“I never told you her name.”

Koa’s eyes widen, having realized his slip up. Rose is practically vibrating. This may be it. The moment she’s been waiting for. Answers to what happened to her sister.

Sighing, he drags his hand down his face as if he can’t believe what he said. “It’s my power. Telepathy. I read your mind,” he reveals quietly, his eyes shifting around, paranoid that someone will hear him.

Her eyes instantly go to the cuff around his wrist that was on view. “But the bracelet?”

Waving his arm in front of her, he points to the circle light in the center. “It’s just an identifier. It doesn’t stop me from using it. If you were paying attention, you would have seen it glow when I read your thoughts,” he explains with a hint of snark at the end. Rose doesn’t appreciate that.

“Do you know anything about Thorn?” She persists. Her sister is a topic that she will never let go.

She feels so close. Close to something she thought was unattainable.

“No,” he answers simply.

Narrowing her eyes, she shakes her head, “I don’t believe you.” His response was instant, “Of course you don’t.”

Rose doesn’t like his sarcastic tone. This isn’t funny. This is her life. Her sister.

“Well I don’t have mind reading powers to confirm it. So I have to go off my instincts,” she retorts, shrugging her shoulders. Oh what she would do if she had his power. It feels like all her issues would be resolved.

He actually gives a short chuckle. So he does have a sense of humor.

“That sounds problematic.”

“You know something,” she continues, ignoring what he said. There’s something about his composure, the tenseness of his body and the lines in his face.

As if to keep his hands busy, he messes with a Rubik’s cube keychain on his backpack. It’s clear that it’s a nervous tell. He’s not a very good liar.

“I seriously don’t. I got her name from your head. But…” he trails off, eyes dragging downwards to his fidgeting fingers.

He can’t possibly leave her off with just that. Thorn is out there. Rose always thought that, but this could be her chance to prove it. “But what? If you can read my mind, then you know how much I need to know. How long I’ve been waiting for something. How much I miss her.”

Her words get choked up at the end. Thinking about her sister brings up the best childhood memories. Late night talks. Playing Barbies. Thorn being the rock in Rose’s life. But they are tainted with the constant absence as if a black and white filter was thrown over them.

She sees his bracelet light flicker. Koa is reading her mind. Good.

“Look, I don’t know anything about Thorn specifically. But I may know someone who might.” His hands are still. He looks her directly in the eyes. His body isn’t tense, though not relaxed. From those factors, she thinks he’s telling the truth. Think being the key word because of course she doesn’t have a peek inside his head.

Just as she is about to interrogate him further, the bell rings.

He breathes a sigh of relief and scrambles to get up from the table.

She almost laughs at his eagerness to get away from this conversation. He isn’t escaping that easy.

They have all their classes together after all. So that means nine chances to answers.

The ending of The Listener's Quest

꧁----------꧂ "And with a cheer from the people in the pews, Savvy and Iam finally had their happy ever after..." Ruby's mother, Rosierra closed the book.

"Surely that can't be it? I want to know more!" Ruby exclaimed. She yawned.

"There is something else..." Rosierra stood and got down on her knees.

She began rummaging around under her bed. After a few minutes, she stood up and turned around. A glowing ball was nestled in her hands. She gently tapped it and it opened.

It was instantly attentive. It fluttered around the room with happy sounds. It noticed Ruby and hovered around her. It lifted her hand and made a laughing noise.

"What are you...?" Ruby asked. She took one of her fingers and gently tapped the point on its head.

"This is MoonLI. MoonLI, this is Ruby, my daughter." Rosierra smiled.

MoonLI made a giggling sound and flew to sit on the top of Ruby's head.

Rosierra laughed. "Adam, would you come here dear?"

Adam, Ruby's father, peeked into the room with a sandwich in his mouth. He lifted his hand and shoved the rest into his mouth before speaking. "Is it time?" he asked.

"Yes." Rosierra nodded.

"Sweet." Adam walked over to Ruby and put an arm around her shoulder. He held a knuckle up to MoonLI and it touched a small arm to his hand.

"MoonLI, do you mind creating that portal for us, please?" Rosierra asked.

MoonLI flew off Ruby's head and circled over and over until blue sparks started forming and a town appeared. MoonLI stopped circling and looked proud of her work. Then she giggled.

