Chapter Seven

CHARLIE

Ifelt the blood rush to my cheeks in utter embarrassment. I sure as hell didn't mind getting it on with my wife in our own fucking car, but did it have to be her mother who walked in on us?

"I'll give you two a minute, then you need to come with me," Sophia said.

Ava and I scrambled to get decent as Sophia turned away. Ava opened her door to let her mom know we were finished.

"I heard your wheelchair got destroyed," Sophia said as she wheeled a chair to Ava's door. News really traveled fast around here.

"Oh, wow. This is uncomfortable," Ava said when she transferred into the chair.

"It's temporary," Sophia promised. "We found this one in storage and figured it would work in a pinch."

"I guess it's fine, for now," Ava grumbled.

Sophia led us inside and through the palace. The only sounds were the click of footsteps and the roll of Ava's wheels. Obviously no one wanted to talk about what Sophia had just witnessed.

Sophia dared to break the silence first. "I didn't see anything, just so you know."

Dear ancestors, I did not want to have this conversation.

"Mama," Ava groaned. "Can we pretend it didn't happen?"

"There's nothing shameful about a married couple enjoying a bit of fun," Sophia said. "Your father and I have enjoyed time together in some interesting places?—"

"Mama, stop!" Ava cried.

"I just don't want you to be embarrassed," Sophia said.

"I wasn't, until you brought it up," Ava replied.

"All right. It never happened," Sophia agreed.

She approached a door and opened it. I could feel the air shifting around the room as people breathed, but no one said a damn thing.

It was quite eerie, and my stomach twisted into knots. I wasn't looking forward to meeting with my grandfather after everything that had happened. I could imagine how disappointed he'd be already.

In the silence, I took a moment to assess the room. My Elf powers sensed demigod magic, and I noted that Marcus and Kallie sat on opposite ends of a long meeting table. The guards must've picked them up somewhere in the castle, along with Oberi, because he was ducked under the table in husky form. I could feel his guilt through our bond and knew his ears must be lying flat on his head. He felt bad for getting caught.

Others stood around the room. I picked up on the energy of two witches, along with a fae sorcerer and a wolf shifter. Marcus' and Kallie's parents were there, though my father was notably missing.

Fucking fantastic. Everyone else's parents had shown up, and my dad didn't care. Couldn't say I was surprised, but it still stung.

They weren't the only ones there. I also felt the energy signatures of a vampire and an angel.

"Ivy, Chancey!" Ava cried. "How'd you guys get out? We were worried sick!"

"The Elvish Associates pulled off a rescue," Chancey said.

"Yeah, barely," Ivy noted sourly. "They got rid of the Union cops and got us out before we could be arrested. What a shit job that turned out to be."

Ivy didn't get to say anything else before the door burst open behind us.

An Elementai strode in, and it was far too easy to recognize him by the way his energy commanded the room. "Sit," Liam ordered.

I pulled out a chair and did as I was told. Ava wheeled up beside me. Sophia remained standing with the other parents.

Liam began to pace around the table. It felt like he was boxing us in. I counted his steps. Ten… eleven… twelve…

He stopped at the head of the table and turned to face us. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"We're sorry." I ducked my head, and my voice came out smaller than I intended.

I hated feeling this way. I wasn't a kid anymore. I was a grown-ass man, and a prince at that. I was supposed to be a leader, not cowering to people who called my choices into question.

But still, this guy was a chief of our tribe and Ava's father. I didn't want to fuck up and make him disappointed in me, though I had. His piercing silence made me feel like a child.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," Liam said roughly. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been? You tried to rob a bank. Do you realize how serious this is? What is wrong with all of you? And then you left us with a mess to deal with here at the palace. Don't try to tell me that curse wasn't your doing."

"I spent all morning breaking it," Nadine said. "I had to track down everyone it affected and remove the magic from them personally."

Marcus blew a breath. "Don't look at me. I didn't cast the curse. That was Alistair."

"I'm not mad at you," Nadine said gently. "I'm worried. You could've gotten yourself killed."

Marcus groaned. "Mom, I'm a demigod. You don't need to coddle me anymore."

"We're concerned," Lucas cut in. "We know things have been hard for you, especially in the last couple of years. We had hoped when you went to the Institute that it would help you, but now you're robbing banks? Marcus, what happened to you at that horrible place?"

Marcus nearly snorted. "Believe me, Dad, you don't want to know."

"We do want to know, because we care," Nadine insisted. "If we understood, maybe we could help. What you did was dangerous, and we don't want to see you get hurt. We'll get you a therapist?—"

"I don't need a fucking shrink, Mom," Marcus snapped.

"He's right." Queen Emmaline broke in. "Why are we talking about therapy when we should be discussing the matter at hand? Our children have caused magical chaos! Maybe if you didn't sit back and put up with your son's shit, Nadine, none of them would be in this mess!"

"You think this was our son's idea?" Lucas demanded.

"I know our daughter is smarter than this," Emma replied.

"Indeed," King Ethan agreed. "We raised Kalina well. She understands this type of work takes secrecy. My child, you should've known your plan needed better execution."

"Dad, seriously?" Kallie complained. "I know how to pull off a job! Things got out of hand."

"This isn't helping—" Sophia started to say, but the others weren't listening.

"Kalina, if you and your friends wanted to rob a bank, you should've done it under the cover of night," King Ethan reprimanded. "To pull off something like this in the middle of the day is ludicrous. Did Marcus convince you otherwise?"

Nadine scoffed. "You think Marcus dragged your daughter into this? May I remind you that you're promoting criminal activity, Phantom."

"My vigilante days are behind me—" King Ethan started.

"Apparently not, if you're giving her tips on how they could've committed a felony better!" Lucas barked.

"Well, if she's going to be a criminal, she might as well do it the right way," Queen Emmaline shot back. "Kallie, you're a member of the royal family. If you're going to break the law, at least don't get caught. I expected more from you."

"You're being too hard on her," Nadine insisted.

"And you and your husband are a soft cinnamon roll," Emma sneered. "Parents need to push their children to do better."

No wonder Kallie was so tough. Her parents loved her, and they were fair, but they could be a bit too strict.

I'd had enough of listening to this. I shot to my feet. "Kallie's a vital member of this team, and her skills are invaluable to us. The last thing she needs is a lecture about how much of a screw-up she is. And this wasn't Marcus' idea, or his plan— it was mine."

I'd felt like such a coward when I walked into the room, but I wouldn't let these people belittle my friends. Our parents might be disappointed in us, but they could only make us feel guilty about it if we let them. We were the ones in charge here, and we hadn't done anything wrong.

"You know what? I'm not sorry about any of it," I decided. "I'm in charge of this operation. I shouldn't be apologizing for making the right call. Kallie got us into the vault. We almost had the vampire key, but?—"

"I don't want to hear excuses," Liam cut me off roughly. "I don't think you realize the gravity of the situation. Allow me to show you."

Something clicked, and a TV on the wall started to play the supernatural news. "The suspects have been identified as the infamous Villain's Club, the gang name which they were known by during their time spent behind bars at the Darke Institute for Supernatural Offenders. Reports say the robbery was led by Charlie and Ava-Marie Wahkin. Witnesses are calling this husband-and-wife duo the supernatural world's own Bonnie and Clyde."

Oberi gave a low whine at my feet. They're rolling security footage of you two inside the bank, Oberi told me. They've got a video of you two kissing while you were attempting to break open the vault.

Internally, I groaned. The parents did not have to see that.

"Ava, wipe that smirk off your face!" Liam burst.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I thought it was sexy!"

"This isn't sexy! This is disturbing!" Liam bellowed. "Robbing a bank should not be making you think about?—"

The broadcast continued. "These partners-in-crime were not working alone. A female accomplice has been identified as none other than Kalina Nowak, former fae princess turned assassin for hire."

Marcus shifted in his seat. "Great. They said terrible things about you guys. I can't wait to hear them blast my screw-ups all over the news."

The news anchor paused, as if checking their notes. "The fourth member of their team is Martin Tyler, a rogue warlock born on the streets. He spent his childhood as a famous circus performer, not knowing where he came from, until a Ponzi scheme involving performing elephants landed him at the Darke Institute."

"What?" Marcus asked in disbelief. "WHAT?!"

"That's unfortunate," Nadine whispered quietly.

"They got my name wrong! I'm not Martin Tyler!" Marcus yelled. "And I've never been in a damn circus! Why did they get my friends' information right and not me?!"

"I mean, it might be a good thing they don't know who you are," Ava offered feebly.

"No way! I always get the short end of the stick!" Marcus slammed his fist on the table. "It's all bullshit! Who's writing these news reports?"

"At least they mentioned you," Chancey said. "Ives and I didn't even get credit."

"This isn't something you want to take credit for!" Liam growled. "You exposed the supernatural world. The humans are preparing their nukes to mount them against us! I don't care how powerful you think you are— you aren't surviving a nuclear explosion."

"The United Supernatural Union was quick to execute their Exposure Protocol," the newscaster continued. "Human witnesses have had their memories wiped, and all video content has been scrubbed from the Internet. The Union is working diligently to explain away the events as an elaborate hoax. For now, the supernatural world remains a secret, but until these criminals are caught, there's no telling what damage they'll do to our communities next."

The television clicked off. Nobody dared to say anything— that is, until Ava opened her big mouth.

"I guess that means no nukes," Ava said happily, as if that was the end of it. "Problem solved!"

"No, not problem solved," Liam replied snidely. "The humans may have their memories wiped, but they're still on edge. They know something's up, even if they can't remember what it is. You guys really blew it, and you didn't even get what you were looking for."

Ava sighed. "We don't need the lecture, Daddy. We're adults, not children."

"Apparently you do, because you're behaving like kids," Liam accused. "You're like reckless teenagers acting on impulse!"

"Well, I'm twenty-one, so I'm not a teenager anymore," Ava said flatly.

