“It means this world is more dangerous than we thought.” Maverick’s words rang through my head.

  “W-we’re not safe here?” I swallowed, Dimitri whimpering at my fear.

  “We’re not safe anywhere.” Maverick crossed his arms. “We’re powerful beings who control magic. If any normal person were to find out — here or in Meridia — our life would become, as you people from Earth say, hell.”

  “We’ll have to be extra careful that the people here don’t find out what we are,” Finn said in a voice more serious than was usual for him. “They could easily exploit our weakness. I’m sure it would be easy for them to figure out.”

  My mind flashed back to the sci-fi shows and movies my parents would watch, where scientists would experiment on humans with unusual abilities. Or even worse, experiment on aliens. In these shows and movies, they frequently hooked their subjects to electronic devices, administering electric shocks whenever their subjects disobeyed.

  “They’re just stories, Ella.” Finn placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and looked deep into my eyes with a serene expression that instantly calmed me. “And even if those were accurate depictions of the real world, that would never happen to us. We’re more careful than that.”

  “You say that, yet none of you have stepped foot outside the manor in years, save for Aidan and maybe Maverick. You’re not used to concealing your powers… and neither am I.” My hands clenched into fists, sparks of ice scattering in the process.

  “We have Sylvis to look after us as well.” Zephyr took a few steps towards me. “If anything became too dangerous, she would pull us out.”

  “Correction: She would pull Elaina out.” Maverick slumped back into his seat. “The rest of us can handle ourselves. Defeating the Magus of Historia is our top priority. Besides, she wouldn’t be able to do much good if we were already captured. I imagine she isn’t immune to electricity either." He paused, sighing. “It seems the situation has changed. I’ll do you this favor just this once. You can back out now that you know the truth of this world, or you can stay. The choice is entirely yours to make.” He glanced at each of us, watching our expressions. “But Elaina stays.”

  “If Elaina stays, then I’m easily staying.” Finn smiled.

  “Y-yeah, I want to stay!” Aidan nodded.

  “I still have much to learn about this world. Perhaps it’s selfish to ignore the risks of staying here, but I wish to remain.” Zephyr straightened his glasses.

  “Stop! Just stop!” I pulled Finn and Aidan by the cuffs of their sleeves, jerking them towards me. “It was one thing when you guys came with to keep me company, but it’s another putting your lives in danger for me. I never asked for this. I’m not okay with this. Please…" Tears began to form in my eyes. "Go home.” I frowned at the two of them.

  If one of them got killed because of me… Especially Aidan. He was so young and didn't have as much magic as the others. He’d be little more than a sitting duck. He’d be leaving his little sister behind in favor of me. That wasn’t fair. She didn’t deserve that.

  “There’s no guarantee anything is going to happen to us, Ella.” Finn ruffled my hair. “We’re not going to recklessly charge in and get ourselves killed. We’ll leave the dangerous stuff to Maverick and Rosalie.”

  “T-this is your world, your home, Ella,” Aidan began. “W-we want to protect it just as much as you do. I-it’s people from our world who are going to destroy yours. We should take responsibility for that.”

  As sweet as their words were, it did nothing to comfort the dread in my stomach — the visions of one of them being mutilated by either the Magus of Historia or a mad scientist.

  “I wish you wouldn’t picture us like that.” Finn scratched the back of his head.

  “L-l-like what?” Aidan spoke quickly, stuttering more than usual. And blushing more than usual.

  Finn immediately smirked at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” This only deepened Aidan’s blush.

  “All right, Elaina.” Maverick hooked his arm around my shoulder. “Which one of these strapping young men is it?” He smirked.

  “Neither.” I facepalmed. “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Please.” Zephyr looked uncomfortable.

  We spent the next few hours handing off the controller to each other. Maverick seemed to like the FPS genre, while Finn enjoyed platformers — even if he wasn’t very good at them. Zephyr tried for a bit, liking the racing games most, but lost interest fairly quickly. I got the feeling that he would like trivia games if they were based on Meridian lore. Aidan was still going one by one, trying each game out.

  As much as I wanted my turn with the controller, I thought I’d let them experience it first. Besides, it was fun watching them struggle. It reminded me of when I’d first started playing video games when I was six. I hadn’t been much better than them back then.

