Chapter 18

Kat

Tik and Deliah were just the first Mageians we had convinced to join the Illyrian cause. In the following days we had approached Mageia after Mageia and day after day our numbers grew. Soon we were over sixty Mageia strong, and I marveled at the number of Mageia who were willing to risk their lives for freedom, though I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I knew as well as anyone else that the life that awaited us in Alexandria would be a living hell.

As our numbers increased, we moved everyone from the smaller rooms to the barracks area, transforming them into a makeshift infirmary. Tik had been only the first Mageia who needed treatment for a variety of injuries.

Hel had co-opted Tik and Betts to help him treat the injured recruits. He was stretched thin, between taking care of the injured and helping with new recruits. V and I stepped in and did our best to help keep things running smoothly.

A week or two after the beginning of the Machi, I stood looking across the dorm room. Row after row of cots now lined the barracks, filled with Mageia going about their daily lives.

"Scary, isn't it?" V asked as he joined me at the entrance to the tunnel system, watching the other Mageia moving around like a small hive of insects. I nodded at V. It was terrifying. All these people were relying on us, on Hel. What if we were wrong to trust him? What if he betrayed us?

"We're not wrong," V said, reading my emotions easily. "Hel has come through on everything he promised."

I grunted in acknowledgment. I had to admit it was true. Hel and Betts had shared more and more about life in Illyria, and as much as I tried to stop myself, hope had begun to grow that there might be an escape for my people from slavery.

I'd managed to avoid spending time alone with Hel since the first night we met, something that seemed to frustrate the Illyrian to no end. I don't think he was used to having his prey elude him, and I was positively beginning to feel hunted.

Our time on the island was running out and all I could do was hope that I could continue to keep away from him until the ship arrived. The Illyrian… unsettled me on a deep level, a fact my brother had picked up on. V kept trying to talk to me about our host, but I'd managed to avoid most of those discussions. We met daily with the leaders of each of the Mageian elements. V cornered me during one of our morning strategy meetings.

We all routinely met with Betts to prepare for the trip through the mountains to the location where we'd be able to meet up with the Chrysalis.

"It's about a day long hike through the tunnels," Betts told me over a map she spread out on the kitchen counter.

"We might need to go slower with some of the injured we have," I said, studying the map.

"We've dealt with that before," she said, sipping her drink. "We usually have the Air Mageia take turns carrying them on stretchers. When the Air Mageia get too tired, we can have others physically carry them."

"Sounds like a plan," I said, nibbling at a piece of toast and sipping on the hot, bitter drink Hel called coffee.

"It looks like there are some stopping points here, here and here," V said, pointing at some junctions on the map.

Betts nodded.

"We have way points set up so that when it's time to go, we don't have to carry a ton of supplies with us. Each camp will have its own stock of supplies."

"Who handles the resupply?" V asked.

"My ship makes several trips here a year," Betts answered. "My crew resupplies each way point when we arrive. That way Hel can focus on finding any Mageia that remain."

"Speaking of, Hel was looking for you," V said.

"Good for him," I said, turning away from the knowing looks that passed between my brother and Betts. These two were altogether too much trouble together.

"C'mon, Kat! Why are you being such an ass to him?" he demanded.

I shrugged, refusing to answer. Since the night Hel had kissed me so gently something in me had felt… brittle. As if I were a dam that was moments away from breaking. I couldn't give this man the chance to break through the armor that protected me. Protected all of us. Though what it protected me from, I couldn't say for sure.

"Maybe… Maybe you should give him a chance?" V chewed on his lip nervously.

"A chance?" I demanded, looking at my brother angrily. "A chance to do fucking what? Betray us? I think we're already giving him enough ammunition on that front," I said, gesturing wildly to the Mageia milling around.

Betts flushed at my comment, and I instantly regretted it. Hel had done nothing to earn my ire.

"Why are you so pissed? He's been nothing but kind to us. I think you should give him the chance to—to get to know you," V continued as if he hadn't heard me. "To know who you really are, Elex."

A visceral shiver went through me as he used my old name.

"Don't call me that," I said automatically.

"Why not?" V demanded. "It's your name, and we aren't in the Legion anymore."

"It hasn't been my name for a long time," I said.

My brother grabbed my arm, but I spun and pulled away.

"This is a new beginning, Kat," his voice was pleading, wanting me to understand. "For all of us. We don't have to be who the Elusians wanted us to be. We can reclaim who we were, before they enslaved us."

"I haven't seen you jumping up and down and declaring yourself Prince Lucius Alexus the First," I snapped bitterly.

It was V's turn to flush, his eyes burning.

"I never wanted to be a prince," he hissed. "And I don't think princes would fit in Illyrian society, anyway. But I wouldn't mind being called Luke again."

"That's the difference between us, adelfos," I said. "For me, Elex is dead. He died with Erix on that river."

