If he thought the exterior of the building was grand, then the interior was even more so, and Juan felt like he was walking on cloud nine as Sara led him across the foyer to the courtyard garden and then into a small magical room that took them up to the fifth floor of the intricate building. There was bright crystal light everywhere, and he wondered how in heaven Aldric could afford all these luxuries when they had been living in squalor before.

Suddenly he was in a large, extravagant room which Sara referred to as his apartment unit, and he noted that the sitting room was very fine with luxurious furniture and upholstery.

Sara pushed him down onto a long, soft seating, and suddenly, he realized that the place was filled with his relatives—Uncle Colt, Aldric, Mark, Eden, Sara, and even Frances, Miles, and Caine. Liam was there, too, and...

He widened his eyes at the sight of a beauty in front of him. Silver-blond hair, green eyes, and a face made for dreams. Though he admitted she was a bit on the small size, and despite her obvious loveliness, he also admitted she was not his type.

His type? He preferred someone more robust, tall, and lean and...

He flicked his gaze to Liam who presented him Red in his hands. "He seems a bit overwhelmed with all the people and the new environment, so maybe being close to someone he's familiar with might calm him down."

Red jumped onto his lap, burrowing his face against his belly. He chuckled and stroked the little guy's head. "It's all right. We're home."

Once Red finally calmed down, the petite beauty, who had claimed a seat next to him, said, "I know you must be tired, but I believe your family won't relax until they know you're really fine."

Juan stared at the young woman and then asked, "Who are you? I've never seen you before."

Sara slapped him on the shoulder and said, "Is that how you greet your sister-in-law?"

Smiling pleasantly, the beauty said, "I'm Quinn Fairchild, Aldric's wife."

Juan widened his eyes, shocked. "Aldric's wife? You're Liam's cousin?"

Quinn nodded. "Yes, I am. And now I'm going to examine your health, all right?"

He watched as she summoned a circle and took out a device. She pricked his finger with that strange thing and then dropped his blood into the circle. By this point, Juan had had enough being stunned. First it was Aldric with elemental magic, then this magnificent building that apparently was their new home, and now Aldric's bride with magic. He decided then he'd need a good night's rest to fully wrap his head around all the new changes that suddenly appeared in his life.

"You're quite healthy though lacking in the usual," Quinn said. "There's no infection of any kind, so sisters, please rest easy." She handed him a small bottle of something. "This is your supplement. Please take one a day for the next seven days and make sure to complete the course."

"What is it for?" he asked.

"It's for your health," Sara said. "You'll know the difference after you've taken the magical pills."

"The pills are magical?" Juan asked, astounded. No, he was stunned again, he decided. After all, there was no such thing as magical pills. If there were, then it'd surely be a miracle.

"Of course, it is," Sara said.

"Can you look straight into this circle?" Quinn said, which Juan did. A moment later, she said, "Perfect vision."

Perfect vision? Was that circle measuring his eyesight?

Eden said, "Check his status, Quinn."

"Now?" Quinn asked. She turned to Aldric who nodded his head. Then to Juan, she asked, "Do you want to check your status?"

Status. Liam mentioned something about that back at the woods. Curious as to what that was, he nodded and said, "Yes. I'd like to check my status."

Quinn said, "All right." Then she summoned another magic circle. "Please put your palm on the circle."

Juan hesitantly did as all heads moved in closely. Uncle Colt said, "He's a Templeton so he'll be blessed by Isaris."

"He's strong," Mark said. "I'm betting on Arena for health."

"Ridall for education and learning," Miles said.

Juan glanced from Uncle Colt to Mark to Miles, wondering why they were betting, and those names, weren't they the deities? He also wondered why both Uncle Colt and Miles were sporting a pair of very small glass windows on their noses over their eyes. The same for Frances. Was that a new fashion trend introduced to Norsewood? Wearing very small glass windows over their eyes?

Returning his attention to Quinn and the magic circle, Juan was surprised to see writing in a language he didn't recognize appear in the air. As she touched those writings, making them move up and down according to her will, Quinn said, "Looks good." A silver card materialized, and she handed it to him.

So this was supposedly that so-called status thing? It was a card?

He took it and looked, stunned to see it had an illustration of him, with his wild blond mane and bright-blue eyes, a face of a young man living in the wilderness, and on the side his names and below that... He frowned and then looked up to Aldric.

"What is this?" he asked. "It says here I'm blessed with not only Isaris, but Ela, Ridall, Arena, and Attin. And I also have affinity with water, wind, and ice magic? What is the meaning of this?"

Mark nodded. "I was right. Arena."

"Me, too," Miles said. "Ridall."

Caine asked, "What is Attin? I've never heard of that God before."

Quinn said, "It's the God of Sea." She turned to Aldric and flashed him a beautiful grin. "Looks like we've found someone who's loved by the sea, Aldric. Now we just need to give Juan a ship." She winked at him. "And a trident."

Juan was still staring at his status card, clearly still very confused and very clearly did not like that picture of him on it. Then Eden began to explain, with Sara intervening now and again. Though he was still in a stupor, Juan got the gist of the new discovery about the deities and that everyone was blessed, which was indeed incredible to say the least. The neoteric knowledge only the Norsewood people knew and understood, and Juan knew then that this would change their lives forever, for the better.

