When I open the door, I see the 'golden trio' there.

"Lua!" Ailes suddenly hugs me tightly. I then find myself in Vox's arms and he rocks in his hands, and then it's Stellare's turn.

"You're going to choke me," I whisper, twisting out of another hug. "Come on in."

I step aside, letting the guys into the room.

"We brought you dessert," Stellare holds out a basket of brownies to me. I love them.

"Also, we made notes for you," Vox holds out notebooks to me.

"Thanks," I smile at them sincerely.

"We asked you if you were going to Lua's, didn't we? What did you say?" Vox indignantly points a finger at Fima and Mor.

"Well, we didn't want to go with you," Fima snorts. "You guys reek of lust. Lua, kick them out."

"Why us? Let him kick you out. You were here first, you're the first to leave!" Ailes is indignant, falling on my bed, and then he yells and gets blown off the bed like a wind.

"What happened?" I run up to him, looking perplexed at the pale Ailes.

"There... there... they are," he whispers, pointing a finger at my bed.

Vox and Stellare jump onto my bed, nearly knocking Fima over. She shoves them, and both guys fall, apparently running over one of the gargoyles. A swarm of gargoyles accompanied by their squeaks fill my room.

"Mother almighty! Can't you be more careful?" I shout angrily, picking up a whimpering gargoyle and cradling it against me. "You almost killed them! You're jerks! You're all going to get the hell out of here if anyone hurts them again. They don't hurt anyone! Don't you hurt them either!"

I kiss a sobbing gargoyle on its rough, puffy cheek, and it rubs its nose against mine. Smiling, I let her go, but the gargoyles are now hiding behind me or perched on my body, whoever is where. I catch three pairs of surprised looks, one indifferent and one full of disgust. Mor doesn't like animals other than his clan, and Fima... that's just Fima. She often doesn't care about anything.

"Become invisible again and fly to my pillow. It'll be safe for you there in the corner," I say to the gargoyles. They happily soar up and disappear as the three boys gulp as they watch. Once I'm sure the gargoyles are settled, I sigh deeply and set the basket on the floor and sit down next to the chair.

"Since you brought me a bunch of food, let's have a picnic. I've never been on a picnic. Who wants brownies?" I hold one out to Mor and he nods happily, settling down next to me. Fima cringes.

"Um...and what, no one will tell how weird this whole thing was? Am I the only one surprised that Lua is controlling the creatures of Seraphus?" Vox waves his hands angrily.

"He doesn't want to talk about it. So if you continue, you'll be kicked out. And... keep talking about it, let me enjoy the show," Fima smiles widely, baring her fangs.

"But aren't you curious why the dark creatures of Seraphus obey you?" Ailes sits down next to me, peering into my eyes. I hold out a brownie for him, but he shakes his head negatively.

"No, not interested. I think I'm kind to them, and I feed them, I play with them, and they chose me because they trust me."

"Yeah, just like children who choose a protective parent," Vox hums, now gingerly lowering himself onto the bed, and Stellare tenses between his legs, leaning back against the bed.

I glare angrily at Vox. This is the last thing I need. I'm about to tell him everything when Ailes starts rubbing against me and snuggles up to me. I have to wrap my arms around him, to keep me from falling to the floor while he's grinning contentedly.

"Don't push him away. He's a fairy, and he's restoring his energy," Stellare asks quietly.

I shift my gaze perplexedly to Fima for her explanation. She always knows everything. She nods at me, confirming Stellare's words.

"Fairies need living energy to regenerate. They can get it from nature, but they recover faster around living beings. Fairies are very vulnerable and sensitive, hence they can retaliate violently if offended and are also very lustful," Fima says.

"Hmm, all right. Let's do it another way then, Ailes?" I spread my legs a little and drag the guy between them. He rests his back on my chest and places his palm on his stomach. I, not moving, just expect him to start hitting on me or something, but Ailes closes his eyes and falls asleep instantly. I look at the guys, not understanding.

"Fairy tears are rare and precious," Vox says softly and muffled, looking at Ailes with tenderness. "When we saw you wounded, we were all nervous. Ailes is the most sensitive of us, and he cried. Fairies lose their powers with tears, so they rarely cry. Their tears can kill, can resurrect, and can heal. Fairies rarely cry because they know their specialty and don't waste their gift for nothing. But apparently Ailes couldn't cope with his emotions and had a nervous breakdown. Now he's weak. And since you, Lua, are the reason why he's so deeply upset, your closeness to him and your energy will be the reason he recovers faster."

Wow. I had no idea fairies were actually so fragile. I always thought Ailes was the most fun and easygoing, but also the most clingy, the most annoying, and the most conniving. But it turns out he's actually sensitive and vulnerable.

