[edited: 11/07/2017]

It was mid-afternoon by the time that Maksim reached Astrakane, and as soon as he did, he made sure to separate himself from the other warlocks and witches. Only Tykon remained with him as they began to explore the small town—and small it was, with only a few crumbling buildings and wildflowers that had clearly not been tended to engulfing the cobbled pathways.

"I hardly doubt that my brother would stay here for very long," he thought aloud, eyeing a rundown bookstore whose walls were consumed by vines and moss. "He is not one for quaint towns."

"Which is precisely why he may be here," Tykon argued. His brilliant blue hair looked incredibly out of place in a town where everything was decaying. "He knows you would not think to look here."

"Perhaps," Maksim said, though he didn't sound very convinced. "We should use a tracking spell. If any dark magic has been used, we can find out where exactly it was."

His friend nodded and Maksim held his palm out, preparing himself. A moment later, a blaze of white sparks erupted from his palm and rose into the air, creating an orb of silver fire that began to float towards the wooded area in front of them. Tykon smirked at Maksim mischievously, and the two began to follow it, their gazes never leaving the glowing ball in front of them.

When their feet moved from the stone to the soil, the orb moved further away until it was the only thing visible in the shadows. Maksim couldn't help but notice how much darker this forest was compared to the one in Astracia, where there were plenty of gaps in the trees for the sunlight to pass through. Here, there was none; instead, the pair were buried beneath a dark canopy of leaves, and it was difficult to remember that the sun was still up; that above them, the sky was still pink rather than deep purple.

"This is more like it," Maksim muttered to himself, eyeing the darkness surrounding him and imagining Ackmard and his comrades hiding in the midst of it. The further they walked, the more silent it became and the colder Maksim felt. It was as though the life had been sucked from the heart of this woodland and all that was left was dead foliage and oblivion. The leaves were not vibrantly-hued and there were no streams nearby. It was an endless abyss of trees and blackness. He thought that his brother would fit in quite well here. 

The light shifted suddenly, taking them into a small clearing where thick logs lay, charred as though they had been burnt. The stench of sulphur stung Maksim's nostrils, and beside him, Tykon coughed. "Dark magic," he whispered in a hoarse voice.

Maksim nodded in agreement. "They have been here recently. Very recently."

Anxiety rose in the pit of his stomach, so suddenly that his breath was taken from him for a moment. He had not seen his brother in months. By now, the dark magic would have taken its effect on him; he would no doubt be worse than he had been before, and though Maksim was not quite afraid of his brother, he was not exactly looking forward to their reunion either—if there was to be one, of course. It was not quite his newfound abilities that made Maksim uneasy, though. It was the idea of looking into his brother's eyes and knowing that he could not save him from himself. It was the idea of seeing his elder brother, whom he had loved and hated ever since he knew how, and knowing that any part of him that Maksim had once known was long gone now. It was the idea of looking into his colourless eyes and seeing the potential for destruction inside of him, all the while knowing that they shared the same blood.

The orb vanished then, extinguishing any light they had once had so that everything around them faded into indistinguishable silhouettes. Tykon's blue magic lit up the clearing soon after and Maksim cast a grateful glance in his direction.

He knelt down, brushing a finger over one of the logs so that when he took it away, it was covered in black dust. "It is still warm. They cannot have gotten far."

"I will check the surrounding area. You stay here." Tykon disappeared into the darkness, leaving Maksim to create his own light. Before he could, though, the sound of footsteps treading on the damp ground caused him to straighten up and turn. He had already known they wouldn't be Tykon's, but he still paled when he found his brother standing in front of him.

Ackmard lent against the nearest tree, a smug smile painted beneath his dark stubble. His eyes were bottomless, absorbing any light that hit them. Maksim wondered if they would swallow him up if he looked into them for too long. "If it is not my little brother, at last," he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. Maksim could see his muscles straining under his black coat even from the smallest of movements. Last time he had seen him, he had been scrawny and nothing at all like the broad man who stood in front of him now.

"I was not expecting you to be so easy to track down, I must admit," Maksim responded finally, his voice as steady as he could force it to be. "Not that I am complaining."

"You might have tracked me down, Brother, but I won't be going home to Mummy anytime soon." His posture straightened and he took a few solid steps towards Maksim. He could smell the dark magic radiating off of him as though he hadn't bathed in months. Maksim didn't suppose he had; evil warlocks obsessed with power tended not to worry about such insubstantial things.

"And I was so looking forward to a family reunion," Maksim said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "How disappointing."

"Are you not wondering why I came back to see you especially?"

"I am your little brother, and the better brother. What more reason could there be?" As he spoke, something bubbled inside of him, something more than just anger and hatred, something that made Maksim want to hit his brother and never stop, something that scared him because he was not sure what kind of person it made him.

