DESPITE THE FIRE and abandonment, the twins' base clearly reflected its restaurant origins. Charred and half-broken booths took up the left wall, while a bar occupied the right. The back corner of the ceiling was missing a large chunk, revealing a dark hole with wires and pipes above.

Kai guided Suyin to a detached booth cushion that leaned against an undestroyed part of the bar. The twins had pried many of the surviving cushions from their homes to create padded spots. Surprisingly well-off blankets rested atop two larger cushions. Where they slept, if Josh had to guess.

Suyin cleared her throat. "Sorry for..." She frowned as she searched her mind before finishing "Mess."

"It's cozy," Mateo said, giving her a reassuring smile. His eyes softened. "Let's sit down and take a moment to rest."

"Rest," Suyin repeated in a shaky whisper. Kai clasped his hand in hers. Only then did Josh notice her tremors.

But of course. They were kids, barely any older than Eli, and they'd just watched a massacre. Josh wouldn't be surprised if they wanted as far away from everything Soul-Bound related after this.

Some small part of him was aware that he in all honesty wasn't that much older than the twins, a part that sounded a lot like his mom. But was anyone ever old enough to face what had happened outside? He could still almost taste the smell of melted flesh in the air.

Kai guided Suyin to sit on one of the cushions. He kneeled beside her while his suspicious eyes darted between each of the Paladins.

He may have been willing to listen along with Suyin, but he didn't trust them. Then again, Josh had the sense Kai didn't truly trust anyone except his twin.

"Us too," Mateo said, glancing back at the others.

With a shrug, Josh sunk to the floor. After a moment's pause, Mara did as well.

While Kai continued to peer at the group, Suyin leaned into him. He pressed closer to her. Josh had an impression it wasn't only for her sake. Despite his hard exterior, Kai couldn't be unaffected by the horror outside.

"How long have you been here?" Mateo's voice carried that same gentleness as when he'd mentioned them resting.

Suyin glanced at Kai before dropping her gaze. She twiddled with a frayed strand. "Many days."

A month and a half, according to the orphanage, but Mateo nodded instead of bringing that up. "You two have done well for yourself in that time. Sorry," he added when Kai bristled. "That was a compliment."

The brother obviously understood more English than the sister. Suyin's brows puckered while Kai continued to glare.

Mateo switched languages, and he chattered on. He had this friendly, open quality while his voice remained gentle the entire time. Bit by bit, Suyin relaxed and responded more readily, smiling at times. Even Kai lost most of his edge.

Mara added in a few things, but she left most of the talking to Mateo. At least she could understand what was being said. Josh, meanwhile, desperately wished real life had a subtitles option. He really needed to put more dedication into his language courses. Not even just so he could understand the information, but because he could see the effect Mateo had simply by speaking in the twins' native tongue.

More than once, Mara had teased Josh on how "American" he was. He could really feel the truth of it then.

He didn't know how long they talked before something shifted. Mateo still smiled, but the twins turned to each other, doing that whole silent-conversation-through-expressions thing. Suyin looked to be trying to convince Kai of something, and over time, the hard set of his lips lessened. Finally, he sighed and nodded.

Whatever Suyin said next caused Mara and Mateo to begin a silent conversation of their own. When they were satisfied with that, he turned back to the twins, and Mara leaned closer to Josh.

Her body warmth washed over him, and he struggled not to lean closer. Walls separated them from the outside, but the darkness still crept in, and he desperately wanted to remember life by holding her to him. Just to hold her, that was all. It wouldn't be that inappropriate to do on a mission, right?

But then he smelled her. Her crisp and clean fragrance hidden beneath sweat and dust, with one important aspect missing. No scent of the frigid air on a snowy day.

His throat constricted, and he found himself angling away from Mara.

Noticing, something in her expression shifted, but she didn't pull back. "Mateo's asking what she's realized and what her thoughts are on it all."

Josh stared at a small puddle formed from a leaking pipe. His face felt warm. "Sorry that you have to translate. I really should pay more attention in class."

Mara arched her eyebrows. "Those classes you've only been able to regularly attend for one month of the, what, seven you've been with us?"

He couldn't argue there, and he felt a little less guilty about his negligence. Still, he vowed to pay more attention.

Now to see if he'd have that same determination next time that he got to attend a class.

"We not just going to spill everything?" Josh asked.

She studied him for a moment before shaking her head. "Unlike a certain someone, she didn't accept before we had a chance to talk. It's better to give the person time to settle into the formation first."

Again, he became too aware of the darkness that lingered outside these four—well, maybe three-in-a-half—walls. Every time his mind drifted to the slaughter outside, another part of him wilted. "Does she even have that time?"

Mara's thoughts seemed to follow his because she glanced over her shoulder. She pressed her lips together. "Maybe not," she admitted, "but we're going to give her every bit of time she does have."

Her eyes had hardened as she spoke, but it didn't hide the haunted quality that settled over her expression. He fought back a grimace. Earlier, they'd joked so casually about which of them was cursed, but she was the one who had been through three bondings gone wrong: this one, Josh's, and then her own.

Burying all his uncertainties and squirming questions, he reached out and intwined his hand with hers and squeezed. She'd been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she startled at the touch. Once she realized what he was doing, she squeezed back.

But then the shutters fell back down. The negative feelings faded behind her guard, and she smiled at him. One that said it was okay, that she was okay.

Except they both knew she wasn't.

Kai's angry Mandarin shattered the already-splintered moment. He directed his tangent at Suyin. Despite the way she tended to hide behind him, she sat up straighter now, her face set in determination as she responded evenly to him.