"Is he feeding off my power?" I whisper to the guys.

"No," Stellare smiles, shaking his head. "Each of us emits our own warm energy field. Fairies live always among the living, for without such fields they would die. Right now, Ailes is simply in your warm field, and it is energizing him. You're the sun to him right now."

"I see. Well, okay," I shrug my shoulder and pull a slumbering Ailes closer to me. "I guess you want to know what happened to me?"

"We know," Mor says, shoving what seems to be the third brownie into his mouth.

"Yeah, we had a general meeting yesterday," Fima nods. I arch an eyebrow in surprise.

"You don't know," Vox smiles enthusiastically. "I'll tell you about it now. Well, yesterday at lunchtime, we were all rushed into an emergency meeting in one of the halls. The director was furious. Really angry. And he told us that an illusion spell had been cast on you and Seraphus. All of Seraphus' practical spheres had been damaged. He had been assassinated, and not for the first time. But you were also involved in the illusion, so the Headmaster is no longer going to hide things from us. He was very indignant, and I've never seen him like that before. It was creepy."

"The headmaster said it's better for the instigators to confess. He'll give them that opportunity, and the punishment won't be harsh. But if no one confesses, he'll take it to the world court and make it public," Stellare adds.

So the headmaster was telling the truth, and I certainly wasn't dreaming or imagining the conversation between Seraphus and the headmaster. Was there a kiss?

"And that's good, because they should be punished," I say firmly. "What we went through was really scary. Really, I was madly frightened. There were hordes of the dead. Gross."

I shudder in disgust and Ailes squirms in my arms. I calm down quickly, and he goes back to sleep.

"I can't even imagine what you've been through. The dead scare me in general, and I'm made up mostly of light power," Stellare croaks.

"But if you hadn't covered Seraphus with you, he would likely have been badly hurt," Fima says sadly. "The arrow was woven from pure, squeezed light power and poisoned with a long-recovery spell. Such an arrow is very dangerous to Seraphus. And such arrows were made during the war, the first fifty years, while the light forces had powers."

"You made such arrows too, and not only that. You captured our own and raped them, used their powers, squeezed the life energy out of them," Stellare hisses angrily.

"It was you who started the war. We didn't attack you," Fima resents.

"Oh, really? And what you did to the cities bordering your kingdoms? Hmm? You made them slave settlements before the war started. And this was our land. We were defending our kind!"

"Stop it," Vox barks at both of them. "Enough of this. During the war, neither side behaved with grace and decency. Everyone wanted to win and kill each other. But the war is over. We live in peace now, and I want that peace to last as long as possible."

"War is scary," Mor whispers bitterly. "Especially when light and dark powers, half-bloods, live in the same family, and when they love each other. My great-grandfather lost his husband that way, and then died himself, refusing to fight. Families within the clan rebelled against each other. And that's the cruelest thing I know. My grandfather always cries when he talks about his parents. Let's not waste time arguing about who's at fault. It's everyone's fault for allowing this to happen. We're Mother's creatures, and she certainly didn't want us to kill each other. The Headmaster was right, we should live in peace and this is neutral land. There's no need to pollute it with the stench of hatred and anger."

I touch Mor's shoulder and squeeze it. Our eyes meet, and I try to tell him how deeply sorry l am for his loss. My friend nods at me and smiles weakly.

"The werewolf is right," Stellare nods. "War is still a sore subject for many, and there are still fanatics left."

"Dissenters?" I say. Everyone looks at me with interested eyes.

"They call themselves different names," Fima pronounces. "But often, yes, they are dissenters from the present system, and the peace. We keep a close eye on them in our kingdom, but over the years they have learned to hide, and very well. Dissenters can even be people close to you, but you never know until they attack. And they're always sneaky. Although I thought they were seriously penalized for that nowadays. And I could tell by the headmaster's mood that they were going to be punished and drained of their powers."

"I really hope they get caught. It's good that they're telling us about it now. The headmaster mentioned they didn't want to frighten us earlier, but because of your critical condition, Lua, they felt it was necessary to inform us and advise caution. After all... if it had been one of us light ones?" Stellare wrinkles his nose and shakes his head. Vox gently runs a hand through his hair and kisses the top of his head.

"Or the dark ones. Yes, we can fight, and I'm good at fighting, but I couldn't stand the pain of a light-charged arrow. It would cripple me," Fima whispers. "It's probably bad for me to say this now, but I'm glad it was you, Lua. In a situation like this, you're the best option. Any other scenario would have resulted in a scandal and probably started the war again. If someone got hurt, and significantly, the parents wouldn't be silent. There would be bloodshed again. I'm sorry I said that."