Liam sighed, and his voice softened. "My point is, you can't keep making rash decisions. Because if you do, they're going to end badly."

"You made difficult decisions during the Hawkei Civil War," Ava reminded him. "We have a prophecy to fulfill, too. You need to let us make our own choices."

"I made tough choices because they were my only options," Liam emphasized. "You're making purposely bad decisions because you want to, not because you have to. There's a big difference, peanut. And I'm really concerned about how this is going to end if you and your friends keep going down the wrong path."

"That's not true," I defended. "You think this was a choice? We knew there was a chance someone else could get to the vampire key first, and we were right. We had to act fast, and it turns out, it wasn't fast enough. We could sense its resonance— we only missed it by a few hours. We should've gone last night, while the key was still in the vault. You're not mad that we tried to rob the bank. You're mad that someone else got there first. We need that key, and it's going to take criminals to get it. Would you rather us choose to sit back and do nothing?"

"You could've asked for help, but you didn't!" Liam insisted. "Charlie, if you don't learn how to trust people, you're going to end up in a bad situation. One we won't be able to get you guys out of."

I scoffed. "Forgive me if I don't trust anyone but the few people who have ever shown up for me my whole life. I did put my trust in people— my friends— and we managed to make it out alive. I call that a win."

Liam sighed. "You can trust us, too. We're here to support you."

"If you wanted to support us, you wouldn't be berating us," I sneered. "You say you're there for us, but where were you when we were in Cellblock 9? Because no one was there to get us out. We got ourselves out."

I didn't like mentioning Cellblock 9. I barely held it together as I forced the words out, and even then, my voice still cracked. I could feel tears brimming at the corners of my eyes, too.

But I hadn't cried since the day that the guards had broken the organ and all our musical instruments at the Institute, and I'd be damned if I let any tears fall now, in front of these parents who weren't mine.

"Charlie, we don't always agree on how to help you kids," Sophia offered. "But we parents are here for you. We've all had to deal with prophecies, and destinies that were too big for us to handle, at an age when that responsibility shouldn't have been on our shoulders. The adults in our lives who tried to help us often ended up dying, or went missing. Sometimes we couldn't rely on them because they ended up betraying us. We're trying to give you the resources we didn't have."

"Yes. As tough as we can be, we want to give you support," Queen Emmaline insisted. "We're upset because this could've gone worse than what happened today. One of you, or all of you, might've ended up hurt."

I knew I'd gambled with everyone's lives today. I'd put the people I'd cared about the most at risk, and if anything had happened to any one of them, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.

But that didn't change the fact that I didn't believe the adults in this room actually wanted to protect me. No parental figure had ever shown up for me. I'd constantly been let down, and I wasn't going to take the bait this time.

My voice got rougher. I was more bitter than I ever had been. "The only heroes in this room are the ones who were with me in Paris this morning— and the people who were down there with me in Cellblock 9 when we were all dying. Don't sit there and act like you give a shit about anyone in this room but your own kid. My father didn't care enough to show up here, so I don't know why the rest of you pretend like I'm important."

Truth was, I wished Cameron had been waiting to yell at me. Everyone else's parents were here. At least if my dad was in this room, he'd fucking realize I was alive. I wouldn't be invisible to him. He talked a great game about missing me and wanting to be my father, but I needed him to be here, and he was off screwing around doing who knew what when I'd just made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

He wasn't here to guide me like he'd promised. He'd brought me into this world just to leave me here. If he wasn't going to be my dad, why had he bothered to give me life? What had I done to make him hate me so much?

Charlie, Oberi said calmly. We all know you've had to fight your whole life, but this robbery isn't about only you. Your actions have an impact on all of the supernatural world, and the human world as well.

I don't know why I should care about the world, because the world doesn't care about me, I replied through the bond.

Then why are you doing any of this? Oberi asked.

His question struck me, and I wasn't sure how to answer. I didn't get a chance to respond before Liam was speaking again.

"You can't make emotional decisions because you think no one cares about you," Liam said softly.

I shook my head. He didn't get it. "You're just lecturing me because I'm married to your daughter, and you're afraid of how hard I'll fight for her."

"Yeah, you are married to my daughter," Liam said bluntly. "Which is why I care about you. You're family, Charlie. Everyone here cares. And because we care, we're telling you that you can't save the world by yourself. What you did at the bank this morning was impulsive and rash. You can't think that way if you're going to fulfill your prophecy, because it's going to get you hurt."

"Liam, stop," Sophia said gently. "This is unhelpful. Can we just be happy our children are alive?"

Liam drew a deep breath. "Yes, of course. We're happy you made it back safely. But if you need help in the future with all of this, please— ask. Because you don't need to do it alone."

The door opened, and everyone turned to see who walked in. My Elf magic sensed who it was immediately, because Emperor Cassiel had such a prominent and powerful presence.

My stomach dropped, and my heart sank to the bottom of my chest. Oh, great, here it goes. I bet he was going to read me the riot act about what a fuck-up I was, and tell me no prince had ever disgraced the family so shamefully. Not like I didn't deserve it.

My grandfather cleared his throat. "Charlie. I'd like a word."

His voice remained surprisingly even, and somehow, that made it even worse. I was really going to get it now.

"Let's go for a walk," Cassiel suggested.

I couldn't read his tone. Reluctantly, I stood and followed him. I kept my head down and my shoulders slumped. Didn't think I could feel any lower, at this moment.

"The events that transpired this morning in Paris were… unexpected," Cassiel began as he led me through the halls of the palace.

"Well, that's what you get when you rob a bank," I said flatly.

"Is it?" Cassiel asked. "I know what the news reports are saying, but why don't you tell me your side of the story?"

I was caught off guard. No one had asked me that… ever, really.

"We received intel on the vampire key," I started, before explaining everything that had transpired between last night and this morning. It kind of just came out of me, and I couldn't hold it back. I left out a few parts regarding my wife and myself, for obvious reasons. But otherwise, I told him everything. Even what I felt, and what I'd thought prior to making the decision to leave for Paris.

By the time I finished, we had reached the gardens. A light breeze swept across my skin, and a lavender scent filled the air. It was a peaceful place. I wondered if the servants would hear my grandfather screaming at me from out here.

I expected Cassiel to respond, but he didn't. Not right away, at least. We paced around the gardens, until he said, "I'm disappointed in you, Charlie."

His words were like an arrow to the gut. There it was— the beratement.

I was fully prepared for him to chew me out, so I was surprised when he added, "I apologize for my role in this. I don't believe I've explained myself very well."

I furrowed my brow. "Aren't you going to yell at me?"

"For what, exactly?" Cassiel asked. "Failures happen. If you're going to take my place as the head of this family, you need to learn how to deal with failure in stride. The mark of a good mob boss is not a perfect track record. It's learning how to adjust when needed. That, and not getting caught. You barely made it out alive, but you're here with me now."

All I could do was gape. "I don't get it. Shouldn't you be ready to rip my head off? We exposed the supernatural world."

"What good would that do?" Cassiel asked. "I'm not here to guilt trip you. I'm here to train you, and I haven't done my job as of yet."

If he was yelling at me, I'd know how to respond. His behavior was weird, and I didn't know what to do with it. Cassiel sat on a stone bench, and I took my place beside him.

"I think it's evidenced by the way things turned out this morning that this cannot happen again," he said.

"So what do you suggest I do differently?" I asked, rather harshly. "I did what needed to be done."

"This isn't how this family operates. You're supposed to send other people to do your dirty work. You're the boss."

"Which is exactly why I took matters into my own hands," I stated.

"You got your hands dirty," Cassiel countered. "A good leader keeps his hands clean."

"So everyone else can take the fall for me?" I demanded. "I took a chance, and we got closer than we've ever been. I can't trust anyone else to get that close. It took a lot of demigod magic to get as far as we did. I've always done things by myself. I don't know why I can't do that now."

Cassiel sighed. "You're not the criminal you think you are— you're so much more. You've lifted from cash registers and stolen a few electronics. I've robbed royal vaults and taken jewels from high-security museums. I've stolen ships and navigated their route through treacherous waters. All of this was done from the comfort of my own castle. I'm going to teach you how to be a bigger class of criminal."

"What fun is sitting around giving people orders?" I questioned. "I should be out there breaking into bank vaults and cracking through museum security. Hell, I should be on the ships captaining them myself— not sitting here on the phone while someone's shining my shoes. Forgive me if that's worked out for you, but you don't get it. While you were building this palace and restoring Ilamanthe, I was rotting in a prison cell. If you could get past security in a museum, why couldn't you get into the Institute and get us out of there?"

"You think I didn't try?" Cassiel asked. "Patience is a vital tool in our family. These things take time."

"That's the problem," I insisted. "I acted fast on that key, and it wasn't fast enough. You tried to get me out of the Institute, but I couldn't sit around waiting for someone to save me. My friends and I saved ourselves."

I felt like I was talking circles with these people. No one was hearing me.

"I understand that you're upset," Cassiel started.

"No, I don't think you do understand. You're safe here in your palace. It makes you feel like you have time. But when you're out there on the streets, your clock is always ticking."

My grandfather thought about this for a moment, then said, "I see. Be that as it may, you can't put yourself in danger just because there's limited opportunity. If you are to take my place when I'm gone, you must produce an heir when this war is over."

I didn't understand why he was bringing this up now. Once I inherited all of this, I'd love to have kids and give them everything I never had. I wanted to build a perfect world for them.

But at the same time, Ava wasn't sure about having kids, and I wasn't going to make her be a mother if she didn't want to be. And I certainly didn't want to have kids as some sort of obligation to the throne. I knew how it felt to have a big responsibility you'd been born into, not chosen yourself, and it was heavy.

"Heirs are irrelevant," I stated.

