Disclaimer for this and the next two chapter!

These chapters will be depicting violence, reader discretion is advised.

Okay, so there is a war going on, and there will be battles. Along with the blood I feel maybe I will give a slight heads up, but for more violent, such as the next chapter, I will put a disclaimer, but I tried to keep it PG-13. 

With that said, I would like any feed back on anything that crosses lines, or any complains, throw them at me, I can handle it. Thank you for reading, and I hope you are enjoying this book. 

I love ya.

Playlist:

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

I Ain't Worried by OneRepublic

Run by Snow Patrol

Dangerous by David Guetta feat. Sam Martin 

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I wake up in total darkness. My eyes widen as they gaze up at the ceiling, I am now fully awake, fantastic. The clock flashes almost two in the morning, nearly five hours before I normally woke up for school. With a groan, I lift my pillow and push it against my face. I was so tired yesterday, but now I finally got to sleep, and I'm awake. Nya's words ring in my head, and curiosity gets the better of me.

I place my pillow on the bed, sitting upright to see the view through the window. The moonlight's brilliance enables me to observe the entire backyard, the neighboring trees, and, concealed within those shadows, a figure pacing where the moonlight barely unveils him. Surprised that he showed up, I unlatch my window, and push it up a bit. He shifts around. Two dots of green burning into me. I lift my hand in a half wave; he returns the gesture. Despite wanting to kill me, he took this protection seriously.

Chilled by the cool, dying summer air, I grab a blanket off my bed, securing it around me as I slip on my slippers. Sneaking downstairs, I find Milo by the backdoor, carrying a backpack. He donned a simple bomber jacket, creating the impression of an unspecified soldier.

"What do you think you're doing?" He hisses, his eyes luminous against the window.

I shrug, stepping out into the yard. "I couldn't sleep, and I figured I'd ask you if you want-"

"No." He points back to the house. "Go back inside."

"I want to kno-"

"No."

"Le-"

"No, never, ever, ever invite a kite into your house. Not me, not Nya, not even Levi. Never. Do you understand me?"

"Do you want a blanket?" I finally slip out.

He looks taken aback by that but swiftly recovers, his voice warm with a kindness I doubted came easily to him. "I don't need it."

I beam and tighten mine around me. "But it's warm."

"No." He turns and starts back to the edge of the woods, and I follow. His patience wearing, he wheels on me, staring daggers. "Go back inside."

"No, I'm not scared." I pass him by.

"You should be."

"You're here." I turn my attention towards him. "Nothing to be scared of."

"There's plenty, there might be upwards of 30 rogues coming this way for you."

"How soon do you think you'll know? That they are here?"

"I don't need the company." He's walking next to me now, all the fight leaving his voice.

"We've never properly introduced ourselves, I'm sorry for going into your room without permission, and thank you for saving me that night. I'm Thea." I stop, sticking out my hand, but he keeps walking. "You're an extremely pleasant person."

"You're an extremely irritating one."

"What a charmer you are." My eyes roll at him, but he remains ignorant. I jog past him, get in front of him, and start walking backwards. "Where are you from?"

He keeps his eyes on the tree line. "I fail to understand the purpose of small talk."

"To get to know someone?" His face remains stoic. "I'm from Santa Barbara, that's in California."

"I know where that is." He grumbles before I complete the entire word.

"Hi, I'm Milo, and I'm from..."

He lets out an aggravated sigh. "Rome."

"So, you're Italian."

"No," Now he's offended. "I am not Italian." He does an over dramatized Italian accent. "I am Roman, I was born in Rome under the rule of Emperor Claudius and died under the rule of Nero."

I stop and blink. "That would make you, what? Nearly 2000 years old."

"I'm not aware." He walks past me.

"You must be the oldest living thing on this planet!"

"No, there is older than me." Without glancing back, he continues on his way.

"How did you die?" Considering it inappropriate, I abandoned the question and jogged back to him. "What do you miss the most?"

He looks up at the clear sky. "There used to be more stars."

I gaze up at the most stars I have ever seen in my life, each one emitting such a bright light it has the potential to reach us, lonely people, on a distant planet. With no words to reply with, I turn my gaze towards him, pondering if he's experiencing the same insignificance I feel at that moment. In a slow, but stiff motion, he tilts his head back, those green eyes so bright in the darkness. His mind is somewhere else, a different time, a different place, a different lifetime.

"You have scars, don't you guys heal? Or is that a myth too?" I turn to the topic, a crush existential crushing down on me.

"We do, they are from before I turned. Do I really need to answer all your ridiculous questions?"

"Were you a soldier?" I ignore his question.

His eyes flick to me for less than a second. "In a way."

"Were you, were you a gladiator?" I ask, astonished.

He smiles, genuine smiles. His face broke the hardness, letting his lips split into a toothy grin, although he directed it towards the woods. I can't resist the opportunity to admire it, especially with his captivating expression. "Yes, in my youth I was a gladiator, I'm impressed."

"My dad is a history nerd." My thoughts turn towards them, I glance back at the house, pausing my blinded steps. "Will they be, okay?"

"I believe so, Levi directed us to protect you and them." He comes up next to me.

