There is nothing worse than having to physically depend on others in even the smallest of tasks. Especially for someone who is used to being on their own.

It was exactly one week later that I could walk for five minutes without passing out. After Amanda had found me unconscious on the forest floor one morning, she made me promise not to work out when there was no one around. I thought it was a ridiculous request. I made the promise, nonetheless, because saying no to Amanda was like kicking a kitten; impossible to do without drowning in guilt.

So either Amanda or Irene would come by every morning, do a little light exercise with me before going to their job. Irene was still transitioning from the Order to being a member of Arthur's inner circle. She'd wanted to stay with me in the cabin at first, but understood my reason for objecting.

Wes kept me company for the rest of the day. I kept busy by playing fetch with the giant dog, or by cleaning the weapons and keeping my aim with the throwing daggers sharp. That did not count as an exercise in my mind, although my arm muscles felt like jelly by the time I was done.

Day after day, my stamina improved and my body's limits were slowly, but surely, going back to normal.

I was sitting on the front doorstep one sunny morning after Irene left, waiting for Wes to fetch a stick, when a familiar person walked through the thick trees around the clearing with a big bouquet of flowers and an even bigger smile.

"Hi, Corbin." I grinned at the boy with skin of fine chocolate and warm brown eyes.

"Elle! Hey." he jogged towards me. The bouquet of baby breath and light colored roses he held was breathtakingly beautiful.

I stood up and took the bouquet, my chest warming in response to the thoughtful gesture, "thank you, Corbin. This is really beautiful."

He flushed under the deep tan of his face, his smile widened, "how are you doing? The Sire wouldn't let us visit you right after you woke up, so I couldn't come."

I blinked, taken aback by his words. I hadn't expected Arthur to understand that I wouldn't want others to see me in my weakest, most vulnerable state. Come to think of it, Irene and Amanda were the only ones who dropped by, and even with them I felt embarrassed, sort of humiliated to display any kind of feebleness.

Irrational, but pride often is.

"I'm doing fine," I replied, "much better anyway."

Right then, Wes came running with the stick in his mouth, his tail wagging like crazy. Dropping the stick by my feet, he rubbed his length against my leg and gave Corbin the stink eye. I petted the dog's head.

Corbin wrinkled his nose. His brown eyes turned amber for a second.

"Don't like dogs?" I asked the leopard shifter.

He pointed to himself, "feline, remember? Although the animosity is not universal, I don't really like dogs."

Adorable, I thought, inviting Corbin inside. He pushed me down on a chair when I tried to make coffee and took over the task himself. We then drank in light conversation, Wes sprawled on the floor next to my chair.

Corbin told me all about the time I was kidnapped, how they had to help evacuate the city. He told me about his training sessions, and about the difficulties he had with knife throwing.

I wondered if that was what it felt like to have a younger brother. It was nice, watching the youthful, innocent hope in his eyes. I wondered if mine had ever held the same.

After about an hour of laughter and light talk that never felt awkward, Corbin rose to leave.

"Vanessa wanted to come with me, but she was sent to the city this afternoon." He said when we reached the door.

"I see. Hopefully I'll be able to see you all soon."

"Are you going to take back training again?" he asked, his tone bright with expectancy.

"I'll ask Arthur about it."

When he showed up. I hadn't seen him since he left me with a sword and the news of leaving for Europe in two months time. I was grateful for his absence, to be honest. Being around him when I couldn't even throw a punch properly made me feel like crap.

Ten minutes after Corbin left, Amanda showed up. As usual, she looked beyond stunning. Her blonde hair gathered in a high ponytail, strands of it framed a face glowing with an inner radiance. She was as beautiful from the inside as she was from the outside.

Lush lips stretched into a genuine smile, lighting up her eyes, "Elle, what are you doing outside? It's getting chilly."

The sun was setting, the clearing drowning in the shadows of the tall trees around. "I was about to go in, Corbin was here."

"Oh, bless him," she gave me a light hug, "he's such a good mannered boy."

I smiled and we went inside. Amanda immediately went to check the flowers Corbin brought. I'd put them in the only jug of water I had since there was no vase.

"I'll get you a proper vase later," she stroked the petals, then turned from the kitchen counter and faced me, "we're having dinner at Arthur's. Why don't you change?"

I sighed, "you should probably go ahead of me, I don't know if I can make it in time."

"Nonsense," she waved her hand, "I'll go with you and we'll rest along the way as often as you need."

It was useless to argue with Amanda, as I'd learned over the past week. So I put on a jacket over my sweater and jeans, pulled on combat boots and threw a beanie over my head.

