Rick's POV:

Pat's visit had shaken me up. I was reminded of Rain, lying as still as death. And I could feel Zan's fears as well. Sky was in no better condition. Uncle Vegas, Uncle Pete, the others and my parents seemed to have aged overnight. Chai and Fah as well as Zan and I, had decided to keep our mate ceremonies for when Rain and Sky would be back. For Fah, Rain was nothing less than his own brother even before he knew about him being Phayu's mate. So, I knew that he was hurting almost as much as I was. Chai travelled back and forth between the Royal mansion and his own residence in Chiang Rai. He had many things to take care of here as Uncle Vegas had handed over his mantle to Phayu. And he could not bear to stay away from Fah either.

Things had not been good for our world for some time. After Rain's accident, Phayu and I had gone to school only with the purpose of finishing it, with Fah joining us for the last few months. We had managed to get into good colleges or else our parents would have killed us. Luckily all of us had been good students, not Rain good, but not bad either. Fah and I got into Chula for a major in Political Science and Phayu decided on Kasetsart. Both of us didn't want to be too far from our homes just in case. We went back every weekend and religiously visited the hospital, just not when the other was there. Actually, no, not true. I didn't go when he was there.  I still couldn't bear to look at him, forget talking. Of course, weekends were also filled with working on state matters. I had no choice but to talk to him when it came to our work, but I mostly just used to message him or mail him as I did not want to see his face. Probably because looking at him made me feel guilty as hell too. Was I not just as responsible for Rain's condition as he was?

I sat in my office, looking through my notes from last week's class, when suddenly a mail popped up. It was from an unknown contact. It was someone named Raejin. These are the type of mails that I usually ignore. But the subject line piqued my curiosity. It said, 'VARAIN AND NAPHON'. I shot out of my seat and frantically clicked the open button. The mail didn't say much. It just requested a meeting with the leaders, the future leaders, their seconds, as well as the Council members that evening at 6pm. That was hardly 2 hours away. I quickly messaged my dad and Chai. I knew very well that informing both of them would get the word out faster than me actually calling everyone individually.

There was one person I wanted to tell personally. I knocked on Phayu's door. "Come in!" he called out. I went in and showed him the mail. He looked as shocked as I felt. But he quickly closed his laptop and followed me out of the room as we rushed to get the conference room ready.

Raejin's POV:

It had taken a lot of convincing before Idalia and Neoma agreed to my meeting with the Supernatural down there, but it had to be done. Avani was still against it. We all, all of us Gods and Goddesses, knew Varain's history. We all knew what had happened with him and how hard it had been for him. While in the grander scheme of things, this may have seemed like a very small incident, it must have been a nightmare for a 10-year-old boy to see that one person meant for him betray him almost till the time he had reached us. Over the past one and a half years that the two boys had spent with us, all of us had grown wonderfully close. We had become almost like a family. Alizeh was already saying wonderful things about the strength Rain possessed. Of course, he had been closest to Avani. Being the future queen, his affinity was to the earth element, and that the reason, making them kindred spirits. If I was this livid over what had happened, then I could imagine the agony felt by Avani.

I stood outside the doors of the grand palace, still thinking about Varain, when they suddenly opened. A young man stood there. I could immediately recognise him as Varain's elder brother Rick. I could see the love he had for his brother clearly reflected on his face that was filled with worry. "Rick?" I asked. "Yes, I am Rick," he replied. I could see that he was surprised that I knew him, but he asked no questions. Instead, he politely ushered me inside and led me to the first door on his left. Turns out, it was a large conference room, with a really big table, like in our grand room. I could see a lot of people sitting around.

All of them stood as I entered, and King Vegas came forward, with his hands forward. "Hello, I am Vegas, and I am very pleased to meet you....," he trailed off and I knew exactly what he wanted to know. "I am Raejin, one of the Gods of Thunder from the Realm of Iona," I replied. Immediately everyone stood up and bowed and I couldn't help but smile. "Please, don't," I said. "Please rise," I continued. They all stood and looked at me expectantly. "I know that you must all be wondering why I am here, and I will answer every single question, but first," I said as I turned to look at Venice. All eyes turned with me. I could feel the displeasure in all their expressions. But I had eyes only for the young man in front of me.

"Prince Venice," I said, and even I could hear the venom in my voice. "You were meant to lead the Supernaturals and be their role model. Instead, you yourself have been the worst example that can be set. I really hope that you regret what you have done. I really do. And even though, one day, you might be forgiven, there is very little chance that your betrayal will be forgotten," I told him. My bitterness eked through my words. And he just stood there, with his head bowed.