I heard V sigh as I stalked away. Luke. He wants me to call him Luke again. How did I just know this was going to fuck with me?

We estimated that the Chrysalis was two days out when Hel showed up to the morning strategy session over breakfast. He had mostly avoided the small meetings, too busy with his patients or managing the influx of Mageia. Luke, Betts and I frequently met in the mornings to plan the day, send out search parties, assign chores, and make plans for training. We had been making fewer and fewer searches as we accounted for the majority of the Mageia.

"I need someone to go with me on a final tour of Heraklion to make sure there are no Mageia remaining in the city," he announced abruptly as he entered the room.

"Vl-Luke- could—" I began, but he interrupted me.

"How about it, kitten? You up for a final recon? I'd hate to leave anyone behind if we didn't have to."

His silver eyes burned into me, issuing a silent challenge. Luke and Betts shared a glance before turning to me, eyes wide and playing innocent. My brother ducked his head when I turned my glare on him, but I could tell he was smirking at me. Ass.

"Unless you're afraid to be alone with me," Hel whispered in my ear as he slid next to me at the table.

I glared at Hel, unable to repress a shiver at his nearness. I could tell by the glint in his eye that he knew exactly the effect he was having on me.

"Fine," I growled. Might as well get it over with. We were going to be stuck on a ship together for a couple of days anyway. Might as well clear the air. I needed to make it clear that there was nothing more between us, so I turned my mind to business.

It had been several days since we had heard even a whisper of any Mageia remaining in the city. I'd been speaking with each recruit to try to track and confirm the number of Mageia that had been in this Machi. As far as I could tell, there were only a small handful unaccounted for, maybe as few as one or two.

Hel and I set out right after breakfast, the sun sending shafts of golden light across the city as it peeked over the horizon.

The trip was not what I had expected. I'm not sure exactly what I'd thought would happen, but I hadn't expected that we would spend the day moving largely in silence. Occasionally Hel would point out a hazard, but otherwise we moved quietly for most of the day, hardly speaking as we watched for signs of any remaining Mageia.

We initially planned on it being only a day trip, but sometime late afternoon Hel caught a fresh scent, and we started moving further and further from the tunnel system.

It was early evening, the darkness spreading like spilled ink across the hulk of the city when Hel finally spotted our quarry. I had been enclosing us within a bubble of silence, so the first indication of trouble was Hel's sudden stillness.

He crouched down behind the rusted hulk of some kind of vehicle. Hel called them "automobiles". Apparently, they were conveyances that didn't require magic to power them. Seemed inefficient to me, but what did I know?

Hel pointed two fingers at his eyes, then pointed across the avenue to a pair of buildings that stood like silent sentinels around a bubbling pool. It was one of the freshwater sources Hel had us routinely monitor for activity.

At first, I didn't see anything, and I glanced back at Hel for confirmation.

"You sure?" I whispered. Even though I knew sound couldn't travel beyond my Air bubble, it seemed like tempting fate to be any louder.

He nodded, tapping the side of his nose. Of course, those damn Soma senses. I saw the breeze ruffle his golden hair and I was entranced for a moment at the way the setting sun reflected the gold in it.

I tore my gaze away and back to the water, waiting for what seemed like forever, until I saw it: Someone was moving low to the ground, slowly moving closer to the pool.

When she paused to look around for any threats, I realized I recognized her. She was a young Fire Mageia from Alexandria that I had known only in passing by the name of Skyla. She had never participated in the joint exercises we had held with other Hoplites, but she had never been overtly unfriendly, either.

Her blond hair was dirty and matted. Her clothing had seen better days. There were tears and rips in her shirt, her tac pants were covered in mud smears, and the jacket she wore had been taken from a Roman Legionnaire from the looks of the eagle symbol emblazoned on the arm.

Her clothes weren't the only thing that looked like they'd seen better days. There was just enough light to see that her face was bruised and there were dark hollows under her eyes. She'd lost weight since I had last seen her, and her cheeks looked gaunt.

She moved slowly, cautiously, filling containers with fresh water before slipping back to the relative safety of the buildings. We tracked her from the watering hole to a building that looked like it had been a bookstore at one time. We lost sight of her multiple times as she dodged and doubled back on herself. If it hadn't been for Hel's enhanced senses, we would never have been able to follow her.

After she entered the decrepit building Hel turned to me.

"How do you want to play this?" he asked quietly, his voice rasping slightly.

I considered his question. I didn't want to scare her, but I was also wary of her power. Fire Mageia were dangerous and hot headed even outside the Machi. Inside it, they were lethal.

"I've seen her before, but I don't know her very well," I said. "I can try talking to her, see if I can convince her to join us."

"She must be damn good if she's survived this long without getting killed."

I shrugged. "She looks like she's in rough shape. She's lost a lot of weight, but that could be just because she's using a lot of power. The more magic we perform, the more calories we need to fuel our bodies."