The clothes were courtesy of Amanda. She'd brought them the day I got back to the cabin, two large suitcases filled with everything I could think of, from under garments to parka jackets and coats. When I spoke about paying back, Amanda shot me an offended look that made me feel like an ass even though I knew that I was doing the right thing.

Amanda smiled, fixed the hair strands that escaped my beanie and nodded. I hadn't cut my hair since coming to Portland, and it had always grown fast. I was still getting used to the bob length. But the strands did feel good around my face.

"Who's going to be there?" I hadn't been anywhere but my cabin and the forest around since I was discharged from the hospital.

"Just us," Amanda replied, watching in amusement while I strapped on my weapons. "I like to gather everyone once in a while. Usually it's in my place, but this time we'll be gathering at Arthur's since it's closer to you."

Minutes later, Wes, Amanda and I made our way through the dim woods. The sudden realization of how much my life had changed in the last month hit me hard. Not only had my secret blown up to the world, quite literally, but there were changes inside of me that I wasn't wholly aware of. Trusting others to not betray me, feeling safe in the territory of one of the deadliest immortals ever, and not looking over my shoulder constantly in wariness.

It felt kind of liberating. Although the darkest part of who I was was still safely under wrap.

"How are you feeling?" Amanda asked after a while, her arm linked with mine.

"Good," I replied, a little breathless. We were almost at Arthur's place, and I hadn't stopped once to rest. I was doing better than expected, though the pace of the walk was snaillike.

"Great, you're doing great. You'll be back to full strength in no time at all."

Right then, a squirrel ran towards us on quick feet, unafraid and excited. I stopped when it reached me and started climbing up my body. Amanda squealed, and Wes gave a bark.

The squirrel sat on my shoulder. I smiled, rubbing my finger on its small head. "Hey, cutie." The squirrel made a chirping noise.

"Sorry, no peanuts." I looked at Amanda, "shall we go?"

She looked at the squirrel, then at me, then at the squirrel again. "You do realize you have a squirrel on your shoulder."

"Yeah," I waved her off, "I kind of grew up surrounded by wild animals. They have a thing for me, I guess."

She blinked at me for a few seconds with her brows up then shook her head. We walked for a couple more minutes before we reached Arthur's house. It looked as impressive as I recalled. I gave a small sigh. I really wanted a house like this.

The squirrel stayed on my shoulder as we walked inside. The lights were on, and the kitchen was buzzing with activity. Amanda and Wes walked ahead of me. I followed behind.

Thomas was wearing an apron over a crisp dress shirt and black dress pants, chopping vegetables. Irene, Harvey and Kat sat by the island, while Arthur was stirring something on the stove, his board back to us.

Amanda leaned down to kiss Harvey's forehead when he turned around. Kat, Irene and Thomas looked at me. Irene' smile turned into pure confusion when her eyes spotted the little animal on my shoulder. Kat's brows shot up high over her hazel eyes. Arthur glanced over his shoulders, then did a double take, blinking at the squirrel as she waved her tail in front of my face.

"Stop that," I narrowed my eyes at the squirrel, then looked at Thomas who was still frozen, "Thomas, do you have peanuts?"

"Uh..." was his reply. Arthur moved to the pantry, got a small bag of peanuts and tossed it to me.

"Thanks." I looked at the squirrel, her excitement upon seeing the treat was almost a tangible thing. "Behave."

She looked at me, settled down on my shoulder and waited. She was surprisingly calm for a squirrel. I opened the bag and scooped a handful of peanuts and held it up to her. She stored as much as she could in her mouth. Her cheeks looked adorably bloated.

"Enough?"

The squirrel looked at the bag mournfully, she certainly didn't want to leave the feast behind, but had no choice. I rubbed her head, then looked at the six people staring at me with different expressions and smiled.

"I'll be right back." I headed outside, whispering to the squirrel, "just come here whenever you want more."

I opened the front door to find myself face to face with Charles and Jesse. The vampire and the shapeshifter looked equally bewildered by the squirrel's presence.

"Good evening." I nodded, then sidestepped them and descended the front steps. The tiny animal climbed down my body, looked up at me with her huge dark eyes as if saying thank you then dashed toward the trees. When I turned back, Charles and Jesse were looking over their shoulders at me, their faces still puzzled.

I passed them by again and went inside, their presence trailing behind me. The kitchen had gone back to normal. As soon as I walked in, Irene pointed a finger at me.

"You do realize you were having a conversation with a squirrel."

