The apartment felt unusually cramped, but I welcomed the feeling of stepping inside a lockable door. The walk from the parking lot had been anything but pleasant. Everyone knew who Magnus was, and the glances we received were both curious and surprised, but most were clearly threatening.

"They'll figure out you're on our side," Mass said in an attempt to be positive. "You're safe here."

With a sigh, I threw myself down beside him on the couch. How many times had I not slept in that little two-seater when the little guy was haunted by nightmares and woke up with a sore neck? It felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

"Can they cross the border?" I finally asked.

"The wizards?" Magnus sighed.

"Yeah."

Magnus fetched a kitchen chair and placed it on the other side of the coffee table. With a sigh, he straddled the rickety wooden chair, which creaked and groaned under the sudden weight. He paid no mind to the decrepit furniture, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the backrest. "I don't know."

That sentence made me surprisingly scared, and it struck me that I had expected him to know everything.

"Did you reach the girl?" I replied to Mass with a slight shake of my head as I pulled out my phone to check if she had messaged me. "So what does all this mean, Mufasa? Is it like illegal to be a vampire now? Do I have to stay indoors?" Mass whined, shifting his gaze between me and Magnus. "How fucking long? I'm pretty full of energy; you won't manage to live with me!" Frustrated, he threw his arms up and rested his feet on the coffee table with a sigh.

"I've lived with you," I reminded him with an arched eyebrow.

"In a four-room apartment, Nico, a four-room apartment! This is a studio with a kitchenette! Not exactly a fucking castle."

"Mufasa?" Magnus laughed, and my heart did a flip; it was so damn wonderful to see him happy again.

"Uh, yeah, you're still a lion, right?" Mass mumbled a bit embarrassed but relaxed when he got a nod in response.

"A very ordinary lion," he muttered, scratching his neck.

Mass and I exchanged glances and furrowed our brows. "Uh, hardly?"

"Mass is right; it doesn't matter if you've lost your guardian powers; you're still strong," I said with a smile, trying to lift his spirits. "I suspect you know more than most about the grumpy old men who hate us. The city is your backyard, and I know for sure that you know all the laws and rules by heart, and I suspect you have a ton of friends we can get help from?"

Magnus licked his lips and chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest. "Thanks for trying, guys; you're right, there's no point in thinking negative thoughts."

I studied both of them silently for a moment. Mass sat fiddling absently with an indistinct stain on the couch cushion, while Magnus's fingers slowly moved through his beard as he thought.

"Masson, you should probably take a walk around the block; burn off some energy."

"You have a plan," he stated, and Magnus nodded.

"Tell everyone you meet to stay within the zone, warn them, let the rumor spread."

"Okay, sure, but then what?"

"Tell them Dominic and you have a plan to help everyone out of this; they know you, so they should take you seriously."

"Wait, wait!" I interrupted with panic in my voice and flailing arms, "we're not doing that. I'm not a leader," I shook my head and looked at him pleadingly. "I have really bad experiences with that kind of thing, Magnus, really bad!"

"Do you want everyone to get captured?"

"No," I muttered, but I still felt my pulse quicken, "but there must be other options."

"Like what?"

I stood up and began to pace around the small, messy room where Mass had spread his dirty clothes, advertisements, and fast-food wrappers in a single heap. I knew what we had to do, so why was it so hard? Magnus would get a deeper insight into who I was back then; he would hear things about me that I hadn't shared. Would it matter? No, we needed help, and I knew where to find it. 

"We contact our real leader," I finally said with a determined voice.

"Clocksworth?!" Mass exclaimed in surprise.

"He needs to know what they're doing to us, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"He's pretty good at politics too," I continued. "We need to be clever and not start a new war." I glanced over at Magnus. "My suggestion is that we go to the castle."

I met his blue eyes with a questioning look; I knew it was a lot to ask, but he had chosen to stand by my side, and now I would do everything to keep him there. Forever.

"Okay," he replied with a smile, "that's a good plan; we're heading to Clocksworth."

The car was annoyingly loud, the gravel peppering the metal, and the cabin was way too hot. The small car had always felt cramped, but Magnus's 195-centimeter frame and whatever he weighed, made the shocks cry at every bump. 

Masson's impatient whining had started ten minutes after we left Paris and had continued as a constant nagging for the remaining three hours it took to drive to our destination: Clocksworth's castle, where Belmont awaited, someone I had just left with a broken heart.

I couldn't help but feel like a really bad, but incredibly pissed-off mom when I told Mass to fuck off for the twentieth time and turned down the volume on the stereo. 