"It's okay," I smile at her. "You're right. I was lucky. But it hurt like hell. I couldn't be sedated or anesthetized, the wound and I felt like I was dying. It was... scary. But I really hope these assholes get caught. What are they trying to do? Start another war? But that's unwise at the very least. Uh... why are you looking at me like that? What did I say wrong?"

"Lua," Vox clears his throat and casts a tense look at the others. "Okay, I'll be the one to open your eyes. Your father is one of the dissenters. He's never hidden it, but he made a promise that he would reform and stop provoking the dark ones."

"What?" I whisper in horror. Isengard is a dissenter? However, it's not surprising. I know what he was doing. Did Lua know? Of course, he knew. I mean, he told me what he saw sometimes.

"Yes, he's one of the dissenters. After the war ended, thirteen dark creatures were taken from his cellars, which he experimented on and abused in every way possible," Stellare confirms. "My older brother was the one who found his victims. There was a trial. But since times were hard enough as it was, they let him go and gave him land to keep an eye on, and he was always on the radar."

"I hate him," I hiss. "I hate him. He's the light one, he's an elf, but there's so much filth in him. I hate him. So he wants Seraphus dead, too? But why? The assassination attempt was on him. What did Seraphus do that everyone hates him so much? It's not just the light one, only a dark mage can control an illusion."

"Well, I guess because he fucked my brother," Stellare hums. "Didn't you know, Lua? Ellior and Seraphus were lovers while studying here, and for quite a while. It was such a scandal. Seraphus betrayed his own and came over to our side because of his feelings for my brother. My brother's an asshole, that's all. I've only seen him twice in my whole life. Nobody likes him. None of my brothers. He's an arrogant, vile, selfish bastard. He takes advantage of everyone. I don't think he loved Seraphus. He's just a strategist, and it was important to him to win the demon crown prince over to our side. No, I certainly admire how cold-bloodedly he made Seraphus fall in love with him, but...it's cruel. I like Seraphus. He may be very harsh and short-tempered at times, but he's fair. He doesn't just punish for nothing. He helps. He doesn't look down on us. He doesn't bully us. And even though I'm the brother of the one who betrayed him, who used him, he's kind to me, he helps me, he doesn't hate me."

Swallowing down the unpleasant bitterness, I lower my gaze, not knowing how to feel about this complete story now. After all, all I know is that Seraphus and Ellior were true to each other. Wasn't there love between them? There was, there must have been, because there's no other way. Then why did Ellior set Seraphus up? Why leave him? Why make him suffer for so many years, to be treated like that?

"Seraphus hasn't been forgiven by his father for betraying his family. He couldn't renounce him, but Seraphus is forbidden to return to our lands," Vox informs. "Some consider him a hero who stopped the war. And some, a traitor who helped the light ones kill their loved ones. But the dissenters are worse. They want to fight again. And the strange thing is, even though they hate each other, the light and dark work together to get the war started. Because the dark wouldn't have been able to create such an arrow without the light. So I believe there are two dissenters here. Or more. You never know who they'll be. But they've kept a low profile in the past. I'd forgotten they even existed. So they still haven't settled down. The headmaster said there have been seven assassination attempts on Seraphus in the last year, and the year hasn't even ended yet. But this time he's not going to let their fathers settle things. I'm glad he's going to demand real punishment. They must be punished."

"And it's dangerous for us," Mor says. "If our families find out that this kind of thing is happening within the walls of the House and no one is punished, then we'll all go home and the Headmaster and the others will be out of a job. And to be honest, without education, we'll be lost. I mean, no one taught us how to control our powers, only here can we get the knowledge we need and probably meet...um, love."

Mor instantly blushed to the tips of his ears.

"I'd like to meet a true one too," I whisper, winking at him to smooth over the awkwardness of his confession a bit. "I feel like it's the best thing that could happen to us. After all, the true one becomes your family, and you can start writing a new history of your kind. Oh, and it's easier to raise children in the pods."

"That's not quite true," Stellare hums. "A true partner doesn't mean love."

"And why is that?" Fima squints. "My grandmother is happily married still. Yes, it's been a long time since there have been couples like that, a very long time, but those who were before the war and even in time, and they survived, then they're together and they have many children."

"That's not what I mean." Stellare shakes his head. "It's just... um, if I tell you something, do you promise you won't tell anyone?"

"We won't."

"Of course not."

Everyone shakes their heads in the negative.

"It's not my secret, but you'll all understand. Everything will fall into place immediately. I don't want anyone to feel bad about this. Okay?"

"Elf, Mother Omnipresent, talk already," Fima hisses demandingly.

"Okay," Stellare muffles his voice. "Seraphus and Ellior are true partners."