I rolled my eyes, taking the empty seat next to Kat, "I wasn't having a conversation."

It was just easy to guess what animals wanted. Most of them weren't complicated creatures, food and shelter and love and they'd be your best friends.

Sshe shook her head.

"Thomas," I looked at the witch with eyes so blue they hurt, "I hope you don't mind feeding her when she comes by."

"Not at all," he nodded. Charles leaned on the wall with his arms crossed, Jesse tugged on Kat's braided hair before going around the island.

"Idiot." Kat mumbled. Jesse snarled at her before he peeked into the pot on the stove.

"Twins," Amanda shook her head, sitting beside Harvey. I leaned on the island to look at her.

"Who?"

Kat glanced at me, but it was Amanda who answered, "Kat and Jesse."

When I kept looking at her blankly, she laughed, "you didn't know! Kat and Jesse are twins."

My eyes widened, I looked at Kat then at Jesse. He gave me a cold look. Well, someone was still PMSing.

"But...how? He's a shapeshifter and you're a witch," I looked at Kat, "right?"

"Our father was a witch," she replied, "our mother a shapeshifter."

"Births in general are very few for immortals," Arthur said. Taking a set of plates from the cupboard, he handed half to Jesse and the other half to Charles. The two men took the plates wordlessly and headed out of the kitchen as if they'd done the task countless times before. Arthur continued, his voice as deep as I remembered, "twin births are even more rare, and twin births where the children are of different races is unheard of. Kat and Jesse are a miracle."

I nodded slowly. Thomas seasoned the vegetables he'd tossed into two large bowls with expert hands. Charles and Jesse returned only to go back out with more cutlery and dishes.

We joined them in the backyard a short while later. Beautiful string lights decorated the gazebo where the table was set. The cool night air, the sound of waves and the jewel dotted sky made the atmosphere even more magical.

Surprisingly, dinner went well, with easygoing conversations and a light mood. No one mentioned a word about my identity or my past. Even Jesse seemed to ignore my presence, which was more than convenient for me.

Harvey, Amanda, Charles and Arthur all nursed goblets of red. Arthur was the only vampire eating as well as drinking blood. I stole glances of him as we ate. It was surreal how good-looking he was. It had only been a week since I'd seen him, but my memory of him didn't do him justice. His hair, too, seemed longer.

He caught me staring, winked at me. I scowled, feeling my cheeks heat up, though they had no reason to. I was simply admiring his good-looks as one would admire beautiful scenery.

Everyone stood up after we were done. I did the same, intending to clean up with the others.

"Elle, leave it," he said in his insufferable tone that expected immediate obedience, "come with me, we need to talk. Jesse and Kat, too."

He walked away without a second glance, assuming I would follow straight away like Jesse and Kat did. I was so tempted to ignore him and get on with what I was doing just to irk him.

As if sensing my thoughts, Amanda patted my arm with a smile, "go on, we got this."

I pursed my lips and followed after Arthur. I had to get used to following his orders, he was technically my boss. And he was the only thing standing between me and going back to the land of the fae. It still sucked.

Arthur, Kat and Jesse were jogged up the stairs. I was breathless by the time I reached the second floor, but we didn't stop there. I trailed behind Jesse to the third floor. I had never been here before. It was Arthur's private quarters, if I remembered correctly.

We walked along a hallway, the wooden floor a dark mahogany and the walls painted a light gray. We passed several closed doors by. Along the walls hung paintings; portraits, sceneries and a few abstract pieces.

I could tell the art was old, but it was well conserved. I admired the paintings absent-mindedly, I wasn't a well educated person when it comes to art. One of the paintings made me freeze.

A familiar face. Laughing brown eyes and lined skin. Black hair shot through with silver, and a sword held with the ease of a seasoned fighter.

"Elle?"

I jumped, looking at Arthur. They were a couple of doors down the hallway. I didn't even realize I'd stopped and was staring at the portrait on the wall. Arthur came closer.

I knew I had to move, but my feet betrayed my desire to stay and look my fill at the face of the only person I could call family. A face I had last seen eleven years ago, smeared with crimson as it rested in a grave I'd dug with bloodied hands.

Arthur stopped next to me, looking at the portrait. My eyes went back to the familiar face. Uncle Robert looked exactly the same here, only his eyes shone with a younger light. He wore the garment of a soldier from another time.

"Robert Walsh," Arthur said, "a great warrior. Do you recognize him?"

I could feel his gaze scoring my profile. I simply looked at uncle Robert. God, how I missed him. It hit me like a freight train to the chest. The pain which had dulled over the course of the last decade returned with a vengeance. Breathing felt like a struggle.