Rosierra headed toward the portal and turned her head to her husband and daughter right before she walked through. "You two coming?"

"Yes definitely!" Ruby exclaimed.

Adam laughed and followed her. "Of course. It would be nice to see Nebula Hill again."

"That's what this place is called? Nebula Hill?" Ruby wondered.

"Yes. This is the town that the Five found. The one they saved from the evil. The one they still live on in to this day." Rosierra's eye glinted with something and she stepped through the portal.

Ruby and Adam quickly followed.

The town spread out before them. Ruby gasped in wonder.

Rosierra and Adam made their way through the streets of the town. Many people eagerly waved to them.

Ruby walked close behind. A few children ran in front of her with small glowing things like MoonLI.

"Mom?" Ruby ran to catch up with her. "Why do those kids have things like MoonLI?"

Rosierra smiled. "They're called Bubbitars. A mixture of stars and bubbles. Each person is assigned one here."

Ruby looked around and continued walking. "That means..."

Rosierra laughed a bit. "I wasn't born here, no. But my mother was. Before she came to back here, she gave me my own Bubbitar. That's where MoonLI came from."

"That's so cool." Ruby whispered.

"Ruby, check it out! There's the castle...!" Adam exclaimed.

Ruby turned her head and the castle loomed before her. "Who needs a castle that big?"

Rosierra stopped. "Wanna see?" she asked.

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Well come on then!" Rosierra grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the large building.

When they reached the gates, the guards lifted up their helms.

"Why if it isn't Rosierra and Adam!" One shouted. "Welcome back!"

"Who's this little runt?" Another asked.

"This is my daughter, Ruby. We're here to get her her own Bubbitar. And visit." Rosierra explained.

"Of course. We'll open the gates for you." the first guard tugged a lever down.

The gates opened and the trio stepped through into the castle.

Rosierra led Adam and Ruby down a hallway and up some stairs until finally someone was there.

Rosierra's face creased with a concerned look and she rushed toward the person with Ruby and Adam hot on her trail.

"Savvy, are you alright?" Rosierra fretted.

"Yes, yes I am." Savvy took a deep breath. "I'm glad you came Rosierra."

"So am I." Rosierra whispered. "Savvy, I brought my daughter, Ruby, with me this time. To possibly get her a Bubbitar?"

Savvy smiled down at Ruby. "Yeah, of course it's no problem. Hello, Ruby. I have two kids of my own, you know. I'm sure they'd be delighted to meet you."

"Sure!" Ruby laughed.

Savvy took another deep breath and looked up at Rosierra. "Is it alright if I take her for a sec?"

Rosierra narrowed her eyes. "As long as you're sure you're fine. You don't seem so right now."

"I am okay, Rosierra, there's no need to worry. I'll be back with Ruby in a bit." Savvy turned and guided Ruby down more hallway.

Eventually, Savvy stopped at a door and opened it. Inside, two kids, one about four, the other around seven, were busy playing with toy trucks and dolls.

"Kade, Sapphire, I would like you to meet Ruby. Your aunt."

Rose and Mary had been friends since childhood, they had been there for each other through Rose’s divorce, the death of Mary’s only child and the loss of their gardening business that they set up together. One day out of the blue, Rose found a letter to Mary while helping her take some things to the charity shop, it was a love letter from her ex husband Soyle. Rose was shocked and devastated. Suddenly she didn’t feel too bad about killing Mary’s only son.

He doesn't know that I know, but I do...

That's what happens when you leave a trail in the world. Someone eventually picks up on it, and runs with it. The action of keeping a secret is tiring, so it's not surprising that he leaves breadcrumbs everywhere. The "secret" isn't anything out of the ordinary, but I guess in these times secrets always have a valid reason for being kept. Who am I to question him when I'm keeping my own untold words as well. Luckily, mine isn't entering rigor mortis and decomposing outside town lines. Mine sits much closer to home.

I rub my secret, I talk to it daily, telling it how much I love it. How much it will be loved. Boy or girl doesn't matter, because Mommy won't let anything happen to it. In order for that to happen, I have to stay on my husband's good side and off his attempt to murder list. I look much better above six feet of dirt.