"They're relevant if we hope to continue our family legacy," Cassiel insisted. "You're the prince, which makes you the brains of the entire operation. You can't have a bullet wound to the brain, or it compromises our entire existence as a society. Furthermore, you dragged Ava-Marie into the line of fire. She isn't just your wife. She's your princess. Soon, she will become the spiritual mother of our people, and she's your greatest treasure. You can't bargain with her safety like that ever again, because the monarchy won't survive losing another queen."

"I would never let Ava get hurt," I snarled.

"You almost did," Cassiel reminded me. "Our people look to Ava-Marie above anyone else. Once she completes her spirit ceremony and accepts her role as the mother of our people, she will be able to communicate with the goddesses. Our nation will look to her for answers. She is more vital to the Elves than either of us."

"The Elves have survived without a queen before," I pointed out.

"Barely," Cassiel replied. "You're correct that there hasn't been an Elven queen in years, and look at what has happened to us during that time. We barely survived extinction. We haven't thrived as a society since my wife died. That is why Ava is so important to our people. If she dies, so does our symbol of hope and rebellion."

Guilt twinged in my guts again, but I refused to feel guilty for this. I wasn't going to push my wife into this if she didn't want it.

"We all have different roles in our society," Cassiel continued. "As the Elven heir, you will take the role as our male leader. The Emperor is responsible for governing our society, fighting wars, and making decisions. But you cannot rule alone. The queen is our spiritual guide, and the mother of our race. She consults with the goddesses and sees what the Elves need to do as a people to prosper. As Emperor, you cannot make decisions without your queen. She is here to guide you. And so, you can see where I've had trouble without a queen at my side."

"Ava's already got enough responsibility on her shoulders. It's not fair to put this on her. I don't even understand how she's supposed to communicate with the Elven goddesses, when she isn't an Elf herself."

"If you are at all familiar with fae tradition, then you know that intention becomes reality. We came from Edinmyre, from the same place as the fae, so we hold many of the same beliefs. As with the Arcanea, the Elves believe that if you adopt a child or marry into a family, you become part of that family, regardless of your magical talent or genetics," Cassiel explained. "You are my heir, and I chose you to follow my legacy. You chose Ava as your queen. Because we made those choices, the Elves choose you, too. Ava is an Elf because she is your wife, and as we say, the blood of your blood. You have Elven heritage, and she is married to you, which makes her one of our own. She became a part of our race the moment she said her vows. Ava can communicate with our goddesses because they will accept her as their own daughter. It is her fate. The goddesses destined her to do this job before she was born, because she wouldn't be your wife if they hadn't picked her."

"Why Ava?" I asked. "Why not Drea? She's married to my father."

"Elves are born into their roles," Cassiel said. "Drea wasn't predestined to become queen, so she never will be. Elves believe that before we are born, our spirit enters into a contract, one that outlines our destiny. Although your father and Drea are partners in this lifetime, they are not destined mates. He was destined to be with your mother, but once she passed, her role among our people cannot be handed to someone else who did not agree to it before this lifetime. Cameron and Drea didn't have to end up together. It's just something that happened."

"So the gods and the ancestors meet in the Blessed Haven to decide our fates before we're born?" I asked harshly.

"Pieces of your life are predestined, yes," Cassiel confirmed. "But you were there, too. Your soul agreed to all of this."

I scoffed. "That's bullshit. Believing that way allows people to blame the victim so they don't have to work to change things. You can't sit here and tell me I chose to be homeless, or that I chose to be sent to prison."

"The Elves do not believe in victim blaming." He sounded a bit disgusted that I even suggested it. "This belief system should be utilized to empower you. It allows you to reclaim your power, and to find meaning in things that otherwise disempower you. There is, of course, room for one to experience the world, but certain fates cannot be avoided."

Kallie had said something like that a while ago, because as a fae, she believed in things like destiny. But I wasn't sure.

I shook my head. "I don't know if I can get on board with all of that."

"It's not your fault people treated you the way they did," Cassiel said gently. "But if you see yourself as the one in control, you may find meaning in what you experienced."

"There isn't any meaning to trauma," I argued. "It didn't make me stronger. It turned me into a criminal. I always had to hide or run from people who wanted to hurt me."

"You must find your strength in that," Cassiel said. "The monarchy mirrors its people, and our lives will reflect their struggles. The Elves have been in a state of poverty, hiding from the authorities of the magical world for years. Perhaps you had to undergo what you did in order to gain a better understanding of life, so you could be a better leader. It's you, Charlie, who will lead the Elves to a greater place."

He was talking about my prophecy. I liked to think I understood the Elves and how they thought, but I couldn't accept that I'd somehow chosen to go through all this shit to get there.

Ava and I were fated to be together— of that, I was certain. But he was wrong about me choosing the rest of it.

I didn't want to hear more about it, so I turned the conversation back on him. "Is that why you never remarried? Because you'd found your fated mate, and even if you met someone else, they'd never be her?"

"Yes," Cassiel said, and I sensed a hint of sadness to his tone. "Aponi was it for me. I was only capable of loving one woman, and I'm still only capable of that, even though she's been gone all this time."

I instantly understood how he felt. I didn't know how my father had remarried, because I could never do it. Ava was the only person in this world for me, and my grandmother had been the only person for Cassiel. I felt a connection with him, because we shared that kind of understanding.

"Ultimately, I want you to comprehend how important it is that you keep yourself and your family safe," Cassiel said. "At the moment, we can't communicate with our goddesses. Ava's the only way we'll be able to. She will be undergoing her spiritual process as soon as possible, and you'll have to help her. If you'd have grown up here, I would've taught you this early in life, but we must work with the time we have and start now. There's a hierarchy here within our system you've never dealt with before, and I must teach you how to utilize it, before you make another mistake."

"Maybe that's our problem," I said. "I didn't grow up here, so I have to make decisions from the harsh lessons I've learned, Grandpa."

"Please, call me seanari," he requested. "It's the Elvish word for grandfather."

The request struck me momentarily. I'd never called him Grandpa to his face, and I hadn't meant for it to slip out.

I didn't know if we were close enough for that yet, or if we'd ever be. But we wanted me to call him seanari, because… that meant we were family.

"Okay. Seanari," I repeated, testing the word on my tongue. I liked it, and I suddenly felt much closer to him. Almost like I could tell him anything. "But… I'm not like you."

"Do you not want to lead our people?"

I leaned back in my seat. "I do, but I need to do it my way. Either deal with that, or take my title from me, but I'm not going to stop doing what I believe is right."

"And that's why you'll make a good Emperor. I've chosen you for a reason, to take over the throne once myself and your father are both gone, should I meet an early end. You weren't merely born into this role; I knew you had the capability to become what our people needed you to be once I learned where you came from and everything you went through in order to survive," Cassiel said. "You went through so much to get to Forevermore, before you even knew what it meant to you, and that proved to me you were willing to fight for our people."

"I was fighting for our people when I broke into that bank."

"Yes. I saw the security footage on the news," Cassiel said in amusement. "It was easy to see that you and Ava were having the time of your life out there. I understand how you feel— your grandmother and I had some great times together when we were young."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. We loved committing break-ins and all kinds of petty crimes. Your grandmother was a fantastic pickpocket, just like you. You've certainly inherited her skill."

"No one's ever told me I've inherited anything," I said. "I guess we're more alike than I thought."

"You remind me of my younger self, in a lot of ways. But I knew when I had to be a criminal and when I had to be an Emperor," Cassiel said firmly. "We had our fun, but when it came time to take on the bigger jobs, I knew I had to be a leader rather than the one pulling off the heist. You have people here willing to do these things for you, and you need to utilize them."

"How can you utilize people you don't trust? I'm always expecting someone to stab me in the back."

"You don't have to trust everyone who's working for you— in fact, many of them will try to stab you in the back. But I'm your grandfather, and you can trust me, because I vow that I won't fail you. I'm going to teach you how to find the right people to get the job done. I'm always going to be here for you, so if you need guidance, all you have to do is ask. You're my grandson. And because you are, I'm going to show you the way."

I'd had many mentors before, but I never felt I had anything to learn from them. I was always more powerful, or they didn't understand my disability, how to make accommodations for me, or how I felt. I had Marty for a few years, but he was a friend, and his guidance only kept me alive. It got me into trouble more than once— it almost got me killed.

My grandfather understood the thrill I got whenever I committed a crime, but he also had power and knowledge that I didn't. He knew how to keep his emotions in check and how to see the crime from a different angle, in order to pull it off in the most effective way. I knew I could learn a lot from him— if I could open myself up enough to allow him to help me.

And if I was really honest with myself, I really needed a role model. I never had a father figure in my life, and Cameron wasn't really there for me, even now.

But my grandfather was willing to step up and help me figure out how to be a man in a world where I'd struggled to learn how to become one by myself. Everyone around the palace really respected my grandfather. I wanted to command that kind of respect, too.

"I'm going to take your advice," I promised. "I'll ask for help next time."

I smirked, thinking about what we'd done. "Even if I did have a good time."

"I don't blame you for enjoying yourself. It's in your blood." Cassiel laughed. "But there's a time and a place, and it's important to discern where you're needed and where you need to give orders. When you're attempting these kinds of jobs, you can't be so attached to the outcome, because it won't always go in your favor. And sometimes, you need to have others take the fall for you."

"I guess I'm going to have to get used to that, because with what's at stake, not everyone's going to make it. I just have to make sure Ava and I do."

"Exactly. Now you're thinking like an Emperor," he praised.

We went quiet for a moment, and I listened to the wind whispering through the flowers before I felt pressed to say more. I didn't want to ask him this, but I needed to. "Why didn't my dad show up to the meeting? Everyone else's family was there. It was embarrassing I was the only one without a parent."

"Your father should've been there, but in my honest opinion, I don't think he knows how. Your father never got to be a dad, so he doesn't quite understand what that entails. He thought after you made such a big mistake, it would be best to give you space."

"I don't want space. I want support."

"You don't have to beg your father for his support, because the people who will support you will naturally show up, no questions asked. I'm here for you, and we're family. I can promise that I'm always going to be here."

