Sorryyyyy for the slow update! I had writer's block, and I'm a full time artist as my day job and had lots of commissions! If you're curious about that, you can follow my art Instagram: @sianaghs_art ...if not, I hope you enjoy the chapter! ;)

- Sian

Rowan heard his parents arguing shortly after Michael disappeared to the first floor. "They're like this because of the bond," he said and glanced at Jack. "The curse makes them hate each other when they're close. It's not fair."

Jack avoided his eyes and didn't say anything. Kaerius hovered anxiously by the window. Rowan could tell that he wanted to run. Mandy made everyone uncomfortable, and Kaerius had every right to hate being in the same house as her.

"Just go into the living room, and I'll tell you what's going on," they heard Michael snap from the hallway. When they entered the room, Mandy's dark blonde hair hung messily around her shoulders. She looked as though she hadn't slept in days, despite Michael only just waking her up. Her dark blue eyes locked with Rowan's stare, and he tensed.

"Mum," Rowan said in a voice as frail as a dead leaf. Don't shout at me.

"I told you not to come here," Mandy said, pointing her rough sea eyes at Michael. "What's going on? Is that fish boy here?" Mandy glanced around the room, and her eyes didn't linger on Rowan's friend. Jack had made himself invisible only to her.

"Do it," Michael said, looking to the teenager for help.

Jack, without hesitation, rolled his sleeves up and stormed to Mandy. He pushed her onto the couch and Mandy yelped from the invisible force. Jack pinned her to the cushions, and as soon as his palm touched her forehead, her entire body froze like time stopped but only for Mandy. "This will take a minute," Jack said with a focused frown.

Rowan wanted to ask what he was doing, though he knew he wouldn't understand.

After a minute or so, Jack took Mandy's hands instead and started muttering something lowly. Rowan thought he would need candles or crystals or a spellbook. All Jack needed was a voice and his touch and his fairy magic. The longer he muttered, the colder the room felt. Jacks whispered faster and he closed his eyes.

Rowan watched in amazement when two transparent wings shimmered from Jack's back, outlined with a peachy glow. They looked like large butterfly wings, though they seemed to be only shadows, or not fully emerged. They fluttered when Jack worked harder on the curse.

Kaerius, Michael, and Rowan stood silently, confused and wondering if putting all of their trust into Jack was a wise idea. They hadn't known that fairies were real for long, so they knew nothing about their magic or their loyalty or their true intentions. Rowan knew that werewolves were loyal to each other and even tended to accept lone wolves into their pack if they needed help. Rowan knew that vampires could be bribed to do anything for human blood. Rowan knew that Thalassic Mortals loved themselves more than they loved each other because sea creatures didn't really have loyalty and love for a family like humans, though Kaerius was proving him wrong. Rowan knew so much about all the supernatural creatures, yet he knew nothing about fairies. He knew nothing about Jack; only the things Jack had told them. Were they truths?

"The curse is so deep," Jack grumbled, scrunching his eyes like he was in pain.

Michael suddenly ran to the window when they heard the engine of a car. He swore and pushed Kaerius into Rowan. "Hunters are here. Go out the back. Now!"

Rowan glanced from his father to Jack and his mother. Jack hadn't moved and was still muttering. "How long?" Rowan asked. Jack didn't respond; he couldn't hear them.

"Rowan, get out!" Michael yelled when the Hunters were running up the path to the porch.

"How many are there?" Rowan asked, but his father grabbed him and Kaerius by the shoulder and pushed them through the room.

"They're after Kaerius. If he dies, so do you. Go!"

Rowan caught Kaerius's gaze. His purple eyes were wide. The Thalassic Mortal was afraid, and Rowan had to protect him. He grabbed his hand, and they lunged down the corridor, just as the front door opened. Rowan pushed Kaerius in front of him and urged for him to run faster. They barely reached the dining room when Rowan felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"Keep running!" Rowan yelled and stopped to put up a fight. Kaerius stopped too, but Rowan had to hold them off. "Go out the back," he shouted and cracked a glass photo frame into the hunter's head. "There's a path that leads around the house and to the rocks. Go to the sea. You'll be safe there!"

Kaerius watched Rowan fight with the skill he wished he had. When he didn't move, Rowan booted the hunter in the chest, and she fell to the ground coughing. He turned with desperation. "They're here for you, Kaerius. Go!"

When Rowan looked away, Kaerius knew he had no choice and kept running. Rowan fought harder as he felt Kaerius pulling further and further away. When their bond strained, and he started to feel cold, Rowan knew Kaerius was far away enough to make it to the ocean without getting caught.