I swallowed, and was saved from replying when Jesse and Kat joined us.

"Ah, the great Walsh," Jesse said, "I still don't understand why you guys respect him so much. He gave his loyalty to the damn fae."

"You don't like the fae much, do you?" I managed to say, my voice sounding weird to my ears and my gaze never leaving uncle Robert's face.

"What gave me away?" Jesse said behind me, his tone dripping with derision, "they're all a bunch of high-nosed, self-entitled narcissists."

I looked over my shoulder at him with raised brows, and put my hand on my heart with a gasp, "You wound me. And here I thought we were going to be the best of friends."

Kat coughed, then turned and headed to the room. Jesse simply scowled.

"It doesn't matter who holds his allegiance," Arthur said, his tone light with amusement, "he is a genius. I've never known anyone to be better than him in swordsmanship. An artist, that's what he becomes when he holds a sword."

"Well, we no longer hear tales about him." Jesse said tartly.

"About three decades ago, more or less" Arthur said slowly, "that's how long I hadn't heard of him."

I turned from the painting, "do we still need to talk?"

Arthur stared at me, standing close enough that I had to crane my neck up to meet those dark, calculating eyes. Luckily he didn't press his earlier question about how I knew uncle Robert.

"Yes, we do," he said, he waved his hand towards the room with a smile, "after you."

The room Kat waited in was an office. It was much larger than the one on the second floor where Arthur had shown me the databases' information about Martin Malone, but with the same layout. A large mahogany desk, a library, a seating area and a fireplace. Warm and cosy.

Kat sat on the couch, I took the seat next to her, glad to be off my shaky legs. Arthur and Jesse each took an armchair across from us.

A pitter-patter of paws on the floor of the hallway, then Wes peeked his giant head through the door, tongue lolling. I couldn't help but smile and pat my thigh. He came eagerly, sat by my feet and put his head on my lap.

"What are you, Dr. Doolittle?" Jesse murmured.

I looked at him with a disappointed expression, "really? You couldn't do better than that?" Doolittle was a little too cliché.

He opened his mouth to reply, but Arthur beat him to it. "Back to business. Elle, I spoke with the doctor. She judges you'll be fully operational in a couple of weeks, maximum."

I sat straighter. Wes nudged my hand when it stopped moving. I resumed petting him. "Will you put me on the juniors again?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded, "you'll have all the junior soldiers twice a week, not just one group."

"How many?" I asked, thrilled to have another opportunity to teach again.

"Seventy three."

I furrowed my brows, "it would be better if they're divided into groups." That would give me time to focus on each and every one of them.

"You can do as you wish," Arthur said, "coordinate with Jesse."

I smiled sweetly at the shifter. His left eye twitched.

"Now that that's out of the way," Arthur said, "let's get to the most important part." I knew what he was going to mention before he did. "Your magic, where is it at?"

My shoulders tensed. Wes raised his head from my lap. "It's under control for now."

Arthur's eyes took a dangerous glint despite the smile playing on his lips, "that's not what I asked, Elle. Is your magic energy back to full capacity?"

"Almost."

The energy was around eighty percent. The last time I'd used my magic was eleven years ago, back then the energy took around eight months to replenish fully. Arthur stayed quiet, still expecting a precise answer. I sighed.

"It's at eighty percent."

"Already?" Jesse said. Kat glanced at me in surprise.

"Which brings me to my next point," Arthur crossed his ankle over one knee, "your magic."

"What about it?" I asked. I wouldn't like what he had to say. I just knew it.

"You have to work it," Arthur said in a calm tone, as if he wasn't talking about unleashing a dangerous weapon.

"Even if I want to," I said, "I can't. It's all or nothing. I can't just release small amounts of it in order to practice."

"Have you ever tried?" Kat said next to me. I turned slightly to look at her.

"Tried what?"

"Releasing your magic in small bursts?"

"Yes, and I've never been able to do that," I replied, "the last time I tried was when I was about eight." When uncle Robert still hadn't lost all hope that my magic could be controlled. "The moment I try to free even the smallest fragment of energy, it just.... Everything explodes out."

Kat's brows furrowed, "interesting."

"Could it be a side effect to the sealing spell?" Jesse suggested.

"Even if it is," I said before they get any ideas, "I won't break the sealing spell."

For all I knew, the sealing spell was the only thing keeping me from either going insane or being recognized for what I really was.

"To my knowledge, sealing spells usually keep all magic under a strict leash so that you can't use it." Kat said, "That's why it's unpopular."