I didn't care about my dad. He could go to hell. But my grandpa was genuine, and he wanted to help me. There was no point in focusing on the father who'd abandoned me when there was one right here offering to take my hand.

"Thanks, seanari. It's nice to have somebody who… finally gets me."

Tears welled in my eyes. I didn't want my grandfather to see me cry. I stood and cleared my throat. "Ava's, uh, waiting for me. I should let her know that you and I are all right."

"Of course. Go tend to your wife."

I left the gardens as quickly as I could before my grandfather could witness me break down. I turned the corner and leaned my back against the wall as tears slipped down my cheeks. No one had ever been a parent to me before, and for the first time in over twenty years, I had a relative who actually gave a damn.

Ava nudged me through our bond. Everything okay, Charlie?

I wiped my face and took a deep breath. I'll be fine. Where are you?

Oberi and I are back in our room.

I'm on my way.

I returned to our room and found Ava in the living area. I sank down onto the sofa and pressed my face into my hands. It had been a long day, and I didn't realize until now how exhausted I was. Oberi jumped onto my lap and licked my face a few times before he lay across my legs.

"What did your grandpa say?" Ava asked gently as she wheeled up beside me. She didn't ask the obvious, but she knew I'd been crying.

I sighed. "He wants to mentor me, and I think I'm ready for it. He's understanding, but he's disappointed I didn't send someone else to do my dirty work. He says you and I have to hang back because we're the leaders. We have roles, I guess. I'm supposed to be giving orders, and you're supposed to be communing with the goddesses and leading us spiritually."

"Pft, screw that," Ava said, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm not going to sit around and pray all day. I have a destiny to fulfill."

"I agree, but maybe my grandfather is right. I don't want you to get hurt. Every time we go out there, I'm putting you in harm's way. At least here in the palace, you're surrounded by guards."

Even now, Eldin was stationed just outside the room. The royal family could hardly go anywhere without a guard or two close behind.

"I can't blow off saving the world," Ava argued.

"Neither can I. But you need to hear everything he said."

I went over the entire conversation, and when I finished, I took her hands in mine. "We need to make a decision and stick with it. This is our last chance to walk away from this. I want to follow my grandfather, but you come first. If you don't want to do this, we don't have to be monarchs. I know it's my bloodright, but we're allowed to refuse the throne. You've already got a prophecy to fulfill. You don't have to be their spiritual leader, too. After we find the keys, we can run away from all of this and travel the world, like you wanted. We've got the power to do whatever the hell we want. No one is going to have the ability to stop us."

Silence settled over the room as Ava thought about my suggestion. Finally, she said, "This is what I want, Charlie. I want to follow where our destiny takes us. I don't mind being a leader, and I think you were born to be one, too."

I nodded. "That's exactly what my grandfather told me. We need to take his advice. We were sloppy with the bank robbery, and it cost us the key. We can't keep going in guns blazing. We need to be more strategic and fly under the radar. We're going to increase our demigod training sessions, and the next time we pull off a job, we bring the Elvish Associates on board. If we're going to live a life of crime, we can't afford to screw up next time."

I wanted to make my grandfather proud. Letting him down today had been worse than not getting the key.

He believed in me, so I was going to give him something to believe in.

We met alone in the demigod training room the following week. Marcus was notably missing, but Kallie and Danny were there before Ava and I showed up.

"Marcus got it easy. His mom and dad believe in the gentle parenting thing. My mom chewed my ass out, like any strong Malovian woman would do," Kallie groaned. "That was in-between my dad trying to give me pointers about how to break into places better."

"Daddy freaked out and Mama was concerned, but it's not like that's anything out of the ordinary for me," Ava said brightly. "This whole robbery was typical Ava being Ava. They should've expected it, really."

"Awesome for you that your mom didn't explode," Kallie grumbled. "To make it worse, my brother heard about it and called to complain. He doesn't like that I put my diplomat spot at risk for this job."

"Yeah, Ez didn't take it very well, either," Ava said reluctantly. "I was really hoping he wouldn't hear about it. Thanks, supernatural news!"

Kallie sighed. "Good thing you didn't come with us, Danny. You're lucky you don't have to deal with the ‘rents."

Danny gave a dark, cold laugh. "Funny you think my Ma and Pops would give a shit."

Oh, Oberi noted softly. So it's that kind of situation.

Danny took a step toward me. "What about you, Charlie? I heard your old man didn't show."

"Danny, shut up," Ava hissed.

I pretended I hadn't heard either of them. "I want a report on everyone's powers. I want to know where we're at, so we can discuss our potential. We need to get more strategic with our magic if we're going to figure out who took the vampire key from the vault and steal it from them."

"You don't have any leads?" Danny asked.

"Max combed through the surveillance footage, and the feed was cut the night before we arrived," Ava told him. "Whoever took the key from the vault covered their tracks. It could've been anyone from a number of supernatural groups that know about the Divinity Keys."

"So it's up to us to track them down," I said. "Kallie, how are things on your end?"

"I've been working on my time powers," she replied. "Back at the Institute, the wards and inferichite messed with my abilities, but here, I'm away from all of that, so my time powers are unbound."

Then she growled under her breath, "Or, they would be, if Marcus and I were getting along…"

That was a whole can of worms no one wanted to open.

"What can you do without him?" I asked curiously.

"I can stop time for as long as I want, without affecting other demigods," Kallie said. "I've been able to go back years in time, though I haven't ever stuck around long. I don't want to change anything. I can combine my time powers with my portal magic so I can take us anywhere I want in space and time. The only thing I can't seem to do is go into the future. I can only go back, but I'm hesitant to push too far, because my powers aren't super reliable at the moment. They come and go, and because my bond with Marcus remains unsealed, I don't have access to them all the time. If we get into another emergency, there's no promise I'll be able to access everything."

Danny groaned. "This is getting old. No wonder you guys fucked up the bank robbery."

"That wasn't Kallie's fault," I growled.

"Look, I'm just saying, you're presented with a problem, and it's clear what the solution is," Danny said. "If you guys want to unlock your full potential with time travel, you've got to figure out this fated mate situation. Kallie, you either need to break your bond with this guy, or be with him and have it over with, because if you don't fuck him, the Warden is gonna fuck us. And it won't be no tender loving, but a dick up the asshole straight to Shitsville."

"It's more complicated than that," Kallie sneered.

"Is it?" Danny asked simply. "Do you love him or not? A simple yes or no is all it takes."

"Kallie doesn't need this," I snapped.

"Someone needs to say it!" Danny insisted. "The world is relying on her. Kallie can't save the supernatural community if Marcus is dragging her along. From what I've heard, this has been going on for years, and it can't go on any longer. Kallie needs to make a decision on what she wants to do, because we're all tired of waiting here."

"Which she'll do on her own time," I stated firmly, before turning back to Kallie. "We might still be able to use your powers. You've been going back in time, and none of us are getting sick, so it must not affect us like it used to."

"Charlie's right," Ava mused. "My symptoms haven't flared at all since we've been in Ilamanthe, so your powers must not be affecting me the same."

My main hesitation on using Kallie's time powers was that it could put Ava back in the hospital. The last time we tried to change things, Ava's symptoms had flared really badly. I'd never get that night out of my head— how she'd been in so much pain she'd begged me to smother her, and I'd actually reached for the pillow. I wouldn't put Ava through that ever again, not even for the vampire key. But if Kallie had been practicing her powers and it didn't affect us, then perhaps that was a problem that only existed back at the Institute, some side effect of time-traveling around inferichite.

"It's safe now, as far as physical symptoms go," Kallie promised. "My powers are getting stronger, and I can prevent us from getting sick because it's easier for me to do this. Before, you were getting sick because it's difficult magic that I was struggling to pull off, and that was triggering your body because people aren't supposed to be able to move through time and space. The way my powers work, I'm not screwing with the timeline; I'm manipulating your place on it. Your bodies were resisting because you aren't supposed to be there, but now I'm powerful enough to put you wherever I want on the timeline without it having an effect on you."

"If your time travel is unrestricted, we can pull off the bank heist again— the right way this time," I said. "We'll go in before anyone else gets the keys, so we can steal it before they do."

"We have to be careful," Kallie insisted. "If we take the key before your team can confirm it's still in the vault, we'll have changed the timeline. Then we'll never go to the bank in the first place, and we won't have the idea to go back in time to take it. It could create a paradox, which could be catastrophic. We could get stuck in a time loop, or cease to exist at all."

"When you and I went back in time at the Institute, we merged into the same timeline. We remembered both," I pointed out.

"I told you my time powers don't work the same way as they did at the Institute, and I don't know the full extent of what that entails yet," Kallie reminded me. "I promised before that I'm only going to observe. Changing things is dangerous, as you well know."

Kallie is right, Oberi advised. Misuse of her power could be worse than catastrophic. She could end up unraveling the fabric of the entire universe.

"There has to be a way we can use her powers to our advantage," Ava mused. "Can we steal the key without changing anything?"

"We could replace it with a fake," Danny suggested.

"And how exactly would that work?" Kallie asked skeptically.

"If you want to interfere as little as possible, you'd have to intercept the key before it was placed into the vault," Danny said. "Go back to the 1920s and get your former vampire friend to put a fake in the vault, so when your enemies come to steal it, they've got the fake one, and you've taken the real one through time travel."

"That might actually work," Ava said.

"And what if we accidentally change something?" Kallie pressed. "It could prevent us from being born. We don't know what kind of effect something like that could have."

"If no one knows anything has changed, then the events would play out exactly the same, wouldn't they?" Danny asked.

"This might be the only chance we have," I said thoughtfully. "If we can intercept Chancey— I mean Frank Coffrey, the guy he was in his past life— on his way to the bank, he'll put the fake key in the vault and be none the wiser. It's an easy pickpocketing job. Then we just portal the key back here. Nothing has to change except the future."