  It also felt nice to watch someone struggle with something that came easily to me rather than the other way around. Maybe one day I’d figure out my magic… Though maybe now wasn’t the right time to do that, now that we had to be extra careful. Then again, it would be nice to be able to control my emotional outbursts…

  “I-is that a mehlgeria?” Aidan pointed to the screen.

  Maverick glanced up from his book. “Its face is too sculpted for that.” Back to his book.

  “It’s a bear,” I answered.

  “I-is that a mhelgeria? A baby one?” Aidan asked.

  “Looks more like a wharack to me.” Finn crossed his arms behind his head.

  “That’s a pig!” I shouted.

  “Wharack?” Aidan pointed to the screen again, his lips pouty and his voice hopeful.

  “That's a sheep.” I facepalmed. “I know the sprites aren’t that good, but how do all of these animals look like wharacks and melgerides?”

  ”Mhelgerias,” Finn corrected.

  “Why do you think these sprites look like bears, pigs, and sheep?” Zephyr asked me, looking up from his book. It was weird seeing him and Maverick reading together.

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  I thought about it for a moment, but couldn't come up with anything. “Uh… They just do…?” I answered, not sure what answer he was looking for.

  “Because you’re familiar with the original animals. Your mind immediately associates the sprites with their real-life equivalents.”

  “Right… So Aidan is drawing from his own memories.” That made sense.

  Zephyr nodded.

  “Maverick! Doesn’t this remind you of Lake Innovia?” Finn pointed to the screen excitedly.

  “Hm… I can see the resemblance.” Maverick answered while closing his book. “All it’s missing are—”

  “The docks to the right.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Y-you’ve been to Lake Innovia?!” Aidan’s jaw dropped as he looked between the two.

  “Maverick has. I haven’t. I’ve just seen it in books.” Finn shrugged.

  “W-what’s it like?” Aidan crawled over to the table, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on top of his elbows as he waited for Maverick to answer.

  “I haven’t been there in several decades.” Maverick’s expression looked as distant as the time he was referring to. “It’s prettier in Frostwake and Winter when the lake is iced over. Going now in this heat, you wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of jumping in the lake. Unless you're me.”

  “W-where else have you been?”

  “Hm… I’d say the most interesting place I’ve been—”

  “In Meridia,” Aidan specified.

  “In Meridia? I’d have to say…”

  I walked away from the conversation, resting my arms on the windowsill overlooking the city. The sky was nearly pitch-black, illuminated by all the city lights. The stars weren’t visible thanks to all of the light pollution. Though in a way, the buildings themselves looked like stars. Just… a lot lower than they should be.

  “I’m sorry.” Finn’s voice startled me, causing me to jump somewhat.

  “For startling me?” I joked.

  “For making you uncomfortable.”

  “Huh?” I blinked, genuinely confused.

  Finn sighed. “Ella, how long have you been shoving your feelings off to the side that you can’t even notice when you’re doing it?”

  “You’ve got me really confused now.” I scrunched my eyebrows and frowned.

  “Part of you is jealous of how easy we’re adapting. You’re jealous that we came in a group and have each other to rely on, to reminisce about home. You’ve gone out of your way to show us your world, yet we never quite did the same for you. I’m sorry. You’re right that none of this is fair. That even though you’re finally back in your world, you’re still an outsider. I… I want to do more for you.”

  He had gotten all of that? I was barely aware that I had even thought that... My eyes blurred over as tears poured down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them on the sleeve of my shirt, thankful that I wasn’t wearing makeup.

  “Thank you.” My words came out quieter than I had intended. “What I want most is to see my friends and family again. I know that’s beyond what you’re capable of doing for me. And even if I did get to see them right now, I have no idea what I’d say. That’s still something I need to figure out before I’m reunited with them.”

  Finn nodded. “Is there anything I can do for you right now? A shopping trip? A quick dessert? Setting Maverick’s hair on fire?”

  I chuckled. “That last one is tempting.”

  His expression got weird again as it had in the mall. Right, I still didn’t know what was going on between him and Maverick.

  “I think I’m just gonna go to bed now.”

  He nodded. “Sleep well, Ella.”

  I started walking to my room when I noticed Maverick whispering something to Aidan. The latter’s cheeks were bright red. What was that about?

