"It has to be her, doesn't it?" Maverick asked Noelle, both of them standing at the foot of Maverick's bed where Gwen lay. "Who else would it be?"

"You're back!" Roman appeared behind them his face splitting into a grin. "Where did you go? What's the secret? You should have seen your faces when -" he stopped, taking in their grave nature. "What's wrong?"

Maverick gave Roman the quick rundown of their conversation with Canya while Noelle approached Gwen. She was so pale, a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Noelle checked for a pulse, wondering what they could do to help.

"You're saying Gwen might be...might be the heir? I mean, another heir? Your cousin?" 

"That's what it sounds like, but with her in the state she's in, there's no way to know."

"Yes there is," Noelle said in a chiding tone. "Now both of you look away."

"Away?" Roman asked, cocking his head to the side. "Why would we need to -"

"Because I'm going to check for the birthmark Maverick has. If Gwen's an heir, she should have it, too. She doesn't need you two ogling her in her fragile state."

Maverick turned at once while Roman's mouth popped open in understanding. "Oooh you're - got it." He turned too, and Noelle pulled the covers back.

It felt awkward to undo the ties on the front of the other woman's tunic - invasive. Once the laces were undone, she pulled the slit open, moving it toward Gwen's left side to expose the skin. Just above her left breast, the tell-tale birthmark of a a star with a swirl in the center. Stomach flipping, Noelle retied Gwen's tunic and spun around.

"It's her. She has it."

Maverick swiveled back around, while Roman peeked over his shoulder to make sure it was safe. "She's Tarvril's daughter?"

"Well she's not Claire's or Bainon's." Roman said. "At least, not that we know of." 

"She's not my sister," Maverick said, frowning. "And I think Bainon and Narissa would have taken her if she was his - even if she wasn't Narissa's. They took Eric, after all." 

"What do we do about this?" Roman asked. "Tell Helena?"

"Someone else knows about this - about her. They wanted to kill us both in one fell swoop." Maverick ran a hand through his hair. "I wouldn't be surprised that Bainon has traitors this far. How else would they know so much about the Militia reforming? They're after all the family I have." 

"Before we do anything we need to save Gwen." Noelle brushed aside the older woman's hair. "She has to beat this - heir or no. We can't let her die."

"And then?" Roman asked.

Maverick's glower darkened. "Then we go to war."

#

Phoenix rejoined Eric after leaving Abigail in the guest room. He sat on Abigail's bed, staring down at his hands.

"What do we do now?" he asked, not looking up as she entered. "What does this mean for me?"

"How are you feeling?" Phoenix asked, sitting beside him. 

"My head hurts. It all makes sense, but at the same time I'm having a hard time believing it."  He scrubbed his face with his hands. "Every time I think I know myself, I find out my life is a lie."

Phoenix thought of Reed and pursed her lips. "We'll just take things one day at a time." 

"Did Abigail know? Who I am?"

"Yes." 

Eric nodded. "Is that why she found someone to replace me?"

Phoenix took Eric's hand in her own, squeezing it tight. "She hasn't replaced you. She just wants you to be jealous. Don't worry about Reed. I think you'll like him. He's not a threat." 

"You've met him?"

"I have. He's pretty cute. But he's a little young for her."  At that moment, Phoenix heard a shuffle at the door and turned. "Trey?"

Trey stood, rubbing sleep from his eyes, looking confused. "Where's Abigail." 

"In my room. Is something wrong? Come here." She held out her arms to him, and he crossed the room, entering into her embrace.

"I had a bad dream." Trey glanced at Eric, a flicker of concern in his grey eyes.

Phoenix pulled Trey up into her lap. "Trey, this is my brother, Ares - you can call him Eric. Eric, this is Trey." Eric gave Trey a soft smile. "Trey was at the execution camp with Abigail when we arrived."

Eric's smile faltered and he jerked upright. "What?"

"He was taken from the orphanage he lived in here in the city. We're not sure why Narissa wanted him." 

"She wouldn't." Eric shook his head. "She wouldn't take a child. Not to execute. It's not in her nature." 