It's truly amazing he didn't see me trailing a couple of miles behind him. I'm certainly not a secret service agent, but I know enough to not get caught. High-beams always give away a bad tail. If you don't know how to keep your high-beams from reflecting off the target's mirrors then you're fucked. A couple YouTube searches will do that for you, but never count out the bottomless knowledge of DarkReddit either. I swear that sketchy, yet incredibly helpful corner of the internet is run by mercenaries. It taught me stealth, trailing methods, how to turn on and connect another person's Find My iPhone to my account; all the skills needed when you're trying to find out if your significant other is cheating on you. I became so good that I discovered a lot more than cheating. DarkReddit didn't prepare me for that. But maybe I could find some sound advice on YouTube.

"How to oust a married murderer without getting killed." One YouTube search brings up exactly 42 videos. To be honest, these seem like 42 ways to get caught, especially if I don't delete the evidence. Good thing I did my prior research at the public library, so that's not very easy to track. But my personal phone he uses as much as me, so that needs to be protected. It won't be much longer until he gets here. Will I be able to act like the naïve young wife? Of course I can! Just act like the last 72 hours didn't happen.

"Hey beautiful flower, you ready for date night? I think we have means to celebrate."

Time to win an Oscar. Action.

She doesn't know what I know and it's best that it stays that way. She thinks she knows best because she's slightly older, but I always keep a card up my sleeve. Afterall, I didn't move a couple of towns over to be caught by a babygirl. Even if she is my babygirl. This just shows that I have wonderful taste in women; dead and alive. But I have no intention of adding her to the latter, especially not after knowing what I know. Her safety, her health is priority. I never considered bringing a life into this world. Only taking them when I see fit. But everyone can turn over a new leaf. So can I... so can I.

It didn't take much to figure out her current state. Morning sickness, locking our bathroom door when I'm home, her curious cravings that have me racing out the house and over county lines to grocery stores that carry her weirdly combined items. It all adds up in the end. Besides, that time over county lines allows me some alone time in order to say goodbye to my dead wives. All of them were so beautiful in life and now I preserve their beauty in death, but I can't go on knowing I will soon be responsible for raising a new life. My old ways aren't enough and her Mother is necessary. No matter how many times I've contemplated preserving her beauty, she is necessary.

She doesn't know that I know yet. But we're going to celebrate tonight. It's date night after all.

I couldn’t help myself. Riley never told me any secrets. We’ve been best friends for years, yet she remains so secretive. I had to get a better glimpse into her life.

She would be home from work in 10 minutes. I knew her schedule, memorized it after a week. She arrived at her house at 3:40 every day. I would have to be fast.

I searched for the diary. I found it once when I stayed the night at her place, but she grabbed it before I could look inside. Ever since, she’s had it hidden.

I looked under her bed and there it was. I scampered to grab it and flipped through the pages. There weren’t as many entries as I expected, but I came across the most recent one. My eyes widened with shock.

“What would Riley do if she knew I was in love with her?”

She was…in love with me?

I unlocked the door to my house. Well, I tried to. It was, to my surprise, already unlocked. I assumed that meant Lily was here. She comes over all the time. Not that I can complain, I love her company.

I threw my bag down at the end of the hallway and trotted up the staircase. I pushed my door open and saw Lily cross-cross on my floor reading a book. A book with a blue cover with my name on it. My diary!

“Lily!” I shouted with shock. She slammed the book shut and whipped it behind her back. My face reddened and my lungs were suddenly empty. She can’t know my secret.

“Riley, it’s okay,” she consoled. She approached me and reached a hand out to cup my face. I stumbled backward and my head bumped the wall behind me. She cradled my head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to find out this way,” I panicked. This would be the end of our friendship, I just knew it.

She gently pulled my head in closer to her own and our lips met. Then I realized what was happening—she was in love with me as well. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept my secret from her. If I hadn’t, I would’ve learned that her secret was the same as mine.

Eyes Of The Werewolf

Grrrrr.. she’s really a siren?? I cannot fathom how angry I am at her. Why would she hide the fact that she was my biggest enemy? Sirens and Werewolves are supposed to be enemies, not friends! What am I doing? She’s gonna feel a bite like no other tomorrow.

Eyes Of The Siren

𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒, 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑔𝑎𝑧𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑟

“𝑊𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑊𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛“

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑜𝑤

𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑡 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑙𝑓, 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑡

This bitch flashed the picture in his face. Leryi Giamet life would be over if this picture ever gets out. Just looking at the picture of himself naked, riding his own teacher Mr. Phiriko was super embarrassing. The man he loves will be fired and Leryi will be the most talked about student of his school.

