The sun had just vanished below the horizon as Jakira burst through the door of her home. "Mom?" she called anxiously, scanning the empty kitchen and living room. "Mom, we really need to talk!"

"Oh, you're finally back!" Her mother, Synthia, came hurrying out of the hallway, wearing fluffy pink pajamas. She approached her daughter, eyes wide and curious. "I mean, it's taken longer before, but what happened?"

Jakira stared back at her, suddenly not knowing where to start. So much had happened, it felt like much longer than a single day, and she abruptly realized she'd forgotten to ask Alex if he was okay with Synthia knowing who he was. Without that, how could she explain anything? It was their identity reveal that had led to the barrier's dissipation, which had led to their sudden realization and attempt to get rid of Preciser for good, which had backfired upon Korral's untimely return.

Timing really is everything, she thought in frustration.

She was still standing there, trying to figure out what to do while Synthia waited in confusion, when her phone started ringing. Biting her lip, she mumbled, "Hold on," pulled her phone from her pocket, and answered with, "Hi . . . Mrs. Sameron? Everything okay?"

"Jakira, is Alex with you?" came the anxious reply.

Instantly, Jakira panicked. The last time her best friend's mother had called to ask that question, he'd been captured by Preciser and had been missing for two weeks. The torturous circumstances he'd been in had nearly killed him, and those heart-wrenching memories still traumatized her.

But Preciser was gone now, and Korral didn't know either of their identities. She took a quick, calming breath. Alex was probably fine.

Instead of saying no, she cautiously countered with another question: "What's going on?"

"He just got home a few minutes ago," Mrs. Sameron whimpered. "He was acting a little strange, and I saw him go in his room. But then I heard noises, and I went to check on him, and he was gone! And now I can't find him anywhere!"

Shadow portal, she realized silently after a moment of thinking. It was the only explanation, though she couldn't figure out how he could've made such a mistake.

"Huh, you must've imagined him coming home," she said quickly, trying to cover for him. "He's still with me; we haven't gotten back yet."

Synthia flashed her a puzzled look, but Jakira waved a hand dismissively. Mrs. Sameron was protesting, "But it was so real! And I've never hallucinated before!"

"First time for everything!" Jakira countered cheerily, then finished, "Don't be worrying. He'll be back for real before you know it." She hung up before Mrs. Sameron could protest again.

"What was that all about?" her mother exclaimed.

She sighed, both hands on her head, then lowered them. "I'll explain, hopefully, in a minute." Hastily chanting her transformation rhyme for the fourth time that day, she raced back out the door and towards the city in search of her partner. If he'd used a shadow portal to leave his room, he was most likely still transformed.

Although she knew he could technically be anywhere in the city, there was one place she was going to check first-the tower called Torre Breda. Alex had a number of traumatizing memories that had taken place on that roof, but at the same time, he seemed to have some kind of sentimental attachment to it. She'd recently realized that every time he was distressed or desperately needed some alone time, he ended up there.

Sure enough, when she arrived, she almost instantly spotted him sitting beside the edge of the roof. He was watching the city, swinging his legs gently over the side, and singing something that sounded like a Greek lullaby.

For a moment she paused, listening as the winds carried his voice softly over to her. He had a beautiful voice, but he didn't feel comfortable singing in front of other people, although he'd once sung "You are my Sunshine" to her. Still, this was a rare moment, especially since he was as fluent in Greek as he was in Italian and English.

Eventually, however, after she'd been there several minutes, he slowly trailed off into silence, straightened, and turned his head to look at her. He held their gaze for a few seconds, then managed a quick smile and looked away, but she'd seen how troubled his eyes were.

"When you said 'See you soon,' I didn't realize you meant this soon," Sunray commented at last, walking up to join him. She sat down beside him and tried to look at him directly. "What's wrong?"

Night hesitated for a long moment, his dark blue eyes darting back and forth along the streets far below as if he were searching for a way to escape. "I . . . it . . ." He clenched his fists and swallowed, obviously struggling to explain. "It's not-I mean, it's . . . just . . ." Finally he sighed, covering his face with both hands as he lowered his head. "Panic attack," he mumbled after another hesitation. "Bad one. I needed space. And fresh air."

Her heart sank at his words. "It's okay," she whispered, and took one of his hands into both of hers. "It wasn't your fault. Today and everything triggered it?"