  I woke up in the middle of the night, my mouth dry and my body warm from sleeping with too many blankets, plus Dimitri on top of my legs. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, removed my socks, and stumbled into my slippers. I’d never liked the feeling of carpet on my bare feet.

  I opened the door slowly, not wanting to wake anyone else up. Thankfully, Dimitri remained sound asleep. It was nice having a pet to sleep with. I’d never had a pet growing up, but I’d always wanted one.

  The little nightlight in the hall illuminated it enough to where I was confident I’d reach the kitchen without tripping and falling. Because who drinks water from their bathroom? That’s gross!

  I paused right before I reached the living room. I could hear Maverick and Finn in the kitchen.

  “What did you want to talk about?” Maverick asked, and I could hear him slamming down what was likely his cup.

  There was a pause. There was no way Finn didn’t know I was here. My thoughts would betray me. Nevertheless, I backed further into the hall, not wanting Maverick to see me. If Finn was all right with me eavesdropping, then I was going to eavesdrop away.

  “When are you going to tell Ella that you’ve been stalking her?” Finn’s words caught me off guard, and I had to cover my mouth with my hands to keep myself quiet.

  “What are you talking about?” Maverick asked, a slight exhale coming from his nose as if he didn’t believe Finn—as if the very idea was humorous.

  “Don’t play dumb with me. I can read your thoughts in this world.”

  Silence.

  “You can?” Maverick finally spoke. “Shit.”

  “Hiding your thoughts doesn’t change what I already know. You’re a creep following her around everywhere she goes without telling her! Even if you’re just following Sylvis’ orders!”

  “Sylvis told you to stalk me?” I couldn’t hide anymore. I stepped into the kitchen, and both of them looked at me with wide eyes.

  “You knew she was there!” Maverick snapped at Finn, the glass in his hand shattering upon impact with the counter.

  “I didn’t! My range is smaller in this world. I swear I wouldn’t have brought it up if I knew she was listening!” Finn snapped back.

  “Really? Then why do I not believe you?” Maverick glared daggers at Finn, making me briefly regret making myself known. It terrified me seeing him this angry, especially with what he could do. “Why do I have a feeling this was exactly what you wanted?”

  “For her to find out her privacy had been violated in the most indirect way possible? I’m not that cruel.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I snapped at Finn, making him recoil backwards.

  “I…” His expression was hurt, shocked, and… scared? “I thought I could fix things,” he answered quietly before disappearing, teleporting away.

  I shouldn’t have snapped at him like that…

  With Finn gone, that left the elephant in the room.

  “You’re disgusting.” I clenched my fists at my side, unable to bring myself to look at Maverick out of both disgust and fear.

  “Do you want to say that again?” he asked, his tone warning.

  “You could’ve at least told me.” My hands iced over as my head jerked to look at him. His face expressionless—numb.

  “That wouldn’t have changed anything.”

  “Yes, it would’ve! I would’ve at least known what you were doing! I understand that Sylvis’ orders are absolute, and there’s nothing I could do or say to change your mind. But don’t you think I had a right to know that I was being watched?!”

  “Sylvis said that you shouldn’t find out.”

  I paused, remembering that this wasn’t only on him. Why would Sylvis do this to me…?

  “You have to be watched because you’re a ticking time bomb, Elaina. At any moment, your magic can awaken and spiral out of control. It’s not going to be fun and games like it was during Magitag. All it takes is one outburst to set your magic loose. When an Ethereal loses control over the magic, the damage is catastrophic. You remember what happened with Zephyr, right? Picture that, but ten times worse.”

  “No.” I clenched my fists. “That’s not true. I would never let that happen. I would kill myself before I let that happen.” One hand remained iced over as it had for the past few minutes, while the other was seething with fire. An odd mix, but it somehow felt right. “Don’t follow me anymore.”

  I stormed off back to my room, losing my desire for water.

  I hated that Maverick and Sylvis saw me as an inevitable disaster waiting to happen. Did Rosalie see me the same way? I wasn’t going to destroy the world. Or at least, I didn’t think I would. And what was stopping Maverick and Rosalie from having one of those temper tantrums?

  More than anything, I hated how weak they saw me. That their first assumption was that I wouldn’t be able to handle the power.

  I’ll show them. I’ll show them whenever my magic awakens.