What a way to start off his freshman year of high school. All because of Darceri Gymixon. This bitch stared him straight in the eyes, so evil as she smiled with pride.

She tells him, “I won’t tell anybody about this as long you do my homework.”

“How much of it?” Leryi saddened.

“As much as I want you to do.” She answered, like it was a stupid question.

“Okay… can I go to the bathroom now?”

“Yes,” Daceri said while digging in her bag. “But here’s all my homework I need you to do this week, and don’t purposely get the questions wrong because if you do, I’ll-”

“Expose my secret.” Leryi cut her off, finishing the sentence for her.

Darceri smirked at him, “That’s right.” Then she departed.

“Fucking bitch.” Leryi mumbled under his breath.

“Excuse me!” Darceri twisted around.

Leryi heart dropped to his stomach. His body froze, as his eyes widen of terror. “Nothing,” he submissively answered.

Darceri glared at him as if she was a drug boss about to backhand her minion. “You know what, I have a gay friend whose interested in going out with you. I’ll ask him when he’s free.”

Leryi was left sulking in guilt and revenge, ruminating on a way to shut Darceri up. Should he alert Mr. Phiriko? No. He’ll freak out and probably make the problem worse than what it already is.

For the past few weeks Leryi has been miserably doing her homework simultaneously avoiding Mr. Phiriko, and then finally going on a date with her friend. It was the most mortifying thing in his life. A few kids from his school sweared they saw him at the restaurant.

Eventually Mr. Phiriko caught him outside of school roaming around the grocery store with his parents. When he got Leryi’s attention, he pointed with his head to meet him on the other side of the store.

“What’s going on? You’ve been ignoring me for weeks!” Mr. Phiriko whispered loudly.

“It’s Darceri, she caught us in the act!” Leryi responded.

Mr. Phiriko eyes widened. “Well, does she have proof of us?”

Leryi guiltily nodded his head.

“Shit! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry! I was afraid and didn’t want to make the situation worse. What do we do?”

Mr. Phiriko looked around contemplating something up and sighing of distress. “Don’t worry I’ll handle it.”

“You’re not gonna kill her, are you?” Leryi warily asked.

“No!” He denied instantly. “Just let me handle it.”

“Okay.” Leryi sighs of relief, then departed.

At least two weeks went by, and suddenly Mr. Phiriko sent Leryi a message while he was doing Darceri’s homework, saying, “We’re good.”

Leryi replied back, “What do you mean?”

Mr. Phiriko didn’t answer.

When Leryi got dropped off at school by his parents, Darceri approached him timidly asking, “Hey, do you have all my homework?”

“Yeah, why?” Leryi questioned weirdly.

“You don’t have to do them anymore.” She replied as if holding back her tears, and taking all her stuff back.

After she departed, Leryi asked himself, “What did Mr. Phiriko do?”

Listen Hear I whisper sweet nothings You nod as if you understand This foreign language Called love

I speak through my soul You hear with your heart Your smile never fades As I give you everything

I realize now I was vulnerable If you had turned away I would have broken My true self was in the open And you lean in and whisper back sweet nothings Our foreign language Called love

𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩!

They know the secret?! But i know their secret!

𝙊𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩,𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩!

What do we do? 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤?

What is wrong with them!

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢!

Shit! There they are-

𝙁𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩

“…Hi Ȩ̷̛͇͚̤͇̤̠̮̯͍̠͉͆̾͊͗̎͐̒̔͌͂̄͂͐͒͛̽͂̈͑̽͊͂̄̏̅̓̑̑̏̾͋̏̕͠ļ̴̢̧̛̣͙̞̠͚̲͕̲͍̗̫̗͉̪͚̫̱̣̗͈͚͎͇̫̹̝̱̬̙̪͕̬͉̻̘̜͚̦̼̬͓̼͖̈́̒̍̀̾͑͂̂̈͆̀̓̋͗͌͛̏̐͒̀̎̿́̏͗͌̇̍͘͘͘̕͜͜͠͝͝͠ͅį̷͉̤̯̰̳̼͇̲̘̮̹͍͙̯͚̗̫͇̈́̄̐̐̋͗͆̈́͌͛̌̋͊͒͒͂͆͗̌́̊́̍̉͑́͜͝͠ẓ̸̡͇̬̲̫̖̮̤̙̭̣̠͓̟̦̲͎̯̮̟̮̣̰̖̙̤̤̯̗͔̼͚̱̖̲̖̻̟́̽̓̇͌̀̃͛̊̂̀̇̊̈́͋̉͑̄̆́̿̕͝͝͝͝ͅͅa̷̮͇̼̞͕̖͍̰̜͍͓͌̓̌̒̓̉̄̆̀͗̈̒̔́̇̓̽͐͆͑̅͂̒̐̍̋̈́̉̉̓̓̌͐͌͘̕͘͘͝͠