"Okay. You go in the front, and I'll circle around to the back of the building, just to make sure there are no nasty surprises waiting for us," he said.

I nodded and we separated, him fading into the shadows of the late afternoon, and me heading toward the front door of the building.

If I were willing to trance, I could probably have located her in the building quickly, but that would make me more vulnerable than I was comfortable with now that Hel had peeled off to cover the back. Instead, I walked to the front of the building, stepping cautiously over the threshold.

It was dark inside the building, and I paused to give my eyes a moment to adjust. There was a little light from the rising moon filtering in through the dirty windows. Piles of what might have been decomposing books lay tossed around the room, covered in dirt and dead leaves. I knew V would have ached to see the ruin of knowledge that surrounded us, and I was glad he wasn't here.

The building was a large one, the main area easily two stories tall. Vines grew through the windows and up the walls. It was a large open room with what might have once been shelves piled throughout.

In the very back of the room I could see the shifting shadows cast by a small fire. I worked my way towards it, moving carefully. I spied a few unpowered trip wires as I worked my way across. They were cleverly built from twine and some deadly looking spikes but were nothing that I couldn't easily see and avoid.

The lack of powered traps reinforced my opinion that Skyla was struggling more than we originally thought. If she was fully powered, I would have expected her to have her own version of my Air alarms set up.

I made my way through the shelving until I came around the corner where I found her. She was seated in front of a small brazier that looked like it had been salvaged from a camping supply store. She had a fire burning under a small metal pot. I saw pages sticking out from the fire and realized she was using the books as fuel. She poured water into the pot. Nearby were the bones of some small rodents. There were times Erix and I had resorted to eating rats as kids, but the thought still turned my stomach. It looked like she was trying to make some kind of meal with just the water and a few handfuls of plants she had collected.

She saw me a moment after I saw her, and in half a heartbeat a fireball flew from her fingers toward me.

I jumped back and it slammed against the far wall, thankfully missing me completely.

"Skyla," I called, pitching my voice low, hoping to reassure her. "I'm not here to hurt you!"

The fireballs stopped, but it was a moment or two before I heard her call out.

"Who's there?" she demanded, her voice quavering slightly.

"It's Kat, Skyla," I called. "Air Mageia."

"Kataramenos? Is that you?" her high voice called.

"Yeah, it's me," I walked around the corner and slowly moving toward her, my hands held up in front of me in a gesture of peace.

Up close she looked even worse than I'd originally thought. Some of the stains on her clothes were old blood. Whether it was hers or not, I couldn't tell. She held a knife in her left hand and a tendril of Fire circled her right. The hand that held the knife was shaking ever so slightly, the crackling cookfire making its shadow waver across the wall behind her.

I paused as I moved out from the shelving, revising my early thankfulness that V wasn't here. He was so much better at talking to people than I was.

"Hey," I said softly.

"Hey," she responded warily.

I saw her eyes rake me from head to foot, and I could imagine what she was seeing. I was clean, healthy, and certainly wasn't starving. Then I saw her gaze catch on my bare neck.

"You don't have a collar!" her right hand dropped to her side in her surprise.

I nodded.

"Are you— are you a ghost?" she asked, her voice trembling.

I couldn't keep myself from a bark of laughter.

"Fuck, no. I'm very real."

"How did you get it off?" she demanded, tugging at her own medallion.

"That's a long story," I began. "And you look really hungry."

She stiffened, then lowered her other hand as well.

"I guess there's no point in killing you if you don't have a medallion," she said finally. "It wouldn't help me graduate."

"No, no medallion," I answered. "But I've got plenty of food and I'm willing to share it with you."

She eyed me suspiciously.

"What do you want in return?" We both knew no one did anything for free in the Legion.

"Time. I want to tell you some of the things we've found out," I said. "I've made some friends, and I think we can help each other. So, an exchange. My food, for your time."

She considered my offer dubiously.

"Just my time?" she asked. "That's all you want?"

"Yep. I share what I've learned with you, then you decide what you want to do," I answer. "I'm pretty sure that what I have to say is going to blow your mind."

"Fine," she said, letting out a puff of air. "But stay right there. Throw me the food."

I cautiously slid some of the pre-packaged food Hel had provided us across the floor. She eyed me warily before snatching the food and taking it back to the corner. As she tore into the packaging, she tore off pieces of energy bars and stuffed them in her mouth hungrily, I sat a relatively safe distance away, an Air shield at the ready. She chewed hungrily for several minutes in silence.

"So, talk," she said finally, taking a swig from a canteen.

I told her briefly of our meeting with Hel, how he had saved V's life, and what he had shared about Illyria, and the plan to escape from the life of slavery.

She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, her eyes glittering.

"So, this Helios," she said thoughtfully. "He's the beast they were talking about?"

I nodded.

"He's not a beast, though, he's an Illyrian," I continued. "And a friend."

She nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving me.

"I wondered why this place had gone so quiet recently," she said. "I kinda thought everyone had killed each other. Makes sense if you've all gathered somewhere."

She paused for a minute, seemingly thinking over the things I told her.

"I want to meet him," she demanded. "Much as I appreciate the food, I'm not going anywhere with anyone I don't know."

I smiled and took a deep breath. "I can do that. He's outside. I wasn't sure how you'd feel about meeting him up close," I said.

She laughed. Something about it struck me as off. A little too forced, a little too high.

"Yeah, I can see how that might be a problem. Go ahead and invite your friend in, I won't barbecue him," she said, settling back on her heels.

I whistled shrilly using my magic to magnify the sound. It was a signal Hel and I had worked out on previous trips to indicate it was all clear.

After a few minutes, I felt Hel's eyes on me as he neared the fire. I'm not sure how I knew, exactly, but I could almost feel the moment he came around the corner and saw me. I stood as he approached, Skyla rising in response.

"Skyla, this is Helios. Hel, this is Skyla, Fotia Mageia," I said.

Hel came around the corner to stand beside me.

"A pleasure, my lady," Hel said, nodding at her, the firelight gleaming across the shiny scars on his face and the collar at his neck.

"Well, aren't you a pretty one," Skyla said slyly as she took in the scars on his face. I felt Hel flinch next to me.

"Hey—" I began, but Hel waved me off.

"It's okay, Kat," he said.

"So I hear you want me to join your little rebellion?" she asked.

Hel nodded cautiously.

"What's in it for me?" she demanded.

Hel seemed confused.

"Other than freedom?" he asked.

"Freedom doesn't fill bellies," Skyla said. "I've been free as a bird these last two weeks, but it didn't put food in my stomach or keep me warm at night. Why should I join you?"

"It's a chance to get out from under the Elusian's thumb," I said, answering for Hel. "We can make a life for ourselves, not one they are dictating."

She seemed to be considering it.

"I can see where that would be attractive to you, Kataramenos," she said. "You're just an Air Mageia. If you don't bring back enough medallions, you'll be lucky if you don't end up back in the House of Eros."

I winced at the reminder.

She got to her feet, stepping casually on one of the rodent bones. Warning bells rang in my head as I saw a string of medallions hanging from her belt.

"Me, on the other hand, all I need is the medallion from his neck, and I'm set for life," she said, jerking on a rope I hadn't seen in the darkness.

I'd pulled an Air shield up between us before she stopped speaking, expecting more fireballs. I made the rookie mistake of failing to completely encircle us. I had only a moment to look up as I heard a cracking sound overhead and felt the timbers crashing down from above, and then there was darkness.

◆◆◆

The blackness slowly faded as the room came into focus. I opened my eyes to see three women standing in front of me.

We were still in Skyla's bookstore, but it was like we had somehow gone back in time. The room was pristine, and as I watched, the walls seemed to waver and solidify. There was light, but I couldn't tell exactly what its source was.

I skittered backwards until my back hit a bookcase. It was full of books and felt absolutely solid. Brand new, too, by the looks of it. Some of the books were in languages I didn't recognize, but the whole building looked beautiful.

"Where am I?" I demanded. "Where's Helios?"

"This is a place between," one of the women said.

The three women looked like they were related. The youngest wore her hair in a single red braid. The oldest had white hair braided and wrapped around her head like a crown. The woman in the middle turned… and the air escaped my lungs.

"…Mitera?" I whispered, my gaze jumping hungrily from the tips of her golden shoes to the braids in her hair. Her hair seemed to shimmer between black and red.

She smiled gently.

"Not… exactly, yios," she said, her face sad. "But I did lend her a bit of myself for a while. Here, I am called Kate."

I tried to pull up a shield reflexively. Mitera— or Kate, rather, smiled gently. "You won't be able to use your powers here."

I reached for my weapons only to find I had none. No blades of any kind, no bow or pistol. If my powers weren't working, I'd have to improvise.

I grabbed one of the volumes behind me and held it up.

"Back off," I said, holding the hardbound book aloft.

"Or…what? You'll threaten us with the works of Winnie the Pooh?" Kitty said, giggling.

I looked up and saw I held some kind of children's book, filled with illustrations and large printed words.

Something in her laughter was contagious. I couldn't keep myself from realizing the absurdity of the situation, and something slowly burbled up from my gut. It took me a few moments to realize I was laughing. I dropped the book to the ground horrified at my response.

"Did you drug me?" I demanded, dropping back to my knees. "Is—is any of this real?" I said looking around. "Am I— dead? Or hallucinating?"

"Think of this more like a dream," the old woman said. "If it makes you feel better," she sniffed dismissively.

"Be kind, Kathryn," Mitera, no, Kate, dammit! said. "The boy has been through a lot."