He sighed again. "Yeah, I guess."

Silence reigned for another minute before either of them said more. "Your mom's freaking out," she told him quietly. "She saw you come home and go in your room, only to find you gone when she opened the door."

Night's eyes widened in alarm, then he facepalmed and groaned, "Oh, crap."

"I covered for you," she added quickly before he could start beating himself up. "I've hopefully got her thinking that she imagined the whole thing, and that you're with me. Which is no longer a lie."

"Thanks," he murmured. "And sorry . . . I'm usually more careful. I was just— panicking."

"It's okay. We don't have to talk about it," she reassured him. "Actually, I had a question."

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay with my mom knowing who you are?" she questioned. "She knows all about the light gem and my being Sunray, since she's the one who gave it to me. Plus, it's kind of hard to explain about the barrier and Korral and everything, without . . ."

After processing what she was saying for another few seconds, Night smiled and glanced down at her with a little sparkle in his eyes. "You're so sweet," he sighed, still grinning. "Yeah, that's okay. I know she can keep a secret."

"Okay." Sunray relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. "That makes things easier. Thanks."

"No prob." His voice was brisk, but she could hear the tiredness in it. He gazed ahead for another minute in silence, before adding quietly, "I probably need to get back, so Mom won't lecture me any longer than necessary." He grinned ruefully, then glanced at her. She squeezed his hand, and they both rose to their feet.

Night's quietly breathed, "Whoa," and his sudden death grip on her hand made her look back at him. He closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths, swaying ever so slightly. She put her other hand on his back, whispering, "Don't faint on me! You're okay."

"I won't," he muttered, opening his eyes again. "S-Sorry. Just a bit shaky."

"It's alright," Sunray said for the third time, and kept one steadying hand on his back for a moment longer. "A good night's sleep would do you a world of good right now. Go on home."

Night managed a sad chuckle. "Wish I could be sure I'll get that," he said with a grimace, then gave himself a little shake. "Anyway. Thanks, Sunshine." He leaned closer and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she replied, and with a final smile, he stepped back and vanished.

-

"Okay." Jakira sat down cross-legged on the couch, while Synthia sat across from her on the loveseat with an amused and expectant face. "I got permission. Here we go."

Her mother leaned back against the couch and yawned. "Did Night finally confess his undying love for you?"

Jakira stared at her. Synthia had known for a while about her thing for her fighting partner, and had been convinced the feeling was mutual the whole time. Her comment just now was completely sarcastic.

"Actually, yes," she replied with a grin, and her mother nearly fell off the couch. "But, uh . . . there's more."

"What?"

"Just listen," Jakira insisted, and Synthia obeyed, sitting in silence with huge eyes as her daughter explained the day's wild events. An openmouthed smile of disbelief crossed her face as she heard about their reveal and who Night truly was, which changed to shock about the barrier's disappearance, and at last to horror about Preciser's defeat and the return of the absentee king.

"So . . . how big is Rifugio?" she asked when Jakira had finished. "Has Raevyn told you?"

"No. I'm not sure," Jakira admitted. "I dunno, this whole thing has me worried. Alex, too. Korral has already labeled us enemies."

Synthia gave a long sigh, and was silent for a few seconds. "Well, this has a lot of conflicting pros and cons," she said finally. "No more barrier, no more secrets between you and Night." She blinked. "I mean, Alex. Hopefully, no more interruptions to your classes, assuming Korral doesn't have Preciser's punctuality. But if Korral is really that powerful . . ." She trailed off, her amber eyes worried.

"We're not totally unprepared," Jakira objected. "We have four years of experience fighting a Rifugian. Maybe Korral's style will be the same."

Her mother didn't look reassured. "Don't assume anything," she warned. "At least, not until you learn more about him."

In the kitchen behind them, the oven started beeping. "On that happy note," Synthia announced, "time for dinner." She got up and walked to the table, and Jakira followed with a sigh, although she'd lost her appetite.

-

It snowed heavily that night, so much that her school sent out an email to parents saying the school would be closed the next day. Jakira couldn't help but feel relieved. At least they got a free day to process.

Since she wouldn't have to get up early, she slept right up till 10 that morning. She could hear Synthia playing classical music in the living room; she'd woken up to a burst of dramatic strings.