After he had had a warm, hearty, very delicious dinner with Aldric, Theo, Vincent, Liam, and the other soldiers in the enormous dining hall and then bathed himself in the lavish hot tub in the bathroom of his apartment unit, he lay in the luxurious bed with Red flopping on the soft pillow next to him.

He stared up at the ceiling, staring at the crystal chandelier, wondering how it had come to this, wondering how one person—Lady Quinn Fairchild, Aldric's bride—could bring about all this and change their lives so much. If it wasn't for her, the people would still be living in poverty, and most would have already died from starvation and disease. Now, not only had they survived and were thriving, but the Norsewood warriors were stronger than ever; Aldric was much, much stronger and more powerful than ever, and he knew his men and the captives would soon be saved.

He finally closed his eyes, and with a smile playing about his lips, Juan fell into a deep slumber. When he woke again, it was to the faint sound of knocking at the door. He startled awake, wondering if the guards were already here and opening the prison hall door or if a monster had invaded his hiding cave, but as he looked around, he realized that he was neither back at the dungeon nor was he out in the wild and sleeping rough.

He raked his fingers through his hair and said, chuckling, "I need to get a grip and calm down." He got out of bed and then headed out the door into the sitting room where he then turned the handle and pulled back the door.

A waft of a lovely scent along with the appearance of a familiar face greeted him. He couldn't help himself and had to linger his gaze on that silky hair for a bit longer than necessary, and of course, the attractive face twice as long.

"Good morning," Liam said. "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Juan nonchalantly waved away the apology and said, "Don't worry about it," as he attempted to suppress a yawn.

As he ran his gaze over Juan from head to toe and then turned quite crimson on the cheeks, Liam said, "I've been tasked to be your guide around the lodge. After breakfast, we'll be having a meeting regarding the rescue mission, and then I'll take you for a tour around the place, plus take you through our regimen at the military department."

Juan nodded. "You're my guide, eh?" He chuckled. "Sounds like a plan, and I'm starved. Let's get some food." He motioned to get out the door when Liam hastily stepped inside and shut it behind him.

He said, "Uh, you need to clean up and wear some clothes first."

Juan, finally alert enough, glanced down at himself and realized that he was butt naked from head to toe. Holy deity! He had been conversing with Liam in his birthday suit this whole time.

He hastily covered his proud little brother down there with his hands and said, "Uh, sorry about that." Then he thought, now why in heaven was he doing that? He had never been shy, and besides, they were both men. There was no need to feel embarrassed just because...

He shook his head, and turning on his heel, he said, "I'll put on some clothes."

"No, you need to do it properly," Liam said, following him. "Brush your teeth and shower."

Twenty minutes later, after Liam had taught him the art of personal hygiene and now wearing very warm clothing that fit his body perfectly, showing off his very fine form, Juan, too, realized that he smelled like spring flowers. It was because of those things that were called the body gel and hair shampoo. Even his hair was less wild and smoother and silkier, though it did need a good trim. He ran his fingers through it once more, liking the feel of the strands, and then said, "Let's get some breakfast."

Liam nodded, and they both headed out the door, along with Red perching on Juan's shoulder. Along the terrace, Juan marveled at the enormous, immaculate courtyard, his gaze drifting here and there. Then he remembered the status card, and because he was damn curious, he asked, "So, about this status card. Can I see yours? Or is it personal and secretive?"

Liam fumbled in his trouser pocket and then brought his out. He handed it to Liam and said, "It's not secretive. Everyone is sort of showing theirs off to the others, the children especially. It helps, too, to know what the others are blessed with or has an infinity with, especially as soldiers as Lord Aldric said, because it's an advantage during battles. He usually pairs soldiers with different strengths to fully utilize their abilities."

Juan stared at Liam's status card, his eyes lingering on the handsome face and stylishly cut hair. He flicked his gaze across the blessings which were Ela for posterity, Arena for health, Aulla for healing, Ridall for education and learning, and the affinities were fire, earth, and wind magic.

As he handed back the card, he said, "So you and I would work well with each other, utilizing our abilities. Your fire and my water and ice magic."

"Would you really like to be partnered with me?" Liam asked. "I have no prior experience as a soldier, nor in combat. I've only just joined Norsewood more than a month ago."

Juan slapped him on the soldier. "I don't mind. Besides, I have the feeling you're a quick learner." He winked, and Liam blushed crimson on the cheeks. "Anyway, let's get that breakfast. And I was wondering if it's possible to retake the status photo?"

"Did you want another?" Liam asked as they headed toward the elevator.

Juan nodded. "Mine looks horrid. I believe a status card is part of a man's identity, and I believe the picture on it should look... pleasant to the eyes. I look like a wild hermit. My hair is a mess."

Liam said, as they both entered the mechanical contraption, "Yours looks fine, but I can take another for you if you'd like. I'm contracted as a healer with Quinn, so I can use the magical testing tablets. As for your hair, I agree, but it can't be helped since you've been in captivity. I can take you to Mr. Owenson; he and his brothers and their sons are doing this very specialized course that deals with men's grooming. I think it's called a barber or something. They cut hair as well as shave beards and things like that."

Juan raised a brow, intrigued. "Is that why your hair looks... nice. You go to them?"

Liam nodded. "Every male in the lodge goes to them. They've been especially busy once it was officially revealed that there was an identification picture taken for the status card. Of course, the few days before the banquet, too."

"I see," Juan said. He couldn't wait to meet Mr. Owenson and get his wild mane trimmed and tamed.