>>Amber

I remember some of those things. Not all though.

Some of them came back to me because he mentioned them, otherwise I had forgotten them because I was so focused on the bad I did to him

Ah!!

Is that why he started putting his head on my lap again when I came back in time and started tending to his injuries again? Because I did it for him when we were kids?

Hael and I sat across from each other. I was sitting on the foot of the bed, while he sat on the chair in front of me that was right against the wall, next to one of the open windows leading to the balcony

Now that he had mentioned all that stuff, I recalled why I used to do all that. I took a deep breath as the silence persisted between us.

I wanted you to notice me.

And you did

And I wanted to keep it that way. I was expecting something from you

I looked down

Love...

But you just weren't giving it to me. I didn't know, I couldn't have known- that you weren't emotionally available like normal people. I can not blame you for that. We were both kids who did not understand a lot of stuff

And I remember the whispers.

Whenever I was going back from visiting you, the maids, the butlers, the staff, they would whisper how I was desperate for love and you were never going to give it to me. They were always saying something about us and I was always listening quietly from the shadows.

Slowly...

Over the years I started getting afraid that they were right. That I was a fool, an idiot.

And it started corrupting my mind.

Under no circumstances does that justify my behavior yet I became a toxic obsessive person because I had to covet you.

I raised my head to look back at him.

I had to have you!

Our eyes met and we exchange a silence glance

You were all I had...

We passed each other a smile.

Now we were aware of the shortcomings and we had chosen to let them go.

"Now what?" I asked

"Now, I'll marry you," He smirked, making my heart skip a beat

Oh! This flirt!!

"I mean, what are we doing about Persephone! And the whole miasma thing?"

"I'm going to read through those papers, but well, it's not really going to provide much help-" There was a knock on the door that made us both pause.

We looked at the door but before Hael could say anything the door opened softly, revealing a person I had completely forgotten about.

"Ummm," Her soft voice seemed to tremble as she looked inside, "Where-" She paused when she saw us both, "Master Hael?" She stood in the door frame, "Saint Amber?"

"Illaris?" I was shocked to see her here, then I looked at Hael.

"The machine must have slipped her out. The spell wasn't meant to last long after all." He stood up, "Saint Illaris," He addressed, "Ah, you are no longer a saint," He gestured to her to come in.

"..." Illaris was hesitant but she opened the door and walked in, "Yes..." Her gaze was on the ground as she walked over, "I can tell," She came and stopped in front of Hael, her gaze still down. But then she turned to look at me

...

I stood up but we didn't exchange any words for a few seconds, "I thought I was dead." She finally said.

"This was the only way to save you," I replied

She nodded, and then turned to look at Hael, "Can I go back to the temple?"

"We're not holding you captive," Hael replied

"You have a secret room." She replied

!!!

Oh! Right

She walked out of that room herself! If she goes back and tells somebody, won't we be in trouble? I looked at Hael to see how he would reply

"And I already made sure you can't tell anyone about it." He smirked

...

I should have expected that from him.

Illaris wasn't surprised, she simply nodded.

The sound of a long horn made its way to us and we all looked out the windows.

"What's that?" I asked and we both looked at Hael. Neither of us knew what was happening since we both were asleep.

"The third prince's funeral." He replied with a disinterested look, "It's happening in the Capital today but the horns of woe are being sound here too."

"What?" Illaris's already pale face went further pale. We both looked at her as a weird feeling settled in my chest, "Prince Lyal is dead?"

I got caught in a trance.

He's dead?

"Yes," Hael replied, "He died in the line of duty,"

Ah,

He must have died in Hollow Woods then.

Illaris's eyes were wide. Her face dropped to the ground and before she could say anything about it, her tears began to roll down her cheeks. I glanced at Hael, he was looking at her with the most uninterested expressions and I knew he was going to do nothing about the whole thing.

I walked up to her, putting my hands around her.

She broke further down and we both slid to the floor as she began to cry.

Hael simply walked out of the room while I rubbed circles on her back. I held no affection for Lyal, or for Illaris at that but she looked so miserable that I had to offer this to her.

She cried for a good five minutes before her sobs calmed down a little and she looked up, breathing in the fresh air coming in from the big open windows.