"If that is what you wish to tell yourself, I will make no argument. However, the truth is that I was curious," he said lightly, though his eyes glistened with something that was not light at all. He circled Maksim, eyeing him from every angle. Maksim was growing tired of his melodramatic mannerisms and wondered if he had been watching one too many plays at the local theatre.

"You know what they say about curiosity." He turned to his brother again. "It killed the cat."

"The cat, perhaps, but not the concerned big brother with an immense amount of dark magic."

"Concerned big brother?" Maksim scoffed.

"Well," he paused, "you did not think I wouldn't find out about your little mortal girlfriend, did you?"

Maksim's eyes flashed, only for a second, but it was long enough to know that Ackmard had seen. "How did you—?"

"I have my sources," he answered as though he had already been expecting the question. "You see, I am just making sure that my dear little brother isn't going to get his heart broken by a stupid little mortal girl. Surely you must understand my apprehension?"

"I do not see what she has to do with anything," he frowned, his disconcertion causing him to forget that he was supposed to be cold and indifferent.

"Perhaps not yet, but you will."

Maksim stiffened, glaring as he wondered why on Refilyn his brother cared about Remy. The last thing he needed was for her to get caught up in his evil. Enough damage had been done already. "If this is about your hatred for mortals, you have no reason to worry. I have no interest in the girl."

"It is said that people glance to the left when they lie." Ackmard stepped forward, so close that he could feel his icy cold breath on his skin. "You looked to the left."

"I was not aware that you were such an expert on these things. In fact, I thought you were too busy running around with your brainless clan and acting like a spoiled little boy who has not gotten his own way to care about anything else at all."

"I am hurt." He feigned injury on his chest, stumbling backwards. "I care about a lot of things. For instance, I care about what might happen to you if you do not stop tracking my 'clan' and I."

"I have been tracking you for months, and the most I have ever gotten is a headache from your stupidity."

"I think that Elthar would disagree, don't you?"

Maksim remembered how Elthar had injured him so much that he had bled, and heat rose to his cheeks. "He got lucky," he lied. "I was distracted by his horrific leather pants. I would highly recommend that you have a word with him about those, by the way. They ruin your credibility immensely."

Ackmard pretended to ignore this, instead tilting his head to the side curiously. "Why are you so desperate to find me, Brother?"

"My mother wants you home. Needless to say, I have different views on the matter."

Maksim crossed his hands behind his back subtly and allowed his magic to spark between them. However, just as he was about throw it at Ackmard, he was wrestled to the floor, his back clashing with the soil painfully.

His brother was so close that he could not look at his whole face without his vision blurring. His forearm was pressed forcefully to his neck, causing Maksim to have to gasp to drive enough air into his lungs. "Do not take me for a fool, Maksim. Your silly little tricks will not work on me, nor will your words," he snarled, his expression viciously contorted so that Maksim barely recognised him—he had never seen his face when it had not been smooth as stone, not since he was a child. "Do not follow me again. You are my brother and I do not wish to harm you, but do not think that I will not. Oh," he added as an afterthought, "and if I were you, I would not mention this little run in to Mother. We both know that she might not handle it so well."

Before Maksim could respond, he was gone, leaving only a swirl of smoke in his stead. He let out a breath he had not known he had been holding and stood up, brushing himself down with a scowl just as Tykon returned from in between the trees.

"There was no sign of anything." He looked disappointed. "Did you find much?"

"Nothing," Maksim gulped in response, trying to get his breath back. If people knew that he had seen his brother, they would only be disappointed when they found out that he had let him go. He did not want to have to tell his mother that he had failed her again. "We should get back to the others. If the Dark Ones were here, they are not anymore, and I do not enjoy wasting my time."

Tykon nodded and the two headed back the way they had come, the glow of their magic illuminating the woods so that the shadows seemed to move each time they did. Maksim was glad when they emerged from the forest and the sky was the only thing above him again.

* * *

"I don't think Maksim's mother will be too happy if she finds out you've brought me here," Remy said as a glass of red liquid was placed in front of her. By the looks of it, she was in some sort of dimly lit pub with stained glass windows and unevenly bricked walls. Annika sat beside her with a similar looking drink, after having convinced her that Maksim's mother wouldn't be home for another few hours.

They were hunched in a corner, Remy with her oversized cloak on and hood up so as to avoid anybody noticing her, but so far, it did not seem to be going well; Annika's beauty had caught the eye of more than one person already.

"Hilda trusts me," she responded quietly, her brunette curls shimmering against the lamp—Remy assumed that's what it was, with a silvery glow and beaded lampshade, though in Astracia she could never be quite sure. "If I thought you would be in danger here, I would not have brought you."