“𝙃𝙚𝙮...“

“𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣...“ “listen...“

“no,you go first.“ “𝙉𝙤,𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩.“

“i̴̛̛̝̹̻͔͚̘̺̣̣̲͖̠̰̺͇̪̙̰̩͍̺͚̓̏͌̏̃̏͆͊͐͛ ̶̧̛̦̳͓̺̖̳̮̮̖̗͙͕̰̺̯͎̻͇̰͔̟̤̎͑̉̎͂͂̓͆͘k̷̨̧̡̢̛̪̼̬͎̳̩̻͎̝̟̖͎͓̻̦̥̻͇͑̈́̂͊̊̀͑̍̆̓̓̂̍̓̿̄̓̓̉͂̋̈́̓̏̊̒̎͌̽̒̋̉͂́͒̅̈̐̐̃̈́̔́̂̈́̚͘͜͝ͅn̸̢̛̘͈̲̻̭͔̻̥̰̤̩̗͉̥͙̫̩̫̹̱͈̖͕̤̖̑͋̐̓͂̈̑͋͑̀̔̋͆͛̂͒̓̔̌͆̿̋͑̈́͂̉͆̿͌̐̉̑́͊̌̄̎͋̉̈́̈́͘̚͝͠͝ͅơ̶̧̡͇̯̙̠͈̞͓͓̯̳̳̥̯̤̩͇͓̙̳̪͆̏̃͗͗̋́͗͐́͊͐̌̀͋̌̉̀̾̅̅̔̐͊̀̕̚͜͠w̵̡̙̺̘̞̮̜̦̠̥̰̱̳̟͙͔̖̘̞͙̰̖̙̰̥̪̽̀̔̎̽͗̄̽̓̍̀̿̌͌̀̀͒̇̔̍̈́͌̈́͛̍̍̋̀͋̽̀́̆̒͘͝͝ͅ ̸̨̧̛͍̘̞͔̹͖̺̮̺̖̥̟̦̺̲̀͊̂̃͑̊́̊̅͑͆̒͐̂̀̂̉̚̚̚͜͝͠w̷͆͂̊̂̏͛̅̃̚͝͝͝ͅh̵̲̥̯̣̐͌̔̇̆͒ȃ̸̡̧̧̨̛̛̬̳̺̘̣̖͍̣̝͚̳͍͍͓͔̠͍͖̝̝͍̼̰̩̠̍͆̓͋̏̊͛̿͌͐͛͋̾͒̀͂͂̂̏̇́͐̐͋̈͘̕̕͝t̶̡̡̡̧̺̰͎̖̤͍̮̯͇̳͍͇̰̔̀͒̌̇͑́̿̐̎͌̊̃̄̊̂̉̊̔̎̌͘̕͘͜͠ͅ ̸͔̪̟͚͈͚͔̞͕̺̥͉̤̩̈́͑̐̈̂̌͒͂́͗͗́̿́͂̎͝͝ͅy̴̙̹̫̻̥̰͍̲͙͕̙̘̜̤̮͓̹͌͒̉͆͊̐͂̑̓̀̏̂̅͂̍̋̇͒̅̌̔͗̃̋́͐̾͊͌̌͋͐̏̿̃̎̒̿͌̎̄̚͝͝͝o̵̤̹͕̯̭̔͊̔̅͆̈́̆̓̍̊̒̂̚̕̕͠ụ̵̡̙̫̘̦͓͇̤̪̹̳͈̘̞̯̬͉͚̜̬͔͈͚̟̔͐̇̓̐̓̈ͅͅ ̴̡̛̪̝͉̭͕̻̯̺̝̘̆̃͗͂̒̽̒̾̒͆̑̏̄͗̓̉̅̓̈͆̿͑̽̽̑̀̏̿͑̈͊̔̾̾̉̀̉̚̕͝͝͠ḑ̶̢̢̢̡̥͓̜̹͈̮̙̬̭̯̬̗͚̮̠̬̱͚͓̫̗̭̟̤̤̤͇͇͓̞̺̳̯̪̙̝͎̳̗͛̃̓̔͑̾́͒̐͛͋̽̕̚͘͝ͅͅǐ̶̱̺̳̰̯̪͍̖͕̗̈́̔̑̈́̎͋̒͑́̏̋̎̈́́̉̀͛̾̓̋̈́̆͝ͅͅd̸̢̨̧̡̘̮̝̖͎̙̟͓͕̟̥̯̖̼͎̗̲̖͉̹̲̳̮̭̝̺̺̝͐́ͅ!