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Mavus returned with two flowery teacups in his hands and a pipe hanging from the corner of his lips.

The scent of fogweed floated over me as he placed one cup down beside me, then held the other to my mouth to allow me a sip, toking on his pipe at the same time.

The amulets he wore clinked together across his bare chest, one bright green gemstone hanging from a golden chain catching my attention among them that was perhaps made of jade as a good luck charm.

Though that would suggest he was a Taurus because of jade’s lucky effect for that sign, and it contradicted with the gleaming amulet of Capricorn’s ram he wore.

Nearly every star sign was represented among his amulets, in fact, leaving me stumped over which one he valued most and left me confused.

“Have you got one for every star sign?” I asked, indicating his amulets and he glanced down at them, smiling widely.

“That I do. Two for Gemini of course - they might be my favourite, but don’t tell Scorpio or Leo though, they can be mightily jealous bastards.

” He winked at me and I couldn’t help but glance up towards the sky as if the celestial signs might hear his blasphemy and smite him down here and now for it. They didn’t.

Mavus tugged out a pair of intricately carved wooden moths from between the other amulets. “See how the twins smile for us?” he cooed, petting the wing of one of the wooden moths along its worn edge and I had to wonder how often he repeated that gesture.

I inspected the tiny carved face of the moth but there wasn’t even a mouth for it to smile with.

“Umm, no I don’t see it,” I admitted and he sighed, dropping the moths and fishing a dark metal amulet from the knotted strands next, offering up the tiny moving scales for my inspection.

“You can hear the whispered judgements from this sneaky fella though, can’t ya?” He held Libra’s scales to my ear and I made a show of trying to listen to the inanimate object before shrugging apologetically.

“So stuck in your own ways. I bet ya feel something from this little hellion though, eh?” He rooted around until he found a perfect clay carving of Neptune within the nest of amulets and held out the representation of my star sign for my inspection.

I looked at the beautifully carved and painted planet, a deep warmth settling in my chest as I gazed at the amulet for Pisces.

“Yeah, I can feel the power of that one,” I admitted and Mavus grinned before dropping the amulets back against his chest and giving them a fond pat.

“Now. Back to the matter of your noggin,” he said firmly.

There were a thousand more questions I could have asked Mavus about his multifaceted beliefs but even if we spent the entire day discussing them, I doubted I would ever understand them.

He placed the cup down and took a small vial from his pocket, dabbing the white substance on his finger then reaching up to my hairline to paint it onto the welt. The smell of lilac and honey told me this was the same healing poultice that Kaiser had used on me after the Vampire attack.

“So that lad up on the cliffside was fighting for ya? Were my eyes deceiving me or was he wearing the cloak of the Reapers?” Mavus asked, putting the vial away and toking on his pipe again.

“Yes. That’s Harlon,” I murmured, my heart clogging in my throat at his name.

“Call me a liar, a cheat or even a lover of manatee cock, but I know a thing or three about the power of names and the way they’re said. That boy means something fierce to you, lass.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“And more?”

I shrugged, having no real answer to that. “Everything’s been complicated since we came to Never Keep and he became a Reaper.”

“Condolences.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He’s as good as dead to ya now.”

“No he’s not,” I balked.

“Not yet maybe. But soon. He’ll become blind to everything but the ‘greater calling.’”

“He’s not like that,” I insisted, my anger spiking.

“They all start out normal enough. I’ve seen plenty of ‘em change. Perhaps it’s once the stars start whispering to ‘em, or maybe it’s a good ol’ dose of brainwashing, I don’t rightly know.

But one day, they lose themselves and they all fall in line.

Best to tuck away ya good memories together and remember him fondly. How he was before he left ya.”

“He would never abandon me,” I said forcefully. “We’re going to figure this out. Distance won’t break what we have. We’ve always been there for each other. That’s not going to change.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you, doll,” Mavus said with a frown. “The Reapers are pawns in a greater thing than you or I can understand.”

“What do you mean ‘pawns?’” I asked, sensing Mavus might know some of their secrets.

He wetted his lips, glancing at the door as if concerned someone might overhear us, so he cast a silencing shield into place.

“The Reapers are just a way to keep the war fuelled, I reckon. What happens when you take all multi-elementals and Seers away from the pool of warriors?” he whispered.