Kallie remained quiet as she pondered the suggestion. "It could work, but are we certain we're willing to risk it?"

"I don't know if we have a choice," Ava said. "It's either risk changing things, or let someone get away with stealing the vampire key. We have no leads, but we do have your magic. You have this power for us to use it, or the gods wouldn't have given it to you."

"Oberi, is this something we can pull off?" I asked.

Oberi huffed. It's possible, but you'd have to be extremely careful not to change a single thing. Frank can't know you swapped the keys.

"Oberi's on board," I announced.

Kallie sighed heavily. "I wouldn't be doing this if we had any other choice."

"We don't. Let's get ourselves a key, then," I said.

"I'm coming with," Danny insisted. "You guys fucked up the last robbery. I'm not sitting this one out."

The last thing I wanted was a fight. Danny wasn't going to take no for an answer, so I guess that meant he was coming along.

"Fine," I agreed. "But you answer to me. When I give orders, you follow them, no questions asked. Got it?"

"Understood, your highness," Danny said, in the most irritating way he could. He was obviously trying to annoy me.

I didn't like the guy, but I was going to have to work with him. "All right. We're going to need help from the Elvish Associates."

"You know they can't come with us," Kallie pointed out. "Only demigods can travel through time with me, along with Oberi because she's an eternal being. Rishi no longer freezes when I stop time, ever since he stepped into his demigod abilities in the Infernal Underground, so I'm certain he could come, too, since his powers are linked to Marcus. But that's it."

"I'm not suggesting we bring the Associates with us," I said. "But I resolved to let people help us. At the very least, we need to know when Frank made that deposit. Max has the bank records, so she can get us the exact day and time."

"You really think they'll go along with this?" Danny asked. "Everyone was up in arms the first time you tried to rob the bank. It's best if we keep this on the down-low."

"They don't need to know where we're going," I said. "We're just getting information. I'll be right back."

I marched down the hall and took a couple of turns until I reached the door where I'd met with the Elvish Associates many times before. I entered the room and heard the clacking of a keyboard.

"Your highness." Max was startled at my arrival. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to search the bank records," I told her. "Find me the time and date when Frank Coffrey made his deposit into the vault. We know we're looking at the 1920's, but I want the exact date and time."

"I'm on it." Max turned back to the computer.

I expected her to ask questions, but she didn't. She must've felt unease in the silence. "Is everything okay, your highness?"

"Don't you want to know why I'm asking for this information?" I wondered.

"If it was important enough for me to know, you would've told me already," Max said. "The Elvish Associates don't ask questions; we follow orders. We aren't here to be your friends. We're meant to work for you. If you don't want to tell us anything, you aren't obligated to."

"You aren't mad at me for going into the bank without you?"

"I don't have a right to be angry, your highness," Max explained. "If that is what you thought was right, we have to back you up even if we believe it is wrong. From birth, we're taught to follow you without question."

I frowned. "Eddie's made it perfectly clear he's upset with me, and he's my guard."

"Eddie's closer to you than he should be," Max stated plainly. "He's breaking the rules by making his opinion known. He has been taught to comply without question, and that is what he should be doing."

I knew it was a bad idea to get close to Eddie. I needed to start putting some distance between me and my guard. Otherwise, we weren't going to be able to do our jobs properly.

"Here we go…" Max mused. I heard the whir of a printer, and Max handed me a thick sheet of paper with braille letters and numbers across the top— the exact time and date of the deposit.

"Thanks, Max," I told her. "You're a lifesaver."

I returned to the demigod training room, waving the paper at the others. "I've got it!"

We went over everything we knew— when Frank showed up at the bank, how we were going to pull off the switch, and what to do if anything went wrong. When we were ready, I created a solid illusion of a false key, so I could swap it for the real one and Frank would put the fake in the vault. Kallie crafted us period-specific clothes that would help us blend into the 1920s, as well as an oak antique wheelchair for Ava that fit the time period we were headed to.

"This thing is ridiculously uncomfortable," Ava complained as she sat in it.

"You won't have to use it for long," I promised.

Something clinked as Danny withdrew it from his pocket. "Bottoms up."

I scowled, but he'd already downed the liquid. "Drinking on the job, really?"

"Relax, it's not a shot." Danny chuckled. "Though, now that you mention it, I should think about keeping a flask on me at all times for jobs like this. It's a potion to protect me from the sun. I'm a vampire, remember?"

"Whatever you need to get the job done, I guess," I replied. "Let's get ourselves a key."

A portal bloomed in front of us. We traveled through it, and my stomach flip-flopped the way it always did in response to Kallie's time powers. The sounds around us changed as we were transported somewhere outside the palace. Chatter filled the air around us, and I heard the honk of a horn, but it was higher pitched than I was used to.

"We're definitely in the past," Ava noted. "All the men are wearing suits, and the women are dressed in day coats and flapper dresses. The cars here are accurate for the era, and so are the advertisements lining the buildings."

I was born for the 1920s! Oberi cried. Look at all the hats!

"Can we stop it with the hats?" I demanded. "We're here for the key."

"We're three blocks from the bank, outside the boundary of wards. We've arrived just a few minutes before Frank makes the deposit," Kallie said. "He should be around here somewhere. Come on."

We roamed through the streets until we were a block from the bank. We were careful to avoid other people, as to not interfere with anything in the past. It wasn't easy maneuvering the old wheelchair through the streets, either— things had definitely improved in that area since our time.

"I shouldn't have come. I'm attracting more attention than I should," Ava said timidly.

"You're fine, pidge." I cringed as a man passed by us and gave us a warm greeting.

"There's Frank, across the street," Ava said. "I recognize him from the vision."

Danny clapped me on the back. "Charlie, you're up."

I started across the street, keeping my head low.

He's approaching the crossroads, Ava told me through the bond. On your left. You're ten feet away. Keep going.

Her instructions helped me hone in on my target. On target… Three… two… one…

I expected to bump into him and make the transfer, but a soft breeze passed by me, then… nothing.

I lost him! I panicked.

What do you mean? Ava demanded. He was right there! Did you make the transfer?

I never touched him. Where'd he go?

He's past you now.

I hurried back to my friends on the other side of the street. I grabbed them and pulled them into a quiet alleyway. "I don't know what happened. I had him, and then…"

"It's like you went straight through him," Kallie finished for me.

"But I can touch all of you," I said. "What's going on? Are your powers slipping?"

"It's not that," Kallie replied. "My powers are working fine, but I've never gone back this far before. This is long before we were born, and we shouldn't exist in this timeline. I'm not sure we can influence anything around us outside our own lifetimes. We can touch each other, because we're from the same time, but as for everything else… it's like we're ghosts."

"That guy tipped his hat at us on the street," Ava pointed out. "We must be able to be seen and heard, but we can't touch anything. Hold on. Let me try something."

Flames crackled in Ava's palm, but she gave a thoughtful sigh. "My Fire doesn't burn anything."

"Oberi, why didn't you tell us?" I asked.

I don't know all the rules, he defended. Mutabeecha exist throughout all time and space. I've never had this issue before. Let me try to change something.

He skittered away. I heard a crash, like the sound of a garden pot falling from a windowsill. He came tottering back and said, I still appear to be solid, and I can influence things, but none of you can. It makes sense, as I am eternal. I was alive at this point on the timeline. Though where I was, I cannot say.

"If you exist everywhere, then you shouldn't have this same problem," Ava pointed out. "Let me try again."

Ava wheeled away for a moment. Her tone was disappointed as she said, "I can't touch any of the flowerpots— or anything else here, for that matter. The ground is solid, but it doesn't look like anything else is. I think people from this period can see my wheelchair, but not touch it, because we brought it here from our time."

I explained what Oberi had said, and Kallie groaned. "So we're intangible if we time travel outside of our own time period. Great."

Ava huffed. "We're going to have to think of something else— dammit, where the fuck is Danny?"

I whirled around, but I couldn't feel the pulse of his magic anywhere.

"He's fucking ditched us!" Ava sneered.

"We need to find him!" Kallie cried. "If he changes anything, he compromises reality!"

"I'm right here." Danny's voice came from around the corner, followed by the sound of footsteps. "And I brought a friend."

Though I couldn't touch anything outside of my timeline, my Elven magic could sense the vampire in front of us.

Kallie smacked Danny's arm. "You idiot! You know you can't change anything!"

"We need that key," Danny insisted. "I came along to make sure you got it this time. If we can't touch him, we can at least talk to him."

Ava's wheels inched closer to the vampire. "Chancey?"

"I don't know anyone by that name," the vampire said. I didn't recognize his voice, but I sensed something in him that reminded me of our friend. He still spoke with a New York accent, which was nearly odd. "Though, I believe I understand why you would call me that."

"I explained everything to him," Danny said. "He's going to give us the key."

"Fucking hell, Danny," I growled. "You used your powers on him, didn't you?"

Danny could see people's weaknesses by tapping into their desires. He was abusing his power.

"Look, everyone's got a weakness, all right?" Danny said nonchalantly. "And I've got my strengths, so I'm gonna use ‘em. This guy needed to be convinced, so I told him what he needed to know."

The rules of time travel weren't clear, and it made my head spin. Outside our own timeline, we could be seen and heard, and my magic still worked to sense the world around me, but it was like we weren't completely here in the flesh. Danny's powers worked through perception, so I guess his powers were still good, too.

"I'm not gonna hand over the key without proof I can trust you," Frank said.

"You can trust us," Ava promised. "I'm Ava-Marie, and this is my husband, Charlie. You don't recognize us, but we used to be your friends in a past life. I was Lucille, and Charlie was Lawrence. We died in a car accident trying to get a special key away from Masci Taurus. Our friend is Kallie— she has the ability to time travel— and she brought us here so we could get the key before anyone else could steal it from us."

"I don't know if I believe you," he said skeptically. "You're gonna have to give me more than that."

