Milo's POV

To be truly honest, I feel guilty.

I feel guilty about tearing Amon into our fight when he doesn't even want any of this. He doesn't even know about any of it, but yet he will have to fight our war.

Because it's the only way we can win.

I know Caspian and Arran have high expectations, but I hope they won't be too harsh on him. Even though I've only known him since last night, I feel the need to protect him and look out for him. Well, that's kind of my job, but I feel a personal need to make sure he's okay. I care about him, and not just because he's supposed to be our savior. I feel drawn to him.

I get dressed and walk to Amon's room. I knock. There's no response. I knock a second time and when there is still no response, I decide to just put my hand against the door and open the door.

He's still sleeping, but he's moving, I think he's dreaming.

"Amon?"

He blinks and looks up, groaning. Then he yawns. "Where am I?", he asks mumbling.

I just look back at him for a few seconds, not sure how to respond. He rubs his eyes and then looks at me.

"Oh. Right. So that wasn't a dream."

I smile a bit awkwardly. "I'm afraid it wasn't. Good morning, by the way."

He frowns and sighs a little. "Morning."

He sits up and I realize that he slept shirtless. I blush a little and hope that he doesn't notice.

I already looked at his body yesterday when he had to undress in front of Arran and Caspian and... he's very attractive, I have to admit that.

I clear my throat. "Uh, breakfast will be ready in about 30 minutes, so if you want to shower now would be a good time for that."

"Okay." 

I leave his room and about 30 minutes later, I knock on his door again. He opens, wearing a blue, collared shirt and dark jeans, his hair still damp and falling into his face. He looks a bit pale and tired and his eyes look even bluer than yesterday.

"Are you hungry?", I ask as we're walking to the big hall.

"Honestly, not really", he replies.

"You should still eat something. Today is gonna be very eventful." I see that he doesn't look very happy. about what I just said. "But I'll be there the entire time", I add softly, "I'm not gonna leave your side, I promise."

He smiles a little. "Thanks."

We sit at the table and a few minutes later, breakfast is served. Just like last night, everyone seems to be staring at Amon and he is clearly very uncomfortable. I feel bad for him. For a while, everyone used to always stare at me too, so I understand how he feels.

We finish breakfast and then I lead him into an empty room. It's time to tell him about everything.

"Take a seat."

He sits down on a chair and I keep standing in front of him. I feel like a teacher right now.

"There's a lot to get through, so let's begin", I say, walking up and down slowly.

"So you're gonna tell me about magic now?", he asks.

I smile. "I am, yes."

"Uh, should I, like, take notes?"

I chuckle. That's adorable. "I don't think that's necessary. You can always just ask me if you forget something. Okay, are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be for something like that", he mutters.

"Alright, so... where do I start? The Crimson Coven has existed for thousands of years. I don't know why it's called that, the founder probably thought it sounded interesting or something. Or he just really liked the color red."

I see Amon smile and feel a sense of satisfaction because he seems to appreciate my humor.

"It was founded so sorcerers could support each other and fight off threats together. But our coven isn't the only one. There are hundreds of them all over the world, 5 in the US alone. A lot of them are working together to ensure the world's safety and peace. Regular people don't know about us."

"Like, muggles?"

I roll my eyes, but I can't hold back a smile. There's just something about his constant movie references that makes me feel lighter in a dark time like this.

"Yeah, like muggles. Anyway, they don't know about us. And we don't interfere with their day to day lives. We help with catastrophes and things like that, but we usually stay within our 'kind', if you will. So if we're here to help, usually. That's it. But unfortunately, not all sorcerers are content with that. Some think that we are superior and that we should be ruling. Which - if you wanna keep up your movie references - is kinda like Voldemort and the death eaters."

Amon shoots me a quick smile when I make that reference.

"These people formed a Coven themselves, with members all over the world. It's called the Onyx Coven. And until a few years ago, it was about as powerful as every other coven. But then they... they started gearing up. About 3 years ago, they attacked another coven, one of the weaker ones. Just... to test the water, I guess. They killed over a hundred sorcerers. About a year later, they attacked another coven, and this time, we had enough time to send our people to help. And... some of us didn't make it back."

I exhale shakily. I don't have the strength to tell him about my losses right now. My mom died in that fight and I'm still not over it at all.

He looks at me with a sad expression. "I'm sorry", he says quietly.

I just nod. "Then... it was quiet. Until about a month ago when... Well, an artifact was stolen from one of the other covens. Ares' Key. Whoever wears it around their neck gains extreme power and is almost impossible to defeat, it makes them almost indestructible. We fear that one of the most powerful sorcerers of the Onyx Coven might be wearing it: Azrael. And that's where the prophecy comes into play. And you."