"I am many things, Kate, but I have never been called ‘kind'," the old woman snapped.

"Oh, stop it you two! Can't you see the poor boy is confused?" the younger one said approaching me.

"I'm Kitty," she said, crouching beside me, resting her elbows on her knees. She cocked her head sideways in a move that reminded me of how Betts had considered me when we first met.

"You could say we're family, adelfos," she said, smiling brightly. I glanced at the three women in confusion. The only family I had was V-no, Luke dammit!

"We've brought you here to give you a choice," Kathryn said grouchily. "And we should get on with it."

"We are sorry for what you have endured, Elex," They said in creepy unison.

"That's not my name," I responded automatically, just as I had with Luke. "Do you guys practice that?" I asked, my gaze traveling back and forth between them. "'Cause it's fucking weird."

"No, but we frequently act in concert," Kate said. "We brought you here because we believe in free will."

Kitty nodded. "We need your help to set right a great wrong brought on your people, but we can't do so without your permission," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We can help you unlock your potential, Elex," Kitty said. "You could be one of the greatest Tesseris Mageia this world has ever seen and can help the Illyrians restore balance to the world."

"But it comes at a price," Kathryn added. "There must be balance in the world. We can't be granting power to every Tom, Dick and Harry."

"W-what?" I started wondering if the blow I'd taken on the head was more severe than I'd thought. I could hear her words, but they just didn't seem to make sense.

Kate held her hand out to me. I took it without thinking, her hand warm and strong in my own. "Walk with me, my son," she said.

She led me through the rows of books to the boulevard outside the door, leaving the other two bickering behind us. Sunlight shone brightly on the freshly cleaned streets. She led me over to a fountain from which clear fresh water burbled.

"Sit, please," she said, taking a seat on the edge of the fountain.

I could feel the slight spray of the water as the wind shifted and looked around at the empty street. It felt absolutely real.

"It's beautiful," I said, half out loud.

"It was, indeed," Kate said, smiling sadly. "It was one of my favorite cities, until the war came."

Now that we were closer, I could see that she really wasn't Mitera. Her eyes were a little more closely set, her nose a tad bit longer. Her mannerisms and speech, though, were so similar to my mother's that it frightened me.

"What does any of this have to do with me? And why do you look so much like my mother?"

Kate plucked at the material of her blouse, twining the material between her fingers repeatedly and I realized with a start that she was nervous.

"We saw the possibility of this future long ago, and we tried to head it off," she said. "But Elus… well sometimes, he is a royal pain in the ass."

She smiled, and I somehow saw an echo of Kitty's grin in her face.

"We had a fight, and he decided he would do things his own way," she said.

"Wait…wait… ‘Elus'? As in, the god of the Elusians?" I growled.

She nodded, sighing slightly. "I'm doing a poor job of explaining this."

Kate stood and began pacing in front of the fountain.

"We are Hecate, goddess of magic, spinner of fates," her eyes, which had first appeared a startling green like Mitera's had been seemed to darken, and her voice swelled with power. Darkness swirled in her eyes; tiny flecks of light seemed to shine from within.

"We rule in the spaces between. Life and death. Crossroads. The paths not taken. We guide the traveler on their journey."

"Elus has overreached himself and needs to be brought back under control. In order to do that, I took mortal form, in the body of your Mitera," she said. "So in a very real sense, I am her. From a certain point of view."

"So why did you bring me here?" I asked, my head still spinning.

"Because you have a choice," she said, seating herself beside me again. "Unlike Elus, We believe in giving people choices. If you choose to help Us save your people, it will give them a fighting chance. But that's all it is, Elex, a chance.

"There are no guarantees that we will succeed, but without your help, there is almost no chance of success," she continued.

"Wait—so you are saying I'm the child of a goddess?" I asked, my voice rising in incredulity.

She nodded.

"You are a Son of Hecate. In olden days, we referred to humans like you as demigods," she said smiling softly. "There are many demigods amongst men. You all have remarkable powers and potential, but by a longstanding agreement of the Pantheon, we had mostly locked those powers away from use," she said. "However, Elus' actions have violated that agreement, so we need to act to restore the balance. Elus has thrown his support behind the family of the Alexi, the leaders of the Alexandrians."

"My father…" I said.

She nodded. "Your mother would have died when her village was attacked by the Alexandrian troops had I not intervened. I was able to offer her some protection," she said.

"You call that protection?" I yelled, vaulting to my feet. "He made her a slave. He beat her! He raped her! What the hell kind of ‘protection' is that?"

"I gave her all the protection I could. I hid within her mind and protected her by taking on those moments myself. Every blow was on me. Every violation, mine," Kate said her voice harsh, her eyes green once more. "She did not suffer, Elex, my little defender. I made sure of that."

I gasped as the endearment my mother had often used slipped from her lips. I remembered how she would act oddly when she came back from the king, as if she didn't quite know where she was.