"Anyway, let me tell you all why I am here," I now turned to the expectant faces around me. "First and foremost, let me assure you that Varain and Naphon are okay." The moment I said that I saw Varain's Pa's knees buckle with relief. His son rushed to hold him up. I could see tears pool in every eye present there. Prince Venice turned almost ashen, the support of his brother the only thing keeping him standing. "Where are they?" Varain's Dad rasped out. "They are in a safe place for now. And they are well. Well protected as well. just like you have protected them here on earth, we are taking care of them where they are. They are healthy and happy," I smiled at him as I said this. "When will they come back?" The plea was clear in Rick's voice as he asked me this. "Give them a while. There are loads of things left for them to do," I said. "But that's not why I wanted to meet you all," I continued. "As you are aware, Varain is future 'Queen'. He must be well prepared to take on his mantle. In the meanwhile, you all must prepare as well," I said. "What must we do?" King Kinn asked. "You must prepare for war," I replied.

Sky's POV:

The only two times Rain and I saw each other was at breakfast and at dinner. At meal times, it was impossible to talk because we were surrounded by a barrage of people. And by bedtime, we were so tired that we could not even keep our eyes open for a minute. We used to drop off like rocks the moment our heads hit the pillow.

But tonight, somehow, there was no one at the dining table. Our dinner was kept under warming plates. It was our favourite, fish and chips with caramel pudding. In a way, it was good. "How have you been Rain? We hardly get to talk to each other," I said to him. "Yeah babe," he replied. "It's extremely hectic. Alizeh is a taskmaster. He is worse than Raejin, if that can be believed," he said. Maybe what he was saying was true. He looked exhausted. "What have you been doing with him? And how are your studies coming along?" I asked him. "He has been teaching me to harness the power of the wind and change it into energy. I feel like I am becoming some kind of power plant," he said. I couldn't stop laughing at that. Rain was simply hilarious when he was in the mood. "He has also been teaching me how to control the wind so that I can find my targets in a proper manner. I mean, so that my aim never falters. And to be honest, he doesn't play fair. As soon as I do something right, he changes the currents. If I say anything, he just says, 'All is fair in war and with Air'. He is very annoying," he ranted. I shook my head. Rain was enjoying every minute, and that was perfectly clear to me.

"How about your studies though?" I asked him. "Well, as for the study part, I have been doing all my subjects at school. I have been practicing for my qualifying exams. Although how I am clueless on how that's going to work. Enough about me. How have you been doing?" he asked me. "The same, although mine is more focused on studying and training with weapons. And yes, I am just as clueless about the qualifying exam part," I told him. By this time, we were done with dinner. I suggested we take a walk together before we went to bed. It had been long since we had spent time together.

The night had fallen as we stepped out. I asked the question that had been at the top of my head. "Where do you think everyone was today?" "I know right? I wonder where everyone went off to. Usually, they don't stop haranguing us over the littlest things. And today no one even bothered to check in on us," Rain looked at me, faintly puzzled. But just as quickly his brow cleared. "Forget this! Let's talk about studies. What all subjects are you covering?" he asked. "Well, math, political science, world history, our history and English," I said. "What about you?" "I am doing a lot more than you. Our history, math and English are common. Other than that, I have a few languages. You know that's my dream. Study languages at Chula. Well, at least, that was my dream," he mentioned, a small, sad smile playing at the corners of his mouth. I could understand him. We both had lofty dreams, but our being in a limbo had put an end to it. We continued to talk about a lot of things, interesting and mundane, before we finally made our way to bed, tired after a long day.

Rain's POV:

As Sky and I walked around the moon garden, we talked about what all had happened so far, and what would happen in the future. We had come a long way, and almost one and a half years later, this place felt more and more our own place. I missed everyone, and I was sure all of them missed me too. Things were changing, just as we were. But there was something I was hiding from everyone. Venice. Or rather, what was happening to me in regards to Venice. I had been seeing him more and more often, in dreams, sword bloody, as he fought relentlessly amidst a sea of raging fire. I could see bodies littered around him, but he stood tall and straight. But as I watched, I saw something slash at him. He clutched his stomach and then stared at what was in his hand. Even at this distance, I could see the crimson on his palm. He fell to his knees, and I knew, in the deepest recesses of my mind, that he was already gone. And I had done this. I had done this by not trusting him, by not putting my faith in him.

It made me wonder. Were my dreams prophetic? As I gained more and more powers, I could see the effects my accident had wrought. Was Venice completely to blame for what had happened? There was a part of me that knew that the answer was no. But another part of me, the secretly hidden from everyone part, that wanted to just scream and scream and blame him for everything. However, the past one and a half years had taught me more than physical discipline; they had taught me more than I could have imagined, and I knew more was coming. Which was why, it was time to start knowing more about my mate. I knew I could not tell anyone this, so it had to be a secret mission; for my eyes only. It was the perfect time to begin another journey!