"I never wanted to do this," She gritted her teeth,

???

"Hm?" I looked at her and she looked at me,

"I never wanted to become a saint," Her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, all of it was flushed in despair, "I never wanted it!" One look at her and I could tell her heart was full and she wanted to get things out, so I let her speak, "I was pushed into things I hate doing!" Her voice was full of frustration, "I was happy in the temple!" She clenched her fists, "And I never wanted to be a saint!"

"I never wanted to like the prince either!" She shook her head, "I don't know how it all happened..." Her expressions twisted into pain, "I-" She raised her head to look at me with tears in her eyes, "I feel pathetic," And those tears then streamed down her face, "I was so rude to you," She got on her knees, bowing her head to me as more tears came out of her eyes,"I'm sorry,"

"..."

What do I even say to her?

"I'm really sorry," She hiccuped, "I am so sorry," I hear the sound of tears falling to the floor, "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I'm sorry." She sniffled, "And thank you." She raised her hand and looked at me, "I know you must have asked Master Hael to save me," She looked rather pathetic, "I'm sorry,"

"It's okay," I patted her back, "You hated being a saint, now you can go back to your normal life."

My words seemed to trigger her, and I could see she was trying to fight the tears that were threatening to spill over like a waterfall again.

I get it though. It's not hard to understand.

She went to sleep with everything in her hands and then she woke up with nothing.

"Why did you like Prince Lyal?" I asked

"He looked sincere," She whispered, "He did..." Her shoulders dropped, "And he was, in the beginning at least..." Her body went further towards the ground.

That was all I needed to hear.

After becoming a thing, Lyal must have seen how much his status was changing because of Illaris and he chose to aim higher than he should have.

The greed took him.

I let out a soft sigh and then kept patting Illaris's back. That was all I could offer her after all.

***

Hael asked May to take Illaris and drop her somewhere near the temple without getting noticed. Hael and I stood on the balcony that had a clear view of the people who were mourning that loss of the prince.

There was a certain vibe that ran throughout the shielded cities. People were scared and hope was diminishing.

I slid my hands around Hael's arm and leaned against him, putting my head against his bicep.

Far off in the distance we could see that the miasma had taken the ground.

"Do you think that's enough to sever Persephone's restraints?" I asked

"Maybe," Hael replied as the cold wind blew past us, "She was free in winter and it's only a few days away."

"What are we going to do?" I tightened my grip around his arm.

"She said you were her biggest enemy. That means you can kill her."

"I don't think so," I said

"Why?"

"You said holy power has no offensive power,"

"I did,"

"So it means I can't kill her, just purify her."

Hael thought about it, "Hmm, she was originally human, so yes, I guess she won't die, but if you purify her and she turns back into a normal human, wouldn't she die since she's been alive for far too long." He paused, "Unless, you purify her and she reverts back to a human who hasn't aged a day." He kept thinking, "We can't be sure what will happen."

"She's strong," I said and Hael nodded.

"Persephone had the power to eat people and take on their special ability." He said, "Just like how she ate Theo, and got the voice."

"So, does that mean she can eat people and then copy whatever power they have?"

"No," Hael's gaze remained on the people below who were mourning in the streets, "I don't think it worked like that. She can eat people and have their innate ability, not their power."

"Meaning?"

"If I'm right. Theo was a siren"

!!!

"A siren!?" I turned my head to look at him.

"All sirens, as a species, have the ability to sing and through their voice they can manipulate people but their magic power is a separate thing. Like humans they have different attributes too."

"So, what are you saying?"

"Over the years, Persephone must have eaten thousands of people but unless a species has something innate in them, she wouldn't have gotten the ability. And humans don't possess anything like that. Any human she ate would have been nothing more than a meal."

"What makes you say that Theo was a siren?"

"Two things?" He raised his index finger up, "One, she said she got the power to sing from him." Then he raised his middle finger up, forming a v, "Second, she said he tasted like fish. That's only possible if he was a siren."

"Oh..."

"And then of course, she ate Vaerion too. Who went after Theo after getting a letter from him."

Author's Note

If anyone is confused about how Illaris's power could be extracted but not Rosie's, it's because this was never Illaris's power to begin with