"I gave birth to you and your twin in the hopes that you could someday set things right. But Elus figured out what I had done and interfered, again. Fates had set you and Erix to be Elusian. We'd intended for you to take over from Cyrius and halt the war, restoring balance, but Elus withdrew his power from you and your brother. The only thing I could do was grant you my own power and hope that we could find a Soma strong enough to match you."

"… Helios," I said, pieces falling into place.

She nodded.

A horrible thought slipped through my mind.

"Did you kill Orion?" .

"No. That was Elus," she said. "But we did give Orion a choice. He could have survived the blast, but it would have doomed his people. He chose to give his Bonded the chance to fix this mess."

"We are offering you the same choice. Before you answer, you must know the price, though. You and Helios will be Bound together. Your life forces will merge. If one of you dies, you both die. He has suffered at the hands of Elus as much as any. We offered him the same choice, and he chose to help us.

"Wait, Helios knows about you? Why the fuck didn't he tell us about you?" I demanded, the betrayal twisting a knife in my gut.

"He isn't hiding anything from you, Elex," she remonstrated. "He doesn't remember his conversation, just like you won't remember yours. At least, until the time is right."

She held her hand out to me.

"He was brave enough to risk his life for the future we want to help build. Will you do the same, Elex?"

"Fuck my life," I whispered, shaking my head.

◆◆◆

When I woke only a few moments seemed to have passed, some bit of memory of a woman fleeing my consciousness. I saw Skyla standing over us, flames wreathing both her hands.

"You've already felt the Fotia's kiss, haven't you, beast man," she said, a demented smile on her lips. Her fingers traced the scars on Hel's face. His eyes were open, but I saw him swallow hard as the heat of her hands seared him, sweat beading his brow. Her fire was now shimmering over her entire body, little licks of flame caressing all her limbs.

I tried to focus, tried to summon my magic, but the pain in my head made me nauseous and it was all I could do to stay conscious.

"Well, we'll see what the Tagmatarches has to say when I not only bring back the medallion from their scary ‘beast' but tell them about the little rebellion you've been fomenting here," she said, smiling evilly. "I'll be the toast of Alexandria!"

"Skyla," I croaked. She turned to look at me, her eyes reflecting the scarlet flames. "You talk too much."

The blade I'd hidden between my fingers flicked out in a move faster than I ever thought possible. Her hands flew to her throat, and for a moment I thought I had missed, until scarlet blood flowed from between her fingers and down, snuffing the flames around her arms.

She fell to her knees, wet, gurgling noises coming from her throat. The fire she had summoned swept out of her control. It began to burn her clothing, the smell of burning flesh making my nausea even worse.

I did my best to ignore her, dragging myself to Hel's side. A piece of masonry from her trap had landed on my leg. I didn't think it was broken, but it sure hurt like hell.

She had certainly played me for a novice. The deadfall she had set up had been perfect, right at the edge of the firelight. The campfire had made me night blind, and I hadn't spied the deadfall trap above us. Her simpler traps had obviously been designed to make me underestimate her skills.

"You okay?" I asked.

Hel's gaze seemed mesmerized by the fire that was slowly consuming Skyla's body. I tried not to follow his gaze, to see her body twist and jerk under the flame's touch.

"Hel? You okay?" I asked again, shaking him.

His gaze remained locked on the flames. I tried to break his line of sight but couldn't get to my feet to move between him and Skyla's body. So I did the only thing I could think of. I dragged him to me and kissed him.

His touch hit me like lightning. The brush of my lips over his set off sparking explosions all over my body, like the feel of static electricity, but a thousand times stronger.

Suddenly his gaze was no longer on Skyla's twisting corpse, but caught in mine, his silver eyes gleaming in the reflected firelight.

When we finally separated, we were both gasping for air. His hand came up and gently pushed my hair out of my eyes, tucking it tenderly behind one ear.

"You keep doing that," I whispered. "Maybe I should cut it."

"Don't even think about it. I love your hair," he swallowed roughly. "But as much as I'm enjoying this, we need to get of here."

It was my turn to be a little out of it. Dazed, I glanced around, seeing the flames from Skyla's corpse was spreading across the old books, their dry pages crackling as they caught fire.

With Hel's help, I struggled to my feet, and we escaped through the billowing smoke and out the front of the building.

Out in the cool evening air we made our way across the boulevard. The smoke seeming to follow us out into the night. After a few minutes I was able to walk without having to lean on the Soma, but it just felt so right to be pressed up against him, I didn't want to let him go.

We made our way to one of the many safe camps that Hel had created around the city, this one in the basement of a small office building.

Hel triggered solar lights around the room. It was relatively clean, and a pallet of some kind sat in a corner with some plastic storage crates scattered about. It had been a bit chilly outside after the heat of the fire, but the air in the room was comfortable.