With a side glance at him, I catch his eyes before he looks away. "Why?"

"You are aware of why."

"I think he thinks there's something about me."

I gaze at my hands. "Something that makes it so you guys can't control me. But," I shift my attention towards him, and this time when our eyes connect, he doesn't avert his gaze. "But I don't understand why."

"I don't either." His voice is low. The presence of a breeze would drown him out. "From my lifetime, I never met a person we could not compel."

"How long have you been here?" We turn and continue our trek toward the woods.

"Here at Hallows Peak? Or with Levi?"

"Both?"

"A few decades here, but a few centuries off and on with Levi. I used to be the type to never stay in one place for an extended period, but I've witnessed everything I've ever desired to see countless times."

"I can't imagine all that you have seen, all the secrets you hold the answer to."

"No, I wasn't everywhere at once; there have been huge historical moments I didn't witness. I've lived with my kind most of the time. Though I fought in wars."

"Of course you did." I roll my eyes. "Because you're a guy."

He shrugs, a faint crease forming on his brow. "Your father, the historian, he may know countless stories, all meticulously documented. However, there is a world beyond those pages, molded by the events of our time on this planet. Wars buried beneath layers of soil, civilizations reduced to smoldering ruins, narratives skewed to favor one over the other. It's truly captivating to witness how these elements have woven together to mold us into who we are today." His eyes glimmer with a mix of awe and sadness as he continues, his voice dropping to a hushed tone. "I've had the privilege of visiting a place that can never be researched, because there is nothing left of it. It lies there, in eternal silence, dead and forgotten, much like us."

"You're not dead or forgotten."

"Yes, and no. Ask Nya more, I have no family alive, not in a long time."

"Nya has a living family?"

A curl, tucked back with the rest of his hair, loosens and falls to his forehead as he shakes his head. "Second thought, I don't think you should ask her. For some reason, she's sensitive about it."

"You wonder why?" I laugh. "This I-don't-care attitude makes you an ass, I hope you're aware."

"Would it be fair to say I don't care?" He grunts.

"Name something you like, let's start with that." His eyes flick up for a second, as if he is considering answering, but he keeps his steps moving. After a minute, I think of something. "Do you guys have powers?"

"Do you ever stop talking?"

"I'm part of something, I'm curious."

"In a sense, yes, some do, though it's not powers."

"How else would you describe it then, Mr. Know-it-all?"

"Work, some can work."

"Is it the reason you mentioned Nya as a mind worker? What does it mean?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure how to respond. It's in the title."

"She can work minds?"

"Happy to be aware that your level of understanding just rivals that of a toddler."

"But what does that mean? Can't you do mind magic too?"

"Not magic." I wait for him to answer, but he keeps stepping forward.

"Are there special kites that can come out in the daylight?"

"As far as I know, no."

"There's a friend..."

"The boy you were talking about when Nya compelled you?"

"Yes,"

I fidget as I realize our journey has begun on the path in my backyard. "His dad hit him the other day, and I saw it happen. Today there was no evidence of it. He had a split lip, I noticed bruises, but today he appeared normal.

Milo freezes. "Did he take anything for it? Did he drink something in front of you?"

I shake my head. "No, but his dad did give him something. I didn't see what, just a flash of red."

Milo ran his hand through his hair, cussing to himself. "I can't deal with this right now, but I'm going to need information on this boy."

"Don't call him a boy, that sounds weird, and there isn't anything else to tell."

"Where does he live?"

"Why?" I step away. "So, you can kill him like you wanted to kill me?"

His head snaps up. "Hush."

"No, let's talk about how you wanted to-"

He put his hand over my mouth. "Shush, do you hear that?"

I shake him off me. "I don't hear anything, stop trying to change the subject."

"Invite me inside." He turns to me with urgency.

"Wha-" I was too bewildered to consider what could have caused him to behave this way.

"Now!"

"Do you want to come inside?"

He scoops me up as if I am a rag doll, and zips to my house, taking me in. After locking the door, he presses his finger to his lips and heads up the stairs. I watch from the window as numerous figures emerge from the darkness. A hand touches my shoulder, causing me to jump.

"It's me, don't worry." Milo stands next to me. "I told your family not to wake up until their alarms go off, they should be safe."

"Can you do magic on them?"

"It's not magic, and I guess we'll find out." He turns his eyes up at the glass door, I follow his gaze.

"So much for not inviting a kite in, huh?"

"Someone had to compel them."

I watch as several of the forms dance in a ritualistic shutter, a few walk around the house, and one has his hands cupped over his mouth. "Are they talking?"

"He's mocking us. Saying we backed ourselves in a corner."

"How? They can't come inside."

"They have other ways of getting us out."

"But I can't be compelled, and there is no way I'm letting him in."

"No," He steps away from me, and towards the front window. "They can burn us out."

"What?" I face him, but he has a cell phone out and pressed to his ear, I can't help but to let out a snicker.

His brows furrow. "Hold on Levi. Is this funny?" He puts the phone down on his chest.

"A gladiator with a cellphone isn't something I've come to expect."

"You're immature." He turns away and begins to talk on the phone.

I turn back to the window and nearly scream.