̷̨̡̛̳̜̳̦̥̤͙̫͍͚̱̥̲̺̣̜̳̆̑̅͆͆͒̿͐͆̈́̊̈́̃̀̓̇̔̃̄́̀̎͑̇̇̓̈́̽͛̽̂͑̚͝͝“ i̴̛̛̝̹̻͔͚̘̺̣̣̲͖̠̰̺͇̪̙̰̩͍̺͚̓̏͌̏̃̏͆͊͐͛ ̶̧̛̦̳͓̺̖̳̮̮̖̗͙͕̰̺̯͎̻͇̰͔̟̤̎͑̉̎͂͂̓͆͘k̷̨̧̡̢̛̪̼̬͎̳̩̻͎̝̟̖͎͓̻̦̥̻͇͑̈́̂͊̊̀͑̍̆̓̓̂̍̓̿̄̓̓̉͂̋̈́̓̏̊̒̎͌̽̒̋̉͂́͒̅̈̐̐̃̈́̔́̂̈́̚͘͜͝ͅn̸̢̛̘͈̲̻̭͔̻̥̰̤̩̗͉̥͙̫̩̫̹̱͈̖͕̤̖̑͋̐̓͂̈̑͋͑̀̔̋͆͛̂͒̓̔̌͆̿̋͑̈́͂̉͆̿͌̐̉̑́͊̌̄̎͋̉̈́̈́͘̚͝͠͝ͅơ̶̧̡͇̯̙̠͈̞͓͓̯̳̳̥̯̤̩͇͓̙̳̪͆̏̃͗͗̋́͗͐́͊͐̌̀͋̌̉̀̾̅̅̔̐͊̀̕̚͜͠w̵̡̙̺̘̞̮̜̦̠̥̰̱̳̟͙͔̖̘̞͙̰̖̙̰̥̪̽̀̔̎̽͗̄̽̓̍̀̿̌͌̀̀͒̇̔̍̈́͌̈́͛̍̍̋̀͋̽̀́̆̒͘͝͝ͅ ̸̨̧̛͍̘̞͔̹͖̺̮̺̖̥̟̦̺̲̀͊̂̃͑̊́̊̅͑͆̒͐̂̀̂̉̚̚̚͜͝͠w̷͆͂̊̂̏͛̅̃̚͝͝͝ͅh̵̲̥̯̣̐͌̔̇̆͒ȃ̸̡̧̧̨̛̛̬̳̺̘̣̖͍̣̝͚̳͍͍͓͔̠͍͖̝̝͍̼̰̩̠̍͆̓͋̏̊͛̿͌͐͛͋̾͒̀͂͂̂̏̇́͐̐͋̈͘̕̕͝t̶̡̡̡̧̺̰͎̖̤͍̮̯͇̳͍͇̰̔̀͒̌̇͑́̿̐̎͌̊̃̄̊̂̉̊̔̎̌͘̕͘͜͠ͅ ̸͔̪̟͚͈͚͔̞͕̺̥͉̤̩̈́͑̐̈̂̌͒͂́͗͗́̿́͂̎͝͝ͅy̴̙̹̫̻̥̰͍̲͙͕̙̘̜̤̮͓̹͌͒̉͆͊̐͂̑̓̀̏̂̅͂̍̋̇͒̅̌̔͗̃̋́͐̾͊͌̌͋͐̏̿̃̎̒̿͌̎̄̚͝͝͝o̵̤̹͕̯̭̔͊̔̅͆̈́̆̓̍̊̒̂̚̕̕͠ụ̵̡̙̫̘̦͓͇̤̪̹̳͈̘̞̯̬͉͚̜̬͔͈͚̟̔͐̇̓̐̓̈ͅͅ ̴̡̛̪̝͉̭͕̻̯̺̝̘̆̃͗͂̒̽̒̾̒͆̑̏̄͗̓̉̅̓̈͆̿͑̽̽̑̀̏̿͑̈͊̔̾̾̉̀̉̚̕͝͝͠ḑ̶̢̢̢̡̥͓̜̹͈̮̙̬̭̯̬̗͚̮̠̬̱͚͓̫̗̭̟̤̤̤͇͇͓̞̺̳̯̪̙̝͎̳̗͛̃̓̔͑̾́͒̐͛͋̽̕̚͘͝ͅͅǐ̶̱̺̳̰̯̪͍̖͕̗̈́̔̑̈́̎͋̒͑́̏̋̎̈́́̉̀͛̾̓̋̈́̆͝ͅͅd̸̢̨̧̡̘̮̝̖͎̙̟͓͕̟̥̯̖̼͎̗̲̖͉̹̲̳̮̭̝̺̺̝͐́ͅ!̷̨̡̛̳̜̳̦̥̤͙̫͍͚̱̥̲̺̣̜̳̆̑̅͆͆͒̿͐͆̈́̊̈́̃̀̓̇̔̃̄́̀̎͑̇̇̓̈́̽͛̽̂͑̚͝͝“