"What?" Mor shouts out, Fima's eyes widening in shock, as does Vox's. Yeah, I already knew that. So was there a kiss or not? If I wasn't asleep, the chance goes up quite a bit, doesn't it? It turns out that Seraphus kissed me... why? Of course, I don't mind, but...

"I heard that," Stellare assures us. "Heard it myself. I was young, I was twelve. Ellior had come to my fathers' house to settle some political issue. I was running around the house from my babysitters and I heard Ellior yelling. I got curious, so I snuck through the air duct into the office. The fathers were there, two counselors and Ellior. They wanted to force him to marry. But he said: "If I do, I'll die, and the demon will die with me, and then war will not be avoided. Is that what you want?". The fathers began to convince him that this was all in the past and Ellior could move on, have a family and children and such.They said to him, "You will meet your true one." And that's when the brother lost his temper. He yelled that he'd already met him and it was Seraphus. He'd had enough of this shit. He left and slammed the door. After that, he didn't even come and talk to our parents for fifty years. So Ellior and Seraphus are the true ones. That's why Seraphus was banished, but not disowned. If Seraphus dies, Ellior dies too. Those are the rules of true couples. It was only because of Ellior that Seraphus was kept alive. If they were just lovers, Seraphus would have been killed for betrayal. But he was simply banished and forbidden to visit our lands and the lands of the dark ones. So, a true partner is not yet a love."

"But what makes you sure they didn't love each other?" I ask interestedly. "No one can know the real reasons why Seraphus did what he did, and you can't get into your brother's soul, either."

"Lua," Stellare snickers. "I know my brother. Believe me, he doesn't know how to love. He's a block of ice, you know how we call him 'the ice prince'. He really is. And if he loved Seraphus, he would never let him be responsible for what happened alone. Besides, it was the end of the war and Seraphus fed our troops his power willingly to be with my brother. And what did Ellior do? He betrayed him. He could have stood up for Seraphus too, could have sealed the peace treaty with marriage."

"Is that even possible?" Fima frowns. "Seraphus is pureblood dark, Ellior is pureblood light. They just physically can't be together for a long time. They'd kill each other. Poison each other. Am I wrong?"

"Yes, that is true. Ellior, like the fathers, can get headaches after a long stay in the lands of the dark ones and their circle. But their couple is Mother's choice. Could Mother have made such a mistake? I don't think so. That's why I believe that finding your true one isn't everything. You have to love him. My brother can't love, he's only interested in politics and power. He's gearing up to be the next king, and he's full of lovers. He has a harem. He's always been like that. My brothers told me that even during his relationship with Seraphus, Ellior was cheating on him, having fun, and just using him to win the war. None of my brothers love Ellior. No one, and that should mean something."

I press my lips together, because I have no right to say anything. I don't know the prince personally, and Lua has never seen him or known him. We've only heard about him, and not in a good way. No, no, he doesn't kill anyone; he doesn't rape anyone, nothing like that. It's just that opinion differs between me and others on what's right and wrong. The kingdom loves Ellior; they have high hopes for him. But power can cloud the mind, as in the case of Isengard. He continues to torment the Dark Ones, even if it's just my thoughts and guesses, but that's how I feel. I hate him. And as for the Prince and Seraphus, that is none of my business. I have no right to draw any conclusions, neither I nor the guys were there. And even what Stellare heard could be just an echo of the truth. Damn it, how could anyone not like Seraphus? I mean, he's amazing. He's smart, kind, patient, strong, and caring. How? I can't believe Ellior would betray Seraphus so cruelly. I just can't.

Suddenly my thoughts are cut short, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Ailes opens his rich violet eyes sharply, and his pupils dilate. The air around us changes. It grows thicker, heavier, and brings with it the smell of grass and... the stench that was in the illusion. I drop my hand to the floor as the guys continue to discuss Seraphus and Ellior's relationship. My palm touches the damp ground.

"We have to leave! Now!" Shouting, I pick up Ailes and set him on his feet, watching me intently the whole time. The guys flinch and jump to their feet. The gargoyles instantly fly out of their hiding place.

"Lua, what's going on?" Mor asks excitedly.

"Get out of here! Now! Get out of here!" I push Ailes into Stellare's arms and turn to face the gargoyles. Something's wrong. The gloom is gathering around us. And it's happening fast, in a split second.

"Tell Seraphus that we are in danger! Hurry!" I order the gargoyles in one breath, and at that moment everything goes dark before my eyes. I'm sucked into some kind of black hole. I hear the guys screaming. I'm flailing my arms, trying to hold on. But no, I can't do anything. I'm falling. I'm falling into the abyss.