"I'm surprised you would even think about disobeying her." Remy eyed her crimson drink, not daring to take a sip even when Annika did. "You don't seem to respond well to her disapproval."

"You and Maksim are alike," she pointed out without acknowledging what Remy had even said. "You mock people, including each other, because you find it easier than being kind."

Remy had never really thought that she was unkind before, though she knew she wasn't affectionate and sweet the way that Annika was. She would never wish to be, either. She wanted to point out that perhaps mocking people and having a sense of humour was better than being false, but decided against it. "You don't know anything about me," she said instead, rather defensively. "Please don't pretend you do."

"I wasn't trying to be rude." Her golden eyes softened. Remy wondered how exactly she managed to act so innocent all the time. "I'm sorry."

Remy ignored her, leaning her head against the wooden table tiredly. She did not want to be sat in a tavern with Annika; she wanted to lie in her own bed, not having to deal with things that weren't even supposed to exist. She noticed that a raven-haired witch was staring at her a few seats away and turned back to Annika to swallow down her panic. She wasn't sure what would happen if people discovered her, and she didn't want to find out.

"How did you and Maksim meet, anyway?" There was another underlying question in her tone, and her plump lips pursed as though she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. If Remy didn't know any better, she might have thought that Annika was jealous, but that would be impossible; she was beautiful in every way possible whereas Remy was plain and boring, just like everybody else in her own world.

"I was on the beach and so was he," she said simply. "I should have minded my own business, but I didn't. That's all there is to know." She wondered if she meant that, if she regretted her curiosity. She wasn't sure if she could regret anything that lead her here, even when she was so frightened. She knew that she would never get an opportunity to see a new world again.

"He must have cared about you to push you through that portal and bring you here rather than leave you."

His words from earlier today echoed in her ears, a little too loud for Remy's liking. I should have left you in your little mortal world. Finally, she sighed. "I'm not sure Maksim cares about anybody, not even himself."

"I thought that too, at first," she said gently, and for the first time upon meeting her, Remy did not completely hate the sound of Annika's voice, "but I'm starting to wonder now if he's just too afraid to care, or perhaps he just doesn't give people a chance because he has learnt too much from his mother."

"I think you have too much faith in people. Sometimes, people just aren't very kind, and there's no reason or excuse for them; that's just the way they are." Remy wasn't sure whether she was talking about Maksim or herself.

"We all have kindness in us when it matters. Maksim had kindness in him when he saved you from the Dark Ones. Perhaps he is not kind all of the time, but he would never do anything to intentionally hurt anybody."

"Hasn't he ever hurt you?"

Annika faltered, her golden eyes darkening so that they almost looked brown. "He says things that hurt me sometimes, yes."

"But isn't that just because he doesn't feel the same way that you do? That's not necessarily his fault." Remy traced a light finger over the top of her glass, not realising what she had said until she heard Annika's wounded voice.

"How much has he told you about us?" Her cheeks were flushed, her chin wobbling slightly.

Remy felt slightly guilty and cursed herself for never thinking about what she was saying before she said it. "Nothing, it was just a guess. Sorry."

"So it is that obvious, then, that he will never love me the way that I love him." Something in Remy's expression must have confirmed it for her, because she looked down sadly, her fingers fidgety on her lap. "It doesn't matter," she said after a moment. "We will be married. My father and Hilda will make sure of it."

This took Remy aback, and she frowned, almost spilling her drink. "You're getting married?"

Annika nodded. "Maksim has not agreed to it yet, but his mother refuses to give up, and so do I."

"So you're trying to force him into a marriage even though you know he doesn't love you?" Under her breath, she muttered, "whoever said romance wasn't dead?"

"It is complicated. If Maksim and I marry, we will have a much greater chance at being on the Council, and it will benefit our parents greatly."

"Maybe my world is different to yours, but I don't think that's a reason to marry someone. Maksim doesn't love you, and if he needs convincing by his mother, he shouldn't be forced into it."

Annika looked as though she was going to respond, but before she could, her gaze fell to something behind Remy. "It's late. We need to get going before Hilda returns. Finish your drink."

Remy scowled at the liquid and pushed it away. "No thank you."

Annika nodded and lead Remy out of the tavern whilst she tried unsuccessfully to avoid any unwanted attention; she tripped over her cloak as she stood up, meaning that a few customers eyed her with curious expressions.

"I don't suppose nobody noticed that?" she questioned quietly as they stepped out into the humid air of Astracia. The sky was a much darker pink now, the way it had been when she had arrived yesterday. She supposed that meant the sun was due to set.

"I am afraid not."