He looks at me with big eyes, both fascinated and terrified.

"There's a seeress in our coven, her name is Cassandra. She has dreams and visions from sometimes and they always come true. And sometimes they are crystal clear to her and she forges that vision into a crystal ball to share with everyone. So about two days after the key was stolen, she made one of them and shared her vision with the entire coven."

I pause for a moment and throw a glance at Amon.

"The prophecy says that there is one only person that can defeat Azrael. And that is you, Amon Poe."

He stares back at me. "Why?", he asks weakly, "Why me?"

"I don't know, but I know there's something special about you", I say and smile a bit.

"There's absolutely nothing special about me", he replies. Does he really think that? That's such a sad thing to say.

"Don't say that."

"Are you sure it's me? I mean, maybe there's been a misunderstanding and you've got the wrong guy."

I chuckle. "There's no misunderstanding. You were shown in the vision, and unless you have an identical twin with the same name, there is no possible way that it's someone else.

It's quiet for a few seconds. "But... what if the prophecy is wrong?", he asks quietly.

"It's not. I promise."

He just nods slowly and I don't think he's convinced. But I'll move on now. One day he'll believe in it, I'm sure.

"So, that's the war we'll have to fight. We think the Onyx Coven wants to erase all other covens or convert people so they're the only coven left. And then... Well, then they will probably try to take over the world. We don't know when they will attack us, but Cassandra says we probably have a few months before we'll have to fight."

Even though he's trying to hide it, I can see the fear in Amon's eyes. I can very much understand that.

"So... how do I use magic?", he asks carefully.

"Well, we'll get to that. Philo and Sophia are gonna help you with that. But it's mostly about your mind. You control the forces with your mind. You have the gift, but you need to learn how to use it and control it."

"Then why was Caspian so focused on my physique?"

"Valid question", I reply. "Well, you still need to be physically fit, I suppose. Not for magic in general, but for fighting. You need a certain strength to do attacking spells and especially to hold protective spells. And you need to be able to dodge attacks, that's why agility is important, too. But the girls will train you with all of that, don't worry."

He nods again. He looks overwhelmed and I feel sorry. This has to be so strange to him.

"What can you do with magic?"

"In general or me specifically?"

"You."

I smile softly. I didn't expect him to ask about me.

"Well, I've learned quite a few things in my life, I grew up in the coven. They don't start teaching everything from an early age. You start with some history and theory until you're 10. Then they teach you things like levitation, along with some spells you can use in your everyday life. At 14, you start learning protective charms and get fitness training. And you also learn healing spells because they're very important. We have people that specialize in healing here, they're called healers, they're for us what you in your world are doctors and nurses. And then when you turn 18, you get trained in combat. All kinds of attacking spells."

He looks impressed. "Show me something."

"Uhm, what do you want me to do?"

"I don't know, surprise me."

I chuckle nervously, wanting to make a good impression. "Uh, alright..."

I look around in the room, trying to think of something that would impress Amon. I lift my hands and let a book from a shelf levitate, the usual blue glow around it. I rip out a page with the flick of my wrist and turn my hands. The page turns into a dove. I snap with both hands and the dove turns into tiny glitter particles, glowing and floating through the air. I turn one of my hands and the lights dim so we can see the glow better.

Then I snap again and the particles put themselves back together and the page flies back into the book. I move it back into the shelf and turn the lights back on. Then I turn back to Amon.

His blue eyes are lit up with joy and fascination and he has a boyish smile on his lips. "That's incredible", he says in awe.

I chuckle. "Well, it's more of a party trick than something useful."

"Well, it's useful to impress me", he says and I blush a little. He doesn't seem to notice.

I smile. "You'll be able to do these things too one day!"

He chuckles. "I don't know how sure I am about that."

He's still staring into the air where the glitter was before, still smiling. He looks really pretty when he's smiling.

"So, what else do I need to know?", he asks, looking at me again.

"I think that was enough history and theory for the moment", I say, "so let's go talk to Sophia. We'll talk to Philo later on as well. You ready to learn how to use magic?"

He looks at me a little skeptically, but he's smiling. "I guess so?"

"I thought you would be more excited", I say jokingly.

"Honestly, I am excited but I'm also scared so it kinda balances it out!"

I laugh softly. "You'll be alright. Sophia is a very good teacher. Very competent and patient. I'm sure you'll be just fine."

He smiles at me. "I hope so."

And I'm sure of it. I'm sure he has so much power inside of him, he just has no idea yet. I can't wait to see what he is capable of.