Nahara:

He lied to me. All this time, all his displays of power were a work of fiction. A forgery. As fake as the mask he worse when we first met. Suddenly, every interaction I’ve had with him is brought into question. Was any of it ever real? He’s smiling, like it’s supposed to be funny, but as usual, I don’t understand the joke. Maybe that’s my problem. I’ve never been good at connecting with other people. What if the warning signs were there all along and I just never noticed? Then I realise his lips are moving - he’s saying something. “You understand, don’t you? I did it to protect myself.” He runs a weary hand over his brow. “In this world, you have to look strong to survive.” No. I think. I most certainly do not understand. “I could have protected you,” I say, “I always have.” His eyes widen. “What? You don’t protect me! I protect me.” I smile even though I feel nothing like triumph. “You’re wrong. I’ve been protecting you since the moment we met. Haven’t you ever wondered why the authorities never discovered your little hideaway. It’s because I make sure they never think to look there!” I never meant to shout. But Selander is cowering before me and I realise I’ve bought my power to my hands, both glowing in a light so bright it’s blinding. “I-I’m sorry,” I stutter. “I never meant for this to happen.”

Selander:

She lied to me. All this time, I thought she was my enemy, but in truth she’s been my greatest friend. Keeping my movements hidden from the authorities, when she more than anyone knows the price disobedience pays. It’s as if I’m seeing her for the first time. Gone is the soldier’s discipline and restraint and in its place is the assurance of a general’s command. Nahara has never looked more in control than this moment. Then her hands being to glow and I realise just how much trouble I’m in. “Look,” I say - hopefully - placatingly, “let’s not do anything rash.” Nahara looks at me then, something like fear behind her eyes. Not fear for me of course, I doubt anyone has ever been afraid of my scrawny frame, but fear for me. Fear that she might lose control. I really do drive her crazy, don’t I? “Alright,” she says softly, “then you need to tell me what to do because I’m still coming to terms with the fact that you lied to me.” It takes me a moment to understand what she’s talking about. “You mean because I don’t have powers?” Nahara’s lips become a thin, bloodless line. “Yes.” she says tersely. “That.” “I think that fact should bother me more than it should bother you.” “It’s not about the fact that you don’t have powers,” she returns, “it’s the fact that you lied to me. That is something I’m finding harder to forgive.” For a moment I don’t know what to say, which is obviously very disarming and highly unusual. Then - inspiration strikes! “You don’t have to forgive me, you just have to trust me.” “Trust you?” Nahara scoffed. “You lied to me Selander, how am I supposed to trust you?” I beam, exposing both rows of pointy teeth. “We’ve come this far haven’t we?”