Something sparked inside my mind. It was a memory, buried deep in my subconscious. I knew it had to be something from my past life that my soul had carried with me into this one. I'd never recalled it before, but the memory ran smoothly off my tongue. "The night before I died, you told me you didn't want to go on that job to steal the vampire key. You thought it was a bad idea, and you had somebody back home you were sweet on. You wanted to go into hiding. But I promised the pay was good, and we had to, so I made you promise not to back out. You swore on your lover's life that you'd see it through. Irene, wasn't it?"

Frank's voice was thick with a combination of shock and emotion. "Yeah, I remember. I never told anybody else about that night and what was said, and I didn't tell anybody I loved Irene but Lawrence. He would be the only one who knew. I guess I believe ya. Not like I got anything more to live for, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Ava asked.

"Irene is gone," Frank rasped out. "The wrong people knew what we were doing with the key and went back to Brooklyn to take her out. Slaughtered her in a club right in the middle of her song. If I find out who did it… but it doesn't matter now, does it?"

His coat rustled as he pulled something from his pocket.

He's got a box, Oberi told me. The same one we found in the vault.

"This key was meant for you, and I made a promise to ensure it got back to you. It's yours," Frank offered.

I pocketed my fake illusion key, because it was no use to us anymore, seeing as we were outside our own timeline. It was nothing more than an image here, the same way we were.

"Keep the box," I told him. "You need to put it in the vault as if it held the key, because we need to keep things as similar as we can to the way they originally played out. If you don't make the deposit, we won't go looking for it, and we won't come back here to get the key from you. We have to do everything the same as it happened the first time, except we're taking the key."

"I can't say I get it, but I figure you know what you're doing. Lawrence always had some kind of crazy plan. Just wish they didn't go so wrong as often as they did," Frank said.

Apparently I'd taken that trait into my next life, too. I wasn't going to keep making the same mistakes.

He opened the box. Oberi took the key in his mouth, since he was the only one of us who could interact with this timeline.

"Thank you," I said, and Kallie cast a time portal. It bloomed in front of us. Its power was so strong I stumbled back a few steps.

Oberi went to step through it first, but a loud thwack sounded through the alley. Oberi was blasted backward, and he gave a pained whimper as he smashed into the side of a building. Everyone gasped in unison, and I felt my insides twist in fear.

"Oberi!" I rushed to him and knelt down beside my Familiar.

Oberi shook his head as I cradled him in my arms. Well, that was quite the experience.

"What happened?" I demanded.

I tried to pass through the portal, but it won't let me through with the key, Oberi said sourly. I don't think the Divinity Keys are capable of traveling through time. Their magical ability overpowers the timeline, so they can't be moved through it.

"What's he saying?" Kallie asked. "My portal feels fine!"

"Oberi says the Divinity Keys can't be taken through time," I translated. "They must be too powerful."

"So what are we going to do?" Kallie asked in frustration.

"What if we hide it somewhere else, so we can find it in the future?" Ava asked.

"That changes too much," Kallie insisted. "We've already altered enough as it is. If we hide it somewhere else, who's to say the Warden won't find it before we make it back to our time? That could change everything."

"There is no safer place than that bank vault," Frank said. "If I had put the key into the vault in your timeline, then I'm gonna do it again. I can't delay it any longer. I'll place the key in the vault, as it should have been all along. It'll be safe for you there until you figure out another plan."

"There has to be another way," I insisted.

"There isn't," Ava said. "This plan failed. There are too many variables we can't account for. We have to follow through with how things should've been and come up with something else."

It's our only option, Oberi agreed, before giving Frank the key once again.

"Go," Kalie pressed. "We've already wasted too much time."

"Guess I'll see ya in another life." Frank took off at vampire speed and was gone.

"Are you crazy?!" Danny yelled. "You can't send him off! We were so close."

"Hardly," Kallie said flatly. "You're a fucking moron, you know that? You don't know what you could've changed by telling him about us!"

"It doesn't matter if I broke the rules, because I actually did something about— whoa!" Danny cut off as Kallie pushed him through the portal. He gave a scream as he tumbled into it and through time.

"Let's get out of here," Kallie said.

Before Ava went through, she said to me, "Should we have warned Frank? We know that he's killed after he puts the key in the vault."

I hesitated. "If we did that, Frank would've survived, and the Chancey from our timeline wouldn't have been born, because Frank's soul wouldn't have incarnated into our angel friend. And my gut is telling me Irene was one of Ivy's past lives."

"I agree. They deserve to be together in our timeline," Ava said. "It's good we didn't say anything, even if it means Chancey's past life has to end."

We followed Kallie through the portal, and my stomach churned until we were back in the training room.

Danny must've tripped coming through the portal, because he was on the floor. I marched straight up to him and grabbed him by the collar. I immediately siphoned his vampire strength without thought and yanked him upright, pinning him to the wall.

"Are you insane?" I roared. "You were supposed to follow my orders! Do you have any idea what you might've done?!"

"Things didn't go according to plan," Danny said in a casual tone. "You said anything to get the job done. I had to improvise."

"Improvise?!" I growled. "You didn't just compromise the mission, you could've screwed up all of time! I'm not just the leader of this team; I'm a fucking prince! You need to learn to do as I tell you!"

Danny shrugged. "Well, you're not my prince. I didn't vote for you."

"Princes aren't voted for, dumbass," Kallie grumbled.

"Either way, I'm a vampire, not an Elf. I don't have to do what he says," Danny argued. "As far as I'm concerned, we're equals."

"Like hell. You are never coming with us on a mission again," I growled.

"Is that so?" Danny asked coolly.

"I'm in charge here." To reinforce my statement, I slammed my fist into the wall near his head. Danny barely flinched, but a piece of cinder block clattered to the floor.

"Charlie," Ava said softly. The sound of her voice was the only thing that slowed my heart rate. "Danny made a mistake, but we still need him."

"You might want to listen to your girlfriend," Danny teased.

I didn't know what kind of threats he was trying to make, because I was certain I could take him.

"That's my wife, you jackass," I sneered.

Danny chuckled. Then it hit me what he was doing. Ava was my weakness. Every fucking time. Nobody talked down to my wife, and he fucking knew it'd get on my nerves.

I dropped Danny and stomped toward the other side of the room. "He can be useful somewhere else."

"He could help," Ava insisted.

The door opened, and Kallie announced, "The rest of the palace looks to be in order. I don't think we changed anything significant."

I hadn't even realized she'd left the room; I'd been so angry.

"See? It's fine," Danny said.

He was so fucking cocky. I hated him.

"That doesn't change that you went against my orders," I said.

"Look, we're back, we're all in one piece, and we get a second shot at it," Danny stated nonchalantly. "It's all good."

I pressed my fingers to my eyes. This kid didn't get it. He was a poor substitute for Marcus, who I really wished had showed his ass up today. Where the hell was he?

I breathed a heavy sigh. "All right, time for Plan B. We need to time travel back to when the key was in the vault the night before the robbery and steal it without incident. Our first robbery attempt didn't work, so we'll have to come up with a different plan."

"Easy," Danny said. "You guys made it too complicated last time with all your disguises and potions. You had too many moving parts. Of course something was bound to go wrong."

"And how exactly is robbing a bank easy?" I demanded. "Have you ever done it before?"

Danny noticeably ignored my second question. "Look, we don't need disguises if we go back far enough that no one will recognize us. Kallie can get us as far back in our own timelines as possible, when we're technically still babies. We won't be on anyone's radar at that point."

"We're not going to become babies if we travel that far back, will we?" Ava asked.

"No. I've gone back pretty far, and my age never changed," Kallie said. "Our child selves will still exist out there somewhere. We just can't run into them, or we'd create a paradox."

When Kallie and I time traveled at the Institute, there were two versions of us— the original us from the timeline we first experienced, and the version of us that was time traveling. It was only when we returned to the present that our timelines melded together. We'd show up back wherever our present selves were after the timeline changed.

It was a good sign that we'd returned to the demigod training room just now, because it meant any minor changes we might've made had still led us to the same place we'd left, here in the present. But I was wary about continuing to fuck with this, because I didn't think we could keep doing it without consequences.

"All we have to do is get into the bank. Then I work some of my compulsion magic, and we get into the vault," Danny said. "I can compel the employees to forget, so they never suspect a thing. Simple as that."

"Don't you think they have wards against compulsion?" I asked.

"I'm a demigod," Danny said. "Their wards aren't going to contain my abilities."

"Marcus is a demigod, too, and he couldn't break the wards into the vault," I pointed out.

"I don't need to break any wards," Danny stated. "I just need to get in without setting off any alarms."

"The wards prevent Kallie from portaling closer than three blocks, or it'll alert security," I added.

"Because she's working against the bank," Danny said. "I'd be working my magic on individuals, so it's not going to set anything off."

"I think Danny's right," Ava said. "His magic is different from what we used before. I think we could slip under the radar."

I was skeptical of Danny's plan, but it was clear we needed him. We didn't have compulsion the first time around, but it was insane of us to have access to it and not use it. I didn't have to be his friend, but I could sure as hell use him to my advantage.

"You follow orders this time," I warned. "I don't care if you're a demigod— I will kill you. I won't stand to have you compromise our mission."

"Fuck, man, okay," Danny said, and I swear he had to be rolling his eyes. "You're the boss. God."

I hardly believed him.

"All right. Danny's the youngest, and since he's nineteen, then I'm taking us back eighteen years," Kallie said. "We'll all be kids, and we'll be within our own timeline. We'll be able to interact with our surroundings this time, but no one will recognize us. Don't touch anything or talk to anyone unless absolutely necessary."

We must've gone over the new plan a dozen times before we tried it. We weren't screwing anything up. When Danny started to complain he was getting bored and we just needed to do it already, Kallie created another portal, and the five of us stepped through.

Chatter filled the air, and the vehicles in the distance sounded more modern than the ones I'd heard in the 1920s.