"Happy Tuesday," she mumbled drowsily to herself, then sat up, grabbed her clothes from the floor, and changed. She turned on her phone briefly to check for messages-usually there weren't any in the morning, but it didn't hurt to check-and blinked in surprise as she realized Alex had texted her at 11:23 the night before. It was just one message, one word, but it made her heart skip a beat.

help

Jakira scrambled off her bed with the phone and hurried out of her room. Her mother was sitting cross-legged on the couch eating a bowl of cereal. She jumped when her daughter rushed out, and tried to finish chewing so she could say something, but Jakira quickly held up the phone and showed her the message. "I have to go," she burst out, pointing backwards to the door. "I need to check on him."

Her mother grimaced sympathetically and nodded. "Go ahead," she finally managed to say after swallowing. "Update me when you get back."

Too anxious to sit down and put her shoes on, Jakira ran out the front door, hopped down the stairs, and sprinted down the sidewalk in her bare feet. The freezing pavement stung, but at the moment she didn't care.

When she reached the Samerons' little white house two blocks from her own home, she paused on their front porch for a second, trying to catch her breath. However, someone inside must've seen her approach, because Mrs. Sameron opened the door only a few seconds after her arrival. "Good morning, Jakira," she said with a faint smile. She seemed unsurprised, and very tired.

"Morning . . ." Jakira breathed back, growing more worried by the second. Normally Alex was the one to greet her at the door. "Where's . . . Is-Is Alex okay?"

Mrs. Sameron's glum look told her the answer before she said a word. "It was a rough night for him," she sighed sadly, stepping back and opening the door wider so Jakira could come in. "He had a pretty bad panic attack near midnight, and never really got to sleep."

Another one?! In the same night?! Jakira stifled the exclamation and swallowed, her eyes getting rounder. "Is he up?" she asked quietly, scanning the empty living room and kitchen.

"He got up a couple hours ago and sat with the twins watching some Christmas specials, but then started feeling nauseous and went back to bed. Last I saw, he was sleeping." Alex's mother sat heavily on the couch. "You can check on him if you want," she suggested wearily. "See if he's awake and feeling better."

Swallowing again, Jakira nodded and moved for his room. She poked the door open just a few inches and peered inside, genuinely hoping he was still sleeping. After such a bad night, that was just what he needed.

Fortunately, he was indeed still asleep. He was curled up in his bed, covered almost entirely by a thick comforter. She could only see the top half of his face and his ruffled black hair above the blanket, which she couldn't help but think looked a little cute.

Very gently and quietly, she pulled his door closed again and went back into the living room with Alex's mother. "He's asleep," she said with a nod, but had slowly begun to feel guilty. Alex was probably only feeling so sick because he'd been fighting the day before, when he'd been strictly warned to take it easy for a while. Jakira had been the one to suggest the whole thing, which kind of made the new enemy and awful night her fault. If she hadn't said anything, then Korral would've returned and handled Preciser on his own without knowing of their existence, and Alex's recovery wouldn't have been interrupted. Again.

"Don't be looking like that," Mrs. Sameron scolded her, and she blinked. "It's not your fault."

"But it is . . . kind of," she protested. "I mean . . ." What did Alex tell them we were doing yesterday? "We shouldn't have gone out so soon after he got out of the hospital." She sat down heavily on the second couch, across from the one Alex's mother was sitting on.

"That may be true, but he wanted to be out with you. He doesn't like staying indoors for long. Besides, he's turning eighteen in less than a month." Mrs. Sameron's voice grew distant, almost sad. "He's starting to make his own decisions. And you . . ." She managed a tiny smile. "You're his favorite person."

Jakira blushed. "Really?" she squeaked, her voice three octaves higher than normal, then realized how dumb that sounded. Of course, she knew he loved her-he'd told her all the time and definitely acted like it-but somehow, hearing it phrased that way, she almost felt bad. After all, this was his mother she was talking to.

Mrs. Sameron sighed deeply. "I didn't know him when he was really little," she admitted. "And he never acted like a normal child. That was what first caught my attention when I saw him at the orphanage. While all the other kids were running and laughing and playing, he was sitting by himself, watching the others with this emptiness in his eyes. It was so hard to see an expression like that on a child. I wished from that moment that I could save him from his dark world, but here we are, ten years later, and barely anything has changed." Her voice shook.