I was even more annoyed that Magnus sat calmly in the back seat, showing no signs of worry or frustration about our future. It had been my suggestion to leave, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that it was a really bad idea. Lumiere would be there. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning white as I recalled the nights in the filthy, decaying mental hospital where he had conducted his experiments. He had stubbornly insisted he had full control over them, but damn, how wrong he had been. That cold, stubborn bastard! Everything was his fault; it was his monsters that had turned the eyes of everyone toward us. It was his fault everyone hated us now. His fault that Magnus had lost his powers. His fucking fault!

After a right turn, we were finally on the familiar gravel road leading up to the castle. Throughout the bumpy ride, I fought against the anxiety that began to creep in—what would they say? Were we even welcome? 

But when the car turned into the courtyard, there was no turning back. No time to hesitate; damn it, we needed Clocksworth—there was no alternative.

I parked in my usual spot and took a deep breath as I killed the engine. "We're here!" I muttered, giving Masson a light punch in the chest as he dozed in the passenger seat. "Three hours of whining and now you're asleep?!"

I was just about to complain some more when the gates opened, and Belmont stepped out through the door. My eyes followed his long legs as he slowly walked down the steps, his dark long hair blowing in the wind. He looked so damn beautiful, I thought, with a smile on my lips.

Slowly, I got out of the car and met his questioning gaze with a crooked smile. "Dominic?"

"Hey," I replied shortly, shoving my hands deep into my pockets.

That was all I managed to say before Masson jumped out of the car and ran up to hug him. "Damn Boss, I've missed you!" he laughed, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"What the hell, Mass," he laughed, pushing him away to wipe off the wet mark. "I've missed you too."

A moment later, I was taken aback by Belmont's arms around me, and I noticed how I hugged him back just as tight. "You came back," he whispered softly in my ear, but I could only nod in response. "What happened?"

Reluctantly, I took a step back and left his warm embrace. "Everything's gone to hell, Bel," I sighed, letting my gaze fall to my worn-out Converse.

His worried eyes swept over me before they shifted to something behind me. Or rather, someone. Magnus. I licked my lips and forced a smile before turning around. "Belmont, this is Magnus."

My eyes immediately met the amused look of the blonde, and I realized right away that he knew who Belmont was to me. "Belmont?" he said with a wider grin, "like the vampire hunter?"

"Um, yeah," he replied somewhat hesitantly, casting a quick glance at me. "It's a pretty crazy coincidence, but yeah, you're the second person to point that out."

I shifted a bit awkwardly and scratched my neck. "We need to talk to Clocksworth."

"Okay, he's probably in his office."

I nodded a few times and waited for Magnus, who, to his own delight, leaned down and gave me a kiss before stepping past both of us and taking the lead up the stairs. "Take your time," he called back cheerfully.

"He's..."

"Mine," I interrupted Belmont with a grin. "You have your own shifter waiting at home."

"I get it," he laughed, rolling his eyes. "He's beautiful."

"Thanks," I smirked, biting my lower lip as I watched his broad back disappear up the stairs.

Then came the words that washed away all anxiety, worry, and the slightest doubt, "I'm glad you're here, Nic."

My hand slipped into his, and our fingers naturally intertwined as we walked up toward the gate. "I've missed you."

As we entered the study, Clocksworth was already seated at his desk with his usual cigar between his fingers, and Lumiere was positioned next to him like a grumpy butler. The room looked the same as ever, as if time had stood still, and the smell of cigar smoke hung heavily over us. Belmont immediately released my hand, walked in first, and stood a bit further away instead of at his usual spot on the edge of the desk. 

 "You're back?" Clocksworth asked, surprised. 

 "Disappointed?" I asked the clockmaster with a smile. 

 "Not at all, Dominic. You're part of the family. You know that." 

 I had barely had a chance to look around before Magnus walked in after me. He took slow, confident steps, and with his usual smile, he had his gaze fixed on his old friend, who gestured to a seat in front of the desk. I noticed how Magnus surveyed the room and opted out of the fancy armchair, going to fetch a chair instead. 

 With a smile, I watched him confidently straddle the chair and rest his forearms on its back, just as he had so many times before. "Theodor." 

 "Magnus," the two men appraised each other, and I saw the smile that was about to break out on Clocksworth's face. "Whiskey?"

 "No, thank you, my friend," he replied, glancing at Lumiere and nodding in greeting. "You look as grim as ever, Lumiere," he said with a grin. "How long has it been? You haven't aged a day."  

"One hundred fifty-two years," the blond man replied curtly. 

 Magnus lowered his gaze and chuckled, "Well, there you go." 

 I rolled my eyes at the whole situation and decided to address the reason for our visit, stepping forward so that Clocksworth's eyes shifted to me. "Why isn't he behind bars?" I asked, nodding at Lumiere. 