Phoenix diverted her attention to Trey to keep from arguing with Eric. "What was your dream about?" 

Trey rubbed his eyes again, his face screwing up. "A monster." 

"A monster?"

"A big, black monster that sucked up everything around it. It used lightning to hurt everyone and then it ate the castle."

Phoenix snorted. "Sounds like Narissa."

Eric shot her a glare. "Narissa doesn't have lightning. It's more...just energy. Dark energy."

"Dark," Phoenix said with a smirk. She squeezed Trey in a comforting hug. "I won't let any dark monster get you, all right? Do you want to stay with me for a little bit or go back to bed?"

He considered it. "Maybe just stay - for a little bit. I'm not scared or anything, but..." he trailed off, not meeting her eyes. She didn't even mind the little white lie and suppressed a smile.

"The real question is," said Eric, "how do we start up a negotiation between Maverick and Bainon to prevent a war between the Militia and the Army?"

"I don't know. I think we'll have to talk to Bainon first, since he's the one on the throne, to see if he's even open to taking on a new heir - that is, assuming Tarvril doesn't have an heir."

"Tyrella said her son was no threat to my claim to the throne," Eric said. "I can tell when people are lying now. I believed her."

"There's something about it that bothers me though," Phoenix said, swaying back and forth with Trey still resting against her. His eyes were beginning to droop. "She keeps insisting her son isn't a threat, but who says she has only one son - one child? I could say my brother is no threat to the throne because you are no threat to the throne. I can't say Maverick isn't a threat to the throne because that'd be lying."

Biting down on his lower lip, Eric nodded. "Maybe we should speak to Tyrella together. Maybe we can figure out her angle, and then we can go to Bainon, and then we can send word to Maverick."

"One step at a time," Phoenix said, catching onto the idea. "I guess we don't have much choice. We can't just storm into the throne room and demand they take us seriously."

"Well..." Eric gave a so-so move with his hand. "I mean, we really could, but not unless we get rid of Aundreya. She's determined to be queen. If she found out Maverick was the heir, she'd be all over him the moment he arrived. And if I'm honest, I think she's far more frightening than anything Narissa may or may not have done." 

"I don't think Aundreya having power is ever going to be a safe idea," Phoenix agreed. "Maybe we can speak to Bainon without her or Narissa?"

"Start with Bainon, add Narissa, lock Aundreya up in the dungeon."

"With a deaf guard."

"Deal." Eric grinned at her. "I don't think we should wait. Will you come with me, now?"

Phoenix glanced down to see Trey had fallen back to sleep. She nodded, lifting him like the little rag doll he was and putting him in Abigail's bed. 

"Phoenix," Eric said, hesitating as they stepped out onto the balcony. "What if this goes horribly wrong."

"Castor and Altair will be watching," she said, sounding more confident than she felt. "They'll come for us if we can't handle it on our own." She paused, thinking. "And if we can handle it on our own, I pray it doesn't come down to us versus them in any sort of altercation."

"Because you don't know if we can win?"

"Because I'm afraid we would win." Phoenix took Eric's hand as they stood side by side. "I don't think anyone can stop us if we're working together, and the more I've heard about Bainon and Narissa, the more I think that they aren't doing things the best, but they could be a lot worse. I don't want to be an assassin." 

"What happens if we aren't working together?" Eric asked, frowning at her. "We've disagreed before - and it hasn't ended well."

"Let's hope it never comes to that." Phoenix let go of his hand, an uncomfortable twisting in her stomach. 

Thanks for your patience! Had a full day and couldn't get this up until late.

Gwen is officially the heir, Maverick is out for blood, and Phoenix and Eric are *currently* united toward the same goal! 

What do you think, is their plan going to go well? Do you think they'll be able to pull it off before the Militia arrives? Do you think Gwen should be queen just because she's oldest - or are you still backing Maverick? 

Also, anyone of the opinion that maybe Bainon should remain king, but maybe with a bit of guidance and less Narissa?

Talk now, peeps. Your opinion matters!