"Sit down, I want to take a closer look at your head," the Illyrian ordered.

I started to snap, but bit back the retort, reminding myself he was just trying to help. I sat on one of the crates near one of the lights.

Hel pulled a small first aid kit out of his pack and peered cautiously at my head. He grumbled something about "stupid Mageia" and pulled some gauze and antiseptic from the kit. I was more than a little surprised to see the gauze come away red after pressing it against my skull. I hadn't even realized I'd been bleeding.

"Hold this," he insisted, moving my hand to hold the gauze against my head while he began rummaging through his backpack. He found some kind of rectangle shaped plastic container. He bent the plastic in half, and I heard a cracking noise. He shook the bag for a minute then handed it to me.

"Put that over the gauze," he ordered.

I took the bag, surprised to find it was cold, and getting colder by the moment. I held it against the gauze and winced.

"Yeah, you'll probably have a good-sized goose egg tomorrow, but I don't think you'll need any stitches," he said.

The Soma pulled a penlight from his pocket and took turns shining it in my eyes.

"Will I live, doc?" I asked sarcastically.

"I don't know," he said, trying to keep a straight face. "It depends on how many more pissed off Mageia we run into."

"Knowing me? I doubt our chances are very good, then," I said. "My people skills need work."

Thinking of Skyla, I sobered.

"I'm sorry, Hel. I thought she was coming around. I didn't think she would—"

"How could you know?" he asked. "I was listening the whole time, and I couldn't tell she was lying. She was obviously determined to return to slavery in Alexandria. This—" he yanked on the collar around his neck. "This was her ticket."

"Was she, though?" I asked.

"Was she what?" he responded.

"Lying," I said, thinking back over her words. "I don't think she did, really. She said she wouldn't barbecue us. She didn't say anything about dropping half a building on us."

"Even my powers have limits," he said, smiling wryly at me.

Silence fell, nothing but the sounds of our breathing heard in the room. I shifted uncomfortably. I could feel his gaze on me as it ran over my body. I shivered again.

"So are we going to talk about this?" Hel asked.

"About what?" I said, stubbornly playing dumb, my heart pounding. I stood and moved to where we had dropped our packs and dug my canteen from it, taking a long drink of the slightly stale-tasting water.

I turned around, and he was just suddenly there.

Damn Somas.

"Tell me you don't feel it." he said, tracing a single finger across my cheek, the touch sending sparks across my skin and straight to my cock. I had closed my eyes, but something in me refused to surrender. I slowly opened them and was instantly caught by his silvered gaze.

"Feel what?" I demanded obstinately, looking up at him in challenge.

"Lie." He whispered. "I can hear your heart beating, little Mageia," he said, trailing his fingers across my lips and over my cheek to curl around the nape of my neck. "I can feel the breath in your lungs. Your body is saying you want this."

He stopped all movement suddenly, going still like he had earlier that day.

"But I want more than just your body to want this. I need you to say you want this. That you want me. I will not have an unwilling partner." He growled.

"Partner?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is that what you think I am?"

"That is what I hope you will be," he said, his silver eyes boring into mine. "A match for me. My equal in all things. A man who knows his own wants. Needs. Desires."

He whispered the last in my ear, giving me goosebumps. He pulled back slightly, his lips hovering over mine.

"But it is your choice," he said, his voice holding a strange echo of power.

We hung on that precipice for what seemed like eternity, my eyes watching his face, feeling the heat of his body as he stood so close to me, but not quite touching.

I swallowed hard, trying to decide if I dared trust him. I'd been used by many over the years. Betrayed. I'd let down my brothers, time and again. Why would he want me? Was he just going to use me like the others? I realized this was the moment. I had to make the decision on whether to really trust Hel or not. I considered everything I knew about the man. The animated conversations he had with Luke, the tenderness he showed Betts. The respect and concern he had for each of the Mageia who had joined us.

Erix's voice came back to me.

"You don't think about consequences," he'd said.

He'd been right. I rarely looked beyond the here and now to what might happen next. My thoughts moved fast as lightning, trying to consider the consequences of saying yes to this man.

Then the though occurred to me. What would the consequences be of saying no? That thought alone made my breath catch in my lungs and froze my heart, suddenly, I knew I had my answer.

"I feel it," I admitted, the final layer of my armor shattering, reaching up to caress his scarred face. "I want this. I want you."

Hel surged forward, his mouth devouring mine. Our hands were everywhere, clawing against clothing, desperate to touch warm skin.

The heat from Hel's body was intense. One of his hands found its way under my shirt, pulling me to him as he kissed my neck, the other sliding down my front to cup my suddenly-aching cock through my pants as I groaned.

"W-wait," I managed to splutter as a thought occurred to me.

He froze.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice a low growl as he lifted his head from my neck. I realized with a start that if I had changed my mind, he would have stopped everything. Immediately. Something relaxed inside me and the knowledge gave me courage.