Jakira swallowed, not having expected the conversation to turn this way so fast. "I . . . don't want to tell you his personal reasons why he keeps himself from you and the rest of the family, since he should be the one to tell you, but I will say this: he does love you, and your husband, and his sisters." She lowered her gaze. "He's just scared."

Her friend's mother stared. "Of what?" she protested. "I would die for him!"

She exhaled. ". . . Some things happened during his childhood that destroyed his trust in close relationships," she ventured carefully. "Particularly with parental figures."

They both jumped and glanced over when Alex's bedroom door creaked open all of a sudden. He came into sight, but almost immediately stumbled further down the hall and vanished into the bathroom. She heard him crash onto the floor, and a moment later heard him start gagging.

Jakira's heart twisted in sympathy, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Why did I ever say anything? What was I thinking?

Mrs. Sameron bit her lip, then looked back at her. "He-He never told me where he came from," she mumbled. "I only asked once, when we first talked to him at the orphanage. He was only ten at the time, but he had a breakdown the moment I mentioned it. I haven't brought it up since, but I can't figure out how to make him feel comfortable enough to open up to me." Her eyes began filling with tears. "I've tried everything. I want so badly to make him happy, to fix whatever makes him so depressed and scared, but I don't know what to do . . . !"

" . . . I . . . I-I'll talk to him," Jakira assured her, the weight on her heart growing ever heavier. "Believe me, I wish the same things-that I could just save him from his troubles when I can't. It's just . . . not that simple. He's opened up to me, but sometimes he still tells me he's fine when he's not. I think that he thinks he's sparing everyone when he doesn't tell them how he really feels."

Before Alex's mother had the chance to respond, the doorbell rang, and they both jumped. Mrs. Sameron had only left the screen door closed earlier, so Jakira blinked in surprise to see Oscuro-in mortal form, obviously-standing on the other side of the glass.

Mrs. Sameron frowned, stood up, walked over to the door, and creaked it open slightly. "Yes . . . May I help you?" she asked cautiously.

Oscuro smiled broadly and nodded to her. "You must be Jenni Sameron?" he questioned. She nodded, and he went on, "Pleasure to meet you. My name is Tizian Valenti. I'm Alex's father."

Silence ruled. Mrs. Sameron stared at him, her mouth parted. Jakira walked up to join her, smiling.

"I'm not here to take him away," Tizian promised with a chuckle. "I simply wanted to meet the wonderful family who's been taking care of him, and . . . I wanted to see him." He raised his eyebrows at the quiet that followed, a puzzled grin crossing his face. "May I come in?"

"Oh!" Her partner's adoptive mother jumped and shook herself. "O-Of course, please, come in!" she burst out, stepping aside to let him in as she continued nervously rambling. "I, uh, I should've recognized you; he looks a lot like you. Please come in! How-um, I thought-I dunno-I thought-I just thought he had no parents, I mean, well, the orphanage, duh, he was an orphan. Sorry! I'm just-" Finally she slapped one hand over her mouth, while both Tizian and Jakira smiled in amusement.

"Thank you." Tizian turned to study Jakira. Of course they'd already met and talked a good deal, when she and Raevyn had rescued him and Night from Preciser, but she'd been transformed. Hers and Alex's gems had a special magic that blinded the eyes and minds of people to keep them from figuring out the secret identities of the light and dark heroes. He wouldn't necessarily recognize her now.

"And who might you be?" he inquired slowly.

She cleared her throat. "My name is Jakira," she replied steadily, and, to her surprise, a sparkle of recognition entered his eyes as she said her name. "I'm a . . . friend . . . ?"

Tizian gradually smiled, the same little smile she'd seen on Alex that was both annoying and endearing. It clearly said, "I know something you don't."

"Friend, right," he said at last, still grinning impishly. "He calls you 'Sunshine.'"

Jakira's breath caught in her throat. He knows?!

Then she remembered that Alex had known she was Sunray for several days before telling her and revealing his own identity. He'd had plenty of time to tell his father, which she didn't mind. If Alex trusted Tizian, then so did she.

"He does?" Mrs. Sameron asked, then grinned. "That's adorable."