I shook my head, having no idea what he was getting at.

“You create balance, lass. Ensure it, in fact. You keep the four lands on equal footing. No one has an advantage, except the Reapers. And that’s true power, ain’t it? A clever, clever creature came up with that, I think.”

“What are you saying? That the Cardinal Reaper is responsible for keeping the war going?”

Mavus shrugged, smiling mischievously. “Someone is. Someone as smart as a whip and as powerful as a damn star, I’d say. Could be him. Could be someone else. Could be you or I.” He boomed a laugh, but I didn’t join in, dread rippling through me.

I had the urge to tell him what I knew about the Reapers seeing as he was blaspheming against them clearly enough.

“I think you’re right about the Reapers,” I said and he released a line of smoke from his lips, intrigue colouring his expression. “I saw things at Never Keep. They’re up to something. And I don’t think it’s for the greater calling.”

Mavus nodded slowly, considering that. “I knew you weren’t like the others. You’re no fool, Everest. They may have pulled the wool over your eyes in the past, but you’re waking up now. And it’s a whole new world when ya see it through the lens of the truth, ain’t it?”

I nodded, my pulse rising, the weight of what I was sharing with Mavus hanging over us.

We would be killed for this if we were overheard.

It was treason. But by the stars, it was a relief to have someone to talk to about it again.

Even if only in part. Without Vesper, I’d been bottling all this shit up for so long that I hadn’t realised how heavily it weighed inside me.

“What say you to this…” Mavus said, leaning in closer.

“Forget the war. Forget battles. There’s a home for you here in Wandershire.

There’s protections that come with that life too.

I’ll offer ‘em to ya tenfold. I’ll give ya a fine house, no rent to pay.

You stay and work for me, and you’ll see the whole world and all the beautiful, terrible wonders she holds.

I’ll show you what life can be, all ya have to do is say you’ll be mine.

” He offered me his hand, a deal waiting to be struck and I lifted my eyes to his in surprise.

“No,” I said immediately. “I worked my whole life to become a warrior. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’ll never turn from that fate.”

He lowered his hand in disappointment but nodded in acceptance of my words. “Hm, maybe you’re not as smart as ya seemed after all.”

“Maybe not. But I know what I want. That’s to fight. And to seek revenge for my mother.”

“That’s it?” he mused.

“That’s it,” I said firmly. “I’m going to be a hero of Cascada, just you watch. You’ll hear my name from every mouth in The Waning Lands soon enough.”

“Be careful what you wish for lass, gilded dreams don’t always glitter so prettily up close.”

Silence followed those words, but I wouldn’t let him plant seeds of doubt in my head. He wanted me to work for him, that was his angle. Mavus Angelico would say just about anything to get what he wanted.

“Alright, well I’ll be untying ya now, I reckon,” he announced.

“Not yet,” I said quickly. “I can’t feel Kaiser’s possession anymore, but that’s not the only way he can get to me.”

“That so?” He frowned. “Tell me more.”

“I can’t,” I rasped, Nightfire crawling around my throat to ensure it.

Mavus cocked his head to one side, curiosity burning in those blazing green eyes. “A magical vow perhaps?”

“Something like that,” I muttered bitterly.

“Ah, well then, I’ll go asking no more questions on that particular subject, doll, so tell me of ya trial instead. You passed with flying colours, I assume?”

I smiled in satisfaction. “I’m a warrior now, I guess.”

“You guess,” he echoed with a bark of laughter, taking the pipe from his lips.

He gripped my shoulder, his fingers hard and unyielding.

“You’re about to face the turmoil of war, lass.

You’ll know death better than your own name soon enough.

You’ll either earn yourself that haunted look all of them dark souls have, or you’ll fall into the mania of the kill.

You’ll be cracked and, speaking from experience, I’d say that’s the best way to go.

” He slapped me bracingly on the shoulder and I frowned at him, thinking of the warriors I’d met in the taverns of Castelorain, the ones who had lost themselves in the warmth of my skin, their eyes only glinting with light at the point of climax, then dimming away again to leave a sorrowful look behind.

I pursed my lips against the thought of me becoming like them. They weren’t heroes or legends. I could withstand the toils of war.