Like when I'd time traveled at the Institute, I had a strange sense of déjà vu as we started through the streets toward the bank. Oberi stayed close to my side, and I pushed Ava's chair across the sidewalk.

We reached the bank, and I paid close attention to my surroundings as we entered.

"The wanted posters are gone," Ava remarked. "That's a good sign."

Nobody said much else as we marched straight past the teller windows and into the hall toward the vault, as if we belonged there. Nobody stopped us or questioned us, until we turned a corner.

"Excuse moi," a female voice said. She said something in French, then switched over to English. "You cannot be back here. I will need to see some form of ID— ah!"

She gave a gasp, then her tone turned soft. "Right this way."

"What did you do?" I hissed at Danny.

"I only pricked her with a needle I keep on my person," Danny said. He sounded really chill about it, too. "I only need a drop of blood to work my compulsion magic. It's not going to hurt her. She'll just be confused when she comes out of it later."

I heard footsteps coming our way, and I leaned over to Danny to whisper, "We need two employees to get into the vault."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. You can unclench your mangina."

A man let out a sharp hiss, and I heard something drip onto the floor— probably blood. A second later, he was following beside us. The two employees stopped at the vault, and Danny compelled them to run their scans and enter the code.

The vault opened, and Danny took a casual step back. "So simple. You should've brought me along the first time."

Fucking hell. I couldn't believe it actually worked. There were no alarms, no sirens— no one shouting at us through a megaphone.

"The box is here!" Kallie cried. She rushed over to the pedestal.

Oberi stepped into the vault beside me and sniffed the air. Something is wrong.

I stilled. I felt it, too. "Hold on," I told Kallie before she could open the box. "The magic is off."

When we entered the vault before, I could feel the residual magic from the vampire key, Oberi said. This time, I can't feel anything.

My stomach hollowed, and I slowly approached the pedestal. Hands trembling, I opened the glass case, then lifted the top of the box.

My fingers met nothing but the soft silk of the pillow inside. The key was gone.

"Frank conned us!" Danny cried.

"No, he wouldn't," Ava insisted, though she sounded unsure. "Something else must've happened."

I grabbed the box and twisted it around in my hands. We were too late… again.

Fuck!

I threw the box at the wall, and it clattered to the ground.

Kallie hastily picked it up and put it back on the pedestal. "Calm down. We'll figure this out."

"Not from this time period," I snarled. "Let's go back home. Danny, release the employees and get this vault sealed back up again. Kallie, get us out of here."

"It's cute you're addressing me by name, toots," Danny cooed.

If I ever wanted to hit somebody, it was him right now.

We returned to the demigod training room. That was good news, because it meant when we went back eighteen years, we didn't change enough to affect our location in the present.

It was the only bit of good news I'd had all day.

"Fucking hell!" I roared as I paced around the room. "What is it going to take to get this key?!"

"I don't understand what went wrong," Ava mused. "Frank had to put the key in the vault, because the box was there when we arrived. The key should've stayed there until the night before we broke in, when someone else stole it out from under us. Except this time, someone got to it decades before."

"We can't know that for sure," Danny pointed out. "Frank could've changed his mind."

"Great," I snarled. "You scared him off. I knew telling him about us was a mistake."

"There's a way to figure that out," Kallie stated. "But we're going to need Chancey's help."

Kallie left the room. I paced the area impatiently, waiting for her to come back. I was so pissed off nobody said anything— not even dumbass Danny.

She came back a half an hour later with Chancey in tow. "Chancey's agreed to do another past-life regression, so we can learn what happened after we spoke to him in Paris."

"I'll help in any way I can," Chancey offered. "But this better not hurt."

"It'll be just like taking a nap," Kallie promised.

Kallie conjured a bed and instructed him to lie down. I heard the rustling of pages as she rifled through a book.

"What spell are you going to use?" Ava asked.

"The same one from my grimoire that Marcus used on me months ago to make me remember my life as Princess Amalie," she responded.

"We shouldn't use that spell," I immediately objected. "It went wrong the last time we tried."

"The spell has to be performed by an Unseelie sorceress, and I've got Unseelie blood. We fucked it up last time because Marcus cast it. This time, it'll go right," Kallie promised.

I hoped it did, because we needed some confirmation. Kallie took a breath and began to recite. "Phantom Doe of Shadow, Neva, Goddess of Time, take us back through distant past, make clear through path divine. Answers found in ancestors, hidden soon be known, through graves of ancient ones we dig, blood to blood, bone to bone."

Unlike the last time we performed this spell, everything was still and quiet. No monsters or spirits appeared to interrupt the meditation, and Chancey didn't start to shake. I didn't hear anything except Chancey's soft breaths. Everyone else was too on edge to even dare to make a sound.

"Go back to the time when you were Frank," Kallie instructed. "What do you see?"

"I see you," Chancey said calmly in his trance-like state. "All four of you and Oberi. We're standing in an alleyway, talking about the key."

"Good," Kallie encouraged. "What happened after our meeting ended?"

"I see myself approaching the Banque Surnaturelle de Paris," Chancey recounted. "The employees are leading me to the vault."

"Is the key with you?" Kallie asked.

"Yes," Chancey confirmed. "I'm looking at it now, and I'm closing the box. I placed it on a pedestal and left it there. I'm walking out of the vault, and it's sealing behind me."

"How is that possible?" Ava asked. "If this vision's correct, the key should've been there."

"Shh…" Kallie quieted her, before addressing Chancey. "What happened after you left the vault?"

A beat passed before Chancey answered. "It's hard to tell. I'm getting two sets of memories."

"He shouldn't remember two timelines," I pointed out. "He isn't a demigod."

"But we're using my demigod magic to bring his memories to the surface," Kallie reminded me. "So it's entirely possible he'll recall two sets of memories, because he lived two different timelines after we spoke with him, and he's channeling those memories through my demigod abilities. Chancey, what happened to you in the first timeline?"

"Someone was following me," he admitted. "They caught up to me after I left the bank, and slaughtered me on the street. They'd must've thought I still had the key on me. I remember thinking before I died that I'd gotten to the vault just in time, because they wouldn't find the key now."

"What happened the second time you died?" Kallie asked.

"I was delayed getting to the bank by a few minutes," Chancey said. "I remember feeling like I was being watched when I went into the vault. I think whoever was following me caught up with me at the bank. They must've seen what I'd done with the key. I went to a vampire bar afterward. That's where they found me."

"Chancey, do you know who killed you?" Kallie wondered.

"I don't," he said. "Both times I died, they approached me from behind and cut off my head."

"Thank you, Chancey. You can wake up now." Kallie led him out of the meditation, and we gathered around to discuss what we learned.

I felt Chancey shiver beside me. "You okay?"

"Peachy, man," Chancey grumbled. "It was a blast, remembering someone knocked my head off twice."

"Sorry," I apologized. "We had to know."

"Yeah, yeah." He crossed his arms. "But I ain't doing it again."

"It had to be Masci Taurus and his men," Ava said immediately. "They were already on Frank's tail, ever since Charlie and I— or Lawrence and Lucille, rather— died in that car wreck. Only a strong supernatural could behead a vampire so effortlessly, which means the person who killed him was either another vampire, a shifter, or an angel."

"My money's on the angels," Chancey agreed. "That was too clean a hit to be anyone else."

"Let me get this straight," I said. "In the original timeline, Frank made it to the bank and put the key in the vault. Masci's men found him after he left the bank, without any clue where he'd gone with the key. The key remained in the vault for the next hundred-and-twenty years until someone was tipped off the night before we went in for the robbery. We don't know who stole it— it could've been anyone."

"Yes, but things changed after we talked to Frank," Kallie said.

"The second time around, we delayed Frank a few minutes by talking to him. Masci's men caught up, and saw him put the key in the vault," I mused. "Then they stole it, before hunting him down to kill him at the vampire bar."

"That lines up with what I saw," Chancey confirmed.

"So we're in a new timeline now," I said. "One where the key has been in the hands of the angels all this time."

"If things changed, did we even rob the bank?" Ava wondered.

Yes, Oberi said. It will take some time for you to recall the events, but I remember them. In our new timeline, Max was able to confirm through inventory records that the box was in the vault. You went to get it, but when you got there, you found nothing in the box, just like before. Everything else played out the same.

Could the Warden have the key then? Ava asked. He could've inherited it from his father.

I don't believe so, Oberi said. Esther still showed up looking for it, so the Warden is on the hunt for it as well. He too believed the key to be in the vault.

Ava quickly told the others what Oberi said.

"Even so, the Warden is closer to the key than ever, because of what we changed," I growled. "We didn't know which of our enemies took the key in the original timeline, but in this one, it's got to be the angels."

"It makes sense that Masci wouldn't have given the key to the Warden," Kallie pointed out. "The Warden killed his father. They weren't on good terms."

"That doesn't mean the Warden won't find it among the other angels," I said. "Masci must've given it to someone before he died. The Warden is closer to the key than ever before because of what we changed. We can't keep doing this. Going back in time isn't safe, nor effective. If we keep trying, we're going to seriously screw something up— even worse than we already have. Regardless, we can safely assume the angels have the key, so we've just got to focus on the future and follow the clues to its next location."

"I want to go back and see who killed Frank, just to be sure," Kallie argued.

"No," I stated firmly. "The last time we went back, we changed things. The key ended up with the angels this time, who are too close to the Warden. If you travel back again, you could change something else, and the key could end up in the hands of the Warden himself this time. We can't afford for that to happen, because if he has it, we'll never get it back."

"I understand what you're saying," Kallie said. "That was a close call— too close. But what other options do we have?"

"I'll put the Elvish Associates on gathering intel about Masci Taurus and his people," I offered. "They can find out who was working for him at the time, and who might've been involved."

"I'll hold off on time traveling for now while your team investigates. But if this takes too long, I'm going back myself," Kallie insisted. "I'm not taking any of you back anymore, unless…"

Kallie trailed off after realizing she'd said too much, but I'd heard the heartbreak in her tone. Unless it's to save my mate's life.