Jakira shook herself back to the present and nodded giddily. Tizian had only said that in order to let her know he knew her without giving it away to Alex's mother, so it had gone right over her head.

"So, uh . . ." Mrs. Sameron ventured hesitantly as they sat down. "Are you going to tell me the story?"

Tizian blanched-he couldn't tell her without giving away both his and Night's identities―so Jakira quickly cut in with, "Hey, hey, wait. I need to call someone over." She whipped out her phone and called her mother.

After one ring, she heard Synthia's voice sound. "Hey, sweetie. Is he okay?"

She glanced toward the hallway, but Alex still hadn't reappeared. "No, not really," she sighed. "But hey, can you come over? There's someone I want you to . . . meet."

Silence reigned on the other end for a moment, then her mother hung up. Jakira turned off her phone and grinned at Tizian. "Synthia," she said softly, telling him the real name of his old partner before she arrived. He smiled excitedly, and glanced at the door in anticipation.

Less than two minutes later, her mother appeared at the screen door and pushed inside without hesitation, only to stop in her tracks the moment she spotted Tizian. He stood up and smiled warmly at her. "Hello, Synthia," he greeted her, his voice very soft. "It's me, Tizian."

". . . Tizian . . ." Synthia echoed in a daze, and wandered up to her long-lost partner. Jakira saw her eyes fill with tears as a smile stretched across her face. "Ozzie?" she choked happily.

Tizian nodded and wrapped her in an affectionate hug, while Mrs. Sameron looked on in total amazement. Suddenly she frowned, a startled look on her face. She turned to Jakira, pointed to her wedding ring, then gestured to Synthia and Tizian in questioning horror.

Jakira cringed and wildly shook her head. Neither her mother nor Alex's father had taken off their wedding bands since their spouses had died, obviously having no desire to remarry. But Mrs. Sameron had no idea what kind of relationship they had, so seeing them like this had obviously conveyed the wrong message. Old friends, she mouthed to her, and Alex's mother relaxed and nodded.

"What're you guys doing, having a party without me?" a familiar, hoarse voice asked, and everyone jumped. Synthia and Tizian pulled back, and Jakira leaned past them to look towards the hallway. Alex was standing at the edge of the room, one hand on the wall, watching them with surprisingly bright eyes. He was still in his pajamas-an old long-sleeved shirt and fluffy black and white pants-but he didn't seem particularly embarrassed as he made his way slowly across the room. He paused beside Jakira, his blue eyes darting back and forth between Tizian and Jenni. "Hi . . ." he ventured at last with a nervous smile. "Uh . . . Dad, do you . . . Have you and-" He broke off and shook his head with wide eyes. Everyone was still quiet, maybe from shock, maybe from a loss for words. It was a rather awkward situation, but for once Alex seemed more casually irritated than uncomfortable. "C'mon, guys, help me out!" he protested, waving his arms. "What's going on?"

Jenni cleared her throat. "Sorry," she managed to choke out. "This is . . . I mean-what's the deal with your father only showing up now? I'm a little frazzled; do you blame me?"

Alex and Tizian exchanged an uncomfortable glance, Alex's smile fading and his shoulders starting to tense. Jakira's heart sank, watching them both deflate and fidget. At last Tizian squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. Focusing on Mrs. Sameron, he said carefully, "Alex and I were . . . separated, about ten years ago. An old enemy of mine was threatening us both. I had something he wanted, but I couldn't give it to him. The guy knew everything about me―my name, my address, my family . . . He tried to kill Alex to blackmail me into giving me what he wanted, so I gave the thing to Alex, hid him in the orphanage, and left for . . . everyone's safety."

Jenni blinked a few times as she processed the story. "So . . . what's different now?" she asked quietly. Both she and Alex were avoiding each other's eyes. "And what could be so important to the guy that he would kill an innocent child for it?"

Alex opened his mouth, but then closed it without saying anything and looked away.

"Tizian just found out his enemy died recently," Jakira said quickly, hoping Mrs. Sameron didn't notice the way Tizian looked sharply at her.

"And the object . . . ?" Jenni prompted.

Jakira, Alex, Tizian, and Synthia all pressed their lips tightly together. "I can't tell you that . . ." Alex mumbled finally, staring at the floor. Jakira was silently admiring his decision to say "I" instead of "We" to make it less awkward-he definitely had a way with words sometimes-until he finished, ". . . yet."