"I'll wait for you by the rocks!" Kaerius thought as Rowan was punched in the face by a glove with metal knuckles.

"Are you in the water yet?" Rowan thought back, narrowly missing a chair leg.

"Yes. I'll wait by the bottom."

Rowan's heart hurt. He was already on his knees with a bloody nose, a pounding head, and a battered shoulder. He was losing, so Kaerius would have to wait for him for a while. The Hunters knew that Rowan was bonded to a Thalassic Mortal, and they were after him too.

A chair was flung into Rowan again, and his head smashed against the wall. He was suddenly on his back with blood in his mouth and a high-pitched ringing in his ears. His head thumped to the beating of his heart. Rowan covered his head with his arms, and his wrists were punched instead. The fingers of his right hand tingled, and the ache was a pain he had felt before. Broken bones were nothing new to him, and they were worth it to know that Kaerius was a safe distance away.

"Rowan, what's happening?" Kaerius asked, and Rowan pictured him swimming back and forth with clenched fists and a tight jaw, panicking.

"Everything's okay," Rowan thought with hands on his neck and a blade to his eye.

"Go quietly Solar, or we'll make you go quietly," the hunter said with a mask to cover her face.

Odd, Rowan thought. "Have you hurt my dad?"

The woman turned for quick enough to get the answer. "No."

"Show me." Rowan was hauled to his feet, and he only just managed to stay up. His chest burned, and his vision struggled to stay focused. Still, he put one foot in front of the other and walked away from where Kaerius had just gone.

He glanced into the living room when they guided him down the hallway and to the front door. His mother was still on the couch, but she was sitting up with a hand on her head and Hunters were checking if she was okay. Jack was nowhere to be seen.

Michael was on the porch with a bloody nose and hands behind his back. Rowan was in a much worse state than him, but Kaerius was safe.

Their light green eyes connected, and Michael gave him a single nod to tell him not to resist. Rowan nodded back to tell him that Kaerius had made it to the sea.

"How did you know we were here?" Michael asked.

"We've been watching your house. You were last seen outside a vampire's home and then reported outside this one." The hunter turned to Rowan and his look moulded to disgust. "We knew you'd be up to something, you and your Thalassic Freak."

Rowan wanted to spit blood in his face, but he resisted. "You mean Kaerius, who got away?"

The man tightened his grip on his weapon, but the masked woman stepped in his way and ordered for them to be taken to the base.

When Michael and Rowan were thrown into the back of the van, Rowan didn't have the strength to sit up. He rolled onto his back. "Where did Jack go?" he asked when his dad peered over him.

"He vanished as soon as the hunters ran to Mandy. They didn't see him, and I don't know if the curse was broken or not." Michael frowned. "I think you've broken your nose."

"I've broken my wrist too." Rowan didn't need to look at it to know it was twice the size and black and blue.

"The things we do for love," Michael said and sat against the side of the van. His hands were tied behind his back. He couldn't help Rowan. "Even if the curse isn't broken and your mother is still the bitter woman you know, she'll come and get you. She loves you, even if she does have a funny way of showing it."

Rowan tried to sit up, but they turned a corner, and he fell back down. He rested a hand on his chest and steadied his painful breaths. "If the curse were broken, surely you'd feel the bond," he said, focusing on his own bond shared with Kaerius. Rowan felt the Thalassic Mortal's worry, his stress, his fear, and his love.

Michael looked sad for a moment. Rowan thought he saw the shimmer of tears in the corners of his eyes, but they were gone just as quickly. "I feel nothing."

"It didn't work then," Rowan didn't bother hiding his disappointment. They were agonisingly close to a healthy family. "Maybe we can try again when this all blows over. Jack might want to try again."

"Maybe."

The van drove on for a while longer, so Rowan tuned in on Kaerius's thoughts while he was still conscious. "Kaerius asks if you're okay."

Michael smiled. "Tell him I've been better."

"I feel you moving further away from me. It's hurting," Kaerius thought.

"Don't worry; I'll be with you soon." Rowan had to hope that his mother did love him, even a little bit. She was their only hope of getting out. He was too injured to fight his way to Kaerius. Rowan eyed his father; Michael might be able to free them.

"Are you sure?" Kaerius asked. "I feel your doubt."

"I'm sure." Rowan then closed his eyes, and the last thing he felt was his father nudging him with his foot, telling him not to close them, but Rowan couldn't open them again, not when he started dreaming of Kaerius's beautiful purple eyes, and his face, and his lips.