture the new second."

"I don't think it would have been a good idea," said Leah. "You healed any evidence we had of it, and the others might have just thought we were trying to keep her silent. It'd look like we were hiding something."

"I guess," said Kieran. "We're going to have an interesting week or two as the League settles again. You sure you're up for it?"

"Not at all," said Leah. "But after you, Asriel and Emrys doing my head in for the last few weeks trying to work out what in the daylight was going on, it should be a piece of cake. Right?" She smiled. "If nothing else, I did what I always wanted to do."

"And what was that?" said Kieran.

"I helped save the Lightless," said Leah. "Granted, it wasn't how I expected it to go down, but... I'm glad it happened this way. Gale will get Pirra back, I think this repays Ash, and I sort of even came through on the Lightless breakout for Dusk."

Kieran looked at her. "You told Dusk you'd break out the Lightless?"

"Um, yes."

Kieran shook his head. "I think you need to fill me in as we walk to the gardens. Corridors are nice and all, but I think we're going to get trampled if we stay out here much longer. Care to join me?"

He stood up and pulled Leah to her feet.

"Look at you," said Leah, unable to help her grin. "You didn't even have to steal my notebook to ask me out this time."

Kieran eyed her. Though the Mark told her what he was going to do, Leah didn't try to stop it as he stepped forward and kissed her again.

*+*+*+*

THE END

*+*+*+*

A/N - SUPER LONG A/N OF COOKIE-NESS INC NEXT PART. 

READ IT DAMMIT. 

Vote! Comment! 

LET ME KNOW IF THE ENDING SUCKS OR DOESN'T FEEL LIKE AN ENDING PLS. 

I'm sorry if it felt rushed ._.