Amon's POV

It's silent for a while as I'm driving. I think we're both trying to figure out what the hell we should do now.

"Amon," Milo says after a while, "I-I don't think we can go back to your apartment."

I frown. I was thinking the same thing.

"It's too easy for them to find," he adds quietly.

"I know where to go," I say, and he nods. We eventually find our way back into town, and I drive to Mike's place.

"He's one of my best friends," I explain, "But he's probably at work right now."

Milo nods. "Okay. So... We'll break in like I did when I visited you?"

I chuckle. "No, babe, I have a key."

"Oh. Okay."

We get inside, and as expected, no one is here. It still looks exactly the same. I spot a picture frame with a picture of Mike, Elena, and me, and smile. I really miss them.

Even though I'm happy to be with Milo and learned a lot these past two months, I'm not gonna leave my old life behind. There are still people I care about.

There's a part of me that wishes none of this had ever happened. That my life was still normal, and I didn't have to carry around the burden of my powers. But that would mean I would've never met Milo and honestly, being with him is worth all of this.

"We need to put up protections," Milo says and pulls me back into reality.

"Right," I mumble.

We start using protective spells. Some of them require some more practice, and only Milo can do them.

I watch as he's focusing, moving his hands through the air, creating that beautiful, blue glow. He's frowning in concentration, and he looks gorgeous.

"Now we wait," he says as he lowers his arms.

I look at him for a few seconds. He looks scared. I know he's trying to hide it, but I know him well enough by now. I know two months doesn't seem like a lot of time, but I spent most of my free time with him so I can read his expressions well.

"Milo, babe," I say softly, "we'll be alright. I promise you we'll figure this out, and we'll be okay."

He takes a deep breath. I wrap my arms around him and kiss his neck softly. Then I let go again and kiss his lips. I pull back and hold his face. "I love you, okay?"

He smiles softly. "I love you too."

We sit down on the couch and cuddle a bit. My thoughts trail off, and I try to push my worrying thoughts away. The uncertainty of what will happen next makes everything much worse.

After a few hours, the door opens, and we get up and walk into the corridor. I hear voices and realize that Elena is there as well.

I walk up to them. "Hey, guys."

Mike flinches. "What the-"

"Amon?" Elena asks, "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were on a trip?"

Right. The world trip lie. I almost forgot about that.

"And who's that?" Mike asks.

I glance over at Milo. Guess I have some explaining to do.

"Uh... That's Milo. My boyfriend."

Elena looks surprised for a second and then smiles big. "Oh, hi!" She hugs both me and Milo. Mike does the same.

"I missed you, dude! Tell us how you met!" Elena says with a smile.

"Well," I start.

"We met on the trip," Milo responds before I can say another word.

I look over at him surprisedly. What? Are we gonna keep the lie going? Shit, we should have talked about this before.

We look at each other.

"Hey, Amon, can I talk to you in private for a second?" Milo asks me.

"Sure." I turn to my friends. "Give us a minute."

They nod, looking a bit confused. We walk into another room, and I close the door.

"Amon, we can't tell them," he says.

"What? Why not?"

He nervously picks at his lips. "It's much too risky. It'll end up getting out to everyone."

"They're my best friends, Milo."

"That doesn't matter. We can't tell anyone. I made a vow never to tell anyone who isn't a sorcerer."

I look at him for a few seconds. I understand his point, but I don't want to lie to my closest friends.

"I trust them 100%."

He frowns and thinks for a while. He looks upset. "I'm sorry, but there's no way to ensure that it won't get revealed by accident."

"Milo, we can't just lie to them. They can help us!" I frown too and try not to let my frustration out on him.

"We have no choice. I made a magical vow. I'm physically incapable of telling anyone."

I shrug. "I didn't make that vow. Just let me do it."

He hesitates, and his eyes dart around in the room for a second. "It's too risky."

"Milo, they can help us!" I say, a bit louder.

I gesture with my hands, and Milo flinches. He looks scared. I lower my arms and look at him surprisedly.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," I say gently.

He gulps. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, no, don't be," I say softly.

I just look at him. He thought I was gonna hit him.

"Can we sit down real quick?" I ask, and he nods.

We sit down on the bed, and I look at him.

"People used to hurt you in the coven, didn't they?"

He looks down at the bed and pulls at the covers nervously.

"Yes," he just replies quietly.

I carefully put my hand on his. "I'm sorry," I say softly.

He just nods, fighting back tears.

"Who was it?"

He doesn't reply.

"Was it Caspian?" I ask carefully, not sure if I should ask him more questions.

"Not directly."

I just look at him. He takes a deep breath and then speaks quietly. "When Caspian and Arren took over the coven, things... changed. Caspian... He's..." He gulps. "He's rather old-fashioned when it comes to leading."

He stares at the bed for a few seconds before he looks at me. "He made some changes. Put his most loyal followers in the most important positions, a lot of them as trainers. Luckily, Sophia and Philo stayed trainers for the kids, so at least they had a good environment. But for people like me..."

He takes a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't know how bad it was for the others. You get trained separately when you reach a certain age. I think Caspian always disliked me in particulars. But I know the others got hurt too."

I look at him with a sad face.

"So... Whenever they were unhappy with our training performance, or we made a mistake, they'd hit us with an attack. Sometimes it was just a weak one, but sometimes it was stronger and more painful. I just got used to defending myself, I guess."

"I'm sorry," I say quietly.

"It's okay." A tear slowly rolls down his cheek.

"No, Milo. It's not. They hurt you, and that's not okay. Did they... ever use the morsus curse on you?"

"Before the incident with Caspian? No. That... That's a whole new level of messed up." He gulps.

It's quiet. I hesitate before asking a question that has been on my mind for a while.

"Is it... Possible to die from the curse?"

He doesn't reply right away. "Yes, if it's used on you for too long or too many times. Or a combination of both. It also depends on who used it on you. The stronger the sorcerer, the more effective and destructive the curse."

I look at him for a while. He wipes a few tears away, and it's difficult for me not to start crying as well.

"And it's been used on you twice already," I whisper.

He doesn't reply. Instead, he just puts his head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry for all the pain you've been through, Milo. I promise I'll do everything I can to protect you."

"Thank you. I love you so much."

I stroke his face. "I love you too."

Suddenly, I get an idea. "Hey, you said that you made a vow and that it keeps you from physically telling anyone, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can only sorcerers do that?"

He stares at me. "I don't know, I don't think it's exclusive to sorcerers. Are you suggesting we do that with your friends?"

"Why not? That way, we can tell them while being sure they won't tell anyone," I say.

Milo takes his head off my shoulder and looks at me. "You're right. I've only done it once, but I think I can do it."

I smile. "I'm sure you can. You're a great sorcerer."

He chuckles. "Thank you. I'm not as powerful as you are, though."

"Milo, power isn't everything. You're brilliant. You have a lot more knowledge than me."

He smiles softly. "Well... I'm not sure I agree with you, but thank you either way," he replies, and I wrap my arms around him.

It's sad to see him be so self-conscious. But he's probably been bashed on by his trainers and Caspian for years, so I guess it makes sense that his self-confidence isn't that high.

"Well, I, for one, think you're amazing," I say and gently kiss him.

He looks at me with a soft smile, a few tears glistening in his eyes.

"Thank you. How do I even deserve you?"

I stroke his cheek. "Babe, you deserve the fucking world."

He chuckles softly and blushes, caught off guard by the compliment.

"Well, you are my world, so..."

I chuckle. "That's so cheesy. I love it."

I lean in and kiss him again softly before putting my forehead against his. I'm gonna do everything in my power to take care of him.