"And forbidden." Jesse added.

"The fact that you can still access your magic means one of two things," Kat held up two fingers, "either the spell hadn't been cast properly, or you're too powerful for it to hold for more than a limited amount of time."

"It's the second option, most likely." Arthur said, "you know what that means, Elle, don't you?"

It meant I was running out of time, that the spell would unravel sooner or later. I looked at Kat, eyes wide and heart stammering in my ribcage, "you can't know that for sure."

"You're right, I can't." she said, "these are all theories. Magic is unpredictable, it's not science. But I've spoken to a few experts, and they all share the same guess." she glanced at Arthur, "and Arthur has been alive for as long as magic has been part of our world. If there's another alternative, he would've figured it out."

Long story short, it wasn't a matter of if the sealing spell would break, but a matter of when.

"How much time do you think I have?" before hell breaks loose.

"I don't know..." Kat looked at Arthur. He shrugged a broad shoulder, the movement fluid and lazy.

"Considering the speed with which your magic is replenishing, I would say a couple of years." Kat said.

"But that's not the thing you should be worried about." Arthur said, "There's a chance that even before the sealing spell breaks, you'll lose control over your magic."

He was right. But that didn't solve any of my problems. "So what do I do?" I assumed he had a plan since he brought me here knowing all of this.

"The reason most immortals are in control of their magic is because they let it out." Arthur said, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward, "think of it this way. Magic will be released whether you want it to or not. We, normal immortals, release it on our own accord in our daily lives, in practice or in fights, so it remains under control.

"In your case, the energy is trapped with no way out, no occasional release. Once your body can no longer hold onto that energy, it flows out.

"Your brand of magic is powerful. The fact that it can return to its full capacity in so little time is an advantage to immortals, since it means your reservoir of magical energy is almost impossible to empty. But in your case, since you can't use it, it's a curse. It means you will lose control over your magic more frequently."

I let his words sink in.

Uncle Robert was a great fighter, perhaps the greatest in his lifetime. Unfortunately, he wasn't very knowledgeable in matters of magic. So Arthur's words were new to me.

I was a timed bomb. The moment my magic reached one hundred percent again, there was a risk I would lose control over it.

"But it had never happened before," I told Arthur, "even when my magic was at one hundred percent, I'd never lost control over it until I came here."

"It's not because you're here," Kat said, "it's because you are growing older. For most of us, our power grows as we age. Your power is reaching a point where it can no longer be chained. It has always been a matter of time."

I looked down at my hand, rubbing Wes' soft head. The dog's body tensed, he stared at me with wide, trusting eyes. "What's the solution?" I asked, because, of course, Arthur would have one.

"You can't control your magic," he said slowly, "but I can."

Silence. I looked at him blankly. Slowly, my mind worked out the meaning of his words. I laughed out loud in disbelief, because what could I possibly say to his outrageous suggestion?

"There's no way I'm letting you inside my head." I said after my hollow laugh died down.

He linked his fingers, looking at me with the arrogance of a being who had seen civilisations rise and fall. "Do you have another solution?"

I fisted my hands on my lap. The feeling of being cornered pressed down on my lungs. Wes stood on all fours and shook his head.

"No, but I can find one. Maybe I can purge, like I said before. If I release my magic once in a while, it won't break loose on its own."

"And like I said before, it's a waste of energy. And soon, it will not be a viable solution, because your magic will be regaining its full power at a faster pace."

"Besides, where will you purge?" Jesse said, "That fire of yours will eat everything in its way, even water can't stop it. Look at the damage it's done to the city. And you're only going to get stronger. Which means that soon, unleashing your full power could mean erasing an entire country."

I flinched, his words hitting a sore spot. I had asked Amanda and Irene about the city and how it was recovering. But, coward that I was, I had avoided seeing the place I'd burnt down. No one was hurt, still, I felt guilty about destroying part of people's lives.

Wes whined low in his throat and nudged the fisted hand on my lap with his nose.

"The solution I offer is the most reasonable course of action for the moment," Arthur said.

I shook my head, "I'm not letting you inside my head, Arthur."

Arthur sighed, "I don't think you understand. This is not a matter of discussion. You're a living threat wherever you go. If I have to take control of your mind for a while to teach you how to deal with your magic, I will do it. And I do not need your permission."

Anger flared, taking over the guilt. I glared at Arthur. "You can't do that without my permission. You can't get past my shields."

Arthur coked his head, "Sure, I can. If I want inside your head, I will be there. And make no mistake, it will happen eventually. Whether you agree or not."