 "He's been punished for his crimes," I was told, and I felt frustration rising within me. "Do you know what he did?" I snapped back. 

 "Dominic," Magnus's soft voice calmed me, and soon I felt his hand reaching out to land in mine. "Don't forget that it was Theodor who saved me." 

 "And yet he's free!"

 "He's not free, Dominic," Clock replied calmly. "He can't leave the castle." 

 "Have you heard about the consequences?" My words were cold and hard, and I held Clocksworth's gaze steadily, but he remained calm. 

 "I cleaned up the streets, Nico." 

 His answer made me smile and shake my head, "After that, Clock, after that." I immediately saw that he was completely unaware, and with a deep sigh, I ran my hands through my hair before letting them fall back into my pockets. "We're being hunted." 

 Clocksworth raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze back to Magnus. "By whom?" 

 "The magistrate," he replied, rising from his chair. "They took their chance to expel every one of you after Lumiere's mistake." 

 "Expel?" Belmont asked in shock, and I met his's gaze. 

 "They have orders to imprison every vampire they see outside of the zone." 

 "They're probably on their way here soon," Magnus interjected. 

 "So why are you here? You're one of the city's guardians, aren't you?" Lumiere snapped from the corner he had backed into. 

 "Not anymore," Magnus muttered in response. "I chose to stand on Dominic's side." 

 "You mean our side?" Clocksworth challenged, but Magnus shook his head and chuckled. "If I had my way, we would have stayed in Paris and started our own revolution, but Dominic felt we needed your help." 

 I glanced up at him, trying to figure out what he was getting at. "I'm not a leader," I said with a shrug, but was met only with an eye roll. 

 "So it's illegal for all vampires to be outside the zone?" Belmont asked restlessly. 

 Magnus nodded. "They're locked up immediately." 

 "And then what?" 

 "I don't know." 

 Clocksworth leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "You must tell me everything," he murmured, "every little detail." 

 "Only if he leave the room," I snapped and glared at Lu. 

 Clocksworth nodded and waved his hand at him, and to my great surprise, he left without a word. "Better?" 

 I nodded briefly and sank down into the armchair next to me. "We're going to tell you everything."

Hours later, after briefing Clocksworth with every small detail I followed Belmont back to his room to get a moment of peace. 

"Why have you never told me about him?" Belmont asked cautiously. "Magnus?" 

 "No, Bigfoot..." he sighed and nudged me with a smile. "Yes, Magnus, of course." 

 I shrugged and looked around the familiar room we once shared. "I guess I tried to forget him, move on and all that." 

 "So what is he?" 

 "Don't be so damn curious," I grinned and pouted, wrinkling my nose. 

 "He's not a vampire," he stated, not paying any attention to my mood. 

 "Nope." 

 "But he doesn't remind me of a wolf either." 

 "You should know that," I teased. "By the way, have you talked to him?" 

 "Conor?" 

 "Noooo, Bigfoot for crying out loud!" I laughed while fiddling with Belmont's various items neatly arranged on the bookshelf. Some I recognized, and it warmed my heart that he had kept them. 

 "Yeah, I explained that it would take a little longer before I came back." 

 I nodded a little. "Did you tell him about us?"

 "I told him everything," he said, shrugging. "I was planning to go home soon." 

 "It's bad, Bel," I sighed and collapsed next to him on the bed, lying on my back at the foot of it. 

 "I could tell the moment you stepped out of the car." 

 With a sigh, I rubbed my palms over my face. "We were involved in releasing them, all three of us; it's partly our fault." 

 He nodded and fell back on the bed as well. "Does it matter? We followed our leader's orders."

 "In Magnus's eyes, it probably does." 

 "So he means a lot to you?"

 "Yes." 

 "And he left everything for you?" His hand moved closer to mine, which were squeezed between our bodies, and eventually, his fingers intertwined with mine. "That's pretty big." 

 I turned my head and looked into his eyes. "It's huge." 

 "But?" 

 I sighed once more. "He's hiding something from me. Something about his magic and what happened when it disappeared." 

 Belmont frowned. "Maybe he just needs time to adjust; it must be a really tough transition." 

 "I guess." 

 "You should ask him?" 

 I knew that was exactly what I should do, but I hesitated. Instead of answering the question, I decided to change the subject entirely. "How do you put up with Lumiere?" 

 He laughed, a tired and unhappy laugh. "I barely see him."

 "Okay," I sighed and closed my eyes; suddenly, I felt so incredibly tired. "Relax, Nic. Theo will fix everything, just you wait; he always does." 

 "I hope you're right." 

 "I'm always right!" he grinned. 

 "... yeah, sure... always," I laughed and rolled my eyes.