"Translation?" Josh requested.

"She wants to take the next steps in whatever is happening to her while Kai hates the idea."

"I don't blame him, considering what they just saw out there." If it had happened to him, Josh wouldn't have been shocked if it was enough to scare him away before he committed to it.

Nothing could have, Boomer disagreed, and maybe he was right.

Suyin said something else, more forcibly this time, and pointed at Josh.

Mara smiled at whatever it was she said. "It seems someone sees you as a hero," she explained in a slightly teasing voice. "What happened out there is exactly why she wants to do this. She wants to make sure that she's never powerless to stop situations like that again. She wants to be able to save people like you did."

Josh didn't expect the sudden heat that crept up his neck. He stared back down at their intwined hands just to have somewhere to look. A strange mixture of embarrassment and pride thrummed through him.

Him, a hero. It felt like a dream come true in the midst of a nightmare.

"So, does that mean that Mateo is going to tell her a long story now about how the Paladins came to be?" Josh asked, remembering his own introduction to the world.

"That's not typically how it goes," she said. "You were a peculiar case in many ways, and you asked a question that specifically led to our history. We also thought we were safe at the time, whereas here..." The bits of light that had entered her expression winked out, and Josh felt the same thing happening within him.

They had a barrier, but he didn't trust the odds that things wouldn't go even further wrong.

Everyone suddenly went silent, their eyes locked on Suyin. Josh didn't understand the sudden shift, but he watched her, too. She'd closed her eyes, and a small wrinkle appeared between her brows as she concentrated.

Before he could ask Mara about it, light appeared around Suyin like a veil. It grew rapidly before flaring, flooding the entire room in its blinding glow. Grimacing, Josh averted his eyes. It didn't stop him from getting spots of color dancing in his vision.

They faded after a few rapid blinks, and then he could get a true glimpse of the young girl again. She now leaned into her brother. Tears trailed from her closed eyes, and she clasped her hands in front of her chest. Her lips moved in unspoken words.

She'd forged the bond.

Mara tipped forward to be close to Mateo. "I'm going out to let the Sages know we're heading to the Sanctuary. I'll have Jodas open the gate out there."

Mateo nodded without taking his eyes off the twins. "We'll be out in a moment."

Standing, she made her way out of the base. After a moment of hesitation, and an encouraging nod from Mateo, Josh followed her.

"I let Jodas know. Now I just have to tell Omero," Mara said when he exited. She didn't look at him. She stood at the edge of the street, her lips pressed into a thin line as she took in the devastation.

Gravity strengthened against him, attempting to keep his feet rooted at the spot. No, he couldn't leave Mara by herself, facing that darkness. He wrenched his legs forward step by step until, finally, he stood at her side. Without a word, he slid his hand into hers and faced the same direction.

The Sages had moved many of the bodies, but some were still there. He could barely make out the faces of those that remained, the acid having melted much of their features. A streak of crimson connected one man and his severed arm. Not everyone was dead, though. A young man not much older than Josh clasped one hand over his jaw while releasing a haunting moan. A suited Sage kneeled at his side, speaking soothingly as she tried to tend to him.

This wasn't how things were meant to be. The Sages evacuated the dangerous areas before the monsters arrived, and then the Paladins swept in to clean up before any innocents could get hurt.

What had they done wrong?

"Why are you two back out here?" Omero appeared, scowling at them. There was a hollowness to his voice, one that scraped across the hollowness growing in Josh the longer he stood out here. "Weren't you waiting in the building with the other kids?"

Josh couldn't even bring himself to argue the kids remark. Right then, he felt like one, staring at a too-big world.

"I wanted to let you know that we're heading back," Mara said, her own voice strained. "Suyin accepted the bond already."

Omero grunted and flashed a glance over his shoulder. "A strong heart on that one, then."

"This was too fast," Josh whispered. "Will they all be like this now?"

Instead of answering, Omero scrubbed a hand over his face. "Get out of here, you two. Nobody should be here longer than necessary."

Josh would have loved nothing more than to escape, but he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away. He kept finding different brutal details, from blood spray on buildings to a small shoe on the ground. Hopefully the owner of it had escaped.

Thankfully, Mara took the initiative. She used their intwined hands to drag him back to the protective barrier of the other street. Its buildings covered the view, and he found he could breathe again.

"I'm ready to be back," she murmured, and he nodded his agreement. Thankfully, at that moment, the crackling pop of an opening portal sounded beside them.

By the time Mara informed Mateo about the portal, it had expanded to its full size. He and the twins ducked out from the old restaurant. Suyin and Kai paused in front of it, their expressions surprisingly sad given the sorry state of the burned building. They bowed their heads to the building before turning to the portal.

Although they examined it quizzically, neither twin showed the awe Josh expected. This was magic, after all! Who wouldn't be flabbergasted at seeing it in reality?

But then he remembered the way they seemed to not be there one moment, and then there the next. Maybe this wasn't their first brush with magic, but that should have been impossible.

Right, Boomer?

Right, Boomer said. I think. Probably?

Josh made a mental note to ask about it later. For now, he watched as Mateo guided the twins through the portal. Then, still hand-in-hand, he and Mara stepped through.

Fun Fact: Full transparency: of the couple of things that inspired the opening for book 3, Percy Jackson's The Titan's Curse was a huuuuge influence xD

Welp, things are wrapped up for that mission!  Time to get back to the safety of the Sanctuary.  Unfortunately, I doubt the events of said mission are done with them 😬 We'll have to wait and see what all consequences they have to face from here!

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!