"I need to ward the doors," I said, sighing. If things were going as I hoped, the last thing I wanted was to be interrupted. He chuckled.

"Fine," he agreed.

He stepped back, hands raised, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Fuck," I whispered, tugging at my tac pants in a vain effort to make them more comfortable. I returned to the door and quickly weaved an Air alarm. As I wove, something about my power seemed…off. Not bad, just different. My Air weave seemed to spark and glow in a way I'd never seen before.

"What the fuck?" I whispered.

The lights dimmed behind me, and I could clearly see my weave in the darkness. Each line was rimed with light, as if they were on fire.

I turned to point it out to Hel only to freeze at the sight in front of me. He was standing near the pallet, slowly removing the shirt he'd been wearing. My thoughts about my misfiring powers went out the window and my mouth went dry as I looked at him.

There was something oddly vulnerable in his face as he undressed, his eyes not quite able to meet mine. It wasn't until I saw him subtly shift his scarred side away from me that I realized why.

I approached him slowly, my own smile turning predatory.

"Look at me," I demanded sharply, his eyes jumping to my own.

"You are beautiful," I said, my eyes roaming over the gorgeous tanned and muscled glory of his body. His hair glittered like spun gold. I moved next to him, slowly lifting my own shirt over my head. His eyes darkened to a molten silver as they slid over my bare skin.

"Your scars are a part of you, just like mine are a part of me," I said. "Our scars make us who we are. They don't define us, but they built us."

I ran my hand over his chest across the roughened skin of his scarred side, one hand pausing to trace gently around his nipple.

His head flew back, and a gasp escaped him.

"Fuck…" he breathed.

"Like that, do you?" I whispered, brushing up against him. "Then you're going to love this."

I ran my tongue around his nipple, teasing the nub, feeling it stiffen slightly as I tasted the slightly salty sweat on his skin. He groaned again, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me close.

I turned back to his mouth. He had to duck just a little to reach my mouth, and I tipped my face up to meet him.

Our lips met and his tongue slid against my mouth requesting entrance. I opened to his gentle exploration, our tongues twining as our bodies slid against each other.

"You," he gasped, pulling away from me for a moment. "Are the most infuriating man I have ever met."

"Right back ‘atcha, Illyrian," I growled.

He grinned, his hands gliding down to grip my ass. It was my turn to moan when he began squeezing it, his strong fingers kneading my muscles.

"Fuck, you feel good," he growled.

"You, too," I whispered, then grinned at him. "But you'd feel a lot better without all these clothes on."

My hands trailing down his chest to the light hair leading down beneath his belt. I reached down between us and trailed my fingers over the front of his pants, like I had when I'd fantasized about him. This time I managed not to come at just the thought, though it was a near thing. I could feel his stiff length straining at the fabric of his pants.

I quickly unbuttoned his pants and slowly pushed them down enough to slide my hand inside his briefs. I felt the moisture at his tip, and his skin felt like fire as I wrapped my fingers around his cock. He threw his head back, the light golden around us as I began stroking him until I felt his balls begin to draw up.

"Goddess, Kat," he moaned. "You need to stop. I'm not going to last."

"Take your pants off and get on the bed," I demanded.

He grinned.

"Yes, sir," he replied, shucking his pants and underwear in one move and tumbling down on the pallet.

I paused a moment to enjoy the view as he pulled his boots off. His ass was firm and round, the muscles flexing as he moved, and altogether too mouthwatering.

I slid my own pants off as he sat on the bed and knelt on the floor in front of him.

I shoved my hair behind my ear as I leaned forward and took his cock in my mouth. He tasted like sun and heat and salt, a taste I was quickly beginning to associate with Hel.

My fingers played over his balls, the wrinkled skin pulsing as I stroked him.

I slid his cock to the back of my mouth, swallowing around its length.

"Kat…" he moaned, his hands fisting in my hair. He didn't push, didn't force, just held me as I bobbed up and down on his cock.

My fingers played through the saliva collecting at his base, drifting lower and lower until they circled his puckered opening.

His breath was coming in gasps.

"Kat- No, I'm going to—" His voice cut off with a groan as I slipped one finger inside his hot, tight entrance.

"God! Fuck—" he moaned, and that was all the warning I got before he was shooting down my throat. Load after load of salty cum flooded my mouth, some of which escaped me to slicken my lips further.

I stroked inside of him until I found that soft, spongy spot inside, making his body almost levitate from the bed, another load of cum filling my mouth.

I slowly eased my finger from his heat, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, smiling wickedly at him.

He lay in front of me, panting heavily, his body covered with a sheen of sweat that made him glow in the dim light.

I moved up his body and took his mouth with my own, sharing the taste of him as we kissed.

He slid his hand down my body, and I saw the predatory gleam return to his eyes as he tightened his fingers around my cock.

"My turn," he growled.