She, Synthia, and Tizian froze, while Mrs. Sameron frowned at all of them.

"And on that note," Alex quickly went on, his way-too-cheery tone sounding forced, "I believe you and I should probably have a chat, fine lady." He hooked his arm through Jakira's and pulled her towards his room.

-

"Sooo . . . is this happy-guy thing you're doing real?" Jakira asked softly, eyeing the collection of medications on Alex's nightstand and the bucket sitting beside his bed."Or is it just a charade?"

She was sitting in his desk chair, and he was curled up on his bed on top of the covers, still looking way too happy for someone in his situation.

Alex sighed as he slowly sat up. "Kind of both," he admitted. "I'm just trying not to think about it."

"We do need to figure out what we'll do if Korral attacks, though," Jakira reminded him, and she couldn't help but notice he flinched at her words.

"I know," Alex mumbled. "But . . . whenever I think about it, all I do is stress. And the only thing that did for me was give me two horrible panic attacks and quite possibly the most challenging night of my life. I know we need a plan; I just . . ." He bit his lip. "I just can't, right now. I need time, that's all."

She was tempted to point out that they might not have a lot of time, but she knew that wouldn't help him, not to mention she'd said enough things lately that she now regretted. And speaking of . . .

"I'm sorry, by the way," she murmured, playing with her hair. When Alex looked confused, she added, "I should never have said anything yesterday. If I hadn't, then-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," her partner interrupted, straightening. "Jak. You had absolutely no way of knowing Korral was coming back yesterday. You can't be blaming this mess on yourself. It was all just terrible timing, okay?"

"But I did know you were supposed to be taking it easy," she protested. "And I know for certain that your doctor would not approve of most of the things you did yesterday."

Alex studied her with his dark blue eyes. "The extra fighting wasn't what messed with my recovery, if that's what you mean," he insisted. "That was from the attacks."

Jakira blinked. "But panic attacks are mental things, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but with physical symptoms. My heart really did not appreciate beating at a hundred miles an hour twice last night." He swallowed slowly, reaching up to rub his chest. "It was hurting this morning."

She sat up straighter, panic flashing through her mind. He'd already suffered a nearly fatal heart attack recently, and the thought that he still wasn't out of the woods for such a serious health problem scared her.

"I think I hit my head, too," he mumbled sheepishly, "sometime in the end of the first one. I was kinda desperate for it to stop, plus I was tired and delirious, so I purposely stood up so I'd black out and get it over with. Aaaand . . . yeah, then I woke up with a headache. So, uh, you can add that to the list of really smart things I've done this week."

She frowned. "Is that normal?"

"Not . . . necessarily," he admitted. "It's pretty rare to faint from a panic attack. It's never actually happened to me before last night. It was probably because I'm still in recovery mode."

Jakira sighed, trying to figure out how to respond, and at last went with, "Just try not to trigger any of it again. And . . . you might want to have a believable excuse prepared for when your doctor flips at your next check-up."

"Ohhh, crap!" he whined, flopping back on his bed and burying his face in his pillow. "I completely forgot about that . . ."

"It shouldn't be too hard," she assured him. "We told everyone else that you and I went out for the day, right? We can just stem off that. You're good at excuses, aren't you?"

Alex lifted his head from the pillow enough to shoot her a skeptical look. "You tell me if you think telling my mother that I killed a creepy cat was a good explanation as to why I would be gone all night." He made a noise that sounded like a mix between a groan and a sigh. "But, uh . . . no, the old problems flaring up isn't what's worrying me. It's . . ."

His voice trailed away and died, and he slowly rested his head back on his pillow.

"It's . . . what?" Jakira asked gently.

Her partner shook his head slightly as he closed his eyes. "Just . . . something that'll be near impossible to explain," he mumbled. But when Jakira opened her mouth to ask what, he shook his head harder and pressed both fists against his chest. "I don't want to talk about it now," he whispered, sucking in quick deep breaths.

Her heart lurched as she realized he was on the verge of another attack-and she wasn't helping.

Had he been fighting it all morning?!

"I'm sorry! It's okay!" she burst out. "No more talking. I'm only making things worse."

"No, you're not, it's fine, don't go," Alex wheezed, all in one breath as he shoved himself up again. "I need to get stronger, anyway."