I didn't blame her. I'd do the same for Ava. Hell, I'd tried to do the same for her last semester.

Time travel was dangerous. Kallie couldn't keep casting it, but she had to do something about her and Marcus. This relationship was killing them both, and it was really affecting the team.

"I'm making the call. No more time traveling," I stated sternly.

This time, the team better fucking follow my orders. I was tired of not being taken seriously.

"I guess if this is a bust, I'm going back to my room to play with myself," Danny joked, and he collided into my shoulder to swagger away. "I suggest you all do the same."

My fists became tighter as I heard him slam the door to the training room shut. I couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. I hoped we found the rest of the keys soon, because I couldn't take working with him for long.

"It's always a bust, isn't it?" Kallie said hopelessly. "My time powers might as well not exist at all, for all the good they do."

It wasn't like her to get so down on herself. Danny's words from earlier had to be taking a heavy toll. He didn't understand this situation with Marcus wasn't as easy as he'd made it seem, but Kallie was definitely taking his words to heart.

"Do you want to talk?" Ava asked her softly.

"Let's just go somewhere," Kallie noted sullenly. "Somewhere without men. The Ladies' Court has never looked better."

Ava checked in with me, and I told her through our bond, Go on, pidge. She needs someone to listen right now.

I'll be back for dinner, like we promised, Ava responded telepathically, before she said aloud, "The female area of the palace is all yours. We can bitch about it in the hot tub. Come on, Oberi."

Oberi changed, and her hooves clattered against the floor behind Ava and Kallie as they left the training arena.

I sighed and rubbed my face before I headed back to my quarters, where my designated court lived. Kallie wasn't the only one who needed to talk, and I had to check up on Marcus. It really worried me that he hadn't shown up for practice.

At this point, Marcus was more like my little brother than he was my friend. We'd been through a lot together, and I was super protective of him. I really cared about him, and I wanted him to be okay. I wasn't ashamed of letting anyone know that. So if I had to bang his door down to get through to him, I would.

I knocked on the door to his suite. No answer came, except for the faint sound of a cat's meow.

"Marcus, open up," I called. "I know you're in there."

"No, I'm not— fuck. Go away!" he shot back.

I grabbed the door handle, fully expecting to have to work some magic to get it to open, but the door swung open effortlessly.

Marcus scratched away at a sketch pad, and the couch squeaked as he shifted. "I'm not really up for visitors," he stated flatly.

Rishi hurried over to me and began purring as he rubbed against my leg.

"Rishi seems to want company," I said as I sat beside Marcus. Rishi jumped onto my lap and kept nudging my hand.

I waited for Marcus to say something, but he didn't. I knew I would have to make the first move. "You weren't at our demigod lesson."

"So?" Marcus asked. "I'm sure you figured that out on your own."

"It wasn't a question," I said. "We needed you there, man."

"No, you didn't."

"Of course we did."

Marcus slammed his pencil down and tossed his sketchbook aside. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better. I know what the Villain's Club actually thinks of me. None of you really want me around."

"That's not true," I insisted. "Marcus, you're as much a part of our team as anyone. Hell, there wouldn't be a Villain's Club without you."

"Of course there would. I don't contribute anything, and I don't have a purpose. I'm supposed to have all these powers, but I'm not as talented as you guys."

"Marcus, that's bull, and you know it," I said. "You can break wards, summon spirits, read minds?—"

"Hardly!" he cried. "I can't hone in on anything anymore. It's all useless chatter. I can't puppeteer people like Alistair can, or survive a knife to the heart like Chancey, and I'm not fast or strong like Ivy. Even Ez has healing powers, and Opal can talk to marine life. You're better off with average supernaturals than you are with me."

"It's our differences that make us stronger," I encouraged. "You've got all sorts of strengths. You were incredible when we broke out of the Institute. Your magic was unstoppable."

"I can't even remember doing that, so thanks for bringing it up that I lost my mind," he growled. "Apparently I can't access my full abilities unless I'm fucking crazy."

I took a breath. "Even if you can't pull off everything a warlock could possibly do, it doesn't make you weak."

"You don't understand the potential I have!" Marcus insisted. "Witch powers are diverse, and most witches and warlocks only have one specialty. When Mother Miriam came to me to unlock my powers, she said I was different. Most witches can't harness more than one power because it's too much for them. Their bodies will give out. My goddess said that I'd be able to harness them all. She said I needed the power of all five Casts to accomplish what I was put on this earth to do. I didn't get it at the time, but I understand now that she gave me access to all Miriamic powers because I'm a demigod. And my body can handle it… but I don't think my mind can."

"Is that what this is about?" I wondered. "You're afraid you'll never reach your full potential because of your depression? Marcus, you've barely scratched the surface, and you're already the most powerful warlock I've ever known."

"Maybe… I don't know. I met with my parents."

Several moments passed, but he didn't elaborate.

"What happened?" I asked carefully.

"They told me they knew I was a demigod." Marcus shot to his feet and began pacing around the room. "They've known all this time, ever since I was a baby."

"Why didn't they say something earlier?" I demanded. I hated Lucas and Nadine for keeping this from him.

"They wanted to— or so they said," Marcus admitted. "I guess there was some sort of magic, a curse, that prevented them from telling me— a spell so powerful even my mom couldn't break it. I had to figure it out on my own before they could talk about it freely. I just feel… betrayed. Even if it isn't their fault, they could've tried harder to get around the curse, you know?"

"Maybe they did try," I offered. "We don't know the parameters of this spell you mentioned. Marcus, I know your parents really care about you."

He scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure they care about the screw-up of the family. My parents were so proud of me when I came home with a mark from all five Casts. They said I had to be destined for great things. But then my magic got out of control, and I killed all those people in the town square. If they could've at least hinted at something, maybe I would've understood the extent of my powers. Maybe I could've controlled them better."

"Marcus, I think they did try to tell you," I pointed out. "And you know what else? They fought for you. You told me your mom spoke to the rest of the witch's council to get you sent to the Darke Institute. I'm sure she didn't know how bad it was there and just wanted to see her son get help at a reform school. She did what she thought was best for you, because your coven was going to hang you if you didn't go. Your parents didn't abandon you, and neither have we. I don't understand why you're afraid people are going to leave when they never have in the past."

Marcus sank back into the couch. "I don't know, to be honest. I ask myself that question every damn day. The best guess I've got is that I was abandoned in a previous lifetime, and now my soul is permanently damaged."

I wanted to tell him he wasn't damaged, and to knock some sense into him, but I didn't think that would help. Marcus didn't need tough love right now. He needed to be heard.

"I've spent most of my life feeling broken, too," I admitted. "But if there's one thing I've learned about damage, it's that it can be healed. Yeah, maybe things won't ever look the same, and there will always be scars to remind you what happened, but you don't have to keep bleeding out."

Marcus didn't say anything, but he rubbed his hands together, like he was really thinking about what I said.

"Maybe you should take a break," I suggested.

"Take a break from saving the world?" he asked skeptically. "I'm not sure that's helpful to anyone."

"If it helps you, then it's worth it," I said. "You can't be out here saving the world when doing so keeps busting your wounds back open. You need time to heal, Marcus."

"I can't just step away," he insisted. "What will I do with myself? I'll get bored, and that'll just make things worse. Everyone else here has a super important job. You're a prince, Ava's a princess, Opal's her lady, Kallie's a court diplomat, Ez is studying medicine… and what am I doing? Sitting on my ass making art. Like that helps anyone."

"Art is important," I insisted. "And it's not like Ivy, Chancey or Alistair have jobs."

"Ivy's keeping a low profile, Alistair's busy experimenting with his magic, and Chancey doesn't want any responsibilities. He's happy to sit on the couch with a beer watching baseball for the rest of his immortal life," Marcus shot back at me. "But me? I can't just… bum around. I need something to create. But that's not saving lives. No one's even bothered to ask if I'm needed. So obviously, I'm not."

Marcus needed a job here in Ilamanthe. Something that wasn't as stressful as demigod work, and something where he could put his talents to good use. I was prince, so I was going to have to come up with something.

"I need a court bard," I said quickly. "Someone needs to sing and entertain the palace. We've got to keep spirits up around here."

"I can't keep a tune to save my life," Marcus said glumly. "You know that."

"So put on plays," I offered. "I'll be in the front row on opening night."

"Maybe…" Marcus mused, but I could already tell he was liking the idea.

Music, art, and theater were Marcus' healing modalities. Maybe if he spent enough time on his art, it would help him through some of his internal struggles.

"Come on, Marcus. We need to keep morale up around the palace," I insisted. "The war really brings people down. Giving them some entertainment could help."

"I guess you're right," Marcus finally said. "You guys have been telling me for a long time I need to work on myself, and now's the time to actually do that. Plus, I really could use a break from my powers. It's too much."

"That's good news," I encouraged.

"But," he added, and my stomach dropped, "I need to stay away from the team while I get my stuff in order."

"We still want you around," I promised.

"It's not that," Marcus said. He got to his feet and gave a sigh. "I can't work out my shit and save the world at the same time. I'll feel better once I figure myself out, and I need to do that alone. I can't talk to any of you guys for a while. I need… space."

The suggestion made me feel uneasy, but I knew protesting would only drive him further into his shell. We needed a healed Marcus if we were going to get anywhere— not a broken one.

"All right," I finally said as I stood. "If you need anything, my door is always open."

"I know," Marcus replied.

I reached out an arm for him, and although he hugged me back, his form remained rigid.

I left the room feeling disheartened. I wasn't entirely sure Marcus was taking my suggestion seriously. It more or less felt like he was agreeing to work on himself in an attempt to avoid us. I really hoped his time away helped him feel better, because I cared about him, and we all needed him. The team felt broken without him.

And no matter what he thought, we couldn't win this war without Marcus.