Jakira stood up, took the two steps to close the distance between them, and sat at his side. "Not until you've recovered," she tried to reassure him, lightly rubbing his back.

Surprisingly, Alex flinched away from her touch.

She blinked, more confused than hurt at his action. After a couple seconds' hesitation, she asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," he mumbled. There was pain in his eyes as he quickly added, "It's not you," but didn't offer any further explanation.

A couple of tentative knocks at the door made him jerk up straighter and call, "Yeah?"

"Just me," Tizian's voice replied, muffled by the door. "Can I come in?"

"'Course!"

His father opened the door and took a few steps into the room, his dark brown eyes softening as he looked at them. "Sorry for the surprise visit," he apologized quietly, sitting down in the desk chair Jakira had just gotten up from. "I wasn't prepared for all the . . . awkwardness."

"No problem," Alex insisted.

Tizian grinned, then leaned back and studied their faces. "So . . . the secret's out?"

Alex blinked, then asked with good-natured sarcasm, "Which one? The one about me being Night and her being Sunray? Or that I've been in love with her since I was fourteen? Yes to both."

Jakira almost choked on air. It was still so crazy hearing him refer to himself as Night, but his comment about being in love with her made her heart flutter and melt at the same time. She smiled so wide her face hurt, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Tizian looked almost as blown. "Okay, then!" he said briskly, laughing. "Didn't see that coming. Huh . . . wow."

"Yeah," Jakira agreed. "Craziness all around." She paused, then glanced at Alex as she straightened again. "Have you gotten a chance to tell him about Korral?" she whispered.

He shook his head, then shifted into a criss-cross-applesauce position and began explaining the situation to his father. Tizian had a similar reaction to Synthia's, except he seemed more uneasy at the mention of the king than alarmed.

Alex seemed to notice something off as well. His tone heavy with caution, he asked, "Did you know about him?"

Tizian stared at the floor as he admitted, "Yes. Raevyn mentioned him every now and then whenever he'd come to talk to me."

Jakira frowned. "Wait, what?" She remembered the two of them having some odd exchanges during the rescue, but she hadn't really thought much about it.

"Raevyn made a habit of coming to talk to me every other day or so, to keep me sane while I was a prisoner," Alex's father explained. "He insisted on remaining anonymous for basically the whole time, but I still got to know him pretty well. I very much enjoyed our talks." He shook himself. "Anyway, yes, he mentioned Korral often. Unfortunately, he didn't give a lot of information about him. Some were complaints about how Korral had ruined his chances of making friends by brainwashing everyone. Once he said he was worried Korral would give away the secret of a darkald's true appearance, but another time wondered if he might be the key to 'uniting humans and darkalds again.'" When both Jakira and Alex looked baffled, he shrugged. "You can go to him for details. He didn't bother telling me what he meant."

"Sounds like we need to have another chat with him," Jakira pointed out, grinning at the thought. She hadn't known Raevyn for long, and definitely didn't know him on the level that Tizian seemed to. But he had a way of making conversations . . . interesting, one way or another.

Alex slowly nodded, although he was frowning. "Yeah . . . Only problem is, do any of us have a way of contacting him without Korral finding out?"

The three of them sat in silence, until Jakira suggested to Alex, "Could you teleport down to ask him?"

He sighed. "I could, technically, but there's too much risk. We'd have no way of knowing if it's a good time to talk. He might be on patrol with other darkalds, or with Korral. Both would put him in an extremely difficult position, and would pretty much destroy any chance of Korral leaving us alone."

Those, unfortunately . . . were very good points.

The door suddenly flew open. Tizian jumped a mile high and fell off the desk chair, Alex slammed backwards against the wall, and Jakira squealed.

Synthia ignored their startled reactions. "All of you, get out here now," she ordered, bending over and pulling Tizian gently back to his feet. "There's something you need to see."

-------- So yeah...idk if I've mentioned before but I had to change Alex's third language to Greek. Found out late that Spanish and Italian are far too similar for the Spanish to make sense in this setting. XD Plus, even though Alex is his full name, the name itself is short for Alexander, which is a Greek name. And means "defender of mankind." XDD Greek is a pretty language, too...

Sorry I'm like two years late, if anyone's still here..

😅